Daily Archives: August 20, 2015
WATCH: Christian Man Recounts Year Pretending to Be Gay in Ted Talk
WATCH: Christian Man Recounts Year Pretending to Be Gay in Ted Talk
Timothy Kurek pretended to be gay for one year in order to test his religious beliefs. The experience made him an ally.
Daniel Reynolds
Illinois Bans Gay Conversion Therapy For LGBT Youths
Illinois Bans Gay Conversion Therapy For LGBT Youths
Illinois’ Republican governor on Thursday signed a law banning mental health therapists from trying to change a young person’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
The measure signed by Gov. Bruce Rauner outlaws the controversial practice of “gay conversion therapy,” sometimes called “reparative therapy,” on people younger than 18. Once the law takes effect on Jan. 1, violators will face discipline from their state licensing board, according to the text of the measure.
The law makes Illinois the fourth state to ban gay conversion therapy for minors. California, New Jersey, and Oregon — as well as the District of Columbia — also have outlawed the practice.
But the Illinois measure is the first to include language linking conversion therapy to consumer fraud, according to its sponsor, state Rep. Kelly Cassidy, a Chicago Democrat who is an openly gay member of the State House.
“Our version of this legislation is the most comprehensive bill in the nation, barring health providers from engaging in this practice and affording survivors access to consumer fraud action against the perpetrators of this abuse,” Cassidy said in a statement.
Critics of conversion therapy say the practice is ineffective, because sexual orientation is not a choice, and is harmful to minors in particular. The Council of Representatives of the American Psychological Association condemned the practice as far back as 1997.
“Every major scientific organization has dismissed conversion therapy as harmful,” Cassidy said. “The Illinois Psychological Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the National Association for Social Workers, and so many more have not only disproven its utility, but they have decried its effects.”
Cassidy noted that children who are rejected by their communities based on sexual orientation are six times more likely to suffer from depression and eight times more likely to attempt suicide.
Jim Bennett, Midwest regional director for the LGBT rights group Lambda Legal, applauded the governor’s signing of the measure, telling The Huffington Post the law “puts the best interest of our young people first.”
“A more accurate name for conversion therapy is child abuse,” Bennett said. “Our LGBT young people deserve to be embraced for who they are.”
President Barack Obama this year called for an end to gay conversion therapy in response to a White House petition brought after the suicide of transgender Ohio teen Leelah Alcorn.
Alcorn, 17, walked in front of a truck in December after leaving a note in which she described how her conservative Christian parents forced her to undergo conversion therapy in order to change both her sexual orientation and gender identity. In a note posted to Tumblr, Alcorn wrote:
“The only way I will rest in peace is if one day transgender people aren’t treated the way I was, they’re treated like humans, with valid feelings and human rights.”
Also on HuffPost:
— 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.
Civil Rights, Religious Groups Ask Obama: Fix Bush-Era Changes to Religious Freedom Act
Civil Rights, Religious Groups Ask Obama: Fix Bush-Era Changes to Religious Freedom Act
The act was signed into law by President Clinton in 1993, then reinterpreted in a 2007 memo by Bush administration lawyers to offer protection to religious organizations that discriminated in hiring.
Dawn Ennis
Illinois becomes fifth state in US to protect LGBTI youth from dangers of conversion therapy
Illinois becomes fifth state in US to protect LGBTI youth from dangers of conversion therapy
Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner signed a bill into law on Thursday (20 August) that protects LGBTI youth from the dangers of conversion therapy.
The state follows in the footsteps of California, New Jersey, the District of Columbia, and Oregon.
House Bill 217, approved by the Illinois House of Representatives and General Assembly, protects youth from mental health providers attempting to change their sexual orientation or gender identity.
Such therapy has been linked to substance abuse, extreme depression, and suicide.
Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin calls it ‘a dangerous and appalling practice based on junk pseudoscience that amounts to nothing less than child abuse.’
Griffin also points out that conversion therapy uses fear and shame to tell young people the only way to find love and acceptance is to change the very nature of who they are.
‘We thank Governor Rauner, as well as members of the state legislature on both sides of the aisle, for putting politics aside and the well-being of children first,’ Griffin stated. ‘We will continue to work with our allies to secure these crucial protections in every state across the nation.’
HRC teamed with the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR), Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health, Equality Illinois, and other groups in drumming up support for the bill.
‘Illinois families can now have confidence that the mental health professional they turn to in times of uncertainty may not use their state license to profit from their children’s pain,’ said
said NCLR staff attorney Samantha Ames.
Last year, NCLR launched its #BornPerfect campaign to stop conversion therapy across the country by 2019 by passing laws, fighting in courtrooms, and raising awareness. Illinois is the third state to pass such a law in 2015 alone.
The post Illinois becomes fifth state in US to protect LGBTI youth from dangers of conversion therapy appeared first on Gay Star News.
Greg Hernandez
Illinois Becomes Fifth Jurisdiction to Protect LGBTQ Kids from Conversion Therapy
Illinois Becomes Fifth Jurisdiction to Protect LGBTQ Kids from Conversion Therapy
Today, Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner signed House Bill 217 into law, making Illinois the fifth jurisdiction—behind California, New Jersey, the District of Columbia, and Oregon—to protect LGBTQ youth from the dangers of conversion therapy.
HRC.org
Straight Guys Reveal How Much Gay Sex They’d Have For A Lightsaber
Straight Guys Reveal How Much Gay Sex They’d Have For A Lightsaber
A recent thread titled “Straight men of Reddit, would you have gay sex for a lightsaber?” has received a staggering 500 comments as of this post.
We’d say the rules of the game are simple, but actually they aren’t, proving yet again that straight guys think about gay sex a whole lot:
The way it works is you tell a guy to imagine that he’d get a real life lightsaber if he had gay sex. It could be with any man, dead or alive, celebrity, etc:
* If you top a guy, you get a purple lightsaber
* If you bottom, you get a lightsaber in any color of your choice
* If you try both, you get either a double ended lightsaber or two lightsabers in the color of your choice
* To make it more complicated:
* If you give a guy a handjob, you get a stun baton
* If you experiment with gay BDSM, you get a lightsaber whip
* If you suck a guy’s dick, you get a blaster
* If you get your dick sucked, you just get a really good blowjob
* If you get fisted, you get a thermal detonator (Don’t waste it!)
* If you fist a guy, you get an adhesive grenade, because stickiness…
* Every time you use a condom, you get a deflector shield, because stay safe, guys!
* Intercrural sex (between the thighs) gets you a vibrosword
OK, even we didn’t know the term “intercrural sex.”
Here are some of our favorite responses:
No way! I’m not falling for that again. It has become very clear that light sabers do not really exist.
I have no shame, I’d proudly flaunt that double-ended lightsaber as I limped down the street the next day.
I’d probably slam a guy in the ass for a purple light saber. And that guy would be Leonardo DiCaprio.
Absolutely yes. I’m sure my wife would understand.
That’s a stupid question…Of course I would.
Nope. What would I do with it? Besides, I live in California. They’d find a way to ban my having it real quick.
Fuck yeah I’m gonna get on that gay bdsm. A fucking lightsaber whip? That’s awesome!
Dude, I’m not gay since I’m pretty sure I still like the ladies, but I would fuck a guy for free. Nothing wrong with a bit of schlong on the side. Gimme the kenobi sauce, baby.
So by my calculations I’ll be owed two lightsabers and two deflector shields when this is all over. I’m okay with this deal.
I’m straight and already done BDSM with a Gay male. Sorry I don’t like lightsabers, I don’t swing that way.
Dan Tracer
Illinois Gov. Signs Bill Banning Gay Conversation Therapy for Minors
Illinois Gov. Signs Bill Banning Gay Conversation Therapy for Minors
Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner (R) has signed a bill into law protecting LGBTQ youth from dangerous, discredited conversion therapy.
The AP reports:
The measure keeps therapists from trying to change the sexual orientation or gender identity of a person younger than 18. Providers who don’t comply could face disciplinary action
“We are thrilled that Illinois has joined the rapidly growing number of states leading the way to protect LGBTQ youth from conversion therapy,” said the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) #BornPerfect Campaign Coordinator and Staff Attorney Samantha Ames. “Illinois families can now have confidence that the mental health professional they turn to in times of uncertainty may not use their state license to profit from their children’s pain. Most importantly, Illinois kids can now rest easy in the knowledge that they cannot be forced or coerced to undergo dangerous and discredited treatments to fix who they are. Today brings us one step closer to the day when all LGBTQ youth know they were born perfect.”
“With this tremendous step, LGBT youth in Illinois are now protected from a dangerous and appalling practice based on junk pseudoscience that amounts to nothing less than child abuse,” said Human Rights Campaign (HRC) President Chad Griffin. “Discredited by every major mental health, medical, and child welfare organization, conversion ‘therapy’ uses fear and shame to tell young people the only way to find love and acceptance is to change the very nature of who they are. We thank Governor Rauner, as well as members of the state legislature on both sides of the aisle, for putting politics aside and the well-being of children first. We will continue to work with our allies to secure these crucial protections in every state across the nation.”
The post Illinois Gov. Signs Bill Banning Gay Conversation Therapy for Minors appeared first on Towleroad.
Kyler Geoffroy
Illinois Gov. Signs Bill Banning Gay Conversion Therapy for Minors
Summer Collage 2015
