Take Action for Freedom of Expression in Lithuania

LGBT people of the Baltic states are in jeopardy of having their first ever "March for Tolerance" stopped. The court suspended the march which was scheduled for May 8th on "public security grounds" even though police have promised they can ensure the safety of participants. The City Council is also considering reversing their initial decision giving a green light for the event to take place.

LGBT people in Lithuania are subject to discrimination and violence for being who they are. This is the closest they have ever come to holding a public event demanding equal rights.

Demand the Lithuanian President allow the March for Tolerance to continue in a safe and respectful manner.

Don't Let The Religious Right Drown Out The Voices For Equality!

HRC is urging us to write a letter to Newsweek thanking them for their extensive article by Lisa Miller on marriage equality and the "Religious Case for Gay Marriage." The article discusses why the Bible should not be used as a weapon against marriage equality and instead discusses points in favor of it.

Opponents of same-sex marriage have been flooding Newsweek with thousands of emails criticizing them for their article.

Send a thank you letter to Newsweek Editor Jon Meacham and express your wish to see more LGBT positive articles.

Open Forum: What Does Pride Mean to You?

Happy Pride Month everyone!!!

June traditionally kicks off PRIDE celebrations throughout the world! I figured this is a good opportunity to ask What Does PRIDE mean to you? How do you choose to live your life out and proud, or do you? Will you be attending a parade, a fundraiser, a rally of some sort? What are your thoughts on what PRIDE is about, what it should be, and how the media covers it?

Shameless Self Promotion Sunday

Please feel free to share any links to Queer or Queer related topics of interest. You can post a blog entry you made, a website you found interesting. Anything goes as long as it is Queer in nature.

Open Forum: (Free Speech) Where do We Draw the Line?

A few interesting and controversial headlines have popped up in the news and the gay blogosphere that raise some important questions. At what point is gay activism intruding upon free speech and freedom of expression rights? Freedom of speech and expression must be protected even for anti-gay forces, because if we don't have these basic freedoms it becomes a slippery slope and eventually we will not have the right to express our opinions.

I write this in light of some stories recently, such as a student who wore a t-shirt to school saying "Be Happy - Not Gay!" at a diversity event, who got in trouble. The courts have since ruled she is entitled to wear the shirt.

What about Crystal Dixon's case with the University of Toledo V.P. of Human Resources who outside the university wrote an opinion column denouncing homosexuality, claiming it is a choice. She has been fired under grounds that she mentioned she was a worker at the school and is now suing the school.

Finally there was the case at Smith College, where the College Republicans brought in Ryan Sorba who created a book called "The Born Gay Hoax" who spoke about bogus research regarding LGBT people. Students interrupted his anti-gay speech by screaming "We're Here, We're Queer, get used to it" the student protesters overwhelmed the room forcing Mr. Sorba to leave the campus and cancel his speech.

Youtube clip of the Smith protest:


What do you think about GLBT activism and where do we draw the line to ensure free speech rights, or is it okay to intrude upon the free speech of others when they seek to intrude on our civil liberties and spread falsehoods about our community?