US group uses humor to slam Kim Davis

Hopefully Kim Davis drives past the billboards of Planting Peace. The global nonprofit organization has taken out a number of public ads, making fun of the Kentucky county clerk. On the right, there’s a picture of three goats and a cow. To their  left, a message that will make your day.

‘Dear Kim Davis,’ the ad says. ‘The fact that you can’t sell your daughter for three goats and a cow means we’re already redefined marriage.’

On its site, the group gives a great explanation why its adding a voice to the Davis firestorm.

‘The intent of the billboard is to expose this narrow interpretation by Davis and others that they use to defend their discrimination against the LGBTQ community,’ the group says.

‘It is important and relevant to call this out, because these messages and actions are not simply about a political or religious debate. There are LGBTQ youth across the world who are taking their lives at an alarming rate because of these messages from society that make them feel broken or less than. We have to meet hate with love…intolerance with compassion.’

Hard to disagree with that. Go give Planting Peace some money. Always good to support allies who do good work.

UPDATE: Aaron Jackson, president of Planting Peace, sent GSN an email.

‘Our message to our LGBTQ youth is simple,’ Jackson’s note said. ‘You are loved, valued, supported, and beautiful. There is nothing wrong with you, and we will stand by you. You are not alone.’

h/t: Phillymag.com

The post US group uses humor to slam Kim Davis appeared first on Gay Star News.

James Withers

www.gaystarnews.com/article/us-group-uses-humor-to-slam-kim-davis/

Elton John Lobbies for LGBT Rights in Ukraine, Says He’d Like to Meet Putin: VIDEO

Sir Elton John, accompanied by his husband David Furnish, met with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in Kiev on Saturday to lobby him on LGBT rights after speaking at the  Yalta European Strategy forum where he spoke on the same topic.

The Kyiv Post reports:

He came with a simple plea for Ukrainians to support tolerance and equal rights for all – regardless of race or sexual orientation.

Ukrainians still have much progress to make in accepting homosexuality, John said, citing the foiled attempt by 250 people to hold a gay pride parade in Kyiv in June. John noted that the location had to be kept secret and that twice as many riot-police officers were called to duty as marchers. And still, the singer noted, the gay-rights marchers were attacked.

“The march lasted all of 10 minutes,” John said in Kyiv’s Mystetskyi Arsenal. “This happened in this city weeks ago. So I am telling you we have a long way to go.”

John said that as Ukraine tries to break free from its old patterns and create a “new” nation, it should adopt the values of tolerance and respect for human rights. Not only is it the morally right stance, but John said that the economy will be more prosperous when employers embrace diversity.

John also spoke with the BBC after the meeting, telling the news outlet that he would like to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin:

“I’d love to meet him [Putin], I’d love to sit down and talk to him. It’s probably pie in the sky but unless you try, unless you put your foot in the water, your toe in the water … at least if I meet him and say, ‘Listen, come on, let’s have a cup of tea, let’s talk about this’, he might laugh behind my back and then he shuts the door and call me an absolute idiot but at least I can have a conscience and say I’d tried.”

Watch a report from Ukraine Today:

The post Elton John Lobbies for LGBT Rights in Ukraine, Says He’d Like to Meet Putin: VIDEO appeared first on Towleroad.

Andy Towle

Elton John Lobbies for LGBT Rights in Ukraine, Says He’d Like to Meet Putin: VIDEO

Burning Man Promoters Are Considering A Lawsuit Against Quiznos Over Parody Video

You wouldn’t think the Burning Man festival could still be mined for parody after having just wrapped its 29th annual installment, but some impressively sly copywriters at Quiznos have just cooked up a lighthearted (and not cheaply produced) faux movie trailer that effortlessly skewers the weeklong “Utopian” arts showcase.

Related: Welcome to the Gayborhood at Burning Man, 2015

Out of the Maze and into the Playa was posted to YouTube with little to no fanfare earlier this week, one day after Burning Man ran its course on Monday. The plot finds a cadre of hip, slightly airy young people sent to Burning Man as a test of their mettle. “Welcome to Burning Man,” crows a gruff Burner as the characters begin their jiggly journey. “The world outside is hanging on by a very thin, non-GMO, cruelty-free, oragnic hemp thread. Beyond this tent flap lies the beginning of your new lives as Burners.”

Well, in a news nugget that might make actual Burners feel even queasier than already do today, USA Today reports that Burning Man organizers aren’t particularly good sports when The Man in question decided to do a little burning back.

Related: It’s Flashy, It’s Techy, It’s Super Gay — It’s “Burning Man: The Musical”

Burning Man spokesman Jim Graham claims they take issue with the clip and are strongly considering taking legal action — not, he says, because of the breezy mockery it makes of the 70,000-person event, but because the video (which includes a human car wash, a unicorn car that shoots fireballs, back rubs, and some dippy hippies wearing backpacks) is stealing the event’s intellectual property rights.

“We are pretty proactive about protecting our 10 principles,” Graham officiously claims, in a statement that doesn’t altogether jibe with the free-for-all spirit of the event. “We get quite a number of requests each year from companies wanting to gift participants with their product, or to capture imagery or video of their products at the event, and we turn them all down.”

Watch Burn Trial – Out of the Maze and into the Playa below:

Jeremy Kinser

feedproxy.google.com/~r/queerty2/~3/Czc-YxCC8js/burning-man-promoters-are-considering-a-lawsuit-against-quiznos-over-parody-video-20150913

Coming Out to My Grandparents: A Love Story
My grandparents were born and raised during very prejudiced times.

Despite that fact, throughout my life I only witnessed them demonstrate unconditional love towards others, towards one another, and towards me. Because of that I have always had a remarkably close and sacred relationship with them. They were the first–and the only–people I sat down with to ‘officially’ come out to.

Other people in my life had either already assumed that I was gay or figured it out organically. For the most part of my adult life, I was determined to just be me. I didn’t try to hide my sexuality, but I also didn’t go out of my way to publicly label myself. Whatever people thought was fine with me. But because of the special relationship I had with my grandparents, it was important to me that I had a proper talk with them about it. 

Every New Year’s Eve, for many years, I would decline invitations to cool parties and instead spend the evening with my grandparents. It was on one of those nights that I knew it was time for the talk.

I was nervous. It was late. My grandfather had just fallen asleep, and that left me–after a bottle of Prosecco–alone with my grandmother with just enough courage to start talking.

“Grandma, I need to tell you something. You may want to sit down.”

She sat down and said, “What is it, Mandy?” That was their pet name for me.

“Well, I’m in a relationship with (name of girlfriend at the time), and we’re not just friends. We’re like … a thing … we’re … a couple.”

At that moment, my grandmother took a deep breath, closed her eyes and started shaking her head. I panicked thinking, Oh no what have I done? I couldn’t handle the thought of disappointing them. What if what I just revealed made them feel differently about me and changed our relationship? My heart sank to my stomach. Just when I could feel it ready to explode my grandmother opened her eyes, glared at me, and in a stern voice said, “But she is just so bossy to you!”

Wait. What?

She went on to give me the lecture of my life about not letting others boss me around, about how I deserved to be treated, and how I needed to stand up for myself. 

God love her.

I got up from the chair, went to the other side of the table, gave her a massive hug and showered her with kisses. Then I cried.

The next day my grandfather heard the news. Still to this day when I think about his response I get overwhelmed with emotion. While he probably already knew, after getting confirmation that I was indeed gay, all he cared about was that when I found the one that I would be committed to loving and honoring them with all of my heart and that they would love and honor me in the same way.

My grandfather past away last September-shortly after Grandparents Day-after a long battle with Parkinson’s. During the last year of his life, even though he was in an electric wheel chair and it would take him an hour to get from one end of the room to the other, even though he could barely take care of himself, he’d still make the journey to my grandmother’s dresser and lay out her pajamas for her before they’d go to bed.

He did that every night.

On the day my grandfather died we all could sense the time had arrived. About an hour before he passed away my grandmother went to her bedroom, put on her finest outfit and fixed herself up to look beautiful for him. She came back out, sat beside him on his hospice bed and held his hand. She begin to tell him some of the most touching things that I’d ever heard one lover speak to another – about how she felt about him, their love and the life they shared together. She thanked him for loving her so well and let him know that Jesus was waiting for him, that it was ok for him to go and that she would be taken care of.

My grandparents, Don and Maxine Hite, were married for over 64 years.

When I think about the type of unconditional love we hope to receive from others when we come out and the type of unconditional love we hope to share with another for the rest of our lives, I think of them. That’s the type of love we come out for.

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

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Obergefell attorneys want more than $1 million in fees and expenses

The Ohioan attorneys who took on the Obergefell case filed a request Friday for more than $1,100,000 (€891,223) in expenses and legal fees for the case.

They argue the case was difficult and resulted in the landmark change of the laws regarding marriage, and note few attorneys would have otherwise taken on the case.

Jim Obergefell sued the state of Ohio’s health director for refusing to list him as the surviving spouse of his husband, Jim Arthur – the two were married in Maryland.

The state case grew to a national campaign in the United States to legalize gay marriage in the country.

The post Obergefell attorneys want more than $1 million in fees and expenses appeared first on Gay Star News.

Jack Flanagan

www.gaystarnews.com/article/obergefell-attorneys-want-more-than-1-million-in-fees-and-expenses/

BrokeFit: Best Bang for Your Buck Food Options — Cottage Cheese

When you’re trying to eat healthy on a budget, some meals that you come up with can be somewhat…adventurous combinations, to say the least. More than anything, you need to be willing to try some things that you normally wouldn’t consider, for the sake of good sources of your macros (here’s a quick guide to macronutrients for those who aren’t familiar with the term). Today, I want to talk about my favorite go-to protein source: Cottage cheese!

This stuff was crucial to bodybuilders before big ol’ tubs of whey protein were readily available. It’s also a great vegetarian option as well. Obviously, this isn’t exactly the best choice for paleo fans or vegans because it’s dairy, but again, this is about being as healthy and strong as possible while on a broke budget. Consider it an extreme “in case of emergency” option if you are simply against dairy. Per each 4 oz serving, it’s high in protein (about 14g), low in carbs (about 5g), and only ranges from 0 to 5g of fat. You’re also getting a nice little kick of calcium in there, as well as a handful of other minerals. You can usually find this stuff for pretty cheap: a 1 lb. tub usually goes for about $1.80 to $3.00, depending on brand and store sales.

One of the greatest components of cottage cheese is that it is a casein protein, which digests a bit slower, therefore keeping you fuller for longer. I know some people hate this stuff: the texture the taste, color, whatever. But as I mentioned before, a limited budget can really force someone to get creative. Mix some avocado in with it, or make it a macro-balanced, parfait-style meal with a nut and dried fruit trail mix.

Bottom line: This stuff will keep you bulked and strong when the wallet is hurtin’!

For more information or to book a class, visit www.phoenixeffectla.com.

The Phoenix Effect, a metabolic bootcamp that gets you in shape fast, is offered exclusively at 7264 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, CA.

Jeremy Kinser

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Time To Get Clerks Out Of The Marriage License Business For Good

If there’s one thing we’ve learned from the Kim Davis saga, it’s that it only takes one forgiven Christian (or hypocrite in more ecumenical language) to make a mockery of the Supreme Court marriage equality ruling.

Most times, county clerks are the keeper of the local records–in essence, the guardian of local government filing cabinets. But as we learned from Davis’s case, when it comes to marriage at least, clerks can take a routine matter and turn it into a public statement, at the expense of whoever happens to be in the way of their beliefs. And for this taxpayers are hit with her $80,000 salary plus benefits.

So here’s an idea: Let’s get clerks out of the business of issuing marriage licenses.

Ostensibly, the reason clerks issue marriage licenses is to verify that the couple getting married is who they say they are. The county also has a more-than-passing interest in collecting the license fee. But there’s no reason clerks have to be the arbiters of identity.

Think about virtually any other permit that you may require from your local government. In many municipalities, you can request the permit online and never have to show up in the clerk’s office. (Although let’s face it: Governments are not exactly AirBnb or Uber when it comes to technology.)  The county can collect the fee through its website (and is happy to do so, since it reduces staff time).

And what about verifying identity? After all, people could otherwise obtain marriage licenses fraudulently, claiming to be who they aren’t (or of age when they’re not).

Consider this: you can pay for an airline ticket to anywhere in the world, without ever interacting with a person who questions your right to fly. The proof point comes at the time of the event itself: when it’s departure time. Then the TSA agent checks to make sure that you are, indeed, you.

So why isn’t it the same with marriage? Officiants are the last stop before the event itself. Checking ID is no more complicated for them than for county clerks, but a lot more relevant. In fact, it’s done already. Why the redundancy in the system?

The answer, of course, is that there is no good answer. Perhaps it’s a vestige of pre-feminism days, when protecting the virtue of single women was a moral cause for government. Perhaps it’s just because it adds to the self-importance of bureaucracy or the public worker unions. Perhaps the government hasn’t heard about this thing called the Internet. Whatever the reason, it makes no sense.

Taking clerks out of the business of granting marriage licenses would mean we would never have had to deal with the likes of Davis–and we wouldn’t have to bend over backwards to accommodate the biases of her faith. Licenses would be granted automatically. The clerks just get the form returned to them after the wedding, so that the county can issue a marriage certificate. Of course, Davis and her ilk could refuse to issue marriage certificates, but at that point, the marriage is a done deal. There is no grandstanding possible for the petty bureaucrat.

The only downside of the idea is that Davis would pretty much get out of the mess she’s in. But perhaps that would be the ultimate punishment as well. Davis clearly wants to be a martyr to the cause.

Denying her that status by implementing a simple automation process might just well be the best revenge anyone could offer.

JohnGallagher

feedproxy.google.com/~r/queerty2/~3/sBF2ni7bd0Y/time-to-get-clerks-out-of-the-marriage-license-business-for-good-20150913

Gay movie Desde Allá wins top prize in Venice

Venezuelan director Lorenzo Vigas’ powerful debut feature movie Desde Allá has won the Venince Film Festival’s top Golden Lion prize.

The drama set in Caracase, also known as From Afar, tells the story of a 50-year-old rich gay man who gets sexually involved with a 17-year-old leader from one of the city’s gangs.

Quietly but powerfully, the movie maps the currents of sex, money and violence beneath the surface of Venezuelan society in 93 minutes.

‘I want to dedicate this prize to my amazing country, Venezuela,’ Vigas said to an applauding audience. ‘I know we have a few problems, but if we talk about them we will overcome them.’

Venezuela is going through a serious economic crisis that resulted in months of street protests last year over the shortage of many goods.

Vigas, previously with only one short movie to his name, has made history by getting the first Venezuelan movie into the world’s oldest film festival and then winning its top prize.

‘Rarely taking the path of cheap exposition where convincing character psychology will do, this smart, unsensationalized examination of the slow-blossoming relationship between a middle-aged loner and a young street tough trusts auds to make the necessary connections in a narrative that merges its characters’ respective father complexes to moving, equivocal effect,’ reviewed Variety.

<iframe width=”560″ height=”315″ src=”www.youtube.com/embed/oZfQAYRlL0E&rdquo; frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen></iframe>

The Danish Girl, featuring Eddie Redmayne as pioneer transgender artist Lili Elbe, left Venice empty-handed, as the jury chaired by Alfonso Cuarón gave the best actor award to Fabrice Luchini, who played a judge in Christian Vincent’s L’Hermine, or Courted.

Winners of the 72nd Venice International Film Festival:

The post Gay movie Desde Allá wins top prize in Venice appeared first on Gay Star News.

Derek Yiu

www.gaystarnews.com/article/gay-movie-desde-alla-wins-top-prize-in-venice/

Elton John offers to meet Putin over gay rights

Elton John has expressed his desire to hold talks with Vladimir Putin over the Russian president’s ‘ridiculous’ stance on gay rights.

The Rock Man signer accused Putin of saying ‘stupid things’ in reference to his warning last year to gay people travelling to the Sochi Winter Olympics to leave the children in peace.

‘Give me a break. You are president of Russia, and you go and say stupid things like that?,’ John told the BBC.

He described Putin’s attitude to gay people as ‘isolating and prejudiced’ and ‘ridiculous’.

John admitted meeting Putin is like ‘pie in sky’: ‘He may laugh behind my back when he shuts the door and call me an absolute idiot, but at least I can think I have the conscience to say I tried.’

The invitation to talk with Putin was extended in Ukraine, on the back of a meeting with President Petro Poroshenko to demand legislative changes to support LGBT rights.

John thanked Poroshenko for his ‘support’ on Instagram and said: ‘Specifically, I asked him to: 1. Ban discrimination in the workplace based on sexuality and gender identity. 2. Provide criminal penalties for hate crimes.

‘We need Ukrainian businessmen and power brokers to create a more inclusive and tolerant society. We need this everywhere!’

See John’s speech at the Yalta Conference of business and political leaders in Ukraine below:

The post Elton John offers to meet Putin over gay rights appeared first on Gay Star News.

Derek Yiu

www.gaystarnews.com/article/elton-john-offers-to-meet-putin-over-gay-rights/

Elton John Urges LGBT Acceptance in Ukraine, Russia

Elton John has called on Ukrainians to be more accepting of LGBT people, and he would like to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin to encourage him to improve the situation in his nation as well.

Policies “designed to repress LGBT citizens … hinder economic development,” the music star and activist told a meeting of business and political leaders in Kiev, the Associated Press reported Saturday.

Countries, even developing ones, that recognize LGBT rights have a higher per capita gross domestic product than those that are less tolerant, John said. “So being tolerant and inclusive is not only the morally right thing to do, for the new Ukraine, it’s the smart thing to do,” he said, accorrding to the AP.

John also met with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and urged greater acceptance of LGBT people, and he would like to meet with Putin too, he told the BBC.

Putin’s attitude toward LGBT people is “isolating and prejudiced,” John told the BBC. The singer has often criticized Russia’s “gay propaganda” law, enacted in 2013, which essentially prohibits any positive discussion of LGBT people or support for their rights in forums accessible to minors. He has decried widespread homophobic violence in Russia as well (including at a 2013 concert, pictured), and has previously expressed a wish to talk with Putin.

He admitted his chance of having a meeting with Putin is slim. “It’s probably pie in the sky,” John told the BBC, adding that if such a meeting were to take place, “he may laugh behind my back when he shuts the door, and call me an absolute idiot, but at least I can think I have the conscience to say I tried.”

Trudy Ring

www.advocate.com/world/2015/9/12/elton-john-urges-lgbt-acceptance-ukraine-russia