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 Yes, one of our least favorite senators still living (now that Strom Thurmond's soul is roasting in hell… thought the South was hot, eh?) was busy this weekend picking the corn out of his teeth after the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling that neither the government nor the conservative morals of pompous religious windbags belong in the American bedroom. Despite arguments by Santorum and others, like the state of Texas in which the case originated, who argued that the issue was not of gay discrimination, the court saw through to the heart of the case. The majority of the court determined the issue was not whether states could ban particular sex acts, but whether laws may treat gays with contempt. Laws like the Texas law "demean the lives of homosexual persons" and basically are tantamount to "state-sponsored condemnation," Justice Anthony M. Kennedy said.  The court's 6-3 decision to strike down sodomy laws in 13 states sent jubilant gays into the streets of cities like San Francisco, New York, Seattle, and Atlanta. Gay rights organizations, as well as legal experts, called it the most important pro-gay decision in a generation."This is a huge case. This is the Brown versus Board of Education for the gay community," said Ronald Krotoszynski, a constitutional law professor at Washington & Lee University Law School in Lexington, Va. "This decision is a historic, transformative decision," Ruth Harlow, legal director of Lambda Legal and the lead attorney in the case, told Associated Press. "The court had the courage to reverse one of its gravest mistakes, and to replace that with a resounding statement of equality and liberty for all." The grave mistake Harlow speaks of is the abhorrent 1986 court decision that previously upheld a Georgia sodomy law. San Francisco's queer culture demonstrated their renewed faith in America by replacing the famous giant Pride flag overlooking Harvey Milk Plaza with the stars 'n' stripes. The historic ruling couldn't have happened at a better time. For starters, human rights in general in this country have taken a sharp turn for the worse since 9/11, and with people like Santorum whipping up anti-gay sentiment recently, the court's decision was as refreshing as a Keith Richards blood transfusion. Moreover, in San Francisco it acted as a most excellent springboard for the city's Pride weekend. About 750,000 participants flowed through Market Street on Sunday, and what is already a celebratory event became an ecstatic expression of both pride in one's self and pride in a country that, though many forget, is perfectly capable of doing the right thing when it wants to. It also set into motion the next phase of gay rights, as queers took to the streets waving signs like "We All Have The Right To Marry." Even though California voters approved the gay marriage-banning Proposition 22 in 2000 (whose proponents lured centrist California voters through a "pro-family" rather "anti-gay" message), a bill currently under consideration by the state Legislature, AB 205, would extend many of the rights of marriage to domestic partners, regardless of sexual orientation. AB 205 has already passed the Assembly, and is currently being considered in the state Senate. By the way, I haven't seen anyone else in the media talk about this, but this decision affects more than just homosexuals. While the laws in these states were almost without exception aimed at outlawing homosexual activity, there was no way they could be so explicitly worded, so the ban by proxy extended to heterosexuals wishing to engage in such innocent activity as an ass-to-mouth cum shot (as seen in the movies!). So step up, Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Alabama, Florida, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Utah and Virginia—this weekend it's time to celebrate Independence Day in style, like all the rest of us, with beer, backyard barbecues, fireworks, blow jobs and anal sex! God bless America! SF's Lusty Lady lives! I know that having exclamation points in both headlines is kinda cheesey, but dammit both of these stories are worth 'em, and I make no apologies.  You might recall a recent story about San Francisco's infamous Lusty Lady strip club, wherein owners of the club, petulant after its dancers formed their own labor union, made clear their intention to close the establishment.Well, these plucky ladies made history last week when they thwarted the owners' intentions by purchasing the club lock, stock, and barrel. Take that, male dominator culture! Lusty Lady's dancer/owners celebrated their moral and fiscal victory with an old-fashioned ribbon cutting ceremony Thursday in front of the renowned 1033 Kearny St. peep show. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the lusty ladies had help from a somewhat unlikely source, the vegan/hippie-friendly Rainbow Grocery. What the two businesses lack in terms of commonality of service is balanced by the fact that they're both co-ops, cooperative ventures that allow employees to buy into a stake of the company. The Chronicle also reported that, after some controversy, a decision was made that the club will remain union. "Everyone kept bugging us to disband (the union)," Miss Muffy said. "But I think keeping the union makes good sense." According to another Lusty Lady dancer, keeping the union contract guarantees job protection for the dancers well into the future. Something to consider now that the peep show that is a huge part of San Francisco's sexual identity has a future. Hmm… not a bad week, all in all.
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