Gay/Lesbian News

After answering a question regarding same sex marriage posed by Perez Hilton, in a manner that clearly reflected her homophobia, Prejean quickly became a highly recognizable name. Hilton did so many tantrums (note: refers to language used and not the reason for his anger) in the mainstream media and his blog, he insured that more people knew the name Carrie Prejean, than knew the name of the actual winner of the pageant.

Prejean is being shamed for being a sexual being in a world in which chastity in women is highly prized. We may claim to be a sexually liberated but the disciplining and slut shaming of women’s bodies proves quite the opposite. Those that are gloating about her downfall, do not realize that they are supporting an ism that enables homophobia. All isms are interconnected and therefore if we celebrate sexism we are promoting the idea that it is acceptable to marginalize or demean someone based a lack of conformity to hegemonic standards. Is it really a good idea for the GLBT community to chastise someone’s sexual behaviour when that is exactly what heterosexism does to create homosexuality as “other”?

The recent passage of Question One in Maine has struck a blow against gay marriage and against supporters of equal rights. Yet much of the popular acrimony directed at gay marriage could be caused by confusion rather than discrimination. The gay marriage debate is now so tangled in religious terminology that questions of legal equality can get easily lost in the language. Fortunately, there might be a way for gay couples to gain the same legal status as straight couples that sidesteps this incessant fighting in courtrooms and polling booths.

In an election that had been billed for weeks as too close to call, Maine’s often unpredictable voters repealed a state law Tuesday that would have allowed same-sex couples to wed. Gay marriage has now lost in all 31 states in which it has been put to a popular vote — a trend that the gay-rights movement had believed it could end in Maine.

The following is an excerpt from a column by Huffington Post Blogger Mike Alvear of Atlanta, GA:

“Sometimes I wonder how the framers of the Constitution would react to Maine’s vote this Tuesday on whether gay people should keep their right to marry.

“I’m pretty sure Jefferson would weep.

“And the others would share his hankie. For this must be the founding father’s nightmare: Seeing one group of Americans go into the voting booth to take away the rights of another . . .

“ . . . No matter what side you’re on, no matter what the result of the final tally, voting is the enemy of equality.”

Parenting is a complex task, one that doesn't lend itself to easy generalizations ...

So in our focus on raising good children, we should respect research that demonstrates that it’s not one’s sexual orientation that determines good parenting or not. (In fact, that’s a ridiculous assumption to begin with; why not suggest that people who have a certain religious perspective make the best parents, or only those who were raised in a house with more than 2 children themselves?) Yet, in an effort to put restrictions on gay fathers and mothers who want to have children, you see some people arguing against them for the sake of the children.

President Barak Obama expressed confidence Sunday that the Senate will "take the baton" and approve sweeping health care reform legislation, after the House narrowly passed its version Saturday night.

“

Now it falls on the United States Senate to take the baton and bring this effort to the finish line on behalf of the American people. And I’m absolutely confident that they will,” said Obama.

Conveniently however, Obama made no reference to the Stupak-Pitts amendment in his remarks.

The Stupak-Pitts amendment will prohibit federal funds from being used for abortion services in any health exchange, public or private and prevents private insurance companies from receiving government subsidies if they cover abortions

More>> More>> BOOKS More>> Nov 5 CULTURE Hate crimes legislation :: radical social policy or justice at last? By Scott Stiffler In the days following the expansion of federal hate crimes legislation to include the LGBT community, there was criticism from conservative quarters that it was unnecessary and a threat to freedom of expression.

Since Queer as Folk went of the air, Peter Paige has been taking one acting challenge after another.

It's time for black communities to wake up – and stop ostracising those of us who happen to be homosexual.

Black people need to stop treating homosexuality as if it's a white man's disease. We need to embrace the vibrant presence of gays and lesbians in our community and stop siding with bigots and racists.

Late this evening, the House passed the Affordable Health Care for America Act, H.R. 3962, by a vote of 220 to 215. While this is a historic step toward improving health care for all Americans, it is also a tremendous advance for the health needs of LGBT people. HRC lobbied the three committees involved in drafting the bill to include provisions that would help LGBT people in particular obtain the improved access to health care that the Act is designed to provide. Some of these measures have been part of HRC’s legislative agenda as free-standing bills for many years. The key provisions in the bill that the House passed are:

The following, hard as it might be to believe, is a true story. The setting: Driving in the family car to a lavish lunch at the local Carls Jr.

As the debate over legalizing same-sex marriage in the District of Columbia grows louder and more polarized, there are people whose support for the proposal is personal but not often talked about. They are federal workers and professionals, men and women who share little except that their former spouses tried to live as heterosexuals but at some point realized they could not.

A strategic move on the part of those opposed to same sex marriage, begun last year with the campaign for Proposition 8 in California, and continued in Maine, is gathering storm.

In the aftermath of Maine voters having narrowly rescinded marriage equality rights for gay and lesbian families, GLBT equality advocates are looking to assign blame.

Searching for sex, sun, and fun, gay travelers? Set your sights on Sin City, where good times are a sure thing.

In the grand scheme of American politics, the gay marriage issue seems like it should really be a footnote. It affects so few people, how could it be so important?

Pop star Miley Cyrus from the hit Disney show Hannah Montana has changed the lyrics of one of her popular songs '7 Things' in a recent Louisville, Kentucky concert from 'You're Game' to 'You're gay'.

Since Queer as Folk went of the air, Peter Paige has been taking one acting challenge after another.

Required fields are marked with an asterisk The information you provide will be used only to send the requested e-mail and will not be used to send any other e-mail communications.

One often hears the argument from those against gay marriage that "Gays are not denied the right to marry: they can legally marry a person of the opposite gender." . But for this group of gay marriage defenders, that is where the nightmare begins.

A reader writes:

I think there is something missing in this discussion that is often overlooked. There is a reason that the anti-gay activists use the "gay marriage will be taught in schools" meme over and over again. The fact is that same-sex couples are not the norm. Most children are only exposed to male-female relationships (ie. their parents, their friends' parents, etc.) and they are exposed to them to such an extent that they don't even warrant notice. Even when Weddingkids children are exposed to same-sex couples, they are often explained differently than the relationships of married couples (eg."this is my friend/roommate").

When this dynamic changes, like when a teacher gets married to someone of the same sex, it goes against prior experience and suddenly becomes worthy of notice, leading to questions. Now try to imagine the conversation that follows. Parents may be forced to deal with questions of sexuality and love at an age when these discussions would not otherwise take place.