Why Certain Speech Should Not Be Tolerated

I am in favor of free speech and think that people should be allowed to express themselves however they see fit. However, there are certain exceptions where free speech ends and a person needs to be careful with what they say, and how they express themselves. Obviously people know the exception to the rule where someone cannot scream fire in a crowded theater, but I feel free speech should not just end at that. I think when people spew hateful, vile things at someone, whether it is to their face, or over cyberspace, it should be censored. Representative Virginia Foxx is an example of hate speech that I believe should not be allowed to go unchecked. She claimed that the story of Matthew Shepard who was murdered for being gay, was a hoax, when in fact that is completely false according to a report in 1998 from the New York Times.


As stated from the New York Times in 1998, via the Huffingtonpost:

"According to the local police and prosecutors, the two men lured Mr. Shepard out of a bar by saying they were gay. Then, the Laramie police say, the pair kidnapped Mr. Shepard, pistol-whipped him with a .357 Magnum, and left him tied to a ranch fence for 18 hours until a passing bicyclist spotted Mr. Shepard, who was unconscious."

I believe hate speech does not just harm gay or lesbian people, either. I think speech that is hateful, or derogatory should not be used at all. As Rep. John Lewis stated, a black senator from Georgia, who was a victim of a hate crim during the struggle for civil rights "She should be ashamed...That is unreal, unbelievable. "The law enforcement people and almost every reasonable person I know believes he was murdered because he was gay."

I think it is pretty unbelievable that someone could say something like this and also a bit insensitive to the family and friends of Matthew Shepard. I can remember hearing about it when it happened and how horrifying the news of his murder was. I hope she apologies for her comments and understands her comments where not the proper things to say.

This is the video of her comments.

Gay Marriage In Maine

Every generation dreams and aspires to be a part of a move, cause, or fight that highlights something positive, something that will be remembered for centuries and written in textbooks for future generations to see. When I read this story about Maine introducing a bill to allow Gay Marriage, I admit I got a little choked up, and not just because more states are starting to join in on the recent wave of acceptance, but rather because of the warm, standing ovation the senator who introduced it received. This part of the story also made me feel very happy and that our generation was standing up for a population I personally felt was being discriminated against.

"The time has come to recognize same-sex marriages." That one sentence, in my opinion says it all, and I think it is long overdue to accept same-sex marriage, too. The senator also stated in the article that his proposal "recognizes the worth of every man and woman among us and that it is backed by 60 co-sponsors."

I really do think this is a beautiful thing and the fact that it received such a warm and welcoming response gives me a renewed sense of optimism for an end to discrimination and for a more welcoming society. When the people we elect can work together like this and pass legislation that works for a minority group it is fantastic. I really hope New York state can heed this example and also pass a bill that allows same-sex marriage.

Pageantry and Politics Collide

This weekend after watching my Pistons succumb to their inevitable defeat at the hands of the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Playoffs, and then watching my Red Wings win their second playoff game in the NHL Playoffs, I decided to take some well deserved time off from sports and watch the Miss USA Pageant. It was a great display of talent and beauty, and I enjoyed every minute of it until politics unfortunately had to be thrown in and ruin it. Perez Hilton, known for his gossip blog, was one of the guest judges during the pageant, and asked Miss California, who was in a tight race with Miss North Carolina, who ended up losing, a question on her views about gay marriage. As I have stated before on this blog, I am 100% in favor of gay marriage, gay and lesbian couples having the same rights as heterosexual couples to be married and be recognized as such. However, in my opinion, it belittles the movement to legalize gay marriage when you blindside someone like that, who worked very hard to get to that moment and when she actually gave an honest answer to penalize her. Just because I do not agree with her views does not make me any better than her. I can try and change her views, or convince her in other ways to be more accepting, but the way Hilton acted was really obnoxious and does not help anyone. In fact I think it might have done a little bit of damage because it might show people who are in favor of gay marriage as intolerant of other people's views or overreaching in what they want. It will at least, sadly, give Bill O'Reilly or Sean Hannity something to play for the next week until they find something else to get angry about.

New York to Introduce Same-Sex Marriage Bill

As I mentioned in my previous blogs 2009 has gotten off to an amazing start. So far this year two states have passed legislation that legalizes same-sex marriage bringing the total to four states in the entire country. The New York Times is reporting that Governor Paterson will introduce similar legislation on Thursday which would make New York State the fifth state to legalize same-sex marriage, if passed.


"Mr. Paterson has said in recent days that the State Legislature should move ahead now with the legislation regardless of whether it can muster enough votes. His reasoning, which some gay rights advocates have challenged, is that New York should make a statement that it is committed to treating same-sex couples the same way it treats opposite-sex couples."

That statement alone is something I think speaks volumes for any group of people. We should treat all people equal regardless of their religion, creed, or sexual orientation. Paterson is doing the right thing by introducing this bill and hopefully it will not be met with the same opposition the same-sex marriage bill had when the Republican Governor vetoed it. Luckily in that case there were enough votes to override his veto, but it was an unnecessary bump in the road to having equal protection and equal rights under the law. I really hope this passes here in New York and we can become the fifth state to join in on this progressive wave of acceptance and inclusion, rather than divisiveness and hate.

The Power of New Media

There is no denying that the way we communicate with one another has changed and will continue to change constantly. I think the fact that technology continues to improve has more of a positive affect on society, rather than an adverse affect on it. Even though there are lots of negative aspects, I believe the positive ones out weight the negative ones. I can live with the fact that Steve Jobs has a new Mac product or two each and every year. As Professor Daniels pointed out on her blog via the New York Times and as we discussed in our previous class, new media like Twitter and Facebook makes it easier for people to communicate and organize for something.

This type of organizing can come in handy when something like this happens , on Amazon and stirs enough outrage in people for them to use media out lets like Twitter to vent their anger and disgust and try to put an end to it by using new media. It is great to see things like this happen almost instantaneously and people react in real time with other people. When I first heard about Twitter last year I thought it was a very silly idea because I did not think anyone would care about what I was doing every second of the day, and I thought anyone who had the time to tweet all those updates was crazy, but now I am a little less skeptical about it. I never thought about using Twitter, or Facebook as a way to organize people, or communicate with them so they could be somewhere, or they could get information almost instantaneously. Along with the excellent power point presentation from the last class, I have learned quite a bit of very fascinating information about technology and how it has advanced in such a short amount of time. If people can vent their anger about this, then there is no telling how else this new media can be used for the good of humanity and society. I am excited to see where else new media leads us in the coming years.

Continuing The Progress Made

Now that Iowa and Vermont have joined Connecticut and Massachusetts in allowing gay marriage, we need to continue to support the idea that equality, love, and respect comes in all different shapes, forms and discriminates against no one. Proposition 8 was a referendum added to the California ballot during the November presidential election which overturned same sex marriages in the state of California. Nate Silver, a blogger and creator of the site fivethrityeight.com which represents the number of electoral votes needed to win the presidency became famous during the election for having the most accurate exit polling during the 2008 election between John McCain, and Barack Obama, calling the election even more accurately than mainstream media outlets, wrote a blog about the historic Iowa ruling. In this blog post on his website he took into account the history of things like this happening and how often a state referendum has happened. Something I found even more fascinating, was towards the bottom of the blog, he estimated when every state in the country would pass a similar law. In my personal opinion, and I would love to be see it happen in my lifetime, I am a little skeptical that gay marriage will be passed in all 50 states during my lifetime because of how divisive and issue it is today. To see people get so worked up about it when it is actually legal in only 4 states, and the religious right feeling like they are being backed into a corner makes me feel like 2009 is the start of something that will hopefully be finished by the next generation. I really hope we can keep the momentum going, and hand off a more caring and understanding world to the future generations.

Texas Christian University Takes An Extra Step in Compassion

Being in a new environment is never easy and having to acclimate yourself to new surroundings can test the nerves of anyone. When someone is gay it can be an even more difficult task to not only fit in, but also find people who accept you, or are just like you. Texas Christian University has taken the unusual, and wonderful step of providing separate housing for gay and lesbian students, along with students who support their rights.

The article goes on to quote Sam Wunderl , a TCU junior, who favors a gay-friendly housing and thinks this is "a big step forward" for TCU, and believes most students are fine with the idea.

Wunderl, who is straight says "I just think it's important for gays to feel included."

I know how difficult it can be to fit in and how uneasy a process it is to make friends, especially if you are a minority of the population. For gay and lesbian students to have a specific area of the student housing reserved for them is a very good idea, and way for students to bond with kids who are just like them and are going through the same exact things they are going through. It is already difficult to deal with having to move away from home, and transitioning into college life, so this makes things at least a little bit easier.

A Brighter and More Hopeful Future

So far 2009 has been looking very good for gay marriage proponents and their hope of having it same-sex marriage one day being legal in the entire country. As I mentioned in a previous blog post, more and more states are changing their minds on gay marriage, and with today's decision in Vermont to allow same sex marriage, four states in the United States of America recognize gay marriage. It was not an easy battle, with lawyers and activists from both sides of the issue fighting one another, but the decision to allow gay marriage was passed into law today after the House voted to override a veto by the Republican Governor. Even though everyone in the state of Iowa and surrounding areas may not be completely 100 percent behind gay marriage, it seems like a tide is turning in the debate over gay marriage, and that is a wonderful thing to witness. This blog post highlights a wide variety of the differing views people have on the decision to legalize gay marriage. There are plenty of battles to be won, and battles that will probably be lost in the future, but it is amazing to see changes like this slowly happening. It is definitely going to be interesting to see what happens in California when the Supreme Court decides the Prop 8 decision. If this is repealed, and Prop 8 is not allowed, I think this will be one of the biggest victories of the year because this was a referendum that overturned an opinion that was deemed legal, which was that marriage between people of the same sex is just as acceptable as a heterosexual couple. I really hope the progress made in Iowa and Vermont is continued, and that 2009 continues to show we have progressed as a nation, and not regressed.

Iowa Legalizes Gay Marriage

The Iowa Supreme Court today ruled in favor of legalizing gay marriage, joining only Connecticut and Massachusetts in recognizing same-sex marriages.

"We are firmly convinced the exclusion of gay and lesbian people from the institution of civil marriage does not substantially further any important governmental objective," the Supreme Court wrote in their opinion on the case. A Des Moines attorney who represented a gay and lesbian couples said "this is a great day for civil rights in Iowa."

I am very happy about this decision and hope for similar rulings in the future. I believe that if a state like Iowa can legalize gay marriage, so can New York, and eventually the entire country can see how wrong it is to deprive someone the right to be happy and be with the person they love. It is a slow battle, but it seems to be picking up momentum and the tide is turning. It makes me very happy to think that during my lifetime we might see a real change in the way we treat other human beings.