WATCH: Straight Vlogger Slams Same-Sex Marriage Opponents
‘Seriously, if you’re actively protesting gay marriage, you need a hobby,’ says YouTuber Joe Santagato.
Jase Peeples
First Came Love, Then — With the Law on Our Side — Came Marriage
First Came Love, Then — With the Law on Our Side — Came Marriage
Reposted from Cognoscenti.
When my partner, Mal, and I moved in together, my grandmother knit us an afghan. No doubt she’d worked on it for months — the perfect square stitches and intricate floral pattern were the work of an artisan, not a crafty grandma. But the gift itself felt like an afterthought. I was standing in the hallway at my cousin’s house after a family dinner, when my mom handed me the afghan in a plain cardboard box.
My sister got her afghan at her bridal shower. Friends put down their cake plates to run their hands across the perfect stitches. My grandmother blushed a little at the compliments.
It was 2001 when I got my afghan. I imagine my grandmother assumed there would be no further milestones. I would never marry a man or be the guest of honor at a bridal shower. But my same-sex partner was big-hearted and funny and appeared not to be going anywhere. That tough, resilient purple blanket was a gesture of acceptance. But without the structure and ceremony of a wedding, that gesture became an afterthought, lost in the chaos of clearing the table and loading the dishwasher.
When Mal and I started dating, my mom and grandmother could barely look at her. They would come to Boston to visit my sisters in college, and Mal and I would push through our dread to meet them for dinner.
“You grew up in Boston,” my mom once said to Mal. “So you must be a bad driver.”
But Mal learned my grandmother’s cookie recipes and helped her grate potatoes at Thanksgiving. She fed me ice cream when I had my wisdom teeth pulled and did my laundry six months later when I had mono. She joined our raucous holiday celebrations and added her voice to our off-key show tune sing-alongs. Mal would never be a son-in-law, but she was something.
Then, in 2003, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that same-sex couples couldn’t be denied the right to marry. The first call I got the morning of the court decision was from my mother. Mal and I had just told our families we planned to have a commitment ceremony, and my mom was overjoyed that our wedding would be, in her words, real.
It didn’t matter that the months leading up to our wedding were spent rallying at the State House instead of choosing cake toppers. I was a woman getting married. For the first time in my adult life, I was doing something my family understood.
May 17, 2004, was the first day cities and towns could accept marriage license applications from same-sex couples. While most municipalities waited until the morning, Cambridge began right at midnight. City Hall opened the night of May 16, and the lawn outside was as packed as Times Square on New Year’s Eve.
My mom and grandmother were with us as we walked past the cheering crowds and into City Hall. We kept noticing that people were cheering louder for us than the couples around us. I couldn’t understand why, until someone leaned over and congratulated my mom and grandmother on their marriage.
We gathered in the City Council chamber with couples in tuxes, couples in matching sweatshirts, two men wearing angel wings. The city clerk and a dozen municipal employees worked through the night to process our applications. At 3:15 that morning, Mal and I became the 147th same-sex couple to apply for a marriage license in Massachusetts.
Mal and I got married that October in an outdoor ceremony at an Audubon Society nature preserve. In her wedding toast, my grandmother told the story of being mistaken for a couple at City Hall. When our guests’ laughter died down, she raised her glass and gave us her blessing: “May you be together,” she said, “as long as me and your mother.”
My grandmother went into hospice the day the Supreme Court heard arguments in Obergefell v. Hodges. She died the next day, surrounded by people she loved, wrapped in an afghan she’d made for herself. I don’t know if last week’s Supreme Court ruling legalizing same-sex marriage would have mattered to her. In her mind, we were married in 2004, and all the civil rights victories that followed didn’t seem to phase her.
But I can’t help thinking about the grandmothers in Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee. I wonder if the right to marry will make their grandchildren’s loved ones easier to embrace. I wonder what it means that recognition from my state’s government made Mal’s and my relationship more “real” in the eyes of my family.
The last time I saw my grandmother, she was sitting in a wheelchair, looking out the window to the courtyard of her nursing home. Mal and I tried to coax her into conversation, but the effort of discussing the flowers in the garden outside seemed like too much. Her eyes were glassy. She was barely holding up her head.
I asked if she wanted to listen to music.
“Frank Sinatra,” she said.
I found an old recording of “Luck Be A Lady” on YouTube. Mal and I took her hands and danced around her wheelchair. She smiled and swayed a little. At the end of the song she asked for help getting back into bed. As we said goodbye, I couldn’t imagine Mal not being with me. The time when my family treated her with anything less then un-ambivalent acceptance feels as remote as the Ice Age.
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‘An Open Secret’ Documents Rampant Sexual Abuse of Child Actors in Hollywood: VIDEO
‘An Open Secret’ Documents Rampant Sexual Abuse of Child Actors in Hollywood: VIDEO
That shady and skeezy happenings exist in Hollywood should come as a surprise to approximately no one, and that some of those happenings victimize child actors is (sadly) almost as unsurprising. Rather than leave such things to unsubstantiated rumor and suspicion, Oscar-nominated filmmaker Amy Berg has chosen to create a documentary, titled An Open Secret, that exposes the reprehensible trend of abusing child actors, such as the activities of convicted pedophile Marc Collins-Rector.
You’ll need to keep a close eye on the release schedule of the film as it’s following the unusual plan of traveling a 20-city circuit for as long as there’s a demand, with an unspecified timeframe for a digital release sometime later this year. The film has already shown in Denver and New York, but the biggest splash is expected when the film shows in Los Angeles on July 17 at the Laemmle Music Hall in Beverly Hills.
This will no doubt be a gut-wrenching film to watch, particularly given how recent some of the footage is – one clip is of a young Ben Savage, now 34, star of the 90s family sitcom Boy Meets World – but anything that gives the victims a voice and a chance to speak out about their abuse will be something to help stop it from happening in the future. You can watch the trailer for the film below:
The post ‘An Open Secret’ Documents Rampant Sexual Abuse of Child Actors in Hollywood: VIDEO appeared first on Towleroad.
Christian Walters
‘An Open Secret’ Documents Rampant Sexual Abuse of Child Actors in Hollywood: VIDEO
IMG_5052
Caitlyn Jenner Shares Inspirational 4th Of July Message On Instagram
Caitlyn Jenner Shares Inspirational 4th Of July Message On Instagram
Caitlyn Jenner not only celebrated her country’s freedom on the Fourth of July, but also reflected on her own.
The former Olympian took to Instagram on America’s birthday to wish her followers a happy holiday and share a powerful message. Jenner posted a photo of a framed American flag and wrote in the caption, “Happy 4th of July! Proud to be an American … where at least I am free to be me.”
Happy 4th of July! Proud to be an American … where at least I am free to be me.
A photo posted by Caitlyn Jenner (@caitlynjenner) on Jul 4, 2015 at 11:30am PDT
In case you weren’t keeping up with the other Jenner and Kardashian news, Kim Kardashian also got very patriotic over the holiday. The reality star shared a photo decked out in all red, white and blue sparkly gear. Her sister Kourtney Kardashian also shared some patriotic photos of herself with daughter Penelope over the holiday.
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Rick Santorum argues US Supreme Court marriage right case is based on a ‘whim’
Rick Santorum argues US Supreme Court marriage right case is based on a ‘whim’
Presidential candidate Rick Santorum added his voice to the loud chorus of critics blasting the Supreme Court for making same-sex marriage legal in all 50 states.
Today, 5 July, the longtime LGBTI equality foe was a guest on the CBS News show Face the Nation. He repeated claim that has been said by others when denouncing the 5-4 decision: the US can no longer call itself a democracy.
‘And what the court did here as Justice Roberts said, was — there’s no constitutional basis for what they did,’ the Republican said to the show’s host.
‘They simply just acted out of, as one said, a whim. That’s not how a democracy functions. That’s not how a republic functions.’
He then argued Obergefell v. Hodges will end freedom of religion.
‘There’s an assault on religious liberty here,’ Santorum insisted. ‘The court basically said, no, churches, you’re allowed to teach what you want but it really didn’t say you’re allowed to practice what you want.’
Pennsylvania’s former senator eventually pulled his lens back farther, making larger points about culture, family, and marriage.
‘I talked a lot about the breakdown of the institution of marriage, the role that fathers need to play, that 96 percent of Americans are in those types of traditional homes. That is the bigger problem.’
Below is a clip of the interview:
The post Rick Santorum argues US Supreme Court marriage right case is based on a ‘whim’ appeared first on Gay Star News.
James Withers
Demi Lovato Turns Up the Heat with New Track ‘Cool For The Summer’ – LISTEN
Demi Lovato Turns Up the Heat with New Track ‘Cool For The Summer’ – LISTEN
The former Disney star and The X Factor host released her new single “Cool For The Summer” this week, and it’s heating up the airwaves, taking over radio and quickly climbing up the charts.
This summer has seen a lack of female-driven pop summer anthems with underwhelming singles from pop veterans like Britney Spears’ “Pretty Girls.” Fortunately “Cool For The Summer” hits all the right notes, along with some bisexual suggestive lyrics, making it a perfect summer anthem for a summer weekend.
Listen to Lovato’s scorching new single below:
The post Demi Lovato Turns Up the Heat with New Track ‘Cool For The Summer’ – LISTEN appeared first on Towleroad.
Anthony Costello
Demi Lovato Turns Up the Heat with New Track ‘Cool For The Summer’ – LISTEN
Austin's Big Gay 4th of July Wedding
Mike Huckabee: Selfish 'Redefinition of Love' is Destroying Marriage
Mike Huckabee: Selfish 'Redefinition of Love' is Destroying Marriage
The antigay Republican presidential hopeful claims marriage equality has redefined love itself, making it more selfish and destructive.
Jase Peeples
www.advocate.com/politics/2015/07/05/mike-huckabee-selfish-redefinition-love-destroying-marriage
My New Declaration of Independence
My New Declaration of Independence
The original Declaration of Independence, declared 239 years ago, was a philippic against King George and his tyranny. I am no fan of King George. But the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution laid most of his tyranny to rest, and what remained was then laid to rest with him.
We need a new declaration of independence. FDR took a stab at this, with his “Four Freedoms.” Freedom of speech. Freedom of worship. Freedom from want. Freedom from fear. That’s a good start.
But now, eight decades later, we need to declare our independence from other forms of oppression.
We hereby declare our independence from bigotry, in all its evil forms. We declare our independence from racism, sexism, homophobia, language discrimination and chauvinism. Everyone has equal rights, no matter where you’re from, what you look like, what language you speak, and whom you love. Everyone deserves respect.
We hereby declare our independence from narrow-minded, extremist or violent religious fundamentalism. We live in a land where church and state are separate. Religious belief, no matter how sincere, is no license to dictate to others whether to terminate a pregnancy, whether to use contraception, or whom to marry. Earlier this year, I placed my hand on the Bible and swore to uphold the Constitution; I didn’t place my hand on the Constitution and swear to uphold the Bible.
We hereby declare our independence from the greedy. Malefactors of great wealth have no right to buy and sell elected officials thorough the legalized bribery of “independent expenditures.” They have no right to despoil our land and our water, the air we breathe and the food we eat. They have no right to manipulate or gut our laws in order to increase their lucre. They have no right to jack up the price of what we buy, or determine what we see on TV or on our computer screens.
We hereby declare our independence from 1984-style surveillance. Neither the government nor a private company has any reason to monitor the activities of innocent people, without their express, informed and freely given consent. Who I’m with, what I say, what I buy, what I read; that’s none of anyone else’s business. Privacy — the fundamental right to be left alone — is an essential part of what it means to be a human being.
We hereby declare our independence from exploitation. Bad bosses are today’s King George. They want to work employees as hard as they can, and pay them as little as possible in return. They call the difference profit. If workers are organized, they can fight back. But if not, then they need legal protection from exploitation. If you have a job, you should have a living wage, and time-and-a-half for overtime. If you have a job, you should have health coverage. If you have a job, you should have paid sick leave. If you have a job, you should have a pension. As John Mellencamp would say, “Ain’t that America?”
We hereby declare our independence from misinformation. Fox News is a lie factory. Special interests used to lie to us about the dangers of smoking; now they lie to us about the dangers of pollution and climate disruption. They claim a right to “free speech,” but we have a right to honest speech. We have to be part of what a Reagan aide once dismissed as the “reality-based community.”
We hereby declare our independence from hubris. No, we can’t bring peace through war. No, we can’t force our way of life or our way of thinking on seven billion other people. No, we aren’t going to end the 1200-year-old civil war between the Sunnis and the Shia. No, we aren’t going to go and kill everyone everywhere in the world who harbors some harsh views of us. And no, they won’t greet our soldiers with flowers, bake apple pies for them, and salute the American flag with a hand on their hearts. They want to be them, not us. We can care for victims, protect ourselves and help our friends without sticking our nose into every else’s business.
We hereby declare our independence from a rigged system of fake trade. We buy their stuff, creating tens of millions of jobs in other countries. But they don’t buy an equal amount of our stuff. Instead, they buy our assets — $11,000,000,000,000.00 of our assets. They not only rob us of our jobs, but they drive us deeper and deeper into debt. When did Uncle Sam become Uncle Sap? If we don’t declare independence, the endgame is national bankruptcy.
And me? I hereby declare my independence from the corrupt system of campaign finance. I will not carve up the law into little pieces, and sell it to the highest bidder. I will not make “friends” with lobbyists and special interests and the minions of multinational corporations, and then “help” those “friends.” I will not forsake my real job — doing something good for the 700,000 people who chose me to be their Congressman — in favor of begging millionaires and billionaires for a few crumbs from their tables.
In fact, I already have declared my independence. In 2012, I was the only Member of Congress to draw most of his campaign funds from contributions of less than $200. And in 2014, again. This coming year, whether I run for the House or the Senate, I hope to do it again — I’ll get by with a little help from my friends, my supporters, the progressive community.
We declare our independence. We are not cattle. We are not sheep. We are human beings.
Happy birthday, America. Let freedom ring.
Courage,
Rep. Alan Grayson
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