by Adam Amel Rogers, Originally posted on change.org
I am the first to admit that I, and many others, put too much pressure on Glee. It is not the show’s responsibility to solve all the world’s problems, but it certainly has the power and position to change some hearts and minds. Glee’s unique formula has created a viewership that transcends demographics, which creates the opportunity to entertain and educate at the same time. This is why so many in the LGBT community put so much stock into the gay and gay-adjacent plot lines of the show – this content will be seen by millions of people who may have limited exposure to our community.

Therefore, we have complained about Kurt’s sad and irrational infatuation with Finn, the straight awkward guy; we have basically demanded the show to reveal Rachel’s gay fathers, who she talks about so much; and we have speculated as to when Kurt will finally get a boyfriend. The latter appears to be happening early in the upcoming second season.

I am thrilled that Kurt is getting a boyfriend and I am even more thrilled that said boyfriend is the star quarterback, because gay athletes remain largely invisible both in media and in reality. I am sure the storyline will be handled beautifully and it will be captivating to watch and good for providing LGBT visibility, but unfortunately in my desire for the show to reach further and do better, there is one part of "operation boyfriend for Kurt" that I find extremely disappointing: The casting of Chord Overstreet to play the boyfriend.

I am sure that Chord is a very talented actor and a very nice person. He is a good looking young man and he will almost certainly become a big star, BUT he looks like a big pile of stereotype.

If you asked a random American to describe to you what a gay person looks like, they would just show you a picture of Chord Overstreet. He is white, skinny and attractive. I have nothing against skinny white guys, in fact I used to be one of them, but I do have a problem with the narrow focus of LGBT media representations.

On Broadcast Television this past season, there were five leading LGBT characters and 13 LGBT characters in supporting roles. Of those, only one leading character is not white (Callie Torres fromGrey’s Anatomy) and only three of the supporting characters are people of color (Angela from Bones, Angel from Mercy and Oscar from The Office).

LGBT people of color are plagued by invisibility in media and Glee has wasted a golden opportunity to showcase the diversity of the gay community.  Hopefully, Ryan Murphy will not waste another opportunity when it is time to cast Rachel’s fathers. In the pilot episode of the show, there is a picture of Rachel’s dads in her locker that shows one white man and one black man.

Here’s hoping!

Photo credit: Twitter

by Adam Amel Rogers, Originally posted on change.org
Last month, the Pentagon commissioned an expensive survey of servicemembers to get their views on repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” Now, they are sending out a similar survey to spouses of servicemembers … seriously.

Who knew that the military was so democratic about personnel decisions? They are asking so many people what they think about the anti-gay policy that I am honestly a little hurt that I haven’t been asked how I feel yet – I am sure my survey will be in the next round though.

If the administration is looking to waste even more time before doing what is right, perhaps they will keep on expanding the breadth of the surveys and we will see something like this:

Dear Afghan Insurgent: The American military is thinking of joining most other developed nations in allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly and honestly in the armed forces. Even though eight out of 10 Americans fully support the repeal of the anti-gay policy and even though there is no real logical, reasonable or even legal reason to continue discriminating against LGBT people, we still find it necessary to let everyone weigh in before making a decision. We have asked our servicemembers and their spouses what they think, but we want to make sure it is cool with you too.

Here are a few sample questions:



1. How do you feel about fighting a war against opponents who allow openly gay military personnel?

2. Would your family treat you differently if they knew you were fighting against an LGBT inclusive military?

3. If a wartime situation made it necessary to share a battlefield with an American gay or lesbian servicemember, what are you most likely to do?

Of course this is a ludicrous exaggeration, but the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal process is proving to be nothing but ludicrous. More than 78% of Americans support getting rid of the anti-gay policy – in our divided nation, I can’t think of anything else that 78% of Americans agree on.

Stop the insanity, stop asking people how they feel about it and end the policy NOW!

Photo credit: US Army Africa

by Adam Amel Rogers, Originally posted on change.org
My family is in process of purchasing our first home, so our TV has consistently been glued to the Home and Garden Network (HGTV), which offers a slew of shows to help educate viewers on buying and decorating a home.

HGTV occasionally educates viewers on something much more important though – the network often models what equality for gay and lesbian couples should look like.

LGBT people are quite accustomed to invisibility in entertainment media. We are used to turning on the TV or going to a movie and not seeing any relatable characters. So, my husband and I were absolutely gleeful the first time that we saw a gay couple on House Hunters. We figured it was an isolated incident – like the gay couple we saw on Bridezillas years ago, but now that we have months of HGTV watching under our belts, it is quite evident that HGTV is committed to showing that there are many different types of families looking for homes.

We have seen LGBT people of all different strains: young and old, singles and couples, with children and without children, white, black, Latino and Asian.

The special piece of HGTV’s brand of equality is that it is never about them being gay and it is never about them not being gay.  They look at each family they profile through the lens of the house they are trying to buy or sell or the room they are trying to decorate (e.g. Bill and John are looking for more square footage to accommodate their growing family).

This has not gone completely unnoticed – there are scattered complaints around the Internet of HGTV “normalizing” gay people and “forcing alternative lifestyles down viewers' throats.” But for the most part, this representation has a positive impact on the movement.

Entertainment media has been one of the most important soldiers in the battle for LGBT equality. Studies consistently show that people are more likely to vote for equality when they know someone who is gay or lesbian. There are many people in this country who have not known any LGBT people personally, so media images play a significant role in forming their mindset on equality. When they are able to see gay couples do something as relatable and non-threatening as purchase a house, it helps to reduce the “other” factor.

As our movement toward equality progresses, how entertainment media portrays our community will hopefully journey more toward the matter-of-fact images modeled by HGTV.

Photo credit: HGTV on Facebook

by Adam Amel Rogers, Originally posted on change.org
Proposition 8 has been an emotional and an expensive journey. After the appeal process, we will hopefully be right back where we were before the proposition, with gay and lesbian couples enjoying the freedom to marry in California (and beyond). So it makes you think what it would have been like if the proposition never happened.

It almost didn’t.

In 2008, the California Supreme Court had an opportunity to stop Proposition 8 from even making it onto the ballot in the first place. Unfortunately, they unanimously allowed it to continue. Imagine how much heartbreak and money they could have saved by ruling it unconstitutional before it was on the ballot.

Any money spent on anti-gay causes is infuriating. We are in an economy that needs to value each and every dollar. It is astonishing to me that people can still look at their hard-earned personal finances and decide that even one cent is best used by fighting LGBT equality. Think about if Focus on the Family or the Family Research Council actually spent the donated dollar on worthwhile causes. With their monstrous operating budgets they could do some real good in this world.

Lots of money has been spent on the many anti-gay ballot initiatives throughout the years, but they all dwarf in comparison to Proposition 8. Over $73 million was spent between the two sides on the proposition and I can’t help but look at how that money could have been better spent. In my utopian world, the Mormon Church and all of the anti-gay organizations would have teamed up with LGBT equality advocates to try and eradicate a problem in the world. My problem of choice is the California education system.

Education in California (and in many other states) has become a bad reality competition show. Just like having to make an evening look out of grocery store materials on Project Runway or having to compose a gourmet dish from vending machine contents on Top Chef, the California education system is filled with evil twists. Picture Heidi or Padma standing in front of California teachers and telling them they have to teach students how to read, but their salaries will be lowered, their class sizes will be doubled, and they will have no money for supplies or support. Your time starts… Now!

Now $73 million won’t completely solve the funding woes – over $17 billion has been cut from the public education system in California in the past two years, but this money could still save some teacher jobs and help reduce class size back to a somewhat manageable level.

If the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upholds Judge Vaughn Walker’s brilliant ruling that calls Proposition 8 unconstitutional, super lawyers Ted Olson and David Boies are reportedly going to try and recover legal fees from the anti-gay ProtectMarriage.com folks who defended Prop 8.  Perhaps they should take it a step further and demand that those who funded the proposition donate an equal amount to an actual worthwhile cause.

If you were in charge of the $73 million spent on Proposition 8, how would you use the money?

Photo credit: John Stavely

by Adam Amel Rogers, Originally posted on change.org
There were elements of the Federal court case on Proposition 8 that seemed like they could only really happen in the movies – perhaps that’s because of the vital role that Hollywood progressives played in the trial.

Since the Prop 8 lawsuit was filed, the headlines have focused on the dramatic legal odd couple that brought forth the suit. Former rivals Ted Olson and David Boies, who argued against each other in the Supreme Court battle for the 2000 Presidency, were now teaming up make the legal case for the freedom to marry.  The unlikely pairing added such a unique component to the story that it served as media catnip throughout the trial.

Perhaps the unlikely origin of the trial is even more interesting though.

Almost two years ago, Hollywood veteran Rob Reiner and several friends were sitting in the Beverly Hills Polo Club when they first discussed bringing forth a federal lawsuit against the constitutionality of Proposition 8.  From that discussion came the suggestion to get Ted Olson involved. Although Olson’s views on many issues were antithetical to those of this progressive crew, he apparently had also demonstrated longstanding support of marriage equality. It was Olson who brought on his former opponent Boies.

The idea of a Federal challenge was met with emphatic resistance by gay, inc. Freedom to Marry, National Center for Lesbian Rights, Lambda Legal and the ACLU were all against bringing forth a case that could end up in front of an unsympathetic Supreme Court. Their concerns could definitely still be valid. If Vegas were taking bets, they would probably say that the case will almost certainly end up in the Supreme Court and it will more than likely be a 5-4 decision with Justice Anthony Kennedy representing the deciding vote.

With no support from the existing LGBT legal organizations, Reiner and longtime political strategist Chad Griffin created their own organization, the American Foundation for Equal Rights (AFER), to take the case to court. They raised millions of dollars from Hollywood’s top names and suddenly the case was a reality.

Thus far, the case has read like a triumphant good vs. evil screenplay. The unlikely legal dream team absolutely destroyed the anti-gay villains with truth, logic and reason. The result has been a bulletproof legal decision that will hopefully ensure a happy ending to the movie.

To me, the most exciting component to this entire story is the fact that a majority of the heavy hitters who have put everything on the line to win the freedom to marry… are straight. I deeply admire the significant impact of straight allies on this movement. In the eventual movie depicting this journey, those contributions will be celebrated.

If you would like to thank Mr. Reiner, go see Flipped, which is his adorable new movie that just hit theaters this month.

Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

by Adam Amel Rogers, Originally posted on change.org
I have a new favorite author.

Justice Vaughn Walker and his clerks produced 136 pages of legal genius that can be read as a series of goose bump-inducing poetry.  The decision, which finds Proposition 8 unconstitutional, is a Popeye-strong document that was built to survive.

You would be hard pressed to identify a favorite line in this sea of brilliance, but there is one part that moves me more and more each time I read it. In Walker’s conclusion on page 135, he writes:

“Proposition 8 fails to advance any rational basis in singling out gay men and lesbians for denial of a marriage license. Indeed, the evidence shows Proposition 8 does nothing more than enshrine in the California Constitution the notion that opposite sex couples are superior to same-sex couples.”

Superior.

This word crystallizes why I find opposition to marriage equality so troubling. When people think they are being fair-minded by expressing support for civil unions, because “marriage should be between a man and a woman,” they are most definitely saying that their relationship is superior to others. They deserve something that others cannot have. Their religion tells them that their love is better than mine.

In essence, Proposition 8 and similar ballot initiatives flat out asked voters if they wanted to let the minority into their exclusive marriage club … and for the most part, they said “No.”

The idea of superiority makes it increasingly infuriating that there still are so many so-called progressive leaders who do not support full marriage equality. Even as the White House made a statement yesterday outlining President Obama’s opposition to Proposition 8, an anonymous White House aide reiterated that the President is still not on board with full marriage equality.

Pam Spaulding summed up the ridiculousness by saying, “Yes, we have a biracial constitutional law scholar for a President who still believes that ‘god is in the mix’ and that separate is equal when it comes to marriage.”

Mr. President, I’ve asked you before and I will ask you again: Do you feel that your relationship with Michelle is superior to my relationship with my husband? Does God bless your relationship more than mine? When your heart goes pitter-patter when Michelle enters the room, is it somehow more real or more special than when mine does the same? Is the lifelong commitment of love you made somehow more deserving of respect than the commitment I made?

I don’t mean to single out the President, because obviously from our ballot initiative record, there are a lot of people who feel exactly the same way he does. Many of those minds will change over time and the superiority complex will lessen, but the truly exciting part is that because of yesterday’s ruling, we will hopefully never again have to be subjected to the tyranny of the majority at the ballot box.

Photo credit: vaXzine