Some Notes

I'm back. Some family matters have kept me from blogging for the past several months.

One thing I never got to post about is Los Angeles' August decision to move forward with the purchase and distribution of 1,250 model X-26 Tasers for the LAPD. The clerk notes on the approvals are here. The supporting PDF document contains these interesting tidbits (added emphasis is mine):

In a report to Council dated May B, 200B-(atlached to the Council file), the CAO states that the Police Department currently deploys approximately 750 M-26 TASERs for field and jail use. Because of the limited supply, the TASERs deployed in the field are kept in the kit rooms at Area stations until an immediate need for them is identified. Though this makes use of the M-26 somewhat inconvenient, there have still been more than 600 TASER incidents over the past three years.

The CAO reports that the newer X-26 TASER is 60 percent smaller than the M-26, uses a lithium energy cell rather than the eight AA batteries used by the M-26, and includes a low illumination light to facilitate use in low light. Due to the smaller size and weight, the X-26 can be worn on the standard issue belt as regular uniform equipment. This is anticipated to increase the usage of the TASER as a less-lethal weapon, rather than the firearm. [There's that tasers-replacing-guns falsehood. It's interesting that it's being used internally here as a selling point.] ...

At its meeting held August 4, 2008, the Public Safety Committee discussed the distribution of the X-26 TASERs with a representative of the Police Department. The Department representative stated that it was determined that the best way to distribute the new TASERs was to assign each unit to a police car. Division Watch Commanders will assign the X-26 TASERs according to highest need. Allocation will be reviewed, and if necessary adjusted, on a quarterly basis. Committee members expressed concerns regarding the Police Department's distribution plan. Specifically, a statement was made in favor of a standard, Department-wide distribution policy. Support was also expressed for "pooling" the TASER units to ensure maximum utilization. The Committee recommended that Council authorize the Police Department to proceed with the purchase of the X-26 TASER units, and to direct the Department to report back to the Public Safety Committee with a distribution plan prior to the units being assigned to the field.

So, the LAPD is set on making a concerted push for a stronger taser street presence. I haven't seen any new news about this since August, 08. If anyone has information, let me know; I'll update this post.

It also appears that Taser International is banking on more business in Southern California. This article reports the opening of a Los Angeles satellite office. Of course, there are many reasons for remote offices, but it is interesting.

Another thing I want to add is that yesterday was a national day of protest against California's Proposition 8. I went to the rally here in NYC to protest as well as to examine as many officers' belts as possible. Despite NYC's recent addition of thousands of new tasers, to my eye, they didn't have a visible presence at yesterday's protest or at this year's NYC pride. I plan to be vigilant on this front, attending LGBT events with my camera and camcorder.

Finally, if you haven't checked it out, the Taser International message board at Yahoo Finance is a hoot. The taser-fanboy/amateur investors vigorously, if brainlessly, defend their hero corporation and its stock. It's a laugh riot.

Some Answers

I recently wrote about not receiving any answers as to whether or not any of NYC's new 3000+ tasers will be making an appearance at LGBT Pride 2008 events. Since that writing I have heard back the the NYCLU, but not from my city council member Alan Gersin.

The NYCLU informed me that, yes, it's expected that the NYPD will be sporting tasers at Pride this year. They also reassured me that they will have people there monitoring for abuses. They also pointed me to this card with recommendations for handling police stops.

I'm headed up to the street festival later today. I'm hoping I don't have anything to report here later.

Also, I'm not reprinting the NYCLU's email here because I never proposed that in my note to them. I also want to add, for the record, that I'm not anti-police, they have an important function. However, I am against police brutality and am against them liberally using dangerous weapons while claiming that they're safe.

PostBlog: I didn't see any tasers or tasing at a very wet, but enthusiastic pride. Believe me. I looked (poor Stuart), but didn't see any belts that appeared like this. That doesn't mean tasers weren't there; I'm sure they were. It just means that in my walk up 14th Street, to Equality Forum, and down Hudson River Park, I didn't see any hanging from police belts. If anyone know of any incidents, be sure to let me (and the NYCLU and the Civilian Complaint Review Board) know.

Iranian LGBT's Face Death

It's as simple as the title of this post. When religious men completely control a government and impose their fairytale-based beliefs on a country, minorities inevitably suffer. Two Iranians likely face death if they are returned to Iran.

The case of Mehdi Kazemi:

A gay teenager who sought sanctuary in Britain when his boyfriend was executed in Iran is battling authorities who want to return him to his home country.

Mehdi Kazemi, 19, came to London to study English in 2005 but later discovered that his boyfriend had been arrested by the Iranian police, charged with sodomy and hanged.

The case of Pegah Emambakhsh:

An Iranian lesbian who fled to Britain after her girlfriend was arrested and sentenced to death faces being forcibly returned after losing the latest round in her battle to be granted asylum.

Egypt Accused Of Torturing HIV+ Men

I try hard not to forget that being LGBT can be deadly in certain places (and that includes some of America). Here's the summary from an article Stuart sent me from YahooNews:

SUMMARY: Men are beaten, held handcuffed to an iron desk for four days and subjected to forensic exams to "prove" they had gay sex, claims Human Rights Watch.

Super Same Old Same Old

It's Super Tuesday, the day that could decide which candidate gets the presidential nomination for both parties. Also, it might not.

I'm not extremely excited about Clinton or Obama; neither openly support marriage equality. That position alone means I'm not someone they see, or feel they can afford to see, as worthy of having the rights that my straight neighbor has.

A Democrat controlled Senate isn't preventing passage of things like bills providing immunity for telecoms that spy on Americans. So, I'm not expecting much from a Dem in the White House.

I really hope I'm wrong because it's very likely that the next president will help determine the makeup of the Supreme Court. That will have a direct impact on how legitimate a human I am in the eyes of American law.

Make no mistake. Getting a Democrat elected president is important to prevent the disaster that would be a McCain or Romney determined Supreme Court (Goodbye marriage equality, hello sodomy laws.). But I can't imagine Clinton or Obama nominating a legitimate progressive for the court.

Given that and the caving that Democrats are doing in Congress, I feel like I'm casting my vote to maintain status quo and avert disaster rather than voting for change. Is it important? Extremely. Is it inspiring? Hardly. Is it more of the same for LGBT people? Absolutely.

Florida AAA Refuses Gay Couples Discounts

The Florida AAA refuses to extend the discounts they offer heterosexual couples to same-sex couples:

A policy for a married man allows him to have his wife on the membership at half-price.

In Florida, a gay man and his partner must both pay full price.

"They do not offer a policy for homosexuals. If I were married I'd be able to do it, but since I'm gay I can't," the man says.

The Florida policy has been in place for some time and AAA says a domestic partner is not a spouse.

"What is a spouse as defined by your policy?" asks Holmes.

"We use the Florida law spouse which describes a husband and wife, and it's a man and a woman," says Florida AAA Vice President John Imming.

The Florida policy is also contrary to the benefits offered by many other states.

From liberal California to the wilds of Texas, from the remote Dakotas to Hawaii, most states allow gays to have their domestic partner on their membership at a reduced rate.

"Other clubs are free to make their decisions based on the needs of their area," says Imming.

Note to News Channel 5 WPTV: your use of "homosexual" in the above quoted article is creepy.

Mr. Family Values

Chuck Rosenthal is another Republican with strong family values. From 365Gay:

(Houston, Texas) The district attorney who defended the Texas law criminalizing homosexuality before the US Supreme Court is desperately trying to keep his job following the discovery of e-mails containing sexually explicit videos, racist jokes and what is described as torrid love notes to his executive secretary.

Harris County District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal (R) is facing a state investigation into the emails which were discovered on his office computer.

If he is found in violation of "official misconduct'' he could be removed from office. The office computer also contained evidence he had used it for political purposes.

Rosenthal who is married and portrayed himself as a "family values" candidate ended his re-election campaign last week after the sexy emails to his secretary were discovered. His current term runs out at the end of 2008.

The e-mails were found during discovery in a federal civil rights lawsuit. The plaintiffs in the case forced Rosenthal into a deposition where he was required to answer questions about the e-mails under oath.

But in 2002 it was "family values" Rosenthal who argued before the US Supreme Court that the Texas law against sodomy was upholding the moral values of the state and was in place to protect families. The case was Lawrence v Texas.

In his arguments he condemned adultery and homosexual acts.

"I think that this Court having determined that there are certain kinds of conduct that it will accept and certain kinds of conduct it will not accept may draw the line at the bedroom door of the heterosexual married couple because of the interest that this Court has that this Nation has and certainly that the State of Texas has for the preservation of marriage, families and the procreation of children," Rosenthal told the justices.

"Even if you infer that various States acting through their legislative process have repealed sodomy laws, there is no protected right to engage in extrasexual - extramarital sexual relations, again, that can trace their roots to history or the traditions of this nation."

In the end the Supreme Court overturned the sodomy law, releasing its opinion in June of 2003.

In a 6 - 3 decision, the court said that states cannot make laws regarding the private sexual conduct of Americans.

The ruling said the Texas law violates the Due Process clause of the Constitution. Writing for the majority Justice Anthony M. Kennedy called the ban on gay sex an "unconstitutional violation of privacy."

"[It} demeans the lives of homosexual persons," Kennedy wrote.

Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist and Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas dissented.

The ruling negated not only the sodomy law in Texas, but those in a dozen other states.

Posting At Another Site

I've just written my first contribution to DoorQ, the premier LGBT fantasy/scifi/horror website. It's a great site with a nice layout and loads of content that varies from original fiction to comic book reviews. Give it a browse if you get a chance. I've also added it to my reading list on the sidebar to the right left.

Blocking Gay News

The world's largest mobile telecom, UK-based Vodafone, blocks, by default, both Gay City News and UK Gay News. Vodaphone, which has a joint venture here in America with Verizon Wireless, deems both sites as having adult content. From the story:

A spokesperson at the Vodaphone press office in Newbury explained this afternoon that with a lot of children now using mobile telephone technology to access the internet, web sites had “to meet a content standard”. Customers, she explained, could “opt-in” to access adult websites.

The Vodaphone website says that to opt-in, a subscriber has to be able to prove his or her age – and must be 18 or over.

UK Gay News uses a Vodaphone mobile phone and a test last night confirmed access was barred. Though this was the very first time that we had attempted to go online from a mobile phone, we phoned the company and the block was lifted immediately.

No one could argue with this philosophy, given that there are many pornographic sites on the web.

However, in the case of both UK Gay News and Gay City News, one fails to see how either can be deemed to be “adult content” sites.

In the case of UK Gay News, the vast majority of the content is links to articles of interest to lesbian, gay or transgender people in some of the world’s most respected newspapers, ranging from The Guardian and The Independent in the UK to the Globe & Mail in Canada and the Washington Post in USA.

The front page of Gay City News this morning include stories about a movie being adapted from an Upton Sinclair novel, congress cutting HIV prevention moneys, and the witch hunt for gays in Morocco.

To put it simply, without any attempt to be clever, this is institutionalized homophobia in the form of direct media censorship. I'll be letting Vodafone and Verizon Wireless know what I think of Vodafone's policy.

Year End Round Up

Lots of top N lists are going around this week. I don't really feel like putting one of those together. It takes me forever to write anything. I doubt I'd be done before the end of 2007. Also, I was hit by a car today, so I get a bit of a break. What I've done is put together a random list of 2007 lists I've read. In no relevant order, here is a list of 2007 lists:

• Ever awesome Pam, who's recovering from surgery, has a post up asking visitors what they think the top stories of 2007 were for her site.
• As I previously wrote, Jon Swift has an amazing best blog posts of 2007 list. He worked hard on it. Go read it.
  
• Bilerico has a well-rounded LGBT top 10 list.
  
• On a local front, Express Gay News Online takes a stab at Florida's top 10 2007 LGBT stories (Florida had plenty of scandals this year!).
• 365gay has a top 10 LGBT 2007 news list worth reading.
• Project Censored has an anti-list that names the 25 most over looked stories of the year.
• Wired lists the top 10 new organisms of 2007. It's pop-science that's more pop than science.
• Science magazine lists diversity of the human genome as the discovery of 2007, while Nature names research that derived pluripotent stems cells derived from epithelial cells as the 2007's most significant work.
  
• and finally, DSFanboy has a list of 2007's top Nintendo DS games. I think. The list also has something to do with the internet cat phenomenon. It's confusing, but there are lots of pictures.
  

There, I've done my list for the year. Go away now.