Gays Acting Like Sore Losers
Over Marriage Ban

Thousands of gays and their supporters have taken to the streets of Los Angeles and San Francisco in the past few days to demonstrate their discontent over the gay-marriage ban.

Many are upset that Californians on Election Day voted 52.5 percent to 47.5 percent for Proposition 8, which would have made gay-marriage illegal in the Golden State, according to CNN.

While many can understand the frustrations that gays feel, taking to the streets and blocking traffic and demonstrating outside religious institutions, as it’s been reported, is not the way to go.

In this country, the majority win. Crying in your beer and whining like a child because you did not get your way, while stopping traffic for thousands of irritated Californian drivers, is self-indulgent and pitiful. Our government is built upon a very simple system that the majority wins and the minority loses.

Of course, it’s only fair to point out that if Proposition 8 failed on Election Day, religious leaders and supporters of the ban would be the ones wallowing.

But there are better ways of getting the laws you want passed without massive protests and national media coverage, which is creating an embarrassing spectacle of the issue in the process.

Sure, many will complain that no state needs its court and legislature systems clogged with proposal laws that the majority of the people voted against. However, it is the only way of getting things done and the right way of doing them. It would make far more sense to use every possible legal maneuver than to continuously protests in the streets and creating unneeded resentment from Proposition 8 supporters and citizens.

But it’s important to note that while some religious leaders and their followers have said that gay marriage would destroy society, let’s remember that these are the same people who predicted that Rock-and-Roll was supposed to corrupt Americans. It certainly did not happen, but if the people of the 1950’s were forced to listen to today’s rap and heavy metal, then they might have been more receptive of Elvis “The Pelvis” Presley.

Gay marriage is too big to be a government issue and it is best left up to the states. But all those involved must accept the will of the voting majority in a responsible, respectful way. By not doing so, it is going against the very nature of our system of government: a democratic one, where everyone’s vote is equal.

School Responsible
For Gay Boy’s Death?

A gay junior high school student was shot and killed in school last February by a fellow classmate because of a variety of reasons it turns out. And now his parents want to sue the school district for not enforcing the dress code when the boy was dressing in women’s attire.

In fact, the whole case has been riddled with drama from the beginning: The victim, Lawrence “Larry” King, allegedly came from a broken home. His mother was a drug abuser and his father was gone, according to a Newsweek article. It seems as if he was adopted by Greg and Dawn King at age 2 and at age 15 Larry King was living at a group home at the time of his death due to alleged problems with Greg King, according to the Newsweek article.

His alleged murderer, Brandon McInerney, 14, killed him because either there was a confrontation between the two boys or simply because King was gay. McInerney has been charged as an adult for King’s murder.

Certainly, that’s the sad part. Now here comes the astounding part:

The parents of Larry King, who attended E.O. Green Junior High School in Oxnard, Ca., are suing the school district for not enforcing the school dress code when their son would wear makeup and feminine clothing to school.

Granted, these are grieving parents of a 15-year-old boy and no parent could imagine what type of hell that is, losing a son who was murdered possibly because of his sexual orientation.

But it really cheapens King’s death even more so by suing the school district for not enforcing the dress code. But according to the California Attorney General’s Office, the school couldn’t stop King from wearing women’s jewelry or makeup because the state has a hate-crime law that prevents gender discrimination.

Clearly, the Kings should have been the ones responsible for how Larry King dressed, not the school. The school was caught up in a politically correct legal web, thus it could not enforce any school code on Larry King. Yet, today’s parents seem to believe that teachers and school officials should also play the role of “parent” when it comes to their children. But that is a role only reserved for them and it shouldn’t be handed to anyone else.

Yes, Larry King did not come from an ideal home and he was living in a group home at the time of his death. Clearly, this is not a typical living arrangement. But his parents were able to reach him and instruct him.

Teenagers face growing difficulties with each passing generation. And while it’s commendable that society is becoming more accepting to gay Americans, that acceptance is not carried out by most teenagers, who are still trying to find their way in the world.

Regardless of gender discrimination laws and dress codes, someone should have told Larry King of the consequences of dressing inappropriately in middle school and that person should have been one of his parents.

But let’s not forget who is solely responsible for Larry King’s death and that is his alleged killer.

Philly To Increase Rent Because
Of Boy Scout’s Anti-Gay Policy

Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love, wants to increase the yearly rent of a building the Boy Scout’s have been using since 1928 from $1 to $200,000 because the private organization refuses to allow gays and atheists.

After a 2000 Supreme Court ruling declaring that the Boy Scouts of America are allowed not to induct gays and atheists because it’s a private organization, the City of Philadelphia decided that it could not legally lease land to a group that discriminates.

However, in 2005 the city’s prior solicitor helped the Boy Scouts’ Philadelphia branch, called the Cradle of Liberty Council, to adopt an “unlawful discrimination” policy.

Now the city’s openly-gay current solicitor Romulo L. Diaz Jr. has determined that the policy is “not clear enough,” according to Cradle of Liberty spokesman Jeff Jubelirer in an interview with FOX News. Jubelirer went on to say that since the 2005 policy, no one has reported any discrimination.

But according to Diaz, Philadelphia City Mayor John Street, City Council and a commission that overseas historical properties has been asking the local Boy Scouts to create a clearer anti-discrimination policy.

And Stacey Sobel, executive director of Equality Advocates Pennsylvania, told Philadelphia’s City Paper, “We’re concerned with the message it sends if taxpayer dollars are supporting discrimination.”

The city says that $200,000 is a fair market price, but Jubelirer told the Philadelphia Inquirer that price “would have to come from programs. That's 30 new Cub Scout packs, or 800 needy kids going to our summer camp.”

While I believe that a private organization or company should be allowed to make any rules it wishes, I think it’s unfair that the Boy Scouts of America won’t allow gays and atheists. Any boy who wants to learn how to be a good American and to learn how to serve his community and country better should be allowed in, despite his sexual preference or non-religious beliefs.

However, it’s not right that the City of Philadelphia decided to campaign against 64,000 boys who have no control over the organization’s enrollment policies. If the city feels the need to make a political statement on acceptance, there are better ways of going about it then kicking thousands of kids out of a building that has been used for nearly 80 years.

For instance, the city could have held a tolerance fair and invited the Boy Scouts. Or maybe Philadelphia and the Boy Scouts could have created a merit badge of acceptance.

The City of Philadelphia is having a hard time right now with kids joining gangs or doing drugs. But charging the local Boy Scouts $200,000 a year because they don’t accept certain groups, even though they have adopted a non-discrimination policy, is asinine. That money can go towards helping kids get off the streets and teach them how to be more community-minded.

It’s time Philadelphia earns a merit badge in priorities.

Is Freddy Ready?

Just like Hillary Clinton’s announcement, no one can really say it came as a shock that Fred Thompson made his bid for the White House. Sure, he made his announcement on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno, but hey, it worked well for fellow Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger.

But Thompson’s revelation couldn’t have come at a more heated time for the Republicans. In addition to the resignations of two controversial Bush stars, Karl Rove and Alberto Gonzales, but there is Sen. Larry Craig, who can’t seem to decide to go gently into that good night.

But Thompson seems to be bringing his own bit of controversy to the political table. He’s against Roe vs. Wade, calling it a “bad law and bad medical science” and would like to overturn it. Sure, most conservative Republicans are against the abortion law but Thompson said this almost a month ago. It’s certainly a bold statement to make right before announcing his candidacy.

And gay rights is another issue that many will have against Thompson.

“I don’t think that one state ought to be able to pass a law requiring gay marriage or allowing gay marriage and have another state be required to follow along,” Thompson told CNN back in August.

Some are calling Thompson too conservative, especially in the wake of President George Bush. With many are tired of Bush, even from his own party, this can severely hurt Thompson’s chances.

But so far, it hasn’t. Yet. However, he does have strong support from grassroots organizations, such as Friends of Fred. And there is no denying that Thompson has a lot of charisma and his role in the Law & Order series as District Attorney Arthur Branch will certainly help him.

But with his background, Thompson should be able to weather the political battle that is ahead of him. But it’s not his political background as a former senator of Tennessee that will help him but his acting in dramas that will certainly prepare him for life in the political arena.