Saturday Night Live skewers Sochi just in time for Olympic games

When  I saw this SNL Weekend Update moment on the Sochi Olympics, I felt kinda guilty because I laughed my ass off. However, in lieu of recent derogatory comments made by the mayor of Sochi regarding gays not being in his town (and a reader who reminded me of the SNL Weekend Update moment), I figured what the hell:

'Right-wing media throw hissy fit over marriages at Grammy awards' and other Monday midday news briefs

Right-Wing Media Freak Out Over Same-Sex Marriages At The Grammys - Another bit of proof that the performance was a smashing success. Just one of the comments:

Doesn't Fox News's Todd Starnes remind you of a stereotypically sexually repressed character from a 1970s motion picture who would get caught in an unusually compromising situation at the ending?

Kansas And South Dakota Consider ‘Licenses To Discriminate’ Against Same-Sex Couples - It will ultimately fail in the courts (I hope) but until then, these laws promises to cause the lgbt community a lot of trouble.

 Jason Collins to attend State of the Union - Sweeeet! Now can some basketball team please employ this young man.  

This week: Two state marriage rallies to feature extreme speakers - And they swear they don't know why they are losing.

 Sochi Mayor Says There Are No Gay People In His City - Translation - "boy does my city suck. why is the Lord punishing me by sticking me in this boring place."

Macklemore & Lewis's Grammy performance inspires our children

Without question, the most memorable moment last night at the Grammys was Macklemore & Lewis's performance of "Same Love" (accompanied by Mary Lambert, Queen Latifah, and Madonna) when 34 gay and heterosexual couples were married. Never mind what the anti-gay right will say. Their outrage is predictable.

But some folks on our side have whined about "publicity stunts" and such. I say "hush up already." Now usually, I'm one for condemning the seemingly mixture of lgbt culture and the fascination with celebrity.

However in this case, I am making a huge exception. For all of the possibly justifiable faults, the one thing which stands out for me about this performance is its potential.  In many places in America and the world, some lgbt child watched that performance and probably realized that in spite of all of the lies, ugly words and hate he/she has to endure from some people, the happy ending of love with that special someone is still possible.

You would be surprised how that one thing, which may seem insignificant in the face of all of the whining about a "publicity stunt," is probably the most powerful and enduring thing of all.

Editor's note - just in case the above video gets pulled from youtube, see it here on Buzzfeed.

'How I nearly quit blogging today but changed my mind' and other Friday midday news briefs

After over seven years of blogging, I finally ran into a post which made me contemplate chucking the entire thing: 

C-SPAN becomes latest outlet to give Tony Perkins an undeserved, egregious pass - From my blogging pal Jeremy Hooper came this post about how Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council was able to appear on C-SPAN, give the visage of innocence, and swear (without the courtesy of lightning striking) how organizations like his doesn't engage in "inciting rhetoric." And boom! An epiphany struck me square in the heart. What in the hell have I been doing these seven and a half years. I'm 43-years-old and feel like I have been digging in a desert because sometimes it seems that my efforts to address anti-gay propaganda is doing no good. I don't do this stuff for free. I do it because it's a way that I feel that I can contribute to the lgbt community - in tribute to those who have been hurt by these lies in the past and in pursuit of a future in which our lgbt children can make good choices about their lies unencumbered with folks setting land mines on their self-esteem. It's not enough for me to blog about any old thing. I have to be accomplishing something, putting something down that the entire lgbt community can use. And I swear sometimes I feel like I am getting absolutely NOWHERE when folks like Perkins can get away with stuff like this.

 I appreciate my readers and those who support me but it's a DRAG when I realize how those who have more power to address the issue of anti-gay propaganda DO NOT address the issue. But then we get caught up in issues like should Tom Daily and Dustin Lance Black should be dating. Sorry but I could care less who is dating who. But I do care when someone in my church repeats a lie that a pro-gay law will lead to pedophilia because a "Christian spokesman" on a news program said so. And sometimes I feel like the master of a dead art because very few people in our community seem to be interested in studying how these anti-gay groups operate  instead of simply calling them "bigots" and making lewd comments about their body parts on Facebook.

So I was going to pull the Yoda trick from Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith and retire in seclusion, hoping that one day someone would get where I was coming from. But then I remembered that a family trait of mine is a certain stubbornness in that we never like to stop a task before we finish it. In plain English, it would stick in my craw if I were to stop now before I could get to the point where I am satisfied enough to say "I've done my duty." So I decided that I will do something probably fruitless but spiritually satisfying (keep reading below):

How They See Us: Unmasking the Religious Right War on Gay America - This link will take you to the exact adobe acrobat copy of my booklet. NOT a webpage that will allow you to read it or download it but the copy of the booklet itself. I've been pushing this booklet for over a year now so many of you are probably tired of it, but it's important. Years from now when it's all said and done, people are going to want to know the real story of lgbt equality, as well as anti-gay propaganda and oppression. Who knows? Maybe this book can give them the answer. At any rate, if you haven't read it yet, now you don't have to go through so many changes to read it. And if you have read it, you can email it to others, maybe perhaps some legislators (hint, hint.)

In other news (if I haven't driven you nuts already):

Focus On The Family: Nondiscrimination Protections Discriminate Against Christians - Yes it doesn't make sense but this IS Focus on the Family we are talking about.

How To Write About Transgender People - A lesson we ALL need to learn.

Sabrina Franco, 4 Year Old, Pens Letter Asking Australian Prime Minister To Legalize Gay Marriage - On the subject of marriage equality, the children seem to always make more sense than the adults.

Jon Stewart presents . . .The 2014 Sochi Homophobic Olympics

How in the world did I miss this? Jon Stewart calls out worldwide homophobia in relation to the upcoming Sochi Games as only he can in his irrepressible style.

NOM's Brian Brown wants to impeach VA attorney general for support of marriage equality

I'm such a bad boy for enjoying this but I can't help myself.

One of the delights of the recent announcement of VA's Attorney General Mark Herring's recent announcement that he will be fighting against the state's ban on marriage equality is the reaction of anti-gay groups.

Particularly the National Organization for Marriage, whose president, Brian Brown, threw a hissy fit and called for Herring's impeachment:

Virginia gives Brian Brown something to weep about.

"The Attorney General swore an oath that he would 'support...the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Virginia' and faithfully discharge his duties, which include defending duly enacted laws like the state's marriage amendment," said Brian Brown, NOM's president. "Yet now Attorney General Herring is participating in a lawsuit against the very people he is sworn to represent, the citizens of Virginia who preserved marriage in their constitution. This malfeasance and neglect of duty is not only a disgrace, it's an impeachable offense under the constitution."

Nice try, Bri-Bri, but according to Think Progress, Herring's decision is not without precedent:

The oath of office for the Attorney General of Virginia — which Herring took earlier this month — includes a solemn vows first to “support the constitution of the United States” and second to support “the constitution of the Commonwealth of Virginia.” Article VI, Clause 2 of the United States Constitution makes clear that the federal constitution takes precedence over state constitutions — so when the two are in conflict, it is absolutely up to the Attorney General to make that decision. As the person duly elected to make that judgment, Herring, rather than an un-elected lobbyist or state legislators who choose to ignore the federal constitution’s supremacy, is exactly the person tasked by Virginia’s citizenry with determining which laws to defend.

Moreover, two recent Republican Attorneys General of Virginia — both Family Foundation favorites who had the support of Howell and Marshall — also made clear that they would not defend what they believed to be unconstitutional. In 2003, then-Attorney General Jerry Kilgore joined dozens of his counterparts from other states in signing a brief claiming that he was duty bound to challenge any statute he believed be unconstitutional. A year later, the Family Foundation’s Cobb donated to his gubernatorial campaign and she even served on one of his advisory boards.

Herring’s immediate predecessor, Ken Cuccinelli II, also refused to defend laws he deemed unconstitutional. Last year, one of his spokesmen noted, “If the attorney general’s analysis shows that a law is unconstitutional, he has a legal obligation to not defend it.” Indeed in 2009, Cuccinelli himself said in a debate, “I will not defend what I, in my judgment, deem to be an unconstitutional law.” “If I determine it not to be constitutional,” he explained then, “I will not defend it. My first obligation is to the Constitution and the people of Virginia.”

Don't you just love it when members of the anti-gay right throw useless tantrums. Maybe we will be lucky the next time things go our way. Perhaps Brown will threaten to hold his breath.

'NOM ally REALLY despises same-sex families' and other Thursday midday news briefs

Lopez

Robert Oscar López remains hopeful that kids of gays will grow up to resent them - Meet and familiarize yourselves with Robert Oscar Lopez. He is allegedly a bisexual man who was raised in a same-sex households. And one more thing - he absolutely DESPISES same-sex households. He isn't that well known but pretty soon he probably will be. The National Organization for Marriage and other anti-gay groups will no doubt be utilizing his "services" to the fullest in order to demonize same-sex families.

Lopez has also:

-- Equated same-sex adoption with "cultural genocide once used against blacks and Indians": "The gay community is now entirely allied to the cultural genocide practices once used against blacks and Indians, since they are determined to say that, in the words of Nancy Polikoff, genetics doesn't matter as long as an adoptive couple can sway the powers that be to award them children. It all feels new and shiny to the gay community, because to them it's a way to overcome past inequality. But they are repeating the same genocidal practices of the past."

-- Without any evidence, claimed that the late Tyler Clementi probably "had liaisons with men who were older than eighteen and committing statutory rape."

-- Slurred same-sex parents as "slavers buying children from poor surrogate mums overseas": "The testimonials from happy children of same-sex couples are obviously handpicked and staged to maximize the value of propaganda, but a gullible populace won't ask what isn't being printed or broadcast. A gullible populace prefers ingesting whatever is printed or broadcast. 'Love' is a meaningless mantra, like 'nobody is really listening to your phone calls' or "we need drones for national security purposes" out of the mouth of Obama; but in a country where people are swayed by Obama's silky voice, why would people not be swayed by gay couples saying, 'we aren't slavers buying children from poor surrogate mums overseas, we love our kids'?

In other news: 

Harvey: 'Gays Are All Closeted Heterosexuals' - Girlfriend, have I got news for you . . .  

Nigeria: Thousands of protesters throw stones into court urging executions of gay men - Simply barbaric! 

Indiana GOP Leader Moves Failing Marriage Equality Ban To More Conservative Committee (UPDATE) - Thus saith the Lord: Thou shalt do underhanded sneaky stuff when you can't get your way through fair means.  

"Transgender Dysphoria Blues" Is Proof That Rock Still Matters - Love this post!

Virginia attorney general will fight against marriage equality ban

Herring

In Virginia comes a reminder to the lgbt community how important it is to vote.  Just a year ago,  state officials were hostile to the idea of marriage equality.  After last year's election in which Democrats swept into high office, a new administration is embracing the idea. This includes a new attorney general who has publicly vowed to fight the anti-marriage equality law.

From the Washington Post:

Virginia Attorney General Mark R. Herring will announce Thursday that he believes the state’s ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional and that Virginia will join two same-sex couples in asking a federal court to strike it down, according to an official close to the attorney general with knowledge about the decision.

The action will mark a stunning reversal in the state’s legal position on same-sex marriage and is a result of November elections in which Democrats swept the state’s top offices. Herring’s predecessor, Republican Ken Cuccinelli II, adamantly opposes gay marriage and had vowed to defend Virginia’s constitutional amendment banning such unions, which was passed in 2006 with the support of 57 percent of voters.

No doubt anti-gay groups aren't exactly happy over this news and we will be hearing their nonsense momentarily.

Matt Barber wishes America would pass laws against the lgbt community

No matter how many times anti-gay groups and their spokespeople express desires for it it, what's happening to the lgbt community in Russia isn't going to happen to us here in America.

But it's still a drag to hear them make such a wish:

"(Homosexuality) is a very dangerous lifestyle that countries like Russia are, in addition to reestablishing and saying no, marriage is what it's always been, they're saying additionally we are going to stop this homosexual activist propaganda from corrupting children in our nation and we need to see that right here in the United States." - Matt Barber of the Liberty Counsel and "dean" at Liberty University
  
Related post - If Matt Barber hates gay sex so much, then why does he keep talking about it?

'Fox News silent on anti-gay abuses, laws in foreign countries' & other Wednesday midday news briefs

REPORT: Fox News Silent On Anti-Gay Human Rights Crises - It's relatively easy for us to be blase about Fox News' lack of journalistic integrity but something like this goes beyond the pale. Coupled with the fact that Fox News also gives anti-gay group leaders wide berths in unchallenged interviews and is the home of a propaganda artist who constantly spins lies about anti-Christian persecution (Todd Starnes), I take solace in how this network will be remembered by future generations. It won't be a good legacy to have.

New Online Safe Space for Kids with LGBTQ Parents - Excellent idea for a blog meets the needs of a group the anti-gay right will ignore and our groups don't mention enough. 

 Nevada Conservatives To Ninth Circuit: Marriage Equality Is Just Like White Supremacy - You have to admit that this is one hell of a bull@%$! argument against marriage equality.  

Utah Gay Couple Seeking Parenting Rights Joins Lawsuit Against State - Even better. 

 Hiding behind the 'hate' label - A lesson on rhetoric. When anti-gay groups and their supporters say that they don't "hate" lgbts, we need to remind them that we don't care whether they do or don't. It's not about hatred, but their ignorance and their false sense of entitlement in that they feel they are entitled to dictate what makes a family or how they flaunt their deliberate ignorance about lgbt lives and expect not to be called on it.

Anti-gay legislator Sally Kern's rhetoric can't get her over in debate

Oklahoma legislator Sally Kern is infamous for her anti-gay statements, including saying that lgbts are more dangerous than terrorist, claiming that we are destroying the nation, and recently saying that homosexuality is a "civil wrong."

All in all, she represents the danger of someone who reads and processes anti-gay propaganda. However in a recent debate on News Channel 4′s Flashpoint, Scott Hamilton, Executive Director of the Cimarron Alliance Equality Center, demonstrated what happens when we match such nonsense with intelligence instead of cries of "bigot."

Hat tip to Truth Wins Out.

50 African-American lgbts of color you NEED to be aware of

The lgbt identity is a multicultural, multi-ethnic, multinational identity. It's not just about Ellen DeGeneres, Neil Patrick Harris, or LOGO. Nor is it just about Stonewall, New York, California, or ACT-UP. LGBT history is so diversified, so dynamic, and so embedded in the history of the world that I get angry when I realize how sometimes the community gets so fixated on one thing that we forget the full richness that our people have brought to the world. So do yourself a favor. After watching this video, do some research on the lives of these lgbts of color.

'Bakery found to have discriminated against same-sex couple' & other Tuesday midday news briefs

Oregon Bakery Found To Have Unlawfully Discriminated Against Same-Sex Couple - Secular businesses have no business discriminating against customers. Religious beliefs have no bearing on secular businesses because that way, you can pull the "religious beliefs" argument to justify so many forms of discrimination.

Glenn Beck: If you hate gays, you 'have no place calling yourself a fan of mine' - Except if your name is David Barton, Rabbi Daniel Lappin, etc., etc.

 An Open Letter: From a Gay, to America - PREACH! It's how I feel a lot of times. 

 Six Couples File Suit Challenging Florida's Gay Marriage Ban - Boom! I love this!  

Here's Why The Idea Of 'Traditional Marriage' Is Total Bullsh*t - Not a headline I like but the article is very appropriate.  

Bill to Ban ‘Ex-Gay’ Therapy on Minors Formally Announced In Virginia - Way go to, New Jersey!

Peter LaBarbera tries to claim that Martin Luther King, Jr was anti-gay

After two posts fantasizing writing about gay sex, anti-gay activist Peter LaBarbera has switched to a different tone, one a bit more insulting:

I saw this on Twitter tonight. The conservative news site Hawaii Free Press identifies the Ebony issue in which this advice column by Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. appeared as January 1958.  HFP, citing CNN, offers the full Q &A with King, which we have reprinted under the graphic. – Peter LaBarbera, AFTAH:

 

I would caution my lgbt brothers and sisters to use discretion AND their intellects before getting their tempers up and saying things from the hip.

For one, remember this was a different time in America and King died before the lgbt movement for equality was in full swing. He was assassinated before Stonewall  and also before the American Psychiatric Association declared homosexuality not to be a mental illness.

And even if you want to discount that, remember this is Peter LaBarbera we are talking about. Like so many other anti-gay activists, once he gets something he can construe to be against homosexuality, he will exploit it without taking the time to see the big picture.

And if one would take a look at the 2012 CNN article, one would see that there is a lot more to the story of King's column:

The CNN article said that this was the only time King spoke about the morality of homosexuality. However, his feelings about lgbt equality wasn't known. That's interesting in light of the fact that one of his closest allies at the time, Bayard Rustin - the man who organized the 1963 March on Washington - was openly gay.

And speaking of MLK and Rustin, the article goes into long detail about the relationship between the two and how King resisted calls to dismiss Rustin from the 1963 March on Washington because of his sexual orientation.

Lastly, keep this in mind from the CNN article:

Ravi Perry, a political science professor at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, said King’s widow once said in a public speech that everyone who believed in her husband’s dream should “make room at the table of brother and sisterhood for lesbian and gay people.”

There is no private or public record of King condemning gay people, Perry says. Even the FBI’s surveillance of King’s private phone conversations didn’t turn up any moment where King disparaged gay people, she says.“If Dr. King were anti-gay, there would likely be a sermon, a speech, a recording of some kind indicating such,” she says. “And knowing how closely his phones were tapped; surely there would be a record of such statements.”

King was more than a  civil rights leader. He was more than just a man who made a "I Have  A Dream" speech. He was a trailblazer who stood up for simple right and wrong no matter the consequences. A lot of folks don't remember that King was one of the first prominent leaders to speak against the war in Vietnam. He lost a lot of popularity for it but stood his ground because he recognized the futility of that war.

And I have a feeling that if King had been alive during the birth of the modern lgbt equality movement, he would have been recognized the inherent goodness of our cause - to have ourselves and our families be treated equally under the law - and would have spoken in favor of our cause. 

Anti-gay group exploits MLK holiday with bogus, bought-and-paid for black leaders

Based upon this blog post gleaned by Goodasyou's Jeremy Hooper, it's obvious why anti-gay groups like the National Organization for Marriage are always accusing the lgbt community of exploiting the African-American Civil Rights Movement.

It diverts attention away from when THEY exploit it. In this blog post, NOM conveniently omits the fact that two of the pastors listed - Bill Owens and Harry Jackson are "bought-and-paid for. Bill Owens and his wife Deborah received $20,000 from NOM while Harry Jackson also received $20,000 as well as other monies funneled to a DC organization he led. And of course NOM omitted any talk of its cynical strategy of creating a division between the black and lgbt community.

And the sad irony? In spite of all Owens said about being involved in the African-American Civil Rights Movement, those genuinely involved in the movement have called into question claims about his actual involvement. However, it was discovered that Owens has several ties to Republican and right-wing organizations.

Lastly, I would lose all of my gay points if I did not point out that the event NOM especially exploits, the 1963 March on Washington, was planned, coordinated, and executed by an openly gay black man -  Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient Bayard Rustin (Editor's note - damn, those last seven words felt so good to write!)

According to Hooper, NOM eliminated this post and who can blame the organization? It has to be most tasteless exploitation of Dr. Martin Luther King's birthday holiday known to man - and I don't mean that as a euphemism.

Know Your LGBT History - That Certain Summer

That Certain Summer (1972), an ABC Movie of the Week, has been called the first one of the first movies to deal with homosexuality with a sympathetic tone.

From Wikipedia:

Divorced San Francisco contractor Doug Salter is looking forward to a summer visit from his fourteen-year-old son Nick, who lives in Los Angeles with his mother Janet. What the boy doesn't know is that his father is gay and committed to Gary McClain, his life partner of several years, who opts to move out temporarily in order to keep Nick's possible suspicions at bay. When he finds evidence of his father's secret life, the teen — filled with shame and disgust — runs away. Once reunited with his son, Doug attempts to explain his sexual orientation to him, with decidedly mixed results.

Seeing that it was 1972 when it premiered, I found the movie to be highly dated, particularly the stilted way Holbrook explains his homosexuality to his son. That Certain Summer received a lot of critical acclaim and nominated for seven Emmys. However, it only won one of the nominations (Jacoby for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in Drama). In 1998, That Certain Summer received a Producer Guild of America Hall of Fame Award.

Those interested in this movie can view it on youtube .

Past Know Your LGBT History Posts:

'Post about black gay fathers and their children goes super viral' and other Friday midday news briefs

The story of this family's photo has gone super viral!

Kordale And Kaleb, Gay Black Fathers, Respond To Twitter Outrage Over Instagram Photos - The story I posted about the two gay black fathers yesterday has exploded and gone super viral. Today, the couple issues a statement to the Huffington Post and included more pictures of their adorable family. I say good! We need to see more gay black fathers in the media.  It amazes me how this story has caused such a reaction. I think it hit so many nerves for a lot of folks in terms of race, gender, and of course sexual orientation. And let's not forget that it totally annihilated the negative religious right lie about same-sex families.

25 Beautiful Photos Of Queer Men Of Color That Will Make You Believe In Love Again - And speaking of lgbt men of color couples . . .  

'Duck Dynasty' Ratings Are Down Dramatically From Last Season - I'm not necessarily gloating here. Just pointing out how the religious right tends to overreact when they have a victory. When this controversy died last year, anti-gay organizations and spokespeople practically stood on mountaintops proclaiming the so-called "end of gay bullying" and a backlash to the push for lgbt equality. That backlash died real quick-like.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni Opposes Anti-Gay Bill - Don't start celebrating. He doesn't exactly do us any favors when he talks about why he doesn't support that awful bill.  

How Marriage Equality Opponents’ Three National Strategies All Contradict Each Other - As if these folks care.

Anti-gay activist Peter LaBarbera goes overboard talking about 'gay sex' (again)

LaBarbera

Peter LaBarbera's penchant for vulgar talk  and pictures disguised as giving the "truth" about the lgbt community at times exhaust the hell out of me.

Most of the time, I laugh his homophobia off. Other times, I take the role of a parent chastizing an ignorant child.

This is the time where I feel like the latter. He posted the following on his webpage today:

Warning: Homosexual Perversion Described

AFTAH has cited this quote before by homosexual writer Jack Hart. Here it is in a stand-alone post for easy searching on the web. From his book Gay Sex: A Manual for Men who Love Men [a future pose will reprint Hart's entry on "rimming"]:

“Sexually Transmitted Disease

“(An illness commonly spread by sexual activity also known as STD, venereal disease, or VD.)

“Many sexual transmitted diseases (STDs) occur more often among gay men than in the general population. Several factors contribute to this difference: Gay men have the opportunity to engage in sex with more people than do most heterosexual men, and some practices common among gays–especially rimming [oral-anal perversion*] and anal intercourse–are highly efficient ways of transmitting disease….”

__________________

*Hart describes “rimming” in his item on this repulsive homosexual sex act as follows: “Orally stimulating, exploring, and massaging a partner’s anus with the tongue, scientifically known as anilingus.” AFTAH will post his full (and horrifying) entry on “Rimming” shortly.

Source: Hart, Jack, Gay Sex: A Manual for Men who Love Men (Revised & Updated, Second edition, October 1998). Published by Alyson Books (Los Angeles, New York), pages 194, 212-213.

I am so sure that LaBarbera will go into much "detail" about the practice of "rimming." However, here is something he won't tell you.

That practice is not a sex act done by gay men alone. LaBarbera won't tell you that "rimming" is a sex act performed by heterosexuals.

And he won't tell you that there is even a heterosexual genre in porn devoted to it. You can see the titles here and here.  (Editor's note - The links I include merely contains title names and not any pictures. However, during my research, I did run into a heterosexual paysite which includes pictures - and I'm not even going to talk about the salad dressing. I only provided a link to it for perpetuity. I wouldn't click on it if I were you.)

Geez, Peter. Where will it end?  Doctored pictures of gay Congressmen, huge pictures of STDs (see this link on LaBarbera's webpage at your own risk), and now it has come to this - attacking gay men for a sex act which is also done by heterosexuals. 

I find it ironically hilarious that this man has at times cast the lgbt community as "intolerant bullies" out to supposedly silence Christians. LaBarbera claims that we are the "real haters" because we won't allow him to get away with attacks on us.

 LaBarbera swishes back and forth between offering up Biblical verses about the so-called sin of homosexuality to posting lurid pictures and descriptions of alleged gay sexual acts with the fervor of a Venus and Serena Williams tennis match.

And he claims that he does this because he "loves" us.

Who the hell is he trying to kid?

However, even as we are justified in poking fun at LaBarbera, we can't forget the semantics behind what he is doing. It's a crude, unsophisticated version of the attacks launched on our community by organizations such as the Family Research Council or the National Organization for Marriage, i.e. keep actual information about lgbts out of the picture while pushing awfully lurid images into the minds of those not familiar with who we are.

The methods of these organizations are a bit more high-brow than that of LaBarbera, but in the end, it's all the same thing.

A reliance on fear and ignorance shielded by a false sense of Christian entitlement.

SC legislator files bill letting gay couples file joint tax returns

Rutherford

With nationwide momentum moving towards marriage equality, you really don't expect us folks in South Carolina to be left out, do you:

State Rep. Todd Rutherford, D-Richland, has filed a bill -- H.4461 -- that would allow legally married same-sex couples file joint state tax returns.

Same-sex marriage is illegal in South Carolina. But it is legal in 16 states and the District of Columbia. And the federal government officially recognizes those marriages even if they live in a state -- like South Carolina -- where gay marriage is illegal, allowing them to file joint federal tax returns.

The state Department of Revenue has proposed a rule that would require legally married same-sex couples in South Carolina to file separate state tax returns.

"Requiring legally married same-sex couples to file excess paperwork and additional tax forms is not only discriminatory, but it is a waste of time and tax dollars," Rutherford said in a news release. "By putting this additional burden on legally married couples, the state of South Carolina is intentionally creating bureaucratic red tape for political purposes. It simply isn't right and it is our responsibility to change this discriminatory policy."

Rutherford also filed a bill -- H.4460 -- that would ask voters to approve a constitutional amendment that would repeal South Carolina's same-sex marriage ban. Voters overwhelmingly approved the same-sex marriage ban in 2006.

Read more here: http://www.thestate.com/2014/01/16/3210593/state-house-rep-todd-rutherford.html#storylink=cpy

'Photo of gay black couple & their children causes twitter freakout' and other Thursday midday news briefs

Photo of black gay couple getting their kids ready for school caused twitter freakout.

Photo of black gay fathers causes Black Twitter to overreact. But why? - A photo of a black gay couple getting their children ready for school apparently caused some black folks on twitter to overreact. Now before you all start about "homophobia in the black community," please be advised that it's rare to see this sort of thing in the lgbt community in general. I mean I adore seeing pictures of Neil Patrick Harris's family but let's diversify a bit. The overreaction is probably partly due to homophobia and partly due to the unfortunate invisibility of lgbts of color in both the black and gay communities. And just whose fault is that? 

Churches campaign against possible fairness ordinance in Danville - And the lies never die.

 Arizona Lawmaker Proposes Religious ‘License To Discriminate’ Against LGBT People - Here we go again.
 
Publix Ordered to Pay Cake Decorator $100,000 for Firing Him Because He's Gay - Publix's explanation for the firing sounded shady to me too.  

Family Research Council now agrees: Gay couples form loving relationships - The miracle of the day, with a caveat of course.  

Sally Kern Slams Oklahoma Gay Marriage Ruling: 'Homosexuality Is Not A Civil Right' - Poor Oklahoma legislator Sally Kern. She is all upset that an Oklahoma judge has ruled for marriage equality.