Articles tagged with: Sarah Palin
Donated “Heather” and “Daddy’s Roommate” Will Be Accepted or Sold by Wasilla Library
UPDATE: Wasilla Library Rejects “Heather” and “Daddy’s Roommate”
Two popular gay-themed children’s books, “Heather Has Two Mommies” and “Daddy’s Roommate,” were donated to the Wasilla Public Library in Alaska, where Sarah Palin was mayor, by gay and lesbian Americans concerned with attempted censorship.
The full press release was posted earlier: Gay Americans Donate Children’s Books to Wasilla Library, On Eve of Banned Books Week.
I called the Wasilla Public Library when they opened today.
“We received the books,” said KJ Martin-Albright, Library Administrator at the Wasilla Public Library, “and we sent a copy of our library donation policy and a receipt to Mr. Petrelis.”
“Karen Davis, the youth services librarian, will decide if the books will be accepted and placed on the shelves, or be given to the Friends of the Library and sold at a book faire.”
“Rest assured that we are not dodging him,” said Ms. Martin-Albright. “He should be hearing from us soon.”
Bent Alaska thanks Mr. Petrelis for this generous donation, and encourages Ms. Davis to accept these wonderful children’s books. We look forward to seeing “Heather Has Two Mommies” and “Daddy’s Roommate” on the shelves of the Wasilla Public Library.
Wasilla Library Gets Gay Children’s Books
UPDATE: Wasilla Library Rejects “Heather Has Two Mommies” and “Daddy’s Roommate”
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Gay Americans Donate Children’s Books to Wasilla Library, On Eve of Banned Books Week
Gay and lesbian Americans concerned with attempted censorship at public libraries recently donated copies of “Heather Has Two Mommies” and “Daddy’s Roommate” to the Wasilla, Alaska, public library. This show of support for diversity and First Amendment rights is a pro-active direct response to reports that former mayor and now GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin may have tried to remove the children’s books from the shelves in the 1990s.
The two gay-themed books were given to the library to guarantee they were available for the Wasilla community to read and enjoy. The donation was made in anticipation of Banned Books Week, which begins on September 27.Ultimately, the gay and lesbian citizens would like to place copies of “Daddy’s Roommate” and another gay-themed children’s book, “And Tango Makes Three,” on the shelves of Alaska’s one-hundred-and-one public libraries. (“Heather” is out of print, which is why “Tango” was chosen.)
San Francisco activist Michael Petrelis and his longtime partner Mike Merrigan gave the books not only to insure local kids would have access to them, but also to strengthen diversity in Alaska.
“When we first became aware of this story concerning Palin’s possible call for literary censorship, it dismayed us,” said Petrelis, who blogs at PetrelisFiles.com. “If Palin’s attitude towards literary freedom, not to mention her respect for diversity, have not changed since the 1990s, then her qualifications for vice president are certainly to be called into question.” Local gay support for the donation came from E. Ross of BentAlaska.com, a gay news and activities service web site based in Anchorage.
“Giving gay books to the Wasilla public library is a wonderful, pro-active way to foster communication and encourage reading. Many libraries and schools have been pressured to ban ‘Heather Has Two Mommies’ and ‘Daddy’s Roommate’ over the years, proving that citizens against diversity and tolerance pose a danger to education and unity everywhere. These two titles are prime examples of books that should have a secure place on many public and school library shelves,” said Ross.
Ross will be contacting the Wasilla librarian after the donation, to confirm that the library will place the books on the shelves, and will write a follow-up report on BentAlaska.com.The director of the Wasilla library, KJ Martin-Albright, last week posted a note to the Publisher’s Weekly blog regarding these issues:
At one point, ‘Heather Has Two Mommies’ was challenged at the Wasilla Public Library and it was decided to keep it on the shelf. So, why is it no longer there? Well, Wasilla out grew the size of its library about twenty years ago . . . Along with the fact that library collections are dynamic and not static, anything on the bookshelves has to earn its real estate. If it isn’t circulating, it doesn’t stay. I know this is not the ideal, but it is our reality. The library no longer has ‘Heather’, but we do our best to offer materials encompassing all different points of view and presenting every side to an argument.
For approximately $2,300, the gay activists, in collaboration with the Lambda Rising gay book store in Washington, DC, will purchase and ship two gay children’s books to every one of the state’s public libraries.
When Sarah Palin returns to being the full-time governor of Alaska on November 5, we’d like for her to find her public library system has welcomed these gay-themed children’s book as a gesture of respect for equality and diversity, which is a true American value.
Palmer Pastor’s Gay-Positive Book was on Mayor Palin’s Censor List
PFLAG to visit “Love Won Out” in Anchorage
Update: See our vigil outside the conference, Our Kids Don’t Need Changing!
Update from PFLAG Anchorage:
We will meet on Saturday Sept 13 at 7 a.m. (the conference starts at 8) at the Abbott Loop Church (2626 Abbott Road, at the corner of Lake Otis and Abbott) to hand out flyers to the conference participants. Bring rain gear and a LGBT-positive sign (for example, “I love my gay son” or whatever is true for you.)
On Saturday morning, PFLAG families, supporters and allies will come together in Anchorage, Alaska as Love Won Out brings its so-called “ex-gay” conference to our 49th state. PFLAGers will gather outside the conference to offer support for youth attending and information for parents and families.
“Families never win at Love Won Out,” said Jane Schlittler, president of PFLAG’s Anchorage, Alaska chapter>. “The conference’s organizers maliciously target often well-meaning parents who are dealing with a difficult issue in their lives, and in the process put their kids’ well-being at risk. Make no mistake: There is far more ‘preying’ than ‘praying’ taking place at these meetings, and far more harming than healing in the doctrine of Love Won Out.”
Programs such as Love Won Out, which is a project of the far-right American Family Association, use out-moded medical theories and radical religious beliefs to justify trying to alter gay and lesbian people’s natural sexual orientation.
“Programs like Love Won Out are dangerous for kids and divisive for families,” said PFLAG National executive director Jody M. Huckaby. “Every bit of evidence available suggests that children who grow up in homes that accept them – and not try to change them – are far happier and healthier than those subjected to these anti-family tactics. It is nothing short of extremist to imply that families should do anything other than love their children as they are, and nothing short of outrageous to infer that LGBT kids aren’t fine just the way they are.”
Saturday’s event in Anchorage has sparked widespread attention and protest following reports that Wasilla Bible Church, where Republican Vice Presidential nominee Governor Sarah Palin is a member, has endorsed the Love Won Out conference. In a statement, PFLAG noted that, “It is unfair, at this point, to assume that Governor Palin endorses so-called ‘ex-gay’ therapy like that espoused by Love Won Out,” but that “Saturday’s event in Anchorage provides an important opportunity for the first GOP mom on the party’s presidential ticket to make clear that she, as a mother and a public servant, will not condone, either explicitly or implicitly, such attempts at dividing our families and hurting our kids.”
“Palin, and lawmakers of both parties, should seize that opportunity,” PFLAG said, “and stand up as boldly and outspokenly for all of our kids as much as they do for their own.”
To be part of Saturday morning’s gathering, email Jane Schlittler.
Reposted from the National PFLAG Blog
What Governor Palin needs to know about “love”
by Steve Ralls | The Huffington Post
Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has made history as the first mother to be on the Republican presidential ticket, and she has the potential to bring a new perspective on issues that impact America’s children to Washington and the White House. Indeed, since her introduction to the nation last week, Governor Palin has talked passionately about her family and her commitment to her five children. Unfortunately, however, little is known about her specific policy positions on issues impacting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender kids, their parents, schools and families. An event taking place on September 13 in Anchorage, however, could provide an important opportunity for the Governor — and other moms and dads who also serve as elected leaders — to weigh in on one of those issues . . . and take a strong stand for all families.
On Saturday, Anchorage will play host to the latest meeting of the “ex-gay” organization known as Love Won Out. The group, which proclaims that lesbian and gay youth can be “cured” of their sexual orientation, will be meeting at Abbott Loop Community Church. Ahead of the conference, however, Palin’s own church, Wasilla Bible, has promoted the meeting, saying in a letter to congregants that, “You’ll be encouraged by the power of God’s love and His desire to transform the lives of those impacted by homosexuality.”
The truth, however, is that Love Won Out is about anything but the unconditional love for, and acceptance of, LGBT kids. In reality, it is a dangerous, harmful “reparative therapy” program that has been condemned by the American Psychological Association and that has a tormenting impact on many of the young people who attend.
Governor Palin needs to know the truth about Love, and America’s parents and families need to know what Governor Palin thinks about harmful, anti-gay conferences that preach an anti-gospel doctrine of changing our kids, rather than embracing them.
Earlier this year, Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) brought mothers, fathers and families from around the country to Orlando, Florida, for the most recent Love Won Out Conference. Their experiences, captured in a moving video documentary, showcase just how dangerous these conferences can be.
One after another, young people arrived at the conference with tears in their eyes and parents stoically marching them into the event against their will. The sight of supportive parents, carrying signs with slogans such as “We love our gay son just the way he is,” were answered with smiles, outreached hands and silent but obvious “thank yous” from the kids being told they were somehow “less than” because of who they love. Inside the conference, organizers told these young people – who had the courage to simply be who they are — that who they were just wasn’t good enough. Outside, loving parents stood tall to remind them that yes they were.
On Saturday in Anchorage, the same story, with different kids, will play out again.
It is unfair, at this point, to assume that Governor Palin endorses so-called “ex-gay” therapy like that espoused by Love Won Out. Most Americans, after all, can probably empathize with being part of a group, movement or congregation that they don’t agree with 100% of the time. But Saturday’s event in Anchorage provides an important opportunity for the first GOP mom on the party’s presidential ticket to make clear that she, as a mother and a public servant, will not condone, either explicitly or implicitly, such attempts at dividing our families and hurting our kids. She should seize that opportunity — as should lawmakers of both parties — and stand up as boldly and outspokenly for all of our kids as much as she has for her own.
Truth Wins Out Exposes "Ex-Gay" Myths and Asks "Where Does Palin Stand?"
Palin church promotes converting gays
Update: The LGBT community is hosting three events on the truth about the ‘pray away the gay’ conference. See “God loves you just as you are” for more on these events.
Palin church promotes converting gays
By RACHEL D’ORO Associated Press Writer
Sep 5th, 2008 | ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Gov. Sarah Palin’s church is promoting a conference that promises to convert gays into heterosexuals through the power of prayer.
“You’ll be encouraged by the power of God’s love and His desire to transform the lives of those impacted by homosexuality,” according to the insert in the bulletin of the Wasilla Bible Church, where Palin has prayed for about six years.
Palin’s conservative Christian views have energized that part of the GOP electorate, which was lukewarm to John McCain’s candidacy before he named her as his vice presidential choice. She is staunchly anti-abortion, opposing exceptions for rape and incest, and opposes gay marriage and spousal rights for gay couples.
Focus on the Family, a national Christian fundamentalist organization, is conducting the “Love Won Out” Conference in Anchorage, about 30 miles from Wasilla.
Palin, campaigning with McCain in the Midwest on Friday, has not publicly expressed a view on the so-called “pray away the gay” movement. Larry Kroon, senior pastor at Palin’s church, was not available to discuss the matter Friday, said a church worker who declined to give her name.
Gay activists in Alaska said Palin has not worked actively against their interests, but early in her administration she supported a bill to overrule a court decision [and] to block state benefits for gay partners of public employees. At the time, less than one-half of 1 percent of state employees had applied for the benefits, which were ordered by a 2005 ruling by the Alaska Supreme Court.
Palin reversed her position and vetoed the bill after the state attorney general said it was unconstitutional. But her reluctant support didn’t win fans among Alaska’s gay population, said Scott Turner, a gay activist in Anchorage.
“Less than 1 percent of state employees would even apply for benefits, so why make a big deal out of such a small number?” he said.
“I think gay Republicans are going to run away” if Palin supports efforts like the prayers to convert gays, said Wayne Besen, founder of the New York-based Truth Wins Out, a gay rights advocacy group. Besen called on Palin to publicly express her views now that she’s a vice presidential nominee.
“People are looking at Sarah Palin as someone who might feasibly be in the White House,” he said.
Alaskans Together on Palin’s LGBT Record
1) She vetoed HB 4001 on the grounds that it violated the constitution. HB 4001 would have prohibited the Commissioner of Administration from implementing the regulations that would extend same-sex partner benefits.
2) She let a resolution stand that urged the court to delay implementation of same-sex partner benefits. The court did not grant the delay.
3) In the most detrimental move for the LGBT community, she signed into law HB 4002, calling for a statewide advisory vote on the provision of same-sex partner employment benefits.
The New Spin on Palin and LGBT Rights
More on Sarah Palin and Gay Rights
Well, our pal Michelangelo Signorile is here to help us out. He is actually on site at the Republican convention, where he has obtained even more proof that the “pro-gay Palin” notion is just wishful thinking. This from Mike’s blog:I went to the Alaska delegation and spoke with a woman who is in Palin’s cabinet. She assured me that Palin is not in favor of giving any rights to gays and didn’t want to give domestic partnership rights to government employees but that she had to veto the bill that would have rescinded such rights because of the Alaska Supreme Court ruling. So can we please cut this crap Log Cabin and the McCain campaign have been trying to put out: Palin only vetoed an antigay bill because she had to, by law. This woman, Annette Kreitzer, who serves in Sarah Palin’s cabinet in the Department of Administration, said, oh, well, it was the law — drat! — or something like that.
WASHINGTON – During her 2006 run for Governor, Sarah Palin filled out an Alaska Eagle Forum questionnaire that reveals even more about her stance and view on LGBT equality.One of the questions the conservative group asked her on the questionnaire was her views on expanding hate crimes laws. The question reads, “Will you support an effort to expand hate crimes laws?”Palin answered, “No, as I believe all heinous crime is based on hate.”Another question from the same survey asked, “Do you support the Alaska Supreme Court’s ruling that spousal benefits for state employees should be given to same-sex couples? Why or why not?”Palin answered, “No, I believe spousal benefits are reserved for married citizens as defined in our constitution.”And last, but not least, Palin was asked what her top three priorities, as regards to families, would be while Governor.Palin answered, “#2 – Preserving the definition of ‘marriage’ as defined in our constitution.”
Churches proliferate in Wasilla today, and among the largest and most influential is the Wasilla Bible Church, where the Palins worship.At the 11:15 a.m. Sunday service, hundreds sit in folding chairs, listening to a 20-minute sermon about the Book of Malachi and singing along to alt-rock praise songs. The only sign of culture warring in the whole production is an insert in the day’s program advertising an upcoming Focus on the Family conference on homosexuality in Anchorage called Love Won Out. The group promises to teach attendees how to “respond to misinformation in our culture” and help them “overcome” homosexuality.
