As many of you know I am a big fan of the old TV Show Lost in Space. I even built my own robot from the show! For once someone has come up with a gay twist other than the requisite Dr. Smith!
Kudos: Robocub
Category: Bear and Gay News
Gay and Bear News
Rudolph the Young-Gay Reindeer
Ok, admit it. Every year you watch the Rankin/Bass version of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and so do I. It is one of those classic Christmas flicks that we watch every year along with A Charlie Brown Christmas, Frosty the Snowman, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas. One thing that probably didn’t occur to you though, was that Rudolph was gay.
As a child growing up I identified with little gay Rudolph. I knew I was different from the other children at a young age, just like Rudolph. I was awkward at sports, kids “called me names” and did not want me to play in their “reindeer games”. I had a gal pal, like Clarice-still do today, and I had my share of other misfit friends like Hermy. While my father was alway supportive of me, Rudolph’s father is ashamed of him and even tries to “cover up” his flamboyant tendencies. Even Santa in the beginning of the story is not supportive of poor Rudolph. Santa could be thought to represent the government, the religious right, or even mainstream society. One might even make the case that Yukon Cornelius would be known in gay culture as a “bear”. Bears are hairy, husky, usually bearded, gay men. Just as Rudolph, I have hung out with my share of Yukons.
Do I think that the creators really meant to portray Rudolph as a gay youth? Probably not, but I can assure you that the experiences and feelings that this character suffered have been felt by many a gay child. All children… whatever their difference… should be encouraged to “take flight” and express their natural “glow”.
Gays Banned as Priests
Well the attack on gay priests has begun in the Catholic church. If there was any hope of me feeling welcome there, it is now lost. Full Story
Kudos: PlanetOut
Survey on gay marriage
Mass Bay Bears visit IKEA
From the Mass Bay Bears site
Join the Mass Bay Bears on our excursion to reasonably-priced swedish-contemporary furniture & housewares. IKEA in other cities is a hugely popular Bear-spotting spot, let’s kick off our local one in Stoughton. By Dec. 2nd the crowds should be under control & the shelves restocked. We’ll be meeting in the front lobby at 7pm for shopping, then reconnecting at 8pm in the trés chic café for $5 Swedish Meatballs dinners & $6 salmon ones. This will be a fun casual way to meet new Bears & stock up for the holidays.
Marriage ban likely to appear on Mass. ballot
The proposed amendment seeks to undo a November 2003 ruling by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court that deemed it unconstitutional to deny marriage licenses to gays and lesbians.
“The proposed amendment seeks to undo a November 2003 ruling by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court that deemed it unconstitutional to deny marriage licenses to gays and lesbians.”
Well here we go again. I am so upset that people I don’t know, and don’t know me, might get a chance to decide whether I can visit my partner in the hospital, obtain joint healthcare, have bereavment leave should one of us die, and over 1000 other benefits heterosexual couples take for granted. But does anyone marry because of benefits? Perhaps…but we got married because we love each other. We were married after nine years on May 28th, 2004. Why is this anyone else’s business other than our own? Why do people want to deny me the right to happiness that they so richly enjoy? Do you believe in your heart that some people are more deserving of basic rights than others?
First they came for the Communists,
and I didn’t speak up, because I wasn’t a Communist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn’t speak up, because I wasn’t a Jew.
Then they came for the Catholics,
and I didn’t speak up, because I was a Protestant.
Then they came for me,
and by that time there was no one left to speak up for me.
                                    —Rev. Martin Niemoller
Please Support Marriage for Gays and Lesbians
Especially if you live in Massachusetts!
Equalmarriage.org
Massequality.org
Bear Article in New York Magazine
Grizzly Men – Otters and wolves and bears. Oh my!
Who knew that bears would become so mainstream as to warrant an article in a popular New York magazine! I kind of liked it when we were more underground…sort of a secret society. Well that’s progress.
Mass Bay Bear Brunch
The Mass Bay Bears will be holding a chinese buffet next Sunday, November 20th, 11:30 A.M. at East Manor in Saugus, Massachusetts. For more info you may read about it at their website.
Here we go again
Senate panel OKs gay marriage ban
Christopher Curtis, PlanetOut Network
Thursday, November 10, 2005 / 04:53 PM
SUMMARY: A proposed constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage was approved by a Senate subcommittee on Wednesday.
A proposed constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage is expected to go before the Senate Judiciary Committee next week and a likely vote in the Senate next year after a Senate panel approved it Wednesday.
The Marriage Protection Amendment reads: “Marriage in the United States shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman. Neither this Constitution, nor the constitution of any state, shall be construed to require that marriage or the legal incidents thereof be conferred upon any union other than the union of a man and a woman.”
The amendment would also rescind the Massachusetts precedent that made same-sex marriage legal in that state.
“None of us takes amending the Constitution lightly,” said Kansas Republican Sam Brownback, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary subcommittee on the Constitution. “The plain fact is this amendment has been exhaustively studied and it really is time to act,” he told the Associated Press (AP).
Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., called the measure “an extreme and unnecessary reaction” that has little chance of passing. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said those behind the amendment have a political agenda.
Brownback, who is considering a presidential bid, insisted politics had nothing to do with the bill.
But Brad Luna, a spokesman for the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), said, “Basically what we saw yesterday was another version of cynical politics, when you see the poll numbers go down and Capitol Hill goes into disarray.”
“That’s when the radical right wing reaches into their playbook to write discrimination into the Constitution and threaten the security of millions of American families,” Luna said.
“The Constitution exists to protect rights, not undermine them,” said Caroline Fredrickson, director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Washington Legislative Office.
“Congress rightly rejected this measure last year and must reject it again,” Fredrickson said, referring to the Federal Marriage Amendment, which failed to get enough Senate votes in July.
Eric Stern, the executive director of the National Stonewall Democrats, told the PlanetOut Network his organization was “extremely disappointed” with the panel’s decision. While praising all the Democrats on the committee who voted against the proposed amendment, Stern directed his strongest criticism against Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa.
Specter, who cast the deciding 5-4 vote, claimed he opposes the amendment but felt it should not “be bottled up” in committee.
Stern called Specter’s decision “hypocritical” and compared it to actions of other “supposedly pro-gay Republicans” such as Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who vetoed a bill that would legalize same-sex marriage.
In order to become law the Marriage Protection Amendment would need to be approved by two-thirds of those voting in the House and Senate and then be ratified by at least 38 state legislatures.
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