NEW YORK: Judge Allows "You Are Gay" Defamation Lawsuit To Proceed

A New York judge has ruled that it can be defamatory to allege that someone is a homosexual. Courts in several other jurisdiction have issued contrary opinions for years.

In Yonaty v. Mincolla, 1003-2009, Broome County Supreme Court Justice Phillip R. Rumsey (See Profile) rejected the defendants' summary judgment motion, and held that the assertion of homosexuality constituted defamation. "While the law may, at some point, change in response to evolving social attitudes regarding homosexuality, the existing law in New York, as expressed by the Appellate Divisions, which this court is bound to follow, is that imputation of homosexuality constitutes defamation per se," Justice Rumsey wrote, citing 2007 Appellate Division, Second Department, decision Klepetko v. Reisman, 41 AD3d 551, which cites a 1984 case, Matherson v. Marchello, 100 AD2d 233.

The above-linked article notes that while New York state repealed its anti-sodomy statute in 1980, the state Court of Appeals has never been asked to rule on whether calling somebody a homosexual is defamatory.

Tina Fey On Tracy Morgan

"The violent imagery of Tracy's rant was disturbing to me at a time when homophobic hate crimes continue to be a life-threatening issue for the GLBT Community. It also doesn't line up with the Tracy Morgan I know, who is not a hateful man and is generally much too sleepy and self-centered to ever hurt another person. I hope for his sake that Tracy's apology will be accepted as sincere by his gay and lesbian co-workers at 30 Rock, without whom Tracy would not have lines to say, clothes to wear, sets to stand on, scene partners to act with, or a printed-out paycheck from accounting to put in his pocket." - Tina Fey, in a statement released to TMZ.

Tweet Of The Day - Chris Rock

GLAAD tweeted back: "Language about stabbing kids for being gay isn't 'foul.' It's dangerous."

10 Commonly Misunderstood Words

But not with THIS crowd, I'm betting.(Source)

No Homo

Totally NSFW.

Black LGBT News: No More Down Low

PSA: The R-Word

This ran during Glee last night.

Your Vowels Are Totally Gay

According to a new study due out from Ohio State University, most people can correctly guess a man's sexual orientation by listening to recordings of the way he pronounces his vowels.

They asked seven gay and seven heterosexual males to record single-syllable words (including "mass," "food" and "sell") and then played the recordings for listeners. The study participants were then asked to identify the sexual orientation of the speakers when hearing only the first letter sound of those words, the first two letter sounds, or the entire words. The listeners were unable to determine the sexual orientation after hearing the sound of the first letter in the spoken word, for example, just the "m" sound in the word "mass." But, "when presented with the first two letter sounds [for example "ma"], listeners were 75 percent accurate," [researcher Erik] Tracy said. "We believe that listeners are using the acoustic information contained in vowels to make this sexual orientation decision," he explained.

I'd like to know how the gay voices were chosen for the study.

What The British Really Mean

On the left, what they say. In the center, what they really mean. On the right, what Europeans hear.

(Via - Andrew Sullivan)

Hot Word Of The Day: "Transgender"

"Transgender" is the "hot word of the day" over at Dictionary.com. An excerpt:

The word transgender is a recent addition to English. In conversational use as early as the 1960s, “transgender” entered the dictionary in the early 1990s. Trans- is a Latin prefix meaning “across or beyond.” Gender shares the same Latin root as genus. As a classifier for male and female, “gender” replaced “sex” in the 20th century. This was a trend started by feminist writers who wanted to highlight the biological attributes of males and females separate from their social characteristics.

Atlanta Braves Suspend Pitching Coach Over Anti-Gay Slurs Directed At Fans

The Atlanta Braves have suspended their pitching coach after he heckled fans at a San Francisco game by shouting, “Are you a homo couple or a threesome?" and then simulating anal sex with a baseball bat.

The Braves have placed pitching coach Roger McDowell on administrative leave while they continue to investigate allegations that he directed anti-gay slurs toward fans at San Francisco’s AT&T Park. The Braves announced that minor league pitching coordinator Dave Wallace would fill in during McDowell’s absence. Braves general manager Frank Wren is scheduled to meet with the media at 4:10 p.m. The last Brave to miss game action for inflammatory remarks was former closer John Rocker after his 1999 tirade in Sports Illustrated. Rocker was originally fined $20,000 by Major League Baseball and suspended for a month, but his sanctions were reduced to a $500 fine and a two-week suspension by an arbitrator. McDowell issued an apology on Wednesday, saying “I am deeply sorry that I responded to the heckling fans in San Francisco on Saturday. I apologize to everyone for my actions.”

Celebrity attorney Gloria Allred yesterday held a press conference with one of the witnesses, who was attending the game with his young daughters. When the witness complained to McDowell about his language, the coach allegedly waved the bat at him asking, "How much are your teeth worth?"

UPDATE: GLAAD says the Braves need to do more.

“It remains to be seen whether the Atlanta Braves will take real disciplinary action and send a clear message that there is no place for anti-gay remarks or violent threats in baseball,” said GLAAD President Jarrett Barrios. “The Braves and Major League Baseball should follow the NBA and WWE by speaking out in support of gay and lesbian baseball fans and players around the country, and by taking steps to make the sport a safe place for everyone.”

Openly Gay Former NBA Player John Amaechi On Kobe Bryant's Fine

Openly gay former NBA player John Amaechi feels Kobe Bryant's "fucking faggot" apology was insincere and that the NBA's fine was appropriate. Amaechi came out in 2007 after his retirement. He remains the only openly gay current or former NBA player.

VANCOUVER: Comedian Fined $15K For Anti-Lesbian Insults

The British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal has ordered a comedian to pay $15,000 in compensation for anti-gay insults he directed towards a lesbian couple during a 2007 show at a Vancouver comedy club.

Stand-up comedian Guy Earl was ordered to pay the money to Lorna Pardy, 32, while the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal also ordered the Vancouver restaurant owner, Salam Ishmail, to pay her $7,500. Pardy said Earle directed homophobic and sexist insults at her when she was a patron, and he was the master of ceremonies at an open mic comedy show at the restaurant in 2007. Earle said he will appeal the ruling and that all he did was insult audience members who insulted him first. He also denied that he said some of the things he has been accused of, said Pardy threw a drink in his face and argued that the tribunal had no jurisdiction to hear the case.

The comedian, who has since apologized to the patrons, intends to appeal the decision, claiming his act is protected under freedom of speech laws. News of the judgment has rocketed around anti-gay and Christianist sites, with American Family Association spokesman Bryan Fischer declaring on Twitter: "Canadian comic pays fine of $15,000 for making fun of lesbians. But if he makes fun of Christians, gets a paycheck."

Kobe Bryant: Word Can Be Hurtful

As penance for last week's "fucking faggot" incident, the below PSA featuring Kobe Bryant and members of the Los Angeles Lakers will be played at the stadium during home games.

Porno Pete LaBarbera Rides The Waambulance About My GLAAD Award

In an article being distributed today by Christian Newswire, SPLC-certified hate activist Porno Pete LaBarbera attacks GLAAD for my recent award. According to LaBarbera, GLAAD is hypocritical for going after Kobe Bryant while not minding my criticisms of the Christianist anti-gay hate industry.

"Apparently GLAAD's leaders despise critics of homosexuality so much that they fail to see the irony of an 'anti-defamation' group rewarding an abject hater like Joe Jervis who -- rather than engage in civil discourse about ideas -- uses gutter code words like 'Jeebus' to malign opponents." LaBarbera said. "GLAAD's hypocrisy is right up there with homosexual activists lobbying against the hiring of African American Crystal Dixon -- in the name of LGBT 'civil rights, diversity and nondiscrimination.' "Through its Media Award, GLAAD joins itself at the hip with Jervis' brand of malicious, demeaning, anti-religious bigotry," LaBarbera said. "This is the flip side of GLAAD's ongoing campaign to shut down the voices of pro-family Christians -- e.g., ex-"gay" Americans like Richard Cohen -- from being heard in the media. "Americans must learn the truth about GLAAD's absurdly two-faced 'anti-defamation' charade," he said. "This same media-coddled organization that tenaciously pursues anyone who 'defames' homosexuals -- or dares to challenge homosexual activist assumptions -- honors hate-filled extremists like Jervis who cruelly vilify pro-family conservatives, to the point of ridiculing Jesus Christ Himself and 're-naming' a Catholic ex-Senator as the vile by-product of homosexual sodomy."

Of course, it's fucking hilarious that Porno Pete, who routinely calls us "perverts" and "deviants" is acting all butthurt over words like "Frothy Mix" and "Jeebus." And contrary to his press release, the latter is not an "atheist term," but actually comes from The Simpsons.

Quote Of The Day - Ted Nugent

"If the NBA had any true gay convictions, the NBA should host a Homosexual Night. During halftime, the homosexuals could come down on the court, hold hands and prance around the court to music by the Village People. The NBA could then give each homosexual a pink basketball as a symbol of solidarity. Like other professional athletes, numerous NBA players have done all kinds of things on and off the court that do not cast a positive light on themselves or the NBA, but they have not been fined $100,000 by the league. Homosexuals are a protected class in America. If you think what happened to Mr. Bryant was a travesty, just wait until you see what homosexuals in the military do when they claim they have been mistreated because of their sexual orientation." - Washed up rocker Ted Nugent, writing for the Moonie Times.

NBA To Partner With GLAAD

GLAAD and the NBA today announced a joint effort to quell homophobia in professional basketball. This new partnership arises out of an incident in which Los Angeles Laker star Kobe Bryant was captured by network television as he called a referee a "fucking faggot." Bryant is appealing the $100K fine imposed by the NBA for his outburst. Via press release:

“In light of this slur, there is a real opportunity to build support for our community and educate fans of Kobe Bryant, the Los Angeles Lakers, and the NBA about the use of such words,” said GLAAD President Jarrett Barrios. “The Los Angeles Lakers have taken a positive step and we look forward to working with them to create messages from players and coaches that combat bullying. We also suggested and will continue to advocate for zero tolerance policies for anti-gay slurs at home games, similar to what the New York Yankees adopted last year.” In addition to the LA Lakers, NBA executives have agreed to meet with GLAAD to discuss ways to send a message about the power of such words to the league’s audience, many of whom are young people, parents or educators.

Lakers spokesman John Black: "We appreciate the input we've received from GLAAD the past two days and will look forward to working with them on ways to help educate ourselves and our fans, and to help keep language like this out of our game."

Kobe Bryant To Appeal "Faggot" Fine

Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant announced today that he intends to appeal the $100K fine imposed by the NBA yesterday for his calling a referee a "fucking faggot" during Tuesday night's game.

Bryant, talking from Sacramento on the Mason & Ireland show on ESPN 710 Radio in Los Angeles, said the appeal is "standard protocol," but also took responsibility for his choice of words said "out of frustration during the heat of the game." "The comment that I made, even though it wasn't meant in the way it was perceived to be, is nonetheless wrong, so it's important to own that," Bryant said. He added, "The concern that I have is for those that follow what I say and are inspired by how I play or look to me as a role model or whatever it is, for them not to take what is said as a message of hate or a license to degrade or embarrass or tease. That's something I don't want to see happen. It's important for me to talk about that issue because it"s OK to be who you are, and I do'n't want this issue to be a part of something or to magnify something that shouldn't be."

Altruistic Punishment

It turns out there's another name for that Manhattan phenomenon commonly called "sidewalk rage."

While it sounds like an oxymoron, altruistic punishment is basically how social norms get enforced. So when you expel a huffy "Excuse me!" to the rude sidewalk clogger in front of you who has stopped midstride to check his BlackBerry, you're trying to discourage behavior that endangers other members of the society. It's called "altruistic" punishment, because your efforts to protect civility come at personal cost with little chance of personal benefit: you are far more likely to get an obscene gesture or even a punch in the mouth than a thank you.

Many evolutionary psychologists believe, however, that without altruistic punishment, cooperation could not have evolved. In simulations of "selfish" versus "cooperative" strategies for living, for instance, researchers have found that altruistic or cooperative creatures beat out selfish ones only in an environment in which the failure to cooperate is actively detected and punished. Sidewalk rage — anger over the selfish violation of a cooperative social norm that protects the group — is a nice example of that.

What's the altruistic punishment for the people who argue about their coupons at Walgreens?

SOTU Word Cloud

(Via Steven Thrasher @ Village Voice)