Daily Loaf

I’m still amazed when I hear about someone getting married because of faith and not love.  That fact that people are still marrying out of necessity to their religion is astonishing. Take Alex for instance.  I don’t personally know Alex, but he is a friend of a friend.  Recently his story reminded me how some people still hide who they are in order to be accepted by church or family.  Alex is gay, yet he lives the life of a straight man to his friends, family, church, and even his fiance. Read the rest of this entry »

The evolving story of the Greek Orthodox priest and the tire iron-wielding Marine keeps getting more interesting, including the news that the Marine was a model for AllAmericanGuys.com. And nowhere are the theories more interesting than in the gay blogosphere, where questions are being raised about what exactly happened in that there parking garage.

To recap: Marine reservist Jasen Bruce, approached for directions on Monday night by  a Greek Orthodox priest in a Channelside condo garage, beat the priest with a tire iron and chased him three blocks. Bruce first said that he’d assumed the priest was a terrorist. (Father Alexios Marakis, who is studying in the U.S., speaks little English and has a beard.) Bruce also claimed Marakis shouted “Allahu Akbar!”  — a neat trick, since the priest does not speak Arabic. Then the Marine added a new detail: he said Marakis had grabbed at his naughty bits, which, of course, just screams for a tire-iron response.

Fox 13 revealed Bruce’s modeling sideline last night. The website, which is devoted to hunky young men wearing little or no clothing, is not a gay site per se; as Alex Pickett reported in Creative Loafing in 2006, the owner of the site says that its audience, and its models, are largely heterosexual. But the pics are pretty damn homo-erotic just the same. And the gayosphere has seized on this additional information with relish — postulating gay-for-pay and/or gay panic — and they’ve added links so that interested parties can see just how, um, All American, this guy really is. Video and a typical pic after the break. Read the rest of this entry »

Hey there.

It was really nice meeting you the other night at [name of club, bar, or mutual friend's house]. I really liked the ensemble you were wearing. I’m not one to boast, but I can spot a well-made garment when I see one. Your shoes were really cute too. I’m really sorry I spilled Miller Lite all over them mid-pop ‘n’ lock. But I think I should tell you right now, I’m a sucker for red lips and high-heels…so I really feel like you nailed that one. Bravo. But enough about my inner drag queen and killer dance moves.

I want you to know that I’m a good girlfriend. Read the rest of this entry »

Until recently there has been relatively little research that combats or supports the common conservative argument that gay couples are unfit foster parents. As reported in a recent New York Times article, the studies on gay parents are finally coming in, proving what half of the nation already suspected: gay parents provide the same quality of upbringing as their straight counterparts, with a few improvements.

The findings are reported in Abbie E. Goldberg’s new book, Lesbian and Gay Parents and Their Children, which analysis more than 100 academic studies on the subject. Read the rest of this entry »

Steve Kornell with Democratic Committeewoman Linda Lucas at Shackleton's.

It was a mixed bag for gay voters last night. The vote to preserve marriage equality came up short in Maine, but great strides were made in local elections — including St. Petersburg’s City Council race.

Steve Kornell, one of the most impressive candidates in any local race this season, won his St. Pete council seat by a surprisingly large margin — 59.46% to 40.54% — over his opponent, Angela Rouson. He is the first openly gay person in the history of the city to be elected to public office. Like Kevin Beckner, the first openly gay Hillsborough County Commissioner, Kornell brought qualities to his candidacy that transcended issues of sexual orientation: strong community involvement, great campaign preparation, specific ideas and a sharp mind. His election, like Beckner’s, is a heartening sign of progress — even though St. Pete voters elected a new mayor who, like Rick Baker, refuses to march in gay pride parades. (Bill Foster was making sympathetic noises about domestic partnership benefits toward the end of his campaign, though, so there may be some hope there.)

Kornell was not the only LGBT candidate making history last night. Read the rest of this entry »

For real-time results in the vote on gay marriage in Maine, head to ProtectMaineEquality.org. If voters reject the amendment to repeal the state’s marriage equality law, it will mark the first time that the right to gay marriage is established by voters, not their elected representatives.

But the race is very close, as you’ll see from the website. A short while ago, with 22% of precincts reporting, the Bangor Daily News had the vote at 51% against the repeal to 49% in favor.

UPDATE 10:38PM

Portland numbers announced: A huge NO vote.

Commenters on site are thinking this will win it for No on 1, but most reports are showing the overall state tally at 50-50, and there are lots of votes still to be counted.

UPDATE Midnight

The tables have turned. MSNBC reports that with 69% of the votes counted, the tally has shifted to 52% Yes and 48% No.

To recap, a Yes vote is a vote to repeal marriage equality in Maine. There’s talk of a recount.

UPDATE: The morning after

It was a close battle, but Maine voters voted YES to reject the legalization of gay marriage.

Homosexuality has long been difficult to explain in terms of natural selection, as homosexuals reproduce at a lower frequency than their heterosexual counterparts. This would seemingly doom genes related to homosexuality to extinction. However, the fact that homosexuality exists in such a large variety of species suggests that it in some way offers an evolutionary advantage. Otherwise, genes that code for homosexuality would die off (off course this presupposes that you believe homosexuality is determined by nature as opposed to nurture). While homosexuality may not be entirely hereditary, evidence strongly suggests it is largely determined by genetics. Proof of this is the high rate of homosexuality in identical twins, at least for males. Read the rest of this entry »

The Tampa International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival has been in town these past two weeks, and it’s a time of celebration. We should not only be celebrating the films themselves, but celebrating the love that goes into the making of them. These are real people with real lives. This is someone, somewhere’s story.

There was also the National Equality March in Washington D.C. last weekend. Tens of thousands of gay and straight people from around the nation came together in unity to stand up for something important: basic human rights. Lady Gaga made a speech about the nature of equality, pointing out that “it’s not equality if it’s sometimes.” Cleve Jones, co-chairman of the march said “there’s no such thing as a fraction of equality.” It made me think about how far we’ve all come without really going anywhere.

Most people, at this point, understand what is meant by “tolerance.” As I’ve said before, this word is a crock of shit to me. So what? Joe Republican from Midwest, USA with his 2.3 children – that’s his son Timmy, his daughter Sally, and his limbless torso of a child Bob – doesn’t openly call the effeminate Starbucks barista “faggot” to his face? Is that tolerance? Or maybe it’s bigger than that. A woman can dedicate her life to her country by fighting in the military and that’s praiseworthy, but if she kisses her girlfriend when she comes home from overseas she will lose her job. Is that tolerance? I say fuck tolerance. Tolerance isn’t good enough. What we need is equality. Read the rest of this entry »

Sex and the City star Cynthia Nixon and pop music sex symbol Lady Gaga, among countless others, addressed the National Equality March on Washington yesterday.

Thousands of supporters descended on the Washington Mall on Sunday, October 11, 2009 in the largest gay rights rally in nearly a decade.

The rally called upon President Obama to ensure equal protection for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people in all matters governed by civil law in all 50 states. Read the rest of this entry »

"Drool" is one of the films showing at TIGLFF this year.

The Tampa International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival is 20 years old and still going strong. The festival runs Oct. 8-18 at Tampa Theatre and Muvico Baywalk (and at party spots like Czar and Honey Pot), and this week you can read all about it at cltampa.com: interviews with people behind the scenes, like Programming Director Margaret Murray and Executive Director Chuck Henson ; a history of the fest from one of its major players, Jim Harper; and lots of movie reviews.

Which flicks are must-sees and which ones are must-nots? How’d the festival reach this big two-decade milestone? And how do Henson and Murray keep the crowds coming in the age of Bravo, Logo and Netflix?

Go to cltampa.com/tiglff to find out. And stay tuned to the Daily Loaf as we post individual reviews throughout the week.

Managing to be both implausible and predictable, this slapdash little coming-out movie is diverting nevertheless, boosted by funny characterizations, cute boys and pop-cult knowingness.

Big Queer On Campus Olaf “Gunn” Gunnunderson somehow remains closeted to his family, a fact that comes as a surprise to his boyfriend Nathan when he shows up unexpectedly at Gunn’s Midwestern home during Christmas break. Read the rest of this entry »

Special Report by Mike Wells for Creative Loafing
Tampa native Jane Castor humbly accepted an appointment today from Mayor Pam Iorio to become the city’s next police chief.
The 6-foot, lanky mother of two will be the first woman to command the Tampa Police Department when she is sworn in on Oct. 1. She also is set to become the state’s first openly lesbian police chief.
Though her appointment is historically significant to Tampa’s LGBT community, Castor treated it as a non-issue when questioned.
The 49-year-old never dodged LGBT-related questions, but said she’d rather focus on what she plans to do as chief. Read the rest of this entry »

Download the podcast here.

Get your very first taste of what is expected to be the beginning of some great changes in St.Petersburg. The newest party, G.L.A.S.S, begins 9.9.09 and will run every Wednesday night from 10-2 a.m. at Vintage Ultra lounge. The party will feature a variety of entertainment and interaction, and of course, most importantly, great dance-able music all night.

Two really exciting elements: Designer Go-Go Statues, in which two go-go-dancers/models will be outfitted weekly by local designers, and a Performance Art Cabaret showcasing local talent from around the bay. There will be ongoing drink specials, in addition to a “Wheel-O-Specials,” which will determine a new drink special every 30 minutes, and there will be giveaways from local businesses.
Read the rest of this entry »

I don’t have any reason to think 99% of the developers who programmed, designed or otherwise helped create the new X-Box Live Arcade game Shadow Complex hate gay people. I’m assuming they don’t. But I do know that one man associated closely with the game is a talented writer and outspoken anti-gay advocate named Orson Scott Card, a man whose books I used to love and whose fevered anti-gay rhetoric I utterly despise. Shadow Complex is set within a fictional near-future America that is the setting for Card’s novel Empire. That novel is also published in conjunction with Chair, the developers of the game. Chair previously worked with Card on the game Advent Rising and their Web site state plans for future projects based on his work. Card himself has done interviews promoting Shadow Complex. I lay all this out in advance because I want to make clear that Card is firmly connected to this game, albeit at an inspirational rather than hands-on level (as far as I can tell).

The game itself is really a ton of fun. Read the rest of this entry »

“So, what is ’sex’ for lesbians, anyway? I mean, neither of you have a dick, so it’s not like you can really fuck. You just haven’t been fucked by the right dick yet.”

You know, you’re right, guy who still high-fives and wears Ed Hardy shirts. Obviously we dykes can’t have “real” sex. “Real” sex requires use of your giant cock. You describe “sex” as the act of penetration. And even though I can penetrate a woman using other methods, and probably find her G-spot more quickly and efficiently than you can, I’m not having real sex with her. It’s ‘cause I can’t cum in her butt crack, isn’t it? Don’t be shy…you know that’s your jizz-catching area of choice…usually ‘cause you’re fucking her doggy-style…or you just have it in her asshole…I’m not insinuating you’re a closet homo or anything. Your protein shake is ready. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by Jim Harper
Jim Harper is the former editor of Creative Loafing/Weekly Planet. He wrote this post after watching the video of the Ted Kennedy funeral on Sat. Aug. 29.

We’re accustomed, I suppose, to people of all political stripes offering up their religious faith as justification for their most cherished political values. But it was moving, nonetheless, to hear Teddy’s parish priest cite so many parts of the Christian Gospel, especially those parts about remembering that the world is larger than our own concerns and that our highest calling is to serve the poor, the lonely, the hungry, the sick and dispossessed. It was not hard for the priest to make specific connections to Senator Kennedy’s career. Read the rest of this entry »

I have an insatiable obsession with Drag Queens. The term encompasses a wide range of atypical performers: respected queens like Apple Love, seasoned bawdy queens like Natasha Richards, and innovative new queens like Gianna Love and Lennox Liemont. Some wouldn’t categorize the later as true drag queens, but there are no guidelines or standards that explain what makes for an officially drag queen. That’s why I’m hunting for a knowledgeable drag queen who will diagram the logistics. Read the rest of this entry »

I find it utterly ridonkulous that “pro-gay” is even an issue.

That’s like saying “pro-black,” “pro-homo-sapien” or “pro-wipe-then-look-at-it.” It’s just inevitable. Like chicken pox. It’s not a fucking choice, people. Hi. Hello. Welcome to the 21st century. Nice to see you here. Try the punch. Take a name tag, and write on it with a Sharpie: “I’m a big-headed, hairy-ear’d, ignorant, giant-pored, greasy-nosed, country-club-going, Polo-shirt-wearing, horrible-for-the-environment-vehicle-driving, I-cheat-on-my-wife-at-the-Gentlemen’s-club-every-chance-I-get, fat-head-of-an-individual.” You’ll feel right at home. And while you’re at it, hit on the underage girl serving the Taquitos. And for everyone else, you should just know better. We minorities have to stick together.

Yeah, I chose to be gay. I chose to have my parents not understand me. And not really want to be around me. And not want to tell their friends about me and my “roommate,” or “best friend,” in fear of, holy shit, having to defend gay rights. Gay rights. That, in itself, is a cacophony to me. Yeah, I chose to have my grandmother consider my male cousin the only one capable of carrying on the “Bishop” name. I chose to be the black sheep not only by birth, but sexual orientation. Fuck all that noise. Because that’s what it is. Fucking noise. Like the band Nickelback. There’s no substance, it’s just mindless crap that the white Republican majority pushes on us, masquerading as quality, when really, it’s dog poo. Read the rest of this entry »

Flannel-wearing, wrench-wielding, mullet-rocking dykes. This is what we’re not. Well, not all of us…

I surround myself with a group of fabulous, interesting, women-loving women. To others — and by others, I mean heterosexuals, namely of the right-wing persuasion — lesbian women are all the same. Gay people, in general, are all the same. The women are tough and probably play a sport of some sort, and the men walk on their tiptoes and most likely have glitter somewhere in their medicine cabinets. Sure, there’s truth in all stereotypes. In this case, we’re all women who have sex with women. This is what we have in common.

In our little group, we divide ourselves into “girls’ team” (GT) and “boys’ team” (BT). There are certain rules and gender roles that accompany our team-status. Read the rest of this entry »

The most popular film series since Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince is subject to controversy even where none exists. Some religious groups see the film as corrupting the morals of children by depicting magic, which is the enterprise of devil. Others believe the series contains a hidden gay agenda.  Are homophobes just desperate for a new children’s movie to attack,  or does the world’s most popular wizard enjoy both being naked with horses and wand waggling boys?

Read the rest of this entry »

If Sacha Baron Cohen’s films intentionally court controversy, he’s getting what he asked for with Brüno. Some critics, like CL’s Joe Bardi, admire Cohen’s risk-taking comic performance as a flamboyantly gay Austrian. But the head of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) says the satire is likely to miss the mark: “Some people in the gay community will be as troubled as GLAAD is that the movie doesn’t decrease homophobia, but decreases the public’s comfort with gay people.” Read Bardi’s review and the GLAAD story and check out other critics’ reactions at Rotten Tomatoes. And after the break check out a clip from Current TV’s That’s So Gay (pictured above) that mocks the movie and the controversy, declaring “Bruno is the gay version of Malcolm X!” Read the rest of this entry »

On Saturday I joined the Creative Loafing staff at their booth at St. Pete’s annual Pride Festival.  I was there as a photographer for their Big Gay Wedding/Honeymoon contest, but I also had time to view and photograph the crowd as well as the parade.  The weather that day was everything from breezy to rainy, to our usual — hot and humid, a typical Florida day.  But despite that,  everyone was in good spirits.  The crowd was even more diverse than I’d expected — all shapes, sizes, genders, colors (expected), families, churches (wonderful) and corporations (excellent).  There were also protesters, but I guess that’s part of what makes this country great, the fact that we all had the right and the freedom to be there.

Read the rest of this entry »

As The Daily Loaf reported yesterday, WFLA/NewsChannel 8 broadcast the American Family Association’s anti-gay infomercial Speechless last night in the middle of St. Pete Pride weekend on the eve of the 40th anniversary of Stonewall. TBO.com reports that the broadcast drew “a flood” of emails and phone calls starting in the afternoon during Pride and continuing into the evening. Read the complete story from TBO after the break; note that the GM Mike Pumo saw no “red flags” in the program’s content during the vetting procedure. Read the rest of this entry »

One of the many happy couples who posed for CL's Gay Wedding Photo Booth.

St. Pete Pride was big and beautiful, with an estimated attendance of 80,000 and weather that cooperated quite nicely, including some welcome (and brief) showers. In keeping with the cover story of this year’s Gay Issue (which even the St. Pete Times noticed — check what the marcher is holding in this photo), CL went all out in support of same-sex wedded bliss.

As CL’s unofficial gay married couple (don’t tell our respective husbands), ad director James Howard and I practiced our beauty-queen waves from atop the CL float (aka truck), James with a wedding bouquet and me with a baseball-cap bridal veil. We stood beneath a beauteous white gay-zebo designed and constructed by Elke Lockert and her team of creative geniuses.

Our Pride booth had a wedding-reception feel, too, complete with free photos for couples (gay and otherwise) by Denis Baldwin and Samantha Goresh, and the chance to compete for a honeymoon escape at TradeWinds Resort in Treasure Island.

Stay tuned to found out who won; meanwhile, check out our couples photo gallery.

Both Equality Florida and St. Pete Pride are asking supporters to call WFLA/NewsChannel 8 and protest the airing at 7 p.m. tonight of the hour-long anti-gay infomercial Speechless: Silencing the Christians. Sponsored by the American Family Association, it trots out AFA’s usual lies about “special rights” and “the radical homosexual activist agenda,” and has already been condemned by the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), which supported previous efforts to postpone or prevent airing of the show in Grand Rapids, Michigan and Columbus, Ohio.  I contacted WFLA-TV for comment this afternoon about the questionable timing of airing such a program the day of St. Pete Pride, but I was told that the only people who could address the issue were in the programming department and were not available over the weekend.

Read an excerpt from the Equality Florida alert after the break. Read the rest of this entry »

Don’t feel like getting married in one of the six U.S. states that allow same-sex marriages? Never fear! America isn’t the only place same-sex couples can marry. Gay marriage is legal in seven other countries. However, six of those countries have strict residency requirements that make it difficult for non-citizens to obtain a marriage license. But O, Canada! On July 20, 2005, the Canadian Parliament approved a law allowing same-sex couples to marry and there is no residency requirement! Good news, eh? So, Americans, if you want a change of scenery, look to our Northern neighbors. Find the info you need after the break on Canada and other countries’ same-sex marriage rules and regs. And check out Creative Loafing’s Gay Issue 2009 for links to more info on being gay in Tampa Bay — including details on how to win a Big Gay Honeymoon during the St. Pete Pride Parade and Festival. Read the rest of this entry »

Director Kirby Dick is best known for his Academy-Award nominated documentary Twist of Faith and for This Film Has Is Not Yet Rated, an expose of the M.P.A.A. film-rating system and the M.P.A.A.’s employees. In the film, Dick goes P.I. on the censors, figuring out who the “secret” members of the ratings board are and following them around L.A.

Dick’s latest documentary follows a similar trajectory, albeit with very different subject matter. The film is Outrage, and Dick’s target is hypocritical conservative politicians who repeatedly use their power to undermine gay rights legislation while secretly living a closeted gay lifestyle. Anyone want to guess which famous Florida politician gets working over in the film? It’s none other than Governor Charlie Crist. I have not seen the film yet (I’m awaiting word from the publicists), so I can’t comment on Gov. Charlie’s part of the film, or what ground gets covered. We’ll have a full review up on the CL movie site as soon as we see it.

Now the good news: Outrage will get a one-night-only showing at Tampa Pitcher Show on July 15. You can check out the trailer for Outrage after the jump.

Read the rest of this entry »

Say you’re a gay or lesbian couple looking to get hitched — legally.

You can’t do it in Florida, of course. Or in the 28 other states where citizens — influenced by religious belief, right-wing propaganda, homophobia, ignorance or all of the above — have opted for a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.

But increasing numbers of voters and legislators have taken a more enlightened route. Apparently struck by the fact that Massachusetts has not fallen into the Atlantic Ocean, four other New England states — and Iowa! — have made gay marriage legal. So, as we enter St. Pete Pride weekend and the 40th anniversary of Stonewall, the Daily Loaf is posting info on how to get married and where, starting today with these six states. We’ll also be providing details on the seven countries that allow gay marriage, including Canada, and the states where the potential for gay marriage looks hopeful. Want to find all this info in one place, and lots more about being gay in Tampa Bay (including how to win a big gay honeymooon)? Check out the Creative Loafing Gay Issue 2009. Read the rest of this entry »

Outings & Adventures' Robert Geller with Vienna.

It’s Pride Week, and that means a lot of gay folks will be out at the bars. Modern gay history arguably began 40 years ago at a bar (NYC’s Stonewall Inn), and for a long time a tavern was the only public place where gay men and lesbians could meet discreetly and in relative safety.

But with so many of us living openly, a bar is no longer the only option for socializing (especially since the Internet has taken over in the hook-up department). That’s where Robert Geller comes in. Geller is profiled in Creative Loafing’s Gay Issue this week: An ebullient entrepreneur who first made his mark in the Tampa Bay area with Bourbon Street Boxers, a boxer-shorts boutique, he’s now running Outings & Adventures. It’s a smartly designed service for gay men that could be described as everything but the bars. Read the rest of this entry »

Creative Loafing’s Gay Issue hits the streets on Wednesday just in time for St. Pete Pride. During Pride Week, we’ll be updating last year’s Za-Gay Guide with news about bars, clubs and restaurants that are newly opened or recently renamed.

First up: The Queenshead Eurobar, opening today in St. Pete’s Grand Central District. It’s an updated version of a British pub, with good food and a gay sensibility — and be sure to check out what they’ve got on the walls of the men’s room. More video after the break. Read the rest of this entry »

At the Bremerhaven Zoo in northern Germany, two gay penguins, Z and Vielpunkt, guard the artificial cave housing their nest. Inside, a 6 week old chick peeks out from behind its adoptive parents.

The chick’s egg was placed in the male’s nest by zoo keepers after the biological parents rejected it. The gay couple incubated the egg for 30 days and continues to care for the chick like a heterosexual pair.

Of the 20 Humboldt penguins the Bremerhaven zoo has tried to mate, 6 are homosexual. Read the rest of this entry »

Outrage, a new documentary by Kirby Dick “outs” allegedly closeted republican figures who have anti-gay voting records. Florida Governor Charlie Crist, who recently announced his bid for a 2010 senate seat, is a main target in Dick’s independent film which premiered May 8.

Suspicions of Crist’s homosexuality first arose before his gubernatorial election in a 2006 Palm Beach Post article. A 21 year-old GOP staffer, Jason Wetherington, reportedly boasted to friends that he had sex with Crist and even named Crist’s long-term partner, Bruce Carlton Jordan. Read the rest of this entry »

Like Clay Aiken, except, you know, cool.

Sex and American Idol may not be synonymous, but this year things are a little different.  Enigmatic performer Adam Lambert is very close to taking the crown.  But sadly it seems many people aren’t as focused on his talent as they are on whether he’ll wear it as king…or queen.

(Video and
intrigue after the jump)

Read the rest of this entry »

(Names and some descriptions changed to protect the innocent… or not-so-innocent)

My mother raised me to live a very vanilla lifestyle. We went to church each Sunday, had dinner at six o’clock, and I wasn’t supposed to have sex until I was married. I was happy with that lifestyle because I was sheltered and had no idea that there was a world outside of Jesus. That all changed when we got Internet service when I was ten years old.

I got the birds and the bees, the chains and the whips, and the chicks with the dicks all via the double-click (read that line out loud sometime, it’s fun). I learned that all girls loved to expose their bathing suit areas, loved being fucked (sometimes in the butt!), and even sometimes loved to make out with each other. And, with a valid credit card, I could have unlimited access. Read the rest of this entry »

Sometimes the headlines can make your LGBT head spin. Take the front page of today’s New York Times print edition, where there were two major stories about gay issues, both above the fold. The good news: the Vermont state legislature’s override of Gov. Jim Douglas’ gay marriage veto. The bad: Openly gay Iraqis are being murdered with the tacit and sometimes overt approval of police and families.

Locally, there was good news for Susan Stanton. Fired in 2007 from her position as Largo City Manager after announcing, as Steve Stanton, that she would be undergoing a change of gender, she has finally found another city manager position after two years of searching all over the country — and she found it in Florida, no less. And meanwhile, here at Creative Loafing, Eric Snider’s Devil’s Advocate feature right here on The Daily Loaf is treating us to the enlightened views of evangelist Bill “I don’t hate gays, they just disgust me” [my paraphrase] Keller, and even better (or worse), the comments of his supporters.

On SiriusOutQ, the LGBT satellite radio station I only recently discovered and can now not live without, the news roundups each hour offer the same head-spinning mix. One day you hear the news that national “pro-family” groups plan to combat the Day of Silence — the anti-bullying initiative famously criticized by Brian Blair — by keeping kids home that day if their school is observing it. And then you hear that, for the first time, gay and lesbian parents are being invited to the White House Easter Egg roll.

It’s a contradictory, confusing, exhilarating time to be gay. We’re welcomed, we’re condemned, we’re cheered, we’re murdered. The progress we have made cannot be denied, but the reminders are there every day that the haters refuse to be denied either.  Stay vigilant.