Honestly I’m trying my damndest to ignore all the facebook invites I’ve received to join counter-protests.  Why? (and keep in mind, this is my personal opinion only, not that of other staffers at ELEMENT, we’re a diverse group so I’m sure there are other opinions which I encourage them to blog about wink wink).  Ok but back to my point, why am I not counter-protesting Westboro?

1) By attempting to counter WBC you’re basically admitting they have a valid point of view in need of rebuttal.  I refuse to validate WBC and their absurd views.

2) WBC gives homophobia a bad name and I don’t want to do anything to stand in their way.  By allowing WBC to do their thing people are able to see the same sort of underlaying hate that motivates Dobson but in it’s most raw and pure form.

I did recently come across one style of counter-protest I highly enjoyed — I believe it appropriately highlights just how absurd Westboro’s views are: (photos via Laughing Squid)

I would totally be down with this kinda protest!

Make sure and pick up the new issue of OutFront cos I’m mentioned in the cover story on Denverites who’ve been through pray-away-the-gay therapy.  Ryan Kendall (who’s looking hot on the cover) is the main focus of the story since he recently testified in the CA Prop 8 trial on the effects of going through ex-gay therapy.  Here’s a link directly to the article on OutFront’s site.

gayzetteblog brought my attention to an usual new feature on JR’s website, they now have recordings of their weekly drag bingo archived and available for streaming.  You know, in case you drank too much last Wednesday and want to relive what you vaguely recall as sassy brilliance from Shanida Lawyer.

In other gayzetteblog bar scene news Nic posted an interview with DJ Seth Gold (link to interview) who will be spinning at Tracks tomorrow (Thursday) night for the 18+ spring break underwear party.  More info at Tracks’ website.

Yesterday I posted about an adorable Georgia high schooler who was successfully taking his boyfriend to prom and I somehow missed the detail that his parents have since kicked him out of the house.  Huge thanks to Sunnivie at OFC Blog for noticing that buried in the article.

Today we continue my regular series “states I’m embarrassed we share a border with.” Legislators in Oklahoma were none too pleased when the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Act was enacted which added sexual orientation to federal hate crimes laws.  Oklahoma was so displeased they’ve written a bill (which the senate chamber has even passed) attempting to exempt the state from protecting gays.  But they kinda fucked it up, this via The Oklahoma Daily (article link):

A bill intended to remove hate crime protections from gays and lesbians actually takes away rights from everyone else because of a “legislative error,” according to one lawmaker.

Oklahoma State Senate Minority Leader Andrew Rice, D-Oklahoma City, said when the Senate passed Senate Bill 1965 on March 10, it eliminated hate crime protections for race and religion.

The bill states local law enforcement agencies should not enforce any sections of federal law under hate crimes statutes listed under Title 18 U.S. Code Section 245 unless they are in correlation with Oklahoma’s hate crimes laws.

But the protections for sexual orientation and gender identity in the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes, which passed Congress last year, are not listed under Section 245, but Section 249

“The bill in its current form doesn’t take away rights from gays and lesbians,” Rice said. “It takes away rights for religion and race.”

LOGO’s Big Gay Sketch Show spoofed Rupaul’s Drag Race, and here’s the segment!

The clip has its moments but there are just so many inherently funny things about RuPaul’s Drag Race they chose to ignore and instead focused on something as lame and unfunny as bright studio lighting.  LAME.  But their RuPaul character was spot on!

Lastly The Advocate is reporting new regulations on Don’t Ask Don’t Tell investigations are expected to be unveiled soon that are designed to reduce the number of discharges.  Here’s a snippet from the full story (link to full story):

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates is preparing to unveil new enforcement policies for “don’t ask, don’t tell” this week, some of which are expected to center on limiting the number of discharges associated with third-party outings.

In a letter to Gates last July, Servicemembers Legal Defense Network executive director Aubrey Sarvis laid out a set of recommendations for what would/wouldn’t meet the standard for triggering an investigation into someone’s sexuality.

They included that the third party must be another service member, not a civilian, and not anonymous. They also suggested that evidence must be based on firsthand knowledge rather than hearsay, that any sexual misconduct occurring prior to a soldier’s service not be deemed admissible, and that statements made to chaplains, doctors, psychologists, and other health professionals be kept off limits.

gay Oklahoma graphic via gaycityusa (source)

For those of you who chose to head out to a bar I’ve scoured the ads in gayzette and OutFront to see what’s happening tonight.  (You know cos the walk to pick up copies of both at Dazbog is just so much work but you really should thank me cos this post took an unholy amount of time to compile.)

JR’s - According to their brief Facebook post “Celebrate St Paddy’s Day at JR’s with $3 green bottles of Budlight, $5 Jameson, $5.50 car bombs. Never a cover – both floors will be open 8pm-2am!”

Swallows - Their ad in gayzette says 80’s videos and “rock band karaoke” on Wednesdays but their website doesn’t show anything happening on Wednesdays.

Boyztown - A full page ad in gayzette promises a “big blow out party” but aside from a tastefully named drink special called “the car bomb” no specifics are given.  However Wednesdays are normally the amateur strip contest at Boyztown so that’s always good for entertainment.

MO’s – If you wear green you get free bud light drafts from 8 – midnight.

BJ’s – Their tiny ad in OutFront says normal Wednesday nights feature karaoke starting at 8pm and their website calendar shows nothing special planned tonight.

Compound - Their ad in OutFront mentions $5 Irish Whiskey specials and they’ll be having a DJ Love start spinning at 9pm.  If you want to dance this is probably your best bet.

The Eagle – Neither their ad nor their website mention anything special going on but according to their website they’ve got some $2 drink specials normally.

Broadways - Normally they have a dart tournament at 8 PM and their ad in gayzette mentions some drink specials today.

El Potrero – Nothing mentioned in their ad but they normally have a drag show on Wednesdays at 11 PM with no cover.

Charlie’s – Their ad in gayzette says they’ll be serving corned beef, cabbage and cornbread at noon until they run out.

 

The effort to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” will likely come next year as an amendment to the Defense Department spending bill, rather than through a standalone bill, according to gay Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.).

Frank said in an interview with the Blade that repealing the 1993 law barring gays from serving openly in the military would happen as part of the fiscal year 2011 defense authorization bill.

The Blade continues:

David Stacy, HRC’s senior public policy advocate, noted that Congress enacted “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” in 1993 as part of a defense authorization bill, so repealing the law via the same vehicle would mirror the process.

But Kevin Nix, spokesperson for the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, said while passing a repeal as part of the defense authorization bill is a possibility, his organization is still “looking at all options,” including a standalone bill.

Nix also said SLDN is urging President Obama to include repeal as part of his defense budget request, which is expected to be delivered to Congress early next year.

The article also goes over progress being made on ENDA (an employment discrimination bill) but that involves rounding up votes and congressional hearings and other necessary steps that are really not exciting to blog about.  Don’t worry, I’ll let you know wen there’s excitement on ENDA.

But on to bar closings!  Two sources report lesbian bar Denver Detour has closed and now gayzetteblog is reporting DJ’s in The Springs has dropped off the face of the earth. DJ’s website has put up a somewhat odd message:

COLORADO SPRINGS WHY WASTE YOUR TIME?

THE PARTY HAPPENS IN DENVER!

http://www.compounddenver.com/

Wow, if I was gay and lived in The Springs I’d find that kind of off-putting.

Rich over at gayeztteblog is reporting that this anonymous business for sale listing (also posted on Craigslist) is for BJ’s Carousel. I did some checking myself to try and verify and found that both BJ’s and the mystery listing:

• Opened in 1977

• Show football on Sundays

• Host volleyball

• Have a full cabaret license

Here’s the full text of the listing description:

Opened in 1977 this great bar has remained in the family for years and now retirement is eminent. Included in the 3777 square feet free standing building is the real estate and they have a tenant which leases some additional space for that extra income. The legendary bar on Broadway has been the talk of town for years. The interior bar has two service stations a dance floor/stage for live music and 16 bar seats that huddle around for the Big Game on Sundays. There is never a dull moment as you can enjoy a full serviced dinner in the restaurant that seats 35. There is also one service bar for the dining area. After dinner head into the bar for party time and enjoy the show. Colorado lottery is featured and when you’re done scratching million dollar tickets play some darts or how about some volley ball outside in the patio area. This bar is the place everyone has been looking to own in Denver. This ultimate bar can be whatever you want to be. Inclusive in the sale are all the FF&E, the FULL CABERET LIQUOR LICENSE(VERY VALUABLE AND HARD TO GET), ALL EQUIPMENT INCLUDING THE MUSIC SYSTEM AND THE VALUABLE REAL ESTATE. The sellers are offering this absolute jewel at an unheard of price of $750,000.00 and the sellers will carry to the right candidate with at least 50% down. ACT now, BUY today…OWN tomorrow!!!

The excessive caplocking and exclaimation points are in the original listing by the way, and is not my doing.

Above image is linked from BJ’s website here.

Our friends over at gayzette blog seem pretty excited about a speed-dating event being held at Tracks on Saturday November 7th.  Here’s an excerpt from gayzette’s blog post that describes what to expect at the event:

Have you ever seen a good looking group of guys and wished you could line them up; check “yes” or “no” – and that action would be reciprocated? By participating in a Stylus Speed Dating event, you know the guys you are sitting across from are just as serious about meeting you, as you are them. Stylus Speed Dating takes voiceless online profiles out of the equation, putting you directly in front of some of Denver’s most eligible gay men.

Stylus events are designed to appeal to groups of similar age and interests. The entire dating experience runs for approximately 2 1/2 to 3 hours. All ‘”daters” get to meet multiple single gay men, talking to each date for three minutes, enough time to figure out if they would like to meet that person again. At the end of three minutes they will move on to their next date. Daters are given a form on which to keep track of who they have met. For each date, they simply check “yes” or “no” if they’d like to meet that person again. At the end of the night daters return their forms to the professional event hosts with Stylus.

There is an intermission in the middle of the evening, giving daters a chance to mingle with one another. A free cocktail and light appetizers are enjoyed during this break.

Within a few days daters will receive the contact information for all of their “matches” by email.  A match is achieved when both parties mark “yes” for each other. After that, it’s up to the matched parties to continue to build upon their new friendship.

If you’re interested in registering or for more info check out MyStylus’ website, they’re the company that’s putting on the event.

Oh and here’s a cute little graphic (ad?) running on gayzette’s blog too:

• Could a court declare equal rights in Colorado?
• How about the Supreme Court?
• What about another ballot initiative?
• What’s being done currently to achieve equal rights in CO?

To answer these questions Nic got a diversity of differing opinions of activists, politicians, and community leaders and citizens.

Click here to read the full gayzette issue online (the article is on pages 8 and 9) or click here for just the article on gayzetteblog.

Six of these people believe your civil rights can be decided by a popular vote.

The CA Supreme Court has upheld the validity of Prop 8 but also chosen to uphold existing marriages performed prior to Prop 8’s enactment. You can download a PDF of their full decision here or read CNN.com’s online coverage here.

And just a reminder Soulforce has a protest/rally planned this afternoon downtown from 3:00-5:00pm.  Here’s the Facebook event invite which has all the details.  There’s a good old fashioned picket along Colfax but the fun part comes around 4:00pm when several volunteers are going to stage a sit-in at the clerk and recorder’s office (where marriage licenses are issued) and quite likely get arrested.  Again, the protest is open to everyone and the whole arresting part is only for the few people who have already volunteered and received special training.

The GLBT Center of Colorado has released a statement on how today’s decision affects couples here in CO:

“A tremendous number of Colorado couples traveled to California from May to November last year while the state recognized same sex marriage,” said Mindy Barton, legal director of the GLBT Community Center of Colorado. “We continue to encourage those couples here in Colorado to use their marriage as an opportunity to educate others about the importance of having the government, not just friends and family, recognize their relationship.”

Meanwhile in CA already swooping into action the Courage Campaign which is running the following TV ad.  God bless them.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTFNlYp3n20]

I’m sure whatever they’re planning has got to be good.

But yeah, all you out-of-work strippers out there get your asses to gayzette.

Update: And we have ourselves an answer found in the current issue of gayzette.  Did you know you can read gayzette online?  Cool, no?