Every once in a while it is important for us to remember why we fight. To some of us, those of us who raise our voices every day in protest of the hatred we see in the world, the answer seems obvious. We fight for equality. But when one looks closer at that word, that reason, the rationale is not as easily defined as one would wish. Is it equality under the law? Equality in the eyes of our friends? Our families?

Every person has a reason why they fight this struggle for LGBT rights. Every person has a story that makes it that much more personal to them. I have a story. I have a dozen stories to tell you about why I fight every day for LGBT equality. I have another dozen stories for why I fight for racial equality, for class equality, for gender equality. I could tell a hundred thousand stories and they would all be different and they would all be the same.

But it all boils down to one simple thing. I, and all others who stand with me, fight for the recognition of every person’s dignity and inherent value.

Think about that for a second. Let it roll around in your head. Every person’s dignity and value. It’s not an easy concept – that every person has value.

That is why, to me, work on LGBT rights is inextricably intertwined with all other social justice movements. I am not just fighting for my dignity or your dignity but for the idea that each person has the same inherent dignity and value. That is equality.

When we win anti-discrimination laws, have a GSA in every school, an out politician in every statehouse, marriage equality in every state, the fight, for me, will have just begun. Legal recognition is the least of the battles. The greater battle has been fought, is being fought and will continue to be fought in the hearts of people throughout the world.

I fight for a world where all people are not just viewed under the law as equal, but where all people view all people as equal.

So long as a single sliver of inequality exists in the heart of just one person I will not stop fighting.

This is why I fight. Why do you?

Bush then leans over to kiss another congresswoman, but Bachmann is still holding on. Bachmann then gets more attention, a kiss and an embrace from the president. A few seconds later, Bachman's hand finally comes off the presidential shoulder.

Some, such as Wayne Besen of Truth Wins Out, argue that it is the ex-gay movement that poses the greatest threat to LGBT equality. I simply cannot help but agree.

The ex-gay movement says sexual orientation and gender identity can be changed through religious conviction and therapy. They teach a doctrine of “love the sinner; hate the sin” that is rapidly being embraced by the evangelical Christian community, a community which over 50% of Americans identify with. These beliefs create an atmosphere that condemns LGBT individuals, perpetuating verbal and emotional violence, while falsely convincing people that they are LGBT-supportive.

The ex-gay movement can trace its origins far back in history, including to Nazi Germany, where some of the original experiments on “changing” sexuality were conducted. Today, therapy can include anything from religious consultation to electro-shock therapy (yeah, it still happens). For more information on the ex-gay movement visit Truth Wins Out.

But the real danger comes from the misinformation the ex-gay movement uses to indoctrinate well-meaning religious individuals. The belief that sexual orientation can be changed is hardly novel, however the perpetuation of this myth to a new and increasingly LGBT-friendly generation does worlds of harm to both LGBT and allied youth. People begin to believe that they can be ‘tolerant’ of LGBT people while still trying to change them. However, it is theis often loudly spoken belief that LGBT individuals can and should change that does the most harm.

Take, for example, the case that PageOneQ recently exposed in Montgomery County Maryland. Due to a fluke in the schools flyering policy, an ex-gay group, P-FOX(Parents and Friends of Ex-gays) will be the only organization providing materials to the district’s schools on February 1^st. Thousands of students will be exposed to the anti-gay views of this organization while being provided no opposite viewpoint that affirms LGBT individuals.

How many of those students will begin to believe that they can ‘tolerate’ their friends’ sexuality while continually trying to change them? How many LGBT students will be told they should change or else go to hell by friends who think they are doing the right thing? LGBT individuals already face huge amounts of societal pressure to not accept their own identity. Every day four more youth kill themselves because of their queer identity and the verbal violence that surrounds them. Adding in friends who think they are helping but are in fact only adding to that verbal violence does not help the situation that most LGBT individuals face. The mental and emotional harm is done is apparent. And because of the ex-gay movement these students will continue to think that they are being tolerant of LGBT individuals and have no need to change themselves. After all, to christians who have bought into the ex-gay messaging, it’s the LGBT kids who need to change and become better people, not them.

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Mike,

I understand you had some questions about the posting of the non-discrimination policy on the DCCC website.

The non-discrimination policy is listed on our individual job descriptions -- we're happy to post it on the jobs page also -- since it is on the descriptions themselves we didn't think to post on main page -- but we will make sure that is changed. I have been assured that this will be done by cob at the latest. If there is anything else I can assist with—please don’t hesitate to ask.

Best
[name redacted]

“My strongest contributions were simply standing up and talking about these issues on the floor, in caucuses and when it came up for debate. There’s something to be said for speaking up for equality.”

“It was the most gratifying thing that’s ever happened to me. It was a huge burden that was lifted from me.”

The DNC is committed to a policy of equal employment opportunity. It is our policy to recruit, hire, train, promote and administer any and all personnel actions without regard to sex, race, age, color, creed, national origin, religion, economic status, sexual orientation, ethnic identity or physical disability, or any other legally protected basis. The DNC will not tolerate any unlawful discrimination and any such conduct is prohibited.

All job openings are to be posted internally and priority consideration should be given to current staff and minorities. Within certain limitations, all new employees should be vetted before hire.

As I've mentioned before, we do not put any human resources or personnel-related documents on our website. Our site is devoted solely to providing Democrats and common-sense voters with the tools they need to interact with candidates and state parties, help disseminate our party's message, and help Democrats win up and down the ballot in every state.

In a tearful videotaped message Sunday to his congregation, the senior pastor of a thriving evangelical megachurch in south metro Denver confessed to sexual relations with other men and announced he had voluntarily resigned his pulpit.

A month ago, the Rev. Paul Barnes of Grace Chapel in Doug las County preached to his 2,100-member congregation about integrity and grace in the aftermath of the Ted Haggard drugs-and-gay-sex scandal.

Now, the 54-year-old Barnes joins Haggard as a fallen evangelical minister who preached that homosexuality was a sin but grappled with a hidden life.

On Nov. 5, the Rev. Paul Barnes scrapped his prepared sermon. The Rev. Ted Haggard scandal was still unfolding, and he couldn't let it go unnoticed.

So Barnes wrote a new sermon: "Integrity, Sin and Grace."

Barnes defined integrity as "being the same on the outside as you are on the inside."

All people come to God broken, he said. Maybe it's alcoholism, he said. Or a bad temper. Or pornography. Some people overcome their problems; others continue to live with them, he said.

"Most of us, if the truth were known, we wear masks," Barnes said. "... Sometimes, we wear masks because we want to be appear more perfect than we are. But the reality of it is, all of us are so very imperfect."

A House ethics panel announced today Republican members of congress showed 'disconcerting unwillingness' and negligence in handling inappropriate e-mails sent from former Congressman Mark Foley (R-FL) to underage pages, RAW STORY has learned.

A report set to be issued by the panel indicates that Republican leadership failed to protect the teens from Foley's behavior.

However, the panel also concluded that no specific House rules were broken in handling the matter, and no disciplinary action should be taken against the parties found to be negligent.

Foley resigned in his sixth term in late September after emails and sexually explicit instant messages to House interns surfaced.

This is a totally unconfirmed Internet rumor. We repeat, this is a totally unconfirmed Internet rumor sent to us by a reader: Robert Traynham, the spokesman for recently defeated, extremely anti-gay Senator Rick Santorum, is rumored to be the choice of....