Jobless Michael Sam makes the cover of GQ as his fame continues to burn bright
Retired player Chris Kluwe tells GSN Sam should be playing because ‘there are a lot of bad defensive teams in the NFL right now’
gregh
www.gaystarnews.com/article/jobless-michael-sam-makes-cover-gq-his-fame-continues-burn-bright171114
First Major League Baseball Team to Sign Arizona Unity Pledge
“We believe in equality and freedom, and stand firmly against any form of discrimination,” said Diamondbacks President & CEO Derrick Hall.
HRC.org
Colin Farrell Stands Up For His Gay Brother And Marriage Equality In New Op-Ed
“My brother Eamon didn’t choose to be gay,” actor Colin Farrell writes in a new op-ed for Ireland’s Sunday World newspaper. “Yes, he chose to wear eyeliner to school and that probably wasn’t the most pragmatic response to the daily torture he experienced at the hands of school bullies. But he was always proud of who he was.”
Ireland is getting ready to vote on a referendum to legalize same-sex marriage next year. Farrell, whose brother Eamon is gay, has joined the fight to help make marriage equality a reality for gays and lesbians in his home country.
“Even when others were casting [Eamon] out with fists and ridicule and the laughter of pure loathsome derision, he maintained an integrity and dignity that flew in the face of the cruelty that befell him,” Farrell continues. “I don’t know where those bullies are now, the ones who beat him regularly… But I do know where my brother is. He’s at home in Dublin living in peace and love with his husband of some years, Steven.”
Farrell goes on to explain how the couple had to fly all the way to Canada to exchange vows because same-sex marriage was not allowed in their country, meanwhile he could drive to Las Vegas, “get drunk and meet a woman and have Elvis marry us for $200.”
“It’s time to right the scales of justice here,” he writes. “To sign up and register to vote next year so that each individual’s voice can be heard. How often do we get to make history in our lives? Not just personal history. Familial. Social. Communal. Global. The world will be watching. We will lead by example.”
Ireland’s ballot referendum is scheduled for May 2015. According to an Irish Times poll, 67 percent of the nation’s voters favor a vote supporting marriage equality.
Related stories:
Ireland Will Recognize Your Marriage … If You Wait A Year
Gay Teachers In Ireland Are Being Bullied By Homophobic Students
WATCH: A Brief History Of Homosexuality In Ireland
Graham Gremore
Stewie (Sorta) Comes Out On A Very Special 'Family Guy' Thanksgiving Episode: VIDEO
Brace yourself, America. It looks like Stewie is officially gay!
At the end of a typically odd Family Guy episode which aired Sunday, the sassy baby with the posh accent seemed to admit what most had assumed over the course of the show’s 13 seasons. It all went down as he was filling in as host of the Griffin’s Thanksgiving dinner due to Peter’s absence on an epically weird find-a-turkey expedition. Stewie lifted a glass to give a toast saying, “I wasn’t planning on doing this today, but when I look around at all these open, loving faces of friends and family, I’m comfortable enough to finally say I am a proud, unashamed, active—” Just then, Peter arrives with the turkey, interrupting his somewhat unsurprising confession….though maybe Stewie was going to pull a Jodie Foster and use the similar setup to say that he’s single.
Stewie’s sexuality has always been suspect, so much so that in 2009 his creator Seth McFarlane said in an interview with Playboy that the character was gay, though he had never directly stated it on the show. Of course, there’s been plenty of gay moments for Stewie, some which were compiled last year on YouTube for easy viewing.
You can watch 17 of Stewie’s queer quips and gay gags AFTER THE JUMP…
Brian Sloan
The Plan B Option: What If Supreme Court Doesn't Deliver?
Organizers in the states with lingering marriage bans are hedging their bets, just in case the Supreme Court doesn’t overturn those bans.
Matt Baume
We Are Young: The 2014 <i>POZ</i> 100 Celebrates Youth Power
I was 22 when I tested positive for HIV. Now that I’m 44, that was literally half a lifetime ago. I remember feeling hopeless back then. I definitely didn’t feel empowered to take charge of my own health, let alone change things for the better, for myself or for others.
I have certainly changed my mind since then, but it took a while. I needed time to mourn the life I wouldn’t have before I could embrace the life I did have. I needed time to grow older before I could believe I would grow old. I needed time to accept I would have a life before I could plan for it.
Everyone has their own journey; that was mine. Having spent my youth expecting to die, I admire the courage of young people living with or at risk for the virus who have joined the HIV/AIDS fight. Their hope for a better tomorrow is based on their belief in being part of the solution today.
Even if a cost-effective cure and vaccine were here now, we still would most likely not get to the end of this epidemic without the leadership of the next generation. We must encourage them to lead. To that end, it is my great honor to introduce the 2014 POZ 100, which celebrates youth power.
Our fifth annual list spotlights the efforts of 100 unsung heroes under the age of 30. These young leaders come from across the country — and some from around the world. Some have HIV, and some do not, which seemed appropriate. Regardless of their HIV status, everyone should be encouraged to join the struggle. Click here for the list.
When it comes to empowering the next generation, Adam Tenner walks the walk. As the executive director of Metro TeenAIDS in Washington, D.C., he helps youth provide HIV education. His group also hosts youth-leadership programs that have trained hundreds of young health workers and activists. Click here to read more about his work.
As World AIDS Day — marked annually on Dec. 1 — again focuses our attention on the pandemic, the United Nations continues to craft its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Advocates are working to include HIV/AIDS in the post-2015 UN agenda.
The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) is coordinating those efforts, which include getting young people to advocate for HIV/AIDS in the SDGs. For more on UNAIDS, click here to read our Q-and-A with Regan Hofmann, the former POZ editor-in-chief who is now a policy advisor in the UNAIDS Washington, D.C., liaison office.
We all may not be young in years, but we all can strive to stay young at heart. In that spirit, I’d like to acknowledge yet another milestone for POZ this year. We marked our 20th anniversary in the June 2014 issue. Now we mark our 200th issue. On behalf of the entire POZ family, both past and present, I thank you for reading. You are why we keep doing what we do. Stay strong; know hope.
Lovely Lübeck: medieval grandeur and queenly character in northern Germany
Germany’s hidden star is an architectural marvel, rich in food, history and culture
jamiet
Every Vote Still Counts in Louisiana
While in most of the US, the 2014 election season is now a thing of the past, in New Orleans our efforts to help with Senator Mary Landrieu’s reelection are still going strong.
HRC.org
www.hrc.org/blog/entry/every-vote-still-counts-in-louisiana?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed
Paul Bettany Has Absolutely No Patience For Homophobes Who Can’t Spell
Paul Bettany is one of those actors who you totally recognize but whose name you probably can’t always remember. He’s had roles in a bunch of blockbuster movies, including Iron Man 1, 2, and 3, The Da Vinci Code, and The Avengers. And he’s married to Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Connelly.
Well, over the weekend, the Avengers star avenged an internet troll who hurled an antigay slur at him over social media.
“Your (sic) a faggot pussy I would beat your fucking ass if i ever see you in real life. Faggot,” a man named Travis from Horicon, WI (pop. 3,655) wrote to the 43-year-old actor.
Bettany was quick to respond:
“Dear Travis, Thank you so much for your message. I have a few thoughts – I think you mean you’re as in you are a faggot pussy not ‘your’, which seems to suggest I have a faggot pussy. Also a comma after ‘pussy’ would really help the clarity of the sentence. Lastly, you are mixing up your tenses ‘would and see’ – I think you mean that you would beat my fucking ass if you ever saw me in real life or you will beat my fucking ass (why so much focus on my ass? Something you’d like to get off your chest?) if you ever see me in real life. Sorry for all the notes but I was a little confused. Hugs and kisses, Paul Bettany.”
Then took a screen shot of the conversation and posted it to his Twitter account.
We’re not sure which is hotter, the fact that Mr. Bettany put a trolling homophobe in his place, or the fact that he’s such a good-looking grammar aficionado.
Related stories:
Me Speak English Good: When Homophobes Fail With Their Antigay Signage
Anderson Cooper’s Hilarious Shredding Of Amy Kushnir Is The Takedown Of All Takedowns
Lea Delaria Tells The Story Behind Her Shouting Down A Homophobic Subway Preacher
Graham Gremore
Michigan and Kentucky Plaintiffs Ask Supreme Court to Review Sixth Circuit Ruling Upholding Gay Marriage Bans
Joining plaintiffs in Ohio and Tennessee who have filed similar petitions with the Supreme Court, the plaintiffs at the center of the cases challenging Kentucky and Michigan’s gay marriage bans are asking the high court to take up the Sixth Circuit’s anti-equality ruling.
The Associated Press reports:
…Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway has declined to defend the state ban and Gov. Steve Beshear has hired private attorneys to represent the state. The Ohio appeal focuses on the state’s refusal to recognize out-of-state gay marriages because of its own ban, while the Tennessee case is narrowly focused on the rights of three same-sex couples.
Detroit Free Press reports on the significance of the April DeBoer and Jayne Rowse’s Michigan case:
While it remains uncertain which case — if any — the U.S. Supreme Court decides to take, here are some elements that make the Michigan case unique:
* There was an actual trial on the same-sex marriage issue in Michigan, whereas in other states, judges issued decisions after reading written arguments, with no cross examination of any witnesses or experts.
* Two, the Michigan plaintiffs aren’t just seeking legal recognition for same-sex couples who were married in other states, but are actually fighting to make gay marriage legal in Michigan by challenging a voter-approved ban on it.
* Three, the Michigan plaintiffs also have children they are raising together — a key issue in the same-sex marriage debate. Those fighting to legalize gay marriage argue families are being harmed when same-sex parents aren’t legally recognized, while traditional marriage advocates argue that children thrive best when raised by moms and dads and that it’s too early to tell if same-sex parenting is a good idea or not.
* Four, the state of Michigan is actively seeking to keep same-sex marriage illegal, whereas in other states, officials have opted not to pursue appeals once a federal judge has spoken on the issue. That didn’t happen at the conclusion of Michigan’s same-sex marriage trial.
DOMA lawyer Mary Bonauto has also joined the Michigan legal team.
Here are the briefs courtesy of Equality Case Files.
[photo via screenshot]
Kyler Geoffroy
