JOIN THE MOVEMENT

NOH8 Campaign is a photographic silent protest created by celebrity photographer Adam Bouska and partner Jeff Parshley in direct response to the passage of Proposition 8.

MUSIC IS LIFE

Support your fellow lgbt artist in their music endevours.

MIND OVER MATTER

Despite your daily opposition, get involved, get educated, get empowered.

LET'S CELEBRATE

The state of NY recently passed the marriage bill, giving the lgbt community the right to marry in yet another state

HIV/AIDS CAMPAIGN

The goal behind these ads goes beyond promoting safe sex and getting tested, it touches on our compassionate side to not discriminate and realize this is not an individual's fight, but a social battle.

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

VIDEO: THA TWINZ- OFFICIAL SWISHER SWEET

Gay former Army officer on trial in DC for protest



A gay former Army lieutenant arrested for handcuffing himself to a White House fence during a protest is being treated differently because he is a prominent voice for gay rights, his lawyer said Monday.
Dan Choi, a West Point graduate and Iraq War veteran, is charged with disobeying police orders to leave an area in front of the White House during a November 2010 protest of the military's "don't ask, don't tell policy." During the protest, 13 people handcuffed themselves to the fence, some in uniform, chanting slogans including "let us serve."
Choi's attorney Robert Feldman said Monday at the start of his trial in federal court in Washington that people arrested for protesting at the White House are usually charged in local court where the penalty for disobeying a police order is a fine of between $100 and $1,000. But Choi was charged in federal court, where he faces both a fine and jail time of up to six months.

"They want him to go away," Feldman said, suggesting that bringing more serious charges is a move to get Choi to be silent. "He is the gay man who is finally attracting the attention."
Twelve other demonstrators arrested with Choi previously accepted deal with prosecutors, agreeing to plead guilty in federal court but serve no jail time if they were not re-arrested within four months. Feldman said his client rejected a similar plea deal prosecutors offered Friday, though he would not have had to plead guilty.
Choi, who was discharged from the military in 2003 for being gay, said Monday he never considered taking the deal.
His lawyer planned to argue that Choi is not guilty because he couldn't hear police warnings to leave owing to other crowd noise; Choi also was warned to get off the sidewalk and not the short fence wall he was standing on.
During testimony Monday, prosecutor Angela George questioned several officers involved in the arrests. They testified tjat they heard three warnings given protesters by an officer using a police cruiser's loudspeaker. Officers testified, however, that Choi's case was unusual in that it had been brought in federal court.
Before November, Choi was arrested in March and April 2010 for similar protests, but prosecutors dismissed the charges against him on those occasions.

Choi acknowledged Monday that the cause he was protesting in November is now moot. President Barack Obama put an end to the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy in July. As of Sept. 20, gay service members will be able to acknowledge their sexual orientation openly.

STR8 CELEBRITIES' GAY MOMENTS: Lil Wayne, Bow Wow, & Drake

LIL WAYNE

BOW WOW

DRAKE


SMH: German Soccer Captain Warns Players Against Coming Out

Philipp Lahm X390 (GETTY) | ADVOCATE.COM



Philipp Lahm, a German soccer team captain recognized for his efforts to fight homophobia in sports, advises players not to come out because he says the consequences could be devastating, including suicide.

Reuters reports on the statements from Lahm in his new autobiography, The Subtle Difference, released on Monday. 

"I would not advise any gay professional footballer to come out," wrote the full-back and captain of Bayern Munich."I would fear that he could end up like Justin Fashanu who after he outed himself was driven into such a corner that he ended up committing suicide," he wrote.

Fashanu, the only soccer player to come out during his professional career, took his own life in 1998 after his revelations prompted derision from fans. 

Despite his advice, Lahm said that the prospect of working alongside an openly gay player would not bother him personally. He received an award in 2008 from the Weimar Gay Triangle, a German LGBT rights organization, for his outspokenness against intolerance. 

The comments echo a controversial opinion Lahm shared earlier this year when he told Bunte, a German celebrity magazine that an openly gay soccer player would be exposed to “abusive elements.” The German Football Federation has urged gay players to come out in an effort to fight homophobia in the sport.

In the new autobiography, Lahm, who is married to a woman, also denied rumors that he is in a gay relationship with a man in Cologne.

“This speculation doesn’t matter to me,” he said. “I have nothing against homosexuals and I find that there is nothing wrong with homosexuality."

Scranton Temple in PA Has First Gay Wedding!!!

JEWISH WEDDING X390 (PHOTOS.COM) | ADVOCATE.COM



A Reform Jewish congregation in Scranton, Pa., observed a milestone this month with its first same-sex wedding.

Jen and Naomi Simmons, who grew up in Pennsylvania but now live in South Carolina, became the first same-sex couple married at Temple Hested in Scranton with their ceremony August 14,  The Scranton Times-Tribune  reports. They were legally wed 10 days earlier in Connecticut, as neither Pennsylvania nor South Carolina recognizes gay unions.

Jen Simmons said she hopes more couples will formalize their relationships. “Whether you want to call it a marriage or a commitment ceremony, do it,” she advised other same-sex couples. “The more it happens the more it will be the norm.”

Rabbi Daniel Swartz, who has been at Temple Hested for six years, was surprised that he had to wait this long to perform a same-sex wedding there. He had done several in his previous post in Maryland, he told the Times-Tribune. But he was glad to set a precedent for the region and demonstrate his faith’s inclusivity.

“You might think from what you read in the media that all religions are against same-sex couples,” he said. “Love is hard; harder than it has ever been. Anyone who has managed to do that should be celebrated.”

Antigay Minister Charged With Noise Violation For Pride Protest!!!




Rev. Philip “Flip” Benham X390 (SOURCED) | ADVOCATE.COM
A reverend who was arrested for violating a noise ordinance while protesting a gay pride event in Charlotte, N.C., says the charge is a violation of his right to free speech.
The Charlotte Observer reports that thousands of people flocked to the Pride Charlotte festival over the weekend — which raised money for the city’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Community Center — among them a dozen or so protesters, including Reverend Phillip “Flip” Benham.

Benham, who has had four brushes with the law since January 2010 — including a conviction for stalking — said he turned down the volume of his loudspeaker when officers asked him to. But as he stood outside the festival reading from the first chapter of Romans, his voice began to rise as he preached passionately about God’s wrath against sin.

Benham says the city’s policy of limiting public noise is a violation of his First Amendment rights. “It’s the way the city controls us,” Benham said. “It controls the message that we speak. The city can control the content of a message if they can control the volume.”

Benham was reportedly the only one arrested.

According to the 
Observer, “the city’s noise ordinance requires people using microphones and speakers on city streets to keep the noise below 75 decibels. Officers measure the sound from 10 feet away and typically warn people that they’re above the limit before making arrests or issuing citations.”

Read more 
here.

Gaga Wins for "Best Female" While Dressed as Man


GAGA AS JO CALDERONE 390x (GETTY) ADVOCATE.COM
Lady Gaga took home this year's award for best female performer — after putting on a raucous show dressed as a cigarette-smoking, beer-drinking man.

Her tweak on gender identity opened the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday with a monologue in character as her male alter ego, Jo Calderone, who declared nothing real, and everything theater. Then Calderone tore off a black blazer and danced with a crew of men in white T-shirts and black pants during a rendition of "Yoü and I."

On a night when Lady Gaga's album and anthem of the same name for gay rights, "Born This Way," brought in the awards, Lady Gaga spent the entire evening as a drag king. The song beat a number of this year's 
biggest musical statements for gay acceptance to win Best Video with a Message, a new category. 

"I feel so blessed to be here," Gaga said while accepting best female performer. "It doesn't matter how you are — gay, straight, bi, lesbian, transgendered — you were born this way." 

Before the night was over, Britney Spears accepted a 
kiss from Calderone, who enthusiastically introduced Spears as the winner of the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award. 

Saturday, August 27, 2011

TERRIBLE: This is how they treat homosexuals in Africa! Man gets hair cut and clothes ripped off of him

Friday, August 26, 2011

Chinky Miyake feat. Lonnie - Let's Get It (Official Music Video)


Obama to Speak at American Legion Convention!!!




BARACK OBAMA CROWD X390 (GETTY) | ADVOCATE.COM
President Barack Obama will deliver remarks Tuesday in Minneapolis at the national convention of the American Legion, which strongly opposes the impending repeal of "don't ask, don't tell."

It’s unclear whether Obama will address DADT repeal, which he and military leaders certified in July and which will formally end September 20. 

American Legion leaders opposed congressional repeal of the 1993 policy and had urged the administration to fight a July order by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals lifting a stay on a previous worldwide injunction against DADT enforcement. 

"Micro-managing military policies by judicial fiat ignores the authority of our military leadership and circumvents the military's own Uniform Code of Military Justice," American Legion national commander Jimmie L. Foster said in a statement last month regarding the ninth circuit order. "Simply put, the military's role is to fight and win our nation's wars. Judges lack the expertise on how to best do this."

The Legion’s staunch opposition to DADT repeal has its detractors among the membership ranks, however. In July, Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Dennis Laich ended his membership because, as he wrote in a well-publicized 
letter to Foster, the organization's "Twentieth Century policy positions make it impossible for me to be a member of the American Legion in the Twenty-First Century."
"Policy positions that the American Legion and several of its senior leaders have taken regarding gay and lesbian service in our military are repugnant to me and represent a bigotry and discrimination that demeans the service and sacrifice of gays and lesbians to our national defense,” Laich wrote. 

Minnesota Public Radio 
reports that Obama will focus on unemployment during his convention remarks: 9.4% of the state’s veterans are currently unemployed. The rate of post-9/11 veterans who are out of work in Minnesota is at a staggering 22.9%, among the nation's highest.

Indonesian Lesbian Couple Forcibly Separated


In the Indonesian province of Aceh, authorities have forced a lesbian couple to have their marriage annulled and sign a separation agreement — but their local police chief told them they really deserve beheading.


Indonesian Sharia police ACEH X390 (GETTY) | ADVOCATE.COM


In the Indonesian province of Aceh, authorities have forced a lesbian couple to have their marriage annulled and sign a separation agreement — but their local police chief told them they really deserve beheading.

The women, whose names were not revealed, were married legally by an Islamic cleric a few months ago, with one of them passing as a man, the BBCreports. Neighbors suspected they were both women, however, and reported them to police in the province, which enforces some aspects of Muslim Sharia law.

The two are now living with their families and under surveillance. The local police chief told them that Islam called for them to be beheaded and burned, but the province has yet to put such penalties into law.

While Indonesia has the world’s largest Muslim population, Aceh is the only province that is allowed to implement Sharia, the religion’s legal code. It has yet to adopt any provisions dealing with homosexuality, which is legal but frowned upon in the nation. Two years ago the provincial parliament passed legislation authorizing the death penalty for adultery and caning for homosexuality, but the governor refused to sign it.

SMH: Lesbian Labeled a "Sinner," Removed From Son’s Boy Scout Troop




Jaden and Jackson Steele, Denise Steele (mom), and Jackie Funk (mom) X390 (SOURCED) | ADVOCATE.COMFrom left: Jaden Steele, 9, Jackson Steele, 12, Denise Steele, Jackie Funk
A Virginia woman has been removed from a leadership position in her son’s Boy Scout troop after six years of service — all because she’s a lesbian.

Denise Steele and Jackie Funk have been together for 19 years and are raising their two children Jackson, 12, and Jaden, 9, along with Steele’s nephew Will, 10, in the town of Potomac Falls.

According to the 
 Loudoun Times-Mirror, Steele became a den leader for Jackson’s troop six years ago when no other parent volunteered for the position, and with her help the group “excelled at everything, including accomplishing badges and winning the Blue and Gold Award all five years, one of the highest awards for Boy Scouts.”

According to her partner, Steele enjoyed her work with the Scouts. Not only did she quickly reach her goal of becoming an assistant scout leader — training generally takes a year, but Steele completed it in less than a month — she says she offered full disclosure, informing scoutmaster Mike Tucker of her nearly two-decade relationship with Funk. He told her there was no problem.

But in June the devoted leader was removed from the troop after an assistant scoutmaster, Skip Inabinett, learned of her relationship with Funk.

Inabinett reportedly sent an email to a friend of Steele’s asking her to approach Steele about stepping down. “As her friend, this may be an opportunity for you to share with her about Christ’s love and the need to believe that as sinners we cannot get to heaven on our own and that we need a savior,” he wrote.

In a situation Funk labeled “bullying,” Inabinett also exchanged emails with Steele, many of which reduced her to tears.

Then, according to Steele and Funk, Inabinett skipped the normal protocol of speaking to the committee and the district, choosing instead to go directly to the top and asking the Boy Scouts of America to remove Steele from her position.

They did.

Since “open homosexuality” is considered “inconsistent with the values” of the Boy Scouts of America organization, a representative from the troop’s charter organization — the relatively conservative Christian Fellowship Church — said Steele’s removal was a matter of following the rules. “We are simply doing what we agreed to do in our charter,” said Esther Schaeffer.

Steele’s friend Eric Ianson, an Eagle Scout himself, disagreed with the ruling “I think it’s disappointing — it’s a sad day for Boy Scouting. I think the actions are really out of sync of what scouting stands for,” he said. 

Read more 
here.

LGBT Resort Areas Evacuated for Hurricane Irene




IRENE STORM TRACK X390 (WEATHER CHAN) | ADVOCATE.COM
As the East Coast prepares for Hurricane Irene, residents of some LGBT-popular areas are hunkering down and hoping for the best.
Rehoboth Beach, Del., residents have been ordered to evacuate by 9.a.m. Saturday, and the storm is expected to make landfall by Sunday around 8 a.m. Shelters are open in all Delaware counties. 

Hurricane warnings have not been issued for Massachusetts yet, according to the 
Associated Press. Forecasters predict Irene to make landfall in southern New England Sunday. They say they are unable to determine where it would hit land first; forecasts show that could be anywhere between New Jersey and Cape Cod. The Red Cross is positioning emergency response vehicles across the state, including in heavily towns Northampton and Provincetown.

In New York, where Irene could make landfall Sunday as a Category 1 storm, evacuations have been ordered for nursing homes and hospitals in low-lying coastal areas like Battery Park, Coney Island, and Far Rockaway. Gov. Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency and officials issued a mandatory evacuation order for the 17 communities on Fire Island, the western half of the barrier island in the towns of Islip and Brookhaven, starting at 3 p.m. today.

“We are asking everyone to take the time, secure their homes, and then get off Fire Island well in advance of this storm and the potential destruction it may bring,” Islip town supervisor Phil Nolan told the 
Long Island Express. Once the order takes effect, ferries will only allow homeowners to cross the Great South Bay to secure their houses. Ferries are expected to stop running between around 3 p.m. Saturday, although service may be cut off before then if the storm is expected to arrive sooner, officials said.

ADVICE VIDEO: ‘When do we talk about STI’s and sex?’

[FULL INTERVIEW] Eddie Long Accusers Risk Losing Settlement Money By Speaking Out



Photo courtesy of WSB-TV
For the first time since settling sex abuse lawsuits with Bishop Eddie Long, two of his accusers are speaking out about the case in an exclusive interview with WSB-TV.
By speaking out about their alleged relationship with Long, Jamal Parris and Spencer LeGrande risk losing the unspecified money they were awarded in the settlement.
The young men told WSB-TV that it was never about money and was always about the truth, and they feel like their whole story still hasn’t been told. The two said they are planning on writing a book about their ordeal.
The men spoke to WSB-TV for several hours, about their relationships with Bishop Eddie Long, what they went through during the settlement talks, and how they’re doing now.
This week in Miami Jamal Parris pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute marijuana. He told Channel 2 Action News investigative reporter Jodie Fleischer that he was never a drug dealer, that he wasn’t trying to look like a drug dealer and that the whole arrest is a product of what he went through with Bishop Eddie Long.
Spencer and LeGrande also described how they felt watching Long deny the allegations to his New Birth Missionary Baptist Church congregation last September.
Full interview below:

Gizmodo calls new likely Apple CEO most powerful gay in Silicon Valley!!!



Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced today he was stepping down for health reasons – his likely replacement?
Tim Cook, who is known to be quietly gay. Gizmodo calls him “The most powerful gay man in Silicon Valley.”
Cook has been with Apple for 13 years and is currently Chief Operating Officer. He is well respected at Apple and in the industry.
For much, much more, check out Gizmodo.

Living for the Apocalypse


The families on Sunday’s one-hour TLC special Livin’ for the Apocalypse offer a behind-the-scenes look at what it means to prepare for the end of civilization as we know it.


LIVING FOR THE APOCALYPSE LEAD X390 (TLC) | ADVOCATE.COM




From gas masks to tilapia ponds, the families on Sunday August 28’s TLC one-hour special, Livin’ for the Apocalypse offer a behind-the-scenes look at what it means to prepare for the end of civilization as we know it. With headlines touting the world's latest natural disasters, cultural doomsday predictions, and economic collapses, it’s no surprise some families are preparing for the worst. But, a nice bonus: a transgender woman, Jackie, and her friend Gidget are part of the family survivalists profiled on the series. Jackie (who chose not to disclose her last name) talks to the Advocate about growing up poor, planning for the worst, and exposing herself to TV critics. 

You’re a believer in self-sufficiency. How did you get to that philosophy? 
I came from a very poor family. We mostly lived on farms. We survived on what my dad could grow and raise, and what my momma canned and dried. I can remember many weeks of eating only beans and we were glad to have that to eat. I remember that at the age 10, my younger brother and I had to be the horse and pull the plow so my dad could get his crops in. We all worked in the fields and the garden. It was a hard life but we learned the value of work ethic. I moved out and was on my own at the age of fourteen and got my own job and place to live. I have worked and been on my own ever since. 

How much did growing up in the ‘80s during the nuclear fear affect your feelings about being prepared for the worst? 
I wasn't really concerned about anything nuclear at that time, but I was in the Navy and our submarine had nuclear warheads. 

How is your home and family able to survive an apocalypse? 
We have enough dried foods — not pre-packaged, dehydrated yucky things — for two people to survive for two years. We also have a thousand gallons of water, but we really need another thousand gallons. Gidget has two grown children and her elderly mother to care for, so the food will be divided between all of us. We hope to be able to get enough fuel to cook with and wood to heat with. As far as anything nuclear, we don't have the finances and supplies for bunkers and supplies. Gidget and I are also in bad physical health, so we both feel that we are too old to help rebuild the country.




LIVING FOR THE APOCALYPSE GRAB X390 (TLC) | ADVOCATE.COM



Why is this sort of living important now?
We both feel our economy will collapse in the next few years. There will be civil unrest here and, of course, looting. If we lose electricity, this will move at a faster pace, as everyone pretty much uses some electricity. No gas, ATMs, phones, or the ability to go to the grocery stores. 

What should folks do to better protect themselves? Do you have to live in a house in order to be safe? It’s hard to store water in a studio apartment, for example. 
It is most helpful to live in a home for storing things. Food can be stored in something as simple as an end table. You can also double insulate walls with food storage buckets. But if you live in a small place, you can rent a unit to store what you will need. Be sure it is close by and you are able to get to it at any time. I would also recommend storing living supplies in the storage unit, as you may end up having to live in it for a period of time.

Why did you decide to go on the TLC show and expose your beliefs? Any concerns you’d be exploited or criticized? 
Since Gidget is the prepper, for the most part, she agreed to do the TLC show. I am sort of shy, so I wasn't so sure at first, but when director Nick Lee came to film us, he was so nice and gentle. We could really be ourselves and we had a lot of fun. My biggest fear is that most folks think we're nutty, but we know that we're doing the right thing in the long run. As far as the gender comments, they don't bother me as much anymore. I am used to it. But Gidget is very protective and it really hackles her up if she hears of reads any negative comments about me. 

How do you deal with needs for medication like hormones in an apocalypse?
We worry about medications. For what you usually need each month, you need an RX from the doctor. Next year, we plan to go to Mexico to try and stock up. Gidget is a diabetic and needs her meds — insulin is a big issue because it needs to be refrigerated. We are hoping to eventually get a solar generator to help with that issue. For antibiotics, the feed stores have the same medications that they use for humans. The same goes for fish supply stores. We can also order them online.

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