Hey, remember that time

Petition Urges Ukraine President to Stop Anti-gay Gag Law

Mon, 28 May 2012 13:55:49 -0400

Generation will be ‘forced into the shadows’ if anti-gay ‘propaganda’ law is passed

Activists have launched a petition calling on the president of the Ukraine to denounce an anti-gay ‘propaganda’ bill.

The bill, similar to the one passed in St Petersburg, is expected to be voted on this week and would amend existing laws on ‘the protection of morals’, media and publishing, as well as the criminal code, effectively banning virtually all information on gay and bisexual issues and criminalizing LGBT human rights work in Ukraine.

Over 21,000 people from around the world have already signed AllOut.org’s online letter to President Viktor Yanukovych, which urges the leader to speak out against the proposed bill and stand up for LGBT rights before he meets with an EU human rights delegation on Friday (1 June).

Kyiv’s first ever gay pride parade was cancelled on 20 May after a threat of violence from right-wing football hooligans and the event’s organizer Svyatoslav Sheremet was later beaten by thugs.

A spokesman for AllOut.org said President Viktor Yanukovych is the only person with the power to stop the ‘gay gag’ bill and warned he must take action now before ‘an entire generation will be forced into the shadows’.

‘Ukraine has been trying to forge a “special alliance” with the European Union for years,’ he said.

‘If we create a massive outcry in the next three days across Europe, President Yanukovych will be forced to finally speak out against the law or risk endangering his lucrative EU partnership.’

(x)

Ukrainian Gay Activist Beaten As Media Looks On

Mon, 28 May 2012 13:51:00 -0400

Via The Daily Beast comes this disturbing image of Gay Forum of Ukraine leader Svyatoslav Shereme getting beaten during an announcement that a scheduled gay pride parade had been called off.

Rather than intervening, it appears at least one photographer spent the time instead snapping a picture.

Gay Military Students Graduate Openly At Academies Nationwide

Mon, 28 May 2012 13:46:50 -0400

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Gay students at America’s military service academies are wrapping up the first year when they no longer had to hide their sexual orientation, benefiting from the end of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that used to bar them from seemingly ordinary activities like taking their partners openly to graduation events.

For the first time, gay students at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis were able to take a same-sex date to the academy’s Ring Dance for third-year midshipmen. The U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., officially recognized a club for gay students this month. And gay cadets at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y., are relieved they no longer have to worry about revealing their sexuality.

Several gay students from the nation’s major military academies said the September repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell,” an 18-year-old legal provision under which gays could serve as long as they didn’t openly acknowledge their sexual orientation, meant significant change.

“For the most part, it allows us to be a complete person, as opposed to compartmentalizing our lives into different types of boxes,” said newly commissioned Air Force 2nd Lt. Dan Dwyer, who graduated from the Air Force Academy on Wednesday. West Point held its graduation Saturday, and the Naval Academy’s was set for Tuesday.

appypollyloggyy: Jared Swank, Gay Pennsylvania Student, And...

Tue, 15 May 2012 15:11:08 -0400

appypollyloggyy:

Jared Swank, Gay Pennsylvania Student, And Transgender Prom Date Allegedly Filmed By Teacher

This teacher should be fucking fired. This happened less than 30 minutes from where I live. Last year, my best friend was outed to her family by a teacher she trusted against her will. Fuck this fucking town.

Four Iranian Men Due To Be Hanged For Sodomy Four men have been sentenced to death for sodomy in...

Mon, 14 May 2012 21:53:28 -0400

Four Iranian Men Due To Be Hanged For Sodomy

Four men have been sentenced to death for sodomy in the Iranian town of Choram, a town in the relatively remote and undeveloped Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province. Saadat Arefi, Vahid Akbari, Javid Akbari, and Houshmand Akbari are due to be executed soon. According to gay news site JOOPEA, the men will be hanged for sodomy according to strict interpretaion of Shari’a law. The location of the trial and the speed with which the punishment it expected to be meted out reportedly makes it unlikely that international organizations will be able to intervene on the men’s behalf.

Jackie Green, Transgender Beauty Queen, To Enter Miss England Semi-Final A transgender British teen...

Sun, 13 May 2012 12:17:02 -0400

Jackie Green, Transgender Beauty Queen, To Enter Miss England Semi-Final

A transgender British teen who transitioned at the age of 16 is hoping to make history by winning the Miss England beauty pageant.

As the International Business Times is reporting, Jackie Green, 18, entered the Miss England pageant after being spotted by scouts at “Britain’s Next Top Model” in London just two years after she underwent gender reassignment surgery in Thailand, where such procedures are available to minors. She has now reportedly won enough of the public’s vote, and so throughly impressed the panel of judges, to secure a spot in pageant’s semi-finals.

Jay ‘Corey’ Jones, Gay Minnesota Teen, Commits Suicide After Allegedly Being...

Fri, 11 May 2012 23:18:13 -0400

Jay ‘Corey’ Jones, Gay Minnesota Teen, Commits Suicide After Allegedly Being Bullied

Friends and family are mourning the loss of a Minnesota teen who jumped to his death last Sunday after allegedly being tormented by classmates for being gay.

As the Rochester Post-Bulletin is reporting, 17-year-old Jay ‘Corey’ Jones of Rochester, Minn. had suffered severe depression after being bullied for a number of years. Jones had known he was gay from a young age, according to his father, Jay Strader. Police officials say Jones jumped from a pedestrian bridge near Century High School on May 6.

“He said all of his life they always picked on him,” Strader is quoted as saying. “He’d still try to keep his head up at school, but then he’d come home and be really sad about it. He just got really depressed about it because the guys weren’t accepting him.”

Troy Mayor’s Anti-Gay Post Inspires Lesbian Mom to Create...

Fri, 11 May 2012 23:08:46 -0400

Troy Mayor’s Anti-Gay Post Inspires Lesbian Mom to Create Anti-Bullying Film

Happy Mother's Day... Well, Almost

Fri, 11 May 2012 22:45:00 -0400

My partner of 14 years is an active-duty military member. We lived many years under “don’t ask, don’t tell” (DADT), and now that the ban has been lifted, we can finally live as a family… or can we? Thanks in part to the misleadingly named Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), the military does not acknowledge me as a spouse, nor do they acknowledge me as our child’s mother. The only recognition I receive is the status of “caregiver.” When I drive on base, I have special identification that says “caregiver.” When I take our son to MWR events, I have to sign in as “caregiver.” This one word, whether spoken or written, pierces my heart when I have to use it to describe my relationship to our son. All I want is to be recognized for what I am: his mother. After all, I’ve been here the whole time. I was there when he was conceived, I was there through the pregnancy and delivery, and I was there through good times and bad. I load the minivan and take him to gymnastics, swim lessons, and play dates. I am the one who will hold him when he cries as his mommy deploys again. But most importantly, I love him unconditionally, not as a caregiver but as his momma.

An upcoming cover of The New Yorker.

Fri, 11 May 2012 22:39:00 -0400

An upcoming cover of The New Yorker.

Photo

Fri, 11 May 2012 22:11:55 -0400

Photo

Fri, 11 May 2012 22:08:07 -0400

Mary Jamis, a lesbian woman, was ARRESTED yesterday after she...

Fri, 11 May 2012 17:16:23 -0400

Mary Jamis, a lesbian woman, was ARRESTED yesterday after she and her partner sought a marriage license in North Carolina.

Share this if you think it’s outrageous.

From the article: “This is at least the third time a North Carolina woman was arrested simply for insisting upon her constitutional right to be free from marriage discrimination. Last fall, a lesbian couple who had been together for 30 years were arrested after seeking a marriage license in Asheville, NC.”

Carson City couple make gay marriage fight personal

Fri, 11 May 2012 16:25:00 -0400

More than 40 years ago, two young neighbors in Seattle got to know each other over coffee.

They became fast friends. Their discussions became more frequent. After three or four years of these coffee klatches, they realized they were in love.

They moved into a home together and raised three children, who in time grew up and raised children of their own.

But the love between the two has not culminated in the happy ending they both want.

Beverly Sevcik, 73, and Mary Baranovich, 76, cannot get married.

In Nevada, where they have lived since 2001, marriage between same-sex couples is against the law.

Sevcik and Baranovich believe the marriage law is wrong. They believe this so strongly that the normally quiet and reserved pair volunteered to become the lead plaintiffs in a court battle to overturn the law.

They are helping the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund pursue its lawsuit, filed April 10 in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas, challenging the voter-approved state constitutional amendment allowing marriages only between one man and one woman.

Eight same-sex couples are plaintiffs in the lawsuit, according to Tom Warnke, a Lambda spokesman.

And the story of Sevcik and Baranovich, who were rebuffed when they sought a Nevada marriage license, was considered so compelling that their names lead the lawsuit, which will be known in the court system as “Sevcik et al v. Sandoval et al.”

‘SECOND-CLASS CITIZENS’

Sevcik and Baranovich were among the first same-sex couples to sign up as domestic partners in 2009 under a new state law that gives them almost all the rights that straight couples have.

But it’s not enough.

This issue hits home for me, because I am well acquainted with the couple presented in the video below from my hometown.

Nebraska Woman Offers Graphic, Homophobic Rant During...

Fri, 11 May 2012 12:30:41 -0400

Nebraska Woman Offers Graphic, Homophobic Rant During Lincoln’s Anti-Discrimination Law Hearings

Originally featured on Towleroad, the clip features a woman identified as Jane Skrovota, who offers a series of bizarre observations on gay sex, HIV/AIDS, Hillary Clinton and even Judas Iscariot as she denounces the “Fairness Ordinance,” a measure that would add sexual orientation and gender identity to the city’s non-discrimination law, in her testimony.

“P- E- N- I- S goes into the anus to rupture intestines,” Skrovota notes. “The more a man does this the more he’ll be a fatality or a homicider.”

After stating that “a huge percent of gay men in school grounds molest boys, partly because they don’t have AIDS yet,” she adds, “Hillary Clinton’s roommate four years in college was a gay woman. To avoid going gay like Clinton did, college students need single rooms and single gender dorms…A college woman is seduced with illegal Rohypnol to go gay.”

And finally, she proclaims, “Jesus was kissed by Judas, a homo, who tried to sabotage Jesus’ kind ideas. Do you choose Jesus, a celibate, or Judas, a homo? You have to choose!”

[X]

Yayness.: Obama, Israel and marriage.

Fri, 11 May 2012 12:19:47 -0400

Yayness.: Obama, Israel and marriage.:

allyouneedisyayness:

Obama’s announcement in support of same sex marriage has brought on a wave of reactions, replies, debates and conversations. I could go on about this subject but this post is meant to shed light on the marriage situation in Israel. I don’t know how many people are aware of this, but there is no civil marriage in Israel for Jews. The rabbinate, which has jurisdiction over the marriage and divorce of Jews, does not recognize gay marriage. The Interior Ministry, however, is required to register same-sex marriages performed abroad.

This means that the only marriage that can be performed here has to be between a man and a woman of the same religion, with a religious ceremony. People who get married outside of Israel to avoid religious ceremonies and then want to get a divorce get hell from the rabbinate because the rabbinate doesn’t like people who don’t follow their rules.

Basically, we don’t even have civil marriage between men and women. Same sex is recognized, which is great, but still. This is just messed up. Especially for a Western world country in 2012.

And, sidenote, I just googled the phrase “Western world country” to make sure I was using it correctly and one of the top links that came up was titled “

Israel ranks among Western world’s most corrupt countries”. If anyone wants to read it here’s the link.

Anyway, that’s pretty much the point of this post. Although, today’s paper - in which half of the front page was about Obama’s same sex marriage support and how it affects Israel - said that Obama’s announcement has brought on debates about the current situation of same sex marriage in Israel, and that members of the leading party and others are starting to see a different side to the story. Here’s a link for that article as well.

So if you read all of this, thanks. And that’s your share of Israeli news for now!

Chile Approves Hate Crime Law After Gay Bashing Death Of Daniel Zamudio SANTIAGO, Chile —...

Fri, 11 May 2012 11:59:00 -0400

Chile Approves Hate Crime Law After Gay Bashing Death Of Daniel Zamudio

SANTIAGO, Chile — Chile’s congress passed a hate-crimes law Wednesday night, months after a group of alleged neo-Nazis were arrested in the brutal murder of a young gay man.

The law enables people to file anti-discrimination lawsuits and adds hate-crime sentences for violent crimes. Gay activists waved Chilean flags when it passed by a vote of 25-to-3.

The law was stuck in Congress for seven years, but President Sebastian Pinera put it on the fast track after the death of Daniel Zamudio in March prompted people all across Chile to discuss hate crimes. He was found beaten and mutilated in a city park, with swastikas carved into his body. Lawmakers also are preparing to debate the president’s proposed civil union law granting inheritance and other rights to same-sex couples.

Mother's Day 2012: My First Without My Son

Fri, 11 May 2012 11:23:00 -0400

Tracy Rodemeyer speaks about her life without her son Jamie Rodemeyer who committed suicide in September due to being constantly bullied at school for being gay.

Little did I know that Sunday, May 8, 2011 would be my last Mother’s Day with both my children. Half my life was taken away from me on Sept. 18, 2011. This is when my son Jamey committed suicide. I began to reexamine my life: Why am I here? Why do I exist? Do I deserve to remain on this Earth when my son is no longer with us? My children were my life, the air that I breathed, the reason for my existence. The blood that ran through me was inside both of them. This Mother’s Day I will ask myself a question I ask myself every day: Do I deserve to be recognized on Mother’s Day after all that has happened? This Mother’s Day will be the hardest ever.

Rep. Allen West Claims LGBT Workplace Discrimination ‘Don’t Happen’ And Doesn’t ‘See That As Being A Big Issue’

Fri, 11 May 2012 11:05:38 -0400

Rep. Allen West (R-FL), no stranger to controversy, declared on Thursday that gay people are never fired because of their sexual orientation in the United States.

“That don’t happen out here in the United States of America,” West told ThinkProgress during an interview on Capitol Hill.

When we pressed the Florida congressman for clarification, he dismissed the importance of protecting LGBT people from discrimination. “I don’t see that as being a big issue with small businesses,” West said.

…Though West may not like to acknowledge it, workplace discrimination against LGBT people is very real. In 29 states, it is perfectly legal to fire you for being gay. This is not a mere prospect. Between eight and 17 percent of gay and transgender workers have been fired or not hired because of their sexual orientation or gender identity; that rate more than doubles for gay and transgender people who have experienced workplace discrimination.

Photo

Fri, 11 May 2012 10:47:01 -0400