DOWNLOADS: (327)

PLAYS: (4964)

Embed

In another 20 years, gay rights will not be the issue it is today. It will not be the issue it is today because kids like Graeme Taylor understand that gay kids are no different from straight kids and the homophobia in schools is not only unacceptable, it's deadly. Taylor also understands the difference between encouraging hate and encouraging understanding. In his amazing speech above, he takes the Howell, Michigan school board to task for disciplining a teacher on the day students wore purple to school for supporting gay students against bullies.

The school board's side of things.:

In reprimanding Michigan high school teacher Jay McDowell for telling a student his anti-gay comments were unacceptable and having him leave the class, administrators said his actions "could be construed as teacher-to-student bullying; ironic of the anti-bullying message of the day. Your demonstration of intolerance stands in contradistinction of the anti-bullying message of the day."

What the nine-year Howell High School teacher McDowell did was confront student Dan Glowacki's belief that wearing a Confederate flag belt buckle — to many, a sign of racist support — was the equivalent of people wearing purple in support of LGBT youth. For that, McDowell was suspended for a day without pay; he's appealing. But McDowell, who's filing a grievance contesting the district's decision, says the school district's report, which blames the incident squarely on the teacher, is a "complete fabrication" of what transpired.

"You disciplined them in anger under the guise of harassment and bullying because you opposed their religious belief and were offended by it," the reprimand letter continues. "The students were causing no disruption to the educational process" — a clear nod to students' First Amendment protections, which are limited in schools only by disruption of normal school activity. Part of McDowell's punishment calls for him to attend First Amendment protection training.

To which Graeme Taylor, son of a teacher and Ann Arbor high school student, calls BS:

Continue reading »

Looks like President Obama is punting on a campaign promise until after the mid-term elections. If I was completely sure he'd back the repeal, I wouldn't care - but I'm never quite sure with him.

I'm really tired of gay issues being sent to the bottom of the agenda. How can we keep asking gay people to support the Democrats when they get so little in return?

President Obama has endorsed to a "don't ask, don't tell" compromise between lawmakers and the Defense Department, the White House announced Monday, an agreement that may sidestep a key obstacle to repealing the military's policy banning gays and lesbians from serving openly in the armed forces.

The compromise was finalized in meetings Monday at the White House and on Capitol Hill. Lawmakers will now, within days, take a series of votes on amendments that repeal the Clinton-era policy, with a provision ensuring that any change would not take effect until after the Pentagon completes a study about the impact on troops. That study is due to Congress on Dec. 1.

In a letter to lawmakers pushing for a legislative repeal, White House budget director Peter Orszag wrote Monday that Obama's administration "supports the proposed amendment."

"Such an approach recognizes the critical need to allow our military and their families the full opportunity to inform and shape the implementation process through a thorough understanding of their concerns, insights and suggestions," Orszag wrote.

While gay rights advocates hailed the move as a "dramatic breakthrough," it remained uncertain whether the deal would secure enough votes to pass both houses of Congress. Republicans have vowed to maintain "don't ask, don't tell," while conservative Democrats have said they would oppose a repeal unless military leaders made clear that they approved of such a change.

Even if the compromise language passes, a legislative repeal would go into effect only after Obama certifies that the change does not harm the nation's military readiness.