La Parola

Welcome to La Parola La Parola was originally the monthly newsletter of the Gay Italian American Club, a small, private, nonpolitical, social and benevolent society of men and women in the San Francisco Bay Area since 1984. Summitlake.com La Parola has maintained this tradition since 1995. Our purpose remains the promotion of friendship and fellowship and to be a positive and benevolent force within the general community. Talking Crow Productions has been associated with our articles and essays since 1993.

Recent Posts to La Parola

Perry v. Schwarzenegger

No matter where you thought you stood on "gay marriage", it's time to brush up on the constitutional issues and new legal developments. Perry v. Schwarzenegger may yet be the case that decides which U.S. citizens will be permitted the full rights and prerogatives of U.S. citizenship. If this fails, it will be understood as further proof that the law still sanctions selective discrimination in the United States. Read Perry vs Schwarzenegger in La Parola.

NJ Senate defeats gay marriage bill
New Jersey gay rights activists said: we want the same constitutional protections as everybody else. We're United States citizens seeking legal classification as United States citizens. We want legal recognition of our permanent partnerships. A majority of New Jersey's state senators said: "Oh no you don't." The AP news release follows ... Posted January 07, 2010

Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act
PFLAG's online newsroom issued a news release on October 22 which I happened to catch in an email. A new bill passed by Congress appears to be a milestone in defining equal protection for the LGBT community. I've posted an excerpt below. Read the full article at the PFLAG site. Posted October 24, 2009

President Obama tells the story of PFLAG
YouTube video: President Obama shared the story of PFLAG--Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays--as "the story of America" in a speech on October 10, 2009. Posted October 18, 2009

Catholic Bishops Meeting
What "religious rights" are we talking about, exactly? Are we to assume our right to equal protection for same-sex unions under the law is an infringment of Catholics' rights to prevent us from doing so? Just thought you'd want to know. Posted July 09, 2009

The Small Thread
The Small Thread, fiction by Alex Forbes. In Writing. Posted May 09, 2009

Miss USA Contestant Flunks Gay Marriage Question
I don't give a hoot for beauty contests in the first place. I tend to agree with those who say they're demeaning because they reinforce negative sexual stereotypes. But what do you think about dragging social and political issues into such contests? Posted April 20, 2009

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Robert H. Jackson
So it was gratifying to read it in a letter to the editor in the December 15 New Yorker. That letter ... cited U.S. Supreme Justice Robert H. Jackson as the source of the principle that rights can't constitutionally be decided in elections. Posted December 10, 2008

Same-Sex Marriage: Ready or Not
It's not about whether you think same-sex marriage agrees with your personal vision of marriage. We simply can't exclude a single group of people from an essential and fundamental right to marry the one you love. That's a right guaranteed to all other Americans, with good reason. Posted October 26, 2008

Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire
I have yet to meet a man or woman who has actually admitted their own marriage is threatened by the possibility of a same-sex couple getting married somewhere in the United States. Posted October 20, 2008

I'm Voting Obama in 2008
Telling the LGBT community why I'm voting for Obama is like preaching to the choir. For the full editorial essay, see the Commentary Page “Why I’m Voting for Barack Obama in 2008." Posted October 14, 2008

"Do Not Touch"
"Guest" thinks homosexuality can't be a genetically inherited trait; since homosexuals "can't pass it on" through procreation, if there ever was a gene, it would have been bred out of the race thousands of years.. Posted July 11, 2008

Heard on the News ...
The Mormons stick their noses in California politics, and the Supreme Court finds for Second Amendment gun ownership, while continuing to deny the GLBT community basic civil protections afforded all other citizens under the Bill of Rights. Posted June 26, 2008

The Last Visit
When should you lie? What happens when you haven't even told yourself the truth? July 21, 2007 Posted July 21, 2007

Falwell Dies at 73
A sendoff from his most fervent fans ... . May 15, 2007 Posted May 15, 2007