Gays Yes, Contras No

I doubt many of you remember that fantastic N Y Daily News headline from back in the spring of 1986. The same day N Y's City Council voted for it's non-discrimintation law, the U S House of Representatives cut off Reagan's funding of the Contras in Nicaragua. Ahhhh, being a lefty back then seemed to mean so much more! N Y State is about to get it's own version of that law, thanks to the Senate here passing SONDA. It's an empty feeling, though, when you think about it. Not just that living in the city we are supposedly already protected, but being the 13th state to finally pass such a measure merely means we can be a bit less embarassed (New Yorkers put down New Jersey all the time, but they had theirs 10 years ago). And leaving out transgendered folks? Maybe it would've been an impossible fight, but my gut tells me - what's the point of legal protections if it doesn't reach people who are most likely to get fucked over?.........

and media coverage. Ugh. Yeah, I know you are supposed to have "balance" - so the dutiful New York Times story included the remarks of a few people who happened to have anti-gay signs on the steps of the Captiol, while the CNN story gave just the bare-bones facts. Of course, I also noticed pigeons crapping on the steps of the Captiol during the vote as well, but the Times failed to report that.