Arkansas Former Attorney General: “Conscience Protection Act” Defies State’s Values

In an op-ed for the Democrat-Gazette published today, former Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel made the case against the discriminatory HB 1228, referred to as the “Conscience Protection Act.”
HRC.org

www.hrc.org/blog/entry/arkansas-former-attorney-general-conscience-protection-act-defies-states-va?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Closeted Gay Teen Finds Homophobic Dad On Grindr

As if being gay and in the throes of puberty weren’t difficult enough, a teenager claims he found his homophobic dad on Grindr.

Reddit user decidinginbetween posted the following thread online:

Found out that my “Homophobe” dad has Grindr on his iPhone when he asked me to go fetch it from the car. I am still closeted (denial/curious) so i know what Grindr is, even though i don’t have it myself. This makes it so much more confusing for me.

The post has received over 100 responses, with other Reddit users offering a wide range of advice.

“My dad was extremely homophobic before I came out to him when I was 18,” atomicpunksf replied. “He ended up doing a total 180 after going to therapy and eventually became the president of our local PFLAG chapter for a while. He later told me that he was bisexual and admitted that his homophobia was due to his own self hatred around being bisexual.”

“A closeted married guy on Grindr might have some intense homophobia going on that he could take out on the queer kid in his care,” jaycatt7 warned. “Tread carefully.”

“Don’t tell your mother until you have had the chance to talk to him,” dipaolo said. “I know that family makes this predicament 10 times more complicated, but outing someone has repercussions.”

Other advice was slightly less helpful.

“You may have to make a fake profile and try to seduce him,” varianlogic said.

“Is your dad hot?” Jota769 asked.

“Don’t hook up with him,” NotAmused1001 advised.

A few weeks later, decidinginbetween posted the following update on the situation:

Hi all, appreciate all the kind words of help and encouragement. I don’t know how to explain it in details though, but TLDR: Dad stood in denial and went on the defensive, even tried to question my own sexuality. Mom still does not know and that pains me. I guess he would still be that closeted homophobe and I that closeted homo who is too shit to do more. Maybe all of this is just in my head. Maybe i am just thinking too much.

Here’s hoping these two find peace in their complicated situation.

Related stories:

Straight Men Whisper Their Secret Gay Desires

Straight Guys Confess To Doing Gay Things When Stoned

Hetero Guys Open Up About Their Gay Porn Fetishes With Each Other

Graham Gremore

feedproxy.google.com/~r/queerty2/~3/XOVVuTOzkG8/closeted-gay-teen-finds-homophobic-dad-on-grindr-20150302

Federal Judge Overturns Nebraska Gay Marriage Ban
A federal judge has ruled Nebraska’s statewide ban on gay marriage unconstitutional.

U.S. District Judge Joseph Bataillon issued the ruling Monday, saying county clerks will be permitted to begin issuing gay marriage licenses on March 9.

“[A]ll relevant state officials are ordered to treat same-sex couples the same as different sex couples in the context of processing a marriage license or determining the rights, protections, obligations or benefits of marriage,” he wrote in the order.

The Nebraska attorney general’s office has already said it will appeal the judge’s order. Attorney General Doug Peterson is confident the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals will grant the appeal.

Bataillon has struck down the state’s ban on gay marriage before; in 2005, the judge ruled the ban unconstitutional, but the Eight Circuit reversed his decision in July 2006.

The news comes just after the state lifted a 20-year-old ban on gay people becoming licensed foster parents. The policy barred unmarried, unrelated adults who live together from fostering parents, extending its reach to same-sex couples and people who identify themselves as homosexual — even those living without a partner.

www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/02/nebraska-gay-marriage_n_6783464.html?utm_hp_ref=gay-voices&ir=Gay+Voices

Senator Barbara Mikulski, Longest-Serving Congresswoman in History, to Retire

Andy Towle

www.towleroad.com/2015/03/senator-barbara-mikulski-longest-serving-congresswoman-in-history-to-retire.html