Capitol Hill Blue Forums We shall overcome

Jaheem Herrera. Remember his name, as it joins the list of names that already includes Eric Mohat, Lee Simpson, and Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover — because like them, 11-year-old Herrera took his own life after facing anti-gay torment in school.

He hung himself. With a fabric belt. His 10-year-old sister Yerralis found him in his room, hanging there.

Students at Dunaire Elementary School, home of the Dolphins in Stone Mountain, Georgia, called Herrera "gay and a snitch," says his stepfather. Jamheem's sister, who was in the fifth grade with her brother, witnessed the harassment on several occasions. And her family was aware he was a target for bullying; they just didn't know how bad it was.

And as if this story couldn't get any worse, Herrera told school teachers and staff about the harassment. It's unclear what their response was, and fingers will be pointed. At school administrators. At students. At the parents.

Scout, that is a very controversial issue. My own standard is that if a person occupies a public position, whether elected or otherwise, and is public on issues affecting equal rights, gay lifestyle, etc, they have made the question of their sexuality public.

I am not a fan of outing someone because their parent is famous or public on this issue, but certainly any politician who, as all those listed in the article, have made being gay a political issue, are fair game for "outing."

The large, angry protests some had imagined never materialized in this city, the state’s most populous. Neither did the crowds of couples from all over the nation that some feared might create a carnival-like atmosphere captured in earlier images from other places.

Proponents of the District's move to recognize the validity of same-sex marriages sanctioned by four states were thrilled last week when a planned anti-gay marriage demonstration in front of the D.C. Council's offices didn't come off.

But organizers of that rally say that was just a scheduling glitch and that the real thing is happening today at 10 a.m. on Freedom Plaza. The rally, according to lead organizer Bishop Harry Jackson of Hope Christian Church in Bowie, "will launch the Armageddon of the marriage battle in this country."

And then there is something so heinous it seems it must be unreal!

http://www.politicsdaily.com/2009/0...oman-believes-matthew-shepard-story-was/

Republicans may not be able to rely on social issues as they try to rebound against a popular president and increasingly dominant Democratic Party, as a new Washington Post-ABC News poll shows rising support for same-sex marriage, legalized marijuana and a process by which undocumented immigrants could become legal residents.

None of these issues has become an early priority for President Obama, who has marshalled his political capital on the economic stimulus package and revamping foreign policy instead. He does not support legalizing marijuana, and has said he favors civil unions giving gay couples the same legal rights as married couples, though not marriage.

[snip]
But the shifting views in the new poll suggest Republicans face a greater hazard: An inability to use those issues to rally their base and appeal to conservative Democrats and independents who previously would have been put off by Democrats' more liberal stances on social issues.

Most striking is the sharp shift in public opinion on same-sex marriage. Forty-nine percent said it should be legal for gay people to marry, and 46 percent said it should be illegal. About three years ago, a broad majority said such unions should be illegal (58 percent illegal to 36 percent legal).

The change is particularly notable given the context in which it is occuring, as several states -- Iowa, Connecticut, New Hampshire and Vermont -- have taken steps in recent weeks to legalize gay marriage. In 2004, a court ruling in Massachusetts legalizing same-sex marriage helped give rise to a slew of anti-gay marriage ballot initiatives around the country that were widely credited with drawing social conservatives to the polls that fall, when former president George W. Bush beat Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.).

Steve Schmidt, the Republican strategist who managed John McCain's campaign, recently came out strongly in favor of gay marriage and warned that his party risked being marginalized on the issue.

President Obama...has said he favors civil unions giving gay couples the same legal rights as married couples

WASHINGTON (AP) — The city council in the nation's capital voted Tuesday to recognize same-sex marriages from states that approve them, a step that could propel the emotional issue into Congress and draw Democrats into a culture-wars battle with each other.

President Barack Obama and Democratic leaders responded to the 12-1 vote by the District of Columbia Council with near silence — hoping to avoid aggravating Democratic factions already at odds over that issue and more.

Republicans, usually willing to exploit differences between Democrats, also barely reacted to the council's gay-marriage decision. GOP leaders and their aides, asked whether anyone will try to use the decision as a wedge issue, said they were preoccupied by matters such as the economic downturn and swine flu.

But they have time.