Madonna in Concert@Provincetown

From a press release. 

"It is Provincetown's 9th Anniversary.  Provincetown (PTOWN) is the oldest LGBT friendly sim in Second Life.  To kick off a week of celebrations, "Madonna : The Virtual History Tour" will be in concert tomorrow (Sunday July 26, 2015) at 1PM SLT.

New numbers, new sets, hot dancers, and of course Madge herself!  Come join us as we celebrate Ptown and rock out to Madonna!

P.S. Please avoid scripts (shoes, hairs, clothes)

Join us, Sunday July 26, 2015 at 1PM SLT"

Historic Provincetown sim - Madonna Concert (SLurl)

Caitlyn: "Accept People For Who They Are!"

Caitlyn Jenner accepted the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the ESPYS on Wednesday night while urging acceptance for others who are transgender. She received a standing ovation from some of the sporting world's biggest stars after her 10-minute speech during the annual awards honoring the year's top athletes and moments.

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A very strong and emotional speech for acceptance, by a woman who has made the journey.

Nordic Wear Shows Blatant Homophobia

Qx.se, a Swedish LGBT News & Cruising website, today has the following report.

"The Swedish clothing chain Nordic Wear took a strong stance against LGBT people on Monday.

With a new campaign image on their Facebook page they showed how a family consisting of a mother, a father and two children protect themselves from a burst of rainbow colors with an umbrella. The subtitle reads: "Unfortunately, we do not sell umbrellas. But if we had, they would have worked like this!"

The reactions and the complaints about the campaign have been flooding in, and after one day Nordic Wear responded in the following way through their Facebook page: "Wow, what attention we received for our commitment to the nuclear family! Despite being reported almost 70 times for the image and several death threats we will of course not fold down for gay fascists, we believe in democracy and freedom."

Facebook has no plans to remove Nordic Wears picture. One of those who reported the picture for hate content received the following response: "We have examined the photo that you have reported for hate content or hateful symbols and have determined that it does not violate our community rules."

Nordic Wear was founded in 2013 and is a distributor of the German clothing brand Thor Steinar. Thor Steinar is primarily known for its association with right-wing movements in Germany."

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When I checked an hour ago today the picture had, however, been removed with the following statement from the company: "As those of us who work at Nordic Wear have been receiving repeated death threats, we out of respect for our families choose  to take down the high-profile post. All threats and harassment against us will naturally be reported to the police."

No more pink dollars for Nordic Wear or Thor Steinar! If they don't like us, we should spare them the embarrassment of doing business with us.

Read more about the controversy surrounding Thor Steinar here: Wikipedia: Thor Steinar.

I would like to know in what way the LGBT-community poses a threat to the nuclear family.

A Social Experiment

(via J.M.G.)

In a social experiment two guys pretend to be homosexuals in Russia and walk the streets of Moscow holding hands.

The reactions are scary and shows how successful the President of Russia, Vladimir "Little Father" Putin, and his cohorts have been in their "Gay Propaganda"-efforts at focusing the Russian society on homophobia instead of their real problems, such as lack of democracy and criminal activities by the ruling nomenclatura.

After reading some of the violently hateful responses to the video on YouTube, I believe there is valid reason to fear for the two guys safety.

Has There Been A Coup In the Gay Archipelago? (Corrected 2015-07-15) (Updated 2015-07-16)

The Gay Archipelago (GA) is an association of landowners of multiple diverse LGBT/LGBT-friendly sims in SecondLife. They conduct Archipelago-wide events, and welcome LGBT newcomers into SecondLife.

"G Dragon Coup d'etat" by Sui-Kunoichi

The GA is governed by The Owners Group, which consists of the sim owners themselves or their appointed representatives.

Hitherto - i.e. until yesterday - the leaders of the governing body (the GA Lead, the Vice Lead and the PR Lead) have historically always been vetted by and voted upon by the The Owners Group.

According to information from several well informed sources Weylin Vale, the current Lead of GA, announced a meeting on Saturday at 11 PM SLT set to take place only eight hours later on Sunday at 7 AM SLT. (Correction 2015-07-15: This information was incorrect, please see the my later post  Bock in SecondLife; Re:Coup Or Not In the GA?. My sincere apologies to all involved and to my readers.) Update 2015-07-16: Myles Capalini On "Suddenness" & More, where you will find that the date of the meeting was announced early, but not the time.

The purpose of the meeting was purportedly about the upcoming GA SummerFest 2015.

At the meeting yesterday Weylin Vale unexpectedly announced to the owners group that he had appointed the following positions
Vice Lead - Dextrum Boucher

PR Lead - Rico Bluestar,

Treasurer - Chade Dagger,

IT Director - Hiro Dagger-Clemenceau,

Membership Director - To Be Announced and

2015 Festival Director - Caeru Dubrovna.

---

As I understand it, this sudden and unexpected deviation from previous procedure by the GA Lead has raised concerns among many sim owners in the GA on the future direction of the organization and whether or not they wish to remain a part of it. 

I will try to keep you updated on further developments as they unfold.

Repost (2015): Remember Stonewall

This is essentially a re-post of a post I have run the last few years, with some minor changes. We must remember our history and the giants whose shoulders we are standing on!

 

Let us always be proud and thankful to the trannies who finally had enough of the harassment and fought back 46 years ago on June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn. We owe you, guys and girls!

Read more on Wikipedia Stonewall riots.

Before Stonewall

• a person with homosexual inclinations was considered to be mentally ill, 
• a person taking part in homosexual sexual activity was considered to be a criminal, 
• a person suspected of being homosexual could be abused or harassed without risk of penalty - except in the most extreme cases, 
• a homosexual parent was considered unfit to take care of his/her own children, 
• Civil unions or same-sex marriages were unthinkable. etc., etc. 

All of us should always remember the gratitude we owe the trannies.

----
We must also remember that many of our sisters and brothers worldwide still on a daily basis live with the very real risk of

• being murdered, incarcerated, hospitalized, abused, raped and harassed
• losing custody of their children 
• losing their employment 

simply for being homosexual.

Bryan Fischer Blocks Bock on Twitter

"Bryan Fischer is the former Director of Issues Analysis for the American Family Association (AFA). He hosts the talk radio program Focal Point on American Family Radio and posts on the AFA-run blog Instant Analysis (formerly Rightly Concerned).

Fischer opposes abortion, national health care, gay adoption, and same-sex marriage. Fischer's comments about homosexuality caused the AFA to be designated a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) in November 2010. To avoid being classified as a hate group, the AFA has officially repudiated Fisher's views on Muslims, Native Americans, Hispanics, African Americans, The Holocaust being caused by homosexuals, the outlawing of homosexuality, and that Hillary Clinton is a lesbian."

( From Wikipedia's two first paragraphs about this hate monger.) 

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I had forgotten I had visited this morons Twitter feed earlier. I must have left a comment he didn't quite appreciate, because now I am blocked. I feel honored!

Things Not To Say To A Trans Person

The BBC has released a video in which transgender persons discuss common questions to transgender people.

Frequently asked questions they face can be: When did you decide to be transgender? Are you sure you're not just gay? How do you have sex? Which restroom do you use? Are you a drag queen? Have you had "the operation"? 

Second Pride - June 19th Through 28th

Come be a part of the largest most diverse LGBT Festival on the grid!

Second Pride needs your help and participation to make this years 10th anniversary the best Pride ever!

Interested in performing at this year's Second Pride Festival? Just follow the link below and submit your application today! Festival Performer Information & Application

Interested in being a Sponsor or a Vendor? Sponsor & Vendor Packages. Hurry, hurry - there are still some packages free!

Get involved! Meet new people! Meet up with old friends! Show your Pride!

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Although I already know that Second Pride's claim to this being the organization's 10th anniversary is challenged by some, I choose to accept it. (Nota bene, in my response to a comment by my dear friend Garth Raleigh, I - after having reviewed what  Second Pride actually says - correct myself as to the organization claiming anything of the sort.)

In my mind Second Pride - and any other LGBT organization on the grid, that can show any connection between their existing organization and the ad hoc committees celebrating Pride in the early days of SecondLife, can make the same claim.

IDAHOT Day 2015

"The International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia was created in 2004 to draw the attention of policymakers, opinion leaders, social movements, the public and the media to the violence and discrimination experienced by LGBTI people internationally.

In under a decade, May 17 has established itself the single most important date for LGBTI communities to mobilize on a worldwide scale.

The Day represents an annual landmark to draw the attention of decision makers, the media, the public, opinion leaders and local authorities to the alarming situation faced by lesbian, gay, bisexuals, transgender and intersex people and all those who do not conform to majority sexual and gender norms.

May 17 is now celebrated in more than 130 countries, including 37 where same-sex acts are illegal, with 1600 events reported from 1280 organizations in 2014. These mobilizations unite millions of people in support of the recognition of human rights for all, irrespective of sexual orientation or gender identity or expression.

The International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia is not one centralized campaign; rather it is a moment that everyone can take advantage of to take action.

The date of May 17th was specifically chosen to commemorate the World Health Organization’s decision in 1990 to declassify homosexuality as a mental disorder.

The International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia has received official recognition from several States, international institutions as the European Parliament, and by countless local authorities. Most United Nations agencies also mark the Day with specific events."

The International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia (Official webpage)

Faces - Can You See Beyond the Label?

(via J.M.G.)

Clip info

""Lesbian", "gay", "bisexual", "transgender", "intersex", "queer": can you see past the labels?

This video from the United Nations Free & Equal campaign celebrates the contributions that millions of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people make to families and local communities around the world. The cast features "real people" (not actors), filmed in their workplaces and homes -- among them, a firefighter, a police officer, a teacher, an electrician, a doctor and a volunteer, as well as prominent straight ally and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon."

When Did You Decide To Be Gay?

Gay People Tell Us When They Chose To Be Gay from Dan Abramson

(Tipped by avid Bock in SecondLife reader Tomais Ashdene)

Clip description

"After Ben Carson announced that prison proved being gay was a choice, Funny Or Die News hit the streets to ask gay people when they decided to be gay"

To All LGBT or Straight Allies Who are U.S. Citizen's and/or Legal Permanent Residents

"When laws and constitutional amendments banning marriage equality were passed, many voters and legislators really were blinded by the times. They did not realize that they knew LGBT people personally. They did not recognize the contributions that LGBT people and their families make—as employees, as neighbors, as part of the social fabric in every community in America. Some saw the LGBT community as strangers, not as people with the same hopes and dreams as anyone else.

In many respects, those oppressive times are behind us. In poll after poll, the broad majority of Americans now support marriage equality. Many people who once opposed it are unafraid to admit their views have evolved. Why? They've simply met LGBT people in their own lives.

In other words, the laws challenged in this case are more than fundamentally unfair. They were also adopted in at a time that utterly failed to take into account LGBT Americans as individuals deserving of dignity. The Court has recognized that dignity throughout its history—most recently in U.S. v. Windsor. But recognizing that dignity isn’t enough. It’s time to leave the blindness of the past behind, and guarantee the equal protection our constitution promises to every American."

---

The Human Rights Campaign, the largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) civil rights organization in the U.S., and Roberta Kaplan, the leading civil rights litigator who famously argued U.S. v. Windsor before the U.S. Supreme Court in 2013, launched this unprecedented "People’s Brief" on marriage equality to the Court.

As the nine Justices prepare to hear oral arguments in four critical marriage equality cases this spring, The People’s Brief marks the first time that tens of thousands of fair-minded Americans will have the opportunity to have their voices formally heard in a civil rights case of this magnitude. Americans who are LGBT or have LGBT friends, family members, and colleagues can review the content of the brief, and affix their name to a document that will be considered by the highest court in the land.

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As citizens or legal permanent residents of the United States you have the opportunity to sign this brief and have your voice heard!

Go here to read and sign The People's Brief.

To have your name submitted to the Court, all names must be signed by midnight March 1, 2015.

Remember Leelah (Updated)

Leelah Alcorn, a 17-year-old transgender teen, was killed by a passing semi trailer on an Ohio interstate at 2:20 a.m. on Sunday, and a previously written suicide note later appeared on the teen’s Tumblr blog (http://lazerprincess.tumblr.com/) through scheduled publishing.

These are the two last posts on Leelah's blog.

SUICIDE NOTE

If you are reading this, it means that I have committed suicide and obviously failed to delete this post from my queue.

Please don’t be sad, it’s for the better. The life I would’ve lived isn’t worth living in… because I’m transgender. I could go into detail explaining why I feel that way, but this note is probably going to be lengthy enough as it is. To put it simply, I feel like a girl trapped in a boy’s body, and I’ve felt that way ever since I was 4. I never knew there was a word for that feeling, nor was it possible for a boy to become a girl, so I never told anyone and I just continued to do traditionally “boyish” things to try to fit in.

When I was 14, I learned what transgender meant and cried of happiness. After 10 years of confusion I finally understood who I was. I immediately told my mom, and she reacted extremely negatively, telling me that it was a phase, that I would never truly be a girl, that God doesn’t make mistakes, that I am wrong. If you are reading this, parents, please don’t tell this to your kids. Even if you are Christian or are against transgender people don’t ever say that to someone, especially your kid. That won’t do anything but make them hate them self. That’s exactly what it did to me.

My mom started taking me to a therapist, but would only take me to christian therapists, (who were all very biased) so I never actually got the therapy I needed to cure me of my depression. I only got more christians telling me that I was selfish and wrong and that I should look to God for help.

When I was 16 I realized that my parents would never come around, and that I would have to wait until I was 18 to start any sort of transitioning treatment, which absolutely broke my heart. The longer you wait, the harder it is to transition. I felt hopeless, that I was just going to look like a man in drag for the rest of my life. On my 16th birthday, when I didn’t receive consent from my parents to start transitioning, I cried myself to sleep.

I formed a sort of a “fuck you” attitude towards my parents and came out as gay at school, thinking that maybe if I eased into coming out as trans it would be less of a shock. Although the reaction from my friends was positive, my parents were pissed. They felt like I was attacking their image, and that I was an embarrassment to them. They wanted me to be their perfect little straight christian boy, and that’s obviously not what I wanted.

So they took me out of public school, took away my laptop and phone, and forbid me of getting on any sort of social media, completely isolating me from my friends. This was probably the part of my life when I was the most depressed, and I’m surprised I didn’t kill myself. I was completely alone for 5 months. No friends, no support, no love. Just my parent’s disappointment and the cruelty of loneliness.

At the end of the school year, my parents finally came around and gave me my phone and let me back on social media. I was excited, I finally had my friends back. They were extremely excited to see me and talk to me, but only at first. Eventually they realized they didn’t actually give a shit about me, and I felt even lonelier than I did before. The only friends I thought I had only liked me because they saw me five times a week.

After a summer of having almost no friends plus the weight of having to think about college, save money for moving out, keep my grades up, go to church each week and feel like shit because everyone there is against everything I live for, I have decided I’ve had enough. I’m never going to transition successfully, even when I move out. I’m never going to be happy with the way I look or sound. I’m never going to have enough friends to satisfy me. I’m never going to have enough love to satisfy me. I’m never going to find a man who loves me. I’m never going to be happy. Either I live the rest of my life as a lonely man who wishes he were a woman or I live my life as a lonelier woman who hates herself. There’s no winning. There’s no way out. I’m sad enough already, I don’t need my life to get any worse. People say “it gets better” but that isn’t true in my case. It gets worse. Each day I get worse.

That’s the gist of it, that’s why I feel like killing myself. Sorry if that’s not a good enough reason for you, it’s good enough for me. As for my will, I want 100% of the things that I legally own to be sold and the money (plus my money in the bank) to be given to trans civil rights movements and support groups, I don’t give a shit which one. The only way I will rest in peace is if one day transgender people aren’t treated the way I was, they’re treated like humans, with valid feelings and human rights. Gender needs to be taught about in schools, the earlier the better. My death needs to mean something. My death needs to be counted in the number of transgender people who commit suicide this year. I want someone to look at that number and say “that’s fucked up” and fix it. Fix society. Please.

Goodbye,

(Leelah) Josh Alcorn

SORRY

And now for my sorry notes to some people I knew…

Amanda: You are going to have such a wonderful life. You are the most talented and pretty little girl I’ve ever met and I love you so much, Amanda. Please don’t be sad. I’m going to miss you so very much. I love you.

Tiffany: We haven’t talked much recently since we’re both so busy but I’m so happy you’re my sister. You are so courageous and determined to achieve what you want, you can accomplish anything. I love you.

Justin: We’ve been jerks to each other a lot recently but I really do love you. You get on my nerves almost all the time but no matter what a part of me will always love you. Sorry for picking on you so much when we were kids.

Rylan: I’m so sorry I’m never there for you. I love you so much.

Abby: Thank you for dealing with my pathetic problems, all I did was make your life harder and I’m sorry.

Mom and Dad: Fuck you. You can’t just control other people like that. That’s messed up.

I don’t really feel the need to apologize to anyone else… odds are you didn’t give a shit about me and if you do, you did something that made me feel like shit and you don’t deserve an apology.

Also, anyone who says something like “I wish I got to know him better” or “I wish I treated him better” gets a punch in the nose. 

Update 12/31/14
Although I do agree that the desperate action of young Leelah to a large extent was due to the actions or inaction's of her certainly worthless parents, I cannot agree with, or condone, the outpouring of hatred and the incitement going on that we should contact the parents and express our disapproval of their parenting skills.

In my opinion the parents themselves are in part victims of indoctrination by their religious leaders and the bigoted Christianist culture in which they supposedly live. In short the parents probably didn't understand better and were wrongly advised by those whom they trusted to guide them in a situation they found difficult to handle.

This tragic event should instead be used as a warning to those who continue to subject children and young people to abuse by non-acceptance and through theories and practices of  so called "conversion therapy" with the aim to change sexual orientation from homosexual to heterosexual, or trying to convince a transgender person to give up their true gender and identify with their sex assigned at birth.

GA Announces New Lead and Vice Lead

Today I received some long awaited news from the Gay Archipelago group.

Several months ago Rico Bluestar stepped down as Lead of the GA, since then there has been a selection process in the owners group to find a new Lead to replace him. The selection has now come to a successful conclusion with today's announcement.

The new lead-team of the Gay Archipelago will consist of Chris Magic as Lead, Weylin Vale as Vice Lead and with Parvin (Xcept Atlas) continuing as Public Relations Lead.

The new GA Lead-team courtesy of the GA WeBlog
Chris (center), Parvin (left) & Weylin (right)

Today's full press release:

Three years ago we mourned the passing of our founder, Fabrice Snook. Days ago we grieved with our friends when we learned that Avacar Bluestar had also left our Earth. 

Today, we welcome long overdue good news, the appointment of a new Gay Archipelago Lead and the creation of a new role, the GA Vice Lead.  They will join the current GA Public Relations Lead to serve our growing community.

We are proud to announce that after months of searching and vetting candidates for the positions the leadership committee completed their arduous task and have selected our new GA Lead and GA Vice Lead. 

Our GA Lead, Christope Magic, of Britain, has a long history of service to the Gay Archipelago and our LGBT community.   His roles include events manager for GA Summerfest 2014 and Winterfest 2014, our master of ceremonies for Miss Wigstock, a performer with Corinthia Isle Concerts, owner of the Remix Room, DJ, and host. 

Our GA Vice Lead, Weylin Vale, of Australia, brings real life LGBT event management experience to our team.  His resume includes participating, event managing and a Director of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, as well as event management for multiple governmental agencies. In Second Life he is owner of the sim Lycan Moon, a club owner, DJ, and established member of our community.

Together with our current GA PR Lead, Xcept Altas, of the USA, these appointments will give our community access to leadership without the boundaries of timezones, and clear, consistent responses to hurdles we will overcome together.

They are tasked with promoting unity and inclusion across our diverse international LGBTIA Second Life community. Each are committed to utilizing their skills to foster acceptance, offering support, and guiding teams and volunteers so that we may plan for and together embrace our future.   

Gay Archipelago brand represents our shared values, the knowledge that we are stronger together, and our belief that we can assist our member estates and our community, as well as our supporters, to live and grow in an environment that is tolerant and accepting of our common goals.

We thank the leadership committee; Garth Raleigh, Savannah Christensen, Leroy Voorhees, Evan Greymyst, Sangi Phaeton, and Draghan Marksman, for their service. Their diligence and care has given us leaders who will set us on a defined path towards tomorrow. 

In a two short weeks we will celebrate together as a community at our annual Winterfest. Please join us in welcoming our leads as they embrace their new roles.  

“Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or the present are certain to miss the future.” [Address in the Assembly Hall at the Paulskirche in Frankfurt, June 26 1963] ― John F. Kennedy

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Greetings GA. 

I would like to introduce myself as your new GA Lead. Thank you so much to the GA Lead search committee, for all their hard work and time over the last few months. Thank you to Parvin for his hard work and amazing dedication to the GA, as interim Lead. You are truly awesome, never change. Today, i accepted the chance to guide the GA into the future. I feel very honored, and humble to be given this amazing opportunity. I have a huge task ahead of me, but one i will gladly take. I will not being doing this alone. Weylin who will be my vice lead, along with Parvin who will stay as PR Lead. Together, we will strive to constantly improve, strengthen your experience as member estates, sims and owners. 

Every estate, sim, owner will play an important role in the future of the GA. You are all vital to the GA. Without you, there is no GA. You will be heard, your voices are what we need to bring forward the organization. Let us work as a team, in harmony.  Together, we are one. United we stand. As the Lead team, settle into our new roles, please do bear with us over the coming weeks. I look forward to meeting you all to start this journey together.  Never change, be you.  Stay fabulous. 

This is your GA. Thank you, for your amazing support. 

"The greatest gift that you can give to others is the gift of unconditional love and acceptance" ― Brian Tracy

 Sincerely,
 Chris Magic

"I'm Sorry..."

To the guy who punched me tonight for kissing my boyfriend pic.twitter.com/SMVmTpDCdL
— Cole Ledford (@ColeLedford11) November 7, 2014

This news reaches me via Wicked Gay Blog and Gay Star News:

"A US student, who was beaten up for being gay, tweeted a defiant message to his attacker and instantly became a viral sensation.

Ohio student Cole Ledford, who tweets at @ColeLedford11, was beaten up for kissing his boyfriend, and was left with a painful black eye.

Yesterday (November 7), he tweeted a picture of himself and his injuries alongside a text with the words: ‘To the guy who punched me tonight for kissing my boyfriend.’

‘I'm sorry that you called me fag,’ wrote Ledford.

‘I'm sorry you hit me for no reason. I'm sorry that whatever insecurities you have don't allow you to accept others for who they are. I'm sorry that I threaten you.’

‘I'm NOT sorry I'm gay. I'm proud to be this way. I'm proud to be confident enough to love who I love and to love me. I'm proud to have friends and family that love me regardless of me. Honestly, I'm not sorry.’

Since posting the image, Ledford has become somewhat of an overnight star. His tweet was retweeted more than 23,000 times.

He later posted a cute photo of him and his boyfriend with the caption: ‘Boyfriend wanted to say hi and thanks for the support! Off to Cleveland to see the fam! #loveislove #youallrock.’

He also tweeted: ‘overwhelmed by all the support. I have a nasty black eye but other than that, I'm fine. Thank you all so much! Love > Hate.’

He’s also been encouraging his new-found followers to support equality charities if they want to help.

‘If what happened to me makes you want to make a difference please consider donating to the @HRC and help their fight,’ he tweeted."

---

Another everyday hero steps out of anonymity for a while to make us all proud. Proud to be humans, to be men and most of all to be gay men.

#ProudofEdgars

I proudly announce I'am gay... Good luck all of you...
— Edgars Rinkēvičs (@edgarsrinkevics) November 6, 2014

(via J.M.G.)

"Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkēvičs announced Thursday that he was gay, breaking a barrier in Eastern Europe’s socially conservative political arena. The declaration, made via a cheerful Twitter posting, immediately gave gay rights advocates a prominent voice in post-Soviet Eastern Europe. The region — where openly gay public figures are a rarity — has significantly lagged behind the United States and Western Europe in its acceptance of same-sex relationships. The announcement came less than two months before Latvia assumes the European Union’s rotating presidency on Jan. 1, giving Rinkevics an even higher-profile platform from which to push for more tolerance for same-sex relationships."

The Advocate's Person of the Year: Little Father

Driving the governmental, religious, and popular disdain for gays and lesbians, the Russian president became the single greatest threat to LGBTs in the world in 2014.

“Imagine a boy who dreams of being a KGB officer, when everyone else wants to be a cosmonaut.”

This quote appears early in The Man Without a Face, Masha Gessen’s 2012 biography of Vladimir Putin. It’s as succinct and illuminating a characterization of the Russian president as you’re likely to find. The KGB, after all, perfected the thuggery, espionage, and aimless bureaucracy that are hallmarks of Putin’s regime. The agency’s crackdown on dissidents offered a blueprint for Putin’s own strongman excesses. That he aspired to such a career as a child tells us something useful about his psychopathology: This is a man hardwired to intimidate.

Nowhere is this tendency more apparent than in his crusade against LGBT Russians. Since winning a third term in 2012, Putin has become ever more autocratic, and his antigay ideology ever more extreme. In June 2013, he signed the infamous antigay propaganda bill that criminalizes the “distribution of information…aimed at the formation among minors of nontraditional sexual attitudes,” with nontraditional meaning anything other than heterosexual. Individual violators are fined anywhere between $120 and $150, while NGOs and corporations can incur fines as high as $30,000. International outrage flared in the months before the Sochi Olympics, in response to which Putin reassured the gay and lesbian community they had nothing to fear as long as they left Russia’s children in peace.

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Read the full article here:  The Advocate's Person of the Year: Vladimir Putin

Roasting Marshmallows

Tomais and I taking it easy at the camp site, roasting marshmallows and talking about which charity to support at the upcoming Duo Rezday Bash. I think we - after consulting with the other rezboy Dej - have decided on the Ali Forney Center.

The Ali Forney Center (AFC), are making a difference by rescuing LGBTQ kids from the dangers of the streets and placing them into safe, homelike environments.

All Out 4 Uganda

If you think it could work, chip in any amount to get started: https://www.allout.org/All-Out-4-Uganda.