American companies are born as private commercial entities, but thanks to the Citizens United Supreme Court decision, suddenly they can transition to human status for the purpose of influencing an election with millions of dollars. Meanwhile, thousands of actual human citizens, who’ve only transitioned gender identity, may have less influence over elections—or no influence at all—because they’ll now face heavy burdens under strict photo voter ID laws. It’s an obscene paradox.
Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) plans to marry his longtime partner in July, which will make him the first gay member of Congress to do so.
“I think it’s important that my colleagues interact with a married gay man,” Frank said in an interview with New York magazine published online Sunday.
Frank, who plans to retire from Congress this year after 16 terms, became the first openly gay member of Congress in 1987. Frank announced in January his plan to marry longtime partner Jim Ready.
Kevin Kloosterman, a former Mormon bishop, said he “came out” last year – just not in the way that many people associate with coming out.
“I came out and basically made a personal apology to (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) folks for really not understanding their issues, not really taking the time to understand their lives and really not doing my homework,” Kloosterman said in an interview with CNN.
The conservative group One Million Moms — a project of the American Family Association that has nowhere near a million moms — has found some more gay content that it wants to boycott. Having given up on their boycott of JC Penney over its use of Ellen DeGeneres as a spokesperson, the group is now outraged that the Urban Outfitters catalog features two women kissing:
The second of three award shows held this spring by the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) to honor the most outstanding images of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community in the media will take place in Los Angeles on April 21.
The Melissa Harris-Perry Show on Saturday discussed transgender issues with guests including Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality; Kate Bornstein, author of the soon-to-be released "A Queer and Pleasant Danger;" and Mel Wymore, who is running for a City Council seat on New York's Upper West Side -- and if elected, will become the first openly transgendered person on that Council.
From the first appearance at a trans event by a sitting Cabinet Secretary to the incredible list of policy victories we’ve achieved in the past year, trans policy is now firmly part of the political debate. Of equal importance is that now, the conversation around the country is moving in our favor, symbolic of important cultural progress in our movement. Capitalizing on what seems to be a trans moment, Mara Keisling will join the Melissa-Harris Perry Show on a nationally televised panel discussing the movement for transgender equality.
