Kim Davis: I Denied My Friends a Marriage License

Renegade county clerk Kim Davis burst into tears recounting how marriage equality supporters have called her a hypocrite, and that her detractors have hurt her feelings by claiming “that my God does not love me or that my God is not happy with me.”

In an exclusive interview with ABC’s Good Morning America, the Kentucky clerk also revealed she denied her gay friends a marriage license, and despite orders from a federal judge, Kentucky’s governor and the Supreme Court, that she remains defiant in her religious objection to same-sex marriage.

Davis told Paula Faris, the ABC News anchor and co-host of The View, that she didn’t expect to become a household name when she decided to refuse to issue marriage licenses. “I’m just a normal person that has been touched by the grace of God, and his mercy,” Davis said.

“I can’t put my name on a license that doesn’t represent what God ordained marriage to be,” Davis told Faris on her Rowan County front porch. She explained her decision to refuse even her same-sex friends a marriage license, but would did not name the couple she considers friends. None of the couples who sued her or applied for licenses has claimed she is a friend.

Davis also took issue with being called a hypocrite for “defending” marriage after she’s been married four times and had a child out of wedlock. “I’m forgiven,” she said. “Washed clean.”

She told Faris the charges of hypocrisy hit her harder than criticism of her civil rights stance and descriptions of her as a homophobe. “What people say about me does not define who I am,” Davis said. “That’s everybody’s opinion and that’s everybody’s right.”

“I’ve been called things and names that I didn’t even say when I was in the world. Those names don’t hurt me,” Davis said. “What probably hurt me the worst is when someone tells me that my God does not love me or that my God is not happy with me, that I am a hypocrite of a Christian.”

The clerk dismissed the rights of gay and lesbian couples in denying the effects of her actions. “I don’t think dignity is guaranteed in the Constitution,” she told Faris. “I think dignity is something that you find within yourself,” Davis said. “I feel really sad that … someone could be so unhappy with themselves as a person that they did not feel dignified as a human being until they got a piece of paper. I mean, there’s just so much more to life than that.”

You can watch ABC News video of the Kim Davis interview with Faris here. More of the interview will be shown on The View. 

Bil Browning

www.advocate.com/marriage-equality/2015/9/22/kim-davis-i-denied-my-friends-marriage-license

50-State Food Tour For Equality Shines A Light On Some Of Its Heroes

Note: The following is the tenth post in a series of posts from GET//OUT regarding BLgT USA – the first 50-state food tour for equality. We’ll be sharing updates, photos and more as the BLgT team travels across the country to get people out locally for LGBT equality.

When we set out this summer to connect people across the country in support of LGBT equality through a twist on the classic BLT sandwich, we really had no idea what we were getting into. A 50 state, 55 city food tour in 4 months? We didn’t know how challenging AND rewarding it was going to be to build relationships with local restaurants nationwide. Our partnership process was as much art, as it was science. We weren’t sure who exactly we should be looking for, how and where to find the right partners, and what would seal the deal in the shortest amount of time. Now, we get it. We understand the power of partnering with local, visionary food heroes, who are as crazy as we are.

Who are these heroes? And what is it about this rare breed that makes them so great? These people have a particular allure, because of their community street cred, a team to back them up, and passion for a better world. Most of the partners featured below are part of a bigger restaurant group or small local chain. They have a strong social media following of loyalists. They understand the importance of engaging people online. People trust them and love them, because they visibly support their communities. They are the bedrocks making things happen with a smile…and it makes you come back for more. For today and tomorrow’s posts, we’re diving deep on BLgT USA standouts of the past few weeks. WE <3 YOU, BOOS. 

BLgT USA Local Food Heroes: Part I

• August 9, 2015 // Denver, CO – Masterpiece Deli.
  BLgTs for Denver The GLBT Center of Colorado, supporting LGBTQ programs in Denver and education services. Renowned Chef Justin Brunson and partner Stephen Allee have two locations, and are building out the new Masterpiece Kitchen. “We’re getting married next summer. We’re trying to figure out how Olive is going to carry our rings down the aisle.” -Harbadna, BLgT USA Supporter

• August 15, 2015 // Salt Lake City, UT – Even Stevens Sandwiches.
  BLgTs for Equality Utah, working on policy and programming for LGBT individuals in Utah — Mormon gays are getting it done. Even Stevens is a local Salt Lake chain with a one-for-one model. For every sandwich you buy, they donate one to someone in need through local partners. BIg expansion plans in the works. Watch these epic movers and shakers. They are crushing it in every way. “We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again, food connects everyone. People who farm, people who cook, people who eat, and of course, people who love.” -Sara Day, Co-Owner

• August 22, 2015 // Seattle, WA – Tippe and Drague.
  BLgTs  for the Rainbow Center of Tacoma, supporting education, resources, and safe spaces for LGBTQ people and allies in Washington state. Perfect hidden back patio for summer nights. “Seattle is the birthplace of the It Gets Better Project. It started out in our alternative newspaper, The Stranger, with Dan Savage. I grew up with my mother incarcerating my brother for being gay when he was 14. She put him in jail because the law allowed you to do that back then. It was the 60s in the Seattle. If your children were ‘incorrigible’ you could incarcerate them. He was a year older than me. He told me that he was a queer. Which sounded okay to me. Whoever you love and care about, is whoever you love and care about. I didn’t know I was gay at the time. I grew up watching persecution. As I’ve gotten older, I believe that you need to communicate to a younger person that it does get better. It’s the shit of life to be treated like trash because you’re gay. There’s going to be a better day. All of us recovered. There were five kids in my family. Three of us were gay. All five of us banded together to save ourselves. And it got better.“ -Leslie, BLgT USA Supporter

• August 26, 2015 // Portland, OR – Bunk Sandwiches.
  BLgTs for Basic Rights Oregon, working on equal rights for all Oregon citizens. Friends Tommy Habetz, Nick Wood, and Matt Brown have seven sandwich locations, which includes a food truck and a space that moonlights as a indie rock venue. Epic. “The first thing I did when I moved to Portland was join a rugby team. Rugby is family. Here in Portland, everyone can be comfortable and be exactly who they are. Portlanders just live. It’s really thrown off my gaydar, though. [In between bites] This is delicious. Did I mention that the team loves Bunk Sandwiches? So good.” -Steph, BLgT USA Supporter

Today, September 22nd, is the official last day of summer. Our adventure began Memorial Day weekend, 123 days ago on May 23nd in Provincetown, MA. If you’re kicking it in Oahu this week, join us for the final BLgT of the summer at The Nook Neighborhood Bistro in Honolulu, HI. State #50. THE END…of the beginning. Over the next couple weeks, we’ll continue to post team reflections. For delicious photos of our 55 events check out our Facebook Page. For more sandwich stories from the road get after our Instagram. To sign-up for future GET//OUT updates, here ya go. For questions, feedback, and media love: [email protected]

— 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/4a111cd5/sc/28/l/0L0Shuffingtonpost0N0C20A150C0A90C220Cblgt0Eusa0Efood0Etour0In0I81765840Bhtml0Dutm0Ihp0Iref0Fgay0Evoices0Gir0FGay0KVoices/story01.htm

Alessi releases special edition to aid fight against HIV and AIDS

Joining the league of major global brands partnering with (Product) RED, Italian home and kitchenware company Alessi is one of the latest brands supporting the fight against HIV and AIDS.

A special collection marks the occasion, with four classic pieces being released in a new color in addition to the already existing lines.

‘Our mission as a design company is to create objects which try to satisfy people’s hidden desire for art and poetry,’ said Alberto Alessi, the company’s founder.

To mark the occasion, Emma Silvestris’s Mediterraneo fruit holder is now available in red.

‘Creativity is, therefore, at the base of our daily activity and we think that, at the same time, it puts us in a privileged position which allows us to help other people.

‘Alessi, in fact, has always shown great commitment to values such as solidarity and attention towards others; values that fully reflect our identity.’

Two of the company’s most iconic designs, the corkscrew models named Alessandro M. and Anna G., have also been released in a dedicated special edition.

Wearing smiles on their faces and clad in a red suit and dress, they carry Product Red’s logo, the heart in brackets, on their chest, highlighting their affiliation to the product.

The Anna G. clocks in at £29.95 (€41.41, $46.14), while the Alessandro M. model is priced at £26 (€35.95, $40).

Iconic smiles: the cheery corkscrews carry their heart in the right place.

Other items in the collaboration with (RED) include the Diabolix bottle opener (£11, €15.21, $16.94) and a Parmenide grater with cheese cellar by CSA (£12.95, €17.90, $19.95).

The Piccantino chili scruncher by LPWK (£15.50, €21.43, $23.88) and Emma Silvestris’s Mediterraneo fruit holder (from £43, €66.25, $59.45) complete the collection.

All lines are available directly through Alessi’s online shop or local branches as well as approved stationary and online retailers.

Alessi donates 5-10% of the products’ retail price to (Product) RED; founded by Bono and Bobby Shriver, the project seeks to engage the private sector to raise awareness and funds to help fight HIV and AIDS in Africa.

The post Alessi releases special edition to aid fight against HIV and AIDS appeared first on Gay Star News.

Stefanie Gerdes

www.gaystarnews.com/article/alessi-releases-special-edition-to-aid-fight-against-hiv-and-aids/

LGBT Ally Leaves Catholic School After Coworkers Fired

For Theresa Lienau, leaving Totino Grace was heart-breaking. “I didn’t just lose a job,” she said. “I lost a family.”
HRC.org

www.hrc.org/blog/entry/lgbt-ally-leaves-catholic-school-after-coworkers-fired?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Franklin Graham Blasts Obama’s ‘Sinful Agenda’ Inviting LGBTs to Pope Visit

Franklin Graham, the son of preacher Billy Graham and President of Samaritan’s Purse and Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, has weighed in on President Obama’s LGBT-inclusive welcoming ceremony for Pope Francis in typical bigot fashion.

Earlier this week, we told you how the Vatican was reportedly troubled by Obama extending the invitation to openly gay Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson, Mateo Williamson, is a former co-leader of Dignity USA Transgender Caucus, and Sister Simone Campbell, the pro-choice nun who is executive director of NETWORK, a 44-year-old national social justice lobbying group.

Wrote Graham on Facebook:

It’s wise of the Vatican to question President Obama’s guest list for the Pope’s visit next week—that list should raise a lot of eyebrows! The Wall Street Journal says those invited to the Pope’s welcome celebration include transgender activists, the first openly gay U.S. Episcopal bishop, and an activist nun whose organization supports abortion. This is disgraceful and obviously inappropriate. Is there no end to the lengths the president will go to in order to push his sinful agenda?

Graham’s comments echo Catholic League blowhard Bill Donohue’s outrage, who this past weekend told CNN that Obama was showing “contempt for Catholics” by inviting LGBT guests to the Pope’s welcoming ceremony.

Related, Franklin Graham Throws a Tantrum Over Target’s Gender Neutral Toys

The post Franklin Graham Blasts Obama’s ‘Sinful Agenda’ Inviting LGBTs to Pope Visit appeared first on Towleroad.

Kyler Geoffroy

Franklin Graham Blasts Obama’s ‘Sinful Agenda’ Inviting LGBTs to Pope Visit

DVD: “Saint Laurent,” “Finding Neighbors,” “Prick Up Your Ears,” & More!

Frisky business is the theme of this week’s home entertainment round-up, featuring a trio of films about men — including designer Yves Saint Laurent — who just can’t resist affairs and flings and, well, plain ol’ slutting it up (as in Prick Up Your Ears, above), not to shame anyone or anything.

Now for the details!

Saint Laurent
($34.99 Blu-ray; Sony)

This second 2014 biopic to focus on fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent, starring Gaspard Ulliel, is arguably the better one and made without the approval of YSL’s estate and life partner, Pierre Bergé. Gorgeously art directed, in episodic fashion it traces their relationship and YSL’s stardom and tortured genius-fueled delves into drugs and promiscuity.

Prick Up Your Ears
($29.99 Blu-ray, $14.99 DVD; Olive)

Stephen Frears’ 1987 biopic about genius British playwright Joe Orton is essential LGBT cinema, and comes hot on the heels of Criterion’s release of Frears’ My Beautiful Laundrette. Gary Oldman and Alfred Molina portray one of the most dysfunctional gay couples ever committed to celluloid — Love Is Strange indeed! — as Orton, who became the toast of London’s West End with cheeky plays like Loot and was even hired to pen a screenplay for The Beatles, and his not-so-talented-wannabe-writer mentor/boyfriend, Kenneth Halliwell, who went bonkers over Orton’s insatiable appetite for cruising and hookups. Comical and tragic, this one’s a must and quite the history lesson to boot.

Finding Neighbors
($24.99 DVD; Strand)

A graphic novelist in midlife crisis starts shifting his attentions from his therapist wife to a gay neighbor in this sleeper dramedy.

ALSO OUT:

I’m a Stripper: Digital Dancer

Pitch Perfect 2

Arrow: Season 3

Modern Family: Season 6

Lawrence Ferber

feedproxy.google.com/~r/queerty2/~3/DOsIH8slXl0/dvd-saint-laurent-finding-neighbors-prick-up-your-ears-more-20150922

Unsung Chicago LGBT Heroes

Trudy Ring

www.advocate.com/pride/2015/9/22/unsung-chicago-lgbt-heroes

How I was locked out of healthcare as a trans immigrant

When I was 13 years old, my family settled in California. Like most teenagers, I was quick to assert my gender identity: A shy Mexican girl who rejected her quinceanera and French tip manicures, I proudly wore my older brother’s hand-me-downs. In a secretly trained, deep bass voice I would whisper to myself, ‘boy’.

I am a female-to-male transgender man. Growing up I experienced gender dysphoria – the condition of experiencing a gender different from the one assigned at birth. I knew I would never experience my teenage years as a young man unless I had access to gender-affirming medical care such as hormone replacement therapy and surgery.

To get transition-related care, you need health coverage. But my family was unable to receive health coverage, because we were undocumented, or unauthorized, immigrants.

Like many undocumented transgender people, I was locked out – unable to get the care transgender people like me need to live happy, healthy lives.

The lack of access extended to all aspects of my health care. For 15 years, I was denied doctor-recommended cervical cancer screenings, blood pressure tests, chlamydia tests, cholesterol tests, and more. I was denied access to the diagnosis and treatment of preventable diseases.

When my mother, a cancer survivor, was first diagnosed with the disease, she had to give up her weekends to work additional hours as a housekeeper so she could afford the out-of-pocket fees.

My personal struggles echo those of hundreds of thousands of Californians. 1.4 million people are excluded from access to health coverage due to their immigration status. A study by the DREAM Resource Center, a program of UCLA Center for Labor Research and Education, found that 96% of the uninsured immigrant youth who delay medical care do so due to cost or lack of insurance.

In the words of Covered California: ‘It doesn’t make sense to take the gamble of going without health insurance.’ I agree. Transgender people who are undocumented shouldn’t be denied access to gender-affirming care due to their immigration status. Undocumented Californians shouldn’t be denied access to health coverage.

I was 26 years old when, for the first time, I saw my reflection in the mirror. I had just undergone gender-affirming surgery. My body matched my mind: I saw the reflection of a man in his late 20s.

But the funds required for examination fees, the hospital fees, and other surgery-related costs were not covered by a health insurance plan. It was all paid out-of-pocket with the support of strangers, friends, and family.

Today I’m happy with my body and with my choice to medically transition from female to male, and I’m a healthier person as a result. But, as is the case with any person, my health needs go far beyond a single diagnosis or treatment. I need access to affordable and adequate preventive care.

California needs to give all Californians a fair chance at buying their own health insurance plans, including undocumented Californians.

The State of Massachusetts, where I now reside, understands that expanding health care access to uninsured undocumented immigrants is the only reasonable solution to this public health problem. I’m proud to be a resident of Massachusetts, a state where undocumented immigrants may be eligible for health coverage under certain state programs.

Our health care system works best when everyone participates. We must stand in solidarity with transgender and all other LGBTI immigrants by supporting access to health care for all.

Julián Cancino is the co-founder of FAMILIA: Trans Queer Liberation Movement, the leading national LGBT Latino organization. His projects include developing family acceptance training ​and ​ending the immigration detention of trans people. A first generation student, he is a UC Berkeley graduate. You can find FAMILIA on Facebook here and on Twitter here.

The post How I was locked out of healthcare as a trans immigrant appeared first on Gay Star News.

Julián Cancino

www.gaystarnews.com/article/how-i-was-locked-out-of-healthcare-as-a-trans-immigrant/

Why This Pastor Removed Her Cloak of Bisexual Invisibility

I’ve known that I was attracted to people of both genders for a long time ― since long before I knew the word bisexual. I remember how excited I was as a teenager to discover that there was actually a word for people like me. As an adult, some of my crushes, dates, and relationships have been with women, and some have been with men. As it happens, the person I fell in love with and have committed to spending the rest of my life with is a wonderful and amazing man.

Being out can be tricky for bisexuals because our sexuality is often invisible. Bisexuals who are with same-sex partners are often assumed to be gay, and bisexuals who are with opposite-sex partners are often assumed to be straight. Plus bisexuals are sometimes viewed with suspicion or confusion by both ends of the Kinsey scale, gay and straight alike. All of this, coupled with the fact that I hate few things more than awkwardness and making other people feel uncomfortable, has meant that until relatively recently, I’ve been out only in patches: the search committee who hired me at First Congregational Church in Natick, Mass., where I am an associate pastor; a lot of my friends, but not all; and some family members, but not most.

Because bisexuality is so misunderstood, I told myself that rather than coming out completely, I would be doing more for LGBT rights if I kept my sexuality to myself, rather than risk muddying the waters for those who aren’t so well-versed in the whole LGBT alphabet soup. But I had a change of heart two years ago when the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in the Perry case over whether or not California’s Proposition 8, prohibiting same-sex couples from marrying. was constitutional. In response to news about the case, my Facebook feed was flooded with status updates, posts, and online conversations about the case ― both pro and con. Sadly, most of the posts against marriage equality were generated by family and longtime friends of mine.

It quickly became clear to me that my decision not to be out as a bisexual person was a lie I told myself out of fear of alienating some members of my family. But those posts showed me that the waters could not possibly get any muddier. After all, how could the dialogue with those in my life deteriorate further, given that it began with comparing the right to civil marriage to pedophilia, incest, and bestiality?

As I contemplated coming out as bisexual to those family members, I realized just how important it was to me for them to understand that when they talked about how “the gays” were destroying the institution of marriage or brainwashing our children or eroding our moral values, they were talking about me. They were talking about Summer Finnell Shaud, their sister/aunt/cousin/classmate/friend/pastor/whatever. They were talking about me and millions of other regular people who want only the same legal rights and protections that they enjoyed. So I came out as bisexual. On Facebook.

As we prepare to mark Celebrate Bisexuality Day on Wednesday, I think it’s worth coming out again. Just to remind folks that I’m still here ― and still bisexual. What I learned by coming out two years ago, particularly with my congregation, is that coming out is just the beginning. Not a single person in my church has reacted negatively to my coming out (at least not that I’m aware of), but for many, it prompted curiosity and a desire to know more. I have had a number of conversations with parishioners and fellow staff members since then who have wanted a kind of “bisexuality 101.” While many of those conversations with congregants were sometimes awkward for me, they were clearly and invariably coming from a place of love and a sincere desire to understand. They were also a reminder to me that faith communities must minister to the spiritual and social needs of bisexual people ― pastors and congregants alike. Perhaps the best way to do this is by creating “bisexually healthy congregations,” a termed coined by the Religious Institute to refer to congregations led by clergy who are educated about bisexuality and where bisexuality is explicitly addressed in the church’s youth and adult sexuality education.

My Facebook-inspired coming-out two years ago took place during Holy Week, when I was deep in preparation for our Maundy Thursday worship service, the church’s commemoration of Jesus washing the disciples’ feet as an act of love and acceptance. That reflection, coupled with my experiences coming out, has taught me that we know love by what love does. In the end, when we are supported in our journey toward authentic and abundant life, love wins.

SUMMER SHAUD is associate pastor of First Congregational Church in Natick, Mass., and a contributor to the congregational guidebook Bisexuality: Making the Invisible Visible in Faith Communities. 

Summer Shaud

www.advocate.com/commentary/2015/9/22/why-pastor-removed-her-cloak-bisexual-invisibility

Friend: Bill Clinton warned about Hillary’s ‘discomfort’ with gay rights in 1999

Bill Clinton confided to a close friend in 1999 Hillary Clinton was ‘put off’ by LGBTI rights, according to an audio recording obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.

Taylor Branch, who shared an apartment with Bill in the 70s, wrote a history of Bill’s White House years based on an audio diary of their conversations.

According to a 10 June 1999 recording, Branch had been interviewing Bill at the White House when the then president stepped out to take a phone call from Hillary.

When he returned, he seemed worried that his wife’s ‘discomfort’ with LGBTI rights would hurt her 2000 Senate campaign, and expressed regret over signing the Defense Against Marriage Act.

‘[Bill] came in and he said, “You know I’ve had much more contact in my life with gay people than Hillary has,”‘ Branch says in the recording.

‘He said, “I think she’s really a little put off by some of this stuff.”‘

Branch said Bill generally supported ‘the gay agenda right down the line.’ But he told Branch that ‘Hillary, emotionally speaking, still finds the issue harder to swallow than I do. And that it could be difficult for her in New York politics, how far she’ll be asked to go.’

Branch added that Bill was ‘essentially I think saying that Hillary had kind of a conservative religious temperament, and was not likely to be comfortable around gay people who were kind of acting out, or pushing her to the limit. She did have general discomfort.’

Hillary endorsed civil unions during her 2000 Senate campaign, but not gay marriage. She only publicly come out in favor of gay marriage in 2013.

Listen to the recording below:

The post Friend: Bill Clinton warned about Hillary’s ‘discomfort’ with gay rights in 1999 appeared first on Gay Star News.

Darren Wee

www.gaystarnews.com/article/friend-bill-clinton-warned-about-hillarys-discomfort-with-gay-rights-in-1999/