March 2012
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“It takes no compromise to give people their rights…it takes no money to...”
– Harvey Milk. Did he ever say anything that wasn’t quoteworthy?
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Chely Wright to open gay community center →
Country singer Chely Wright’s LGBT organization, LIKE ME, will open its first community center in Kansas City in March.
The LIKE ME Organization, founded in 2010, is about fostering inclusion for the LGBT community and preventing suicide and bullying. LIKE ME’s first community center will be known as the Lighthouse and will serve as a safe haven for LGBT people, their families and...
February 2012
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Sign the petition to stop Uganda's... →
You may have heard that Ugandan officials are once again attempting to pass a measure making homosexuality punishable by life in prison or even the death penalty. Not good at all.
A new Change.org petition is calling on Citibank and Barclays, two of the largest banks in the world and known LGBT supporters, to take a stance against the bill. Both banks have operations in Uganda and could...
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Born This Way Foundation to launch at Harvard amid... →
Lady Gaga’s new anti-bullying charity, the Born This Way Foundation, will launch at Harvard University today at 4pm EST.
The event will stream live here. Gaga and her mother will “unveil” the foundation before guests like Oprah, Deepak Chopra and David Burtka, among others. The foundation has partnered with assorted Harvard groups to provide resources for youth empowerment,...
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“Accept everything about yourself—I mean everything, You are you and that...”
– Clark Moustakas
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Read this now: "Who Decided That This Election... →
Let’s face it: the economy in the United States isn’t doing too well. So why won’t the 2012 presidential candidates stop talking about sex?
This New York Times piece from last week is a dialogue between two columnists about the role of sex and gender issues in the upcoming election. Abortion, birth control and homosexuality (remember that mess with the Girl Scouts?) have been...
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Conservative senator loses base for supporting... →
A Republican senator from New York no longer has the support of his local Conservative Party because he voted in favor of marriage equality in the state last year.
Conservative Party chairman Ralph C. Lorigo said senator Mark Grisanti “no longer has the trust of the party” because he initially claimed to be against marriage equality before voting for the bill last year. In his place,...
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Majority of Iowans want to keep marriage equality →
According to a new Des Moines Register Iowa Poll, a majority of Iowans oppose a potential new law that would ban same-sex marriage.
The state is considering a (currently stalled) constitutional amendment that would essentially undo the ruling that legalized marriage equality in 2009, banning marriage between people of the same sex. The poll shows that 56 percent of people oppose the ban (i.e....
Anonymous asked: What do the stickers look like?
Anonymous asked: the ask button is kinda hidden in the new layout?
Anonymous asked: i have a question: you say GayWrites is a not-for-profit blog. yet, you're asking people to buy $2 stickers?! for...?
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New GayWrites! New GayWrites!
Look at it!
What do you think?
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GayWrites will be down for a bit!
It’s redesign time!
In a few hours (or maybe a few days) GayWrites will look totally different. Until then, you won’t be able to access this site.
Never fear! Follow on Facebook and Twitter for updates on LGBT news!
See you on the new site!
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“There are people who’ve said that I’m being brave for being openly...”
– Anne Hathaway. (You’ve all seen it already, but one more couldn’t hurt.)
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Lesbians charged in alleged hate crime →
Three women in Boston attacked a gay man at a T station, but their lawyers say the attack couldn’t have been a hate crime because the women are lesbians.
I couldn’t possibly say it better than the Boston Herald, so here’s some food for thought from them:
“My guess is that no sane jury would convict them under those circumstances, but what this really demonstrates is the idiocy...
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Gender nonconformity a risk factor for child abuse →
Children who display behavior unlike what’s expected for their sex are more likely to face abuse, according to new research from the Harvard School of Public Health.
The study, published in the journal Pediatrics last week, says that gender nonconforming kids are more likely to suffer physical, psychological or sexual abuse from adults. “Discrimination against nonconformity”...
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Fred Karger's campaign website shut down →
Fred Karger, the openly gay man running for the Republican nomination for president of the United States, received surprising news last week when the company managing his campaign website told him it was being shut down.
The group, Terra Eclipse, informed Karger that his site would be shut down days before the New Hampshire primary. They chose to end their relationship with Karger because of...
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Sweden close to ending forced sterilization of... →
Forced sterilization of transgender people in Sweden may soon come to an end, thanks to political changes facilitating a change in policy.
Seventeen countries in the European Union currently require sterilization in order for people to change genders on legal documents. Sweden is currently one of them, mainly because a coalition of conservative groups called the Christian Democrat Party has...
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Ellen's JCPenney commercials will run during... →
In spite of outcry from a conservative religious group, JCPenney continues to partner with Ellen DeGeneres, featuring her in five commercials that will air during the Oscars tonight.
The group One Million Moms publicly (and stupidly) denounced JCPenney for making Ellen their new spokesperson, saying that because she’s gay she doesn’t promote “traditional values,” but an...
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GOP will appeal DOMA decision →
After a judge this week ruled DOMA unconstitutional, Republicans are acting fast to appeal the decision.
President Obama announced in recent months that his administration would no longer support DOMA, which bars federal recognition of same-sex married couples. Instead, Republicans in the House Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group have already voted to appeal the recent ruling to the 9th Circuit Court...
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Cameroon women arrested for being gay; homophobia... →
Ten women in Cameroon were arrested and are being detained because of suspicions that they’re lesbians. They could face anywhere from six months to five years in jail, as well as a fine.
Conditions are certainly worsening for LGBT people in some African nations: Liberia is considering a bill banning same-sex marriage and making homosexuality a first-degree felony with a penalty of 10 years...
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Bullying documentary can't be shown in schools →
Bully, a new documentary exposing the harsh realities of bullying in schools, has been rated R by the MPAA and therefore will not be allowed to be shown in schools.
The Weinstein Company, the group behind the film, appealed to have the film’s rating changed from R to PG-13, because children of any age are generally not allowed to see R-rated movies at school. But the company lost its...
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“I used to have one granddaughter; now I have two!”
– I officially came out to my grandmother today about having a girlfriend whom I love and hope to spend my life with. After months of struggling with it, she accepted me. It gets better. -Camille
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“Although no one can ever be absolutely certain of the specific event that leads...”
– Dennis Carlson, superintendent of Anoka-Hennepin School District, acknowledging for the first time that bullying and/or the district’s anti-gay climate may have led to its high number of youth suicides, especially among gay teens. Well, it’s about time. More.
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Maine voters will decide on marriage equality →
More than two years after voters repealed marriage equality in Maine, they’ll get a chance to make things right.
Officials in the state have confirmed that a November referendum will ask voters to decide whether or not marriage equality will be legal in Maine. Maine’s Secretary of State’s office verified more than 85,000 signatures collected by advocates seeking to reinstate marriage...
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WatchIn which former Republican senator Alan Simpson of Wyoming says that Rick Santorum is homophobic.
Simpson recalled a Santorum interview that he felt was most disappointing: “[Santorum] said, ‘I want a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage,’ and they said, ‘Well, what about the people who are already married?’ And he said, ‘Well, they would be...
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In memory of Katherine Darmer, professor and... →
Katherine Darmer, a Chapman University School of Law professor and pronounced activist for marriage equality, died this week after falling from a building in what was ruled a suicide. A memorial service will be held Saturday.
She graduated from Columbia University’s law school in 1989 and worked as a litigation associate and an assistant U.S. attorney, among other positions. Her legal...
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Key West, FL offers domestic partner benefits →
This week the Key West City Commission in Key West, FL voted in a measure giving people in domestic partnerships more rights.
The Equal Benefits Ordinance (EBO) will require vendors in the city to “provide employees’ domestic partners with benefits equal to those offered to spouses of married employees.” This is a big deal for Florida, where no state law exists to protect LGBT...
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NY marriage equality boosted revenue →
Numbers have come in showing recent revenue for the state of New York’s marriage bureau, and in the shocker of the century (not), the bureau made a lot more money after the state legalized marriage equality. From the NY Post:
Total revenue to the city’s marriage bureau jumped from $2.07 million from August through December 2010, to $2.26 million in the same period last year, after same-sex...
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BREAKING: MARRIAGE EQUALITY IN MARYLAND →
The Maryland Senate this evening approved a bill legalizing marriage equality in the state and the governor has already promised to sign it.
The measure passed 25-22. This makes Maryland the eighth state to legalize marriage equality - the fourth to do so in the last year.
YES! YES! YES!
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“Amendment One has far-reaching negative consequences for our families, our...”
– North Carolina senator Kay Hagan’s roundabout way of opposing Amendment One, a bill that would outlaw marriage equality in her state. Better than nothing! More.
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Virginia allows discrimination in adoption →
The state of Virginia has essentially passed legislation making it legal for private adoption agencies to discriminate against LGBT parents.
This bill would allow agencies to deny couples adoptions on the basis of a conflict with their religious or moral beliefs, subtly but surely pointing to homosexuality. Virginia’s state Senate and House have both passed the bill and Gov. Bob McDonnell...
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The weird new site everyone's talking about →
Seen this one yet?
In response to recent debates over Mormons baptizing people into their faith post-mortem, a new web site popped up giving people the ability to “convert dead Mormons.”
It’s called All Dead Mormons Are Now Gay, and it lets you either enter the name of a deceased Mormon person or “choose a Mormon” and press a button to “convert” them. A...
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Ten members of Congress pose for NOH8 →
Adam Bouska’s iconic NOH8 photography campaign against Prop 8 has 10 new supporters: members of Congress who recently posed for photos for the campaign. Only one of them identifies as LGBT; the rest are allies.
Bouska set up an exclusive “NOH8 on the Hill” event for members of Congress, and ten members of Congress took photos and submitted statements of support for the...
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“As an actor, to portray this role on a show like this has been the most amazing...”
– Max Adler, who plays Dave Karofsky on Glee, about last night’s episode. More.
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Judge strikes down DOMA →
A California judge struck down a “key provision” of the Defense of Marriage Act tonight in a case involving a federal employee seeking benefits for her same-sex partner - the first ruling like this since the Obama administration announced it would no longer defend DOMA.
From ABC:
Karen Golinski, a lesbian woman married to her spouse under California law, brought the suit after...
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Study finds high suicide rate in trans* teens →
A new LiveScience story examines the high rate of mental health problems in transgender kids and adolescents.
Based partially on a 2010 study that found 41 percent of trans* people in the U.S. have attempted suicide, the article examines how having a gender identity that doesn’t match one’s body can cause serious psychiatric complications.
Researchers attributed those rates to...
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Trans* protections pass in Baltimore council →
The Baltimore County Council yesterday passed legislation protecting people from discrimination on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
The bill passed 5 to 2 and will protect trans* people “in housing, employment, education, financing or public accommodations.” Next week the bill will go to the Senate.
The bill comes about one year after the beating of...
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Prop 8 supporters seek full review →
Yesterday was the deadline for supporters of California’s Proposition 8 to request another appeal on the measure’s unconstitutional ruling, and so proponents of the law are seeking a full review by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
For those who haven’t quite followed this mess of a case, Prop 8 was ruled unconstitutional in 2010 by Judge Vaughn Walker, and a three-judge panel...
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Glee tackles suicide (SPOILERS)
Tonight was a little rough.
Dave Karofsky, the athlete who mercilessly bullied Kurt, then came out to him, then confessed his love, tries to take his own life. Through the rest of the episode, the Glee gang talks about how important it is to look toward the future when times get tough.
They visit Karofsky and pray for him, Mr. Schu shares a time when he considered taking his own life, and there...
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It Gets Better special to air on MTV tonight →
Tonight, Dan Savage’s viral It Gets Better campaign will see a new medium in the form of a special on MTV. In an interview with The Advocate published today, Savage talks about the special in the context of his recent glitter-bombing, when activists publicly shamed him for incidents of past transphobia.
Here’s the Advocate’s rundown of the tonight’s special, which takes a...