MyOutSpirit.com Gay Spirituality Blog

How to Win Gay Rights | Book Giveaway

With LGBTQ people all over the United States rising up for love after our losses in the 2008 elections, MyOutSpirit.com decided it was time to give away the manual for the new LGBT activism, SHIRT OF FLAME, endorsed by leaders including Arun Gandhi. Here's an excerpt to get you started, then download a pdf of the entire book.  We hope you find it helpful as you stand up for the equal rights and recognition of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people and families.

CHAPTER 1: THE SCHOOL OF FIVE-WEAPONS

Once upon a time, thousands of years ago, somewhere in Asia, a handsome young prince had just finished his military studies with a famous teacher. He received the title “Prince Five-weapons” as a symbol of his distinction, and accepted the bow and arrows, sword, spear, and club his teacher gave him. The young prince bowed, and, armed with his knowledge and new weapons, struck out onto the road leading to the city of his parents, the queen and king. On the way he came to the edge of a forest. The villagers that lived nearby warned him, “Beautiful prince, do not enter this forest! An ogre named Sticky-hair, who kills every man he sees, lives here.”

But the prince was confident and he fearlessly entered the forest
despite their warning. When he reached the heart of it, the ogre showed
himself. The ogre was gruesome - as tall as a palm tree with a head as big
as a house with a bell-shaped roof, yellow eyes as big as bowls, and two
tusks like a bull elephant; he had the beak of a hawk; his body was covered
with a tangle of moist gray hair, and his hands and feet were stained dark
green. “Where are you going in such a hurry? Won’t you stay for dinner,
dinner?” the ogre demanded in a hungry growl.

Prince Five-weapons answered without fear, for he had great
confidence in the military skills that he had learned. “Ogre,” he said, “You
should be careful about attacking me, for I will shoot you dead with an
arrow steeped in poison!” As the ogre lumbered toward him, the young
prince fitted to his bow an arrow coated with deadly poison and let fly. It
stuck harmlessly right in the ogre’s hair. Then he shot fifty arrows, one
after another. All stuck right to the ogre’s hair without piercing the
fearsome beast. The ogre grinned, shook like a great dog, each one of those
arrows falling right at his feet, and continued toward the young prince.

Prince Five-weapons gave the ogre a second warning, and swinging
his sword, delivered his most powerful stroke, which could have felled a
bodhi tree. The sword stuck right to the ogre’s hair. Then the prince tried
to impale him with the spear. That also stuck right to his impenetrable
tangle of hair. Then the prince smote the ogre with his heavy club. That
also stuck right to the monster’s hair.

When the prince saw that the club had stuck, he said: “Ogre, you have
never heard of me before. I am Prince Five-weapons! But when I entered
this forest you’ve infested, I took no account of bows and such weapons; for
a weapon is only an extension of a warrior. Now I am going to beat you and
pound you into powder and dust!” With a yell he struck the ogre with his
right hand. His hand stuck right to the ogre’s hair. He struck him with his
left hand. That also stuck. He struck him with his right foot. That also
stuck. He struck him with his left foot. That also stuck. He slammed his
bare chest into the sticky ogre’s body. The still-confident prince shouted, “I
will beat you with my head and strike you down!” He butted the ogre with
his head, which also stuck right to the ogre’s hair.

Prince Five-weapons was stuck fast to the ogre’s body in six places!
But for all that, he was unafraid, undaunted. The ogre, surprised,
thought:“This is some lion of a man and no ordinary human! He’s to be
made an ogre’s dinner, but he doesn’t seem afraid! Most people tremble or
quake in my presence! In all the time I have lived in this forest, I have never
seen a human to match him! Why is he unafraid?” Curious, he asked
aloud,“Youth, why are you not afraid? I am going to eat you. Why are you
not terrified with the fear of death?”

“Why should I be afraid, Sticky-hair? In one life, one death is to be
expected. Besides, I have one weapon left—there is a thunderbolt in my
belly. If you eat me, you will not be able to digest that secret weapon. It will
tear your insides into shreds and tatters and will kill you. If you eat me,
we’ll both perish. That’s why I’m not afraid!”

“What this youth says is true!” thought the ogre, terrified with the
fear of death. “My stomach would not be able to digest the thunderbolt of
this lion of a man. I don’t want to die!” And he let Prince Five-weapons go.
The prince sat the rest of the day with the ogre and instructed him in great
spiritual truths. The teaching was so obvious and profound that the ogre
was transformed into a kind and helpful friend to the villagers living near
the forest, who came to trust him to care for their children and defend the
village. The young prince continued whistling through the forest, and
returned safely home.

Most things begin violently, like matter exploding into being at the
beginning of time. Even our lives begin violently, each of us thrust
suddenly, unexpectedly, into the glaring and chill world. From birth on, we
are bound with a thousand million cultural conventions which we are taught
are natural and necessary; we’re given a billion expectations and
requirements to meet, most inherently violent to our essential nature, queer
or not. We are trained to meet aggression with aggression, hate with hate,
and violence with violence. By the time we are capable of changing such
behaviors, many of us are tamed entirely, conditioned to regard the cold
world as if it were Miami.

For too long, many Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT
or queer) people have allowed others to dictate not only what their concerns
are but also how those concerns can best be redressed. A lot of us have been
following the ‘party line’ when it comes to LGBT issues instead of deeply
considering our own passions and developing our own informed opinions.
Moreover, we often alienate those who rock the boat by suggesting that
perhaps there could be a more helpful approach to cultural transformation
and the enumeration of LGBT rights and recognition. Even in our queer
communities we meet both critique and leadership with mistrust, as if our
activism cannot withstand scrutiny. The joke “I thought they gave up
cannibalism”—“No, but now they only eat their leaders,” hits close to home.

Sometimes it seems that there is no plum or satsuma—not even the
fruit of freedom—fragrant, moist and sweet enough to tempt
same-gender-loving and Transgender people out of the cage of our
conventional approaches to creating change, though the door is open—and
has always been open, if desperately defended. Avenues to transform
society are available to us that would make the ultimate victory of our
movement for equal rights, respect and recognition more likely, but our
queer communities are like the legendary ostriches that, even when they are
released, will stick their heads in sand rather than venture from cages—even
when the door stands open, they stay.

Like Prince Five-weapons, we have used every one of the weapons at
our disposal to try to defeat our enemies and win our freedom—we have
rallied, railed and wailed, we have marched and voted and debated and
organized and lobbied—only to have each small advance lodge uselessly in
the status quo’s “sticky hair.” We have used every weapon in our arsenal
and now, dangling from the ogre, we are left with only our thunderbolt
untried. The nature of our battle is such that we may choose to continue
our fight with the conventional weapons we know, and we are likely to
succeed within a century or two. At the same time, I believe that the
‘thunderbolt in our belly’ is the only weapon pulsing with enough
alchemical power to achieve true victory in the next ten years.

No Greater Love

As the Equality Riders and I walked to join the protest against Prop 8, I saw something that gave me hope and strength. A mother was walking with her daughter, while holding her daughter's hand, the mother read our signs and said to her daughter, "You see that? Love is love. You can grow up to love whoever you want and I will always love you. Their love is no different from any other love." 

All I could think is, "Thank you." Finally, someone recognized my humanity and didn't invalidate my ability and capacity to love and be loved. Not only did she recognize all that but then turned to her daughter to teach her to do the same. Amazing! 

We continued towards the protest. When we arrived we waited 30 minutes to began to march from the reflecting pool in front of the U.S. Capitol to the White House. As we began to march with over 5,000 other lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people; chants began to roar throughout the crowd, "1, 2, 3, 4... love is what we're fighting for" and "What do we want? Equal rights! When do we want them? Now!" Those were the anthems of the protest. One example of a sign was, "I don't want 5 wives, 1 husband will do." 

When we arrived at the park in front of the White House I had the chance to briefly share my story to the crowd. After doing so, I felt I was in the center and part of history in the making. To stand in the face of injustice and cry out for justice is a powerful feeling. This isn't where it ends though. We all must come together and do our parts. For more information on how you can participate go to www.jointheimpact.com 

Remember, God is not concerned with who we love but how we love. No one's love is greater than another.

Wishing you well,

Azariah Southworth

Stop the H8 protests support glbt marriage

Thousands of people rallied for same-sex marriage in simultaneous protests held in every state today.

I was among the more than 500 protesters at the City Hall in Pasadena, California, who rallied to stop the hate behind Proposition 8, the law that just passed banning same-sex marriage.

There was a strong sense of unity, love, hope and creativity. I recorded the historic day with photos and videos. I’m posting a few here, with more great photos and videos at the Jesus in Love Blog. These are too good to miss, so I hope that you will visit the Jesus in Love Blog to see it all.

Join the Impact has more info on the protests and the movement to promote love and equality.

 

"Support Love! Stop H8"  That says it all.

I love the rainbow signs held by these three black women: “I won’t until you can.”  “Separate is not equal” and Love is for all.”

 

“Mormons want 3 wives -- but I can’t have 1 husband!  Get a grip!”  Clever jab at the Mormon Church, which funded much of the latest campaign to ban same-sex marriage.

Nationwide Protest for LGBTQ Rights this Saturday

"When your determination is set, everything moves in the direction your heart, whether positive or negative. For example, if you think 'This is never going to work out,' then at that instant every cell in your being will be deflated, giving up the fight. Everything will then move in the direction of failure. On the other hand, the moment you resolve to be victorious, every nerve and fiber in your being immediately orient themselves toward your success."
~ Daisaku Ikeda

Awake You Sleepy Giant: A Note to the Q Community

For a long time the Q community* has waited patiently.

We were patient as we were watched, discriminated against, and harassed by police officers until Compton Cafeteria and Stonewall, then we were patient with being ignored and living our isolated lives until the AIDS epidemic, then we were patient as we worked to educate our community until ACT UP, then we were patient with our government grants to educate until we realized that this would not be over until our culture could look at Q community as a vital extension of themselves.

The Eye of the Storm of Prop 8: So what has happened over the past few weeks? We have found ourselves fed up with allowing the tyranny of the majority dictate the lives of the minority.

When I moved out to Los Angeles in January I was hired at the LA Gay and Lesbian Center as their Vote for Equality Senior Field Organizer. Then the proponents for Prop 8 began a grass roots campaign that threatened equality in California.

Pro-equality Californian's answer to that was one of the largest coalition tactics to date—the "Decline to Sign" campaign. Leaders at Equality California, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and LA Gay and Lesbian Center—Lorri Jean, Sky Johnson, me—would head the statewide coalition. For personal and academic reasons I had to step out of that extensive leadership role. In the months to follow, I, and countless others, watched as the conservative right launched a massive campaign and passed prop 8. No amount of rallying that I did in the few weeks before the election could compare to the audacious galvanization of Prop 8 supporters in the months and years prior. Lesson learned.

Now the Giant is awake. I found myself, on November 5, 2008, sitting in the intersection of Crescent Heights and Sunset Blvd in Hollywood, California, completely stopping traffic.

Then hundreds of us stood up and continued marching for miles and for hours. This would launch a slew of organized marches, vigils and protests throughout California and would quickly swell into a long overdue national re-launch of the Q community's Civil Rights Movement. We have seen tens of thousands stand in solidarity for love and equality.

But this sleepy giant needs more momentum.

Have you lost your voice in protests and conversations this week? Have your thighs and feet felt the soreness of marching and standing for hours? Are your shoulders still tired from holding that banner for three hours on Wednesday's march?

With this momentum we can ensure that no group will overturn any more existing rights for minorities. With this momentum we can ensure that New York and New Jersey feel the pressure to take drastic measures towards equality. And with this momentum we can strike an everlasting chord throughout our nation that, in this great union, we protect those who are subject to the whims and the religious anti-gay, anti-trans and anti-different rhetoric of the seeming majority. And regardless of your schedule, your beliefs on marriage, or your location you must ask yourself "is this moment in time a landmark in history that I choose to sit out?" Or will you stand and be heard?

Progressively Yours,

Brandon Rolph Kneefel

* Note: Q represents all who do not find themselves in the constructs of a hetero-normative patriarch, i.e. lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, transsexual, intersex, ally, pansexual, polyamorous, and so on.

What Every Demonstrator Should Know Before Sat. the 15th

First and foremost, we are NOT a community of divisiveness—all races and religions are welcome. Mormons are NOT our enemy. Ignorance towards the Q* community is the enemy—ideas, not people. It is always the role of the informed to educate. It is always our role to persistently develop relationships and dialogue with those who are ignorant to our cause.

Tomorrow tens and tens of thousands of us will reach the city hall steps in solidarity and we will re-launch the movement of the Q community as the world looks on. Let’s do this right!

For many of you this may be your first march, rally, protest. For some pockets of America you will wish that you lived in Los Angeles or San Francisco, but please be strong, you are needed—from Alabama to Alaska, your voices, your hearts, and your truth need to be the brightest in the nation. Give your whole hearts to this.

Trust your gut.

I’ve trusted my gut in eight marches in eight days. When police tried to get us to keep moving, I sat down, and others followed. If you sit, or if you move, trust that others will follow.

I recently had an empowering experience with film producer JD Disalvatore as we marched down Beverly Blvd. and chose to sit down in the middle of the street when we came to restaurant that supported prop 8 but acted as if they were friends of the community. We sat, and others followed despite the leaders of the march urging us on. We only moved when we felt that arrest was a threat. These are the statements that ALSO need to be made. This is civil disobedience. Through our courage and conviction we will be heard.

I had the pleasure of speaking to some of the greatest activists in our generation and this is some of their wisdom for making the best out of your rally:

“Respect authority, but question it.” Haven Herrin-Soulforce Q National Director. "You do not always have to immediately do as the authorities, be it police or community leaders, say to do if you are personally convicted to make a statement."

·     To all those leading a demonstration, here is some advice from one of the major players in civil disobedience for the past two generations, ACT UP’s Ann Northrop:

“Think about the point of your demonstration. Who are you talking to? What are you trying to say? What are all your goals? Generally, the answer is that you're trying both to give the demonstrators a sense that they can work together safely and attain power, and you're trying to convince the public of the rightness of your opinion. We could all sit around forever debating how best to do any of that. I'd like to think that, instead of wasting our time on that debate, we can let those who want to get arrested, get arrested, those who want to demonstrate peacefully do that, and those who want to work in other ways do that. Let's stop criticizing each other and just get on with it.”

Police: They do NOT want to arrest anyone. Remember this. They are required by law to give a warning. For me, I will be civilly disobedient until there is a human to human confirmation, from police officer to me, that if I don’t do as they say I may be arrested.

        Media: if there are media at your rally, find the rally organizers to make initial comments. If you are asked to make statements by the media, make sure to focus on your individual experience. Stay clear of fact-giving, as this could turn against us, and feel free to decline any questions. This will prove to be most impactful and consistent with our overall statement of love and equality.

      Nonviolence:  The success of our movement depends on the idea that we must present our concerns in the same ways as Gandhi and MLK. We should never appear ill-composed, we should never aim to strike fear into the hearts of those we feel wronged us. We should always come at these situations with nonviolence of action, thought, and speech. We are on the side of goodness, let’s reflect that. Because the ultimate goal is to cause enough stir to be invited back to the negotiation table. And it is always your responsibility to remind your peers to engage non-violently.

·     Finally, we must remember that the long term success of these marches is dependent on our resilience and persistence. We MUST be out there weekly in order to keep the flame alive. Continue organizing even past the 15th, even past the overturn of Prop 8 and even past your own state’s formal recognition of same-sex marriages.

Thank you so much to all of you for getting out there. Thank you to Soulforce Q’s National Director Haven Herrin and legendary activist Ann Northrop for sharing your incredible wisdom. Be safe everyone and remember we are all in this together.

In solidarity,

Brandon Rolph Kneefel

* Note: Q represents all who do not include themselves in the constructs of a hetero-normative patriarch, i.e. lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, transsexual, intersex, ally, pansexual, polyamorous, and so on.

Marching for Equality

This Saturday at 1:30pm EST in Washington D.C. me and all the other Equality Riders will end our time together by joining thousands of others to march for marriage equality.

As we all know Prop 8 passed along with Act 1 in Arkansas and the bills in Arizona and Florida. However, I am amazed at the passion it has stirred in people, to stand up for themselves, and their rights as citizens of the U.S.. I hope those who read this will go to www.jointheimpact.com and see how they can participate locally this Saturday which is sure to change history.

I'm so excited about making my sign and joining a sea of people to show the rest of the world we are equal human beings, equal citizens, and equal children of God with the equal ability and capacity to love and be loved. I really want to make my sign saying, "It's not about WHO we love but HOW we love."

I'm so excited about this!

You can count on a blog about my experience this Saturday!

Much love,
Azariah Southworth

MyOutSpirit.com EXCLUSIVE: MCC Founder Troy Perry on Loss of Prop 8

Tuesday night, November 4th, was one of the most bittersweet nights of my life.

In one breath, the United States of America changed history by electing Barack Obama the 44th president of our country, breaking the ultimate social barrier by electing the first African-American to the highest office in our nation.  For this, I am thankful.

In the next breath voters enacted constitutional amendments in the states of Arizona and Florida that would recognize only marriage between a man and a woman.

In my own state of California, by a narrow vote, our rights to marry were taken away.

Phillip, my husband, and I had sued and won to have our marriage, which had taken place in Canada, declared legal, along with the right of gay and lesbian persons to marry in our state.

Today a lawsuit to declare the vote unconstitutional has been filed by our friends, Robin Tyler and Diane Olson, who stood with us for the right to marry.  Other lawsuits have been filed by the ACLU, as well as our own city of Los Angeles, among others, to stop the Proposition from taking effect.  It is our belief that only our State Legislature can pass a revision to our State Constitution.

Those who paid for the "Yes on Proposition 8," according to the Los Angeles Times, was, in large part, the Mormon Church, the Knights of Columbus, Focus on the Family, and the National Association of Evangelicals.  I believe they are trying to insert their theological beliefs into our State Constitution.

When slaves were freed after the US Civil War, many states moved to enact "Jim Crow laws" to make freed African-Americans second-class citizens.  I believe our enemies are trying to do the same thing to the Lesbian and Gay community.  Those laws lasted another hundred years before state and federal courts started striking them down.  We cannot let this happen!  Phillip and I promise all of you that we will continue to fight this injustice as long as we live.  So help us God!

We will win!  Please join us as we protest all across America in all 50 states about this injustice.

Rise Up for Gay Marriage, Says Soulforce

Time to Take It to the Streets

A national call for nonviolent direct action
in the struggle for marriage equality

Jeff Lutes, Executive Director, Soulforce

Last week thousands of lesbian and gay people and their friends filled the streets of California in peaceful protest. Outraged, these upright Californians chose to take action and publicly march against Proposition 8 and the LDS Church for financing the deceptive ads that helped it pass.

First, bravo to our California friends -- their moral indignation is healthy and just. Second, hooray for those in other parts of the country who have begun to follow suit -- let us not stop until every community has mounted sustained campaigns of resistance.

Despite our substantial legislative efforts, thirty states have now passed bans on same-gender marriage. That should serve as a wake-up call to our movement -- one that forces us to consider what we might be doing wrong.

Discrimination does not begin in our courts or in our government -- it ends up there. The fear and misinformation that drives unjust legislation gets its start within society, and the primary source of the problem is the sanctuaries, wealthy mega-churches, and powerful religious institutions of this country. With gigantic and captive national audiences, both Protestant and Catholic churches teach falsehoods that cause voters to cast their ballot against the constitutional promise of "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" for their gay and lesbian neighbors.

In this election, like so many others before it, the call from the pulpit was clear: We must stop the gays. As millions of gays and lesbians had their hearts broken, some religious leaders rejoiced in that suffering. The Rev. James Garlow, senior pastor of Skyline Church in San Diego County, told the New York Times "It was a great victory. We just saw the people rise up."

It's time for all of us to rise up like thousands are doing now in the Golden State and elsewhere.

We are tired of defeat, token change, defending ourselves against charges of moral inferiority, and being told to "wait" in the land we love while liberation occurs in other countries. 

LA's Gay Church Responds to End of Gay Marriage in California

In his sermon of Sunday, November 9, 2008, Rev. Dr. Neil G. Thomas, Senior Pastor of the fully-inclusive Metropolitan Community Church of Los Angeles (www.MCCLA .org) responds to the passage of Proposition 8 in California last week. 

He urges transgender, bisexual, gay and lesbian people to do the hard work of community-building, noting that the (temporary) loss of same-sex marriage in California shows that "we have so much more work to do.  We have so much more sacred conversation to have with one another.  We have so much more work to do in communities of color.  We have so much more work to do in our own community, in our own fears of reaching out to communities besides those that just look like us."