Yet another major GOP politician has seen the writing on the 2012 wall.
Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels said early Sunday that he won't run for president because of family considerations, narrowing the field in the race for the GOP nomination. "In the end, I was able to resolve every competing consideration but one," the Republican said, disclosing his decision in an e-mail to supporters. "The interests and wishes of my family, is the most important consideration of all. If I have disappointed you, I will always be sorry."
Major figures on the religious right had opposed Daniels' prospective candidacy because in 1994 his wife divorced him, briefly married another man, then returned to re-marry Daniels in 1997. And that, apparently, made him unacceptable.
"Students impacted by the continued presence of Chick-fil-A on campus have come forward today to file formal discrimination complaints within the Judicial Affairs office of the university against the university's Chancellor, Una Mae Reck," said Jason Moreno, a student at IUSB and a spokesperson for the Civil Rights Student Association. "Chancellor Reck has continued to proactively purchase goods from this vendor for the purpose of resale on campus despite all evidence proving the damage it causes the students she's charged to protect. These purchases aren't automatic, but rather she's making the conscious decision to do this every week on her own authority and of her own volition, with full knowledge of the overwhelming evidence that shows she's participating in the promotion of discrimination.”
South Bend's ABC affiliate filed the below report.
Lambda Legal has settled its lawsuit against an Indiana school district after a 2006 incident in which a principal physically blocked the door of a high school prom in order to prevent a transgender student from attending in a dress. Via press release:
"Gary School Corporation's new policies and trainings will help to ensure that other students don't face discrimination because of who they are or what they wear," said Christopher Clark, Senior Staff Attorney in Lambda Legal's Midwest Regional Office in Chicago. "It is unfortunate that Gary School Corporation has spent almost four years defending a discriminatory policy. The message for schools across the country should be clear - they should adopt and follow dress code policies that respect the rights of all students, and they should let all students attend the school prom without discrimination based on gender identity or expression."
The lawsuit was settled for an "undisclosed amount on terms agreeable to all parties." Finally, some good news today!
Indiana University's campus in South Bend has removed Chik-Fil-A as a food vendor over reports that the company backs anti-gay hate groups. Chick-Fil-A did not have a physical on-campus South Bend store and only sold meals one day a week.
News of the ban spread quickly, prompting Chick-fil-A's president to release an online statement defending his company. "Providing food to these events or any event is not an endorsement of the mission, political stance or motives of this or any other organization,” said Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy. “Any suggestion otherwise is just inaccurate." Some IU South Bend students don't see things the same way. "Providing food is equal to donating money,” said IU South Bend junior Erin Rempala. “So you must believe in the cause to donate the food."
Dan Cathy is, of course, lying, as has been extensively documented by Jeremy Hooper at Good As You. Chick-Fil-A still has two full restaurants operating on IU campuses in Indianapolis and Bloomington.
By a 6-3 vote, the city council of South Bend, Indiana has voted to continue to allow local businesses to fire people for being gay.
Explaining his opposition to the proposal, council President Derek Dieter, D-District 1, said afterward, "I just don't think it's needed in South Bend." Dieter said he had not seen any documentation proving workplace discrimination against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people exists, "and I think it (the proposal) would cause more harm than good to small businesses." For his part, Patrick Mangan, executive director of the conservative group Citizens for Community Values, praised Dieter and other opponents of the proposal, who he said "stood up to a lot of pressure behind the scenes." "I'm pleased the council did the right thing in lovingly opposing special rights for homosexuals," he said, adding, "And I renew the offer to all those struggling with same-sex attraction to come to freedom and come to wholeness."
If this news changes your plans to travel to or do business in South Bend, let their Chamber of Commerce know about it.
City officials in Indianapolis say that a bakery operating on city property may keep its lease despite having refused to serve a student LGBT group.
"We never intended for good businesses to be kicked out," Jackie Nytes, a City-County Council member and ordinance sponsor, told The Indianapolis Star. "We sure never meant for the ordinance to be interpreted that aggressively." The Star Sunday said the council got involved after the owner of Just Cookies told a college gay rights group last month he would not fill an order for rainbow-iced cookies because he did not endorse homosexuality. The City-Council Council said in a letter obtained by the Star "it would be wrong to force a business to support a political project with which they do not agree."
Known as "Cupcakegate" in the press, the bakery's handling of the gay students' special order spawned a national discussion on religious freedom and public accommodation.
Father Tony tips us that JMG reader Birdie (real name Betty Greene Salwak) took part in Indianapolis' Fox News "face-off" to battle the American Family Association over the refusal of a local bakery to fill the order of a campus LGBT rights group. Read our heroine's statement in full on the Fox 59 website. Note that Fox edits the below clip to give the AFA the final word.
"As business owners, it's completely within the Stocktons' right not to be forced by a customer to make a product that violates their moral and/or religious convictions. If the customers don't like it, they can take their dollars elsewhere. Just because David and Lily own a store doesn't mean they're slaves to the agenda of anyone who visits. The Stocktons are well within their legal bounds to decline an order that would make them a public part of a very perverse celebration.
"One of the few locals who spoke out against the family said that taking this kind of stand is not "smart business." On the contrary, business has never been better! According to our friends at the Indiana Family Institute, local support has been so overwhelming that the Stocktons sold out of cookies!
"At least two conservative legal groups have already offered to defend the freedom of Just Cookies in court. That should teach liberals to pursue these half-baked ideas about 'tolerance.' Now it's up to the Mayor to quit wilting under pressure and call off the investigation. Contact Mayor Greg Ballard's office (317-327-3601) and ask him to stop bullying businesses with conviction. If he can't stand the heat, tell him to get out of the Stocktons' kitchen!" - Family Research Council head Tony Perkins, joining in the national Christianist "outrage" about that Indianapolis cookie shop.
The American Family Association says that the sexual orientation anti-discrimination laws passed five years ago by Indianapolis were a terrible thing. Because that means being forced to sell rainbow cupcakes.
Controversy arose this week after the owners of the bakery cited moral objections to a special-order request for rainbow-decorated cookies for next week's "National Coming Out Day" observance at a nearby university campus. Stockton told the caller he did not feel comfortable in supporting homosexual values, especially because it would not set a good example for his two daughters. Micah Clark of the American Family Association of Indiana says there are reports the city might evict Stockton, citing a local "anti-discrimination" statute. "Indianapolis passed a sexual-orientation city ordinance five years ago," Clark explains. "...We warned [at that time] that this type of thing would happen if they passed an ordinance elevating a sexual behavior to the same moral equivalent of race or skin color."
The AFA is asking its members to rush to the shop and buy its products.
He was a teenager who didn't quite fit in. His classmates said Billy Lucas was bullied for being different. The 15-year-old never told anyone he was gay but students at Greensburg High School thought he was and so they picked on him. "People would call him 'fag' and stuff like that, just make fun of him because he's different basically," said student Dillen Swango. Students told Fox59 News it was common knowledge that children bullied Billy and from what they said, it was getting worse. Last Thursday, Billy's mother found him dead inside their barn. He had hung himself. Students said on that same day, some students told Billy to kill himself. "They said stuff like 'you're like a piece of crap' and 'you don't deserve to live.' Different things like that. Talked about how he was gay or whatever," said Swango.
School administrators claim to have had no knowledge of the bullying, despite many students saying that they were aware of Billy's torment. A memorial Facebook page for Billy can be found here. Indiana does not include gay youth in its anti-bullying laws, no doubt thanks to repulsive Christianist groups like Focus On The Family.
Currently, there is no national standard to protect all of our children from bullying and harassment at school. Yet, we know that as many as 1 in 10 sexual minority youth have been physically assaulted at school, and that when youth are threatened or get into fights, or have property stolen at school, their risk of attempting suicide more than doubles. That is why The Trevor Project supports fully inclusive federal legislation, like the Safe Schools Improvement Act currently under consideration in the Senate, to offer the protections all of our children need from torment and ridicule at school, regardless of their real or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. Only with an enforceable national standard that offers resources and support to educators and staff, no matter the size of a school district, will we be able to prevent future tragedies like Greensburg High School has experienced. The death of Billy Lucas is a tragedy, and one that might have been prevented if his school district had the support of a fully inclusive anti-harassment and anti-bullying law.
UPDATE: JMG reader Andy sends us the below news clip and notes that Billy's principal seems to blame him for his own bullying. "Sometimes he created an atmosphere around him like a little tornado, you know, because he went around doing things that made dust fly." Starts at the 2:00 mark.
“People have a constitutional right to express themselves as they wish, and that right obviously applies even to people who for some reason have dedicated much of their lives to trying to diminish the lives of others. I do not understand what it is that drives people to spend so much time trying to take away the rights of those of us who are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender, but they should understand that the freedom to do so in no way insulates them from those who disagree with their agenda from making their presence clear.
"For someone engaging in that right of peaceful counter-demonstration to be assaulted by a NOM attendee is wholly unacceptable and the leaders of this organization should be taking steps not simply to prevent any such behavior in the future, but to exclude from their ranks anyone who was engaged in it in the past.” - Rep. Barney Frank, responding to the news that a young lesbian was punched in the stomach by a NOM supporter at their Indianapolis rally.
"Freedom to Marry calls on NOM to repudiate the anti-gay prejudice that underlies its political agenda and fuels its attack campaigns. NOM's "Summer for Marriage" anti-gay bus tour has devolved from a media gimmick to a display of prejudice and incitement to violence. While funneling millions of dollars into political campaigns aimed at stripping away basic protections from gay people and their families, NOM's typical ploy is to conjure up phony claims of harassment and infringement and complain when anyone speaks the truth about its record and agenda.
"But with today's display, the mask slipped, revealing what lies beneath NOM's diversions, protestations, and veneer. The real victims of NOM are committed, loving gay couples across the country who are denied the freedom to marry and the critical safety net that marriage brings. And all Americans are harmed by the divisiveness, prejudice, and violence that NOM's actions invite." - Freedom To Marry executive director Evan Wolfson, responding to the "solution to gay marriage" sign brandished at NOM's rally in Indianapolis yesterday.
Bilerico co-founder Bil Browning just posted this sign seen at today's NOM rally in his hometown of Indianapolis. The maker of the sign agreed to an interview with the Courage Campaign team and just as the interview began, one of the NOM flacks rushed over to warn him, "We don't want anything inflammatory." Watch the clip, the hater says he's had homosexual attractions, but rejected them because they were "from the devil." We should totally use this sign against NOM, as they love to play victim at every opportunity.
The wingnut-o-sphere is positively quivering with outrage today over a report that an Indiana school bus driver berated a girl for continuing to preach against gays and Obama to fellow students. The driver was recorded admonishing the student over the bus PA system. Keep in mind that the below news story and video are from a Fox News affiliate. The incident occurred in late 2008, but is in the news today because the parents are suing the school.
Video of the incident shows the bus driver calling the student "a stupid little bigot" after the two disagreed on abortion and gay marriage. It happened one day after President Barack Obama was elected. Parents of the student want the driver fired. Betty Campbell reportedly made the comment after a middle school girl told other students on the bus they were going to hell if they believed in gay marriage. Her parents say their little girl never said that. "She's been affected by this in a negative way at a core level that we're trying to get her back from, and we haven't been able to do it," said the girl's father, Ed Zimmer.
According to the surveillance video, the bus driver told the girl: "I don't want to hear one more word about anyone going to hell if they're gay or if they're Buddhist or whatever cause it's none of your damn business." "I'm not trying to be mean but you can't talk like that to people. I have heard you darling. It's not like I have never heard you," Campbell said in the video.However, Zimmer said during a deposition, and while she was under oath, Campbell admitted she had never heard the girl talk about gays going to hell."Their reaction to this one is I think honestly, 'let's not do what's right. Let's protect ourselves against a lawsuit and we can strong arm the Zimmers,'" said Zimmer.
Family values evangelical Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN), who in 2004 famously compared gay people to alcoholics, will resign today amid allegations that he had an affair with a female staffer. Souder is married with three children.
Saying he "sinned against God, my wife and my family by having a mutual relationship with a part-time member of my staff," Rep. Mark Souder, R-3rd, said Tuesday he will resign from Congress. Souder, who won re-nomination to run for a ninth term, said he won't be a candidate in the fall. "I believe it is the best decision for my family, the people of northeast Indiana and our country," he said in a statement. Souder is the latest politician whose political career crumbled under rumors and admissions of extramarital affairs. "In the poisonous environment of Washington, D.C., any personal failing is seized upon, often twisted, for political gain," he said. "I am resigning rather than to put my family through that painful, drawn-out process.
Souder's anti-gay voting record: NO on hate crimes (2009), NO on ENDA (2007), YES on constitutional ban on gay marriage (2006), YES on gay adoption ban (1999). Souder in 2004: "I believe people can have a propensity to alcoholism. I believe they can have a propensity to look at pornography on [the] Internet. I believe they can have a propensity to be homosexual. But I believe that it's wrong and it's controllable. That is a fundamental, biblically based view that doesn't leave a lot of room or comfortability in a society where they don't want you to have absolutes."
Apparently people also have a propensity to fuck their employees.
UPDATE: First clip: Souder on ENDA in 2007. Second clip: Souder and his mistress on abstinence education. SNORK!
Bilerico reports that the Indiana Stonewall Democrats walked out of a fundraiser dinner after Sen. Even Bayh made the below AIDS joke.
So I'm walking through the airport and people were kinda being nice and making eye contact and a couple come up and say hello. This one person runs up all excited and I'm prepared to say "Hello," and he says, "Senator Bayh! Senator Bayh!"
I said "Well, yes?" and he looked at me and said, "Do you have AIDS?"
[audible gasps]
I said, "Huh?"
He said, "Yeah. Do you have AIDS?"
I was dumbfounded. I didn't know what to say.
He said, "I've got a letter I want to give you, do you have someone I can hand this to? Do you have an aide with you?"
Yet another major GOP politician has seen the writing on the 2012 wall.
