LGBTQ news and entertainment
From the BBC comes this profile of Lucien and Pascal Tessier of Kensington, Maryland – two gay brothers who are also Boy Scouts.
Older brother and Eagle Scout Lucien says in the interview: “I think that by proposing this sort of policy where local troops decide for themselves whether to admit gay scouts or not, they’re not living up to their responsibility to accept everyone.”
Earlier I posted a short “behind the scenes” video of Tim McGraw’s shirtless People Magazine photo shoot.
Well, here’s one of the shots, and let’s hear it for Tim!
Tim McGraw shares with People Magazine that he has a new tour coming up, he quit drinking, and he can walk around without his shirt and feel good.
Asked about his workout routine, he teases his famous wife Faith Hill:
“I have tried working out a couple of times with her and afterward, I can’t move,” says McGraw, who sometimes joins Hill at their home gym to burn calories.
When asked about her routine, McGraw jokes, “It’s like, leg warmers and Olivia Newton-John’s ‘Physical.'”
A high-pitched giggle from Hill interrupts McGraw, forcing him to set the record straight: “Faith says it is nothing like that.” McGraw then pauses before going on, “But yeah, it’s me with my headband on and leg warmers…”
In his State Of The State address to the Illinois legislature, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn reiterated his support for marriage equality:
“Marriage equality is coming to Illinois. Now, it’s time to take the next step in achieving full equality. Let’s pass this bill for marriage equality and let’s do it now. Our Illinois is not a land of discrimination.”
The marriage equality bill is currently scheduled for a vote in the state Senate on Valentine’s Day.
The bill has the backing of both state legislative houses plus the state GOP chairman Pat Brady, who has become the target of resignation demands from anti-gay groups.
(via JMG)
In a Quinnipiac University national poll released today, Americans support allowing gay Boy Scouts by a margin of 55%- 33%.
There is a large gender gap as women support gay scouts 61 – 27 percent, compared to 49 – 39 percent among men, the independent poll finds.
White Catholics support gay scouts 63 – 25 percent. Among white Protestants, 44 percent say open up scouting and 41 percent say no. White evangelical Protestants oppose gay scouts 56 – 33 percent.
“Now that the Armed Forces ban on openly gay service members has been lifted, and polls show increasing acceptance of same-sex marriage, most American voters think it’s time to open up the Boy Scouts too,” said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.
Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee presses for marriage equality:
“We are in intense competition with Connecticut, New York and Massachusetts,” said Chafee, a 59-year-old Republican- turned-independent, ticking off three nearby states where gays can wed.
“We are all in the same economy. We have to have the same welcome mat at our door that our neighbors have.”
Brendon Ayanbadejo, of the world champion Baltimore Ravens and LGBT ally, has written a powerful op-ed for USA Today published today, explaining why now is the time for professional athletes to lead when it comes to treating gays and lesbians as equals.
Excerpt:
The NFL, MLB, NHL and NBA should and can be leaders against discrimination. Whether you’re a commissioner, an athlete, a coach or a fan, your voice will let every kid out there know that there is a place for him or her in sports. We all can be ourselves and still compete with dignity and at the highest level.
This is our time and our cause. Everything we know as athletes, teammates, spokesmen and vehicles of American pastimes compels us toward the kind of action and camaraderie we saw from Pee Wee Reese nearly 66 years ago. It’s as simple as putting our arm around the shoulder of another athlete. It’s a gesture; it’s a pledge; it’s solidarity at its most basic. Our Jackie is coming. We need to pave the way.
Click here to read the entire piece at USA Today. Very well-written, and more importantly, perfectly on point.
The world should take note of how a champion handles himself.
Readers of The Randy Report are well aware of the fight for LGBT rights here in the US. But this clip succinctly frames the journey the UK has taken on it’s own path to equality for gays and lesbians.
One of the clearest and most direct speeches given yesterday during the debate shortly before the House of Commons approved marriage equality came from UK Labour MP David Lammy.
Excerpt from Lammy’s speech:
Let me speak frankly.
“Separate but equal” is a fraud. Separate but equal” is the language that tried to push Rosa Parks to the back of the bus. Separate but equal” is the motif that determined that black and white could not possibly drink from the same water fountain, eat at the same table or use the same toilets. “Separate but equal” are the words that justified sending black children to different schools from their white peers – schools that would fail them and condemn them to a life of poverty.
It is an excerpt from the phrasebook of the segregationists and the racists. It is the same statement, the same ideas and the same delusion that we borrowed in this country to say that women could vote – but not until they were 30. It is the same naivety that gave made my dad a citizen in 1956 but refused to condemn the landlords that proclaimed “no blacks, no Irish, no dogs”. It entrenched who we were, who our friends could be and what our lives could become.
This was not “Separate but equal” but “Separate AND discriminated”,
“Separate AND oppressed”.
“Separate AND browbeaten”.
“Separate AND subjugated”.
Separate is NOT equal, so let us be rid of it.
Because as long as there is one rule for us and another for them, we allow the barriers to acceptance to stand unchallenged. As long as our statute books suggest that the love between two men or two women is unworthy of being recognised through marriage, we allow the rot of homophobia to fester.
(via Towleroad)
From CBS News: After losing $16 billion last year, the postmaster general will make announce Wednesday that the Postal Service intends to halt Saturday delivery of first-class mail by this summer, Aug. 1, CBS News has learned. That means most mailers, letters and catalogs would not arrive on Saturdays, ending a 150-year tradition.
The plan to shrink delivery from six days a week to five would only affect first-class mail, while packages, mail-order medicines, priority and express mail would still get delivered on Saturdays.
Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., says the move will save the struggling postal service $2 billion a year. “It’s a proper business decision and (in the) long run, good for the Postal Service and good for Americans.”
The Postal Service has lost $41 billion dollars over the past six years as more and more Americans turned to private shippers, email, and online banking.
(via Towleroad)
From GSAday.org: For decades, GSAs have been working to make their campuses safe places for all students regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.
Students who start and take part in these student groups are brave. They dare to create a dialogue to improve lives. We believe that courage deserves to be recognized, to be celebrated!
Check out GSAday.org for more info on how you can make a difference.