Voices against Proposition 8

From The New York Times:
It is our fervent hope that Californians will reject this mean-spirited attempt to embed second-class treatment of one group of citizens in the State Constitution.

From Google:
We hope that California voters will vote no on Proposition 8 -- we should not eliminate anyone's fundamental rights, whatever their sexuality, to marry the person they love.

From Brad Pitt quoted in the Los Angeles Times:
Because no one has the right to deny another their life, even though they disagree with it, because everyone has the right to live the life they so desire if it doesn't harm another and because discrimination has no place in America, my vote will be for equality and against Proposition 8.

From Stephen Spielberg quoted in the Los Angeles Times:
By writing discrimination into our state constitution, Proposition 8 seeks to eliminate the right of each and every citizen in our state to marry regardless of sexual orientation. Such discrimination has NO place in California's constitution, or any other.

From Ellen DeGeneres:
I’m FOR gay marriage. And in order to protect that right -- please VOTE NO on Proposition 8. And now that you’re informed, spread the word. I’m begging you. I can’t return the wedding gifts -- I love my new toaster.

From Lesbian Mommy in Southern California:
I am only one person and can only do so much. I was only able to email those with a public email address, and the No on 8 campaign volunteers are working endlessly to spread the word and secure the No on 8 vote. We still need YOUR HELP, no matter where you are in the world this is a cause that affects us all!

Read more.

Homosexuality in Cameroon

Cameroon, another place to add to the "I will not visit until it changes its laws" category.

Check out this article about a young man who was imprisoned for seven months, deprived of a trial and a sentence, rarely allowed out of his cell, and all this simply because he looked gay.

Harsh.

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Where We Are On Television - GLAAD

Check out this great report of lead, supporting, and recurring LGBT characters on network television for 2008-2009. The report includes each character's show, network, orientation, and ethnicity.

With a total of 35 LGBT characters, it's the best season ever for representation!

Read more.

Rainbow Room Launched in New Zealand Parliament

A select committee room in New Zealand's Parliament has been dedicated to gay, lesbian and transgender New Zealanders. Dubbed the Rainbow Room, it is a testament to the paths that the LGBT community have taken towards full citizenship with equal rights in the nation.

Other designated Parliament rooms are Maui Tikitiki-a-Taranga (the Maori Affairs Committee Room), the Pacific Room, the Suffrage Room, and the Asia Room.

Well done, New Zealand!

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California - No On Prop 8 Television Ad

This is the first TV ad from No On Prop 8 which features parents Julia and Sam Thoron offering a message about their gay daughter, whose right to marry the person she loves will be eliminated if Proposition 8 passes in California.



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Neil Patrick Harris at the 2008 Emmy Awards

Last night's on E!'s Emmy Red Carpet show hosted by Ryan Seacrest, openly gay nominee Neil Patrick Harris, who plays Barney Stinson on CBS’s How I Met Your Mother introduced his partner David Burtka as "my better half, David."

Harris ended up losing out to Entourage's Jeremy Piven in their Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series category, but way to represent and further normalize us, gay men, in front of millions of viewers worldwide!

Thanks Neil. You're grrrrrrrreat!

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Homophobia unites foes in Bosnia

Certain Muslims, Serbs, and Croats in Bosnia have united against the country's first-ever gay festival, which opens this week in Sarajevo, with many declaring homosexuality an illness and some even encouraging death to gays and lesbians in the nation.

Gross. One grain of hope, I suppose, is that the leader of Bosnia's Islamic community did urge tolerance among the faithful.

Tiny baby steps. Happy Pride Bosnia!

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Election race - in Canada

In comparison to the fiery US election race, the Canadian one seems at first glance like somewhat of a minor spark in North America's political landscape. But let's not allow the American situation to obscure the fact that Canada is in serious trouble. Current leader Stephen Harper has been waging relentless assaults on the natural environment, the arts, women's rights, urban development, and, unsurprisingly, gay rights.

And these are just tips of icebergs. Check out my amazing fellow blogger at Slap Upside The Head for continuing, witty, and astute commentary on, among other things, the mishaps of Stephen Harper's scary government.

And remember -Vote Against Stephen Harper on October 14!

NO on Proposition 8 in California

Thanks Julie.

I'm encouraging all Californians to vote NO on Proposition 8 in a few weeks. Yes, I'm not in California. Yes, I'm not even in the United States. But everyone can support freedom, equality, and fairness worldwide.

If passed Proposition 8 would amend the California Constitution with a new section that would read "only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California."

We are all in this together, so NO on Proposition 8.

You can also join the fight in the effort to strike down Prop 8 by joining the NO on Prop 8 web pages on MySpace and FaceBook.

Gay Unsafe Sex - posi+ive, by Brian Gonzalez (repost)

Not for the faint of heart, Posi+ive depicts one gay man's brief recollection of the night he contracted AIDS. It was directed by Brian Gonzalez in 2005 and features the song, "From a Shell," written and performed by Lisa Germano.

I decided to repost the video because of the continued alarming HIV infection rate for young men and women across the globe.

What more to say...

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Faith, not State Recognizes Gay Marriage in Australia

Three progressive rabbis in Australia have agreed to conduct the marriage ceremony for two gay Jewish men in Sydney.

The couple will wed under the traditional Jewish chuppah, exchange rings, say blessings over cups of wine, and break a glass.

Mazal tov!
B'hatzlacha!
And thank goodness for more progress in Australia!

Read more.

Olympic gold medalist diver Matthew Mitcham gets a stamp of approval from Australia Post

Now Australians can post their mail with a fancy new stamp featuring openly gay Olympic gold medalist diver Matthew Mitcham!

Way to send a positive message Australia Post! And way to undermine the Australian government's continued resistance to same-sex equality in the nation.

Aussies, send those stamped letters across the globe!

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Gay Travels in the Muslim World - Michael Luongo

While horror stories against gay people living in the Middle East continue to make headlines, not all gay experiences in the Muslim world are nightmarish. In his anthology 'Gay Travels in the Muslim World,' Michael Luongo compiled stories of loving, fulfilling same-sex relationships in places where one might least expect them to occur.

We forget, especially if we do not have the fortune to experience other worlds, that those other worlds are neither monolithic nor necessarily well represented by mainstream media headlines.

Luongo's book hits at least one big nail on the head by demonstrating that while homosexual desire and acts in Western influenced nations are the very foundation of a person who identifies as 'gay,' those same acts in parts of the Islamic world are simply that, acts that people do, but that are not the driving forces in determining one's identity.

In other words, all kinds of same-sex relationships can flourish across the globe and from these relationships we can perhaps learn more and maybe question how and where we place ourselves in the spectrum of identity.

Provocative work.

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Myra Breckinridge - Female on Male Rape

There is oh so much to learn, and I am taking you back a few decades for this post since I only recently became aware of the 1970 film Myra Breckinridge, which is based on the 1968 satirical novel by Gore Vidal and features Raquel Welch in the title role.

Watch what happens in this clip that shows, among other things, Myra (Welch) tying up a young man, Rusty Godowski (Roger Herren), to an examination table.



Shocking and wild to say the least. Apparently, this was the first representation of non statutory female on male rape in mainstream American film as well as one of the relatively few examples in general of the cinematic sexual objectification of a straight white male.

Learn more.

eXpression! New Gay and Lesbian Magazine in Hawaii

eXpression! is a lifestyle and entertainment magazine that aims to inspire readers by covering stories highlighting positive contributions to Hawaii's LGBT community.

Hawaii continues to be one of my very favorite places in the whole wide world. It's where I look 'local,' where no one asks me where I am from or how long I am staying, and where I can disappear and feel the sometimes ponderous veil of visible difference lifted from my consciousness.

Hang loose, read more.

Open Polis - Security Forces in Italy come out

Gay members of Italy's police, the paramilitary Carabinieri, tax police, army, and air force will launch their own association in Bologna on 26 September 2008.

A key goal of the Open Polis association is to change attitudes towards gay men and women in the security forces and set up groups to train colleagues in handling crimes against gays.

A great move which comes at the same time that Italy has established a friendship and cooperation agreement with Libya in which Italy will invest $200 million a year during the next 25 years in infrastructure projects in its former colony to apparently redeem itself for decades of military occupation.

Colonizing another nation - $5 billion
Coming out in your country's security forces - priceless

Read more.