Dear Editor:

Too often we read in our community papers comments of the nature in the GLT editorial last week. “There is a lack of LGBT unity because of a “separate” Ebony Pride.” These comments and thinking fail to realize that we are not SEPARATE. We are an INTERGRAL part of this community. All of us participate in the numerous LGBT events in this community. When I go to events, I see people of every color, religious affiliation, national background, gender identity and expression, and several special interest groups in the LGBT community participating. We don’t participate SEPARATELY, we participate TOGETHER. We have various organizations and events and each has a unique culture and history which is equality valid, and should be equally valued, and that each contributes to the vast multicultural quilt that makes up this community.

We participate in many events in this community; however there is minimal interest in participating in our events, learning about our issues, and our cultural heritage.

Ebony Pride San Diego is for EVERYONE in our community who supports our mission, regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation gender identity or expression. We have a Festival not to compete with other Prides in San Diego. We work together, not against each other.

We are a member of the International Federation of Black Prides. Thus, we are not the only organization that feels the need to have an African American LGBT organization and events. We network with other Black Prides and numerous local LGBT organizations. Thus we are building those bridges.

Our major objective is to educate ourselves around a wide range of health and social issues that disproportionately affect our lives negatively. This includes HIV/AIDS, Breast Cancer, Lupus, Hypertension, Heart Disease, Smoking, Substance Abuse, Unemployment, lack of affordable housing, and lack of access to culturally competent health care/human services. At our events we attempt to educate in traditional manners as well as using entertainment, termed “Edutainment” to accomplish our goals. Having a party is fine, but we MUST go beyond that.

As African American LGBT people we face two types of discrimination, racism and homophobia, sadly often racism within the LGBT community and homophobia within the larger African American community. Comments of the nature questioning our organizational existence are subtle forms of racism. Often we or our concerns are not fully represented in other LGBT organizations locally or nationally. One example is the extreme lack of people of color in the so-called “Gay Renaissance” in the media.

Perhaps one day we will get to the point when we can be a full part of a combined Pride Festival that represents us all. However we are not there now.

Dr. King taught us that when one of us does not have full equal rights, then none of us have them. As LGBT people we are still fighting for our full and equal participation in this country. As African American LGBT people we have at least double that fight.

Ken Riley

Male Co-Chair

Ebony Pride San Diego

Dear Editor:

The August 25 edition of the Gay & Lesbian Times (page 41) quoted Dr. J. Michael Bailey on the heritability of sexual orientation based on studies of identical twins of gay and lesbian test subjects. The article failed to mention Dr. Bailey’s long history of promoting theories around sexual orientation and gender variance that have concerned and outraged medical policy advocates for the GLBT community. In a 2001 article entitled, “Parental Selection of Children’s Sexual Orientation,” Bailey and law professor Aaron Greenberg argued for the moral acceptability of gay eugenics: “because allowing parents to select their children’s sexual orientation would further parent’s freedom to raise the sort of children they wish to raise and because selection for heterosexuality may benefit parents and children and is unlikely to cause significant harm.” Bailey’s 2003 book, The Man Who Would Be Queen: The Science of Gender-Bending and Transsexualism, ignited a firestorm of protest from the transgender community. He asserted that all transsexual women (male-to-female) are either “homosexual transsexuals” who “change sex is to attract more men sexually,” or “paraphilic men whose sexual object choice is toward the image of themselves as women.” By reducing the whole community of transwomen to either sexual perversion or gay men in denial, Bailey, as his title suggests, denies the legitimacy of all transsexual women as women. Critics of Bailey’s work and lack of scientific rigor include transgender community leaders Andrea James and Professor Lynn Conway and leading psychologists and psychiatrists such as Dr. Walter Bockting, President-Elect for the Society of the Scientific Study of Sexuality, and former Kinsey Institute Director Dr. John Bancroft. The GLT article cited that “science is not always friendly.” Perhaps, but legitimate science is honest and objective. J Michael Bailey’s remarks on sexual orientation and gender diversity are neither.

Kelley Winters

Member, board of directors, Institute for Transgendered Education

Dear Editor:

As you witnessed, there were seven well-qualified Democratic candidates at the San Diego Democratic Club meeting to endorse a candidate for City Council District 2.

The club in their infinite wisdom endorsed none of the candidates.

The discussions were intense as individuals of the SDDC sought to be queen maker. In the end, only Lorena Gozales (Bradford) was deemed acceptable by the gentle sex.

One thing did disturb me about the private discussions of SDDC when, am I told, Jess Durphy affectionally described me as “a pain in the ass”.

I wish to deny ever having sexual relations with Jess. I have much higher standards.

Ian Trowbridge

Candidate for District 2

Dear Editor:

I have to admit to having a sort of perverse admiration for Mr James Hartline. Here is a man who, for whatever reasons, has set himself up as the adversary of San Diego’s GLBT community and has, through appeals to bigotry and popular hysteria, as well as a couple of fire code and building occupancy regulations, struck a couple of effective blows against us during this year’s annual celebration of Pride.

Effective as these blows may have been, they have been glancing blows, and in the long run, any damage they have done will be minor. Our community has dealt with adversaries before and we have always turned adversity on its head. From the police raiding the Stonewall Inn to Anita Bryant’s calls to “save the children” to Roger Hedgecock’s advocacy of a “normal people’s” contingent in San Diego’s Pride parade, we have succeeded our persecutors and turned what they meant as harm for us into abundant good. Thanks to these adversaries, we have a national community, a political movement, and a 500% increase in attendance at our parade.

In spite of Mr Hartline’s claims that he has won some sort of moral victory against us, the blows he has landed have been accomplished through petty means, by legal parlor tricks. There is no moral victory in shutting down an event because a building’s fire sprinkler system is inadequate. That is simply enforcement of a code, and probably better for everyone in the long run, whatever immediate disappointment and inconvenience it engenders.

Moral victory or not, his tactics need to be examined. If Hartline is going to come at our community through the technicalities of fire and building codes, then we must take the step to be sure that our meeting halls and our community centers and our businesses are in compliance with all the applicable bureaucratic regulations. For the benefit of our entire community, our business owners and community leaders need to look at their organizations through the eyes of a devil’s advocate and ask what vulnerabilities they would exploit to shut themselves down, and then take whatever actions are necessary to eliminate those vulnerabilities.

If James Hartline wants to be our community’s adversary, let him. I will remind him that the Old Testament word for adversary is “satan”.

If that’s the role he wants to play, fine; we’ll play Job. Whatever afflictions he may visit on us, we will endure and overcome. Whatever he manages to take from us will be restored twice over. And we all know what ends up happening to Satan.

Rev Keith W Ramsey

Dear Editor:

In regards to child molesters and the Pride committee I have a few observations and a suggestion.

First the observations, mainly who cares! The whole sorry episode was pretty much manufactured by some ex-gay whack-job to stir up media controversy and generally make other rightwing whack-jobs feel better about their pathetic sexless lives. Fair enough that’s what they do, god knows they aren’t getting any so what else do they have to do with themselves. Nobody likes child molesters it’s a cheap shot and easy way to imply “the Gays” are a bunch of perverts and should be kept away from children. In this could have been taken care of with some additional screening and that would have been the end of it.

Of course that was not to be. What ever the true motivations were the appearance is Nicole and The Gay and Lesbian Times saw and opportunity for self-promotion. Bbeing a fulltime drag queen sans talent leaves so few career choices. Unfortunately in validating this “concern” Nicole and the GLT has given a bunch of publicity to the argument that gays are at least associated with bunch of perverts and child molesters. Perhaps in the future Nicole can stick to naming charities and awards after herself. It’s tasteless but harmless.

Of course if she and the GLT are really riled up about child molesters they should turn her attention to the Catholic Church. I would be willing to wager that there are many more there than volunteering for the Pride committee.

So, in the same sprit as this entire “controversy” I would propose a new community award. It shall be called the “Dickey” and will be awarded to the biggest wanker in community. So for screwing the community for self-promotion, validating the religious rightwing nut jobs and promoting conservative political candidates over progressive ones, I nominate Nicole Ramirez and the Gay and Lesbian Times.

Calvin Radford

Dear Editor:

On attending the pride meeting two weeks ago I was very disappointed in how the meeting went and how all of the pride volunteers were in all support of sex offenders and the board its self and its decisions. I am embarrassed for the greater community that was not in attendance, that they did not have a vote on the pride boards removal. But I wanted to bring to the attention to other decisions of the board that effected the pride weekend that were not mentioned. One is not having an American Flag at the begging of the parade! That flag gives us the freedom to have the parade and festival, Did we forget of how many nations it is unlawful to have either! Or was there a hidden political agenda behind that decision? Second, I and several straight friends who are of support of the community bring to my attention at the parade and festival that there was not one Condom passed out any where! Why? At the festival there was not one booth set up for Health education or support, We have Drugs, STDs, HIV that are out of control and destroying the community and not one bit of info was available why? But several times we were offered porn! We are two hours from LA and we could not get any decent entertainment... This board has proven that it has NO leadership and seems to have a personal agenda that is not in representation of the greater community.. I was embarrassed that the board lied and did not step up to the plat and take needed action immediately! Now how many will not participate in next years parade due to the intrust of the board. This event made international news and it should be apparent that they are wrong in there decisions, and they effect the whole Gay community at large. I would like to see an outside vote of the community as a whole on regards of the removal of the board and not just a certain political agenda with in the walls to mislead the whole community and the city of San Diego!

Paul Benson

Dear Editor:

I was shocked and amazed to see that the very same Nicole Murray-Ramirez that wrote a few issues back about the honor Marines hold for their Dress Blue uniform removed her crown and wig to place on her head a Marines Dress Blue cover on her head while she was in woman drag at Coronation... The proof is in a picture of the GLT’s issue 920.

The question I have is how are we supposed to take Ramirez seriously when he can not hold his own word, bad mouths/slanders fellow GLBT members in print, and does not find out information for himself (even when he’s sending it to print)?

Okay so perhaps the cover shot I did for the GLT in issue 909 was inappropriate for the story and timing personally I would have preferred a picture of some one visiting the grave of a loved one placing a flag or flowers on the late loved ones tombstone. But I had no control over what the Gay and Lesbian Times decided to put on the cover for that weekend. I did not even know if I was in-fact going to really be on the cover, let alone when. Yet did you (Nicole), not do the same thing you accused me I did on the cover with the uniform? Well no not exactly. I actually got people to pick up the GLT and read a great story because it was a sexy [not as in implying all gay soldiers are into sex as Nicole put it, but as in the cover was attractive]cover shot. Versus try to dissolve the natural impulse of ripping out certain pages because they are hypocritical, offensive (with name calling and swearing) and false information. I think that degrades the integrity of the GLT more than any other picture could. Well, so much for unity amongst the community, huh Nicole?

D.I. Mickey

Dear Editor:

Mr. Hartline is truly a disturbed man with his own agenda against this community but he was only the messenger. What the Pride Board did with the message is the real problem. Instead of saying “thank you for the information” and dealing with it appropriately, they opted to ignore it because of the messenger.

I attended the community meeting regarding the issue with the Pride Board and learned a valuable lesson about some of the people who showed up to speak. It was very disturbing. In an attempt to downplay the seriousness of being a child molester, some people chose to brag about their sexual trysts with minors by claiming that they too could have been on the Megan’s law listing “several times.” I suddenly had a better understanding and appreciation for its presence on the Internet. If you’re going to live by your libidos and act out on all animal instincts under the guise of “my civil-rights” you’ll end up hurting yourselves. Lewd and provocative behaviors do have their consequences. Laws against gay relationships are bad. Laws against sex with minors are good. Bad behaviors in public do not promote a healthy form of self-esteem in the community. I get the impression we don’t have a clue about which battles are worth fighting for anymore. Shame on anyone who thinks sex with children is a good thing! Pull up your pants and activate your brains for a change!

How do we support groups like Family Matters and market ourselves as family friendly and knowingly allow these kinds of individuals to participate in an event that promotes a ”sexually” diverse community? This is not the Rose Parade!

Don’t blame the far-right religious perverts for these problems. Blame this Board and those who continue to support them. Bad decisions were made and acknowledged as such. Not all bad decisions warrant a complete turnover, but the lies made to this community and its leaders are enough to demand a new Board be put into place. Another community meeting may be needed, this time with an experienced bi-partisan facilitator. This last one was nothing more than a useless display of bad behaviors which were allowed to continue thru the evening.

Bill Lullo

Dear Editor:

A community-wide meeting regarding the Pride Board was held Monday night at The Center. Philip Princetta, Treasurer of San Diego Pride explained that once the Pride Board found out they had people from the Megan’s Law site as staff, they consulted with eight (8) government agencies including the local police and the FBI.

The FBI told the Pride Board that these people are not a threat to the public because there jobs are not in direct contact with the public. In fact, other citizens who spoke at the meeting pointed out that these people have already paid for their crime and one guy has a clean track record of 10 years volunteering at Pride. Another person commented that anyone can buy a ticket and enter the pride festival.

The Pride’s board only fault was listening to eight different government agencies and taking their advice.

I certainly wouldn’t blame Pride for causing this mess. The source of the problem is James Hartline, who now has publicly harassed theses previous offenders on the Megan’s Law web site.

The LGBT community is much stronger than homophobic hate mongers, because we have to fight against their hatred, bigotry, intolerance, and fear on a daily basis. We’ve dealt with gay bashing before and we can handle it again, even if the gay bashing is under the false guise of public concern. The Megan’s Law site was not made public to create mass hysteria among the LGBT community.

It’s time to take care of the source of our problem, James Hartline. I hope the three guys, who got publicly harassed, will to go to the police and tell them a crime has been committed by James Hartline against them. The Megan’s Law Disclaimer clearly states that anyone who uses the web site to, “harass an offender,…” “is subject to criminal prosecution and civil liability.” See: http://www.meganslaw.ca.gov/DISCLAIMER.htm

It is time that lawsuits are brought against Hartline who illegally used the Megan’s Law web site to harass the LGBT community and who is trying to break our community apart.

Michael Hampson

Concerned Citizen, Hillcrest.

Dear Editor:

San Diego PRIDE no longer has an Executive Director. The last one was female. For the sake of balance and equity for the Community’s Gay majority, it is imperative that the next Executive Director be male, or current dissatisfaction with the current PRIDE Board of Directors and PRIDE itself will only expand as it continues.

Jay Murley