Friday Gay Blogging II

The Other End of Tennessee:

That would be the end with brains. The schools in Knoxville are a far cry from those in Memphis. I ran across this story this week:

Conrad Honicker, 16, a West High School sophomore, is homosexual. And the whole school knows it.

He dresses in tight jeans and form-fitting, jewel-toned stretchy shirts that outline his belly button underneath. He writes papers decrying “Heterosexism” for advanced English class. He speaks freely about his boyfriend of more than two years, who’s home-schooled.

And he constantly reminds people—students, teachers, custodians—about his sexual orientation. “I have to keep coming out,” he says. “If my friends are talking about something that’s mildly offensive or if somebody says, ‘That’s so gay,’ then I have to say, ‘Hey, I’m over here.’”

It's not easy, but the upside is that he and kids like him are getting support:

Along with more visible individuals, the Knox County school system, with assorted parents and even some school administrators kicking and screaming all the way, has officially acknowledged entire groups of LGBT teens and their sympathizers by approving three high school Gay-Straight Alliances, including Honicker’s at West and two others at Central and Fulton high schools in fall 2007. Each of these after-school clubs for LGBT and straight kids provides a safe place for dialogue and support and to empower youth activists to fight homophobia and transphobia.

Even before the clubs, the Knox County Board of Education was attempting to protect kids—and school employees—from the harassment LGBT teens commonly experience, out or not.

There's hope.

Strange Ruling at Georgia Tech:

This case just sounds odd:

A federal judge has ruled that the Georgia Institute of Technology had materials in its office to support gay students that amounted to unconstitutional support for some religious groups over others.

Apparently, the materials listed denominations and pointed out their degree of gay-friendliness. Without having read the materials in question, I really can't say whether the judge is nuts or not. I have to admit, though, since Alliance Defense Fund is involved, I'm dubious.

Binationals:

It's an issue that Chris Crain refers to regularly, but this comment from one of Andrew Sullivan's readers struck me:

I'm 30 years old, from rural Ohio, and met my German boyfriend in Boston 8 years ago.

We moved to Berlin together when his visa expired, where we lived for 5 years and eventually got married (okay, "entered into a civil union" is more accurate, if not as eloquent). We work online, which affords us a lot of freedom, and have lived in Ireland and now Spain. Thanks to the "Freedom of Movement" policy, I can legally reside anywhere in the EU, because Juergen and I are married. But, I can't move home.

An American and a German can legally reside in Ireland, Spain and Slovenia, but not America. When I think about it like that, I want to punch a wall.

I'd want to punch a wall, too.

And isn't it strange how Europe, which to the right wing is the epitome of all that is wrong with Western civilization, starts to sound more and more like heaven to me.

Jim Neal:

Regrettably, Jim Neal is not the Democratic candidate for the Senate from North Carolina. I'm afraid that they have another Bush Dog Democrat on their hands, thanks to Charlie Schumer. But Neal is a class act -- and North Carolina has another senator who should probably be retired.

More than one way to kill an anti-marriage amendment:

This story has popped up a few places. The Pennsylvania senate has tabled an anti-marriage amendment, thanks mostly to Sen. Vince Fumo:

One of the amendments was by Sen. Vincent Fumo, D-Philadelphia, who proposed that Pennsylvania outlaw most divorces.

His amendment would "outlaw the dissolution of most marriages in Pennsylvania," he said in a news release. That would mean there would be few legal ways for the divorce of a married couple, a man and a woman.

Mr. Fumo, who leaves the Senate on Nov. 30, said the stated goal of Senate Bill 1250 is to "protect the sanctity of the marital institution" by defining a legal marriage as only between one man and one woman.

The next logical step, according to Mr. Fumo, is to also outlaw divorces, except for five specific reasons: if one spouse "willfully or maliciously" deserts the other; if one spouse uses "cruel and barbarous treatment" on the other; if a person endangers his or her spouse's health or life; if one spouse is found to be a bigamist; or if one spouse "imposes indignities to make the other spouses's life intolerable and burdensome."

Because Republicans control the Senate, there was virtually no chance that Mr. Fumo's radical amendment would have passed. But it would have given Mr. Fumo a chance to attack the marriage amendment for "taking away the rights of some citizens based on their sexual orientation," as his release states.

Upbeat Story

From Kansas, of all places. Via Joe.My.God, this is terrific:

When the announcer read his name, he stood there, shocked. His heart kept racing. "You won!" Sarah screamed over the uproar from the crowd. She started jumping up and down and grabbed him.

There's no way I'm homecoming king. No way, he thought. Sarah helped him walk to the middle of the stage, where Laura Wetzel, the queen, crowned him and gave him a big hug. "That's awesome, Matthew!" she said.

Matthew's cheeks were red, and his face hurt from smiling so much. Looking out, he waved to his mom, who was jumping up and down. He saw Serena, perched on someone's shoulders, clapping and yelling loudly. He and Laura posed for pictures, and then they walked out of the gym with their court following.

Out in the hallway, he was mobbed by people congratulating him. His mom rushed up and started taking pictures. She knew how much he wanted to be nominated and how much his win meant. "I'm just so proud of you!" she said. He was a little surprised that she attended homecoming, but for the rest of senior year, she attended more events and games than before.

Matthew didn't realize just how many people he knew until they all congratulated him after his victory. In the meantime, James was overwhelmed. After meeting at least 20 people, he said, "I cannot believe how many people you know." After that night, he got a ton of Facebook.com friend requests.

Looking back, Matthew describes that night. "It was just," he says and then pauses, searching for the right words, "all happy."

Wherever he goes from here, the memory of homecoming will help carry him through: "It was the ultimate feeling of being accepted. I'll be going on now for the rest of my life having that experience. Everyone accepted me, so it's really cool."

And something else nice

just for the hell of it. There's lots of wingnut news, but I don't have the stomach for it today -- I have my own frustrations to deal with, small and private as they are. So I thought this would make a nice finish. Thanks to Made in Brazil.