Category Archives: MISC
Gov. Sam Brownback: Kansas Can't Penalize Religious Groups Opposed to Marriage Equality
We've Laid the Foundation for Equality: Here's What's Next
We've Laid the Foundation for Equality: Here's What's Next
The Supreme Court’s decision granting all Americans the freedom to marry instantly made me think fondly back to the day I wed, which was one of the happiest days of my life and incredibly meaningful to my daughter and our family. Now, young people like her — especially lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth — will grow up in a country where they can marry the person they love and where they are equal under the law — something so many of us never dreamed possible in our lifetimes.
As the Executive Director of Equality Federation, the strategic partner to the state-based equality movement, I am humbled by my role in the decades long struggle to push love to the forefront and win equality, one step at a time. But, we are not done.
The ruling solidified the foundation: now we have to build the house.
More heavy lifting is needed to achieve our vision of a world free of all forms of discrimination: a world without racism; a world without violence against transgender and gender nonconforming people; a world where everyone has the health care they need; and a world where all of us are able to live without the fear of being fired from our jobs or kicked out of our homes simply for being who we are.
As the LGBT movement charts its path forward, we should reflect on how we got here. The pathway to this historic victory felt long and arduous, but in the arc of history was quite short. We learned and adapted quickly as the public began to support our families.
Equality Federation was formed to partner with the state-based equality organizations. So much of the national progress we see today began with efforts at the local and state level. Examples abound. MassEquality became the first organization to lead an effort that resulted in a super-majority of state legislators supporting the freedom to marry. Equality Maryland made history when they led a successful campaign to win marriage equality at the ballot box. Equality California showed great courage in the Proposition 8 battle, and the many lessons learned from that valiant effort continue to inform our work.
State-based equality groups throughout the country worked tirelessly — amplifying the heartwarming stories of couples, lobbying legislatures and so much more — alongside the legal teams who fought marriage bans in the courts and brought down the Defense of Marriage Act. Our community owes enormous gratitude to all these organizations and, of course, the thousands of people who participated in the lawsuits, campaigns, lobbying, canvassing and storytelling.
We also honor all of the couples and families who simply lived their lives openly and authentically day in and day out, even when it was uncomfortable or dangerous. There are insights to be gleaned from the aunt who held signs at her local farmer’s market or the college student who collected signatures on campus.
In order to harness the momentum of this great win, it will be important to remember that equality is not achieved by relying solely on one person, organization or strategy. We found success by collaborating and sharing lessons learned in unprecedented ways, and that is what we must continue to do in order to ensure all Americans are protected from discrimination.
In the coming months, Equality Federation will continue working with our partners in the state-based equality movement — with even more vigor — to pass over 30 statewide nondiscrimination laws to include protections for LGBT people, and to struggle against racism, violence and injustice.
As during the early days of the marriage movement, many people are already doing their part. People have been sharing their stories of being fired from their jobs and kicked out of their homes simply for being who they are. Leaders in towns big and small are passing nondiscrimination ordinances. Now is not the time to rest — coming off of the marriage victory — we need to push forward so that no one is left behind.
— 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.
YouTube star Shane Dawson comes out as bisexual in emotional video
YouTube star Shane Dawson comes out as bisexual in emotional video
Shane Dawson woke up feeling scared on Tuesday (7 July).
He had something deeply personal to share with his more than 6.7 million followers on YouTube and he was determined that this was the day.
Dawson began by saying that he has always been ‘sexually confused’ but never more so than in the past year.
‘I always wished that I was gay, that I was just 100 percent gay,’ he admitted.
Why?
‘You know, number one, that would mean I knew who I was,’ he explained. ‘Number two, it would be a lot easier for me to be accepted by people. Because I wear wigs and dresses on the internet and I’m feminine and all these things. And it would be so much easier to just say, yeah, you know, I’m gay.’
But that just isn’t the case.
‘I’m not completely gay, and I can’t sit here and say that I am… but I also can’t sit here and say that I’m straight…I’ve come to the conclusion, through therapy and through being honest with myself, I am bisexual.’
He also observed: ‘In a lot of coming out videos, people who are gay or lesbian, they’re so confident. I’m not that. I don’t know who I am 100 percent. I know a lot of you guys feel the same way.’
Dawson, who launched his YouTube channel back in 2008, goes on to share the rest of his emotional story in the video below.
The post YouTube star Shane Dawson comes out as bisexual in emotional video appeared first on Gay Star News.
Greg Hernandez
www.gaystarnews.com/article/youtube-star-shane-dawson-comes-out-as-bisexual-in-emotional-video/
Kansas Governor Brownback Issues Anti-LGBT Executive Order
Kansas Governor Brownback Issues Anti-LGBT Executive Order
Kansas Governor Sam Brownback issues an executive order encouraging blatant discrimination against LGBT Kansans in the name of religion.
HRC.org
Benham Brothers: ‘Persecuted’ Christians Must ‘Refuse to Bow’ to the Militant Gay Agenda – VIDEO
Benham Brothers: ‘Persecuted’ Christians Must ‘Refuse to Bow’ to the Militant Gay Agenda – VIDEO
Writing on wingnut rag WorldNetDaily yesterday, anti-gay activists and former TV hosts the Benham brothers have said that religious liberties in the U.S. are “in the cross-hairs of the militant, secular agenda” following the SCOTUS ruling on same-sex marriage.
With their “persecuted” Christian faith under fire, the Benhams argue that those “riding the fence” on gay rights – a structure to which they claim the devil has exclusive rights – must now choose a side because “you can’t stand strong on top of a fence.”
Blaming their rambling outburst on satan because “that’s how the devil works,” the brothers continue:
“God’s purification of our faith is nothing new. Believe it or not, millions of Christians before us have suffered persecution – or pressure, like we have in America – and God is still God, we are His children. So our Father will take care of us. All we’ve got to do is be faithful and willing to stand.
“A few biblical men show us the way forward, and their stories actually reveal something quite similar to what we may experience in America soon. As they stood firmly on God’s side of the fence, the nation where they were living turned against them quickly.
“Throughout history…believers in God have been forced to bow to godless agendas/decrees/ordinances/laws, yet they’ve refused, and suffered intense persecution.
“At the same time people of faith have been forced not to bow to God/His boundaries/His laws/His words – yet they chose to bow in reverence and faced the fires of persecution as well.
“Either way, persecutors want God’s faithful to be obedient to man, not God – to bow or not to bow, depending on the circumstances.
“And their easiest targets are the fence sitters.
“So if you find yourself straddling the fence, please move to God’s side and trust that He’s got your back. We have nothing to fear, and we can’t forget that Jesus is in heaven speaking about our courage to the Father.”
Last year, the Benhams compared themselves to victims of ISIS beheadings.
Watch the brothers complain that they lost their jobs as part of “an agenda that seeks to silence men and women of faith” below.
The post Benham Brothers: ‘Persecuted’ Christians Must ‘Refuse to Bow’ to the Militant Gay Agenda – VIDEO appeared first on Towleroad.
Michael Fitzgerald
Benham Brothers: ‘Persecuted’ Christians Must ‘Refuse to Bow’ to the Militant Gay Agenda – VIDEO
WATCH: Rick Santorum Thinks 'People Aren't Getting Married'
Arielle Scarcella, Vlogger, Explores Self Confidence In The Lesbian Community
Arielle Scarcella, Vlogger, Explores Self Confidence In The Lesbian Community
Can you tell a woman’s sexual orientation just by looking at her photo?
YouTube vlogger Arielle Scarcella just released a new video in which queer women are shown pictures of two different women and asked to use their “gaydar” to identify who they think is a lesbian. Scarcella wanted to use this conversation as a point of entry to discuss what, exactly, we are identifying when we “use our gaydar.”
The results? Most of the women seemed to attribute their beliefs surrounding the subject’s sexuality to what they perceived to be self confidence. Scarcella then explained why, in her eyes, queer women tend to identify other queer women by a certain level of self confidence.
“I think confidence all stems from self love and self worth,” Scarcella shares in the video. “By coming out, us as LGBT people have the possibility — the potential — to risk losing everything… and in doing so we realize the only truth — all that we truly ever have — is ourselves. And that is true self confidence because the only place you can get it is from yourself and you’re not dependent on how others value you.”
Check out the video for yourself above or head here to see more from Scarcella.
— 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.
Christian Woman Records Herself Losing it Over Marriage Equality, Gets Remixed
Christian Woman Records Herself Losing it Over Marriage Equality, Gets Remixed
Christian housewife Becky Wegner Rommel’s epic homophobic and Islamaphobic video meltdown has not only gone viral, it’s inspired a new remix.
Jase Peeples
Blake Skjellerup Makes Hawaii Even Hotter, Colton Haynes Has A New Cuddle Buddy
Blake Skjellerup Makes Hawaii Even Hotter, Colton Haynes Has A New Cuddle Buddy
This week, Jimmy Kimmel demonstrated his gaydar is on point, Jeremy Renner couldn’t care less if you think he’s queer and Jonathan Groff reunited with Raul Castillo. Here’s what happened on Instagram:
Catfish sweethearts Max Joseph and Nev Schulman couldn’t contain their excitement about marriage equality.
A photo posted by Max Joseph (@maxjoseph) on Jun 27, 2015 at 9:53am PDT
Rocco Ritchie raided his mum’s closet.
Madonna preached the truth.
Brilliant! ???? ??????#unapologeticbitch A photo posted by Madonna (@madonna) on Jun 29, 2015 at 2:01pm PDT
Blake Skjellerup is even prettier than the Waikiki beaches.
Struttin’ the stuff on Waikiki! Aloha! #BlakeAndSaul #fitspo A photo posted by Blake Skjellerup (@blakeskjellerup) on Jul 1, 2015 at 3:05pm PDT
Something is going to get popped on Johnny Weir‘s birthday.
Well, it’s my 31st anniversary with my parents. Thank you for giving me life and affording me every opportunity I have. I love you! A photo posted by JOHNNY WEIR (@johnnygweir) on Jul 1, 2015 at 8:10am PDT
Brad Goreski celebrated Pride with Sir Ian McKellen and Derek Jacobi.
A photo posted by Brad Goreski (@mrbradgoreski) on Jun 28, 2015 at 1:36pm PDT
Derek Hough is photogenic from any angle.
Photograph by @Anty.kin A photo posted by Derek Hough (@derekhough) on Jul 1, 2015 at 9:06am PDT
Colton Haynes found a cuddle buddy.
A photo posted by Colton Haynes (@coltonlhaynes) on Jun 29, 2015 at 10:16pm PDT
Alex Minsky is a handful.
A photo posted by Alex Minsky (@mminskyy) on Jul 2, 2015 at 12:55pm PDT
It looks like Colby Melvin got splattered.
#tbt Splatter with @gabrielgastelum
A photo posted by Colby Melvin (@colbymelvin) on Jul 2, 2015 at 11:10am PDT
Harry Louis and fiance Allyson Chinalia get some good use of the flattering locker room mood lighting.
#Repost @harry_louis with @repostapp. ??? Um banho a 2 é bem mais gostoso ne @allysonchinalia ?!? A shower for two it’s way better, isn’t it @allysonchinalia ?!? A photo posted by Allyson Chinalia (@allysonchinalia) on Jul 2, 2015 at 8:18am PDT
Davey Wavey‘s legs are up in the air again.
A photo posted by Davey Wavey (@officialdaveywavey) on Jul 1, 2015 at 5:39pm PDT
Drake is feeling Lukey.
You’re never gonna be like Lukey ???????????????? @skeptagram #BBK A photo posted by champagnepapi (@champagnepapi) on Jun 29, 2015 at 10:11pm PDT
Lost reunion! Daniel Dae Kim and Josh Holloway are waiting to be discovered.
Always happy to see this dude #Jin #Sawyer #LOST #WeHaveToGoBack
A photo posted by Daniel Dae Kim (@danieldaekim) on Jun 26, 2015 at 11:00am PDT
Sam Smith shows some skin and symptoms of a nasty allergy.
So…. I’m officially the new face of Hay Fever
A photo posted by Sam Smith (@samsmithworld) on Jul 1, 2015 at 2:55pm PDT
Jeremy Kinser
