Tag Archives: gay rights

Decade

Posted on December 31, 2019 by Callen Harty

As 2019 comes to an end, it seems like a good time to look back at the last decade. While mathematically, the new decade doesn’t start until next January, it is the start of the 2020s and many, if not … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 2019, 2020, A Room of One's Own, Ann Arbor, anti-Nazi, Arcadia Books, Art & Soul Innovations, Artistic Director, artists, B-52s, Backyard Hero, Benton Harbor, Black lives matter, blog posts, Board of Directors, Brian WIld, Bristlecone Project, Broom Street Theater, Cable, California, Cher, Chicago, child sex abuse, Christmas, community, Community Shares of Wisconsin, concerts, Courage Award, Cyndi Lauper, Dan Levin, death, decade, defibrillator, dementia, Dennis DeYoung, documentary, Donal Clancy, Downtown Madison, Dylan Doyle, Eau Claire, Facebook, Filthy Director, Fitz & the Tantrums, gay rights, Green Bay, Holly Near, Hollywood, ice caves, Invisble Boy, Jake Miller, KC & the Sunshine Band, Keshena, Lake Amnicon, Lake Superior, lighthouse, Lisa Lampanelli, Loretta Lynn, Los Lobos, Madison, male sexual assault, MaleSurivor, Maroon 5, Matt Nathanson, Menominie, mentor, Milwaukee Brewers, Milwaukee Pride, Monona Lakeside Neighbors, mother, Naked Eyes, nature center, Newark, Night Ranger, Oak Creek, Omaha, OutReach, Ozarks, Panic at the Disco, Paths to Healing, peace, Perfect Harmony, Peter Frampton, Plain White T's, political rallies, positive, protests, Proud Theater, R. J. Helton, rallies, Rodney Atkins, Roger Waters, Romantics, Rory Makem, San Antonio, Sandra Bernhard, Sikh temple shooting, Solidarity Sing Along, Solidarity with Child Abuse Victims/Survivors, Spring Green, St. Louis, State Street, submarine, survivor, tall ship, Tampa, Tim McIlrath, Tom Morello, travel, Two Harbors, Underserved Populations work group, ventricular tachycardia, vigils, Vilas County, Wabasha, Walker regime, Washington DC, Wayne Kramer, WCASA, We Shall Overcome, Wil-Mar Neighborhood Center, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Capitol, Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault, Wisconsin Public Radio, Your Wisconsin Authors | Leave a comment

Out and Proud

Posted on May 27, 2019 by Callen Harty

Almost fifty years ago, Stonewall happened. At the time, gay sex was illegal in every state. Lesbians and gays could be arrested simply for congregating in the same place, and the police would occasionally raid bars known to be gay … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 10% Society, American Psychiatric Association, authentic self, closeted, come out, David Clarenbach, Devil's Lake, discrimination, employment, gay rights, gay rights bill, gay sex, gays, homosexuality, housing, identity, Larry Acherman, Lee Sherman Dreyfus, lesbians, LGBT, life partner, love, Madison, Mark Prestegard, Matthew Alexander, mental illnesses, MIdwest, New York City, out, OutReach, police, proud, Proud Theater, public accomodations, queer, queerness, sexuality, social studies, Stonewall, Stonewall Inn, The Pride Society, University of Wisconsin, UW-Platteville, UW-Stevens Point, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Assembly, YMCA | Leave a comment

The Political Pendulum

Posted on November 16, 2017 by Callen Harty

Back in 2003 Wisconsin’s former governor, Lee Sherman Dreyfus, won the first-ever Courage Award from OutReach, Madison’s lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender (LGBT) community center. It was a long overdue recognition for his signing of the nation’s first gay rights law in 1982. In … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged American empire, Bernie Sanders, Bible, Bill Clinton, Caesar, candidate, Christian right, Christianity, church and state, Citizens United, city council, conservative Christian movement, corporate America, county board, Courage Award, Dark Ages, Democratic party, Dennis Kucinich, elections, environment, gay rights, George McGovern, God, gospel of prosperity, Isthmus, Jesus, Lee Sherman Dreyfus, left, left-wingers, LGBT, LGBT rights, liberal, Madison, media, megachurches, Mitch McConnell, money, money mandate, money-changers, nation, Oklahoma, OutReach, Paul Wellstone, political pendulum, power, Presidency, progressive, progressive party, racism, reality television, Republican party, right-wingers, Roe vs. Wade, Ronald Reagan, Roy Moore, school board, Supreme Court, Trump, unions, voters, Wisconsin, workers rights | Leave a comment

A Queer View of the Incoming Administration

Posted on December 13, 2016 by Callen Harty

Likely most people have noticed the Orwellian nature of Donald Trump’s picks for his Cabinet and other roles in his upcoming White House, which is more appropriately named than ever with Stephen Bannon as one of his top advisors. There … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged abortion, AIDS, Alabama, Ambassador to the United Nations, anti-gay, anti-Semitic, Attorney General, beastiality, Ben Carson, Betsy DeVos, bisexual, Breitbart News, Cabinet, charter schools, Chief of Staff, Chris Sommerfeldt, CIA, climate denier, closet cases, Congress, conversion therapy, discrimination, domestic issues, Don't Ask Don't Tell, Donald Trump, Education Secretary, Elaine Chao, Employment Non-Discrimination Act, ENDA, Environmental Protection AGency, Family Research Council, First Amendment Protection Act, Focus on the Family, gay, gay rights, Goldman Sachs, hate crimes, hate group, Health and Human Services, homophobic, Housing and Urban Development, Human Rights Campaign, Indiana Governor, James Mattis, Jeff Sessions, John Kelly, John Riley, K. T. McFarland, Ken Blackwell, Labor Secretary, lesbian, LGBT, LGBT lifestyle, Log Cabin Republicans, marriage equality, Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Act, Metro Weekly, Michael Flynn, Mike Pence, Mike Pompeo, misogynist, National Security Advisor, New York Daily News, New York Times Magazine, Nikki Haley, Ohio, Orwell, President Obama, public education, queer, racist, Reince Priebus, religious freedom, representative, Republican National Committee, Right Wing Watch, Secretary of Defense, Secretary of Homeland Security, Secretary of Transportation, sexuality, South Carolina, Southern Poverty Law Center, Stephen Bannon, Steven Mnuchin, Supreme Court, The Advocate, Tom Price, transgender, University of Alabama, Vice-President, Violence Against Women Act, vouchers, White House | 1 Comment

On the Milwaukee Riot

Posted on August 14, 2016 by Callen Harty

Anyone who has known me for a long time knows that I have been a pacifist since I was a child. I have stopped fights, marched for peace, and have done what little I can to make this a more … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged A Christmas Story, abuse, achievement gap, African-Americans, American revolution, black man, bullying, colonies, Declaration of Independence, Derek Williams, Dontre Hamilton, drag queens, Driving while Black, DWB, educational disparity, emotion, fear, freedom, gay rights, harassment, incarceration rate, injustice, Jay Anderson, King of England, LGBT community, liberation, logic, Mafia, Martin Luther King Jr., Milwaukee, minority queer folk, New York City, oppressive laws, pacifist, PBS, peace, police, police aggression, police raids, political act, poverty, protests, queer, racial justice, racism, Ralphie, riot, segregation, Stonewall Rebellion, taxation without representation, trust, underdog, unemployment, unfairness, unheard, United States, violence, war, Wauwatosa, White folks, white privilege, Wisconsin | Leave a comment

Letter to the Mix, 105.1

Posted on May 4, 2016 by Callen Harty

To whom it may concern: I just wanted to let your station know that in case you didn’t realize it this is 2016. The modern gay rights movement started with the Stonewall Rebellion in 1969. Almost 50 years later I … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Federal Communications Commission, gay fathers, gay rights, gender stereotyping, homophobia, lesbian bashing, lesbian mothers, radio show, sexist, Slacker and Steve, Stonewall Rebellion, The Mix 105.1 | Leave a comment

Wisconsin Justice

Posted on April 6, 2016 by Callen Harty

Inexperienced, unqualified, bigoted, highly partisan, and beholden to rich supporters. This is Wisconsin justice in 2016. As a gay man, as a citizen of this once-great state, as a person whose family has lived here since 1827, I am so far beyond … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged abortion, AIDS, anti-Democrat, anti-women, Camille Paglia, conservative Governor Scott Walker, Constitutuion, contraception, corporate shill, discrimination, faggot, gay, gay rights, Holocaust, homophobic, Joanne Kloppenburg, jurist, Justice Patrick Crook, lesbian, Milwaukee County Circuit Court, non-partisan, pedophiles, personhood, precedent, queer, rape, Rebecca Bradley, right-wing, sexual abuse, slavery, suicide, victim blaming, Willie Horton, Wisconsin Club for Growth, Wisconsin Court of Appeals, Wisconsin Justice, Wisconsin Right to Life, Wisconsin Supreme Court | 1 Comment

On Marriage and Equality

Posted on June 26, 2015 by Callen Harty

It was the late 1970s and I was struggling with my identity. I knew I was gay but I didn’t know how I could be gay. The Stonewall Rebellion, considered the watershed event of the modern gay rights movement, was not even … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged African-Americans, amendment, come out, Defense of Marriage Act, discrmination, DOMA, equality, Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Sex but Were Afraid to Ask, gay, gay rights, homosexuality, immigrants, lesbian, love, marriage, marriage equality, MAssachusetts, oppressed, preference, queer, same-sex marriage, Scott Walker, second class citizens, sexual relations, Stonewall Rebellion, Supreme Court, union, Wisconsin | 1 Comment

Maybe the Best Christmas Present Ever

Posted on December 26, 2014 by Callen Harty

Even as a little boy Christmas for me was never mostly about the gifts and the commercialism that mark the season in this country. As a child in a strict Irish-Catholic family it was about the celebration of the birth … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged A Family Matter: A Parents' Guide to Homosexuality, Amish, Aunt Avene, blessing, Brian WIld, Christmas, Christmas Eve, come out, Currier & Ives, dementia, driftless area, engaged, family, gay rights, Happy New Year, holiday, hometown, homosexuality, honesty, humor, Ireland, Irish, Irish-Catholic, Jesus, justice, Madison, Merry Christmas, Mom, mother, pierced ear, Platteville, political statement, potato famine, Santa Claus, Shullsburg, sprituality, Wisconsin, Yahtzee | 2 Comments

More than Benefits

Posted on October 8, 2014 by Callen Harty

Often when the subject of marriage equality comes up there is talk of the financial benefits of marriage, especially in America where everything is typically reduced to the bottom line of expenses and profits, where people often look most to … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged acceptance, adoption, AIDS, America, American Psychiatric Association, benefits, bottom line, Brian, closet, commitment, discrimination, domestic partnership, economy, electroshock, engagement, family, gay, gay bars, gay rights, homosexual, human family, inheritance, joint income tax returns, legislative hearings, lesbians, LGBT, love, marriage, marriage equality, matrimony, medical decisions, next of kin, partner, people of color, Platteville Wisconsin, profits, queer, retirement, same-sex marriage, second class citizenship, Social Security, Stonewall Rebellion, straight, survivor benefits, transgender, Veterans’ Administration, wedding, Wisconsin | Leave a comment

What It’s Like to Be Gay in America Today to Me

Posted on November 5, 2013 by Callen Harty

The last few days have brought some really great news for queer America, but it has to be tempered with the reality of living life as a gay man–or lesbian, bi, trans, or other alternative orientations and ways to express … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged bi, Chuck Hagel, Constitutional amendment, David Clarenbach, District of Columbia, Don't Ask Don't Tell, employment discrimination, Employment Non-Discrimination Act, ENDA, gay, gay marriage, gay rights, gender, gender expression, House of Representatives, Illinois, integration, John Boehner, lesbian, LGBT, Marquette University Law School, marriage equality, military, orientation, Pat Quinn, Pentagon, post-homophobic America, post-racial America, queer America, Russia, same-sex marriage, Senate, Supreme Court, trans, Uganda, West Point, Wisconsin | Leave a comment

Letter to Department of Administration on Proposed Rule Changes

Posted on July 13, 2013 by Callen Harty

This is a copy of the e-mail I just sent to Donna Sorenson of the Wisconsin Department of Administration regarding proposed rules changes that will affect Capitol access. The only change is that I’ve removed my contact information from the … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged administrative code, Badger state, bureaucrats, Capitol, citizens, Constitution, demonstrations, Donna Sorenson, equal rights, fascism, frac sand, free speech, freedom, gay rights, Gogebic Taconite, government, highway numbering, legislators, limit speech, ore, permits, political pendulum, protected classes, protests, public forum, representative, resource, rules, town square, unemployment compensation, Wisconsin Department of Administration | 4 Comments