Governor Scott Walker’s sons don’t plan on changing his mind on same-sex marriage

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker doesn’t have to worry about constant haranguing from his sons when it comes to same-sex marriage. The family agrees to disagree.

Alex and Matt Walker were interviewed today, 12 July, by CNN. The two remain disappointed their father condemned the Supreme Court’s ruling making gay marriage legal in all 50 states, but they don’t intend to try to change their father’s opinion.

‘Matt and I aren’t necessarily changing his stances on any issues,’ 19-year-old Alex said in the interview, as he sat next to his 21-year-old brother.

Tomorrow Governor Walker will announce his presidential 2016 campaign. Last month, after the high court’s 26 June ruling, the Republican stated: ‘I believe this Supreme Court decision is a grave mistake.’ He blamed ‘five unelected judges’ and called for an amendment to the US Constitution so states can block gay marriage.

Earlier this month, in a newspaper interview, Tonette Walker, the governor’s wife, noted Matt and Alex voiced displeasure about their father’s comments.

‘That was a hard one,’ she said to Washington Post. ‘Our sons were disappointed. . . . I was torn. I have children who are very passionate [in favor of same-sex marriage], and Scott was on his side very passionate.’

‘Like any family, we have disagreements,’ Alex said to CNN. ‘He just explained his position, and that was it.’

Below is a clip of the interview. The conversation about marriage equality starts at approximately the 2 minute mark.

The post Governor Scott Walker’s sons don’t plan on changing his mind on same-sex marriage appeared first on Gay Star News.

James Withers

www.gaystarnews.com/article/governor-scott-walkers-sons-dont-plan-on-changing-his-mind-on-same-sex-marriage/

Matt Bomer Dishes on Donning the Red Cape and Almost Being Cast as Superman 15 Years Ago: AUDIO

Before he was making audiences sweat with his stripping abilities or apprehending dangerous white collar criminals, Matt Bomer was a little known daytime television soap opera actor. But what you may not know is that Bomer’s career could have played out much different way as the actor came this close to being cast as the Man of Steel in a scrapped Superman film written by J.J. Abrams and directed by Brett Ratner.

During a recent appearance on Josh Horowitz’s Happy, Sad, Confused podcast, Bomer opened up about suiting up for the role back when he was around 23-years-old.

“I screen tested with Amy Adams in the tights,” said the Magic Mike XXL star, who went on to reveal that both Paul Walker and Brendan Fraser also tried out for the role. “Thankfully Brett chose me for the project…it was maybe a month of ‘Okay this is going to happen’ and then it just slowly fell apart.”

Unfortunatly, the project never took flight again after falling apart and the red and blue mantle passed on to Brandon Routh in Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns. Warner Bros later rebooted the franchise again with Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel  in 2013 and a sequel titled Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is due next year.

Related, “18 Reasons Why Henry Cavill is the Sexiest Superman Yet”

Also of note from the interview – Bomer talks about what it was like being cast in The Normal Heart, the HBO film based on the Larry Kramer play he read growing up in rural Texas.

Watch the interview below (Supmerman talk starts around 26:45)

[h/t Just Jared]

The post Matt Bomer Dishes on Donning the Red Cape and Almost Being Cast as Superman 15 Years Ago: AUDIO appeared first on Towleroad.

Kyler Geoffroy

Matt Bomer Dishes on Donning the Red Cape and Almost Being Cast as Superman 15 Years Ago: AUDIO

Pope Francis meets with gay rights campaigner in Paraguay

Pope Francis met with an LGBT activist in Paraguay on Saturday. It’s said this was the first such meeting in history.

He met with Simón Cazal, executive director of Somosgay (‘We are gay): a prominent LGBTI rights group in Paraguay.

Cazal told CNN prior to the meeting: ‘We have to go. Ninety percent of the country is Catholic; they all love the Pope.’

But the longtime activist admitted to some doubts about whether this was simply a PR move from the papacy. He decided to go, saying: ‘We have to take this step because otherwise we are the ones who are closing the doors.’

Cazal joined 1600 other civil organisations in a meeting with the pontiff in the capital, Asunción.

The meeting was ‘productive’ according to Cazal, who said the Pope stressed the importance of diversity, including saying: ‘There are no people of first, of second or third class. Dignity is for everyone.’

“No hay personas de primera, de segunda o de tercera, la dignidad es de todos”

— Simón Cazal (@scazal) July 11, 2015

The pope has a mixed history for supporting of the LGBTI community. He backed anti-marriage equality legislation in Argentina and Slovakia, for example.

However, he met with transgender and gay people in past private meetings. He famously said of gay people, on a flight back from Brazil: ‘If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge him?’

The phrase has been captioned on a recent anti-homophobia campaign in Paraguay.

Frase del Papa Francisco @Pontifex en campaña contra la homofobia durante su visita a Paraguay t.co/KSjq1P8jey pic.twitter.com/IbMVNk7Bjs

— SOMOSGAY (@SOMOSGAY) July 11, 2015

Cazal said, regardless of what comes from the meeting, it should send a positive message to all of South America. ‘The invitation is already serving a purpose: It sends a symbolic message of inclusion and respect,’ he said.

The post Pope Francis meets with gay rights campaigner in Paraguay appeared first on Gay Star News.

Jack Flanagan

www.gaystarnews.com/article/pope-francis-meets-with-gay-rights-campaigner-in-paraguay/

Scott Walker’s Sons Say They Respect Their Dad’s Anti-LGBT Views, Don’t Try to Change His Mind – VIDEO

With Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker expected to officially launch his presidential campaign on Monday, CNN’s Dana Bash traveled to the governor’s mansion in Madison to speak with Walker’s sons – 21 year old Matt and 19 year old Alex.

It was revealed last week that Matt and Alex are both supporters of marriage equality. Gov. Walker, however, is decidedly not. He called the Supreme Court’s ruling last month a “grave mistake” and has floated the idea of a constitutional amendment to allow states to continue banning same-sex marriage.

Bash brought up this familial disagreement with the two sons and asked how they handled their father’s negative reaction to the historic SCOTUS ruling.

“We talked to him, like any family we have disagreements,” said Matt . “He just explained his position and that was it.”

“Matt and I aren’t necessarily changing his stances on any issues,” added Alex. “We respect his opinion on things.”

Walker is currently sitting in second place behind Jeb Bush in RealClearPolitics’ polling average.

The post Scott Walker’s Sons Say They Respect Their Dad’s Anti-LGBT Views, Don’t Try to Change His Mind – VIDEO appeared first on Towleroad.

Kyler Geoffroy

Scott Walker’s Sons Say They Respect Their Dad’s Anti-LGBT Views, Don’t Try to Change His Mind – VIDEO

Queer Women Dominated The Women's World Cup. Here's Why It Matters
Unlike last year’s Men’s World Cup tournament which featured zero openly gay players, this year’s women’s equivalent dominated on the queer front with nearly 20 openly out players and coaches, four of whom were on the winning U.S. team.

Cyd Zeigler, the co-founder of Outsports, joked with HuffPost Live’s Alex Berg on Thursday that he doesn’t think anyone is “surprised” by a lesbian being on a soccer team. But he explained why it’s so “powerful” to see queer players like Abby Wambach, whom he called “a symbol of American soccer,” and Megan Rapinoe representing the Women’s World Cup.

“The fact that it was these women [like] out and proud Wambach talking about how getting married to her wife really reinvigorated her interest in soccer,” he explained. “And then, after the final match, running over and finding her wife in the stands and embracing her and kissing her on national television.”

Zeigler reminded us that just one year ago, Michael Sam faced heavy criticism for kissing his boyfriend on national television upon learning about his NFL draft selection. In contrast, Wambach’s (heart-melting) kiss was “celebrated.”

“I think it’s who it is and how powerfully strong they have been in being out, proud women — I think that’s really the story,” Zeigler said, adding that it’s “awesome” to see more players come out to inspire the youth who are struggling with their sexual orientation.

“We at Outsports have not heard of a negative coming out story in sports for 15 years and we believe that virtually everyone can come out to their team and they would be welcomed and embraced,” he said.

Sign up here for Live Today, HuffPost Live’s new morning email that will let you know the newsmakers, celebrities and politicians joining us that day and give you the best clips from the day before!

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

feeds.huffingtonpost.com/c/35496/f/677065/s/480ccc49/sc/19/l/0L0Shuffingtonpost0N0C20A150C0A70C120Cwomens0Eworld0Ecup0Elgbt0In0I7770A1840Bhtml0Dutm0Ihp0Iref0Fgay0Evoices0Gir0FGay0KVoices/story01.htm

A Ethiopian activist was blocked on Facebook due to pseudonym

Facebook’s ‘real names’ policy is coming under fire again: an Ethiopian LGBTI activist had his account blocked Friday for having a false name.

‘HappyAddis’ checked his account Friday morning, only to discover he’d been blocked due to Facebook’s ‘real names’ policy.

The policy, which requires users to have their real name for security reasons, has been criticised before by drag queens who use Facebook to advertise their personalities.

The activist used the pseudonym to create and administrate LGBTI groups in Ethiopia, where homosexuality is a crime and can lead to a 15-year prison sentence.

A spokesperson for Facebook told Time.com that users in HappyAddis’s situation have two options: they can either use a secret Facebook group, or a different social networking site.

However, HappyAddis said this was not an option. He cannot use his real name given the threat of violence – as he would have to on a secret group – and Facebook is the most popular medium to reach other LGBTI Ethiopians.

The issue is affecting other Ethiopians who have developed a community online; none of these individuals can use their real names in case of violence.

The LGBTI groups provide much needed outreach, HappyAddis says. ‘I made this group 5 years ago. That’s where people come to seek information, seek advice, seek counseling from other people,’ he said.

‘There’s no free press, even political activists have a hard time connecting to each other. For the gay community [Facebook] is much more important.

‘There’s no [other] way to get in touch with other gay people in Ethiopia.’

The post A Ethiopian activist was blocked on Facebook due to pseudonym appeared first on Gay Star News.

Jack Flanagan

www.gaystarnews.com/article/a-ethiopian-activist-was-blocked-on-facebook-due-to-pseudonym/

LGBT Activist in Paraguay Says Historic First Meeting with Pope Francis Was ‘Very Productive’

A Paraguayan LGBT activist is in high spirits after his historic public meeting with Pope Francis over the weekend.

The Washington Blade reports Simón Cazal, who heads Paraguay’s LGBT group SOMOSGAY, was among the 1,600 civil society leaders who met with Francis in the capital of Asunción on Saturday.

Cazal told the Washington Blade during a Skype interview after the meeting that Francis did not “directly” refer to LGBT-specific issues, but “he did mention others in which they are included.” Media reports indicate the pontiff was sharply critical of Paraguayan Catholic officials.

“There are no people of first, of second or third class,” said Francis, according to a tweet that Cazal posted to his Twitter account after the meeting. “Dignity is for everyone.”

Cazal added that the pope’s speech was “very productive” and focused on the church embracing diversity in the idea of “family.” In a separate interview with Buzzfeed, Cazal stated his belief that after the meeting the church “has put itself on our side – there is no way to discount that.”

This was the pope’s first ever meeting with an LGBT activist. Back in March, Francis dined with LGBT inmates at an Italian prison.

Watch a video of Cazal speak with CNN before his historic meeting here.

The post LGBT Activist in Paraguay Says Historic First Meeting with Pope Francis Was ‘Very Productive’ appeared first on Towleroad.

Kyler Geoffroy

LGBT Activist in Paraguay Says Historic First Meeting with Pope Francis Was ‘Very Productive’