WATCH: The First Federal Monument By and For LGBT Veterans
The first federally approved monument on federal land to honor LGBT vets was dedicated Sunday at the national cemetery outside Chicago.
Trudy Ring
www.advocate.com/politics/military/2015/05/26/watch-first-federal-monument-and-lgbt-veterans
'Growing Old,' F. Virtue Song, Beautifully Highlights The Singer's Wedding Day
Rapper F. Virtue never thought he would get married.
But after meeting his husband Tulio Machado at Frankie Sharp‘s weekly New York City party Westgay, the pair tied the knot in June 2014 only a year and a half later. In recognition of how much Machado inspired him and changed his life, F. Virtue wrote this song “Growing Old” and produced a music video of the pair’s wedding day to accompany the track.
“I put this out to the universe to help kids who grew up feeling how I felt,” F.Virtue told The Huffington Post. “I had this terrible thought that if I did ever get married, I would be too embarrassed to even have a wedding. Of course, I was insecure and not out or comfortable with myself with I was feeling that way. And now I couldn’t be more proud. So, I made this to show people that there is hope, they can be happy and it’s not weird! Conversely, it’s beautiful.”
F. Virtue and Machado’s one-year anniversary is June 22, 2015. “Growing Old” will be on the rapper’s upcoming album, “A Single Green Light,” available on June 4th, 2015. Head here for more information.
— 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.
Two Maryland LGBT Equality Bills to Become Enacted Without Governor’s Signature
On June 3, two vital bills will go into effect in Maryland, further expanding the rights and protections of its LGBT community.
HRC.org
Here’s What It Looked Like When Ireland Said YES To Same-Sex Marriage
While we all waited with anticipation to hear the results of Ireland’s historic vote on same-sex marriage, YouTuber Raymond Braun decided to go the extra mile. The extra thousands of miles, actually.
He flew to Dublin ahead of the Friday vote to see what progress looks like firsthand. Voters in Ireland overwhelmingly chose to change their nation’s constitution, becoming the first country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage through popular vote.
And it was a beautiful thing.
Watch below:
Dan Tracer
Greenland's Parliament Unanimously Approves Same-Sex Marriage and Adoption
The Parliament of Greenland has today voted to approve same-sex marriage and adoption. Joe Jervis of Joe.My.God reports,
Google Translate has a bit of difficulty with Danish, but our resident international expert, JMG reader Luis, advises us that Greenland’s Parliament has just voted unanimously to adopt Danish laws legalizing same-sex marriage and gay adoption. Greenland is an autonomous country within the kingdom of Denmark and is not a member of the United Nations. More than three times the size of Texas, Greenland has a population of about 57,000.
Box Turtle Bulletin also notes Greenland’s history on same-sex marriage:
In 1996 Greenland adopted Denmark’s domestic partnership laws. However, when Denmark upgraded to marriage equality in 2012, Greenland did not go along. In February it was announced that a bill to do so would be brought this spring.
The bill which passed today also gives adoption rights and will go into effect on October 1, 2015.
Sean Mandell
'Abused Emojis' Could Help Domestic Violence Victims Break Their Silence
Emojis — those smiling yellow blobs and adorably rendered foodstuffs — are meant to convey feelings that are difficult to put into words. But they’re usually pretty silly, even the “anguished” face:
What if emojis could relay serious, even scary situations and allow someone to get the help they need? The answer to that question may lie in Abused Emojis, a new app for iOS that allows users to send graphic representations of situations that fall well beyond the purview of Unicode’s standard emoji sets.
According to BRIS, the Swedish nonprofit that created the app, the Abused Emojis are meant to help young people seek out support by giving them the tools to communicate difficult, painful or dangerous situations. The app includes images of people with black eyes, a hand striking a small child in the face, slashed wrists and intense portrayals of subjects like alcoholism and suicidal ideation.
“This campaign is [meant] to encourage kids not to sit quiet with their troubles, but to reach out to others,” Silvia Ernhagen, communications director at BRIS, told The Huffington Post.
“We think that there’s no wrong way to communicate, and we want children to communicate more. Through the Abused Emojis, we want to give them a wider range of emotions and feeling to choose from,” she added.
The app installs a new set of emojis onto your iPhone or iPad. You can insert them into any text message, and the recipient will be able to see them whether they have the app or not — even if they’re not using an iOS device.
A possible use for the Abused Emojis keyboard. (Source)
Admittedly, the images are jarring at first. You may not know what to do if you receive a text message containing an emoji of a bruised child, and an expert we spoke to wasn’t completely sure about how to react to this scenario.
Brian Pinero, chief programming officer at the National Domestic Violence Hotline, told HuffPost the app definitely raises questions.
“Do you make a [Child Protective Services] report based on that?” Pinero said in a phone interview. “If you don’t follow up with that, are you still liable if something happens?” He said that a social worker, caregiver or someone else in a position of responsibility would need to “seriously consider” filing a report if they were to see a minor use an emoji indicating a form of abuse.
There’s an awareness issue, too. App discovery is a big problem on iOS, so it’s uncertain how someone experiencing violence would stumble upon Abused Emojis to begin with. (Pinero hadn’t heard of it before HuffPost reached out to his organization.)
Another potential concern: Someone who does download the app could leave him or herself exposed to an adult who’s able to access their device or App Store history. Its name, Abused Emojis, could raise questions. Ernhagen told HuffPost that BRIS had considered this possibility.
“[E]ven with a different name on the app, parents would eventually know what it is all about and making it hidden by using another name would probably not make a difference in the long run,” she said.
Still, Pinero did say the app could do some good for those who discover it. He told HuffPost that Abused Emojis is a great idea, simply because it offers a new way for victims to express themselves about traumatic events, which can be difficult to put into words.
“The thing that excites me is it’s still a way for someone to communicate a thought, a feeling, and not necessarily having the vocabulary for a starting point,” Pinero said. “If something doesn’t feel right … and an emoji could convey for clarity or be able to initiate conversations, it’s huge.”
A former Child Protective Services officer himself, Pinero recalled difficult conversations with children who had trouble expressing the difference between a “good touch” and a “bad touch.”
“Can you imagine having a way to express what a bad touch is instead of going through all of that? It’s amazing,” Pinero said.
Thus, the Abused Emojis app might be helpful for adults — particularly those who work with children — to keep in mind and pass along when necessary.
“Because of technology and communication tools, you’re allowing the user to tell you how they need help. You’re letting them start the conversation,” Pinero said. “Instead of organizations saying, ‘This is how you receive help,’ it’s, ‘How does the person ask for help?’ It’s our job to make sure we’re up to date.”
Click here to access Abused Emojis on iTunes.
Need help? In the U.S., call 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) for the National Domestic Violence Hotline.
— 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.
www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/26/abused-emojis_n_7421844.html?utm_hp_ref=gay-voices&ir=Gay+Voices
Happy Birthday to the late great American hero, Sally Ride
South Korean Celebrity Admits To Molesting Another Man In A Sauna But Insists He’s “Not Gay”
Baek Jae Hyun (pictured) is a comedian and film director from South Korea. This week, he confessed to molesting another man in a sauna, but insists he’s “not gay.”
Related: Looking Back: The Most Embarrassing Hookup Stories Of 2014
The incident happened in the wee early hours on May 17. Baek was hanging out at a 24-hour sauna in Seoul. At around 3 a.m., he entered a room to perform oral sex on a man who was napping. When the man awoke, he reported Baek to police, who later arrested him.
According to authorities, Baek told them he’s “not gay” and that the whole thing was a drunken “mistake.”
Related: Guards Get Naked And Go Undercover To Prevent Gay Sex In Saunas
“The suspect molested the victim by touching and sucking his genitals multiple times,” police told media, “and also touching and licking the victim’s chest, making him feel sexually humiliated against his will.”
This is not the first time gay rumors have swirled around the 45-year-old celebrity, which he has always denied, calling them “shocking” and “nonsense.”
Though there are no laws against same-sex sexual activity in South Korea, the stigma surrounding homosexuality still prevents many LGBT Koreans from living openly.
Police said they plan to send Baek’s case to a prosecutor.
Related: Gay South Korean Film Director Marrying Boyfriend, Breaking Taboos
h/t: Gay Star News
Graham Gremore
Jamaican Minister of Justice Snubs United Nations' Call For LGBT Equality
Earlier this month, Senator Mark Golding, Jamaica’s minister of justice, remarked that the conservative island nation was not interested in extending legal protections to its LGBT people. The decision came in response to the United Nations’ insistence that Jamaica has had an objectively negative relationship with its LGBT population and has done little to protect them.
In a recent speech to Jamaica’s Senate, Golding explained that there had been a number of calls from other UN member nations for Jamaica to repeal its laws that criminalize homosexuality. According to Golding these recommendations “did not enjoy Jamaica’s support.”
“I assured the [UN Human Rights] Council that the Constitution of Jamaica guarantees basic human rights to all Jamaicans,” Golding said. “[A]nd indicated further that, in order to create greater understanding of the concerns of the LGBT community, several initiatives have been put in place.” He added,
“I informed the Council that the Jamaica Constabulary Force’s Diversity Policy aims to eliminate all forms of discrimination and inequitable treatment toward members of the public, and guides members of the police force in their professional dealings with persons of particular groups, including LGBT people.”
Charles Pulliam-Moore
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand Says Supreme Court Decision On Marriage Equality 'Just The Beginning'
“Our fight for LGBT equality is not nearly over,” Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) stated emphatically in an interview last week. “And I’m hopeful, very hopeful, that the Supreme Court will say it’s unconstitutional to ban gay marriage. But that’s really just the beginning of fighting for our rights. We have to actually make sure all LGBT couples can have full parenting rights, have full social security and other federal benefit rights. We want to make sure companies can’t discriminate against members of the community because of who they love and who they are. And it’s really important [to take on] discrimination wherever it exists.”
Toward that end, Gillibrand last week introduced the Every Child Deserve a Family Act, which would bar adoption and foster care agencies that receive federal dollars from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation. Though Gillibrand says she has bipartisan support in the Senate and will continue speaking with Republicans, so far co-sponsors include a handful of fellow Democrats, such as openly lesbian Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.) and Sen. Eilzabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who is running for the Democratic nomination for the presidency. Companion legislation was introduced in the House several weeks ago by Rep. Peter Stark (D-Calif.) and has 52 co-sponsors, but bringing it to a vote in the Republican-controlled House any time soon is unlikely.
“Only seven states ban discrimination based on sexual orientation in adoption, and only five explicitly ban discrimination in foster care,” Gillibrand said in interview with me on SiriusXM Progress. “So we have a long way to go. We only have a few states protecting LGBT parents. The reality is, there are two million LGBT individuals and families that are willing and able to take on these parenting obligations, to adopt these children or foster these children who desperately need it. Unfortunately, there are 400,000 children in the U.S. foster care system today and more than 20,000 of them are going to age-out before finding a permanent home. So we should be caring for these kids. We should give them the loving families they deserve.”
The bill, if it becomes law, would only affect those agencies that take federal money, and they are free to opt-out from receiving funds.
“If you’re getting the benefit of federal funds, you can’t discriminate,” Gillibrand. “It’s unconstitutional, and you should not be able to use our taxpayer dollars to discriminate against individuals based on their sexual orientation and who they love. So I think it’s important we fight against it, particularly when our taxpayer dollars are being used.”
Still, that’s too much for many anti-gay groups, which attacked Gillibrand’s effort and vowed to pressure Congress.
“This legislation would prohibit adoption agencies and foster care agencies, including religious adoption agencies and foster care agencies, from providing services in many cases,” Lori Windham, Senior Counsel with the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty told the Catholic news agency, EWTN News. Peter Sprigg, senior fellow for policy studies at the Family Research Council, is quoted in the same article saying there are “unique problems” with allowing gays and lesbians to adopt children. Claiming there is “overwhelming” evidence while not citing any studies, Sprigg said, “I think it’s legitimate to disfavor them or to exclude them altogether.”
Listen to the interview with Senator Gillibrand below:
— 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.
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