Larry Craig: I'm Not Gay, by Avenue Q

Okay, it never takes too long for at-home video editors to put together something outragiously funny and, oh, so timely. Avenue Q's wonderful puppetry and Senator Larry Craig, performing "If You were gay."

Mitt Romney: Gay Marriage, Abortion, and State's Power

It's happening, slowly, two steps forward and one step back, but same sex couples are gaining their equality with their married straight peers. The recent Iowan court decision produced 65 pages explaining why denying same sex couples marriage is unconstitutional.

Already, the right-wing bigots are getting their statements out, and GOP gay-hater Mitt Romney was the first, wasting no time by saying, "The ruling is Iowa today is another example of an activist court and unelected judges trying to define marriage and disregard the will of the people as expressed through Iowa's Defense of Marriage Act. This once again highlights the need for a Federal Marriage Amendment to protect the traditional definition of marriage as between one man and one woman." Romney's claim for the need for a Federal Marriage Amendment shows he's treading in the footsteps of the current president's last campaign, where this issue was used to divert attention away from more important issues like war, poverty, children being left behind, and other policy failures.

Romney's trying to cover his ass on the abortion issue (once for it, now against it), and he can't seem to get his story straight, as it were when it comes to individual State's powers. A couple of weeks ago he said that as president he would allow individual states to keep abortion legal, two weeks after telling a national television audience that he supports a constitutional amendment to ban the procedure nationwide.

So, Mitt, baby, what's it going to be, either you give the States the power to oversee their reproductive laws AND you give them the power to oversee their marriage laws, or you try to pass an, unlikely, amendment to ban gay marriage and abortion. However, you can't have it both ways. Leave the abortion/gay marriage debates to the states.

What's Up with the Lambda Thing?

There's Lambda Legal, Lambda Community Services, and even fraternity Delta Lambda Phi, to name a few. So, what's up with the Greek letter Lambda, and its connection to the gays?

The lambda was originally chosen by the Gay Activists Alliance of New York in 1970. The GAA was a group that broke away from the larger Gay Liberation Front at the end of 1969, only six months after it's foundation and the Stonewall Riots. While the GLF wanted to work side by side with the black and women's liberation movements to gain unity and acceptance, the GAA wanted to focus their efforts more concisely on only Gay and Lesbian issues.

Because of its official adoption by the GAA, which sponsored public events for the gay community, the lambda soon became a quick way for the members of the gay community to identify each other. The reasoning was that the lambda would easily be mistaken for a college fraternity symbol and ignored by the majority of the population. Eventually though, the GAA headquarters was torched by an arsonist, destroying not only the building but all of the organization's records, and the movement never recovered from the loss. The symbol, however, lived on.

Now, what the symbol means or meant when it was introduced are a prime topic for speculation and a morass of public rumoring. Some of the more popular rumors are:

• Simply, the Greek letter "L" stands for "liberation."
• The Greek Spartans believed that the lambda represented unity.
• The Romans took it as meaning "the light of knowledge shining into the darkness of ignorance."
• The charged energy of the gay movement. This stems from the lambda's use in chemistry and physics to denote energy in equations.
• The synergy which results when gays and lesbians work together towards a common goal (a gestalt theory which also stems from the physics-energy theory)
• The notion that straights and gays, or gays and lesbians, or any pairing of these three, are on different wavelengths when it comes to sex, sexuality, or even brain patterns. This again comes from the lambda's presence in chemistry and physics, where it is sometimes used to represent the wavelength of certain types of energy.
• An iconic rendering of the scales of justice and the constant force that keeps opposing sides from overcoming each other. The hook at the bottom of the right leg would then signify the action and initiative needed to reach and maintain balance.

Whatever the lambda meant or means today, it's everywhere. Even though at one time it acquired a strictly male connotation, it is used by both gays and lesbians today. Back in December of 1974, the lambda was officially declared the international symbol for gay and lesbian rights by the International Gay Rights Congress in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Kill the Gays: A Comment from a Fundamentalist Priest

A few posts ago, we discussed the culpability of clergy and so-called Christian bloggers in relation to gay bashings, and that the blood of all victims of gay bashing was on their hands. We received a comment to this post from an individual who is not only one of these clergy, but a blogger himself, and his comments were as inflammatory and gay-hating as you can get. I thought I'd go ahead and post it here, while at the same time answering some of the faulty logic inherent in this clergy’s misuse of the Bible.

Click Here for a Popup window with Offending Comments

That first comment, that “Terry Mark Mangum was right,” refers to a few weeks ago when Terry Mark Mangum murdered Ken Cummings, a gay man, and said God told him to kill a homosexual. So, by agreeing with the gay-killer, we're already we’re dealing with a sick clergy person:

"Terry Mark Mangum was right."
Okay, "Reverend," starting things of with this comment shows you for what you really are, a sick, warped person, who doesn't deserve to wear a collar, but a leash.


"The Bible is clear that homosexuals are sexual deviants and enemies of the LORD God. Your support of these sodomites is disgusting."
Actually, the Bible is NOT clear on homosexuals being deviants, and we'll get to that below. To call us enemies of God is laughable, as the majority of gays and lesbians I know are regular church/temple attendees, and support and volunteer time at their houses of worship. We are not "sodomites," but you are, and I suggest you read our piece on Sodom and Gomorrah to show you that you are the sodomite, not us. If the support of my people disgusts you, then I must be doing a good job, thanks!


"Whatever you think, you will not be able to change God's Word and will one day have to pay the price for not believing what God has written."
Firstly, I'm really hoping you don't believe that a few thousand years ago God whipped out his MAC, and actually wrote the bible him/herself while listening to illegally downloaded Madonna tunes. Honey, people have been changing "God's Word" since it was spoken through the human mouth. Sadly, the human mouth is not perfect, and brings with it filters of human experience that can misconstrue, distort, and misrepresent God's initial meaning.

Reverend Don, you and people like you DO NOT represent the Bible, nor Christianity, and the majority of people do not believe the Bible is static, but believe in a "Living Word," one that breaths, and grows, and changes with its ever-changing environment and time frame. As an alleged man of the cloth, you should well know that the Bible was heavily edited during the Council of Nicea, with some Gospels actually tossed out entirely, so don't feed us crap about changing God's word, when people like yourself have been doing it for millennium to continue the subjugation of people who are "not like you."

Leviticus 18:22 Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.
Leviticus 20:13 If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.
Ah, yes, start with Leviticus. Really, Don, put things in their contexts. Leviticus was written by the early Pharisees to separate the new nation of Israel from the philistines and other gentiles. The items delineated in Leviticus are not "sin," but are merely ritualistic Judaic "law." Because many of the gentile religions allowed male and female prostitution, which included male-male prostitution, the early Jewish elders wanted to set themselves apart from this, and that's why this "law" was enacted.

And you're just sick if you believe that the Leviticus laws hold today, and that gays should be executed. Unless you're Jewish, Reverend Don, why would you care about Judaic ritualistic law? Some of these ritualistic laws in Leviticus are downright stupid in today's world, like not touching anything of the pig (unclean), cursing your parents (punishable by death), or eating shellfish (same as being gay, an abomination). So, unless you've never played pigskin football or eaten bacon, never got mad at your parents, or never ate at a Red Lobster, then you have no right to make reference to Leviticus.

Romans 1:22-27
V22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, V23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
Reverend, this sounds more like you than we!

V24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves.
This reference, again, is to prostitution, not being gay.

V25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, Who is blessed for ever. Amen.
Sounds to me like you're worshiping the Bible more than God, reverend.

V26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature. (V27) And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.
Hmmm, should that have been spelled "meat?" Either way, most academics read the passage as a condemnation merely of well-known pagan cults, which included homosexual acts in their worship practices, and not of gays in general. What is behind this passage is that God doesn't like when people, gay or straight, run around having tons of sex because they're in love with sex, which is lust, but that the God given gift of sexual contact between two people who love each other, gay or straight, is a wonderful thing.

I'll leave this, Reverend, by saying that we'll pray for you, that you will turn from this path of hatred, which goes so against the tenets of a loving God. We are initiating a fundamentalist reparative therapy group, and we can give you contacts of people who have turned away from the path you're on, and who have successfully become ex-fundamentalist.

For those of you who’d like to send Reverend Don an email, his email address is Glory2Jesus@ArmyofGod.com (wow, go figure!).

Give a Guy a Camera, and He'll Take a Picture of Another Guy

Since the early days of photography, guys have been taking pictures of naked other guys. As early as 1872 Eadweard Muybridge began scientific studies that revealed the first male nude photographs unrelated to the typical artistic appreciation of the female nude.

Little attention was paid nude male photography until Philadelphia painter Thomas Eakins started taking pictures of male nudes for guidance in his painting. He lost his teaching position when he insisted that art students draw male models without their posing straps. The scandal brought a lot of attention to male nude photography, and then everyone got into the action...thank heavens!





For more information on the past 100 years of male nude photography, check out David Leddick's "The Male Nude: Traces its Evolution in the Photography of the 20th Century."

Goodly, Godly, Gay: Troy D. Perry

What do you do when you're a defrocked gay priest in 1968 looking to support gay Christians, and spread the world that God loves them because God made them the way God wanted them --GAY? Well, you start your own gayish denomination that's what you do.

Meet the good Reverend Troy D. Perry, who has been in Christian ministry from the time he was thirteen. As a young man, he entered full-time ministry in a Pentecostal Church, and even married a pastor's daughter and had two sons. However, he was unable to ignore his gayness, which ultimately brought an end to his marriage and his ministry. He never expected to return to Christian ministry, but God had different plans.

In 1968, Perry, after paying countless witness to the verbal, physical, and mental abuse of gays by gay-haters, felt called to return to his faith and to offer a place for gay people to worship God. Perry took out an advertisement in the Advocate welcoming gay folk to a church service, which would take place in a small rented house Perry shared with a friend. Only 12 people showed up that day (an obviously biblical number), but that 12 would grow and grow into the Metropolitan Community Church (MCC) a denomination that now has more that 250 individual congregations world-wide.

Sadly, during this time, many of these congregations were the victims of hate crimes (yeah, that's right, hate the gays so much that you'd burn a church), and sadder still the fact that more than 6000 members died during early AIDS crisis. Through it all, the church burnings, the attacks against his church from other Christian denominations, Perry held strong, and joined many of his activist brothers and sisters in advancing LGBT rights.

Perry stepped down as MCC's leader in 2005, and remains active in the LGBT community. Troy Perry's contributions to introducing a gay-loving God to a gay-hating nation will be remembered, and his fostering of greater acceptance of gays in other denominations, his compassion to his God and church, and his work towards LGBT equality will certainly afford him a spot in any LGBT History book. For more information on the wonderful life of Troy Perry, Click Here, and for more information on the Metropolitan Church, Click Here.

Levi's Commercial: Targets Straights and Gays

Although some other bloggers have cited the new and inclusive Levi's jeans commercial, we thought we'd share this with you as well, because we've been watching this commercial on straight and gay channels and loving it.

I first saw this on straight television, where this cute guy is pulling up his jeans, which also pulls up a telephone booth crashing through his floor with a female hottie inside--ready to go out on the town. When I saw this commercial on gay channel LOGO, I yawned, and was once again annoyed that advertisers use their straight commercials to try to target gay audiences. The cute guy starts pulling up his jeans, and to my surprise, when the telephone booth crashed through the floor, instead of the girl, there was this very cute guy inside.

Finally, an advertiser who knows that it doesn't add much cost when you're shooting a commercial to do a couple of takes, and maybe make one for the gays. Levi's has won a new customer here! Way to go! Watch the first video below for the straight version, then click the second for the gay one.

Gay Art: Raphael Perez

Raphael Perez depicts intimate relationships between two people. Whether of two men or two women, or even mixed sex couples, his ability to paint "connections" between couples emerges with stark simplicity. Contrasts between dark and light, reflect the Yin Yang of relationships, and his use of red symbolizing masculinity, passion and dominance.

Raphael Perez, was born in 1965 and was raised in Jerusalem. He currently resides and works in Tel-Aviv. His works have been exhibited in several art galleries and GLBT community centers throughout Israel.



For more information on Perez and his work, Click Here!

Gay London Police Deputy on Shortlist for London's Mayor

British papers have been reporting on the possibility that Brian Paddick, the highest-ranking openly gay police officer, has been short-listed to run for the Liberal Democrats as a candidate for the Mayor of London.

If elected, Paddick would be joining several gay mayors of other major European cities, including Berlin and Paris.

Lutheran Priests Come Out of the Closet

Although I'm no longer a Lutheran (Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, when I was), I'm proud of the 83 Lutheran clergy who came out of the closet at the national church's biannual Assembly taking place in Chicago this week. The Lutheran Church has been grappling with what to do about its gay priests for years.

As it stands now, gay priests are welcome to lead parishes, but must remain celibate, and over the past few years a number of priests within the Lutheran Church have been defrocked for entering into same-sex relationships. The 83 pastors listed within the "coming out letter" distributed at the assembly included gay ministers now serving, those awaiting their own congregation, and those removed since the church-wide assembly in Orlando in 2005, where a move to suspend the celibacy requirement failed to get a majority vote.

For more information on this, and on Gay Lutherans in general, check out Lutherans Concerned, an excellent for you gay Luthies!

Americans for Truth: Stretching it a Bit

Those idiots at the right-wing, religious, gay-hating Americans for Truth demonstrate once again that their name is a complete misnomer. From their website on August 2nd:

"We welcome homosexual (and liberal) activists who are not afraid of freedom and the battle of ideas to denounce the growing pro-”gay” trend of silencing opposing speech — whether it’s GLAAD threatening to sue a news producer to squelch a report on lesbian bullying; Britain trotting out the “anti-homophobia” police to crush that grave threat to democracy of a Christian passing out tracts at a “gay” event; or pro-homosexual militants claiming that decent religious people who agree with God about sexual sin are causing the murders of homosexuals like Matthew Shepard."

Okay, guys, when we remove the smoke and mirrors used by this group, we can "really" get down to the truth. The reference to GLAAD is from a story a couple of months ago that was done on the O'Reilly Factor. It seems Fox News (you know, that "conservative" channel) Crime Analyst Rod Wheeler detailed what he called a “national network” of so-called “lesbian gangs” that prey on young girls. Using exaggerated, sensational language, Wheeler claimed there are more than 150 such gangs in the Washington, D.C., area alone. Well, GLAAD debunked the story by calling the D.C. Metro Police Department’s Gay and Lesbian Liaison Unit, who said that they have 150 to 175 total gangs in the D.C. area, and that out of those only nine where the predominance of members are female, and that one simply can't make the jump that they are lesbians. So much for a "national network" of lesbian gangs.

The second mis-truth comes from a story in South Wales, U.K., where during a gay Marde Gras event, some Christian fundamentalist entered the throng of gay revelers and started passing out anti-gay leaflets quoting the Bible. Now forgive me if you disagree, but I would hope that police would arrest a Ku Klux Klansman if he were passing out rascist pamphlets at a NAACP rally. Again, this underscores the double-standard these right-wing bigots apply when it comes to the debate between hate language and free speech, because you know very well they probably nodded in agreement when phag-hater Phred Phelps carried "God Hates Fags" placards outside Mathew Shepard's funeral.

As to "pro-homosexual militants claiming that decent religious people who agree with God about sexual sin are causing the murders of homosexuals," well, we covered that recently in a previous post, read it by Clicking Here!

Overpopulation + World Degradation = Don't Blame the Gays

Okay, I’m watching NBC’s Today Show this morning, and a straight couple with seventeen biological children are being highlighted. Of course the treatment of the story is cute and smarmy, containing humorous little platitudes, but as a gay man who is constantly hearing arguments against gay marriage, or even the very logic behind same-sex relationships because we cannot “bare children,” the idea of a straight family with seventeen kids really irks me.

As a parent of four (two mine, two my partner’s), I want to leave this earth as I found it—though, even then it was on the decline. Therefore, I believe we shouldn't over-burden a planet that’s already stressed to the max by overly contributing to a population explosion. According to The Population Institute, an international, educational nonprofit organization that seeks to reduce rapid population growth:

“Climate change is perhaps the most crucial environmental challenge of this century. Eleven of the world’s 12 highest annual global temperatures on record have occurred since 1995, leading many of the world’s top scientists and environmentalists to conclude that global warming has begun in earnest.

While a great deal of attention has been paid to reducing emissions responsible for global warming, there has been far less focus on the role of population growth in climate change.

Population pressures are not the sole cause of global warming, but exacerbate ecological degradation. Providing effective voluntary family planning to the tens of millions of women worldwide who lack access to affordable reproductive health services would be a significant step towards reducing human impact on areas left vulnerable by climate change.”

The parents of these seventeen kids say they’re very religious, and that their children are all gifts from God. I believe this is a crappy diversion of their culpability in contributing to an over-populated world, and the environmental degradation of the planet. Naturally, if these kids had been adopted, this post might have lauded this couple, but that is not the case.

So, the next time you hear a gay-hater using the argument that being gay is wrong because gay relationships can’t produce children, tell them they’re full of crap, and that the overpopulation of the world is one of the prime reasons this planet is ailing. Also, dig a little deeper, and add that because a lot of gay couples who want children adopt, we not only don’t add to an ever-expanding population, but contribute to a reduction of the surplus population caused by gay-hating straights like themselves.

Fire Island Pines: Cocktails of Porn Stars

Okay, I was out on Fire Island Pines yesterday (Saturday), and oh what fun we had. With high temps and sun galore, the boys were out on the beach in the masses.

Cocktails started early at the Blue Whale, and the low tea was tons of fun, with guys so squeezed in, it was impossible to walk through them without shirtless torsos sweatily gliding against each other.

Of course, the cherry on the cake was porn star Blu Kennedy (pictured above) bar tending at the High Tea. This handsome carrot-top pours one hard drink, has one hard body, and Clicking Here you'll see other hard things, though note for those less inclined to porn, this link is rated XXX.

Another successful day of romping in Fire Island Pines, oh, the joys of being gay.

Gay Humor: Queer Leprechan

A tall man is in the mens room using the facilities. A short guy, about knee high, comes in and pulls up a stool, and starts taking a pee too. The tall guy keeps looking over his shoulder. The little guy says, "What the hell are you looking at?" and the tall guy replies, "Well, for you being such a short little guy, you have an awfully big pecker on you!"

"Well," says the short guy, "Of course I do. I am a leprechaun, and I can have anything I wish for!"

"A leprechaun, you say? Does that mean you can give me any thing I wish for?!" asks the tall man.

"Well, yes, but I am a gay leprechaun, so I'll want a favor in return," says the short guy.

After thinking, the tall guy says, "Alright then. I want a million dollars, a brand new mansion, and 2 brand new Porsches!"

"Fine!" says the short guy, "its all yours! But first I want you to pull your pants down, bend over and grab your ankles!"

So, the guy does it, and the short guy climbs back up on the stool, and really gives it to him! The guy is just moaning. The short guy says, "So tell me, What is your name?" The tall guy moans, and stomping his feet, he says, "My name is Bruce....."

"Bruce? How old are you?" asks the short guy.

Stomping his feet even harder, he moans, "I'm 32!"

The short guy says, "Bruce? You're 32 and you still believe in Leprechauns?!"

Italian Kiss-In

Thank you fellow gays of Italy! A few weeks ago two guys were arrested for kissing each other on Via San Giovani in front of the Colosseum in Rome. Gay Italians came in the hundreds the other day for a mass kiss-in at Rome's famed Colosseum Thursday to protest the arrest.

If convicted the pair could be sentenced up to two years in prison. The couple had just left one of the number of gay clubs near the Colosseum last Saturday when they exchanged a kiss on Via San Giovani in front of the ruins. They were observed by a police officer and arrested.

The poopie heads of the police department, despite mounting pressure, said today that they were not going to drop "lewd conduct" charges against the two men.

Jerry Falwell and Teletubbies

Okay, guys, maybe Jerry Falwell wasn't too far off track.

Barbara Gittings, Gay Pioneer, Dies at 75

My Small Gay World only recently heard of the passing earlier this year of Barbara Gittings, a founding foremother of the LGBT movement. Barbara was often interviewed for TV, and many of these can occasionally be seen on shows and specials about the early LGBT movement. Those of you who have seen these clips will recall Barbara's wonderfully animated way of talking, yet her mild, mid-western accent was calmly disarming. Equality Forum announced Barbara's passing in the following press release.

PHILADELPHIA—Barbara Gittings, a seminal gay activist, died on Sunday, February 18. She was 75 and resided in Wilmington, Delaware. Her death was announced by her partner of 46 years, Kay Tobin Lahusen.

Malcolm Lazin, Executive Director of Equality Forum, noted, “Barbara Gittings is the mother of the GLBT civil rights movement. She is our Rosa Parks. Barbara helped organize the first gay and lesbian civil rights demonstrations in the face of a tsunami of homophobia. Her courage helped launch the GLBT civil rights movement.”

Barbara Gittings began her career in activism in 1958 when she founded the New York chapter of the Daughters of Bilitis (DOB), the first lesbian organization. She edited DOB’s national magazine The Ladder from 1963 to 1966. Describing those years, Gittings said, “There were scarcely 200 of us in the whole United States. It was like a club; we all knew each other.”

In 1965, Gittings marched in the first gay picket lines at the White House and other federal sites in Washington, DC to protest discrimination by the federal government. She joined other activists in the pioneering annual demonstrations for gay and lesbian civil rights held each July 4 from 1965 to 1969 at Independence Hall in Philadelphia. These seminal yearly protests laid the groundwork for the Stonewall rebellion in 1969 and the first New York gay pride parade in 1970. Gittings’ role in these early protests is featured prominently in Equality Forum's documentary, Gay Pioneers.

In the 1970s, Gittings campaigned with other activists to remove homosexuality from the American Psychiatric Association’s list of mental disorders. She recruited “Dr. H. Anonymous,” a gay psychiatrist who appeared, masked, on a panel at the 1972 APA conference to tell his colleagues why he couldn't be open in his own profession.

Gittings also crusaded to make gay literature available in libraries. Though not a librarian, Gittings found a home in the Gay Task Force of the American Library Association, the first gay caucus in a professional organization. She edited its Gay Bibliography and wrote a history of the group, Gays in Library Land. Her campaign to promote gay materials and eliminate discrimination in libraries was recognized in 2003 by an honorary lifetime membership conferred by the American Library Association.

For her lifetime of activist work, Gittings was selected as one of 31 leaders for GLBT History Month in October 2006.

Philadelphia: Get Your History Straight, and Your Nightlife Gay

Philadelphia initiated a campaign to attract gay tourists to the city back in 2004, with clever advertising like the commercial below. The campaign was so successful, that the city saw a $153 return for every dollar spent on its marketing campaign, according to a 2005 gay tourism survey. Since then, many other cities, as well as companies, are coming up with clever gay tourist campaigns.

With gays in the U.S. spending 600 billion each year, it's no surprise we're starting to get more and more advertisers paying closer attention to us.

Killing in the Name of God

The blood of all gays who have been beaten or murdered cover the hands of conservative Christians. They are as guilty as those who attack and kill gays. This seems harsh, but these clergy, bloggers, and others can't get it through their thick heads that when they tell their congregations or readers that being gay is bad, or sinful, and that gays are going to hell, it spurs those whose characters border on psychotic to go out and hurt gays. Do these priests and bloggers condone gay bashing, of course not (well, they probably do, but won't admit it), but they are nevertheless just as culpable as the perpetrators who attack gays.

Terry Mark Mangum of Cypress, Texas, murdered Kenneth Cummings back in June because he was gay, and last week told the press from his jail cell he did it for God, and that God asked him to carry out a code of retribution by killing a gay man, because "sexual perversion is the worst sin." Of course we have to question Mangum's sanity, but then again, aren't those who attack people usually two feathers short of a boa, anyway?

Like a host letting a drunk drive home after the party, these people deserve to be held accountable for the actions of others they spur on.

Work Bitch! Jonny McGovern's Hot, New Video

Jonny McGovern, AKA the Gay Pimp, recently released a new piece/video "Something for the Fellows." As always, McGovern's music is racy, hot, and sexually charged. Better yet, the hot young guys he features in his video and what they do with Jonny and each other are even hotter. Sexy, sexy, sexy. The words, "work bitch" wonderfully laced throughout. Enjoy!

Remembering Paul Broussard: Murdered for being Gay

Since the time of Cain killing Abel, depicted in the painting above, humans have found many reasons for murder, none so callous as because the victim was "different."

Seven years before the brutal death of Matthew Shepard, a young man named Paul Broussard was horrifically murdered by 10 teenagers. Broussard had been an Eagle Scout and played the clarinet in the school band and the church choir. He graduated with honors; 15th in a class of 469. He paid his own way through college by working two jobs, and graduated from Texas A&M with a degree in finance.

It was two o'clock in the morning on July 4th, when Broussard and two of his friends left Heaven, one of Houston's gay bars in the Montrose neighborhood. Only blocks away from home, their attackers, who had been drinking and doing drugs, pulled their cars up and asked the three for directions to the bar they had just left. When Broussard and his friends told them where it was, the teens got out of their cars and attacked the gay men with fists, steel-toed boots, nail-studded two-by-fours, and a knife wielded by Jon Buice. Broussard's friends escaped down a busy street, but he unfortunately headed down a dead end street, where he was surrounded by the attackers.

The ten young men were cheering and yelling as they attacked Broussard, who suffered abrasions, puncture wounds, a broken rib, bruised testicles, and three stab woulds. As he lay on the ground, almost unconscious, two of his attackers rifled through his pockets and took a comb as a souvenir. The ten young men then drove off, still cheering and yelling.

Broussard was treated by EMS at the scene, and then airlifted to St. Joseph's Hospital in Houston, where he died eight-and-a-half hours later. Broussard would have most likely survived the beating, but what killed him was the stabbing by attacker Jon Buice.

The ten teens were eventually caught, tried, and convicted, and served various terms. However, Buice received a sentence of 45 years behind bars due to his stabbing of Broussard, and is up for parole in October, having already been denied in 2003 and 2005.

Broussard's mother, Nancy Rodriguez, currently lives in Georgia. She has attended more than 20 parole hearings in her efforts to keep her son's assailants in prison. Says Rodriguez, "we have to start somewhere teaching our children to value people and life. That it is not acceptable to use language like fag, queer, fairy. If Paul’s story has touched the life of even one young person and made them stop and think about their actions, then maybe his death will not have been in vain."

Public Bathrooms, Fort Lauderdale, and Gay Hating

You know, there's nothing worse than being deeply offended by someone, and then having them say, "oh, okay, let me apologize," only to have them offend you some more. That's what happened earlier this week with the idiot mayor of Fort Lauderdale, Jim Naugle.

Okay, it all started a couple of weeks ago, when Naugle got the idea that gays were having way too much sex in public bathrooms near ultra-gay Sebastian Beach, and made an announcement he wanted to spend $250,000 of taxpayers money to buy public toilets whose doors open automatically after a set amount of time, though not enough for a quickie (we suspect the mayor doesn't get enough sex of his own to know about quickies). Naugle, a Democrat, is not new to the gay-hating scene, having once said that homosexuality is "something so nasty and disgusting that it makes God want to vomit." Hopefully, God wouldn't have to hurl for for an extended amount of time, because God knows the bathroom door might automatically open.

Okay, if that weren't bad enough, earlier this week Naugle was going to make a public announcement, apparently to apologize for his gay hating. The gays and press gathered, and here's what the schmuck said, "I want to apologize to the children and parents of our community for not being aware of the problem,'' and then called on residents to inform police if they see gays engaging in sex in public restrooms.

As a regular to Fort Lauderdale, where gays bring in tens of millions of pink dollars each year, I'm not sure if I want to go there now. Well, of course I do, because the mayor isn't a complete reflection of the people of Fort Lauderdale (though one does wonder how this mega-idiot got elected), and the gays who own many of the hotels and other businesses in Fort Lauderdale are what make it such a special gay destination. Nevertheless, tourism to Fort Lauderdale has certainly taken a hit.

Inequities in Civil Unions/Domestic Partners Hurts Both Gay & Straight

Fascinating, isn't it, that because some states have gone the way of civil unions or the lesser domestic partnerships for same-sex couples rather than marriage, gays and straights alike are finding themselves getting the shaft.

Hurting the Gays
A week or so ago we reported how the partners of civil unioned (I hate the term, but use it to underscore how silly-sounding it is) employees of UPS in New Jersey were being denied health benefits. We headlined that story "Don't Blame UPS," because it was the NJ legislature that decided to forgo marriage for the lesser, more demeaning civil union for its same-sex, tax-paying citizens.

UPS claims the inequity is due to a worker's union contract, and that had the NJ legislature given same sex couples marriage, they would have been obligated to give those same-sex spouses the same benefits. UPS offers full benefits to the partners of legally married same-sex couples in Massachusetts, so it's difficult not to believe them when they say they're bound by the workers union contract.

Hurting the Straights
California resident Ron Garber, whose divorced wife moved in with her lady partner, and with whom she not only domestic partnered (sic), but also took her new partner's last name, sued that the alimony payments he was making his ex-wife should end.

Not so says the Orange County judge, who ruled that a registered partnership is merely cohabitation, not marriage, and that Garber must keep writing the checks.

Separate but Equal Didn't Work for Blacks, Nor Will it for Gays
These stories highlight the undeniable fact that despite the attempt by state supreme court judges and state legislators to bring equal rights to same sex couples, by instituting civil unions rather than marriage, they create an institution that they believe is separate but equal, yet remains controversially connected and unequivocally unequal.

Gay Genie

A gay guy was walking along the beach on Fire Island, you know, just in front of the Meat Rack, when he stumbled upon a Genie's lamp. He picked it up and rubbed it, and lo-and-behold, out popped a gay genie.

The Genie said, "Hey girlfriend, wassup?"

The amazed man asked if he got three wishes.

"Nope, just one...due to inflation, constant downsizing, low wages, third-world countries, my new pumps pinching my big toes, and fierce global competition, I can only grant you one wish. So...what'll it be? The complete set of Tyson Cane videos? A copy of the Marilyn Monroe Happy Birthday Mr. President sequined dress in your size with matching shoes?"

The man shook his head 'no', and didn't hesitate. He said, "I want peace in the Middle East. See this map? I want these countries to stop fighting with each other."

The Genie looked at the map and shrieked, "Miss Thaaaaaang, I don't think so, not in this lifetime!! These countries have been at war for thousands of years. I'm good, but not THAT good! I don't think it can be done. Make another wish."

The man thought for a minute and said, "Well, I've never been able to find the right man, you know, one that's considerate and fun, warm and affectionate, gorgeous, is well endowed, only wants sex from me, doesn't do drugs or drink too much, has a great job with a good income, likes to cook and helps with the housecleaning, and gets along with my family, doesn't watch sports all the time, and tells me I always look fabulous, and is great in bed. That's what I wish for... the perfect guy to have as my lover."

The Genie let out a long sigh, clutched his hand to his heart and said, "Oh, Miss Thang...let me see that map again."

Gay Bankers: Dow Jones to Go Homophobic

You gay bankers and financial sector guys might want to pay close attention to Rupert Murdoch's present attempt to purchase Dow Jones, which publishes The Wall Street Journal. You see, Murdoch already owns the uber-conservative Fox network, as well as the gay-hating New York Post (see July 21st posting below), and a slew of papers and networks nationwide. Fears are, even amongst many WSJ reporters, that Murdoch would inject his own straight, conservative agenda within the publication. Murdoch, on gay marriage, says "I believe it is wrong."

The Bancroft family owns a majority of voting shares of Dow Jones, and they remain split on whether to accept the offer, as they, too, have some degree of fear that the company could be editorially compromised were Murdoch to own the WSJ.

The Dow Jones board has already approved a deal to sell the firm but it is unclear if the Bancrofts, who are the controlling shareholders, will follow suit given that several members have been actively courting alternative bidders.

More to follow, though if Murdoch buys the Dow Jones, we wouldn't rely on it for the details.

Lauding Out Sports Figures

Although there are many closeted professional sports players, both retired or still active, there are still many brave souls who did finally come out at some point. They deserve to be lauded.

Here's a brief, though not complete, history of gays coming out in the professional and competitive sports world.

1920 - Openly gay Bill Tilden wins the men's singles title at Wimbledon, going on to win two more Wimbledon titles, seven U.S. championships, and leads U.S. teams to seven Davis Cup victories.

1968 - Tom Waddell, a 30-year-old Army physician, places sixth in the Olympic decathlon.

1975 - David Kopay, the NFL running back who played for five teams (San Francisco, Detroit, Washington, New Orleans, Green Bay) between 1964-72, becomes the first professional team-sport athlete to come out three years after retiring.

1981 - Billie Jean King is "outed" when ex-lover Marilyn Barnett sues her for "galimony" while she is married to Larry King.

1981 - Martina Navratilova publicly reveals that she is a lesbian.

1982 - The first Gay Olympic Games takes place in San Francisco.

1983 - Bob Paris wins the Mr. America and Mr. Universe bodybuilding titles. In 1989, he reveals his homosexuality to the bodybuilding community during an interview with Ironman magazine.

1987 - Jerry Smith, a tight end with the Washington Redskins from 1965-77, dies of AIDS complications. Smith never acknowledged that he was gay, but in David Kopay's autobiography, Smith was described as his first love.

1988 - Bruce Hayes, an Olympic swimmer who won a gold medal in 1984 as a member of the 800-meter freestyle relay, comes out publicly at the Gay Games and wins seven gold medals in competition.

Martina Navratilova's announcement that she is a lesbian cost her endorsement dollars but won her respect from other players.

1992 - Matthew Hall, a figure skater on the Canadian National Team, comes out.

Roy Simmons, an offensive guard for the New York Giants and later Washington Redskins, reveals he is gay during an appearance on The Phil Donahue Show.

1993 - David Slattery, general manager of the Washington Redskins in the early 1970's, comes out.

Glenn Burke, former outfielder with the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Oakland A's, comes out publicly during an interview. During the same interview in which he admits his homosexuality, Burke says he believes he was traded from the Dodgers because management suspected his was gay.

1994 - Greg Louganis, four-time Olympic gold medalist in diving who becomes HIV-positive, comes out in public at the Gay Games.

Missy Giove, an openly lesbian mountain biker, wins her first world title. Considered the Michael Jordan of her sport, she subsequently wins back-to-back world titles in 1996 and '97.

1995 - Ian Roberts, whose picture you see at the top of this post, is one of Australia's most popular rugby players, poses nude for a gay magazine. In the same issue, Roberts speaks about being "part of a different group ... an outsider." He becomes the first major sports figure in Australia to come out.

1996 - Muffin Spencer-Devlin, an 18-year LPGA veteran, speaks about being a lesbian in the March 18 issue of Sports Illustrated.

Rudy Galindo, the national men's skating champion, discusses being a gay man in the book Inside Edge: A Revealing Journey Into the Secret World of Figure Skating. Doug Mattis, another professional skater, comes out not long afterward.

David Pichler and Patrick Jeffrey, two openly gay U.S. divers, compete in the Atlanta Olympics.

1998 - Michael Muska, a former track-and-field coach at Auburn and Northwestern, is named athletic director at Oberlin College. Muska is the first openly gay man to hold such a position in college sports.

Openly gay Greg Louganis, in a special Goodwill Games edition of New York 1 News' nightly sports program, says that several athletes in professional team sports have asked him for advice about going public with their homosexuality.

2002 -Esera Tuaolo, having retired from sports, announced publicly that he is gay, and lives with his partner, Mitchell Wherley, and their children.

2007 - Former NBA player John Amaechi comes out on ESPN's Outside the Lines program.

(Information courtesy The Advocate and ESPN)

Gays Invented Sunday Brunch

Sunday mornings are made for sleeping in and hanging out in bed. That's why we gays invented Sunday brunch, so's we can stay in bed as long as we can. So, today's post is a pictorial of, well, Sunday mornings and guys staying in bed. Your only decision now is where you'll do brunch later.