Friends Campaign to Find Man Lost in ‘Ex-Gay’ Netherworld EDGE Boston - Kilian Melloy - 3 hours ago A young gay medical student named Bryce Faulkner
A young gay medical student named Bryce Faulkner had made plans to move from Arkansas to be closer to his boyfriend, Travis Swanson, who lives in Wisconsin. But now Bryce has vanished–into a 14-month program meant to “convert” him to heterosexuality, it is thought.
A July 20 Sky News article reports that Swanson last heard from Faulkner, 23, when the two spoke via telephone on June 15.
Faulkner’s friends and advocates fear that the young man may have been pressured by his parents into signing up for a program with Exodus International, a group that claims that gays can be “cured.”
It is thought that Faulkner might be at a center run by the religious group in Florida.
A page dedicated to supporting efforts to locate and “rescue” Faulkner at GLBT equality advocate Rev. Brett Harris’ Ergonomical Ministries outlines one possible scenario leading to the young man’s abrupt loss of communication with friends and with Swanson.See Friends Campaign to Find Man Lost in ‘Ex-Gay‘ Netherworld.
* Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/07/friends-campa…
COPS: NYC GAY BASHINGS COULD BE LINKED
The NYC Anti-Violence Project has issued a community alert now that the New York City Police Department’s Hate Crimes Bureau thinks several recent anti-gay attacks on the Upper East Side might have come at the hands of the same assailants.
In addition to Joseph Holladay, brutally beaten and robbed, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly now states, “There was an incident in Carl Shurz Park that we believe he [sic] may be associated with two other events—one that happened Saturday morning, the other happened Sunday morning. All of these events happened on the Upper East Side, the 19th precinct.
See COPS: NYC GAY BASHINGS COULD BE LINKED
* Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/07/cops-nyc-gay-…
Coffee Bean’s ‘Free wifi’ Blocks Gay Blogs
Despite advertising the availability of free wireless internet access at Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf coffee shops, the connection comes at the cost of “technical” discrimination. Philip Minton, who runs the Unite the Fight LGBT equality blog, couldn’t get internet connection at home, so he went to the Coffee Bean on 3rd and La Cienega, in West Hollywood, CA, to do his blog posting from there using their free Wi-Fi service.
Coffee Bean is another chain coffee shop, like Starbucks, with free Wi-Fi service for customers to use while sitting around drinking coffee and doing work, just relaxing, or meeting with people.
When Minton set up his computer and started to go through his news feed, accessing various other blogs, he got a message: that Pam’s House Blend is blocked due to “sexuality.” (Same thing for Towleroad among others.)
See Coffee Bean’s ‘Free wifi’ Blocks Gay Blogs SheWired
* Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/06/coffee-beans-…
Football Team Waterboarded To Make “Political Point” In Gay Pride Film
A Canadian filmaker has made a movie for Gay Pride Week featuring football players getting waterboarded with rainbow-colored underwear covering their noses and mouths, Towleroad reports.
The movie is called “No Safe Words,” a reference to S & M culture, and director Noam Gonick said he intended to make a political point by using the waterboarding imagery.
Canadian gay lesbian news source xtra.ca spoke to Gonick about the film:
The military, says Gonick, “uses homoerotic, aggressive acts to harm victims and act as a contagion to society in general.”
And, he says, it turns us on. “Conquest is not only about territory, or oil, or puppet dictatorships,” he says. “It’s sexual, too.”
Gonick says the film is supposed to draw an analogy to the “conformity” of the gay community.
“It’s about us and who we’ve become,” he says. “We’re willing to do anything to get the approval of the state.”
Watch a clip from the film: @ Football Team Waterboarded To Make “Political Point” In Gay Pride Film
* Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/06/football-team…
Quinnipiac poll shows racial divide on marriage support among New Yorkers
New polling data was released on same-sex marriage by Quinnipiac University today, showing that New Yorkers are split on the legalization of same-sex marriage. According to the pollster, “Voters opposed same-sex marriage 55 - 37 percent in an April 15, 2004″ similar poll:
In this latest survey of more than 2,800 voters, New York State voters support same-sex civil unions 65 - 27 percent with 67 - 24 percent support from white voters and 52 - 39 percent support from black voters.
Jews support same-sex marriage 61 - 34 percent as Catholics oppose it 53 - 39 percent and Protestants say no 55 - 38 percent. Voters who attend religious services at least once a week oppose same-sex marriage 66 - 26 percent, while those who attend services less frequently support same-sex marriage 56 - 36 percent. Women support the measure 49 - 42 percent while men oppose it 51 - 42 percent.
Democrats support same-sex marriage 59 - 34 percent, but Republicans oppose it 68 - 24 percent while independent voters split with 46 percent in favor and 45 percent opposed. Same- sex marriage wins 61 - 33 percent support among voters 18 to 34 years old and gets 48 - 44 percent support among voters 35 to 54 years old, while voters over 55 oppose it 55 - 37 percent.
Gays and lesbians are born that way, 46 percent of New York State voters say, while 29 percent say people choose their sexual orientation and 6 percent say it is decided by upbringing.
Deeper analysis of the poll and more figures can be found here.
See Quinnipiac poll shows racial divide on marriage support among New Yorkers
Towleroad (5/14) * Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/05/quinnipiac-po…
Economist: Is Outing Of Closeted Political Figures A Useful Tactic?
KIRBY DICK’S documentary “Outrage“, which opened nationally last week, has turned gay activists’ controversial tactic of exposing closeted public figures—in this case, closeted Republicans perceived as advancing anti-gay policies in their public lives—into a feature-length film. The movie targets an array of elected officials and prominent GOP operators, but of particular interest is its focus on Charlie Crist (pictured with wife), the governor of Florida, who has thrown his hat into the 2010 race for the US Senate, with the support of much of the party establishment.
As if to confirm the film’s thesis that the press go out of their way to help preserve this sort of charade, National Public Radio opted to edit their reviewer’s piece on the movie to remove the names of politicos identified as closeted. At this point, as several others note, this seems rather quaint—and indeed, like an endorsement of the notion that there’s something especially awful about being accused of being gay. Nor do the network’s protestations that they simply avoid traffic in gossip and rumour hold up: They are only too happy to pass along unconfirmed reports about the sex lives of entertainers.
Which is odd, when you think about it, since while the public is clearly interested in the romances of musicians and movie stars, it’s hard to claim there’s a genuine public interest served by poking into their private lives. When it comes to public servants, however, we generally accept that it’s perfectly legitimate to scrutinise their private conduct to the extent it’s relevant to assessing the sincerity of their professed beliefs or the veracity of their public personas. Usually the controversy over “outing” has to do not with elected officials, but with high-level staffers, who have not volunteered themselves for scrutiny in the same way as political candidates. In practice legislative directors and analysts too yield significant public power—legislators are important people, and can’t be bothered with writing and reading bills themselves—but “Outrage” limits itself to indisputable public figures. If the claims about them are so poorly sourced as to constitute plain slander, the film shouldn’t be rewarded with any kind of attention; if they’re at least credible, one may as well save the listeners a Google search and say what they are.
See Economist: Is Outing Of Closeted Political Figures A Useful Tactic?
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/05/economist-is-…
White House Explains Changes to LGBT Commitments on Website
Yesterday, our reader Sean Chapin alerted me to the fact that a long list of commitments to LGBT issues on the White House site had shrunk to a fraction of its size. Joe.My.God reported on it as well. He received a letter from the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force’s Director of Communications Inga Sarda-Sorensen who contacted the White House regarding the changes. Now see White House Explains Changes to LGBT Commitments on Website @ Towleroad
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/05/white-house-e…
Short Videos on Marriage Equality Could Win Up to $2,500 in L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center’s Project Pushback
It’s time to grab your camera and help change the conversation about marriage for same-sex couples. The L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center has launched Project Pushback to tap into the grassroots energy of marriage equality supporters and to inspire development of video messages that will effectively promote support for the freedom to marry.
Since the National Organization for Marriage has just launched a $1.5 million ad campaign repeating many of the lies relied so heavily upon by the Yes on 8 campaign, the need for effective messages to promote the support for marriage equality, and the truth, has never been greater.
Submissions will be accepted at lagaycenter.org/projectpushback, and the public will vote for its favorites. A $1,000 “people’s choice award” will be given to the creator of the video that receives the most votes. From among the 10 videos that receive the most votes, a $2,500 “grand prize” will be awarded to the creator of the video voted the best by a panel of judges, who include: Academy Award-winning Producer Bruce Cohen, Emmy Award-winning television producer and director Paris Barclay, MTV producer Sherri Brown Francois, political and communications strategist Chad Griffin, Google vice president Megan Smith and Current TV producer Tracey Chang.
Anyone who submits a video, or votes for one, is eligible to win a new Sony HD video camera, valued at $1,000.
Project Pushback isn’t about a specific election but about building support for the freedom to marry long before campaign season. The best messages will educate and persuade voters as well as motivate people who are already supportive to be more active in promoting marriage equality.
Entries don’t need to be complicated–some of the most effective ads by opponents of marriage equality were fairly simple, such as the Yes on 8 campaign’s “I can marry a princess” ad. Judges will, however, be looking for innovative and original entries.
“During the fight against Prop 8, opponents of marriage equality used scare tactics and lies in their television ads to frighten voters,” says Center CEO Lorri L. Jean. “We need to find effective ways to blunt the impact of those ads by educating people about the truth of our lives. Entries to Project Pushback should help open the minds of those who don’t already support our freedom to marry.”
The Center’s Vote for Equality project, which has harnessed the power of hundreds of volunteers to educate voters about marriage equality since 2004, is continuing to organize neighborhood canvasses in areas where the vote on Prop 8 was evenly split. The issues/reasons most commonly cited by those who voted “yes” on Prop 8 are:
- Religious opposition
- Marriage is defined as the union of a man and woman
- The impact on children
“We’re learning a lot about voters from our one-on-one conversations, and just as important, we’re starting to change minds,” says VFE Project Manager Regina Clemente. “We also realize that face-to-face conversations are not the only way to start to open the minds of voters. We look forward to seeing the best videos from Project Pushback and then testing those messages in person with actual voters.”
Vote for Equality’s next voter canvasses are Saturday, April 11, and Saturday, May 9 - hundreds of volunteers can be accommodated and training is provided. More information about volunteering can be found at www.lagaycenter.org/VoteForEquality.
The panel of judges includes:
- Paris Barclay is an award-winning television director and producer, with two Emmy Awards and two NAACP Image Awards, among others. Barclay’s current projects include HBO’s In Treatment and MTV’s Pedro.
- Sherri Brown Francois is the producer and director of True Life, MTV News and various documentaries.
- Tracey Chang is a producer for the Vanguard Journalism department at Current TV, a cable television network founded by former Vice President Al Gore. Since 2005, she has covered a range of stories in countries including Pakistan, China, Colombia and Egypt.
- Janet Choi is a producer at MTV in New York. A former international correspondent for Channel One News, Janet was also a reporter for KTLA’s “Your LA with Janet Choi.” She has produced four documentaries based on travels to North Korea, Cuba, Colombia and China.
- Bruce Cohen is the Academy Award-winning producer of American Beauty, and his most recent film, Milk, was nominated for a best picture Oscar. Cohen also produced Big Fish and To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar.
- Rev. Art Cribbs Jr. is pastor of the San Marino Congregational Church and formerly was employed by KPIX-TV in San Francisco. Rev. Cribbs serves as a board member for several organizations, including the United Black Christians in Crisis Committee.
- Donna Deitch is an award-winning film director best known for her 1986 film Desert Hearts. Deitch also directed The Women of Brewster Place, HBO’s Prison Stories: Women on the Inside and Showtime’s Devil’s Arithmetic, for which she won an Emmy.
- Chad Griffin is a seasoned political and communications strategist. Griffin raised money for the No on 8 campaign from celebrities such as Brad Pitt, Steve Bing and Ron Burkle. He also helped create the anti-Prop 8 ads featuring Sen. Dianne Feinstein.
- Hon. John A. Perez is a California Assembly member who has worked in the labor movement and has served as a board member for organizations such as AIDS Project Los Angeles, the Latino Coalition Against AIDS and the California Center for Regional Leadership.
- Cathy Renna is nationally recognized as a media relations expert. She was a major force behind the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD). She is a founder and managing partner at Renna Communications, which specializes in LGBT issues.
- Hilary Rosen is the managing partner of the DC office of the Brunswick Group, a London-based PR and communications strategy firm. She is also an on-air contributor for CNN and Washington editor-at-large for The Huffington Post.
- Megan Smith is the Google vice president of new business development and general manager of Google.org and previous CEO of Planet Out.
- Pam Spaulding is the editor and publisher of Pam’s House Blend, honored as “Best LGBT Blog” in the 2005 and 2006 Weblog Awards.
- Judy Starkman is the co-owner of convergencefilms.com, an L.A.-based production company specializing in commercials and web-based films. In the past she has worked as a commercial director, a television news producer and a photojournalist.
- Andy Towle is the former editor-in-chief of Genre and the blogger behind Towleroad, which has become an important source for gay news, technology, pop culture, travel and more.
- Karin Wang, vice president of programs at the Asian Pacific American Legal Center, is a founding steering committee member of API Equality-LA, a coalition of LGBT and allied Asian/Pacific Islander groups working to advance marriage equality and promote positive images of LGBT Asians and Pacific Islanders.
About the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center:
Since 1971 the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center has been building the health, advocating for the rights and enriching the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. Our wide array of services and programs includes: free HIV/AIDS care and medications for those most in need; housing, food, clothing and support for homeless LGBT youth; low-cost counseling and addiction-recovery services; essential services for LGBT-parented families and seniors; legal services; health education and HIV prevention programs; transgender services; cultural arts and much more. Visit us on the Web at: www.lagaycenter.org.
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/04/short-videos-…
Short Videos on Marriage Equality Could Win Up to $2,500 in L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center’s Project Pushback
It’s time to grab your camera and help change the conversation about marriage for same-sex couples. The L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center has launched Project Pushback to tap into the grassroots energy of marriage equality supporters and to inspire development of video messages that will effectively promote support for the freedom to marry.
Since the National Organization for Marriage has just launched a $1.5 million ad campaign repeating many of the lies relied so heavily upon by the Yes on 8 campaign, the need for effective messages to promote the support for marriage equality, and the truth, has never been greater.
Submissions will be accepted at lagaycenter.org/projectpushback, and the public will vote for its favorites. A $1,000 “people’s choice award” will be given to the creator of the video that receives the most votes. From among the 10 videos that receive the most votes, a $2,500 “grand prize” will be awarded to the creator of the video voted the best by a panel of judges, who include: Academy Award-winning Producer Bruce Cohen, Emmy Award-winning television producer and director Paris Barclay, MTV producer Sherri Brown Francois, political and communications strategist Chad Griffin, Google vice president Megan Smith and Current TV producer Tracey Chang.
Anyone who submits a video, or votes for one, is eligible to win a new Sony HD video camera, valued at $1,000.
Project Pushback isn’t about a specific election but about building support for the freedom to marry long before campaign season. The best messages will educate and persuade voters as well as motivate people who are already supportive to be more active in promoting marriage equality.
Entries don’t need to be complicated–some of the most effective ads by opponents of marriage equality were fairly simple, such as the Yes on 8 campaign’s “I can marry a princess” ad. Judges will, however, be looking for innovative and original entries.
“During the fight against Prop 8, opponents of marriage equality used scare tactics and lies in their television ads to frighten voters,” says Center CEO Lorri L. Jean. “We need to find effective ways to blunt the impact of those ads by educating people about the truth of our lives. Entries to Project Pushback should help open the minds of those who don’t already support our freedom to marry.”
The Center’s Vote for Equality project, which has harnessed the power of hundreds of volunteers to educate voters about marriage equality since 2004, is continuing to organize neighborhood canvasses in areas where the vote on Prop 8 was evenly split. The issues/reasons most commonly cited by those who voted “yes” on Prop 8 are:
- Religious opposition
- Marriage is defined as the union of a man and woman
- The impact on children
“We’re learning a lot about voters from our one-on-one conversations, and just as important, we’re starting to change minds,” says VFE Project Manager Regina Clemente. “We also realize that face-to-face conversations are not the only way to start to open the minds of voters. We look forward to seeing the best videos from Project Pushback and then testing those messages in person with actual voters.”
Vote for Equality’s next voter canvasses are Saturday, April 11, and Saturday, May 9 - hundreds of volunteers can be accommodated and training is provided. More information about volunteering can be found at www.lagaycenter.org/VoteForEquality.
The panel of judges includes:
- Paris Barclay is an award-winning television director and producer, with two Emmy Awards and two NAACP Image Awards, among others. Barclay’s current projects include HBO’s In Treatment and MTV’s Pedro.
- Sherri Brown Francois is the producer and director of True Life, MTV News and various documentaries.
- Tracey Chang is a producer for the Vanguard Journalism department at Current TV, a cable television network founded by former Vice President Al Gore. Since 2005, she has covered a range of stories in countries including Pakistan, China, Colombia and Egypt.
- Janet Choi is a producer at MTV in New York. A former international correspondent for Channel One News, Janet was also a reporter for KTLA’s “Your LA with Janet Choi.” She has produced four documentaries based on travels to North Korea, Cuba, Colombia and China.
- Bruce Cohen is the Academy Award-winning producer of American Beauty, and his most recent film, Milk, was nominated for a best picture Oscar. Cohen also produced Big Fish and To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar.
- Rev. Art Cribbs Jr. is pastor of the San Marino Congregational Church and formerly was employed by KPIX-TV in San Francisco. Rev. Cribbs serves as a board member for several organizations, including the United Black Christians in Crisis Committee.
- Donna Deitch is an award-winning film director best known for her 1986 film Desert Hearts. Deitch also directed The Women of Brewster Place, HBO’s Prison Stories: Women on the Inside and Showtime’s Devil’s Arithmetic, for which she won an Emmy.
- Chad Griffin is a seasoned political and communications strategist. Griffin raised money for the No on 8 campaign from celebrities such as Brad Pitt, Steve Bing and Ron Burkle. He also helped create the anti-Prop 8 ads featuring Sen. Dianne Feinstein.
- Hon. John A. Perez is a California Assembly member who has worked in the labor movement and has served as a board member for organizations such as AIDS Project Los Angeles, the Latino Coalition Against AIDS and the California Center for Regional Leadership.
- Cathy Renna is nationally recognized as a media relations expert. She was a major force behind the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD). She is a founder and managing partner at Renna Communications, which specializes in LGBT issues.
- Hilary Rosen is the managing partner of the DC office of the Brunswick Group, a London-based PR and communications strategy firm. She is also an on-air contributor for CNN and Washington editor-at-large for The Huffington Post.
- Megan Smith is the Google vice president of new business development and general manager of Google.org and previous CEO of Planet Out.
- Pam Spaulding is the editor and publisher of Pam’s House Blend, honored as “Best LGBT Blog” in the 2005 and 2006 Weblog Awards.
- Judy Starkman is the co-owner of convergencefilms.com, an L.A.-based production company specializing in commercials and web-based films. In the past she has worked as a commercial director, a television news producer and a photojournalist.
- Andy Towle is the former editor-in-chief of Genre and the blogger behind Towleroad, which has become an important source for gay news, technology, pop culture, travel and more.
- Karin Wang, vice president of programs at the Asian Pacific American Legal Center, is a founding steering committee member of API Equality-LA, a coalition of LGBT and allied Asian/Pacific Islander groups working to advance marriage equality and promote positive images of LGBT Asians and Pacific Islanders.
About the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center:
Since 1971 the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center has been building the health, advocating for the rights and enriching the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. Our wide array of services and programs includes: free HIV/AIDS care and medications for those most in need; housing, food, clothing and support for homeless LGBT youth; low-cost counseling and addiction-recovery services; essential services for LGBT-parented families and seniors; legal services; health education and HIV prevention programs; transgender services; cultural arts and much more. Visit us on the Web at: www.lagaycenter.org.
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/04/short-videos-…
Letter from Barack Obama went Unused by ‘No on Prop 8′ Campaign
It’s hard to believe things could get worse for the bungled “No on Prop 8″ campaign in hindsight, but it appears they have. Over the weekend, fury re-erupted across the gay blogosphere following a report on the recent “No on 8″ Town Hall in the Bay Area Reporter. The fury is centered around a letter to the Alice B. Toklas club from Barack Obama expressing the candidate’s disapproval of Proposition 8. It was a letter that was never used. Revelations emerged from the meeting about the decision not to use the letter: See
Letter from Barack Obama went Unused by ‘No on Prop 8′ Campaign
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/03/letter-from-b…
