Marriage Equality: May 2011
An Extraordinary LGBT Community Possible
Filed by Dr. Jillian T. Weiss | May 31, 2011 | 1:30 PM |What if the LGBT community stood for the context of a world of love and respect for all? Read More
Moscow Pride Revitalizes Talk of Community Alliances
Filed by Adam Polaski | May 31, 2011 | 11:00 AM |A new editorial in The Moscow News suggests mismanagement of the LGBT movement by gay rights leaders in the country.Read More
DC Methodists Vote to Bless Marriage Equality
Filed by Ed Team | May 31, 2011 | 7:30 AM |"We believe that more and more Christians are examining the issue and realizing that it is truly a civil rights issue and that members of our denomination are just as deserving of support of their church communities and their commitments...Read More
A Better Life: Why I'm Still Not Moving To Canada
Filed by Terrance Heath | May 29, 2011 | 12:00 PM |Remember back in 2004, when Dubya won re-election and liberals started threatening to move to Canada? Well, maybe I should have considered it. Because according to OECD's Better Life Index, Canada is where I belong.Read More
IL: Catholic Church Picks Discrimination Over Charity
Filed by Waymon Hudson | May 27, 2011 | 4:00 PM |Catholic Charities in Rockford, Illinois have decided that rather than abide with the new civil unions law going into effect in Illinois on June 1st, they'll end all the adoption and foster care services they provide.Read More
Nikki Araguz Arrested on Theft Charges
Filed by Bil Browning | May 27, 2011 | 3:00 PM |A Texas court ruled this week to invalidate the marriage between Thomas Araguz, a firefighter killed in the line of duty, and Nikki Araguz, a transexual woman. Now Ms. Araguz has been arrested in connection with the theft of a Rolex watch.Read More
House Approves Anti-Gay Defense Authorization Bill
Filed by Bil Browning | May 27, 2011 | 11:00 AM |The House of Representatives approved defense budget legislation that includes several anti-gay provisions meant to disrupt the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell & increase the scope of the Defense of Marriage Act.Read More
Capital Pride Hero: Well, I Do Love a Good Parade
Filed by Bil Browning | May 26, 2011 | 4:00 PM |DC's pride organization has announced their list of Capital Pride Heroes for this year and, after only nine months in the city, I was shocked to find out I got picked as one of them!Read More
NYC Mayor Bloomberg Delivers Speech Supporting Marriage Equality
Filed by Adam Polaski | May 26, 2011 | 2:15 PM |Bloomberg presses New York State Legislature to consider the importance of same-sex marriage and vote on the issue before the end of the legislative session in June.Read More
Anti-Gay Propaganda at the "Watchmen on the Wall" Conference
Filed by Adam Polaski | May 26, 2011 | 1:30 PM |The Family Research Council's Peter Sprigg took to the podium to tell pastors that gay people are propagandists, distrustful of black people, and committed to stamping out free speech.Read More
Widow Araguz Denied Death Benefits by Texas Court
Filed by Dr. Jillian T. Weiss | May 26, 2011 | 11:00 AM |In a perhaps unsurprising development, a Texas court ruled yesterday against Nikki Araguz, an intersex transsexual woman married to firefighter Thomas Araguz, who was killed in the line of duty.Read More
MN Governor 'Vetoes' Marriage Amendment
Filed by Bil Browning | May 26, 2011 | 10:45 AM |Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton symbolically vetoed the recently passed constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage. The legislature accidentally sent the measure to his office as a bill - which requires either a signature or a veto.Read More
EQCA Town Hall in WeHo Split on Prop 8 Repeal
Filed by Karen Ocamb | May 25, 2011 | 7:30 PM |By the time the Equality California organizers took a final vote on whether the LGBT community in Los Angeles wanted to go back to the ballot to repeal Prop 8 in 2012, two hours had elapsed and about half the crowd of about 100 people had left.Read More
Lesbian Moms & NOM: What Would You Do?
Filed by Bil Browning | May 25, 2011 | 3:15 PM |When ABC's What Would You Do? television show puts four actors playing a gay couple with children in a Texas diner and throws in an actress playing a homophobic waitress, the patrons' reactions were unexpected. NOM responds.Read More
Future of Equality Maryland In Doubt
Filed by Bil Browning | May 25, 2011 | 9:30 AM |Equality Maryland's board of directors released a statement yesterday admitting the group is in serious financial peril after the org suffered humiliating defeats this legislative session.Read More
Should We Boycott Straight Weddings?
Filed by Father Tony | May 24, 2011 | 8:00 PM |The LGBT community is divided over whether a boycott of heterosexual weddings is a worthwhile demonstration.Read More
New Poll Finds 70% of People Favor LGBT Antidiscrimination Laws
Filed by Alex Blaze | May 24, 2011 | 7:00 PM |It's the only national poll I know of (please let me know if there's another in the comments) on LGBT antidiscrimination legislation that I know of, and it shows broad support for it. 70% of Americans favor antidiscrimination legislation for LGBT people in housing, public accommodations, and employment.Read More
The Fight for Gay Marriage in New York is On
Filed by Leone Kraus | May 24, 2011 | 3:00 PM |The battle for gay marriage is on in New York. Yesterday, Governor Andrew Cuomo released a video urging New York residents to call their state senators to ask them to support marriage equality.Read More
The Recession Can Aid in LGBT Equality
Filed by Matt Comer | May 23, 2011 | 6:00 PM |Jim Daly, president and CEO of Focus on the Family, admits the struggle for LGBT equality in marriage is all but lost for the religious right.Read More
High Schools Teach LGBT Studies Classes
Filed by Alex Blaze | May 23, 2011 | 2:00 PM |There is an appropriate discussion to be had whenever something as fluid as queer culture and something as big as queer history are taught about curriculum.Read More
Comment of the Week: Yasmin Nair on Finding Freedom In Prison
Filed by Dr. Jillian T. Weiss | May 22, 2011 | 7:00 PM |On guest blogger Steve Mason's post Finding Freedom In Prison (No I Don't Mean Jesus), discussing his time as a young incarcerated queer man, his experience of anti-gay violence there, closeting, and the freedom he experienced after coming out in...Read More
Jury Awards $1.16 Million to LAPD Gay Cop in Job Discrimination Case
Filed by Karen Ocamb | May 21, 2011 | 4:00 PM |In 2009, after going through the proper complaint procedure, Crump filed a civil lawsuit against the city and the LAPD alleging discrimination, harassment and retaliation by his LAPD supervisors.Read More
Rick Santorum Doesn't Know The Meaning of 'Personal'
Filed by Andrew Belonsky | May 20, 2011 | 4:00 PM |Rick Santorum has some nerve! The former Pennsylvania Senator and super long shot presidential claimed this week that he's not a homophobe, and anyone who says otherwise is just "personalizing" a political debate, which is a bizarre statement, because all...Read More
The Difference between Republicans and Democrats Is Dead Real
Filed by Guest Blogger | May 20, 2011 | 2:00 PM |Editors' Note: Michael Mitchell is the Executive Director of National Stonewall Democrats. "There's really no difference between the Democrat and the Republican candidates." It's an all too familiar comment I hear around election time. While it would be a gross...Read More
The Gay Agenda, and the End of the World
Filed by Rev. Emily C. Heath | May 20, 2011 | 12:00 PM |Yesterday I was on the phone with one of my lay leaders talking about the congregational meeting one of my parishes is having next Sunday. We hashed out some details and were about to hang up when he asked me,...Read More
Trans Visibility Sparks Right-Wing Blogosphere Explosion
Filed by Austen Crowder | May 20, 2011 | 11:00 AM |They say that no press is bad press, and Chaz Bono's making lots of press. The good news? He's using his fifteen minutes to plant discuss the need for protection and understanding. (He's also pimping his book, but how can...Read More
Gallup: Majority Support Same-Sex Marriage
Filed by Alex Blaze | May 20, 2011 | 9:30 AM |Gallup joined several recent major polls in finding that a majority of Americans support same-sex marriage OutletWhenFavorOppose APAugust, 20105246 Wash. Post/ABCMarch, 20115344 CNNApril, 20115147 GallupMay, 20115345 Well, that question is settled. How about some polling on LGBT anti-discrimination legislation, which...Read More
How Radical Christianity Destroyed My Traditional Family
Filed by Mercedes Allen | May 20, 2011 | 8:30 AM |I'll be live-tweeting the #rapture this Saturday. Or for part of the day, at least. We'll also have a house to clean, because hey, life goes on. I do want to make clear, though, that I'm not mocking all Christians...Read More
The Rapture Is this Weekend
Filed by Alex Blaze | May 19, 2011 | 2:00 PM |The rapture is coming this weekend, according to Family Radio president Harold Camping. He and his followers are preparing for a May 21 rapture, during which around 200 million Christians will be swept into heaven. Non-Christians and the other 1.9...Read More
Barney Frank Visits Seattle and Discusses ENDA
Filed by Joe Mirabella | May 18, 2011 | 7:00 PM |On Tuesday Barney Frank visited Seattle to help raise money for Congressmen Jim McDermott. I had an opportunity to meet Barney Frank in a small group setting at Equal Rights Washington. He spoke to the group about the state of...Read More
10 Questions for NOM
Filed by Bil Browning | May 18, 2011 | 6:00 PM |Friend of the site and Queerty's new editor, Daniel Villareal, was a little peeved to find one of his posts on the National Organization for Marriage's website. His article, "Can We Please Just Start Admitting That We Do Actually Want...Read More
"Into The Light," A 6000 mile walk to end gender discrimination
Filed by Dr. Jillian T. Weiss | May 18, 2011 | 12:00 PM |At the end of this month, Alan Bounville will begin walking. He is embarking on a journey from the Pacific Northwest of the United States, walking 6,000 miles, to Washington DC. His goal is to bring an end to gender...Read More
I Found Freedom in Prison (No, I Don't Mean Jesus)
Filed by Guest Blogger | May 17, 2011 | 5:00 PM |Editors' note: Steve Mason is a 26-year-old California state inmate, librarian, and gay liberation activist who will be released in early 2015. When he is not engaged in pink politics he can be found reading Stephen King books, drawing, listening...Read More
On Sunday Drinking, Or, Has Satan Been Rendered Irrelevant?
Filed by Don Davis | May 17, 2011 | 10:30 AM |I know better than to go drinking on Sundays, but it's just been one of those weeks, and I figured I'd grab a few beers, no big deal, and then head home and get some real work done. Of course,...Read More
Wisconsin Governor Wants to Stop Defending Gay Rights
Filed by Alex Blaze | May 17, 2011 | 8:30 AM |Gov. Scott Walker, the conservative ideologue Wisconsin somehow elected to its highest office, has asked the court if his office could stop defending Wisconsin's domestic partnership registry, which gives same-sex couples the opportunity to register for some of the rights...Read More
A Straightforward (But Complex) Loving Life
Filed by E. Winter Tashlin | May 16, 2011 | 5:00 PM |I have been sitting in front of my blank computer screen for a solid ten minutes now trying to figure out exactly how to begin this post. No matter how hard I reach for greater eloquence or depth, I keep...Read More
What Happens If LGBT Rights Aren't Profitable?
Filed by Alex Blaze | May 16, 2011 | 4:00 PM |I can't say I expected a NY Times column to take on this position today: And yet supporting marriage on economic grounds dehumanizes same-sex couples by conflating civil rights with economic perks. Americans should be offended when the value of...Read More
Video of NOM Rally in the Bronx
Filed by Alex Blaze | May 16, 2011 | 7:00 AM |Brian Brown of NOM at a rally in the Bronx, telling people gay marriage will make their children hate them. That's a lot of energy there for a campaign they claim is entirely about protecting the definition of a...Read More
Conservatives Only Care about Marriage
Filed by Alex Blaze | May 15, 2011 | 7:30 AM |"Be it resolved that any elected official or potential candidate who does not support marriage as defined between one man and one woman, shall not have their name appear on Row C, the New York State Conservative Party position on...Read More
Louis Marinelli on the NOM Counterprotest Today
Filed by Alex Blaze | May 15, 2011 | 7:00 AM |Louis Marinelli, the NOM defector, wants you to go out and protest for marriage today in New York City....Read More
HIV, Chaz Bono, & the Roman Empire
Filed by Bil Browning | May 14, 2011 | 6:00 PM |While I've been busy working behind the scenes to prep Bilerico Project for the new redesign and format, the contributors were busy too. What were they doing? Giving you great posts like these: Sunday How Mom Handles HIV in the...Read More
Liberace Reimagined as AIDS Activist in New Short Film
Filed by Toshio Meronek | May 14, 2011 | 4:00 PM |As Alex reported in January, somewhere in Hollywood, Michael Douglas is smothering on lip gloss to prepare for a heavy make-out session with Matt Damon. Douglas is set to play Liberace (and Damon his young lover) in the gay-for-pay Oscar...Read More
Marriage Ad from Israel
Filed by Alex Blaze | May 13, 2011 | 7:00 AM |An ad for marriage freedom from Israel....Read More
The Limits of Full Inclusion
Filed by Rev. Emily C. Heath | May 12, 2011 | 6:00 PM |A few weeks ago I wrote in anticipation of the Presbyterian vote regarding LGBT clergy. Tuesday the final needed vote came in, and an amendment was passed that allowed for the possibility of LGBT ordination in some areas. It does...Read More
King & Spalding Was Right to Drop DOMA Defense
Filed by Alex Blaze | May 12, 2011 | 3:00 PM |When King & Spalding dropped DOMA defense, newspapers and columnists around the country ran breathless pieces scolding the firm (and HRC). Their reasons were pretty much all the same: everyone deserves a legal defense, as if DOMA were a human...Read More
Chaz Bono Comes Out For ENDA
Filed by Dr. Jillian T. Weiss | May 12, 2011 | 12:00 PM |Chaz Bono gave an interview to New York Magazine on Tuesday, talking about his documentary, shown on the OWN Network. In the interview, he was asked "What do you think is the main issue for the trans community right now?"...Read More
NOM's Ad against Same-Sex Marriage: It'll Turn Your Kids Gay
Filed by Alex Blaze | May 11, 2011 | 3:00 PM |NOM has an ad targeting African Americans in New York, whose legislature is considering same-sex marriage this year: The ad discusses the children, over and over again, as if children will be turned gay because same-sex marriage is legalized in...Read More
No More Same-Sex Marriages on Base
Filed by Alex Blaze | May 11, 2011 | 7:30 AM |"My memorandum of 13 April 2011 is hereby suspended until further notice pending additional legal and policy review and inter-Departmental coordination." --Chief of Chaplains Rear Admiral M.L. Tidd, reversing a previous memo that allowed same-sex marriage ceremonies on base in...Read More
The Nuptial News
Filed by Leslie Robinson | May 10, 2011 | 11:30 AM |There's been a lot of marriage news lately. But enough about the Royal Wedding. On these shores, the struggle for same-sex marriage has been as wobbly as a tipsy bride. Look at Rhode Island. Hopes were high that Little Rhody...Read More
Action Alert: Texas Legislature Mulls Voiding Marriages, And One In Particular
Filed by Dr. Jillian T. Weiss | May 10, 2011 | 9:30 AM |Texas law allows transsexual and intersex individuals to get married upon the presentation of a court order recognizing sex reassignment. This change honors the self-identification rather than basing access to marriage licenses on sex assigned at birth. The Texas Senate...Read More
Personal Viewpoint
Filed by Alex Blaze | May 10, 2011 | 7:30 AM |"But I believe in the sanctity of marriage between one man and one woman. This is my personal viewpoint. I Do not hate anyone." --Hockey agent Todd Reynolds responding to Twitterers who responded to his criticism of NHL player Sean...Read More
Poor, Oppressed Corporations
Filed by Alex Blaze | May 09, 2011 | 6:00 PM |Maybe universities should start offering classes to study the oppression of corporations and create safe spaces for them on campus. They've only been people since 1886, and they've been maligned ever since. All they want to do is make a...Read More
Supposedly Progressive Christian Sojourners Rejects LGBT Ad
Filed by Karen Ocamb | May 09, 2011 | 4:00 PM |Perhaps you've seen Rev. Jim Wallis on TV - he's a self-described Christian "public theologian." But he's also an influential one as a best-selling author and the president and CEO of what heretofore has been considered the progressive Sojourners Social...Read More
We Who Feel Differently: Global Reflections on Gay Rights
Filed by R Conrad | May 08, 2011 | 11:30 AM |Carlos Motta, a queer Colombian-American multi-disciplinary artist making his home in New York City, has launched and ambitious new web-based project called We Who Feel Differently. The project exists largely as an online database of documentary style video interviews with...Read More
Ron Paul on Same-Sex Marriage
Filed by Alex Blaze | May 08, 2011 | 7:00 AM |Ron Paul on same-sex marriage....Read More
Men With Rounded Corners: The Loren Olson Story
Filed by Father Tony | May 07, 2011 | 12:00 PM |When Dr. Loren Olson called to talk about his autobiographical new book Finally Out: Letting Go of Living Straight, a Psychiatrist's Own Story, he had just received a letter from his ex-wife who had just finished reading the book. Because...Read More
Brazil's High Court OKs Civil Unions
Filed by Bil Browning | May 06, 2011 | 2:00 PM |In a 10-0 ruling, Brazil's highest court has approved same-sex relationship recognition by ruling in favor of civil unions. One justice abstained from voting. Brazil's high court ruled that same-sex civil unions must be recognized, a decision welcomed as a...Read More
Rightwing Poll: Americans Don't Want Gay Lessons
Filed by Alex Blaze | May 06, 2011 | 1:00 PM |America's most-trusted birther news source, World Net Daily, along with a birther polling outfit, Wenzel Strategies, have a poll about teaching about homosexuality in schools, which they say shows that 65% of people oppose. Assuming that they actually did hire...Read More
NY Governor Paterson To Be Honored At Trans Event. Why?
Filed by Dr. Jillian T. Weiss | May 06, 2011 | 12:00 PM |The progress of transgender and transsexual civil rights has been slow and halting in New York State, but there is no surer mark of progress than when the powerful bend to notice our struggles. On Monday, May 23, 2011, the...Read More
Surpassing Borders: Living in the Borderlands
Filed by Guest Blogger | May 06, 2011 | 8:30 AM |Editors' Note: Guest blogger Brett Stockdill is a queer, HIV positive activist, teacher and scholar in Chicago. He is an Associate Professor in Sociology, Women's Studies, and Latino & Latin American Studies at Northeastern Illinois University. His four-part series, "Living...Read More
Your Husband Will Be Deported Tomorrow
Filed by Dr. Jillian T. Weiss | May 05, 2011 | 12:00 PM |BREAKING NEWS: MetroWeekly: Attorney General Holder Vacates Immigration Decision Based on DOMA The Velandia case has been stayed until mid-summer. Imagine that your beloved were being deported tomorrow. He is not being deported because he is a criminal, or entered...Read More
Maggie Gallagher on the Secret Sodomy Mafia
Filed by Alex Blaze | May 05, 2011 | 7:30 AM |"It's important for all of us to remember that life for ordinary gay people can still be difficult, even as a powerhouse gay movement flexes its cultural, financial and behind-the-scenes political power to repress the rights of others to organize,...Read More
Canada Votes for Hard Right Turn
Filed by Mercedes Allen | May 04, 2011 | 1:30 PM |Canada voted Monday, and in the end, centrist Canadians decided - thanks to some effective Conservative Party messaging and third-party vote-splitting - that they were more frightened by "socialism" than they were by the thought of a theocratic-influenced, Republican-style, control-fixated...Read More
61 Year Long Engagement
Filed by Michael Crawford | May 04, 2011 | 11:30 AM |Richard Dorr, 83, and, John Mace, 91, are seriously the most adorable couple ever. And, after being together for 61 years, haven't they waited long enough to get married in New York? This video featuring Richard and John is one...Read More
Breaking Silence & Coming Out: Living in the Borderlands
Filed by Guest Blogger | May 04, 2011 | 8:30 AM |Editors' Note: Guest blogger Brett Stockdill is a queer, HIV positive activist, teacher and scholar in Chicago. He is an Associate Professor in Sociology, Women's Studies, and Latino & Latin American Studies at Northeastern Illinois University. His four-part series, "Living...Read More
Protest Against Civil Unions
Filed by Alex Blaze | May 04, 2011 | 7:30 AM |"This legislation codifies the idea that lesbian and gay families can be treated differently.[...] Separate is never equal, we are not second class citizens and we demand to be treated equally." --Martha Holt, chair of Marriage Equality Rhode Island in...Read More
NOM's Superficial Diversity
Filed by Alex Blaze | May 03, 2011 | 6:00 PM |Louis Marinelli, the NOM organizer who defected, has a post up about how NOM uses imagery of racially diverse crowds in their promotional materials. The entire thing is worth a read - he publishes a bunch of emails that NOM...Read More
A Look at the Social Media Strategies of the 'Standing on the Side of Love' Campaign
Filed by Leone Kraus | May 03, 2011 | 2:30 PM |Author's Note: The post originally ran on April 10, 2010, on my personal blog krausnotes.com. The interview below is with Adam Gerhardstein, former campaign manager for the Standing on the Side of Love campaign. The new campaign manager is Dan...Read More
Why Does God Keep On Making Gays If He Doesn't Like Us?
Filed by Alex Blaze | May 03, 2011 | 1:30 PM |A Minnesota representative Steven Simon in a house debate on an amendment to ban same-sex marriage in that state asks, "How many more gay people does God have to create before we ask ourselves whether or not God actually wants...Read More
LGBT- Friendly Justice Sotomayor To Speak At Ramapo College Commencement
Filed by Dr. Jillian T. Weiss | May 03, 2011 | 12:30 PM |Justice Sonia Sotomayor is coming to give the commencement address at my college, Ramapo College of New Jersey, on Friday, May 14. I am especially pleased about Justice Sotomayor because of her positions on LGBT issues. Are you listening, LGBT...Read More
Marriage Is Like a Golf Club
Filed by Alex Blaze | May 03, 2011 | 7:30 AM |"It's like in golf. A lot of people -- I don't want this to sound trivial -- but a lot of people are switching to these really long putters, very unattractive. It's weird. You see these great players with these...Read More
Straight Woman Gives Lesbian Moms a Discount, Gets Threats
Filed by Alex Blaze | May 01, 2011 | 5:30 PM |A straight baby supply shop owner in Brooklyn has been giving a 10% discount to lesbian mom, arguing "Women make less money than men." And this is the thanks she gets: The sign didn't cause much trouble -- aside from...Read More
K&S Dropping DOMA's Defense Is Not Like a Death Row Inmate Going without a Lawyer
Filed by Alex Blaze | May 01, 2011 | 7:30 AM |"No serious case can be made that an institution as powerful as Congress has a right to the services of the biggest law firms and the most credentialed lawyers. The Defense of Marriage Act is not unpopular, and while Congress...Read More
