tagged w/ Gay Pride
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Police in the Kaliningrad region have mistaken a marathon for a gay pride parade.
Several athletes gathered in the town center of Sovetsk on Saturday for the run, but were approached by police, who detained some of them, including teenagers.
Police later explained they had been falsely tipped-off about a planned but illegal gay pride march in the town.
Organizing pride parades has long been a big problem among activists in Russia’s gay community.
In Moscow, they have been unsuccessfully applying for permission to hold a parade for several years – with former Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov branding them "satanic" on one occasion.
With Luzhkov replaced by Sergey Sobyanin, the LGBT community hoped for change, but the new mayor deemed such events in the capital to be “unnecessary.”
The bans have always been warmly supported by the Russian Orthodox Church, with its officials supporting what they say is the authorities' right to ban any propaganda based on its potential moral damage to the people.
In July 2011, Russia paid 30,000 euros in compensation to gay activists over its decision to ban so-called pride marches.
The fine was issued by the European Court of Human Rights, which ruled that the decision to repeatedly ban gay pride parades in 2006, 2007 and 2008 was unlawful.Police in the Kaliningrad region have mistaken a marathon for a gay pride parade.... more
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Imagine flipping through the television channels and you turned on Glee’s “Extraordinary Merry Christmas,” expecting a group of rambunctious teenagers covering a number of holiday pop songs, but instead you get a black-and-white homage to Judy Garland’s 1963 Christmas Special, complete with laugh tracks, a Luke Skywalker lookalike (including a lightsaber) and an Irish holiday elf!
Well, this year’s Glee Christmas program was every bit as strange as it sounds, but maybe in today’s times it takes a show like this to spread holiday cheer and inspire the gift of giving.
This piece includes color photographs and two wonderful music videos from the show.
http://disembedded.wordpress.com/2011/12/19/the-glee-holiday-spectacular/Imagine flipping through the television channels and you turned on Glee’s... more
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“Losers” is a new, emotionally touching two-minute short film by Everynone, with brilliant sound design and an ethereal score by Keith Kenniff. “Losers” is an anti-bullying film that not only effectively conveys its message, but is visually stimulating as well. The film brings you face to face with how racial slurs, anti-gay taunts, and other insults and actions can hurt others.
This piece includes photographs and the short film.
http://disembedded.wordpress.com/2011/11/16/losers-walking-through-a-world-of-insults/“Losers” is a new, emotionally touching two-minute short film by... more
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The disaster that occurred on September 11, 2001 was the worst in the history of New York City. Not only were nearly 3,000 people killed in Manhattan, at the Pentagon and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania on that morning; they were victims of a premeditated act of mass murder that pioneered the use of hijacked passenger jets as suicide bombs and then reordered and distorted the decade that followed.
For those in the immediate vicinity, the horror was immediate and unmistakable; it occurred in what we have learned to call real time, and in real space. Those farther away, whether a few dozen blocks or halfway around the world, witnessed the horrors through the long lens of television.The sense of grief and shock, a terrible roaring in the mind of every American, made it impossible to assess the larger damage that Osama bin Laden and his fanatics had inflicted, the extent to which they had succeeded in shattering our self-possession. In the years after 9/11, many still can hardly erase the vision of the wreckage of the two towers, the twisted steel and sheets of glass, the images of men and women leaping from ninety-odd stories up and the knowledge that thousands lay beneath the ruined buildings.
This piece includes a number of high resolution color photographs, a photo-gallery, audio, a documentary short film and the full version of the movie, “The Saint of 9/11.”
http://disembedded.wordpress.com/2011/09/10/september-11-never-forget/The disaster that occurred on September 11, 2001 was the worst in the history of New... more
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On Sunday, September 4th, marchers turned out by the hundreds in New York City to honor the memory of the Rev. Mychal Judge, the beloved FDNY chaplain killed on 9/11. Firefighters and their families, friends of the Franciscan priest, and well-wishers from near and far, all came together for a four-hour Walk of Remembrance through the streets of Manhattan. Father Judge, commemorated as The Saint of 9/11, was killed while giving last rites to a firefighter at the World Trade Center. The group walked from midtown to Ground Zero, stopping at firehouses and police precincts along the way to pray and read the names of the 9/11 dead.
Father Mychal Judge was a Franciscan priest who served everyone that he encountered with the passion and spirit of St. Francis. Those who knew Mychal Judge have described him as carefree, open-eyed, laughing and humble. Some of his greatest friends were alcoholics whom he had saved from street corners, a mother who lost her daughter on TWA Flight 800 and a disabled former policeman whom he wheeled across an embattled Northern Ireland in an attempt to persuade the people there of God’s healing power of forgiveness.
Mychal Judge was also the dedicated official Chaplain for the New York Fire Department. He rushed to be with the FDNY firefighters at the site of the 9/11 World Trade Center tragedy, and as he was kneeling to give Last Rites to a fireman who had just perished there, Mychal was struck by falling debris from the burning towers and killed.
Father Judge was gay, which he knew would have caused him to be barred from the priesthood under the current Pope. He kept knowledge about his sexual orientation closely guarded, because he was acutely aware that it could become an obstacle to his work with some of the beloved firemen to whom his ministry was so dedicated.
In addition, many people have a special remembrance of Father Judge for his labors with and on behalf of persons who were suffering with AIDS during the early years of the crisis. Beginning in the early 1980s, when HIV really began to emerge with its fury of terror, Father Judge was one of the first persons to courageously devote himself to caring for those who were stricken, mostly alone, isolated from society and totally abandoned by their families. His steadfast kindness continues to stand as a role model for us all.
This piece includes a number of high-resolution photographs, a video and the full movie, “The Saint of 9/11.”
http://disembedded.wordpress.com/2011/09/06/on-the-10th-anniversary-of-911-remembering-the-saint-of-911/On Sunday, September 4th, marchers turned out by the hundreds in New York City to... more
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Paris --Tens of thousands of revelers turned out Saturday for a gay pride parade in Paris, many of them hailing the legalization of same-sex marriage in New York and demanding that France follow suit.
Marchers paraded under a sea of rainbow-colored flags. Elsewhere in Europe, however, Russian police detained 14 gay rights activists trying to hold an unsanctioned rally in St. Petersburg to demand equal rights for gays. An Associated Press photographer saw some unidentified attackers besiege the activists and try to take their banners before police moved in. One suspected attacker was also detained.
Paris' parade drew many leaders from France's political left, which has rallied around equal rights for gays - notably marriage and adoption rights - and put the issue in their platform for the 2012 presidential election race.
"This is wonderful news from New York," said Eva Joly, a Green Party presidential hopeful. "Within the first 100 days of the new government, we will adopt that law" allowing gay marriage, she said.
Two weeks ago, France's National Assembly rejected a bill presented by the opposition Socialist Party seeking to legalize same-sex marriage, despite growing public support for gay rights.
In Germany on Saturday, thousands packed downtown Berlin wearing colorful costumes for the 33rd annual CSD festival calling for acceptance of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people.
Gays and lesbians face widespread hostility in some societies of eastern Europe - and opposition to their public events has been fierce, and even violent, at times.
Attempts to hold gay pride rallies almost always end in violence in Russia. Authorities habitually refuse gay rights activists their constitutional right to assemble, particularly in Moscow, on the grounds that other people find it offensive.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/06/25/MNTH1K2ODB.DTLParis --Tens of thousands of revelers turned out Saturday for a gay pride parade in... more
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The 42nd Annual Chicago Gay Pride Parade kicks off from the northside Lakeview neighborhood at noon on Sunday, led by Chicago’s new mayor, Rahm Emanuel. It will be the first time in a long time that a sitting mayor has appeared in the parade, a salute to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.
Emanuel is a regular at the parade, having appeared at the festivities almost every year while he served in Congress. He has been a relentless advocate of gay causes, including HIV/AIDS funding, civil unions and gay marriage. Joining him in the parade will be Governor Pat Quinn, recently who signed the Illinois civil union legislation, as Illinois became the sixth state to allow civil unions or their equivalent, giving same-sex couples the same state-level rights that come with marriage.
The parade usually draws around a half-million celebrants, but coming right on the heels of winning the long-sought right for same-sex couples to enter into civil unions and the historic passage of the New York bill allowing same sex marriage Friday night, this parade is expected to swell far beyond a half-million rainbow-clad spectators.
This piece includes a number of color photographs and two parade videos.
http://disembedded.wordpress.com/2011/06/26/mayor-rahm-emanuel-leads-chicagos-42nd-annual-gay-pride-parade/The 42nd Annual Chicago Gay Pride Parade kicks off from the northside Lakeview... more
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The New York Senate voted on Friday to legalize gay marriage, a breakthrough victory for the gay-rights movement in the state where it got its start. New York became the sixth state where gay couples can wed, and by far the biggest. Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who campaigned on the issue last year, has promised to sign it. Gay weddings could begin 30 days after that.
Although New York is a relative latecomer in allowing gay marriage, it is considered an important prize for advocates, given the state’s size and New York City’s international stature and its role as the birthplace of the gay-rights movement, which is said to have started with the Stonewall riots in Greenwich Village in 1969.
Gay-rights advocates are hoping the vote will galvanize the movement around the country and help it regain momentum after an almost identical bill was defeated in New York in 2009 and similar measures failed in 2010 in New Jersey and this year in Maryland and Rhode Island.
This piece includes photographs and two documentary short films.
http://disembedded.wordpress.com/2011/06/24/new-york-senate-votes-36-26-to-approve-gay-marriage/The New York Senate voted on Friday to legalize gay marriage, a breakthrough victory... more
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“Brothers of Arcadia” is an amazingly erotic four-minute short fashion film directed by Branislav Jankic. The film features a number of mostly-naked men with stunning physiques to grab your attention. It starts off slowly with a dramatic, black and white beachside romp set to classical music, with the leading men wearing nothing but briefs and some bling. However, the mood quickly changes when vibrant colors emerge, as well as a bumping techno jam by Jessica 6. Viewers are transported into a steamy underground photo-shoot that seems to have a Greek gods and soldiers theme, which is appropriate because these dudes are, like, chiseled from marble.
This piece includes a number of high-resolution black-and-white photographs, as well as the very sexy short film.
http://disembedded.wordpress.com/2011/06/23/the-very-sexy-brothers-of-arcadia/“Brothers of Arcadia” is an amazingly erotic four-minute short fashion... more
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The 2011 Mermaid Parade took place on Saturday, June 18th in New York City’s Coney Island. The annual event first took place in 1983 and has been a very popular area attraction ever since. The Mermaid Parade draws a huge crowd of celebrators who don wild and outrageous costumes, with the parade’s naughty marchers wearing sea-themed outfits that often leave little to the imagination.
This piece includes a number of beautiful high-resolution color photographs, a photo-gallery and a documentary short film.
http://disembedded.wordpress.com/2011/06/19/those-crazy-coney-island-dayze-the-mermaid-parade/The 2011 Mermaid Parade took place on Saturday, June 18th in New York City’s... more
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“Sequoïa Snail” is a very funny one-minute animated short film by the French design group Marcel. In the film, a poor little gay snail faces the camera to share his doubts, problems and worries about being gay in the midst of the harsh world of the animal kingdom.
This piece includes color photographs, as well as the humorous animated short film.
http://disembedded.wordpress.com/2011/06/17/the-very-sad-confessions-of-a-gay-snail/“Sequoïa Snail” is a very funny one-minute animated short film by the... more
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“Zero” is a highly acclaimed Australian stop-motion animated short film, written and directed by Christopher Kezelos. “Zero” has screened at over 50 film festivals and won 11 awards, including Best Animation from LA Shorts Fest and the Rhode Island International Film Festival and has been nominated for an AFI Award.
The film follows life in a world of yarn puppets, where the main character is a zero. This is a world in which from birth your destiny is determined by a number boldly displayed on your chest, representing all that you are or can be. 9′s are the elites of this world, and the very lowest you can sink, the untouchables, are cursed as Zero.
The dark fairytale takes place in a world built upon a rigid foundation of social intolerance. In this land of numbered characters, the zeroes endure lives of constant heart-ache, never allowed to have romantic relationships, marry, have children or be parents. Faced with constant prejudice and persecution, one oppressed zero walks a lonely path of disappointment and abuse until a chance encounter changes his life forever: he meets a female zero. Together they prove that through determination, courage, and love, nothing can become truly something.
This piece includes color photographs, as well as the much-awarded animated short film.
http://disembedded.wordpress.com/2011/06/15/zero-a-courageous-yarn-of-forbidden-love/“Zero” is a highly acclaimed Australian stop-motion animated short film,... more
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Larry Kramer’s “The Normal Heart,” which originally was performed at New York City’s Public Theater in 1985, won the 2011 Tony Award for revival of a play. The play is considered to be a literary landmark, contending with the AIDS crisis when few would speak of the disease afflicting gay men, including gays themselves. It remains the longest-running play ever staged at the Public Theater.
In addition, Ellen Barkin and John Benjamin Hickey both won Tony Awards for their performances in “The Normal Heart.” Producer Daryl Roth accepted the award, but it was the playwright Larry Kramer, an outspoken gay activist for many years, who received the biggest welcome from the audience. The writer exhorted the gay community to “carry on the fight,” adding that “our day will come.”
The stunning, pulse-pounding ensemble drama tells the groundbreaking story of love, rage and pride as it follows a group of New Yorkers confronting the AIDS crisis in the early 1980s. The story of a city in denial, “The Normal Heart” unfolds like a real-life political thriller, as a tight-knit group of friends refuses to let doctors, politicians and the press bury the truth of an unspoken epidemic behind a wall of silence. A quarter-century after it was written, this unflinching, and totally unforgettable look at the sexual politics of New York City during the AIDS crisis remains one of the theater’s most powerful evenings ever.
This piece includes a number of color photographs, as well as three documentary short films.
http://disembedded.wordpress.com/2011/06/13/broadway-revival-of-larry-kramers-the-normal-heart-wins-three-2011-tony-awards/Larry Kramer’s “The Normal Heart,” which originally was performed at... more
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Although California is presently the only state with an official Harvey Milk Day, cities all across the country will be holding rallies and events today to honor the first openly gay man to be elected to public office and an icon of the gay-rights movement. Milk, who would have been 81 years-old, gave us his life 32 years ago, knowing that the first of any civil rights movement, who clearly and loudly proclaim their right to equality, most often meets a violent and sudden end. Harvey Milk was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977. He fought to end discrimination against gays and lesbians and built coalitions of gay-rights groups, labor unions and small-business owners. He was 48 when he was killed a year later by a former supervisor, Dan White.
“The Times of Harvey Milk,” a documentary film, won the 1984 Academy Award for Documentary Feature. The movie “Milk,” was released in 2008, directed by Gus Van Sant and starring Sean Penn as Milk and Josh Brolin as Dan White. “Milk” received two Academy Awards, for Best Original Screenplay and Best Actor. In August 2009, President Barack Obama posthumously awarded Harvey Milk the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his contribution to the gay rights movement stating, “He fought discrimination with visionary courage and conviction.”
This piece includes a number of high-resolution photographs, a photo-gallery and four videos, including the full version of the Academy Award-winning documentary “The Times of Harvey Milk.”
http://disembedded.wordpress.com/2011/05/22/harvey-milk-day-2011-youve-got-to-give-them-hope/Although California is presently the only state with an official Harvey Milk Day,... more
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Hedge fund billionaire Steve Cohen put his iconic 1963 Andy Warhol silkscreen portrait of Elizabeth Taylor on the block at Phillips de Pury’s Manhattan auction house on May 12, 2011, and it sold for $26,962,500 Million.
“Liz #5” (1963) has been described as is a rare and exquisite example of the world renowned images of feminine grace that catapulted Warhol to prominence nearly 50 years ago. This glamorous portrait of the legendary actress, Elizabeth Taylor, embodies the most important themes of Warhol’s body of work, including his fascination with celebrity, real-life drama and the fleeting nature of beauty. One of the artist’s most instantly recognized images, “Liz #5” is said to be a testament to Warhol’s unique and unrivaled contribution to the visual arts. “Liz #5” was created at the height of the Taylor’s fame, which also coincided with the most significant and creative period of Warhol’s career. The epitome of old-world Hollywood style and glamor, Elizabeth Taylor, who died on March 23rd, was one of Warhol’s most famous inspirations, along with Marilyn Monroe and Jackie Kennedy.
Taylor captured Warhol’s attention early on with her life’s high-profile romances and tragedy, a vibrancy and pathos that so attracted Warhol to her and ensured she was a formidable influence on his work throughout his career. It has been said that the power of her attraction has never been as evident as it is in this Warhol painting, which is a dazzling tribute to Elizabeth Taylor. This striking portrait is a testament to the legend and beauty of one of the world’s most beloved and iconic actresses, both capturing her very essence and transcending the limits of time.
Warhol’s 1962 Elizabeth Taylor work, “Men in Her Life,” went for $63.3 Million, the highest auction price paid in 2010 for a contemporary artwork and the second-highest auction price ever paid for a Warhol painting, behind the $71.7 Million paid in 2007 for his “1963 Green Car Crash, Green Burning Car I.” In 2009, Andy Warhol’s 1962 silk-screen painting “200 One Dollar Bills” sold for $43.8 Million at Sotheby’s, more than four times its estimated selling price. Unfortunately, Warhol wasn’t around to enjoy the fabulous joke of his pictures of money grabbing so much money. The seven-and-a-half-foot-wide canvas, one of Warhol’s first silk-screen paintings, looks like just what you’d think: 200 one-dollar bills. Yes, if you just take a wide look at today’s contemporary art world, that confection of bucks, puff and street smarts, you realize anew that Andy Warhol was the big daddy of it all!!
This piece includes a number of high-resolution color photographs, a photo-gallery and three documentary short films.
http://disembedded.wordpress.com/2011/05/12/warhol’s-iconic-liz-taylor-portrait-gets-26962500-million-at-auction/Hedge fund billionaire Steve Cohen put his iconic 1963 Andy Warhol silkscreen portrait... more
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This episode of “Glee” featured Kurt, played by Golden Globe winner Chris Colfer, returning to his old high school and receiving an apology from the closeted gay football player who had bullied him. Celebrating acceptance, the show’s cast sings Lady Gaga’s gay pride anthem “Born This Way,” and all seems well at McKinley High once again.
This piece includes a number of color photographs, as well as two music videos from the show, “Kurt Returns” and “Born This Way.”
http://disembedded.wordpress.com/2011/04/28/glee-born-this-way/This episode of “Glee” featured Kurt, played by Golden Globe winner Chris... more
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The iconic 1963 Andy Warhol silkscreen portrait of legendary actress Elizabeth Taylor will be auctioned on May 12, 2011, and is expected to sell for $20 Million to $30 Million. “Liz #5” was created at the height of the Taylor’s fame, which also coincided with the most significant and creative period of Warhol’s career. The glamorous portrait embodies the most important themes of Warhol’s body of work, which include celebrity, wealth, scandal, sex, death and Hollywood.
Elizabeth Taylor, the queen of American motion picture stardom, who enthralled generations of moviegoers with her stunning beauty and whose name was synonymous with Hollywood glamour, died on Wednesday in Los Angeles at the age of 79.
During a theatrical career that spanned six decades and more than 50 films, the legendary beauty won two Academy Awards as best actress, for her performances as a call girl in “BUtterfield 8” (1960) and as the acid-tongued Martha in “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” (1966). Long after she faded from the motion picture screen, Taylor remained a mesmerizing figure. She was a child star who bloomed gracefully into an ingenue; a femme fatale both on the screen and in real life; a shrewd entrepreneur of high-priced perfume; and a pioneering activist in the fight against AIDS.
Taylor had many gay friends and, as the AIDS epidemic mushroomed, some of them were dying. In 1985, she became the most prominent celebrity to back what was then a most unfashionable cause. She agreed to chair the first major AIDS benefit, a fundraising dinner for the nonprofit AIDS Project Los Angeles. Taylor began calling her A-list friends to enlist their support, but many of Hollywood’s biggest stars turned her down. Undaunted, Taylor redoubled her efforts, aided along the way by the stunning announcement that Rock Hudson, the handsome matinee idol and her co-star in “Giant,” had the dreaded disease. She stood by Hudson, just as years later she would stand by pop-idol Michael Jackson during the latter’s struggle to defend himself against child abuse allegations.
Taylor went on to co-found the first national organization devoted to backing AIDS research, the American Foundation for AIDS Research, or AmFAR. In 1991, she formed the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation, which directly supports AIDS education and patient care. Taylor’s AIDS work brought her the Legion of Honor in 1987, France’s highest civilian award, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ awarded her The Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 1993. In 2000, Queen Elizabeth made her a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire, an honor on the level of knighthood. Through her various efforts she would eventually raise more than $270 Million for AIDS research, prevention and care.
This piece includes a number of high-resolution vintage photographs, a slide show and three documentary short films.
http://disembedded.wordpress.com/2011/03/30/warhols-iconic-liz-taylor-portrait-could-draw-30m-at-may-auction/The iconic 1963 Andy Warhol silkscreen portrait of legendary actress Elizabeth Taylor... more
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Rutgers to let some male, female students room together
By Leigh Remizowski, CNN
March 2, 2011 1:29 a.m. EST
Rutgers OKs co-ed dorm rooms
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
University wants to be more inclusive
About 55 other universities have "gender-neutral" housing, organizer says
Rutgers' impetus was gay student's suicide
(CNN) -- In the wake of the high-profile suicide of a gay Rutgers University student last fall, the New Jersey college will implement gender-neutral housing in an attempt to make the university more inclusive.
Twenty to 30 students will participate in a pilot program during the 2011-12 school year, which will allow students to choose their roommates regardless of gender. Three dormitories in New Brunswick, New Jersey, will be part of the pilot program, a Rutgers spokesman said.
Students must apply to live in the gender-neutral rooms, which will be reserved for sophomores, juniors and seniors.
"This has been under discussion for a long time," university officials said in a statement. "In the aftermath of the Clementi tragedy, members of the university's LGBTQ community told the administration that gender-neutral housing would help create an even more inclusive environment. Since then, the university has been exploring this in greater detail."
Tyler Clementi, 18, jumped from the George Washington Bridge in September after two other Rutgers students allegedly videotaped a sexual encounter between him and another man and posted the video online.
"Maybe the outcome would have been different if he had been able to choose his own roommate," said Yousef Saleh, 22, president of the Rutgers University Student Assembly. "At least now there's an option."
Rutgers junior Ryan Harrington, 21, said the student body has been pushing for gender-neutral housing for years and most students are happy with the university's decision.
"It gives people more options and it makes people feel safe in their own living environment," he said, adding that the issue is especially important for transgender students.
Rutgers' pilot program is a part of a national trend for colleges, said Jeffrey Chang, the co-founder of the National Student Genderblind Campaign, a nonprofit organization that works with college students to develop LGBT policies. Chang estimates that there are 55 universities across the United States that have implemented gender-neutral rooming initiatives.
"I think there definitely has been a really accelerated growth," said Chang, who is also a law student at Rutgers. "Just within the past year, we've seen 10 schools with gender-neutral housing."
Several schools, including Ohio University, Emory University and Columbia University will begin allowing co-ed rooming in the fall as well.
George Washington University in Washington, D.C., is another addition to the list of schools that permit gender-neutral housing. Senior Michael Komo, 22, helped lead the campaign at his school, which will allow students to choose their roommates in all but three all-girls residence halls during the 2011-12 school year.
"These issues have always been there, but they're finally getting the attention they need and deserve," said Komo, who is president of Allied in Pride, a LGBT student organization on campus.Rutgers to let some male, female students room together
By Leigh Remizowski, CNN... more
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Organizers of the Outer Banks of North Carolina’s first gay-pride festival say they are not intimidated by opposition. But David Miller, a co-founder of the group planning OBX Pridefest, to be held in June in Nags Head, told The (Norfolk, Va.) Virginian-Pilot he is offended by some critics. Pastor Charles Tyler of Roanoke Island Baptist Church has called homosexuality “a scourge in any society that values decency” and charged the festival is being marketed as family-friendly to corrupt children.
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2011/02/14/Outer-Banks-gay-festival-stirs-debate/UPI-78251297708146/Organizers of the Outer Banks of North Carolina’s first gay-pride festival say... more
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With his signature today, President Obama put in motion the end of the Pentagon’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, which has hurt our military as a whole, has forced thousands of those who serve to do so under a cloud of anxiety and isolation, and has stood as a symbol of the barriers to unity and equality in our country. As the President put it, “For we are not a nation that says, ‘don’t ask, don’t tell.’ We are a nation that says, ‘Out of many, we are one.’”
During the signing ceremony in a packed auditorium at the Interior Department, President Obama said, “No longer will tens of thousands of Americans in uniform be asked to live a lie or look over their shoulder.” Quoting the Chairman of his Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, Pres. Obama went on to declare, “Our people sacrifice a lot for their country, including their lives. None of them should have to sacrifice their integrity as well.”
This piece includes a number of high resolution color photographs, as well as the video of the signing ceremony.
http://disembedded.wordpress.com/2010/12/22/president-obama-signs-repeal-of-dont-ask-dont-tell-out-of-many-we-are-one/With his signature today, President Obama put in motion the end of the... more
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