Classy. From the Chicago Sun-Times: The 42nd annual Chicago Pride Parade marched forward Sunday, even though the tires on 30 to 50 floats were slashed hours before the event’s start. The floats were damaged overnight at a storage facility, Associated Attractions Enterprises Inc., near 48th and Halsted streets, and an employee discovered the damage about 5 a.m., police News Affairs Officer John Mirabelli said. A parade official said tires were being replaced and all of the floats were expected to be repaired in time to be in the parade, which began at noon, though several did not proceed in the planned order.]]>

What’s next for these criminals? Printing the home addresses and phone numbers of our senators? Publicizing where their children go to school? The ever-inflating Maggie Gallagher, her straight man Brian Brown and their cadre of hate have reacted to the victory for equality (peace be upon it) with predictable thuggery. If they can’t extort and lie their way to winning they simply threaten, threaten, and threaten some more. Sad and dark are the souls of these people.]]>

38 great photos of people celebrating equality. From Buzzfeed – see all here.]]>

Cross-posted from MadeMark.net Last night was the second time in less than a year when Frank and I were at the house in New Jersey watching something we thought we’d never see. The first time it was the historic vote in the United States senate repealing DADT (the implementation of which will hopefully be done very soon). Last night was just as significant, and just as unexpected for me. I was so accustomed to defeat, helped by the cruel gloating of the anti-marriage forces and the relentless dehumanization of lgbt people by the forces inequality that I had long ago grown skeptical and cynical. I would not believe the marriage bill in New York would pass until I saw the vote, until I heard for myself that this had been achieved. This matters enormously. We are getting married, now that we can do it in our own great big home town of New York City. I suggested August 14, the third anniversary of our NYC domestic partnership. We can trade it in for a marriage license. I will no longer feel like I’m committing perjury when I check the “married” box on forms, and I’ll be goddamned if I allow any bureaucracy to tell me Frank is my domestic partner when the answer is no, he is my spouse, my husband. “Domestic partnership benefits?” Not anymore. While I reflect with joy on this accomplishment, I can’t forget the people of Minnesota and Indiana, both states recently seized by their Republican parties intent on scarring their state constitutions with discriminatory marriage amendments. I can’t forget Iowa, where theocrats are determined to forcibly divorce all the same-sex couples there and make sure they can never marry again. My hope and my prayer is that this stand for equality in the great state of New York will help move this country forward to a day when love is recognized as love, when people of different beliefs, faiths, non-faiths and choices, can simply live together without the toxin of hate and the poison of power. This progress in New York feels like maybe, just maybe, peace is possible. Congratulations to everyone who supports dignity and equality, and eternal thanks those New York Republicans who did the right thing. You make me proud and you make me think things aren’t so fixed after all.]]>

I’ve seen Sandra Bernhard on Broadway twice and would love to be there when she hits the Main Stage at San Francisco Pride this weekend. Alas, we’ll be in New Jersey with family, but if you’re in the neighborhood . . . From San Diego Gay & Lesbian News: SAN FRANCISCO — This weekend marks the “official” anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall Riots, which helped launch the modern LGBT civil rights movement and why many of our pride celebrations began. While celebrations of LGBT pride happen almost year round with events like Phoenix Pride taking place in April and Palm Springs Pride each November, many major cities in the United States have historically commemorated that summer night in New York City 42 years ago with events happening on the weekend closest to June 27. This weekend, large Pride celebrations will be happening in a number of cities, including St. Louis, Seattle, Chicago, New York City and what is considered by many to be the “gay mecca of the world,” San Francisco. While all of these celebrations attract people from around the world, a number of San Diegans will make the trek up to the northern part of the state to partake in San Francisco’s event, which is said to be one of the largest pride celebrations in the world.
]]>

Sometimes the march of progress is more of a slow stroll. With the marriage of politics and religion in America what we mostly hear is division, but just as there have been churches serving the lgbt community for many years now (Metropolitan Community Churches comes immediately to mind), there are also many churches that welcome us. Even in South Dakota! (One of the greatest harms done to lgbt people, from young kids to seniors, is telling us the lie that we have no place in church, that the bible is essentially our enemy and that there is no such thing as a gay Christian (or gay Jew or gay Muslim). This is a false conflict, a political conflict that has nothing to do with our access to loving congregations and everything to do with power. Fight it, with love if at all possible.) From the Mitchell Republic: A Mitchell church has declared itself a welcoming place for members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. The Mitchell Congregational United Church of Christ voted Sunday to become “Open and Affirming,” a policy that the national UCC denomination adopted in the 1970s. Each individual church can pass such a resolution as it sees fit, said the Rev. Kristi McLaughlin, of the local UCC. The Mitchell congregation is the fourth UCC congregation in South Dakota to become Open and Affirming. “Open and Affirming basically means we believe that all people, regardless of sexual orientation, ethnicity, socioeconomic background or status, faith tradition or belief, gender identity or expression, we believe that you can be any of those and you are welcome to enter the full life and ministry of our church,” McLaughlin said. ]]>

It’s Friday, June 24, and we are still waiting for the New York Senate, specifically the Republicans in control, to determine if and when they will bring the marriage equality bill to a vote. To my mind, and to the minds of many Americans, this is a very simple matter. The only people wringing their hands over completely unnecessary “religious exemptions” are those who will use this to kill the bill, to vote against the bill, or to stall the bill, as has been done for over a week now. My own perspective on marriage has changed over the last seven years or so. I was originally opposed to the push for marriage rights because I saw it as a property issue, a privilege that poor lgbt people were unassisted by. You can still hear this from some queer activists and trans activists and far-leftists who think marriage is bourgeois. I thought there were more important things, especially for low-income and poor lgbt people. Things like universal healthcare, housing, and jobs. But then I began to realize that the very protections that are part of the marriage package could do a great deal for couples at all income levels. I hate it that I worry when Frank and I travel to one of the many states where one of us could be denied access to the other in the event of an emergency. We are strangers under the law in most states, and as I age this becomes ever more important to me. I hate it that if I die he will have to pay taxes on my estate. I hate it that when I check the “married” box I am not just being rebellious, but committing perjury. And I can’t check it on federal forms anyway, since our relationship is not recognized by the federal government. My view on marriage has evolved. Ultimately, if a marriage license came with no special rights and privileges I would say it doesn’t matter, but that’s not the world we live in. Choosing not to marry is a valid and equal choice, but not being able to marry is a violation. I’m tired of being violated. If New York passes this bill we will get married. And when DOMA is overturned we may just go to Greenwich, since the federal rights are where the legal goodies really are. But one way or another, some day, I’ll get married just because I finally can.]]>

Amy DeLong, a United Methodist minister, has been sentenced to a 20 day suspension for performing a same-sex wedding in 2009. She was acquitted of a second charge of being a “self-avowed practicing homosexual”, also known as out, and spared burning at the stake. She will instead be required to retreat to prayer and rumination on her offense. From Post Crescent.com: KAUKAUNA — After nearly six hours of deliberation, a 13-member jury of Wisconsin Methodist clergy suspended the Rev. Amy DeLong from ministerial duties for 20 days, starting July 1, and noted the time is to be used for “spiritual discernment.” DeLong, 44, of Polk County, was convicted Wednesday of performing a 2009 same-sex wedding in Menomonie in violation of United Methodist Church rules. She was acquitted on a 12-1 vote of a second charge of being a “self-avowed practicing homosexual.” [SNIP] “We’ve said all along that we have already been successful,” DeLong said. “We had a 100 percent chance of winning because our goal was to be faithful and to tell the truth. We have done that and we’ve broken the silence. We’ve opened the door a little bit so (gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender) people can hear a good message from the church.”]]>

Cross-posted from MadeMark.net “Hey, Obama! Don’t hate on my two mamas!” – chant heard at protest Everyone was kept across the street from the Sheraton and one entire block, from 52nd to 53rd streets, was shut down. I just saw the tail end of Obama’s speech on NY1, not bad. Meanwhile, we continue to wait for equality in New York. Maybe there will be a surprise, or a letdown, with the morning news.]]>

Why do homophobes insist on comparing us to animals? It often reminds me of the things white people used to say and think about black people. If you read ‘The Help’ – or grew up in my house with a father who gathered us in a back room to cower and pray when negroes were rioting a thousand miles away – you’ll see what I mean: ideas that black people were unclean, diseased, needed their own bathrooms for the safety of white folk, and, of course, fucked like animals. From Queerty: When it became clear that John Christopher Millican would not recover, his partner of 10 years, Terrance James, was the only person at his side. Alone, he made the difficult decision to end the life support. Mr. Millican passed away on June 11th of this year. Wrought with grief, Mr. James filled out the paperwork for his late partner’s obituary for the local publication, the Batesville Guard. When the obituary ran, however, it listed the names of Millican’s deceased parents, his siblings, with whom he had little contact, but no mention of Terrance James or even that there was a surviving partner. We called the Batesville Guard and spoke to Pat Jones, the general manager. She quickly became defensive and told us that we could call her son Oscar, who is a lawyer. She had obviously been through this phone call several times already. When questioned, Pat told Queerty “It’s not a gay thing. We don’t list unmarried couples, in-laws, or pets in the free obituaries.”
]]>

An 86 year old man who was competing in a cycling event at the Senior Games in Houston died after crashing mysteriously. From Houston Culture Map: Champion bike racer Elton Hammond Jr. was one mile from the finish line of the Summer Senior Games 10K time trial on Tuesday when he suddenly crashed. Within hours, the 86-year-old athlete was pronounced dead by paramedics who had immediately taken him to a hospital near the cycling race in Fulshear. Details of the crash have yet to be released by the Fulshear Police Department, which did not immediately respond to a phone call by CultureMap. [SNIP] In some respects, Hammond embodied the Games’ mission of empowering senior athletes who had discovered the joys of an active lifestyle later in life. According to his son, Elton Hammond III, Hammond Jr. began cycling more than 40 years ago, but didn’t enter the field of racing until his 70s. Since then, he immersed himself in bicycling, including jaunts through Europe and New Zealand. Considering the age range of Senior Games competitors, the possibility of mid-event death is a predictable fear. The Games’ oldest competitor, tennis player Roger Gentilhomme, passed away on June 18 at the age 102 shortly before he was scheduled to fly to Houston for the Games.]]>