Gay/Lesbian News

Yesterday, more than 100 retired generals and admirals called for repeal of the US Military "don't ask, don't tell" policy on gays so they can serve openly.

And I am proud to say my father, a retired US Air Force General, was one of them as he joined retired four-star Admiral and two-time superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy Adm. Charles Larson, in signing this statement.

Read more and see the Video

Yesterday, we blogged about the corporate connection between Pittsburgh based businesses and financial supporters of Proposition 8. Such as the CEO of Cinemark who ponied up $10,000 cool ones. I thought it was really a local matter of encouraging Pittsburgh queers to avoid specific local theaters, especially for the upcoming screenings of "Milk." we also decided to write to the company.

And we got an answer....

Yes On 8 Charges Civil Rights Violations By Opponents.

Amidst all this lawlessness, harassment, trampling of civil rights and now domestic terrorism, one thing stands out: the deafening silence of our elected officials, said spokesperson Frank Shubert of ProtectMarriage.com.

The statement issued by Mr. Shubert provided a glimpse into the campaign’s legal reasoning for their claim. It said: “In the past ten days, hostility has increased against people whose only offense was to exercise their right to participate in the political process.

I went to the protest this weekend... I did not see any "lawlessness"

Does anyone remember the Reichstag Fire?

A 20-year-old Syracuse man was being held without bail Monday after a fatal shooting that police said might have been a hate crime.

Dr. Phil is having an upcoming program on proposition 8 and same-sex marriage in California on Friday 11/21. We will be watching closely considering we haven't been too pleased with the transphobia aired on Dr. Phil in the past.

The recent disappointments in Arizona, Florida, Arkansas, and California have already affected gay men and lesbians around the country. Although in some states our ability to form loving caring relationships is presumed to be subjected to a vote by our fellow citizens, a growing number of gay men nationwide are having children and proving to be great parents. Will recent ballot measures present obstacles to this trend? Not according to John Weltman, president and owner of the country’s oldest gay owned and gay focused surrogacy agency. In fact, he believes the gay surrogacy boom will continue to grow quite substantially in the next 10 to 20 years. READ MORE

What proved most bittersweet about the Obama victory was the passage of Proposition 8 -- banning gay marriage in California -- this past Election Day. That event galvanized the LGBTQ communities throughout the country for this past weekends national day of protests. Yet if there was a galvanizing gay leader, such as Harvey Milk, could the proposition had been defeated. After all, as seen in Gus Van Sant’s hugely anticipated biopic "Milk," the San Francisco gay leader led the successful defeat of a similarly homophobic proposition thirty years ago. Would a new Milk help lead the LGBTQ communities in the struggles ahead. EDGE spoke to a number of gay leaders about whether a personality could help unite the gay communities.

The highest court in Nepal has issued a ruling granting full rights to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersexual citizens.

The always androgynous, sexually ambiguous Prince has come out with his anti-gay sentiments, in an interview with a Christian businessman

Photo by Andrew Sullivan

And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud

This Photo was taken around 3 pm in Washington DC, Saturday, as the Prop 8 protest made its way to Lafayette Square.(Andrew Sullivan)

He did not drown us in a flood... no, instead he sent us a rainbow of hope... you are free to make your own conclusions as to what he was saying here

In cities big and small people turned out to protest the Gay marriage ban in California...

Here is a video of the protest in Boston

Clooney says, "At some point in our lifetime, gay marriage won't be an issue, and everyone who stood against this civil right will look as outdated as George Wallace standing on the school steps keeping James Hood from entering the University of Alabama because he was black." READ MORE

Since the election, there's been an incredible spotlight shining on the fact that 70 percent of African Americans voted to ban same-sex marriages in California, but I think a lot of people just don’t seem grasp the demographics that went on here.

While the vote against us in California was 70 percent among blacks, most of those black voters were older churchgoers who really made up only two to four percent of the electorate. Did we really expect churchgoers, black or white to vote any different?

"The LDS church insists it is pro "traditional marriage" but not anti-gay and would support fair housing, civil unions, and medical rights, employment protections. Sign the petition urging them to keep their word."

I was watching Dan Savage and and some Family Research Council talking head on Anderson Cooper the other night. The were talking about the Prop 8 debacle in California, and it finally hit me for the first time---the "family values" groups have no idea what family is, not even a clue.

I am honored to join with you today as we gather here, and in so many other cities and towns across this beleaguered nation. I am proud to join you as we stand up to say, in one clear voice, that we are entitled to equality. We are gay and lesbian, bi and transgender, and many of us identify with other labels, or reject these onerous labels altogether. But we are here with our friends, and with a singular purpose--a purpose which unites us together, and transcends our many differences.

We are here to fight injustice--long-standing, institutionalized injustice. We are here to battle bigotry, to reject hatred, to abolish discrimination. We are here to let the world know that we will not give up, and we will not give in, and we will not back down. And we are not afraid! We demand equality and we demand justice, and we need these things not tomorrow, but right now, today.

I volunteered to work the protest.

The Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department made it known that they believe in our protest and that they are backing us 100%. I also learned that most of the police officers working that day are part of the community and wanted to be a part of the event and wanted to be there to protect us.

And with that knowledge 12,000 of us hit the street.

About 100 members of Wichita's gay community and their supporters gathered at Wichita City Hall on Saturday to protest California's recently enacted ban on gay marriage.The turnout was part of a nationwide ...

With the US Capitol Building as the background my fellow protesters clustered shoulder to shoulder in less than superb weather conditions chanting, carrying rainbow flags and signs bearing messages such as "No More Mr. Nice Gay" and "No on Hate."

I was here and I was angry.

I came here angry, but it the end I did not stand with anger, I stood with with hope, because if a group as diverse as was at the DC protest was can come together and share, if even for one afternoon there is indeed hope.

The day after voters in 4 states decided to send a message to gays and lesbians, MSNBC's Keith Olbermann delivered a heartfelt response. Please watch the video. If you voted in Favor of Proposition 8 in CA, Amendment 2 in Florida, banning gay marriage in Arizona, or barring gays and lesbians from being foster parentsin Mississippi; I'd like you to watch this video and post your reaction. Thanks DNF