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Zack Wahls, His Two Moms, & The Future of Same-Sex Marriage

Wed, 30 May 2012 09:00:00 EDT

What's the most persistent myth about being raised by gay parents? "That you are a child abuse victim," says Zach Wahls, author of the new book, My Two Moms: Lessons of Love, Strength and What Makes a Family.

Wahls became an internet sensation after a video of him defending his mothers' same-sex marriage was uploaded to YouTube. His 2011 testimony before the Iowa House Judiciary Committee has racked up over 18 million views and led to appearances on The Daily Show, Letterman, Ellen, and many other places.

Now comes My Two Moms, in which the 20-year-old University of Iowa engineering student explains what it's like to grow up as a child as the child of same-sex parents and uses the lessons he learned as an Eagle Scout to talk about why marriage equality should be the law of the land.

Wahls sat down with Reason.tv's Nick Gillespie to discuss why his childhood was a lot like yours, the mainstreaming of same-sex marriage, and Obama's "evolving" views on the subject.

About 7 minutes.

Interview by Nick Gillespie. Camera by Jim Epstein and Joshua Swain; edited by Swain.

For more Reason coverage on LBGT issues, click here.

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Sex and the Supreme Court: The True Story of Lawrence v Texas

Thu, 03 May 2012 00:00:00 EDT

"There are some things a state can not do to direct the moral content of your life," explains author and law professor Dale Carpenter, "and controlling your sexuality is one of those things."

In his new book, Flagrant Conduct: The Story of Lawrence v. Texas, Carpenter outlines both the backstory and the importance of the 2003 Supreme Court case that invalidated American's sodomy laws. "It revives a constitutional doctrine that protects a right to liberty and privacy and sexual autonomy for adults."

Reason Magazine's Katherine Mangu-Ward sat down with Carpenter to discuss his book, the story behind the landmark case, and how a baby shower gift became an indicator of changing attitudes inside the Supreme Court.

About 8:45 minutes.

Shot by Meredith Bragg and Anthony Fisher. Edited by Meredith Bragg.

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Who's Afraid of Balls on the Beach, Gay Marriage, & Drug Legalization?

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 09:00:00 EST

"What would happen if there was a Republican nominee who wants to legalize heroin running against Barack Obama - who's cracking down on the war on drugs?" asks Reason's Matt Welch.

"More than for any other reason," says Welch, "that's why it's going to make me sad that Ron Paul probably isn't going to be the Republican nominee."

Welch joins Reason.com's Nick Gillespie and KFI DJ Kennedy for a free-wheeling discussion about who will be the last person to die for the mistake that is the drug war, the growing and seemingly unstoppable recognition of gay marriage, and Los Angeles County's bizarre ban on beach football and sandcastle-digging.

About 5 minutes. Shot by Jim Epstein, Meredith Bragg, and Josh Swain, and edited by Epstein.

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Why Gay Marriage is Winning

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 01:00:00 EST

With Washington state recently legalizing same-sex unions and Maryland about to follow suit, gay marriage hasn't been on this big a roll since Bert and Ernie first shacked up on Sesame Street. When Maryland finalizes its bill, seven states and the District of Columbia will sanction the practice.

But before you bust out the appletinis and Indigo Girls CDs to celebrate, consider that just last year in Maryland - a deep-blue, Democratic-majority state when it comes to politics - gay marriage went down faster than George Michael in a public restroom due to resistance from socially conservative African Americans in the Democratic Party. Indeed, while 71 percent of white Democrats in the Old Line State favor gay marriage, just 41 percent of black Democrats do.

So what's different this time around? Democratic Gov. Martin O'Malley and other pro-marriage legislators took a page from New York's gay playbook and reached around to sympathetic Republicans to seal the deal.

Inconceivable even a generation ago, gay marriage is well on its way to becoming mainstream as a growing majority of Americans now favor it. The only question is when, not if, folks such as Maryland residents Justin and Phillip Terry-Smith will join heterosexuals in the joys of getting married - and divorced - happily ever after.

About 2.30 minutes. Produced by Joshua Swain. Written by Nick Gillespie and Kennedy, who also hosts.

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MTV's Kurt Loder and Kennedy Talk A Libertarian Year in Review

Fri, 06 Jan 2012 00:00:00 EST

MTV VJ and Reason Magazine contributor Kurt Loder joined fellow VJ Kennedy and Fox Business' John Stossel to discuss same-sex marriage, medical marijuana, Sesame Street and other libertarian stories from 2011.

Approximately 8 minutes.

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George Gilder on "The Israel Test," the Internet, and...the Gays?

Wed, 31 Aug 2011 08:00:00 EDT

"What [President Barack Obama] is doing to the U.S. energy economy couldn't be done with a nuclear bomb," says author George Gilder, who adds that if "Newt [Gingrich] wasn't such a jerk," he'd make a great leader.

Over the past 40 years, Gilder has been not just one of the most influential public intellectuals but one of the most perplexing. He's a utopian visionary who simultaneously predicted the rise of the World Wide Web and the liberatory power of networked computing while fretting that the erosion of traditional gender roles is destroying the country; as co-founder of The Discovery Institute, he's a major proponent of intelligent design theory as well.

His 1981 best-seller, Wealth and Poverty, made such a persuasive case for what became known as supply-side economics that it became the bible of the Reagan Revolution. In it, Gilder used the work of anthropologist Marcel Mauss to argue that capitalism is a "gift economy" in which entrepreneurs create demand by offering up new goods and services, typically at a loss. Visonary volumes such as Microcosm (1989) and Life After Television (1990) anticipated the rise of the Internet as a mass medium that would replace hierarchy with "hetarchy" or distributed intelligence and power. His latest book, The Israel Test, argues that anti-Semitism and the anti-capitalist mentality are effectively the same thing and that Israel provides the best-available model of social organization, a blend of knowledge-based economy and group identity.

A proponent of intelligent design, he railed against Barry Goldwater's anti-intellectualism in 1966's The Party That Lost Its Head and argued that American society was committing "sexual suicide" in a 1973 book of the same name by embracing female equality. The supposed existential threat posed by unmarried men in American society is a recurring theme in Gilder's oeuvre, as is the dread fear that gays are actively recruiting boys to the "homosexual lifestyle." Fully appreciating how the World Wide Web has broken the monopoly of the culture industry in our lives, Gilder nonetheless bemoans the state of "secular culture" as "corrupt" and "depraved."

At FreedomFest 2011, Reason's Nick Gillespie sat down with Gilder to talk about the mix of the utopian and the apocalyptic in his work.

Held each July in Las Vegas, FreedomFest is attended by around 2,000 libertarians and advocates of limited government. Reason.tv spoke with over two dozen speakers and attendees and will be releasing interviews over the coming weeks. For an ever-growing playlist, go here now.

About 21 minutes. Shot by Zach Weissmueller and Jim Epstein and edited by Meredith Bragg.

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Anthony Randazzo Discusses the Obesity Epidemic, a Flash-Mob at Bachmann's Clinic, and Chuck Norris

Mon, 29 Aug 2011 00:00:00 EDT

Reason Foundation's Director of Economic Research Anthony Randazzo appeared on The Alyona Show's Happy Hour segment to discuss the obesity epidemic, a gay flash-mob targeting Bachmann's clinic, Chuck Norris's op-ed on a UN gun law treaty, and if Comet Elenin has caused the recent extreme weather. Air date: August 26, 2011.

Approximately 7.56 minutes.

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Liberal in Bed, Conservative in the Head

Fri, 11 Feb 2011 10:50:00 EST

Has the conservative movement become a champion of gay rights? Is gun-owning, lesbian singer Sophie B. Hawkins of "Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover" fame a liberal in bed and conservative in the head?

Last night, Reason's Michael Moynihan dropped by the Big Gay Party, a celebration of the role of the conservative movement in advocating for gay rights, which was hosted by conservative gay group GOProud and new media mogul Andrew Breitbart. The party was part of the festivities surrounding the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), which was boycotted by some conservatives because of GOProud's participation.

The video features interviews with Army Lt. Dan Choi, Gay Activist; Andrew Breitbart, Breitbart.com; Fred Smith, president of the Competitive Enterprise Institute; radio host Guy Benson; Evan Coyne Maloney, the director of Indoctrinate U; Michael Steele, former Republican National Committee chair; Liz Mair, GOProud Advisory Council; Bruce Majors, libertarian blogger; Richard Grenell, Capitol Media Partners; Larry O'Connor, Breitbart.tv; and singer-songwriter Sophie B. Hawkins.

About 7 minutes.

Shot and Edited by Austin Bragg.

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Learning from Allen Ginsberg

Wed, 22 Sep 2010 12:00:00 EDT

Beat-icon Allen Ginsberg is getting a resurgence of attention, 13 years after his death at the age of 70. A movie based on the story behind Ginsberg’s signature poem, “Howl,” opens this Friday. It stars James Franco as the young poet embroiled in a 1957 obscenity trial over the poem, which ended in a landmark win for free speech. The movie is already garnering praise for animated sequences (made partially in Thailand) that put images to Howl’s words. Director Rob Epstein noted that Ginsberg, a fan of Eastern religions, “would appreciate us outsourcing to a Buddhist country.”

And an exhibition of Ginsberg’s photography, "Beat Memories," played to enthusiastic crowds all summer at Washington-D.C.’s National Gallery of Art. Ginsberg had both a unique eye and unique access to a generation of literary heroes, snapping classic portraits like Jack Kerouac smoking on a fire escape and William Burroughs standing next to a sphinx at the Museum of Natural History.

Reason.tv’s Nick Gillespie looks at why Ginsberg—a champion of gay rights, free speech, nonviolence, and drug legalization—still has a lot to teach us.

Approximately 2.30. Produced by Jim Epstein and Nick Gillespie

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Adrian Moore Discusses California's Overturn of Prop 8 and more on Varney & Co.

Thu, 05 Aug 2010 00:00:00 EDT

Adrian Moore, Vice President of Research at the Reason Foundation, discusses the potential economic consequences of the overturn of Prop. 8, the case for full disclosure of city official salaries and unsustainable retirement costs in Los Angeles on Fox Business' Varney & Co. Air date: August 5, 2010.

Approximately 3.10 minutes.

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Madam-Turned-Pol Kristin Davis: Can NY Stand a Governor Who's Convicted Before Taking Office?

Mon, 07 Jun 2010 10:00:00 EDT

Kristin Davis rose to notoriety as the madam who provided New York Attorney General and Gov. Eliot Spitzer with the escorts that led to his demise. Davis ended up going to jail for providing a business populated by and for consenting adults. Spitzer's penalty? Possibly getting a show on CNN.

Now Davis herself is running the Empire State's top slot in Albany, on a platform this is simple and straightforward in libertarian sanity: She wants to legalize (and tax) marijuana and prostitution. For a state as deep in the red as New York, that's no joke. She has also proposed liberalizing gaming laws and called for gambling casinos in the Catskills.

I built a multi-million dollar escort service from scratch before pleading guilty to promoting prostitution. Prostitution in New York is estimated to be a $5 Billion a year business. Legalization and a reasonable tax rate could bring $ 1Billion in new revenues to New York State each year. Legalizing Marijuana would reap another $2 Billion a year. Then New York could balance the budget and still cut property and income taxes.

Additionally, she wants to legalize gay marriage because the state shouldn't discriminate and highlight the inequities of a criminal justice system that treats the politically powerless far worse than the politically powerful. Read more here.

Davis' official campaign site is here.

Davis has enlisted the aid of legendary political operative Roger Stone for a campaign which has no chance of knocking off presumptive gubernatorial shoe-in Andrew Cuomo. But her run gives voice to a series of issues that deserve to be heard now more than ever. And her run gives form to a vision of smart governance and policy that is not simply provocative but utterly persuasive.

Reason.tv's Nick Gillespie sat down with Davis to talk about her platform, the hypocrisy of elected officials, and her coming web-based reality show, Madam Governor, which will document her campaign.

Shot by Dan Hayes, Meredith Bragg and Josh Swain; edited by Swain. Approximately 5 minutes.

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Will California Legalize Marijuana? Q&A With Assemblyman Tom Ammiano

Tue, 13 Apr 2010 07:00:00 EDT

Tom Ammiano is a California assemblyman from San Francisco, a former teacher, a long-time civil rights activist and a stand-up comic. Last year, Ammiano introduced a bill to legalize pot in California.

Reason.tv's Paul Feine sat down with Ammiano in March to talk about his life, his bill, and his relationship with Gov. Schwarzenegger.

Approximately 10 minutes. Produced by Paul Feine; shot and edited by Alex Manning.

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A Holiday Message from the Westboro Baptist Church

paul.feine@reason.tv (Paul Feine) — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 15:01:00 EST

I may not agree with these folks, but I'd defend to the death their right to express themselves (I guess).

Thanks to Radley Balko for this gem.

Everyone's Riding Him

ted.balaker@reason.tv (Ted Balaker) — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 12:08:00 EST

HOUSTON -- Coach Phil Jackson was reprimanded by the NBA, but not fined, and criticized by a national gay and lesbian group because of an off-color remark he made Tuesday night after the Lakers lost to San Antonio.

Jackson was trying to explain how the Lakers' defense kept allowing Spurs players to penetrate the lane and kick the ball out to teammates on the perimeter for open shots. The Spurs made an exemplary 13 of 27 shots from three-point range in their 107-92 victory.

"We call this a 'Brokeback Mountain' game because there's so much penetration and kick-outs," Jackson said. "It was one of those games."

The Oscar-winning movie portrayed two cowboys who hid a homosexual affair.

"The remarks are in poor taste, and the Lakers have assured us such remarks will not occur in the future," NBA spokesman Brian McIntyre said.

Jackson also drew a rebuke in a statement issued by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.

"Phil Jackson's been coaching long enough that he should be able to talk about the Lakers' performance without resorting to cheap gay jokes," the group said in the statement.

Jackson apologized, in his own way.

"It's poor humor," Jackson said. "I deserve to be reprimanded by the NBA. If I've offended any horses, Texans, cowboys or gays, I apologize."

LAT article here; click above for Jackson's response.

This story has produced some winners--mainly comedians who now have a legitimate reason to dust off their 'Brokeback' material.