I don't get this -- why on earth would anyone need to carry a concealed firearm to a gay pride celebration if not with the express intent to cause harm to someone? Going to a gay pride celebration "packing" sort of gives the impression that these folks are looking for trouble, doesn't it?
Utah Gays To Carry Concealed Arms To Pride
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
(Salt Lake City, Utah) A gay gun club says its members will bring firearms to Salt Lake Pride celebrations next month despite a regulation from Pride organizers that says no guns are allowed at the events.
Stonewall Shooting Sports of Utah founder David Nelson says that the rule which would ban "weapons of any kind" is too broad, unenforceable.
Nelson said that his members own and use legally concealed firearms and will not be deterred by the regulation. He said that the rule is a departure from the 2003 and 2004 pride events when organizers agreed that people with legally concealed firearms could not be denied admission to the events.
Nelson said that his requests to the organizers to revise the new rule remain unanswered.
Some 30,000 people are expected to attend this year's Pride in Sault Lake City from June 8 through 12. It is one of the largest outdoor events organized in the city.
"Previous organizers understood that people with Utah Concealed Firearm Permits have met every federal and state legal requirement to choose carrying legally concealed firearms, and welcomed us," Nelson said.
"There were no complaints at the 2003 and 2004 events. The previous organizers didn't confuse the difference of legal and illegal firearms."
"New organizers announced their plan to search all attendees and their personal property, but I suspect their 30,000 searches would quickly become impractical and a public-relations disaster," Nelson said. "
Seven of the eight announced Pride events are planned for the Salt Lake City Public Library, Library and Washington squares, and the surrounding city streets and sidewalks - all government properties, according to Nelson.
"State laws are very clear about who, what, when, where, why and how legally concealed firearms may be prohibited," Nelson said. "In almost every instance, the organizers fail the legal requirements that would let them ban our firearms."
Wednesday, May 25, 2005
Monday, May 23, 2005
American Psychiatric Association Supports Marriage Equality
From the Associated Press:
(Atlanta, Georgia) Representatives of the nation's top psychiatric group approved a statement urging legal recognition of same-sex unions, on Sunday.
The statement, if approved by the association's directors in July, would make the American Psychiatric Association the first major medical group to take such a stance.
The statement, approved on a voice vote, supports same-sex marriage and benefits "in the interest of maintaining and promoting mental health."
The psychiatrists approved the statement Sunday, the first day of the APA's weeklong annual meeting in Atlanta.
The vote goes beyond the association's 2000 statement supporting same-sex civil unions and continues a history of recognizing "that gay men and lesbians are full human beings who should be afforded the same human and civil rights," said Margery Sved, a Raleigh, N.C., psychiatrist and member of the assembly's committee on gay and lesbian issues.
The position paper cites the "positive influence of a stable, adult partnership on the health of all family members." It says the lack of access to health insurance, pension payments, death benefits and other rights for same-sex couples hurts the stability of their relationships and their mental health.
The document clarifies that the association is addressing same-sex civil marriage, not religious marriages. It takes no position on any religion's views on marriage.
A clear majority of the assembly's roughly 250 members present Sunday approved the measure.
Joseph Berger, a psychiatrist from Toronto, Canada, voted against it for what he called political reasons. He cited gay marriage votes in several states last year where voters overwhelmingly sided against the institution.
"It's very unusual for an organization like ours to take on an issue so contrary to where public sentiment is," he said. "It's a little bit like poking your finger in the eye of the public when so much of the public seems to be against it."
Forty states bar same-sex marriages, including some that prohibit same-sex couples from enjoying many of the legal protections that heterosexual couples enjoy.
Last year, Georgians voted 3-to-1 for a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman. Some psychiatrists pushed a boycott of this week's conference because of the vote, but most APA members opted to attend, officials said.
Other mental health groups have adopted similar positions on gay marriage in the past year. In July, the American Psychological Association adopted a position statement that said research showed that discrimination based on sexual orientation "detrimentally affects the psychological, physical, social and economic well-being of lesbian, gay and bisexual individuals."
(Atlanta, Georgia) Representatives of the nation's top psychiatric group approved a statement urging legal recognition of same-sex unions, on Sunday.
The statement, if approved by the association's directors in July, would make the American Psychiatric Association the first major medical group to take such a stance.
The statement, approved on a voice vote, supports same-sex marriage and benefits "in the interest of maintaining and promoting mental health."
The psychiatrists approved the statement Sunday, the first day of the APA's weeklong annual meeting in Atlanta.
The vote goes beyond the association's 2000 statement supporting same-sex civil unions and continues a history of recognizing "that gay men and lesbians are full human beings who should be afforded the same human and civil rights," said Margery Sved, a Raleigh, N.C., psychiatrist and member of the assembly's committee on gay and lesbian issues.
The position paper cites the "positive influence of a stable, adult partnership on the health of all family members." It says the lack of access to health insurance, pension payments, death benefits and other rights for same-sex couples hurts the stability of their relationships and their mental health.
The document clarifies that the association is addressing same-sex civil marriage, not religious marriages. It takes no position on any religion's views on marriage.
A clear majority of the assembly's roughly 250 members present Sunday approved the measure.
Joseph Berger, a psychiatrist from Toronto, Canada, voted against it for what he called political reasons. He cited gay marriage votes in several states last year where voters overwhelmingly sided against the institution.
"It's very unusual for an organization like ours to take on an issue so contrary to where public sentiment is," he said. "It's a little bit like poking your finger in the eye of the public when so much of the public seems to be against it."
Forty states bar same-sex marriages, including some that prohibit same-sex couples from enjoying many of the legal protections that heterosexual couples enjoy.
Last year, Georgians voted 3-to-1 for a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman. Some psychiatrists pushed a boycott of this week's conference because of the vote, but most APA members opted to attend, officials said.
Other mental health groups have adopted similar positions on gay marriage in the past year. In July, the American Psychological Association adopted a position statement that said research showed that discrimination based on sexual orientation "detrimentally affects the psychological, physical, social and economic well-being of lesbian, gay and bisexual individuals."
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