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Voting will end on June 30th. At that time I will put a banner add for the winning candidate on TLL and will personally donate $100.00 to their campaign.

I know this is all over the LGBT news sites, but I feel it’s worth another mention here. I know we’ll get there!

By Ann Turner & Tracy E. Gilchrist | 5/15/2008 
As seen on Gaywired.com

Cameramen shuffled into position, dads quieted crying babies and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa adjusted his hot green tie one last time.

The California’s Supreme Court had just handed down its historic decision to overturn the state’s ban on same-sex marriage Thursday and short of a champagne toast and tossing the bouquet, the mood in the courtyard of the tranquil Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center’s press conference was celebratory.

Lorri L. Jean, Director of the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center, admitted to breaking into tears when she received news of the California Supreme Court ruling lifting the ban on same-sex marriage.

“I am so happy!” Jean said. “My heart is full. I have cried this morning. I have cheered this morning. I called my partner, now my fiancé, this morning… Finally I will be able to marry the love of my life, my partner of 16 years. My only sadness is that my father died 7 months ago today and didn’t live to walk me down the aisle. But I know he’s dancing in heaven now! Tonight, we’ll be dancing in the streets!”

A multi-cultural, multi-generational group of gay families, progressive ministers, major players in the historic case and politicians stood on the podium on a steamy 90-plus Los Angeles day to mark the California Supreme Court’s decision that will allow California’s same-sex couples to fully wed.

The crowd of 100-plus reporters, cameramen and ardent supporters of LGBT rights cheered and applauded the movers, shakers and activists who helped make marriage for gay couples a reality.

In a statement the press, Jean said: “Today, our Supreme Court has acted in accordance with the great California traditions of fairness and equality, of live and let live. The California Supreme Court had the integrity and the courage to do its job and say that ALL Californians are entitled to equal protection of the law. This is not an activist court, this is a moderate court. Republican governors appointed all but one of them! And today that moderate Court did exactly what it is supposed to do—it applied the law fairly.”

“Today puts an end to the harm and exclusion done to thousands of loving, committed gay and lesbian couples throughout our state who have been denied the dignity and support that come with marriage,” Jean continued. “We all know that love knows no boundary. Today, in the great state of California, neither does fairness and opportunity.”

“Today will go down in history as a victory for all Californians who cherish family and fairness, freedom and opportunity. Now, all Californians will be able to realize their hopes and dreams by being able to marry the person they love. Today, liberty and justice for all became a reality,” Jean said. 

Several gay and lesbian couples, including pioneering lesbian activists Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon, with the city of San Francisco as the lead plaintiff, sued for the right to marry in the state and won in a 4-3 decision from the California Supreme Court.

While the plaintiffs remained in the Bay Area for the judgment, LGBT marriage activists and loving couples were on hand at the press conference to share their joy. Michael Galluccio and Jon Holden Galluccio’s 11-year-old daughter Madison stood proudly by her dads during and after the press conference. “They’re going to finally be able to get married,” she said.

Read More here

How do you feel about the ruling? Do you think voters will get it overturned if it ends up on the ballot in November?

When my da was a boy his father ran a dude ranch catering to hunters, so he grew up with horses.  Grampa had this one horse, who’s name escapes me at the moment, that was a really good pack horse.  Well, this horse broke it’s leg in a prairie dog hole but my grampa didn’t want to shoot it in hopes that it would mend and he would be able to keep riding it.  So, my da and his brother hauled it out to one of the back pastures and got it back on it’s feet.  Everyday they’d go out and feed it and make sure it was still upright.  About a week later the horse was on the ground and they had to go and haul it upright again.  Next morning same thing.  So they kept hauling it upright and hauling it upright until the horse decided it had had enough and keeled over.  The horse was left to rot in field and my da forgot about it for a good week.  One day him and his brother headed out to the field and found that the horse had bloated up from being in the sun.  Well, my da, being the highly intelligent fella he is, turned to his brother and said, “I wonder what would happen if I poked it with my knife?”  So, he walks over to the horse and had just barely brushed the skin with his knife when the horse’s belly exploded from all the gas build up.  My da, he just stands there for a moment and then takes off like a rocket down the hill towards the pond, screaming at my gramma to get him some soap.  The horse intestines were like glue and it took him a couple of hours to get it all off.  Moral of the story:  Always stand to the side when poking dead things, you never know what might happen.

As you might of guessed, my family has a history of doing odd things but you got to cut us a little slack considering we grew up in the nation’s largest superfund site.  Well, except for my ma but she grew up in West Virginia and that’s a whole nother story.  Needless to say but she refuses to watch Deliverance because it reminds her too much of home.

Anyway, the reasons I post these stories is to show that even a family as backwoods as mine can still defy expectations and be totally accepting of a gay child.  I’m proof of that.  I told my ma one night when I was 12 and while she was washing dishes that I was a lesbian and she didn’t even miss a beat, she just said “that’s ok.”  My brother found out when I was 15 when he hacked my files on the computer and found my pictures of naked women.  He stormed into the kitchen, looked at me and said “are you gay?”  I was caught a little off guard and just kinda nodded my head.   He raised his eyebrows and said “at least that explains the pictures.”   Now my da, he didn’t catch on until I was 17.  I was sporting an impressive array of hickys one morning when I got home and he knew damn well I just spent the night at another girl’s house.  So the next night atabout 2 in the morning he turned to my ma and said “they’re gay ain’t they?”  This time my ma was caught off guard so she just said “well, yes honey they are.”   He was pretty floored and ended up crying when I saw him in the morning saying how it must of been his fault .  Needless to say I was a bit at a loss trying to explain to my da how you can’t turn someone gay.  But he got over it and within the week he was giving me shit about girls and how amazed he was that he didn’t figure it out sooner.  I just looked at him and said “you think you would have caught on when I asked for a chainsaw as my sweet sixteen birthday present.”  He just smiled and said, “you’d think.”

P.S.  A year after my da found out I was gay, he sat me down and apologized for everything he had ever said about gays being the scum of the earth.  Not bad for a old miner, huh?

You’ve been through a lot for a twelve year old and while I?m not going to tell you the future, there are some things that might help guide the way a bit. I can’t make the bad things suck any less but I can tell you that you are going to make it through and probably not remember the bulk of them.

Keep reading as much as you can. It makes you smarter, more imaginative, more interesting as a human being, and gives you a bigger vocabulary. Try to keep a journal. Don’t worry about writing every day. Also, you have more to say than you think. Even the boring details of your life will provide some insight later on and will be important to help you figure out what actually happened.

Remember that every family has secrets. No family is that picture perfect facade that they show to everyone else in church. And our family has plenty of secrets. Keep them. One day you will have the resources to deal with it. I promise.

You have something called Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. The doctor’s won’t know what it is and won’t categorize and diagnose you until it’s well on it’s way to disrupting your life. You will have to take charge of your health care and be very clear and adamant about how they treat you. You might not really learn how to do this until later. Don’t worry too much about it. Get something called a super-cervical hysterectomy as soon as you can track down a doctor who will do the procedure. This might not be possible to do because doctor’s are pricks and don’t realize that you can make the right choices for yourself even when you are young. But it will save you money and grief later on in life. Oh, and that thing in 1998. It’s your gall bladder. The doctor’s misdiagnose that too. Have them do an ultrasound.

School. Junior high is going to be hell. Don’t be afraid to tell your parents what is going on. You are going to be okay, though. You will. Start taking art classes as soon as you can. Don’t be afraid to opt for shop class instead of home ec. Don’t label yourself. Don’t let others label you. It serves nothing. Calm down with the religious rhetoric. You will find one day that it doesn’t serve a purpose in your life either and will just make you feel embarrassed. Because really, it’s nowhere close to the whole picture even though they try to make you believe it is.

The last thing I will tell you is the most important. You are an amazingly gifted person. Those things that you wish you were YOU ARE! You have pushed some things away because in doing so, you protect yourself. And so it should be. But one day you will be impatient and demand of the Universe (of God) that those gifts and talents come back. And they will. Don’t worry. You will see the beauty of the world in a way few others can or ever will. Trust your instincts and intuition over everything and everyone.

Love,
Shannon @ 32

P.S. And when you have that dream about the lottery numbers. Play them every week for at least two months. You won’t be sorry!

I’ve been noticing it a lot lately. Most recently, I went to Sprouts to grab a quick sandwich and then do some shopping. But when I looked for a place to sit and eat, all of the tables and chairs had been taken up by these two twenty-something mothers and their broods of strawberry-blond, blue-eyed toddlers. That’s when the evil demon of breeder-phobia crept up, filling my mind with resentments and heterophobic epithets.

Another time, my wife Gadgetgal and I were walking from the parking lot to see a movie when I spotted a minivan with those stick figure decals in the window, with a dozen stick figure kids. The minivan was very dusty and I couldn’t stop myself from writing the word “Breeder” with my finger in the dusty back window.

Most of the time, I’m a very warm, compassionate person. And over all, I have nothing against straight people. I have quite a few straight friends whom I love deeply. But I have to admit that at a certain level, I suffer from breeder-phobia, especially when I see these young mommies with perfect hair and perfect makeup, who’ve given up their careers to become baby factories. When I encounter such people, my thinking gets ugly.

I don’t want to be this way. It’s hypocritical. It’s counterproductive. It’s irrational, and it robs me of my peace of mind. Why should I be resentful of them just because they are young, beautiful and straight? What makes being a full-time mommy any less valid than being an accountant or a train conductor or a research scientist?

Having recognized the problem, I now say to myself, whenever those resentments arise, “I am willing to see this differently. I am willing to let go of everything that isn’t love.” In time, I believe that my breeder-phobia will transform into acceptance and respect. And I will be a lot happier for it.

Peace out, namaste and rock on!
Dharma Kelleher

www.dharmashanti.com

Ok well to sum it up quickly… I had always been curious about girls but never acted on it until i was 17 when i dated my first girlfriend for 2 years. Before her i had plenty of boyfriends.. and clearly found myself attracted to guys. AFTER dating her… i tried a little with guys.. and it felt SO FAKE! Just being with a guy and kissing one just felt awkward and gross to me as if i almost had to force it. And it wasn’t the guys i dated because they were very nice and handsome of course.. but it just seemed so awkward to me. I cannot get emotional attachments with guys WHATSOEVER… and when i look at girls that are in love with their boyfriends and have this strong emotional bond… i just dont see it possible… it confuses me to be honest how ANY girl can have an attraction to a guy mentally.. let alone physically but at least that’s a bit more understanding. I think some girls only date guys because theyre sexually attracted to them and thats about it. Ive met slim to NO guys that are respectful towards females and genuine. It makes me sick!!!! So im guessing my question is… Is it possible to start off liking guys then turn into a complete lesbian? I am without a doubt in my mind COMPLETLY LESBIAN! But very proud at that i must ad!!!!! I am now involved in another relationship with a girl i am head over heels in love with!!! Im just confused whether its normal to at one point LIKE boys… then completely NOT like them. Honestly you could put brad pit in front of me and id hold him hostage and have him lead my way towards Angelina! hahaha I dont get it… i dont see why guys are even here… and im not being some crazy feminist… but seriously women are AMAZING in every way shape and form. They conversate better, kiss better, smell better, BETTER SEX.. i mean everything about them is amazing. I LOVE LOVE LOOOOOOOOOOVE women!!! Im just curious as to who has had this experience as well… and im definitely not confused… just confused as to why i every considered guys to begin with! PEACEANDLOVE!

She told me I was a doctor
You find the angels with broken wings and you heal them, she said
I had never looked at it  that way
I had always assumed I just had a thing for those who were broken
I hadn’t a response to give her
Thankfully she stopped me before I had to think about it any more

I’ve watched you heal and have been wondering for a while now
Who is it that heals you
Who gives you their hand when you need it
Who sings you to sleep when you haven’t rested well for days
Where do your angels go when you mend their wings
Or do they simply fly away

Her unconditional care for me made my heart smile
I had never asked myself these questions
I had always left life up to the good within others
She was one of my angels and she was still by my side
Should I tell her she’s all I needed
Should I surprise her with a kiss and a thank you of my own

She put her hand in mine and spoke softly
Even when you think I’m gone I’ll be right beside you
You have brought me back to life and for that I owe you
I gave her one last hug and responded
And that’s why I have no choice but to let you go
Watching her walk away was the greatest gift I could ever receive

Thank you all for reading this. It was really hard for me to put these words online, but I feel like it’s part of the letting go process. I love TLL and I’m so happy I found it!!!!

Amanda
Gary, Indiana