A long-overdue Bent Alaska update — October 2013

We answer to a higher calling….

A. Caleb Pritt writes on the relationship between Christian faith and the GLBT community.

Are you LGBT? Have you lived, worked, spent time in Anchorage? We need your help.

“My review shows that there is clearly a lack of quantifiable evidence necessitating this ordinance.” That’s what Anchorage Mayor Dan Sullivan stated on August 17, 2009 when he vetoed Anchorage Ordinance 2009-64, the Anchorage equal rights ordinance, which had been passed the previous week by a vote of 7 to 4 by the Anchorage Assembly. If you are an LGBT person who lives, works, or spends time in Anchorage — or if you’ve lived/worked/spent time in Anchorage in the past — please complete the Anchorage LGBT Discrimination Survey.

Terry Dean 1950–2011

The Juneau LGBTA community joins other friends and family members in mourning the loss of our friend and ally, Terry Dean, who died on February 27 surrounded by her loved ones and friends.  Terry was a founding member of Juneau PFLAG.

Terry and Ken Dean attended the very first PFLAG meeting in 1995 that was called to see if there was interest in forming a Juneau PFLAG chapter. A resounding YES was stated by meeting participants. Terry and Ken, along with Mildred and Mark Boesser, Dixie Hood, Marsha Buck, Willie Anderson, and Pat Dobbins became the core of PFLAG Juneau in the late 1990s and the years that followed, assuming leadership roles and providing support for many parents and family members in the Juneau community. Terry’s design work on the PFLAG Juneau banner and her logo suggestion for our chapter — Love has no boundaries will remain with us as a beautiful legacy.

Mildred notes, “I will always remember Terry as an example of kindness and compassion and steadfastness of spirit. It always rejoiced my heart to see Terry and Ken come to PFLAG meetings. We could not have continued to exist without their steady hand.”

Terry’s life will be celebrated Thursday, March 3, 2011 at 7:00 PM at the Tlingit & Haida Community Center in Juneau.

Please keep Terry and Ken in your thoughts and prayers — whatever they may be.

Her family has prepared this obituary:

Teresa ‘Terry’ Kathleen Hamilton Dean

Teresa (Terry) Kathleen Hamilton Dean passed away peacefully at her home surrounded by her loving family on February 27, 2011. She was born June 22, 1950 in Ketchikan, Alaska to Willis and Violet (Skulka) Hamilton Sr.

Terry grew up in Ketchikan where she attended elementary school at the old Main School. She graduated in 1969 from Ketchikan High School.

Terry married her soul mate, Kenneth M. Dean on June 14, 1969 at the Presbyterian Church in Ketchikan. They made their home in Juneau and were happily married for 41 years.

Terry was a Haida Eagle, Frog (Hlk’ya’an K’ust’a’n) and Sculpin. She was so very proud of her Haida lineage and was active in promotion of the Haida language and culture. She was a charter member of the Xaadas Gitalang dancers of Juneau; helping to form the dance group in 1984. She was a talented weaver of Haida basketry and ravenstail. She was also a member of the Ravenstail Weaver’s Guild. Terry was a very talented artist, making regalia for herself and other family members.

Both Terry and Ken were active in the community and touched many lives. They organized and attended the very first PFLAG meeting in 1995, which was called to see if there was interest in forming a Juneau chapter of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays. Terry and Ken were founders and became the core of PFLAG Juneau in the late 1990s and the years that followed. Terry assumed leadership roles and provided support for many parents and family members in the Juneau community. Terry’s legacy will be her design work on the PFLAG Juneau banner and her logo suggestion for their chapter – “Love has no boundary”. Terry and Ken also founded the local MS Society Support Group, organizing the 1st MS walk with Senator Egan as Master of Ceremonies. Terry and Ken both served the Douglas Lion’s Club for over 20 years and Terry was a member of the Juneau Lioness Club. She managed the Loan Closet which loaned medical equipment and gave encouragement to the disabled community in Juneau and was sponsored by the Douglas Lion’s Club. Terry and Ken were instrumental in creating the 1st handicapped accessible trail in Juneau, which runs along the Mendenhall River.

Terry worked for the State of Alaska Department of Fish and Game until 1983, when she joined the University of Alaska Chancellor’s Office. She continued to serve on the administrative staff of the Provost Office until February of this year. Terry has the distinction of being the longest serving staff member of the office.

She is preceded in death by her parents Willis and Violet Hamilton; father-in law Gilbert Lynn Dean; her brothers Gideon Duncan Jr., Leonard Alex Hamilton, and Owen Earl Hamilton; sisters Joy Ann Hamilton Cutshall, and Margaret Hamilton (who died at birth); and sister-in law Carla M. Timpone.

She is survived by her husband Kenneth M. Dean, her son Aaron Lynn Dean and wife Audrey of Fairbanks, grandchildren; Jacqueline Michelle Dean and Victoria Lynn Dean; her sisters Lavina M. Hamilton of Anchorage, and Bert G. Hamilton and Raymond Guthrie Sr. of Ketchikan; her brothers Willis H. Hamilton Jr., Gary Hamilton and Dana Craig Hamilton of Ketchikan; mother-in law LaRaine Dean; sisters-in law Linda L. Lappin and Shirley R. Dean, many nieces and nephews; and numerous great-nieces and great-nephews.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Xaadas Gitalang c/o Vicki Soboleff, 2924 Simpson Avenue, Juneau, Alaska 99801, or the PFLAG Juneau Chapter, c/o Jonathan Anderson, 9162 Jerry Drive, Juneau, Alaska 99801.

A Celebration of Terry’s Life will take place Thursday, March 3, 2011 at 7:00 p.m. at Tlingit & Haida Community Center, 3235 Hospital Drive, Juneau, AK. A second Celebration of Terry’s Life will take place on March 8, 2011 at 2:00 p.m. at 429 Deermount St., Ketchikan, AK, followed by interment at the Bayview Cemetery next to her Mom and Dad. Fellowship will follow immediately after at 429 Deermount.

We at Bent Alaska express our sincere condolences for all of Terry’s family and friends.

Alaska Hate Crimes Act: My letter in support of SB11

Hate crimes: They can happey anytime, anywhere.Today the Alaska Senate Judiciary Committee is hearing testimony on Senate Bill 11, the the Alaska Hate Crimes Act. In spite of the fact that the bill addresses hate crimes based on a number of personal characteristics, the factually incorrect “action alert” sent by Jim Minnery of Alaska Family Council to his supporters yesterday focused exclusively on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Alaska Hate Crimes Bill: Jim Minnery v. reality…again

Jim Minnery is freaking out again.

I know, it doesn’t take much. In the past year, the head of the Alaska Family Council (which works against both Alaskans and families) has taken on topics ranging from Planned Parenthood to public education to the Girl Scouts of America. But nothing seems to get his soul patch flaring like “the gay.”

His latest manufactured controversy, sent out today through his “Alaska Family Action Alert” email blast, surrounds Alaska Senate Bill 11; a piece of legislation aimed at adding sexual orientation and gender identity to our state’s existing hate crimes policy, sponsored by Democratic Senators Bettye Davis, Hollis French, and Johnny Ellis. Tomorrow afternoon, the Senate Judiciary Committee will take on the topic, so naturally Minnery is encouraging his network to flood the committee members’ inboxes and answering machines, and, as per usual, is supplying them with talking points that must have been grown in a special, air tight lab, where there was no possible exposure to that pesky pollutant we call reality.

Let’s take a look at what our state Senators have no doubt been hearing, ad nauseum, these past few days:

Claim 1: SB11 Is Unnecessary. All violent crimes are hate crimes and it’s already against the law to commit a violent attack against another person or his/her property. However, “hate crimes” take the law one step further, adding a separate penalty for the thoughts that allegedly motivated the action.

All violent crimes are hateful. But that is entirely different from each individual offense qualifying as a “hate crime,” defined – at the federal level – in the Hate Crimes Statistics Act as “crimes that manifest evidence of prejudice based on race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, or ethnicity, including where appropriate the crimes of murder, non-negligent manslaughter; forcible rape; aggravated assault, simple assault, intimidation; arson; and destruction, damage or vandalism of property.”

The plain truth is that most violent crimes are ambivalent, in respect to the victims. The “step further” that Minnery is so offended by only applied, in 2009, to just under .005% of all violent crimes in the United States, being that they were carried out in reaction to specific characteristics of the individual they were inflicted upon. Within that sliver of a percentage point, 18.5% resulted from sexual orientation bias. Meaning that people targeted people for being gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, or even straight.

Does Jim Minnery and the Alaska Family Council believe that this is an acceptable number? That we shouldn’t single out individuals that enact violent crimes against people specifically because of their gender identity or sexual  orientation? This is not a free speech issue, as he is attempting to frame it. This is an “acting violently” issue.

Or maybe he’s just feeling all soap-boxy because he already has his protection. The 19.7 percent of hate crimes in 2009 which resulted from religious bias – 1.5% higher than sexual orientation and gender identity offenses – are already protected.

(Someone wants to have their sky cake and eat it too.)

Claim 2: SB11 Would make people unequal under the law. A person who assaults a homosexual will be given a harsher penalty than if that same assault was perpetrated on, for example, an elderly person. This creates a two-tiered justice system with second-class victims. All human life should be valued the same regardless of a person’s race, religion, national origin, etc.

This goes back to the paper thin “special rights” argument that permeated the Assembly Chambers in the Loussac Library during the Summer of Hate surrounding AO-64. Minnery is essentially lobbying for a “fair tax” judicial approach; one uniform prescription for all violent crimes. But, just as stealing a can of soda from a grocery store is different from stealing a delivery truck carrying palettes of soda cans, so is the case with a random violent act versus one motivated by personal prejudice.

As explained by former Supreme Court Justice William Renquist, in the unanimous 1993 decision regarding Wisconsin v. Mitchell, penalty-enhancement hate crime laws exist because hate crimes  are ”thought to inflict greater individual and societal harm…. bias-motivated crimes are more likely to provoke retaliatory crimes, inflict distinct emotional harms on their victims, and incite community unrest.”

What the Alaska Family Council works tirelessly to fail to understand is that random acts of violence are just that: random. And, because of that, they are largely isolated. How does one exact revenge randomly? Mostly, they don’t. There is no explicit direction for the anger to go. Whereas, with hate crimes, we tend to see a really, really bad snowball effect; “the Other.” The manufactured message that wires us with a need to protect ourselves from that other person with those other beliefs with that other skin tone or that other accent, and all these attributes that differ in nature from what we recognize as familiar are inherently nefarious in nature. We should not find common ground, but instead lock the door.

Unfortunately, “the Other” is how the Alaska Family Council frames virtually every debate it puts forth, and it works against a civil society rather than towards one.

Claim 3: SB11 Paves the way for religious persecution. Virtually everywhere “hate crimes” laws have passed, arrests for speech have followed. In Sweden, Canada and Great Britain “hate crimes” laws have been used to prosecute Christians speaking their disapproval of homosexual behavior, posing a serious threat to religious liberty and free speech.

So, what’s behind the bumper sticker allegation that “hate crimes” legislation universally leads to an assault on free speech? Minnery warns that the current legislation on the table will “muzzle” Christians, and cites Sweden, Canada, and Great Britain as evidence of that; invoking the ubiquitous far-right “We’re America, not Europe!” mantra.

Key differences, however, separate the condition of free speech in those countries from the US, actually agreeing with their point, but not in a way that they would necessarily endorse.

Britain is in flux; it’s constitution is based on the precedent of law; there is no backbone document akin to our founding documents. Thus, there are neither initial restrictions or protections regarding free speech and expression. The UK is fairly obviously used, by Minnery, not in substance, but in rhetoric; following the same exhaustive dialog we heard in the health care debate which framed European countries (which Canada found itself interwoven into, because of their relationship to the crown, I guess?) very much as “the Other”.

On one hand, there is America. On the other, there is everyone else. And they have the Muslims.

Canada, in contrast, has “Hate Propaganda” laws, which prohibit the expression of hatred for certain protected groups. That is a far cry from what Minnery is arguing against; the action of anger against certain protected groups, including religious groups.

In fairness, Minnery, and his ilk, have chronic problems with linking words with their consequences.

Sweden, in 2002, approved a constitutional amendment that sought to protect groups from “unfavorable speech,” winning them my personal award-of-the-century for “Ambiguous to a Fault.” In the United States, we’ve kept up a passionate argument for 235 years over what “general welfare of the public” means. And Sweden somehow thought that “unfavorable speech” would suffice, criminalizing not only actual threats of violence, but also “expressed disdain.”

Honestly, “unfavorable speech with expressed disdain” sounds like how NPR would describe the crap that comes out of Dr. Laura’s face. Not exactly a rock solid foundation for the basis of law.

The truth is that Sweden doesn’t have freedom of speech like we are afforded (at least as it pertains to this issue). Their idea of free expression is not even in the same ballpark.

Specifically, in the case of Sweden, Minnery warns readers about Pastor Ake Green, who was arrested for delivering a clearly anti-gay sermon in 2003. And if you live in Alaska and occasionally go outdoors or turn on a television, you’ve heard it before: Genesis, Deuteronomy, cancer on society, abnormal, perverse, will lead to disaster and the spread of aids, blah blah blah. It’s been carbon copied and put on display across America one hundred times over, including in Jim Minnery’s emails, Jerry Prevo’s weekly tangents, and Dan Fagan’s radio show (now only available in scarred memories). Last I checked, we haven’t made any arrests. Nor should we. The Westboro Baptist Church (I linked their Wiki page, because I’m not throwing any traffic their way if I can help it) gets to bounce around the map like deranged gummy bears with inarticulate chips on their shoulders. By the same token, our own reality deficient, eccentric characters should be afforded the same rights.

That doesn’t mean we should accept the message as credible; it’s laughable. But they should get to scream down the same vacant hallway that houses Sarah Palin’s presidential aspirations.

Back in the real world where Jim Minnery’s emails can’t hurt you, Green was acquitted by the Swedish Supreme Court, which cited Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, stressing the international right to freedom of expression (anyone want to guess what nation Europe got that idea from?).

More smoke and mirrors to justify an irrational adversity to equal protection under the law from the Alaska Family Council, which again I will point out has nothing to do with working towards the betterment of Alaska or her families.

The good news is that Jim Minnery and the openly closed-minded organization that pays him a lot of money to concoct controversies “in His name!” is not ultimately responsible for making sure SB11 passes. He is only in charge of orchestrating an online and telephonic misrepresentation of Alaska.

About an hour ago, I was talking to a friend of mine – himself a full catalog of standing up against adversity – who reminded me that, at the end of the day, we are all confronted with a simple, albeit blunt, choice: Be a friend or be a dick. Either we make tough choices to stand up and fight for community, or we allow ourselves and those we care about to get screwed, bullied, and ignored; left to fend for themselves. Or we can stand up and say a lot more than “It gets better.”

We can demand that it does.

Friday, at 1:30pm, the Senate Judiciary Committee will address SB11. They’re going to hear from the Alaska Family Council. I implore you to do your part in ensuring that they also hear from the Rational Alaska Community, and I ask you to speak up in defense of our community; our Alaska.

The committee includes Senators Hollis French, Bill Wielechowski, Joe Paskvan, Lesil McGuire, and John Coghill.

Clicky clicky. And kindly pass the word.

After the election is not the time….

by Caleb Pritt

Tuesday in Chicago, a good man, Gery Chico conceded his bid for Mayor of Chicago to Rahm Emanuel. I applaud Mr. Emanuel on his victory, but as far as policy goes….Gery Chico had the right vision, plan, and experience to really turn Chicago around and make it a first class city again. The loss of the Summer Olympic Games, the rising unemployment and crime rate in Chicago only go to show you that Chicago is not the mighty metropolis it once was….but it can be. I give credit to Ed Koch and later Mike Bloomberg for the way they have turned New York City around, when they were Mayor. But in Chicago, today, a little over 50% of the eligible voters have voted.

In Wisconsin, Indiana, and Ohio, reactionary Republican Governors and their legislative leadership have sought to break….literally bury the organized union effort. There are protests in their second week in Madison, Wisconsin while the Democratic Party members of the State Legislature in those three states have fled across state lines to prevent quorum. In those states, in Wisconsin 51.7%, in Indiana 37.8%, and in Ohio 44.3% of the eligible voters voted in key elections across those states’ elections. Potential Governors (Tom Barrett in Wisconsin, Jill Long Thompson in Indiana, and Ted Strickland) who all had pro-union records were left on the sidelines.

At home here in Alaska, there is growing frustration with the way Sean Parnell as Governor has refused Federal money for the Health Care Consortium and the fact that he favors giving more business tax breaks, while thousands of Alaskans struggle with mounting energy prices because there is still no movement on building the Natural Gas pipeline. There’s also considerable frustration with some of the other policies of Governor Parnell. Mind you, Democrats Ethan Berkowitz (the eventual Democratic nominee for Governor), as well as Hollis French & Bob Poe had wonderful policy plans for energy, the economy, and many Alaska issue. 43.2% of eligible Alaska voters cast ballots in the 2010 General Election. Alaska could have had a forward thinking Governor who would prepare Alaska for the next phase of it’s statehood. There are many problems facing my state I chose as home and cutting budgets, pampering the big businesses, and sticking the proverbial head in the sand will not solve those problems. Alaska needs another Egan, Hickel, or Hammond as Governor. Instead they are getting a Governor whose focus is on supporting the business interests who supported his campaign, rather than the people who he was elected to govern. But as the late and great Molly Ivins said, “You dance with the ones who brung you.” And the big business interests “brung” Sean Parnell to the big dance as Governor!

On average 41.6% of the eligible voters in the United States bothered to turn out and vote.

As a political operative, I know that those who host a coffee party to meet a candidate, go to a campaign headquarters and do data entry, knock on doors passing out literature on a candidate, and actually take voters to the polls or take absentee ballots to those unable to go is a far less percentage.

My cousin, Charlotte Pritt, was the first woman ever nominated for Governor of West Virginia. She was a State Senator and former member of the House of Delegates. She entered politics because as a school teacher she saw too many children who came to school hungry and she asked prophetically, “What do you do when the kids are too hungry to want to learn?” Her campaign for Governor was more than a mere exercise in breaking barriers for women. She supported collective bargaining rights, opposed a grocery and gasoline tax, and was an advocate for responsible conservation that works with business while opposing mountain top removal in mining. 46.6% of eligible West Virginia voters turned out to vote in 1996. She faced a former Governor who was assisted by a conservative State Senator who supported a smear campaign against her. The UMW got a holiday declared but many miners took a personal day rather than voting for the daughter of a coal miner, thinking in Democratic West Virginia she had it won. She narrowly lost and that conservative State Senator went onto later become Governor himself and now a U.S. Senator. As a result West Virginia has seen mountain top removal rise and social programs for those less fortunate decrease. We have seen greedy politicians lusting for power attempt to usurp the authority of the State Constitution and the aforementioned State Senator who went on, stopped at nothing to crush my cousin and later her brother, who also ran for statewide office, as well as anyone who opposed him. As Governor, his daughter received an illegal degree, a great U.S. Congressman was assaulted and turned out for reelection on false charges of misconduct, and it took a near revolt in the State Legislature to stop the Huey Long-like power grab of this individual. And yes Big Business thrives and the people suffer.

Protests, energy, email campaigns are all well and good but they are misplaced energy AFTER THE ELECTION. After the election is not the time to get involved. After the ballots are counted and the election is certified is not the time to get involved. Facebook statuses, letters to the editor, the occasional protest, all that is wasted if you do not do the homework beforehand.

As a political operative, I am on the frontlines. Do you realize many of us who work on campaigns get paid very little, but work long hours. We have little of a social life because we devote our lives (if we are good and worth our salt) to the politician and their campaign. We sacrifice sleep, good nutrition, health, and wealth to make the clanky gears of democracy turn. We endure losses of relationships, non-understanding family and friends, and miss concerts, movies, and various other social events. We struggle to convince people to come in to assist us. We endure the insults of the uninformed and the mind numbing, soul-wrenching pomposity of the ignorant. We become literal slaves to make freedom work. We are the reason….the front line shock troops that are the first on the field of battle as it were, and when the election is over….very few remember us or the sacrifices we made.

And I have been a candidate and for them, the sacrifice is greater. You sacrifice not just your social relations and your family and absence of being with loved ones, but you sacrifice your privacy and your dignity. You find yourself cramped in a room calling contributor after contributor because you are forced to do so to find enough donations (fuel) to keep your campaign going. You add to that the need to do endless news interviews, travel time to various events, listen to person after person, study the issues, try not to slip up in what you say while having to cope. You have little sleep and you wake up in a panic mode asking, “Is it worth it?” or more frightfully, “How will I raise enough money? What if I lose?” And you think of not just your family & friends, but your extended family, your campaign staff, and worry about disappointing them. You do so many things in so little time and suffer a harsh press, encouraged sometimes by harsher bloggers, who take rumors and half-truths and build them to a crescendo game of “gotcha”, not to mention the contributors or supporters who feel scorned if you don’t give them enough attention. You don’t thrive often, but rather survive, and often the one with the best plans doesn’t win because society and elections has become more predicated on who raises enough money vs. who raises the most valid solutions to the problems facing government.

Often I hear politics and politicians are corrupt. Well government and politics are indicative of the people they govern. If we have an abusive relationship with our elected officials, it’s because we are allowing them to abuse us. We as citizens possess a power than men & women in Libya, Egypt, Tunisia, Bahrain, all across Africa and Asia and all around the world give their lives for….the power to vote.

In Iraq, our men and women in uniform are sacrificing their body and blood to give people the right to vote. In Afghanistan it’s the same as well.

We in America have no excuse. We have had the right to vote since 1789 if you are a white man, 1865 (or 1963 depending on your definition of the right) if you are an African-American, 1921 if you are female. No matter your skin tone, your orientation, your religion, your beliefs….you have an inherent right and a power to speak and be a part of the process. By taking a quick moment we can with the power of a pen render the powers of mighty armies useless. We can control our budgetary demands if we vote. We can end and decide what we want truly, if we but vote. We don’t need Tea Parties or Coffee Parties.

Somewhere tonight there are people like Kevin & Daniel and other friends of mine who have drowned their sorrow in a beer or two. The next few weeks will be hard as they help to disassemble a once thriving campaign office, then pack up, try to decide what they will do for their lives, and then the silence. The silence and sense of loss that comes at the end of a campaign. The sense that while their cause was right and their aim was true, they fell short of the goal, and they will as I have often and other friends before me have beforehand ask, was it worth it?

After the election is not the time. Griping never solves problems and neither does misplaced energy. There’s one solution and that’s the register to vote and utilize in municipal (citywide), county, state, and national elections. Then and only then do we fulfill the right to call ourselves citizens. Otherwise to abdicate that right is really your way of saying I don’t want to be an American citizen.

Our nation and our state(s) are at a crossroads. We can choose a destiny that we choose or we can sit idly by and gripe and complain as our precious freedoms erode away. The choice is ours, each of us, and I pray to God it’s not too late!

All photos except that of Sean Parnell and Charlotte Pritt by Melissa S. (Mel) Green. Sean Parnell photo is public domain through Wikimedia Commons.  Click through on photos for further information.

Homosexuality isn’t so immoral after all!

by Heather Aronno | Originally posted on The Alaska Commons

For those who were not able to attend the “Is Homosexuality Immoral?” lecture by Dr. John Corvino, you missed a good time. Hosted by UAA Student Life & Leadership’s Student Activities department, the lecture consisted of a break down of the standard arguments against homosexuality: the Bible says it’s wrong, it’s unnatural, it’s gross, etc… It was also incredibly entertaining. Corvino has a talent for keeping the pace quick and light, addressing the main arguments up front so that he can get to his favorite part, the audience questions.

Let’s backtrack a little to before the lecture. After my post on Monday (which Bent Alaska and Progressive Alaska were kind enough to re-post), I had a fun time bringing up the topic in my classes. The general reaction from students was that they 1) thought that the speaker was a conservative bigot until I straightened them out, 2) had no problem with LGBT people and didn’t see what the big deal was about, or 3) got a miffed look on their face when I brought the topic up at all. It was especially interesting, as this also marked the week that the UA Board of Regents was finally going to consider adding “sexual orientation” to UA’s non-discrimination policy. Many students didn’t know that LGBT students and faculty weren’t already protected by the policy. I felt informative, but in a depressing kind of way.

Fast forward back to Thursday night. John and I were approached by a few students outside of the Wendy Williamson Auditorium. They were handing out those little chick tracts comics. You know the ones. The hero of the story dabbles in the occult and ends up in Hell. Or the hero tries marijuana and ends up in Hell. Or the hero considers evolution and…well, you get the picture. I politely declined, and put the one that John took into the recycling bin.

[Fun Fact: Putting those little comics into Wiccan-themed books at the bookstore is not viewed as helpful. It makes the customers who buy the Wiccan books very angry, and they take it out on the store employees. Then the employees think hateful thoughts about the people who put the comics into the Wiccan books in the first place.]

But after that little moment, there was nothing but positivity leading up to, during, and after the lecture. Even the Bible Study group that attended was polite and, for the most part, asked good questions.

Afterward, I was able to speak to a few students about their impressions of the lecture:

“I thought it was really good. I’ve got to say going into it, I knew nothing more than the question on the billboard, so I had no idea about the speaker himself. I didn’t know he was a philosophy professor. And I thought… I love logic so the way that he phrased his arguments was done really well and made a lot of sense. I don’t know, it’s one of those things, I don’t think I personally learned anything new, because it just reaffirmed my beliefs already. It just felt good to have that logic behind it all.” Joe – English Major

“I really enjoyed the lecture, just because Dr. Corvino was able to break down every argument against homosexuality. It put it in perspective.” Rosalyn – Russian Language and International Studies Majors

“I thought Dr. John Corvino was very thorough in his explanation of why homosexuality is not immoral. My feelings on the issue are that it is a completely normal sexual behavior. As an evangelical Christian, I do not find anything within the Bible that tells me that it is immoral. In fact, I find that in the scripture of Jesus, and especially as Christians, we need to support equality for all human beings. So what he said fit into my religious faith.” Ceezar – Political Science Major

“It was very good. I’m not a religious man. I’m a very devout atheist. [chuckle] My personal thought is that he made very compelling arguments and I’ve been on board with him through this whole thing, so it’s not like I had any lingering discomforts or anything. He was very articulate. He wasn’t very pathos-based, which was good. He kept things very simple and understandable, and made it so he could reach out to every [person in the] audience without sounding judgmental, which is good in our modern culture. I personally enjoyed this and was glad I attended.” Lucien – UAA Student

As we walked out of the auditorium, I thought about the students who were huddled outside, handing comics to people. I wish that they would have allowed themselves to attend the lecture, because I think they would have gained something from it. Even if it was just taking a moment to see things from another person’s perspective. I’m sure that they believed strongly that they were doing the right thing, but they just plain missed the point.

Lucien, one of the students quoted above, is actually a blogger as well. And so I’ll end my post with a quote from his review, but I recommend you following this link over to his blog and reading the rest of his post.

Corvino did make a point early on that the fact that people believe that this debate is over is kind of unsettling. He said that we are at a very odd place in the war for equality for the LGBT community. There is a consensus growing among the general public that the war is over. But the sad truth is that the war is still very much alive and is not getting the attention that is used to. Corvino said that there is a difference in the public’s perception of the war because the bulk of it hasn’t been really taught to kids all that much. This came up during the discussion. While we are taught all about the leaders of the African-American movement for equality, leader of the LGBT community’s battle for equality have gone mostly unnoticed in history classes. People like Harvey Milk aren’t taught about in classes.

Thanks to those that helped get Dr. Corvino up here. Thanks to Dr. Corvino for coming to UAA and helping us find better ways to articulate our viewpoint. And thanks to the UA Board of Regents who voted to change the non-discrimination policy to include sexual orientation! (Read more over at Bent Alaska.)

Other reactions to Dr. John Corvino’s “Is Homosexuality Moral?” lecture

• 17 Feb 2011. “The Morality of Homosexuality: A Lecture with John Corvino” by Lucien Maverick (Lucien Maverick’s Blog).
• 18 Feb 2011. “‘Is Homosexuality Moral?’ Recap”by Matt Caprioli (The Northern Light).

About John Corvino

Dr. John Corvino, a.k.a. “The Gay Moralist,” lectured on the topic “Is Homosexuality Immoral?” at the Wendy Williamson Auditorium, University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA), on Thursday, 17 Feb 2011. His visit coincided with the decision by the University of Alaska Board of Regents to add “sexual orientation” to the nondiscrimination policy for the statewide University of Alaska system.

Dr. Corvino is a writer, speaker, and philosophy professor. For over 15 years he has been traveling the country speaking on gay rights. Combining philosophy, sensitivity, and humor he has challenged all sides of the debate about homosexuality and morality.  Dr. Corvino’s writings, videos from his presentations, and a full DVD of his lecture “What’s Morally Wrong With Homosexuality?” are available on his website.

Photos by Melissa S. (Mel) Green

Sara’s News Roundup 2/20/11

Recent LGBT news selected by Sara Boesser in Juneau, Alaska.

1) University of Alaska regents vote to ban gay discrimination
Anchorage, Alaska, Anchorage Daily News, February 19th, 2011

2) Corvino: Should we care if we were ‘Born This Way?’
365Gay.com, February 18, 2011

3) Transsexual differences caught on brain scan
New Scientist, January 2011

4) Hawaii eyes gay ceremonies after civil unions pass
Honolulu, Associated Press, February 17, 2011

5) Mexico Markets First Gay Beer?
Mexico, Advocate, February 17, 2011

6) Montenegro gets first gay rights NGO
Podgorica, Montenegro, AFP, February 18, 2011

7) Transgender symposium
Waterford, Ireland, Irish Examiner, February 19, 2011

8) Lea T., Transsexual Model, Sits Down With Oprah (VIDEO)
Huffington Post, February 17, 2011

9) UK to let gays have church civil ceremonies
London, 365Gay.com, February 17, 2011

10) Gay marriage has the votes to pass state [Maryland] Senate
Baltimore, Maryland, Baltimore Sun, February 17, 2011

11) Facebook adds ‘civil union, ‘domestic partnership’
San Francisco Chronicle, February 19, 2011

12) California high court to rule on key Prop. 8 issue
San Francisco, San Francisco Chronicle, February 16, 2011

13) Trans-Friendly Restrooms Sought in Chicago
Chicago, Advocate, February 18, 2011

14) Top Marine Says DADT Repeal Won’t Lead to Exodus in Force
Washington, AOL News, February 18, 2011

University of Alaska Regents vote 8–2 to add sexual orientation to UA nondiscrimination policy

By a vote of 8 to 2, the University of Alaska Regents this morning added sexual orientation to the UA Regents’ Policies on nondiscrimination. Students, faculty, and staff of the statewide public university system have been asking for years for such a policy change, led in particular by students at the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus.

UA Regents to consider adding “sexual orientation” to non-discrimination policy

A proposed revision to University of Alaska’s non-discrimination policy to include “sexual orientation” is among a number of items to be considered during the Board of Regents two-day meeting at Lee Gorsuch Commons on the University of Alaska Anchorage campus this Thursday and Friday.