Category Archives: LGBT

General Motors To Offer Benefits To All Gay Married Employees

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General Motors made a groundbreaking policy change this week and announced that the company would extend marriage benefits to the spouses of same-sex employees — even if the pair lives in a state where gay marriage isn’t legal.

The only catch? The couple must have been legally married in one of the 14 (soon to be 15!) states in which gay marriage is legal.

via General Motors To Offer Benefits To All Gay Married Employees.

I don’t think that’s a catch. It’s silly to think otherwise. If you get married in Idaho and it’s not legal, why would a corporation give you benefits based on that? That’s ridiculous. It’s also ridiculous that you can’t get married in ANY state in the Union, but I digress.

Still, good on ya, GM. Almost makes me want to go buy a Chevy. Almost.

John Boehner Opposes ENDA, Dealing Blow To Bill’s Chances

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But for all the nothing-to-see-here protestations, the timing of Boehner’s statement of opposition was indeed newsworthy. Coming amid growing support for ENDA in the Senate, it deflated the optimism of LGBT rights advocates.

“The Speaker, of all people, should certainly know what it’s like to go to work every day afraid of being fired,” said Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin. “Instead of letting the far right trample him again, it\’s time for Speaker Boehner to stand with the majority of everyday Republican voters and support ENDA.”

via John Boehner Opposes ENDA, Dealing Blow To Bill’s Chances.

John Boehner is an inhuman asshole of the first order. This is why you have to vote, people. This is why you have to learn about the issues.

Barilla Pasta Announces ‘Diversity And Inclusion’ Campaign Following Gay Backlash

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Italy’s Barilla Pasta came under fire in September when the company’s chairman made comments that sparked a backlash and boycott from the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community.

On Nov. 4, the company made an announcement that seeks to change all of that, telling that public that they would be introducing a Diversity & Inclusion Board to the company and a Global Diversity Officer. In addition, they would participate in the Human Rights Campaign’s (HRC) Corporate Equality Index.

via Barilla Pasta Announces ‘Diversity And Inclusion’ Campaign Following Gay Backlash.

Screw you, Barilla. Anybody who doesn’t understand the words corporate pandering doesn’t understand what’s going on here.

Gay Couple Legally Wed in Oklahoma Despite Statewide Ban

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Gay couple in Oklahoma legally wed despite state ban on same-sex marriage – LGBTQ Nation.
My new favorite tribe! Congratulations!

Oklahoma-gay-wedding

In this photo provided by All Shots Photgraphy, the Rev. Floyd Black Bear, left, officiates the wedding of his son, Darren Black Bear, second from left, to Jason Pickel, second from right, at Fort Reno in Oklahoma. They are the third same-sex couple to be issued a marriage license from the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes since 2012.| Brandi Duvall AP

Despite a gay marriage ban in the Oklahoma Constitution, Darren Black Bear, 45, and Jason Pickel, 36, wed before about 50 friends and family members at the Fort Reno chapel after being granted a marriage license from the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes. 

John Arthur, Terminally Ill Ohio Man Who Challenged Gay Marriage Ban, Dies

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CINCINNATI (AP) — John Arthur, who with his longtime partner helped lead a legal challenge to Ohio’s ban on gay marriage, died early Tuesday, his attorney and a funeral home director said.

With Arthur terminally ill from Lou Gehrig’s disease, he and James Obergefell, both 47, flew to Maryland in June to marry. They then then sued in federal court in Cincinnati for recognition of their marriage in Ohio so they could be buried next to each other in Arthur’s family plot.

“Their love is a model for all of us,” attorney Al Gerhardstein said, praising Arthur for fighting in his last days for the rights of all same-sex couples.

via John Arthur, Terminally Ill Ohio Man Who Challenged Gay Marriage Ban, Dies.

Very sad, but a story of a triumphant outcome of hope. John Arthur continued to fight for recognition until the end. His fight may pave the way for more Ohioans to have their marriages legally recognized.

There’s a video embedded on the jump. Watch it. You’ll cry.

Christie Withdraws Appeal of Same-Sex Marriage Ruling in N.J.

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Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey announced on Monday that his administration would drop its legal challenge to allowing gay marriage in the state…

via Christie Withdraws Appeal of Same-Sex Marriage Ruling in New Jersey – NYTimes.com.

I sometimes get the feeling the Christie WANTS to be a progressive, but just can’t quite get there. I applauded him during the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, stood up for him when Clinton’s former doctor called him fat, and decided that I would do anything I could possibly do to unseat him after this marriage equality debacle.

Not only is his referendum idea wrong on its face — you never allow the electorate to vote on basic human rights — but it’s laughable to think that somehow the courts are not a part of government. They are. They did their jobs. Lick your wounds and move on.

Or, perhaps more to the point, you realized that you can’t win another election on the wrong side of history.

Congratulations, Garden State. Fourteen is a lovely number. Fifteen’s a better one.

New Jersey Welcomes You — Or Not — We’re Unsure, Really. (Meanwhile, Enjoy our Turnpike)

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Several New Jersey towns were accepting applications for marriage licenses so gay couples can tie the knot starting Monday – unless the state Supreme Court blocks the nuptials before then.

via N.J. towns accept marriage applications, prepare for same-sex weddings – LGBTQ Nation.

LGBT History Month 2013: 21 Influential Black LGBT Icons

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LGBT History Month 2013: 21 Influential Black LGBT Icons.

An important list, I think. Often those of color were so marginalized in society that those that were gay were practically invisible.

Bayard Rustin, the gay, Quaker civil rights organizer. He is one of the unsung heroes of the last century's social movements.

Bayard Rustin, the gay, Quaker civil rights organizer. He is one of the unsung heroes of the last century’s social movements.

One social reformer that was not invisible was Bayard Rustin, the main organizer of the 1963 March on Washington. Rustin’s sexuality did, however, impact negatively on his place in history. Only now, 50 years after the March and two and a half decades after his death is his importance to civil rights and gay rights in the 20th century being reexamined.

Langford on Soaps: Best Gay TV Characters

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Langford on Soaps: Has “My Husband’s Lover” Jumped the Shark? – thebacklot.com, Page 6.

Scroll down the linked page about halfway to get to Anthony’s top ten list. Sometimes when I read his opinions of soaps, it’s like we’re watching two entirely different shows. A wide divergence of opinion — it’s what civilized discourse is all about, Congress. This time out, however, it’s something else entirely.

Eric Sheffer Stevens (l) joined As The World Turns in its last year on the air as Dr. Reid Oliver. His pairing with Van Hansis' Luke divided audiences between those who wanted to see the electric pairing of Stevens and Hansis and those wanting a happy ending for Luke and his former love, Noah, played by Jake Silbermann. Reid Oliver's death was central to the plot of the show's finale, though it did not satisfy many viewers.

Eric Sheffer Stevens (l) joined As The World Turns in its last year on the air as Dr. Reid Oliver. His pairing with Van Hansis’ Luke divided audiences between those who wanted to see the electric pairing of Stevens and Hansis and those wanting a happy ending for Luke and his former love, Noah, played by Jake Silbermann. Reid Oliver’s death was central to the plot of the show’s finale, though it did not satisfy many viewers.

I like his list. I think I would have replaced #s 10, 9, and 5, but other than that, I think he’s onto something.

Like Anthony, I think Reid Oliver and Brendan Brady were, in many ways, some of the most important gay representations we’ve had on television. And, I, too, have a soft spot for John Paul McQueen, Aaron Livesy and Luke Snyder!

Are Gender-Neutral Pronouns Actually Doomed?

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Are Gender-Neutral Pronouns Actually Doomed?.

Dennis Baron calls it the word that failed.

Baron, a professor of linguistics at the University of Illinois, has been monitoring the development of epicene—that is, gender-neutral, third-person singular pronouns—since the 1986 publication of his book Grammar and Gender.

I don’t know why I find this so interesting, but I do. I guess it’s along the lines of my longstanding consternation with the inherent gender bias with “husband” and “wife.” Michelangelo Signorile wrote about this recently, and I feel much of the same consternation that he does. And there’s even more eye-rolling with epicene pronouns.

Most of that, I assume, is because English is a language filled with nuance. Someday I’ll become comfortable calling my husband my husband, but I doubt I’ll ever feel comfortable using the alleged pronoun “e.”