Swedes are Amazing

...because 2,000 of them just gathered in a stadium in Stockholm to sing the Russian national anthem in support of LGBT Russians.

Is CBS being hypocritical?

Daily Kos recently brought up a good point. Isn't it a bit hypocritical that a few years ago, CBS rejected a few Super Bowl spots from the United Church of Christ but now is happy to air a Super Bowl spot from Focus on The Family? The United Church of Christ spots were showing tolerance toward all groups of people, with the taglines, "God doesn't reject people. Neither do we" and "Jesus didn't turn people away. Neither do we." Apparently those ads aren't ok, but an anti-abortion ad is ok?
Check out the United Church of Christ spots here:

Frightening: Focus on The Family to Air Super Bowl Ad

This is unbelievable. Focus on the Family, one of the most dangerous and despicable organizations in existence, will be joining the ranks of some of the country’s most respected and wealthy marketers by airing a TV ad in the upcoming Super Bowl. The organization has survived largely over the past several decades on its ability to brainwash middle America into thinking that gay people are sinful and can be changed. Because of this, I hold them accountable for countless suicides of LGBT children and teenagers in the U.S. Anybody who's seen the movie "For the Bible Tells Me So" has seen this first hand.

Anyway... they're actually spending upwards of $2.5 million on one Super Bowl spot, which supposedly will be focused on their anti-abortion views. $2.5 million. $2.5 million? Yes, $2.5 million. Forget about doing the Christian thing and helping out those in need in Haiti. Focus on the Family is spending $2.5 million on a Super Bowl spot. 

Be scared. If you've seen how your rights can be voted on and taken away like they were with prop 8, you should be very scared right now. What's next from them in 2011? An ad against gay marriage? Adoptive rights? Why is it that in 2010 such a hateful organization that has caused damage of such drastic magnitude can have that much money to throw away? Can you imagine if a white supremacist group raised that much money in the name of bringing back segregation? Hey, it could happen. Majority rules, right?

Maybe I'm getting ahead of myself, but keep in mind how powerful this group is. The Human Rights Campaign is the largest group in the country advocating for LGBT equality, and they have 750,000 members. Focus on the Family has 2.3 million. Scared now?

What can you do about it? Vote. Come out. Speak out. Get involved. You'll regret more the things you didn't do when you're dying than the things you did do in life.

More about their Super Bowl ad is here.

Illinois GOP blasts ad calling Senate frontrunner gay

This is Andy Martin, the Republican Illinois Senate candidate who aired a radio ad questioning the sexuality of his primary opponent (and U.S. Congessman) Mark Kirk. During the advertisement Martin says that there is a “solid rumor that Mark Kirk is a homosexual.” It goes further to say that Kirk is part of a “Republican Party homosexual club” and that Kirk should come clean about these accusations. 

In a written response, the Illinois Republican Party disavowed the statements made by Andy Martin: "His statements today are consistent with his history of bizarre behavior and often times hate-filled speech which has no place in the Illinois Republican Party. Mr. Martin will no longer be recognized as a legitimate Republican Candidate by the Illinois Republican Party."

Kirk campaign manager Eric Elk issued a statement saying the ad "is degrading to the political process. The people of Illinois deserve better."

D.C. Anti-Marriage Equality Ads Stir Up Debate

You saw the story first here on Brand Fabulousness. Now Queerty has continued the conversation, raising the question by saying that "no self-respecting black or Latino-American would tolerate advertisements suggesting their rights should be up for a vote. So why should gays?" They have a point. Check out their coverage and all the comments here.

Pro-LGBT Advocates Oppose Censorship of DC Metro Ads Against Marriage Equality

This is interesting. The LGBT rights group "Full Equality Now DC" has issued an action alert requesting that the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) remove advertisements on the Metro paid for by an anti-marriage equality group called "Stand for Marriage DC." And in response, a handful of pro-LGBT equality leaders have opposed this censorship, saying "Free speech is not only for those whose beliefs we find acceptable." I've posted the action alert and the response below:

Full Equality Now DC Action Alert

Tell WMATA to Remove Discriminatory Ads

DC NewsA group called StandForMarriageDC is pushing to allow the people of DC to vote on LGBT citizens' rights. They've taken out advertisements on Metrobus buses in DC, forcing LGBT citizens to face discrimination when they go to work, their friends, or back to their families. As customers of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), we are demanding that these advertisements be taken down and that the LGBT riders of the Metrobus and Metrorail systems be treated with respect and dignity. To sign on in support, please email your name, phone number and email address to Colin at colin@fullequalitynowdc.org

Click Read More to read the draft of our letter to John B. Catoe, the General Manager of WMATA.

Dear John B. Catoe,

It has recently come to the attention of Full Equality Now DC that the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s Metrobus system has been running an ad sponsored by a group called Stand for Marriage DC. The advertisement proposes that DC citizens vote on the fundamental right of same-sex couples to marry. The lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) citizens of the DC Metropolitan area—paying customers of WMATA—do not deserve to face discrimination when they get on the bus to go to work, to see friends, or to return home to their families, which already face discrimination.

While we understand that WMATA allows politically-oriented groups to purchase advertising on its transit system, this advertisement is not merely political. The specific request of this advertisement is that one specific group of citizens have their right to basic equality under law submitted to a vote. While other advertisements may address controversial issues, this advertisement specifically targets citizens on the basis of sexual orientation, in direct opposition to both common decency and the standards of non-discrimination in WMATA’s own policies.

The bus is a particularly painful place for these advertisements to be located, as they cannot be avoided. Because of these advertisements, countless LGBT citizens are forced to stare down discrimination as they board the bus to go somewhere or are even passed by an advertisement on the street. The irony is that public buses were the birthplace of another struggle for equality under law not too long ago. For LGBT citizens to have to experience discriminatory messages as they go about their daily life is unacceptable and must be stopped. For this reason, we demand that WMATA remove all advertisements posted by Stand for Marriage DC as soon as is possible.

We make no request that WMATA make any statement on the struggle for marriage equality, nor do we seek to force any individual office holders to do the same. However, we are citizens of this city, and customers of Metrobus, and we do not deserve to face this message when we ride the bus. We appreciate your understanding and look forward to your reply. Thank you in advance for your help on this issue.

Sincerely,

Full Equality Now DC

Response:

Friday, December 18, 2009

John B. Catoe, General Manager
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
600 5th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001

Dear Mr. Catoe:

It has come to our attention that the group Full Equality Now DC has launched an effort to persuade you to ban advertisements on Metrobuses or Metrorail by the group StandForMarriageDC opposing civil marriage equality for same-sex couples. (See the action alert from Full Equality Now DC, copied below.)

As supporters of civil marriage equality, we also embrace the principle of free speech enshrined in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which makes our own advocacy possible. Indeed, the then-named Gay Activists Alliance thirty years ago won a court battle against WMATA for the right to place educational posters in Metrobuses with the message, “Someone In Your Life Is Gay.” WMATA is a quasi-governmental body and is thus subject to the First Amendment. We, the undersigned, therefore urge you to reject the misguided censorship advocated by Full Equality Now DC.

Free speech is not only for those whose beliefs we find acceptable. The proper response to offensive speech is more speech. Your proper response to Full Equality Now DC, therefore, is that those who object to ads by StandForMarriageDC are free to place their own.

Thank you for resisting pressures to favor or disfavor particular viewpoints, from whatever political direction they may come.

Sincerely,

Mitch Wood, President Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance	Arthur B. Spitzer, Legal Director ACLU of the Nation’s Capital
Jeffrey D. Richardson, President Gertrude Stein Democratic Club	Aisha C. Mills, President Campaign for All D.C. Families
Bob Summersgill Ward Three resident	Deacon Maccubbin & Jim Bennett Lambda Rising Bookstore
Bob Witeck, CEO Witeck-Combs Communications, Inc.	Wayne Turner, Esq. Ward Six resident
Robert A. Spiegel, Esq. Member ACLU