Brazilian Presidential Hopeful Comes Out as Gay ahead of Jair Bolsonaro Challenge

PINK NEWS: A Brazilian governor and possible presidential candidate has come out as gay, making waves in a country governed by “proud homophobe” Jair Bolsonaro.

Eduardo Leite, the governor of the southern Rio Grande do Sul state, made the announcement in an interview with the country’s top broadcaster TV Globo on Thursday night (1 July).

“In this Brazil of little integrity, at this time, we have to debate who we are, so that everything is clear and there is nothing to hide,” the 36-year-old said.

“I’m gay – and I’m a governor who is gay rather than a gay governor,” he declared, according the The Guardian, adding: “And I am proud of it.”

Leite chose Pride Week in Brazil to come out, addressing the gossip that’s been swirling around him since he became a potential presidential candidate for the centre-right Brazilian Social Democratic party (PSDB). » | Emma Powys Maurice | Friday, July 2, 2021

Entrevista: Eduardo Leite assume homossexualidade e fala sobre queixa-crime por ataque homofóbico de Jair Bolsonaro »

Methodist Church Allows Same-sex Marriage in 'Momentous' Vote

BBC: The Methodist Church has become the largest religious denomination in Britain to permit same-sex marriages.

A vote to change the definition of marriage at the Methodist Conference on Wednesday overwhelmingly passed by 254 in favour with 46 against.

Freedom of conscience clauses mean ministers will not be forced to conduct such weddings if they oppose the move.

Same-sex marriage is not allowed in the Church of England or the Roman Catholic Church.

However it is welcomed in the Scottish Episcopal Church, the United Reformed Church and the Quakers in Britain.

The Methodist Church is Britain's fourth largest Christian denomination with about 164,000 members across more than 4,000 churches. » | Harry Farley, BBC News | Thursday, July 1, 2021

American LGBTQ+ Museum Moves Towards Reality

ADVOCATE: The New-York Historical Society announced work would start on the museum, dedicated to the U.S. queer experience, next year.

The New-York Historical Society, a museum and library dedicated to telling the stories of America's largest city, announced a major expansion, which will include an entire floor dedicated to the forthcoming American LGBTQ+ Museum.

The addition to the Historical Society's building on Manhattan's Upper West Side will add 70,000 square feet of additional classrooms, galleries, collection study areas, and a “state-of-the-art compact storage facility.” Once complete, the Historical Society's fourth floor will become the American LGBTQ+ Museum, which has been in the works for at least four years. » | Neal Broverman | Thursday, July 1, 2021

Not A Still Life | Gay Jewish Documentary Portrait

Aug 13, 2018 • In this documentary portrait, a charismatic older, gay, Jewish man undergoes an evolution of awareness amid the joys and sorrows of his wild and fully lived life. In revealing his “naked truth,” he offers viewers an opportunity for reflection about the complexity of human identity.

In the words of the film’s spirited subject, “This is the story of a gay, Jewish, animal rights, vegetarian, recovering alcoholic ... individual.” Steve Stone is an ebullient, extroverted character and an engaging storyteller with a life full of captivating tales. He is also not unlike many gay men of a certain age who were almost brought to extinction with the AIDS epidemic of the 80’s. In that sense, this film, a portrait of a man, is also a chronicle of a time that was.

This one man’s story, his struggles with sexual orientation and various addictions, love and loss, taps into themes that encompass all our lives. His quirky and entertaining reflections come from a unique perspective. We cannot help but see ourselves in, and be inspired by, his distinctive outlook because for all the ways that we may not share his “outside the box” personality, his evolution, his journey through life and his deep desires are ours. They exemplify the conflicts and complexities in every human heart.

Not a Still Life punctuates the stories of Steve’s personal journey through the decades with a judicious use of title graphics to reflect key aspects of gay social history in America. His is the tale of a man who, in the homophobic period of the 50s, was ridiculed and dismissed as a child which led his irreverence, hyperactivity and rebelliousness. Determined to be himself rather than conform to social mores that made him uncomfortable, he came out to everyone in the early 60’s at the age of 17. Eight years before the Stonewall Rebellion, this was a brave move. Steve Stone has been openly gay for fifty years!


Viewer discretion is advised. Warning: Not suitable for children! – Mark

Caught Inside - Gay Surfers - Gay Short Documentary

Oct 5, 2018 • “Caught Inside” is a short documentary I produced exploring the taboo of homosexuality in surfing culture. I spoke to three vastly different Australian surfers to discuss their perspectives on why being gay in the lineup is still taboo and the experiences they’ve had growing up in a country full of surf, sand and waves. Producer, Motion Design: Gabriel Virata Cinematographer, Editor: Miles Bence

Gay Farmers Call for Help

Oct 22, 2019 • In the UK, many LGBTQ farmers feel isolated and live a life plagued by secrecy and guilt. Their only solace is a phone number. This short documentary illuminates their experiences through reconstructive visuals over recorded telephone conversations that are both shocking and candid.

Read more HERE »

I Had to De-Gay My Voice for Work. I'm Not Alone.

ADVOCATE: I met my now-husband in 1996 at a time when I never imagined we would be able to get married in the same sense that heterosexual couples do. After the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, in 2015 — and a 19-year courtship — we exchanged vows on a mountaintop in Mont-Tremblant, Quebec, in Canada. At that time, we still couldn’t legally marry in our home state of Georgia.

When we adopted our first child in 2011, the State of Georgia did not allow us to adopt him as a couple. We each had to adopt him individually, and separately. Today, and together with my husband and two sons, I live in a neighborhood with no other families with same-sex parents. We proudly fly our rainbow flag in front of our home each June in celebration of Pride Month and how far we’ve personally come, with the support and love of our neighbors and community. » | Rick McMurty | Monday, June 28, 2021

It Got Better Featuring Portia De Rossi | L/Studio Created By Lexus

May 13, 2015 • Portia de Rossi battled losing her father, bulimia, and a Hollywood perfection complex before she made it out of her twenties.

It Got Better Featuring Nate Berkus | L/Studio Created By Lexus

May 6, 2015 • It would be easy for Nate Berkus to feel like he was on the losing side of life. He lost his partner in a tragic turn of fate. It wasn't until he found love again that he was able to accept himself & reconcile his past.

Nate Berkus »

Gay Pride and the Battle for LGBTQI+ Rights – Where It All Began | DW Documentary

Jun 27, 2021 • The battle for the rights of LGBTQI+ people began over half a century ago in New York City. A police raid on a gay bar, the Stonewall Inn, in June 1969, triggered days of rioting. A year later, the first Gay Pride parade made its way through the streets of Manhattan.

Since 1970, June has been considered Gay Pride Month. In many countries the LGBTQI+ community celebrates Christopher Street Day, which is named after the street where the Stonewall Inn was located. Loud and proud demonstrators mark the anniversary of when lesbians, gays, queers, transsexuals, transgender people, and drag queens took to the streets to fight for their rights. Back then, they wanted to be freed from the taint of illegality straight society had imposed on their sexual orientation. They wanted to be themselves and no longer be forced to live on the fringes of society. During the Stonewall riots, street children, residents, lesbians, gays and drag queens took part in the unrest. They occupied the bar and Christopher Street. A movement grew from this incident that changed society over the course of the decades, in Western democracies at least. Nevertheless, the fight is far from over, with homosexuality still deemed a crime - even a capital offense - in some countries.

It Got Better Featuring Ian McKellen | L/Studio Created by Lexus

May 24, 2016 • Growing up in Northern England in the 1930s, being gay wasn’t just taboo — it was illegal. Sir Ian McKellen speaks about devoting his life to fighting for gay rights and how it felt coming out to the nation on public radio.

Australien: Politiker macht Partner Heiratsantrag im Parlament (2017)

Dec 4, 2017 • In Parlamenten werden hin und wieder nicht nur Gesetze beschlossen - manchmal bleibt auch Zeit für Herzensangelegenheiten. So geschehen in Australien: Der Abgeordnete Tim Wilson hat eine Parlamentsdebatte über die gleichgeschlechtliche Ehe genutzt - und machte seinem Partner einen Antrag.

Rutte fordert Orbán heraus: „Viktor, warum bleibst Du in der EU?“

FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG: Mit seiner Politik gegen Homosexuelle steht der ungarische Ministerpräsident im Kreis der Regierungschefs ziemlich allein da. Erstmals wird die Zugehörigkeit seines Landes zur Union offen in Frage gestellt.

Emotional ging es zu, als die Regierungschefs am Donnerstagabend zum Thema Ungarn kamen, so emotional wie selten. Xavier Bettel aus Luxemburg, selbst schwul, erzählte seine eigene Geschichte. Fast jeder habe da Tränen in den Augen gehabt, sagte Mark Rutte, der Niederländer hinterher. Und es ging mit voller Wucht gegen Viktor Orbán. Er hatte das Gesetz, das Kinder vor Homosexualität und anderen Orientierungen „schützen“ soll, noch schnell in Kraft setzen lassen, bevor er in Brüssel eintraf. Rutte selbst ritt die härteste Attacke. Wie Teilnehmer berichten, wandte er sich direkt an den ungarischen Regierungschef: „Viktor, wenn Du das machst, warum bleibst Du dann in der EU?“ Das war ein Einschnitt. Er könnte gravierende Folgen für Orbán nach sich ziehen.

Der belgische Premierminister Alexander De Croo sprach nach der Sitzung, die erst am frühen Morgen zu Ende ging, von einem „entscheidenden Moment“: „Eine solche Konfrontation haben wir noch nicht erlebt.“ Fast einstimmig habe der Europäische Rat gesagt: „Bis hierhin und nicht weiter.“ Auf die Frage, ob es noch einen Platz für Ungarn in der Europäischen Union gebe, antwortete De Croo erst mit ein paar Sekunden Verzögerung: „Ich hoffe, dass Herr Orbán mit dieser Frage heute nach Hause geht oder wenigstens schlafen geht. Ich denke, er hatte nicht damit gerechnet, dass das Treffen diese Wendung nimmt.“ » | Von Thomas Gutschker, Brüssel | Freitag, 25. Juni 2021

L’Etat de droit, meilleure protection pour les droits LGBT en Europe

LE MONDE : Editorial. L’adoption, le 15 juin par le Parlement hongrois, d’un projet de loi assimilant de fait homosexualité, pornographie et pédophilie, et le refus de l’UEFA d’illuminer le stade de Munich aux couleurs arc-en-ciel ont mis en évidence une fracture entre les membres de l’UE.

Editorial du « Monde ». L’arc-en-ciel est dans toutes les têtes, mais l’orage n’est pas près de se dissiper. Les foudres que se sont attirées, depuis mardi 22 juin, le premier ministre hongrois, Viktor Orban, puis, par ricochet, l’UEFA, l’organisation qui supervise le championnat de football Euro 2021, à propos des droits des communautés LGBT, montrent à quel point ce sujet cristallise les fractures sociétales intra-européennes.

Le projet de loi adopté le 15 juin par le Parlement hongrois, contrôlé par le parti nationaliste de M. Orban, a provoqué un profond malaise au sein de l’Union européenne. Ce texte, qui prévoit de rendre inaccessibles aux moins de 18 ans les « contenus qui montrent ou encouragent la sexualité en elle-même, le changement de genre ou l’homosexualité », assimile de fait homosexualité, pornographie et pédophilie. » | Éditorial | jeudi 24 juin 2021

EU Leaders to Confront Hungary’s Viktor Orbán over LGBTQ+ Rights

THE GUARDIAN: Sixteen EU leaders sign open letter vowing to fight discrimination of LGBTQ+ people before summit

European Union leaders including Emmanuel Macron and Angela Merkel have signed a letter vowing to fight discrimination towards lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people before an expected confrontation with Viktor Orbán over a Hungarian law widely condemned as an assault on the rights of LGBTQ+ people.

The letter published on Thursday does not mention Hungary explicitly, but the timing is no accident and the stage is set for a tense encounter on Wednesday between the Hungarian prime minister and many of his counterparts at an EU summit in Brussels.

Hungary’s parliament last week adopted a bill that will ban gay people from being shown in educational materials, on prime-time TV, or shows and films aimed at children. The government claims the law is intended to protect children, but campaigners and the Council of Europe’s human rights commissioner say those arguments are “misleading and false”. » | Jennifer Rankin in Brussels | Thursday, June 24, 2021

It Gets Better: Apple Employees

Apple employees share a personal message for the It Gets Better Project. If you are considering suicide or need help, call the Trevor Project now: 866-4-U-TREVOR (866-488-7386).

The Trevor Project »

‘Gay Conversion Therapist’ Comes Out: Exclusive Interview

He was a leader of the controversial 'gay conversion therapy' movement in the United States - so it came as a shock when David Matheson publicly came out as gay.

For decades, Mr Matheson - a Mormon - ran retreats offering therapy to suppress or manage sexuality, - claiming to help people live as straight men rather than gay.

In an exclusive interview with this programme he's now conceded that the practice, which almost 700,000 Americans have undergone, is not only built on a harmful philosophy but should be banned.

We are also joined from New York by Chaim Levin, who twice attended retreats co-founded by David Matheson.

Von der Leyen gegen Orbán: „Dieses ungarische Gesetz ist eine Schande“

FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG: Die EU-Kommissionspräsidentin reagiert blitzschnell auf das umstrittene Gesetz. Sie wirft Ungarn Diskriminierung und einen Verstoß gegen die Grundwerte der EU vor. Faktisch hat sie damit ein Vertragsverletzungsverfahren eröffnet.

EU-Kommissionspräsidentin Ursula von der Leyen hat ein neues ungarisches Gesetz, das Kinder vorgeblich vor nicht-heterosexuellen Orientierungen schützen soll, eine „Schande“ genannt. „Das Gesetz diskriminiert Menschen aufgrund ihrer sexuellen Orientierung. Es verstößt gegen fundamentale Werte der Europäischen Union: Menschenwürde, Gleichheit und der Respekt für Menschenrechte“, sagte von der Leyen am Mittwochmorgen in Brüssel. Sie glaube an eine Europäische Union, „wo wir alle sein können, wer wir sind“ und „in der wir lieben können, wen wir wollen“. Wie von der Leyen weiter sagte, hat sie die verantwortlichen Kommissare gebeten, einen Brief zu senden, der diesen rechtlichen Bedenken Ausdruck verleiht, noch bevor das Gesetz in Kraft tritt. » | Von Thomas Gutschker, Brüssel | Mittwoch, 23. Juni 2021

Hitting Rock Bottom, Gay Man Adopts Dog. “I Have a Great Life with an Amazing, Little, Bitchy Dog.”

In the midst of addiction and in the aftermath of a violent attack and HIV diagnosis, Rob Garofalo decided to adopt a dog - despite never having even had a pet. And while this adorable little Yorkie didn’t solve all his problems, he did help Rob get his life back on track.

Ryan Oldroyd (I'm From Glenwood, UT) - True Gay Stories

A young Mormon is excommunicated then outed to his parents after he comes out to his Mission President.