QueerGam to Bill Clinton: You're hurting us!

We hope you know that. Bill, we, the queers of this country, are very very disappointed. No...that's putting it mildly...we feel more than that, we feel betrayed and deeply hurt. It was a big shock to hear what you said in the last few days about gay marriage. We are very disappointed by your words and your action. We thought you were a friend of our community. We were wrong...again.

It is understandable why as many as 200 queer their supporters in San Diego showed up and protested a speech by you at a San Diego hotel that became a boycott target when its owner donated money to pass a gay marriage ban in California. Gay rights and union leaders rallied outside the Manchester Grand Hyatt on Sunday to oppose owner Doug Manchester's donation of $125,000 to last year's Proposition 8 campaign and to demand improved working conditions at the hotel. It is also the reason for same-sex marriage advocates, and queers like me, to call for a boycott of the hotel. We only support those who support us. It is time to be calculative.

Meanwhile...

All 5 LGBT bills die in Utah
By 365gay Newscenter Staff
A bill that would have offered unmarried couples - straight or gay - inheritance rights and the power to make medical decisions when the other partner is incapacitated, Wednesday in the legislature. It was the fifth defeat for a group of bills called the Common Ground Initiative that would have expanded LGBT civil rights in Utah. Tuesday, legislation to include gays in job and housing protections was defeated and bills to allow for joint support and the creation of a domestic partner registry also failed to gain traction.

A fifth bill which would have allowed same-sex couples to sue for wrongful death damages was defeated in a state Senate committee last month. In addition, legislation that would have repealed a section of Utah’s constitutional ban on same-sex marriage was killed by its sponsor in a bid to save the other bills. On Sunday, a conservative group called America Forever ran full-page ads in Salt Lake City newspapers that likened gays to “druggies and hookers.” The ads declared homosexuality is “anti-species behavior” and said that “gays should be forced not to display” their sexuality in public.

The ads were denounced by LGBT rights groups and Democrats.

Earlier this month Gov. Jon Huntsman (R) said that he supported Common Ground and was in favor of civil unions, although no civil union bill was part of the Common Ground package. Utah has a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage and civil unions. Last month, a poll commissioned by Equality Utah found that 63 percent support gay legal protections including some rights for same-sex couples. The survey found that 62 percent believe it should be illegal to fire someone for being gay and 57 percent said it should be illegal to deny housing to someone for being gay. On the issue of partner rights, 73 percent said they would support health insurance coverage for a partner or other designated adult for state employees. Utahans however are not ready for same-sex marriage. Only 20 percent said they supported gay marriage.