On yesterday's show you discussed the Supreme Court case involving Fred Phelps's church picketing the funerals of servicemen. Many Americans, including Republican politicians are outraged by this. It's important to note that before they started picketing dead soldiers, they were picketing the funerals of gay men who had died of AIDS and no one in the government or media expressed much outrage or concern about this. Nobody cares about a bunch of dead fags or the pain inflicted on their families.
I find it hard to muster up much outrage about what Phelps is doing now in a country that doesn't value the lives of gay people.

i heard that every man and woman that has ever lived is gay..?????

Richard: Sorry, buddy, I wasn't gonna tell you, but I just spoke to Jesus, and he told me, that actually, he loves everyone and he told me to tell you that you're not allowed to speak for him anymore...something to do with you missing his main message of love.

He's a little 'done' with being used as a tool of hatred by people like you.

He also mentioned wanting to return to earth and fix everything, but that the sad truth is, he doesn't have that much power afterall. He did say, on the bright side, that Humankind has the power, and just needs to unlock it.

Just about every species ever studied has shown homosexual behavior. Tell me, do box turtles choose to be gay? "Oh but we are far more advanced then box turtles" you might say. OK how about primates, do they choose to be gay? Grow up and get over it. Homosexuality is a part of nature and it’s not going away, ever. There is no “homosexual epidemic” Am I sure if that? Yes. How? Excepted or not, no matter what the penalty (even death), homosexuality has been observed in every society for as long as societies have existed. What is there to be afraid of? Get over your insecurities and get out of your Nazi fantasy world that everyone should be like you. Homosexuality is not a new idea and its as real as heterosexuality and its here to stay regardless of how bad you want it to go away.

Clif: I don't see the relevance of your comment. Are you saying GLBT folks are racist?

jgarbutz: now THAT is an intelligent question, framed in a way that is acceptable, and not caustic.

However, I think the answer is still currently yes, as evidenced by some comments on this page.

Why should any group of people accept that they are not afforded the same rights as anyone else?

Life is much better now than when I was in high school in 70's definitely.

Any religion calls for love for one another.
Paladino's hate comments on Gays has no love for others!

Although I do agree with Paladino about Gay Parade but I do understand where and why is the parade is this way. I was born Gay and I questioned to my Mom why?

"If you can not accept me, why made me this way?"

"I got beat up in school because I was born this way!"

"I wish I was like you (straight) but I wasn't and I struggled for long time to keep it to myself!"

"Why! Why?"

I live in West Village. Every year, I leave my place to avoid the craziness after the parade. People are out, proud and loud! Unfortunately, it's not that pretty sight. I strongly believe it’s because most of us, we suppressed our sexual orientation over years and this is the time to express our suppressed feelings. We exaggerate our selves naturally at that day. If we were not harassed daily and have understood in society, this parade would be much different one. The parade will be more serious note on young gay suicide, HIV/AIDS, healthcare and so on. Of course there will be a great entertainers, dancers and skin is showing like any big parade.

How Gay Parade is now is the result of daily harassment and not been understood of where we are coming from. We are created by Mom and Dad. We came from straights (mostly). We didn't create ourselves this way. Take a responsibility and be a good person to love one another.

Richard
all u religious people are crazy!
but why would u "decide" to become gay and stop having children?

There is no good time to be gay period. This gay epidemic is taking over the world and is indeed a big problem. I fear for our children who are being brainwashed into thinking that this lifestyle is normal. It is not normal. If everyone decides to become gay, what would become of our world? With no procreation, that would be the end of humanity...I love all people because God is love. I just hate the sin in them. I am reaching out to all homosexuals...Jesus loves you but He hates the sin of homosexuality and all other sins. Accept Jesus into your lives and He will help you overcome this problem.

Yep just what I thought HJS...lol

ps becks
brian doesn't agree with u and your teabag friend from yesterday as he has read my "inane" comments on the air on more than one occasion.

becks
i'm with the minority that believes in human rights for all. like a teabagger, u can't respect other's view points.

Jgarbuz....bravo.

The Gay movement has sadly morphed into all-victimhood-all -the-time......in an era when even the guests admit that there has been great progress. Enough already, it turns off even loyal supporters after awhile.

Gee, am I allowed to say this or will I be arrested?

HJS you say "write" the most ridiculous useless comments...question, which of the minority groups are you a member of? or are you one of the so called majority.

It won't be a "good" time to be gay until our society accepts that variations in sexual preference are normal. But it's a lot better to be gay today than in the past, because we have made progress. Just look at initiatives like WeAretheYouth.org, the photojournalism project that documents LGBT teens.

Unlike a caller that just was on your program a short while ago claimed, I happen to know that Rabbi Yehuda Levin does wield significant influence in the orthodox and Hassidic communities and beyond. He gets his message out via a variety of media.

While he is correct in that there is a population of very insular Hassidim who don't know about what is going in and therefore don't recognize the threat of moral pollution from the homosexual movement, among those who are more aware, Levin and his point of view are known and exert influence. Exactly how much is hard to tell, but there are idealistic people in those communities who resist the politicos who try to steer them to candidates who degrade our society morally. Levin is the voice of that population.

God bless Rabbi Levin.

becks
gays and black will always be a minority in this country. each will have to always fight for their rights.
not of us are free untill all of us are free.

Suzanne and Patrick B are spot on!

HJS - not sure where you see hate but whatever, look up the development of a fetus for clarification. Biology section of the library. and again, don't throw Black people into this comparison sweetie.

We don't allow women in the service to shower and sleep in male quarters because they would feel threatened and the men would be aroused. There would be intimacy and that would affect unit cohesion.

Gays in the same situation would create a similar situation. Gay males should not be housed in the same quarters as straight men. That would allow gays to remain in the service and contribute their special talents, such as making the military a fabulous place to be. But seriously . . .

In the current tea party climate, everyone feels free to express their most outrageous, racist, homophobic mysogenistic thoughts openly -- in the name of so-called free speech.

Peter is right. This is not an issue of choice, but of how safe being visible is. LGBTQ people are less likely to be targeted than fifty years ago, a hundred years ago, etc. and in this country, at least not to be arrested or executed now for one's sexual orientation--but remember missionaries from this country are going to Uganda and supporting the draconian philosophies toward gay persons there. When leaders here cannot take a stand on simple decency and treating people like human beings instead of marginalization, that gives the message that it's okay for other countries to do so.

Paladino and the Rabbi are wrong and hateful. They can believe what they want, but have not right to infringe upon basic human rights--that's what they and other haters don't understand. And I see several people here do not understand human rights nor the idea of second-class citizenship based on sexual orientation, and should be federally protected as any other immutable characteristic. Regardless of what people who don't like/don't "approve" of LGBTQ persons and supporters, human rights will still progress and someday discriminatory remarks and images will be archaic and completely unacceptable, as such should be now.

Gabriel's World

Gabrielsworld.com

Mark
haha
religion is always about hate for the other

Becky
well they are male. not sure what u mean there. but u are showing that ignorance u claim white people have. funny when people can't see their own hate, but think they are special.

I appreciated Shmuly's call saying that gay rights aren't a major issue in his Orthodox community. I'd like to hear what *are* the major issues in such communities on another segment leading up to the elections.

It's upsetting that it's not acceptable to criticize religion in public. I feel that this Hasidic rabbi, like many other religious figures, is homophobic and bigoted, and not spreading the love, inclusion, and peace that his religion claims to support.

Not born that way HJS, unless you are considering that every fetus starts out female and some times the alloted amount of testosterone never kicks in to make a male.

sidenote: Mr. Thrasher - That Village Voice article "White People Have Gone Crazy" is great. As a white person I've totally noticed this shift in sentiment as part of "fear of the unknown" and "fear of the other."

Plus, the comments on the V V website were crazy with all the rightwing and/or outraged white people.

kudos

How did this get co-opted by another Jewish topic? It's no wonder gays feel ignored, there are many more of us than them.

Here is Union Theological Seminary of NYC's response to the rash of LGBT youth suicides and violence. It's different from the "It Get's Better" view.

Watch:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7T5kVGae5ZU&feature=player_embedded

Brian I too think your title for today is a bit frivilous. It will be a good time when homosexuality is no longer demonized by right wing politcal/religious zealots. We have certainly made great strides (I am 55 and out since I was 17) but there is still a long way to go to improve the environment.

BTW I think we (the gay community) have done ourselves a diservice by allowing ourselves and others to define our lives as a "lifestyle" that implies choice. It is just how we live.

It seems there is a disconnect between popular culture and political culture in terms of social issue like homosexuality. I see gays on dramatic TV shows, but not on CNN. Could your guests comment on how this disconnect inflames conservative extremes?

Brian, you are part of the brainwashing. How many showes have you done on this subject???

tj
they are born that way. just like some are left handed.

this from a rabbi who doesn't think his wife is his equal. he's an american taliban

Why are people gay?

Being gay is tough. I'm not gay, but I have plenty of problems of my own.
Being a "midget" is tough. Being a clubfoot is tough. Being a Black or a Jew is tough. Being old and sick is tough. It's tough enough just being a human, but being a human who is physically or mentally statistically at the margins of the norm is tougher yet.

But do we need "midget" pride parades? Or clubfoot pride parades? Or Black pride or Jewish pride parades? Or Gay pride parades? Every human being is considered a child of God in the tradition of the Abrahamic faiths. But does parading our differences around, or carrying it on our sleeves help create acceptance or merely create antagonisms and backlashes?

Just asking.

Brian - The question you should be asking is about "situational sex." That is, we men are driven to orgasm one way or another. I saw soldiers in Iraq with families back in the US having "sex" with other men. Like in prison. Men will find a way and it doesn't mean they are "gay." We need a discussion on male sexuality in general, the bell-curve of our sexuality. The "gay discussion" is so worn out.

Paladino Catch-22:
Children will be "more successful if they get married and raise a family," he says. But his "only problem" with gays is the desire to get married and raise a family - hence dooming gay people to permanent 2nd-class citizenship. Cute, hm?

Why is there no discussion on what the root causes are that have created such hatred of gays? In other words address the causes, not the symptoms.

Paladino Catch-22:
Children will be "more successful if they get married and raise a family," he says. But his "only problem" with gays is the desire to get married and raise a family - hence dooming gay people to permanent 2nd-class citizenship. Cute, hm?

I'm happy to see that the story is finally starting to turn toward the Rabbi, the role of intolerance within communities represented by such leaders, it's expansion to our community as a whole. - The media could do a better job at exposing the logistics between the authoring of the Paladino speech and the logistics of how candidates like Paladino become a story at all.

thanks for doing this, brian! just a shame that we have to express our desire for freedom and justice only in the service of the military or marriage.

Paladino Catch-22:
Children will be "more successful if they get married and raise a family," he says. But his "only problem" with gays is their desire to get married and raise a family - hence dooming them to permanent 2nd-class citizenship. Cute, hm?

In all of human history, has it EVER been a "good time to be gay"? Gay people will always be a minority and, I fear, will always be targets of discrimination and ridicule in this country. Unfortunately we have most religions to thank for that. Is there any organized religion that does not demonize gay people?

I'm a lesbian and a friend an I were attacked by a group of teenagers a few months ago in the West Village after they asked if we like girls. Nonetheless, I feel grateful to have grown up when I did. I think it's getting better and better. But I wish I felt safer, and I wish the government would grant the LGBT community equal rights.

It is a BETTER time to be gay, but it still is not a good time to be gay. Many lgbt people have internalized a lot of shame. It is still wounding and hurtful to grow up in a society which has ALMOST decided you can exist. It is so wonderful however to see younger people having courage to speak the truth about who they are. Yet the recent suicide of a kind young talented young man, Tyler Clementi, shows that there is still painful internal conflict and suffering.

Gays to me are naked men dancing infront of St. Patricks. How lovely, good public relations.!

You are out of line 57 year old caller, Marsha to compare being gay with using the "N" word. There is always one...today it is YOU.

Boo hoo. Jerks come in every size, shape, and sexual orientation. I worked for a gay man (I'm black/mixed & straight) and he was a total jerk-off! He made questionable & racially oriented comments to me and I felt VERY uncomfortable working in that office and I'm glad I don't work there anymore.

Let's see about Right wing Politics.
How quickly people forget!

Remember Hitler, Mussolini, they was a Right Wing Politician who would share the opinion of some on the issue.

So Think Hard and Long!

The current political climate seems to allow for all kinds of blatant bigotry. There is a strange "I'm mad as hell" epidemic that has overflown from politics into social arenas.

Always a bad time to be gay. Good if you are in the US of A however, because in most countries you would be executed.

Brian, this program is part of the brainwashing. Paladino expresses the frustration of the VAST majority of Americans, to the constant drumbeat, that you are a part of. Gay marriage is an un natural act, there is no way to argue it is.

Gays have every right to exist and be Americans, but this constant drive to drill it in to our heads is the problem/

Who cares what the Rabbi has to say other than his own congregation. It's time he and the leaders of all other religious groups worry about what they do not what we do. Of course this guy came out against homosexuals what would you have expected. I'm sure he would have told the soldiers who liberated the concentration camps to leave the homos there... which BTW the germans did did (not because any rabbi told them to) just that they did because of the laws in Germany at the time making homosexuality illegal.

Whether or not it's a good time or a bad time, it is the best time. Two hundred years ago, there was no visible homophobia because there was almost nothing visible to be afraid of. Haters will always hate, but now there is the opportunity to be loved.

If you are wealthy and white, it's a good time to be white. If you are a Latino man trying to join a gang, you will probably find that the gang is not receptive to your membership.

Who was that speaker who just said "you folded like a cheap camera"? Clearly one of the philosophical giants of our day. I'm nail-bitingly eager to hear more from the glittering intellect that birthed those comments.

Hi Brian,

My husband and I were married in CT this past summer after 8 years together. We are a binational couple meaning I am from the US and he is from Guyana. Because of DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act) I am unable to sponsor him for a green card and he is faced with returning to a very homophobic and dangerous homeland. We are trapped.

A good time? I wish I could say yes, there has been progress but not the equality someone my age (32) expected growing up celebrating Martin Luther King's birthday every year and civil rights. We have been together 8 years, and because of the law we are denied the same freedoms my own brother can enjoy.

We really need leaders to be on the right side of history here and put politics aside.

If you listen to Paladino's 'apology' you'll notice he was actually apologizing for his choice of words and not his views. Either way, he was pandering to the conservative vote who does not care about gays.

A good time or bad time compared to when and where? Compared to most places at most times, America is probably one of the most tolerant places ever toward gays.

But we should definitely keep working for gay rights and educating people -- being gay should be so accepted that it is barely even worth noting.

If you are living in 21st Century America you would think being gay would be ok.
The reality is no it is not.
In this country if you are a parent who is African American or Gay and you have a child and say through the miracle of science and genetic engineering you have to option to change the color or the sexual orientation of your baby, I am doubtful many african american or Gay parents would choose for their child to be born African American or Gay.
Why? We have not gotten past these social stigmas as much as we claim to have and sure there is progress but it is not what it should be.
It will take a lot more longer for us to have truly a society that is equal and fair to all.
Until then being Gay is still outrageous and being African american means you are going to deal with bias.
Hope is humans will evolve...

As far as Bob Gates goes it's not for him to decide if a judge has the right or not to throw out DADT. First of all he's wrong that a judge does not have the right to throw out DADT. Judges have every right to throw out a law that is unconstitutional, that's what the Judicial branch does. Laws are constantly brought to the Supreme Court to decide whether or not a law is constitutional and if it's not the court throws out the law.

Brian:

I'm surprised at you. You began your show today by asking "is it a good time or a bad time to be gay?" What choice to GLBT people have? We live in the times we live in. But your question presupposes that being gay is a "choice" when it obviously is not. Phrase the question differently, please.