#LoveWins - A Fun, Celebratory Music Video

Enjoy this music video, "Love Always Wins" by Mikey Wax:

BREAKING AWESOME NEWS: MY MARRIAGE IS LEGAL EVERYWHERE IN THE U.S.A.!

Love this news (and my husband and daughter!)





It's an historic, wonderful step – Cheers for our country bending that arc of history toward justice!

Lee

Until We Could - Poetry and Video Come Together To Create A Powerful Celebration of Love and The Right To Marry

Richard Blanco wrote the beautiful poem, and then it was made into this remarkable video:



You can find out more at The Daily Beast, where I found this video.

GSAs - what a great discussion prompt, about the power of poetry, the power of video, the power of our stories well-told. How can you tell your stories to change your school - and our world - for the better?

Namaste,
Lee

Vows: Mr. Duckett and Dr. Jones - A Love Story From the New York Times

This piece from the "Vows" section of the New York Times by Samantha Stark, about Lewis Duckett and Billy Jones, their 46 year relationship, adopting a baby, becoming grandparents and now, finally, getting married, was so moving.

It was also really interesting how they "wrote coded letters to each other during Dr. Jones’s deployment in Vietnam."

Watch. Share. Discuss.

12 Year Old Daniel, Raised by Two Dads, Has a Message For US Supreme Court Chief Justice Roberts as the Gay Marriage Case is About To Be Heard

This video is inspiring and remarkable, especially as gay marriage (what I think we should be calling same-love marriage) will be debated next week in the US Supreme Court.



Bravo, Daniel!

And cheers to you, your sister, and your dads!

You can read more about Daniel here at Advocate.com, and follow their family's story as they tell it on Youtube in their Gay Family Values video series!

Namaste,
Lee

ps- thanks to my husband for sharing this with me so I could share it with all of you!

Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Justin Mikita announce their engagment... and a new marriage equality organziation!

Jesse Tyler Ferguson (from TV's Modern Family) is Funny.

And what he says here is True.

And Funny!




Man, this line cracked me up:

"Who wouldn't want to see us get married?  We're as cute as puppies—puppies with bowties!"

Find out more about Tie The Knot, and cheer Jesse and Justin on!

Namaste,
Lee


ps - extra love and thanks to my husband, who shared this with me so I could share it with all of you!

A Father Finds His Understanding... Travelling to his Lesbian Daughter's Wedding

This three minute mini-documentary from Expedia is really moving:



My wish for everyone brave enough to come out (Yesterday was National Coming Out Day in the USA!) and live their authentic life...

moments like this one, when you are embraced and loved for being just who you are. 

And remember, the first person that has to love you is you. The rest will flow from that.

Namaste,
Lee


ps - love to my husband, who made sure I saw this.

President Obama's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month Proclamation!

Check this out: President Obama included support for gay marriage in his 2012 Pride Proclamation...

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release June 1, 2012

LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, AND TRANSGENDER PRIDE MONTH, 2012 -------

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

From generation to generation, ordinary Americans have led
a proud and inexorable march toward freedom, fairness, and full
equality under the law -- not just for some, but for all. Ours
is a heritage forged by those who organized, agitated, and
advocated for change; who wielded love stronger than hate and
hope more powerful than insult or injury; who fought to build
for themselves and their families a Nation where no one is a
second-class citizen, no one is denied basic rights, and all of
us are free to live and love as we see fit.

The lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT)
community has written a proud chapter in this fundamentally
American story. From brave men and women who came out and spoke
out, to union and faith leaders who rallied for equality, to
activists and advocates who challenged unjust laws and marched
on Washington, LGBT Americans and allies have achieved what once
seemed inconceivable. This month, we reflect on their enduring
legacy, celebrate the movement that has made progress possible,
and recommit to securing the fullest blessings of freedom for
all Americans.

Since I took office, my Administration has worked to
broaden opportunity, advance equality, and level the playing
field for LGBT people and communities. We have fought to secure
justice for all under the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr.,
Hate Crimes Prevention Act, and we have taken action to end
housing discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender
identity. We expanded hospital visitation rights for LGBT
patients and their loved ones, and under the Affordable Care
Act, we ensured that insurance companies will no longer be able
to deny coverage to someone just because they are lesbian, gay,
bisexual, or transgender. Because we understand that LGBT
rights are human rights, we continue to engage with the
international community in promoting and protecting the rights
of LGBT persons around the world. Because we repealed "Don't
Ask, Don't Tell," gay, lesbian, and bisexual Americans can serve
their country openly, honestly, and without fear of losing their
jobs because of whom they love. And because we must treat
others the way we want to be treated, I personally believe in
marriage equality for same-sex couples.

More remains to be done to ensure every single American is
treated equally, regardless of sexual orientation or gender
identity. Moving forward, my Administration will continue its
work to advance the rights of LGBT Americans. This month, as we
reflect on how far we have come and how far we have yet to go,
let us recall that the progress we have made is built on the
words and deeds of ordinary Americans. Let us pay tribute to
those who came before us, and those who continue their work
today; and let us rededicate ourselves to a task that is
unending -- the pursuit of a Nation where all are equal, and all
have the full and unfettered opportunity to pursue happiness and
live openly and freely.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the
United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in
me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do
hereby proclaim June 2012 as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and
Transgender Pride Month. I call upon the people of the
United States to eliminate prejudice everywhere it exists,
and to celebrate the great diversity of the American people.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
first day of June, in the year of our Lord two thousand twelve,
and of the Independence of the United States of America the
two hundred and thirty-sixth.

BARACK OBAMA

###

Happy Pride, everyone!

Namaste,
Lee

Everybody Wants To Say I Do - an awesome music video by Town & Country

For my husband,

15 years!  And every day I still want to say...

 I do!

And for everyone else, enjoy!






To find out more about Town & Country's singer/frontman Rob Shapiro and songwriter/producer Brian Woodbury, check out their website here. 

And my thanks to Suzanne for sharing this with me, so I could share it with all of you!

Namaste,
Lee

HUGE News: President Obama Supports Gay Marriage

He's evolved!

Barack Obama promised to be a "fierce advocate" for the GLBTQ community while running for office.

Once in office, that advocacy has felt, at times, tepid.  Hesitant.  More concerned with political expediency than with doing what was right.  What we believed he felt was right.  And yet progress was made.  Slow progress, but progress.

But on Wednesday May 9, 2012, President Obama finally stated, (you can watch the video here or here at the Obama campaign site)

"I have to tell you that over the course of several years, as I have talked to friends and family and neighbors, when I think about members of my own staff who are in incredibly committed monogamous relationships, same-sex relationships, who are raising kids together, when I think about those soldiers or airmen or marines or sailors who are out there fighting on my behalf and yet feel constrained, even now that Don't Ask Don't Tell is gone, because they are not able to commit themselves in a marriage, at a certain point I’ve just concluded that 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."

Hurray!

While there is a lot of talk and conjecture about the possible damage this might do to his re-election campaign, by standing up for us GLBTQ members of the community and saying that he supports our equality, he's gained more than my tepid support.

He's gained me as an advocate.

And millions of other GLBTQ and Allied and fair-minded people.

This is a good thing.

Namaste,
Lee