When former Focus on the Family leader James Dobson told The Daily Oklahoman in 2004 that,“Homosexuals…want to destroy the institution of marriage. It will destroy marriage. It will destroy the Earth,” reasonable people dismissed him as a crank. And, for the record, six states have since legalized marriage equality and the earth is still here.
Now we learn that Pope Benedict XVI did his best Dobson imitation when he delivered a New Year’s address to diplomats representing 180 nations. According to reports, the pontiff said that the marriage was “not a simple social convention, but rather the fundamental cell of every society. Consequently, policies (such as gay couples marrying) which undermine the family threaten human dignity and the future of humanity itself.”
Really? Because I just married my same-sex partner in Vermont, a state that allows for such unions. South of us is Massachusetts and Connecticut, which both allow gay people to get hitched. To my east is New Hampshire, another state where gay couples get equal treatment under the law. In this cluster of states, marriage equality has had no visible effect on heterosexuals, unless you count the extra money their businesses have made from gay tourists who visited New England to marry. Meanwhile, for the LGBT people who live in the region, there has been an obvious increase in human dignity. Whatever evidence Joseph Ratzinger possesses to back his outrageous claim must be shrouded in more secrecy than a Pope-picking conclave.
As for the claim that the future of humanity is in jeopardy – it seems to be a figment of the Pope’s vivid imagination. Life in New England has not changed one iota since marriage equality was established and anyone who says otherwise is either a liar or a lunatic. Which camp is the Pope in?
It is time for people to be honest and admit that this pope is becoming a joke and his reign is an abject failure. He arrogantly swept into office and preposterously lambasted the secularization of Europe, as if the continent was more humane when ruled by the Church and its countless bloody religious wars.
Fortunately, his goal of turning back the clock has been unrealized. Once staunchly Catholic Spain now has marriage equality and the Vatican had to recall its ambassador to Ireland after the Irish prime minister lambasted the Roman Catholic Church over pedophile priests.
Why are we even listening to the pronouncements of a “moral leader” who presides over a church that has spent billions of dollars to settle child molestation cases? If a church and its leadership do not protect the interests of children and cover-up the misdeeds of monsters, they forfeit the right to point the finger and preach. The last thing hardworking, taxpaying, law abiding LGBT families need is to be scolded by the enablers of the child sexual abuse scandals.
The pathological homophobia of Pope Benedict XVI has filtered down the food chain. Last month, Chicago Archbishop Cardinal Francis George compared the LGBT community to the Ku Klux Klan. After a huge public backlash, he finally apologized.
In Minnesota, Saint Paul and Minneapolis Archbishop John Nienstedt recently posted a letter to the local diocesan website that infuses a prayer for marriage discrimination into the Catholic Mass. Nienstedt’s pathetic “prayer” was to “assist in the strengthening of our state-wide efforts to defend marriage in our civil constitution.”
Can you feel the spirituality?
Sadly, gay bashing is a way to ascend the career ladder in Rome. For instance, the Pope will promote New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan to cardinal next month. Dolan worked mightily, yet unsuccessfully, to keep gay couples from marrying in New York. Like the Pope, Dolan should either admit he was blowing holy smoke where the sun don’t shine or produce solid evidence that he was correct in asserting that gay couples marrying would harm society.
Of course, his attacks on innocent LGBT families are not the Pope’s only notable gaffes, which include:
In 2006, the Pope enraged Muslims when he quoted a 14th-century Christian emperor as saying the Prophet Muhammad had introduced only “evil and inhuman” ideas into the world.
In 2009, Benedict decreed that Anglicans who leave their Church because they believed it was too liberal could join the Catholic Church, which would allow them to keep some of their traditions.
In 2009 the Pope revoked the excommunications of four schismatic bishops from the far right order, St. Pius X Society. One of the bishops the Pope embraced, Richard Williamson, is a conspiratorial holocaust revisionist who claims the extermination of six million Jews was a hoax.
The pontiff’s rule can best be described as insensitive, indecent, and intolerant, and his latest anti-gay comments should be put into context of his overall reprehensible record. While LGBT marriage equality does not threaten the future of humanity, the out of touch pronouncements and actions of Pope Benedict XVI may very well threaten the future of the Roman Catholic Church.
Twelve years ago today, the Vermont Supreme Court handed down its decision in the landmark case Baker v. Vermont. The unanimous decision held that existing prohibitions in Vermont state law which forbid same-sex couples from marrying violated the state constitution, and ordered the legislature to confer the benefits and protections of marriage on same-sex couples.
The historic events of twelve years ago led to Vermont’s passage of the nation’s first civil union law in 2000 and its adoption of full marriage equality in 2009.
My husband Michael and I, along with Wayne and his husband Jamie, are only two married couples among thousands in the state of Vermont and across the country who owe an immeasurable debt of gratitude to Vermont Freedom to Marry, now-Governor Peter Shumlin, now-Justice BethRobinson, Susan Murray, Mary Bonauto, Rep. Bill Lippert, the Baker couples, and the innumerable others across Vermont who led the state through many divisive battles on the road to full marriage equality.
Thank you.
Michael and me on our wedding day, March 22, 2006.
Wayne and Jamie on their wedding day, December 8, 2011.
Chick-fil-A, notorious for its deep ties to the anti-LGBT movement, is now bullying a Vermont businessman, threatening to sue him for copyright infringement.
Bo Muller-Moore, a Montpelier artist whose story has been all over the Vermont media for weeks and has now caught the attention of the national media, has printed T-shirts featuring original designs in a room above his garage. He’s been at it since 2000, printing each shirt by hand, one at a time.
A few months after he started printing shirts, a local kale farmer approached him at the Montpelier Farmers Market. The man grew kale and wondered if Muller-Moore would print him a shirt reading “Eat More Kale.” Muller-Moore agreed, and delivered the shirt to the farmer. When the two ran into each other at the farmers market a few weeks later, Muller-Moore was surprised to learn that the farmer was being barraged by people requesting shirts of their own. Since then, Muller-Moore’s “Eat More Kale” T-shirts have grown into something of a cultural symbol in a state that prides itself on its environmental consciousness and its support of both local sustainable agriculture and the “buy local” movement.
As far as homophobic restaurant giant Chick-fil-A is concerned, though, Muller-Moore’s “Eat More Kale” slogan bears too much resemblance to their trademarked phrase “Eat Mor Chikin.” Chick-fil-A advertisements feature semiliterate cows holding hand-painted signs featuring that slogan in an attempt to save themselves from being eaten. When Muller-Moore filed an application to trademark “Eat More Kale,” Chick-fil-A filed suit. They maintain that despite the obvious differences between chicken and kale and the fact that Chick-fil-A does not operate in the state of Vermont, Muller-Moore’s slogan would cause “confusion of the public.”
To this Vermonter, the chain’s argument is implausible. This isn’t trademark infringement, it’s corporate bullying.
Vermont’s two senators, Patrick Leahy and Bernie Sanders, have gotten involved, and today, governor Peter Shumlin held a press conference announcing his support for “Team Kale” and encouraging others to support Muller-Moore’s stand against Chick-fil-A. If you’d like to lend your support, like Eat More Kale on Facebook, sign the Change.org petition calling on Chick-fil-A to get off the back of local businesses, and donate to Team Kale! I can’t think of a quirkier, cooler way to make a statement this holiday season than an “Eat More Kale” T-shirt (other than a Truth Wins Out shirt, of course :-).
This morning, I blearily padded outside to retrieve today’s Burlington Free Press and was greeted by the best front-page news I’ve seen in at least a month: Beth Robinson was sworn in yesterday as an associate justice of the Vermont Supreme Court.
As we noted in October when the office of Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin announced her appointment, 46-year-old Robinson is an accomplished attorney who served as co-counsel (with her equally notable colleague Susan Murray) for the landmark Baker v. Vermont case that resulted in the passage of the nation’s first civil union law in 2000, and also spearheaded the campaign to achieve full marriage equality for Vermont’s same-sex couples, a milestone reached in 2009. Robinson and Murray also co-founded the Vermont Freedom to Marry Task Force in 1997.
David Badash notes that the 2009 Vermont marriage equality victory that Robinson helped to engineer came despite a veto from then-Governor Jim Douglas, making Vermont the first state to legalize marriage equality legislatively rather than by a court order, and also the first state to override a gubernatorial veto in order to do so.
The Free Press adds:
Robinson developed a reputation for staying above the fray during her decade-plus campaign for same-sex marriage. As head of the Vermont Freedom to Marry Task Force she exhibited a deliberate patience in building her case, helping those who supported the cause win election to the Legislature and winning over reluctant lawmakers. Though the 2009 same-sex marriage bill won by only a single vote as the Legislature overrode the veto of then-Gov. Jim Douglas, the fight under Robinson’s leadership never turned angry.
Nor did the debate ever focus on Robinson personally, though she and partner Kym Boyman had a civil union ceremony in 2001 and married in 2010. Boyman joined Robinson in the celebration at Monday’s swearing-in. “It’s an incredible honor,” she said…
As she accepted congratulations after Monday’s ceremony, Robinson said it occurred to her that the two pinnacles of her career had occurred on the same 9-foot patch of carpet in the Supreme Court chamber. Once, she had stood facing the five justices while arguing the Baker case. Now, she faced the other way addressing the crowd as she was sworn in to serve on the court, where her name plaque was already in place.
Congratulations, Justice Robinson. Your ascension to the Vermont Supreme Court is just another reason Truth Wins Out is proud to call the great State of Vermont home!
Truth Wins Out attended The Transgender Day of Remembrance on Sunday, which memorializes those who have been killed due to anti-transgender hatred or prejudice. We heard moving stories, listened to powerful music, and honored those who are no longer with us.
We thank RU12, the local LGBT community center which does an amazing job, and The Block Gallery for hosting this important event.
Wow — I returned home late last night from a wonderful weekend in Milwaukee introducing Truth Wins Out to pro-LGBT Catholics from across the country, and the first thing my husband Michael did when I walked in the door was sit me down and show me this video (fair warning, you may get a little misty-eyed):
Students at Essex High School in Essex Junction, Vermont staged a sit-in last Friday to show support for and solidarity with one of their classmates, 15-year-old freshman Cole Peterson, who was allegedly bullied by two students for being bisexual. In response, his peers organized a sit-in that was attended by at least 300 students who chanted anti-homophobia slogans, made anti-bullying and pro-equality signs, and met with representatives of Outright Vermont, a local group that works with LGBTQ youth. The faculty advisor to the school’s Gay Straight Transgender Alliance addressed the crowd. Cole’s father, Duane, was also in attendance and was very moved by the outpouring of support for his son. Essex High School alumni and students from other nearby high schools demonstrated outside, holding anti-bullying signs and waving at passing motorists.
Wonderfully heartwarming, no? It also speaks to something that I and many others in the LGBT movement have been saying for a long time: while homophobia, bullying, and bigotry remain serious problems across all age groups in our society, especially in areas of the country where religious extremism still holds sway, the fact is that overall, when it comes to LGBT equality, most young people get it. They ignore the homophobic rhetoric coming out of their churches or leave them altogether. They overwhelmingly support marriage equality. And they rally around their peers who are singled out because of who they are and who they love. That gives me hope.
My favorite part of this report? The banner signed by Essex High School students and emblazoned with a quote from principal Rob Reardon: “In my 32 years here, I have never been more proud of the students than I am today.”
Earlier this week, I got a little stir crazy. So I decided a change of venue was in order: I packed up everything I needed, hopped into the car, and drove 35 miles down the road to Montpelier, Vermont to work remotely. (I chose Montpelier because my husband works there and this way we could spend our lunch break together.)
As I drove around the small city looking for a place to spend the morning, I saw a rainbow flag hanging in the window of a local coffee shop, so I decided to patronize that establishment. After all, Michael and I feel very strongly about spending our money at LGBT-owned and -allied businesses whenever possible.
So I went in, sat down, ordered a coffee and a bite to eat, and got to work. The morning hours flew by, and before long it was time to meet my husband for lunch. When I finally raised my eyes from my computer screen, I noticed several more rainbow items interspersed among the decorations on the walls of the restaurant, several of them containing messages supporting marriage equality. A man who appeared to work at the restaurant was walking by at that moment, and I decided to say something to him about it.
I flagged him down, thanked him for being so outspoken in his support of LGBT equality, and told him that the rainbow flag in the front window is what brought me into the restaurant that morning. It turns out that the man I was speaking with was the restaurant’s co-owner, along with his partner of 17 years. He said that when they bought the restaurant a little over a year ago, they took a big risk when they decided to display the rainbow flag: “No one else in town had the flag displayed. We weren’t sure what kind of flak we were going to get from people.”
Thankfully, it had the opposite effect: the prominently-displayed flag has brought lots of business from LGBT and equality-minded locals and travelers, and other businesses in the city began to display the rainbow flag as well.
I’m sharing this story with all of you because in this day and age, we don’t always appreciate the fact that public expressions of support for and solidarity with the LGBT community still carry a fair amount of risk for small businesspeople, especially in more rural areas. Remember to support these LGBT-owned and -allied businesses. But don’t just purchase from them — when you’re in the door, let them know that you’ve chosen to patronize their business because of their support for LGBT equality. You’ll be showing them that supporting our community is a good business decision, and you may just end up making someone’s day.
And by the way, if you’re ever in Montpelier, check out the Coffee Corner at the intersection of State and Main Streets.
Contact: John Becker, Director of Communications and Development
Phone: 920-265-6023
Email: john@truthwinsout.org
Truth Wins Out Lauds Appointment of Beth Robinson to Vermont Supreme Court
BURLINGTON, Vt – Truth Wins Out applauded Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin today for appointing Beth Robinson to the state Supreme Court. Robinson, who is openly lesbian, served as co-counsel for the landmark Baker v. Vermont case that resulted in the passage of the nation’s first civil union law in 2000, and also spearheaded the campaign to achieve full marriage equality for Vermont’s same-sex couples, a milestone reached in 2009. She has served as the governor’s chief legal counsel for the last ten months.
“We are thrilled that Governor Shumlin has appointed Beth Robinson, a tireless advocate for equality on behalf of Vermont’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community, to the state’s highest court,” said John Becker, Director of Communications and Development for Truth Wins Out. “Robinson’s appointment underscores the commitment of the State of Vermont and the Shumlin administration to protecting and upholding the rights of LGBT people, and is yet another reason Truth Wins Out is proud to call this great state home.”
In an announcement yesterday, Gov. Shumlin praised Robinson’s background and qualifications:
“I am proud to appoint Beth Robinson to the Supreme Court,” the Governor said. “Beth’s strong legal background, experience with crafting legislation at the State House and commitment to the equal rights of all Vermonters will make her an exceptional justice on the Vermont Supreme Court. While I am thrilled to see Beth go to the Court and believe her to be the best qualified of an extraordinary pool of candidates, I am also sad to lose Beth as my legal counsel. In addition to depending on Beth’s sound legal advice, it is a pleasure to work with her every day.”
According to an interview with Vermont Public Radio, Robinson will wrap up work in the governor’s office in the coming weeks and go before the Senate next month, where confirmation of her appointment is virtually assured.
Truth Wins Out is a Burlington, Vermont-based national non-profit organization that fights anti-LGBT religious extremism. TWO specializes in turning information into action by organizing, advocating and fighting for LGBT equality.
Lt Gary Ross of the US Navy decided to get married the moment DADT’s repeat went into effect, just after 12:00 AM today; he did it in Vermont at gay-friendly Moose Meadow Lodge. How fitting: Vermont was the first state to offer LGBTQ people civil unions (as well as being the home of Truth Wins Out). Congrats, Lt. Ross and Mr. Dan Swezy!
We’re all relieved that DADT has passed into history. Yet we can’t forget that LGBTQ soldiers still lack basic civil rights their straight buddies enjoy. According to the great state of Vermont, Swezy is Ross’s legal husband, but he is nonetheless ineligible for military health insurance. Incredibly, anal and oral sex are still court-martial offenses under Article 125 of the military legal code. Transgender people may not serve at all.
Read Nathaniel Frank’s thoughtful piece on DADT’s damage, its legacy and what its tenure says about the national psyche.
Chick-fil-A, 
This morning, I blearily padded outside to retrieve today’s Burlington Free Press and was greeted by the best front-page 
