Garden State Equality: Health Care Is An LGBT Issue
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Pat Robertson Claims Boy May Be Looking At Gay Magazines Because He Was 'Attacked Or Molested'
Pat Robertson Claims Boy May Be Looking At Gay Magazines Because He Was 'Attacked Or Molested'
Televangelist Pat Robertson suggested that a young boy may be reading gay magazines because he was “attacked or molested by an authority figure” in the past.
Robertson, who is no stranger to anti-gay proclamations, made the eyebrow-raising suggestion to a father who wrote into “The 700 Club” looking for advice after finding a gay magazine in his son’s bedroom, Right Wing Watch first reported.
“The chances are your son is not gay, but somebody gave him a book about it,” Robertson said. “A lot of these so-called ‘gay’ people have been either attacked [or] molested by some authority figure, or else a magazine or something has confused them.”
He went on to note that a father-son discussion about sexuality would be better than letting the boy “be exposed to a bunch of pornographic magazines” featuring “naked pictures of naked men doing sex with each other.”
The sentiments aren’t particularly surprising given Robertson’s history. Last year, he advised another “700 Club” viewer to find her 13-year-old stepson some male companions, as “being raised by a single woman” was “skewering his orientation” and causing him to have crushes on boys.
“Before I did anything else, I would get him male companions,” Robertson said at the time. “I’d get him some man to help him, some mentor, someone who cares about young men.”
In 2013, he told another view to pray for her 30-year-old nephew who had come out as gay, because homosexuality is “a delicate situation.”
“A few years ago psychiatrists and psychologists used to say that homosexuality was a mental illness, now the Supreme Court has said that it is a protected right,” Robertson said at the time. “So what’s he going to pray about? Is he going to say something is wrong and he’s unhappy? And if he’s unhappy and realizes he is doing something that makes him miserable, you might help him.”
Watch: Be a Part of History by Signing The People’s Brief
Watch: Be a Part of History by Signing The People’s Brief
Russia’s Hottest American Actor Makes Bold Move By Coming Out Publicly
Russia’s Hottest American Actor Makes Bold Move By Coming Out Publicly
Odin Biron may not be a household name here in the United States, but hop over to Russia and he’s one of the country’s hottest television actors.
The 30-year-old Minnesota man has made a name for himself starring on the popular medical sitcom Interns, the Russian version of Scrubs. The show attracts an average of 3.7 million viewers per episode and is a huge hit among Russian audiences.
The sitcom also stars Ivan Okhlobystin, the awful homophobe who, in 2013, said that all gay people should be put into an oven and burned alive, among other terrible things. Which puts Biron in an especially awkward position because… he’s gay.
But nobody knows it. At least, not yet.
In a new interview published in New York Magazine, Biron speaks candidly about what it’s like to be a closeted gay heartthrob in a notoriously antigay country.
Biron has kept his sexuality a closely-guarded secret since joining the cast of Interns five years ago. His family and close friends in both the United States and Russia know he’s gay. So do a few of his television colleagues. But other than that, he’s never spoken publicly about it.
“I’ve never lied,” he says. “Journalists ask, ‘What do you think of Russian women?’ ‘Well, Russian women are beautiful.’ ‘Do you have a girlfriend right now?’ ‘No, I don’t.’”
Biron first arrived in Russia when he was 20 years old, after enrolling in a study-abroad semester at the legendary Moscow Art Theatre. He quickly found work in the professional theater scene. Then, in 2010, he landed a role on Interns.
After Okhlobystin, who Biron describes as a friend, made those hateful comments about gay people in 2013, Biron says he felt like he’d been “punched in the gut.”
“I wanted to go to the station and make a statement that I would no longer work there if Ivan Okhlobystin’s going to be working at this station,” he says.
But he didn’t. In part, he says, because he didn’t think it would have much of an impact. Also, he’s never been very good at confrontation.
“[That’s] just not the way I want to operate,” he explains. “That’s the way things operate in the States. That’s not what this country needs. This country needs dialogue.”
He also considered quitting Interns and leaving Russia in a show of protest, but ultimately decided that wasn’t the solution either.
Biron realized he was in a unique position, as a beloved public figure, to help change people’s minds. Talking openly about his sexuality, he says, is “forcing my hand, and maybe that’s a good thing.”
So that’s what he’s doing. And he’s starting by speaking to New York Magazine. He says he has no idea what the repercussions will be when the Russian public learns he’s gay, but just to be on the safe side, he has a backup plan.
Last year, he signed a lease on an apartment in Minneapolis and enrolled in culinary school. He says he’s developed a special fondness for making bread. If his acting career in Russia can’t survive his coming out, he says he may open a restaurant, or a theater, or a dinner theater. He’s not sure yet, but he’ll likely have a better idea in a few weeks when he begins shooting the sixth season of Interns.
Until then, his focus is on his bread.
“I love,” he says, “how much thought you can put into one simple loaf.”
h/t: Vulture
Related stories:
Russian “Scrubs” Actor Wants Gays Burned Alive; News Anchor Wants us Burned Dead
A Brief History Of Russian Violence Against LGBTs
Putin Claims Russia Has No Issue With Gay People, You’re Nuts For Thinking So
Graham Gremore
Eureka Springs Passes LGBT Protections, Tells Arkansas Legislature To 'Bring It On'
Eureka Springs Passes LGBT Protections, Tells Arkansas Legislature To 'Bring It On'
Hours after the Arkansas Senate voted to prohibit cities from passing LGBT protections, the City Council in Eureka Springs — known as “the gay capital of the Ozarks” — thumbed its nose at lawmakers by doing just that.
The Arkansas Senate voted 24-8 Monday to prohibit cities from adding protected classes to nondiscrimination ordinances that aren’t included in state law. Senate Bill 202, which now goes to the House, is a direct response to Fayetteville’s decision to pass an LGBT-inclusive nondiscrimination ordinance, which was later overturned at the ballot box.
The Associated Press reports:
Republican Sen. Bart Hester, who proposed the legislation, said it is intended to standardize laws across the state, which he said is just as important as civil rights.
“What we need to do in the state of Arkansas is create a uniform and standardized process for any business to come in,” Hester said.
The proposal was approved on a mostly party line vote, with three of the Senate’s 11 Democrats voting for the bill. The state Democratic Party issued a statement opposing the measure, and the top Democrat in the chamber portrayed the restriction as hypocritical compared to Republicans’ rhetoric.
“If Washington passed something like this and passed it down to the states, we would scream about federal overreach,” said Senate Minority Leader Keith Ingram.
If SB202 becomes law, Arkansas would be the second state to prohibit cities from banning anti-LGBT discrimination. The other is Tennessee, where the law is being challenged in court by the National Center for Lesbian Rights. In 1996, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Colorado’s ban on gay protections, saying it was unconstitutional for legislators to target a specific group.
In response to the state Senate’s passage of SB202, the City Council in Eureka Springs rushed through an LGBT-inclusive nondiscrimination ordinance on Monday night. The council also passed a resolution opposing SB202 and an emergency clause to make the ordinance effective as soon as possible.
Arkansas Online reports:
Eureka Springs Mayor Robert D. “Butch” Berry [pictured right] said he’ll sign the ordinance today or Wednesday after document changes requested by the council have been made and a fresh copy of the eight-page ordinance is available. When that happens, Eureka Springs will become the only city in Arkansas with such an ordinance. …
At Monday’s council meeting, City Attorney Tim Weaver said SB202 is written to prevent the enforcement of city ordinances like the one the council was discussing. …
Council member Mickey Schneider asked if Weaver meant the city would likely be sued by the state.
“I’m not saying the state’s going to sue you,” said Weaver. “It’s more likely to come from a right-wing group.”
“That’s even better!” said Schneider. “Bring it on!”
John Wright
SAGE's LGBT Older Adult Housing Initiative Panel
Op-ed: A Gay Man’s Voice in the Eating Disorder Conversation
Op-ed: A Gay Man’s Voice in the Eating Disorder Conversation
Eating disorders are prevalent among gay, bisexual, and transgender men, but it isn’t always easy to find help.
Joseph Holtom
www.advocate.com/commentary/2015/02/10/op-ed-gay-man-s-voice-eating-disorder-conversation
Gay in Alabama
Gay in Alabama
I live in a decent-sized town in eastern-central Alabama and have lived here for the majority of my life. I’m also openly gay. My sexuality and geographic location shouldn’t impact each other, but they do; that’s just how it is when you live in the South.
I came out during my sophomore year of high school, after years of internal conflict and external bullying and harassment. I’ve been bullied since kindergarten, and specifically about sexuality since elementary school. I had people calling me gay before any of us were old enough to even know what being gay is. Coming out was at first a major relief from this pressure and pain; I was very well received by my friends and loved ones, and things were looking up. But I’d seen scary things on TV and online: keyed cars, defaced lockers, physical assaults. There was a very real fear in living somewhere where the majority of people thought you were going to hell for something you couldn’t control.
A photo posted by Ian Oriol (@ianoriol) on Sep 11, 2014 at 9:54am PDT
For a while after I came out, everything was OK. The bullies couldn’t call me gay as an insult, because I was gay, and I was finally opening up. This opening up is what proved to be problematic at times. I began dating my first boyfriend, who ended up being unable to endure being called names and bullied because he was dating me, ending our relationship and crippling me emotionally. I also went to school in drag as Lady Gaga for my school’s celebrity day, much to the ridicule of many boys (and the envy of many girls, since I could walk in four-inch heels). I discovered that the moment I stopped acting straight is when people began getting uncomfortable. Once I stopped acting the way they wanted, they stopped treating me the way I wanted.
I certainly didn’t act straight just to please people. That’s the opposite of what should be done in any event. I shouldn’t have to hide who I am just because of where I am, and it pains me that people, like my ex-boyfriend and many others, have to hide from their loved ones, friends, and everybody that they know just for their own safety and well-being. LGBT teens have one of the highest homeless rates, and it terrifies me. This isn’t just Alabama either; this stretches throughout the South and even beyond. Even though marriage equality is so close that I can taste it, I can still be fired in my home state for my sexuality, and I’m sure that I could find plenty of companies that want none of my business.
I believe that there is hope, though: Recently Alabama’s gay-marriage ban was struck down, Auburn grad Tim Cook is out and has spoken about wanting to see a more accepting Alabama, and HRC has launched a special Alabama division to help improve the very things I worry about. I have a shred of faith that Alabama can someday be on the right side of things, and that I can be proud to call it my home. Don’t disappoint me, Alabama.
A photo posted by Ian Oriol (@ianoriol) on Jan 23, 2015 at 3:51pm PST
www.huffingtonpost.com/ian-oriol/gay-in-alabama_b_6633952.html?utm_hp_ref=gay-voices&ir=Gay+Voices
NEW MUSIC: Swedish Gothic Post Punk, Goodly Thousands, The Assist, Public Service Broadcasting, Seafret
NEW MUSIC: Swedish Gothic Post Punk, Goodly Thousands, The Assist, Public Service Broadcasting, Seafret
New Music is brought to you weekly by Deadly Music!, which covers mostly indie/alternative music as well as electronica, ambient/modern classical, pop and anything really, really good.
Most tracks are available on a Soundcloud playlist, some of them on a Spotify playlist….both of which are embedded at the end of this post.
You can sign up for weekly updates from Deadly Music! at the end of this post.
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RA: “These Days”
With a name even more anonymous than Merchandise, Swedish act RA make dark, brooding gothic post punk / alternative rock influenced by The Cult, the dark, brooding version of Depeche Mode and the pure energy of Scandinavian proto punk act Iceage.
Have a listen to two track from RA‘s forthcoming album Scandinavia which is out on Swedish label Adrian Recordings on March 3rd.
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Goodly Thousands: Sunshine Hair EP
Goodly Thousands is a band based in Dublin, Ireland and signed to Portland, Oregon label Shelflife.
The trio make indie pop guitar music for fans of 90s English acts like early Primal Scream, The Bluetones and The Charlatans.
The EP Sunshine Hair is the follow up to the nearly sold out debut 7″ “Honest” / “I Wish,” and continues right where that release left off with four irresistible guitar pop classics.
A 2011 EP including the original versions of “Honest” / “I Wish” is also streaming below.
<a href=”http://goodlythousands.bandcamp.com/album/goodly-thousands” data-mce-href=”http://goodlythousands.bandcamp.com/album/goodly-thousands”>Goodly Thousands by Goodly Thousands</a>
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Listen to new tracks by The Assist, Public Service Broadcasting and Seafret, AFTER THE JUMP…
The Assist: “In Your Ear”
English indie pop quartet The Assist were one of the best breakout bands of 2014, making a mark with their chippy, pretension-free indie guitar pop on the eponymously titled “The Assist.”
Hailing from Walsall near Birmingham, the lads have the potential to give the likes of Arctic Monkeys a run for their money.
Anticipation being high after two quite brilliant earlier tracks, you’d have to be worried about anything new but we’re happy to announce that their follow-up “In Your Ear” is another chirpy, vaguely retro classic indie pop gem you won’t be able to get out of your head.
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Public Service Broadcasting – “The Other Side”
Back in November, Public Service Broadcasting dropped the video for the brilliant “Gagarin”, the first single from their upcoming second album, The Race For Space.
Just out is “The Other Side”, which J. Willgoose, Esq., the mastermind behind Public Service Broadcasting, describes as the “most emotional moment” on the album.
Featuring clips of the Apollo 8 launch, “The Other Side” is a mini-epic that builds to a crescendo like some sort of post rock / electronica / ambient hybrid.
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Seafret: “Ocean”
Seafret is Jack Sedman and Harry Draper from Yorkshire, England.
The duo reached number one on HypeMachine with their first two tracks “Give Me Something” and “Ocean”.
Just dropped is the official video for “Ocean” which features Maisie Williams (above) from Game of Thrones.
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Weekly Updates From Deadly Music!
Soundcloud Playlist
Spotify Playlist
Jim Redmond
Degen and Eric: From Snowbirds to Lovebirds
Degen and Eric: From Snowbirds to Lovebirds
Magazine editor Degen Pener (right) and tech executive Eric Bushard met at a gay ski party, fell in love in L.A., and just got engaged in London.
Aaron Drake
