I may get stoned to death for gay sex, says Saudi man outed in Ashley Madison leak

A reddit user claiming to be a gay man from Saudi Arabia has said he could be stoned to death after he was outed in the the Ashley Madison leak.

Earlier this week, hackers published the personal data of millions of the infidelity site’s users, including those in countries where adultery is a crime.

Users of Ashley Madison’s Down Low site – which caters to ‘married men seeking other men for casual, no-strings fun’ – have also been put in danger.

‘I am from a country where homosexuality carries the death penalty. I studied in America the last several years and used Ashley Madison during that time,’ the man wrote.

‘I was single, but used it because I am gay; gay sex is punishable by death in my home country so I wanted to keep my hookups extremely discreet. I only used AM to hook up with single guys.’

Gay sex is illegal in Saudi Arabia and punishable by up to life in prison, fines and/or whipping/flogging, castration, torture and even death. Adultery also carries a death sentence.

‘I BEG you all to spread this message,’ the man continued.

‘Perhaps the hackers will take notice of it, and then, I can tell them to (at the very least) exercise discretion in their information dump (ie leave the single gay Arab guy out of it). As of now, I plan on leaving the kingdom and never returning once I have the $ for a plane ticket. Though I have no place to go, no real friends, and no job.’

Commenters recommended he apply for asylum in the West, while others questioned the authenticity of the man’s post.

‘A bunch of people are accusing me of lying because “AM is only for married people,”‘ he wrote.

‘AM is actually about “discreet hookups,” and hence its main appeal is to married people, since premarital sex isn’t stigmatized in the West.

‘But it also appeals to gays from regressive cultures, and their website has an option specifically for gays, as you can figure out if you do 5 minutes of research.

‘The idiots who claim I’m lying are projecting from personal experience, and forgetting that, for many gay people around the world, being outed is a life-threatening experience. The risks for us are greater than the risks for married Westerners cheating on their spouses. That’s why AM’s promise of discretion appeals to us.

In an update, the man said he had got enough money together to hire a car to the capital Riyadh and buy a plane ticket to the US.

Read the full post here.

The post I may get stoned to death for gay sex, says Saudi man outed in Ashley Madison leak appeared first on Gay Star News.

Darren Wee

www.gaystarnews.com/article/i-may-get-stoned-to-death-for-gay-sex-says-saudi-man-outed-in-ashley-madison-leak/

Survey: One third of young Americans say they aren’t 100% straight

Nearly a third of Americans under 30 do not identify as 100% straight, a new survey has found.

Following a similar study in the UK, YouGov asked 1,000 American adults to place their sexuality on the Kinsey scale, where 0 is exclusively straight and 6 is exclusively gay.

Overall, 78% of respondents say they are completely straight, while 4% say they are completely gay.

Sixteen percent say they fall somewhere in between: 10% more straight than gay, 3% in the middle and another 3% predominantly gay.

However, younger Americans were noticeably less likely to put themselves in a firm category, with only 66% of under-30s identifying as completely straight or gay; 29% say they are bisexual on some level.  

The research noted that ‘a large number of Americans who classify themselves as heterosexual still admit to having had same sex experiences.’

Fifteen percent of straight women and 8% of straight men say they have had a sexual experience with someone of the same sex.

The survey was conducted between the 12 and 13 August, and has a margin of error of 4.2%.

A similar study in the UK found that British people are even more likely to be sexually fluid than Americans. One in two British people under the age of 25 said they were bisexual on some level.

The post Survey: One third of young Americans say they aren’t 100% straight appeared first on Gay Star News.

Darren Wee

www.gaystarnews.com/article/survey-one-third-of-young-americans-say-they-arent-100-straight/

WATCH: Christian Man Recounts Year Pretending to Be Gay in Ted Talk

Timothy Kurek pretended to be gay for one year in order to test his religious beliefs. The experience made him an ally.

read more

Daniel Reynolds

www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/people/2015/08/20/watch-christian-man-recounts-year-pretending-be-gay-ted-talk

Illinois Bans Gay Conversion Therapy For LGBT Youths

Illinois’ Republican governor on Thursday signed a law banning mental health therapists from trying to change a young person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. 

The measure signed by Gov. Bruce Rauner outlaws the controversial practice of “gay conversion therapy,” sometimes called “reparative therapy,” on people younger than 18. Once the law takes effect on Jan. 1, violators will face discipline from their state licensing board, according to the text of the measure. 

The law makes Illinois the fourth state to ban gay conversion therapy for minors. California, New Jersey, and Oregon — as well as the District of Columbia — also have outlawed the practice.

But the Illinois measure is the first to include language linking conversion therapy to consumer fraud, according to its sponsor, state Rep. Kelly Cassidy, a Chicago Democrat who is an openly gay member of the State House. 

“Our version of this legislation is the most comprehensive bill in the nation, barring health providers from engaging in this practice and affording survivors access to consumer fraud action against the perpetrators of this abuse,” Cassidy said in a statement.

Critics of conversion therapy say the practice is ineffective, because sexual orientation is not a choice, and is harmful to minors in particular. The Council of Representatives of the American Psychological Association condemned the practice as far back as 1997.

“Every major scientific organization has dismissed conversion therapy as harmful,” Cassidy said. “The Illinois Psychological Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the National Association for Social Workers, and so many more have not only disproven its utility, but they have decried its effects.”

Cassidy noted that children who are rejected by their communities based on sexual orientation are six times more likely to suffer from depression and eight times more likely to attempt suicide.

Jim Bennett, Midwest regional director for the LGBT rights group Lambda Legal, applauded the governor’s signing of the measure, telling The Huffington Post the law “puts the best interest of our young people first.”

“A more accurate name for conversion therapy is child abuse,” Bennett said. “Our LGBT young people deserve to be embraced for who they are.”

President Barack Obama this year called for an end to gay conversion therapy in response to a White House petition brought after the suicide of transgender Ohio teen Leelah Alcorn. 

Alcorn, 17, walked in front of a truck in December after leaving a note in which she described how her conservative Christian parents forced her to undergo conversion therapy in order to change both her sexual orientation and gender identity. In a note posted to Tumblr, Alcorn wrote:  

“The only way I will rest in peace is if one day transgender people aren’t treated the way I was, they’re treated like humans, with valid feelings and human rights.”

Also on HuffPost:

— 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.

feeds.huffingtonpost.com/c/35496/f/677065/s/4929b0a5/sc/7/l/0L0Shuffingtonpost0N0C20A150C0A80C20A0Cillinois0Ebans0Egay0Econversion0Etherapy0In0I80A18370A0Bhtml0Dutm0Ihp0Iref0Fgay0Evoices0Gir0FGay0KVoices/story01.htm

Civil Rights, Religious Groups Ask Obama: Fix Bush-Era Changes to Religious Freedom Act

The act was signed into law by President Clinton in 1993, then reinterpreted in a 2007 memo by Bush administration lawyers to offer protection to religious organizations that discriminated in hiring.

read more

Dawn Ennis

www.advocate.com/religion/2015/08/20/civil-rights-religious-groups-ask-obama-fix-bush-era-changes-religious-freedom-a

Illinois becomes fifth state in US to protect LGBTI youth from dangers of conversion therapy

Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner signed a bill into law on Thursday (20 August) that protects LGBTI youth from the dangers of conversion therapy.

The state follows in the footsteps of California, New Jersey, the District of Columbia, and Oregon.

House Bill 217, approved by the Illinois House of Representatives and General Assembly, protects youth from mental health providers attempting to change their sexual orientation or gender identity.

Such therapy has been linked to substance abuse, extreme depression, and suicide.

Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin calls it ‘a dangerous and appalling practice based on junk pseudoscience that amounts to nothing less than child abuse.’

Griffin also points out that conversion therapy uses fear and shame to tell young people the only way to find love and acceptance is to change the very nature of who they are.

‘We thank Governor Rauner, as well as members of the state legislature on both sides of the aisle, for putting politics aside and the well-being of children first,’ Griffin stated. ‘We will continue to work with our allies to secure these crucial protections in every state across the nation.’

HRC teamed with the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR), Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health, Equality Illinois, and other groups in drumming up support for the bill.

‘Illinois families can now have confidence that the mental health professional they turn to in times of uncertainty may not use their state license to profit from their children’s pain,’ said
said NCLR staff attorney Samantha Ames.

Last year, NCLR launched its #BornPerfect campaign to stop conversion therapy across the country by 2019 by passing laws, fighting in courtrooms, and raising awareness. Illinois is the third state to pass such a law in 2015 alone.

The post Illinois becomes fifth state in US to protect LGBTI youth from dangers of conversion therapy appeared first on Gay Star News.

Greg Hernandez

www.gaystarnews.com/article/illinois-becomes-fifth-state-in-us-to-protect-lgbti-youth-from-dangers-of-conversion-therapy/

Illinois Becomes Fifth Jurisdiction to Protect LGBTQ Kids from Conversion Therapy

Today, Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner signed House Bill 217 into law, making Illinois the fifth jurisdiction—behind California, New Jersey, the District of Columbia, and Oregon—to protect LGBTQ youth from the dangers of conversion therapy.
HRC.org

www.hrc.org/blog/entry/illinois-becomes-fifth-jurisdiction-to-protect-lgbtq-kids-from-conversion-t?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Straight Guys Reveal How Much Gay Sex They’d Have For A Lightsaber

A recent thread titled “Straight men of Reddit, would you have gay sex for a lightsaber?” has received a staggering 500 comments as of this post.

We’d say the rules of the game are simple, but actually they aren’t, proving yet again that straight guys think about gay sex a whole lot:

The way it works is you tell a guy to imagine that he’d get a real life lightsaber if he had gay sex. It could be with any man, dead or alive, celebrity, etc:

* If you top a guy, you get a purple lightsaber
* If you bottom, you get a lightsaber in any color of your choice
* If you try both, you get either a double ended lightsaber or two lightsabers in the color of your choice
* To make it more complicated:
* If you give a guy a handjob, you get a stun baton
* If you experiment with gay BDSM, you get a lightsaber whip
* If you suck a guy’s dick, you get a blaster
* If you get your dick sucked, you just get a really good blowjob
* If you get fisted, you get a thermal detonator (Don’t waste it!)
* If you fist a guy, you get an adhesive grenade, because stickiness…
* Every time you use a condom, you get a deflector shield, because stay safe, guys!
* Intercrural sex (between the thighs) gets you a vibrosword

OK, even we didn’t know the term “intercrural sex.”
Here are some of our favorite responses:

No way! I’m not falling for that again. It has become very clear that light sabers do not really exist.

I have no shame, I’d proudly flaunt that double-ended lightsaber as I limped down the street the next day.

I’d probably slam a guy in the ass for a purple light saber. And that guy would be Leonardo DiCaprio.

Absolutely yes. I’m sure my wife would understand.

That’s a stupid question…Of course I would.

Nope. What would I do with it? Besides, I live in California. They’d find a way to ban my having it real quick.

Fuck yeah I’m gonna get on that gay bdsm. A fucking lightsaber whip? That’s awesome!

Dude, I’m not gay since I’m pretty sure I still like the ladies, but I would fuck a guy for free. Nothing wrong with a bit of schlong on the side. Gimme the kenobi sauce, baby.

So by my calculations I’ll be owed two lightsabers and two deflector shields when this is all over. I’m okay with this deal.

I’m straight and already done BDSM with a Gay male. Sorry I don’t like lightsabers, I don’t swing that way.

Dan Tracer

feedproxy.google.com/~r/queerty2/~3/cGROvybIwjk/straight-guys-reveal-how-much-gay-sex-theyd-have-for-a-lightsaber-20150820

Illinois Gov. Signs Bill Banning Gay Conversation Therapy for Minors

Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner (R) has signed a bill into law protecting LGBTQ youth from dangerous, discredited conversion therapy.

The AP reports:

The measure keeps therapists from trying to change the sexual orientation or gender identity of a person younger than 18. Providers who don’t comply could face disciplinary action

“We are thrilled that Illinois has joined the rapidly growing number of states leading the way to protect LGBTQ youth from conversion therapy,” said the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) #BornPerfect Campaign Coordinator and Staff Attorney Samantha Ames. “Illinois families can now have confidence that the mental health professional they turn to in times of uncertainty may not use their state license to profit from their children’s pain. Most importantly, Illinois kids can now rest easy in the knowledge that they cannot be forced or coerced to undergo dangerous and discredited treatments to fix who they are. Today brings us one step closer to the day when all LGBTQ youth know they were born perfect.”

“With this tremendous step, LGBT youth in Illinois are now protected from a dangerous and appalling practice based on junk pseudoscience that amounts to nothing less than child abuse,” said Human Rights Campaign (HRC) President Chad Griffin. “Discredited by every major mental health, medical, and child welfare organization, conversion ‘therapy’ uses fear and shame to tell young people the only way to find love and acceptance is to change the very nature of who they are. We thank Governor Rauner, as well as members of the state legislature on both sides of the aisle, for putting politics aside and the well-being of children first. We will continue to work with our allies to secure these crucial protections in every state across the nation.”

The post Illinois Gov. Signs Bill Banning Gay Conversation Therapy for Minors appeared first on Towleroad.

Kyler Geoffroy

Illinois Gov. Signs Bill Banning Gay Conversion Therapy for Minors