I Didn't Say It .... A Day Later

Sierra DeMulder, finalist in the 2013 Women of the World Poetry Slam, blasting Michele Bachmann:

“Your husband owns a clinic that offers to cure homosexuality for up to $10,000 a year. So when you, Representative Bachmann, refused to acknowledge the bullying of gay students in your district, this must have been strictly business.

When another gay teenager commits suicide in Minnesota, you consider this free advertising. You buy a new necklace for every hanging, a bottle of Merlot for each overdose, your husband sends 'thank you' cards to their funeral, hand-signed, all referrals welcomed.

How could we expect you to take a stand against bullying when it helps pay for your mortgage, when it puts food in your children's belly? One day, your youngest daughter will ask you why her school supplies feel like they belong to someone else, her pencils write names that are not hers, Samantha, Nick, Aaron, Kevin.

Tell her the truth Michele, that blood money is not a metaphor, that your wallet is heavy with those who have untied themselves. Tell your daughter that God is the bully with the biggest fist and you can only hope that he is on your side!”

Slam.

Poetry slam.

Harrison Ford—who plays Brooklyn Dodgers general manager Branch Rickey in the new film 42—on Jackie Robinson's struggle and the current one for marriage equality:

“I think there’s a metaphor you can reach for, according to your own interests and your own understanding and your own issues. ... Certainly the marriage issue conveniently falls into that category. [T]hings do change quickly at a tipping point, as it builds and it builds and it builds until there’s a moment where the balance of opinion, the weight of experience and the understanding comes to a point where the scales tip in the other direction. We’re getting there, we’re getting there. You know, you would hope that it would have happened with less resistance. You would have hoped that everyone would get the point at the same time, but life’s not like that.”

That’s why it’s called a struggle and a fight, but the win will make it all worth it.

Rick Santorum, once again talking about The Gays—he does seem kinda infatuated with us, doesn’t he?—and marriage equality and how there would be less children born:

“Yeah, I believe we would. And because we'd be saying that marriage isn't about children. Isn't about having children. Isn't about raising children. And when we say that, then of course, the consequences are you're probably going to have less children. It's happening as we see it. It's already happening in America. Before this whole gay marriage debate, we really have seen a change in what marriage is in America."

Um, except for the 60s when we saw marriage evolve from marrying inside your race only—because it was a crime to marry outside your race—to marriage being interracial.

And the idea of marriage being solely the institution for creating children is asinine and an insult to very married couple who chooses not to have a child or cannot have a child.

Pete Visclosky, Indiana Representative, announcing his support for marriage equality:

“I support marriage equality for all couples and believe that every single American should be able to marry the person they love. I believe that it is unfair that, under current law, same-sex couples are legally prohibited from taking advantage of the federal laws that provide financial and legal benefits to married couples. I believe that we can no longer allow the states to discriminate against same-sex marriages. Rather, I believe that the federal government should ensure that all consenting adults, no matter who they are or who they love, have the exact same marriage rights."

And, one by one, and sometimes two by two, they keep coming.

At least the Democrats do; the GOP has once again thrown its support behind inequality.

Sir Ian McKellan, on the death of Margaret Thatcher:

"Lest we forget, this nasty, brutish and short measure of the third Thatcher administration, was designed to slander homosexuality, by prohibiting state schools from discussing positively gay people and our 'pretended family relations.' Opposition to Section 28 galvanised a new generation of activists who joined with long-time campaigners for equality. Stonewall UK was founded to repeal Section 28 and pluck older rotten anti-gay legislation from the constitutional tree. This has taken two decades to achieve. … Pathetically, in her dotage, Baroness Thatcher was led by her supporters into the House of Lords to vote against Section 28's repeal: her final contribution to UK politics. She dies too early to oppose Parliament's inevitable acceptance of same–gender marriage. Thatcher misjudged the future when, according to her deputy chief whip, she 'threw a piece of red meat (Section 28) to her right-wing wolves.' Some of these beasts survive her, albeit de-fanged. When, to take a recent example, a disgraced cardinal delivers anti-gay diatribes, the spirit of social Thatcherism is revealed as barren, hypocritical and now pointless."

Too bad Thatcher didn’t live to see England embrace marriage equality.

But others who goose-stepped along with her will see it happen.

Ron Kind, Wisconsin Representative, announcing his support for marriage equality and the repeal of DOMA:

"My 18-year marriage to Tawni has taught me that we’re both stronger because we love and support each other. I support marriage equality because if two people want to make a lifetime commitment to love and care for one another, then the government shouldn't stand in the way. As the Supreme Court deliberates the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act and Proposition 8, I’m reminded that throughout history, discrimination has never worked. I have never voted for discrimination, and I look forward to supporting legislation like the Respect for Marriage Act that will help committed same-sex couples gain the same rights as everyone else."

Another one, and another. More folks, especially on the liberal side of the country—wherever that may find you—are realizing that same-sex marriage won’t harm anyone, but denying it harms a great many.

Jonathan Knight, on Perez Hilton’s efforts to force him to come out: 

"Perez tried to out me many times and I hate that guy for doing that. I was already gay and living a gay lifestyle but he wanted me to talk about it. Why? My brother and the rest of the guys don’t go on interviews saying ‘I’m straight' etc. so why do I need to just because I’m gay? People like him want me to talk about it to make themselves feel better. They think ‘I’m gay so I want to make sure everybody knows I’m not the only one out there.’ I hate that.”

First off, Jonathan, it’s not a lifestyle, it’s a life, so let’s be clear, and queer, on that.

Secondly, coming out is an individual process and an individual choice, but your brothers and bandmates don’t declare their heterosexuality in interviews because they don’t have to; they aren’t being bashed and beaten and taunted and ridiculed for their sexual orientation and so they didn’t need to hide and live in some form of shame or another.

But gay kids do; and, if maybe, you’d chosen to come out and loudly declare that you are gay, maybe a young gay boy might have had the chance to do that himself. Maybe he wouldn’t have felt differently about himself, less than.

I don’t like Perez Hilton, and I don’t like his outing of people, but you coming out would have, could have, might have, made one person feel better about themselves. And that’s not a bad thing.

It sounds to me like you still live in the closet; oh, the door is open, nut you really don’t wanna come out.

Maurice Williamson, New Zealand MP, speaking at his country’s marriage equality debate this week:

"I've had a reverend in my local electorate say the 'gay onslaught will start the day this law is passed'. So, we are struggling to know what the gay onslaught will look like. We don't know if it will come down the Pakaranga highway as a series of troops or whether it will be a gas that flows over the electorate and blocks us all in.

I also had a Catholic priest tell me that I was supporting an unnatural act. I found that interesting coming from someone who has taken an oath of celibacy for his whole life."

I also had a leader tell me I would burn in the fires of hell for eternity and that was a bad mistake because I've got a degree in physics. I used the thermodynamic laws of physics. I put in my body weight and my humidity and so on. I assumed the furnace to be at 5000 degrees and I will last for just on 2.1 seconds."

One of the messages I’d had was that this bill was the cause of our drought. This bill was the cause of our drought. Well if any of you follow my Twitter account, In the Pakuranga electorate this morning, it was pouring with rain, we had the most enormous big gay rainbow across my electorate. It has to be a sign."

You gotta love that.

Simple logic stands yup strong against hateful, ridiculous rhetoric.