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"If you are not from Lesbos, you are not a Lesbian!"
Residents of the Aegean island of Lesbos have submitted a request to the Greek court to ban the use of the word "lesbian" to describe gay women. The court dismissed the request...
Three residents of Lesbos, the birthplace of the ancient Greek poetess Sappho whose love poems inspired the term lesbian, brought a case last month arguing the use of the term in reference to gay women insulted their identity.
In a July 18 decision, the Athens court said the word did not define the identity of the residents of the island, and so it could be validly used by gay groups in Greece and abroad.
Several residents testified during the trial that the use of the word lesbian had brought recognition to the island and boosted its tourist trade.
Residents of the Aegean island of Lesbos have submitted a request to the Greek court to ban the use of the word "lesbian" to describe ... more -
Awaiting the fate of Oregon Dom. Partnerhsips
Last week, on July 8th a panel of 3 judges from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments from both sides of Lemons v. Bradbury. There are folks on both sidelines of Lemons v. Bradbury who feel very strongly about the whole issue.For the opposition we’ve got [...] From the other side of the issue, here is an article from [...] Wherever you read news on this story, all agree that it may be weeks before we hear the final decision... Last week, on July 8th a panel of 3 judges from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments from both sides of Lemons v. Bradbury... more
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Lesbians of Mass Destruction?
Poor Dick Cheney. He was sure we'd find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. We searched and searched, but he refused to give up.
Now he's discovering what it's like to be on the other end of such obtuse certainty. The conservative jihad has turned from Saddam to Sodom. Moralists are denouncing Cheney's pregnant daughter, Mary, for disclosing that she and her lesbian partner will raise the baby together. The moralists are confident that having two mommies is bad for kids. And no evidence to the contrary can dissuade them.
The 30-year search for proof that gay parents are destructive looks a lot like the hunt for WMD. The American Psychological Association has compiled abstracts of 67 studies. Some are plainly biased, and only the latest two or three have avoided the methodological flaws of earlier investigations. But after 67 tries, you'd expect the harm of gay parenting to show up somewhere. Yet in study after study, on measure after measure, kids turn out the same.
That's it. That's the evidence against gay parenthood. On the other hand, .......... Poor Dick Cheney. He was sure we'd find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. We searched and searched, but he refused to give up. ... more -
What lesbians are searching for...
Sort of a tongue in cheek title maybe... over the last week or so, search terms related to Molly on the L Word and the real life character's name Clementine Ford have been the most frequently used to bring folks to my blog (I am talking more than just a few times here!) So, for this week anyway, this is what lesbians are searching for! Sort of a tongue in cheek title maybe... over the last week or so, search terms related to Molly on the L Word and the real life chara... more
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Photos of the 2008 San Francisco Gay Pride Parade
The annual Gay Pride Parade was held in San Francisco, CA on Sunday, June 29, 2008. Check out the photos of this colorful event.
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Cuba plans its first gay pride parade
Today, Cuba's gays are planning some reform of their own. Working with Florida's Unity Coalition, activists in Cuba have organised the island's first gay pride parade.
Members of the Foundation LGTB Reinaldo Arenas in Memoriam and other groups will participate in the march, according to Unity. They will meet in Havana's Don Quixote park at 10am and march to the Ministry of Justice to deliver a series of demands.
Marchers seek an apology from the government for its past repression and, in some cases, incarceration of openly gay citizens and the inhumane treatment of prisoners with AIDS, according to Unity.
In Havana, gay activist Aliomar Janjaque said that despite some progress on gay rights, discrimination against homosexuals continues in Cuba. He said people are still passed over for jobs, prevented from gathering in certain places and, in some cases, jailed because of their sexual orientation.
"Mariela Castro's work is good and valid and we're not criticising it," said Janjaque, 31, a psychology student who is president of the Foundation LGTB Reinaldo Arenas in Memoriam. "But we believe they should do more."
Mariela Castro, Raul Castro's daughter, heads the island's National Centre for Sex Education. In May, she led a public rally against homophobia that briefly brought gay activists out of the shadows. Earlier this month, Cuban officials announced they were allowing free sex-change operations for transsexuals.
In South Florida, Cuban natives like Arturo Alvarez, who co-owns Club Azucar, said the government's recent measures don't go far enough.
"We'll see with this parade if openness has really been achieved," said Alvarez, 44, an internist by training who deserted 20 years ago while on a medical mission in Namibia.
Alvarez traveled to Cuba in May to attend Mariela Castro's rally and is cautiously hopeful about signs of change on the island. As a gay teenager in Havana, he was barred from Communist youth groups and experienced withering rejection.
"You couldn't have the slightest gay mannerisms. You could show no trace of who you really were," said Alvarez, who has organised gay pride parades in several Latin American cities, including the first in Montevideo, Uruguay, last year.
For decades under Fidel Castro, Cuban gays were subject to widespread antipathy and government crackdowns, Alvarez and others said. But the community has seen a growing level of tolerance since the 1990s and a lively gay social scene has for years thrived in Havana.
Janjaque said organisers hope an orderly, peaceful march would draw attention to their concerns.
"We want to raise awareness but we don't want to provoke a wave of repression against the gay community," he said. "If there is a hostile reaction from the government, we will stage a much larger demonstration. We will take to the streets."
Today, Cuba's gays are planning some reform of their own. Working with Florida's Unity Coalition, activists in Cuba have organised the... more -
Virginia groom passes as bride, could face charges
RICHMOND, Virginia (AP) -- The couple walked into a Norfolk, Virginia courthouse on a spring day, exchanged a few words, and within 10 minutes, were seemingly husband and wife.
It was an unremarkable ceremony -- except that several weeks later, officials realized the shapely bride might not have been a woman.
Now authorities in Virginia, where same-sex marriages are illegal, are weighing whether to file misdemeanor charges against the couple, Antonio E. Blount, 31, and Justin L. McCain, 18. An announcement is expected this week.
A prosecutor says the decision to press charges could turn on whether the pair knowingly misled officials when they applied for a license and later, traveled to a courthouse for a ceremony. If the bride was transgender, and identified as a woman, it is unclear whether the marriage would be considered illegal.
[...] RICHMOND, Virginia (AP) -- The couple walked into a Norfolk, Virginia courthouse on a spring day, exchanged a few words, and within 10... more -
Same Sex Marriage---For It Or Against It?
June 17, 2008
***HOT TOPIC*** Same Sex Marriage---For It Or Against It?
I don't know
You've got the answer!!!!
Me personally I don't care,
Let them do what they do, just don't include me.
In todays times of high gas- unemployment-Bush-Food shortage-The War-Presidental election, it really doesn't matter to me. Us as a country have bigger issues to deal with. June 17, 2008 ***HOT TOPIC*** Same Sex Marriage---For It Or Against It? I don't know You've got the answer!!!! ... more -
Usher makes an ass out of himself explaining lesbianism
Just read the quote and see- this man is a douche bag..
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Let My Partner Stay
Because same-sex marriages are not recognized in the United States, certain marital benefits, like the advantage of permanent residency for a foreign born partner, are denied to bi-national spouses. This commonly results in the foreign partner being forced to leave the United States, and their loved ones, behind. Brittany and Joanna's story is one of thousands. Because same-sex marriages are not recognized in the United States, certain marital benefits, like the advantage of permanent residenc... more
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The Bible says we shouldn't eat pork too. Where is all the anti-pork protest?
Anti-gay thoughts are outdated.
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Lesbian child custody dispute sets national precedent
"A woman who helped raise a child with her female partner in Vermont before the pair split can visit the girl in Virginia even though that state doesn't recognize same-sex unions, a court ruled Friday. Virginia's Supreme Court ruled that Janet Jenkins and Lisa Miller's civil union in 2000 gave Vermont, and its law on same-sex unions, jurisdiction over their subsequent custody and visitation disputes.
Miller moved to Virginia with the child in 2003, and a Vermont court granted Jenkins visitation rights. But Miller took the case to a Virginia court, which ruled that Jenkins had no such rights there. The case was considered by legal experts to be the first conflict between two state courts over a major legal question arising from same-sex unions.
Jenkins' attorney, Joseph Price of the Washington law firm Arent Fox, said Friday's ruling "just affirms the old principle that when these kinds of custody and visitation disputes begin in one state, that's where they should remain. You can't shop them around to another state," Price said. "Virginia really had no choice but to enforce judgments and judicial orders from Vermont."
Vermont is one of the few states that allow same-sex partners to enter into a civil union. Two years after Vermont recognized Miller and Jenkins' relationship, Miller gave birth to a daughter, Isabella, conceived through artificial insemination. The relationship deteriorated, and Miller and the baby moved to Virginia. A Vermont court later granted Miller a dissolution of the civil union and granted custody of the child to her and visitation rights to Jenkins.
Miller then asked the courts in Virginia -- which does not recognize same-sex unions or marriages -- to take jurisdiction of the dispute. A Virginia state judge eventually ruled that Jenkins had no "parentage or visitation rights."
The Virginia high court ruling Friday returned the case to Vermont's control, meaning Jenkins can visit the girl, who is now 6. Miller's attorney, Mathew Staver, said he was "disappointed the state sidestepped the larger legal questions."
"This case shows that one state is not an island in the same-sex marriage dispute, and underscores having state laws that protect traditional one-man, one-woman marriages," said Staver, chairman of Liberty Counsel, a law firm that fights on behalf of what it calls "traditional families."
Miller said in 2005 that she was doing what was best for her daughter and was no longer a lesbian.
"I am Isabella's mom. I did conceive her; I birthed her," she said. "I'm raising her. And in my opinion, Isabella needs to stay with me 100 percent of the time, because I am the only person that she identifies as a mom."
Miller lives with Isabella in Winchester, Virginia.
Jenkins did not offer an immediate reaction to the ruling but said in 2005 that she was only fighting for her rights as a parent.
"Justice will be served for Isabella," she said. "I believe that. And I'll do whatever it takes. I'll be with her for as long as I can, or I'll be without her for as long as I have to, but I'm her mom. She's born here [in Vermont]. She's always here."
Price said Jenkins, who lives in Fair Haven, Vermont, was supposed to visit Isabella last weekend, but Miller didn't appear with the girl. Friday's ruling comes a week after the California Supreme Court's refusal to delay its recent decision legalizing same-sex marriage in the state.
Massachusetts also allows same-sex marriages; Vermont and three other states permit civil unions, and 12 other states give gay and lesbian couples some legal rights.
Virginia amended its constitution in 2007 to decree that marriage is defined as a union between one man and one woman." "A woman who helped raise a child with her female partner in Vermont before the pair split can visit the girl in Virginia even though ... more -
At the heart of a lesbian...
She was evidently a heterosexual, and stated that she did not find any humor in my personal musings contrasting my former life with my much preferred current pairing with a woman. She concluded in her post that I was merely "man bashing." Well, my disclaimers may not have done enough to communicate that my purpose was not man bashing, but no matter what I may have written to counter that assumption, I have a feeling that her response may have been the same.
What is it about the fact that (in many cases) when a person finds out that a woman is a lesbian they assume she is a... She was evidently a heterosexual, and stated that she did not find any humor in my personal musings contrasting my former life with my... more -
Lesbian kiss at baseball game ignites Seattle debate
As the Mariners played the Boston Red Sox on May 26, Sirbrina Guerrero and her date were approached in the third inning by an usher who told them their kissing was inappropriate, Guerrero said.
The usher, Guerrero said, told them he had received a complaint from a woman nearby who said that there were kids in the crowd of nearly 36,000 and that parents would have to explain why two women were kissing.
"I was really just shocked," Guerrero said. "Seattle is so gay-friendly. There was a couple like seven rows ahead making out. We were just showing affection."
As the Mariners played the Boston Red Sox on May 26, Sirbrina Guerrero and her date were approached in the third inning by an usher wh... more -
"Top 100 reasons I am glad I am a lesbian"-Part 4
These are my personal reasons why I am glad to be a lesbian & reasons why I am glad that I am no longer a [...] I am fully aware that things I describe in my 'Top 100 Reasons' are likely not the experience of every lesbian, nor the experience of every woman who is with a man. Some of my 'reasons' are serious, but many are intended to just be funny! These are my personal reasons why I am glad to be a lesbian & reasons why I am glad that I am no longer a [...] I am fully aware t... more
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Lesbian kiss too much for Seattle fans
They have a point. This would not have been handled this way if they were a heterosexual couple. With all the hatred and war-ridden hate in the world, this should not be negative at all. How it was handled by the stadium is shameful. They have a point. This would not have been handled this way if they were a heterosexual couple. With all the hatred and war-ridden h... more
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Top 100 reasons I am glad I am a lesbian, pt.3
My personal "top 100" reasons continued. Part 3 are reasons #51-75. Some of these "reasons" came about from my various experiences...leading me to say, "reason #___." My disclaimer: these are intended primarily to be funny and tongue in cheek and mostly represent my personal experience as a woman and a lesbian... My personal "top 100" reasons continued. Part 3 are reasons #51-75. Some of these "reasons" came about from my various experiences...l... more
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Lesbian Q and A
I found the below funnies at this link. I found myself chuckling out loud at several of these! Some clever folks thought these up. :) These are 10 commonly asked questions of lesbians and the answers you'll rarely hear... I found the below funnies at this link. I found myself chuckling out loud at several of these! Some clever folks thought these up. :) ... more
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Oregon not out of the woods yet
Thankfully, Just Out Blog is keeping their ear to the ground for the rest of us with their "Repeal Watch"-monitoring the progress of anti-gay groups efforts to repeal Oregon's equality laws: the Oregon Family Fairness Act and the Oregon Equality Act. The individuals behind the repeal efforts have 56 days left to raise enough money and gather enough signatures to meet their deadlines and requirements.
But, Oregon is not out of the woods yet… Thankfully, Just Out Blog is keeping their ear to the ground for the rest of us with their "Repeal Watch"-monitoring the progress of a... more -
Why AM I gay after all?
From the page: "I usually like to post humorous musings about why I am gay, but I can't resist sharing this more serious article on 'Why are you gay?' I found this today at Grace Unfolding, written by Anita. I have been reading Anita's writings off and on since about 2001 when I found her site under a search for 'Christian Lesbian'."... From the page: "I usually like to post humorous musings about why I am gay, but I can't resist sharing this more serious article on '... more
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