4 Best Defenses of Right to Marry From Ninth Circuit Victories
The Ninth Circuit flatly rejected arguments that legal same-sex marriage will prompt opposite-sex couples to fall into ‘sex, drugs, and rock-and-roll.’
Matt Baume
Daily Archives: October 9, 2014
Anderson Cooper Jokes That His Mom 'Hooked Up With' Her Fair Share Of Hollywood Men
Anderson Cooper Jokes That His Mom 'Hooked Up With' Her Fair Share Of Hollywood Men
We’ve heard Anderson Cooper talk about his mother, Gloria Vanderbilt, but never quite like this.
Cooper spoke candidly with David Letterman on Wednesday night about all the guys his mother had “hooked up with” in Hollywood. Which, apparently, turns out to be a lot of guys.
“Watching old movies with my mom is a trip,” Cooper said. “I’m like nervously eating popcorn like, ‘Did you know the third dancer on the right?'”
To which Letterman had the perfect response: “My mom hooked up with Harry Truman.”
H/T Mediaite
HRC Releases Scorecard of 113th Congress Showing Record Gains in Support for LGBT Equality
HRC Releases Scorecard of 113th Congress Showing Record Gains in Support for LGBT Equality
100% scores at an all-time high, nearly perfect average score for Democrats, and record-breaking support for marriage equality
HRC.org
British Reality Star Charlie King Comes Out as Gay on UK Talk Show: VIDEO
British Reality Star Charlie King Comes Out as Gay on UK Talk Show: VIDEO
Charlie King, one of the former stars of British reality TV show The Only Way is Essex (TOWIE – which also stars Dan Osborne) came out of the closet during a live interview on ITV’s talk show This Morning. TOWIE has been compared to The Hills and Jersey Shore.
Said King:
“I feel that I’m ready now. I know that the time is now. Anybody that knows me knows that I’ve come off of The Only Way is Essex, and on that show they followed my storyline which was very much about that subject because I never really knew where I belonged and never really knew where I fitted in and it was something I had to address and it’s taken me a good few years to really get here now and be able to say I’m Charlie, I’m 29 years old, I’m a gay man, and I’m very comfortable with that.”
Watch part of King’s coming out interview, as well as a clip from last year’s season of the show in which he denies being gay, AFTER THE JUMP…
And then there’s this:
Andy Towle
www.towleroad.com/2014/10/towie-star-charlie-king-comes-out-as-gay-on-uk-talk-show-video.html
Chasing Rainbows? (ft Irish Senator & LGBT activist David Norris)
Chasing Rainbows? (ft Irish Senator & LGBT activist David Norris)
The issue of LGBT rights has been one of the most divisive and challenging for modern societies. Is it fair to demand of developing nations that which has taken the West decades to come to…
Kenyan Trans Woman Wins Recognition in Landmark Victory
Kenyan Trans Woman Wins Recognition in Landmark Victory
Audrey Mbugua’s high-profile lawsuits have not only won her the right to change her school records: They’ve drawn national attention to the push for transgender equality.
Mitch Kellaway
The top 100 LGBTI business leaders and straight allies revealed
The top 100 LGBTI business leaders and straight allies revealed
Christopher Bailey, CEO and Chief Creative Officer at Burberry, and ‘straight ally’ Sir Richard Branson at Virgin, top this year’s rankings
davidh
www.gaystarnews.com/article/top-100-lgbti-business-leaders-and-straight-allies-revealed091014
Arguments Against Marriage Equality Are Now So Weak That A Federal Judge Openly Mocks Them
Arguments Against Marriage Equality Are Now So Weak That A Federal Judge Openly Mocks Them
The Supreme Court’s non-decision about marriage equality guarantees it’s a done deal. But it also means that we’re in a long round of federal and state court decisions about marriage.
Judging from the ruling striking down marriage bans in Nevada and Idaho, this will be a lot of fun.
We’ve now reached the point where federal judges not only discount the flimsy arguments against marriage equality, but openly make fun of them. In his ruling, Federal Judge Stephen Reinhardt can’t help but twist the knife a little as he basically tells Idaho Gov. Butch Otter (yes, that’s his name) that his defense of traditional marriage is laughable.
Otter and the Coalition for the Protection of Marriage, which compared marriage equality to white supremacy, were the only defenders of the law after Nevada officials refused to defend that state’s ban. The governor and the group advanced the usual arguments: save the children, it’s all about procreation, marriage has always been like this.
Reinhardt was, to put it bluntly, unimpressed. At various points, he describes Otter’s arguments as “crass and callous” and “off the rails.” But it’s in a footnote that he really unloads on Otter:
“[Gov. Otter] also states, in conclusory fashion, that allowing same-sex marriage will lead opposite-sex couples to abuse alcohol and drugs, engage in extra marital affairs, take on demanding work schedules, and participate in time-consuming hobbies. We seriously doubt that allowing committed same-sex couples to settle down in legally recognized marriages will drive opposite-sex couples to sex, drugs,and rock-and-roll.”
Ouch.
Reinhardt, a Carter appointee, is well known as one of the most liberal judges on the bench. He wrote the majority opinion upholding Judge Vaughn Walker’s dismissal of Proposition 8. Early in the year, he issued a groundbreaking ruling involving a gay juror being excused from a case involving an HIV drug. Reinhardt made it clear that he felt LGBT cases deserved “heightened scrutiny,” just one step below the highest the court could apply.
Not every judge is Reinhardt, but with cases now pending in all the remaining states where marriage is outlawed, there are bound to be some other fun rulings in the future. As for the anti-marriage forces–when you become a laughing stock in federal court, time to admit the jig is up.
Photo credit: American Constitution Society
JohnGallagher
LGBT Classic Books | Sexuality in Mademoiselle de Maupin
LGBT Classic Books | Sexuality in Mademoiselle de Maupin
A Discussion of sexuality (mostly bisexuality) in the LGBT Classic book, Mademoiselle de Maupin.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHCk-1BAsiU&feature=youtube_gdata
Rock Legend Introduces Classic Gay Star to New Generation
Rock Legend Introduces Classic Gay Star to New Generation
Stewart Copeland’s score brings new life to the silent film Ben-Hur and new audiences to gay star Ramon Novarro.
Trudy Ring
