Multiple levels of WTF?
A 9-year old has plead down a premeditated murder charge to negligent homicide in Arizona. A 9-year old. Apparently the kid shot and killed his father and a man renting a room in the home. No one really knows why. I haven't been able to find any talk of a history of violent behavior. There was some talk of abuse. The kid claimed he was keeping tally of spankings and had vowed his 1000th would be his last. However, the statement is inadmissible because a parent or guardian was not present when he made it. There is also the little problem that the tally sheet he claims to have kept cannot be found. It is complicated even more by the fact that none of the townspeople are buying it. Which doesn't mean it didn't happen, but how are you going to prove it in a court of law if there is no physical evidence, no record of complaints and no history of behavioral issues?
No motive has ever been cited, which seems a bit odd to me if you're charging the kid with premeditated murder. But it was this comment, over at the Salt Lake Tribune that just takes the cake.
This story has been stinking to the rafters since I first heard about it. So we are never going to find out if the dad and his pal were a gay couple or prone to child molestation or abuse? Wrap it all up in a tidy plea bargain and save the reputation of the deceased and his family? I say foul! We should have the truth. Even kids don't shoot people for no reason. This little boy executed his dad and the dad's friend with very little emotion apparently. This usually means they had it coming somehow.
What does the sexuality of his father have to do with anything? Gay people are no more likely to be molesters or abusive than the population at large, superstitions to the contrary notwithstanding. This kind of nonsense is as irritating as it is painful. I have two daughters. When it became apparent that a son was not in the cards for me, I was a little disappointed. I think most men would be. You know how I used to console myself? By telling myself that God was protecting my potential sons from me...
But I digress. What if they were a gay couple? Is he trying to say that would be sufficient cause for them to "have it coming?" What if the kid felt it was his God given duty to "kill faggots?" Whose reputation is on the line then? That of a sick little town that managed to teach an 8-year old he has a license to kill?
Oh, and as for "the truth?" Honestly buddy, it's none of your damn business.
Courage Campaign Fights Ken Starr
"Fidelity": Don't Divorce... from Courage Campaign
Freedom to Marry Week. Get Involved.
(Sometimes the player says the video doesn't exist. Not true. Try reloading the page. It usually works the second time. Is Vimeo having a hard time keeping up w/ the traffic??)
Well, I’ll be.
Governor John Huntsman has come out in favor of civil unions and supports the Common Ground Initiative. A republican. In Utah. Who'd have guessed? I guess miracles haven't ceased.
Freedom to Marry Week. Get Involved.
Got Milk?
Milk is a must see. It's an extremely well done movie about a story worth telling. It may have happened in the 70s, but it is no less relevant today. What I think impressed me most is Milk never tried to blend in, never made apologies for who he was, never took the back door.
Utah is gearing up for a political battle over gay rights. It's called the Common Ground Initiative. Theoretically the LDS Church does not have a problem with equal rights for GLBT folk. They know they are safe in saying so because they know no such laws will pass here. Already law makers are opposing the legislation because they fear it will eventually lead to marriage rights for all.
But Equality Utah, the gay rights organization here, is releasing statements saying, "This is not about marriage." Perhaps. Perhaps it is more about calling the LDS Church's bluff, but it still seems disingenuous to me. For one, yes. it. is. It is absolutely a way to get the proverbial foot in the case law door. For another, they are not fooling anyone. Utah's anti-gay amendment will have to be amended or struck down because of the "or anything like unto it" language that exists, and conservative legislators here know it. That is just one reason why I have always disagreed with an "incremental approach."
Separate is never equal and civil unions are already proving to be mostly worthless as far as protecting the rights of the couple when someone decides they don't want to acknowledge them as such. I do not understand why GLBT folk seem so eager to accept table scraps. All we are doing is admitting to ourselves and everyone else that we don't deserve any better.
The Ends Justify The Means
Isn't this just special. Supporters of Prop 8 let slip in an amicus brief they don't really think that ministers will be forced to perform marriages that are contrary to their beliefs. Interesting since we keep hearing that saw over and over and over...even during the Prop 8 campaign. "If we let the gays get married in a court house the next thing you know we'll be getting sued and be forced to perform marriages in our houses of worship!"
Or not. But that's okay. Jesus doesn't mind a little dishonesty as long as it's for a "good cause."