We’d love to know what these folks would say about this jerk using “short people” as a pawn in his cruel attempt to mock gay Coloradans — and make a mockery of the law as well:
The debate on the Senate floor over a bill that would expand the prohibition of sexual orientation-based discrimination became personal and emotional this morning after a senator offered a rhetorical amendment to ban discrimination against short people.
Sen. Greg Brophy, R-Wray, withdrew the stunt amendment after arguing that there is no need for the bill because he has not seen evidence that gays and lesbians are discriminated against when seeking a job or a home.
“What I’m talking about is economic discrimination, political discrimination, employment discrimination,” Brophy said. “I find no pattern of any of those.”
Brophy’s comments outraged Democrats, who took turns at the lectern denouncing his argument with angry and sometimes shaking voices.
“It must be nice,” said Sen. Jennifer Veiga, a Denver Democrat who is sponsoring the bill and who is gay, “as a white male to sit back and mock the real discrimination that occurs in our society, especially on the basis of sexual orientation.”
Sen. Chris Romer, D-Denver, came close to tears when recalling the ugly fights surrounding the state’s Amendment 2, which prohibited laws protecting gays and lesbians and which the U.S. Supreme Court later overturned.
Sen. Abel Tapia, D-Pueblo, spoke about his son, who is gay and who moved to Oregon to be a prosecutor several years ago because he felt Colorado was not accepting of him. …
And Senate President Peter Groff, D-Denver, said he was disgusted by Brophy’s amendment.
“Discrimination is a practice that has gone on in this country too long,” Groff said. “It is the birth defect of this country. And I think it’s time we deal with that.”
Of course, a handful of other Republicans tried to shoot down SB 200, which would prohibit discrimination “on the basis of sexual orientation in housing, places of public accommodation, consumer credit, labor unions and school enrollment, among other areas,” using the same old, tired, brain-dead arguments about crippling “a free society” — you know, the usual transparent idiocy the Wrong Wing parrots every time they’re threatened by the possibility that we homos might actually be recognized as human beings under the law.
The good news is that SB 200 passed a voice vote; it “still needs a final vote in the Senate before heading to the House.”
Let’s hope Colorado hasn’t forgotten the lessons learned from that travesty called Amendment 2.
In the meantime, we suggest some enterprising Democrat in the state legislature introduce a bill prohibiting discrimination against ugly people.
That’s right, ugly people. While we certainly see no pattern of “economic discrimination, political discrimination, [or] employment discrimination” against ugly people — like Sen. Brophy; after all, his rubbery visage, evil-clown smile, beady little eyes, and criminally awful haircut didn’t impede his political career, did it? — the more we look at that mug of his, the more we think that’s not a face every employer would want greeting customers in a store, or peering out from behind the desk of a hotel concierge. So why not pre-empt anti-ugly discrimination before such unfortunates as Sen. Brophy ever feel its sting?
We think somebody so butt-ugly as Sen. Brophy would appreciate such a bill.
Concerns over living arrangements as one grows older are common. However there are extra challenges faced by the LGBT population due to the lack of equality in our society. A Place to Live highlights those unique obstacles in a thought provoking new documentary.
A Place to Live
Dear Friends & Colleagues,
The explosive growth in our nation’s aging population coupled with the recent housing market crash has set the stage for a major crisis. Until now, no one has addressed how this issue is impacting gay and lesbian seniors, individuals who have long been denied fundamental human rights and often struggle to make ends meet.
Join us in the creation of A Place to Live, a historic documentary that will chronicle the journey of seven brave individuals as they attempt to secure a home in Triangle Square, the nation’s first affordable housing facility for LGBT seniors. Your financial contribution is critical to help us complete the film and ensure that their story is told.
*****
For the seniors featured in the documentary, their future is anything but certain. Each participant faces a number of personal challenges:
· Margo must work two jobs in order to pay her rent, but with her failing health she won’t be able to keep it up.
· Art is lonely and isolated in his Section 8 Housing unit in east L.A. He yearns to live in a community of his peers.
· On the verge of homelessness, Karen’s only option is to move to a rundown trailer park in El Monte. It’s the best her sons can afford for her.
· Don’s house is old and falling apart, but he can’t afford to fix it. The roof is already leaking and the raining season has just begun.
*****
Although each senior applied for an apartment in Triangle Square, they are not guaranteed a unit. Since demand far exceeds the number of available apartments, a lottery system was set up to determine who will be selected. A Place to Live is an exploration of the applicants’ personal stories and the journey that brought them to the lottery. If they are chosen, the building is a dream come true - a beautiful, safe place to grow old, in the company of their peers. If not, many seniors will be forced to remain on the fringe of our community hoping for another lifeline to appear.
We need your support in order to share these intimate, thought provoking stories with our community. Please act now by going to the link below and making an on-line tax-deductible donation to the project. Donations can also be sent to the Center for Independent Documentary at the address below. Any amount of money will make a significant difference in our efforts. If we can raise $36,000 by the end of April, we can finish the offline edit, music score and obtain archival footage.
Together, we can make certain that those who fought for many of the rights we enjoy today are guaranteed a voice in the struggle for non-discriminatory affordable housing. The documentary, A Place to Live is that voice.
“The people living with HIV at my age deserve to have a life, to have dreams –
I do and I’m making the best of this box I live in,
but I also have a dream to live in Triangle Square.” Art Aguirre
We thank you.
To donate online, follow this link and select “A Place To Live” from the drop down menu asking for the purpose of your donation:
Or send your check to:
Center for Independent Documentary
680 South Main Street
Sharon, MA 02067
Please note “A Place To Live” in the memo section of your check.
The Salvation Army is perhaps the most overrated organization in America. Everyone gets a warm fuzzy seeing their bell ringers outside the Wal-Mart at Christmastime. Woe to anyone who dares to point out that this band of right-wingers in uniforms are just homophobic religious fundamentalist adept at tapping the public purse.
Everyone knows the Salvation Army provides a lot of social services — often with our tax dollars. So the Army operates as a government contractor and thus must meet certain laws and regulations, right? Not quite. Even as its leaders continue to seek taxpayer handouts, the Army demands the right to be free from oversight and regulations that apply to any other social-service agency. It New York City, Army officials demanded and won the right to fire gay people and suspected gay people, even though those folks were working in jobs that were not religious in nature.
Now the Army is at it again. It owns an apartment building in New York City that has for years provided affordable housing for single women. The building is located in a tony Manhattan neighborhood, and someone got the bright idea that the building could be sold and turned into luxury condos, netting the Army a ton of money. All the Salvation Army had to do was evict all of those women.
But wait a minute. New York has strict laws dealing with tenant rights. You can’t just throw people out on the street. So what did the Salvation Army do? It argued in court that, since it is a religious organization, it can do whatever it wants. …
