Thinking about drinking
The recent Project CRYSP community forum 'Let's Take a Glass Together,' which examined LGBTs' relationship with alcohol, has elicited a variety of responses, from praise to criticism. We are proud that we succeeded in igniting a muchneeded discourse on the topic of alcohol use within the Chicago GLBT community in a safe and nonjudgmental way.
We appreciate the many individuals, groups and organizations who have tirelessly kept the importance of recovery in the forefront of discussions around LGBT health issues. We also highly value multiple voices and perspectives during these exchanges. Our venue selection for 'Let's Take a Glass' was deliberate for this very reason. The decision to have the forum at a bar is part of our mission to meet the individual at the place they are—socially, psychologically and physically. Our primary target audience for the forum was LGBT people who drink. What better way to reach those who drink than at a bar? The bar environment broadened our reach to an audience that might not have attended the forum were it held elsewhere.
From the forum's inception, Project CRYSP and our collaborators were clear: we wanted to increase open, non-threatening dialogue about LGBT alcohol use; encourage healthy, nonjudgmental self assessment of alcohol use; and provide information about drinking in the LGBT community. The moderation of the event by the 'Feast of Fools' hosts, along with the input of mental-health and substance-abuse professionals, bartenders, people in recovery and the audience ensured that we successfully met our goals and the issue was examined from multiple points of view.
Project CRYSP's mission to address the holistic health of Chicago's gay and bisexual men will continue to be met via innovative conversation starters that raise topics that might otherwise go unaddressed. Action happens after people talk. Conflict and disagreement, if harnessed, can be a creative force for change. We welcome the feedback, both positive and negative, and look forward to more discourse around our future events. Please visit our holistic Web site and blog www.LifeLube.org for more information and opportunities to continue the conversation.
Project CRYSP
Misfire
In the Aug. 6 article of Windy City Times, I read 'Can gun-toting solve gay-bashing?' by Rev. Irene Monroe. While the article was well thought out, respectful, and well-written, it unfortunately got a few facts wrong, and I would like to correct them.
In the first paragraph, she talks about relying on hate-crime laws to protect us from hatecrimes. Unfortunately, FBI statistics show that hate-crime laws are most often applied against the groups of people they were designed to protect. A classic example is when the newspaper Bay Windows, a paper oriented towards the queer community, was prosecuted under sexualdiscrimination laws for having an unfair bias against heterosexual reporters. It is unfortunate that hate-crime laws don't work when the numbers are examined.
The article then goes on to talk about an 'African-American transman.' While living in Boston, I applied for a license-to-carry permit. As I am an ( apparently ) normal white male, I was approved. A co-worker who happened to be Black and who lived in a slightly poorer neighborhood with the same criminal record as mine ( none ) , was denied. A transwoman who walked into the same police station to apply was literally laughed out of there. When the police have discretionary powers, abuse will occur.
As for our reception in Boston, it was not well-received within the LGBTQ community leadership. But we did get quite a warm welcome amongst the membership of those communities. While many of the leaders of the non-profits have formed tight links with Democratic party ( and, thus, the gun-control folks ) , the members of the LGBTQ organizations do not have the same links. We were also welcomed with open arms by the firearms community in Massachusetts. Many people and groups have gone out of their way to invite us into their organization and make us feel welcome. It's also worth noting that my organization, Pink Pistols, is in three countries, not two. ( We recently had a request from South Africa to open a chapter. While the Pink Pistols Web site may be out of date as of the publication of this article, this has happened. ) And a quick check of the Web site will show we are in 42 states, not 32.
As for arming ourselves against violence, this is a proven method that has been shown to work with long-term consequences. For details on how this works, I encourage you to read 'More Guns, Less Crime' and 'The Bias Against Guns' by Prof. John R. Lott, who's worked at the University of Chicago, Yale University and other prestigious schools. I wish I could continue the work he's done, but he's so far out of my class, I can merely refer to his work. It is worth noting that he started out to write a paper supporting gun-control. When his research contradicted what he was hoping to find, like a good scientist, he revised his theories.
As for Sue Hyde of The National Gay & Lesbian Task Force, I have a lot of respect for the work she did to make marriage legal in Massachusetts. Unfortunately, she is willfully unaware of gun culture in the 'Wild West,' just as are most people of the 21st century. The 'Wild West' had fewer murders, gun-related crimes and violent crime than anywhere within modern-day society. Look at the numbers. The last thing a mugger or burglar wants to deal with is an armed victim. One reason why gun-related crime numbers are as high as it is in places like Chicago, San Francisco, Washington, D.C. and New York City is because they aren't gun-free zones as the authors of the law would like. Instead, we have created victim-disarmament-zones.
Guns are the great equalizer of embattled groups. As many people have said before, 'God made all men. Mister Colt and then Misters Smith & Wesson made all men equal.' In some states, like Virginia, where such behavior is legal, not only is there a designated driver, but there is also a designated man with a firearm to make certain that the person's friends arrive home alive and unmolested.
Douglas Krick
Founder
Pink Pistols International
Obama's response
In the Aug. 6 Windy City Times, there was a letter from Family Equality Council Executive Director Jennifer Chrisler to presidential candidates Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama that, among other things, inquired how they would acknowledge and protect all of the different types of families in this country. Below is Obama's response.
Dear Jennifer,
While we live in a nation that is enriched by a vast array of diverse traditions, cultures and histories, it is our commonality that most de- fines us. The desire to build a life with a loved one, to provide for a family and to have children who will grow and thrive—these are desires that all people share, regardless of race, sex, religion, sexual orientation or gender identity. My own experience has taught me this lesson well. I was born to a single mother, my devoted grandparents helped raise me and then I married the woman of my dreams and had two beautiful daughters. The love that has blessed each of those households has been strong and sure, and I know that millions of families across this nation share the same blessings.
We know that the cost of the American dream must never come at the expense of the American family. For decades we've had politicians in Washington who talk about family values, but we haven't had policies that value families. Instead, it's harder for working parents to make a living while raising their kids. It's even harder to get a break.
That's why I'll double spending on quality after-school programs—so that you can know your kids are safe and secure. And that's why I'll expand the Family Medical Leave Act to include more businesses and millions more workers; to let parents participate in school activities with their kids; and to cover elderly care. And we'll finally put federal support behind state efforts to provide paid family and medical leave. We'll require employers to provide seven paid sick days each year. We'll enforce laws that prohibit caregiver discrimination. And we'll encourage flexible work schedules to better balance work and parenting for mothers and fathers. That's the change that working families need. But we also have to do more to support and strengthen LGBT families. Because equality in relationship, family and adoption rights is not some abstract principle; it's about whether millions of LGBT Americans can finally live lives marked by dignity and freedom. That's why we have to repeal laws like the Defense of Marriage Act. That's why we have to eliminate discrimination against LGBT families. And that's why we have to extend equal treatment in our family and adoption laws.
I'll be a president that stands up for American families—all of them.
Sincerely,
Barack Obama
Hall told
To the Editor:
In the July 30 Letters page, Museum of Broadcast Communications Chairman Bruce DuMont responded to LGBT community outrage at his planned induction of notorious anti-gay bigot James Dobson into his museum's 'Hall of Fame.'
In an effort to evade responsibility for choosing a 'leading broadcaster' who is to gays what Father Charles Coughlin was to Jews in the 1930s, or Don Imus is to African Americans ( and many others ) today, DuMont hid behind his 'impartial' broadcaster's role, and a supposedly objective nominations and voting process. Although DuMont's fairness towards gays on his radio and TV programs is welcome, the issue here is the museum's promotion of a notorious gayhater.
DuMont wrote that a large nominating committee floated Dobson's name, but neglected to mention that all of its members are appointed by him. DuMont delineated an Internet voting process that likely permitted thousands of Dobson's hateful followers to stuff the ballot box for their demagogue. Even without the demonstrated irregularities of Internet voting, the notorious
Father Coughlin, as one of his era's most widely syndicated broadcasters, likely would have won a similar popularity contest, but would this have made him worthy of honors?
DuMont's letter implies that his museum's selection process is flawed and may be changed in the future. Fine. But now is the time to stop the promotion of gay-hater Dobson. For DuMont to acknowledge the LGBT's community outrage is not good enough.
We repeat our demand that the Hall of Fame's honor to James Dobson be rescinded. We will continue to organize the protest until this demand is met.
Sincerely,
Gay Liberation Network
