Check out this treasure trove of photos
6/29/13
I saw two more brilliant LGBT movies at Frameline: "Out in the Dark" and "The New Black"
I loved this drama about a Palestinian and an Israeli who fall in love. See it when it comes out on video:
Also, "The New Black" documentary offers an intelligent perspective of the Black community in America and how it relates to LGBT rights, using the passage of Prop 8 as the starting point. This is a must-see documentary:
Also, "The New Black" documentary offers an intelligent perspective of the Black community in America and how it relates to LGBT rights, using the passage of Prop 8 as the starting point. This is a must-see documentary:
6/28/13
This week the Supreme Court decided that LGBT and their relationships have dignity, and should be accorded the full respect of our society
Andrew Sullivan has been making the same point for years, we are entitled to dignity and the dignity of marriage:
Cass Sunstein makes the same point:
Cass Sunstein makes the same point:
The word “dignity” can’t be found in the Constitution, but in his majority opinion in U.S. v. Windsor, Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy uses it no fewer than nine times (actually 10, if we include “indignity”). The foundation of the court’s opinion, and its real importance, lie in its insistence on human dignity as a constitutional value, one that stands at the heart of our longstanding commitment to equal protection of the laws.Here's the entire article
6/27/13
The best commentary I read about yesterday's Supreme Court marriage equality decisions...
"I believe" by Andrew Sullivan
Some final thoughts after so many years of so many thoughts. Marriage is not a political act; it’s a human one. It is based on love, before it is rooted in law. Same-sex marriages have always existed because the human heart has always existed in complicated, beautiful and strange ways. But to have them recognized by the wider community, protected from vengeful relatives, preserved in times of illness and death, and elevated as a responsible, adult and equal contribution to our common good is a huge moment in human consciousness. It has happened elsewhere. But here in America, the debate was the most profound, lengthy and impassioned. This country’s democratic institutions made this a tough road but thereby also gave us the chance and time to persuade the country, which we did. I understand and respect those who in good conscience fought this tooth and nail. I am saddened by how many failed to see past elaborate, ancient codes of conduct toward the ultimate good of equal human dignity. I am reminded of the courage of a man like Evan Wolfson who had the vision and determination to change the world.
But this happened the right way – from the ground up, with argument, with lawsuits, with cultural change, with individual courage. I remember being told in the very early 1990s that America was far too bigoted a place to allow marriage equality – just as I was told in 2007 that America was far too bigoted a place to elect a black president. I believed neither proposition, perhaps because I love this country so much I knew it would eventually get there. I trusted the system. And it worked. From 1989 (when I wrote the first case for this on the cover of a national magazine) to today is less than a quarter century. Amazing, when you think of how long it took for humanity to even think about this deep wound in the human psyche.
So to those who are often tempted to write off America’s ability to perfect its union still further, to lead the world in the clarity of its moral and political discourse, and to resist the pull of fundamentalism when it conflicts with human dignity, let me just say: I believe.Because I have seen.
6/26/13
Note to Gay Republicans: Scalia, Thomas, Alito, and Roberts deserted you today on DOMA, defending discrimination....
...Your new Federal benefits (in the areas of immigration right, Social Security, and Federal Taxes) are brought to you by 4 Democrat-nominated judges and 1 Republican-nominated judge. Now which is the party of individual freedom, not just the party of rhetoric about freedom?
With tears in my eyes, I am happy to say Prop. 8 & DOMA are dead. Love triumphs over fear. One step closer to full equality
The president calls the couples that challenged Prop. 8:
A quick legal analysis of the DOMA decision:
Analysis of the Prop. 8 decision:
6/25/13
A change of heart: a Mormon mom, who supported Prop. 8, learns to accept and advocate for her gay son
Read about Wendy and Tom Montgomery, who are devout Mormons from California who pounded on doors in 2008 to support the passage of Proposition 8.
One Catholic Church has found that those who left did so because of the sex scandals and its stance against gays
A Catholic parish in Philadelphia surveyed lapsed Catholics to find out why they left. The results show a dissatisfaction at both the local level and with the Vatican.
Of the 189 former Catholics who responded to the survey, the highest percentage — 17 percent — said they did so because of the priest abuse scandal. The director of the survey, Charles Zech of Villanova University's Center for the Study of Church Management, said a secondary reason follows close behind.
"People who are going to leave the church over the scandal and the church's handling of it have already left. So people leaving the church today are leaving for other reasons," said Zech. "A growing reason we found out was the church's attitude toward homosexuals and gay marriage. A lot of younger people object to the church's teaching on that."I have seen the same thing happen in formerly devoutly Catholic family. If you make Catholics choose between the welfare of their children and families or protecting the corrupt and bloated Church hierarchy, they will choose love.
Quote of the day
“I’ve definitely been around the homosexual lifestyle. I worked in retail,”– a gay man once in reparative therapy and interviewed by Jamie Kirchick, who celebrates the end of the ex-gay scam, Exodus.
6/24/13
Three powerful documentaries I have seen so far the SF LGBT film festival...
"Lewd and Lascivious" chronicles the first group of clergy in America to reach out to the LGBT community, in 1965, to understand and protect them from discrimination. These San Francisco-based pastors and their wives decided to sponsor a dance for all people, including the LGBT, and this movie recalls the surprising chain of events that happened.
"Big Joy" is about the long and colorful life of avant-garde filmmaker and poet, James Broughton, a gay man. This is one of the best documentaries I have seen in recent years, because this film treats its subject matter with curiosity, honesty, and respect.
Seventh-Gay Adventists - Trailer from Stephen Eyer on Vimeo.
"Seventh Gay Adventists" follows the lives of 5-6 gay Seventh Day Adventists (SDA) as they struggle to reconcile their love of their faith and religious communities with that church's condemnation of homosexuality. Created by a straight husband - wife team, this documentary is a jewel of movie and is helping the SDA community talk about homosexuality in a positive, constructive way.
Quote of the day
They cannot take away our self-respect if we do not give it to them.-Gandhi
The above picture shows some of the immensely brave LGBT activists in Bulgaria who, this weekend, risked their safety and lives to stand up for themselves and their love. What they did is both beautiful and scary. To get a sense of what they had to endure, read this first-hand report from Sofia.
The animus and racism of the Tea Party quantified
I don't believe that the majority of American conservatives hold racist views, but it seem to be true of the Tea Partiers, who are also likely to homophobic and sexists, because fearful people tend to be fearful of many things. From The Daily Dish:
A recent book on the Tea Party by Christopher Parker and Matt Barreto suggests that hate of Obama unifies the group:
According to Parker and Barreto, 91 percent of Tea Party supporters hold negative opinions of Obama. (This beats the 82 percent who hold negative views of illegal immigrants, and, even more tellingly, the 85 percent who report a preference for limited government.) Sixty-seven percent of Tea Party supporters believe that Obama is a socialist, and 71 percent think he will destroy the country. Destroy the country! In contravention of basic, established facts, solid majorities do not believe that he is a Christian (71 percent) or that he was born in the United States (59 percent). Parker and Barreto take pains to distinguish these views from those of non-Tea Party conservatives, and to ensure—by means of regression analysis—that Tea Party affinity, and not some other factor like support for the Republican Party, accounts for the figures.
We can have compassion for people's fears without upholding those fears. Just like those with racists views in the 1950s and 1960s, many of those people eventually renounced their past political beliefs and found love in their hearts, including Alabama Governor George Wallace, who apologized to African-Americans for the things he said and did.
Similarly, the LGBT must be strong advocates for our rights, but never give up on anyone. Love does change the world.
6/23/13
Boys will be boys...
From Towleroad on Friday:
Novak Djokovic stripped teased and then challenged his opponent, Grigor Dimitrov (the 22-year-old boyfriend of Maria Sharapova) to do the same.
6/22/13
San Francisco's 37th annual film festival is now on. We saw this powerful written and acted German film called "Free Fall." Lots of passion, drama, and sexiness
This movie will be available online later this year via Wolfe Films.
Change and pride you can believe in! Obama nominates 5 openly gay ambassadors
Nearly every week, President Obama is advancing our cause, using the power and prestige of the Presidency to make the world better for the LGBT. I am so proud to be one of his early supporters, even though he makes mistakes decisions that I don't alway agree with.
Here are the five pending nominations of 5 openly gay men:
James “Wally” Brewster, Jr. (Dominican Republic), John Berry (Australia), James Costos (Spain), Rufus Gifford (Denmark) and Daniel Baer (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)
6/21/13
6/20/13
The joy of being young...and in love
From fuckyeahgaycouples.tumblr.com:
The one sleeping is Adam (he’ll kill me if he finds this) and I’m Gabriel. We met freshman year of college and have been together ever since. Five years and every day I still fall a little more in love everyday.
Quote of the day, about people who say gay people flaunt their sexuality
Every time a gay athlete comes out publicly, there is an inevitable chorus of "who cares?" from many fans and some in the media. Why do gays need to flaunt their sexual orientation, I couldn't care less, focus on sports, the cry goes. Comment threads, talk radio, Twitter and Facebook are replete with such examples.
Yet, neither Jason Collins nor Robbie Rogers have ever talked about their private life. If you want the champions of flaunting their sexual orientation, straight athletes take the prize. Athletes seldom miss a chance to talk about their wife, girlfriend or kids, and TV loves to personalize them. That is unless you're Australian diver Matthew Mitcham in the 2008 Olympics, winning a stunning gold medal months after coming out as gay and with your boyfriend in the stands in Beijing cheering you on, all facts NBC chose to ignore(though the network, under a lot of heat for 2008, did profile Mitcham in 2012).
I know that ESPN constantly showing Alabama quarterback A.J. McCarron's hot girlfriend, Katherine Webb, during the BCS title game was designed to simultaneously give Brent Musburger an orgasm and a heart attack, but I think we got the point after the 20th shot of her. McCarron is a 100% red-blooded heterosexual, the less-than-subtle message said, but I was more interested in whether he'd put up 50 on Notre Dame.
Straight athletes broadcast their sexual orientation constantly, yet it's so normal that people take it for granted. Why can't they keep their private lives private and stop shoving it in our faces? I'm looking at you …
6/19/13
Life- and love-affirming story of the day...
From Reddit:
Context: I teach Grade 8 (13-14 years old) in Ontario, Canada. I am gay, and my students have known this for about a month or so. I am in my first year of teaching, and I teach the class that is considered the “tough” class – they don’t get along well with some of their other teachers, and they can be rowdy. Not so much for me, though.
In particular, I have one group of boys that can be a bit of a pain in the neck. Never keep their hands to themselves, always talk out of turn, have gotten in fights, etc. There is one boy in this group (he will be known here as Harry) who is a little quieter than the others, but very popular. He’s a bit tough to get close to, and seems like the type to be resistant to new ideas and different people. He hangs out with another tough kid (let’s call him Mark), who is loud and boisterous and often rude.
Now that it’s so close to the end of the year, I do a “YouTube of the Day” with them every morning. Kids can send in a short YouTube video for me to show to the class, I preview it, and if it’s appropriate, I play it. So this morning, Harry comes up to me and says, “I have a video I want to play.”
Now, I preview things for a reason. There are enough horror stories out there of teachers accidentally showing their kids porn for me to be very careful what I show my class. So I tell him to send it to me because, y’know, them’s the rules. “I really want to show it,” he says back. “You’ll like it, I promise. It’s a music video.”
Given what Harry listens to, I’m wary. He listens to a lot of rap and hip-hop, and that’s fine, but I’ve heard some non-school-appropriate language come out of the music he listens to. So I ask him if it’s appropriate for school; he tells me yes. This kid is many things, but he has never lied to me. Not once. So… I take a deep breath and tell him okay. What the heck.
So he goes on over and pulls it on up, and on comes a song I have never heard before. The artist is rapping about growing up gay, about the struggles of being gay, and about standing up in the face of hatred and homophobia. “Same Love,” by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. The video (linked) was beautiful.
And there’s Harry, proudly watching along with the rest of the class as the artist stands up for those gay kids who struggle, and the video shows a difficult, lonely life culminating in a fabulous wedding. Harry. My “tough kid.”
The video finishes, the kids applaud, and I thank him, and he says to me, “I told you you’d like it.”
And then his loud, rude friend Mark says: “That was for you, Mr. K.”
The whole class applauded again – for me this time – and then I cried. I cried the proudest tears I have ever shed.
Harry and Mark… they might tick off every teacher they ever have, but today they gave this teacher a moment he’ll never forget.
Last weekend, SF’s Archbishop Cordileone tried to rationalize his crusade against the human rights of gay people, but his animus and self-righteousness are clear
Here is an excerpt from his answers to questions submitted by a San Francisco Chronicle reporter:
The basic question is: does our society need an institution that connects children to their mothers and fathers, or doesn’t it? The only institution that does this is marriage. Redefining marriage will mean that our society will have given its definitive answer: “no”; it will mean changing the basic understanding of marriage from a child-centered institution to one that sees it as a temporary, revocable commitment which prioritizes the romantic happiness of adults over building a loving, lasting family.
Implicit in his explanation is a belief that the LGBT cannot possibly raise children and are inappropriate role models for them. Well, I have been a parent and my kid has grown up to be a wonderfully balanced and happy person. He is plainly wrong.
Read the whole article here.
Maybe the most infuriating thing about Archbishop Sal's words is his disingenuous call for dialogue with San Francisco's LGBT community, which he claims to be open and welcoming to, despite that he did a number of things upon arriving in SF that made gay Catholics feel like second class citizens. This man claims to be a man of God, but at least when it comes to his views about the LGBT, he is a force for fear, not love.
Quote of the day, from Berlin
"When we stand up for our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters and treat their love and their rights equally under the law, we defend our own liberty as well. We are more free when all people can pursue their own happiness. And as long as walls exist in our hearts to separate us from those who don’t look like us, or think like us, or worship as we do, then we're going to have to work harder, together, to bring those walls of division down."
- President Obama, speaking at Berlin's Brandenburg Gate today during the G8 Summit.
6/18/13
The Obamas inspire the youth of Belfast...
This young student from Northern Ireland inspires the Obamas.
6/17/13
Quote of the day on immigration reform & the GOP
"If we don’t pass immigration reform , if we don’t get it off the table in a reasonable, practical way, it doesn’t matter who you run in 2016. We’re in a demographic death spiral as a party, and the only way we can get back in good graces with the Hispanic community, in my view, is pass comprehensive immigration reform. If you don’t do that, it really doesn’t matter who will run, in my view."
- Sen. Lindsey Graham, speaking yesterday on Meet The Press.
6/16/13
A video from Iran, where many people are celebrating the election of a president who is moderate by Iranian standards. This is a glimmer of hope...
Rouhani supporters celebrating in the streets and chanting “Mousavi, we collected your vote”
Check out the NYTimes' profile of Rouhani.
Happy Father's Day! Obama includes gay fathers in his Father's Day speech and activities
What a Father's Day it is, with these two gay fathers Kent and Diego Love-Ramirez, and their two-and-a-half-year-old son Lucas, being invited to the White House to celebrate this special holiday.
And in his weekly address, Obama said the following (via GayStarNews):
'Being a good parent – whether you’re gay or straight; a foster parent or a grandparent – isn’t easy,' the president said. 'It demands your constant attention, frequent sacrifice, and a healthy dose of patience.'
Another set of gay fathers that have been strong supporters of President Obama include Bob Page, Dale Frederiksen and their sons visit the White House:
6/14/13
The other night, 10-year-old Sebastien De La Cruz sang the national anthem beautifully. His appearance in a mariachi costume sparked a torrent of racist tweets, which Sebastien ignored
For his part, De La Cruz seems to be unfazed by the whole thing. From an interview with ABC affiliate KTRK Houston:
"I think the people were talking bad because of what I was wearing and it's not my fault." Sebastien said. "It's what I love and I'm just proud to be a mariachi singer. It's their opinion actually and if they don't like mariachi, that's their problem. I love it."
As GOP leaders try to discriminate against us, my president continues to show up every year for LGBT pride...and he makes America a better place for us everyday
The latest example of the work that Obama is doing for the LGBT, from LGBT ThinkProgress:
On the day President Obama took office, there was only one openly gay judge with a lifetime appointment to the federal bench, Clinton appointee Deborah Batts. There are now seven. Earlier today, the Senate confirmed openly lesbian Judge Nitza I. Quiñones Alejandro to a federal district court in Pennsylvania. Judge Quiñones joins Judges Alison Nathan, Paul Oetken,Michael Fitzgerald, Michael McShane and Pamela Ki Mai Chen, all of whom are openly gay federal judges appointed by President Obama.
GOP's great Latino savior, Marco Rubio, thinks it is fine to discriminate against the LGBT
'By and large I think all Americans should be protected but I’m not for any special protections based on orientation.'-- Senator Marco Rubio
"Lie of the day"
From the Daily Dish:
“We knew that a fair and balanced news channel could succeed, as long as no views were rejected and conservative views were allowed to be heard,”
– Roger Ailes, propagandist with a blacklist of forbidden guests, whose actual names are even airbrushed out of screen shots.
BTW, Ailes rehired Sarah Palin today. Enough said...
6/13/13
6/12/13
Photo of the day, this from the street protests in Turkey...
...our people are there, despite that society's strong anti-gay attitudes. Love cannot be suppressed.
6/11/13
This is one precocious gay salutatorian, from Texas: "Once you love yourself, you can be the best version of yourself."
By Belton High School Salutatorian Mitch Anderson:
Learning how to love and celebrate yourself is one of the most crucial and difficult aspects of life. To know who you truly are is the first step to enlightenment, to happiness. It sounds so facile, yet discovering and accepting who you are meant to be requires introspection and a willingness to submerge yourself into darkness. And that is what makes the task so daunting, so terrifying, if approached with complete authenticity. For the longest time, I was forced to live fractured, refusing to look at who I thought I was and then refusing to accept who I thought I might be. The journey into the soul is not for the faint of heart. Fear will naturally creep in, but those who use the fear to force themselves onward will succeed. After much dread and countless hours devoted to soul searching, for the first time, you will be able to love who you are.
But the task does not end there. If you know yourself, but incessantly crave an empty approval of others, you will be forever sorrowful. This is wherein the true challenge lies. As Madonna has said, “If your joy is derived from what society thinks of you, you’re always going to be disappointed.” You must be able to bare yourself to the world, and then let it be. You cannot be timid; you cannot be anxious. In a situation that seems so pyrrhic, you must evaluate what the costs and gains really are. You may think that hiding yourself is worth some superficial praise by society, or you can choose to learn that being who you are is vastly more important and rid yourself of those who cannot bring themselves to allow you to be you.
I myself am guilty of self-doubt, relying on others to give my life definition. But that time has passed, and I feel the moment has arrived for me to be publically true to my personal identity. So now, I can say, I’m gay. It is both a significant portion of who I am and an inconsequential aspect. It’s as natural and effortless to me as breathing. I couldn’t change myself even if I wanted, and believe me, I have.
I have been bullied a lot. I’ve been called unspeakable things and relegated to a place of lower class. I have been made to feel worthless, unneeded, a blight on the world. People have mocked me, said that I was virtually subhuman. So, for a while, I was in a very dark place. I had no concept of self-worth, and frequently pondered suicide. I became so dejected, that many times I thought of killing myself not just because I saw no point to life, but because I had been convinced that doing so would actually make the world better. And so, for many years, I continued the cyclical, destructive thought patterns. This happened both before and after I thought about my sexuality. And after I had realized I was gay, I hated myself. I wished and prayed endlessly that I could just go on with life normally, that I could be like everyone else. Being different felt like a curse, an unfair sentence to the life of an outcast.
There were moments when I believed I was next to nothing. But I learned that what others think of you is not nearly as meaningful as what you think of yourself. You cannot owe the quality of your existence to other people. You must evaluate your life and give it purpose. You must recognize that you are an expression of the divine, a being made perfect through celebration of your perceived imperfections.
Once you love yourself, you can be the best version of yourself. You will find success and happiness. You will find that being different is a wholly wonderful and joyous thing, because it will mark you for greatness. Wish not to be one of the million, but one in a million. Find your idiosyncrasies, find what will make you unique, and run with it. You will make far fewer mistakes if you allow your inner and truer feelings to guide you.
And when you feel like you will be abandoned, alienated, and cast out, ignore the sources of such toxicity. I believe Zachary Quinto put it best by saying, “If people don’t want to work with me because of my sexual orientation, then I have no interest in working with them to begin with.” This statement can be applied to any situation you encounter where someone is put off by your expressing yourself. Surround yourself with those who will be supportive of you, and remind yourself that you are beautiful in your own way.
The people who tear you down, who spit vitriol and ire, pity them. They lash out because they have intrinsic flaws that they refuse to face. They have unresolved deficiencies within that cause them to inflict harm on others. They have no external peace because internally there is a want of harmony.
The world could use a little bit more love. Let us all not be so quick to judge. We ought to be a bit kinder to others. Be not afraid of what you do not know, because more often than not, it’s probably incredibly similar to what you know. And when you disagree with someone, hate is not a form of love. Think for a moment about what damage your words would do before speaking.
I invite everyone to be more reflective, more meditative. I ask everyone to give themselves a good hard look and define what they like about themselves. I ask all of you to learn what it means to love yourself, if you haven’t already.
Please, embrace self-empowerment. You gain confidence, an unswerving belief that you matter and the ability of your existence to make an indelible mark on the world. You gain compassion and empathy. You will love and be loved. Most importantly, you will finally start living the life that you were always meant to live.
I would be remiss, however, if I failed to incorporate a Harry Potter reference to the theme of my speech, so I will. Be a Luna Lovegood, not a Pansy Parkinson. Be a little bit strange and off-kilter, and not so desperate to be popular. Strive for legitimacy, and skirt what makes you vapid. Find fellowship with everyone, not those you have preordained.
I have a few final, closing thoughts, before I turn over the podium. First, I find Zachary Quinto’s eyebrows very attractive. Second, I would like to be friends with Lady Gaga and Beyoncé Knowles-Carter. And third, I would like everyone to remember that “Starships were meant to fly, Hands up and touch the sky, Can’t stop ‘cause we’re so high, let’s do this one more time.”
6/10/13
6/9/13
Story of the day...
James Wharton, who served in the British military for ten years, said that in 2008 six soldiers threatened to batter him over a gay rumor regarding one of their fellow platoon-men.
Wharton, who was 21 at the time, went to Prince Harry to ask for help.
According to British newspaper the Daily Mail, Prince Harry had a look of ‘bewilderment’ when Wharton told him: ‘I think I’m going to be murdered by the infantry’.
‘I couldn’t stop the tears from welling up in my eyes,’ Wharton said.
Prince Harry apparently told him: ‘Right, I’m going to sort this shit out once and for all.’
Prince Harry allegedly approached the group of men and warned they would be subject to ‘severe discipline’ if they did not rescind their threatening behavior.
Wharton said of the Prince: ‘I could see he wasn’t holding back.’
Wharton describes Prince Harry, who was his tank commander, as ‘one of my greatest protectors’.
‘I will always be grateful to Harry and I will never forget what happened. Until he went over and dealt with everything I was on track for a battering.’
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