Queer Minded #10: GAY IN THE WORKPLACE

Queer Minded is a new online talk radio show that I host featuring local and national LGBT news and entertainment. Airing Fridays at 10 p.m. and podcasted at TalktainmentRadio.com! Visit Queer Minded on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. 

This week Queer Minded took on the topic of being openly gay in the workplace.

We spoke with Diane Millett, lawyer and member of the Diversity Management Program at Cleveland State University, and Thomas Hawn, founding board member and the current board president of the Plexus Education Foundation, an organization established to support LGBT individuals in the workplace. They offer their advice on how to tell if a company is friendly to their LGBT employees and what to do if you encounter anti-gay bullying in the workplace.

We also break down HRC’s Corporate Equality Index, which is enjoying it’s 10th anniversary, and list some of the businesses off their Best Places to Work 2012 list.

Listen to the full show at the link below:  

http://www.talktainmentradio.com/podcasts/052112%20Queer%20Minded.mp3

Why LGBT people of color in Ohio need to care about Lobby Day 2012

Equality Ohio is hosting their 7th annual Lobby Day this Wednesday and this year they’re making history when it comes to LGBT people of color.

EO’s regular day of community lobbying will go as planned, where they pull the Ohio LGBT community and their allies together to meet with various legislators at the Ohio Statehouse to discuss the legislative issues that effect the LGBT community. This year Lobby Day’s main focus is the Equality Housing and Employment Act and the Safe Schools Act.

After the regular 9-4 day of lobbying, EO has arranged a meeting with various LGBT of color community leaders and the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus at 4:45 p.m. This is the first time such a meeting has ever taken place.

Various speakers from the LGBT people of color community have been assembled (of which I am one) that will present our issues to the caucus in hopes that some common ground is reached in order to promote more visible allies among the OLBC.

LGBT people of color continue to be the most underrepresented and marginalized community in American society. Our HIV infection rates are the highest, we have the most LGBT homeless youth and our suicide rates are continuing to skyrocket because of the intense rejection we face from our churches and our families. It’s time to break this cycle.

A movement has started in this city with the creation of organizations like the Columbus Black Gay Men’s Coalition, the Greater Columbus Mpowerment Center, Traxx Columbus and Columbus Urban Pride. We have a mayor and a president who are publicly on our side. LGBT people of color are more visible in this city than ever before. It’s time to continue this mobilization into the Statehouse and demand our issues are heard and supported in this states legislature.

The only way this meeting is going to be a success is if we can show the caucus that we mean business and that our issues deserve their attention. We can do this by showing up. The more we have standing with us to represent us, the larger the impact we’ll have. Please consider joining us for this historic occasion.

We’re already making moves to end the stigma and invisibility. Now let’s start making it legal.

Lobby Day is this Wednesday, May 16. If you’re interested in attending the 4:45 p.m. meeting with the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus email Aaron Riley at rileyaaron@sbcglobal.net so that he can add you to the guest list. If you’d like to participate in all that Lobby Day has to offer visit www.EqualityOhio.org to register.

Queer Minded #7: Ohio Gay Marriage Petition Pt. 2

Queer Minded is a new online talk radio show that I host featuring local and national LGBT news and entertainment. Airing Fridays at 10 p.m. and podcasted atTalktainmentRadio.com! Visit Queer Minded on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. 

Check out the second half of our two-part serious on Freedom to Marry Ohio‘s gay marriage petition!

Ian James from FTMO joins us in studio to respond to Equality Ohio’s decision to come out publicly against the petition. He also give us an update on the ballot initiative and supplies information on how Ohioans can sign the petition and get involved online.

Tom Morgan from GetEQUAL Ohio also joins us to discuss the activist efforts of GetEQUAL and why it’s still important for the LGBT community to continue to protest for their rights. You’l also hear from the brand new Accept It Campaign that’s going viral right now on Facebook.

Listen at the link below!

http://www.talktainmentradio.com/podcasts/043012%20Queer%20Minded.mp3

Mass gay marriage makes history in Cleveland with over 2,000 wedding guests! [PHOTOS] [VIDEOS]

Photo by Vision Video Productions

The Ohio Street Protest for Full Equality took over yet another city in Ohio, this time invading Cleveland this past Saturday (March 24). (Check out this post and this post for details on similar protest last year.) But the protest did more than just disrupt traffic. It made history. After the rally on the steps of Cleveland’s City Hall, near Willard Park at the corner of 9th Street and Lakeside Avenue, participants marched down the street to the Galleria to witness a mass wedding featuring over 250 straight and gay couples. A first for the state, and made even the region.

It was also a historic day for me personally as it was my first pro-gay marriage/equality protest! It was definitely a life changing experience. I was the first speaker (introduced by rally MC Ed Mullen, director of Equality Ohio) and spoke about bullying on behalf of the It Gets Better Project and the Make it Better Foundation. I made a host of new friends (thanks Shannon Glatz, Liberty Manos and Tom Morgan!) and bonded with people from all over the state about issues that I’m passionate about.

It will definitely go down as one of the greatest days of my life. I felt like I was part of something bigger than myself. In that moment in a crowd of 2,000 I felt like I could truly make a difference. I was a very powerful experience that I’ll never forget.

Several organizations came together to plan this amazing event including Equality Ohio, GetEQUAL, Freedom to Marry. And there were several amazing speakers including Captain Steve Snyder-Hill, who is the plaintiff, along with his partner, in a high profile DOMA case and the soldier who was booed at the Republican debate in September; former Cuyahoga County Commissioner Tim Hagan, who is a leader of Freedom to Marry Ohio, which is collecting petitions to have gay marriage added to the 2013 ballot; and a surprise visit from former Congresswoman Mary Jo Kilroy, a long time advocate for gay rights, she’s was just named the new CEO of Freedom to Marry Ohio.

Robert and Joyce Strommen

All the speeches were amazing, but I have my favorite was from Pastor Robert and Joyce Strommen (pictured above) who are a part of the Cleveland Stonewall Democrats but were mainly there representing the Cleveland branch of PFLAG (Parents and Families of Lesbians and Gays). They were an older couple who gave a tear-jerking speech about the importance of acceptance. I kept think about my own grandparents and parents and wishing they were as accepting as the Strommens.

The rally also garnered lots of press coverage. Check out videos from Cleveland’s local ABC, NBC and Fox news affiliates. and since I was there my journalism bug kicked in I took a few pictures and video (video #1, video #2) of my own.

Here are a couple amazing videos of Vision Video Productions. Overall I think they have the best coverage of the event that I’ve seen.

VVP has been posting video and photos of the event on their Facebook page all week. Here are the ones they’ve posted so far. You can continue to follow their videos on their YouTube page.

Ohio Street Protest for Full Equality in Cleveland will feature historic mass gay wedding March 24

Equality Ohio and GetEQUAL Ohio are teaming up for the Ohio Street Protest for Full Equality taking over Cleveland March 24. This is the third rally of its kind, with average crowd of 400 taking over the downtowns of Cincinnati and Columbus late last year.

The protest’s organizers are expecting a slightly bigger turnout in Cleveland, since this time they’ll be staging a mass wedding featuring 200 couples, the first of it’s kind in Ohio. A rally highlighting speakers from both of the sponsoring organizations along with community leaders from around the state (including yours truly) will be followed by the biggest gay wedding Ohioans have ever seen.

Ed Mullen (Equality Ohio’s executive director) and Tom Morgan (director of GetEQUAL Ohio) both spoke to The Plain Dealer about the protest:

Rallies were held late last year in Columbus and Cincinnati, but Ed Mullen, executive director of Equality Ohio, said this may be the first such event in the Midwest, featuring a mass wedding.

“The more people see what same-sex couples look like and who they are, it enables us to change people’s minds about stereotypes they might have about these couples,” he said.

Mullen noted that this “soft” approach to the issue was a deliberate way of showing how these couples view marriage as “a continuation of loving relationships, and committing yourself to be with someone for the rest of their life.”

He added, “It’s more effective than shouting through a bullhorn, ‘You’re oppressing us.’ If you don’t put people on the defensive from the outset, they might be more willing to listen and learn.”

He believed this rally and similar public events such as the 2014 Gay Games in Northeast Ohio could change attitudes about the gay community and provide “the ability to get the civil rights that we do not have in Ohio.”

Tom Morgan, state lead organizer for GetEQUAL Ohio, said, “Everyone knows they’re not really getting married. This is a tangible representation of the rights we are not afforded, a physical demonstration of the state of inequality in the country and within Ohio.”

Morgan said part of the event also will include collecting signatures on petitions to legally re-define marriage in Ohio.

The protest is set to take place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Willard Park located on E. 9th Street and Lakeside Ave. Over 2,400 people have RSVP’d on Facebook. I hope you all can join us, it’s going to be a great day for equality!

Star-studded L.A. premiere of ’8′ made history last night with worldwide online live-stream [VIDEO]

Last night the American Foundation for Equal Rights hosted a historic night of theater when they live-streamed the West Coast premiere of the Dustin Lance Black play “8,” based on the Proposition 8 trials in Los Angeles, which sought to reverse a 2008 state-wide vote the declared same-sex marriage illegal in the state.

The premiere last night at the Wilshire Ebell Theater in Los Angeles was directed by Rob Reiner and the cast featured the likes of  George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Martin Sheen, Kevin Bacon, John C. Reilly, Jamie Lee Curtis, Chris Colfer, Matthew Morrison, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Matt Bomer and George Takei.

Here’s a brief description from 8theplay.com:

Uncover the truth about marriage for gay and lesbian Americans. “8″—a new play by Academy-award winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black (Milk, J. Edgar)—demystifies the debate around marriage equality by chronicling the landmark trial of Perry v. Schwarzenegger. Learn about the historical context of marriage from expert testimony. See the human cost of discrimination. Uncover the arguments used to justify bans on marriage for gay and lesbian couples. Using the actual court transcripts from the landmark federal trial of California’s Prop. 8 and first-hand interviews, “8″ shows both sides of the debate in a moving 90-minute play.

And here’s the “8″ trailer:

The play saw a star-studded staged reading (Morgan Freeman, Cheyenne Jackson, John Lithgow, Rob Reiner, Ellen Barkin) on Broadway back in September to rave reviews, which has subsequently spawned a national phenomenon of sorts. Over the past few months AFER (the organization behind the plantiff’s lawyers during the Prop 8 trials) has been at the forefront of a nationwide marketing effort to promote the West Coast premiere that live-streamed on their website and YouTube.

Here’s a video of Reiner previewing the big night:

The big event last night was the kick-off to the “8″ national tour. AFER is also sponsoring staged readings at colleges and universities across the country. If you want your city to host a reading visit 8theplay.com for more information.

Now do yourself a favor and take the time to watch the full all-star West Coast premiere below:

Queer Film Spotlight: ‘Second Class Citizens’

Ryan James Yezak

I recently came across a really moving video on YouTube called “The Gay Rights Movement” (watch below). It was a beautifully crafted montage of news clips covering the gay civil rights movement from the 50′s to present. The video has gone viral and has been all over Facebook. But what has facinated me is the reason for the reason for the video.

If you haven’t heard of Ryan James Yezak you’ve probably seen his work, especially if you’re a gay YouTube junkie like myself. He’s a 25-year-old Los Angeles filmmaker from Houston that is responsible for a host of overly campy remakes of pop music videos that always go viral. Some of the one’s you may have seen are “California Gays” (remake of KatyPerry’s “California Girls”), Britney Spears’ “Hold It Against Me” and, my favorite, “Only Gay in the World” (remake of Rihanna’s “Only Girl”). (Check out his YouTube channel for more videos.)

For his next project Yezak is ditching the shtick and going for serious with his first full-length feature. He’s putting together a documentary about discrimination in the gay community called “Second Class Citizens,” which he says will be his largest undertaking. The video below features his announcement of the project.

The video that is the topic of this post was his first steps towards promoting “Second Class Citizens” in any major way. And it’s paying off. “The Gay Rights Movement” is well passed 2 million views and it still gaining.

He’s also put out a video (watch below) asking for people to email him their stories of discrimination based on sexual orientation. He also started a Kickstarter campaign that has already raised more than $138,000. His initial goal was $50,000. You can email him at ryanyezak@gmail.com if you have story to share. He’s also started Facebook and Twitter pages for the film.

I am really excited for Ryan and this project, but not without reservation. Over the years he seems to have concentrated all his efforts on these gay remakes of music videos, which he’s become very good at, but I wonder if he’s able to create a serious documentary that our community can be proud of and that will really affect change.

If the Kickstarter campaign continues to bring in money like it has, he could come out with $300,o00 easy by his March 9th fundraiser deadline, which isn’t a lot in the film industry but is enough to make something substantial that’s well-produced. I just hope it works. I am rootin’ for him. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

Ohio Queers: Ugandan minister and LGBT activist Mark Kiyimba to speak in Columbus Friday

Uganda gay rights activist and mister Mark Kiyimbaw will be speaking on Friday at the First Unitarian Universalist Church in Columbus about his work to protest gays in Uganda and end the hatred in his country.

I’ve covered the terrorism happening against gays in Uganda extensively here on Queer Corner. You’ve probably heard about the Kill the Gays Bill that was buried by the Ugandan Parliament after an outcry from gay rights groups around the country. Homosexuality is still illegal there and is still very hostile for anyone who is openly gay. Kiyimbaw himself had to flee for fear of arrest or worse. During the height of the Kill the Gays Bill frenzy earlier this year, fellow Ugandan gay rights activist David Kato was brutally murdered and the government made a mockery of his death.

Here’s more on Kiyimbaw from Examiner.com:

The Reverend Mark Kiyimba, minister of the Unitarian Universalist congregation in Kampala, Uganda, has been touring the United States to raise awareness of the persecution of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people in Uganda.

Rev. Kiyimba fled Uganda in March after threats on his life for being an outspoken opponent of the proposed anti-homosexuality legislation in his country. The persecution of sexual minorities in Uganda has been linked toanti-gay conferences and workshops promoted by U.S. evangelicals for the past several years.

Mark Kiyimba founded the New Life Children’s Home to provide a place for children who have lost parents to AIDS, who are themselves HIV positive, or whose families no longer have the means to care for their children. He also started theNew Life Primary School, located in the Kkindu village west of Masaka, Uganda.

Kiyimba will speak at First Unitarian Universalist (93 West Weisheimer, Columbus) at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 11. This event is open to the public.

Ohio Queers: 400+ pack downtown Cincy for marriage equality rally…is Columbus next? [PHOTOS] [VIDEO]

Local news reports, photos and video are pouring in all over the Web from Saturday’s pro marriage equality protest in Cincinnati. The event was heavily covered by the local news and the final number of participants was a whopping 417.

As planned, Ed Mullen of Equality Ohio and openly gay candidate for Cincinnati City Council Chris Seelbach were the event’s main speakers. The protest mostly took place at the Four Square Plaza in downtown Cincinnati. Here’s a quick Facebook video of the massive crowd. Marchers at one point did go past Occupy Cincinnati protesters, which produced this pretty powerful moment. (If you’re interested in a minute-by-minute breakdown of the day visit Tom Morgan’s Facebook page. He’s GetEQUAL‘s State Lead Organizer in Ohio and he has literally documented every moment of yesterday’s festivities.)

It looks like Columbus may be next on the list for a horde of marriage equality love. A Facebook event page already has nearly 300 “attendees” and it looks like the speakers will be Michael Loch, president of NKY Equality Now at Northern Kentucky University, and GetEQUAL Ohio’s Tom Morgan.

Check out more photos and video from Facebook and YouTube below.

Here’s a YouTube slide show of photos taken by a participant:

This is a speech by Michael Loch, president of NKY Equality Now at Northern Kentucky University:

Ed Mullen of Equality Ohio

Tom Morgan of GetEQUAL Ohio

Chris Seelbach

Ohio Queers: Pro gay marriage protest taking over Cincinnati Saturday

Chris Seelbach

According to Facebook downtown Cincinnati is going to be packed on Saturday.

The Facebook event, Ohio Street Protest For Gay Marriage!, has well over 2,500 “attendees” that plan to take over the Fountain Square (520 Vine Street) in Cincinnati this weekend. The event is slated for 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 5, just three days before the election, and will feature speeches from Chris Seelbach, an openly gay candidate running for Cincy’s City Council, and Ed Mullen, executive director of Equality Ohio.

And, according to Equality Ohio, it’s all been planned by 17-year-old Adam Hoover of Harrison, Ohio.

Here’s more from EO:

Seventeen-year-old Adam Hoover of Harrison, OH, has organized a rally in support of same-sex marriage set to begin at 11a.m., Saturday, November 5, 2011, in the city’s Fountain Square. Hundreds of people have indicated on Facebook that they will attend.

The rally will feature a lineup of speakers including openly gay candidate for Cincinnati City Council, Chris Seelbach, and Equality Ohio Executive Director, Ed Mullen.

Hoover was motivated by Ohio’s constitutional amendment and state law prohibiting same-sex marriages. The constitutional amendment passed by ballot initiative in November 2004. Ohio law prohibits same-sex marriage and does not recognize same-sex marriages from others states. Iowa, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the District of Columbia allow same-sex marriages to be performed under state law.

Ed Mullen of Equality Ohio says:  “The attention this rally has garnered among the press and public is a strong indicator that opinion on same-sex marriage is changing rapidly in Ohio. As other states legalize same-sex marriage, people around the country see loving, same-sex couples make lifetime commitments and realize that those couples deserve the same rights and responsibilities of any other committed couple.”

I so wish I was heading down to Cincy this weekend for all the excitement. Hit up the comments and let me know if you’ll be there.

Ohio Queers: ‘Gay in America’ book signing in Columbus Nov. 9

Scott Pasfield will be bringing his popular book tour for “Gay In America” to Columbus Wednesday, Nov. 9!

Released Sept. 27, the book of portraits highlights gay men from around the country, from the ordinary to the extraordinary. One of the portraits features a couple from Columbus, named only as Jonathan and Paul. Pasfield has been making his rounds in the press and traveling around the country for the past couple of months publicizing the book, which has been getting quite a bit of attention nationally.

The book signing is a Network Columbus event presented by Outlook Media from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at The Thurber House (91 Jefferson Ave., Columbus). This is a FREE event!

Check out this prior post about the book’s release for Jonathan and Paul’s photo, an interview with Pasfield from GLAAD and the book’s promo video.

Happy National Coming Out Day! Celebrate those who can be themselves and remember those who can’t

Wouldn't this be perfect for a Coming Out Party! I must find a cupcake shop that makes these.

Today is National Coming Out Day, a day that recognizes the courage it takes to live openly as a lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender individual, and reminds us that there are many out there who still can’t be open because of the intolerant communities in which they live. It is more important now more than ever for the lgbt community to stand up and be counted. I’ve always had the same philosophy as the great Harvey Milk: If they know us they are more likely to vote for us.

I do recognize that each individual should come out in their own time and there are many communities where coming out can be down right deadly, such as in Uganda, where they are still considering the Kill the Gays Bill or Jamaica, where it is socially acceptable for citizens to abuse gays openly in the streets. But now more than ever, those who can need to stand up for those who can’t.

Today I’m going to be speaking at a Coming Out Day event at West Virginia University in Parkersburg, a city that I’ve heard is less than accepting. I’ve had many people ask me, “Why are you going down there? You aren’t going to change their minds, and it seems dangerous.” My mother has been trying to talk me out of it all week. She did finally convince me to a least take someone with me. (Being her baby boy has these occasional consequences.)

I’m going because small town communities in states like West Virginia, Ohio, Tennessee, Kentucky, Mississippi, Utah, Colorado, Texas, Minnesota, are where the most closeted of us live. If we don’t start creating communities of inclusion in the most conservative of areas we’ll never win at the ballots, we’ll never see true equality.

That’s why I’ll continue to go to areas that aren’t the most accepting, to encourage their gay citizens to stand up together and be counted, to show the bigoted that we’re not the monsters they think we are. We have families we love, we have jobs, we’re dealing with this shitty economy just like you. Because if I can convince one person to help make their community safer for lgbt people, if I can make one parent see that there’s nothing wrong with their kid, if I can make one preacher come to the realization that we’re not an abomination, then any of the ugliness that I ever endured because of coming out will all be worth it.

 

Ohio Queers: Local bi/straight couple making news for marriage in NY

A bisexual female and a straight man from Ohio ran off to Niagara Falls to get married to send a message about gay marriage, and the media has taken notice. 10tv covered the couple’s story and the fight for marriage equality. Also featured in their report is a brief appearance by Brandon Monson from Equality Ohio. Check out the full story from 10tv below.

From 10tv.com (click link for video):

A couple spoke out on Friday about their decision to marry far away from home.

Tabitha Woodruff said she came to a conclusion after three dates with Brian Davis, 10TV’s Jessa Goddard reported.

“We went on our third date and afterwards I told him, ‘I want to marry you,’” said Woodruff.

While Woodruff and Davis’ romance has all the makings of a good old fashioned love story, it comes with a modern twist, Goddard reported.

“I’m bisexual, so I’ve dated both men and women,” said Woodruff. “It’s always a little nerve-wracking because my family doesn’t really approve of the LGBT community at all, and the state of Ohio doesn’t either.”

In a show of solidarity with their friends in the LGBT community, Woodruff and Davis decided to take their special day, and their money, to Niagra Falls, N.Y., where same-sex marriages are legal, Goddard reported.

Woodruff and Davis said they know their trip down the aisle will be untraditional, Goddard reported.

“We’re hoping that this small gesture, symbolic gesture, may encourage the state to consider those kinds of issues,” said Woodruff. “Because our money is going somewhere else.”

Ohio’s constitutional amendment, passed by a ballot initiative in November 2004, prohibits same sex marriage and does not recognize same sex marriages from other states.

Ohio Queers: ‘Brothers in Blood’ event sheds light on blood bank discrimination

Next week Columbusis going to be host to an extremely exciting and very important event that I’ve been dying to talk about for weeks. Outlook Weekly and the American Red Cross are boldly joining forces to present a positive protest against the age-old ban against gays donating blood.

For 30 years now, if a man makes it known during the donation screening process that he’s slept with another man at any point after 1977 he is put on the “permanent deferral” list and banned from donating blood ever again.

The policy is based on outdated HIV/AIDS statistics that no longer hold water. A gay man in a monogamous relationship is far less likely to be infected than a straight female in an open marriage, but under the policy, the blood of the female would be readily accepted.

Brothers in Blood is definitely unprecedented. For many years the response to the ban has been for gays and gay allies to simply ban Blood Drives, which seems silly when you think about the fact that each donation saves three lives. Those dying from blood bank shortages would be the only people affected by a boycott. It’s a sentiment Mackenzie “Ken” Worrall, the main organizer behind Brothers in Blood, latched on to and ran with.

I spoke with Ken, a fellow journalist and friend (who wrote an amazing piece, titled “Do we not bleed,” for Outlook this month), about the event and how it came to be.

“I went to [Michael Daniels, Outlook co-owner/publisher] when I was still interning at Outlook and told him I wanted to plan some kind of activism event that gays, especially gay youth, could get involved with and excited about,” he said. “Olga Kooi, a friend of mine from high school, who used to work with Outlook, told Michael she was moving on to work for the American Red Cross…that’s when Michael got this great idea and I just ran with it.”

“I’m calling it a positive impact event,” he said. “Instead of having my friends boycott blood drives, and keeping people from saving lives, why not gather a bunch of people to donate for me.”

And that’s the main premise of BIB. Though, it is a blood drive (at which out gay men can still not give blood) it gets gays and allies in a room to discuss this issue and start a continuing conversation on how in can be changed.

Ken also said the event will not just be a blood drive. Another amazing thing about this event is the support it’s getting from the city. The list of sponsors is too long to print. There will be free food from various local vendors, including brownies from Sugar Daddies, a fact Ken is particularly excited about. (“You can’t have a blood drive without brownies.”) Also he’s got some live jazz planned and is in the process of adding a live band or some other live music element to the mix.

“It is an event,” he said. “Want people to socialize and talk. Those who can’t donate can sign up for our listserv and we’ll contact them to donate once the ban is lifted, those who can donate can go to another line and prepare to donate, then everyone meets in the food area to discuss the ban. I’m all about breaking down barriers.”

The Columbus Dispatch ran an article yesterday about the event and the ban, in which it mentioned an interesting fact I was unaware of. Apparently the FDA is looking at alternatives to the band and one alternative is to replace the “permanent deferral” with a “12-month deferral,” which means a man is unable to donate for a year after a sexual encounter with another man.

I still think this stinks of discrimination (like civil unions instead of gay marriage), but as Ken said, “I think they should definitely look at how they judge that, because there actually a lot of gay men who are monogamous. But I do think it’s a goods step in the right direction.”

There are other strides being made. The American Red Cross of Central Ohio is completely backing Brothers in Blood and its efforts, and heads of the national American Red Cross have also gone on record supporting a change to the ban. Ken also mentioned that Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius had just recently set out concrete steps to reevaluating the ban.

I’m so excited for this event. Kudos to Ken and Outlook for revolutionizing the way we respond to this very important dilemma.

Brothers in Blood is 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 13 at the King Arts Complex, 867 Mt. Vernon Ave, Columbus. This is a free event! Get more information at the Brothers in Blood Facebook event page. 

Queer Film Spotlight: ‘The Lavender Scare’

I know it’s extremely early to be talking about next summer, but as the weather gets colder here in Ohio, I’m already starting to long for Summer 2012. And for more reasons than one, as it’s also the slated release date for the new documentary “The Lavender Scare,” a real life suspense thriller about the men and woman effected by  Executive Order 10450, which prohibited gays and lesbians from working for the federal government in the ’50s and ’60s.

Here’s a synopsis from the film’s Web site:

“The Lavender Scare” is the first feature-length documentary film to tell the story of the U.S. government’s ruthless campaign in the 1950s and ’60s to hunt down and fire every Federal employee it suspected was gay.

While the McCarthy Era is remembered as the time of the Red Scare, the headline-grabbing hunt for Communists in the United States, it was the Lavender Scare, a vicious and vehement purge of homosexuals, which lasted longer and ruined many more lives.

Before it was over, more than 10,000 Federal employees lost their jobs. Based on the award-winning book by historian David K. Johnson, ”The Lavender Scare” shines a light on a chapter of American history that has never received the attention it deserves.

It examines the tactics used by the government to identify homosexuals, and takes audiences inside interrogation rooms where gay men and women were subjected to grueling questioning. These stories are told through the first-hand accounts of the people who experienced them.

“The Lavender Scare” shows how the government’s actions ignited an anti-gay frenzy that spread throughout the country, in an era in which The New York Times used the words “homosexual” and “pervert” interchangeably, and public service films warned that homosexuality was a dangerous, contagious disease.

While the story is at times infuriating and heartbreaking, its underlying message is uplifting and inspiring. Instead of destroying American homosexuals, the actions of the government had the opposite effect: they stirred a sense of outrage and activism that helped ignite the gay rights movement.

I know it makes me a huge nerd, but I’m too excited about this film. I’ve heard Johnson’s book (which you can purchase here) is pretty amazing, but I think it’s going to be pretty powerful to hear about this massive injustice from the mouths of those who actually lived it. The film also includes annonymous interviews with some of the bigoted officials who actually did the ousting, which I think is an extremely interesting side of the story to highlight. And also featured is famed gay rights activist Dr. Franklin Kameny who was honored by President Obama just a few years ago for his work fighting to have Executive Order 10450 repealed (which it was in 1995).

The film’s creators, led by writer/director Josh Howard, released a full length trailer for the documentary back in July. You can check it out below:

For updates on “The Lavender Scare” follow the documentary on Facebook and Twitter.