Courting Nikki

She's been with the ancestors for the last seven months and her 44 year life was way too short for all of us who loved her, but Nikki Araguz Loyd will never be forgotten by me or anyone in our community.

She will also not be forgotten for her ginormous contribution to trans rights for us trans Texans.  It was her tenacious and ultimately successful six year legal fight in the Delgado v Araguz case that secured marriage rights for us here in the Lone Star State.

Courting Nikki is a short documentary by Cressandra Thibodeaux that follows Nikki through this case.  It also brought back some memories for me of that time and the amazing complex woman I was blessed  to call my friend.

This documentary video was shown at Nikki's memorial service

Australia Votes YES For Marriage Equality

Congrats to our Australian TBLGQ!  After a two month mail ballot campaign that got nasty at times, the Australian Bureau of Statistics announced that 61% of the population voted YES in favor of marriage equality, with 38% against.

More than 12.7 million people, or 79.5% of the Australian voting age population took part in the marriage survey that opened on September 12 and ran until November 7.   .Every Australian state and territory voted in favor of marriage equality

The vote clears the way for the next stage of the fight to take place in the Australian Parliament,

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull wants it to become law by Christmas, but the conservatives gearing  up for a last ditch battle to keep the will of the people concerning Marriage equality from being enacted into law.

Stay turned, because this is about to get very interesting Down Under.

Remembering The Harris County Impact Of The Obergefell SCOTUS Ruling

One year ago the landmark Obergefell v Hodges case ruling was issued by the Supreme Court that made marriage equality legal in all 50 states despite the best efforts of right wing haters to enact marriage bans in many state constitutions.

It was a amazing day last year watching that history unfold as Nikki Araguz Loyd, Will Loyd, Ashton Woods, Brandon Mack, Ray Hill, Alene Levy and I sat in the office of attorney John Nechman and Mitchell Katine munching on Shipley's donuts, kolaches and sipping orange juice while await the landmark ruling that was about to drop at 9 AM our time.

When it did, I remember John looking stunned for a moment, and a wide smile subsequently breaking over his face as he announced to us that the SCOTUS had sided with Obergefell.

Since the Araguz v Delgado trans marriage case was at the Texas Supreme Court level at the time, Nikki asked what that meant for her case, and was told that it meant that she was going to win it since the opposition had based their entire case on being a replay of Littleton v Prange.

That's when I realized that the Obergefell ruling was also going to positively affect the ability of trans people to get married.   I heard a few hours later about other cis-trans couples also getting married either on that day or getting their licenses so they could do so later.

After celebrating at Nechman's office, Nikki, Will and I decided to head over to the Harris County Courthouse to see if our Republican county clerk Stan Stanart was going to  let the marriages happen or would they would try some last ditch massive resistance to delay things.


Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) was already trying to lay the groundwork for him and other oppressive county clerks to do just that.  As we arrived at the Harris County Courthouse at 12:30 PM there were already six people in line waiting to get their marriage licenses and get married.

As Nikki and Will got in line to get their marriage license, I kicked into reporter mode and started tweeting and posting Facebook statuses on the drama that was beginning to unfold at the Harris County Courthouse as Stanart tried stalling tactic after stalling tactic designed to not issue marriage licenses to same gender couples.

The legal hammers started coming down around 1 PM from Harris County Attorney Vince Ryan (D) and one representing a couple who was at the head of the line waiting to get their license.

As we watched and waited for that legal drama to play out, Judge Kyle Carter (D) announced to the folks waiting in line that he would waive the usual 72 hour waiting period and marry coupes in his chambers.

At 2 PM Stanart capitulated and started issuing marriage licenses to the growing line of couples, and Nikki and Will got their license and renewed their vows in Judge Carter's chambers    I also got to witness a few friends in the community like Daniel Williams and his spouse Jason do the same thing before departing for home.

That June 26 day was not only one for the history books, it was one in which I found myself in the interesting position of being able to watch how it unfolded in Harris County.

Bermuda Marriage Equality Referendum Failing

I've been watching the elections returns coming out of Bermuda over their non-binding referendum on marriage equality in which there were two questions on the ballot as Bermudians went to the polls yesterday starting at 8 AM until 8 PM Bermuda time.

Are you in favour of same sex marriages in Bermuda?
Are you in favour of civil unions in Bermuda?




As I write this post at midnight CDT Houston time, both questions, with 41% of the vote counted, are losing badly by a nearly two to one margin.

On the same sex marriage question, there have been 12.670 NO votes cast versus 5797 YES votes.
Civil unions aren't fairing much better.  11,589 NO votes have been cast versus 6812 YES votes.

And the folks who are ecstatic about how the referendum is going are the Preserve Marriage peeps, who as you probably guessed, got an assist from US based haters meddling in Bermuda's electoral business and were pushing a NO NO vote with the usual gaybaiting and lies.

The Preserve Marriage opposition also stated that no matter the result, they would continue as an organization after this referendum.

Meanwhile Marriage Equality Bermuda was fighting not only the lies of their opponents, but to get their fellow Bermudians to do the right thing and vote YES YES.

No matter the result, I still have a problem with a majority group voting on the human rights of a marginalized minority group, and using deceptive tactics and outright lies to ensure victory at the ballot box in order to continue to oppress them.

TransGriot Update:  Final results are that both questions failed.   Same gender marriage by a 69% margin, civil unions by a 63% margin.  The good news was that the 44% turnout was under the 50% threshold needed to make the results binding.    

But the Bermudan government was planning on recognizing the results regardless of the outcome and reading it as 'the will of the people'.  So supporters will have an uphill climb to make it happen or will have to do it through the courts while being fought every step of the way by the Preserve Marriage haters.

And I have no doubts the Bermudians who are on the correct side of human rights history will prevail

Bermuda Marriage Equality Referendum On Thursday

You might be surprised to know that I have a few Bermudians who not only are fans of this blog, but I am Facebook friends with.  I had the pleasure of meeting Zakiya Johnson-Lord while I was in Chicago for Creating Change a few months ago.

I noticed as I perused my Bermudian friends pages the #VoteYESYESBermuda hashtag and other similar ones started popping up on their posts.  When my curiosity kicked in to find out what those memes and hashtags were about, I discovered it was concerning an upcoming June 23 marriage equality referendum on the island.

The non binding referendum will ask Bermudians to ponder and vote YES or NO on two questions that concern TBLG Bermudians.

Are you in favour of same sex marriage in Bermuda?
Are you in favour of same sex civil unions in Bermuda?

Advance voting for those who can prove they will be off island on election day took place June 14-16 at the Bermuda College Student Centre, and it will be interesting to see how the June 23 voting takes place.




Our Bermudian cousins in favor of marriage equality not only posted the #VoteYESYESBermuda hashtags on their pages and Twitter feeds, the #VoteYESYES, #LoveWinsYESYES and  #LoveMustWin tags have also popped up.

I'm surprised that our US based radical 'christians; haven't openly meddled in Bermuda's electoral business, but then again let me not speak too soon since they may be on the down low funneling cash to the anti- marriage side.

Deadline to register was May 18, and hope my Bermudian friends are not only registered to handle their electoral business, but hope it goes their way on Thursday when voting starts at 8 AM Bermuda time and continues until 8 PM their time at these locations.

Best of luck and hope people not only vote YES YES, but that love wins on Bermuda,

Nikki's Marriage Case End Game Today

Ever since the Texas Supreme Court denied Heather Delgado's appeal back in September, Nikki Araguz Loyd has been on after six years of fighting this soon to be successful war to recognize her humanity and her marriage to Thomas Araguz III a slow glide path to victory.

The case has been sent back down to the Wharton, TX courtroom of GOP judge Randy Clapp, who has been ordered to reverse his original loud, wrong and partisan order by the TX appeals court.

Later today, Araguz Loyd will be arriving at the Wharton County courthouse 90 miles southwest of Houston at 1:30 PM CST for what she hopes will be a routine receipt of a signed order ending the longstanding landmark trans marriage battle.

And while she is happy that this legal war to recognize her marriage to Capt. Araguz has had a successful conclusion, she is still wary. 

She says “I am elated this is going to be the end, I am only hoping that it will be easy, smooth and uneventful. However, my case is all about irony and I never count my chickens before they hatch. I only hope, this is the end, and I can ride off into the sunset with my Prince Charming.”

She and husband William Loyd will cap off what we hope will be a triumphant day for her by honoring and celebrating at the Transgender March Of Resilience, which will be begin at 6 PM CST at the Houston Zoo entrance.

Congratulations Nikki!  Thanks for fighting to not only have your marriage and humanity recognized, but by extension, the humanity and ability to love and marry our desired partners for all trans people in Texas.

Nikki's Trans Marriage End Game In Sight

Ever since the story broke back in 2010 that the widow of fallen firefighter Thomas Araguz III was a girl like us, I've been following it as the mother and ex-wife of Araguz tried to use the odious Littleton v Prange case as a way to do a money grab and stick it to Nikki at the same time.

Unfortunately in their zeal to hate on her, the ripple effect consequences were that the ability of Texas trans people to get married in the Lone Star State and have it recognized by the state were placed in jeopardy and riding on the results of this high stakes Araguz vs Delgado case.

I say high stakes because no matter which way it went, it would either set a precedent that would advance the human rights of Texas trans people or set them back.

Along the way, I've gotten to know her after our first meeting back in August 2010, and have admired her for sticking up for herself and her human rights.

After six years, a court loss at the district court level, getting remarried and two legal wins at the appeals court and Texas Supreme Court level combined with the Obergefell SCOTUS marriage ruling that made the issues Delgado sued on moot,

On Friday the 13th Texas Court of Appeals affirmed their 2014 ruling that reversed the one invalidating her marriage of Judge Randy Clapp in Wharton and sent it with a mandate back to his court,

"It's the most beautiful twist of karma. The judge to so viciously ruled against me now has to reverse his own ruling," said Araguz Loyd in an interview Monday. "It's never been about money. It was not about money when I married my husband. It certainly was not about money when I buried him."

Now it's just a matter of Nikki waiting for the final legal acts to play out in this long delayed and hard fought win for not only her, but all Texas trans people.

Nikki Araguz Loyd Gets Another Legal Win At SCOTX!

It's another great day for Nikki Araguz Loyd in a Texas courtroom as the Texas Supreme Court in Austin ruled in her favor in her ongoing case to reinstate her marriage to her late husband Thomas Araguz III.

In the last update, she had a big win at the Texas 13th Appeal Court level in Corpus Christi that not only reversed Judge Randy Clapp's (R) unjust order that invalidated her marriage, but struck a what may be fatal blow to the Littleton v Prange case.

It also sent the case back to Judge Clapp's court where we hope the arc of the moral and legal universe will continue bending toward justice for her and the Texas trans community.

The case was appealed to the all GOP dominated Texas Supreme Court by the Delgado legal team, and in a ruling that came back today that was a wonderful surprise for her and the Texas trans community , the SCOTX without comment denied hearing their petition.

Translation, the ruling of the Texas 13th Court of Appeals stands.

Of course, when I talked to an obviously happy Nikki Araguz Loyd about her latest legal win, she said, "I'm elated that the Texas Supreme Court saw fit to do the right thing in my case.   It gets us past another major  hurdle and one step closer to the Lone Star State recognizing the transitioned gender identity of trans people."

I hope and pray that is the case as well.

Let's Blow Up Some Conservafool Marriage Talking Points

As y'all have been observing, the conservafools are in full freak out mode now that marriage equality is the law of the land after the recent affirmative 5-4 SCOTUS ruling. 

But since when did the faux faith based haters let facts and history get in the way of a good lie?

The bottom line is that marriage is basically a legal contract between two parties, not a religious sacrament, hence the need to get a marriage license from the government before you do so.

As a TransGriot public service, here's a masterful takedown of all the right wing arguments about 'traditional marriage'  by Matt Baume that you can use on your right wing relatives, the ignorati as you surf the Net or the peeps reciting FOX Noise talking points.

Enjoy.

Countdown To A SCOTUS Ruling

The clock is ticking toward the end of this latest 2014-2015 term of the Supreme Court session, with the country anxiously awaiting a ruling that could open the door to marriage equality becoming the law of the land.

If that ruling does come down eithe today, Friday or on Monday, looks like the GOP establishment in Texas is prepared to go the Massive Resistance 3,0 route that Alabama has tried to keep its LGBT citizens from exercising that right to marry,

Looks like the GOP county clerks in Texas are already prepping to not be ready to issue marraige licenses to the couples who wish to have them and that list includes Stan Stanart of Harris County.

Elections matter people, so take out your frustrations about Stanart and his partisan actions along with all the other GOP oppressors at the ballot box next year.

As for which way I think it will go, I believe in this hyperpartisan SCOTUS, it will probably be a 5-4 decision.

We will also be wondering in Trans World what effect this ruling will have on our ability to get married since it was negatively affected by the push that started in 2003 for same gender marriage.

But in the interim, all eyes in LGBT America will be turned toward Washington DC.. tuned to news stations and reading their fave blogs to find out what happens when that long awaited SCOTUS opinion is released.

'The New Black' H-town Screening Tomorrow

I have been waiting for this award winning documentary to come to Houston for months, and it is driving me crazy to discover that it is scheduled to be screened on the same day I'll be at City Council awaiting the HERO vote.

That film I've been anxious to see is Yoruba Richen's The New Black, which is being screened tomorrow at the Houston Public Library location downtown right across the street from City Hall at 6:00 PM.

The New Black details the successful 2012 marriage equality referendum fight to preserve it that happened in Maryland, and features two very familiar faces to me in Sharon Lettman-Hicks, the ED and CEO of the National Black Justice Coalition and Samantha Master.   




The Houston Public Library downtown location address is 500 McKinney Street.  The screening is free and seating for it is first come first served.   I doubt that City Council will be finished with their HERO 'bidness' by the time this film starts, so I'd encourage those of you who can't be in council chambers to check it out.

But if by some miracle they are, it'll be a wonderful way for me to celebrate what I hope will be an H-town  human rights win.
 
 

Texas Gay Marriage Ban Struck Down

This is a day I thought I wouldn't see in my lifetime when the Republican majority passed that unjust Todd Staples' penned constitutional amendment banning same sex marriage in 2005.   

While that travesty was going on, it was being denounced by Rep. Senfronia Thomson (D-Houston) in a thunderous floor speech in which she called out the haters and told it like it T-I-S is.  

But there is joy in the Lone Star state about Judge Garcia's ruling as the GOP oppressors are doing their usual grumbling, oblivious to the fact they are on the wrong side of history and the US Constitution.

I awoke to the news that federal Judge Orlando Garcia (Clinton appointee) has declared the gay marriage ban unconstitutional.   

Judge Garcia wrote in his opinion striking down the unjust law: "Without a rational relation to a legitimate governmental purpose, state-imposed inequality can find no refuge in our United States Constitution," Garcia wrote. "These Texas laws deny plaintiffs access to the institution of marriage and its numerous rights, privileges, and responsibilities for the sole reason that Plaintiffs wish to be married to a person of the same sex."

It is still being enforced pending an appeal that Attorney General and Texas GOP gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott is swiftly filing. 

Judge Garcia said that the couples who filed this suit are likely to win their case and the Texas ban should be lifted, but he would not enforce his ruling until ruling are rendered on two other cases pending before the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals,   

Mark Phariss and Victor Holmes filed their federal civil rights lawsuit saying Texas’ ban unconstitutionally denied them the fundamental right to marry because of their sexual orientation. Cleopatra De Leon and Nicole Dimetman filed a lawsuit saying Texas officials were violating their rights by not recognizing their marriage conducted in a state where gay marriage is legal.

Attorneys for the state tried to argue Texas voters had imposed the ban through a referendum and that Texas officials were within their rights to defend marriage traditions.   

Bigotry and discrimination is not 'marriage traditions', and bigotry and hatred are not values.  

Another Texas gay couple has filed a separate lawsuit in federal court in Austin in which they are arguing that the Texas same gender marriage ban is unconstitutional because it discriminates against them based on their gender.  That case is scheduled for a hearing later this year.

Texas is in the conservative leaning and New Orleans based 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, and Judge Garcia will give the state time to file their appeal and be on the wrong side of history and human rights again .

The cool thing people, is we have a chance to punish both Abbott and Staples at the polls.  Staples, the author of it, is a candidate for the GOP nomination for Lt. Governor and predictably blasted the decision as 'judicial activism'.   Abbott tried to steer a down the middle path in his comments. 

"This is an issue on which there are good, well-meaning people on both sides," Abbott said in a statement. "The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled over and over again that States have the authority to define and regulate marriage.".

Well, is it possible that we will actually see same sex couples getting married in the Lone Star State? I sure hope so.  But we still have a long way to go and more legal wrangling to come before same sex couples can say I do in Texas.

It's past time that happened and so happy for my Texas SGL peeps concerning this positive news.

My Mayor Got Married!

Congratulations to Houston Mayor Annise Parker and First Lady Kathy Hubbard, who made it official and put a ring on the first lady's finger.

Both of them wanted to wait until marriage equality became the law of the land in Texas, but after being in their relationship for 23 years and noting Greg Abbott and his Teapublican friends gearing up to fight the Texas flavored federal marriage cases set to take place in a few weeks to overturn the ban, they decided not to wait any longer and get married in Palm Springs, CA.

"This is a very happy day for us," Mayor Parker said in a statement. "We have had to wait a very long time to formalize our commitment to each other. Kathy has been by my side for more than two decades, helping to raise a family, nurture my political career and all of the other ups and down and life events that come with a committed relationship."

Of course Harris County GOP chair Jared Woodfill and his merry band of local homophobic haters threw shade at the happy couple, but frak 'em.  

Congratulations to the Mayor and H-town's First Lady.  May you union continue to be a long, happy and healthy one.

 

I Repeat, You Can't Declare War On Love

"You can't declare war on love." --Number Six, Battlestar Galactica 'The Plan'

Three years ago I wrote a Battlestar Galatica  themed post in which I compared the marriage equality fight to my fave sci-fi show. 

I noted in that post that the Religious Right can't deal with people of the same gender or trans people falling in love and getting married and for specious political and religious reasons they want to prevent that by any means necessary.

They basically declared war on love.   And they are now three years after I wrote the post are conceding they are losing the 'War on Love' they started. 

More Americans support same gender marriage now than when I wrote that post in August 2010.  President Obama on May 9, 2012 became the first sitting president to publicly support legalizing same-sex marriage. Maine, Maryland and Minnesota legalized it through a popular vote in November 2012.  The New Mexico Supreme Court will have a hearing on the issue Wednesday, and Hawaii's Governor Neil Abercrombie (D) has called a special session that starts October 28 in which they will attempt to pass a marriage equality bill.  

To add an exclamation point on the positive momentum for marriage equality, New Jersey on Monday became the 14th state in addition to the District of Columbia to allow same gender people to marry.

And in the wake of the SCOTUS rulings overturning DOMA and Prop 8  there are suits being filed in deep red GOP controlled states to overturn their anti-same sex marriage amendments.



On the trans marriage front two of our three signature international marriage cases have gone our way with Joanne Cassar in Malta and Ms W in Hong Kong emerging victorious after a few setbacks, and us Texas transpeeps awaiting the result of Nikki Araguz Loyd's recent appeal in Corpus Christi.

The conservafools still haven't come to grips with the reality of 'you can't declare war on love', are clueless to the fact they on the wrong side of history and still keep fighting the 'War on Love' they will ultimately lose. 

I can say that with confidence because the moral arc of the universe is bending toward justice for the SGL, trans and bi community on this issue.  We're also just as resolute to keep fighting them on this human rights issue until we can't or until victory is assured.

'The New Black' Documentary Trailer

I've been aware that this Yoruba Richen documentary film was in the making, and was a little bummed when the initial opening film festival tour rotation for The New Black was Los Angeles, New York, Washington D.C. and San Francisco with DC getting a second chance to see it during the recently concluded 2013 edition of OUT on the Hill.

A trailer has finally been released for The New Black and when it hits your town I would recommend you see it.

It discusses how the African-American community is grappling with lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in light of the marriage equality movement and the fight over civil rights.

It also asks the more pertinent question of why are African-Americans, and especially the Black church being made the faces of anti-gay hatred and who benefits from that? 

It was filmed during the 2012 marriage equality battle in Maryland and has a few familiar faces in it for me as I watched the trailer.  Maryland eventually became one of three states during the 2012  election cycle that approved marriage equality by a 52%-47% margin.   

Congratulations Mr and Mrs Loyd!

They had a few setbacks in getting their marriage license in Harris County last week no thanks to GOP Hater Attorney General Greg Abbott, Harris County Attorney General Vince Ryan (DINO who caved), and Harris County Clerk Stan Stanart (R) but after Nikki handled her Delgado v Araguz appeal hearing business in Corpus Christi, she tied the knot yesterday with her fiance William Loyd on the steps of the Nueces County Courthouse as Rev Michael Cruz performed the ceremony.

I've had the pleasure of meeting Will at the gallery and know for a fact he loves him some Nikki, and the feeling is mutual.   So while I'm bummed I wasn't in Corpus for all the fun, I couldn't be happier for both of them since I'm still wandering in the dating Sinai.

Congratulations Mr. and Mrs Loyd!   May you have a long, happy and healthy marriage and Nikki, may you prevail in your just fight to have your (and our trans marriage rights in Texas) recognized. . 

Illinois Is Looking More Like Prop 8 2.0

Well, well, well  John Aravosis.   Looks like there's increasing evidence piling up to show that you were loud and wrong as usual.

You were also wrong for peddling that bigoted 'The Blacks cost us marriage equality in Illinois' meme  in the immediate aftermath of the non-call for a House marriage equality vote that has been repeated like a mantra in various spots in the Gayosphere and progressive blog comment threads that Black bloggers are now going to have to spend time debunking. 

I presume the 'I'm sorry' Americablog post will be swiftly forthcoming to the Black community and the legislators you slimed, but I suspect it'll be a snowy June day in Houston before we see it.
  .
It's also eerily looking more and more like Prop 8 2.0 in terms of the deja vu all too eager white gay propensity to quickly point the finger at my community for this stunning Illinois marriage equality legislative failure and engage in rainbow bigot eruptions. .   

Before the weekend was out I was starting to get confirmation about what I suspected was the real reason the marriage bill failed Saturday morning:

A Gay, Inc organizational frackup. 

It turns out that your vanillacentric staffed umbrella marriage org on the scene there didn't even bother to hire more lobbyists to talk to the Illinois Black legislative caucus, when they knew for months it was one of their lobbying weaknesses.   The problem wasn't addressed until a day and a half before the vote was supposed to happen and former Illinois Chitown Democratic legislators Paul Williams and Coy Pugh were put on the payroll 

Williams and Pugh had they been given ample time may have been able to flip some votes in the Caucus, but they damned sure needed more than a day and half for that task. 

The umbrella org also repeated California's failure of not consistently engaging the Black and Latino communities and mobilizing progressive ministers and priests tn the state to neutralize and drown out the bigots in the African American Clergy Coalition and the Roman Catholic Church.

Thanks to TransGriot reader Chitown Kev for pointing me to an NBC5 article entitled 'Don't Thank (Or Blame) Black Legislators For Killing Gay Marriage' and giving me more ammunition to point out why fanning the hell-fire flames of gay bigotry against Blacks is not only wrong but not helpful to your marriage cause. 

Interestingly enough that NBC5 story breaks down how the so-called 'homophobic' Black Legislative caucus votes would have probably gone down if a marriage vote had been called

Eleven of the 20 Black Caucus members would have voted YES,  four NO and five were undecided.

YES
Ken Dunkin, Chicago
Esther Golar, Chicago
Chris Welch, Hillside
La Shawn Ford, Chicago
Christian Mitchell, Chicago
Rita Mayfield, Waukegan
Al Riley, Olympia Field
Camille Lilly, Chicago
Arthur Turner, Chicago
Marcus Evans, Chicago
Elgie Sims, Jr., Chicago

NO
Monique Davis, Chicago
Mary Flowers, Chicago
Eddie Jackson, East St. Louis
Charles Jefferson, Rockford

UNDECIDED
Thaddeus Jones, Calumet City
Jehan Gordon-Booth, Peoria
Will Davis, East Hazel Crest
Derrick Smith, Chicago
Andre Thapedi, Chicago

As an FYI moment, the six Latino Illinois legislators were considered supporters.

Now compare and contrast that with the 92 white legislators in the Illinois House.  I pointed out the fact in my initial Saturday post the bulk of the people and legislators opposed to marriage equality don't look like me and it was borne out in this report.

45 of the 47 Republicans (who are survey says, all white peeps) were opposed to the Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act with only two supporting it..  

The 45 remaining white legislators in the Illinois House are Democrats. Of those white Democrats 26 were considered solid YES votes, but there were 19 white Democratic legislators identified by the Windy City Times who are either committed to vote NO on the bill, or have not publicly supported it. 

Those legislators are Brandon Phelps, John Bradley, Jerry Costello II, Jay Hoffman, Daniel Beiser, Sue Scherer, Stephanie Kifowit, Anthony DeLuca, Katherine Cloonen, Patrick Verschoore, Jack Franks, Michelle Mussman, John D’Amico, Natalie Manley, Emily McAsey, Kathleen Willis, Fred Crespo, Keith Farnham, and Kelly Burke.

So how in the hell does the Black Caucus get the blame or the failure of this bill when all along you had a white Democratic legislator problem?  

Easy, when you want to deflect from your own organizational failures.

"Don’t blame the Black Caucus. The Black Caucus has always been with us and so have the Latinos,” said Rick Garcia, the policy director of the Civil Rights Agenda. “They are just using the black people as an excuse.”

And once again for you white gay peeps still pouring gasoline on the hell fire flames of gay bigotry against African-Americans, 60% of Black Illinois residents supported marriage equality with many of them being high profile ones like Desiree Rogers, the CEO of Johnson Publishing Company, Linda Johnson Rice, the chair of Johnson Publishing Company, the Rev Dr. Otis Moss III, the pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ, retired shortstop Ernie Banks, Andrea Zopp, the president and CEO of the Chicago Urban League just to name a few      

So for those of you in the Illinois gay community still squawking about who not to support in the next election cycle, primary challenge or you're petulantly not going to support issues of importance to the African-American community in retaliation for this setback, my suggestion is you don't let the white privilege you're swimming in be the catalyst for writing a political check your azzes will regret cashing.  

Seems y'all need to be focusing your attention moreso on the problem you have with white people supporting marriage equality.  You need to do a better job building support for marriage equality amongst your fellow white people, get busy building that coalition of progressive ministers you'll need to fight the bigoted ones and quit scapegoating Black people for your failure to come up with an argument that resonates with your fellow white folks.

Because frankly, Black people, and especially Black TBLG folks are sick and tired of being blamed for your failure to do precisely that.  

Marriage Equality Fails In Illinois-Cue The 'Blame The Blacks' White Gay Chorus

A not so funny thing happened on the way to Illinois becoming the 13th state to pass marriage equality legislation.   The Illinois legislature adjourned without a vote on SB10, The Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act.

Why am I not surprised that with the surprising failure of gay marriage to pass out of the Illinois House, in their zeal to explain the shocking defeat elements of the white gay community have turned to an old reprehensible tactic to explain this stunning failure after a string of recent marriage wins.

Blame the Black community. 

Specifically, they are blaming the 20 members of the Illinois House Legislative Black Caucus, who have been under tremendous pressure from fundie megachurches and conservafool pastors to kill the bill.

John Aravosis of Americablog wasted no time in this blog post fanning the hell-fire flames of gay bigotry against African-Americans.

The Sun Times says the state House black caucus was a big part of the problem.  A similar scenario played out with Prop 8 in California four years ago (though some have tried to rewrite that history).  Yet, the black vote was not a problem in Maryland where the state voted in favor of marriage equality last November.  And with the support of President Obama, I’m sure a lot of people had hoped that we were beyond worrying about the religious right’s declared desire to drive fissures between the black and the gay community.

Well John, congratulations.  You and the Sun Times have just done NOM's shady work for them by setting off white gays justifiably pissed that SB 10 failed against the Black community cis, trans and SGL that is skeptical about gay marriage as a whole.

The Black community has noted your failure to work intersectionally with other groups inside and outside the LGBT community on issues of concern to them, but hypocritically demanding 100% fealty on the issue of marriage equality.    It has also noted your failures to deal with the racism in the TBLGIQA community and observed that far too many LGBT orgs have leadership ranks that look more like the Republican Party ranks than the ethnically diverse American population.  

Did it not occur to you vanillacentric privileged gays that Illinois also has downstate WHITE Democrats who range from squishy to adamantly opposed about this issue and a politically powerful Roman Catholic Church that worked the halls in Springfield just like those conservative Black pastors you're pointing the finger at?  

To all you white gays hating on Black people (and President Obama) in the Americablog and Towleroad comment threads and other spots in the Gayosphere due to Aravosis pouring gasoline on the smoldering anger from the 2008 Prop 8 defeat and our pissivity over the rainbow bigotry eruption that ensued after it based on a flawed exit poll, thought I'd point out that two of the sponsors of SB 10 in the Illinois Senate were African-Americans in state Sen. Toi Hutchinson and Sen. Emil Jones III.

In the Illinois House two of the legislators sponsoring it were from the same Illinois House Black Legislative Caucus being vilified by elements of the white gay community right now in Rep.Christian Mitchell and Rep Kenneth Dunkin, the chair of the House Black Legislative Caucus. 

But naw, that won't work pointing out those inconvenient facts when you're desperately trying to be 'just like them' and get your lost white privilege spots back . It's also an irrefutable one you are part of the ethnic group that comprises the bulk of the determined opposition to marriage equality

So it's dust off the Black folks are 'uniquely homophobic' meme, blame the Illinois House Black Legislative Caucus for your surprising defeat and deflect the blame from various predominately white run LG equality organizations concerning the failure to make the case why marriage equality should happen in Illinois. 

And the more you fan the hell-fire flames of gay bigotry toward African-Americans SGL, trans and straight, the happier you make NOM and the more you set back the cause of getting marriage equality passed in Illinois and elsewhere in the country where you'll need to build coalitions with Black people to make that happen.   

'The New Black' Film Festival Tour

The New Black is a documentary film I was cognizant was in the process of being shot, and I'm happy to discover it has been completed and is about to hit the summer film festival circuit.

NBJC is traveling across the country to celebrate an authentic and illuminating depiction of the tension, triumphs and victories that take place at the intersection of religious beliefs and civil rights with the launch of The New Black

It is a provocative new documentary film that powerfully illustrates the story of how the African-American community is grappling with lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in light of the marriage equality movement and the fight over civil rights.

It chronicles the recent marriage battle in Maryland and shows activists, families and clergy on both sides of last year's campaign to legalize gay marriage in the state.   It examines homophobia in the African-American community's institutional pillar ---The Black Church-- and reveals the Christian right wing's reprehensible strategy of exploiting this cultural phenomenon in order to pursue their anti-gay political agenda.  

There are some familiar faces in this film like NBJC Executive Director and CEO Sharon Lettman-Hicks and several NBJC emerging leaders such as Samantha Master and Karess Taylor-Hughes and I'm looking forward to seeing it.

The New Black is directed by internationally renowned documentary filmmaker Yoruba Richen, who teams with notable producers Yvonne Welbon, producer of Living with Pride: Ruth Ellis @ 100, and Emmy nominated Angela Tucker to bring us this story anchored at the intersection of Black American culture and the LGBT equality movement..

So for those of you residing in Los Angeles (June14-16) New York  (June 19-20), Washington D.C. (June 22-23) and San Francisco (June 29)  you'll get the opportunity to check out Tne New Black at your local film festivals this summer.

Unfortunately I'll have to wait until it hits an H-town multiplex near me.

What Gay Marriage WON'T Do

TransGriot Note: Elements of us in the Black trans and same gender loving communities are lukewarm about 'marriage equality' for many of the reasons being articulated here in this guest post by Denny Upkins.
I truly hate Gay Marriage.

Not because I don’t agree with it because I do believe in Marriage Equality or any other form of equality but because it never fails to bring the WORST out of white peepul as we’ve witnessed by some of the people on my “friends list.

If it’s not white LGBTQs falsely blaming blacks and Latinos and playing Lynch the Coloreds over that Prop 8 fallout, it’s the Straight White Allies who now think they are experts on social justice, homophobia, and Civil Rights in the span of 3 minutes simply because they reposted a meme and changed a Facebook pic.

Most of them also fail to realize that the dynamics facing queer POC's and trans people and the dynamics facing cis white queers is as different as night and day.

And yet they feel qualified to whitesplain to me how Gay Marriage is the End All Be All Cure All and that once it passes, all of my issues will be a distant memory.

Let me be clear, I want Gay Marriage to happen one day. Hell I wouldn’t mind getting married. But even on my most optimistic day, there are some things I realize Gay Marriage WILL NOT do for me or you or anyone else.

Gay Marriage will not make you look edgy and hip

Gay Marriage will not bring about sunny days of spring

Gay Marriage will not go better with Coke

Gay Marriage will not make you look five pounds thinner

Gay Marriage will not repopulate the planet with unicorns

Gay Marriage will not put a tiger in your tank

Gay Marriage will not taste better than Green Eggs and Ham

Gay Marriage will not fight germs that cause bad breath

Gay Marriage will not fight unemployment

Gay Marriage will not repair our economy

Gay Marriage will not end racism, or transphobia.

Gay Marriage will not save you a lot of money on your car insurance. Okay maybe a little but not that much anyway.

Gay Marriage will not bring about world peace.

Gay Marriage will not end bullying.

Gay Marriage will not teach you how to properly do the Harlem Shake. In fact, let it go.

Gay Marriage won’t stop me from being fired from my job.

Gay Marriage won’t protect me from getting bashed and murdered. My Smith & Weston on the other hand, is another story entirely.

Gay Marriage will not win you the lottery.

Gay Marriage won’t stop us from being viewed as pedophiles.

Gay Marriage will not end queer teen suicide

Gay Marriage will not end queer teen homelessness

Gay Marriage will not make you look progressive

And if not being able to register at Neiman-Marcus is the worst oppression you have to deal with in your day to day, you’ll forgive me if I don’t have a single fuck to give about you or your “oppression.”

Gay Marriage will not teach the breeders to accept the queers. Because the sad reality is at the end of the day, no matter how much they smile and claim they’re down for the cause, most of them still want us dead.