Here’s a newsflash for you: politicians want to win elections. And with marriage equality continuing to pick up steam across America, it’s becoming increasingly more difficult to win an election with an anti-gay platform.
Which, let’s face it, has been a specialty of conservative Republicans. But if there’s one thing outspokenly antigay Republicans hate more than gay marriage, it’s losing their seats in office. Power trumps bigotry, who know? Washington Post recently ran a column looking at evidence from American politics that antigay marriage sentiments are on a steep decline. Here are some encouraging highlights: Young people are ushering in a stunning change in public opinion on the issue of same sex marriage, and record levels of Americans now support this cause. According to a recent ABC News/Washington Post poll, 58% of Americans now support gay marriage, which marks a remarkable 26 percentage point jump in just nine years. The most sizeable support comes from 18-29 year olds, where 81% now believe gay marriage should be legal, an increase of 24 percentage points from 2004. It’s worth a read, if only for this incredible statistic: “nearly two-thirds of millennial evangelicals support gay marriage.” And there does seem to be a noticeable shift in how gay rights are discussed, with those holding on to anti-gay beliefs appearing more and more to be on the fringe. Though road blocks remain numerous and substantial, it’s satisfying to know that the future is bright for gay rights in America.
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The New Civil Rights Movement reported this week on a new study by researchers at King’s College London and published in the American Psychiatric Association’s prestigious American Journal of Psychiatry. The study found adults who were bullied as children experience negative effects on their physical, emotional, and economic well-being well into middle age, almost forty years later. Like any good clinical study, King’s College results lists only facts and figures and clinic observations. It tells us bullying exists and that it is demonstrably harmful. But there just is no scientific way to speak to the quality of the pain caused by bullying. We leave that to our writers and artists, our poets and musicians. Irish singer/songwriter Ryan Dolan is one of those artists. Ryan Dolan’s new music video, set to his original song Start Again, puts a human face on bullying and makes an appeal to the heart. It also gives a sense of hope to kids suffering at the hands of a bully, that “it get better”. “Life was hard and I got down. But I got up and carried on…” Ryan, who has only recently come out as gay, recorded Start Again against a backdrop of a kid being relentlessly bullied. Both the song and the images have the feel of someone who has hidden his sexual identity out of fear; someone who has experienced bullying first hand: ‘Cause I can live a lifetime living these lies. I can laugh and act okay. I can show a smile and say I’m happy, But there has gotta be a better way. The song has gone viral, recording over 700,000 hits on YouTube. Have a listen for yourself, and see if you think he got it right: COLUMBUS, Ohio — Supporters of the latest version of a proposed constitutional amendment aimed at overturning Ohio’s same-sex marriage ban can now gather signatures to get the measure on the ballot.
The Ohio Ballot Board agreed Tuesday that the proposed “Freedom to Marry and Religious Freedom Amendment” contains a single constitutional amendment, clearing the way for the effort to move forward. The updated amendment includes language requiring that all legally valid marriages be treated equally under the law. It also keeps clergy from being forced to perform a same-sex marriage. The group FreedomOhio is seeking to repeal and replace Ohio’s 2004 prohibition on gay marriage. The amendment is not related to a federal judge’s recent decision ordering Ohio authorities to recognize the marriages of gay couples performed in other states. INDIANAPOLIS — A federal judge has said that attorneys defending Indiana’s same-sex marriage ban haven’t given a valid reason why the state should not recognize the out-of-state marriage of a lesbian couple, one of whom has a terminal illness.
U.S. District Judge Richard Young’s written order, issued Friday, outlined the rationale behind his decision earlier this month to grant Niki Quasney and Amy Sandler a temporary restraining order that bars the state from enforcing its gay marriage ban against their union. The federal order applied only to Quasney and Sandler, even though they were part of a larger lawsuit involving several gay couples. Indiana does not recognize same-sex marriages performed inside or outside of the state. The Munster couple had asked Indiana to recognize their marriage, which took place in Massachusetts, one of 17 states where gay marriage is legal. Quasney and Sandler have been together 13 years and they have two daughters, ages 1 and 2, conceived through “reproductive technology” and birthed by Sandler, according to court records. Quasney has stage 4 ovarian cancer, and the couple had argued that the court should grant their request because “they have an urgent need to have their marriage recognized.” Young ordered the state on April 10 to recognize their marriage on Quasney’s death certificate when it is issued. Quasney is still alive. In the 11-page order issued Friday, Young said he granted the request partly because the couple is likely to succeed in having Indiana’s gay marriage ban declared unconstitutional. He also said that Quasney’s terminal illness required urgent action. “The Equal Protection Clause requires states to treat people equally under the law,” wrote Young, who was appointed in 1998 by then-President Bill Clinton. “If the state wishes to differentiate between people and make them unequal, then it must have at least a legitimate purpose.” He also said his decision was due in part to a wave of similar rulings in other states, including two that dealt with terminally ill partners. Temporary restraining orders cannot be appealed, but the attorney general’s office said in a statement Monday that it would continue to defend Indiana’s gay marriage ban at the next stage in court. “County clerks are still prohibited by law from issuing marriage licenses to other same-sex couples,” spokesman Bryan Corbin said. Indiana Solicitor General Thomas Fisher argued at the April 10 hearing in Evansville that the state has an interest in limiting marriage to couples who can have children. But Young noted in the order that the state routinely recognizes the marriages of couples who are too old to reproduce, and gay couples can form families in other ways. He also wrote that the state’s decision to not recognize gay marriages performed out of state didn’t hold up because Indiana recognizes other marriages that take place outside of the state and violate Indiana laws, such as marriages between first cousins. Lambda Legal, the national gay rights group that represented Quasney and Sandler, had no immediate comment. Follow this case: Baskin v. Bogan. At a time when openly gay youth were still barred from the BSA, scout Eric Snyder decided to protest by renovating an LGBT center. BY Daniel Reynolds A gay Boy Scout has used his Eagle Scout project to help the LGBT community. As a closeted high school sophomore, Eric Snyder realized that by coming out, he could jeopardize his membership in the Boy Scouts of America, which still had its ban on gay and bisexual youth at the time he was preparing for the final hurdle to the high rank of Eagle Scout: a community service project. To circumvent this rule, Snyder decided to use this project as an opportunity to serve as "an act of rebellion against the organization's homophobic policies," according to the description that accompanies his YouTube interview from I'm From Driftwood, the LGBTQ Story Archive. "OK, I'm gonna do something really, really gay,” he recalled thinking at the time. “If they're not gonna allow me to do anything that's queer at all, I'm gonna make it really loud in my project." Snyder, who lives in upstate New York, sought guidance from his gay math teacher, who had mentored an LGBT club at his high school before it was “dismantled.” His teacher referred him to the Pride Center in Albany, which was in desperate need of repairs. Upon visiting, Snyder was shocked to discover that the youth group convened in “the dingiest little basement … [with] one dingy little light in the center.” “This is not right,” he remembered thinking at the moment. “They deserve better than this, because they're coming out here. They're working. They're trying to make the world better. So I said, ‘OK, that's gonna be my project.’” With the help of several friends, Snyder renovated the space, painting the walls and installing a new ceiling, lighting, shelves, and cupboards. The project was approved, and he expects to receive his Eagle Scout honor in several months. Watch the video interview below.
SPRINGFIELD, Illinois — A crop of Republican officials who wanted to oust former Illinois GOP Chairman Pat Brady for his statements supporting same-sex marriage have been replaced in their party positions.
Illinois Republicans across the state held elections for all 18 state central committee member posts this week, replacing six of the seven officials who signed on to a letter last year to hold a vote on removing Brady as chairman. The seventh person to sign the letter, Mark Shaw of the 10th Congressional District, was re-elected to a four-year term. Brady began making public statements in January 2013 in support of same-sex marriage, contrary to the party's platform that defines marriage as between one man and one woman. Committee members in favor of his removal said he not only violated the platform, but commented without notifying them first. Brady, in turn, described the party as "on wrong side of history." He resigned from the chairman's post last May, citing his wife's battle with cancer and his desire to focus on his family after four years as chairman and two as a Republican National Committee member. He was succeeded by current chairman Jack Dorgan of Rosemont last June. The ideological shifts in the party's organizational structure come as Republicans in Illinois and nationally are working to expand and attract women and minority voters as they look to November. In all, only seven of 18 committeemen were re-elected to new four-year terms. "There were some people that have moved on that were great, and then there were others that were absolutely destructive and were not good for the party and they're gone," said Brady, who is no longer a member of the committee. "All in all, it was a good night, (bringing in) a lot of new blood." Some new party officials have already said they feel that social views should take a back seat to get-out-the-vote efforts ahead of November elections that include a serious challenge to Gov. Pat Quinn by Republican Bruce Rauner. New 8th District committeeman Ryan Higgins of Schaumburg told The Associated Press that "there's room to disagree on those issues. In my role at the state party level, I don't want my opinion to be known." Higgins, who unsuccessfully ran for state representative in 2010, said he supported civil union legislation on several newspaper questionnaires then. "The leaders we selected today will help guide our party forward, hold Gov. Quinn accountable for his failures, and elect Republicans up and down the ticket," Dorgan said in a statement. Christopher Lee lived his life as a man, but after he died by suicide, the death certificate listed his gender as female. Two stories about Transgender Activist's Christopher Lee's death Male in Life, Female in Death: The Story of Christopher Lee’s Death Certificate By Matt Levin A death certificate was not on the forefront of Chino Scott-Chung’s mind as he waited for the ashes of his best friend, Christopher Lee. Lee, 48, had committed suicide in December 2012, and Scott-Chung was still reeling from the death of the friend who had served as best man in his wedding. After receiving the ashes, Scott-Chung prepared to leave when the employee from the Oakland cremation services company handed him Lee’s death certificate. Scott-Chung immediately noticed something was wrong. Something that Christopher would never have consented to if he were still alive. “I looked at it, and it said female on it,” said Scott-Chung. “And I asked her, ‘Why does it say female? He was male. You must have made a mistake.’” Lee was a female-to-male transgender person, and had identified as male for two decades. His driver’s license, which Scott-Chung and his spouse had turned over to the Alameda County coroner shortly after Lee’s death, identified Lee as male. But on Lee’s death certificate, under the box marked “SEX”, was the word “female.” “That can’t be,” Scott-Chung remembered telling the cremation company employee. “He’s a man, and he has lived as man for close to twenty years.” The employee explained to Lee that the death certificate was filled out by the Alameda County coroner’s office, and that gender on the form is typically determined by the presence of male or female genitalia. While Lee identified as male and had secondary male sex characteristics like facial hair, he had not undergone sex reassignment surgery, and so retained female reproductive anatomy. Scott-Chung was shocked. It wasn’t just that he believed a public document incorrectly identified Lee’s gender. It’s that Lee had spent much of his adult life as a public figure in the Bay Area transgender community, and was in many respects a pioneer in the transgender rights movement. Lee had co-founded the Transgender Film Festival, then known as “Tranny Fest”, in San Francisco in 1997. The festival, which screens works that seek to counter negative stereotypes about transgender people, was the first of its kind in North America and is still hosted annually in Bay Area theaters. In 2002, Lee served as the first female-to-male transgender grand marshal of the San Francisco LGBT Pride Parade. He made several films about the transgender experience, including the autobiographical “Christopher’s Chronicles.” “When they put RIP on people’s tombstones, it’s rest in peace” said Maya Scott-Chung, Chino’s spouse and a close friend of Lee’s. “And I just felt like Christopher’s spirit will not rest in peace with a death certificate that says female.” Shortly after receiving Lee’s death certificate, the couple contacted the Transgender Law Center, an Oakland-based legal services and advocacy organization, to see what they could do to amend the document. “Under current law, we were actually surprised to learn that there’s essentially no guidance to people filling out death certificates about what they should put for sex,” said Ilona Turner, legal director for the Transgender Law Center. “Whenever transgender people pass away, it’s completely up to the discretion, education, knowledge, of that individual coroner or funeral director to use their best judgment in the face of what is sometimes conflicting information.” Such conflicting information could arise in the form of reproductive genitalia of one sex and secondary sex characteristics of another, such as in Lee’s case. Because the cost of sex reassignment surgery is often prohibitively high and not covered by health insurance, this is common among transgender people. Adding to the uncertainty, coroners and funeral directors typically rely on the next of kin of the deceased when filling out vital information on a death certificate, including name, age, occupation, and sex. This may be problematic for many transgender people who are estranged from their biological families because of their gender transition. “This is one of those elements that can come up where people may disagree as to what should be included on the death certificate, what the deceased wanted to have included in terms of their gender,” said Bob Achermann, executive director of the California Funeral Directors Association. Achermann says this could leave funeral directors in legally vulnerable territory. “You don’t want to put yourself in the middle, expose yourself to liability because you can’t resolve a conflict between two parties saying totally contrary things.” The legal limbo surrounding transgender death certificates prompted Transgender Law Center and Equality California, a gay rights group, to push for new legislation in the state capitol this year. The “Respect After Death Act”, introduced by Assemblymember Toni Atkins (D-San Diego), requires that individuals completing a death certificate record the decedent’s sex to reflect his or her gender identity, not simply sexual anatomy. The bill, AB 1577, passed a health committee vote earlier this month and awaits a May hearing in the Assembly Appropriations Committee. It specifies legal documents that officials should defer to when determining gender on a death certificate. These documents include a birth certificate, a court order approving a name or gender change, a passport, proof of clinical treatment for gender transition, and a valid driver’s license. In the event of a conflict, such documents would trump preferences of next-of-kin. The bill would also shield coroners and funeral directors from lawsuits if they fill out death certificates according to these new protocols. “Passing AB 1577 will ensure that transgender people who have memorialized their gender transition can be recognized properly at death with simple, objective criteria,” Atkins said during the bill’s hearing. Atkins has taken on transgender issues as part of her legislative agenda. Last year, Atkins co-authored AB 1266, which allowed transgender students to use facilities like bathrooms that conform to their gender identity. She also sponsored separate legislation that makes it easier for transgender people to change the name and gender listed on their birth certificate. Atkins will become the first lesbian Assembly Speaker later this spring. Capitol Resource Institute, a family values advocacy group, has registered opposition to the bill, arguing that it would give legal authority to non-family members to influence the recording of gender on a death certificate. The group did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Turner, the attorney from the Transgender Law Center, argues that the bill is one step in a broader effort against the posthumous “mis-gendering” of transgender people. Lawyers from the organization say they’ve heard of cases where family bury the transgender deceased in clothes of their birth gender, rather than how the person dressed as an adult. “It’s incredibly painful to the family, friends, and broader community members of a transgender person who passed away when that person is wrongly gendered after their death,” said Turner. “It sends a message, really a pretty strong signal to the rest of the community, that your wishes around your gender, your identity, your life as this person, who you are doesn’t matter and can be completely erased once you’re not here to stand up for yourself.” As far as Lee’s death certificate is concerned, Chino and Maya Scott-Chung are currently in the process of attempting to amend it. While Lee was not close to his biological family for many reasons, the family has deferred to the Scott-Chungs to settle Lee’s affairs. The family declined to be interviewed by KQED. An amended death certificate in California does not replace the original certificate — an amended version is simply attached to the original. Once the amendment process is complete, if someone requested Lee’s death certificate as a public record, they would see two genders: the original “female” on the old certificate, and “male” on the corrected one. Christopher Lee arrives at a film premiere in 1999 Transamerica: A pre-operative male-to-female transsexual takes an unexpected journey when she learns that she fathered a son, now a teenage runaway hustling on the streets of New York. A very personal story that is both funny and poignant, TORCH SONG TRILOGY chronicles a New Yorker's search for love, respect and tradition in a world that seems not especially made for him. From Arnold's hilarious steps toward domestic bliss with a reluctant school teacher, to his first truly promising love affair with a young fashion model, Arnold's greatest challenge remains his complicated relationship with his mother. But armed with a keenly developed sense of humor and oftentimes piercing wit, Arnold continues to test the commonly accepted terms of endearment--and endurance--in a universally affecting story that confirms that happiness is well worth carrying a torch for In the US more and more children are defining themselves as transgender, throwing up a number of complex questions. Following first-grader Coy Mathis, this report investigates the world of transgender kids. She likes dressing up, gravitates towards the colour pink, and enjoys playing with her dolls...but Coy was born a boy. For kids like Coy, living as the other gender can end years of unhappiness and feelings of "being born into the wrong body". Yet transgender communities face deep social stigma and discrimination in the US. So how young is too young to change sex? Attorney Al Gerhardstein, left, stands with several same-sex couples at a news conference, Friday, April 4, 2014, in Cincinnati. Civil rights attorneys are arguing in Federal Court on Friday that a federal judge should prohibit Ohio officials from enforcing the state’s ban on gay marriage. CINCINNATI — Attorneys for the state of Ohio asked a federal judge Tuesday to stay his decision ordering the state to recognize the marriages of same-sex couples performed in other states, a request the judge said he was inclined to grant.
The state attorneys said in a court filing they would not object to the request by four couples who sued in February to have both spouses listed on their children’s birth certificates, but urged Judge Timothy Black to stay Monday’s ruling for everyone else. “This court’s order is a momentous change in Ohio’s marriage law, that will require widespread — but in light of appeal, possibly temporary — changes in Ohio law,” they wrote. “The public interest and other parties are not served by such confusion.” Black said he is inclined to issue a stay of his decision pending appeal, meaning most gay couples living in the state would see no immediate tangible expansion of their rights. Black’s order does not force Ohio to allow gay marriages to be performed in the state. He said he would rule expeditiously on the stay. The civil rights attorneys who represent the couples argued in a filing late Monday that Black should allow his ruling to take effect immediately, extending broad rights to all same-sex married couples in Ohio. They argue that the state’s appeal isn’t likely to succeed, there is no public interest in delaying the ruling, and that no irreparable harm will come if the ruling is implemented, except to the same-sex couples trying to be treated with fairness. “This court’s order simply requires the state to recognize that which many other jurisdictions and the federal government already recognize — that these couples are indeed validly married and are entitled to the same dignity and legal protections other married families take for granted,” lead plaintiffs’ attorney Al Gerhardstein wrote in the filing. Three of the four couples live in the Cincinnati area. They’re all women, and one spouse in each relationship is pregnant and due to give birth this summer. The fourth couple lives in New York City but adopted their child from Ohio. If Black declines to stay the ruling, that would allow all married gay couples living in Ohio to obtain the same benefits as any other married couple in the state, including property rights and the right to make some medical decisions for their partner. Black said in his Monday ruling that Ohio’s refusal to recognize gay marriage is a violation of constitutional rights and “unenforceable in all circumstances.” “The record before this court … is staggeringly devoid of any legitimate justification for the state’s ongoing arbitrary discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation,” Black wrote. Including Black, eight federal judges have issued pro-gay-marriage rulings since the Supreme Court’s decision last June that struck down part of the federal anti-gay-marriage law. All but one of those rulings has been stayed pending appeal. Although Black’s order does not force Ohio to allow gay marriages to be performed in the state, Gerhardstein said he was planning to file a lawsuit in the next couple of weeks seeking such a ruling By NIRMALA GEORGE -- The Associated Press
NEW DELHI (AP) — India's top court on Tuesday issued a landmark verdict recognizing transgender rights as human rights, saying people can identify themselves as a third gender on official documents. The Supreme Court directed the federal and state governments to include transgendered people in all welfare programs for the poor, including education, health care and jobs to help them overcome social and economic challenges. Previously, transgendered Indians could only identify themselves as male or female in all official documents. The decision was praised as giving relief to the estimated 3 million Indians who are transgender. The court noted that it was the right of every human being to choose their gender while granting rights to those who identify themselves as neither male nor female. "All documents will now have a third category marked 'transgender.' This verdict has come as a great relief for all of us. Today I am proud to be an Indian," said Laxmi Narayan Tripathi, a transgender activist who, along with a legal agency, had petitioned the court. The court's decision would apply to individuals who have acquired the physical characteristics of the opposite sex or present themselves in a way that does not correspond with their sex at birth. "The spirit of the (Indian) Constitution is to provide equal opportunity to every citizen to grow and attain their potential, irrespective of caste, religion or gender," the court said in its order. The Supreme Court specified its ruling would only apply to transgender people but not to gays, lesbians or bisexuals. India's LGBT communities have been protesting the court's recent decision to reinstate a colonial-era law banning gay sex, which they say will make them vulnerable to police harassment. The court also ordered the government to put in place public awareness campaigns to lessen the social stigma against transgender people. Justice K.S. Radhakrishnan told the court that the "recognition of transgender (people) as a third gender is not a social or medical issue but a human rights issue." "Transgenders are citizens of this country and are entitled to education and all other rights," he said. The court ruled that transgender people would have the same right to adopt children as other Indians. The court said any person who underwent surgery to change his or her sex would be entitled to be legally recognized as belonging to the gender of their choice. The apex court also ordered state governments to construct separate public toilets for transgender people and create health departments to take care of their medical problems. Recently, India's Election Commission for the first time allowed a third gender choice — "other" — on voter registration forms. The change was made in time for the national elections being held in phases through May 12. Some 28,000 voters registered themselves in that category. Many transgender men in India earn a living by singing and dancing at weddings and births, but others must resort to begging or prostitution. The White House will hold a ceremony next month to launch a stamp in honour of assassinated gay rights hero Harvey Milk.
The stamp, first revealed two weeks ago, shows a black-and-white picture of the former San Francisco Supervisor, as well as a vertical pride flag. It will be launched at the White House on May 22, which is celebrated as Harvey Milk Day. According to Towleroad, a statement said: “The official first-day-of-issue dedication ceremony for the Harvey Milk Forever Stamp will take place at the White House May 22. Harvey Milk was a visionary leader who became one of the first openly gay elected officials in the U.S. when he won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977. “Milk’s achievements gave hope and confidence to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community in the United States and elsewhere at a time when the community was encountering widespread hostility and discrimination. “Milk believed that government should represent all citizens, ensuring equality and providing needed services. His remarkable career was tragically cut short nearly a year after he took office, when he and San Francisco Mayor George Moscone were assassinated.” Obama previously awarded Milk the Medal of Freedom, America’s highest honour, in 2009. An additional public dedication ceremony will take place in San Francisco, on May 28. To find out more on the history of Harvey Milk ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvey_Milk ) CINCINNATI (AP) — A federal judge has ordered Ohio authorities to recognize the marriages of gay couples performed in other states.
Judge Timothy Black's ruling on Monday criticized the state's "ongoing arbitrary discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation." He says the state's marriage recognition bans are unconstitutional and unenforceable. Black's order doesn't force Ohio to allow gay marriages to be performed in the state. The state plans to appeal Black's ruling, arguing that Ohio has a sovereign right to ban gay marriage, which voters did overwhelmingly in 2004. Black delayed deciding whether to stay his ruling pending appeal until attorneys on both sides present their arguments on the issue by the end of Tuesday. The Falls:
The Falls is a feature film about two missionaries that fall in love while on their mission. RJ travels to a small town in Oregon with Elder Merrill to serve their mission and teach the words of Joseph Smith. Living together and sharing the challenge of leaving home, the two men help each other discover their strengths. They share a passion for their faith and learn to express their feelings, risking the only community they have for a forbidden intimacy. |