President Obama was annoyed when gay activists “screamed” at his rallies
[T]here have been times where, let’s say on LGBT issues, when we were trying to end Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, and I got the Pentagon and Bob Gates, a Republican holdover from the Bush administration, to authorize a study of how you might end Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, headed up by Jeh Johnson, who at that time was a council to the Justice Department. And it was going to take a year to conduct that study, issue a report, and figure out how it might be implemented, what effect it would have on unit cohesion and military effectiveness. And I had laid out this strategy because if I could get the Pentagon’s imprimatur on this thing, then I knew that we could end up getting legislation passed to reverse the policy, and we could get the branches of all the military to implement it. But during the course of that year, probably every speech I gave, I’d have gay activists just screaming at me during rallies. And you just say, ‘Come on, man. Not only do I agree with you, but I’ve actually got a strategy to execute, we are executing it, and in what sense do you think that you yelling at me here is going to advance your cause?’”— President (for one more month!) Obama, reflecting on one of the many difficulties of his job in an interview with The Atlantic.
In 3 Minutes, Kodak Captures the Ache of Gay Love, Dread of Coming Out, Joy of Being Accepted: WATCH
A stunning short film by Terry Rayment, presented by Kodak, and shot by cinematographer Kate Arizmendi, shows a teen’s journey after he is discovered by his sister kissing a boy in his bedroom.
“Guys my age stopped going out to bars all the time,” said Jack LaFary, a former bartender at Indianapolis’s 501 Eagle, which closed this year.
He’s interviewed this week in a piece by the Chicago Tribune, which examines the fact that gay bars are slowly but steadily going extinct.
The story echoes a similar sentiment in The Economist’srecent article that explores the same subject, reporting that over 16 gay bars closed in London between 2014 and 2014. They suggest this “points to a larger, and overwhelmingly positive, trend.”
One problem is rent. Gay bars tend to pop up in more downtrodden parts of a city, but as those cities become richer, watering holes and dives are eventually squeezed out altogether.
Of course, hookup apps have also hindered business, providing a cheaper (and far less slurry) way to meet potential partners.
“It all changed with smartphones,” LaFary says. “When I first came out, you went to a gay bar to meet gay people. But the smartphone changed that, and it was an all-of-a-sudden thing. Business just dropped, and it wasn’t a gradual thing. It was, like, boom.”
The Economist article maintains that the number one culprit of gay bars’ slow fade into obsolescence is the fact that homosexuality is now accepted more than ever before, making the need to seek out friends in darkened corners all but unnecessary.
“Now gays can go into a straight bar and it’s no big deal,” says Colby Palmer, a gay activist interviewed by The Chicago Tribune.
It’s “a good thing for the gays,” says 501 Eagle’s former owner Tom Vester, “because they should be accepted anywhere. But it wasn’t good for me.”
It’s also a rather bittersweet victory for people who gravitate towards dives and dance clubs as a matter of personal taste rather than a lack of alternatives.
“I was… visiting my [gay] uncle in New York,” says Stavros, a 24-year-old Londoner.
Talking to The Economist, he says, “It got to 1am one night and he said, ‘Let’s go out.’ It just blew my mind. It was the first time I saw guys kissing. It was more than I dreamed of.”
While it’s hard to imagine a cultural landscape in which the magic of gay nightlife is gone altogether, there’s no question that most cities in America are losing gay bars and they aren’t being replaced.
The Chicago Tribune reports:
San Francisco was down to just a few dozen gay bars compared with more than 100 in the 1970s, according to a 2011 report in Slate, and Manhattan had but 44, half as many as it did at its gay-bar peak in 1978. In London the Queen’s Head, a gay bar since the 1920s, closed in September, going the way of other prominent gay bars in that European capital.”
Michael Bohr, founder of the Chris Gonzales Library and Archives, tells The Chicago Tribune that bar closings are “a definite loss to gay culture.”
“A man’s first trip into a gay club was a rite of passage,” he says, “both to his own self-acceptance and the realization that he was not alone, that there were a lot of LGBT people out there and they weren’t miserable and alone — they were having a great time.”
What are your thoughts on the slow decline of gay bars around the world? Have you experienced the same phenomenon where you live? Sound off in the comments below.
Deep inside I know you need it
Just let it out and get it on, you gotta feel it
Every time that you’re by my side
Just think it over, I’ll make you glad ~Corona video link
김게이: 게이 부부가 크리스마스를 보내는 방법
한 번은 크리스마스 이브였다. 형이 워낙 좋아하는 밴드가 크리스마스를 맞아 콘서트를 열었었는데, 형 몰래 티켓을 예매해 깜짝 선물한 적이 있다. 1부 무대가 끝나고 밴드가 옷을 갈아 입는 동안 빈 무대를 대신 채워줄 초대 가수가 나왔는데, 시간을 더 때워야 했는지 관객들을 대상으로 말을 걸다 우리를 발견하고선, 아, 여기 또 불쌍한 분들이 계시네요, 이런 날 남자 둘이 콘서트장까지 오시고, 이 불쌍한 두 남성분께 위로의 박수 부탁 드립니다, 라고 말하며 친히 우리를 손가락으로 콕 콕 찍어 주었다. 당연히 그 조롱의 대상은 게이 커플이 아니라 솔로인 두 이성애자 남자였겠지만, 그래서 더 슬프고도 분한 2부 공연이었다.
#ThanksObama: 22 Important Moments for LGBTQ Progress
Viewed in full, Barack Obama’s legacy of achievement for LGBTQ people is unmatched by any president in American history. We’ve accomplished landmark victories from the courts to Congress, and through the implementation of executive policies that advance basic fairness.
As we prepare for Obama’s departure from the Oval Office in the coming month, we take a look back at some of the most impactful ways his Administration has advanced the cause of equal rights for all Americans — no matter who they are or whom they love.
Here are a few of our favorites:
#1. President Obama signed into law the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. The law gives the Justice Department the power to investigate and prosecute bias-motivated violence by providing the Justice Department with jurisdiction over crimes of violence where a perpetrator has selected a victim because of the victim’s actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability.
#2. In an interview with ABC News’ Robin Roberts, Obama endorsed marriage equality. He said after speaking with his own LGBTQ staff members, military service members — as well as his wife and daughters, Obama said he “just concluded that for me personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sexcouples should be able to get married.”
#3. President Obama relegated America’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” ban on gay and lesbian service members to the dustbin of history. For 17 years, the law prohibited qualified gay and lesbian Americans from serving in the armed forces and sent a message that discrimination was acceptable. The Pentagon later ended its ban on transgender people in America’s military service. For far too long, these discriminatory bans robbed the LGBTQ community of the dignity of being honest about who they are to serve the country they love.
#4. Sarah McBride was selected as the first openly transgender woman to intern in the White House. Sarah went on serve as HRC’s national press secretary and to become the first openly transgender person to address a major party political convention when she spoke at the 2016 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.
#5. The Obama Administration threw its weight behind the movement to ban the harmful, widely debunked practice of “conversion therapy.” Valerie Jarrett, Senior Adviser to President Obama, spoke out against the practice and a few months later, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) published a report calling for an end to so-called “conversion therapy” for minors.
#6. President Obama signed a crucial executive order to protect LGBTQ workers from job discrimination along with a number of other significant policy or regulatory changes. The Obama Administration has worked across all cabinet agencies to ensure LGBTQ Americans were fully included in the work of our federal government—resulting in LGBTQ workers, students, renters, immigrants, refugees, service members, patients, families and beyond having the full force of the administration at their backs.
#7. The Obama family celebrated the historic marriage equality ruling by lighting up the White House in rainbow colors. President Obama referred to it as one of his favorite moments of 2015. In press conference, President Obama said, “I didn’t have the chance to comment on how good the White House looked in rainbow colors … to see people gathered in the evening on a beautiful summer night and to feel whole and to feel accepted and to feel they had a right to love, that was pretty cool. That was a good thing.”
#8. The Obama Administration reversed a 22-year ban on travel to the United States by people who tested positive for HIV. President Obama said, “If we want to be a global leader in combating HIV/AIDS, we need to act like it. We talk about reducing the stigma of this disease, yet we’ve treated a visitor living with it as a threat.” Prior to the policy change, the United States was one of only about a dozen countries with similar travel bans.
#9. President Obama signed the first-ever federal law providing explicit LGBTQ non-discrimination protections in the 2013 Violence Against Women Act re-authorization. Time and time again, President Obama has advocated for legislation that explicitly includes protections for LGBTQ and other vulnerable communities who are victims of domestic violence.
#10. Time and time again, President Obama used the bully pulpit to stand up for the LGBTQ community. One of our favorite moments marked the first time a U.S. President referenced bisexual or transgender people in an official State of the Union address. He argued that the LGBTQ individuals deserve the same protections and rights as other Americans.
#11. Obama’s Administration on Aging released important guidance that empowers providers to consider LGBTQ older adults as a population of “greatest social need” — paving the way for increased services that significantly improve the health and well-being of this aging population. This step brought much-needed attention to the unique needs of LGBT older adults, and the urgent actions needed to maintain health and preserve their dignity.
#12. The Obama Administration established a federal task force on bullying that created StopBullying.gov. The website offers support and resources for LGBTQ youth and guidance on how to prevent and respond to bullying. The task force hosted the first-ever White House Conference on Bullying Prevention and funded an “It Gets Better” video from both the President and his staff to address LGBTQ youth at risk of depression and suicide.
#13. Prior to the Olympic Games in Sochi, President Obama spoke out against Russia’s heinous anti-LGBTQ law. In an interview with Jay Leno on NBC’s The Tonight Show, President Obama condemned a Russian law that criminalizes even the most modest gestures of support for LGBTQ people. The President stated that such laws violate “the basic morality that I think should transcend every country, and I have no patience for countries that try to treat gays, or lesbians, or transgender persons in ways that intimidate them or are harmful to them.” He later sent a delegation comprised of openly LGBTQ athletes Billie Jean King, Caitlin Cahow and Brian Boitano to attend the games in his place.
#14. President Obama cheered on landmark Supreme Court cases. He even gave us a congratulatory call from Air Force One. Obama placed a call to HRC President Chad Griffin’s cell phone in order to offer his congratulations to Prop 8 plaintiffs Kris Perry & Sandy Stier and Paul Katami & Jeff Zarrillo following the Supreme Court’s decision. The call came as Perry and Stier were speaking to Thomas Roberts live on MSNBC. During the call which lasted two minutes and caller ID labeled “unknown,” the President expressed his thanks to the plaintiffs for their courage and determination in returning marriage equality to California. “We’re proud of you guys, and we’re proud to have this in California! And it’s because of your leadership things are heading the right way. So you should be very proud today.” The Administration had filed a brief in the Perry case arguing for an end to Proposition 8.
#15. President Obama’s administration has made a record number of appointments of LGBTQ judges and ambassadors. He has also championed more than 250 LGBTQ appointments to full-time and advisory positions in the federal government over the course of his tenure — an important step for LGBTQ Americans who deserve a voice that speaks to their own at every level of government.
#16. Obama’s Education Department hosted five summits on ways to protect students from bullying and harassment. These events included an LGBT Youth Summit in 2011 and a meeting with transgender students in June 2015. Gatherings in these official capacities were previously unprecedented.
#17. President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law. Prior to the ACA’s passage insurance companies could discriminate against anyone due to a pre-existing condition. LGBTQ people could be turned away for being honest about being LGBTQ. And individuals with HIV and AIDS were particularly vulnerable to insurance industry abuses. Consistent with the goals of the President’s National HIV/AIDS Strategy, the Affordable Care Act achieved considerable strides in addressing these concerns and made quality, affordable care more accessible for all.
#18. President Obama instructed the Justice Department not to defend the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act. Prior to a June 2013 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court, DOMA singled out lawfully married same-sexcouples for unequal treatment under federal law. Fortunately, the Court held Section 3 of DOMA unconstitutional in Windsor v. United States (2013). Two years later, in Obergefell v. Hodges, the Court ruled that bans on marriage equality are unconstitutional.
#19. The Obama Administration supported HRC’s partnership with the U.S. Department of State’s Global Equality Fund. Established in 2011 by then-Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, the fund brings together governments, corporations, foundations, and civil society organizations to work toward a world where LGBTQ people can live free of violence and discrimination.
#20. President Obama’s White House endorsed the Equality Act. The legislation would provide consistent and explicit anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ people across key areas of life, including employment, housing, credit, education, public spaces and services, federally funded programs, and jury service. White House press secretary Josh Earnest said the “bill is historic legislation that would advance the cause of equality for millions of Americans.”
#21. President Obama appointed the first openly transgender White House staffer, Raffi Freedman-Gurspan as Outreach and Recruitment Director for Presidential Personnel in the White House Office of Presidential Personnel. Valerie Jarrett, senior adviser to President Obama, said, “Her commitment to bettering the lives of transgender Americans, particularly transgender people of color and those in poverty, reflects the values of the administration.”
#22. President Obama designated the first-ever LGBTQ National Monument at Stonewall. The Stonewall National Monument will pay tribute to the brave individuals who stood up to oppression and helped ignite a fire in a movement to end unfair and unjust discrimination against LGBTQ people. This was a monumental step in the recognition of our community’s contributions to America’s march towards liberty and justice for all.
