Jim Obergefell Explains How His Brief Marriage Helped Fuel the Fight for Equality: WATCH

One important marriage that fueled the fight for the freedom to marry only lasted for three months and 11 days.

Former realtor and IT consultant Jim Obergefell became an “accidental activist,” as he likes to call himself, when he decided to marry his partner of 20 years, John Arthur, in 2013.

Arthur had been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a nervous system disease that weakens muscles and impacts physical function, and in less than two years he was already confined to bed with not much time left to live. Obergefell wanted his name on Arthur’s death certificate as the surviving spouse, a request the state of Ohio, where same-sex marriage was illegal at the time, opposed.

They had already been together for 20 years, but they always said they would only tie the knot when marriage had actual legal weight. After the 2013 Supreme Court ruling that struck down the Defense of Marriage Act, Obergefell finally proposed. Because of Arthur’s advanced ALS state, they had to take an ambulance to the airport, and then fly on a medical jet to Maryland, where marriage was legal.

Arthur died three months later. After his death they got what they wanted: Obergefell’s name was listed as the surviving spouse, but the state of Ohio appealed to a higher court and won.

Obergefell then appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, and the rest is history. He became the named plaintiff in a consolidated appeals case which the Supreme Court agreed to hear; a case that later became synonym with same-sex marriage: Obergefell v. Hodges.

Almost one year after that historic ruling, Obergefell is now telling the story of the lovers, lawyers and judges who made the legalization of same-sex marriage possible. His upcoming book “Love Wins: The Lovers and Lawyers Who Fought the Landmark Case for Marriage Equality,” which he co-wrote with Pulitzer prize winner journalist Debbie Cenziper, will be released on June, 14.

Yesterday, Jim Obergefell sat down with Washington Post columnist Steven Petrow on a Facebook chat to talk about his new role as an “intentional activist,” the love story with his late husband, and that little Supreme Court decision that forever changed our lives.

He also answers questions from viewers, reads from the book and he’s joined by co-author Cenziper at the end.

Check out the video below:

The post Jim Obergefell Explains How His Brief Marriage Helped Fuel the Fight for Equality: WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.

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Judge Victoria Kolakowski, California’s Only Openly Transgender Elected Public Official, Reelected

Judge Victoria Kolakowski, California’s only openly transgender elected public official, was re-elected Tuesday in an uncontested election for a seat on the Alameda County Superior Court.

The Queens native graduated from Louisiana State University’s law school in 1989, and is the first openly transgender trial court judge in the United States (between her first election and the beginning of her term, the Hon. Phyllis Frye was appointed and sworn in as an Associate Municipal Court Judge in Houston, Texas, making Judge Frye the first openly transgender judge.)

She then appealed to the Louisiana State Bar, and two days later the unanimous decision came: “They all thought it was silly,” she says.

With 27 years of legal experience, Judge Kolakowski first made news in 2010, when she won a tight race against John Creighton, a prosecutor for 25 years, who had been endorsed by most of the county’s judges. Her campaign focused on younger voters, women, people of color and especially the LGBT community. She was endorsed by the Equality California PAC, the “nation’s largest statewide lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights organization dedicated to creating a fair and just society.”

Kolakowski was the recipient of the Vanguard Award from the Transgender Law Center in 2012. In 2014, she received the first “Pioneer in the Law Award” from California Women Lawyers, and was the honored guest of Transgender Equality Network Ireland’s at Dublin Pride. Last year she was honored by the Alameda County Bar Association with its Distinguished Service Award for judges.

“I am deeply honored to be re-elected unopposed to serve the people of Alameda County for another six years” said Kolakowski about yesterday’s re-election. “I pledge to continue to honor my commitment to judge fairly, treat all people who appear in front of me with dignity and respect, and to promote access to justice for all people.”

Rick Zbur, executive director of Equality California celebrates the accomplishment: “Judge Victoria Kolakowski broke barriers when she was first elected as the country’s first openly transgender trial judge in 2010. She continues to blaze trails today as the only openly transgender elected government official in California. We have been thrilled to support her over the years and congratulate her on winning another term on the bench.”

The post Judge Victoria Kolakowski, California’s Only Openly Transgender Elected Public Official, Reelected appeared first on Towleroad.

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Minnesota Republican Attacks Her Democratic Opponent For Being ‘LGBT’ And ‘Half Black’

“She is really far left [in] her values.”

The post Minnesota Republican Attacks Her Democratic Opponent For Being ‘LGBT’ And ‘Half Black’ appeared first on ThinkProgress.

thinkprogress.org/politics/2016/06/08/3786143/erin-maye-quade-ali-jimenez-hopper-half-black-lgbt/

HRC Honoree from Gambia Granted Asylum

Post submitted with contributions from Molly Aronso

Alagie Jammeh, a distant nephew of vehemently anti-LGBTQ Gambian President Yahya Jammeh, has been granted political asylum in the United States.

In September 2014, Jammeh posted a Facebook status asserting that, “No one should be denied their basic fundamental human rights because of their sexuality.” Homosexuality is against the law in The Gambia, and “violators” can face life in prison. President Jammeh has threatened to personally “slit the throats” of gay men in his country.

After his pro-equality Facebook post, Alagie immediately received threats from Gambian officials. By November that year, the government revoked his scholarship to study at the University of California-Santa Barbara (UCSB), and he was struggling to get by at the school.

HRC honored Alagie last year on Human Rights Day for his support of the LGBTQ community and courage as an ally.

By accepting political asylum,  Alagie can never return to The Gambia where he would face imprisonment or even death. He stated that he would miss his country, but that, above all, “ did this because it was the right thing to do.” Alagie has faced many issues with anti-LGBTQ people in The Gambia tracking his comments, but he stands by what he believes in.

Alagie has made incredible sacrifices as a vocal ally to the LGBTQ community, including losing the financial support for school he was receiving from the Gambian government. Even when he was forced to skip meals and live out of his car, he maintained a high GPA at UCSB. Alagie stated that his ultimate goal is to work for the United Nations and become a human rights advocate for people all around the world. With political asylum in the U.S., he is one step closer to achieving that goal.

“I will continue to advocate for LGBTQ rights especially in the Gambia, Africa and around the world. LGBTQ rights are not special rights, they are human rights. Period,” he told HRC. “[LGBT people] just want to be treated with respect and dignity like other citizens.”

HRC commends Alagie for his commitment to the LGBTQ community and congratulates him on being granted asylum.

www.hrc.org/blog/hrc-honoree-from-gambia-granted-asylum?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

GLAAD's Southern Stories Summer Tour will kick off in Florida on June 27

Today, GLAAD announced its second Southern Stories Summer Tour, a summer-long campaign aimed at accelerating LGBT acceptance across the U.S. South. The 2016 tour, supported by national, state and local partners, will kick off in Jacksonville, FL, on June 27 and include stops across Florida, Mississippi, and Alabama, before ending with a week-long trip across Texas. 

“We know that Americans’ attitudes and behavior on LGBT equality are not just influenced by what they see and hear, but also who they know. That’s why our Southern Stories initiative is so important. By telling the stories of LGBT individuals and their allies in the South, hearts and minds are changed,” said Zeke Stokes, GLAAD Vice President of Programs.

The 2015 Southern Stories Tour helped to create connections and amplify the voices of LGBT Southerners. This year, GLAAD elevates the tour from a single week in June to three weeks, spread across the full summer. To view a recap of the 2015 tour, click here. 

Why the South? Why now?

In late 2014, GLAAD commissioned Harris Poll to measure attitudes towards LGBT Americans. What we found is that even though 2015 had been an historic year for the rights of LGBT Americans, beneath legal and policy progress lies a layer of uneasiness and discomfort. While the public is increasingly embracing LGBT civil rights and equal protection under the law, many are still uncomfortable with having LGBT people in their families and the communities where they live. Within these numbers we find that Southerners feel significantly more discomfort about their LGBT family, friends, and neighbors than is found in other regions of the country.

In 2016, a follow-up GLAAD-commissioned Harris Poll found that Southerners are slightly more unconcerned or unaware of important issues facing the LGBT community than the rest of the country.

Through meeting with community leaders and advocates, hosting public events by and for LGBT community members, and collecting and telling stories of LGBT lives in the South, GLAAD continues to accelerate acceptance in these communities not only on the tour, but year round. 

We hope you will get on board with the GLAAD 2016 Southern Stories Sumemr Tour. For more information, check out glaad.org/summertour.

www.glaad.org/blog/glaads-southern-stories-summer-tour-will-kick-florida-june-27

Lea Delaria: LGBT Acronym Divides Community

The Orange is the New Black star doesn’t believe in “LGBTQQTY-whatever-LMNOP.” Instead she hopes more people become comfortable with identifying as queer. 

www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/2016/6/08/lea-delaria-lgbt-acronym-divides-community

When The Dangerously Hot ‘Bad Boy’ Loses His Sex Appeal

Have you ever met someone you thought was drop-dead sexy, only to get to know them over a period of time and realize you have absolutely no attraction to them in any way, shape or form?

We’ve seen it a million times, which only goes to show how powerful a force our own imaginations are when it comes to what turns us on.

Related: That Awkward Moment When You Realize You Hooked Up With Your Friend’s Boyfriend

There will always be a fantasy that’s more titillating than reality, but if you lose yourself entirely to some idealized version of what you’re looking for, you’ll end up closed off to a world of possibility and pleasure.

OK, this intro got way too serious because the below video from comedian Michael Henry is pretty hysterical.

Watch below:

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Gay Guys Are Having More Open Relationships Than Ever

There’s never been a better time to be alive, queer, and horny! First there was that study showing that people are growing far more likely than ever to have same-sex sexual encounters, and to identify as bisexual. Now there’s another study showing that queers are having more open relationships than ever before.

Is this a good thing? Well, the jury’s still out on that. Short-term, having an open relationship can be a lot of fun, and can mean a lot of sex. But long-term, there are some unique relationship hurdles that our culture doesn’t exactly prepare us for. It’s easy to model behavior on monogamous couples that you see in movies and on TV, but how many healthy happy stable poly guys do you see?

Related: I Don’t: Six Kinds Of Relationships To Try Before, Or Instead Of, Marriage

The research comes from Australia, where a third (!) of respondents said that they were in open relationships. About the same amount said they were monogamous, a quarter said they were just having casual sex, and the rest aren’t getting any ass right now.

Other intriguing findings: half used apps to meet other guys; a third meet guys in bars; and just over a quarter make new friends in saunas. Saunas! Is that an Australian thing, or is this some global gay trend that we’ve missed out on? Saunas used to be a big thing in the United States but we can’t think of the last time any of our friends mentioned going to one.

Related: Guys Reveal How They Really Feel About Open Relationships

And there’s some good news from the survey as well: a doubling in the rate of STI testing. If we’re all having more sex we’ll need to be extra-vigilant about combatting diseases. For example, after International Mr. Leather last weekend, there was a mini-outbreak of severe flu-like symptoms in Chicago. A bunch of attendees wound up hospitalized. But quick testing and quarantines kept the illness under control, and despite a little rumor-mongering about meningitis, everyone seems to be on the mend.

So in terms of physical health, it seems like we’re making some good choices about being in open relationships. But what about emotional health? That’s a much harder quality to gauge. Time will just have to tell whether this means bigger, healthier, happier families; or if the lack of poly visibility leads to heartbreaks and mistakes.

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Whitney Houston Was Bisexual, Says Bobby Brown – VIDEO

Whitney Houston was bisexual according to her former husband Bobby Brown, who is coming forward to reveal intimate details about his life with Houston in a new tell-all book.

Us Weekly reports: 

Whitney Houston was long rumored to have had a secret same-sex romance with her best friend and assistant, Robyn Crawford, and Bobby Brown tells Us Weekly in the new issue that it’s all true.

“I know,” Brown, 47, tells Us exclusively of his ex-wife’s relationship with Crawford, 55. “We were married for 14 years. There are some things we talked about that were personal to us.” Houston and Crawford met as teens when they both worked at a community center in East Orange, New Jersey, and Crawford became her assistant and later creative director, traveling the world with the Bodyguard star.

Brown insists that Houston was bisexual and not a lesbian. “I’m a man and she was attracted to me!”, he says.

Brown believes that Houston, denied her relationship with Crawford while alive because she knew her family would disapprove. In 2013, Houston’s mother Cissy Houston told Oprah she would “absolutely” have been disappointed if her daughter had come out to her as gay.

It was the lack of acceptance that Brown believes may have been fatal to Houston. Brown tells Us, “I really feel that if Robyn was accepted into Whitney’s life, Whitney would still be alive today. She didn’t have close friends with her anymore.”

Watch a video from Us on Brown’s relationship with Houston, below.

The post Whitney Houston Was Bisexual, Says Bobby Brown – VIDEO appeared first on Towleroad.

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