by Adam Amel Rogers, Originally posted on change.org
Operation scapegoat Adam Lambert continues to roll through the media obsession machine, with two networks establishing themselves as adversaries to equality. On Wednesday morning, CBS’ The Early Show made the baseless decision to blur the image of Adam Lambert kissing his male keyboardist like it was a Carrie Prejean sex tape or something. The blurred kiss appeared along with the completely unedited image of Britney Spears and Madonna locking lips. Worse than the kiss blurring is the pathetic and disingenuous excuse of a defense that CBS issued.

A spokesman for The Early Show said, "We gave this some real thought. The Madonna image is very familiar and has appeared countless times including many times on morning television. The Adam Lambert image is a subject of great current controversy, has not been nearly as widely disseminated, and for all we know, may still lead to legal consequences.”

CBS’ response is simply unacceptable and they should not get away with it. Blurring the image of two guys kissing sends a clear message to the audience that a kiss between men is inappropriate, abhorrent, and shameful, while a kiss between women is just hot? Their statement is simultaneously anti-gay, anti-woman, and insulting to viewers’ intelligence. It is an obvious farce -– legal consequences? What possible legal consequences could there be?

This of course is all in response to Lambert’s so-called “controversial” performance at the American Music Awards on ABC, which prompted .0001% of viewers (1,500 out of 14 million) to complain -– a response that even ABC deemed only “moderate.”

ABC’s decision to cancel Lambert’s Good Morning America performance was an unnecessary response, but it turned into an offensive response when he was replaced with famed domestic abuser Chris Brown.

To recap, men kissing is bad, women kissing is good, gay performer is bad, woman beater is good.

Offended by CBS’ decision to blur the Lambert kiss? Please let the network know how you feel by signing the petition here. Lets make 1,500 complaints look like a drop in the bucket.

(Photo courtesy of degreeszero’s Flickr stream)

by Adam Amel Rogers, Originally posted on change.org
The Navajo used the word “nádleehí” to describe people who embodied both masculine and feminine traits. They were among the hundreds of Native communities that celebrated and revered tribe members who lived outside binary male/female restrictions. As today’s Native communities fight to revitalize the culture that was beaten out of them, gay and transgender Natives are reclaiming this aspect of their ancestry by identifying as two-spirit –- a unifying term that serves as a catch-all for the many variations of sexuality and gender identity.

Two-spirit people were seen as a gift in Native American culture, viewed as a third gender with a heightened spiritual connectedness and a significant role to play. However, the forced Western colonization injected tribal communities with strong anti-gay attitudes that, for the most part, continue to reign supreme today. As two-spirits try to reclaim their historical culture, it is vital for the LGBT community to start paying attention to history as well.

I had the honor of speaking with seasoned two-spirit activist Richard LaFortune, whose wisdom made it painfully clear how shortsighted the LGBT civil rights movement has become. While much of the current focus is on the state-by-state status of legal relationship recognition, LaFortune reveals that many Native cultures enjoyed marriage equality for same-sex couples well before European settlers arrived. It isn’t surprising that anti-gay activists didn’t bother to consult Native American history before constantly regurgitating “marriage has always been between one man and one woman” talking points.

A rich history of equality does not equal an immediate connection to today’s gay movement for equality. LaFortune says most mainstream gay agenda items are illegible to him. Much of his organizing and activism is built on community building issues like environmental justice, women’s rights, elderly rights, and culture revitalization. “I’m not interested in marriage equality, I’m more concerned if we are going to have air to breathe in 20 years,” LaFortune asserts.

LaFortune is featured in a new documentary entitled “Two Spirits,” which premiered last weekend at the Starz Denver Film Festival. The film details the horrific 2001 murder of two-spirit Colorado teen Fred Martinez. Never heard of him? You’re not alone. While other hate crimes have garnered massive amounts of national media attention, the story of this transgender Native from rural Colorado has received little play from either mainstream media or the gay press.

This moving film focuses attention on a two-spirit community plagued by invisibility. LaFortune details the importance of this exposure, “[W]ithout visibility there is no attention, without attention there is no sympathy, and without sympathy there is no action.”

Please do your part to make sure that this film is seen and this culture celebrated. View the emotional trailer below and then join the movie's Facebook page to demand that it come to your city.

(Photo Courtesy of TwoSpirits.org)

by Adam Amel Rogers, Originally posted on change.org
Tyli’a Mack and Paulina Ibarra were among the many who were stabbed to death. Kamilla was shot by her boyfriend after he discovered she had been born male. Several others were beaten and left to die. In total, at least 97 transgender people were murdered in 2009.

Today marks the 11th International Transgender Day of Remembrance, which honors victims of anti-transgender violence. The devastating list of people to memorialize is vast and heartbreaking.  The day of remembrance began after Rita Hester, a transgender woman, was brutally murdered in 1998. As we honor these important people, it is imperative that we also focus on ways to create a safer existence for transgender and gender non-conforming individuals.

In many ways, the transgender community has been left behind in this equality movement. An increased focus on legal relationship recognition for gay and lesbian couples has taken away resources from issues more pressing to the trans community. If we are going to make a dent in anti-transgender violence, significant resources need to be dedicated to education and understanding of the issues facing trans people.

Many allies, though committed to LGBT rights, remain ill-equipped to talk about transgender equality. Everyone in the movement needs to make a concerted effort to improve their individual trans IQ.

What better time than Transgender Day of Remembrance to start improving your trans awareness? Candlelight vigils are being held all around the globe tonight. Find the one closest to you and take this opportunity to learn more about this important movement.

by Adam Amel Rogers, Originally posted on change.org
“I don’t hate gay people, I just believe in traditional marriage.” This is the new brand of anti-gay messaging that is trending among high profile conservatives. It is smart, it works well with the movable middle, and it is unbelievably infuriating for advocates of equality.  This "it’s nothing personal" mindset attempts to create a false halfway point, where it is deemed acceptable to tolerate the existence of gay and lesbian people, but it remains unacceptable to offer them equal rights.

Lynn Vincent, the co-writer of Sarah Palin’s new book, Going Rogue, and Carrie Prejean, the beauty queen who will not go away, are the latest to exemplify this dangerous rhetoric. In an interview love-fest between the two, Lynn and Carrie bond over how they buck their “fanatical homophobe” labels because they have gay and lesbian people in their lives. Lynn’s sister is a lesbian activist, and her best friend and her “longtime lesbian partner” were bridesmaids in Lynn’s wedding, while Carrie’s hairdresser and the guy who taught her how to pageant walk are both gay.

These women obviously do not understand how deeply condescending, disrespectful, and offensive their argument is. They are basically saying that gay people should be able to do your hair and teach you a fierce runway walk, but should not be able to get married. Though Carrie’s examples fall on the comical side, Lynn’s are more disheartening. How can she have the lesbians in her life be a part of her wedding, yet still have the audacity to believe that they should never enjoy the same opportunity? Why is Lynn’s love inherently more deserving than the love of others?

Lynn says she longs for people to stop the name-calling and have a civil debate about marriage. Sounds good, but I don’t know what there is to debate. She wants the opportunity to have a legally recognized relationship with the person she loves. So do I. It is that simple.

If I sound rigid on the lack of middle ground, it is only because the marriage battles waged over the last few years have crystallized this issue for me. I urge Lynn, Carrie, and anyone else who thinks they can have gay friends and discriminate against them too, to envision the following:

Imagine being stopped outside your neighborhood grocery store and asked to sign a petition that takes away one of your rights. Then imagine seeing that your neighbors have actually taken the time to put up church-supplied signs in their yards advertising that they don’t want you to have the same rights they do. Finally, imagine the heartbreak involved when everyone in your state gets to vote on whether or not you should be treated equally or not.

It’s nothing personal?

The fact is that the issue of equality is nothing but personal. If we are going to change hearts and minds, LGBT people need to educate everyone in their lives on why marriage equality is important to them.

(Image courtesy of mtsofan's photostream on Flickr)

by Adam Amel Rogers, Originally posted on change.org
Anti-gay running back Larry Johnson found himself out of a job Monday morning after being released by the Kansas City Chiefs for "conduct detrimental to the club."

Last month, Johnson's affinity for anti-gay slurs, first in a hate-filled tweet and again to reporters in the locker room, prompted a widespread petition demanding he get the boot. And while he was already in hot water for insubordinate behavior toward his coach, pressure over his homophobic language clearly contributed to the decision to fire him. Chalk up one victory against the culture of homophobia in sports!

In fact, the Larry Johnson episode has sparked a vital dialogue for audiences that aren’t typically faced with gay interactions. Perhaps this saga will educate the sports world on the dangers of hate speech, like it educated Johnson’s agent Peter Schaffer. Initially perplexed by the hullabaloo surrounding Johnson’s comments, he and his client now know that the F-word is off limits. “I'm learning that there's a segment of our society that finds [f**] offensive and that it should not be used,” Schaffer explained.

Schaffer’s shocking ignorance was balanced out by the refreshing comments of Larry Johnson’s father, who proclaimed that he raised his son to be respectful of all people and to know that hate speech is not tolerated. Johnson Sr. hopes that his son is not defined as a bigot for the rest of his career –- but that's exactly what will happen unless Junior makes significant changes in his personal conduct.

Johnson will probably be snatched up by another team in a matter of days. Here’s hoping that he treats his new situation as an opportunity to be the man his father hoped he would be. Perhaps he will follow the path of retired NBA all-star Tim Hardaway, who progressed from his “I hate gay people” diatribe to eventually hosting a fundraiser to combat teen suicide in the gay community.

Here's hoping this scandal will create another unlikely ally in the journey toward openness and acceptance for LGBT people in the professional sports world.

(Photo courtesy of nfl_mitchell's Photobucket)