Pope Francis has formally approved blessings for same-sex couples. In the announcement, the Vatican says that people seeking God’s love and mercy shouldn’t be subject to “an exhaustive moral analysis” to receive it. In today’s declaration, Francis makes clear that blessings for same-sex couples will be available as long as the ritual doesn’t resemble the sacrament of marriage, which remains reserved for only heterosexual relationships. Continue reading “Pope Approves Blessings For Same-Sex Couples”
(image via Depositphotos) Some news items you might have missed: • Census Bureau: Same-sex households in the U.S. have surpassed 1 million for the first time. There were about 1.2 million same-sex households in 2021 with 710,000 indicating they were married, while 500,000 were unmarried. Continue reading “More Than 1 Million Same-Sex Households In US + More News”
Jenna Dewan is set to host a new hybrid reality/dating show titled, Flirty Dancing, on Fox. From the Hollywood Reporter:
Based on a British series, Flirty Dancing has its participants learn half of a dance routine, then meet their partners for the first time on a blind date “at a breathtaking location,” where they perform the routine without saying a word to one another. The dances are designed, per Fox, to “tell a story reflective of their personal journeys to find love, while also providing clues to the other’s personality.”
The Fox show will differ a bit from the U.K. format by having one person dance with two partners before choosing one to ask on a second date.
And there are same-sex couples! Squeee!!! Folks on Twitter were all gaga over this cute couple – Garry and Ryan- who turned it out on the November 15 episode in the UK (Season 2, Episode 2): “Garry finds it hard to talk to men he fancies while Ryan has never had a boyfriend.” Check out the obvious romantic tension between the two as they end the routine.
I have been introduced to #FlirtyDancing—a blind date show where two people learn a dance separately and then must perform it upon meeting each other—and now I’m RUINED. pic.twitter.com/UnLDX7IpRK
According to reports, Ryan and Garry have already been on a second date! Whoohoo! And from Season One in the UK, this is Luke and Dan exploring romantic, terpsichorean tension:
Check out the promo for the U.S. edition which premieres in December on FOX:
Univision announces the premiere of “El Corazón Nunca Se Equivoca” (The Heart Is Never Wrong), the first Spanish-language U.S. broadcast television series featuring a same-sex couple as the leading characters.
The coming of age series is a spinoff of Juan Osorio’s popular telenovela “Mi Marido Tiene Más Familia” (My Husband Has More Family) and follows the fan-favorite love story of Aristoteles and Cuauhtémoc (Temo), better known as their couple name “Aristemo.”
Loyal fans flooded social media in support of the spinoff, with the #Aristemo trending worldwide on Twitter and Instagram.
Many viewers express that the young couple has inspired them to embrace their identity with a sense of confidence, happiness, and encouragement.
In “El Corazón Nunca Se Equivoca,” the storyline centers around the young couple as they move to Mexico City to attend college.
Aristótles, played byEmilio Osorio, is ready to begin his music career and his communication studies, while balancing his influencer status and his personal relationship.
Temo, played by Joaquin Bondoni, wants to be a politician despite the prejudice that he might encounter.
Their love will be put to the test as they create new friendships and overcome the challenges of being gay in Mexican society.
Praised for their positive LGBTQ+ portrayal, the duo has received a GLAAD Media award and an E! Online’s “TV’s Top Couple” award.
The new series will premiere on Tuesday, August 13, at 9 p.m. ET/PT 8 p.m. CT.
The Mormon Church, aka the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has announced a reversal of its 2015 policy and will allow the children of LGBTQ parents to be baptized.
Beginning immediately, LGBTQ parents will be able to request a blessing for their child or children.
At the age of eight, a Church member will contact the parents and propose that the child have a baptism.
“Effective immediately, children of parents who identify themselves as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender may be baptized without [governing] First Presidency approval,” the church posted on its website, “if the custodial parents give permission for the baptism and understand both the doctrine that a baptized child will be taught and the covenants he or she will be expected to make.”
The announcement for the new policy was made at the Church’s 189th Annual General Conference in Salt Lake City today by President Dallin Oaks.
While certainly good news, the Church’s position on same-sex marriage will remain unchanged with gay Mormons being expected to remain celibate.
The church’s doctrine will remain that having same-sex attraction is not a sin, but acting on it is.
However, the Mormon church will no longer label same-sex couples “apostates.” An apostasy is the abandonment of a religious or political belief or principle.
The Trevor Project’s Sam Brinton, Head of Advocacy & Government Affairs, issued this statement in support of the change in policy:
”The Trevor Project welcomes any faith group’s public commitment to treat the LGBTQ community fairly and equally, and this statement by the LDS Church to change course is a move in the right direction that will make a real difference in the lives of LGBTQ Mormons. We hear from LGBTQ young people in crisis every day who struggle to reconcile being part of both the LGBTQ and faith communities, and decisions to end policies of exclusion can help LGBTQ youth feel seen, loved, and less alone.”
The Trevor Project is the world’s largest suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ young people.
And Zeke Stokes, Chief Programs Officer for GLAAD, tweeted this:
This change demonstrates that hearts and minds are changing in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. There is no conflict between being a person of faith and being LGBTQ or loving our LGBTQ friends, family, and neighbors. https://t.co/i2z5DGIakY— Zeke Stokes (@zekestokes) April 4, 2019
A new study indicates children raised by same-sex couples perform better in school than those of opposite-sex parents, reports The Washington Post.
Using government data tracking all children born between 1995 to 2005 in the Netherlands, researchers found children with same-sex parents scored higher on tests in elementary and secondary school, and had a seven percent higher likelihood of graduating from high school than children reared by a mom and dad.
A team of economists at research university KU Leuven in Belgium crunched the data which followed the children’s progress through primary school through high school.
The research was presented at the American Economic Association conference in Atlanta last month.
Educational performance, family income and more was utilized in the massive study which followed over 1 million children, including 1,200 children raised by same-sex parents.
The researchers noted that same-sex parents tended to be more financially well off, more educated, and older.
Because same-sex couples often have to access to pricey fertility treatments, higher wealth and a deep motivation to have children can play a big part in same-sex parenting.
As we all know, gay and lesbian couples don’t have children ‘by accident.’
(image via iStockphoto)
“It is difficult for same-sex couples to obtain children so they have to have a high socioeconomic status,” said economist Deni Mazrekaj. “Research shows that socio-economic status positively influences the school outcome of children.”
Sometimes children become part of a same-sex family due to divorce between straight and gay parents. But that doesn’t necessarily mean those children were raised in same-sex family households.
Even when looking at children specifically born and raised in same-sex families, researchers noted higher educational performance when compared to heterosexual families.
Earlier studies have shown no real differences between children raised by heterosexual versus homosexual parents, although a 2014 study from the University of Melbourne in Australia indicated children of same-sex couples often exhibit happier and healthier behavior than those of opposite-sex parents.
In that study, researchers suggested same-sex couples sharing more equal household responsibilities may have contributed to “greater social cohesion.”
That same report showed one of the biggest issues children of same-sex parents face is stigma.
In the entire United States, there’s only one state that doesn’t allow people in same-sex dating relationships to get a restraining order should the romance turn violent.
Anyone who becomes a victim of domestic violence can go to the police and file criminal charges in North Carolina.
But criminal cases can take time, and when there’s a greater sense of urgency, many opt for a restraining order – also known as a 50(B) protective order.
A restraining order can prohibit the alleged abuser from coming near the victim, force them to give up their guns or lose custody of their children.
Married people, straight or gay, can file for a restraining order. Divorced couples, as well as parents and children, have the legal option as well.
But in the Tar Heel state, when it comes to folks who are living together or just dating, the state law on restraining orders only applies to “persons of the opposite sex.”
According to the NewsObserver, the loophole became news after a Wake County woman attempted to get a protective order against her ex-girlfriend last May.
At the time, the judge denied her request. The woman filed again a month later, and was rebuffed again thanks to the language of the law.
Now, the state Attorney General, Josh Stein, is working through the courts to have the law overturned.
Stein, a Democrat, filed a legal brief earlier this week saying the law is unconstitutional because it singles out LGBTQ people and denies them equal protection and due process under the law.
Gov. Roy Cooper, also a Democrat, agrees and has asked to join Stein’s efforts.
In their ‘friend of the court’ filing, Equality NC writes that since “the threat of intimate partner violence does not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation, neither should the State in protecting individuals from such violence.”
“Otherwise, there is no constitutionally guaranteed ‘equal dignity in the eyes of the law’ for same-sex relationships,” the brief continues.
Stein has support from the ACLU of North Carolina as well as the North Carolina Association of Chiefs of Police.
The NewsObserver notes there are other legal options available to same-sex victims of abuse.
The woman who originally filed her request in May was eventually granted a 50(C) no-contact order. However, that kind of restraining order doesn’t give a judge the authority to revoke an alleged abuser’s right to own guns.
The woman’s primary concern for protection was predicated on threats of physical violence from her former girlfriend as well as her access to guns.
