So another famous wedding is in the process!

Northstar, the first superhero to come out in comic book history is finally getting married!

This will be happening in the upcoming 51st issue of Astonishing X-Men!!

“When gay marriage became legal in New York State, it raised obvious questions since most of our heroes reside in New York State. Northstar is the first openly gay character in comics and he’s been in a longterm relationship with his partner Kyle so the big question was – how would this change his relationship?,” says Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Axel Alonso. “Our comics are always best when they respond to and reflect developments in the real world. We’ve been doing that for decades, and this is just the latest expression of that.”

(taken from Rolling Stone Magazine )

Enjoy!

Original Article

This post is in memory of all the LGBT teens out there who have taken their lives because of bullying and harassment.

“This story is for the young people who might be holding the gun tonight or the rope or the pill bottle. … Please stick around to make those happy memories for yourself. It may not seem like it tonight, but they will. And the attitudes of society will change. Please live long enough to be there to see it.” - Joel Burns

A full transcript can be found here

Things need to change, and it starts with you.

Original Article

“How could I deny anyone the right to have that incredible bond with another individual in life.”

Maureen Walsh was one of two Republicans to vote for Gay Marriage.

Transcript after the jump (courtesy of buzzfeed):

I don’t wax as eloquently as most of the people on the floor here, but I have allowed my heart and mind to guide me on a lot of different decisions I’ve made in the legislature. I think sometimes that’s what we have to do.

I too don’t want to wag my finger at anybody about which way to vote on this. It’s certainly an issue of consciousness for me that I’ve been weighing very heavily for the past few weeks.

You know, I was married for 23 years to the love of my life and he died 6 years ago. I think of all the wonderful years we had and the wonderful fringe benefits of having 3 beautiful children. I don’t miss the sex, and to me that’s kind of what this boils down to. I don’t miss that… I mean I certainly miss it, but it’s certainly not the aspect of that relationship, that incredible bond I had with that human being, that I really really genuinely wish I still had. And so I just think to myself: how could I deny anyone the right to have that incredible bond with another individual in life. To me it seems almost cruel.

Years ago my daughter went to elementary school. Many of you have met my daughter she’s a fabulous girl, she’s wonderful, my boys are great too, but she’s really something special. She was the light of her father’s eye.

So she went to school and there were a whole group of kids picking on another kid, and you know, my daughter stuck up for that kid. Even though it wasn’t the popular thing to do it was the right thing to do. I was never more proud of my kid than knowing she was speaking against the vocal majority on behalf of the rights of the minority. And to me, it is incumbent upon us as legislators in this state to do that. That is why we are here.

And I shudder to think that if folks who had preceded us in history did not do that, frankly I’m not sure I would be here as a woman. I’m not sure other people would be here due to their race or creed. And to me that is what’s disconcerting.

And someone made the comment that this is not about equality. Well yes it is about equality. And why in the world would be not allow those equal rights for individuals who are truly committed to one another in life to be able to show that in the way of a marriage.

My daughter came out of the closet a couple of years ago and you know what I thought I was going to agonize about that. Nothing’s different. She’s still a fabulous human being and she met someone she loves very much. And some day, by God, I want to throw a wedding for that kid. And someday I hope that’s what I can do. I hope she will not feel like a second-class citizen involved in something called a “domestic partnership” which frankly sounds like a Mary Maids franchise to me.

Thank you Mr. Speaker. That’s all I want to say.

Stand Against Homophobia

Original Article

Here’s a video created by “BeLonG To Youth Services”.

BeLonG To is a national youth service for Lesbian Gay Bisexual & Transgender (LGBT) young people in Ireland. We believe that LGBT young people need to be respected and cared for on the same basis as all other young people, and that when they are safe and supported in their families, schools & society they will thrive as healthy and equal citizens.

http://www.belongto.org/home.aspx

Original Article

On February 7th, two transgender women were appointed into positions of power in India.

Indian transgender women are known as hirja. Some live in specialized communities led by a guru and perform a role blessing birth ceremonies and weddings. Though many of them live on the edge of society, because employment opportunities are limited.

The appointment of these two transgender women gives hope to many of the hirjas in India.

 ——

On Feb. 28th, the government is fully supporting the decriminalization of gay sex that was passed in 2009.

Original Article

[caption id=”” align=”aligncenter” width=”275” caption=”Charlie Sheen can make a “porn family,” Kelsey Grammar can end a 15 year marriage over the phone, Larry King can be on divorce number nine, Britney Spears had a 55 hour marriage, and Jesse James and Tiger Woods, while married, were having sex with EVERYONE. Yet, the idea of same-sex marriage is going to destroy the institution of marriage? Really?”][/caption]

[caption id=”” align=”aligncenter” width=”475” caption=”Why do we need to seek your approval to marry?”][/caption]

As the bible says:

“Love is patient; love is kind
and envies no one.
Love is never boastful, nor conceited, nor rude;
never selfish, not quick to take offense.
There is nothing love cannot face;
there is no limit to its faith,
its hope, and endurance.
In a word, there are three things
that last forever: faith, hope, and love;
but the greatest of them all is love.”

Corinthians 13.4

Why is heterosexual love more real than same-sex love? 

Original Article

A Child is Listening

“Before you echo ‘Amen’ in your home or place of worship, think and remember…a child is listening.”

Mary A. Griffith

Original Transcript below

"Because of my own lack of knowledge, I became dependent upon
people in the Clergy.  When the Clergy condemns a homosexual
person to Hell and eternal damnation, we, the congregation, echo
'Amen'.  I deeply regret my lack of knowledge concerning gay and
lesbian people.  Had I allowed myself to investigate what I now see
as Bible bigotry and diabolical dehumanizing slander against our
fellow human beings, I would not be looking back with regret for
having relinquished my ability to think and reason with other
people...people I trust for truth and guidance in my life and in the
life of our gay son.

"God did not heal or cure Bobby as he, our family and Clergy believed
He should.  It is obvious to us now why He did not.  God has never
been encumbered by His child's genetically-determined sexual
orientation.  God is pleased that Bobby has a kind and loving heart.
In God's eyes, kindness and love are what life is about.  I did not
know that each time I echoed 'Amen' to the eternal damnation,
referring to Bobby as sick, perverted and a danger to our children
that his spirit was broken until he could no longer rise above the
injustice of it all.  Bobby ended his life at age twenty.

"It was not God's will that Bobby jump over the side of a freeway
overpass into the path of an eighteen-wheel truck, killing him
instantly.  Bobby's death was the direct result of his parent's
ignorance and fear of the word gay.

"An injustice has been done not only to Bobby but to his family as
well.  God knows it isn't right that Bobby is not here with loved ones.
Correct education about homosexuality would have prevented this
tragedy.  There are no words to express the pain and emptiness
remaining in the hearts of Bobby's family members, relatives, and
friends.  We miss Bobby's kind and gentle ways, his fun-loving spirit,
his laughter.  Bobby's hopes and dreams should not have been taken
from him, but they were.  We can't have Bobby back; if we could we
would say to him, as I say to all gay and lesbian people around the
world, these benevolent words of Leo Buscaglia:

' Love yourself -- accept yourself -- forgive yourself --
and be good to yourself, because without you  the rest
of us are without a source of many wonderful things.'

"There are children like Bobby sitting in our congregations.
Unknown to you, they will be listening to your 'Amens' as they
silently cry out to God in their hearts.  Their cries will go unnoticed
for they cannot be heard above your 'Amens'.  Your fear and
ignorance of the word gay will soon silence their cries.  Before you
echo 'Amen' in your home or place of worship, think and
remember...a child is listening."

Original Article

Ugh, that’s so Emma and Julia.

[caption id=”attachment_1599” align=”aligncenter” width=”500” caption=”People have strange definitions of the word “derogatory”“][/caption]

Think before you speak.

For more LGBT related posts, click here.

Original Article

So everyone seems to have some role models, so why not an LGBT role model?

Alan Turing

Age: 41 (June 23, 1912 – June 7, 1954)

Occupation: mathematician, logician, cryptanalyst, and computer scientist

Most Known for: Halting problem, Turing machine, Cryptanalysis of the Enigma, Automatic Computing Engine, Turing Award, Turing Test, Turing patterns

Information: He helped to crack German codes in WW2, and in 1952, was prosecuted for being homosexual. They conducted hormonal treatments on him, and grew breasts because of this, he committed suicide in 1954. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Turing

Ellen DeGeneres

Age: 53 (January 26, 1958 - )

Occupation: Stand-up Comedienne, Television Host and Actress.

Most Known for: hosting The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Voice of Dory (Finding Nemo) and Judge on American Idol Season 9

Information: started her own record label Eleveneleven, with Grayson Chance and Jessica Simpson signed under this label. She is the 15th cousin of Duchess of Cambridge, Catherine Elizabeth (Kate Middleton). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellen_DeGeneres

Elton John

Age: 64 (March 25, 1947 - )

Occupation:English Rock Singer-Songwriter, Composer, Pianist and Actor

Most Known for: established the Elton John Aids Foundation, sold more than 250 million albums worldwide, writing soundtracks to The Lion King, Road to El Doraldo, Gnomeo and Juliet

Information: Knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1998, CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elton_John

Freddie Mercury

Age: 45 (September 5, 1946 - November 25, 1991)

Occupation: British Musician, Singer and Songwriter

Most Known for: Lead vocalist of the rock band Queen, composed Bohemian Rhapsody, Crazy Little Thing Called Love  and We are the Champions

Information: He was born Farrokh Bulsara. In 2006, he was named one of the most influential Asian heroes in the past 60 years by Time Magazine. In 2008, Rolling Stone ranked him 18 on their list of the 100 greatest singers. Passed away due to AIDS. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freddie_Mercury

George Takei

Age: 74 (April 20, 1937 - )

Occupation: Actor

Most Known for: his role as  Hikaru Sulu, helmsman of the USS Enterprise in the television series Star Trek

Information: One of the founders of  the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles. Large advocate of gay rights, he releases many PSAs to help raise awareness for the LGBT. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Takei

Harvey Milk

Age: 48 (May 22, 1930 - November 27, 1978)

Occupation: Politicain

Most Known for: First openly gay man to be elected to public office (in California)

Information: In 2002, Milk was called “the most famous and most significantly open LGBT official ever elected in the United States”. He was assassinated by previous supervisor Dan White. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvey_milk

Ian McKellan

Age: 72 (May 25, 1939 - )

Occupation: Actor

Most Known for: Playing Gandalf (Lord of the Rings), Magneto (X-Men series), The Toad (Flushed Away), Sir Leigh Teabing (Da Vinci Code)

Information: Came out in 1988, and is now a very prominent advocate for LGBT rights. He is a co-founder of Stonewall, an LGBT lobby group. He was knighted in 1991. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_mckellan

Jim Parsons

Age: 38 (March 24, 1973 - )

Occupation: Actor

Most Known for: Playing Sheldon Cooper (Big Bang Theory), Human Walter (The Muppets)

Information: He has won 2 Emmys, 1 Golden Globe and a Critic’s Choice Television Award. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Parsons

Neil Patrick Harris

Age: 38 (June 15, 1973 - )

Occupation: Actor, Musician, Director and Magician

Most Known for: Himself (Harold and Kumar), Will Fratelli (Beastly), Himself (The Muppets), Barny Stinson (How I Met Your Mother), Dr. Horrible (Dr. Horrible’s Sing-a-long Blog)

Information: He is a fan of magic and serves on the Board of Directors of Hollywood’s Magic Castle. He came out in 2006 and has two children from a surrogate mother with partner David Burtka.

Oscar Wilde

Age: 46 (October 16, 1854 - November 30, 1900)

Occupation: Writer

Most Known for: The Importance of Being Earnest, The Picture of Dorian Gray

Information: He wrote plays, poems as well as books. He was married to Constance Lloyd, but also shared an intimate friendship with Lord Alfred Douglas.

————————————————————————————————————————————————-

For more LGBT related posts, click here.

Who’s your LGBT role model?

Original Article

So I recently stumbled upon this article: On Being Straight A Thought Experiment | Robert Peake, it’s definitely a really interesting article regarding how the world views the LGBTQ community. Instead of looking at it from a gay man’s perspective on how people want to “change” them or “fix them”, it is in a world where straight people are not the norm.

Definitely take a read.

Here’s a snippet of it, more after the click:

I must have been born straight. For as long as I can remember, I have been attracted to the opposite sex. I can’t explain why this is. It is visceral, a part of me. I could no more convince myself to stop being straight than I could will my lungs into gills.

Still, many people these days think being straight is unnatural.

Gay friends have tried to “help” me with my “problem.” And I know they mean well. Sometimes they quote the words of holy people who have said that heterosexuality is wrong. “Man was made for man and woman for woman,” they recite from books written thousands of years ago, calling it a perennial truth. But back then, all men were treated like property, and people lived brutal, tribal lives. We select and interpret constantly from the past. I’d like to think that what’s everlasting, even spiritual, is based more on love than condemnation.

People sometimes insinuate that my two dads were unsuitable role models, not gay enough to be “real” men. Or they suspect some woman must have come along and “corrupted” me in my youth. Some people think being straight is a club you can be “recruited” into (and therefore leave). It is not just about sex, or shock value. I am not rebelling against anything or anyone. I am trying, in fact, to be most fully who I already am.

I would like my marriage to my lovely wife to be recognised as legitimate, and for people to see past our different genders, to us as a family. I never wanted to stand out. Not like this. My wife and I hold hands in public, not because we are looking for a fight, but because we want to hold hands. In some countries, I could be violently killed for being straight. It is law. Sometimes it frightens me to be who I am in this world. And yet the alternative–to pretend to be gay just to fit in for awhile–is a worse kind of death on the inside.

Who I am is straight. Except that as soon as I write this, I know it is not true. Who I love and how is only part of who I am. Isn’t variety good for the world? And aren’t my straight wife and I good for it, too? We contribute to our community just as much as two men, or two women, would. We are kind and friendly and productive. We even recycle. Yet constantly, this feeling that some people will never accept us as we are. I am not sorry for who I am, for who we are together, but I’m sorry that not everyone will see past us being two people of the opposite gender who are in love.

I am straight. I am myself. And, like you, I am trying to be happy.

Original Article