Proving that not everyone has jumped on the gay rights bandwagon, the Boy Scouts of America has chosen to openly reaffirm its ban on gay members as well as any gay or lesbian adult leaders the organization announced yesterday in a statement. According to the New York Times, the official policy reads:

“While the B.S.A. does not proactively inquire about the sexual orientation of employees, volunteers or members, we do not grant membership to individuals who are open or avowed homosexuals or who engage in behavior that would become a distraction to the mission of the B.S.A.”

It may not seem like it, but the decision came after much thought. In 2010, the Boy Scouts formed a committee of 11 “volunteers and professional leaders to evaluate whether the policy was in the best interests of the organization,” a statement from the group read. The committee reportedly “included a diversity of perspectives” and engaged in “extensive research and evaluations,” to see where they should stand on this issue and in the end they came to the conclusion that nothing needed to change.

According to a news release from its headquarters in Irving, TX, the exclusionary policy “reflects the beliefs and perspectives” of the private organization. Bob Mazzuca, the chief Scout executive, followed that sentiment with this comment:

‘The vast majority of the parents of youth we serve value their right to address issues of same-sex orientation within their family, with spiritual advisers and at the appropriate time and in the right setting. While a majority of our membership agrees with our policy, we fully understand that no single policy will accommodate the many diverse views among our membership or society.”

But did they even try? My main issue with their policy is that I think it reaffirms beliefs that all homosexual men—and even boys— are predators lacking any type of discretion when it comes to their attraction to the same sex. I’m inclined to believe the Boy Scouts of America views this policy almost as a safety measure to prevent a Catholic Church molestation-like situation among members and leaders because a child’s sexual orientation—or their scout leader’s or den mother’s—should never come up in the process of camping, earning badges, and reciting pledges.

As a private organization, BSA can certainly implement any sort of policy it wants legally, but the question is, is this one fair? What do you think?

Brande Victorian is the news and operations editor for madamenoire.com. Follow her on twitter @Be_Vic.

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GLAAD achieved it’s mission. Today, CNN announced that Roland Martin has been suspended indefinitely for the non-gay friendly Superbowl tweets that landed him in the hot seat with the Gay Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation Sunday, and I think we all know that indefinite suspension is code for he will be fired—eventually.

Angry, I immediately took to Twitter, and was probably on my way to proving I learned nothing from this situation about Twitter restraint, when a tweet from Carolyn Edgar stopped me in tracks. She wrote:

“Instead of getting upset that GLAAD had the juice to get Roland Martin suspended, how about we figure out how to get some of that juice?”

As much as that’s not something Roland Martin supporter’s want to hear in this instance, the words are a dose of harsh reality. If people want Roland Martin to maintain his post at CNN, they’re going to have to figure out how to be just as clever, convincing, organized, and dedicated to the cause as GLAAD, because they’ve basically achieved their goal.

A lot of people say as a black person, if you are upset at Roland Martin’s suspension then you should disagree with Don Imus’ firing but I think there is a crucial difference there. Don made his racist remarks on-air with Fox, Roland tweeted homosexually insensitive comments from a personal Twitter account that are not reflective of CNN. When you look at those facts, black people have a right to be mad. Although this isn’t necessarily a race issue, it is interesting that neither CNN contributor’s Dana Loesch or Erik Erickson were fired for the controversial statements made on their radio shows, yet a Twitter comment gets this response.

But shouldn’t we do more than get angry? A lot of people liken the gay rights struggle to that of black civil rights activists, and while I don’t agree with that comparison, there are some things the black community can learn from the gay community because in an overly simplistic, two-worded summation of LGBTQ activism: they move.

That’s sort of the unspoken joke about gay activists—they have eyes and ears everywhere and they will make you pay for saying, doing, and possibly even thinking anything remotely anti-gay. Why can’t the black community do the same? In just the last few months, several racially insensitive situations have come to light. Newt Gingrich singled out black people as welfare hoarders, French Elle said we’re only stylish because we adopt white codes of fashion, Michelle Obama’s been blasted for her backside, likened to the Grinch and Marie Antoinette, and been labeled an angry black woman, Tea Party members have called for the lynching of the entire Obama family, and there are countless other instances that are too numerous to name. But every single one of those individuals still has his position and is free to offend the black community again while we go one writing open letters and waiting for change.

Commentors on this site say it best whenever suspect behavior is exposed: simply stop supporting it. But there’s another next step that has to go beyond not buying a rap CD, or watching reality TV, or purchasing a magazine—organized action. It’s not enough for a handful of people to make a personal decision about what they expose themselves too, the black community’s agenda has to be made known and be seen clearly. GLAAD didn’t hesitate to bring popular members of the gay community in on his efforts to get Roland Martin fired. They did their homework, they disseminated information, and they got results. Now it’s our turn.

Do you think Roland Martin and Don Imus’s suspension are equal? Do you think there are things the black community can learn about getting results from gay activists?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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The superbowl is a time for fun and ish talking both in person, and now thanks to social media like Twitter, online. But there’s always someone who takes on the role of inappropriate police, and this year that “someone” is the Gay Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD).

The alliance is calling for CNN to fire political correspondent Roland Martin for tweets sent yesterday that they deem homophobic. The situation all started when Roland saw David Beckham’s H & M ad and tweeted:

“If a dude at your Super Bowl party is hyped about David Beckham’s H&M underwear ad, smack the ish out of him!”

GLAAD immediately responded with the tweet:

“@rolandsmartin Advocates of gay bashing have no place at @CNN #SuperBowl #LGBT”

Roland, a man who argues for a living, shot back, tweeting:

“@glaad @CNN well you’re clearly out of touch and clueless with what I tweeted. Way to assume, but you’re way off base.”

Roland then sent out tweets to his followers, letting them know his comment was really bashing soccer—which he does frequently—not gay men, but it didn’t help his cause when he later wrote:

“Who the hell was that New England Patriot they just showed in a head to toe pink suit? Oh, he needs a visit from #teamwhipdatass”

Unsurprisingly, GLAAD has now launched a full-fledged campaign to have Roland fired, saying “Advocates of anti-gay violence have no place at CNN or Time Warner.” They also reference Roland’s defense of Tracy Morgan’s controversial routine about what he would do if his son was gay, saying:

“Martin’s tweets today advocating violence against gay people weren’t an accident — they are a part of a larger pattern for Martin.”

Roland’s history of supporting conversion therapy is also being used to back up GLAAD’s stance. In 2006, he wrote on his website that his wife is an ordained Baptist minister who has counseled many men and women to walk away from the gay lifestyle, and to live a chaste life, seemingly encouraging others to do the same.

It doesn’t appear that CNN has made any comment on the situation just yet, but GLAAD likely won’t back down until the network does, or they get what they want.

Do you think GLAAD is being too sensitive or does Roland Martin seem to have a history of anti-gay/homophobic behavior? Should CNN fire him?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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If any of you watched last night’s episode of the “Real Housewives of Atlanta” maybe you can tell me what was going on because for the last 7 minutes or so I had no idea.

Apparently amongst all of the yelling, screaming, and awkward sound effects between her and Sheree, she threw a shot commenting on Sheree’s gay friend whose party she wasn’t invited to, saying:

“Well anyway, that’s why you don’t have a man. Go and hang with them f*****s with your ugly A$$.”

Today she wrote an apology on her website stating that immediately after the incident she reached out to her close friend and assistant to apologize for her language and that she looks forward to continuing to build support with the gay community. You can read the full letter on the YBF, but here’s a snippet:

“I would like to offer from the bottom of my heart the fullest and most heartfelt apology for my recent use of an anti-gay slur. When I used this word, I was not mindful of the demeaning connotation that this has in the gay community. My speech was irresponsible, thoughtless and said with the intention of conveying anger rather than as a statement on my feelings towards the gay community as a whole…

“I applaud and admire this community for their triumph over a sometimes harsh, mean spirited society that discriminates and even violently attacks those who are different. These are obstacles that I relate to and that I have been inspired by them to overcome. I celebrate this community and am saddened by any indication otherwise, that my actions may have caused…”

Maybe at some point she can get around to apologizing to black women too because she was an absolute mess on last night’s show. Still, it’s good she saw the error of her ways and quickly corrected it when it came to the gay community.

Check out a clip of the argument here. Did you watch last night’s episode? Who do you think is wrong, Marlo or Sheree?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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Last year, Russell Dickerson, III, 20, filed a lawsuit against the Aberdeen School District, charging they did little to stop the racial and anti-gay bullying he endured from 2003-2009, and now the Seattle man has been awarded $100,000 in a settlement with school officials.

Russell said throughout junior high and high school he was taunted with racial epithets, spit on, and mocked. His peers would leave racist notes in his backpack and they even created a website to tease him about being black and suggest he was gay. When three students pushed him to the floor and smashed a raw egg on his head, Russell said only one was punished.

Later, in  high school, he said someone posted a fake picture in the locker room of him kissing a man, which caused students to pick on him by pinching and fondling his chest, and he was also ridiculed for his physical appearance. Russell said when he went to the assistant principal about the issue he was told  he should change his style of clothing to avoid being teased.

Despite numerous complaints, Russell and his parents say the bullying continued, even after a no-contact order was issued against one of his harassers. In response to Russell’s claims, the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington said Aberdeen school officials failed to do their job.

“Public school officials must be held accountable when they fail to meet their responsibility to act decisively when a student is subjected to harassment by his peers,” Sarah Dunne, ACLU’s legal director, said in a statement.

“This settlement sends a message to school districts statewide to take strong action as soon as they learn that a student is being bullied.”

Speaking on the settlement, Russell said he learned from his parents to never give up.

“You should fight for your rights – you don’t just walk away.”

Another teacher is facing termination for failing to lock-down her Facebook profile.

Tenure charges were formally filed against Union High School English teacher Viki Knox, 50, last month after she was placed on leave in September for words on her Facebook wall that her school board says could be potentially harmful to their students. She wrote:

“Why parade your unnatural immoral behaviors before the rest of us?” and called homosexuality “a perverted spirit” and a “sin which breeds like cancer.

“I DO NOT HAVE TO TOLERATE ANYTHING OTHERS WISH TO DO. I DO HAVE TO LOVE AND SPEAK AND DO WHAT’S RIGHT!”

By B. Hutson

When will basketball players get it through their heads that they are not invincible and sooner or later, there will be repercussions for their actions? Well, in less than 48 hours, Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant found out what it meant to be held accountable for his actions as he faced criticism for his use of a gay slur earlier this week.

During Tuesday night’s game against San Antonio, Bryant became irritated after he was called for an offensive foul and received his 15^th technical foul of the season. He went on to punch a chair on the Lakers’ bench, threw down a towel and yelled out to referee Bennie Adams before uttering “f—ing foolio.”

It didn’t take very long for the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights organization, to call Bryant out about his comments. Besides issuing a statement that called Bryant a “disgrace,” the organization tapped into the power of social media and demanded that Bryant offer an apology.

Early Wednesday, Bryant issued a statement, saying that his comments “should not be taken literally” and that his “actions were out of frustration during the heat of the game. The words expressed do not reflect my feelings towards the gay and lesbian communities and were not meant to offend anyone,” he said.

But Bryant isn’t out of the fire yet because the NBA is fining him $100,000 for his homophobic slur.

Fred Sainza, VP of communication for HRC, told Forbes that “this entire set of big, impactful developments went from start to finish in record breaking time.” Without the assistance of social media, “a few years ago it would have taken days, if not weeks, for this issue to have fully developed,” he said.

(Colorlines) — The arrest last week of Hot 97 DJ and hip-hop legend Mister Cee for allegedly having commercial sex with a 20-year-old transgender woman has sparked another hip-hop “war,” this time between Cee’s Hot 97 colleague Funkmaster Flex and rival DJ Charlamagne tha God. Since Cee’s arrest, Flex and Charlamange, a former Wendy Williams sidekick, have been going at one another over the role of queer people within hip-hop, spurring a debate that’s sprawled from Twitter to the blogosphere and that’s been filled with a good bit of the expected homophobia and transphobia.

But a surprising voice has stepped into the forefront to defend Mister Cee: 50 Cent, one hip-hop’s favorite homophobes (and a friend to Mister Cee). Fifty could care less about queer folks, of course. But he does care about the Benjamins, and to him hip-hop’s pro-gay era needs to begin for one simple reason: Homophobia isn’t good for business anymore.  Mister Cee’s case has stirred such soul searching because he’s not some fringe persona or an artist, who come a dime a dozen; he’s a major figure important not only to fans of the music, but to the actual business of producing and promoting the artists and the industry.

Read More…