Lesbian College Senior Protests Antigay Commencement Speaker Sen. Kelly Ayotte

Erin Faith Page is an out lesbian who was selected by her classmates at New England College as the student commencement speaker this year. But NEC, a small, private liberal arts school of about 1,800 students, also selected Sen. Kelly Ayotte as the keynote speaker for the graduation ceremony. Ayotte is a junior senator from New Hampshire, a Republican who voted against the gun control bill, supports the Defense of Marriage Act and has advocated for the repeal of New Hampshire's marriage equality law, and is staunchly antigay and antichoice.
 

That didn't sit well with Page, who describes the senator as "racist, homophobic, transphobic, misogynistic, [and] openly discriminatory" in a scathing speech published to YouTube as a protest commencement speech. 

Page also launched a petition on Change.org hoping to urge NEC to reconsider its invitation to Ayotte. 

Watch Page's protest commencement speech below, where Page not only lays into Ayotte, but details how homophobia has impacted her life personally. It's a powerful plea for equality from a bright young woman whose education has clearly taught her how to stand up for what she believes.

Favorite Facebook Memes of the Week Part 2

Favorite Facebook Memes of the Week Part 1

All Sweaty?

Judge says lesbian mom’s partner must go

MCKINNEY TX— Page Price and Carolyn Compton have been together for almost three years, but a Collin County judge is forcing them apart.

not the original image from the article

Judge John Roach Jr., a Republican who presides over the 296th District Court, enforced the “morality clause” in Compton’s divorce papers on Tuesday, May 7. Under the clause, someone who has a “dating or intimate relationship” with the person or is not related “by blood or marriage” is not allowed after 9 p.m. when the children are present. Price was given 30 days to move out of the home because the children live with the couple.

Price posted about the judge’s ruling on Facebook last week, writing that the judge placed the clause in the divorce papers because he didn’t like Compton’s “lifestyle.”

“Our children are all happy and well adjusted. By his enforcement, being that we cannot marry in this state, I have been ordered to move out of my home,” Price wrote.

Price also mentions that Compton’s ex-husband rarely sees their two children and was once charged with stalking Compton. She said he also hired a private investigator in order to bring the case before the judge. Court records show the ex-husband, Joshua Compton, was charged with third-degree felony stalking in 2011 but pleaded to a misdemeanor charge of criminal trespassing.

Price declined an interview until her lawyers figure out the next step.

Compton was granted a divorce from her ex in 2011, according to court records. The case was reopened in April to dispute custody, which she shares with him.

The Affordable Care Act in 90 Seconds

Please share this with your friends. This is what the Republicans don't want you to have.

So much that they have voted 37 times to repeal these great benefits.

Missing Husband

Missing Husband, a heartbreaking new video from The DOMA Project tells the story of David and Jason, a married bi-national couple separated by 6,000 miles because of the Defense of Marriage Act and an unjust immigration system.

And read more about them here.

David writes:

DOMA means that legal gay marriages are not recognized federally and are not enough to bring foreign spouses of gay Americans to the US. Jason isn’t welcome to the US as a Husband and has only ever been able to visit for a maximum 90 days as a tourist.

Jason has been warned for 2 years that he has visited the US too often using tourist visa waivers. It’s currently recommended that he wait 6 months before returning, or he may be denied entry as a visitor.

What most people don’t realize is that when Jason has landed, whether or not he is allowed out of LAX airport is at the discretion of the Customs and Border Protection officer. The past 2 years he has been taken aside to a small interview room, interrogated and had his luggage searched by officers suspecting he is lying about his reasons for visiting. They scoff at any explanation of the years of difficulties he’s had obtaining a visa, replying “it’s not that hard”.

Today is International Day Against Homophobia And Transphobia

Fox News Devotes 1 Minute To 3 Gay Marriage Victories

"Fox News devoted sixty seconds to recent gay marriage victories and ignored one completely.

In less than two weeks, lawmakers in Rhode Island, Delaware and Minnesota approved bills legalizing such unions. In Rhode Island and Delaware, the bills were signed into law on the same day they emerged from the legislature. Supporters in Minnesota waited a day before Governor Mark Dayton put pen to paper.

Passage in all three states was dramatic. Delaware Senator Karen Peterson came out gay in the course of debating the bill. In a first for the nation, the entire Republican caucus of the Rhode Island Senate endorsed marriage equality. And the bill easily passed the Minnesota House with 4 Republican votes in tow two years after the chamber approved sending to voters a constitutional amendment defining marriage as a heterosexual union, marking a dramatic reversal of fortune. Voters rejected the amendment.

Fox News ignored passage in Delaware, and devoted only 16 seconds to Rhode Island and 44 seconds to Minnesota, according to statistics compiled by Equality Matters."

Full story here!

Towelrific!

Let Damian walk for graduation in male cap and gown.

St. Pius High School administration is refusing to recognize Damian's gender identity, even though all his classmates, teachers, and family know Damian as a male. Administration says because he has "female" marked on his birth certificate, despite the fact that he is now legally Damian and not Brianna he still must walk in a girl's cap and gown for graduation.

That's why I signed a petition to Barbara Rothweiler, Ph.D.  Principal, Principal, https://www.saintpiusx.com/, which says:

"Let Damian walk in boy's black cap and gown for St. Pius graduation, Wednesday 22 May, 2013."

Will you sign this petition? Click here to sign!

Raider Sign LGBT Ally Chris Kluwe

NFL punter and LGBT ally Chris Kluwe has been signed by the Oakland Raiders, FOX Sports reports:

Kluwe, who was released by the Minnesota Vikings on May 6, will step in for Pro Bowler Shane Lechler, who left Oakland for the Houston Texans via free agency. Kluwe’s contract is for one year, and is for the league minimum.

...

Kluwe is known for his mind and mouth, as well as his leg. He is a vocal advocate of equality in sports (and life), and says he will continue to speak for what he believes.

“I’m still going to be myself socially and continue to tweet and interact with my fans,” Kluwe said.

Read more: http://www.towleroad.com/#ixzz2TSmZNPC4

Hmmm Brian? Are your wittle feelings hurt?

The West Wing's President Bartlett sets uptight b!tch on her heels.

Virginia Gay Marriage Poll Shows Shift In Views

The close result sits within the poll's margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. Of those surveyed, 9 percent said they either don't know or refused to answer.

As the U.S. Supreme Court ponders gay rights amid a national debate over same-sex marriage, the ground is softening in Virginia.

A new poll shows Virginians are essentially split on same-sex marriage, less than seven years after they easily passed an amendment to the state constitution that defines marriage as between one man and one woman.

While 46 percent of Virginians oppose allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry legally here, 45 percent support the idea, according to a new poll sponsored by the University of Mary Washington's Center for Leadership and Media Studies. The result is a marked shift from a 2006 Virginia vote in which 57 percent supported the ban and 43 percent opposed it.

"Rarely does public opinion shift on a social issue as rapidly as it has for gay marriage," said Stephen J. Farnsworth, professor of political science and international affairs and director of the center.

"While opposition of gay marriage remains stronger here than nationally, the rapid erosion of that opposition among Virginians in the years since the 2006 amendment is nothing short of astonishing."

Nationally, a cultural debate is churning as the Supreme Court last week heard arguments in cases regarding California's Proposition 8 and the federal Defense of Marriage Act. A recent CBS poll showed 53 percent of Americans think same-sex marriage should be legal while 39 percent say it should not.

In Virginia, the support cuts sharply along age, region and party, the survey shows.

The younger the person, the greater the support for same-sex marriage. Those aged 18-29 back same-sex marriage by 66 percent, followed by 30-44 year olds with 54 percent. Support drops off with people aged 45-64, with 56 percent in opposition, which swells to 65 percent among those 65 years or older.

I'll be brief!