Articles in z
Jerry, in his own words: A creative response to prejudice
In addition to the thoughtful supportive testimony at the Assembly hearings and the well-argued letters to the editor, there have been some very creative responses to the struggle for Ordinance 64, and to the hateful statements of the anti-gay lobby.
Bent Alaska posted one of Glenn Harvey’s “Jerry: In His Own Words” posters on Monday’s No Dead Queers post. Below are several more ordinance-related posters by Glenn.
Like the “perverted, diseased and depraved” poster linked above, this poster quotes Prevo’s anti-ordinance sermon from June 28 (sermon video HERE).
Remember the mass-produced “Truth Is Not Hate” signs carried by the red-shirted children and anti-gay church members bussed in from Wasilla? We’ve heard that the signs were provided by Bailey’s Furniture.
Like Sarah Palin and her gay friend (who doesn’t deserve to be equal), opponents of the ordinance have a twisted understanding of friendship. Glenn mirrors their prejudice back at them.
Thanks to Glenn for creating the posters and allowing Bent to post them.
Posters © 2009 by Glenn Harvey, used with permission.
Protest Sullivan’s Veto Tonight at McGinley’s
This Week in LGBT Alaska 8/21/09
Juneau
RSVP cruise Reception 8/26, 3-7 p.m. at the Imperial Saloon. SEAGLA
SEAGLA Social Fridays (6-8 p.m.) for GLBT people and our friends over 21, at The Imperial Bar, downtown.
Fairbanks
Voting for ICOAA Empress and Emperor XXXVII, 8/22, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. at College Floral.
Parks Highway
Bac’untry Bruthers at the Trapper Creek Music Festival 8/21, 9 p.m.
Mat-Su Valley
Mat-Su LGBT Community Center in Palmer is open M-F 5-8 p.m. (except 6-8 on Wed.) The social group meets Wednesdays, 5-6 p.m. at Vagabond Blues.
Anchorage
Emperor and Empress Candidates Pancake Breakfast 8/22, 10 a.m.-noon at Mad Myrna’s.
Voting for ICOAA Empress and Emperor XXXVII 8/22, 10a.m.-8 p.m. at the GLCCA.
MCC Anchorage Garage Sale 8/22, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church.
Out North Garage Sale 8/22, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.
Side Street Saturdays, an informal meetup for LGBT writers, at noon in Side Street Cafe.
Bac’untry Bruthers performs Saturday, at the Girdwood Blueberry Festival at 3 p.m and at Tap Root Cafe in south Anchorage at 8 p.m.
Sunday worship with MCC Anchorage, 2 p.m.
Transgender Support Group, Sundays 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the GLCCA.
Anchorage Frontrunners, Tuesdays, 6 p.m.
Out North Season 25 Launch Party 8/27, 6 p.m.
Sullivan’s "Special Right" to Discriminate
Mayor to Gays: You Don’t Count
Equality Works Disappointed in Mayor’s Lack of Leadership
Sullivan VETOES Ordinance 64: no evidence, will of people
Statement from Mayor Sullivan’s office:
On August 11, 2009, the Anchorage Assembly passed AO2009-64(S-2) as amended. I have reviewed the ordinance, heard the Assembly justifications for and against it, and understand the sentiments expressed during the many hours of public testimony. Since the passage, I have received nearly 2,500 additional communications from Anchorage residents. I thank all of those who took the time to participate in the process.
My review shows that there is clearly a lack of quantifiable evidence necessitating this ordinance. My review also shows that the vast majority of those who communicated their position on the ordinance are in opposition.
As elected officials, we are charged with reflecting the will of the community in our decisions, particularly in the absence of compelling data that would supersede that will.
Therefore, I hereby veto AO2009-64(S-2) as amended.
Note: The mayor’s office does not plan to conduct individual media requests today. Questions will be referred back to the statement.
No “Dead Queers” means No Discrimination: Opponents of Ordinance 64
Update: Mayor Sullivan VETOED Ordinance 64. Read the mayor’s statement HERE, then contact the Assembly and ask them to over-ride the veto. They have 21 days.
* * *
What is the anti-gay lobby saying about the passage of Ordinance 64? An Anchorage blogger* wrote:
[Assembly members] Chris Birch and Bill Starr said they had not been convinced that discrimination against gays and lesbians is a problem in Anchorage. “I don’t see signs that say, ‘No Gays Allowed,’. We have a tolerant and diverse community that generally gets along,” he said. Birch also bemoaned the amount of time devoted to this issue, saying he would rather have devoted the time to determine how to better deal with the homeless problem. This is a valid point, since we are not finding dead queers on our streets, but dead homeless people. [emphasis added]
Is that what it takes: “dead queers” on our streets? We don’t even know that there are no “dead queers,” since no state or city agency collects data on anti-gay discrimination. And if the 3 reported anti-gay murders and dozens of attacks and harassment incidents are not enough evidence, how many “dead queers” will be necessary before the city admits there is discrimination against gays?
Homelessness is a serious problem in Anchorage, one that deserves more attention. But there is no point in blaming ordinance supporters for the 25 long hours of testimony to the Assembly. It was the opponents’ strategy to delay the vote, by getting hundreds of church members to testify from as far away as Wasilla.
The blogger, who lists a dozen white supremacist groups on his blogroll, also calls supporters of Ordinance 64 “abusive.” He assumes that a ballot measure to repeal the ordinance, if the Mayor does not veto it by Tuesday, will pass because:
The gay-lovers may be the most vocal and the most abusive, but they are not the most numerous.
I attended the public hearings and watched in disbelief while dozens of anti-gay opponents shouted and insulted and threatened and preached hellfire at the Assembly members each night. They won the “most abusive” label, hands down.
Meanwhile, opponent Jerry Prevo of the Anchorage Baptist Church is keeping up the pressure on Mayor Sullivan, using his pulpit to rally the troops and flood the city with calls and letters:
The Gay Rights Ordinance, 2009-64(s-2), is bad public policy. It will make homosexuality and transgender (which is any form of sexual perversion) an acceptable alternative lifestyle. It is ridiculous to provide special rights for people who chose to engage in immoral, unnatural, perverted sexual activity. Do they have the right to do it? Yes, but we should not be forced to condone it. Homosexuality is a diseased and depraved lifestyle. Young people do not need to be made to think it is an “ok” lifestyle.” [emphasis added]
Prevo’s June 28 sermon “Did Jesus Discriminate?” preached against the equal rights ordinance, calling gays a long list of names, saying “you can’t be both” gay and Christian, and claiming that Jesus did discriminate, sometimes violently. Part 1 of the sermon video is posted HERE, Part 2 is posted below.
“I watched it. I was amazed,” wrote Glenn, an ordinance supporter who created the poster above. “So, I started working on a series of posters ‘Jerry, In His Own Words.’ Not trying to be mean, just trying to make a point: it’s not the gospel, it’s hate speech.”
Video of Prevo’s sermon, “Did Jesus Discriminate?” part 2:
* I’m not going to link directly to his blog, but the name would usually be a GLBT name. To find it, search for our state name followed by the short name of the LGBT community’s late June Festival. Warning: this is a political blog by a white supremacist, and many posts are disturbing.
