Are there any GLBT divers/groups/clubs out there?

[iztok]

I'm not so sure, iztok. Somebody with a sincerely held belief in heaven might be a little bit more prone to risk than I am--I mean, I view this life as my last chance, so I don't have a lot to look forward to if I don't survive a dive. My (current) version of heaven is the post-dive hammock stretched between two trees on the beach. (Yes, I've gotten old.)

You can pretty much safely assume that about 10% of the divers are GLBT. Majority of the divers believes in some sort of mythical entity and some sort of reward/punishment system in afterlife for what they've done in this life.

However even bigger majority actually values their life more than anything else (except perhaps lives of their family members). So regardless if buddy diver being GLBT, religious, or God forbid Republican (yes it is a joke!) he or she should still be (statistically) equally adverse to risk as anyone else.

I'll dive with just about anyone (and I did dive with various people around the globe) regardless of their sexual orientation, religion, or political views. They don't matter to me in terms of diving. It shouldn't matter to anyone else in terms of diving. What matters is if our approach to diving is similar enough to allow us to dive together.

I was trying to convince our housemate to join me diving (my wife doesn't dive) and our current housemate while female is also not interested in male gender so going out diving with her would be safe in terms of my wife not worrying if we really went scuba diving or doing something else.

 

[iztok]

I'm not sure at all how this is relevant to the topic which is discussing if there are LGBT groups about.

But now that you've mentioned it, so are you arguing that people shouldn't mention their partners at all in any way shape or form? Or if they have brought their partners along, they shouldn't hold hands or any other kind of physical affection, talk about their life together, talk about the nature of their relationship (so no 'this is my wife'), or do anything else at all that indicates either their preference for members of the opposite sex or anything about their partner?

I'd be interested to see a boat where no one does this because I see it all the time on boats. Only straight people though, of course!

But if I ever run into you on a boat I certainly won't be discussing where I park my sausage, so don't stress.

Since only 10% of population is GLBT and divers are small group as it is you rarely see this. But statistically about every 10th diver is GLBT.

 

[Buoyant1]

Well...the bottom line is and always will be that the majority of people that are claiming discrimination are usually the ones that are harboring it, and keeping it alive! It's always a lose/lose situation if you try to do anything about it. If you say "just ignore it because the more you continue to talk about it, the worse it gets" or "embrace your ______-ness" you will end up pi$$ing someone off.

As far as I'm concerned, the more you label, the more you'll get discrimination! (and both sides of the coin are equally guilty of it!) Didn't anyone learn anything from the Star Bellied Sneeches?

Like the bumper stickers you see all over Key West: "One Human Family" It works for me!

 

[tracy_from_oz]

Equal marriage for all I say.

Everyone has the right to spend 50 years of their life chained, miserable, nagged, worn down, told to wear something else, told to take out the trash just before they go to bed, told not to spend time with their friends at the pub and consistently asked "does my ass look big in this".

Marriage, not just for the straights.

Look I am kidding around here, actually im not, I truly believe in that marriage is for all.

Everyone discriminates in some form or fashion and its all BS at the end of the day.
We just like to give it fancy names like sexual discrimination, gender discrimination etc, at the end of the day its all hate derived from ignorance and fear. Where that fear delves from is different for each person.
Is it ok at the end of the day, no. No matter the discrimination or the fancy name you give it.
Sexuality isn't the defining component of someone, it is just a piece of the jig saw that makes you, you.
Just like your religion, creed, country, gender are your defining components, there other pieces of the jig saw.

Who really cares at the end of the day what the differences in another person are? Isn't that what makes them unique and makes them just them?
What makes one person less then another?
Does it make me less of a christian? No I dont beleive so.
I beleive in god, and he hasnt struck me down yet for the way I live my life.
Ok he probaly has tried, but I dont think who I spend my nights with is in the top 10 of stuff he is pissed at me for.

There is bigger crap going on in this world we need to deal with. Health care, education, there's a war on we should probably sort out sometime soon, but it is easier to deal with the things we should have sorted out along time ago, eg equal rights for all.
Lets feed our world, clothe it and make humanity jump to the next level. That shows our character more then bringing each other down.


Ok that's my 2 cents, which really kinda only add up to about 1.5 cents.

And for those wondering and from first hand experience, yes discrimination is also in the gay community, especially if you are bi.

 

[nelia1978]

Ok I been looking at this topic wondering if I should respond to iy or not.. So I decided to respond... Ok I am a lesbian woman who loves to dive although i dont dive as much as i would love to.. I dont care who I dive with, as long as safety is #1.
One thing I never understood is why should people care about who i sleep with or not? I dont care what you do in your bedroom so please dont put your nose in mine. It does not change the person I am so as long as I do right by the people I love and I do good it does not change one thing.
One thing I have always wanted to do is be happy in life, and in all honesty, its hard because of everything life throws your way, and it gets even harder when people discriminate you for whatever reason. I dont go around making it a point to mention I am gay, no one needs to know, not because I am hiding it, but just because I dont see it a point to tell people i am gay. It is who I am but it does not define me as a person. if you ask me if i am gay, I will tell you yes.
I think people as a whole spend way tooooo much time telling others what is right or wrong... worry about your own life and I will worry about my own. Dont impose your personal beliefs on me cause I really dont care about them. There is only one person I have to deal with at the end of my life, and I will take up all my life's choices with him and him alone.
At the end of the day if you just take the fact that i am a lesbian and let your personal opinion on me as person reflect only that, then you have quite a bit of issues yourself. Judge me for the type of person I am, what i have done to others/for others and not who I sleep with. But most important, just mind your own business and live your life and leave me out of it.

 

[RJP]

the federal government recognizes your marriage

Just keep in mind that the federal government doesn't recognize heterosexual marriages either.

Well, that's not actually true. There is ONE PLACE where the federal government recognizes heterosexual marriages:

[ ] Married, filing jointly
[ ] Married, filing separately

Personally, although I am heterosexual, I'd actually prefer that the government didn't recognize my marriage, especially around tax time.

Hell, if I was married to a man - a marriage the government would NOT have recognized - I would have saved enough money on this year's taxes to buy both of us rebreathers and take a two week dive trip somewhere!

Wait a minute...you guys might be on to something!

 

[vondo]

Just keep in mind that the federal government doesn't recognize heterosexual marriages either.

Well, that's not actually true. There is ONE PLACE where the federal government recognizes heterosexual marriages:

[ ] Married, filing jointly
[ ] Married, filing separately

And Social Security benefits. And survivorship benefits. And health benefits for federal employees. And housing for military. And overseas assignments. And 9/11 payouts. And certainly some I'm forgetting.

 

[RJP]

And Social Security benefits. And survivorship benefits. And health benefits for federal employees. And housing for military. And overseas assignments. And 9/11 payouts. And certainly some I'm forgetting.

I know...I'm kidding.

 

[humanbeing]

Here is a highly abridged list of the more than 1138 "rights" the government grants to people who are married:

Rights and benefits
Right to benefits while married:
employment assistance and transitional services for spouses of members being separated from military service; continued commissary privileges
per diem payment to spouse for federal civil service employees when relocating
Indian Health Service care for spouses of Native Americans (in some circumstances)
sponsor husband/wife for immigration benefits
Larger benefits under some programs if married, including:
veteran's disability
Supplemental Security Income
disability payments for federal employees
medicaid
property tax exemption for homes of totally disabled veterans
income tax deductions, credits, rates exemption, and estimates
wages of an employee working for one's spouse are exempt from federal unemployment tax[3]
Joint and family-related rights:
joint filing of bankruptcy permitted
joint parenting rights, such as access to children's school records
family visitation rights for the spouse and non-biological children, such as to visit a spouse in a hospital or prison
next-of-kin status for emergency medical decisions or filing wrongful death claims
custodial rights to children, shared property, child support, and alimony after divorce
domestic violence intervention
access to "family only" services, such as reduced rate memberships to clubs & organizations or residency in certain neighborhoods
Preferential hiring for spouses of veterans in government jobs
Tax-free transfer of property between spouses (including on death) and exemption from "due-on-sale" clauses.
Special consideration to spouses of citizens and resident aliens
Threats against spouses of various federal employees is a federal crime
Right to continue living on land purchased from spouse by National Park Service when easement granted to spouse
Court notice of probate proceedings
Domestic violence protection orders
Existing homestead lease continuation of rights
Regulation of condominium sales to owner-occupants exemption
Funeral and bereavement leave
Joint adoption and foster care
Joint tax filing
Insurance licenses, coverage, eligibility, and benefits organization of mutual benefits society
Legal status with stepchildren
Making spousal medical decisions
Spousal non-resident tuition deferential waiver
Permission to make funeral arrangements for a deceased spouse, including burial or cremation
Right of survivorship of custodial trust
Right to change surname upon marriage
Right to enter into prenuptial agreement
Right to inheritance of property
Spousal privilege in court cases (the marital confidences privilege and the spousal testimonial privilege)
For those divorced or widowed, the right to many of ex- or late spouse's benefits, including:
Social Security pension
veteran's pensions, indemnity compensation for service-connected deaths, medical care, and nursing home care, right to burial in veterans' cemeteries, educational assistance, and housing
survivor benefits for federal employees
survivor benefits for spouses of longshoremen, harbor workers, railroad workers
additional benefits to spouses of coal miners who die of black lung disease
$100,000 to spouse of any public safety officer killed in the line of duty
continuation of employer-sponsored health benefits
renewal and termination rights to spouse's copyrights on death of spouse
continued water rights of spouse in some circumstances
payment of wages and workers compensation benefits after worker death
making, revoking, and objecting to post-mortem anatomical gifts
[edit] Responsibilities
Spousal income and assets are counted in determining need in many forms of government assistance, including:
veteran's medical and home care benefits
housing assistance
housing loans for veterans
child's education loans
educational loan repayment schedule
agricultural price supports and loans
eligibility for federal matching campaign funds
Ineligible for National Affordable Housing program if spouse ever purchased a home:
Subject to conflict-of-interest rules for many government and government-related jobs
Ineligible to receive various survivor benefits upon remarriage




Even gay people who are legally married in states like Massachusetts are not granted these rights, because the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act specifically defines marriage as being heterosexual only.

 

[RJP]

Let's keep in mind we're in the Basic Scuba forum on ScubaBoard.com...