PHOTOS: Toronto Shows Off Its Pride

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Christopher Harrity

www.advocate.com/pride/2015/07/04/photos-toronto-shows-its-pride

Polyamorous Attorney Agrees SCOTUS Decision Could Lead To Group Marriage
One of the conservative right’s favorite arguments against legalized same-sex marriage nationwide is that it’s a slippery slope that could lead to polygamy — and if you’re Justice Anthony Scalia or Ben Carson, it could even lead to beastiality. Others argue that drawing a connection between gay marriage and plural marriage is both an irrelevant and unfounded argument. However, one attorney argued on HuffPost Live on earlier this week that polygamy could have legal precedent.

Andy Izenson, an attorney with Diana Adams Law and Mediation who also identifies as polyamorous, explained to host Nancy Redd that the same legal reasoning to protect same-sex marriage under the 14th Amendment “could plausibly” be extended to protect group marriages, presuming it’s consensual.

“The idea that a three-person or four-person union between consenting adults is not fundamentally different from a two-person union between consenting adults is absolutely legit,” Izenson said.

But she added that the conservative “slippery slope” rhetoric that somehow leads to “beastiality and then people marrying their toasters” is baseless because it negates the need for consent. Izenson said Scalia invokes these presumptions as a means of scaring people because he’s perturbed by the country’s current socio-political climate.

“He’s just trying to scare people. It’s not actually a thing to be concerned about. It discounts the fact that as individuals, and as a society, we actually have the capacity to make rational reasoned choices about what we do,” she said, later adding, “But as long as you’ve got a consensual union between adults who know what they’re doing, then I think the logic is sound.”

Watch the full HuffPost Live conversation about marriage law here.

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Mormon church makes first ever donation to LGBTI charity

The Church of Jesus Chris of Latter-Day Saints donated for the first time ever to an LGBTI charity in Salt Lake City, Utah.

As reported on Thursday in a local news source, the Church donated $2500 (€2250) to the Utah Pride Centre, a homeless and poor youth support centre. It cited the charity as a ‘worthy project’.

This represents a first step in building relations between the Mormon church and the gay community: the Church supported Proposition 8, the 2008 legislation to ban gay marriage in California. It was ruled unconstitutional.

The Utah Pride Centre provids food and counselling to around 40 homeless LGBTI people a week, as well as sex-safe kits and mental health support services.

‘We are grateful for their generosity and the emerging relationship’ Kent Frogley said, the chairman of the centre’s board of directors.

He added this was: ‘a significant moment’ in its relationship with the church.

‘I think it’s these first steps that really help us to understand each other, build some trust and realize that it’s possible for people who aren’t in complete sync in everything to be a force for good and to make positive change in the world.’

It is estimated the between 20 and 40% of homeless youth in America are LGBTI.

The post Mormon church makes first ever donation to LGBTI charity appeared first on Gay Star News.

Jack Flanagan

www.gaystarnews.com/article/mormon-church-makes-first-ever-donation-to-lgbti-charity/

Recognizing LGBT Independence this Fourth of July

While each year we celebrate America’s independence with family and friends, this year we have something extra to celebrate.
HRC.org

www.hrc.org/blog/entry/recognizing-lgbt-independence-this-fourth-of-july?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Amber Heard: 'I Don’t Want to Have to Deny My Sexuality in Order to Be Me'

The bisexual actress says roles have been harder to come by since coming out.

read more

Eliel Cruz

www.advocate.com/bisexuality/2015/07/04/amber-heard-i-don-t-want-have-deny-my-sexuality-order-be-me

Watch a gay Nigerian activist remember the moment he changed someone’s mind

The impact of a single person can be amazing.

Last week, the Bisi Alimi Foundation released a report which found acceptance of homosexuality increased 9% in Nigeria since 2010, but unacceptance is still high (86%).

In an interview with GLAAD, Bisi Alimi, a Nigerian activist and founder of the the foundation, tells his story as a gay Nigerian.

GLAAD’s Claire Pires asked Alimi if a moment really stood out for him in his career: one that ‘kept him going’.

He said there was. ‘There was one particular one in January last year, I had just finished an interview on CNN. It was on my birthday actually.

‘I was so exhausted. This is not the way I wanted to celebrate my birthday.

‘I got back home, and I went on Facebook and Twitter because I wanted to see what was going on.

‘I’d got a message from a middle-aged woman, who said: “I just watched you on TV. Thank you so much for…’ Bisi then paused to stop himself from crying.

The woman’s message said she’d thrown her son out after catching him with another man.

But she testified she loved him and ‘wanted the best for him.’

Alimi called her and told her took for her son. His parents kicked him out after he came out, and he never got over it. He said: ‘They will never get the son they kicked out’; alluding to the irreparable damage rejection creates.

‘I will never forget that at a very confused time in my life, they kicked me out.’

The mother took his advice, and is now a very active member of his fan club on Facebook.

‘For me, there is one other man, one other man out there, and I need to get across to that person.’

Regarding the survey results, Alimi says: ‘I feel really proud of my country.’

There will be a Twitter chat today with the Bisi Alimi Foundation, as well as two other activist groups in Nigeria, at 12pm EST (4pm GMT).

Watch Alimi’s story below:

The post Watch a gay Nigerian activist remember the moment he changed someone’s mind appeared first on Gay Star News.

Jack Flanagan

www.gaystarnews.com/article/watch-a-gay-nigerian-activist-remember-the-moment-he-changed-someones-mind/

PHOTOS: Big Daddies Keep Naughty Go-Go Boys In Check

Legendary cub promoters the Boulet Brothers hosted Big Daddy’s at Precinct, Downtown L.A.’s brand spankin’ new gay bar. Tattooed daddies kept the randy go-go boys in check, while DJs and drag queens kept the party raging well into the early hours of the morn.

Scroll down for some pictures of the night, and see the full gallery over at GayCities…

Photo credit: Rolling Blackouts

Graham Gremore

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