Tag Archives: marriage equality

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Lavender Hill: Heartland Pride & More

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Anthony Tirendi, president of Heartland Pride in the Omaha, Ne metro area, joined Corwin and Phil in the studio this week for a conversation about Pride, specifically about Heartland Pride. Anthony had never been on the radio before, but he did well. Pride this year in the Omaha air covers three days of official Heartland activities. Some of the local bars, churches and other organizations may also be hosting pride events around the metro area.

  • THURSDAY JUNE 26th: 8:00 PM Candlelight vigil and 9:00 PM viewing of the movie “MILK” atHeartland Pride 2014 logo Hanafan Park in Council Bluffs, IA
  •  FRIDAYJUNE 27th: 6:00 PM Youth Pride festival and evening dance at Hanafan Park in Council Bluffs, IA
  • SATURDAY JUNE 28th: 10:00 AM Heartland Pride Parade in Council Bluffs, IA followed by:  11:00 AM Festival and Entertainment to begin after the parade at Stinson Park in Omaha, NE

The Saturday festival has three main musical acts, all local to the area. Eckophonic, Voodoo Method!, and Recess Girls. The Recess Girls will also be in the Kid Corner after their stage appearance to meet with fans.

There is a small entry fee to attend the main event. Tickets can be purchased in advance through the website for $5 or at the gate for $10.

Lavender Hill being a news program, as well as a talk show, the hosts had some local, national and world news to talk about. Not nearly as much time for news as usual, but they squeezed some things in. It should be noted that many of the below links will take you to stories Corwin and Phil did not have to talk about this week.

Links to News Stories Covered During the Show

Marriage Equality

  • A brief opinion piece from the Lincoln Journal Star expresses the disappointment many have with the recent decision to deny the divorce of a lesbian couple in Nebraska.
  • Opponents to marriage equality in Pennsylvania missed the deadline to file an appeal to the decision to over turn the ban on same-sex marriage. Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum remains largely silent on the matter despite his past vocal stance on the issue.
  • South Dakota attorney general files to dismiss “implausible” marriage case. You can read the motion here.
  • The Presbyterian Assembly affirms that same-sex marriage is Christian. A vote is pending from all 172 presbyteries over the course of the next year to make it official. Until then, effective now is an amendment to the church constitution allowing ministers to perform gay marriages in state and municipalities where it is legal with approval from local congregational leaders.
  • A Michigan man is “shunned” by St. Michael’s Catholic Church in Marquette after his commitment ceremony shows that he “acts on’ urges.
  • The National Organization for Marriage claims 10.000 people attended their anti-gay marriage rally in D.C. last week. More accurate estimates say between two and six thousand attended.

Across the United States

Politics

  • The Senate made history last Tuesday by confirming, unanimously, the first openly gay African American judge to a high court. Darrin Gayles now sits on the bench for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
  • The Texas GOP has some wacky ideas on their current political platform. Everything from pornography, the elderly, immigration and marriage equality.
  • Senator Ed Markey (D-Mass) has introduced a new bill that would create a special envoy for LGBT rights in foreign affairs. The International Human Rights Defense Act already has 20 co-sponsors, all Democrats.
  • CNBC’s Joe Kerner schools Texas Gov. Rick Perry on-air after Perry’s statements in California that copared homosexuality to alcoholism.

Queer World News

Health & Science

Arts & Entertainment

  • A Kickstarter campaign. is in full swing to support the filming of the first transgender comedy, staring Canada’s first transgender lingerie model Julie Vu.

Remember to tune in every Sunday at 11am Central to KZUM-HD/KZUM-Lincoln to hear Lavender Hill live. You can email Corwin and Phil at lavenderhill89.3@gmail.com and follow the show on Twitter.

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Lavender Hill #128

128 episodes into the Lavender Hill series and we are going strong. With the recent additional of an extra half hour, Corwin and Phil get to bring you more news, views, interviews, and music from the LGBTQA+ community.

This we the hosts covered several topics ranging from marriage equality issues in the United States and elsewhere, the blood industry and the ban on gay men donating blood, plasma and other blood products, Russia’s continued negative stance towards the LGBTQA+ population and their pledge to enforce their anti-gay laws during the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, and some political wrangling from the Conservative end of the spectrum.

Links

  • Late in July the Associated Press published an article that indicates that Nebraska lawmakers are looking to reevaluate the state’s “defense of marriage” law. The topic will hopefully come up for debate in the fall session of the legislature.
  • Marriage equality seems to be gaining momentum in Pennsylvania.
  • Pentagon confirms spousal benefits for same-sex marriages.
  • Claiming that the rights of athletes would be respected during the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko urged gay rights activists to “calm down”. Even with his assurances of respecting rights, he insists that all athletes, citizens and visitors alike, will be expected to obey established Russian.
  • A Southern California man is diagnosed with “chronic homosexual behavior” by his physician.
  • Campbell, California Mayor Evan Low refused the honor of donating blood by the Red Cross because he is openly gay.
  • Fox contributor Sandy Rios sticks her foot in it again by insisting that gays are incapable of healthy long term relationships, especially gay men.
  • Call Me Kuchu is showing at the Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center in Lincoln, NE from Friday the 16th of August through Thursday the 22nd.
    • In Uganda, a new bill threatens to make homosexuality punishable by death. With unprecedented access, the filmmakers follow David Kato – Uganda’s first openly gay man – and his fellow activists as they work against the clock to defeat the legislation while combating vicious persecution in their daily lives. But no one, not even the filmmakers, are prepared for the brutal murder that shakes their movement to its core and sends shock waves around the world. CALL ME KUCHU depicts the last year in the life of a courageous, quick-witted and, steadfast man whose wisdom and achievements were not fully recognized until after his death, and whose memory has inspired a new generation of human rights advocates. 

Music

Queen Radio GaGa Greatest Hits II
Bette Midler I’m Beautiful Bathhouse Betty
Klaus Nomi You Don’t Own Me Klaus Nomi
Pheromone Pholk Listen to Your Heart Music you love…but you don’t know why

Additional links….

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Lavender Hill #126: First official full hour

Just over two and a half years into the series, Lavender Hill has finally moved to a full hour time slot. Still airing at 11am on Sundays, but now running until noon. With the additional half hour we can bring you more news and more music. Even with the additional half hour, there is rarely enough time to cover all the news.

Corwin and Phil are very pleased with the change in time slot and format. They hope the listeners are as well. The show is available in podcast on Phil’s podcast stream (click image to the left) and this edition is also available as a video on YouTube, an experiment of Phil’s. And of course, listen live on Sundays at 11am CT at KZUM-HD 89.3FM in Lincoln, NE or online at the KZUM website.

Below you will find links to the stories we covered as well as some “bonus” links to stories we did not have time for. You will also find the music list from the show with links (when possible) to the artists’ websites.

Links

The Music

  1. Dominique Morgan – Right Thru Me – A Thin Line Between Love & Hate
  2. Mary Lambert – She Keeps Me Warm 
  3. Pentatonix – Wizard of Ahhhs – 
  4. The Clincher – Imperfect Form – The Sickness is Evolving

Additional Links

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PWN #100

The 100th edition of the Pagan Weekly News aired late this week. RevKess has been working odd hours, more so than usual, at his bills-paying-job and was completely wiped at 9am CT Tuesday the 2nd of July. Zaracon was off celebrating the birth his new grandson and unavailable to contribute to this landmark edition. The birth of a new child is truly  more important than sharing in the general news of the Pagan community. Family is one of those things that can and often does out weigh the needs of the many. Congratulations to Z, his daughter, his new grandson and indeed to the whole family!

This past week brings us a lot of news from the political and governmental realms as well as equality issues from around the world and lots of news and events from the Pagan community. We will start as we did with the archived edition of PWN and move into some of the stories that RevKess did not find time for in the broadcast.

Links

  • The Pagan community reacts to the SCOTUS decisions, an article edited by Jason Pitzl-Waters on the Wild Hunt.
  • A follow-up from June 27th on the Wild Hunt, further reactions. This article contains a segment of an email that RevKess sent to Jason Pitzl-Waters with his first thoughts and reactions to the rulings.
  • Amy Howe’s “in plain English” brief on the DOMA decision from SCOTUS.
  • T Thorn Coyle’s article on her blog from March in which she speaks about her stance on marriage equality.
  • A brief article on Doreen Valiente and how she stood in the face of resistance.
  • Phyllis Currot, Vice Chair for the Parliament for World Religions posted this to her Facebook stream on 2 july 2013: “THANK YOU – from the bottom of my heart – o everyone who helped save the Parliament by donating, by getting the word out, by sending your thoughts and prayers!! Last week we all signed the Settlement Agreement in the Barcelona case and today the Judge signed the order dismissing it. Finally, our lawyers said that we could publicly make a formal announcement that the Barcelona debt has been paid and the battle is over!
    Collectively, and from all over the world, the Wiccan/Pagan community donated over $26,000 to pay off the debt that could have bankrupted the Parliament – that’s 10% of the total debt and an incredible, strong demonstration of our community’s appreciation for CPWR and our ability to give when we are needed.! We consistently led the way in fundraising, inspiring other faith communities to organize and donate. Wiccans, Pagans, shamanic practitioners, members of every tradition around from Italy, Brazil, Belgium, the Netherlands, England, Mexico and all over South America, Canada and of course the US made generous contributions.
    I’m so proud to be a member of this amazing community and to serve as Vice Chair of the Parliament. So many more opportunities await us as we take our rightful place on the global stage of world religions. Blessings to you all and endless gratitude.”

    • Read the statement from the CPWR here.
  • The Argus has an article about Doreen Valiente.
  • Over on the blog HecateDemeter you can read on perspective on why it is not a good idea to fall into the “denial” mode when discussing your Pagan path with others. “As long as you’re denying that you worship Satan (a Christian demi-god in whom Pagans don’t even believe; Satanism is a branch of Christianity), or eat babies, or cut the eyes out of newts for your potions, you, like LBJ’s opponent, are losing.”
    • Peter Dybing has a similar post on his Pagan in Paradise blog. “The time has come for our community to engage an alternative approach to these conversations. Answering the “devil” question should be viewed as a catastrophic way forward.  Alternative responses include, “Let me explain what the Wiccans I know believe” or even better “ Let me tell you a little about what Wiccans do”.  We must as a religious community cease to respond to the outlandish if we are to be viewed as a credible religious movement by wider society.  Such responses just feed the idea that Wiccans are the “other” and not engaged in a theology that has depth and meaning.”
  • Professor Ronald Hutton takes some of his epertise on various topics to the small screen with a new 12 part series on British television.
  • Some news of the weird from Nottinghamshire in England.
  • Harvey Milk’s nephew, Stuart Milk,  speaks up on marriage equality and other LGBT issues during the San Francisco Pride events.
  • The National Geogrpahic website has an article about the recently discovered moons of Pluto and their new official names, William Shatner was disappointed with the final decision.
  • The United Church of Christ (UCC) votes to divest itself of holdings in fossil fuels, make them the first Christian denomination in the US to take a stand on such ecological matters.
  • Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif) full survivor benefits for LGBT partners and families.

Music

  1. Celia (as the Trestlefoot Faerie) – I’m Not Homophobic – Naughty in Pink
  2. Leigh Anne Hussey – Harper David – Homebrew
  3. Paradiso – Truth of Nothingness – Shaman’s Trance
  4. Lorelei Greenwood – Gaullimaufry
  5. Wendy Rule – Out of the Dry Summer – Guided by Venus 
  6. Elaine Silver – Don’t You Know – Faerie Goddess
  7. Heartbeat – Creation
  8. Tuatha Dea – Hypocritical Mass – The Tribe (featuring Murphey’s Midnight Rounders)

Stories we didn’t have time for….

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PWN: SCOTUS Rulings, First Thoughts

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RevKess shares his first thoughts on the SCOTUS rulings on DOMA Section 3 and California’s Proposition 8. (Our apologies for any format errors, this was originally submitted for publication or quote for another site.)

In a 5-4 decision, SCOTUS has overturned DOMA. This ruling’s immediate effect is that Ms. Windsor does not owe the IRS $300k in estate taxes. Long term effects are many. The Federal government must now recognize the legitimacy of same-sex marriage performed in any state that has legal same-sex marriage, and the District of Columbia. This recognition is for the purposes of taxes, spousal benefits for military personnel and Federal employees, property rights, etc. This does not mean that all states must now legalize same-sex marriage.

In another 5-4 decision, SCOTUS has tossed Prop8 back down to the lower court with instructions to dismiss the case. Sometime by August 1, 2013, hundred, perhaps thousands, of same-sex couples in California will be applying for marriage licenses and making their plans final and legal to be married.
Today marks an affirmation by SCOTUS that the United States is a country of freedoms and equal rights. This despite their ruling Tuesday on Voter Rights and the Federal government’s further attempts to restrict or take away other rights of US citizens. The five Justices that ruled against DOMA will go down in LGBT history as heroes. The five Justices who ruled against Prop8 will also go down in LGBT history as heroes.
As a gay man I am thrilled to hear these rulings. At the time of this writing I have not slogged through all the legalese of both opinions the dissenters, that will come after the initial euphoria has waned a bit. I can only hope that the DOMA decision will reflect well on the efforts of my state to over turn their own version of DOMA. The ban on same-sex marriage in Nebraska was a complete farce. The law was written by a woman with no legal background, the phrasing of the law was son confusing that a literal interpretation can prevent a father and son from owning a business together, let alone two men or two women getting married. After the election day that voted Nebraska’s ban of same-sex marriage into law, many voters were polled and it was learned that over 50% of those who voted for the ban thought they were voting for same-sex marriage. Such is the wonders of legalese and a lack of education. Since then, Nebraskans have been fighting for marriage equality with half-hearted attempts and full-hearted attempts. I do hope that after today those who are fighting for marriage equality in Nebraska will reaffirm their convictions and stick it to the government.
As a Pagan I am thrilled by both rulings. “All acts of love and pleasure” are the rituals of the Gods. I personally feel thatpagan marriage equality the government should have no say in whether legal consenting adults get married, regardless of their sex or sexual identity. Marriage in this context is a religious institution. How politicos view marriage is as a legal contract. If you are going to view marriage as a legal contract, then any two consenting adults should be able to enter into such a contract.
I am a legally ordained and recognized minister in the state of Nebraska, and many other states that recognize my ordination. I have been asked many times to do weddings and handfastings. I’ve not had the joy or the privilege to perform a same-sex ceremony. I have been asked, but things changed in the lives of the couples and the unions did not take place. If I were asked today to go to one of the 12 (soon to be 13) states that have legal same-sex marriage (and the District of Columbia) to perform such a glorious union, I would gladly do so. If I were asked today to do a same-sex handfasting or other such ceremony in any of the 50 states or anywhere else in the world, I would gladly do so.
I am now and always have been of the firm opinion that all adults have the right to love who they want and how they want as long as it does not infringe on the rights of others or place themselves or others at risk of undue harm.
There is still a long uphill battle in the United States for marriage equality. The provision of DOMA that allows states without same-sex marriage to ignore the validity of a same-sex marriage from a state that does still stands. SCOTUS declared Section 3 of DOMA to be unconstitutional. The rest of DOMA still stands, which means that each state still has the right to define marriage according to its voters or law makers.
For further Pagan responses to the SCOTUS rulings, read the Wild Hunt.
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PWN Briefs for 051413

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Greetings, listeners! Tuesday the 14th found Zaracon totally coherent, but RevKess was not with it. They elected to do a Brief instead of a full show. A full edition of PWN will air on Wednesday the 15th at the usual time.

Links

Music

  1. Lorelei Greenwood – Gallimaufry 
  2. Didges Christ Super Drum – Witch Doctor – Alien Technology 

We did say it was a Brief. Tune in at 9am Central on Wednesday 15 May 2013, or in archives at anytime after the show, to catch a full edition of Pagan Weekly News.