Kobe Bryant has supportive words for Caitlyn Jenner and others being their ‘true self’

Caitlyn Jenner will receive the Arthur Ashe Courage Award tonight at the ESPY Awards in Los Angeles – the same city where Kobe Bryant has won five NBA championships for the Lakers.

Bryant was asked about Jenner earlier today by TMZ and he only had words of support for the 1976 Olympic champion.

‘I think people have to be comfortable being themselves,’ Bryant said. ‘Doesn’t matter what walk of life you’re in, man, you gotta be comfortable being you. You got to be comfortable in your own skin.’

Bryant said he had met Jenner as the Bruce and believes he can continue to achieve great things as Caitlyn.

‘You got to be comfortable being who you are, man – that’s the philosophy behind it all,’ he said.

‘Be comfortable being you.’

Bryant, 36, has become much more thoughtful when it comes to LGBTI people in recent years.

It was only back in 2011 that Bryant called a referee a ‘faggot’ during the heat of a basketball game. The criticism was swift and he delivered the expected apology.

Then in 2013, Bryant took things a step further without any prodding.

In the middle of a Twitter exchange, he told a fan to stop using ‘you’re gay’ as an insult.

‘Just letting you know that using (you’re) gay as a way to put someone down ain’t ok! Delete that out of ur vocab!’

When some called Bryant a hypocrite because of his own 2011 incident using a gay slur, he replied: ‘Exactly! That wasn’t cool and ignorant on my part. I own it and learn from it and expect the same from others.’

The post Kobe Bryant has supportive words for Caitlyn Jenner and others being their ‘true self’ appeared first on Gay Star News.

Greg Hernandez

www.gaystarnews.com/article/kobe-bryant-has-supportive-words-for-caitlyn-jenner-and-others-being-their-true-self/

Hawaii Bill Allowing Transgender People to Amend Birth Certificates Signed into Law

Earlier this week, Hawaii Governor David Ige signed HB 631, a bill to help the state better reflect the identity of transgender people in Hawaii, into law.
HRC.org

www.hrc.org/blog/entry/hawaii-bill-allowing-transgender-people-to-amend-birth-certificates-signed?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Men, You “Need To Perform Kegel Exercises” To Improve Your Sex Life

According to female Details contributor K. Aleisha Fetters, “Your penis needs a workout.”

And since she isn’t offering any tips on finding a spotter, the real message is men “need to perform Kegel exercises,” those tightening exercises of the pelvic floor’s pubococcygeus (PC) muscles.

Related: Science Confirms The Bigger The Belly, The Better The Lover

You likely remember the term from Sex and the City, when Samantha demonstrated her expertise while brunching with the ladies. Typically associated with women as way of — how is it Fetters puts it? — “preventing that ‘hot dog flying down a hallway’ feeling,” men can also expect all sorts of promising benefits from Kegels. Everything from curbing premature ejaculation and curing ED to making your dick point up like a cobra being charmed out of a wicker basket. Oh, and an oh-so-elusive promise of “more intense orgasms,” because when has a magazine ever promised its readers that?

Most of the logic is fairly sound — strengthen the muscles that support erections and you’ll improve blood flow and gain added control during intimate encounters.

As Brian L. Steixner, M.D., director of the Institute for Men’s Health at Jersey Urology Group notes, “ED is really just a heart attack of the penis.” So think twice the next time you’re tempted to penetrate a doughnut. Trans fats, people. Wake up.

Related: Five Easy Yoga Poses To Make Power Bottoming More Enjoyable

As far as delaying climax, Kegels have something real to offer. When you contract the PC muscles, it sends a message to your brain that it’s time to pee. Pardon the medical jargon, but the penis only has one hole. Performing the exercises when you feel a big finish approaching can help you continue on like the sex god we’re sure you’re destined to be.

Then the science gets a little more fuzzy.

“Some research shows that Kegel exercises can make erections point further up in men whose penises tend to point down or straight forward when erect,” says urologist Darius A. Paduch. Well as long as some research shows it, it’s got to be true.

Fetters prescribes three sets of ten, three times a day to achieve results.

Start clenching, people.

Dan Tracer

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Man Fired Over Anti-Gay Social Media Post Sues Ford, Job Firm

Thomas Banks, an Ypsilanti, Michigan man, has sued the Ford Motor Company and a job firm, claiming his 2014 firing was a violation of his religious freedom and civil rights.

In 2014, Banks publicly condemned Ford for their pro-gay policies, accusing the company in an internet comment of “endorsing and promoting sodomy.” Banks was fired for the comment.

His suit seeks an unspecified amount for loss of wages, mental anguish, emotional distress, humiliation, shame and anxiety. Speaking with the Detroit Free Press, spokespeople for Ford said they have not yet seen the complaint, so are “not in a position to comment on it.” Rapid Global Business Solutions, the job firm being sued by Banks, also said they have not yet seen the lawsuit.

Previously, in January of this year, Banks brought a complaint against the two companies via nonprofit organization Liberty Institute, alleging religious discrimination. On April 13, the EEOC notified Banks of their decision not to pursue his complaint.

The post Man Fired Over Anti-Gay Social Media Post Sues Ford, Job Firm appeared first on Towleroad.

Jake Folsom

Man Fired Over Anti-Gay Social Media Post Sues Ford, Job Firm

WATCH: Boy George Sings The Doors' 'Hello, I Love You' on 'Conan'

The out Culture Club singer was joined by comedian Jack Black and Doors guitarist Robby Krieger.

read more

Gina Vivinetto

www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/music/2015/07/15/watch-boy-george-sings-doors-hello-i-love-you-conan

Scott Walker Supports Boy Scouts' Ban On Gay Adults Because It 'Protects' Children

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker didn’t mince words on Monday’s news that the Boy Scouts of America had come one step closer to ending their ban on gay adult participants. 

The Republican presidential hopeful, who has proudly referenced his years as a Boy Scout in past speeches and interviews, told Independent Journal Review July 14 he favored the organization’s existing policy, which allows for gay youth participants but bars those age 18 and over. 

“I have had a lifelong commitment to the Scouts,” he told the publication, “and support the previous membership policy because it protected children and advanced Scout values.”

Later, Walker reiterated that stance in a separate interview that same day following a campaign speech in Las Vegas.

“I think the previous policy was perfectly fine,” he said. 

Walker’s campaign spokesperson later clarified the governor’s remarks to MSNBC, noting that the heavily-criticized policy simply “protected Scouts from the rancorous political debate over policy issues and culture wars.”  

Still, the comments have nonetheless sparked the ire of Human Rights Campaign (HRC) President Chad Griffin. In a statement posted on HRC’s website, Griffin blasted the GOP presidential hopeful’s words as “offensive, outrageous and absolutely unacceptable,” and added, “If Scott Walker is trying to get his merit badge in being shamefully irresponsible, he just earned it with flying colors.”

Previously, Walker condemned the Supreme Court’s June 25 ruling that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide, noting in a statement, “As a result of this decision, the only alternative left for the American people is to support an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to reaffirm the ability of the states to continue to define marriage.”

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HRC U: HRC Arkansas Welcomes Summer Interns

This summer, two interns joined HRC Arkansas to help expand LGBT equality in the Natural State.
HRC.org

www.hrc.org/blog/entry/hrc-u-hrc-arkansas-welcomes-summer-interns?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Joe Biden Describes First Teenage Experience With Gay Men

OK, maybe that story about Joe Biden sashaying through the halls of the White House in the celebratory aftermath of marriage equality with a rainbow flag draped behind him like a cape was a bit too farfetched to be real (though it made for one hell of a photoshop), but there are plenty of actual reasons to still love the Veep.

Take, for instance, his adorable retelling of the first time he ever saw two men kissing.

A 17-year-old Joe was driving with his father in Wilmington, Delaware when Joe got a lasting lesson in love:

“As we were stopped at the light, two men on the right — very well-dressed men, obviously, business people working for either Hercules or DuPont turned and embraced one another and kissed each other. And they went their separate ways,” he told a crowd of 1,000 Freedom to Marry supporters during a recent speech.

“I’ll never forget. I turned and looked at my dad, just looked at him. And I’ll never forget what he said. He said, Joey, they love each other. It’s simple. They love each other. It’s simple.

That’s what this has been all about from the beginning.”

We’re guessing Rick Santorum’s father imparted a slightly different message, but you can’t win ’em all, can you?

Biden ended his speech with another memorable, more recent gay kiss between footballer Abby Wambach and her wife after the US victory at the Women’s World Cup:

“With a flag in hand and her arm around her wife, giving her a kiss, that is really something.

It was just as normal as countless other times you’ve seen that happen.”

Stay classy, Joe.

Dan Tracer

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Guernsey County, Ohio Officials Refuse To Marry Any Couples After SCOTUS Ruling: VIDEO

Couples in Guernsey County, Ohio will no longer be able to seek civil marriages because the county’s three judges have said they are getting out of the marriage business.

A local mayor, Thomas D. Orr, the mayor of Cambridge, has also said that he will stop performing marriages.

All the officials in question have said this change has nothing to do with gay marriage. However, the timing is suspicious. The news comes shortly after the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage nationwide and at a time when county clerks and judges elsewhere in the US are similarly attempting to get out of the marriage business to avoid having to marry same-sex couples.

The Columbus Dispatch reports:

Contacted by The Dispatch, spokesmen for the four officials did not say that they aren’t doing weddings because they oppose the June 26 U.S. Supreme Court ruling legalizing same-sex marriage. They cited other reasons….

A spokeswoman for Guernsey Probate Judge David B. Bennett [above, 3rd from left] said that he has never performed marriage ceremonies of any kind.

Guernsey Municipal Judge John Mark Nicholson [above left]  hasn’t performed weddings for more than a year, according to his assistant, Katie Archibald. “Our schedule is too busy,” she said.

A spokeswoman for Guernsey Common Pleas Judge David A. Ellwood [above second from left] said he “does not have the jurisdiction to perform wedding ceremonies.”

According to the Ohio Revised Code, county judges who are equivalent to municipal court judges have the power to “solemnize marriages,” but common pleas judges do not.

Cambridge Mayor Orr [above right] is “no longer doing marriages,” said Mary A. Green, his administrative assistant. “It’s been real bothersome to try to fit them in with his schedule.”

The end result appears to be that couples in Guernsey will need to travel to a neighboring county to have a civil marriage. A prospect some couples are not happy about:

Levi Wade, a Cambridge resident, and his partner have the option of being married by a clergy member, but that’s not what they want. They planned a civil ceremony but so far haven’t found anyone in the county to perform their marriage.

“We didn’t want to go to a church. We wanted no religion involved,” Wade said. The couple was issued a marriage license on July 6 by the Guernsey County Probate Court.

“We could go to another county. I think that’s wrong,” Wade said. “This is my home, too. I shouldn’t have to cross multiple jurisdictions to do something that should be available to everybody.”

Watch a news report on what’s going on in Guernsey and an interview with Wade below:

(Photo of Mark Nicholson via The Daily Jeff)

The post Guernsey County, Ohio Officials Refuse To Marry Any Couples After SCOTUS Ruling: VIDEO appeared first on Towleroad.

Sean Mandell

Guernsey County, Ohio Officials Refuse To Marry Any Couples After SCOTUS Ruling: VIDEO