The Spencer Hamilton Blog

Hello Everyone, Sexual Repression and Scandal I have to say that I am not surprised whenever I see an anti-gay politician or religious leader caught in the muck and mire they claim isn't right. Like Gary Aldridge who was found with two rubber masks, two pairs of rubber underwear, leather pants, boots, with a dildo up his rear with a condom on (either it was part of a safe sex lecture or it was a part of the fetish?) What about Roy Ashburn coming up with a lot of anti gay legislation and then being found with a Latino gentleman (he was in fact against immigration too). So why am I not surprised that of all people Bishop Eddie Long is found guilty--accused rather of that which he preached against? Like George Alan Rekers, Glenn Murphy Jr, Ted Haggard, Chris Lee, Jim McGreevey, Troy King, Jim West, Richard Curtis, Bruce Barclay, Larry Craig, Ed Schrock, Robert Allen, Mark Foley, Karl Krueger, Eric Massa, David Dreier, and of course we have the founders of Exodus Int...

Hello Everyone, Today I am distressed now that I know one thing: Minnesota has the opportunity to become another state that has discrimination in their Constitution. I have listened to two representatives Murphy and Kreisel speak out against the proposed Constitutional Amendment to bar civil marriage between gay and lesbian couples. They currently have a statute. It will go to the ballot box in 2012 and the next 18 months will be tireless, families will be torn apart as people become even more polarized, friends will now be bitter enemies and vitriolic sentiments will be spewed out all over the state. I can't describe how lawmakers can fight to amend to take rights away from the constituents that they say they represent. I am going to have to keep an eye on this, and we need to send all the support we can to MN to fight against this amendment. Keith Olbermann said of CA's Prop 8: You have laws that protect farm animals, but you can't allow two people who l...

Hello Everyone Background As  an African American, the irony of the black vs. gay debate is not lost on me. I find it funny that one minority would be itching to vote to strip another minority of their civil rights. Is gay marriage a civil right? What is a civil right? Do blacks have a monopoly on civil rights? Apparently not, as all minorities have had to fight for their rights especially through the courts, like Asian Americans in cases like Korematsu v. United States which tested the constitutionality of internment camps for Japanese Americans, another one called Yick Wo v. Hopkins said that a law that's race neutral on it's face but administered in a prejudicial manner is unconstitutional. Hernandez v. Texas ,that decided that Mexican Americans are protected under the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution, and we have heard of the numerous cases that forced schools to administer black students most famous being the Little Rock 9, who had to be e...

New York Is Close Hello everyone, I am really proud to be a New Yorker. In 2011, three states--MD, RI and NY were being looked into for being state number 6 for civil marriage. MD has shelved their bill until 2012 and RI is now contemplating civil unions which is a let down but is a step in the right direction. CT, NH, ME and VT had civil unions before enacting marriage. Unfortunately, a people's veto has scrapped ME's marriage equality law. New York is a great state, we have had a long legacy of progressive movements, the women's voting movement, the NAACP, Housing and Urban Development, the Gay Rights Movement that started with Stonewall. Immigrants have come here from Italy, Ireland, so many different countries that made NYC a wonderfully diverse place to live. We have so much to be proud of for this state. We have made a lot of progress but also there is much to be made. Marriage needs to pass, and if this doesn't pass, I know for one the gay community is goi...

Hello Blogger, I am here to tell you of some wonderful news and how I am very--excited with the news of marriage equality in New York. I am on pins and needles understanding that this last push HAS to happen and we have to do it now. However, let me take you through some things that happened in my life and lead you to why it's so important to me Growing Up I was always a tubby kid, didn't like myself very much so I ate and medicated myself that way. I was and am a smart guy always skipping ahead in the book at school, talking with other kids about what I read--which backfired as a way of making friends in my class--and loved to teach people what they didn't know which lead me to want to become a teacher. However, knowing my old school ways of discipline and correcting kids who cross a line, I knew for a fact I couldn't be a teacher, they'd know me as Mr. Madea Simmons. I later on figured out that I wanted to be a journalist. However, I was very socially inept b...

The 5 suicides by Spencer Hamilton on Thursday, November 25, 2010 at 10:31pm Asher Brown, Billy Lucas, Justin Aaberg, Seth Walsh and Cody Barker. Five beautiful children who are now no longer in this world due to bullying--bullying because they are gay. In this day and age, many of us would like to think that this doesn't matter--but for many, it is a stark reality that needs to be dealt with. Family Groups are telling us that we shouldn't talk about the role of sexual orientation and bullying because it would make students gay. Come on--IT DOESN'T RUB OFF! We need to talk to these children and let them know that there is a safe place in school for them, we need to make it known to teachers that they will be held accountable for turning a blind eye to bullying--especially anti gay bullying Listen here; I don't care how you feel about people being gay, it doesn't matter when our children are killing themselves. F*#k your feelings right now! We have ...

Act 1 Case: DHS v. Cole The Verdict by Spencer Hamilton on Sunday, April 10, 2011 at 9:32pm Hello All! I'm trying to come up with a catch greeting, so please leave some in the comments if you have suggestions! It is with great pleasure that I have read the unanimous opinion of the Arkansas Supreme Court as given by Associate Justice Robert Brown. Now comes the time to take this opinion apart and kind of show what the Court's findings were and legal reasoning behind it are Now, I know I have some lengthy notes but I will try and keep this as short as possible so a small outline is an order Act 1 Family Council Action Committee President Jerry Cox said that Act 1 was to 'curb a gay agenda at work in our state 'by petitioning the government via ballot to vote on a ban on unmarried cohabiting couples, hence GAY AND LESBIAN couples since AR passed Constitutional Amendment 3  in 2004.   FCAC intervened to be a party in the case, fearing that the Atty Gen w...

AR Ballot Initiative Act 1 Has Been Overturned! by Spencer Hamilton on Friday, April 8, 2011 at 12:06am The Family Scene Let me preface this by saying that if I didn't look like my Mom, I would've sworn I was adopted.I was not like my brothers and sisters, and though now we have different relationships I appreciate that my Mom, my sister Cricket and I can watch movies and talk for hours. One memory I have of my sister Cricket and I were when her and I were talking about our boyfriends and our intimates--which is not exactly a conversation I could've ever imagined having with her but we have that kind of relationship. My sister Cierra and I can talk on the phone for hours too, the difference between Cricket and Cierra is that Cricket and I hang out more than we talk on the phone. Whenever we haven't hung out in a while Cricket will ask: Okay, so when can we kidnap you? Cierra asks the same thing. Family is very important to me. I have always wanted to ha...

Wisconsonizing Albany by Spencer Hamilton on Sunday, April 3, 2011 at 7:20pm Okay, so you saw the pics, and now you will see the note version of the account of events at the Capitol. I heard a lot about the budget cuts but I will tell you honestly: I had no idea the depth and extent of the cuts were until I went to Albany. I warn you: I think this is a pretty long note! Background I went to a rally interestingly enough called Wisconsinize Albany and said: Interesting--then I thought--WHAT?! Not in our state! I thought there was a threat to unions like the bills that passed in WI, OH and will soon pass in IN. Aw hecks naw! I thought, ready to find a brick and throw it through the next window I could find--but thinking and knowing that it wouldn't solve anything--I knew for a fact that there must be something I can do. So I went and at the rally I saw Bryan and when I got there they were just closing up shop. It started I believe at like 4:30 and by 5:10 when I arr...

The Ninth Circuit Panel needs a little help here! by Spencer Hamilton on Saturday, February 19, 2011 at 12:45am In my note: Is this the end of Proposition 8? ( http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=433920627263#!/note.php?note_id=466487706750&comments ) I outlined the history of Prop 8 until 12/6/10 when oral arguments were presented to the court. Now Judges Stephen Reinhardt, Michael Daly Hawkins, and N. Randy Smith need help from the CA Supreme Court. Citing a case from from a state where someone was able to intervene on behalf of the Legislature. This is called ‘standing’ which says: I can defend this law, because I have been harmed personally by this verdict and I will attempt to show how--or--I will stand and defend the law on someone else's behalf (which Imperial County Clerk's office was doing) because I can show how the verdict has harmed them Gladstone, Realtors v. Village of Bellwood, (1979) Warth v. Seldin,   (1975). Imperial County Clerks offic...

Is This The End for Proposition 8? by Spencer Hamilton on Monday, December 6, 2010 at 8:31pm For those of us without a history of Proposition 8, (the ballot initiative that eliminated the recognition of single gender marriages and effectively stopped California from giving new marriage licenses to same sex couples) it has a small history going back to Proposition 22, which stated: which read "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California" after that a lawsuit went from a lower court to an Intermediate Court--The California Supreme Court. From Wikipedia, it states this: In December 2006, the California Supreme Court voted unanimously to review all six cases and held oral argument on March 4, 2008, consolidating the cases as In re Marriage Cases .[18] The Court ruled on May 15, 2008, that Proposition 22 violated the state Constitution and was therefore invalid.[19] Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger immediately issued a statement pledgin...