Australia / Campaigns / Celebrities / Miscellaneous / Myths — Add comment
14
Jul 11

THE GLOBAL GAY GESTAPO

Loree and Kevin Rudd

Loree and Kevin Rudd

WTF? I did not expect to read about Kevin Rudd and the global gay gestapo this morning.

This is one of those situations of “who cares what a relative of a famous person or a famous person says.” They don’t have an extraordinary insight, they just have a name.

Well, seeing as I am happy to take all the good stuff from our liberal friendly celebrities … I have to support the downside of this fame game too. Like the sister of the recent Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, saying Australia is being held hostage by the “gay gestapo” when it comes to marriage equality. Go back in your box!

Insensitive. Wrong. Lacking in insight. Offensive to all Gestapo victims. We could go on. And we could also say that Brother Rudd is playing it smart by shutting up, which is something Sister Rudd would have been well advised to do.

But someone has to condemn this crazy lady, and I am certainly going to be one of those people.  And it will be a good day when she leaves the Australian Labor Party which is growing more enlightened and will one day cut these sorts of people loose and officially adopt equality as its national policy.

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Civil Union / Divorce / Europe / Lesbian / North America — Add comment
14
Jul 11

LESBIANS IN THE LEAD

 Lesbian Wedding Pictures, Images and Photos

First up – the overall queer community is marrying at the same rate as opposite sex couples in Massachusetts, thanks to same sex female couples outnumbering the men two to one.

Secondly, in terms of UK divorces lesbians were also in the lead in 2010 (maybe not in a good way)  about 3.3% dissolving their partnership compared to 1.6% of the men. These rates are still lower than that of opposite sex couples.

So, we are not marrying less or divorcing more it seems.  That’s  both no news and good news all round the push for equality I would say.

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Global / Jokes / Miscellaneous / North America — 1 comment
13
Jul 11

GAY MARRIAGE CARTOON SLIDESHOW

DaveGrunlandcartoon_SameSexstatuesofliberty

Cartoon credit: Dave Grunland

Found this nifty cartoon slideshow that you might be interested in.

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Europe / Miscellaneous / Politicians — Add comment
12
Jul 11

GAY PRESIDENT FOR IRELAND

Irish Presidential candidate David Norris strikes a pose

Irish Presidential candidate David Norris strikes a pose

It looks like a gay is  going to win either way in the upcoming Presidential election in Ireland.

The Irish will vote for the post in October, and the two leading contenders are independent senator David Norris, who is gay in the sense of gay marriage.  And then there is Gay Mitchell, the candidate of the government party Fine Gael, who just has a gay name and is married.  Alas, the female gays are invisible.

May the best gay win!

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Celebrities / Video — 1 comment
12
Jul 11

URUGUAY HOTS UP

Uruguay’s Colectivo Ovejas Negras is giving New York a run for its money on marriage equality. Otherwise known as the Black Sheep Collective has launched a TV-ad campaign featuring 34 local stars to back up the equality bill now before the national Parliament.

“The bill — written by Uruguay’s first transgendered lawyer — will soon be discussed by Parliament, and we’re optimistic,” said the collective’s Álvaro Queiruga.

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Australia / North America / Politicians / Uncategorized — Add comment
11
Jul 11

PETTY IN PINK

Julia Gillard in a 2010 pink makeover

Julia Gillard in a 2010 pink makeover

The Australian Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, is mind-boggling.  The very week she tackles a long-sighted politically difficult subject: pricing carbon in order to reduce climate change, she engages in base pettiness against gays: again.

This time, it is re-stating that the Australian government will not only stop gay marriage on its territory, it will continue to try to stop its citizens getting married elsewhere. The reaction was prompted by Australians, including one of her own party’s Members of Parliament, considering travelling to New York to marry.

This issue has arisen before. But it’s astonishing that they continue to enforce this arbitrary view when every single section of the governing party has the opposite approach: they have all endorsed equality.  And on the specific issue of Certificates of No Impediment to marriage, a broad Parliamentary Committee clearly said in 2009 there is no justification for continuing the policy.

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Europe / Wedding — Add comment
11
Jul 11

SPAIN’S CREDIT RATING GOES UP

creditratingimage

That’s not a headline you are likely to read anywhere else in 2011. But in the case of access to equality, the fresh statistics for marriage in Spain show the country’s credit rating is very high indeed.

Rex Wockner reports that 18,634 same-sex marriages have been registered in Spain, while the State Federation of Lesbians, Gays, Transsexuals and Bisexuals (FELGBT) believes that not all the marriages have been recorded, and that the actual number is 23,000.

In any case, 2.1 percent of marriages in 2010 were between people of the same sex - nearly 4,000 last year.

To the 8,000 happy people – my hearty congratulations.

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Civil Union / Global — Add comment
30
Jun 11

BRAZIL’S FIRST GAY MARRIAGE APPROVED

A Brazilian state (in Sao Paulo) Monday approved what the court said is the nation’s first gay marriage.

THIS IS HUGE … If it stands the global population of people with access to equality will nearly double overnight. Brazil’s 200m people make it a world power that is going from strength to strength. What an example to set!

This comes out of nowhere as far as I can tell … Will be interesting to see if the Brazilia Government is grateful to have the issue “off their hands” or whether we will now see Prop 8 style court appeals for the next decade over whether this stands as a national precedent.

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Democrat / Heroes / North America / Politicians / Religion / Surprising Marriage Equality Supporters — 1 comment
29
Jun 11

HERO: ANDREW CUOMO

Andrew Cuomo with his daughters at New York Pride this weekend

Andrew Cuomo with his daughters at New York Pride this weekend

It’s been a long while since I listed a “hero” on these pages, but New York Governor Andrew Cuomo definitely deserves the title. Like Tony Blair, he’s realised the magic feeling and feedback that comes with granting civil rights. A cynic who found his heart, a straight guy who went to the wall for us, someone who never gave up on bringing two sides of politics together. And a Catholic who stood up to his Church hierarchy … it’s the sort of thing they make movies and Presidential bids out of.

So here it is, my favourite columnist’s (Maureen Dowd) profile of the guy who steps up to join Gavin Newsom as the United State’s leading political advocate for equality…. Now we just need one other guy with an inspiration story to find his guts again.

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Celebrities / Conservatives / North America / Republican / Surprising Marriage Equality Supporters — Add comment
28
Jun 11

LEADING U.S. CONSERVATIVE BACKFLIPS

David Frum

David Frum

Very interesting and gratifying piece here on CNN by David Frum, a man more often associated with inventing Republican catch-cries like the “axis of evil.”

My favorite line, where he tells conservatives to go find another cause for family instability in the U.S.

“Whatever is driving this negative trend, it seems more than implausible to connect it to same-sex marriage. How would it even work that a 15-year-old girl in Van Nuys, California, becomes more likely to have a baby because two men in Des Moines, Iowa, can marry?”

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