Tag: gay

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High school senior produces documentary based on 10 coming out stories of men aged 15 to 82

Devon Yaffe, a high school senior in L.A., recently completed his Senior Project, a 90-minute documentary in which ten gay men talk about their experiences growing up and coming out.

Writes Devon: “After finding out I could choose any topic for my Senior Project, I decided on one that was closer to home: Overcoming Adversities as a Gay Teen. As a member of this ever growing community I planned to branch out to the gay community in order to hear the stories of gay youth. This documentary tells the story of ten gay males, ages ranging from 15-82. We find out how each of them overcame their adversities as a gay teen throughout each generation. Please enjoy.”

I’ve watched much of it and while simple in format, the men’s stories are powerful in their telling.

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Some gay servicemembers to have full separation pay reinstated

According to the Windy City Times, some military personnel who had their separation pay cut in half after being discharged for being gay will receive their full pay under a legal settlement announced today.

“There was absolutely no need to subject these service members to a double dose of discrimination by removing them from the armed forces in the first place, and then denying them this small benefit to ease the transition to civilian life,” said Laura Schauer Ives, managing attorney for the ACLU of New Mexico. “This decision represents a long-delayed justice to these veterans.”

The ACLU’s class action lawsuit represented approximately 181 honorably discharged veterans who had their separation pay cut in half because of the discriminatory policy. The total amount of separation pay withheld from those veterans is approximately $2.4 million. The lead plaintiff in the case is Richard Collins, a former staff sergeant in the Air Force who served for nine years until he was discharged under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” Collins was stationed at Cannon Air Force Base in New Mexico before being seen by a co-worker exchanging a kiss with his boyfriend in their car while stopped at an intersection off-base.

The settlement covers veterans who served at least six years and is retroactive to November 2004. Unfortunately, the statute of limitations prevents payments to those discharged earlier.

(via JMG)

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Movie: “Any Day Now”

Any Day Now stars the incomparable Alan Cumming and Garret Dillahunt as a gay couple who adopt a teenage boy with Down syndrome (Issac Leyva) who’s abandoned by his drug-addict mother and taken in by the two men.

Set in the 1970s, the powerful film touches on struggles for gay couples when adopting, on the differently-abled foster children who too often fall between the cracks of the state support system, and draws powerful parallels that show us just how little has changed for many LGBT families around the country.

Cumming’s performance has been hailed as the best of his career, and the film earned audience awards at numerous film festivals, including Tribeca Film Fest, OutFest 2012, Woodstock Film Festival, and the Chicago International Film Festival.

From director Travis Fine and Music Box Films, Any Day Now opens in theaters nationwide this weekend.

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Days Of Our Lives getting gay romantical

The long-brewing romance between Will (Chandler Massey) and Sonny (Freddie Smith) is about to get official with a kiss on tomorrow’s Days of Our Lives.

Sweet.

I have to say: 20 years ago this would have made me happy but uncomfortable in how America would react to this.  Now it just makes me smile and get all happy.

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North Dakota: Gay college football player dismissed from team

Jamie Kuntz was dismissed from the North Dakota State College of Science’s football team after he was caught kissing his 65 year old boyfriend during an away football game.

The school feels that he was an ongoing distraction but Jamie thinks that his sexual orientation was a factor in his dismissal.

SB Nation’s Amy K. Nelson gives excellent coverage to this very complicated story from all points of view, talking to Jamie, his teammates, and the school’s athletic director for the first time on camera.

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Target carrying greeting cards for same-sex couples

Target stores nationwide are now selling greeting cards to celebrate same-sex marriages.

Placed on card racks under the headings of “For two special men” and “For two special women,” the cards are adorned with phrases such as “Mr. & Mr.” and “Two very special women, one very special love.”

The cards hit shelves in mid-June, a month after the retailer began selling T-shirts with gay pride themes, and two years after Target drew a backlash for a $150,000 donation it made to a group backing Tom Emmer, the Republican gubernatorial candidate who opposed gay marriage.

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DC Comics’ Green Lantern comes out

Click pic for larger view

From Towleroad: DC Comics outs Alan Scott aka the original Green Lantern, who is currently appearing as a character in its Earth 2 series.

Entertainment Weekly speaks with writer James Robinson about the coming out:

The original version of Alan Scott was an older man, and he had a superpowered son, Obsidian, who was gay. The fact that Scott was young now [thanks to a universe-wide reboot] meant Obsidian no longer existed. I thought it was a shame that DC was losing such a positive gay character. I said, “Why not make Alan Scott gay?” To Dan DiDio’s credit, when I suggested it to him, there wasn’t a moment’s hesitation.
[The Alan Scott character is] a giant of the media industry. By getting involved in communication, the news, and the Internet, he’s become a billionaire. He’s kind of a cross between Mark Zuckerberg and David Geffen. The original Alan Scott owned a radio station in the ’40s and ’50s, so he was a media giant then. He was this bold, heroic, brave man who took control, who would risk his life for you and be this emerald knight that was always there to protect the world. The Alan Scott I’m doing now is that same dynamic, brave, honorable man. A man that you’d want guarding your welfare, your children, your life, your home. He’s willing to give his life for the world. He’s everything you want in a hero. And he happens to be gay. So really, apart from his sexuality, there isn’t that much of a difference.

Check out the preview of the new Earth 2 at this link.

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Follower of Pastor “Put homosexuals behind a fence” Worley defends position

OMG! You have to watch this interview with Anderson Cooper and Stacey Pritchard of North Carolina Pastor Worley’s congregation.

She somewhat incoherently defends Pastor Worley’s desire to put homosexuals behind an electrified fence.

She starts out saying “of course he would never want that to happen” then diverts to “being taken out of context” to “this is 2012 – that doesn’t happen.” Even with Anderson Cooper saying “this IS happening in Iraq and Iran.”

Fascinating. Seriously. This is what “hate” looks like in America.