Let the fun begin! The Grammy Awards are well known for organizing
surprise collaborations between huge artists in the music industry, and
this year is no exception. Madonna and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis will be taking the stage together at the Staples Center in L.A. for the 2014 Grammys, sources confirm to Us Weekly.
Category Archives: Gay Marriage
Lisa Vanderpump and Proposition Love Jewelry
Proposition Love, a fine jewelry company that caters to LGBT couples will be featured on episode #18 of Bravo’s “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills,” Tuesday, March 17th on at 9pm EDT/PDT.
Newly ordained minister and “housewife” Lisa Vanderpump officiates her first-ever wedding ceremony in the garden of her new restaurant/lounge PUMP in West Hollywood with Bravo camera’s capturing every exciting moment of partners Magno Salva and Dominic Pierson’s memorable moment.
As the national LGBT marriage debate goes before the U.S. Supreme Court for a final decision this June, Proposition Love designed and donated rings and had the honor of presenting them to the couple on their wedding day. Sam Street and Jonathan Tack, founders of Proposition Love Jewelry, collaborated with Lisa Vanderpump to create the wedding rings for the first ceremony she was to officiate.
“Today I had the honour of officiating my first wedding at PUMP, beautiful couple entitled to equal rights. An emotional exquisite day! #LGBT” – Lisa Vanderpump @LisaVanderpump
Vanderpump worked with Street and Tack for weeks on the design of the rings, an interlocking motif crafted in white gold, symbolizing the love between newlyweds Dominic and Magno and the joining of their lives together.
Street commented “It was such an honor to design rings for Dominic and Magno’s special day as well as attending their beautiful ceremony. Lisa Vanderpump was the icing on the “wedding” cake. She is such a great advocate for our community.”
Prior to the wave of marriage equality sweeping the country, Street and Tack were married in California in 2008, as they couldn’t marry in their home state of New York. They are one of the 18,000 couples married during the short window of time before Prop 8 went into effect ending marriage equality in California.
Added Tack, “It’s encouraging to see support for marriage equality spreading nationwide and now finally before the Supreme Court; unlike when we were married six years ago in San Francisco’s City Hall.”
In preparation for the Supreme Court ruling, Proposition Love Jewelry created a video celebrating LOVE is LOVE with newlyweds Dominic and Magno, along with models Murray Swanby and Noah Wright and directed by Brad Hammer. The video can be viewed at: PropositionLove.com.
Same Sex Parents Having Biological Babies
Researchers from Cambridge University have found that it is possible to make a baby using the skin cells of parents of the same sex.
A stem cell research breakthrough has revealed that in just two years same-sex couples could have their own biological children.
Researchers from Cambridge University have discovered that it is possible to make a baby using skin cells of parents of the same sex.
The researchers have shown, for the first time, that human egg and sperm cells can be made from stem cells in the skin of two adults. They have stated that the technique could mean same-sex couples could have babies in just two years.
see more at PINK NEWS
Lance Bass Loves Michael Gay Wedding on TV
Lance Bass and Michael Turchin’s Road to the Altar—
We can’t think of a better way to kick off the month of love!
This Thursday, FEBRUARY 5th, you are invited to the historical wedding of Lance Bass and Michael Turchin in a 90-minute E! special at 8:00pm, Lance Loves Michael: The Lance Bass Wedding.
It is going to be the first time an American television network is broadcasting a celebrity wedding between two men and will be star-studded, over-the-top and amazing! Make sure your tissues are close by.
The adorable duo’s romance started in January of 2011, and they were engaged by September of 2013! From red carpet events, tropical vacations and sweet candid moments, we’ve rounded up the very best of their photos together over the years!
Same Sex Love and the Military
US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, joined by wife Lilibet, sent out a holiday message earlier this month, that featured an image of sailor Jerrel Revels’ proposal to his boyfriend Dylan Kirchner back in 2013. This is the first year EVER, LGBT service members have appeared! YES! WE ARE EQUAL! Watch the message.
Lance Bass, Elton John Get Married
After 3 years together Lance Bass married his man Michael Turchin!
When asked to describe his wedding, the one word Lance Bass likes to use the most is “unique.”
“There were a lot of things we wanted to add into this wedding that are very unique,” the former ‘NSYNC member tells PEOPLE of his Dec. 20 wedding to artist Michael Turchin.
Just days before they headed down the aisle, the loving couple gushed to PEOPLE about every detail of the festivities, which will be televised as part of an E! special, Lance Loves Michael: The Lance Bass Wedding, airing Feb. 5 at 8 p.m. ET.
Source PEOPLE.
In other wedding news….Sir Elton John and his partner David Furnish have formally converted their civil partnership to a marriage – with the musician documenting the day on the Instagram website.
The couple have been hosting a ceremony at their Windsor estate in Berkshire with a number of stars in attendance.
David and Victoria Beckham, musician Ed Sheeran and actor David Walliams were among the guests.
Mr Furnish and Sir Elton, who have two sons, became civil partners in 2005.
Lisa Vanderpump and Gay Weddings in West Hollywood
How would you like the ever fabulous Lisa Vanderpump to officiate your wedding?
Newly ordained minister and Bravo TV Star Lisa Vanderpump recently officiated her inaugural same sex wedding ceremony in the garden of her new restaurant/lounge PUMP in West Hollywood.
Proposition Love, a fine jewelry company, designed and donated the rings and had the honor of presenting them to the couple on their wedding day. Sam Street and Jonathan Tack, founders of Proposition Love Jewelry, collaborated with Lisa Vanderpump to create the wedding rings for this very special wedding she was to officiate.
“Today I had the honour of officiating my first wedding at PUMP, beautiful couple entitled to equal rights. An emotional exquisite day! #lgbt” – Lisa Vanderpump (@LisaVanderpump)
Vanderpump worked with Street and Tack for weeks on the design of the rings, an interlocking motif crafted in white gold, symbolizing the love between newlyweds Dominic and Magno and the joining of their lives together.
“It was such an honor to design rings for Dominic and Magno’s special day as well as attending their beautiful ceremony. Lisa Vanderpump was the icing on the “wedding” cake. She is such a great advocate for our community. -Sam Street
Prior to the wave of marriage equality sweeping the country, Street and Tack were married in California in 2008, as they couldn’t marry in their home state of New York. They are one of the 18,000 couples married during the short window of time before Prop 8 went into effect ending marriage equality in California.
It’s encouraging to see support for equality growing in the US, unlike when we were married six years ago in San Francisco’s City Hall.” -Jonathan Tack
The End of NOM?
Could it be true? NOM may close its doors?!
The Human Rights Campaign issued a press release that contained results from a study they conducted on the National Organization for Marriage’s funding and found the organization is rapidly losing support. HRC examined NOM’s tax filings from 2013 and found that the organization’s funding for the year dropped a whopping 50 percent from 2012, raising only $5.1 million in funds this year. Only two donors account for donating half of those funds alone, which indicates NOM’s support base merely consists of a very few wealthy people and a minuscule amount of the general public.
The NOM Education Fund also dropped nearly $3.5 million in funding; a drop of almost 70 percent since the previous year. NOM ended the year more than $2.5 million in debt. Fred Sainz, the HRC Vice President of Communications, urges NOM to give up the ghost already.
Said Sainz:
“If I were Brian Brown, I’d be worried that my two or three mega-donors are soon going to come to terms with the fact that they’d largely be better off flushing money down the toilet. Americans certainly aren’t buying what NOM is selling, and it’s only a matter of time before the trickle of money keeping the lights on at NOM HQ dries up.”
Marc Solomon — National Campaign Director for Freedom to Marry said ….if the Supreme Court rules for marriage nationwide – this would mean the end of Freedom to Marry, because the organization’s goal would be achieved:
We’ve always been set up as a campaign, and we are a campaign, and when we’ve won nationwide, we’re finished…I want to see some of the really good people stick around in LGBT stuff, or in other progressive causes, but Freedom to Marry’s done. That’s I think a great holding out is put yourself out of business.
Colin Farrell Pleads with Irish People
Actor Colin Farrell speaks out in Sunday World:
I think I found out my brother wasn’t grovelling in heterosexual mud like most boys our age when I was around 12. I remember feeling surprised. Intrigued. Curious. Not bi-curious before you start getting ideas.
I was curious because it was different from anything I’d known or heard of and yet it didn’t seem unnatural to me. I had no reference for the existence of homosexuality. I had seen, by that age, no gay couples together. I just knew my brother liked men and, I repeat, it didn’t seem unnatural to me. My brother Eamon didn’t choose to be gay. Yes, he chose to wear eyeliner to school and that probably wasn’t the most pragmatic response to the daily torture he experienced at the hands of school bullies.
But he was always proud of who he was. Proud and defiant and, of course, provocative. Even when others were casting him out with fists and ridicule and the laughter of pure loathsome derision, he maintained an integrity and dignity that flew in the face of the cruelty that befell him.
I don’t know where those bullies are now, the ones who beat him regularly. Maybe some of them have found peace and would rather forget their own part of a painful past. Maybe they’re sitting on bar stools and talking about “birds and faggots” and why one’s the cure and the other the disease.
But I do know where my brother is. He’s at home in Dublin living in peace and love with his husband of some years, Steven. They are about the healthiest and happiest couple I know. They had to travel a little farther than down the aisle to make their vows, though, to Canada, where their marriage was celebrated.
That’s why this is personal to me. The fact that my brother had to leave Ireland to have his dream of being married become real is insane. INSANE.
It’s time to right the scales of justice here. To sign up and register to vote next year so that each individual’s voice can be heard
How often do we get to make history in our lives? Not just personal history. Familial. Social. Communal. Global. The world will be watching. We will lead by example. Let’s lead toward light.
The GAYS Movie
“The Gays is a thrill, hilarious, critical, insightful and inspirational film. It is rated R and not recommended for teenagers. There is some nudity involved and very vulgar language. It’s also not recommended to heavily religious people because I don’t think they would like to hear what The Gays had said about Gabriel! Unless you want to shock your super religious grandmother…”
IndieJudge
http://www.indiejudge.com/reviews/thegays-2014-review/
VERY JOHN WATERS! VERY DARK!!
Wouldn’t it be great if your parents taught you how to hold your own in a fag-eat-fag world? Rod Gay and Bob Gay-Paris are the streetwise gay mentors you never had. Come revel in the raunchy wisdom they pass along to their two gay sons — Alex and Tommy — advice that will empower the boys to bend the world over, lube it up, and snap one off!
THE GAYS is New York-based indie writer/director T.S. Slaughter’s second feature, following the release of his darkly comic gay slasher SKULL & BONES (Ariztical Entertainment, 2009).
THE GAYS taps into all our anxieties about what it means to live as though we are like everyone else. Even though the retro gay “married” couple in the film, Rod and Bob, pre-date actual married gays of today, their relationship embodies all the complexities we might now start to anticipate for our present-day selves in earnest. – says Slaughter.
Issues they confront include those that have plagued gays since the 60s and probably earlier: what to do about balancing the security of a monogamous relationship with the inevitable boredom that comes with unending sameness? How do you define sex and other roles without replicating stereotypes like the homemaker versus the breadwinner? How, if you have kids, do you deal with their own emerging gayness or straightness without replicating all the dysfunctionality of the compulsory-straight nuclear family of times past? How do you discuss sex with them? Should you be as prudish as folks were in times past? Or is that destructively repressive? Should you be super open? Or is that too much information? And perhaps most of all, if the kids ARE gay, how do you arm them for the rough and tumble of a “fag eat fag world”? THE GAYS tackles all these questions and more with raunchy good humor designed to make you think after the side-splitting laughter stops.
— T. S. Slaughter
TheGaysMovie.com
Straight Pride and Gay Pride
Gay Pride parades were created as an answer to oppression and unequal rights. I’ve heard people say “you don’t see Straight Pride parades”…and that’s because straight people don’t need them.
No one’s calling straight slurs out of car windows or getting up in churches and telling them their unions are unholy and their very lives are condemning them to hell.
PRIDE PARADES -As long as we’re legally and socially held back, they are absolutely necessary. They don’t say “I’m special” so much as they say, “we exist.”
In Huffington Post – Shane Jordan explores Straight Pride….Pride is a deliberate attempt to equalize a society. Pride is a statement, an attitude and a decision. You see, we have been questioned and accused, abused and diminished for the entirety of history. We have been told that we are deficient and defective. It’s assumed by much of the population that we are either mentally ill or dealing with residual emotional baggage brought on by childhood tragedy. It’s assumed that our misguidance or rebellion can be fixed through therapy and that, perhaps, we will eventually abandon our lifestyle and become heterosexual. READ MORE HERE
Same-Sex Couples: Live Gay, Retire Rich
SAME SEX COUPLE RETIREMENT INFORMATION
LGBT Ally James Lange, an author and CPA/Attorney, Celebrates New Legal Rulings by Offering a Free E-Book for Same-Sex Couples Across the Nation.
Retire Secure! for Same-Sex Couples: Live Gay, Retire Rich is endorsed by the top IRA, Social Security, and legal experts in the country and available as a FREE download for a limited time at www.samesex-equalrights.com
Last week was a historic week of victories for same-sex couples across the nation as 8 more states, West Virginia, Alaska, Utah, Virginia, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, North Carolina, and Indiana won the right to marry. The courts struck down the bans to marry in these states, expanding the rights for same-sex couples to marry in over half of the country. Within hours, county clerks in those states were issuing marriage licenses to couples who had been waiting for a decision to come down. Additionally, 4 more states in the 10th circuit and 4th circuit are on the verge of marriage equality as well. Colorado, Kansas, South Carolina, and Wyoming have cases pending verdicts and are expected to overturn their marriage bans in the near future. To celebrate these rulings attorney and CPA, James Lange is offering Retire Secure! for Same-Sex Couples: Live Gay, Retire Rich for free for a limited time on his web site, www.samesex-equalrights.com.
Pittsburgh LGBT Ally James Lange of Lange Financial Group, LLC has been working to help same-sex couples understand and take advantage of the tax and Social Security laws since 2002, but his campaign was re-energized when the Windsor case was decided in 2013. The laws and regulations for estate planning, tax planning, and Social Security planning have changed so significantly for same-sex couples over the last year that Jim has dedicated a large portion of his firm’s time and funds toward writing a book on gay retirement planning. Retire Secure! for Same Sex Couples: Live Gay, Retire Rich can be downloaded for FREE by going to www.samesex-equalrights.com before October 31st.
Along with the ability to get married, Lange suggests that there are many other points couples in states with marriage rights or on the verge of those rights should consider. “Married same-sex couples who live in states that recognize same-marriages will now be able to enjoy significant Social Security marital benefits and estate planning benefits, particularly if one member of the couples has a significant IRA or retirement plan,” says Lange, author of the book, Retire Secure! for Same-Sex Couples: Live Gay, Retire Rich. Mr. Lange offers four tips for same-sex couples:
- Go Into Marriage with Your Financial Eyes Wide Open. The couples who will benefit the most financially will likely be same-sex couples in their 60s or older where at least one person of the couple has a significant IRA or retirement plan. Some other couples will actually do worse financially. Finances are an important, though not exclusive, reason to get married or stay unmarried. If you are already married, speak to a tax advisor to take advantage of all the marital benefits.
- Consider How Marriage Affects Social Security Benefits. For many couples, one result of marriage is the opportunity to collect a much higher Social Security benefit. If you qualify and it is appropriate in your situation, apply for Social Security spousal benefits. There is a fantastic technique called “apply and suspend,” which is newly available to many same-sex couples in states that have recently changed their laws and to many residents of states that already afforded marriage rights. Most Social Security recipients, however, do not understand all of the possible spousal benefits of Social Security. There are significant advantages while both spouses are alive and after the first spouse dies. Find out the enormous financial benefits for free by going to www.samesex-equalrights.com before October 31st.
- Marriage and IRA and Retirement Planning. Regardless of your state of residence, as long as you were married in a state that recognizes same-sex marriages, you and your spouse will enjoy significant tax benefits on inheriting an IRA or a retirement plan.
- Seek Professional Advice. As with all important financial decisions, Lange suggests that couples speak with a qualified retirement and estate advisor, preferably a CPA, as well as an attorney who works with same-sex couples. “Couples need to be sure they have all the knowledge they can to prepare for their financial lives as a married couple,” says Lange. For more information about how to get a FREE copy of Retire Secure! for Same-Sex Couples: Live Gay, Retire Rich or for information on how to schedule a meeting or media interview with James Lange visit www.samesex-equalrights.com or call 412-521-2732.
SUPREME COURT Says …..Nothing!
MORE GROUND BREAKING NEWS FOR LGBT PEOPLE!
U.S. SUPREME COURT DECISION OPENS MARRIAGE TO NEARLY TWO-THIRDS OF SAME-SEX COUPLES IN THE U.S.
Today, the U.S. Supreme Court decided NOT to hear pending cases on state bans of same-sex marriage. The decision means that 11 more states will likely soon allow same-sex couples to marry. As a result, nearly 65 percent of same-sex couples across the country will live in states where they can marry and the number of Americans living in states that allow marriage for same-sex couples is now six in ten.
Williams Institute research also suggests that an estimated 45,000 same-sex couples in those 11 states will likely marry in the next 3 years, generating $334 million in additional spending.
Key statistics include:
- Recent Williams Institute analyses suggest that the number of married same-sex couples, estimated to be as high as 130,000 in 2013, has increased by more than 50% over the last three years.
- Williams Institute research has analyzed the economic impact of allowing same-sex couples to marry in the 11 states that will now allow such marriages. Combining these states, 45,000 same-sex couples are likely to marry in the next three years generating more than $334 million in additional spending and over $22 million in sales tax revenue. Full versions of the state reports are available here.
- Nearly two-thirds of same-sex couples in the U.S. will now live in a state where they can marry, up from 50% prior to today’s decision.
- 6 out of 10 Americans will now live in states that allow same-sex couples to marry, up from 4 in 10.
- Williams Institute research suggests that there were 690,000 same-sex couples in the US in 2013 raising an estimated 200,000 children. As many as 30,000 of those children are being raised by married parents.
- In Indiana, there are more than 11,000 cohabiting same-sex couples, of whom an estimated 17% are raising more than 3,200 children in their homes.
- In Oklahoma, there are more than 6,100 cohabiting same-sex couples, of which an estimated 21% are raising more than 2,500 children in their homes.
- In Utah, there are more than 3,900 same-sex couples, of whom an estimated 20% are raising nearly 1,600 children in their homes.
- In Virginia, there are more than 14,200 cohabiting same-sex couples, of whom an estimated 18% are raising more than 4,000 children in their homes.
- In Wisconsin, there are nearly 9,200 cohabiting same-sex couples, of whom an estimated 20% are raising nearly 3,200 children in their homes.
- In Colorado, there are nearly 12,500 cohabiting same-sex couples, of whom an estimated 16% are raising nearly 4,000 children in their homes.
- In Kansas, there are more than 4,000 cohabiting same-sex couples, of whom an estimated 22% are raising nearly 1,800 children in their homes.
- In North Carolina, there are nearly 18,300 cohabiting same-sex couples, of whom an estimated 18% are raising nearly 6,600 children in their homes.
- In South Carolina, there are more than 7,200 cohabiting same-sex couples, of whom an estimated 19% are raising nearly 2,750 children in their homes.
- In West Virginia, there are nearly 3,000 cohabiting same-sex couples, of whom an estimated 18% are raising nearly 1,030 children in their homes.
- In Wyoming, there are nearly 700 cohabiting same-sex couples, of whom an estimated 25% are raising approximately 350 children in their homes.
IT’S A GREAT TIME TO BE GAY! Same-sex marriage will be the law of the land — inevitably but not immediately.!
Neil Patrick Harris Book and Video
Sick of deeply personal accounts written in the first person? Seeking an exciting, interactive read that puts the “u” back in “aUtobiography”? Then look no further than NEIL PATRICK HARRIS: CHOOSE YOUR OWN AUTOBIOGRAPHY! In this revolutionary, Joycean experiment in light celebrity narrative.
To promote his new book, Neil Patrick Harris: Choose Your Own Autobiography, the recently married actor released a trailer to give you a taste of what his ‘choose your own adventure’ style bio will be like, as BuzzFeed points out. In the video, a host of Neil Patrick Harrises proliferate onscreen, looking like a very NPH Brady Bunch.
In each separate window Neil offers an entertaining alternative from hearing him talk about his new book. Our favorite definitely has to be the “romantical” moment in the upper left hand corner where Harris and husband David Burtka share a plate of spaghetti and meatballs, recreating the iconic first kiss scene from Disney’s Lady and the Tramp.
WATCH
BUY THE BOOK Neil Patrick Harris: Choose Your Own Autobiography
Gay Marriage Denmark Anniversary
Gay Marriage in Denmark celebrates
25 years!
Twenty-five years ago the first same-sex couple was lawfully married under the Danish registered partnership law, the first of it kind and an inspiration for same-sex marriages, partnerships, civil unions and family laws in countries all over the world.
On the occasion of the ”Silver Anniversary”, an exhibition: ”Equal Love Silver Anniversary, Copenhagen 1989-2014” will be held September/October 2014 at the Copenhagen City Hall where the first couple said yes to each other 25 years ago.
In connection with the exhibition we want to collect wedding pictures and rainbow family photos from all over the world. To that end we hope that you will mention the Equal Love Silver Anniversary in your magazine so that your readers may send us their photos by uploading them to Twitter and hashtag them with #equallove25 or send them by mail to equallove@lgbt.dk – You can read more about the Equal Love – Silver Anniversary celebrations on www.lgbt.dk/equallove25.
We want to show everybody that it was not the end of the world when the first same-sex couple was married 25 years ago. Life goes on. For better. For worse. And for all, irrespective of sexual orientation and gender identity.
Richardt Heers
International Spokesperson
LGBT Denmark
The Danish National Organisation for Gay Men, Lesbians, Bisexuals and Transgender Persons
Matt Fishel’s cover of CeCe Penniston’s “Finally”
London based Out singer/songwriter Matt Fishel’s new cover of CeCe Penniston’s “Finally” celebrates international Gay Love and Pride with photos sent in by fans from around the world!
“A HUGE heartfelt thank you to everyone who contributed photos for this video and helped to make this a very special project and a celebration of international Pride! I had so much fun going through all the fabulous pics which you sent in from all over the world, representing the United States, United Kingdom, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Ireland, Australia, South Africa, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Uruguay, Philippines, Singapore, Indonesia, Lithuania, Cuba, Thailand and China. Thank you all and I hope you enjoy the results! Mx”
WATCH NOW!
Download the song on iTunes: http://tinyurl.com/pks36ea
From the EP ‘COVER BOY’ – OUT NOW!
iTunes: http://tinyurl.com/pks36ea
Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/ooo3grk
Google Play: http://tinyurl.com/ohzql7p
Beverly Hills Hotel and Bel Air Hotel Boycott Strengthens
Hollywood
Reporters
annual breakfast, which most recently honored Oprah Winfrey, will move after 20 years at the historic location in the wake of “despicable decisions by the Sultan of Brunei.”
The Hollywood Reporter has notified the Beverly Hills Hotel that it will not hold its annual Women in Entertainment breakfast there because of the hotel’s ties to the Sultan of Brunei, who has instituted a severe new penal code based on Sharia law that calls for death by stoning for homosexuals and adulterers.
“The recent despicable decisions by the Sultan of Brunei make it impossible for us to consider moving forward in any way with any hotel that is part of the Dorchester Collection,” said Janice Min, co-president and chief creative officer of Guggenheim Media’s Entertainment Group, which publishes The Hollywood Reporter. “We have huge respect for the local staff and management of the Beverly Hills Hotel and would like to thank them for two decades of partnership. We hope one day to be able to work together again.”
What began as a grassroots movement two weeks ago when designers Brian Atwood and Peter Som and Los Angeles boutique owner Cameron Silver asked their Instagram and Twitter followers to boycott the Dorchester Collection of hotels, to which the Beverly Hills Hotel belongs, has quickly gathered momentum, with prominent organizations dropping plans to hold dinners and fundraisers at the landmark hotel on Sunset Boulevard.
The Dorchester Collection is owned by Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah through the Brunei Investment Agency. Last week, Brunei became the first East Asian country to adopt sharia law,
which calls for flogging, dismemberment and death by stoning for crimes such as rape, adultery and sodomy.
Sir Elton John and David Furnish to wed in May
NINE YEARS ago the couple celebrated their civil union with a shindig and 600+ guests.
But the Daily Mail reports:
But as Sir Elton John, 67, and David Furnish, 51, announce plans to marry in May, this time the celebrations will be a lot more low-key.
After gay marriage was made legal in England and Wales on Saturday, the couple revealed they are planning to tie the knot again.
Despite Sir Elton’s love of hosting large parties, the couple are planning a small celebration for their gay marriage, with just their two sons Zachary, three; and Elijah, 14 months; and a few witnesses in attendance.
David explained: We do like big parties. Over eight years ago, we had 650 people on the 21st of December at our house in Windsor.
READ MORE HERE
Lance Bass, Marriage Equality and Mississippi Travel
Mississippi-born Lance Bass sure has been in the news lately. Two weeks ago he attacked Mississippi’s anti-gay religious “freedom to discriminate” bill. Yesterday the former ‘N Sync boy band singer met at the White House with President Obama to talk health care reform. Today, a video he recorded with his fiancé for Freedom To Marry’s new push to win marriage for same-sex couples in the Southern states launched.
Bass says he grew up in a town of just 2000 people, and “it felt great” to feel like his neighbors were part of his extended family.
“We were best friends for about a month,” Bass says of his now-fiancé Michael Turchin. “I didn’t know that he liked me, and he didn’t know that I liked him… We just related on so many things, and I just knew that he was going to be part of my life. And I’m just glad it’s going to be as a husband,” Bass says, with a boyish smirk.
“Marriage to me is a commitment that you make to the person you love that you want to spend the rest of your life with,” Bass says, and talks about how his parents role-modeled marriage for him.
Bass believes that “people really do support gay marriage,” and “there’s tons of support” in Mississippi. He urges the younger generation, whom he says is scared, to talk about marriage equality openly with their parents.
“There’s nothing to be scared of,” Turchin says.
Take a look at Freedom To Marry’s website, Southerners for the Freedom to Marry.
HOWEVER…….
GetEQUAL Mississippi — a statewide grassroots social justice organization working toward the full equality of all lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Mississippians — has issued a “travel alert” to any LGBT person planning travel to the the state. This alert has been issued based on the fact that Mississippi is on the cusp of passing Senate Bill 2681 — the so-called “Mississippi Religious Freedom Restoration Act” — through the House, and then sending it to the governor for signature or veto.
GetEQUAL Mississippi alerts those traveling to the state of a continued risk of discrimination based upon sexual orientation and/or gender identity. The State of Mississippi does not currently protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or transgender (“LGBT”) people from being legally ejected from their hotel rooms or other places of public accommodation, and is on the cusp of passing legislation that would give business owners even more latitude to legally discriminate against minority groups.
Those who are required to travel to Mississippi are encouraged to take the following precautions:
– Avoid traveling alone in the state.
– Only book travel at hotels which have policies prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.
– Visit only known LGBT-friendly establishments, including restaurants, bars and venues.
– Be aware of your surroundings and adopt other appropriate safety measures to protect yourself while traveling.
Gay Man Sues Ex-Boyfriend For Being Closeted
WOW!
Here is an amazing story about a gay man suing his ex-boyfriend for essentially being in the closet. The court papers were filed on Valentine’s Day this year.
The gay man is claiming damages for money invested in his ex while not initially knowing he was in the closet and not knowing how the ex was conflicted out his sexuality due to religious teachings. The suing man is essentially saying that it’s unfair he invested money in him without knowing to what extent he was closeted and to what extent he was conflicted about his sexuality. Additionally, the suing man is claiming emotional distress damages.
What’s more, the suing man is homeless living out of an automobile and claims his ex promised to pay him for a gym membership so he could access showering.
The suing man is YouTuber Jeff 4 Justice. WATCH HIS VIDEO
This case could set an interesting precedent regarding gay couples. This is a small claims case set in Los Angeles for 4-21-14.
Honey Made Nabisco says Gay is Wholesome
Those poor One Million Moms…they boycott every company who does a gay friendly commercial! They are are going to have no cars to drive, no clothes to wear and nothing to eat! HA!
For nearly 90 years, Honey Maid has been a wholesome part of snack time, and today the brand launches its latest integrated marketing campaign that celebrates a continued commitment to making nutritious products for every wholesome family. With the new “This is Wholesome” campaign, Honey Maid recognizes that while the makeup and the day-to-day lives of families have evolved, the wholesome family connections remain the same.
It is no secret that the traditional American family has changed; today, in the U.S., there are nearly 20 million single parent households1, 11.6 million Hispanic family households2 and one in 12 married couples in the U.S. are interracial3. The new Honey Maid integrated marketing campaign highlights the ways in which the family dynamic has transformed over time, paralleling it with Honey Maid. Just like the Honey Maid products have evolved, Honey Maid believes that no matter how things change, what makes us wholesome endures.
Among the real-life stories featured in the campaign include Joey, a punk-rock musician and his wife Terry, who bond while cooking with their daughter, Moxie; when mom is done tutoring and dad gets home from touring the world with his band, all three enjoy one of their favorite family treats, graham crackers with a thin layer of icing. Another family is that of Jason and Tim, who are raising their two sons in a same-sex household and love playing board games and enjoying a night relaxing together on their family heirloom swing. A third, RJ, is a single father who is featured with his son Travie, who make every Friday “Sweet Friday” with a movie and ‘Cracker Stackers.’
Each family in the campaign embodies an evolving family dynamic and demonstrates those special family connections that align well with the Honey Maid brand attributes.
Visit Honey Maid on Facebook.com/Honeymaid and at YouTube.com/HoneyMaid to check out the new campaign and learn more about the wholesome product offerings from Honey Maid.
TAKE THAT One Million Moms!
No Shirts, No Shoes, No Homosexuals
ARIZONA becomes first state to pass law ALLOWING for discrimination of LGBT people!
No shirt, no shoes, no homosexuals.
That’s the latest anti-gay line coming from religious groups bringing forth a flurry of new state bills seeking ways to refuse providing goods and services to LGBT couples.
Say a gay couple in Phoenix walks into a bakery to order their wedding cake. The baker refuses to take their order because of his deeply held religious beliefs. Under a measure that passed the Arizona Legislature this week, the baker would have greater protection to invoke religion to shield himself from a discrimination lawsuit.
The bill, approved by the Republican-controlled Senate on Wednesday and the GOP-led House on Thursday, would bolster a business owner’s right to refuse service to gays and others if the owner believes doing so violates the practice and observance of his or her religion.
The state Senate passed it on a straight party-line vote, 17 to 13. The House followed suit, 33 to 27, with two Republicans joining all the Democrats in opposition.
On Wednesday, the Kansas House overwhelmingly passed a bill that would allow people and businesses to refuse service based on sexual orientation or marital status—if doing so would be contrary to the “sincerely held religious beliefs of the individual.”
Madonna, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis to Perform “Same Love” Together at the 2014 Grammys
Madonna
and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis are set to perform together at the 2014
Grammys on Sunday, Jan. 26, sources confirm to Us Weekly; the
entertainers will sing Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’ hit song “Same Love”
Credit: Target Presse Agentur Gmbh/Getty Images; Brad Barket/Getty Images for Clear Channel
