Teen Dating Violence Among LGBTQ Youth
The Human Rights Campaign Foundation has expanded its resources on LGBTQ youth, adding information on teen dating violence (TDV).
HRC.org
www.hrc.org/blog/entry/teen-dating-violence-among-lgbtq-youth?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed
Jussie Smollet Came Out To Let Non-Straight People Know They’re Not Alone
It was a bigger deal to everyone than it was for me. But at the same time I do understand why it is something to talk about. I didn’t talk to Ellen so that people could, be like ‘oh my God, let’s see what Jussie does in his bedroom in his private life.’ But I did talk to her so that people understood that they’re not alone. That’s all.”
— Empire star Jussie Smollet discussing the impact of his in an interview with Variety
Jeremy Kinser
In Alabama, Gay People Can’t Get Married… But They Can Get Divorced
Just when we thought things couldn’t get any more farcical in the ongoing fight for marriage equality in Alabama, a judge there has granted two lesbians a divorce, even though the state doesn’t currently recognize same-sex marriage, despite the U.S. Supreme Court saying it must.
Shrie Michelle Richmond and Kirsten Allysse Richmond were married in Iowa in November 2012. They originally filed for divorce in their home state of Alabama in February 2014, but were denied because the state didn’t recognize gay marriage at the time. One year later, they tried again, on the same day same-sex marriage went into effect in the state thanks to a ruling made by U.S. district judge Callie Granade back in January.
Naturally, some folks were upset over Granade’s ruling. When the U.S. Supreme Court decided not to intervene, Alabama’s chief justice Ray Moore decided to take matters into his own hands by illegally ordering state judges to refuse to marry any same-sex couples, throwing the whole state into absolute chaos. Some judges followed Moore’s orders. Others didn’t. A minister was arrested for officiating a same-sex wedding. Even the KKK got involved by releasing a statement saying gay marriage would turn the country into “a third world cesspool.”
That’s when the state’s Supreme Court stepped in. Last week, it created even more chaos when the justices demanded that all same-sex marriage be halted, even though this is in direct violation of what the U.S. Supreme Court says.
Thankfully, not everyone in Alabama is stubborn, insane, and completely homophobic. Because earlier this week, Madison County circuit judge Karen Hall happily granted the divorce between Shrie Michelle Richmond and Kirsten Allysse Richmond without question and without making any public statements about her decision. Because she’s classy like that.
The issue of marriage equality will once again be taken up by the U.S. Supreme Court in April and will (hopefully!) put an end to all this madness.
Related stories:
Alabama Goes Rogue On Marriage
Alabama Supreme Court Orders Halt On Same-Sex Marriages Statewide
The KKK Is, Wait For It, Very Unhappy About Gay Marriage In Alabama
Graham Gremore
PHOTOS: Artistic Activism
Artists adopt the power of the poster to raise awareness for LGBT immigration reform.
Advocate.com Editors
www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/2015/03/16/photos-artistic-activism
Laws to Stop Marriage Equality Grow Increasingly Weird
Texas is pushing a proposed law that would let the state overrule the Supreme Court. There’s just one problem: they can’t actually do that. Alabama judges have decided that they don’t have to obey federal courts either, except that in reality, they do. And Oklahoma politician wants to switch from marriage licenses to marriage certificates, which would accomplish … not very much.
Let’s start in Texas this week, where first time State Rep Molly White has introduced a bill that would require the state to ignore any Supreme Court ruling that legalized marriage.
Can she do that? Nope, that’s not how laws work. Or the Supreme Court. Or America in general. For better or for worse, Texas is still part of the United States, so Texas can’t just say “no thanks” when the Supreme Court tells them to do something. White’s only been in office for two months, so hopefully she’ll get the hang of it soon.
Over in Alabama, the state Supreme Court is experiencing similar confusion. They’ve ordered probate judges to ignore the federal ruling that they have to issue marriage licenses. So now it’s state law versus federal law, and nobody knows who will win. Just kidding! Federal law will win. That’s the basis of our entire legal system.
Then there’s South Carolina, where a couple of politicians want to amend the US Constitution to ban marriage equality. This has no chance of happening. But State Senator Larry Grooms says that it’s necessary for “the propagation of our species.” Contrary to what Grooms seems to think, reproduction does not, in fact, originate in the U.S. Constitution.
And in Oklahoma, State Rep Todd Ross has solved the marriage debate with a new bill that stops the state from issuing marriage licenses, and instead requires marriage certificates. And this is different because … well, it’s actually pretty much the same, it’s just slightly less paperwork. So, okay.
Finally this week a new national survey shows support for marriage soaring to 59 percent, with just 33 percent opposed. This means that the freedom to marry is slightly more popular than the Pope.
Teen shares father's horrifying response to his coming out: 'I'm going to puke'
‘You are trying to ruin me. This is worse than death’
darrenw
Jessica Lange Confirms She's 'Done' With 'American Horror Story'
Jessica Lange is officially leaving the “American Horror Story” franchise. The actress, who’s starred in all four seasons of Ryan Murphy’s anthology horror series, previously said that the most recent season of “Freak Show” would be her last.
During Sunday’s “AHS” panel at PaleyFest in Los Angeles, Lange confirmed the news. “Yes, I’m done,” she said. “We’ve had a great run here. I absolutely love doing these four characters, and in all madness, I love the writers and Ryan and the insanity of shooting it.” Let that sad news sink in.
While Lange may be gone, the “AHS” gang announced a new cast member who will star alongside Lady Gaga in the upcoming season of “Hotel.” Matt Bomer, who made a guest appearance in one episode of “Freak Show,” will co-star in “Hotel.” The actor was quiet about who he will play, saying only, “I can’t confirm nor deny that there will be a romantic relationship [with Lady Gaga’s character].” Cheyenne Jackson of “Glee” will also join the new season, but wouldn’t spill anything else about his character.
No further details have been announced about “Hotel,” but there are fan theories about a real-life hotel it could be based on. We also finally learned what those “Freak Show” top hat clues were all about.
“American Horror Story” returns in October on FX.
Kiss Me, I'm Gay Irish
My family are all proud of their Irish roots, and they should be. We were Irish cops and firemen on my Dad’s side. Also, train people who worked the railroads outside of Chicago, then New York. We were fighters. There’s a great black and white tin-type of the boxing ring my ancestors set up in the backyard one summer, my uncles and their handle-barred mustaches, fists raised. We were also vets. When the German’s called, we enlisted. On my Mom’s side, we were politicians and businessmen out of Boston. Lace-curtain Irish, we earned money and political favor in Boston. And it didn’t take long — we emigrated from the potato fields of Ireland around 1854. And like many Irish families, we lost a lot during the wars — and in the barrooms.
There was prejudice. But when the Irish formed a community, and stood up against oppression, they earned their stripes. They worked hard, they made their own beer, and eventually they folded into the great American batter like warm Irish butter. Growing up, I felt no prejudice for being green.
I remember my Mother, like Joan Leslie in the 1940’s, playing and singing Irish drinking songs on the piano. With a high, lilting trill, she sang ‘Harrigan’:
‘H, A, double R, I, G, A, N spells Harrigan.
Proud of all the Irish blood that’s in me.
Divvil a man can say a word agin’ me
H, A, double-R, I, G, A, N you see
Is a name that a shame never has been connected with
Harrigan, that’s me!’
I can draw a line to Tammany Hall, and place my great-great grandfather and several uncles on it. The trouble makers, the Molly Maguires, the drunken bums and their wounded widows. It was said my great-great uncle died in a tugboat fire — he was drunk. His wife, my great-great aunt, would have to collect his last paycheck alone. The Irish curse. My mother, on the other hand, rarely touched a drink. She loved Ireland so much, she died on St. Patrick’s Day. It was perfect — the best day of the year for her. There was corned beef and cabbage on the stove, and Irish soda-bread in the breadbox. Not even death can stop the Irish.
In 1992, I was 27. I lived in New York City, and this was the second year of the great St. Patrick’s Day Parade protests. A large group of Irish-American queers were marching north on Fifth Avenue. So, I packed up my little box video camera, Hi-8, analogue tape, and I marched with them. I didn’t expect much, but the crowd grew. And as it swelled, I videotaped the rising Irish-American, LGBTQ army of protesters. There was a drunk, older gay man there — he told the cops they were going to get AIDS. A feekin-eejit man on the sidewalk gave us the finger. A lesbian shaved a triangle in her terrier’s fur, then dyed it green, then put a sticker on top of that. The sticker read: ‘Kiss Me, I’m Gay Irish’. There was a green line up Fifth Avenue, and it matched my green and white sneakers, so I filmed them. Along the route, a mostly older, white crowd held signs declaring homosexuality a sin. It felt, like many days and nights during the height of the AIDS crisis in New York City, a little too biblical.
We paused in front of St. Patrick’s Cathedral. I was baptized Roman Catholic, so the most powerful doors of my faith, locally I mean, were now before me. The Cardinal, John O’Connor, a homophobic, mean-spirited, white, patriarch — who would not condone condom use in the face of a plague — and who worked tirelessly to ostracize the LGBTQ community, made this his nest. Basically, on this day, my rage was as red as his robes.
And then I felt it. What it might feel like to come to America and be hated. What everyone might feel once in their American life — to feel yourself an outsider, because of a trait. To have the largest doors of the institution that fostered my spiritual growth shun me now for my sexual orientation — it was a powerful moment in my Irish American life. Just then it started to snow. The wind was at my back, and the sun shone brightly upon my face, while a moment of silence was observed by the crowd. Because of the light dusting of snow, it really was silent.
They say two LGBTQ groups in Boston were invited to march in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade this year. Progress is measured in years. We can’t always see it. It moves too slow at times. But this year, I can certainly attest — with the changes on parade, the long road to equality has dutifully risen to meet me.
Trans teen Jazz Jennings gets a TV show and commercial
‘Jazz’s story is universal, yet unique, and we’re proud to partner with her family to share it with TLC’s audience’
Jamesw
www.gaystarnews.com/article/trans-teen-jazz-jennings-gets-tv-show-and-commercial160315
Gay Groups Make History By Marching In Boston St. Patrick's Day Parade: VIDEO
Two LGBT groups marched in Boston’s St. Patrick’s Day parade on Sunday for the first time in the event’s 114-year history.
OutVets (below right) and Boston Pride (above) were both invited to participate, ending a two-decade ban on gay groups.
The Associated Press reports:
“We march today for the memories of those thousands and thousands of people who went before us, some who went to their graves in the closet,” OutVets founder and leader and Air Force veteran Bryan Bishop told his group before the parade. He called it “the beginning of the mission of this organization to honor the service and sacrifice of every single LGBT veteran, their family, their allies and every veteran in this country who fought so selflessly to defend the rights that we hold dear.” …
Boston Pride member Freddy Murphy said the open inclusion of gay groups was a long time coming.
“I just remember watching the parade and kind of thinking it was hopeless, that my entire world was against me,” said Murphy, a Dorchester neighborhood native whose father was a Boston firefighter. “This is why I’m marching today.”
Also marching in the parade for the first time in 20 years was Boston’s mayor. Mayors had boycotted the event every year since 1995, when the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the right of the Allied War Veterans Council, which organizes the parade, to keep gay groups out.
The War Veterans Council voted 5-4 in December to allow OutVets to participate, and Boston Pride received an invitation last week. Mayor Marty Walsh was joined by Gov. Charlie Baker and Congresssman Seth Moulton, who marched with OutVets.
“I’m thrilled that the St. Patrick’s Day parade is inclusive this year, and the addition of Boston Pride to the list of participants reflects the values of the South Boston neighborhood,” Walsh said in a statement. “With this year’s parade, Boston is putting years of controversy behind us.”
Knights of Columbus, the anti-gay Catholic group, boycotted the parade over the decision to allow LGBT groups. In New York, Mayor Bill de Blasio is boycotting the parade because only one LGBT group will be allowed to march.
Watch a report on the parade from New England Cable News, AFTER THE JUMP …
John Wright
www.towleroad.com/2015/03/gay-groups-make-history-by-marching-in-boston-st-patricks-day-parade.html
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