Dear Men, Daryl Metcalfe wants you to know he is not your plaything!

From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

Conservative state Rep. Daryl Metcalfe wants everyone to know that he's a heterosexual, has a wife and doesn't want to be touched - at least not by a male colleague. 

The Republican from Butler County made that very clear Tuesday during a meeting of the House committee he chairs.

And there's video!



This is even more pathetic than the time, a few years ago, when he appeared on Night Talk and after going into the standard "homosexuality is a choice" rant, the host asked him if he had chosen to be heterosexual. Metcalfe answered that yes, he "chose heterosexuality" (here and in the comments here).

While these incidents are almost cartoonishly and jaw-droppingly funny, never forget that Metcalfe is also a nasty, evil, and dangerous little fuck:

Openly gay Pennsylvania state Representative Brian Sims (D) planned to speak on the legislature floor on Wednesday about the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the Defense of Marriage Act — but he was blocked from talking by a Republican colleague who said his comments would be “open rebellion against God’s law.” 

Now, Sims is asking for a reprimand of his Republican colleague. Rep. Daryl Metcalfe (R), who is known for his inflammatory remarks, also blocked two of Sim’s colleagues who wanted to speak about DOMA, and openly admitted that his religious beliefs compelled him not to let Sims speak.

Obviously, Metcalfe doth protest too much on this subject, as anyone who protests this much has to secretly be the gayest man on the planet. Just waiting for his "wide stance" moment when he's finally outed. It can't come soon enough!

Tell Your LGBTQ Story at #AMPLIFY

Amplify LGBTQ is a storytelling project in the form of a series of blog posts that gives participants the chance to share their lived experiences as LGBTQ people in Western Pennsylvania in their own voices. It highlights the voices of marginalized members of the LGBTQ community who are not always invited to the table or whose voices are not heard.

The project is the brainchild of Sue Kerr at Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents and was started in May of 2015.

Contributors who are 18 years of age and older and who have ties to Western Pennsylvania share their experiences through the AMPLIFY Q&A. The survey takes about 30 minutes to complete. Participants have the option to use a pseudonym or their real names and decide whether or not to share photos.

Bitch Media called AMPLIFY a cool project -- and we agree! So far, they have shared 179 stories. Please help them get to 200 by contributing your story or by passing along the links to others in your circle.

You can find all the links (archived stories, online Q&A, donate button, etc.) at http://www.pghlesbian.com/amplify/

They also just started selling T-shirts to raise funds for the project, so if you're looking for a last minute Xmas gift, check the shirts out here.

Pittsburgh City Councilors Gilman and Kraus to Introduce Conversion Therapy Ban

Via Press Release:

GILMAN AND KRAUS TO INTRODUCE CONVERSION THERAPY BAN 

Legislation would prohibit harmful practice for minors within Pittsburgh 

Sent 11/29/2016 @ 7:04 am 

PITTSBURGH, PA (November 29th, 2016)- During today’s regular meeting of Pittsburgh City Council, Councilman Dan Gilman and Council President Bruce A. Kraus will introduce legislation to ban conversion therapy for LGBTQIA+ youth within Pittsburgh. 

“The City of Pittsburgh bears the responsibility to protect all of its residents and this legislation defends LGBTQIA+ youth against the destructive psychological and physical impact of forced conversion therapy,” said Councilman Gilman. “By passing this legislation, the City is standing up for equality and ensuring that Pittsburgh is a welcoming city for all.” 

“Protecting LGBTQIA+ minors from those who would seek to rob the very essence of one's being is foundational to this legislation,” said Council President Kraus. “Ensuring safe places for discovery, self acceptance, and growth for LGBTQIA+ youth must now and always be our focus." 

Conversion therapy, which seeks to convert one’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression, is formally opposed by a host of mental health, medical, and social work organizations, including American Psychological Association, American Psychiatric Association, American Medical Association, American College of Physicians, and the National Association of Social Workers. 

Love Wins

Not fit for print

I'm certain there has not been another time when an opinion piece in the Post-Gazette has defamed and insulted anyone as terribly as Jennifer Graham has in her column about Caitlyn Jenner: 

- She questions her mental fitness three times ("gender dysphoria," "psychiatric disorder," and "the inmates have overrun the proverbial asylum").  

- She calls her false three times ("fiction," "a lie," and "sinister"). 

- She refers to her as freakish five times ("he/she," "female from the waist up, male from the belly button down," "headlined the tragic freak shows," "bearded lady has no clothes," and "don’t-call-them-freaks parade"). 

- She deliberately refers to Caitlyn--a transgender woman--as a male ten times ("still a mister," "mister," "Mr.," "Mr.," "Mr.," "Mr.," "Mr.," "Mr.," "Mr.," and "Mr.") 

- And, she throws in a silly, childish insult for good measure ("Brucette").

Murderers have received better treatment in the pages of the P-G than we see given to Caitlyn Jenner. And for what? Clickbait? Some calculated attempt to not be labeled too liberal a paper? 

Really, why was this column seen as fit to be published? Especially when so many transgender people are either bullied into committing suicide or outright murdered by people with the same attitudes expressed in this piece.

This article should be deleted and an apology is due to all P-G readers.

true

War is God's way of teaching Americans geography. Homophobia is God's way of teaching us the names of Republican governors.
— LOLGOP (@LOLGOP) March 31, 2015

(h/t to Gyma @ A Spork in the Drawer)

Rand Paul doesn't believe in rights "based on your behavior."

Obviously, Paul thinks infants are born with a cross in one hand and a gun in the other.

Via the MaddowBlog:

Sen. Rand Paul said he doesn’t buy into the concept of gay rights because they are defined by a gay person’s lifestyle.

“I don’t think I’ve ever used the word gay rights, because I don’t really believe in rights based on your behavior,” the Kentucky Republican told reporters in a videotaped interview that has received little attention since it was recorded in 2013.

In case you're interested, full ACDC Endorsement List is here

First, a few notes on the Allegheny County Democratic Committee endorsement vote which was held yesterday.

Certainly the ACDC stamp of approval no longer holds the sway it once did. Candidates can win their elections without it and some no longer even seek the endorsement (see Mayor Bill Peduto).

The biggest headline to come out of the vote was the nod to Mark Patrick Flaherty over sitting incumbent Chelsa Wagner for Allegheny County Controller. Flaherty was Wagner's predecessor, and, because this is Allegheny County/Pittsburgh, Flaherty is the son of a former county commissioner and nephew of a former Pittsburgh mayor, while Wagner is the daughter of a former longtime chairman of the 19th Ward and niece of a former state auditor general. Meh.

And, while I'm no big fan of Wagner's, did the vote against her have to come on International Women's Day? Which just points to the fact that out of the 34 people ACDC endorsed, only eight were women.

This also leads to the following note from Kris Rust posted on Facebook by his husband, Pittsburgh Magisterial District Judge Hugh McGough, who did not win endorsement for Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas:

This weekend, the Allegheny County Labor Council and the Allegheny County Democratic Committee endorsed a slate of three straight, white men from the Pittsburgh suburbs as judicial candidates for the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas, passing over distinguished women and minority candidates, including Hugh (yes, LGBT people comprise a minority group). 

The integrity and legitimacy of our government and our courts depends upon them reflecting the diversity of our citizenry. Yet, two-thirds of the judges on the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas are straight, white men. While we are grateful to all of the folks who have supported Hugh throughout this endorsement process, I am disappointed that the majority of Labor Council and Democratic Committee members fail to recognize the value and importance of superlative credentials and diversity on the bench. Now I am ready to “rage against the machine!”

(If you'd like to help Hugh McGough's campaign--and I hope you do--his website is here.)

Another person who I would have liked to have been endorsed is Natalia Rudiak (though I have to admit that I don't know if she sought the endorsement). Rudiak is running for Pittsburgh City Controller and the only negative thing I can say about her is I would miss her on City Council. Her campaign website is here and her kickoff party is tomorrow.

Lastly, I hope that no one reading this takes the slate cards mailed out too much to heart. It's a real shame, but I'm guessing that too many people do rely on them, especially when voting for judges.

(Endorsement list is after the fold.)

Message of the Day

A word from Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto:



Click here for more info.

State of Disgrace

First up: Pennsylvania. In Southwestern PA, homeowners wake up to find scary, bomb-looking masses of wires and electronics on their front yards. When they contact the police/local officials, they are told by these officials that they cannot comment on the devices (which, as it turns out, were installed by a private Texas company to facilitate seismic mapping in the search for gas). Some of the devises are accompanied with threats of criminal investigations if anyone dare remove them. Meanwhile, the process of seismic mapping is actually damaging the homes in its path.

A forced birther lawmaker in Virginia refers to a pregnant woman as nothing more than a “child’s host” on Facebook. He later disappears the phrase. So if the woman is the "host" doesn't that make the fetus a, well, parasite? Hey! It's his analogy, not mine.

Finally, all eyes turn to Arizona Governor Jan Brewer to see if she believes--like the lawmakers in her state--that it's legally OK to deny LGBT folk public accommodation as long as Baby Jesus said so.

Politician or Porn-itician?

Rachel Maddow and Michael Strahan guessed whether photos shown to them by Andy Cohen were porn stars or a politicians last night on Bravo's Watch What Happens Live show. And while they correctly identified a photo of Brian Sims as a politician, Rachel could not have been more wrong on Sims' views. She said of Sims, "He looks like the guy who's the head of the anti gay marriage group."

Whoops! Wrong, Rachel. You owe Brian a big apology!

Sims is a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in the 182nd district and was the first openly gay person elected to that body. He's very much pro same-sex marriage and an activist for LGBTQI rights. In fact, he introduced HB1686, the Pennsylvania Marriage Equality Act earlier this month. Moreover, he gained the ire of Daryl Metcalfe (always a good sign!) and got some national press with this:

In June 2013, after the Defense of Marriage Act had been ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, Sims tried to make a speech in the Pennsylvania House supporting the decision. Daryl Metcalfe, who was one of several representatives who blocked Sims from speaking, said ”I did not believe that as a member of that body that I should allow someone to make comments such as he was preparing to make that ultimately were just open rebellion against what the word of God has said, what God has said, and just open rebellion against God’s law.”

Sims was all over the Pittsburgh region in the last couple of days advocating for the end of discrimination against gays.

He's also appeared on Rachel's show in the past.

"Who Am I To Judge?"

I wanted to depart, today, from my usual tracking teh rightwing crazie/fact-checking Scaife's braintrust blog posts to take a deeper look at what The Pope said:

For generations, homosexuality has largely been a taboo topic for the Vatican, ignored altogether or treated as “an intrinsic moral evil,” in the words of the previous pope.

In that context, brief remarks by Pope Francis suggesting that he would not judge priests for their sexual orientation, made aboard the papal airplane on the way back from his first foreign trip, to Brazil, resonated through the church. Never veering from church doctrine opposing homosexuality, Francis did strike a more compassionate tone than that of his predecessors, some of whom had largely avoided even saying the more colloquial “gay.”

“If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?” Francis told reporters, speaking in Italian but using the English word “gay.”

I don't want to belittle how big a change this is for The Vatican, especially considering the Times' next paragraph:

Francis’s words could not have been more different from those of Benedict XVI, who in 2005 wrote that homosexuality was “a strong tendency ordered toward an intrinsic moral evil,” and an “objective disorder.” The church document said men with “deep-seated homosexual tendencies” should not become priests.

From "a strong tendency ordered toward intrinsic moral evil" to "who am I to judge" is a big step, no doubt about it but I wanted to look deeper into that rhetorical question as well as it's closely related "It's not my place to judge."

While it's entirely possible, I suppose, that when someone uses either phrase to some member in the LGBTQ community that person might mean it to say "there is nothing wrong with being gay (or "L" or "B" or "T" or "Q" and so on..." but if you take a look at the actual words, something else is being said entirely.

"Who am I to judge?" at the very least implies that there is a judgement to be made, doesn't it?  We rarely if ever hook that question onto something we approve of, only stuff we disapprove of.  For example, would anyone be caught saying "Just like me, Steve thinks the Beatles are better, much better, than the Stones.  But who am I to judge?"

See how that works?

Additionally, when someone says "It's not my place to judge" they're also implying that they know what the outcome of whatever that judgement is, whenever it'll be made by whomever would be making it, even if it's not them.  They're just not gonna say what they already know in their heart it already is.

In effect, however tolerant sounding the phrase might be (and again however Cardinal Dolan wishes to redefine it, it's still a huge leap forward for The Vatican), it still means:

I know that God will judge it negatively.

And so on.

Roll Back Those Lazy-Crazy-Hazy-Days Of Summer

It's the summer of 1963, err, 2013 in the Good Ol' U.S. of A and everything is A-okay!

Any 'War on Poverty' Is Thankfully Still Just A Dream
Poverty? What poverty? This is the greatest nation on the face of the Earth!

(80 Percent Of U.S. Adults Face Near-Poverty, Unemployment: Survey)

We Will Arrest Those Who Practice The Love
That Dare Not Speak Its Name
Really, what do they expect?

(Gays in Baton Rouge arrested under invalid sodomy law)

The Little Lady Knows Her Place (As She Should)
We're working hard to ensure that the only abortions will be back alley ones!
(As abortion limits sweep US, even 'purple' states join the crackdown)

Negroes Know Their Place Too
Because they know death lies only a whistle at a white woman (or a hoodie) away!

(George Zimmerman Found Not Guilty And Goes Free)

And For the Ones Who Are Still Too Uppity...
We'll make it as hard as legally possible to vote!

(North Carolina Passes the Country's Worst Voter Suppression Law)

Yes siree, Bob! We wish that summer would always be here!

SCOTUS Kills DOMA & Dismisses Prop 8: PA, It's Your Move Now!

 

PennLive takes a look at how today's ruling could make Pennsylvania "less appealing to progressive-minded businesses and their gay employees."

 

Via WTAE: "A spokesman for Republican Gov. Tom Corbett says he supports a state constitutional ban on gay marriage in Pennsylvania."

 

The celebration in Pittsburgh: Post-Gazette, The Trib & City Paper.

 

UPDATE: LGBTQPGH "City-county consolidation"

"Riot or Rejoice" Act Up?/Celebrate? Supreme Court Decision This Morning in Pittsburgh

 

Via Facebook:

TODAY: 9:30am until 11:00am.  

Liberty Avenue between 9th & 10th Streets in Downtown Pittsburgh 15222  

Join us on Wednesday, June 26 at 9:30 AM on Liberty Avenue as we "RIOT or REJOICE" when the Supreme Court announces its decision on Prop 8 and the DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act).  

This event will happen ON THE STREET live with a large outdoor television, speakers and a time for us to ACT UP or CELEBRATE this historic decision.  

The time is NOW for our Government to STOP discriminating against its LGBT citizens and treat everyone EQUALLY!  

This event is being produced by the Delta Foundation of Pittsburgh in conjunction with the ACLU of Pennsylvania, Equality Pennsylvania, Marriage Equality for Pennsylvania, New Voices Pittsburgh, One Pittsburgh, Persad Center, SEIU Healthcare PA, SEIU Local 668, SEIU Local 32BJ, Shepherd Wellness Center, Steel City Stonewall Democrats, and Dreams of Hope. If your organization is interested in becoming involved please email info@pittsburghpride.org.  

This event has been issued a permit by the City of Pittsburgh - Special Events Office. Street closures will be handled by City of Pittsburgh - Bureau of Police personnel.

NOTE: Via the P-G: Liberty Avenue to close in Downtown Pittsburgh for Supreme Court same-sex marriage announcements

Pittsburgh Pride!

As we still await the Supreme Court's decision on DOMA and Prop 8, just a reminder that there are lots of ways to celebrate Pittsburgh Pride this month including Pride in the Street, Pride March and PrideFest.

You can also help support the Gay and Lesbian Community Center.

There's the Pittsburgh Dyke And Trans March later this month.

And, Sue has been running 'LGBTQ&A' interviews all month at Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents.

Find your way to support equality for all!

(And, if you've been seeing the above graphic popping up on various Facebook posts, I'm proud to say I created for last year's Pride post and yes, that makes three 'flag' posts on Flag Day.)

LGBTQ In The News

My friend Sue over at Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents is running:

An occasional series where we pose some questions to local LGBTQ folks (and Allies) to learn more about their personal experiences with LGBTQ culture.

And she was nice enough to think that I'd make a good addition to the series.  I have to say that it's very nice to be included in such an illustrious list of people.  Others political type folks thusly profiled:

• Matt Merriman-Preston
• Natalia Rudniak
• Dan Gilman
• Doug Shields
• Tonya Payne
• Sherry Pasquarello
• Bill Peduto
• Bram Reichbaum
• Jeanne Clark

And that's just the names I recognize!

With the self-serving stuff out of the way, let's move on to this short-ish piece in the P-G:

A bipartisan group of state House and Senate lawmakers introduced measures Tuesday to ban discrimination statewide in employment, housing and public accommodations for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Pennsylvanians.

The P-G blurb doesn't say much about the legislation (bill numbers? sponsors? nuttin') but this piece from the Tribune-Democrat has a bit more info:

Forty percent of Pennsylvania’s state legislators, including two local senators, sponsored anti-discrimination bills introduced in Harrisburg on Tuesday.

Sens. John Wozniak, D-Westmont, and Richard Kasunic, D-Dunbar, co-sponsored Senate Bill 300, introduced by Sens. Pat Browne and Larry Farnese.

None of the area’s seven representatives co-sponsored House Bill 300, as put forth by Reps. Dan Frankel and Chris Ross.

Now, we're getting somewhere.  Although as of this writing - and this is probably due to the fact that these bills were only introduced yesterday - there was nothing at the Pennsylvania Legislature website for SB300 or HB300 for this legislative session (I'll update this blog post if/when they go "live.").

John Micek at Pennlive his more:

In the press conference, Rep. Dan Frankel, lead sponsor of HB 300, said, ”More and more people inside the Capitol – from both parties — agree with the vast majority of people outside the building on this. Being gay or transgender has nothing to do with your ability to do a good job or to be a good neighbor or tenant. This is just commonsense legislation. Many people think it’s the law already, and it should be.”

And at his legislative webpage, Rep. Frankel has this Sponsorship Memorandum where learn that it's a reintroduction of HB300 from the 2011-2012 legislative session

From Senator Pat Brown's legislative webpage, we find this Sponsorship Memorandum, where we learn that his bill is a reintroduction of SB1050 from the 2011-2012 legislative session.

Back to Micek for the inevitable:

In the House, the bill sponsored by Rep. Dan Frankel, D-Allegheny, is destined for the State Government Committee.

That matters because the panel is chaired by state Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, R-Butler, an outspoken social conservative who once opposed a push by Philadelphia officials to market the city to gay tourists because he didn’t believe tax dollars should be used to “promote immoral behaviors.”

In a phone interview Tuesday, Metcalfe scoffed at Frankel’s bill, charging his House colleague was “out of touch with reality.” Metcalfe said some Republicans on his panel had advised him to bring the bill to a vote just so it could be defeated.

Only if "out of touch with reality" means that when asked this question:

The state legislature is considering several proposals related to gay marriage and civil unions. Would you favor or oppose a constitutional amendmen t that would allow same sex couples to get legally married?

53% of Pennsylvanians polled in this recent Franklin and Marshall poll answered with either "Strongly favor" (37%) or "Somewhat favor" (16%).  Note to the possibly arithmatically challenged Daryl Metcalfe: 37 + 16 = 53 and 53% is a majority.

Remember, Metcalfe's the guy who declared that there's "significant voter fraud plaguing Pennsylvania's elections" even though there isn't any.

So facing facts probably isn't one of his strong points.