Posts made by leatherbear

This is my home state where this mess is happening.  :afr: Sickening….............but I hope he gets what he deserves from the law.

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In a July 25, 2011 photo, lesbian couple Jennifer Tipton, left, and Olivier Odom …

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A lesbian couple is asking for changes at Dollywood after an employee asked one of the women to turn her T-shirt reading "marriage is so gay" inside-out to avoid offending others on a recent visit to the Tennessee theme park complex.

Olivier Odom and Jennifer Tipton said Tuesday they want the park to be more inclusive of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender families after Odom was asked to reverse her shirt when they visited Dollywood Splash Country next to the Pigeon Forge amusement park. The story was first reported by WBIR-TV in Knoxville.

Dollywood spokesman Pete Owens said on Tuesday that Dollywood is open to all families, but their dress code policy is to ask people with clothing or tattoos that could be considered offensive to change clothes or cover up.

Owens said the couple was not asked to leave and complied with the rules to reverse the shirt when asked.

"The park is open every day to everybody," Owens said. "We try to provide an environment for families of all shapes and sizes to enjoy themselves.

Owens said park officials were discussing the matter and would speak with the couple directly.

Odom said that they visited the water park July 9 with friends and their friends' two children when she was asked by a person at the front gate to turn her shirt inside out because it was a family park.

Odom said she complied so as not to make a scene in front of the children, but felt offended.

"That's what we found so offensive — that he said it was a family park," Tipton said. "Families come in a wide range of definitions these days and we were with our family."

The two said they felt they needed to file a complaint with Dollywood because they believed it was important to stand up for their beliefs in marriage equality.

"If marriage equality is going to happen, it's not going to happen if people sit at home quietly," Odom said.

Odom said they understand the park can have dress code policies, but she felt Dollywood needed to make their policies clear and provide better training for employees when determining what is considered offensive.

Odom and Tipton are not legally married, but held a ceremony last year in North Carolina. They wrote an email to the park asking the park "to implement policies that are inclusive of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people; conduct staff sensitivity training; and issue a public statement indicating that the park is inclusive of all families."

Owens said the couple's complaints have sparked discussion at the park about the dress code, a policy that park employees deal with frequently because of the thousands of visitors every year.

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Adam Champ

Two gay men with developmental disabilities enjoying a trip to a public pool in Hazard, Kentucky (Seriously.) were ejected by a maintenance technician at the facility and told “gay people were not allowed to swim there.”

Oh. Hell. No.

The two men were guests on Mending Hearts, Inc. – a group receiving Medicaid funding from the Commonwealth of Kentucky. When they entered the pool, they were ridiculed and told that “we own this place and can tell you to leave if we want to” by the staff at The Pavilion, a public pool funded by tax dollars. When pressed for a reason for the ejection, the two were told that the Bible justified banning gays from sharing public pools.

Kentucky Equality Federation reports:
“The two gay males with developmental and intellectual disabilities were discriminated against by the staff of The Pavilion based on their sexual orientation,” added Kentucky Equality Federation Children of LGBTI Parents Outreach Director Julia Oiler Spiegel. “Not only was this an irreprehensible act by the staff, it was humiliating to these young men and their direct support staff. Both men are clients of Mending Hearts, Inc. which provides support for individuals with developmental and intellectual disabilities. Mending Hearts is diligent in providing ongoing support for their clients regarding appropriate behavior within the community and neither of these young men was exhibiting inappropriate public behavior as witnessed by their direct support staff.

Spiegel continued: As a gay parent of a child with a developmental challenge, I am outraged by this complete act of ignorance directed at these young men and their staff. As a public community service, the The Pavilion has a responsibility to provide equal treatment to all members of their facility and to properly educate their staff accordingly. A Biblical comment is totally inappropriate. All citizens of the Commonwealth of Kentucky should be treated with equality and respect, based not only on their intellectual abilities but their sexual orientation as well. This was a humiliating experience for both of these young men and will not be tolerated. I demand a public apology, not only these young men, but to the clients and staff of Mending Hearts, Inc. as well as the LGBTI community of Perry County.”

The Pavilion staff should be ashamed of themselves, and we’re betting they will be soon because what they subjected these two men to is completely illegal. When pressed for a comment, Hazard’s mayor stated that all were welcome at the public pool, which really only reiterates how completely screwed the employee and city of Hazard are going to be when this matter makes its way to court shortly. It’s almost as if Kentucky is taking discrimination lessons from Tennessee.

Our thoughts go out to the two men who were met with humiliation and ridicule for just trying to participate in a normal, everyday activity.

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MMmmm Cookies  :cheers:

NEW YORK — Gay couples cheered by supporters began marrying Sunday in New York City on the first day same-sex weddings became legal in the Empire State, marking a pivotal moment in the national drive for recognition.

New York City officials expect to host hundreds of same-sex weddings Sunday. About 100 couples waited in line on a sweltering morning for the chance to exchange vows at the city clerk's office. Johnny Lee, 30, and Sebastian Barleben, wore black tuxedoes as they waited for their turn.

"We contemplated whether the tuxes were a good idea in this weather, but we wanted to look the part," Lee said, wiping his brow.

Some of the couples clutched bouquets. One woman waited on line with a bridal dress.

New York became the sixth, and largest, state to allow gay marriages last month, a highly anticipated vote that was viewed as a pivotal moment in the national gay rights movement and was expected to galvanize supporters and opponents alike.

Clerks in New York City and about a dozen other cities statewide are opening their doors Sunday to cater to same-sex couples. In New York City, judges waived a mandatory 24-hour waiting period that allowed couples to exchange vows moments after receiving their licenses.

Initially, New York City officials had projected that about 2,500 couples might show up at the city clerk's offices hoping to get married on Sunday, but by the time a 48-hour lottery had drawn to a close on Thursday, 823 couples had signed up – 59 more than the city had planned to accommodate. The city will perform ceremonies for all 823.

The first couples got married at the stroke of midnight Sunday in every corner of the state, from Niagara Falls to the capital in Albany to Long Island.

Thanks for posting this letter but no live links allowed. It is heartbreaking to read this and reminds me how lucky I am and have been in my life as a Gay Man.

Openly gay MSNBC anchor Thomas Roberts had some very harsh words for Michele Bachmann and the GOP on Friday.

Roberts was speaking to Jimmy DeSalvia, the head of GOProud, a gay Republican organization, about Bachmann. DeSalvia said it was important to "replace" a "failed president," and that his organization had reached out to all the GOP presidential candidates. (Bachmann is known for her ferocious opposition to gay rights, and video footage has shown that a clinic she co-owns practices so-called "conversion therapy" on gay people.)

"You will replace [Obama] with a person who would extinguish you," Roberts said to DeSalvia. He adding that Bachmann is someone who "doesn't believe that you have a right in this country to get married, that believes you don't even have a right in this country to be gay because she co-owns a clinic that will convert you."

Roberts has proved to be a tough questioner when it comes to gay issues. In June, he had a feisty conversation with the head of the National Organization for Marriage, which opposes gay marriage. He's also scrutinized Bachmann's record on gay rights before.

Video :hXXp://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/22/thomas-roberts-michele-bachmann_n_907262.html

When Liz Carmouche first walked into the San Diego Combat Academy, she wasn't sure how the team would take having a lesbian training partner. MMA seemed like a man's world, and maybe not the most accepting one for women in general. For a homosexual woman like herself, Carmouche thought, the reception would only be colder.

But after five years in the Marines under the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy, Carmouche had decided that she was done lying about who she was.

"After having to keep that aspect of my life secret while I was in the military, I realized that it wasn't the person I wanted to be," Carmouche said. "I wanted to be open and honest about it and take the risk rather than hiding it."

But as it turned out, her teammates were more accepting than she thought, and a whole lot less surprised to hear the news.

"It's pretty funny, because it was obvious to all of us, I think," chuckled Carmouche's coach, Manny Hernandez. But that wasn't what stood out to him the most. Instead, he noticed her strength, her athleticism, and above all else, her willingness to take a beating and eagerness to give it right back, even after she got her nose bloodied and smashed in her first sparring session.

"That's something you can't teach," Hernandez said. "She really loves hurting people."

And in the world of the gym, that meant much more to her training partners than her sexual preference. Her fighting ability and work ethic trumped everything else, and no one seemed to care who she shared her bed with at night. For Carmouche, this was a welcome revelation.

"I thought, of all things, a male-dominated sport and a sport where you're engaging in this physical combat, that I was definitely going to come across that. I thought I'd come into contact with some stereotypical person who's anti-homosexuality, whether it be men or women. But I found the opposite. All they care about is a good, quality person who's a good training partner. Apart from that, what you do with your personal life, they really don't care."

But as much as Carmouche loves MMA now, there was a time when she couldn't stand it. The first time she saw a video of a fight, during her second tour in Iraq, she was appalled by the violence and the blood.

"Somebody showed me a fight where somebody had gotten cut on the forehead and was just gushing blood and kept going throughout the fight," she said. "I couldn't grasp the concept that anybody would want to do that. I thought this was sanctioned street fighting."

The more she looked into it, however, the more she found that something about unarmed combat appealed to her, for very similar reasons that the Marines had: it was a challenge. It was a chance to test herself, to get stronger, and to improve her overall conditioning.

At least, that's how it started, as some glorified workout routine.

"The first time I got to really hit somebody in the face, that changed everything," she said.

It wasn't long before she was training with the pros on Team Hurricane Awesome – a name Hernandez said they at first jokingly came up with after fighting in Mexico, where "all the team names are just ridiculous."

Carmouche learned quickly and developed as a fighter in no time, Hernandez said, but she was also a little too intense for some.

"We had a few more females in the beginning, but they pretty much all decided it wasn't for them once Liz joined," he laughed. "She cut our membership in half, pretty much. It definitely drew a line in the sand as far as who were hobbyists and who was serious about competing."

Now she trains almost exclusively with men, and even some of them have been forced to ask themselves some tough questions after catching a beating from Carmouche, Hernandez said. Down at the gym, these are the kinds of stories that are funny for everyone except the male victim involved. Like the one about the guy who got a concussion at the hands of Carmouche, then stumbled into the bathroom and threw up all over himself while sitting on the toilet.

"At our school we look at it like, she's an athlete," Hernandez said. "She can definitely f--k you up. That is something that happens. There are male fighters in the lighter weight classes who will high-tail it out of here, because they didn't sign up to get beat up by a chick. But it happens."

Carmouche bypassed amateur MMA and went straight into the pros, in part because, according to Hernandez, they couldn't find any other amateurs willing to fight her.

"People would get a look at her and they wouldn't want any part of it," he said.

In her first six months of pro competition, Carmouche rattled off five straight wins. Still, when she got the offer to step in on short notice against Strikeforce 135-pound women's champion Marloes Coenen back in March, even Carmouche was caught by surprise.

She'd been fighting for about a year, while Coenen had more than a decade in the sport and more than four times as many fights as Carmouche. She got the call as she was just sitting down to dinner, and the offer was hard to process at first, for a couple of reasons.

"I was training like I do year-round, but I didn't have a fight coming up so I thought, you know, I'm going to enjoy a nice meal. I made some potatoes, some chicken with some actual seasoning on it, and I think I even baked a cheesecake. As I was sitting there, I got the phone call asking, 'What would you think about taking a shot at the title?' ...Then it was like, well, I guess I'm not going to get to eat this."

For three-plus rounds the little-known Carmouche took it to the champion, taking her down and battering her with punches until it looked like the referee would have no choice but to stop it. Coenen did just enough to survive, however, and in the fourth round locked up a triangle choke off her back, trapping Carmouche and forcing her to tap out after coming painfully close to what would have likely been the biggest upset in the history of women's MMA.

"I felt too confident," Carmouche said, looking back on the first loss of her career. "I thought there was no way she was going to be able to get the triangle on, and on top of that I accidentally walked into the choke rather than out of it. That little mistake cost me. Up until that point, I was winning. But that mistake was worth losing. I'd rather take that chance and lose to someone who's the best in the world than beat someone nobody has ever heard of."

Nothing stings quite like coming so close and still going home empty-handed, but at least the fight put her on the map even in defeat. Suddenly people knew Carmouche's name and knew what she could do.

The downside was, once she'd proven herself against the champion, she knew there was no going back to the lesser-known, similarly inexperienced opponents she'd built up her record against in the beginning. That much became clear when she got her next fight offer -- a three-rounder with former champ Sarah Kaufman at this Friday night's Strikeforce Challengers event in Las Vegas.

In Kaufman, Carmouche faces an opponent much like herself. One who pushes the pace and is "super-scary," according to Hernandez. She's also an experienced pro with five years in the sport and a 13-1 record, so it's not as if Carmouche is getting much of a step down in competition. But as Hernandez explained, that's nothing new for Carmouche.

"She's f--king amazing," he said. "She's fighting guys who have two or three times her experience, and doing well."

Perhaps the most surprising thing about Carmouche's story, however, is how little attention it's gotten. Now that the UFC and Strikeforce are both under the Zuffa banner, she's the first openly gay fighter to compete for the world's largest MMA organization.

If she were a male fighter, that would be headline news, and it would probably be met with more of a mixed reaction. But in Carmouche's case -- and much to her relief -- it seems less remarkable than how far she's come as a fighter in such a short period of time. And for that, Carmouche said, she might have the peculiar mindset of the male-dominated sport to thank.

"When they look at two women, it's 'lesbian action,'" she said. "That's attractive to them. Two men doesn't have that same appeal to them. Two women is just much more appealing to them, because they find it attractive."

It's a depressingly simple explanation if you're one of the sport's male fans, but maybe an accurate one. Regardless, the open and honest life Carmouche is able to live as a lesbian MMA fighter still stands in stark contrast to the one she lived as a gay Marine under Don't Ask, Don't Tell, she said.

"It was really difficult. I wouldn't say I came out so much as I came into my own. I really discovered what my sexuality meant to me and what that meant to me as a person. I was able to come out to my family, but other than that I couldn't come out to co-workers or to friends because of what that would mean for my military life and my career. That made my life difficult, because I felt like I was constantly conflicted and at war with myself every day that I faced people."

In her new life as a pro fighter, and with the support of her team behind her, that's one problem she no longer faces. Now all she has to worry about is the woman standing across the cage from her on Friday night -- and in Kaufman, she faces one who likes hurting people and mixing it up just as much as she does.

Just as it was when Carmouche first stepped on the mats, that's the great equalizer. It's the blind fairness of sport, the only thing that matters when the cage door finally swings shut. And that's exactly the way Carmouche wants it, even if she never expected to find it here.

President Barack Obama is throwing his support behind a bill that would repeal the federal government's ban on same-sex marriage.

The president has "long called for a legislative appeal for the so-called Defense of Marriage Act which continues to have a real impact on families," White House spokesman Jay Carney announced Tuesday.

The president is “proud to support” the Respect for Marriage Act, which would repeal the Defense of Marriage Act, Carney said.

The Obama administration announced in February that it believes the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional and would no longer defend it in court.

At the time, Carney said that Obama was still "grappling" with his personal view of gay marriage but has always personally opposed the Defense of Marriage Act as "unnecessary and unfair."

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) is one of the lead sponsors of the Respect for Marriage Act. On Wednesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee is holing a hearing on the new bill, with testimony from same-sex couples.

"I think eyes have opened. More and more people across this land know people who are gay, who want to have a lasting relationship, who look at marriage as an economic agreement as well as an emotional agreement," said Feinstein, one of 14 senators who voted against the Defense of Marriage Act.

The hearing will give lawmakers the chance to hear firsthand from married, same-sex couples who are ineligible for the many federal benefits that accrue to married, heterosexual couples. For example, gay couples who get married in New York, Iowa or any other state that recognizes same-sex marriage cannot file joint federal income taxes and claim certain deductions. Nor can they receive spousal benefits under Social Security or take unpaid leave for certain family and medical reasons.

Feinstein's legislation has 27 co-sponsors, but not a single Republican. With the GOP in control of the House, she understands the political realities of repealing the bill anytime soon.

"If we don't succeed this session, we will try again next session," she said. "Believe me, we will continue this effort until the battle is won."

Feinstein spoke at the National Press Club on Tuesday along with three same-sex couples. The couples spoke about the disadvantages they experience because of the Defense of Marriage Act. For example, Beth Coderre and Beth Vorro of Rhode Island have to purchase individual health insurance instead of as a family, costing them thousands of dollars extra each year.

""I think, as Rosa Parks might say, it's time to get up from the back of the bus and assume our seats among the rest of our fellow human beings," Coderre said.

JUNEAU, Alaska (Associated Press) – The American Civil Liberties Union is suing the state of Alaska on behalf of a transgender woman, alleging that it denied her a driver's license listing her gender as female unless she provided proof that she'd undergone a sex change operation.

The lawsuit, which ACLU said was filed in state court in Anchorage Monday, states that denying the woman a license that accurately reflects her gender identity because she hasn't undergone surgery is unconstitutional.

"No one should have to disclose sensitive personal information or be forced to make major medical decisions in order to get an accurate driver's license," Jeffrey Mittman, executive director of the ACLU of Alaska, said in a news release.

A message was left late Monday afternoon with the Department of Law's civil division.

According to the lawsuit, the woman, a pilot identified only as K.L., has lived her life as a woman for nearly two years. The lawsuit states she officially changed her name and is identified as female on her passport and other documents. It states that she receives hormone therapy and "could not imagine a circumstance in the future in which she would no longer identify as a woman."

"Inaccurate identity documents that do not reflect an individual's lived gender identity result in harassment, discrimination and even violence," the lawsuit said. "Likewise, a driver's license that does not reflect a transgender person's lived gender forces the involuntary disclosure of personal medical information."

The state had issued K.L. a license designating her sex as female but issued a cancellation order about a month later, the lawsuit claims. The order, according to the lawsuit, said her license would be cancelled unless she replaced it with one listing her gender as male or provided proof from a doctor verifying "a surgical change was performed."

K.L. requested an administrative hearing to appeal the cancellation order, and a hearing officer affirmed the cancellation after a finding that there was an "error" in the license, according to the lawsuit. As a result of that finding, the lawsuit was filed.

The federal government helped fund a study that examined what effect a gay man's penis size has on his sex life and general well-being.

The study was among several backed by the National Institutes of Health that have come under scrutiny from a group claiming the agency is wasting valuable tax dollars at a time when the country is trying to control its debt. This particular research resulted in a 2009 report titled, "The Association Between Penis Size and Sexual Health Among Men Who Have Sex with Men."

The study reported, among its findings, that gay men with "below average penises" were more likely to assume a "bottom" sexual position, while those with "above average penises" were more likely to assume a "top" sexual position. Those with average penises identified themselves as "versatile" in the bedroom.

Though it's difficult to trace exactly how much federal funding went to the project, the study was one of many linked to an $899,769 grant in 2006. The grant was administered by NIH's National Institute on Drug Abuse, and went first to a group called Public Health Solutions and a researcher with the National Development and Research Institutes before going to individual researchers.

Those researchers then compiled data from a survey of more than 1,000 gay and bisexual men at events in New York City for the gay community.

"This country is broke and we cannot spend money on this kind of stuff," said Andrea Lafferty, president of the Traditional Values Coalition, which drew attention to the report as part of a six-month investigation into NIH grants for examples of "institutional waste."

"We're spending money on wacky stuff," Lafferty said.

But one of the researchers involved with the report told FoxNews.com that NIH funding was only used to help "analyze and write up" data that had already been collected without the use of taxpayer funds.

"The data were not collected using taxpayer funds," Jeffrey Parsons, a professor with Hunter College, said in an email. "NIH funds were not used to measure anyone's penis size."

"This study was funded by the Hunter College Center for HIV/AIDS Education Studies and Training," the National Institutes of Health said. "Dr. Christian Grov was supported as a postdoctoral research fellow at the time the research was conducted by a National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)-funded training grant."

Parsons took issue with Lafferty's description of the grant.

A Traditional Values Coalition release stated that at least $9.4 million went to a 10-year study that included the penis-size research – but Parsons said it appears that references a much broader "post-doctoral training program" of which the penis-study funding was a "small" part.

Other studies stemming from the same 2006 grant examined topics ranging from the drug market in Houston following Hurricane Katrina to the connection between contraceptives and STD prevention in Madagascar.

"To suggest that 9.4 million dollars was spent to study penis sizes is factually inaccurate and simply designed to create news," Parsons wrote.

The study, which last year was published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior, claimed there previously had been "little research among men who have sex with men assessing the association between penis size and socio-sexual health."

The study found that men with larger penises were more likely to contract certain sexually transmitted diseases. It also found that men with above-average penises enjoyed more satisfaction with their lifestyle.

The original survey had a relatively high response rate -- with 83 percent of those approached agreeing to participate. "As an incentive, those who completed the survey were given a voucher for free admission to a movie," the study said.

Lafferty's group drew attention to several other studies Monday that it claimed were "bizarre" in the current fiscal climate. Among them was one that asked individuals to "mail in their toenails" to measure "toenail nicotine," according to the values coalition.

"The president has said he's going to hunt down waste. Well, I'm going to give it to him on a platter," Lafferty said.

Read more: hXXp://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/07/18/nih-backed-study-examined-effects-penis-size-in-gay-community/#ixzz1SZ4TrSEZ

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