As in a tasty mix of talk

Tuesday, March 03, 2009

Go Johnny Go!

Our friend Johnny, who helped many readers of this blog understand the feelings of gay neighbors, co-workers and loved ones during the Prop 8 debate, has been awarded a unique honor:

He will sing “It’s About Love,” the song he composed to express his feelings about discrimination, at the Eve of Justice candlelight vigil on the courthouse steps in San Francisco. The vigil will be held on Wednesday, March 4… the day before the California Supreme Court hears oral arguments on the validity of Prop 8. Johnny’s performance will follow a speech by Gloria Allred, discrimination attorney and feminist lawyer, and is likely to be televised on C-Span.

There will be similar Eve of Justice events throughout California (visit their website for locations). The purpose of these events is: “… to stand together and send a unified message to our fellow Californians, including the Supreme Court Justices, that individual liberties like the right to marry are guaranteed by the Constitution to everyone and cannot be stripped away at the ballot box by a bare majority. Just as important, we will give our love and support to all the families headed by same-sex couples who are threatened by the recent electoral outcome, as well as same-sex couples whose hopes and dreams of marriage and family have been frustrated by enactment of Prop 8.”

Congratulations, Johnny… You go!

8 Comments:

Blogger Laurie Allee said...

Johnny: congrats on the honor! My family stands with you in this fight for equal rights.

9:15 AM

 
Blogger Unknown said...

Thanks, Yak! That was SO SWEET! My favorite thing about this whole experience has been the contact I have made with people all over the world. 42 countries and all 50 states at present have been represented by e-mails I've received in response to my YouTube video. There's a 19 year-old lesbian in the midwest whose only ally is her 72 year-old grandmother. The rest of her family has ostracized her. There is a gentleman in Gaza who writes to me in very broken English about his companion who has been missing for four weeks and he is not allowed to pursue any information about him because they are not married. There are people in England, Canada, Spain and the Netherlands who write of how they used to admire the US for leading the way on civil rights issues and find it strange that they are now further along in this than we are. There are people of both sexes who suppressed their feelings and married people of the opposite sex and are dealing with the complications of that.

There are also plenty of detractors and their communications are rarely civil. I don't engage them much because I don't see the point in responding to a barrage of vulgarities, obscenities and insults. I've had a few substantive discussions, though, mostly centered around people who feel that they are upholding a tradition they assume has been around in its present form for thousands of years, which is simply not the case. They feel that supporting gay marriage is endorsing immorality. When I bring up the issue of civil liberties, they usually just say that that is trumped by religion, which is dangerous for all of us-including them.

One correction: the CA Supreme Court is actually in San Francisco. The conservatives LOVE to use that even though most of the justices were actually appointed by conservatives. So I will be flying to San Francisco tonight. It is something I will always remember. At least I didn't sit on the sidelines this time.

If you are on the sidelines when it comes to an issue that is important to you, I can tell you that it feels wonderful to put your feelings into action.

Thank you SO MUCH to all who have shown love and support and all who have at least been open to constructive dialogue on this issue.

Say a prayer for me on Wednesday night at about 7:30 pm.

Johnny

10:09 AM

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

John - Congrats! I will be thinking of you tomorrow night for sure!
It breaks my heart that people use the bible or their religion to pull this crap. Please know that there are a lot of Christians out there (like myself) who deeply and passionately believe that 'God is LOVE'...for all of us. I support your cause 125% and am so glad I have come to know about you and your fight through this blog :) And most of all, I just want to say THANK YOU for what you are doing.

1:43 PM

 
Blogger Yakpate said...

Everyone... John asks that we (depending on our inclinations) say a prayer for him or beam him a good vibe at 7:30 pm Pacific Time, when he will perform.

7:51 AM

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I will send good vibes from KY at 10:30PM EST. :)

7:59 AM

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

John,
Congrats on being chosen for such an honor. The people there are the ones who really win because they get to hear you singing that beautiful song in person!
I will be thinking of you tonight and giving a little shout out to the Man upstairs for you. I'm sure you will be great!!!!

8:01 AM

 
Blogger Unknown said...

Thanks, everyone! It was an unblieveable experience! The judges were tough and it's hard to know how they will vote, but we'll know within 90 days.

8:20 AM

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Let us know what happens! :)

3:57 PM

 

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