Chris Dodds Calls For Killing Gays At Pride

Look, I’ll make this perfectly queer: if you don’t like The Gays just because of our sexual orientation, that’s okay in my book. I mean, it’s kinda dumb when you think about it; it’s like hating people because they have blue eyes or red hair ... or because of their skin color, right? Who would do that?

But, what I have a problem with is when people suggest that The Gays be murdered simply for being an LGBT or Q. And that’s what Columbus City School District employee Chris Dodds did on Facebook because, well, idiot ... homophobe ... hater.

Dodds, a garage assistant supervisor who has worked for the district since 2004, may now likely be out of a job because he shared his personal vile thoughts, not on his own Facebook page, but the Facebook page of Columbus Pride:

And now the Columbus Police Department and Homeland Security are looking into Dodds’ Facebook post because, again, he’s an idiot ... homophobe ... hater.

The Columbus City School district released this statement after Dodds’ hate came to light:

“We have also been made aware of his inappropriate comments and are working to address the situation.”

They failed to mention how they might address the situation, but, hey, it’s just killing gays, right, so maybe a slap on the wrist?

Or maybe not; a Change.org petition ... go on over and sign it ... is calling for Chris Dodds to be fired. And now we know that Columbus City Schools has a policy on free speech that Chris Dodds may have violated and they have issued another statement:

"Columbus City Schools values and celebrates its diversity. Please know that we are working with authorities to address this matter and his actions. We do not tolerate discrimination of any kind. Our District will be participating in the Pride Parade Saturday with more than 400 teachers, staff, students, families, friends and allies. We hope to see you there as well."

In addition to that statement, posted to the district’s Facebook page, Columbus City Schools urged supporters to:

"Walk the PRIDE Parade with CCS! Join CCS teachers, staff, students, community partners, and more. Everyone is welcome to march with us!"

And they added that they are working toward the Chris Dodds’ termination.

As I said at the top, you can hate The Gays, for whatever reason you choose, though I’ve yet to hear any reason to hate anyone that makes any sense, but perhaps you should think twice before suggesting that people be murdered because they’re gay.

Just sayin’.

NCRM

NBC4i

So Sorry To Hear Your Mother Passed Away But, You're Fired

Carla Hale teaches, er, used to teach, at Bishop Watterson High School in Columbus, Ohio. But last month, after taking time off when her mother passed away, Hale returned to work to find the administrators waiting for her with a letter from an anonymous parent. This, for lack of a better word, ‘parent’ was apparently distressed that Carla Hale had listed the name of her female partner in her mother’s obituary, and decided to write to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Columbus.

Carlos Hale was fired because she is in a gay relationship.

The story could end there because this was a Catholic school and the Catholic Church hates The Gays and blame The Gays for everything, but then the students and other supporters at Bishop Watterson High School created an online petition at change.org to seek Hale’s reinstatement; as of this morning there are nearly 8,000 signatures including mine. You can add your name HERE.

The petition states, in part:

The diocese claims its mission is to teach its students about love, acceptance, and tolerance, and yet it did none of this in the way it treated Ms. Hale. That is why we all have to stand up together and let it be known that this decision is unacceptable. If we do not fight this issue now, it will happen again, and that is not something we can allow.

And there are all kinds of responses from current and former students of Carla Hale, asking that she be allowed to continue doing the thing she loves so much. Past and present students say it was known, or at least suspected, that Carla Hale was gay, but she never discussed her personal life with her students.

Lindsey Perkins, a 2001 Watterson graduate, called Hale a “wonderful teacher and amazing role model” whom Watterson should be proud to have on staff: “It’s just a very poignant time for something like this to happen, and hopefully for people to start realizing that we need to practice acceptance and humility to all people.”

Peter Clark, a 2011 Watterson graduate, said Hale was a compassionate, understanding teacher who was fired for something that “has nothing to do with education”: “It’s a disgusting display of hypocrisy by the education system that I was once so proud of.”

Ian James, co-founder of the FreedomOhio, is concerned that Carla Hale’s privacy had been violated: “But for the fact that she is in a committed relationship and it’s in her mother’s obit, no one would know. It seems so inherently wrong and callous ... to say, ‘In addition to losing your mother, you lose your career.’  ”

For her part Carla Hale is astounded by the support:  “It’s amazing that they’ve come together and rallied around this situation. I’m in awe of them.”

Now, to be fair, the contract between the Columbus Diocese and the Central Ohio Association of Catholic Educators, does say that teachers can be terminated for “immorality” or “serious unethical conduct” but, seriously, in 2013 are we still going to say that being gay is immoral or unethical? After 19 years on the job, the mention of one name in a newspaper obituary is enough to erase nearly two decades of service as a teacher?

George Jones, a spokesman for the diocese, has no comment, other than saying personnel matters are confidential. Not personal lives, mind you, like Carla Hale’s.

Hale, who is not Catholic, but Methodist, has filed a grievance under the terms of the contract, seeking her job back and says she hopes the reaction to her dismissal spurs Catholic leaders to reconsider their stance on gay relationships.

I’ve a feeling it won’t, but we can always hope.

source

Soon Every Day Will Be A Gay Day

Several years ago--many, actually--after I moved to Miami, Carlos and I went to Disney World. I'd been to Disneyland but not yet to the World. So, we did the Magic Kingdom and Epcot and had a really great time. Our last night, wee stayed late for the fireworks and found a beautiful spot beside a pond to watch the night sky light up.

As we were leaving, feeling all aglow, I took Carlos' hand in mine as we walked out of the park. Just ahead of us, a Lesbian couple was doing the same. Just ahead of that couple was, well, this guy, who looked back at The Lesbians and The Gays holding hands and said, "What do you think this is? Gay Day?"

To which one of the Lesbians replied, "Every day is gay day."

And the guy smirked, but kept moving. I like that story because it could have gotten ugly, but it just turned into a giggle and a smile.

Joel Diaz and his friend, Ethan, after a night out, decided on getting some people together and going to a popular spot in their Columbus, Ohio neighborhood. As they stood in line at Mikey's Late Night Slice--apparently the pizza is that good--Joel and Ethan began holding hands.

Gay day, though not so much. At first.

A customer in front of the two men turned around and told the men to, ahem, cut that "gay shit" out.

There weren't a couple of Lesbians standing by to utter the line, "Every day is gay shit" or something, but something else, quite lovely happened that night. Almost every single person in the line that night made it clear to that guy to cut that Homophobic shit out.

And while Joel and Ethan, and another gay friend of theirs, stood up for themselves, and told the man that he couldn't speak to them like that and they wouldn't take his bigoted remarks at all, it was the straight people in line who stood up the loudest.

Of course, as bigots do when they get called on their hate, he continued spewing venom, ignoring the entire crowd. And that was when the people working at Mikey's shouted to the man that they would not serve him because he was spewing hate. They said they support everyone in our community and that he should get out of line because they would not be serving him. He begrudgingly got out of line and walked away escorted by a friend who had been hanging back.

How simple is that? Stand up against hate. Say something, do something, non-violent, and the hate has no place to go, except home.

Joel wrote up his story for a Facebook post and shared it with friends, who, of course, shared it with friends and so on and so on. Suddenly the post had gone viral and people everywhere--even in a small town in South Carolina--began telling the story of standing up against hate.

And the more it’s shared the more people stand up. The more people realize it was just a couple standing in line for pizza and holding hands against the cold. And what's not to like about that?

Stories like this give me hope for the future--especially as more states fall into the Equality Column. People, straight people, are beginning to finally realize that being gay isn't "shit" it's just being gay. And two men, or two women, holding hands in Columbus Ohio or in the Happiest Place On Earth should be treated no differently than any other couple anywhere else.

Read Joel Diaz's tale at HuffPo Gay Voices