I love this video even if it's an ads, of course it's much better if this is a real one.
Thursday 31 May 2012
Gay Military Marriage Proposal
I love this video even if it's an ads, of course it's much better if this is a real one.
DOMA Ruled Unconstitutional By Federal Appeals Court
[Source]
DOMA Ruled Unconstitutional By Federal Appeals Court
By DENISE LAVOIE 05/31/12 09:18 PM ET
BOSTON — A battle over a federal law that defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman appears headed for the Supreme Court after an appeals court ruled Thursday that denying benefits to married gay couples is unconstitutional.
In a unanimous decision, the three-judge panel of the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston said the 1996 law deprives gay couples of the rights and privileges granted to heterosexual couples.
The court didn't rule on the law's more politically combustible provision – that states without same-sex marriage cannot be forced to recognize gay unions performed in states where it's legal. It also wasn't asked to address whether gay couples have a constitutional right to marry.
The law was passed at a time when it appeared Hawaii would legalize gay marriage. Since then, many states have instituted their own bans on gay marriage, while eight states have approved the practice, led by Massachusetts in 2004.
The court, the first federal appeals panel to rule against the benefits section of the law, agreed with a lower court judge who in 2010 concluded that the law interferes with the right of a state to define marriage and denies married gay couples federal benefits given to heterosexual married couples, including the ability to file joint tax returns. The ruling came in two lawsuits, one filed by the Boston-based legal group Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) and the other by state Attorney General Martha Coakley.
"For me, it's more just about having equality and not having a system of first- and second-class marriages," said plaintiff Jonathan Knight, a financial associate at Harvard Medical School who married Marlin Nabors in 2006.
"I think we can do better, as a country, than that," said Knight, a plaintiff in the GLAD lawsuit.
Knight said the Defense of Marriage Act costs the couple an extra $1,000 a year because they cannot file a joint federal tax return.
Opponents of gay marriage blasted the decision.
"This ruling that a state can mandate to the federal government the definition of marriage for the sake of receiving federal benefits, we find really bizarre, rather arrogant, if I may say so," said Kris Mineau, president of the Massachusetts Family Institute.
Since Congress passed the law, eight states have approved gay marriage, including Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Iowa, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maryland, Washington state and the District of Columbia. Maryland and Washington's laws are not yet in effect and may be subject to referendums.
Last year, President Barack Obama announced that the Department of Justice would no longer defend the constitutionality of the law. After that, House Speaker John Boehner convened the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group to defend it. The legal group argued the case before the appeals court.
White House spokesman Jay Carney said the appeals court ruling is "in concert with the president's views." Obama, who once opposed gay marriage, declared his unequivocal personal support on May 9.
Carney wouldn't say whether the government would actively seek to have the law overturned if the case goes before the Supreme Court.
"I can't predict what the next steps will be in handling cases of this nature," Carney said.
The 1st Circuit said its ruling would not be enforced until the Supreme Court decides the case, meaning that same-sex married couples will not be eligible to receive the economic benefits denied by the law until the high court rules.
That's because the ruling only applies to states within the circuit – Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maine and New Hampshire – and Puerto Rico. Only the Supreme Court has the final say in deciding whether a law passed by Congress is unconstitutional.
Until Congress passed the law, "the power to define marriage had always been left to individual states, the appeals court said in its ruling.
"One virtue of federalism is that it permits this diversity of governance based on local choice, but this applies as well to the states that have chosen to legalize same-sex marriage," Judge Michael Boudin wrote for the court. "Under current Supreme Court authority, Congress' denial of federal benefits to same-sex couples lawfully married in Massachusetts has not been adequately supported by any permissible federal interest."
Several times in its ruling, the appeals court noted that the case will probably end up before the high court, at one point saying, "only the Supreme Court can finally decide this unique case."
Carl Tobias, a constitutional law professor at the University of Richmond, said the court kept its ruling narrow, declaring unconstitutional only the section of the law on federal benefits. Although supporters and opponents of gay marriage may depict the ruling as the beginning of the end of the law, he said, the Supreme Court is likely to limit its ruling to the benefits issue as well.
"I think lawyers could argue that the arguments are equally applicable to the other sections of the law, but you have to stretch. You have to take those out of the context in which it's being applied, and I don't think the court will do that," Tobias said.
During arguments before the court last month, a lawyer for gay married couples said the law amounted to "across-the-board disrespect." The couples argued that the power to define and regulate marriage had been left to the states for more than 200 years before Congress passed the law.
Paul Clement, a Washington, D.C., attorney who defended the law on behalf of the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group, argued that Congress had a rational basis for passing the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996, when opponents worried that states would be forced to recognize gay marriages performed elsewhere.
The group said Congress wanted to preserve a traditional and uniform definition of marriage and has the power to define terms used to federal statutes to distribute federal benefits.
"But we have always been clear we expect this matter ultimately to be decided by the Supreme Court, and that has not changed," he said in a statement.
Two of the three judges who decided the case Thursday were Republican appointees, while the other was a Democratic appointee. Boudin was appointed by President George H.W. Bush. Judge Juan Torruella was appointed by President Ronald Reagan. Chief Judge Sandra Lynch is an appointee of President Bill Clinton.
In California, two federal judges have found this year that the law violates the due-process rights of legally married same-sex couples.
In the most recent case, a judge found the law unconstitutional because it denies long-term health insurance benefits to legal spouses of state employees and retirees. The judge also said a section of the federal tax code that makes the domestic partners of state workers ineligible for long-term care insurance violates the civil rights of people in gay and lesbian relationships.
___
Associated Press writers Jay Lindsay and Shannon Young contributed to this report.
First Circuit DOMA Decision
DOMA Ruled Unconstitutional By Federal Appeals Court
By DENISE LAVOIE 05/31/12 09:18 PM ET
In a unanimous decision, the three-judge panel of the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston said the 1996 law deprives gay couples of the rights and privileges granted to heterosexual couples.
The court didn't rule on the law's more politically combustible provision – that states without same-sex marriage cannot be forced to recognize gay unions performed in states where it's legal. It also wasn't asked to address whether gay couples have a constitutional right to marry.
The law was passed at a time when it appeared Hawaii would legalize gay marriage. Since then, many states have instituted their own bans on gay marriage, while eight states have approved the practice, led by Massachusetts in 2004.
The court, the first federal appeals panel to rule against the benefits section of the law, agreed with a lower court judge who in 2010 concluded that the law interferes with the right of a state to define marriage and denies married gay couples federal benefits given to heterosexual married couples, including the ability to file joint tax returns. The ruling came in two lawsuits, one filed by the Boston-based legal group Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) and the other by state Attorney General Martha Coakley.
"For me, it's more just about having equality and not having a system of first- and second-class marriages," said plaintiff Jonathan Knight, a financial associate at Harvard Medical School who married Marlin Nabors in 2006.
"I think we can do better, as a country, than that," said Knight, a plaintiff in the GLAD lawsuit.
Knight said the Defense of Marriage Act costs the couple an extra $1,000 a year because they cannot file a joint federal tax return.
Opponents of gay marriage blasted the decision.
"This ruling that a state can mandate to the federal government the definition of marriage for the sake of receiving federal benefits, we find really bizarre, rather arrogant, if I may say so," said Kris Mineau, president of the Massachusetts Family Institute.
Since Congress passed the law, eight states have approved gay marriage, including Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Iowa, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maryland, Washington state and the District of Columbia. Maryland and Washington's laws are not yet in effect and may be subject to referendums.
Last year, President Barack Obama announced that the Department of Justice would no longer defend the constitutionality of the law. After that, House Speaker John Boehner convened the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group to defend it. The legal group argued the case before the appeals court.
White House spokesman Jay Carney said the appeals court ruling is "in concert with the president's views." Obama, who once opposed gay marriage, declared his unequivocal personal support on May 9.
Carney wouldn't say whether the government would actively seek to have the law overturned if the case goes before the Supreme Court.
"I can't predict what the next steps will be in handling cases of this nature," Carney said.
The 1st Circuit said its ruling would not be enforced until the Supreme Court decides the case, meaning that same-sex married couples will not be eligible to receive the economic benefits denied by the law until the high court rules.
That's because the ruling only applies to states within the circuit – Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maine and New Hampshire – and Puerto Rico. Only the Supreme Court has the final say in deciding whether a law passed by Congress is unconstitutional.
Until Congress passed the law, "the power to define marriage had always been left to individual states, the appeals court said in its ruling.
"One virtue of federalism is that it permits this diversity of governance based on local choice, but this applies as well to the states that have chosen to legalize same-sex marriage," Judge Michael Boudin wrote for the court. "Under current Supreme Court authority, Congress' denial of federal benefits to same-sex couples lawfully married in Massachusetts has not been adequately supported by any permissible federal interest."
Several times in its ruling, the appeals court noted that the case will probably end up before the high court, at one point saying, "only the Supreme Court can finally decide this unique case."
Carl Tobias, a constitutional law professor at the University of Richmond, said the court kept its ruling narrow, declaring unconstitutional only the section of the law on federal benefits. Although supporters and opponents of gay marriage may depict the ruling as the beginning of the end of the law, he said, the Supreme Court is likely to limit its ruling to the benefits issue as well.
"I think lawyers could argue that the arguments are equally applicable to the other sections of the law, but you have to stretch. You have to take those out of the context in which it's being applied, and I don't think the court will do that," Tobias said.
During arguments before the court last month, a lawyer for gay married couples said the law amounted to "across-the-board disrespect." The couples argued that the power to define and regulate marriage had been left to the states for more than 200 years before Congress passed the law.
Paul Clement, a Washington, D.C., attorney who defended the law on behalf of the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group, argued that Congress had a rational basis for passing the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996, when opponents worried that states would be forced to recognize gay marriages performed elsewhere.
The group said Congress wanted to preserve a traditional and uniform definition of marriage and has the power to define terms used to federal statutes to distribute federal benefits.
"But we have always been clear we expect this matter ultimately to be decided by the Supreme Court, and that has not changed," he said in a statement.
Two of the three judges who decided the case Thursday were Republican appointees, while the other was a Democratic appointee. Boudin was appointed by President George H.W. Bush. Judge Juan Torruella was appointed by President Ronald Reagan. Chief Judge Sandra Lynch is an appointee of President Bill Clinton.
In California, two federal judges have found this year that the law violates the due-process rights of legally married same-sex couples.
In the most recent case, a judge found the law unconstitutional because it denies long-term health insurance benefits to legal spouses of state employees and retirees. The judge also said a section of the federal tax code that makes the domestic partners of state workers ineligible for long-term care insurance violates the civil rights of people in gay and lesbian relationships.
___
Associated Press writers Jay Lindsay and Shannon Young contributed to this report.
First Circuit DOMA Decision
Simon Amstell - Solo Show in New York
[Source]
May 31, 2012, 10:50 am
British Comedian Simon Amstell Bringing Solo Show to New York
By DAVE ITZKOFF
In America, the British comedian Simon Amstell may not yet have the name recognition of Eddie Izzard or Billy Connolly, but a New York producer who helped break those better-known names in the United States is betting that he'll be the latest stand-up to find success on the opposite side of the Atlantic.
On Thursday, the producer Arnold Engelman said that his WestBeth Entertainment company will present Mr. Amstell's new one-man show “Numb” at Theater 80 in Manhattan's East Village for a five-week run starting July 10.
Mr. Amstell, 32, a floppy-haired London-born comedian with a gentle, self-deprecating style (and, some would say, a passing resemblance to the “Social Network” star Jesse Eisenberg) is known in Britain for his semi-autobiographical BBC2 television series “Grandma's House” and for having hosted the comedy game show “Never Mind the Buzzcocks.”
Mr. Engelman has previously produced solo shows featuring the British performers Mr. Izzard and Mr. Connolly as well as American talents like Sandra Bernhard, John Cameron Mitchell and Margaret Cho at the defunct Westbeth Theater Center. He said in years past he had seen Mr. Amstell at festivals in Edinburgh and Montreal but was not won over by his material until recently.
“You could see this incredible growth of a comedian,” Mr. Engelman said in a telephone interview. “He has a lot more confidence and he feels better about his material.”
Though perhaps not too much confidence: citing Mr. Amstell's “nebbishy” presence, Mr. Engelman also compared him to Mr. Eisenberg and to Woody Allen in his early stand-up days.
“Everybody isn't 6-foot-2 and stunningly gorgeous,” Mr. Engelman said. “But you don't feel sorry for him as a comedian. His story isn't about, O woe is me. It's just telling a story of life from his point of view.”
Mr. Engelman said he could see Mr. Amstell's new show appealing to younger audiences, adding numerous caveats. “I don't consider myself old, and I get nervous whenever I talk about this age thing,” Mr. Engelman said, “because then everybody looks at me and says, ‘How old are you?' And of course I refuse to answer that question.”
Citing a line from Mr. Izzard, Mr. Engelman added, “As Eddie would say, ‘I'm young up here.'”
May 31, 2012, 10:50 am
British Comedian Simon Amstell Bringing Solo Show to New York
By DAVE ITZKOFF
 |
Richard Grassie
In Britain, the comedian Simon Amstell stars on his own series, “Grandma's House,”
and has hosted the game show “Never Mind the Buzzcocks.” |
In America, the British comedian Simon Amstell may not yet have the name recognition of Eddie Izzard or Billy Connolly, but a New York producer who helped break those better-known names in the United States is betting that he'll be the latest stand-up to find success on the opposite side of the Atlantic.
On Thursday, the producer Arnold Engelman said that his WestBeth Entertainment company will present Mr. Amstell's new one-man show “Numb” at Theater 80 in Manhattan's East Village for a five-week run starting July 10.
Mr. Amstell, 32, a floppy-haired London-born comedian with a gentle, self-deprecating style (and, some would say, a passing resemblance to the “Social Network” star Jesse Eisenberg) is known in Britain for his semi-autobiographical BBC2 television series “Grandma's House” and for having hosted the comedy game show “Never Mind the Buzzcocks.”
Mr. Engelman has previously produced solo shows featuring the British performers Mr. Izzard and Mr. Connolly as well as American talents like Sandra Bernhard, John Cameron Mitchell and Margaret Cho at the defunct Westbeth Theater Center. He said in years past he had seen Mr. Amstell at festivals in Edinburgh and Montreal but was not won over by his material until recently.
“You could see this incredible growth of a comedian,” Mr. Engelman said in a telephone interview. “He has a lot more confidence and he feels better about his material.”
Though perhaps not too much confidence: citing Mr. Amstell's “nebbishy” presence, Mr. Engelman also compared him to Mr. Eisenberg and to Woody Allen in his early stand-up days.
“Everybody isn't 6-foot-2 and stunningly gorgeous,” Mr. Engelman said. “But you don't feel sorry for him as a comedian. His story isn't about, O woe is me. It's just telling a story of life from his point of view.”
Mr. Engelman said he could see Mr. Amstell's new show appealing to younger audiences, adding numerous caveats. “I don't consider myself old, and I get nervous whenever I talk about this age thing,” Mr. Engelman said, “because then everybody looks at me and says, ‘How old are you?' And of course I refuse to answer that question.”
Citing a line from Mr. Izzard, Mr. Engelman added, “As Eddie would say, ‘I'm young up here.'”
Wednesday 30 May 2012
"Express Yourself" vs "Born This Way" ?
[Source]
Madonna jibes Gaga with 'Born This Way' cover
Times LIVE | 30 May, 2012 10:13
Footage of Madonna covering Lady Gaga's track 'Born This Way' has emerged online.
The video, which shows Madonna slip the Born This Way chorus into Express Youself, was shot over the weekend in Israel as Madonna prepares to kick off her 'MDNA' world tour on Thursday.
She then finishes the song by incorporating her track She's Not Me into the medley.
NME reported that Madonna has previously spoken out about thesimilarities between Express Yourself and Lady Gaga's Born This Way by describing the latter as "reductive".
Speaking on the US television programme 20/20, the singer confirmed she had noted the similarities between her 1989 track and Gaga's 2011 single and said she found it "amusing".
Referencing Gaga, she said: "She's a very talented artist. I certainly think she references me a lot in her work. And sometimes I think it's amusing and flattering and well done. [Her songs seem to be a] statement about taking something that was in the zeitgeist, you know, 20 years ago and turning it inside out and reinterpreting it."
When asked about the similarities between the two tracks, meanwhile, she said: “When I heard [Born This Way] on the radio… I said, 'That sounds very familiar'… It felt reductive.
Previously, when NME had asked Gaga about the two tracks, she had replied: "I will look you in your eyes and tell you that I am not dumb enough or moronic enough to think that you are dumb enough or moronic enough not to see that I would have stolen a melody... If you put the songs next to each other, side by side, the only similarities are the chord progression."
Watch the video from The Hollywood Gossip here:
----------------------------------------
[Source]
Madonna fires off musical dig at Lady Gaga with 'Born this Way' cover
By Alexis L. Loinaz, E! Online
Madonna wanted to express herself, all right. But was it to give props or poke fun?
The pop superstar was caught on video this past weekend in Israel rehearsing for her upcoming world tour when, mid-song, she suddenly burst into a Lady Gaga ditty and melded Mama Monster's lyrics with Madge's own.
Shall we ring the bell for round two (or three ) of Madge's ongoing feud with Gaga? And what were the songs in question?
MORE: So what does Madonna really think of Lady Gaga's "Born This Way?" (Hint: Not much)
But of course: It's "Express Yourself" versus "Born This Way."
In the footage, which was apparently shot on the DL by a snoopy onlooker privy to the rehearsal (security clampdown!), Madge bops and belts her 1989 female-empowerment hit.
Suddenly, after the breakdown, she bursts into Gaga's "Born This Way," ping-ponging back and forth between Gaga's own 2011 female-empowerment hit and "Express Yourself."
PHOTOS: Fashion spotlight -- Lady Gaga
Natch, the mash-up works impeccably, bolstering Madge's previous snarky comments that Gaga ripped off her song -- and her style.
"I certainly think she references me a lot in her work," the 53-year-old pop diva told 20/20 in January. "And sometimes I think it's amusing and flattering and well done. There's a lot of ways to look at it. I can't really be annoyed by it ... because, obviously, I've influenced her."
MORE: Lady Gaga cancels Indonesia concert amid protests
That's certainly something that Gaga hasn't tried to hide: She's often cited Madonna as a major inspiration to her music.
Madge later snickered, "When I heard ("Born This Way") on the radio.... I said that sounds very familiar. It feels reductive."
Gaga, of course, now finds herself in a predicament reminiscent of Madonna's Catholic-skewering heyday after being forced to cancel her show in Indonesia following massive protests over her racy persona.
Perhaps Gaga might want to return Madonna's, um, homage and cover one of Madge's songs at an upcoming concert.
May we suggest "Justify My Love"?
Who's your favorite wild siren -- Madonna or Lady Gaga? Let us know what you think on Facebook.
It's just my opinion though, I think "Born this way" is much better than "Express yourself. I actually don't think they are similar, but you can say that if you like.
And this is a bonus.
Madonna jibes Gaga with 'Born This Way' cover
Times LIVE | 30 May, 2012 10:13
 |
| Madonna performs as part of the "Sticky and Sweet" tour at Olympic Stadium on August 18, 2009 in Munich, Germany Image by: Johannes Simon/Getty Images |
The video, which shows Madonna slip the Born This Way chorus into Express Youself, was shot over the weekend in Israel as Madonna prepares to kick off her 'MDNA' world tour on Thursday.
She then finishes the song by incorporating her track She's Not Me into the medley.
NME reported that Madonna has previously spoken out about thesimilarities between Express Yourself and Lady Gaga's Born This Way by describing the latter as "reductive".
Speaking on the US television programme 20/20, the singer confirmed she had noted the similarities between her 1989 track and Gaga's 2011 single and said she found it "amusing".
Referencing Gaga, she said: "She's a very talented artist. I certainly think she references me a lot in her work. And sometimes I think it's amusing and flattering and well done. [Her songs seem to be a] statement about taking something that was in the zeitgeist, you know, 20 years ago and turning it inside out and reinterpreting it."
When asked about the similarities between the two tracks, meanwhile, she said: “When I heard [Born This Way] on the radio… I said, 'That sounds very familiar'… It felt reductive.
Previously, when NME had asked Gaga about the two tracks, she had replied: "I will look you in your eyes and tell you that I am not dumb enough or moronic enough to think that you are dumb enough or moronic enough not to see that I would have stolen a melody... If you put the songs next to each other, side by side, the only similarities are the chord progression."
Watch the video from The Hollywood Gossip here:
----------------------------------------
[Source]
Madonna fires off musical dig at Lady Gaga with 'Born this Way' cover
 |
Getty Images files
Madonna, left, and Lady Gaga.
|
Madonna wanted to express herself, all right. But was it to give props or poke fun?
The pop superstar was caught on video this past weekend in Israel rehearsing for her upcoming world tour when, mid-song, she suddenly burst into a Lady Gaga ditty and melded Mama Monster's lyrics with Madge's own.
Shall we ring the bell for round two (or three ) of Madge's ongoing feud with Gaga? And what were the songs in question?
MORE: So what does Madonna really think of Lady Gaga's "Born This Way?" (Hint: Not much)
But of course: It's "Express Yourself" versus "Born This Way."
In the footage, which was apparently shot on the DL by a snoopy onlooker privy to the rehearsal (security clampdown!), Madge bops and belts her 1989 female-empowerment hit.
Suddenly, after the breakdown, she bursts into Gaga's "Born This Way," ping-ponging back and forth between Gaga's own 2011 female-empowerment hit and "Express Yourself."
PHOTOS: Fashion spotlight -- Lady Gaga
Natch, the mash-up works impeccably, bolstering Madge's previous snarky comments that Gaga ripped off her song -- and her style.
"I certainly think she references me a lot in her work," the 53-year-old pop diva told 20/20 in January. "And sometimes I think it's amusing and flattering and well done. There's a lot of ways to look at it. I can't really be annoyed by it ... because, obviously, I've influenced her."
MORE: Lady Gaga cancels Indonesia concert amid protests
That's certainly something that Gaga hasn't tried to hide: She's often cited Madonna as a major inspiration to her music.
Madge later snickered, "When I heard ("Born This Way") on the radio.... I said that sounds very familiar. It feels reductive."
Gaga, of course, now finds herself in a predicament reminiscent of Madonna's Catholic-skewering heyday after being forced to cancel her show in Indonesia following massive protests over her racy persona.
Perhaps Gaga might want to return Madonna's, um, homage and cover one of Madge's songs at an upcoming concert.
May we suggest "Justify My Love"?
Who's your favorite wild siren -- Madonna or Lady Gaga? Let us know what you think on Facebook.
Madonna - Express Yourself
Lady Gaga - Born This Way
Lady Gaga - Born This Way
It's just my opinion though, I think "Born this way" is much better than "Express yourself. I actually don't think they are similar, but you can say that if you like.
And this is a bonus.
"Weird Al" Yankovic - Perform This Way (Parody of "Born This Way" by Lady Gaga)
Friday 25 May 2012
North Carolina Pastor's Follower Defends Anti-Gay Sermon To Anderson Cooper
[Source]
North Carolina Pastor's Follower Defends Anti-Gay Sermon To Anderson Cooper
Posted: 05/25/2012 11:57 am Updated: 05/25/2012 2:43 pm
A member of North Carolina's Providence Road Baptist Church defended Pastor Charles L. Worley to Anderson Cooper last night, saying she agreed with her reverend's notoriously anti-gay sermon which called for putting gays and lesbians behind electrified fences to eventually die off.
"Of course people are going to take it and make it their own way and make it what they want to, but I agree with what the sermon was and what it was about," Stacey Pritchard told the CNN host.
When Cooper asked about Worley's specific request for an electrified fence, Pritchard noted, "Maybe that's what he felt like should be done...just to make the short of it, yes I agree with him."
Despite Cooper's statements about the Holocaust as well as more recent accounts of horrific anti-gay violence taking around the world, Pritchard nonetheless seemed confused as to why Worley's statements would create such a controversy. "People keep -- once again -- harping, harping, harping on the electric fence, this and that," she noted. "It's about the homosexuals and it's wrong, that's what it's about."
She concluded, "This is a pastor that speaks the word of God. Anybody can take it any way they want to, and if they don't like it, they don't have to. They can turn around and go on!"
Footage of Worley's sermon quickly went viral on the Internet, and had already been viewed 689,000 times by this week, according to Reuters. A peaceful public protest is planned for Saturday, and organizers say they are now expecting up to 2,000 people to attend, McClatchy is reporting.
View Worley's original May 13 sermon, along with some other statements made about LGBT people by right-wing pundits below:
North Carolina Pastor's Follower Defends Anti-Gay Sermon To Anderson Cooper
Posted: 05/25/2012 11:57 am Updated: 05/25/2012 2:43 pm
"Of course people are going to take it and make it their own way and make it what they want to, but I agree with what the sermon was and what it was about," Stacey Pritchard told the CNN host.
When Cooper asked about Worley's specific request for an electrified fence, Pritchard noted, "Maybe that's what he felt like should be done...just to make the short of it, yes I agree with him."
Despite Cooper's statements about the Holocaust as well as more recent accounts of horrific anti-gay violence taking around the world, Pritchard nonetheless seemed confused as to why Worley's statements would create such a controversy. "People keep -- once again -- harping, harping, harping on the electric fence, this and that," she noted. "It's about the homosexuals and it's wrong, that's what it's about."
She concluded, "This is a pastor that speaks the word of God. Anybody can take it any way they want to, and if they don't like it, they don't have to. They can turn around and go on!"
Footage of Worley's sermon quickly went viral on the Internet, and had already been viewed 689,000 times by this week, according to Reuters. A peaceful public protest is planned for Saturday, and organizers say they are now expecting up to 2,000 people to attend, McClatchy is reporting.
View Worley's original May 13 sermon, along with some other statements made about LGBT people by right-wing pundits below:
2012 Summer TV Guide
There are a lot of fun TV shows in summer, especially I won't miss these.
[Source] - original article
AfterElton's 2012 Summer TV Guide
Posted by Lyle Masaki on May 24, 2012
Summer used to be a time when your TV choices were pretty limited. But then then the cable networks wised up and realized it was a perfect season to launch new programming, since their broadcast competition had little to offer besides reruns. As a result, the summer TV schedule now has enough to keep you thoroughly entertained - a relief on those days when the heat forces you inside and prostrate on the couch.
Whether your idea of great summer TV is light drama, ridiculous reality, supernatural angst or smartass comedy there seems to be something for everyone. Here are the new shows that have our curiosity piqued and the returning shows we're excited to see back.
June 3
Drop Dead Diva (Lifetime, Sundays)
Never mind that the fourth season of starts with a multi-episode story arc starring Kim Kardashian as a relationship guru who helps Greyson deal with heartbreak (oh, irony), Lifetime’s high-concept legal drama has a light tone that makes it an ideal summer show. Gay creator and show runner Josh Berman can be counted on for at least a few gay interest storylines. (They won a GLAAD media award last year for their Constance McMillan inspired "Prom" episode.) And with Patty Duke, Brandy Norwood, Serena Williams and Valerie Harper signed up for guest appearances this season, there’s plenty of reason to expect some campy fun.
June 10
True Blood (HBO, Sundays)
The Vampire Authority has been a mostly-unseen presence on True Blood since the beginning. However, in the fifth season of HBO’s supernatural soap, they’re going to make their mark on Bon Temps, with Christopher Meloni asserting his authority with just as much sexiness as in his Oz days. Add Scott Foley’s mysterious Iraq war vet character, the aftermath of Tara's murder and Russel’s (Denis O’Hare) empty grave to make another compelling season.
June 28
Wilfred (FX, Thursdays)
Wilfred follows Ryan (Elijah Wood) a depressed man who starts hanging out with his neighbor’s dog, who Ryan sees as a grumpy Australian man in a dog costume. At first, the humor was largely about how many of the things dogs do are horrifically inappropriate for a human. As Wilfred continued, we got to know Ryan and his demons better – his family history with mental illness, the viciously competitive side Ryan wanted to leave behind and an overall feeling of being unappreciated. This season might bring a little bit of relief to Ryan’s life as Smallville’s Allison Mack joins the show as a love interest.
July 9
The Closer (TNT, Mondays)
It’s time for Deputy Police Chief Brenda Johnson (Kyra Sedgwick) to investigate her final cases as TNT’s landmark drama gets ready to end. The series’ final episodes will lead to Captain Sharon Raydor (Mary McDonnell) taking over the Major Crimes division. Thankfully, that means we won’t have to say goodbye to surveillance expert Buzz or gay coroner Dr. Morales (played by out actors Phillip P. Keene and Jonathan Del Arco) as both characters will be sticking around for the spin-off, Major Crimes, premiering August 13 right after The Closer's finale.
July 10
White Collar (USA, Tuesdays)
What could be better than spending another season with Matt Bomer as the handsome, charismatic and exceptionally talented con artist Neal Cafferty?
This season promises that we’ll get to see Neal execute his schemes in locations other than New York City as he runs from the FBI. However, in the end, White Collar wouldn’t be the same if it kept Neal and FBI Agent Peter Burke (Tim DeKay) apart, so we can’t wait to see what kind of cat-and-mouse chases are required to make that reunion happen.
July 23
Warehouse 13 (Syfy, Mondays)
The last season left off on a particularly dire note, with gay Steve Jinks (Aaron Ashmore), H.G. Wells (Jaime Murray) and Mrs. Frederic (CCH Pounder) all looking doomed. Now the surviving Warehouse team membersare seeking an obscure and dangerous artifact that might help them repair the damage. With any luck, it’s a device that can make sure we haven’t seen the last of Jinksy, Helena or Mrs. Frederic, like Gene Roddenberry’s cosmic reset button.
July 27
The London Summer Olympics
Once every four years, the summer games showcases male athleticism at its most beautiful. Diving, swimming, wrestling, gymnastics, martial arts, track, soccer, fencing – the summer sports are an awe-inspiring showcase for the world’s most finely-tuned physiques as their power, form, speed and grace all get put to the test. We’ll have more detailed coverage as the events near, but in the meantime enjoy our photo gallery of Team USA’s hottest men.
[Source] - original article
AfterElton's 2012 Summer TV Guide
Posted by Lyle Masaki on May 24, 2012
Summer used to be a time when your TV choices were pretty limited. But then then the cable networks wised up and realized it was a perfect season to launch new programming, since their broadcast competition had little to offer besides reruns. As a result, the summer TV schedule now has enough to keep you thoroughly entertained - a relief on those days when the heat forces you inside and prostrate on the couch.
Whether your idea of great summer TV is light drama, ridiculous reality, supernatural angst or smartass comedy there seems to be something for everyone. Here are the new shows that have our curiosity piqued and the returning shows we're excited to see back.
June 3
Drop Dead Diva (Lifetime, Sundays)
Never mind that the fourth season of starts with a multi-episode story arc starring Kim Kardashian as a relationship guru who helps Greyson deal with heartbreak (oh, irony), Lifetime’s high-concept legal drama has a light tone that makes it an ideal summer show. Gay creator and show runner Josh Berman can be counted on for at least a few gay interest storylines. (They won a GLAAD media award last year for their Constance McMillan inspired "Prom" episode.) And with Patty Duke, Brandy Norwood, Serena Williams and Valerie Harper signed up for guest appearances this season, there’s plenty of reason to expect some campy fun.
June 10
True Blood (HBO, Sundays)
The Vampire Authority has been a mostly-unseen presence on True Blood since the beginning. However, in the fifth season of HBO’s supernatural soap, they’re going to make their mark on Bon Temps, with Christopher Meloni asserting his authority with just as much sexiness as in his Oz days. Add Scott Foley’s mysterious Iraq war vet character, the aftermath of Tara's murder and Russel’s (Denis O’Hare) empty grave to make another compelling season.
June 28
Wilfred (FX, Thursdays)
Wilfred follows Ryan (Elijah Wood) a depressed man who starts hanging out with his neighbor’s dog, who Ryan sees as a grumpy Australian man in a dog costume. At first, the humor was largely about how many of the things dogs do are horrifically inappropriate for a human. As Wilfred continued, we got to know Ryan and his demons better – his family history with mental illness, the viciously competitive side Ryan wanted to leave behind and an overall feeling of being unappreciated. This season might bring a little bit of relief to Ryan’s life as Smallville’s Allison Mack joins the show as a love interest.
July 9
The Closer (TNT, Mondays)
It’s time for Deputy Police Chief Brenda Johnson (Kyra Sedgwick) to investigate her final cases as TNT’s landmark drama gets ready to end. The series’ final episodes will lead to Captain Sharon Raydor (Mary McDonnell) taking over the Major Crimes division. Thankfully, that means we won’t have to say goodbye to surveillance expert Buzz or gay coroner Dr. Morales (played by out actors Phillip P. Keene and Jonathan Del Arco) as both characters will be sticking around for the spin-off, Major Crimes, premiering August 13 right after The Closer's finale.
July 10
White Collar (USA, Tuesdays)
What could be better than spending another season with Matt Bomer as the handsome, charismatic and exceptionally talented con artist Neal Cafferty?
This season promises that we’ll get to see Neal execute his schemes in locations other than New York City as he runs from the FBI. However, in the end, White Collar wouldn’t be the same if it kept Neal and FBI Agent Peter Burke (Tim DeKay) apart, so we can’t wait to see what kind of cat-and-mouse chases are required to make that reunion happen.
July 23
Warehouse 13 (Syfy, Mondays)
The last season left off on a particularly dire note, with gay Steve Jinks (Aaron Ashmore), H.G. Wells (Jaime Murray) and Mrs. Frederic (CCH Pounder) all looking doomed. Now the surviving Warehouse team membersare seeking an obscure and dangerous artifact that might help them repair the damage. With any luck, it’s a device that can make sure we haven’t seen the last of Jinksy, Helena or Mrs. Frederic, like Gene Roddenberry’s cosmic reset button.
July 27
The London Summer Olympics
Once every four years, the summer games showcases male athleticism at its most beautiful. Diving, swimming, wrestling, gymnastics, martial arts, track, soccer, fencing – the summer sports are an awe-inspiring showcase for the world’s most finely-tuned physiques as their power, form, speed and grace all get put to the test. We’ll have more detailed coverage as the events near, but in the meantime enjoy our photo gallery of Team USA’s hottest men.
Thursday 24 May 2012
Jim Parsons has officially come out
[Source]
'The Big Bang Theory' star Jim Parsons has officially comes out as gay
Published: Thursday, May 24, 2012, 10:06 AM Updated: Thursday, May 24, 2012, 10:06 AM
By Geoff Herbert, syracuse.com
"The Big Bang Theory" star Jim Parsons has officially confirmed he's gay.
Unlike previous actors who have appeared on the covers of magazines to announce their sexual orientation, Parsons only addressed his in passing during a New York Times interview about a new role in a Broadway play. In fact, the tidbit appears quietly on the third page of the article:
As Perez Hilton notes, the 39-year-old actor has been spotted out in public numerous times with Spiewak and even thanked him during a Golden Globes acceptance speech once. Tabloids even speculated the couple was engaged last year, but Parsons never officially addressed his sexuality before.
"For years, Parsons has lived as a gay man in his private life, but in his professional public life he skirted the issue," Out.com writes. The Advocate-affiliated site described him as previously living in a "Glass Closet" along with other stars who have been rumored to be gay, including Anderson Cooper, Queen Latifah and Ellen Page.
Parsons, who won two Emmy Awards for his role as Sheldon Cooper on the CBS sitcom, has also appeared in movies like "Garden State" and "School for Scoundrels." Most recently, he made a cameo in "The Muppets" last year as the human version of Walter to sing the Oscar-winning song "Man or Muppet" with Jason Segel.
"The Normal Heart," referred to in the newspaper's interview, is a Broadway play about AIDS that Parsons starred in last year to rave reviews. According to Us Weekly, the actor is next playing Elwood in "Harvey" on Broadway, the same role made famous by Jimmy Stewart in the 1944 film. "Harvey" opens June 14.
Parsons will return as Sheldon on "The Big Bang Theory" for the show's sixth season premiere this fall.
Related topics: Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory, Todd Spiewak
'The Big Bang Theory' star Jim Parsons has officially comes out as gay
Published: Thursday, May 24, 2012, 10:06 AM Updated: Thursday, May 24, 2012, 10:06 AM
By Geoff Herbert, syracuse.com
 |
The Associated Press
Jim Parsons has won two Emmys for Outstanding Lead Actor in a
Comedy Series for his role as Sheldon on "The Big Bang Theory." |
Unlike previous actors who have appeared on the covers of magazines to announce their sexual orientation, Parsons only addressed his in passing during a New York Times interview about a new role in a Broadway play. In fact, the tidbit appears quietly on the third page of the article:
"The Normal Heart" resonated with him on a few levels: Mr. Parsons is gay and in a 10-year relationship, and working with an ensemble again onstage was like nourishment, he said.The understated "coming out" may be because many "TBBT" fans have long suspected Parsons to be homosexual. Parsons didn't tell The New York Times who his partner was, but he's been rumored to be dating Todd Spiewak for years.
As Perez Hilton notes, the 39-year-old actor has been spotted out in public numerous times with Spiewak and even thanked him during a Golden Globes acceptance speech once. Tabloids even speculated the couple was engaged last year, but Parsons never officially addressed his sexuality before.
 |
Danny Moloshok / AP Photo
Actor Jim Parsons, left, and Todd Spiewak, pose as they sit courtside
at the NBA basketball game between the Portland Trail Blazers and Los Angeles Lakers Friday, March 23, 2012, in Los Angeles. |
Parsons, who won two Emmy Awards for his role as Sheldon Cooper on the CBS sitcom, has also appeared in movies like "Garden State" and "School for Scoundrels." Most recently, he made a cameo in "The Muppets" last year as the human version of Walter to sing the Oscar-winning song "Man or Muppet" with Jason Segel.
"The Normal Heart," referred to in the newspaper's interview, is a Broadway play about AIDS that Parsons starred in last year to rave reviews. According to Us Weekly, the actor is next playing Elwood in "Harvey" on Broadway, the same role made famous by Jimmy Stewart in the 1944 film. "Harvey" opens June 14.
Parsons will return as Sheldon on "The Big Bang Theory" for the show's sixth season premiere this fall.
Related topics: Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory, Todd Spiewak
Wednesday 23 May 2012
Adam Lambert Claims the Number One Spot on Billboard 200 chart
[Source]
Adam Lambert Claims the Number One Spot on Billboard 200 chart
Wednesday, May 23, 2012 - 11:00am by Matt Kane, Associate Director of Entertainment Media at GLAAD
Pop star Adam Lambert made history this week when he became the first openly gay man to claim the number one spot on the US Billboard 200 chart with his new album TRESPASSING.
Artists like Elton John and Ricky Martin would certainly rank as some of the best selling artists of all-time, but neither managed to crack the number one position after publicly coming out as gay. Lambert himself came out following his appearance on the 8th season of American Idol, where he took runner-up. Despite that second place finish at the time, Lambert quickly amassed a hugely loyal fanbase, which helped propel the sales of his latest release.
TRESPASSING, which was released on RCA Records/19 Recordings on May 15, was executive produced by Lambert and has been met with incredible critical reviews. Rolling Stone declares that Trespassing is “the great pop album everybody was hoping Adam Lambert would make” while New York Daily News exclaims, “it’s the sound of liberation achieved.” People Magazine raves that “Lambert stakes laim for the divos on his glamtastic second set” and USA Today proclaims that it is “the album that fans have been wanting from him.”
In addition to making great music, Adam continues to be a strong voice for equality. He was nominated for Outstanding Music Artist at the 21st Annual GLAAD Media Awards.
Huge congrats to Adam Lambert on his accomplishment! Check out the video for his latest single below
Adam Lambert Claims the Number One Spot on Billboard 200 chart
Wednesday, May 23, 2012 - 11:00am by Matt Kane, Associate Director of Entertainment Media at GLAAD
Pop star Adam Lambert made history this week when he became the first openly gay man to claim the number one spot on the US Billboard 200 chart with his new album TRESPASSING.
Artists like Elton John and Ricky Martin would certainly rank as some of the best selling artists of all-time, but neither managed to crack the number one position after publicly coming out as gay. Lambert himself came out following his appearance on the 8th season of American Idol, where he took runner-up. Despite that second place finish at the time, Lambert quickly amassed a hugely loyal fanbase, which helped propel the sales of his latest release.
TRESPASSING, which was released on RCA Records/19 Recordings on May 15, was executive produced by Lambert and has been met with incredible critical reviews. Rolling Stone declares that Trespassing is “the great pop album everybody was hoping Adam Lambert would make” while New York Daily News exclaims, “it’s the sound of liberation achieved.” People Magazine raves that “Lambert stakes laim for the divos on his glamtastic second set” and USA Today proclaims that it is “the album that fans have been wanting from him.”
In addition to making great music, Adam continues to be a strong voice for equality. He was nominated for Outstanding Music Artist at the 21st Annual GLAAD Media Awards.
Huge congrats to Adam Lambert on his accomplishment! Check out the video for his latest single below
How great is it that stars' coming out is not becoming breaking news anymore!!!
[Source]
Wed, May 23 - 5:44 pm ET
How Great Is It That LGBT Stars Coming Out Is Slowly Not Becoming Breaking News Anymore?
The Big Bang Theory star Jim Parsons came out of the closet today. Well, not really. More like, The New York Times did a profile on him where at the end they added, as if as an afterthought,
In the same vein, trainer/reality personality Jillian Michaels‘ big news is that she’s a new mom twice over. Yes, she’s very delighted to announce that she’s adopted a two-year-old, and that her partner Heidi Rhoades also gave birth to a baby on May 3. No headlines shrieking “GAY CELEB ADOPTS BABY!!!” Instead, it’s nothing but goodwill for a woman who’s famous because she’s whipped overweight normal folks into shape on reality TV.
Sure, you still have the high-profile stories where the central focus is on celebrities coming out, because we assumed they were rolling in it when it comes to women, or because we’ve just envisioned them as straight for the past decade. Or because they come out in solidarity with young gay teens who have committed suicide. Those announcements, made with a well-meaning agenda, are still appreciated. But it’s also really awesome when the revelation that you’re gay isn’t trending on Twitter.
Photo: Broadway.com
You can reach this post's author, Natalie Zutter, on twitter or via e-mail at natalie@crushable.com.
Wed, May 23 - 5:44 pm ET
How Great Is It That LGBT Stars Coming Out Is Slowly Not Becoming Breaking News Anymore?
The Big Bang Theory star Jim Parsons came out of the closet today. Well, not really. More like, The New York Times did a profile on him where at the end they added, as if as an afterthought,
“The Normal Heart” resonated with him on a few levels: Mr. Parsons is gay and in a 10-year relationship, and working with an ensemble again onstage was like nourishment, he said.So there you go. Jim Parsons is gay, though it sounds as if the most important people in his life were already well aware. And even though this is the first time that his sexual orientation was confirmed for mainstream fans, it’s not like the article’s focus was “BIG BANG THEORY STAR IS GAY!!!” (The Times is classier than that, anyway.) Details about his personal life are incidental or mentioned only when pertinent to the story… you know, the way they would be for a straight celebrity.
In the same vein, trainer/reality personality Jillian Michaels‘ big news is that she’s a new mom twice over. Yes, she’s very delighted to announce that she’s adopted a two-year-old, and that her partner Heidi Rhoades also gave birth to a baby on May 3. No headlines shrieking “GAY CELEB ADOPTS BABY!!!” Instead, it’s nothing but goodwill for a woman who’s famous because she’s whipped overweight normal folks into shape on reality TV.
Sure, you still have the high-profile stories where the central focus is on celebrities coming out, because we assumed they were rolling in it when it comes to women, or because we’ve just envisioned them as straight for the past decade. Or because they come out in solidarity with young gay teens who have committed suicide. Those announcements, made with a well-meaning agenda, are still appreciated. But it’s also really awesome when the revelation that you’re gay isn’t trending on Twitter.
Photo: Broadway.com
You can reach this post's author, Natalie Zutter, on twitter or via e-mail at natalie@crushable.com.
Raderonline.com - Jim Persons
[Source]
Big Bang Theory'w Jim Persons Comes Out As Gay
Posted on May 23, 2012 @ 02:00PM
By Amber Goodhand - Radar News Editor
It's not the most shocking revelation, but it's official now.
The Big Bang Theory star Jim Parsons confirmed his sexuality in a recent interview that mentions he's a gay man and has been in a 10-year relationship.
PHOTOS: Celebs Who Have 'Come Out'
The Emmy-winning actor did an expose with the New York Times in which they quietly hit on his sexual orientation while talking about a production of The Normal Heart — a play that takes a look at the sexual politics of New York during the AIDS crisis.
Jim, 39, thanked his long-time partner Todd Spiewak once during his Golden Globes acceptance speech…and now everyone knows why.
RELATED STORIES:
President Barack Obama Addresses Support Of Gay Marriage On The View
Newsweek's Controversial New Cover: 'The First Gay President'
Mitt Romney Held Presumed Gay Classmate Down, Cut Off His Hair, Old Pal Says
Ellen DeGeneres: 'Mr. President, Thank You Very Very Very Much!'
Big Bang Theory'w Jim Persons Comes Out As Gay
Posted on May 23, 2012 @ 02:00PM
It's not the most shocking revelation, but it's official now.
The Big Bang Theory star Jim Parsons confirmed his sexuality in a recent interview that mentions he's a gay man and has been in a 10-year relationship.
PHOTOS: Celebs Who Have 'Come Out'
The Emmy-winning actor did an expose with the New York Times in which they quietly hit on his sexual orientation while talking about a production of The Normal Heart — a play that takes a look at the sexual politics of New York during the AIDS crisis.
Jim, 39, thanked his long-time partner Todd Spiewak once during his Golden Globes acceptance speech…and now everyone knows why.
RELATED STORIES:
President Barack Obama Addresses Support Of Gay Marriage On The View
Newsweek's Controversial New Cover: 'The First Gay President'
Mitt Romney Held Presumed Gay Classmate Down, Cut Off His Hair, Old Pal Says
Ellen DeGeneres: 'Mr. President, Thank You Very Very Very Much!'
access hollywood
[Source]
Jim Parsons: ‘Gay & In A 10-Year Relationship’
First Published: May 23, 2012 5:37 PM EDT
LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- Caption Jim Parsons has kept his personal life private over the years, but in a new interview with the New York Times, the newspaper reported the “Big Bang Theory” star acknowledged he is gay and in a long term relationship.
Jim Parsons: ‘Gay & In A 10-Year Relationship’
| Credit: Getty Images |
 |
LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- Caption Jim Parsons has kept his personal life private over the years, but in a new interview with the New York Times, the newspaper reported the “Big Bang Theory” star acknowledged he is gay and in a long term relationship.
In
an interview to promote his role in the play “Harvey,” Patrick Healey
of the New York Times wrote that Parsons mentioned his relationship in
the interview.
“’The Normal Heart’
resonated with him on a few levels: Mr. Parsons is gay and in a 10-year
relationship, and working with an ensemble again onstage was like
nourishment, he said,” Healey wrote in the piece, however no quotes from
the actor accompanied the story.
Parsons previously thanked Todd Spiewack, the man whom many publications, including The Advocate, note is his partner, when he won a Golden Globe in 2011.
A rep for Parsons was not immediately available for comment when contacted by Access Hollywood.
Copyright 2012 by NBC Universal, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
'Big Bang Theory' Star Jim Parsons is Gay, By the Way
[Source]
'Big Bang Theory' Star Jim Parsons is Gay, By the Way
12:26 PM PDT 5/23/2012 by Seth Abramovitch
Could the casual reference to his 10-year relationship mark a new era in how same-sex-loving celebrities acknowledge their personal lives?
Jim Parsons, the lanky, Texas-born actor who has won two Emmys and a Golden Globe award for playing persnickety genius Sheldon Cooper on CBS's The Big Bang Theory, acknowledges that he is gay and in a 10-year relationship, the New York Times reveals.
But blink and you may have missed it: The information is buried towards the end of the 1,800 word profile -- which focuses mostly on Parsons' lauded stage work in Broadway revivals of The Normal Heart and, now, Harvey -- and doesn't even contain a direct quote from Parsons himself.
PHOTOS: 'The Big Bang Theory' Celebrates 100 Episodes
"The Normal Heart resonated with him on a few levels," the Times' Patrick Healy writes. "Mr. Parsons is gay and in a 10-year relationship, and working with an ensemble again onstage was like nourishment, he said."
Whether or not this constitutes a "coming out" for the popular TV star seems to be a topic for debate. Some industry and online chatter today has argued that Parsons was never really "in," openly and matter-of-factly addressing his relationship whenever it came up in his daily life and work. And it's not the first time a reference to his sexuality has been made in a print publication. (That honor would go to Antenna magazine, which folded shop earlier this year, Parsons gracing the final cover.)
STORY: 'The Big Bang Theory' Finale Postmortem: EP, Cast on Space, Marriage and What's Next
But compared to other primetime stars who identify as gay -- take Modern Family's Jesse Tyler Ferguson, for example, who has been tireless in his vocal support for same-sex marriage rights -- there's no denying that Parsons has been extremely quiet on the topic.
If anything, the news marks what could be a new chapter in the evolution of the celebrity "coming out" story. Unlike the old-school approach -- the magazine-cover-route followed by a string of "revealing" TV interviews, a method trailblazed by the likes of Ellen DeGeneres and later mimicked by everyone from Lance Bass to Neil Patrick Harris -- the new method stealthily embeds the personal information in a larger piece on the "work."
STORY: 'The Big Bang Theory': From 'Star Trek' to 'Lord of the Rings,' the Show's Nerdiest Moments
Credit Zachary Quinto, another in-demand gay actor straddling both Broadway and Hollywood, with having forged the template: In late-2011, the Star Trek and American Horror Story star gave an interview to New York magazine, ostensibly about his performance in another New York theater revival with gay themes -- Tony Kushner's Angels in America. Four paragraphs into the piece, the crucial clause found its way into a sentence:
“And at the same time, as a gay man, it made me feel like there’s still so much work to be done, and there’s still so many things that need to be looked at and addressed.”
'Big Bang Theory' Star Jim Parsons is Gay, By the Way
12:26 PM PDT 5/23/2012 by Seth Abramovitch
Could the casual reference to his 10-year relationship mark a new era in how same-sex-loving celebrities acknowledge their personal lives?
Jim Parsons, the lanky, Texas-born actor who has won two Emmys and a Golden Globe award for playing persnickety genius Sheldon Cooper on CBS's The Big Bang Theory, acknowledges that he is gay and in a 10-year relationship, the New York Times reveals.
But blink and you may have missed it: The information is buried towards the end of the 1,800 word profile -- which focuses mostly on Parsons' lauded stage work in Broadway revivals of The Normal Heart and, now, Harvey -- and doesn't even contain a direct quote from Parsons himself.
PHOTOS: 'The Big Bang Theory' Celebrates 100 Episodes
"The Normal Heart resonated with him on a few levels," the Times' Patrick Healy writes. "Mr. Parsons is gay and in a 10-year relationship, and working with an ensemble again onstage was like nourishment, he said."
Whether or not this constitutes a "coming out" for the popular TV star seems to be a topic for debate. Some industry and online chatter today has argued that Parsons was never really "in," openly and matter-of-factly addressing his relationship whenever it came up in his daily life and work. And it's not the first time a reference to his sexuality has been made in a print publication. (That honor would go to Antenna magazine, which folded shop earlier this year, Parsons gracing the final cover.)
STORY: 'The Big Bang Theory' Finale Postmortem: EP, Cast on Space, Marriage and What's Next
But compared to other primetime stars who identify as gay -- take Modern Family's Jesse Tyler Ferguson, for example, who has been tireless in his vocal support for same-sex marriage rights -- there's no denying that Parsons has been extremely quiet on the topic.
If anything, the news marks what could be a new chapter in the evolution of the celebrity "coming out" story. Unlike the old-school approach -- the magazine-cover-route followed by a string of "revealing" TV interviews, a method trailblazed by the likes of Ellen DeGeneres and later mimicked by everyone from Lance Bass to Neil Patrick Harris -- the new method stealthily embeds the personal information in a larger piece on the "work."
STORY: 'The Big Bang Theory': From 'Star Trek' to 'Lord of the Rings,' the Show's Nerdiest Moments
Credit Zachary Quinto, another in-demand gay actor straddling both Broadway and Hollywood, with having forged the template: In late-2011, the Star Trek and American Horror Story star gave an interview to New York magazine, ostensibly about his performance in another New York theater revival with gay themes -- Tony Kushner's Angels in America. Four paragraphs into the piece, the crucial clause found its way into a sentence:
“And at the same time, as a gay man, it made me feel like there’s still so much work to be done, and there’s still so many things that need to be looked at and addressed.”
An article from AfterElton - Jim Persons
[Source]
Emmy-winning Big Bang Theory star Jim Parsons is soon to star on stage in a revival of Harvey, and is the focus of a profile today in the New York Times.
Well, we've mentioned this upcoming project before, so why bring it up
now? Because buried deep in the profile is this statement:
So, does this article officially "out" him, or was he already out enough, and the rest of the world is just catching up? What do you think?
Jim Parsons Is Gay And In A Ten-Year Relationship
Mr. Parsons is gay and in a 10-year relationship.Jim's sexuality has been a source of discussion for quite a while (the comment in the article doesn't actually quote him), but this may be the first time such an enormous mainstream outlet has announced it, and the fact that it was done so matter-of-factly is heartening.
So, does this article officially "out" him, or was he already out enough, and the rest of the world is just catching up? What do you think?
Jim Persons - TheNewYorkTimes
[Source]
Theater
Stalked by Shadows (and a Rabbit)
By PATRICK HEALY
Published: May 23, 2012
AFTER seeing the “The Normal Heart” on Broadway last June, three teenagers from Minnesota were in a frenzy explaining why they had chosen the play. “Sheldon!” they all shouted, naming the socially clueless lead character on the CBS hit comedy “The Big Bang Theory” played by Jim Parsons, who had a small role in the play.
Here was celebrity casting in action, yet it had unintended
consequences: the teenagers hadn’t known that the show was about gay men
dying of AIDS, and they left disappointed that Mr. Parsons wasn’t
acting as outrageously pompous as Sheldon, a role that earned him Emmy
Awards in 2010 and 2011.
“People may not like me as Elwood, people may say ‘I enjoyed Jimmy Stewart more,’ ” he said recently, over coffee at a Midtown Mahattan hotel. “There’s nothing I can do about that. But I have to come in and take a stand on the performance, as it were.”
He memorizes his dialogue well beforehand, writing out lines on white 3-by-5 index cards (he has 200 for “Harvey”). He creates precise physical worlds for his characters, down to where they would place a hat or coat or, in the case of Harvey, where the rabbit would be at every second. He obsesses over body language too: the angular, ungainly stride he created for Sheldon, and the alternately swift and halting paces of Elwood.
And he still has never seen the Stewart film or any stage production of “Harvey.”
“I try to master every facet of a character in order to build a safety net for myself, so I can go on to take more risks to create someone really distinct,” said Mr. Parsons, who is 39, roughly the same age as Stewart when he first played Elwood on Broadway.“One of my very early teachers said over and over again: ‘What are you bringing to the party?’ That expression never left me.
“Well, what about it? What am I bringing to this party?”
“If I’m not making a choice with each and every line,” he continued, “then why are you bothering watching me?”
Mr. Parsons hastened to add that he was not disrespecting Stewart, nor was he cavalier about audience reactions. He is the sort of person, in fact, you could imagine taking his bow then apologizing to theatergoers if any of them were disappointed with his work. His unfailing politeness has an old-fashioned courtliness to it; at a rehearsal for “Harvey” this month, he said sorry every time he had to ask the script prompter to remind him of a line.
It sounded almost automatic, reflecting a tendency to speak his mind without a trace of self-consciousness (a habit that makes his television character so winningly exasperating). At one point during the rehearsal, for instance, the actress Jessica Hecht — who plays Elwood’s sister, Veta — put a prop down on stage in a spot where Mr. Parsons wasn’t expecting it.
“Did Jessica leave that there?” Mr. Parsons said. “That’s never going to work.”
“It won’t happen again,” Ms. Hecht replied collegially.
“It never happened before,” he said — not in an accusatory way but, like Sheldon, with an almost absent-minded bluntness.
“Um, let’s talk about it more,” she joked.
“His concentration is so total that he sometimes says surprising things that I don’t even think he’s aware he’s saying,” said Ms. Hecht, a Tony nominee for her last Broadway role, in the 2010 revival of “A View from the Bridge.” “There’s something so dorky in the best way about him.”
“There was a kind of musicality to the actors’ timing and rhythms that I
really responded to,” said Mr. Parsons, who also played piano as a boy.
A turning point came in junior year of high school, when Mr. Parsons was mulling the idea of becoming a meteorologist (Gulf Coast weather had led to a fascination with hurricanes). Thanks to his drama teacher and a fellow student, he was persuaded to take the role of Frederick Fellowes, a nosebleed-prone actor who beats himself up when things go amiss, in the farce “Noises Off.” But as the show moved toward opening night, he became concerned that he and his castmates weren’t in fine enough form.
“All we had was each other, and our very basic mastery of the play, but at our first performance we pulled together and relied on each other and everything clicked,” he said. “We didn’t mug for laughs, we didn’t do anything showy — we just worked together as an ensemble. I felt totally comfortable in this warped world that was far away from the real world. And I wanted to keep doing it.”
Mr. Parsons went on to perform more than two dozen plays during and
after his undergraduate years at the University of Houston; he was so
busy that he failed a course in meteorology, putting an end to that
career path. He did 17 plays in three years with an experimental theater
company, Infernal Bridegroom Productions. He was the exploitative
doctor in Büchner’s “Woyzeck” in a parking lot, and the servant Clov in
Beckett’s “Endgame” and the gambler Rusty Charlie in “Guys & Dolls,”
both performed in warehouses.
After graduation he pursued classical training in the master’s program at the University of San Diego, then spent several years in New York working Off Broadway and in guest appearances on television while making trips to Los Angeles looking for work.
“Jim was solid in ‘The Normal Heart,’ ” Mr. Ellis said, “but his character didn’t really change in the journey of that play, so I wanted to see if Jim could take on a challenge and float a couple of feet off the ground, so to speak, in that magical way Elwood has. And in the reading he was just smart, smart, smart.”
In rehearsals Mr. Parsons focused particularly on his relationship with Harvey — a character who is not there. He chose spots in the Studio 54 theater to fix his gaze, at the exact height where Harvey’s face would be, and developed a series of hand gestures when Elwood was speaking to or making way for the rabbit. If the show has plenty of the laugh lines that Mr. Parsons finds familiar from television, he said he was more aware of the differences between Elwood and Sheldon — and was savoring them.
“Elwood has such warmth, and wants nothing more than to connect with other people, whereas my nine-month-a-year job is a character who says things like, ‘If you don’t mind, I’d like to stop listening to you and talk now,’ ” Mr. Parsons said. “The jump-out-of-bed happiness I feel transcends any nerves about taking on a history-laden role.
“Now, would it have been preferable to take on a role that had not been created before? God yes. But breaking in a new role takes more time than I’ll have until my time on TV comes to an end. And when it does, I hope I’ll be back for longer.”
Theater
Stalked by Shadows (and a Rabbit)
 |
Sara Krulwich/The New York Times
Jim Parsons as Elwood P. Dowd in “Harvey” at Studio 54. |
Jim Parsons in his dressing room. He stars in the play “Harvey,” which opens on June 14.
By PATRICK HEALY
Published: May 23, 2012
AFTER seeing the “The Normal Heart” on Broadway last June, three teenagers from Minnesota were in a frenzy explaining why they had chosen the play. “Sheldon!” they all shouted, naming the socially clueless lead character on the CBS hit comedy “The Big Bang Theory” played by Jim Parsons, who had a small role in the play.
 |
Sara Krulwich/The New York Times
Jim Parsons as Elwood P. Dowd in
“Harvey” at Studio 54.
|
Mr. Parsons is back on Broadway during another summer hiatus from
television, and this time he faces audience expectations that are even
more complicated.
Not only is he dealing with the shadow of Sheldon again, but also that
of a certain actor named Jimmy Stewart. Mr. Parsons is leading a
Broadway cast for the first time, in a revival of “Harvey,” the Pulitzer
Prize-winning comedy from 1944 about the sweet-natured Elwood P. Dowd
and his invisible friend, the title character, a 6-foot-tall rabbit. The
show ran on Broadway for four years, opening with Frank Fay as the
lead. Stewart later followed as Elwood before bringing him to wider fame
in the 1950 film, for which he was nominated for an Oscar. He reprised the role in 1970, the only previous revival on Broadway of this play, which became feared for the task of taking on The Jimmy Stewart Role.
While Mr. Parsons is keenly aware that both Sheldon and Stewart are
indelible, he has also drawn confidence from acting techniques and
instincts that have served him well for more than 20 years, since
choosing his career after performing in the farce “Noises Off” in high
school.
“People may not like me as Elwood, people may say ‘I enjoyed Jimmy Stewart more,’ ” he said recently, over coffee at a Midtown Mahattan hotel. “There’s nothing I can do about that. But I have to come in and take a stand on the performance, as it were.”
He memorizes his dialogue well beforehand, writing out lines on white 3-by-5 index cards (he has 200 for “Harvey”). He creates precise physical worlds for his characters, down to where they would place a hat or coat or, in the case of Harvey, where the rabbit would be at every second. He obsesses over body language too: the angular, ungainly stride he created for Sheldon, and the alternately swift and halting paces of Elwood.
And he still has never seen the Stewart film or any stage production of “Harvey.”
“I try to master every facet of a character in order to build a safety net for myself, so I can go on to take more risks to create someone really distinct,” said Mr. Parsons, who is 39, roughly the same age as Stewart when he first played Elwood on Broadway.“One of my very early teachers said over and over again: ‘What are you bringing to the party?’ That expression never left me.
“Well, what about it? What am I bringing to this party?”
“If I’m not making a choice with each and every line,” he continued, “then why are you bothering watching me?”
Mr. Parsons hastened to add that he was not disrespecting Stewart, nor was he cavalier about audience reactions. He is the sort of person, in fact, you could imagine taking his bow then apologizing to theatergoers if any of them were disappointed with his work. His unfailing politeness has an old-fashioned courtliness to it; at a rehearsal for “Harvey” this month, he said sorry every time he had to ask the script prompter to remind him of a line.
It sounded almost automatic, reflecting a tendency to speak his mind without a trace of self-consciousness (a habit that makes his television character so winningly exasperating). At one point during the rehearsal, for instance, the actress Jessica Hecht — who plays Elwood’s sister, Veta — put a prop down on stage in a spot where Mr. Parsons wasn’t expecting it.
“Did Jessica leave that there?” Mr. Parsons said. “That’s never going to work.”
“It won’t happen again,” Ms. Hecht replied collegially.
“It never happened before,” he said — not in an accusatory way but, like Sheldon, with an almost absent-minded bluntness.
“Um, let’s talk about it more,” she joked.
Later, Ms. Hecht described the way Mr. Parsons speaks as a kind of afterthought.
“His concentration is so total that he sometimes says surprising things that I don’t even think he’s aware he’s saying,” said Ms. Hecht, a Tony nominee for her last Broadway role, in the 2010 revival of “A View from the Bridge.” “There’s something so dorky in the best way about him.”
Growing up in Houston, the son of an elementary-school teacher and a
plumbing company president, Mr. Parsons was a theater nerd from the
start; he recalled throwing himself into the role of the Kola-Kola bird
in his first-grade production of “The Elephant’s Child” by Kipling. His
curiosity about performance grew from watching the physical antics and
reaction shots in the television sitcom “Three’s Company.”
 |
Monty Brinton/CBS
Jim Parsons in the television show “The Big Bang Theory.” |
A turning point came in junior year of high school, when Mr. Parsons was mulling the idea of becoming a meteorologist (Gulf Coast weather had led to a fascination with hurricanes). Thanks to his drama teacher and a fellow student, he was persuaded to take the role of Frederick Fellowes, a nosebleed-prone actor who beats himself up when things go amiss, in the farce “Noises Off.” But as the show moved toward opening night, he became concerned that he and his castmates weren’t in fine enough form.
“All we had was each other, and our very basic mastery of the play, but at our first performance we pulled together and relied on each other and everything clicked,” he said. “We didn’t mug for laughs, we didn’t do anything showy — we just worked together as an ensemble. I felt totally comfortable in this warped world that was far away from the real world. And I wanted to keep doing it.”
 |
Sara Krulwich/The New York Times
Jim Parsons and Angela Paton in the
play "Harvey" at Studio 54. |
After graduation he pursued classical training in the master’s program at the University of San Diego, then spent several years in New York working Off Broadway and in guest appearances on television while making trips to Los Angeles looking for work.
When he received the pilot script for “The Big Bang Theory,”
he said, the show — about a group of genius-level scientists with
terrible social skills — seemed clever enough to him, but the role of
Sheldon felt like a great fit.
“There was something in his inability to understand sarcasm, his
inability to read emotions off people in a general sense, that I
understood,” Mr. Parsons said with a crooked smile. (For the record, in
person he is far more at ease and a much better listener than Sheldon.)
Chuck Lorre, one of the creators and producers of “Big Bang,” said Mr.
Parsons’s audition was so “brilliant” that he asked the actor to return
another day to make sure the performance wasn’t a fluke.
“He physically embodied a character who was like none we had seen before
— the peculiar rhythms of the words, the way he held his body,” Mr.
Lorre said. “He was uncanny in the choices he was making second to
second.”
(Mr. Parsons is set to return to “Big Bang” in August; “Harvey” opens on June 14.)
By the winter of 2011 Mr. Parsons had won his first Emmy for “Big Bang”
and was midway through Season 4 when he felt he was “spinning my wheels”
as an actor, and began looking to do a play again. He landed the role
of Tommy Boatwright, a young gay activist in “The Normal Heart” who
bucks up the main characters in their fight against AIDS. The humanity
and intensity of the play appealed to him, he said, just as Beckett and
Büchner once did; in graduate school, too, his thesis project was a
15-minute performance piece about a mentally disabled death-row inmate, a
psychiatrist and a murder victim’s father — all played by Mr. Parsons.
“If I ever wrote a script myself, it would be strongly emotional
material,” he said. “Every time I think about writing, comedy doesn’t
interest me in the slightest. I can play comedy, but I don’t think in
terms of comic dialogue.”
“The Normal Heart” resonated with him on a few levels: Mr. Parsons is
gay and in a 10-year relationship, and working with an ensemble again
onstage was like nourishment, he said. As the production was ending last
summer, he heard that the Roundabout Theater Company
was considering a revival of “Harvey” — initially with John C. Reilly
under consideration for Elwood — and last November the play’s director,
Scott Ellis, asked him and Ms. Hecht to do a private reading of the work
in Los Angeles.
“Jim was solid in ‘The Normal Heart,’ ” Mr. Ellis said, “but his character didn’t really change in the journey of that play, so I wanted to see if Jim could take on a challenge and float a couple of feet off the ground, so to speak, in that magical way Elwood has. And in the reading he was just smart, smart, smart.”
In rehearsals Mr. Parsons focused particularly on his relationship with Harvey — a character who is not there. He chose spots in the Studio 54 theater to fix his gaze, at the exact height where Harvey’s face would be, and developed a series of hand gestures when Elwood was speaking to or making way for the rabbit. If the show has plenty of the laugh lines that Mr. Parsons finds familiar from television, he said he was more aware of the differences between Elwood and Sheldon — and was savoring them.
“Elwood has such warmth, and wants nothing more than to connect with other people, whereas my nine-month-a-year job is a character who says things like, ‘If you don’t mind, I’d like to stop listening to you and talk now,’ ” Mr. Parsons said. “The jump-out-of-bed happiness I feel transcends any nerves about taking on a history-laden role.
“Now, would it have been preferable to take on a role that had not been created before? God yes. But breaking in a new role takes more time than I’ll have until my time on TV comes to an end. And when it does, I hope I’ll be back for longer.”
Thursday 17 May 2012
Adam Lambert - New Album "Trespassing"
We've waited so long. I wish I could sing like him. He has a great voice, and he performs with a lot of energy. Most of songs were written by Adam. He is such a talented person.
- Trespassing
- Cuckoo
- Shady
- Never Close Our Eyes
- Kickin' In
- Naked Love
- Pop That Lock
- Better Than I Know Myself
- Broken English
- Underneath
- Chokehold
- Outlaws of Love
- Runnin'
- Take Back
- Nirvana
Wednesday 16 May 2012
Barrett Foa videos
 |
Barrett Foa Date of Birth: 18 September 1977, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA Six Degrees (TV series) - Dylan (2007) Prop 8: The Musical (2008) Numb3rs (TV series) - Andrew Gibbons (2009) NCIS (TV series) - Eric Beale (2009) The Closer (TV series) - Travis Myers (2009) Entourage (TV series) - Matt Wolpert (2009, 2010) Submissions Only (TV series) - Gil Bure (2011) NCIS: Los Angeles (TV series) - Eric Beale (2009 - Official website Follow Barrett on  and  . |
Six Degrees S01E08
Numb3rs S05E17
The Closer S05E04
Entourage S06E11
Entourage S07E01
Submissions Only S01E04
The Bonnie Hunt Show 19 April, 2010
Of course he is in NCIS and NCIS Los Angeles.
Tuesday 15 May 2012
Saturday 12 May 2012
Wednesday 9 May 2012
NBC Politics - 09/May/2012
[Source]
The ‘evolution’ of Obama’s stance on gay marriage
By Tom Curry, msnbc.com National Affairs Writer
Since stepping on to the national stage in 2004 when he ran for the Senate in Illinois, Barack Obama has shifted his views on whether same-sex couples should have the legal right to marry. “My feelings about this are constantly evolving,” Obama said about same-sex marriage in December of 2010.
By Wednesday his views had evolved to the position that gay and lesbian rights advocates had urged upon him since 2004. Obama said, “For me personally, it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married.”
Related: Obama backs same-sex marriage
Such couples already are able to get married in a few states.
But it was not yet clear from the excerpts that ABC News released on Wednesday afternoon whether Obama intended to use his political clout to try to get legislatures in the majority of states to change their laws, whether he would appoint federal judges who would overturn state laws on constitutional grounds, or by what other means he would use his power to enable same-sex couples to marry.
It also is not clear whether Obama still believes, as he said in 2006, that “decisions about marriage should be left to the states as they always have been.”
Obama’s Wednesday announcement was a reversal of his 2004 view that “marriage is something sanctified between a man and a woman." At that time, he also indicated that civil unions were adequate for gays and lesbians. He contended that the difference between marriage and civil unions was partly just a matter of “semantics.”
According to Chicago’s Daily Herald, while Obama was running for Senate in early 2004, he told the newspaper’s editorial board that the gay rights struggle was comparable to the 1960s civil rights movement, saying that his father and mother wouldn't have been allowed to marry in some Southern states. "So it's not as if I'm not sympathetic to the idea that … politics shouldn't get in the way if something's right," Obama told the newspaper.
But then he added that gay rights advocates had to make strategic decisions and pushing for same-sex marriage wasn’t necessarily the best strategy.
“What I also tell my gay and lesbian friends is, look, if I was, you know, functioning in the early '60s trying to get the Voting Rights Act passed and the Civil Rights Act passed, then I might not lead politically with, you know, trying to reverse anti- miscegenation laws. ... I might really focus on getting rights that are concrete and that are going to be important and politically are achievable."
And as he was often to do in the next few years, he also accused opponents of same-sex marriage of trying to exploit the issue for their political advantage.
“Part of this is also politics. ... This is the latest wedge issue to divide the Democratic Party. And, you know, my interest is to avoid playing on their court on this issue," he said.
In the 2004 interview, Obama also talked about how his own faith shaped his views on the issue.
"My personal philosophy is that as a Christian, I see no contradiction with embracing same-sex couples as part of our community. That's my Christian ethos. But I think others within the Christian faith can feel very differently about it," Obama said.
In August 2004, as Obama battled Republican Alan Keyes in the Senate race, his rival accused him of equivocating on the issue. But Obama's spokesman, Robert Gibbs, said, "Barack Obama is opposed to gay marriage but believes in civil unions as a policy, and secondly, our position on a constitutional amendment (limiting marriage to heterosexuals) is exactly the same position as Vice President Dick Cheney's in that it's unnecessary."
In a debate the following month with Keyes, Obama said, "I'm a Christian, and so although I try not to have my religious beliefs dominate or determine my political views on this issue, I do believe that tradition and my religious beliefs say that marriage is something sanctified between a man and a woman," Obama said.
In the 2004 campaign Obama also addressed the 1996 law signed by President Bill Clinton, the Defense of Marriage Act which says that no state shall be required to recognize marriages between persons of the same sex performed in other states.
He said in 2004 that DOMA was unnecessary because the U.S. Constitution “does not prevent a state from refusing to recognize a marriage that is contrary to its own marriage laws."
During Obama’s four years in the Senate, there was one major vote on the marriage issue. In 2006, then-Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and other GOP conservatives pushed for an amendment to the Constitution to clarify that there was no fundamental constitutional right for same-sex couples to marry.
Obama voted against moving ahead with the proposed amendment. “This debate is a thinly-veiled attempt to break a consensus that is quietly being forged in this country,” he said. “A consensus between Democrats and Republicans, liberals and conservatives, Red States and Blue States, that it's time for new leadership in this country - leadership that will stop dividing us, stop disappointing us, and start addressing the problems facing most Americans.”
He said, "I personally believe that marriage is between a man and a woman. But I also agree with most Americans, including Vice President Cheney and over 2,000 religious leaders of all different beliefs, that decisions about marriage should be left to the states as they always have been."
When he ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2007 and 2008, Obama spoke at a forum sponsored by the gay advocacy group, the Human Rights Campaign. On marriage, Obama said, “We should try to disentangle what has historically been the issue of the word ‘marriage,’ which has religious connotations to some people, from the civil rights that are given to couples, in terms of hospital visitation, in terms of whether or not they can transfer property or any of the other -- Social Security benefits and so forth.”
When HRC president Joe Solomonese suggested that Obama’s stand sounded to gays and lesbians like the discredited “separate but equal” doctrine that was used for decades to justify racial discrimination, Obama reverted to the tactical argument: “if I were advising the civil rights movement back in 1961 about its approach to civil rights, I would have probably said it's less important that we focus on an anti- miscegenation law than we focus on a voting rights law and a non- discrimination and employment law and all the legal rights that are conferred by the state.”
He said civil union for gays and lesbians “wouldn't be a lesser thing (than marriage), from my perspective. And look, you know, semantics may be important to some. From my perspective, what I'm interested is making sure that those legal rights are available to people.”
Later in the 2008 campaign Obama returned to his recurring theme that gay and lesbian rights were sometimes used to distract voters from what they really ought to be voting on: economic issues.
“People don't vote on economic issues because they don't expect anybody is going to help them," Obama told a crowd in Terre Haute, Ind., in April 2008. "So people end up voting on issues like guns and are they going to have the right to bear arms. They vote on issues like gay marriage."
But once he was elected president Obama disappointed his gay and lesbian allies by at first defending DOMA, a law which he had criticized. The Justice Department filed a motion to dismiss a legal challenge to DOMA in July of 2009. Justice spokeswoman Tracy Schmaler said the department’s standard practice was to defending existing law.
"Until Congress passes legislation repealing the law, the administration will continue to defend the statute when it is challenged in the justice system," Schmaler said.
Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder changed their position in February 2011 when Holder announced the administration would not defend the constitutionality of Section 3 of DOMA as applied to same-sex married couples in the two cases filed in a federal appeals court
But as of last summer Obama was still disappointing his gay and lesbian supporters by repeating his view that marriage was an issue for each state to decide.
“Each community is going to be different and each state is going to be different,” he said at a White House press conference.
When NBC’s Chuck Todd asked, “Are you at all uncomfortable that there could be different rules in different states, you know, and for somebody to make the argument that's what we saw during segregation?”
Obama replied “what you're seeing is a profound recognition on the part of the American people that gays and lesbians and transgender persons are our brothers, our sisters, our children, our cousins, our friends, our co-workers, and that they've got to be treated like every other American. And I think that principle will win out.”
He said that he as president “can't dictate precisely how this process moves. But I think we're moving in a direction of greater equality and I think that's a good thing.”
The ‘evolution’ of Obama’s stance on gay marriage
By Tom Curry, msnbc.com National Affairs Writer
Since stepping on to the national stage in 2004 when he ran for the Senate in Illinois, Barack Obama has shifted his views on whether same-sex couples should have the legal right to marry. “My feelings about this are constantly evolving,” Obama said about same-sex marriage in December of 2010.
 |
Carolyn Kaster / AP
President Barack Obama is seen on a monitor in the White House briefing room May 9 in Washington. President Barack Obama told an ABC interviewer that he supports gay marriage.
|
Related: Obama backs same-sex marriage
Such couples already are able to get married in a few states.
But it was not yet clear from the excerpts that ABC News released on Wednesday afternoon whether Obama intended to use his political clout to try to get legislatures in the majority of states to change their laws, whether he would appoint federal judges who would overturn state laws on constitutional grounds, or by what other means he would use his power to enable same-sex couples to marry.
It also is not clear whether Obama still believes, as he said in 2006, that “decisions about marriage should be left to the states as they always have been.”
President Obama says he now supports same-sex marriage, ending months of equivocation on a subject with powerful election-year consequences. NBC's Brian Williams and Chuck Todd reports.
Obama’s Wednesday announcement was a reversal of his 2004 view that “marriage is something sanctified between a man and a woman." At that time, he also indicated that civil unions were adequate for gays and lesbians. He contended that the difference between marriage and civil unions was partly just a matter of “semantics.”
According to Chicago’s Daily Herald, while Obama was running for Senate in early 2004, he told the newspaper’s editorial board that the gay rights struggle was comparable to the 1960s civil rights movement, saying that his father and mother wouldn't have been allowed to marry in some Southern states. "So it's not as if I'm not sympathetic to the idea that … politics shouldn't get in the way if something's right," Obama told the newspaper.
But then he added that gay rights advocates had to make strategic decisions and pushing for same-sex marriage wasn’t necessarily the best strategy.
“What I also tell my gay and lesbian friends is, look, if I was, you know, functioning in the early '60s trying to get the Voting Rights Act passed and the Civil Rights Act passed, then I might not lead politically with, you know, trying to reverse anti- miscegenation laws. ... I might really focus on getting rights that are concrete and that are going to be important and politically are achievable."
And as he was often to do in the next few years, he also accused opponents of same-sex marriage of trying to exploit the issue for their political advantage.
“Part of this is also politics. ... This is the latest wedge issue to divide the Democratic Party. And, you know, my interest is to avoid playing on their court on this issue," he said.
In the 2004 interview, Obama also talked about how his own faith shaped his views on the issue.
"My personal philosophy is that as a Christian, I see no contradiction with embracing same-sex couples as part of our community. That's my Christian ethos. But I think others within the Christian faith can feel very differently about it," Obama said.
In August 2004, as Obama battled Republican Alan Keyes in the Senate race, his rival accused him of equivocating on the issue. But Obama's spokesman, Robert Gibbs, said, "Barack Obama is opposed to gay marriage but believes in civil unions as a policy, and secondly, our position on a constitutional amendment (limiting marriage to heterosexuals) is exactly the same position as Vice President Dick Cheney's in that it's unnecessary."
In a debate the following month with Keyes, Obama said, "I'm a Christian, and so although I try not to have my religious beliefs dominate or determine my political views on this issue, I do believe that tradition and my religious beliefs say that marriage is something sanctified between a man and a woman," Obama said.
In the 2004 campaign Obama also addressed the 1996 law signed by President Bill Clinton, the Defense of Marriage Act which says that no state shall be required to recognize marriages between persons of the same sex performed in other states.
He said in 2004 that DOMA was unnecessary because the U.S. Constitution “does not prevent a state from refusing to recognize a marriage that is contrary to its own marriage laws."
During Obama’s four years in the Senate, there was one major vote on the marriage issue. In 2006, then-Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and other GOP conservatives pushed for an amendment to the Constitution to clarify that there was no fundamental constitutional right for same-sex couples to marry.
Obama voted against moving ahead with the proposed amendment. “This debate is a thinly-veiled attempt to break a consensus that is quietly being forged in this country,” he said. “A consensus between Democrats and Republicans, liberals and conservatives, Red States and Blue States, that it's time for new leadership in this country - leadership that will stop dividing us, stop disappointing us, and start addressing the problems facing most Americans.”
He said, "I personally believe that marriage is between a man and a woman. But I also agree with most Americans, including Vice President Cheney and over 2,000 religious leaders of all different beliefs, that decisions about marriage should be left to the states as they always have been."
When he ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2007 and 2008, Obama spoke at a forum sponsored by the gay advocacy group, the Human Rights Campaign. On marriage, Obama said, “We should try to disentangle what has historically been the issue of the word ‘marriage,’ which has religious connotations to some people, from the civil rights that are given to couples, in terms of hospital visitation, in terms of whether or not they can transfer property or any of the other -- Social Security benefits and so forth.”
When HRC president Joe Solomonese suggested that Obama’s stand sounded to gays and lesbians like the discredited “separate but equal” doctrine that was used for decades to justify racial discrimination, Obama reverted to the tactical argument: “if I were advising the civil rights movement back in 1961 about its approach to civil rights, I would have probably said it's less important that we focus on an anti- miscegenation law than we focus on a voting rights law and a non- discrimination and employment law and all the legal rights that are conferred by the state.”
He said civil union for gays and lesbians “wouldn't be a lesser thing (than marriage), from my perspective. And look, you know, semantics may be important to some. From my perspective, what I'm interested is making sure that those legal rights are available to people.”
Later in the 2008 campaign Obama returned to his recurring theme that gay and lesbian rights were sometimes used to distract voters from what they really ought to be voting on: economic issues.
“People don't vote on economic issues because they don't expect anybody is going to help them," Obama told a crowd in Terre Haute, Ind., in April 2008. "So people end up voting on issues like guns and are they going to have the right to bear arms. They vote on issues like gay marriage."
But once he was elected president Obama disappointed his gay and lesbian allies by at first defending DOMA, a law which he had criticized. The Justice Department filed a motion to dismiss a legal challenge to DOMA in July of 2009. Justice spokeswoman Tracy Schmaler said the department’s standard practice was to defending existing law.
"Until Congress passes legislation repealing the law, the administration will continue to defend the statute when it is challenged in the justice system," Schmaler said.
Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder changed their position in February 2011 when Holder announced the administration would not defend the constitutionality of Section 3 of DOMA as applied to same-sex married couples in the two cases filed in a federal appeals court
But as of last summer Obama was still disappointing his gay and lesbian supporters by repeating his view that marriage was an issue for each state to decide.
“Each community is going to be different and each state is going to be different,” he said at a White House press conference.
When NBC’s Chuck Todd asked, “Are you at all uncomfortable that there could be different rules in different states, you know, and for somebody to make the argument that's what we saw during segregation?”
Obama replied “what you're seeing is a profound recognition on the part of the American people that gays and lesbians and transgender persons are our brothers, our sisters, our children, our cousins, our friends, our co-workers, and that they've got to be treated like every other American. And I think that principle will win out.”
He said that he as president “can't dictate precisely how this process moves. But I think we're moving in a direction of greater equality and I think that's a good thing.”
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