Clear Your Calendars – Hearing Date Set for Pro-Discrimination HB516

March 7, 2011 in 2011 Legislative session, Bozeman, civil rights, Equality, Gay and lesbian issues, Hate, LGBT civil rights, Missoula, Montana, Montana Republicans, Regressives

by jhwygirl

We’ve written a number of times about Havre Montana Representative Kristen Hansen’s pro-hate bill HB516.

In brief summary, the bill would nullify Bozeman and Missoula’s equality ordinances – Bozeman’s of which extended equal protections to all its employees and Missoula’s, a more extensive ordinance which extended equal protection to gays, lesbians, bisexual and transgendered individuals in the City of Missoula. It survived at least 3 attempts at recall petitions, and received overwhelming support from Missoula’s community when the hearing was held.

I don’t know what’s going to happen in the Senate. More specifically, I don’t want to think about what’s going to happen in the Senate. The facts are that this is a hate bill and there is no overwhelming state interest at hand that requires the legislature to attack local government rule and authority.

It is also hate.

If the real issue were some conflict with the Montana Human Rights Act, then Hansen and the rest of the hate mongers out there that voted in approval of this thing in the house would be proposing a bill that added GBLT individuals to the protections under the Title 49.

That hypocrisy is exhibited by the fact that the same committee that approved HB516 also killed HB514 which would have extended equal protections under the Montana Human Rights Act.

In ridiculously transparent hypocrisy, House Judiciary members argued in favor for HB516 saying that GLBT individuals were already protected under Title 49’s Montana Human Rights Act while the very same people listed to testimony and voted against HB514.

HB514 also failed a blast motion on the floor.

Hypocrites.

Republican Representatives Steve Fitzpatrick (Great Falls),Steve Gibson (E. Helena), Brian Hoven (Great Falls), and Max Yates (Butte) split from their party – all voting against HB516 and in support of equality and local government control.

Fitzpatrick and Gibson stuck with their no votes on the blast motion for HB514.

The hearing for HB516 is Monday, March 14th at 3 p.m. in Room 405, Senate Local Government committee.

Iron & Wine! May 29th!

March 7, 2011 in Montana

by lizard

Last Friday, tickets went on sale for Sam Beam’s musical creation, Iron & Wine. The show will be at the Wilma, May 29th. I haven’t been this excited to see a musician perform in quite some time.

My good friend Jim introduced me to Iron & Wine by playing the song Free Until They Cut Me Down (from the album released in March, 2004 Endless Numbered Days) on the radio show we co-hosted on KBGA, called Midnight Vultures (my handle in those days was DJ Chameleon).

I was hooked.

If I were writing a review, which I guess I kinda am, I would say something like Sam Beam is lyric and music spun in delicate yet unbreakable song.

The title of the album Endless Numbered Days, to me, is a beautiful, haunting contradiction. Considering Beam’s musical style, it makes perfect sense.

Iron & Wine’s first album only came out 9 years ago(go here for more info), and with Kiss Each Other Clean, Sam Beam is now deserving of words like prolific and brilliant.

And, as a writer, Iron & Wine has had a direct influence on me. So here’s a poem, and one of my favorite Iron & Wine tunes (not in that order).