Tag: Gay Politics

New Poll Shows Dramatic Shift in Views on Marriage Equality

Trish

A new ABC News/Washington Post poll shows that American attitudes toward marriage equality have turned upside down in the past 10 years — and then some. Where a decade ago 55 percent of registered voters said gay adults should be excluded from marriage to the fellow adult they love, today 58 percent say they should not.

And it’s not a case of “state’s rights.”

Most Americans, moreover, say the U.S. Constitution should trump state laws on gay marriage, a question now before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Almost twice as many young people support marriage equality, with 81 percent of those under 30 favoring the concept, and even 44 percent of seniors…unless they’re Republicans. Only 34 percent of Republicans of any age condemn discrimination against gay and lesbian Americans in the area of marriage to consenting adults.

Starbucks CEO Tells Shareholders Against Marriage Equality to Sell Their Stocks

Trish

If you feel, respectfully, that you can get a higher return than the 38 percent you got last year, it’s a free country. You can sell your shares of Starbucks and buy shares in another company. Thank you very much.

— Howard Schultz, CEO of Starbucks, at the company’s annual meeting. Schultz was responding to a shareholder who suggested that a boycott by people against marriage equality, which Starbucks supports, was hurting the bottom line.

Republican Senator Comes Out for Marriage Equality After Acknowledging His Son is Gay

Trish
Portman, left, campaigning for Romney in 2012

Even as his party at CPAC confirms its commitment to denying one set of taxpayers the right to marry the adult they love and somehow concluding this is not discrimination, Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) is speaking out in defense of marriage equality.

Portman’s position on the subject has “evolved,” as the saying goes, for a very personal reason. His son, a student at Yale, is gay.

Portman: ‘I told Mitt Romney everything’

“I’m announcing today a change of heart on an issue that a lot of people feel strongly about that has to do with gay couples’ opportunity to marry,” Portman told CNN.

It has to do with another revelation, one deeply personal. His 21-year-old son, Will, is gay.

“I’ve come to the conclusion that for me, personally, I think this is something that we should allow people to do, to get married, and to have the joy and stability of marriage that I’ve had for over 26 years. That I want all of my children to have, including our son, who is gay,” said Portman.

Portman campaigned for Mitt Romney for president in 2012, and was among Romney’s choices for the vice presidential slot. Team Romney denied that Portman’s son, or his acceptance of him, was a factor in their decision to choose someone else.

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Pro-Equality Protesters in Santa Monica Roust the Westboro Haters: ‘Go Back to Kansas’

Jon Ponder

Gay Star News:

When members of the Westboro Baptist Church showed up at Santa Monica High School today to conduct an anti-gay protest, they were in for a huge surprise.

That surprise was a huge crowd that was on hand to counter-protest the group known to protest at military funerals carrying signs that say such things as ‘God Hates Fags.’

…The church members stayed only a brief time as they found themselves faced with scores of students who were well-prepared for their arrival.

Students and others were holding rainbow flags large and small and waving signs with such messages as ‘God Cares for All Creation,’ ‘Ain’t Nobody Got Time for Hate’ and ‘God Hates People Who Say They Know Who God Hates.’

The video … shows the spirited crowd of students and a dispirited small group from Westboro walking away from the scene as someone in the crowd yells: ‘Go back to Kansas!’

Knowing Another Boy Scout is Gay Will Turn Your Son Gay Too

Trish

The biggest problem will be a wave of boy-on-boy sexual activity on campouts and other overnight trips…Truth be told, there are scouts and leaders who are gay. But they have to be appropriately private and discreet about their sexuality and not “loud and proud.” Imagine openly gay men kissing and snuggling around the campfire in front of young boys.

John Stemberger, president of the Florida Family Policy Council, apparently a haven for homophobes. Stemberger made the remarks in an editorial in USA Today, which claimed he was an Eagle Scout and scoutmaster. Something tells us that Stemberger has already spent quite a bit of time imagining openly gay men kissing and snuggling around the campfire. Please note: Stemberger was allowed to be an Eagle Scout, but that gay kid in California wasn’t.

Shazam! Jim Nabors and Longtime Male Partner Marry in Washington State

Trish

For those of you saying, “Well golllleee, I didn’t know Jim Nabors was still around,” yeah, I know. But the 82-year-old Hawaii resident and his 60-something partner Stan Cadwallader flew to Seattle recently to tie the knot, now that such things are legal in Washington State.

Nabors says you’ve got to solidify something when you’ve been together as long as they have.

They couple met in 1975 when Cadwallader was a Honolulu firefighter.

Nabors says he’s been open about his homosexuality to co-workers and friends but never acknowledged it to the media before.

Maybe times have changed enough to do a new version of Gomer Pyle, USMC featuring a Marine who can be openly gay.

Best wishes to Nabors and Cadwallader.

Chris Hughes, One of the Four Facebook Founders, Speaks Out on Mark Zuckerberg – Chris Christie Pairing

Trish
Chris Hughes

For those of you scratching your head about Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s recently announced fundraiser for Republican New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, you are not alone. Yes, Christie openly appreciated the Obama administration’s help after super storm Sandy, and the great job done by the Federal Emergency Management Association (FEMA) in supplying assistance that the local community could not provide for itself. And he did blast Republicans in the U.S. House who voted against aid to Sandy victims.

But Christie also gave his full voice to helping elect Mitt Romney for president, in addition to numerous other odious Republican stances. At base, he’s a Republican, pure and simple, and he supports the party’s platform.

All of it.

Which is why Chris Hughes, editor and publisher of the New Republic, and a Facebook founder, does not agree with his former partner, Zuckerberg, on Christie. Hughes is gay, and he and his then boyfriend and now husband were guests at the very first Obama state dinner. Republicans, in case you missed it, aren’t much into being gay, at least not publicly. Here’s Hughes on ABC’s “This Week.”

I, for one, have a lot of questions about Chris Christie, particularly because less than a year ago he vetoed a marriage equality bill in the New Jersey state legislature. Which for me personally, I got married to my husband last June, [it] was just really personally frustrating. I mean, there are tens of thousands of couples in New Jersey that can’t share their love and be recognized under the law because of that decision. I’m not a single issue voter, and I think most people aren’t either, but for me personally, it would raise serious concerns about supporting someone like him.

It does for us all, Chris.

Slow Learner? No – Obama Shows He Doesn’t Have to Make the Same Mistake Twice

Trish
A man who takes an inordinate amount of interest in gay people: Rev. Louie Giglio

John Aravosis at AmericaBlog applauds the announcement from the Obama Inauguration Committee that a Christian pastor who has preached that homosexuality is a “malfunction” that can be cured (cue Macklemore) has been pulled from the roster of the day’s events. Aravosis:

This statement makes it sound more like Giglio was asked to leave, rather than his having parted ways amicably:

Below is a statement from the Presidential Inaugural Committee on Rev. Giglio’s decision to withdraw from the Inaugural Ceremony:

“We were not aware of Pastor Giglio’s past comments at the time of his selection and they don’t reflect our desire to celebrate the strength and diversity of our country at this Inaugural. Pastor Giglio was asked to deliver the benediction in large part for his leadership in combating human trafficking around the world. As we now work to select someone to deliver the benediction, we will ensure their beliefs reflect this administration’s vision of inclusion and acceptance for all Americans.“ – Addie Whisenant, PIC Spokesperson

That is a GREAT statement. It’s exactly what we could have asked for. Yes, I’d have preferred that this snafu didn’t happen in the first place. But they fixed it perfectly, directly, head-on with no waffling. I didn’t expect this.

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