Miss California

Accept my deep apologies for the lack of posts. I have been so busy for the past week or so, and I have just not had a second to spare. Anyway, moving on...

If you have not read about the Miss USA/Miss California controversy, you either have purposely stayed out of it our you live in a cave somewhere in Africa. While I do not agree with her belief in any way at all, (obviously, lol. If this is a surprise to you, then you have not read my blog) I do believe that all Americans are entitled to their own opinions and beliefs, as long as they remain their own. What I do not agree with is when they try to force them onto other unwilling people. I agree whole-heatedly with what Perez Hilton proposed as an alternative answer:

"I would have said, 'Hmm, Perez, that's a great question, that's a very hot topic in our country right now. And I think that's a question that each state should decide for themselves."

She says that she is proud of herself for standing up for what she believes in, which I understand in a round-about way. If you want to stand up for what you believe in, thats fine. Don't expect to be Miss USA, who represents ALL of the USA, not just the anti-gay christian community, if you are going to be openly prejudice and homophobic, especially with the most current goings on in same sex marriage news. I mean, seriously, did she consider her answer at all before she spoke. Has she read the news lately? Come one...Vermont, Iowa, Connecticut, New Hampshire...Read a newspaper honey. Not to mention that the judge asking her this question is a gay man. LoL.

A Gaythering Storm

This is a parody vidio that is hilarous!!!

http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/6eddb255b2/a-gaythering-storm

Rhode Island Gov. Denounces Same-Sex Marriage

The fact that the word marriage is in quotation marks in this article is highly offensive. I am sitting here shaking my head as I type this. Fucking religious people. I'm sorry, but I'm so mad. Why is it that because one group has their beliefs they feel that the rest of us should feel and believe that same way? If you feel that I'm wrong, thats fine, but my marrying my girlfriend effects your belief system in no way; and if it does, it, you, and your "faith"-- see it rubs you the wrong way, doesn't it?--are weak. Period end of story

Box Turtle Bulletin

I know I have posted information that I have found on this site previously, and I have it as a link that I follow there on the right, but I can't tell you how much useful and important information is on that page. If you are GLBT, and you do not read/follow that site, you are doing yourself a huge injustice. If you are on the fence and undecided and are having a difficult time sorting through all of the information, you would do yourself justice to check out this site.

And Then Came New York

Next in line is New York state, which all ready recognizes same sex marriages proformed out of state, such as Mass. or Connecticut. Read more here.

Pictures from Ocean City Easter Weekend

The Dutch Study Facts

This article is very well written and thought out. It goes through a study, The Dutch Study, that anti-gay marriage activists use, quote, and reference a lot, and points out the flaws in using it as "scientific research" for anti-gay marriage activism, and gives the real facts about the article. It is definitely a must read in my opinion.

Another Storm Parody

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmVACvVQwSc

http://blip.tv/play/gbYo+fc2jr1b

Watch these both, lol.

Also Maine...

Maine is to here the case on legalizing gay marriage on April 22nd. Wow, this month could really be OUR month!

Read it Here...

Ten Reasons Gay Marriage is Wrong

1. 
   Being gay is not natural. Real Americans always reject unnatural things like eyeglasses, polyester, and air conditioning.
2. 
   Gay marriage will encourage people to be gay, in the same way that hanging around tall people will make you tall.
3. 
   Legalizing gay marriage will open the door to all kinds of crazy behavior. People may even wish to marry their pets because a dog has legal standing and can sign a marriage contract.
4. 
   Straight marriage has been around a long time and hasn't changed at all; women are still property, blacks still can't marry whites, and divorce is still illegal.
5. 
   Straight marriage will be less meaningful if gay marriage were allowed; the sanctity of Britany Spears' 55-hour just-for-fun marriage would be destroyed.
6. 
   Straight marriages are valid because they produce children. Gay couples, infertile couples, and old people shouldn't be allowed to marry because our orphanages aren't full yet, and the world needs more children.
7. 
   Obviously gay parents will raise gay children, since straight parents only raise straight children.
8. 
   Gay marriage is not supported by religion. In a theocracy like ours, the values of one religion are imposed on the entire country. That's why we have only one religion in the world.
9. 
   Children can never succeed without a male and a female role model at home. That's why we as a society expressly forbid single parents to raise children.
10. 
    Gay marriage will change the foundation of society; we could never adapt to new social norms. Just like we haven't adapted to cars, the service-sector economy, or longer life spans

Box Turtle Bulletin

This is another site that I follow: The Box Turtle Bulletin.

Gay Marriage in New hampshire

CONCORD, N.H.—The Senate will hold a hearing Wednesday on whether to make New Hampshire the fourth state to allow gay couples to marry.

The House narrowly passed the measure last month. Democratic Gov. John Lynch opposes gay marriage but has not said specifically that he would veto it.
Two years ago, the Legislature approved, and Lynch signed, civil unions for gays, which provide all the rights of marriage, except in name.
Currently, Connecticut, Vermont and Massachusetts allow gay couples to marry.

Artice Found Here

I Dreamed a Dream

You have to follow this link and watch this video.

Ocean City

Sarah and I were in Ocean City this past weekend. Here is a pic of us. I will post more about the trips, as well as more pictures later. Right now, I will say that we had a fantastic time. We really needed a weekend to just relax, and that it exactly what we got. We are looking forward to going back next weekend, we can't wait! I have lots more pics to post, will do so soon.

Memo to teh GOP: - Go Gay

Taken from this article:

"I am a woman who despises labels and boxes and stereotypes. Recently, I seemed to have rocked a few individuals within my party by saying that I am a pro-life, pro-gay-marriage Republican. So if anyone is still confused, let me spell it out for you. I believe life begins at conception and I believe that people who fall in love should have the option to get married. Lest we forget, our founding document, the Declaration of Independence, grants the same rights to everyone in this country—“All men are created equal.” If you think certain rights should not apply to certain people, then you are saying those people are not equal. People may always have a difference of opinion on certain lifestyles, but championing a position that wants to treat people unequally isn't just un-Republican. At its fundamental core, it's un-American."

-Megan McCain

Happy Easter from Ocean City

My Wife

My wife is so beautiful. She is so smart and funny. This week she started a new job at a very big bank here in Pittsburgh. This week I have seen her transform. I have seen her smile and laugh more. Everyday when I pick her up from work, she is just glowing! She has a renewed sense of self it almost seems. She carries herself with more pride. She is so proud of herself for getting this job. This bank is extremely picky on whom then hire, she has a very good reason to feel so.

All of this time I have seen her seem so unhappy and unsatisfied. Who would have known this job would transform her? She worked so hard and waited so long to be offered a job that was worth something. I can't begin to put into words how much I love and adore her, and how incredibly proud of her I am.

I can't wait to really marry her.

Generation Next

"A reader writes:

My generation (I am 23) sees conservatives railing against homosexuality and we see stupid, shallow arguments like NR's thrown around with utter disregard for their cost in human lives and human deaths, and we want to distance ourselves with all deliberate speed from the people who make those sloppy arguments and the movements who smile upon them.

My generation does not view homosexuality as a condition to be confronted or thwarted or weakened--we view it as just a thing that people are. Like many other things people are, like being blonde or tall or selfish or fat or brilliant, homosexuality carries baggage and preconceived notions that people believe or reject, but at this point it probably wouldn't even matter to my generation if homosexuality were a choice. As a whole, we know that it is a waste of our collective breath to hold homosexuals in disdain in much the same way it is a waste to hold in disdain any demographic we live with. But we know that it is not a waste of our breath to confront those who, in the midst of their second or third marriages, speak with smug self-satisfaction about the meaninglessness of the committed relationships of our siblings and cousins and friends.

As someone who is young, and whose family is very religious, same-sex marriage is as much an issue of public respect for those I love as it is a moral or religious matter. The fact that it is good public policy is secondary to the reality that it is the right thing to embrace."

Also from the Daily Dish

The Coming Storm

This email I found on The Daily Dish by Andrew Sullivan. It is in response to the video released by the National Organization For Marriage that I posted about the other day. I wanted to stand on top of my desk in my office and start clapping!

"Email Of The Day
A reader writes:

So Gallagher and her followers are afraid of a 'coming storm.' Well, I would love to tell her about the many storms which my partner of 25 years and I have already weathered. There was the time 11 years ago when she was doubled over in pain and unable to speak. I had to carry her to the ER, but was denied entrance into her room and not consulted on medical decisions because I was not her 'legal next of kin.' Then there was the time a year ago when I changed jobs and could no longer cover Mary or our 10 year old child Emily under my health insurance because I am not 'related' to either of them by biology, adoption, or marriage. Or how about the time when I feared losing my job because a man, accused and found guilty of sexual harassment of women, accused me of favoritism to the women on my staff.

Oh, yeah, what about all the questions we have to answer to verify that we are eligible for a joint or family membership every time we fill out a health form for camp for our daughter, or join a gym, pool, or other community services center. Finally, what about the rudeness that our daughter endures from the kids of her followers asking about her "GAY" parents. Should we really have to live through those storms?

The reality is that those who stand against gay marriage have no logical, legal, or societal arguments against the simple acknowledgment of fairness, equality, and liberty so they have to resort to lies. It is the beginning of the end for them. If only we didn't have to wait so long to taste the fairness we deserve."

Equal Rights Quote

"Twenty-five, thirty years ago, the barometer of human rights in the United States were black people. That is no longer true. The barometer for judging the character of people in regard to human rights is now those who consider themselves gay, homosexual, or lesbian," - Bayard Rustin, close associate of Martin Luther King, Jr. and organizer of the 1963 March on Washington, 1986.

The Right's Contempt For Gay Lives, Ctd

"Did I say too much? Perhaps. But the National Review editorial was a summation of so much that is wrong on the right. Instead of a conservatism that seeks to expand freedom and opportunity and responsibility for all people, we have a conservatism that views some people as expendable, as creatures whose health and well-being are simply not "important governmental goals."

Instead of a conservatism that values the family and all its members, we have a conservatism that seeks to remove and stigmatize key members of families and ensure that they will never have access to the same rights as their brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers.

Remember: civil marriage for gay couples is not some kind of liberal special right. It requires no concession from anyone else; it requires no individual recognition from anyone who disapproves; it coerces no one; it taxes no one; it spends nothing; it takes not an iota from the rights and dignity of heterosexual marriages, which gave birth to gay people and give many of us our sense of morality and duty and civility. If the right is concerned about religious freedom, please reach out to those of us who favor civil equality and free speech and help protect both. But no, this is not what they are interested in, preferring to construct ads in which actors pretend to be people allegedly persecuted by gays for being Christians. Really, this is pure animus at this point - a decision to define a political movement by the people it excludes and the families it despises.
The next generation sees this most clearly, although plenty of fair-minded older folk see the cruelty and obtuseness involved here. What we have seen on the right since their devastating and deserved loss last November is a worsening of their bitterness, a calcification of their ideas, a poisoning of their discourse.

May they enjoy the fruits of their anger; and may the rest of us be saved from its logical conclusion."

-Andrew Sullivan

Posted originally on The Daily Dish

Pittsburgh Police Memorial Service

Yesterday evening, as Sarah and I were going to do some laundry, we got stuck in traffic that was stopped for the Memorial progression for the three police officers that were killed last weekend. There were police cars from all across the state, it was amazing to see how many people turned out for these fallen officers.

"An estimated 5,000 [officers] or more came to Pittsburgh for Thursday's memorial to slain city Officers Eric G. Kelly, Stephen J. Mayhle and Paul J. Sciullo II."

I have to be honest, as I sat there in the car, and watched all of these cops driving by behind the hearses, I got teary eyed. Part of it was because I let my mind go to far and started to worry about Sarah in the future. The other part of me was just so sad because those officers had kids and families. What a shame. It could have been prevented if that 911 dispatacher had just spoken up and said what seems so obviously should have been communicated.

D.C. to Recognize Same Sex Marriages

This is a very interesting article, you should read it. It relates more than just the D.C. recognizing same-sex marriage issue. Also, see this one as well. What's going on in D.C. right now has the potential to be something big, and if you are part of the LGBT community, you owe it to yourself to know about this stuff.

Some Thoughts on Gay Marriage

"In Vermont, the path to marriage for same-sex couples was quite different than in Iowa. Vermont was a path-breaker with respect to the relationship recognition for same-sex couples. In 1999, the Vermont Supreme Court held that the state's constitution required that same-sex couples be able to obtain all the benefits that different-sex couples could obtain by marrying. After struggling with the options, the Vermont legislature created a new type of relationship for same-sex couples called civil union that is identical to marriage in terms of its effects under state law. Although Vermont preserved marriage for different-sex couples, with the passage of its civil union law, Vermont became the first state in the country to provide equal recognition to same-sex relationships.

Some LGB rights advocates criticized this law as creating a second-class status for same-sex couples. Others had a more pragmatic reaction, suggesting that some recognition is better than none at all. And others said civil unions might help clear a path to marriage. In ten years, it seems, Vermonters have come to realize hell has not frozen over and different-sex relationships have not been undermined simply because same-sex relationships are recognized."

Taken from the Huffington Post

Now, I do have comments on the portion of the article posted above, I always have comments, you should get use to this, lol. "Some recognition is better than none at all." Okay, I suppose I can understand how some would feel that way, but a larger part of me is so offended by that statement. I don't want to settle for "better than none at all!" I want to be equal with heterosexual couples. What I do and who I love has absolutely NO effect on anyone. I really and truly believe that.

I have heard/read some truly ridiculous and pathetic comments regarding equal marriage laws. One of these comments was, "If you let them get married, they will be kissing and making out on the streets in public and in front of my kids." I have to say, to be honest, I don't see many gay/lesbian/bi/trans couples in public doing more than holding hands. I see plenty of straight girls shopping, walking down the street, arm in arm, and I know they are straight, but would a child know? No one complains about them. I have seen plenty of straight couples making out bordering on heavy petting in public, I never one time heard anyone say one word to them. I see more public affection between straight couples then gay/les/bi/trans couples. We are not the disgusting pigs the republicans want to make us into in order to promote the propaganda they are shouting from their soap boxes!

"In ten years, it seems, Vermonters have come to realize hell has not frozen over and different-sex relationships have not been undermined simply because same-sex relationships are recognized." Okay, I am glad that people are starting to realize this, but seriously, ten years? A little slow on the uptake, aren't we? I really feel that people are just terrified of what they do not understand or care to, at that rate. They didn't care to understand why women wanted to vote, or why African-Americans didn't want to be enslaved, and then why they had the nerve to want equal rights, the nerve of them, being human! Now, they can't understand why I would want to marry the woman that I have been in love with for three years or why my best friend would want to marry the woman she has been with for 11. Gosh, what were we thinking about? [Can you hear my words dripping with sarcasm?]

In closing, in the last week we have made progress, good progress. Lets just hope it does not take another ten years for the rest of the country to catch up!

Pork in the Park

Sarah, Rob, and I are going to the Pork in the Park festival this year! Sarah's sister and longterm boyfriend live very near Ocean City, and they invited us down that weekend to go. I am really looking forward to it! We are also going to be there for Easter weekend, so that will be two weekends in a row spent at the ocean. I love the ocean!

Now, I was not completly sure what this Pork in the Park festival intalied, so I checked out the website. From what i see on the site, there will be food, duh, bands, crafts, beer, and a BBQ competition.

I am SO excited to go to this thing! I will absolutly be posting pictures, so check back!

Anti-Gay Marrige Video

I just watched the latest ad from the National Organization for Marrige here. How dare they use the term "rainbow" in their ad! I am still at a loss as to how my marrying my partner effects the mother in this video, or why the young woman has to be affraid. I am also still trying to figure out how my getting married is ripping their rights away. You are so focused on your rights; waht about mine, or lack there of?

Gov. Paterson to introduce marriage equality legislation in New York.

New York isn't far from Pennsylvania, where I live. Hopefully this movement will keep making its way towards PA! Read more about it here.

FaceBook

FaceBook is not working correctly, and it is driving me crazy.

Pittsburgh Police Killings

I have to say, as I am from Pittsburgh and also live there, and the fact that my girlfriend is going to school to become a police office and intends to join the Pittsburgh Police force, this article was incredibly hard to read. It was days before I could even bring myself to read anything about it at all. The fact that the 911 dispatcher had knowledge of the fact that there were definintly weapons at the scene, and decided that this knowledge was not pertinent, both infuriates me and deeply saddens me. The weapons that he had were not meager ones, if there is such a thing. One of them included an AK-47 assult rifle.

"The dispatcher, who has been on the job less than a year, is on paid administrative leave and is receiving counseling."

In my opinion, not much experience is needed to know that information, which the dispatcher was provided with, was absolutley something that needed to be communicated. Read the entire story here.

Vermont Ends Gay Couples' Exclusion From Marriage

"Dear Freedom to Marry Friends:
The Vermont legislature today overrode a veto by the governor and decisively passed a bill to end the exclusion of gay couples from marriage. Vermont now joins Iowa, Massachusetts, and Connecticut in upholding the freedom to marry.
"With a decisive vote of its legislature, Vermont today moved past civil union to full equality in marriage," said Evan Wolfson, executive director of Freedom to Marry and author of Why Marriage Matters: America, Equality and Gay People's Right to Marry. "Following the Iowa Supreme Court's unanimous freedom to marry decision last week, Vermont shows that the arc of justice is now bending toward equality for all."
Vermont is the fourth state to uphold the freedom to marry, the first to do so through the legislature. Following a decision by the Vermont Supreme Court in 1999 directing the state to provide marital protections and benefits to gay couples, Vermont was the first state to create civil unions in 2000. Today's action by the legislature reinforces the reality that civil unions are a form of second class citizenship, and marriage indeed is the only way to achieve true equality.
"Over the last nine years in Vermont and then in other states, we've seen the inadequacy of civil union, which both gives and withholds important protections," Wolfson said. "The legislature's action to push past civil union to equality in marriage itself today underscores that civil union is no substitute for the freedom to marry, and there is enough marriage to share."
Freedom to Marry salutes the leadership of Vermont Freedom to Marry, who worked intensely in the legislature over the last few years, and brought together a gay and non-gay coalition to build support for marriage equality in Vermont.
Momentum for the freedom to marry continues across the nation. New Hampshire's House of Representatives passed a marriage bill in March, which now awaits a vote in the Senate. Marriage bills are pending in the New Jersey and New York legislatures, and the governors of both states have pledged to sign the bills once they reach their desks. Maine's legislature will hold hearings this month on a marriage bill, and the California Supreme Court is weighing a challenge to the discriminatory Proposition 8, brought by a broad array of civil rights and other groups.

With your help, the momentum for the freedom to marry is continuing across the nation.
--Freedom to Marry Staff"

Pittsburgh Gay/Lesbian Bar - Cattivo

Friday night Sarah and I went out for our third anniversary. We went to dinner and then out for drinks at a local gay/lesbian bar called Cattivo located in Lawrenceville, PA on 44th street. This is a little hole in the wall bar, but not bad. I cannot stand crowded bars where you have to fight for a seat and scream for the other person to hear you. Drinks were reasonably priced, service was friendly, music was good. Oddly enough, smoking was permitted, regardless of the smoking ban, so I was quite surprised by that. Honestly, I would return to that bar simply for the fact that I can smoke there. No lesbian drama going on the night I was there, just people having fun, dancing, talking, playing pool, and drinking. They are suppose to have pretty good food, although Sarah and I didn't eat that night. There were mostly women there, only a few guys. We decided we would go back again.

Hope this helps.

Gay Marriage in Vermont

The next few days will determine what happens with gay marriage in Vermont. The bill has passed both the senate and the house, and it is being sent to the governor's desk where it is expected to be vetoed, as he formally claimed that he would do. All we can hope for now is a vote to override the veto.

Read more about it here.

Same sex marriage inevitable?

"Demographic trends suggest that same sex marriage is unstoppable in the USA."

Consider this analysis from statistician and blogger Nate Silver:
"The Iowa Supreme Court ruled today that same-sex marriage is protected under that state’s constitution. [yay!!] As in California, there will of course be an effort to amend the state constitution to prohibit gay marriage. […]
Most likely, […] Iowans won’t vote on the issue until 2012. […]
The state has roughly average levels of religiosity, including a fair number of white evangelicals, and the model predicts that if Iowans voted on a marriage ban today, it would pass with 56.0 percent of the vote.
By 2012, however, the model projects a toss-up: 50.4 percent of Iowans voting to approve the ban, and 49.6 percent opposed. In 2013 and all subsequent years, the model thinks the marriage ban would fail."

I pulled my info from this link. You can follow it if you wish to read the rubbish towards the end. I didn't care to post it.

Rush Limbaugh

Wow, my father listens to this man's talk radio show on a regular basis. Of coarse he is a republican, but what a bunch of putred hatred that he spews. You can read more about by following this link, but don't say that I didn't warn you.