The Times of Harvey Milk (1984)

Since the current film starring Sean Penn on the life of Harvey Milk called, MILK, is in theaters now, here's a look back at the 1984 Oscar-winning documentary called, The Times of Harvey Milk, narrated by Harvey Fierstein.

Harvey Milk was California's first openly gay elected official. Member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors Harvey Milk and San Francisco Mayor George Moscone were assassinated by Supervisor Dan White on November 27, 1978. Milk's life leading up to his election, his successful efforts to politically represent San Francisco's gay community, and the city's reaction to the assassinations are documented with extensive news film and personal recollections.

[Joe.My.God]

One Giant Step Into The Future for Florida and Gay People

Miami judge rules against Florida gay adoption ban

A judge on Tuesday overturned a strict Florida law that blocks gay people from adopting children, declaring there was no legal or scientific reason for sexual orientation alone to prohibit anyone from adopting.

Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Cindy Lederman said the 31-year-old law violates equal protection rights for the children and their prospective gay parents, rejecting the state's arguments that there is "a supposed dark cloud hovering over homes of homosexuals and their children."

She noted that gay people are allowed to be foster parents in Florida. "There is no rational basis to prohibit gay parents from adopting," she wrote in a 53-page ruling.

Florida is the only state with an outright ban on gay adoption. Arkansas voters last month approved a measure similar to a law in Utah that bans any unmarried straight or gay couples from adopting or fostering children. Mississippi bans gay couples, but not single gays, from adopting.

The ruling means that Martin Gill, 47, and his male partner can adopt two brothers, ages 4 and 8, whom he has cared for as foster children since December 2004.

"I've never seen myself as less than anybody else," Gill said. "We're very grateful. Today, I've cried the first tears of joy in my life."

He said the two boys have been practicing writing their new last names, and the older one said: "That's what's going to make us a family."

Attorneys for the American Civil Liberties Union, who represent Gill, said the case was the first in the nation in which numerous experts in child psychology, social work and other fields testified that there is no science to justify a gay adoption ban.

The state planned a swift appeal, likely setting up a battle that could reach the Florida Supreme Court. A judge in gay-friendly Key West also found the law unconstitutional in September, but that ruling has not been appealed and has limited legal reach.

The state presented experts who claimed there was a higher incidence of drug and alcohol abuse among gay couples, that they were more unstable than heterosexual unions and that the children of gay couples suffer a societal stigma.

Organizations such as the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Medical Association and American Psychiatric Association all support permitting same-sex couples to adopt.

Lederman rejected all the state's arguments soundly.

"It is clear that sexual orientation is not a predictor of a person's ability to parent," the judge wrote. "A child in need of love, safety and stability does not first consider the sexual orientation of his parent. The exclusion causes some children to be deprived of a permanent placement with a family that is best suited to their needs."

Florida Assistant Attorney General Valerie Martin said an appeal would be filed on behalf of the state Department of Children & Families. She declined additional comment.

Reaction came quickly from advocates of gay, lesbian and transgender parents who have long considered Florida's law the most draconian in the nation. Jennifer Chrisler, executive director of the Boston-based Family Equality Council, said the decision is a "long-overdue recognition of the equal ability of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people to raise happy, healthy families."

"The best interests of children should be decided by parents, families, professionals and judges, not opportunistic politicians and interest groups," Chrisler said.

John Stemberger, chairman of a successful drive earlier this month to pass a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage in Florida, called the ruling "classic judicial activism" and predicted it would be reversed on appeal.

"Everywhere in the law where children are affected, the standard must always be what is in the best interest of the child," said Stemberger, an attorney in Orlando. "What is stunning to me is that when it comes to dealing with gays, that standard goes out the window. Children do better with a mother and a father."

[AP]

Some VERY Sad Local Ballot Measure Results

Lots of discrimination measures and amendments getting the popular vote across our country. Very sad.
(some of the numbers below are not final)


Arizona
Arizona Proposition 102:
Ban on Gay Marriage
Yes 970,628 57%
No 747,161 43%


Arkansas
Arkansas Initiative 1:
Ban on Gay Couples Adopting Children
Yes 446,081 57%
No 337,638 43%


California
California Proposition 8:
Ban on Gay Marriage
Yes 1,911,948 54%
No 1,613,174 46%


Florida
Florida Amendment 2:
Ban on Gay Marriage
Yes 4,479,514 62%
No 2,719,369 38%

Gov. Sarah Palin's Church Promoting 'Pray Away The Gay'

Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin's church advocates converting gay people into heterosexuals through the power of prayer.

Check out these 2 videos. The first is a CNN report on gay-conversion in which it includes violent agression that involves beatings with a tennis racquet while sreaming "Mom" (for real). The other video involves a discussion between 2 of my favorite journalists, Keith Olbermann and proud lesbian, Rachel Maddow.

Church Promotes Converting Gays

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Gov. Sarah Palin's church is promoting a conference that promises to convert gays into heterosexuals through the power of prayer.

"You'll be encouraged by the power of God's love and His desire to transform the lives of those impacted by homosexuality," according to the insert in the bulletin of the Wasilla Bible Church, where Palin has prayed for about six years.

Palin's conservative Christian views have energized that part of the GOP electorate, which was lukewarm to John McCain's candidacy before he named her as his vice presidential choice. She is staunchly anti-abortion, opposing exceptions for rape and incest, and opposes gay marriage and spousal rights for gay couples.

Focus on the Family, a national Christian fundamentalist organization, is conducting the "Love Won Out" Conference in Anchorage, about 30 miles from Wasilla.

Palin has not publicly expressed a view on the so-called "pray away the gay" movement. Larry Kroon, senior pastor at Palin's church, was not available to discuss the matter, said a church worker who declined to give her name.

Gay activists in Alaska said Palin has not worked actively against their interests, but early in her administration she supported a bill to overrule a court decision to block state benefits for gay partners of public employees. At the time, less than one-half of 1 percent of state employees had applied for the benefits, which were ordered by a 2005 ruling by the Alaska Supreme Court.

Palin reversed her position and vetoed the bill after the state attorney general said it was unconstitutional. But her reluctant support didn't win fans among Alaska's gay population, said Scott Turner, a gay activist in Anchorage.

"Less than 1 percent of state employees would even apply for benefits, so why make a big deal out of such a small number?" he said.

[AP] and [AOL]

12 Reasons Same-Sex Marriage will Ruin Society

This list is at least 4 years old, but it's still fun to read. Also, please note that this is clearly sarcasm... duh.

The University Of Florida's Gator Gay-Straight Alliance started handing out this list as a flyer on Valentine's Day in 2004. Now it's become a viral internet sensation and GatorGSA tradition.

1. Homosexuality is not natural, much like eyeglasses, polyester, and birth control are not natural.

2. Heterosexual marriages are valid because they produce children. Infertile couples and old people cannot get legally married because the world needs more children.

3. Obviously gay parents will raise gay children because straight parents only raise straight children.

4. Straight marriage will be less meaningful, since Britney Spears's 55-hour just-for-fun marriage was meaningful.

5. Heterosexual marriage has been around for a long time, and it hasn't changed at all: women are property, Blacks can't marry Whites, and divorce is illegal.

6. Gay marriage should be decided by the people, not the courts, because the majority-elected legislatures, not courts, have historically protected the rights of minorities.

7. Gay marriage is not supported by religion. In a theocracy like ours, the values of one religion are always imposed on the entire country. That's why we only have one religion in America.

8. Gay marriage will encourage people to be gay, in the same way that hanging around tall people makes you tall.

9. Legalizing gay marriage will open the door to all kinds of crazy behavior. People may even wish to marry their pets because a dog has legal standing and can sign a marriage license.

10. Children can never succeed without both male and female role models at home. That's why single parents are forbidden to raise children.

11. Gay marriage will change the foundation of society. Heterosexual marriage has been around for a long time, and we could never adapt to new social norms because we haven't adapted to cars or longer lifespans.

12. Civil unions, providing most of the same benefits as marriage with a different name are better, because a "separate but equal" institution is always constitutional. Separate schools for African-Americans worked just as well as separate marriages will for gays & lesbians.

THINK ABOUT IT. TAKE A STAND.

www.freedomtomarry.org
www.lambdalegal.org
www.hrc.org
www.glaad.org
www.aclu.org/lgbt
www.facesoffamily.org
www.marriageequality.org
thetaskforce.org
www.outtakeonline.com

Gay Dance Divas for Lesbians

I just saw this cool post on Logo's Lesbian website, After Ellen
(NO, it's not a website I've been to before. Yes, I'm not lying).

Here's the article...

Last week I got the new Kylie Minogue CD, X, in the mail. I get a lot of CDs in the mail from publicists who are promoting their artists to a gay audience, and it never fails to amaze me that most publicists have no idea that gay men and lesbians like totally different stuff (including sexual partners). But I gave the Kylie CD a spin anyway, because hey, I kinda liked her 2002 CD Fever.

And I admit it: I enjoyed the new Kylie CD. In fact, as I was listening to it on the way to the grocery store, I thought, "Hey, I should make a mix of gay dance divas for lesbians!" Even though most lesbians are not into gay house music, I think there is some crossover, at least during Pride after-parties.

Here's my attempt at that mix. Some of the songs are tracks from bona fide gay icons like Kylie, others are more lesbianish. Some are brand new, some are old, some just have funny lyrics. All are divalicious.

1. "Like a Drug" - Kylie Minogue

Kylie's latest CD, I have to say, is almost as much fun as Fever. And since she inspired this mix, she's at No. 1.

2. "Rock With U" - Janet Jackson

Is Janet a gay dance diva? Well, let me submit the following as evidence: When I was 16, I went to see her Rhythm Nation tour with my friend Tom. We screamed a lot, and later we both turned out to be gay. I think "Rock With U" is the best track from her new album, Discipline.

3. "Dirty Rich" - Lady Gaga

I got a three-track EP from someone called Lady Gaga in the mail last month, and as soon as I popped it into my CD player, I was hooked. Apparently she's a New York-based go-go dancer who also writes dance/electronica songs like the super-catchy "Dirty Rich."

According to her MySpace, she sounds like "elton john, freddy mercury, boy george,& john lennon in wig and fishnets at studio 54," so she's clearly aiming for the gay dance diva crown. I think she's pretty lesbianish, too, because to me she sounds like Peaches-meets-Goldfrapp. Her first album comes out this summer.

4. "Nobody's Supposed To Be Here" - Deborah Cox

This song is memorable to me for two reasons. First, it reminds me of going out to Campus, a gay night at Man-Ray, a small club in Cambridge, Mass., during the '90s (ooh, nostalgia!). Second, the lyrics crack me up. I mean, it's going to be played at a (hopefully packed) dance club, and the chorus goes:
"How did you get here? Nobody's supposed to be here!" Ha. It's funny, right? Anyone?

5. "Sexual (Li Da Di)" (Thunderpuss Remix) - Amber

If there were ever a song that encapsulated the gay dance club feel, it would be this one. First of all, it's by a woman who goes by her first name only. Then, the lyrics are totally ridiculous. An example:

"Don't make this one dimensional/The way I feel is sexual/It can't be intellectual/The way I feel is sexual." Um, OK. Sounds one-dimensional to me!

6. "I Love You (BT Remix)" - Sarah McLachlan

McLachlan is definitely lesbianish (in fact, she's bi), but is she a gay dance floor diva? The many club remixes of her songs seem to say that she wants to be one, but I'm not entirely convinced that it works. You tell me if you like this one.

7. "It's Not Right But It's Okay" (Thunderpuss Remix) - Whitney Houston

While putting this mix together, I realized that most gay club anthems are about (1) getting laid; (2) getting over someone who just dumped you by trying to get laid; (3) declaring that you're already over somebody and you'll always survive and eventually come back and smack them in the face with your fabulosity. I'm pretty sure this one fits category No. 3. And Whitney's definitely lesbianish.

8. "Since U Been Gone" (Jason Nevins Rock da Club Edit) - Kelly Clarkson

I actually first heard the remixed version of this song (clearly another in category No. 3) in a lesbian bar. When it came on the juke box (somebody paid for it to play!), I was suddenly surrounded by 20-something baby dykes jumping up and down and screaming out the chorus. A lesbian icon is born.

9. "Stranger" (Albert Castillo Radio Edit) - Hilary Duff

Ever since Hilary Duff tried to get lesbians to like her, I've been, um, kinda interested in what she's doing. So sue me, targeted marketing works! Anyway, when I received a CD containing 11 remixes of her song "Stranger," I realized she was seriously going after the gay dance club scene, too.

10. "Konichiwa Bitches" - Robyn

Factors that make Robyn a potential gay dance club diva: (1) She goes by her first name only; (2) this song has the word bitches in it. Factors that make Robyn a potential lesbian icon: (1) She looks like Pink; (2) she's from Sweden; (3) this song is actually pretty cool. Did I mention she looks like Pink?

11. "Hey Big Spender" - Dame Shirley Bassey

You may always associate Dame Shirley Bassey with James Bond, since she's the voice behind such classics as "Goldfinger," but I will always associate this song with lesbian burlesque and drag shows. (Think about it. Yum.) Her latest album tries to remake her into a gay dance club diva, and while I'm not sure if the album works as a whole, this song certainly does.

What are your lesbianish dance club favorites?

Can you spell DENIAL ?

Much talk has been made about Oklahoma State House Representative Sally Kern's remarks that the “gay agenda” was more threatening to the country than terrorism. Rumors began to circulate after the media frenzy about her remarks erupted that her son, a 31-year-old affiliate of the Des Moines School of Metaphysics, was gay. This week, however, Jesse Kern denied those rumors—saying he is not gay, just celibate.

Last week, The Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund posted a YouTube video featuring Kern speaking out against gays to a group of Republicans who had invited her to express her views about homosexuality.

In the speech, Kern accused homosexuals of pushing a "gay agenda" and trying to "indoctrinate" children as young as 2-years-old through tolerance education and gay-straight alliances, and suggested that homosexuality is the next wave of terrorism.

After the video was released, a former classmate of her son at Oklahoma Baptist University suggested to reporters that he was gay.

A blogger on the Oklahoma City Topix forum stated, “I find it hilarious that Salacious Sally is such a bigot. Her son Jesse was the biggest queen on the campus of OBU in the mid-90’s. Twice he almost was expelled for making inappropriate advances in the library toilets."

Another commenter and supposed classmate stated, “[Jesse]’s attendance at Oklahoma Baptist University was marred by his repeated censure for cruising the school’s toilets. Had he been able to live his life openly he would not have had to engage in such actions.”

Jesse Kern responded to the allegations in an article with Tulsa World, saying that the gay allegations were harming his and his family’s reputation.

Kern explained that he has chosen to be celibate, but is not gay. "First of all, no one's sexuality is anyone's business. It is not even my mother's business. I practice celibacy to give to my God."

Rep. Kern reiterated her son’s comments, telling the Tulsa World that he is "artistic, very musical, and not one to play on the football team," but that he was not gay.

Jesse Kern explained that while he did feel it necessary to clear up rumors about his sexuality, his views on homosexuality differ from his mother's. “[There] needs to be honor in any relationship whether it is a straight or gay relationship.”

He also stated he wanted to quash any false stories that he was charged with a sex crime in Oklahoma in 1989. A variety of gossip blogs and web sites had connected him with court records under the name of "Jesse Jacob Kern." His middle name is, in fact, Aaron and he was 12 years old and living in a different state at the time.


This Oklahoma State Legislator thought only 50 people were listening when she went on this anti-gay tirade







976,255 people are listening now.





DENIAL is not a river in Egypt !!

And the Gayest Songs Of All Time Are....

To help celebrate the 30th Anniversary of Sydney’s Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, popular Australian LGBT website SameSame asked readers to vote on the gayest song of all time. They received thousands of votes and the results are in.

50. Elton John and George Michael “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me”


49. Dead or Alive “You Spin Me (Like A Record)”


48. Pet Shop Boys “New York City Boy”


47. Diana Ross “Chain Reaction”


46. Deborah Harry “I Want That Man”


45. Cher “Strong Enough”


44. RuPaul “Supermodel (You Better Work)”


43. KD Lang “Constant Craving”


42. Culture Club “Do You Really Want To Hurt Me”


41. Chaka Khan “I’m Every Woman”


40. Wham “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go”


39. Paul Lekakis “Boom Boom (Let’s Go Back To My Room)


38. Kym Mazelle “Young Hearts Run Free”


37. George Michael “Outside”


36. Donna Summer “I Feel Love”


35. Dannii Minogue “This Is It”


34. Belinda Carlisle “Summer Rain”


33. Peter Allen “I Go To Rio”


32. Sylvester “You Make Me Feel Mighty Real”


31. Heather Small “Proud”


30. CeCe Peniston “Finally”


29. Madonna “Express Yourself”


28. Cyndi Lauper “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun”


27. Charlene “I’ve Never Been To Me”


26. Tim Curry “Sweet Transvestite”


25. Barry Manilow “Copacabana”


24. Barbara Streisand and Donna Summer “No More Tears”


23. Whitney Houston “I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)”


22. Sister Sledge “We Are Family”


21. Queen “I Want To Break Free”


20. Dolly Parton “9 to 5”


19. Coming Out Crew “Free, Gay and Happy”


18. Village People “In the Navy”


17. Frankie Goes To Hollywood “Relax”


16. Village People “Macho Man”


15. Judy Garland “Over The Rainbow”


14. Bronski Beat “Smalltown Boy”


13. Diana Ross “I’m Coming Out”


12. Cher “Believe”


11. Gloria Gaynor “I Am What I Am”


10. Alicia Bridges “I Love The Nightlife”


9. Madonna “Vogue”


8. Olivia Netwon-John “Xanadu”


7. Kylie Minogue “Better The Devil You Know”


6. Pet Shop Boys “Go West”


5. Kylie Minogue “Your Disco Needs You”


4. The Weather Girls “It’s Raining Men”


3. Gloria Gaynor “I Will Survive”


2. Village People “YMCA”


and The Gayest Song Of All Time is ....
1. ABBA “Dancing Queen”

New York State now recognizes Gay Marriages from Elsewhere

A New York appellate court ruled Friday that valid out-of-state marriages of same-sex couples must be legally recognized in New York, just as the law recognizes those of heterosexual couples solemnized elsewhere. Lawyers for both sides said the ruling applied to all public and private employers in the state.

Even though gay couples may not legally marry in New York, the appellate court in Rochester held that a gay couple’s 2004 marriage in Canada must be respected under the state’s longstanding “marriage recognition rule,” and that an employer’s denial of health benefits had discriminated against the couple on the basis of their sexual orientation.

“The Legislature may decide to prohibit the recognition of same-sex marriages solemnized abroad,” a five-judge panel of the Appellate Division of State Supreme Court ruled unanimously in rejecting a 2006 lower court decision. “Until it does so, however, such marriages are entitled to recognition in New York.”

For more than a century, the court noted, New York State has recognized valid out-of-state marriages. Moreover, it said that the Court of Appeals, the state’s highest judicial body, has said the Legislature may enact laws recognizing same-sex marriages. “In our view, the Court of Appeals thereby indicated that the recognition of plaintiff’s marriage is not against the public policy of New York,” the court held.

As a practical matter, the marriages of thousands of gay couples entered into outside the state have been recognized in recent years by many state and local agencies and by private employers for purposes of allowing health and life insurance coverage, child care and other benefits. But others have resisted doing so voluntarily, pending the outcome of numerous cases in the courts.

Friday’s ruling, legal experts said, was the first by an appellate division court, and would make the recognition of valid out-of-state gay marriages mandatory across New York. It was not clear whether Monroe County and Monroe Community College in Rochester, the employer in the case, would appeal.

Daniel DeLaus Jr., the county attorney for Rochester, said his office was reviewing the decision and would decide whether to seek an appeal.

Jeffrey Wicks, a lawyer who represents the plaintiff, Patricia Martinez, said that New York had recognized common-law marriages, even marriages of closely related people that might not be allowed in the state. “There’s a long tradition in New York of recognizing marriages that couldn’t be performed in New York,” he said.

The New York Civil Liberties Union, which represented Ms. Martinez, a word-processing supervisor at the college, hailed the ruling. The union called it “the first known decision in the country to hold that a valid same-sex marriage must be recognized.”

“This is a victory for families, it’s a victory for fairness and it’s a victory for human rights,” said Donna Lieberman, executive director of the N.Y.C.L.U. “Congratulations to all same-sex couples validly married outside of New York State: You are now husband and husband, wife and wife. Now we need to work toward a New York where you don’t have to cross state or country lines to get married.”

The New York City Council speaker, Christine C. Quinn, the first openly gay leader of the Council, also applauded the ruling. “If this is saying companies have to do it, it’s a tremendous step forward in recognizing the diversity of families in New York City.”

New York City already extends marriage benefits to workers in domestic partnerships, and under a law passed in 2002, it provides all city benefits and services to same-sex couples whose unions are recognized by other jurisdictions. But the city has no power to impose such rules on private companies.

In 2004, the Council adopted legislation sponsored by Ms. Quinn that would have required large companies doing business with the city to provide equal job benefits to domestic partners. Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg vetoed the bill, and while the Council overrode the veto, the mayor said it violated state and federal laws and would prove costly to taxpayers. He sued successfully to block it in a case decided in 2006 by the Court of Appeals.

Mayor Bloomberg’s office declined to comment on Friday’s ruling, saying it had not seen the decision.

Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo also declined to comment, noting that his office may be involved in an appeal as the traditional defender of state agencies. Monroe Community College is a branch of the State University of New York.

In the past, Mr. Cuomo has said that state law requires that marriages performed in other states, and in Canada, be recognized in New York.

In the case before the appellate division in Rochester, Ms. Martinez and her partner, Lisa Ann Golden, formalized their longstanding relationship in a civil union ceremony in Vermont in 2001, and were married in Ontario on July 5, 2004.

A few days later, Ms. Martinez applied to Monroe Community College for health care benefits for her spouse. In November 2004, the college’s director of human resources, Sherry Ralston, denied the application, contending that the state did not recognize the marriage as a matter of law and public policy.

Ms. Martinez sued in 2006, arguing that her constitutional and civil rights had been violated. A State Supreme Court justice, Harold Galloway, dismissed the lawsuit in August 2006, saying the state did not recognize same-sex marriages. The state, he wrote “currently defines marriage as limited to the union of one man and one woman.”

But the appellate court disagreed, citing the century-old “marriage recognition rule” applying to heterosexual couples and noting that the Court of Appeals had implied that the Legislature could adopt a law legalizing same-sex marriage.

In early 2006, the court said, Monroe Community College had begun extending health-care benefits to Ms. Golden under a new contract provision. However, the judges held, the plaintiff was entitled to unspecified monetary damages for the period during which the benefits were wrongly denied.

Source [NYTimes]

Canada Bars Gay Organ Donors

Canadian transplant programs will no longer harvest organs from the bodies of gay men who were sexually active, according to CBC News.

The new regulation, passed by Health Canada, which technically went into effect in December, excludes men who had sex with men, injection drug users, and other groups they consider high-risk. Many health officials in transplant programs throughout the country were not aware of the new law.

"We have not been informed, first of all, that Health Canada is considering this," Gary Levy, head of Toronto University's transplant program, told CBC News. "Obviously, if Health Canada wishes to discuss that, we would hope they would engage all stakeholders."

The new law also requires that transplant officials must interview family members of the donor during the screening process.

"We'll be asking about things like travel, history of infectious disease, whether [the donors have] been in jail — that puts you at increased risk," Peter Nickerson, director of Transplant Manitoba, said to CBC News. "Have they been an IV drug abuser in the past? Have they had tattoos? There's a whole list of questions we go through," he added, one of them being sexual orientation and activity.

In the past, transplant programs have screened potential donors and in some cases used organs from high-risk individuals. The new regulation halts this practice and prohibits the use of organs from men who had sex with men within the last five years of of their lives.

Levy estimates that the new regulation will mean that seven out of every 100 potential donors will be excluded, while approximately 4,000 Canadians are on organ wait-lists.

Every state in the U.S. has separate organ donation eligibility requirements, and while sexually active gay men cannot donate blood, there are no specific prohibitions for organ donation -- medical suitability is determined at the time of death.

Source [Advocate]

Mike Hucka-bigot: Gays are OK, as Long As They Don't Have Sex

Huckabee: ‘I Don’t Know’ If People Are ‘Born’ Gay, But It’s A ‘Choice’ To Act Gay

On NBC’s Meet The Press this morning, host Tim Russert asked former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee if he believed “people are born gay or choose to be gay?” “I don’t know whether people are born that way,” responded Huckabee, “but one thing I know, that the behavior one practices is a choice.”

Huckabee conceded that “people who are gay say that they’re born that way,” but added that he believed that “how we behave and how we carry out that behavior” is more important.
Watch it:


As ThinkProgress has noted before, Huckabee has a record of using the power of government to discriminate against the choices that gay Americans make in their private lives. As governor of Arkansas, Huckabee pushed to strengthen the state’s anti-sodomy laws in order to “protect the traditional family structure”:

In 1997, Huckabee requested an amendment to a state Senate bill stating “that it
is Arkansas public policy to prohibit sodomy to protect the traditional family
structure.” [Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 1/23/1997]

Huckabee is also fervent in his efforts to deny gay men and women the right to choose to marry the ones they love. Recently, he told GQ that “civilization” may not survive if “what marriage and family means” is “rewritten” to allow gay marriage.

Russert also pressed Huckabee on his comparison of homosexuality to necrophilia, which he described as “publicly endorsed and institutionally supported aberrations.” Huckabee claimed that he was not saying they were “equivalent,” but was only “pointing out” that they “are deviations from what has been the traditional concept of sexual behavior.”

Source [ThinkProgress]

Top 10 Moments in Mike Huckabee's Extremism


CAN HE BE MORE IGNORANT ?!?!?!?!

Dude... being gay is NOT a choice. Why do you insist on living with your 1950's philosophies? Explain why thousands of young gay people end up committing suicide each year because they are what they are and they CAN'T change and the pressure from theological nitwits like yourself become too overwhelming. These people choose death instead of "changing."

Sir, YOU are to be blamed for their deaths for ostracizing them and for being so prejudice.

Ask your buddies Larry Craig or Ted Haggard, who have been forcibly denying themselves of who they are, just to fit into your "pure" society, Mr. Mike Hitlerbee.

Were you born a bigot or is that a choice?

Read this scientific report from the The American Psychiatric Association (APA) who have issued a WARNING against turning from gay to straight. They say that it does not work, and that those who claim to have been changed, when carefully interviewed, either have not changed and they think they did, or they were always straight!

The American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Counseling Association, the American Psychiatric Association, the American Psychological Association, the National Association of School Psychologists, and the National Association of Social Workers, together representing more than 477,000 health and mental health
professionals, have all taken the position that homosexuality is not a mental disorder and thus there is no need for a "cure."

Stop The Hate! Do we need Martin Luther Queen, Jr. to march down to your house and drag your ass out of the closet? Why don't you and your son go out and kill a few more dogs.

See you at The Parliament House when you come down to Orlando, be-otch.

Federal Court Halts Oregon Gay Partner Registry

As previously posted New Hampshire and Oregon were going to begin same-sex domestic partnerships next week, but now Oregon has hit a speed bump.

(Portland, Oregon) A federal judge on Friday placed on hold a state domestic partnership law that was set to take effect Jan. 1, pending a February hearing.

The law would give some spousal rights to same-sex couples.

Opponents asked U.S. District Judge Michael W. Mosman to intercede after the Oregon secretary of state's office ruled in October that they had failed to collect enough valid signatures on a referendum to block the law.

The Oregon measure covers benefits related to inheritance rights, child-rearing and custody, joint state tax filings, joint health, auto and homeowners insurance policies, visitation rights at hospitals and others. It does not affect federal benefits for married couples, including Social Security and joint filing of federal tax returns.

After the Legislature approved the domestic partnership law this year, gay rights opponents launched an effort to collect enough signatures to suspend the law and place it on the November 2008 ballot for a statewide vote.

But state elections officials said this fall that the effort fell 116 valid signatures short of the 55,179 needed to suspend the law.

In court Friday, Austin Nimocks, a lawyer for Alliance Defense Fund, which opposes the measure, said the state's review process was flawed, disenfranchising citizens who had signed petitions.

The state's largest gay rights group, Basic Rights Oregon, criticized the judge's decision.

"It's unfair our families once again are bearing the brunt of this ongoing struggle," said Jeana Frazzini, a spokesman for the group.

Eight other states have approved spousal rights in some form for same-sex couples - Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Maine, California, Washington and Hawaii. Massachusetts is the only state that allows gay couples to marry.

Source [365Gay]

Gay Turd Wallpaper

Yes, Rainbow Poops! Undoboy's whimsy and eye-popping color will bring good cheer to any room.

Boy will your house guests feel at ease when they step inside to do number two in your bathroom. Let's just hope the scratch-n-sniff version is not on the horizon.




Source [Blik] via [Boing Boing]

New Hampshire and Oregon begin Same-Sex Civil Unions on January 1

January 1 will usher in laws in states at opposite sides of the country that provide rights for same-sex couples.

In New Hampshire, dozens of gay and lesbian couples will herald the New Year by having civil unions. A special mass civil union ceremony is planned for midnight January 1 on the Statehouse steps.

Other couples will have ceremonies in towns across the state.

A new license was created for civil unions and became available at local clerk's offices in towns earlier this month.

New Hampshire is the fourth state to grant civil unions after New Jersey, Connecticut and Vermont. Neighboring Massachusetts in 2004 became the only state to allow gay marriage.

The law was passed earlier this year and signed into law in May by Gov. John Lynch.

Couples entering civil unions will have the same state rights, responsibilities and obligations as married couples. Same-sex unions from other states also would be recognized if they were legal in the state where they were performed.

New Hampshire officials are estimating 3,500 to 4,000 couples will get civil unions in 2008. That's roughly double the 1,704 unions performed in Vermont in 2000, the first year they were offered.

In Oregon a state domestic partner registry will formally come into existence on January 1.

The law allows same-sex couples and opposite-sex couples unable to marry to form legally recognized partnerships.

Couples who register will be guaranteed the right to visit partners in hospital and make medical decisions, file joint state tax returns, and have joint health insurance plans or take sick leave to care for their partners.

The law was passed after a legal battle for gay marriage failed.

The issue of same-sex marriage in the state arose in March 2004 when Multnomah County began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

Soon after, the county was ordered to stop, but not before 3,000 marriage licenses had been granted.

The constitutional amendment, known as Measure 36, was passed that November.

In 2005 the state Supreme Court ruled the amendment legal and efforts to enact the domestic partner registry began.

January 1 also will mark a second LGBT law coming into effect. That measure will a bar discrimination against gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered people in housing, employment, public accommodation, education and public services statewide.

Source [365Gay]

Chemistry.com: eHarmony is so 1952 and Gays should not be Rejects

Little Love Among Matchmakers

THE world of Internet dating can be a cold, unforgiving place, particularly when it comes to the fight for customers.

The online dating service Chemistry.com plans to unleash a new campaign that seeks to depict its older and larger competitor, eHarmony.com, as out of touch with mainstream American values. The ads, which will appear in weekly newspapers and magazines starting Monday, attack eHarmony for refusing to match people of the same gender and for the evangelical Christian beliefs of its founder, Dr. Neil Clark Warren.

It is not the first time that Chemistry.com has hit on this theme. In April, the service ran a set of ads called “Rejected by eHarmony” featuring people who were turned away from eHarmony for being gay, not happy enough or simply unmatchable by its system. Chemistry.com spent $20 million on that campaign, and the company plans to increase the budget for this new effort.

Although Chemistry.com has 3.7 million registered users, in contrast to eHarmony’s 17 million, the “Rejected by eHarmony” campaign may be working. Since it was introduced, Chemistry.com has experienced an 80 percent growth rate, said Mandy Ginsburg, general manager of Chemistry.com. She said that enrollments by gays and lesbians have risen 200 percent since the “Rejected” campaign started, and that 10 percent of Chemistry.com’s members are seeking a same-sex match.

Chemistry.com, an offshoot of Match.com, both of which are owned by IAC/InterActiveCorp, follows eHarmony’s practice of putting users through an in-depth personality test to generate potential matches. Other online dating sites, like Match.com and Yahoo Personals, allow users to post pictures and profiles of themselves to make connections.

eHarmony, which is based in Pasadena, Calif., and was founded in 2000 by Dr. Warren, a clinical psychologist, has long been criticized for its practice of turning away applicants who are gay or lesbian, married or serially divorced. Dr. Warren, a former seminary student who has had several books published by Focus on the Family, an evangelical Christian group, has publicly voiced his belief that premarital sex can increase the likelihood of one’s marrying the wrong person.

Jodi Petrie, an eHarmony spokeswoman, said that eHarmony took no position on premarital sex and had no affiliation with any religion. As for its reason for not offering services to gays or lesbians, she said: “EHarmony’s matching system is based on psychological data collected from heterosexual married couples, and we have not offered a service for those seeking same-sex matches. Nothing precludes us from offering a same-sex service in the future, but it’s not a service we offer now.”

Chemistry.com does not judge or enforce any moral code on its members.

Full story at NYTimes

Happy Boxing Day

Even though Boxing Day is not a holiday recognized in the US, I just wanted an excuse to keep on posting some cool and fun holiday-related posts. This is classic. Enjoy.

The 12 Gays Of Christmas.

If Herbie Was Gay

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer meets Avenue Q

My favorite bears, Beaforce1, wish you a Mary Christmas

Bearforce1 - Christmas is here



We wish you a hairy Christmas

Merry Muff Munch

Popular Circuit-Party DJ Gets Busted On Drug Charges

Popular DJ faces meth charges

Rob Harris accused of conspiring to distribute drugs

Robert Harris, a popular local DJ, was arrested last month and faces charges of conspiring to possess and distribute 50 grams of crystal meth, according to police sources.

An Oct. 16 affidavit filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia spells out the charges against Robert H. Harris of T Street, N.W., though an exact address wasn’t given. Harris spins at Apex and Cobalt and was voted “favorite DJ” by Blade readers for three consecutive years from 2003 to 2005.

A police source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed to the Blade that the man named in the affidavit is the local DJ. Attempts to contact Harris were unsuccessful. Harris’ public defender, Geremy Kamens, declined to comment.

A motion to extend filing the indictment against Harris was signed by both his attorney and U.S. Attorney Chuck Rosenberg. It gives the court until Jan. 11 to indict Harris, which extends the 30-day limit from the time a defendant is arrested until formal charges are filed. Harris was arrested on Oct. 16, court papers said.

The motion said concerned parties are exploring a pre-indictment plea as the reason the delay was requested. Officials in the U.S. District Court office confirmed that the motion to extend the period for indictment was approved.

A five-page affidavit against Harris was prepared by Brian Miers, a special agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration. It indicates Harris was cooperative with federal investigators upon his arrest. Among Miers’ findings as reported in the affidavit:

Around Oct. 12, agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration San Diego Field Division arrested Paul Latiff at the San Diego International Airport and seized about seven ounces of a meth mixture from him.

Latiff told the agents he frequently went to San Diego to purchase drugs for himself and others.

Latiff told DEA agents he had sent a package to Robert Harris of Washington, D.C., and provided them with a New York Avenue address and a tracking number.
Agents intercepted the package the same day from Federal Express at Dulles International Airport in Virginia. The name and address were as Latiff had indicated to agents.

Law enforcement K-9s trained to detect illegal narcotics indicated the presence of drugs in the package. It was opened the next day and found to contain a meth mix weighing about 3 ounces (or 84 grams).

On Oct. 15, agents delivered the package to Harris while undercover to the New York Avenue address, which houses the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Harris was arrested upon taking possession of the package.

Harris told agents he’d known Latiff for about eight years and had bought illegal drugs from him before on at least six occasions.

Harris consented to having agents search his T Street, N.W. residence where they found and seized additional drugs and drug paraphernalia.

Miers said he suspects Harris intended to distribute the meth.

DJ Rob Harris has been featured at many popular D.C. area events, including Pride and Cherry.

Joey-O, a DJ and manager at Apex, said he was unaware of Harris facing drug charges and that, as far as he knew, Harris was still on the DJ roster at the club.

Dave Perruzza, manager of Cobalt, referred the Blade to Jason Royce, who oversees the DJs there but Royce couldn’t be reached for comment.

The Blade profiled Harris in 2002 after his first “Best of Gay D.C.” award. Harris claimed to be 30 at the time and a Chicago native. He told the Blade he’d been in the U.S. Navy where he became an electronics technician, was stationed for two years in the Persian Gulf and spent two years in San Diego before coming to Washington where he spent five years working as an audio-visual director at the White House under Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.

He started mixing tapes and CDs for friends but eventually mastered the craft enough to go professional. He once worked as a DJ for a national dinner for Human Rights Campaign and has also spun at Rehoboth Beach, the Cherry benefit circuit party, Capital Pride and several local clubs.

Source [Washington Blade]