Brokeback Mountain gave Jake Gyllenhaal 'the idea that movies can be important'
Actor earned Academy Award nomination starring opposite the late Heath Ledger in gay love story
gregh
PHOTOS: Costumed Hunks Get Into La Leche Halloween in New York City
PHOTOS: Costumed Hunks Get Into La Leche Halloween in New York City
Jake Resnicow and Patrick Crough teamed up with Stoli Vodka, The Only Shows, and Joe Roszak to present La Leche Halloween, the North American debut of Matinee Halloween. DJs Taito Tikaro (Matinee Spain) and Cindel (Matinee USA) spun spooky beats until the lights came up. Afterwards the party moved to Studio XXI in Chelsea for Action Halloween After Hours with DJ Billy Lace.
Photo credit: WilsonModels
jjkeyes
Why I'm #TeamWendy 4 LGBT Equal Rights
Why I'm #TeamWendy 4 LGBT Equal Rights
Episode 4 of Why I’m #TeamWendy talking about Wendy Davis’s commitment to Equal Rights for all of the LBGT community and the different perspectives that voters in Texas have about the issue.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=6g1_gg7Lp-w&feature=youtube_gdata
{11.03.14} #Brother2Brother… Is a support group named in the honor of the late, great activist & poet, #EssexHemphill powerful literature for black gay men. We meet twice a month, every 2nd & 3rd Thursday of each month from 630p-900p at #DENIM (6925-B1
This Is What Happened When I Tried Banning Conversion Therapy in Minnesota
This Is What Happened When I Tried Banning Conversion Therapy in Minnesota
So-called “conversion therapy” still exists; the Southern Poverty Law Center lists almost 70 documented practitioners in 20 states across the United States who currently advertise it to their patients.
Last October, after doing intensive research on the issue, my close friend Gabe Aderhold and I co-founded Can’t Convert Love MN, an organization dedicated to raising awareness about the dangers of conversion therapy in the state of Minnesota. We also wrote a bill that would effectively ban conversion therapy from being practiced on minors in Minnesota. Having same-sex marriage legalized one year prior gave us hope that our bill would be heard and eventually passed; if our legislators approved marriage equality, surely they would advocate for the restriction of a practice that treats homosexuality as a curable disorder.
We were immediately able to partner with a few key legislative supporters of the marriage-equality movement, State Sen. Scott Dibble and State Rep. Karen Clark. I then quickly connected with GLAAD and Change.org to set up a petition asking lawmakers in Minnesota to hear our bill. Gabe continued advocating at the State Capitol, attempting to gain more legislative support. Media outlets began requesting interviews about our progress and about the petition.
Our excitement rose as we watched the number of petition signatures rise into the thousands; within a few weeks we had reached over 100,000.
With increased momentum on our side, Gabe was able to successfully attain co-authors for the bill in both the Minnesota House and the Minnesota Senate. The possibility of our bill being heard and eventually passed by lawmakers was becoming increasingly achievable.
Throughout this time period we engaged in numerous conversations with fellow college students, local authority figures, and Minneapolis constituents. Our conversations yielded one continuous theme: People were not aware that conversion therapy was still being practiced in Minnesota. Most were obviously disgusted to hear that California and New Jersey were the only two states in the country that had successfully passed legislation banning the use of conversion therapy on minors.
Back in the State Capitol, our bill was transferred to State Rep. Susan Allen. With her collaboration we were able to file the bill to be heard in the 2014 legislative session.
It was during this time that I realized how much of a game politics really is. Having to compete for time and attention against bills that were being pushed by groups with deep pockets, pools of volunteers, and paid lobbyists created hurdles for me and Gabe to tackle with limited resources. The influence of this political power structure became apparent to us once we realized how difficult it is to reach the top of the legislative priority list. Additionally, many legislators were still dealing with backlash from same-sex marriages being legalized, leading to their refusal to back another bill that could impact their bids for reelection.
These setbacks left me angry and disappointed. In my mind it was never about maintaining my pride in the bill I had written with Gabe. It wasn’t about playing a political game to be heard by legislators. This was about protecting youth in our state from the dangers of conversion therapy.
Toward the end of February, it became clear that we had the votes needed in the Minnesota House’s Health & Human Services Policy Committee. Our petition on Change.org had reached 110,000 signatures, our Facebook page had grown to 900 “likes,” and we had begun to form a coalition of organizations nationwide that supported our cause. The progress we had made since October seemed to be exponential. We were at the edge of making history in Minnesota.
Gabe got the bad news first.
Our first committee hearing wasn’t going to be scheduled in the House. Without the committee hearing our bill wouldn’t advance to the floor, and it was too late into the session to attempt to reschedule. We learned the hard way that our bill had effectively “died before committee.”
The second blow to our movement occurred a few weeks later, after an article published by our university’s newspaper portrayed our work in a juvenile light. The article stated that our bill wasn’t given a hearing due to “the proposal’s lack of crucial details and a strong argument for its passage.”
Gabe and I were heartbroken. To have our work discredited was humiliating. However, the frustration and embarrassment fueled our attempt to return as a stronger, more composed campaign this upcoming legislative session.
Can’t Convert Love MN is just the beginning of the movement to end conversion therapy on a national level. Gabe and I hope our work will inspire other youth to take a stand against the unethical practice.
Banning the use of conversion therapy on minors is not only the moral thing to do; it’s the smart thing to do. Even if you believe that being GLBTQ isn’t natural or isn’t a part of God’s plan for certain people, condemning them to a life of repression and psychological trauma should not be the answer. That is exactly what we are condoning if we allow conversion therapy to stay legal in the United States. We need to work to introduce legislation in every state that will effectively reduce and remove the number of people who are able to practice conversion therapy. Only then will we be able to begin working toward a better, more equal future for all children.
Hunky gardeners are vying to water Ellen DeGeneres' plants and trim her bushes
Why Mark Pryor is My Choice for U.S. Senate
Why Mark Pryor is My Choice for U.S. Senate
HRC Arkansas Field Organizer on what Senator Pryor is bringing to the Natural State.
HRC.org
Doctor Leaves Male Patients Feeling “Dirty And Ashamed” After Inappropriate Check-Ups
Doctor Leaves Male Patients Feeling “Dirty And Ashamed” After Inappropriate Check-Ups
“Steve” (not his real name) made an appointment to see Dr. Kelvin Thuc Minh Vo in Sydney, Australia after developing an ache in his back. What happened next, however, left him “scarred for life.”
According to the 18-year-old patient, Dr. Vo asked him a slew of inappropriate questions that were totally irrelevant to his current medical condition. The questions included whether the young man enjoyed watching pornography, if he liked “rough sex,” if he was sexually attracted to Asian men, and if he was a “giver” or “taker.”
In a follow-up visit, Steve claims Dr. Vo grabbed the young man’s crotch then propositioned him for sex. The incident, he says, left him feeling “dirty and ashamed” and led him to file an official report with the Health Care Complaint Commission.
A second alleged victim has also filed a report.
27-year-old “George” (also not his real name) claims Dr. Vo tried to perform oral sex on him during a visit in 2011. When the patient told the doctor to stop, Vo allegedly begged, “I’m prepared to give anything to you if you don’t tell anyone.”
This week, a tribunal determined that Vo had “exploited a relationship of trust with his young and vulnerable patient” and called for his medical license to be suspected for at least two years to maintain public confidence in doctors.
“We have found the practitioner to be untruthful, and can place no weight on his expressed remorse for his actions, other than his remorse for the consequences of those actions on him and his wife,” the tribunal said.
Related stories:
Monstrous “Gay Cure” Doctor On Trial For Sexually Abusing Male Patients
Doctor Diagnoses California Man With “Chronic Illness”: Being Gay
Man Checks Into Hospital For Colonoscopy, Wakes Up Wearing Lacy Lady Panties
Graham Gremore is a columnist and contributor for Queerty and Life of the Law. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter.
Graham Gremore
What To Watch This Week on TV: A Big Week For Bomer
What To Watch This Week on TV: A Big Week For Bomer
Check out our weekly guide to make sure you’re catching the big premieres, crucial episodes and the stuff you won’t admit you watch when no one’s looking.
— Politics makes strange bedfellows, but it also makes fantastic comedy. It’s the midterm elections Tuesday, and Comedy Central’s resident newsmen Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert will be following all the action live starting at 11 p.m.
Two chances to see Matt Bomer in action this week, AFTER THE JUMP …
— Fans of Hiyao Miyazaki’s gorgeous Studio Ghibli animations and Adventure Time’s fun-for-all-ages approach to cartoons should not miss Over the Garden Wall. The new miniseries has a whimsical Miyazaki vibe, and its creator, Patrick McHale, worked on Adventure Time. The first installment debuts tonight at 7 p.m. on Cartoon Network and new episodes air nightly this week. Elijah Wood and Melanie Lynskey lend their vocal talent.
— Matt Bomer makes his American Horror Story debut in this week’s twisted episode, titled “Pink Cupcakes.” Between Dandy Mott’s (Finn Wittrock) deranged antics and Stanley (Denis O’Hare)’s sinister intentions, Jupiter doesn’t seem to be any safer even if there is one less monsterous murderer around. Will Bomer make it out alive? Find out Wednesday at 10 p.m. Eastern on FX.
— That’s not your only chance to catch Bomer in action this week. The final season of White Collar makes its debut Thursday at 9 p.m. Eastern on USA.
— If you thought this season’s Real Housewives of New Jersey hit new lows with the Giudice’s legal drama, that’s nothing compared to what’s going down on Real Housewives of Atlanta. The most-watched Real Housewives franchise returns Sunday at 8 p.m. on Bravo. The cameras not only chronicle Phaedra and Apollo’s crumbling marriage, but also Apollo’s failure to report back to prison while he rampages through their home. Kandi, Kenya and, of course, the queen of all housewives NeNe Leakes also return.
What are you watching this week?
Bobby Hankinson
www.towleroad.com/2014/11/what-to-watch-this-week-on-tv-a-big-week-for-bomer.html
WHAT? EXCUSE ME? Conchita Wurst in UN call to end LGBT discrimination?
WHAT? EXCUSE ME? Conchita Wurst in UN call to end LGBT discrimination?
Here is the video that is the subject of this message – please use wisdom, and send your children out of the room before you watch this: www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-0O7DvH4DM.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=GN8zs1GYuOE&feature=youtube_gdata
