American Samoa Questions If Gay Marriage Ruling Applies To Territory

PAGO PAGO, American Samoa (AP) – American Samoa stands as the only U.S. territory to hold out against the recent Supreme Court ruling that legalized gay marriage.

But as the Pacific island’s attorney general reviews the decision, legal observers and gay rights advocates are saying it should go into effect immediately.

“It should be unquestioned,” said Rose Cuison Villazor, a professor at University of California, Davis’ law school and an expert on territorial law. “The Supreme Court’s decision was pretty strong.”

American Samoa Attorney General Talauega Eleasalo Ale, however, hasn’t been ready to take that step.

“We’re still reviewing the decision to determine its applicability to American Samoa, and I have no specific comments at this time,” he said.

Asked if same sex marriage is legal in the territory, Ale said, “I don’t know. We’re reviewing the law.”

U.S. territories have some self-governance rights. The right to marry, however, isn’t a question of self-governance, said Omar Gonzalez-Pagan, staff attorney for national gay rights group Lambda Legal. “This is a question of individual right, individual liberty.”

Other U.S. territories have voluntarily complied with the Supreme Court decision.

In Puerto Rico, Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla signed an executive order soon after the ruling. U.S. Virgin Islands Gov. Kenneth Mapp has said he would issue a similar executive order. In Guam, there is no effort to ignore or challenge the ruling, said territorial legislative Vice Speaker Benjamin F. Cruz, who is gay. The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands is also supporting the decision.

As of Thursday, no one has applied for a same sex marriage license in American Samoa, according to the island’s Office of Vital Statistics.

Christian churches with conservative social views dominate in American Samoa, home to about 50,000, and the government’s motto is “Samoa, Let God Be First.” Yet the territory has a tradition of embracing faafafine – males who are raised as females and take on feminine traits.

There are many faafafine who aren’t supportive of gay marriage out of “respect for our Samoan culture and religious beliefs,” said well-known faafafine Princess Auvaa.

The lack of marriage license applications by same-sex couples shouldn’t be taken to mean no one in American Samoa desires gay marriage, Villazor said. The attorney general’s review may have a chilling effect, she said. “I would think there are cultural barriers to begin with. The AG might present some other legal and social barriers, too,” she said.

For gay marriage to be recognized in American Samoa, there needs to be a voluntary decision or litigation, said Chimene Keitner, an expert on territorial status issues at University of California, Hastings College of the Law.

Litigation would require “plaintiffs who have been denied the right to marry and are willing to take a public position on that and challenge their inability to marry,” she said. Plaintiffs could also be those who were married elsewhere and want the marriage recognized in American Samoa, she said.

Auvaa said she wants gay marriage to be legal in American Samoa. If it’s determined that it is, she said, “I would be the first person to apply for a marriage license – if I had a boyfriend who would agree to marriage.”

___

Kelleher reported from Honolulu. Graces Garces Bordallo in Guam and AP National Writer David Crary contributed to this report.

 

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Outrageous Comments by Tennis Pro: ‘There Are Definitely No Gays’ in Top 100

Ukrainian tennis pro Sergiy Stakhovsky may not be a household name, but he is making a racket about lesbian and gay players.

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Dawn Ennis

www.advocate.com/sports/2015/07/10/outrageous-comments-tennis-pro-there-are-definitely-no-gays-top-100

The Subtle Language Of Sounding Gay

David Thorpe has a “gay voice.” For the filmmaker’s latest endeavor, an autobiographical documentary, he embarked upon a long-delayed confrontation with his own “internal homophobia.” He was in his early 40s, recently single and he was bitter about “sounding gay.” 

For the project, Thorpe sets out to change the way he speaks. He meets with a Hollywood voice coach and a speech pathologist. “Do I sound gay?” he polls strangers on the street in Times Square, echoing the title of the film.

Often humorously, the film explores the origins of an effeminate manner of speaking, taking an unexpected approach rooted in the study of linguistics as Thorpe learns about his own speech patterns and acoustics. It’s hilarious, thought-provoking and ultimately heartening. Thorpe dives deep into issues of self-loathing, stereotyping and the idolization of hyper-masculinity.

 “I’m embarrassed to say this but sometimes somebody will say, ‘I didn’t know you were gay.’ It’s like, why does that make me feel good? I hate myself for thinking that,” says author David Sedaris in the film. (Sedaris first broached the topic of “sounding gay” in his essay “Go, Carolina” from Me Talk Pretty One Day.) “It’s very disturbing I thought I was beyond that. Whats the problem if somebody assumes that I’m gay when I open my mouth. Why do I have a problem with that?” 

 The film works to detach shame associated with the “gay voice,” and replace it with pride. But where did the shame come from? Why do gay men demean other gay men for their perceived effeminacy? Dan Savage nails it: “Misogyny,” he says. “They want to prove to the culture that they’re not not men — that they’re good because they’re not women. They’re not like women, they don’t want women, they don’t want to sleep with women, they don’t want to act like women. And then they’ll punish gay men who they perceive as being feminine in any way.” 

Savage’s assertions could be the foundation of an entirely separate documentary. But for gay men and boys who face the brunt of criticism and violence at hands of their straight counterparts, punishment is a constant consideration. Thorpe notes that voice can give away sexuality long before a boy has the courage to come out, exposing him to consequences. “I think that there are a lot schools where kids feel safe and are able to be gay and express themselves, but I don’t think that’s always the case,” said Thorpe, adding: “It’s a heavy burden for young people to bear.”

“Do I Sound Gay?” endeavors to show how Thorpe, once a child with a similarly heavy burden, comes to terms with the complexities of his outward identity. Ultimately, he recognizes the importance of being part of a greater “chorus of gay voices,” because what’s so wrong with sounding gay? “If you can’t handle the answer,” he says, “that’s a question you’ve got to ask.”

 

“Do I Sound Gay?” opens July 10 at IFC Center in New York City.

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Crowd at Comic Con cheers when gay make-up artists proposes to boyfriend on stage

Billy Brooks did not expect to walk out of Hall H at San Diego Comic Con this week an engaged man.

But it happened on Thursday (9 July) after his partner, make-up artist Barry Bishop, decided to pop the question while the two were on stage for a panel for the web series Con Man.

In front of a crowd of 7,000, Bishop said: ‘They were asking the cast a minute ago who was the most amazing person in Hollywood you’ve worked with and I just want to say Billy Brooks I love you baby with all my heart and soul and will you please marry me?’

Brooks said ‘yes’ and the couple got a standing ovation.

The post Crowd at Comic Con cheers when gay make-up artists proposes to boyfriend on stage appeared first on Gay Star News.

Greg Hernandez

www.gaystarnews.com/article/crowd-at-comic-con-cheers-when-gay-make-up-artists-proposes-to-boyfriend-on-stage/

Virgin Islands Governor Issues Executive Order to Ensure SCOTUS Same-Sex Marriage Compliance

On Thursday, Virgin Islands governor Kenneth Mapp signed an executive order to ensure the U.S. territory falls in line behind the Supreme Court’s ruling on marriage equality.

St. Croix Source reports:

The measure now awaits the signature of Senate President Neville James, who is acting lieutenant governor while Lt. Gov. Osbert Potter is out of the territory.

According to the statement from Government House, the lieutenant governor is required to “attest,” or witness, the governor’s signature.

Previously, Virgin Islands Senate President Neville James raised eyebrows for his statement issued after the SCOTUS ruling saying “I’ve always known marriage to be an act between a man and a woman. Notwithstanding the Supreme Court decision, that is how it will remain. Call me old-fashioned, but it is what it is.”

The post Virgin Islands Governor Issues Executive Order to Ensure SCOTUS Same-Sex Marriage Compliance appeared first on Towleroad.

Kyler Geoffroy

Virgin Islands Governor Issues Executive Order to Ensure SCOTUS Same-Sex Marriage Compliance

Philly Mayoral Candidate Denounces Lesbian Teacher's Firing

Democratic candidate Jim Kenney says Margie Winters, fired by a Catholic school for being in a same-sex marriage, should get her job back.

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Trudy Ring

www.advocate.com/politics/religion/2015/07/10/philly-mayoral-candidate-denounces-lesbian-teachers-firing

After Marriage Equality, What Will We Create Next?
After Obergefell v. Hodges, the first decision from the Supreme Court of the United States that broadly affirms the lives of lesbian and gay people and provides us with vital recognition for our intimate relationships, many national organizations and leaders quickly pivoted from marriage equality to workplace and public accommodation protections. The stark reality that a gay or lesbian person could marry in the morning, be fired in the afternoon and evicted from an apartment or restaurant in the evening, echoed across my screen as people shared these messages on social media.

I support federal legislation to protect LGBT people at work and in public, of course, and I recognize how crucial federal legislation is for people who do not live in states or cities that already provide these protections. At the same time, I want time to take a deep breath and savor marriage equality before moving to the next national issue.

The struggle to recognize loving, committed relationships of same-sex partners has been a long struggle. While Justice Scalia’s words in the Lawrence v. Texas dissent in 2003 portended this victory in 2015, gay men and lesbians have been talking about relationship recognition for decades. Before Genora Dancel and Ninia Baehr in Hawaii, there was Jack Baker and Michael McConnell in Minnesota; before them, there were discussions about marriage in The Ladder and One Magazine, and before that, there were other gay men and lesbians thinking about how their relationships could be recognized in the worlds where they lived. Lesbians and gay men have imagined the day when they could be fully, completely, and legally married for a long time–decades, even centuries. Savoring the decision honors the work and dreams of those who came before us.

Savoring the decision also gives us space and time to recognize the importance of imagination and creativity in our movements for social change. How do we create and promote communities that value imagination and creativity? How do we nurture the minds and spirits of people who help us imagine a different world and defy the conventions of the day to envision this new world and take steps to create it? How do we affirm the significance of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender creative production? In particular, how do we carve out space for queer creativity amid increasing mainstreaming of LGBT people and identities? Thinking about and answering these questions is as urgent as workplace and public accommodation protections. Without imagination and creativity, our community cannot envision the changes we want to see. From our creativity, from our imagination, come the visions of the worlds we might create.

Imagination transforms worlds. Nurturing imagination and creativity is crucial. What can we do to nurture LGBTQ imaginations? How can we envision worlds where LGBTQ people can live and thrive? Considering these questions and answering these questions are an important part of our political worlds today. The imagination of a world transformed, the imagination of a world with marriage equality helped to create the world that we have today. How can we ensure that imagination and creativity are a part of the forefront of LGBTQ communities as we move forward?

Yes, attorneys and legal strategists were crucial to marriage equality. Yes, we need political strategies to win new federal, state, and local victories that make the daily lives of lesbians, gay men, bisexual, and transgender people better. We also need transformative imaginative capacities in our community. I want to hold space for creativity and imagination in our new world where organizations and individuals reorganize their priorities after marriage equality.

My greatest hope is that new resources will flow to organizations that build and celebrate LGBT culture in the aftermath of marriage equality. Tending to our culture, building on the rich and vibrant cultural tradition of LGBTQ communities, promoting queer creativity and imagination is for me an opportunity for LGBTQ people in this new world of marriage equality.

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US Vice President Joe Biden praises gay activists for ‘moral courage’ and ‘physical courage’

Vice President Joe Biden was praised at a Freedom to Marry event Thursday (9 July) in New York City for speaking out for marriage equality even before the Obama administration was officially ready to do so.

But Biden said in a speech that he is not the one who should be praised for such achievements as last month’s US Supreme Court ruling that made same-sex marriage legal in all 50 states.

‘It hasn’t been simple for a lot of you, especially those of you who are older,’ Biden said. ‘Pursuing this simple proposition for many of you standing in front of me took courage. It took moral courage, but it took physical courage — physical courage.

‘As you came out and stood up and made your case, unlike me, you risked a great deal. I risked nothing holding this position I’ve had for so many years.’

‘It’s hard for me to imagine the sense of accomplishment you must feel,’ he added/ ‘Over the years in their homes, on our staffs, in the front lines of war, in houses of worship, (wife Jill Biden) and I have known, stood with, supported countless gay and lesbian, bisexual, transgender Americans who share a love for their partners that up until now was constrained only by social stigma and discriminatory laws.

But the work all of you have done, laying the groundwork for the Supreme Court decision — their love, your love — it has been set free.’

Biden shared an incident early in his life that formed his open-minded view.

He was driving his dad to work one day and while they were stopped at a red light, they saw two men turn and embrace and kiss each other before going their separate ways.

‘I’ll never forget,’ Biden said. ‘I turned and looked at my dad, just looked at him. And I’ll never forget what he said. He said, “Joey, they love each other. It’s simple. (Applause.) They love each other. It’s simple.”‘

H/T: Towleroad

The post US Vice President Joe Biden praises gay activists for ‘moral courage’ and ‘physical courage’ appeared first on Gay Star News.

Greg Hernandez

www.gaystarnews.com/article/us-vice-president-joe-biden-praises-gay-activists-for-moral-courage-and-physical-courage/

“Shocking” ABC Documentary Reveals The “Secrets” Of A Gay Sauna

Set your DV-Rs, fellas, because tonight ABC2 in Australia is taking viewers to a place few mainstream media outlets have ever dared  enter: An all-male sauna.

Gasp!

Secrets of the Gay Sauna is a “documentary” that goes inside the “gentlemen’s relaxation zone” of CS2, a popular sauna in Nottingham U.K. Viewers get behind-the-scenes peeks at the management, visitors, and the poor chap whose job it is to clean up.

Related: Bathhouses And Beyond: A Brief History Of Gay Cruising

“On some levels CS2 in Nottingham much like any normal, conventional sauna,” producers say. “It has a power shower, a jacuzzi and some changing rooms. But it’s upstairs that is unique to a gay sauna.”

“Here, over 1000 sq. ft of space is put aside to cater to every sexual need from ‘dark rooms’ to ‘sex swings’.”

Shocking!

“Customers come here at any time of day–during their lunch break or after a night out to have sex with perfect strangers. And at £12 a visit, business is booming.”

And all this time we thought sex clubs were going extinct. Let’s just hope straights don’t get it wrong. These spaces are our own; you can’t invade them like you have gay bars and clubs.

Check out the trailer for Secrets of the Gay Sauna below. Or don’t.

Graham Gremore

feedproxy.google.com/~r/queerty2/~3/nY6SJm8V8Ls/shocking-abc-documentary-reveals-the-secrets-of-a-gay-sauna-20150710