No medal for you, pal

Posted on February 21, 2010 by David

Meh. I’m going to have to give this performance a low score. Described to me as “classic Gozé,” it’s essentially the same program he performed four (okay, five) years ago; for crying out loud, at least come up with a new trick or two. I’m afraid that Paul Gozé’s career high point was the time he told the School Board that sexual orientation is “like smoking,” i.e. “if you don’t smoke, you are not a smoker, and if you don’t engage in homosexual behavior, you are not a homosexual.” For some reason, and I’m not suggesting that I know what that reason is, he found it very important to make that statement.

Also, although you can only see part of the front row in the video, note that there were many children in the audience listening to this rant about “oral sex clubs” and “explicit sex acts between pre-school children.” Delegate Marshall claims that his action was at the request of “constituents.” Here you can see the sort of constituents to whom he answers.

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“Controversy” over county hiring policy based on merit takes turn for the pathetic

Posted on February 17, 2010 by David

The grandstanding continues. In a completely unsurprising development, anti-gay ideologue Delegate Bob “Virginia’s Chief Homophobe” Marshall has requested an opinion from anti-gay ideologue AG Ken Cuccinelli on the Board of Supervisor’s amendment to our county Equal Employment Opportunity policy. Mr. Cuccinelli can issue whatever political opinion he wishes; it won’t change the reality of the law.

Besides, the more that Mr. Delgaudio, Mr. Marshall, and their foul-mouthed shock troops say about our community, the stronger the case becomes that the amendment was absolutely necessary. Please, keep talking.

Delegate challenges county vote on gay rights

February 17, 2010
By Crystal Owens

Del. Bob Marshall (R-south-central Loudoun) is challenging the legality of a recent decision by Loudoun supervisors to include language in the county’s employment policy forbidding discrimination against homosexual and transgender individuals.

Marshall has asked state Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli for an opinion on whether the county Board of Supervisors had the authority to vote on such an issue.

Local government, under Dillon’s Rule, are allowed to do only what the state allows them to do, he said.

Read more..

Meanwhile, the crew at Too Conservative continues its marathon session of insisting that “nobody cares about this.” Too funny.

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Loudoun Officials Join Panel on Gay Rights

Posted on February 15, 2010 by David

Getting this Loudoun Independent article up after the fact – if you attended the program yesterday, please tell us how it went.

Nationwide ‘Standing on the Side of Love’ Day to Advocate for Equality for Everyone

February 10, 2010
By Jason Jacks

A month after Loudoun County banned discrimination against homosexuals within its government, two of the county’s elected leaders are scheduled to take part in an event on Valentine’s Day that is being organized by a group advocating for gay rights.

Loudoun County School Board Chairman John Stevens (Potomac) and Loudoun County Board of Supervisors member Stevens Miller (D-Dulles) will both be members of a panel discussion on what’s being billed as Standing on the Side of Love Day.

The Unitarian Universalists Church is behind the nationwide campaign that has a goal of ending discrimination and “acts of exclusion, oppression, or violence” on people based on race, religion, gender, immigrant status, political orientation, sexual orientation or any identity, as stated on the campaign’s Web site. The site also has a petition in support of same-sex marriages and full equality for homosexuals and transgender people.

More than 80 communities across the country are scheduled to hold similar events on Feb. 14.

Stevens, who is a Unitarian and supporter of same-sex marriages, said he hopes the discussion will bring some civility to a topic that is often heatedly debated.

Read more..

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Church To Host Panel On LGBT Issues

Posted on February 12, 2010 by David

Leesburg Today
February 12
By Erika Jacobson Moore

Two Unitarian Universalist congregations in Loudoun are coming together this Valentine’s Day to give voice to the subject of civil rights for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender citizens, and the panel will include two of county’s elected representatives, John Stevens, chairman of the School Board, and Supervisor Stevens Miller (D-Dulles).

Both men are Unitarian. Stevens is a member of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Loudoun in Leesburg and Miller attends services at the Unitarian Universalists of Sterling, and both were asked by their ministers to take part in the panel.

“It is very difficult for people who want to speak in a civil way about LGBT issues to do it sometimes because they’re told that just raising the subject itself is hostile,” Stevens said about his reason for participating. “A lot of people feel uncomfortable with it. They don’t know how to start the discussion with friends and neighbors. We’re hoping to make the whole topic a little more civil and more easy to address.”

Standing on the Side of Love is being organized by the Unitarian Universalists Association and events are being held in congregations across the country Saturday and Sunday. The Loudoun “Re-Imagining Valentine’s Day” event is designed as a forum for people to discuss how to make Loudoun a more accepting and welcoming community, but Miller also hopes that some who do not believe in the gay rights movement are present to take part in the debate.

“This is a place to have a dialogue with some of the folks who play a role in shaping the amount of tolerance,” Miller said. “I think all of us are in a position to help explain what we think and why, and then hear from other people who don’t necessarily agree with us. I wouldn’t want people to think that even though I disagree with them I don’t care what they think. I would like to find some common ground. And you cannot do that without having a dialogue.”

Read more..

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Standing on the Side of Love

Posted on February 4, 2010 by David

We are boldly standing on the side of love in the face of fear.

On February 14th, Loudoun County will be one of over 80 communities across the nation holding a Re-imagining Valentines Day event. Especially after the damage and embarrassment caused to our county by the behavior of the Sterling supervisor, this healing event is very welcome.

National Standing on the Side of Love Day…
…Valentine’s Day Re-imagined

Sunday, February 14th, 2010 will be ‘National Standing on the Side of Love Day.’ Join us and celebrate a Valentine’s Day re-imagined. Love is about more than romance, greeting cards and chocolates. We want to celebrate love’s power to transform communities!

Sunday February 14th, 12:30-2:30 pm
Unitarian Universalists of Sterling, 22135 Davis Drive, Sterling VA

Contact: Rev. Anya Sammler-Michael
703-731-9018 (cell)
minister@uusterling.org

Standing on the Side of Love, Panel and Public Forum

Standing on the Side of Love in Loudoun County Virginia means healing old wounds of oppression and exclusion and building a welcoming community. This event is open to all, especially those who are wondering why some ministers, elected officials, and other community leaders have chosen to speak up for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and questioning citizens and their rights.

Too much of our public discourse is driven not by love but by fear, which often scapegoats particular people and deems them somehow less than human. This forum will invite participants to engage in a civil discussion in the hopes that we will all learn a bit more about what it means to be partners in our shared humanity by moving as a community beyond tolerance toward welcome and acceptance.

This is an opportunity to ask questions of these leaders whose work shapes our Loudoun County:

Stevens Miller (Loudoun County Board of Supervisors, Dulles District who recently submitted the successful proposal to amend the county government’s policy on equal employment opportunity, to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity), Wendi Manuel-Scott (Professor of African American Studies at George Mason University who recently produced a documentary on the lives of GLBTQ African Americans on Campus), John Stevens (Loudoun County School Board Chair), Joy Cobb (PTA president, and lesbian parent,) and Lori Stevens (president of Loudoun Education Alliance of Parents, and Board member of PFlag.)

Facilitator: Rev. Lisa Kemper, The Minister of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Loudoun

Sponsored By: The Standing on the Side of Love Campaign, The Unitarian Universalists of Sterling and the Unitarian Universalist Church of Loudoun.

What: Reimagining Valentine’s Day by Standing on the Side of Love, Panel and Public Forum: to heal old wounds of LGBTQ discrimination in Loudoun and to rally support for creating a more welcoming community.

Where: The Unitarian Universalists of Sterling, 22135 Davis Drive, Sterling VA.

When: Sunday February 14th, 2010 / 12:30-2:30.

Contact: Press, RSVP to Rev. Anya Sammler-Michael at 703-731-9018 or minister@uusterling.org

The Standing on the Side of Love campaign, sponsored by the Unitarian Universalist Association, seeks to harness the power of love to stop oppression, exclusion, and violence.

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SB 66 State employment; discrimination prohibited.

Posted on January 27, 2010 by David

I’ve been astounded by those local commentators who erroneously insist that “Virginia law already protects everyone” from discrimination, and that therefore the Loudoun board action was redundant. The fact that SB 66 is being heard in committee today would seem to suggest otherwise – as would the fact that these apologists have been unable to produce any evidence of a Virginia law that protects anyone. I understand that some folks have trouble admitting that they’re wrong, but this is beyond ridiculous.

In this Richmond Times-Dispatch guest column, David Lampo explains:

…But Republicans could lose it all again if we let our party go back to the culture wars and religious extremism that some in our party seem to relish. Not only must we resist the divisive urges of the more extreme elements of our party; we need to restore the image of our party to one of social tolerance and support for individual liberty, two of the important values it was built on. Those are the values that helped bring victory to Bob McDonnell, Chris Christie, and Scott Brown.

One of the ways to do this is to implement a policy of employment nondiscrimination for all government employees, including gays and lesbians. Virginia currently has no statute establishing a statewide policy against discrimination in employment for any public employees. [Emphasis mine.] Former Gov. Linwood Holton extended protection against discrimination to state employees in his Executive Order 1, and near the end of his term, former Gov. Mark Warner became the first governor to amend his Executive Order 1 to include protections for veterans and gays and lesbians.

During his campaign, McDonnell repeatedly stated his opposition to discrimination in state employment, including discrimination based on sexual orientation. An overwhelming majority of voters in Virginia[*] and the nation join McDonnell in his support for equal employment opportunity for all, including gays and lesbians. By supporting legislation that codifies the policy against nondiscrimination in state employment, the legislature would simply be following the lead of voters and the new governor in guaranteeing state employees freedom from discrimination based on race, national origin, sex, disability, age, religion, veteran’s status, and sexual orientation.

* Two statewide polls in 2005 and 2007 conducted by the bi-partisan team of Fabrizio McLaughlin & Associates and The Schapiro found that:

Virginia voters consistently show overwhelmingly strong support for protection against anti-gay workplace discrimination, especially when it comes to the rights of public employees. Strong majorities support gays’ and lesbians’ right to work for the government (90%), to be protected from workplace discrimination (87%), and to teach in public schools (79%). Support is strong across party and demographic lines.

The crosstabs show that 80% of Republicans support workplace nondiscrimination laws, and 88% of Republicans support the right of gay and lesbian people to work for the government.

The bill is being heard today at 2:00 pm in the Senate General Laws committee. Please call your Senator and ask that they support this bill. Senator Mark Herring’s number is (804) 698-7533.

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Calling “it” what it is

Posted on January 26, 2010 by David

Another reason to be glad that there is once again an alternative news source in Western Loudoun. Welcome back, Blue Ridge Leader.

What did he say?

Sounds like members of the County Board- and others in our community- have taken umbrage at one Supervisor’s comments during the recent work on the nondiscrimination policy regarding sexual orientation. Sterling representative Eugene Delgaudio riled up his colleagues- and other folks as well- especially when he sent out an email on the issue- choosing to use the word ‘it’ to denote a person who wears clothing usually worn by one of the opposite sex.

He read from a prepared statement at this past week’s meeting- ostensible as an apology; some would say he’s still on the offensive.

Multiple County Board Members chastised Delgaudio from the dais on this subject; not sure what effect it’ll have.

But the reference by an elected leader to one of his potential constituents as ‘it’ does have some disturbing connotations.

Didn’t some nut with a mustache over in Germany- several decades ago- start considering human some beings as less deserving to live than others- and start a whole wave of violence that took the rest of the world to put a stop to?

Now, I’m not making a literal comparison, but hatred is hatred, and an attack is an attack.

And Allies are still Allies, God bless us

God Bless you, Tim Jon.

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