Yeah, it's been awhile

Forgive me. Life has gotten the better of me. I'm finding it harder and harder to chronicle the gay events in our city. In fact, I feel it was a bit egotistical for me to try. While I'm not abandoning this site altogether, I feel it's best I go back to writing what I write best, general reflections on life and other ephemera.

For now look for me on OpenSalon: http://open.salon.com/blog/disgruntledwhistlepig. I'm going to try and at least post weekly there.

Thanks for reading!

Les

Missouri Wine Country Restaurant Review: Sybil's

Another of those recommendations from my bosses that I had to try. After growing up thinking McDonald's was a special treat, and that any restaurant that seated you before taking your order was "fancy", my tastes have evolved.

About a half mile north of I-44 in the little town of St. James is a HUGE house with a great menu. Sybil's looks like something taken straight out of a plantation picture, but is one of the best dining experiences I've had in mid-Missouri.

My boyfriend and I had decided to go for a drive and to visit a friend of mine who will be teaching in mid-MO this year. (Really, this is just a great excuse for me to go get wine. There's the moral of the story!) I had heard of Sybil's from my bosses, as mentioned, but figured I'd not likely have a reason to go anytime soon.

We drove to the restaurant, and had no problems finding parking, as the lot is completely paved. Tied to what I can only imagine is a decorator's store, Sybil's provides a very elegant outlet for those seeking both good food and a high-class environment.

Walking in to the main doors, I cringed only slightly inside, thinking that my ideas had finally gotten the better of me. Everything screamed "too good for you." Especially since most of the items on display came complete with a price tag. If you found something you wanted to learn more about purchasing, you simply ask the waitress, I guess.

The friend teaching in the area had heard of, but never been to, the restaurant. And all she heard was "kind of expensive." But she had apparently not heard the full story. While the menu was likely on the pricy side for dinner, lunch was incredibly reasonable. It was actually pretty comparable to the prices of many chain sit-down places for the lunch menu. And surprisingly, several of the patrons were in shorts and sandals through the lunch period. We all felt at home in jeans and polo shirts.

My friend took advantage of a new lunch item they were trying out, a steak quesadilla. My boy went for the french dip sandwich with buffalo fries, and I decided to have the pulled pork barbecue sandwich with steak fries.

The lunch was great, and the planning was smart; the dessert menu was printed seperately, and brought to the table after we had completed our dishes. We tried the tiramisu and the peanut butter pie. Both were decadent and flavorful.

If you are in the St. James area, you will undoubtedly enjoy Sybil's. Between the food, the service, and the ambiance, you'll feel like you're being spoiled--even if you aren't paying through the nose for it. I would recommend making a reservation for any typical dinner or lunch time.

Restaurant Review: TONG'S

Hearing about this place a few weeks ago from my bosses, I finally was given the chance to try Tong's this weekend with my beau. We both enjoy Thai food, and so it made sense to try a new place out.

Honestly, if you weren't aware that the restaurant existed, you might not even know to look for it. But if you're reading this, you are in for a treat. This is a gem of a restaurant, hidden away in a shopping center in the southern part of the city off Campbell. If you are familiar with the South Campbell Starbucks, head 4 blocks north to find Tong's. They are on the same side of the road.

We arrived about 7 p.m. on a Saturday evening to a nearly-empty parking lot. Walking in, we were seated immediately at a quiet table for two near the back.

This restaurant is extremely accessible. We were seated in an upper section, and ramps were our only way to get there. If you tend to be clumsy (like I occasionally can be), you don't have to worry about stairs...or rumpled carpeting. Just your own feet!

While I can't say much for the waitress's knowledge of the menu itself, I will say that it turned out to be a really great dining experience. To whet our appetites, the man and I enjoyed Chinese beer, reasonably priced bottles for foreign lager, as we thumbed through the menu.

Clearly marked in the menu was something I was glad to see; the chef had gone to great lengths to explain his style of cooking, and his willingness to help those who are attempting to dine healthy. This had been one of the reasons I was interested in trying Tong's originally. My bosses are both on Weight Watchers, and spoke highly of the staff's willingness to alter the dishes to taste, as well as to fit one's dietary needs. (The example my boss offered was that she didn't want beef, but the rest of the dish sounded great; the waitress offered to change out the beef for shrimp.)

My boyfriend went with a basic beef, noodle, and broccoli dish. I decided to be the seafood eater this time, opting for Grouper with a Basil Garlic Sauce. My dish was served with seasonable steamed vegetables, as well as steamed rice. The fish was breaded, but it was light. Although I asked for mild, it was a little more spicy than I regularly desire. Still, it was delicious...and overly filling. I had to request a box.

While our particular waitress wasn't knowledgeable about specific menu items, I was impressed with the staff overall. Our plates were brought to us when ready by another member of the serving staff. Our water glasses were kept appropriately full (one of my pet peeves, especially when eating spicy foods). We were even asked if we wanted a second beer before our glasses reached the halfway mark.

The prices were reasonable, overall. For two to dine at dinner, we spent what I would consider a reasonable "date" price (i.e., under $50, including tip). Keeping in mind that I had seafood, and we each had beer, that was really more than reasonable. There were, however, much less expensive options available.

Please support this local restaurant! I want to be sure that we keep good, reasonably priced, and healthy options available to us in Springfield. I would feel comfortable bringing friends here, but be sure you create your own dish if you plan to bring children (yes, there's a menu option for that!), since even "mild" can be more than a little spicy.

The joy of cooking...well, for me, anyway.

I haven't posted in a while on GLITQC, mostly because anything I'm normally interested in speaking about doesn't really fit with things here. But you can catch more of my antics on my other blog, wildelife: http://wildefanblog.blogspot.com/, you know, in case you're interested. You're probably not. But that's okay.

Anyway, I'm housesitting for a lovely gay couple this week. I like them. They're like my "fairy god-gays". (Is that redundant?)

They have respectively been in my world since my early college years. And as I got further along in my education, they became more involved. One was even my advisor in grad school.

There are four reasons I like housesitting for them.

1) They have a great shower...two of them, in fact. And I mean...FANTABULOUSLY FANTASTIC! They are the full massage shower heads...and they have great water pressure. All I'm saying is it's not a bad thing that I can't afford a regular massage--this'll do.

2) They're good guys. I like them. Simple as that.

3) They don't hide their porn collection. Seriously. The first time I housesat for them, it took less than 5 minutes to find it. Because it was in the DVD rack of the enterntainment center. I thought their tastes were a little odd--it was all super-cheesy, but one finally explained it to me that they used to host "brunch & porn" parties.

4) Their kitchen is serious. HUGE convection oven. 6-burner range, complete with grill plates. And for the last two evenings, a wonderful reason to cook.

I'm not a professional chef by any stretch of the imagination, but most of my friends who have been treated to my cooking have been glad to be near my culinary skills. I've been able to prepare enough meals for my parents and grandmother (a former head cook for a school district) that they willingly ask me to prepare the meals when I visit.

The last two evenings have been filled with fish: baked Chilean Sea Bass (last night) and baked Grouper (tonight). I'm trying the healthy thing. Except for pasta. And bread. I have no qualms with gorging myself on that fantastic stuff!

All of the interest in seafood is rooted in one great idea...I want to thoroughly impress my man this weekend. He's a seafood fan, especially white fish. I am getting there, certainly. Not perfection, but closer to it than a year ago.

Les has asked me to write a couple of blogs on food before--and I'll certainly try to get some new ones in before long. Both Branson and Queen City places. But I figured for tonight, it'd be good to share a little bit of cooking.

Happy dining, all!

The critter count

So for weeks now the wife and I have been chuckling about all the wild life she sees on her way to work in the wee hours of the morning. We finally decided that if someone could throw up a site where people posted their indiscretions via text than there was nothing wrong with posting the nightly critter count.

You'll also note a new links addition at right. I added in some of the fun places on the web I visit routinely. Hillbillie Gourmet is my creation and it's a work in progress. I don't have much posted there but I'm working on it. If you have any suggestions, please feel free to send me an email.

Chortle ...

see more Funny Graphs

Dragtastic

“We’re three numbers into the drag show and the Lady GaGa songs are all gone!” – Post on Texts from Last Night

Grab your disco stick kids (oh YES I DID go there) and come out to the Edge this Saturday night. Marnie Rae Holiday is kicking off her new show cast. Each month the fabulous Marnie Rae will appear with Jennifer Holiday, Doc Holiday, Portia D’Lish and Gunner Holiday.

That’s a whole lotta Holiday comin’ atcha.

I’m certain the famous Marnie Rae Hotbox will make an appearance, and I’ve heard rumblings that Doc Holiday may pull something out of his kit bag.

Show starts at 10:45 pm. My advice: Get there by 9:45,grab a beer (bottled) and kick back and watch a really great show. The Wife and I will likely be in the house, so drop on by and say hello.

And when it's all over, just dance.

Book club first meeting

I’ve gotten an overwhelming number of emails about the book club and I’m very excited so many of you are interested! I’ve started a Yahoo Group to keep everyone informed, so if you want to take part in our activities please join. The group’s homepage is here: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/biblianonspringfieldmo/


Our first meeting will be August 29 at 1 p.m. at Big Momma’s located at 217 E Commercial Street. Our first book will be Louise Rafkin’s Other People’s Dirt. Here’s the Kirkus Review on the book:

Into this life a chance for liberating creativity fell, when Rafkin narrowly escaped a straight-on march into the literary world of academia and headed into the trenches of ``other people's dirt.'' This book documents her experiences as seen from the underbelly of day-to-day life through anecdote and wry observation: dust balls and food stains, what laundry reveals and conceals, the nature of the need to clean, and the strange idiosyncrasies of those who will pay others to put order in their disorderly lives. Brief chapters cover stints in the homes of hoarders, the simply overworked, the impersonal nit-pickers, perverts, and even a suicide. In a final chapter, Rafkin travels to Japan to live with the Ittoen community, a group of homeless individuals committed to cleaning up the immediate world. Her thoughts on the need for order hint at the author's underlying belief: She would like to share the Ittoen ``nonattachment to worldly goods.'' But her comments on Japan are banal, and her search for any philosophy in what a house cleaner knows remains lifeless as long as she poses questions such as, If a forest is swept and no one sees it, was it ever really swept? . . . would I ever stop trying to achieve Home-Ec Student of the Year?'' Rafkin's breezy matter-of-factness only barely obscures a lot of cynical ranting about people, places, and things. Only at the very end does she confide her personal take on what her meanderings have meant in a final homeward gaze, the long-lost San Francisco girl at last getting real: ``It was time to clean house.'' More adventure than memoir, this book is odd and not all that entertaining. (Author tour) -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

The book can be purchased at Amazon used for a little as .01 plus shipping: http://www.amazon.com/Other-Peoples-Dirt-Housecleaners-Adventures/dp/0452280818/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1248465230&sr=1-1

Book Club!

I’ve gotten together a group of five women who are interested in forming a book club. We will meet monthly on Saturday afternoon at a local coffee house and discuss a book chosen by the group’s members. The books will range from mainstream to LGBTQ themed depending on the group’s preferences. We're already mulling over what our first book will be!

We'd like to have a few more members, so if you're interested please shoot me an email at lesbianinthequeencity@gmail.com.

Thanks!
Les

ENDA is not a violation of the fundies First Amendment rights

The Wife heard an interesting tid bit on the radio that Focus on the Family is crying that ENDA (Employee Non-Discrimination Act) violates their First Amendment Rights to freedom of religion. They've been griping about this for some time actually. Apparently Focus on the Family is too busy gay bashing to really understand what, precisely, the First Amendment protects. The short answer is it doesn't completely protect you in the workplace. The far right attempted to use this same tired argument against racial discrimination and sexual harassment ... it didn't work.

I spoke to the Paternal Unit, nationally recognized free speech expert Paul McMasters, who didn't use all the profanity I wanted to but basically agreed that Focus on the Family is way off base. He pointed me in the direction of numerous articles showing how a blogger's free speech OUTSIDE the workplace could be controlled by his or her employer. Read, you can get fired for what you say publicly if your boss doesn't like it.

Now, let's do a little check up here: the government can make no law governing your speech or religious practices. It's a bit more complicated when it comes to your boss. Especially if your boss isn't the Federal Government.

Dear Old Dad pointed me to this article, by lawyer David Hudson, on religious freedom in the workplace. The important take aways from the article are as follows:

*Public employees have the protections of the First Amendment and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the major federal anti-discrimination law that covers virtually all public and private employers with 15 or more full-time employees. Employees in the executive branch of the federal government are also covered by the "White House Guidelines on Religious Exercise and Religious Expression in the Federal Workplace."

*Title VII generally prohibits an employer from discriminating against employees on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin or religion. Under Title VII, an employer must reasonably accommodate an employee’s religion unless doing so would create an “undue hardship.”

*The First Amendment's free-speech and free-exercises clause also protect public employees’ religious speech. The free-exercise clause provides that the government may not prevent individuals from freely practicing their religious faith. Public employees do not forfeit all of their free-exercise rights when they take a government job. If a government employer or workplace rule targets an employee’s religious speech and causes a substantial burden on his or her religious faith, it can be justified only if the employer shows a compelling interest. More often employer policies do not intentionally target an employee’s religious faith but have an incidental impact.

*In litigation, many public employers assert that they silenced an employee’s religious expression to avoid an establishment-clause conflict. The argument is that if the employer allows employees to speak about their religious faith on the job, the public will believe that the employer is sanctioning or endorsing the religious views.

You'll note all of that pertains to public employers. Private sector employers can have even more restrictions on their employees behavior in the workplace. They cannot, however, discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex or national origin. ENDA simply aims to add sexual orientation and gender identity to that.

If you attempted to file suit against your employer because you felt that your boss's hiring of a Native American, Latino, African-American, fill in the ethnicity here person, violated your First Amendment rights you'd be laughed out of court. Likewise, while your boss can't keep you from going to church he or she can regulate what you say about it in the office.

Gay people in the workforce are not going to keep anyone from praying or going to church. Therefore they really can't hurt anyone's religious freedoms. The Focus on the Family folks are still entitled to their "gay is evil" opinion but they won't be able use it to discriminate against the drag queen in the cube next to them.

Barbara Ehrenreich on Gay Marriage

My interest in Barbara Ehrenreich began with her book Nickled and Dimed, a definite MUST for anyone who thinks that it's entirely on the shoulders of the hourly-wage employee if they're not affluent and successful. I also suggest following that one up with her look at white-collar work, Bait and Switch. She shows what really goes on in the attempt to survive--or join--the world of work.

Cheeky to a near-fault, Ehrenreich has provided some of the most biting social commentary in her book This Land is Their Land. And one of the reasons I bought the book was because of her take on same-sex marriage.

I actually read this book a few months back, but I found my copy in the backseat of the car. And my thoughts immediately went here.

In the form of satire, Ehrenreich posits that what's missing from the PR effort in gay marriage is to show how we're doing just great without the legal rights. We can stay up all night partying, even if we're well past our party prime. We can leave relationships on a whim. Forget debates on kids! As one couple I know pointed out, they don't want a marriage: their mortgage is MUCH harder to get out of!

All this sound like too much? I understand...and laugh heartily at her humor!

My relationship is valid with or without the government stamp of approval. Unfortunately, what's not okay with me isn't simply the fundamental legal benefits of marriage. It's the fact that if my partner gets killed in an auto accident (Heaven forbid!), and has not established a health care directive, his estranged sister has more right to make decisions than me. In the event of his death--unless he has taken extreme precautions to set up the legal aspects--all of his belongings default to his family...despite our consistent communication, and his family's--well--lack, thereof.

There's a lot that won't be resolved by simply giving same-sex marriages the name "marriage". Churches will still debate the moral implications. Fights will still ensue. But are we arguing a moral point?

I noticed this idea today, too, because of Les's post on the DOMA lawsuit coming out of MA. Yes, it's time. And certainly, this has an infinitely better shot of passing the bar than anything else. But we need to be honest, here. Just getting DOMA off the record is a start--not a finish line.

And I have my own take on "DOMA", for its semantic implications...but that's another post entirely.

Save Bryce

As I was listening to OutQ on XM, Michelangelo Signorile was taking calls on the plight of 23 year old Bryce Faulkner. Faulkner is a pre-med student from El Dorado, Arkansas. His mother just found out he was gay and apparently isn't too happy about it.

According to the Rev. Brett Harris's website, Faulkner's family has threatened to take away their support of his college education and nearly everything else if he doesn't get "cured."(WARNING: You may want to turn the volume down on your computer, the Rev. Harris has lots of sounds on his site when you arrive)

Bryce Faulkner is a bright young pre-med student who, like many in college, was totally dependent upon his parents for survival. His car, his cell phone, his education, even his job was all connected to his parents purse strings. Bryce was making plans to come out to his parents, but before he had the opportunity to carry out these plans, his mother found his email password and discovered communications between he and his lover Travis Of Green Bay, Wisconsin. As any person from the south, especially those whom have a conservative fundamentalist family and has come out of the closet knows, the family can become quite volatile in their reaction to the news. Bryce is no exception to this. In order to manipulate Bryce into accepting "treatment" for his homosexuality, they took away everything and left him the choice of becoming homeless and destitute or going into therapy. As anyone can imagine, this wasn't much of a choice. Being in the closet in a small town left him no one to speak to or to seek help to get him through the transition from the closet and into the light of day. His family took away every resource he had and left him with no phone to call for help, a car to drive to any help that might be out there and no money to even take a bus to Wisconsin to be with his lover. The program he is going into is a 14 month program, one of the most severe and intense of these kinds of programs.

Bryce and Travis love one another deeply. The very reason Bryce was going to come out of the closet was in order to move closer to Travis because they wish to spend the rest of their lives together. Anyone who loves another can understand the turmoil and deep pain Travis is feeling right now. Having someone you love manipulated into pretending the love you share is an affront to God and unacceptable. Being manipulated into being cloistered away for over a year of intense brain washing techniques that tell you your homosexuality is a choice, your love is unnatural and you will sent to a place of fire and brimstone unless you submit to their philosophical interpretation of theology. Anyone one who has even the slightest knowledge of programs like those offered by Exodus International (a group that believes homosexuality is a choice and can be changed through prayer and counseling) can be spiritually demoralizing, psychologically destructive and emotionally devastating. As a person who has had someone close to them go through this kind of treatment, I make it my mission to help anyone who is forced to go into this kind of misguided and ill-informed rehabilitation programs.

Harris doesn't indicate where this deprogramming is going to take place, but the site has gotten a lot of notice and has spawned a FaceBook group as well as a Twitter account. According to the FaceBook page, the Faulkner's have threatened Harris with litigation saying they're being slandered. So far it's all a good deal of they said vs. they said, but none-the-less compelling stuff.

Many of us are or know folks who have family like this: deeply religious to the point they've decided it's their job to do God's judgment. All I can say is if parents attempted to stop their child from being left-handed or brown-eyed they'd be the ones being carted off to some form of deprogramming. Being gay, lesbian, queer, bi or trans-gendered is a TRAIT. It isn't something we choose. It isn't a lifestyle "choice." It's WHO WE ARE. GET USED TO IT. WE AREN'T GOING ANYWHERE.

Ahem. Stepping off the soap box now.

Frankly, if there are mental health professionals performing any sort of deprogramming they ought to have their license revoked for participating in junk science. My guess is that, more likely, poor Bryce has been sent to some religious institution that will "deprogram" him straight into a lifetime of self-destructive behavior.

Massachusetts sues over DOMA

FINALLY! The state of Massachusetts is suing the Federal Government over DOMA. From AP:

BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts is suing the federal government over a law that defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

State Attorney General Martha Coakley filed the lawsuit Wednesday in federal court in Boston. It says the federal Defense of Marriage Act interferes with the right of Massachusetts to define marriage as it sees fit.

The 1996 federal law denies federal recognition of gay marriage. Massachusetts was the first state to allow the practice.

The Boston-based Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders has already sued over the federal law. It says it discriminates against gay couples and is unconstitutional because it denies them access to federal benefits that other married couples receive.

Castro and Homosexuality, a la Merton

Getting married?

If you're planning a wedding, you're likely finding lots of dreck for same-sex couples out there on the web. Most of us find bits and pieces here and there and look to straight sites for guidance and it just doesn't work. Never fear, help is on the way.

Check out queerwedding.com. The web master and her partner just got married and she decided to help other couples plan their perfect ceremony. The site is still a work in progress. She's looking for any and all advice or info folks have to share.

I'll provide a link to her site on the side bar so you can easily go there and keep up with the progress!

Kris Dresen: comic genius

If you've been around this site for awhile you know I'm one of those late bloomers, came out at 35. When I was coming out, of course I was ravaging teh interwebz for anything and everything lesbian. I came across a rare gem in all that mess: Kris Dresen.

Dresen is a comic artist and she creates inky tableaus of we lesbians at our best and at our worst. And sometimes, she makes a serious funny. Follow the link, I guarantee you've experienced that conversation if not witnessed it.

In defense of hate speech, or what do you have against lima beans Les?

A recent poll suggests we as a country believe hate is on the rise. Rasmussen Reports’ study suggests the recent shooting at the Holocaust Museum and the assassination of a late term abortion doctor are likely contributors to the general feeling tensions are on the rise.

Public policy seems contradictory to that for the LGBTQ community. Barney Frank has introduced a version of ENDA that includes the Trans community. Seven states have legalized gay marriage. The Obama administration has made a nod towards benefits towards same-sex partners. It would seem that we’re gaining acceptance more and more.

But there always seems some backlash. The two incidents noted above aside, we had our own look at bald-faced bigotry when the Neo-Nazi’s showed up to protest Pride. There protest merely succeeded in making the event a success for the GLO organizers. But the hate-mongers' message was not missed.

Hate is still alive and well.

Attempts to quell the hate abound. Local lawmaker Sara Lampe has worked, so far unsuccessfully, to pass anti-bullying legislation. There are also many who wish to pass laws banning hate speech. The argument is we stop the hate speech before it escalates into violence.

I’m afraid it isn’t that simple. Stopping hate-fueled speech won’t stop the hate. The root cause here is the hate not the speech. That hate is going to exist whether the haters are silent or the loudest bigots on the block.

Let’s pretend for a minute I hate lima beans. Ok, no pretending, I REALLY hate lima beans. And I bitch all the time about what a scourge on the vegetable world lima beans are and how I’d like to burn every field that produces lima beans. Governor Nixon hears my rants and decides I’m a danger to Missouri’s farmers and passes a law that I’m not allowed to even say the word lima bean. That may shut me up, but it certainly won’t make me quit hating lima beans, or avoiding lima beans or even smashing them when I think no one is looking. In fact, it’s liable to make that behavior worse.

Yes those signs and words the Neo-Nazi’s brought to our Pride hurt and were hard to hear. But I’m glad they showed up. I’m glad they showed their faces. I’m glad I was able to look them in the eye. Because like it or not, now they can’t hate in a vacuum where we’re just a bunch of faceless fags.

Further, knowing they are around helps all of us to be vigilant. More importantly, law enforcement knows they are around. There were several of those young men whose FBI portfolio was created or got fatter that day. And at the very least, the speech gives them a vent for the vitriol they feel. While that vent isn’t enough for some, it’s enough for most.

This country has a long-standing tradition of allowing, accepting and even encouraging dissent, even when that dissent is difficult to hear. Dissent is the sincerest form of patriotism because without a flow of ideas, good and bad, this country may as well cease to exist. In a nation that is for the people, of the people and by the people there are going to be a wildly diverse collection of ideas and opinions. And those are surely going to clash from time to time.

Obama's benefits plan misses the mark

President Obama signed an Executive Order last night extending sick leave and long term care benefits to same-sex federal workers but does not go so far as to include health care or retirement benefits. Needless to say, there was much rancor over the slight nod in our direction.

U.S. Rep Jared Polis an openly gay Democrat from Colorado said:

“I am glad the president has decided to extend benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees. The exclusion of health care and retirement benefits because of DOMA, however, provides little real benefit to same-sex partners and is a far cry from the equality we seek. I again call on the president to repeal DOMA or work with Congress to end this law.”

Still the order is a step in the right direction. The Gay Rights Movement has suffered setbacks over the last year, but also cleared many hurdles. Seven states now have legalized gay marriage with still others working in that direction. Prop 8 was a stunning setback for California, but many believe the stage is set for a federal case to be made.

Outrage at the Moxie

The movie “Outrage” is coming to the Moxie on June 26. The film by documentary filmmaker Kirby Dick kicks Washington politicians out of the closet. These are the politicians who attempt to hide their sexuality by actively opposing gay rights legislation.

The film talks about Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho who found himself in hot water after “lewd” behavior in an airport and Sen. Edward L. Shrock, of Virginia, who resigned after being outed by The Advocate. The filmmakers also speak with some politicians, such as retired U.S. Representative Jim Kolbe who was out while in office.

Asked if he thought the film would be dismissed in a San Francisco Chronicle article, Dick says, “We spent nearly three years making this film, and we had a team of researchers. We made very sure that our cases were very strongly built. So, I'm 100 percent confident in our position.”

None-the-less the film will be controversial and make lots of folks in Washington uncomfortable if not angry.

Traditional marriage explained