Yesterday I woke up at 3:30am in order to get on a bus at 4:15, to be in Augusta by 7:30, so I could get a good seat and watch the marriage equality hearings. Marriage Equality Maine had encouraged everyone there in support of Dennis Damon's bill LD 1020 to wear red, and wear red we did!

I'm in the lower right-hand corner of that picture - the one playing with my ear. Attractive, I know, but it's the only press photo I found myself in so far.

There are estimates that there were between 3,500 and 4,000 people there, and from what I saw and heard there were MANY more proponents than opponents. The wearing red thing REALLY made it stand out, too.

View the whole post in order to see a video of some of what went down, my reflections on the day, and my own testimony.

So thus far I've been trying to blog at least somewhat academically, looking at topics such as religion, HIV/AIDS research, and military policy. But I'm not all long wind and research people. I like the funny.

So today, I bring you some things in my internet travels that have made me giggle, and sometimes- dare I say it- outright LOL.

First off, I'm sure many of you have seen the latest ad campaign from the National Organization for Marriage (NOM). In itself, I find it pretty hilarious. Here it is for those of us who haven't seen it, or for those who want to relive the fear:

Hilarity ensued did it not? If you're at all like me, the first thing you thought was "Oh, this is ripe for parody. If only I had a stormy backdrop and a slew of friends..." Fear not young YouTube warrior! Feast your eyes on this!

Trips like this remind me why I love doing this work! So this past weekend I had the privilege of attending the Northeast LGBT Conference – Facets of Oppression at SUNY Albany.

As the saying goes you learn something new every day. Now as a queer activist I should know this fact already, so I look at it as a refresher course – here is that refresher course: Harvey Milk attended what was known as New York State College for Teachers in Albany from 1947 to 1951 majoring in mathematics. SUNY Albany has every right to be proud of this fact!

Much congratulations are in order for the planning team of the Northeast LGBT Conference! There team was lead by Courtney D’Allaird & Stav Levy, both are Campus Pride Summer Camp Alum. From the moment I stepped off the plane, on Friday 4/17/09, I was impressed with their level of organization. They had a detailed plan of who was picking me up from the hotel each day to get me to the conference. Having been on the planning side of conferences like this it was nice to be on the side of just show up and present!

The state of Florida has never been terribly good at funding public education; much political oversight on the issue is born out of a combination of conservative politics and catering to retired transplants to the state. The recession, however, has sent the status of education here spiraling downward.

The University of Florida, the flagship school in the state, is taking major hits thanks to the budgetary crisis at the state level. The President of the University, Bernard Machen, required every major sector of the University to submit a budget proposal that accounts for a 10% reduction in budget. The results of this proposal request can be found here: http://budget.president.ufl.edu/.

Did you know that you can lead a cow up a set of stairs but not down the stairs? Did you know that when a duck quacks you can’t hear it echo and they don’t know why? Hmmmm… The things you learn in college.

Tonight I got to see two Campus Pride alums John Tapert and Emily Yantis from Wright State University. Both of them attended the Campus Pride Summer Leadership Camp last July. John shared with me the fun facts about cows and ducks over dinner while Emily took me on a “scenic” tour of downtown Dayton earlier in the day. I always love seeing past Happy Campers and visiting their campus.

Both Emily and John (a fellow Campus Q Team blogger) are amazing student leaders and I was impressed to see the involvement of many other LGBT and ally students on their campus. Plus, their Rainbow Resource Center ROCKS! Emily had invited me as a guest speaker for “Hate Crime Awareness Week” which started today -- Monday, April 20. Wright State University has recently started a bias incident reporting team, which is an excellent way to support victims and prevent future incidents and hate crimes. I spoke about the “Impact of Hate,” specifically how to prevent bias and hate crimes on campus. I shared resources from Stop The Hate (http://www.stophate.org), an educational initiative of Campus Pride. Most importantly, I shared how we must all be advocates to fight hate and not be spectators when hate happens. This means confronting all forms of bias – jokes, harassment, discrimination, etc.

Since 1996, high school and college students have united every April to protest against homophobia. This protest, the National of Day of Silence, entails an entire school day of silence, acknowledging the many gay youths who remain silent as a result of the fear and anxiety brought upon by intolerance.

This protest, started at the University of Virginia by a student, Maria Pulzetti, consisted of 150 students participating in the silent protest. The following year, Pulzetti teamed up with then 19-year-old Jessie Gilliam to make the protest so that it would be done at campuses across the country, thus making it the National Day of Silence. Nearly 100 campuses participated that year, and as time went on the number of schools and participants escalated, especially at the high school level. In 2008,

The Day of Silence played an incredible role in the gay rights movement in the 90s, but now, especially in the aftermath of Prop 8, it’s time activists come up with a more proactive demonstration.

Having been a participant in the Day of Silence since high school, I know the amount of dedication it takes to remain silent. Nasty peers eviscerate you mentally—and although I haven’t experienced it, physically—for taking a stand. Some teachers think you’re participating in the event with the intention of getting out of participating in class, and therefore treat you like a delinquent. The rest are confused and trying to understand the point of another day of silence.

April 20th has become a date that means more than the simple fact that May 1 is only 10 days away. April 20th, also known as 420 has evolved into a symbol associated with hate. Each year, it marks the observance of such national tragedies as the school shooting at Columbine High School, the “Wacco Incident” and the bombing of the Federal Building in Oaklahoma City. The more recent school shooting at Virginia Tech happened within in just a few days of this notorious date and many white supremacists still celebrate Hitler’s birthday. It’s sad that so many anniversaries are amassing around this date.

But, this year, I’m proposing that we make April 20th national “Stop the Hate!” Day. It’s time to stop perpetuating hate and time to re-focus our attention to prevention efforts. What can you do this year to help? You can begin by knowing that a Bill to expand the Federal Hate Crimes Law to include sexual orientation and gender identity is expected to be introduced to Congress on April 20th. This Bill, know as the Matthew Shepard Act, will support local law enforcement and prosecutors across the country respond more effectively to acts of hate and violence. Call your local Congressperson and Senator and tell him or her that you support this Bill.

Campus Pride recognizes the nearly 30 colleges and universities who attended the West Coast LGBT-Friendly College Fair this past Saturday, April 18, 2009. Every college/university has the responsibility to make their campus more inclusive, welcoming and respectful for people who are LGBT and ally. Participation in the Campus Pride College Fair is one way that colleges can come out and recruit LGBT & ally prospective students.

Please learn more about these campuses and the 200 more who are part of the LGBT-Friendly Campus Climate Index at http://www.campusclimateindex.org.

Campus Pride College Fair Roster

Alliant International University
Arizona State University
Bryant University
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
Claremont McKenna College
Columbia College Chicago
Drexel University
Emory College (of Emory University)
Gustavus Adolphus College
Kalamazoo College
Linfield College
McNally Smith College of Music
The Pennsylvania State University
Princeton University
Point Foundation
Rochester Insitute of Technology
San Diego State University
Sarah Lawrence College
UC San Diego
University of Colorado at Boulder
University of Maryland
University of the Pennsylvania
University of the Pacific
University of Southern California
University of Utah
Washington and Lee University
Whittier College
Yale

Some LGBT people in Peoria, IL are reacting to a sign put up at a local karaoke bar called The Elbow Room recently. Or, perhaps, I should say a KARAOKE bar:

This sign proved to be what the community in Peoria needed to get together and fight blatant discrimination - through myspace, facebook, and text messages the word was spread that The Elbow Room was discriminating against gay people, and that the gays should do something about it.

Apparently The Elbow Room used to be called the Quench Room and was a well known gay bar. The ownership changed in the 90s, but it was still frequented as a gay bar which led to tensions about PDA by LGBT customers. And, eventually, this sign was put up.

There have already been three protests held outside The Elbow Room, one of which drew police presence. The guy who originally, and unintentionally, spread the word about the protests was a 33 year old named Nick Stroman. He took a picture with his cell phone, sent it to some friends, encouraged them not to visit The Elbow Room any longer, and suddenly he was leading a movement.

The sign has been removed, and the owner apologized. However, many have pledged not to visit The Elbow Room any longer. It remains to be seen if the places becomes any more LGBT friendly. Personally? My money is on, "no."

Today, The National Day of Silence, has made me think about some recent events that unfortunately, should not have happened.

The first event that happened was brought to my attention through GLSEN. They reported that Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover hanged himself on April 6th. He was an 11-year-old, who did not identify as gay; however, he had to endure endless bullying including things about him being gay. His mother asked the school continually to deal with the problem, but it seems like nothing was done about it. Today would have been Carl’s 12th birthday, but unfortunately he could not take the bullying any more. It is absolutely horrible that he had to go through this, and at such a young age. This article can be found here.

Another incident that occurred recently was an attack at the University of Virginia. Five men attacked an UVa student and his friend. During the attack, the attackers yelled anti-gay slurs. Police believe it to be a “bias-motivated crime” with the motive being their perceived sexual orientation. According to the Associate Vie President and Dean of Students Allen W. Groves, “‘bias-motivated assaults’ are especially hurtful for students because there is no justification for the attack other than hatred.” This type of attack seemed fairly rare for this state, yet it is still very important to be aware that it is happening there, and it could happen anywhere. This article can be found here.