Oscar winners make plea for gay rights

The Times of India ^ | 2/23/09 | Staff

[L.A.Justice]

Gay rights took center stage at the Oscars ceremony when actor Sean Penn and the writer of the film "Milk" made impassioned pleas for opponents of same-sex marriage to rethink their stand.

Penn won the Academy's best actor award for his role as gay politician Harvey Milk, California's first openly gay man to be elected to public office, who was shot and killed in 1978.

"I think that it is a good time for those who voted for the ban against gay marriage to sit and reflect and anticipate their great shame and the shame in their grandchildren's eyes if they continue that way of support," Penn said as he accepted his golden statuette.

"We've got to have equal rights for everyone."

He dismissed a protest outside the glittering Hollywood ceremony by banner-waving opponents of gay marriage, which four months ago was overturned in California following a referendum.

The demos were "very sad in a way, because it's a demonstration of such emotional cowardice to be so afraid to be extending the same rights to a fellow man as you would want for yourself," Penn said after the ceremony.

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Dustin Lance Black, the writer of "Milk", who won the Academy Award for the best original screenplay also called for equal rights for gay Americans.

Addressing "gay and lesbian kids" watching the ceremony, Black said: "No matter what everyone tells you, God does love you ... very soon, I promise you, you will have equal rights federally across this great nation of ours."

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Penn also called on President Barack Obama to modify his position against gay marriage, saying it was "inevitable ... because it's not a human luxury, these are human needs and they will be gotten."

[L.A.Justice]

I disagree that the show was ok.
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After reading your post, I now realize that I missed many significant parts of the Oscar show...

I didn’t want to sit on the sofa and watch the show from beginning to end...That was too much for me. I turned the TV on and then moved around...I just heard the sounds for most part...If I heard something interesting, I ran back to the sofa.

I tried to hear the reactions of some talk show hosts. Dennis Prager commented on the gay screenwriter’s speech...
The screenwriter told gays that God loves them. Prager was puzzled by that comment. He wanted to know who is out there saying that God doesn’t love gays...Prager accused the screenwriter of making false charges against same-sex marriage opponents...

I missed most of Medved’s comments...Mark Levin commented on Penn’s speech. Levin wondered why Sean Penn didn’t speak out for gay rights when the latter visited Islamic Republic of Iran...Levin saw nothing “courageous” about Penn’s speech...After all, almost everyone at the Oscars probably is for gay marriage. Levin also expressed displeasure at Bill Mahr for saying that the religion was bad for the world...

Levin then began to refer to Penn and Mahr as “midgets”. I don’t know how tall Penn is. But, his height has nothing to do with his support for same-sex marriage...I like Levin most of the time. But, what was the point of calling Penn a “midget”? I think it is enough to criticize Penn on issues alone...There was no need to talk about physical traits...

John Phillips, subbing for Al Rentel on KABC, felt that Oscar show was not the right place for expressing the support for the gay marriage. Oh, by the way, Phillips does support gay marriage.

[L.A.Justice]

So Penn won the award just to bring recognition to gays, the same way Halle Berry and Denzel Washington were given awards that one year, for racial reasons. Although, I think Denzel Washington is a great actor.
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I actually thought Berry and Washington were good in their respective movies. (MONSTER’S BALL and TRAINING DAY)

I like Denzel W. He’s no conservative. But, he is certainly NOT as obnoxious as Sean Penn!