N.J. Trans Veterans Win Important Fight to Change Names on Military Records
In a potentially game-changing move, the U.S. Army has allowed two transgender veterans to update their names on their discharge papers.
Mitch Kellaway
Category Archives: NEWS
12 Gift Ideas For Spouses Who Don't Take Themselves Too Seriously
12 Gift Ideas For Spouses Who Don't Take Themselves Too Seriously
Nailing down the perfect holiday gift for your significant other can be tricky. Jewelry is pretty, but predictable and a tablet is practical, but feels impersonal.
We decided to come up with our own wish list tailored to couples who see romance a bit differently than the rest. Below are 13 awesome gifts for spouses with a sense of humor.
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Measuring Penile Blood Flow Is Now Forbidden For Nations Accepting Gay Asylum Seekers
Measuring Penile Blood Flow Is Now Forbidden For Nations Accepting Gay Asylum Seekers
When gay refugees seek asylum based on fear their lives are at danger due to antigay violence or persecution, they’re interviewed to asses the validity of their claim.
Until now, it hasn’t been unheard of for asylum seekers to be subjected to highly invasive, archaic tests, and more often than not, they’re asked inappropriate questions of a sexual nature.
But the EU’s top court has ruled that these refugees should not have to submit to undignified tests and questions.
The news comes after three men, including a Ugandan and one from a Muslim country, were denied asylum by a Dutch court after not sufficiently convincing officials they were actually gay.
The European Court of Justing (ECJ) ruled that asylum seekers must be treated with respect to human dignity.
Czech authorities were harshly criticized in 2011 for using a “phallometric test” to evaluate legitimacy. The test measures blood flow to the penis when a subject is shown sexually charged stimuli. The practice dates back to communist times, and some argue its validity.
Additionally, asylum seekers can no longer be asked probing questions about their sex lives. Authorities are allowed to ask questions about sexual orientation, but not sex acts themselves.
via BBC News
Dan Tracer
Florida Could Have Marriage Equality In January
Florida Could Have Marriage Equality In January
State officials can still appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court in hopes of extending a hold on a pro-equality ruling; otherwise, marriages begin January 6.
Sunnivie Brydum
www.advocate.com/politics/marriage-equality/2014/12/03/florida-could-have-marriage-equality-january
Focus on Uganda's LGBT Bill Is a Lesson in Our Hypocrisy
Focus on Uganda's LGBT Bill Is a Lesson in Our Hypocrisy
Surely everyone reading this is well aware of the issues surrounding the LGBT bill in Uganda. And as the world leapt to its feet, passionately denouncing this one bill in this one country, I waited for that same outrage to be directed at all the other places where this is happening in equal measure.
I’m still waiting.
If one followed the media frenzy, they’d be led to believe that Uganda is the only country with troubling legislation to this regard, when in fact, Uganda’s law falls perfectly in line with those of an array of other countries. Yet most cases are met with a silent impunity.
Uganda is a mere drop in the bucket. It’s a scapegoat.
The hypocrisy is alarming.
So why are we turning a blind eye to the vast majority of the places where this is happening? How do we decide who gets a free pass and which LGBT communities throughout the world do not, in fact, deserve our advocacy? I believe that if we, as a global community, are serious in our concern about the issue, then the concern must be distributed equally. Otherwise it’s a sham, a stunt for the cameras.
To put the issue in proper context, according to the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA), there are 78 countries with criminal laws against sexual activity by those who identify as LGBT. This includes nearly all of the Middle East, South Asia, Africa, the Indonesian Archipelago, and the Caribbean. These laws range from prison sentences, to corporal punishment, and to execution in some cases.
The list includes “friendly” countries that enjoy generous Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with the U.S. — many of which punish convicted LGBTs with anywhere between 7 years to life imprisonment. Those countries include: Malaysia, Kuwait, Kenya, Jamaica, St. Lucia, Barbados, and others.
Several beneficiaries of other high-profile trade agreements with the U.S. even uphold the death penalty for members of the LGBT community who are “caught in the act,” including: Qatar, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia.
Not only that, but the U.S. is also home to 13 states that are currently ignoring a 2003 Supreme Court decision that declared anti-sodomy laws to be unconstitutional. So we have some work to do on the home front as well.
It would be so much easier if the problem was limited to one place, but it’s not. We shouldn’t turn a blind eye to the many while condemning the few, there is no virtue in that. Let’s lay down our pitchforks and torches for a moment, take a breath, and consider the facts. This is a global issue and we need to recognize that reality and confront it in earnest.
We need to work with communities across the globe, including some key allies, to raise awareness and encourage progress. And if we have a zero tolerance policy for this, then our leaders and the media must apply pressure evenly, across the board.
Meanwhile, acting as though Uganda is the standalone offender is an absolute farce.
Pastor Envisions An AIDS-Free World By Christmas If We “Execute The Homos Like God Recommends”
Pastor Envisions An AIDS-Free World By Christmas If We “Execute The Homos Like God Recommends”
On the website of Pastor Steven Anderson’s church, the Faithful Word Baptist Church in Tempe, you’d find him boasting about the fact that he, “holds no college degree but has well over 140 chapters of the bible memorized word-for-word, including approximately half of the New Testament.”
And where has this blind rote memorization with absolutely zero cognitive thinking skills led him? Why, to the cure for AIDS of course!
Not only does Pastor Anderson hold the key to curing AIDS in the evolutionary disabled organ he calls his brain, but he thinks he could do away with the disease by Christmas.
He employed that handy Bible of his to discover the cure, which he shared with his congregation recently:
“I actually discovered the cure for AIDS,” he began, asking his parish to open their bibles toLeviticus 20:13.”Everybody’s talking about, ‘Let’s have an AIDS-free world by 2020.’ Look, we can have an AIDS-free world by Christmas,” he continued like a true snake oil salesman.
Then he got to the meat of the argument:
“Here’s what the bible says, Leviticus 20:13. ‘If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, it says, even both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them.”
And then the kicker:
“And that, my friend, is the cure for AIDS. It was right there in the Bible all along — and they’re out spending billions of dollars in research and testing. It’s curable — right there. Because if you executed the homos like God recommends, you wouldn’t have all this AIDS running rampant.”
Where to even start? All we can hope is that someone close to Pastor Dipshit finds it in their hearts to try and bring him a few inches back down closer to the real world.
That would be a Christmas miracle.
Watch the whole mess here:
Dan Tracer
DJ Earworm's United State Of Pop 2014: VIDEO
DJ Earworm's United State Of Pop 2014: VIDEO
DJ Earworm, known for mixing the year’s greatest hits into one, yearly mega mash-up, is back again with a mega-mix of 2014’s top songs from Maroon 5, Taylor Swift, Jason Derulo, Sam Smith, Pharrell, Iggy Azalea, Katy Perry, John Legend, Lorde and relative newcomers Meghan Trainor, Bastille, Tove Lo and Magic! among others. Watch, AFTER THE JUMP…
Featuring:
A Great Big World feat. Christina Aguilera – Say Something
Ariana Grande feat. Iggy Azalea – Problem
Bastille – Pompeii
Dj Snake & Lil Jon – Turn Down For What
Hozier – Take Me to Church
Idina Menzel – Let It Go
Iggy Azalea feat. Charli XCX – Fancy
Iggy Azalea feat. Rita Ora – Black Widow
Jason Derulo feat. 2 Chainz – Talk Dirty
Jeremih feat. YG – Don’t Tell ‘Em
Jessie J feat. Ariana Grande & Nicki Minaj – Bang Bang
John Legend – All Of Me
Katy Perry feat. Juicy J – Dark Horse
Lorde – Team
Magic! – Rude
Maroon 5 – Animals
Meghan Trainor – All About That Bass
Nico & Vinz – Am I Wrong
One Direction – Story of My Life
Passenger – Let Her Go
Pharrell Williams – Happy
Pitbull feat. Ke$ha – Timber
Sam Smith – stay with me
Taylor Swift – Shake It Off
Tove Lo – Habits
Anthony Costello
www.towleroad.com/2014/12/dj-earworms-united-state-of-pop-2014-video.html
WATCH: Meet the Trans Christian Woman Fighting for Mississippi Equality
WATCH: Meet the Trans Christian Woman Fighting for Mississippi Equality
In a possible first for trans visibility in a televised public education campaign, Blossom Brown shares her story with HRC’s ‘All God’s Children’ series.
Mitch Kellaway
Favorite Moments of 2014: “I’m Here Today Because I am Gay”
Favorite Moments of 2014: “I’m Here Today Because I am Gay”
HRC’s YouTube channel is chock-full of moments both inspiring and heartwarming, but perhaps our favorite of 2014 includes a particular pint-sized Canadian at a youth conference in Las Vegas.
HRC.org
GOPer Blames Barbra Streisand For Global Warming Hysteria, Babs Puts Him In His Place
GOPer Blames Barbra Streisand For Global Warming Hysteria, Babs Puts Him In His Place
When asked recently whether global warming was a hoax, without missing a beat, Republican Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma told Mother Jones: “Yes!”
When asked who was responsible for the elaborate hoax, Inhofe replied: “Hollywood liberals and extreme environmentalists!”
According to the 80-year-old senator, Hollywood liberals have been cooking up false narratives about climate change in an effort to “advance their radical environmental agenda” for years, and he wants to put an end to it.
When pressed on exactly who in Hollywood was responsible, Inhofe was quick to lay a charge.
“Barbra Streisand!” he cried.
Oh, hell no. Miss Streisand may be a lot of things. She’s a #1 recording artist. An actress. A director. A two-time Academy Award winner. An eight-time Grammy Award winner. A five-time Emmy Award winner. A Tony Award winner. A mother. An activist. A Taurus. A dog lover. But a hoaxer? We think not.
Inhofe begs to differ. He’s blamed Babs for global warming hysteria for years. In his The Greatest Hoax: How the Global Warming Conspiracy Threatens Your Future, published in 2012, Inhofe lists Streisand, along with “Hollywood elites” Leonardo DiCaprio and John Travolta, as a dangerous force whose environmental “alarmism” must be stopped.
But Streisand isn’t having any of it. Shortly after Inhofe made his comments, she released the following statement on Twitter:
This would be hilarious if it weren’t so frightening. I thank Senator Inhofe for singling me out as a voice against the perils of climate change! But I’m just a small part of millions of voices, who are informed and alarmed, including 97% of all climate scientists! God help us! This man is going to head the Committee on the Environment in the United States Senate. It’s like giving a fox the keys to the chicken coop.
Related stories:
Barbra Streisand: Celebrating 72 Years of Fierce Fabulousness
50 Years Ago Today Barbra Streisand Became The World’s Greatest Star In “Funny Girl”
Barbra Streisand: What’s The Biggest Regret Of Her Career?
Graham Gremore is a columnist and contributor for Queerty and Life of the Law. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter.
Graham Gremore