(h/t David at VideoCafe)

Bill Johnson is a Republican Christian politician who was a former Birmingham City councilman and director of Alabama’s Department of Economic and Community Affairs until he resigned to run for governor. That wasn’t his first run – he ran for the U.S. Senate in Missouri as a Libertarian, campaigning to legalize marijuana and prostitution – views he’s since renounced since he became a Republican. Still, he’s got this odd streak of idealism that has made it difficult for him to fit into the GOP stable – after he fell out with Republican Gov. Bob Riley by asking the state attorney general and the Montgomery County DA to investigate his former boss for conflict of interest, he was banned by the GOP from appearing before the executive committee in Prattsville, his home county, or speaking at any other event the committee sponsors.

But it’s his latest brush with altruism, albeit somewhat peculiar, that’s landed him in hot water once again. Bill Johnson has spent most of the past year in Christchurch as a long-term recovery manager for Ceres NZ, helping the earthquake recovery, which is very nice of him. But his selflessness didn’t stop at helping New Zealanders rebuilt their ruined city. On his off-hours, he’s been surfing the net for women who want to get pregnant and donating his sperm, including to lesbian couples – despite his public campaign against gay marriage. At least nine women have been recipients of his genetic philanthropy, three of whom are now pregnant, and there’s a line of ladies on his waiting list. On the one hand, the mothers might be happy that the donor went through college on a full scholarship, has a Bachelor’s in chemistry, graduated cum laude and is a member of Mensa. On the other, for a smart guy, he’s been really stupid – while he was being so noble and gallant, he neglected to tell his wife, former Miss America finalist Kathy Johnson, what he was up to while he’s been "helping" New Zealanders.

Beyond the WTF factor making this just another incredibly bizarre activity by a Republican politician (at least he’s original!), there’s a more serious concern. New Zealand is a very small country, with around 4.5 million people, about half the number of people who live in New York City. It’s an idiom here that if you’re not related to someone in New Zealand, you're probably best mates with someone who is. With such a small population, Bill Johnson’s ad hoc mobile sperm bank has the NZ fertility medicine community concerned. Fertility clinic regulations recommend that no one man donates sperm to more than four families, to reduce the chance of accidental incest, as well as any adverse impact on donors and children if they seek each other out later in life, which New Zealand law allows.

Because I did some work on the 3 LGBT-specific ballot initiative campaigns last November in Maine, Washington State, and Kalamazoo, MI, some of my friends and colleagues have been asking what's on the ballot this fall that directly impacts LGBT people. I checked around and fortunately, there's little in the way of domestic partnership ordinances, constitutional amendments, non-discrimination ordinances, and so forth (with the exception of this inclusive non-discrmination ordinance in Bowling Green, OH).

But I've been meaning to do a piece on what is at stake, because there is a lot in terms of candidates that affect the trajectory of LGBT rights. There are multiple important contests, but from where I stand, key races include:

• Steve Pougnet, the Mayor of Palm Springs, California, who besides being a strong progressive, would be the first openly gay married dad elected to Congress (he and his partner have two adorable young children). He's also running against the odious Mary Bono Mack, whose veneer of moderation was finally shredded by her vote against DADT repeal, refusal to take a stance on Prop 8, refusal to co-sponsor or commit to voting for repeal of DOMA and passage of ENDA. More on Pougnet and that race can be found via this tag at my home blog, OpenLeft.com.
• Russ Feingold and Barbara Boxer, who as I've written about here and here at C&L, were one of just 14 Senators to oppose DOMA and are outspoken advocates on LGBT rights generally, going back to Boxer's work on HIV/AIDS funding in the early 1980s when few in Congress would touch what was then called "gay cancer".
• New York State Senate races, where in my home state we fell 8 votes short of enshrining equality for same-sex couples last winter. Among the 8 "no" votes, two have fallen in Democratic primaries to pro-equality Assemblymen, and there are multiple other general election races coming up where we would pick up pro-equality votes or defend them. My colleague Paul at Gay City News has a great summary here.
• Iowa, where 3 judges who ruled in favor of the freedom to marry for same-sex couples are on the ballot. National Organization for Marriage is launching a bus tour and has dumped millions into defeating them to send a message. One Iowa is doing key work on this race.
• Five gubernatorial races, the first being in California, as the winner there may serious impact in terms of whether the case has "standing" at the 9th Circuit- an issue that could bring the whole case down. The other three are states where it is very likely that equality supporters have the votes to enact major legislation- the freedom to marry for same-sex couples in Rhode Island and Minnesota, and the recently-vetoed civil unions law in Hawaii. The latter two are where especially strong progressives Mark Dayton and Neil Abercrombie are the Democratic nominees. Last, Maine is important, where Libby Mitchell is the Democratic nominee and the opponent most likely to win if anyone but her does is terrible on LGBT equality. Since a new marriage bill would need to re-pass the Legislature and either be signed or not vetoed in light of last November's election, Libby's race is crucial.
• And finally is Kamala Harris (who I especially want to highlight), who is running for Attorney General of California and, along with Eric Schneiderman in my home state of New York, is one of two extremely strong, die-hard progressive Attorney General candidates to run this year.

Aside from hearing excellent things about Kamala from folks I trust over at Calitics and in various California progressive circles, I first was introduced to and wrote about Kamala over at Prop 8 Trial Tracker, a blog I sometimes guest on, when she and Stephanie Miller appeared in a CNN debate on same-sex marriage around the Prop 8 decision news (videos can be found in this post). What impressed me so much is how Kamala gets it as a straight ally- understands how to talk about equality, fundamental fairness, and what the law really says. She came at it like a seasoned pro who had been doing LGBT advocacy for years. There are a million people who could have taken her spot in that debate, and there are few I would have traded for Kamala.

Brave New Films, in partnership with PowerPAC, put together this great video below summarizing Kamala's commitment to equality and why her race is so important. Check it out.

Cross-posted at my home blog, OpenLeft.com

Minorities and women have gained broader rights and acceptance through military service. Service in the open would result in broader acceptance and understanding for LGBTs. And we can't have that, can we?

Both courts and Congress are still discussing how DADT may or may not shake out in the next 100 days, but everyone is agreeing that some nebulous consensus of opinion should form among DoD branches. The Air Force seems ready to adapt to social change, the Navy and Army have not spoken. Commandant of the Marine Corps General James Amos has been the first to weigh in with a contrary opinion, but no one should be surprised because the Corps is always last to integrate. As the US Army's history on service integration of minorities puts it:

The Truman order, the Fahy Committee, even the demands of civil rights leaders and the mandates of the draft law, all exerted pressure for reform and assured the presence of some black marines. But the Marine Corps was for years able to stave off the logical outcome of such pressures, and in the end it was the manpower demands of the Korean War that finally brought integration. (Emphasis mine)

Much more after the jump and a video:

Continue reading »

Pic of the week via Towleroad, h/t Rev. Phat:

[British] Trooper Ben Rakestrow is speaking out about his time in the British Army and his service in Afghanistan, where he came out to his fellow soldiers... 'They couldn't believe it.' But Trooper Rakestrow, from Exeter, said it was the best decision of his life, adding that he was accepted and treated as an equal. He said: 'I get banter from them all the time, but it's good banter. They all want to know about my life, they ask a lot of questions. I don't find it hard to talk about it.'

You've gotta be really comfortable to be out and proud in the barracks with a Zac Efron quilt!

I really think we underestimate the generosity and humanity of ALL our military when we think they won't accept a fellow soldier for who he or she is. Ben Rakestrow is living, serving proof of that.

(on loan from the Courage Campaign in Maine)

The Yes on 1 campaign just issued a "red alert" last night, raising their ad buy by $25,000 today.

I'm here in the No on 1 campaign boiler room (nerve center) and our coffers are dry after having invested in a field campaign to protect marriage equality second to none. We need to raise $50k on ActBlue today to counter their ad buy and expand our online ad buy to match their expansion. Jesse Connolly the No on 1 campaign manager just sent out an email to their list about it:

I wasn't going to come to you to ask for money again. We've asked so much, and you've dug deep and really come through.

Honestly, I wouldn't take my time away from managing our Get Out The Vote operation to send this email if it wasn't really important.

[snip]

With the money we have now, we simply can't counter their arguments on TV.

You and I have both invested a lot in this campaign. I won't-- I can't-- let them win this because we couldn't come up with the last $25,000 $50,000 in the final 36 hours.

We can't let Yes on 1 win the airtime war with their misleading, and factually inaccurate ads.

We can't let Yes on 1 lie to Maine voters about schools and teachers and children and same-sex couples in Maine.

We need to stand up and match every one of their lies with an ad of our own, that explains that marriage equality won't do anything to families but protect all of them.

And I need you to help. Can you come through one last time and give what you can to help us finish this campaign with a win?

Not much more I can add to that. We wouldn't be asking if we didn't really need it. I would be writing a "please help us make calls" blog post and we would be sending GOTV emails, not asking you for money.

I know the Blue America community has dug deep, but can you do it once again? We are 0-30 on marriage equality races. We can win this one, but we need your help.