SOUTH AFRICA: Oscar Pistorius Removed From It Gets Better Project

Joe.My.God. reports:

The It Gets Better Project is set to launch in South Africa this week andorganizers say they will not be using a video message recorded for them by Olympian track star Oscar Pistorius, who stands accused of murdering his girlfriend. 

• The campaign, which is to be launched at the Cape Town Holocaust Centre at 7pm, has the support of numerous celebrities, including models Shashi Naidoo and Kerry McGregor, Mr Gay World 2011 Francois Nel, television presenters Sade Giliberti and Jo-Ann Strauss, and struggle hero Ahmed Kathrada. In his video, which will no longer be included in the campaign, Pistorius said: “Just remember that you’re special. You don’t have to worry. You don’t have to change. Take a deep breath and remember ‘It will get better’.”

49ers’ Players Say They Never Participated In “It Gets Better” Video (Even Though They’re In It)

The Huffington Post reports:

A series of anti-gay remarks made by San Francisco 49ers cornerback Chris Culliver cast the Super Bowl-bound team in a negative light just days ahead of the NFL championship game.
Though Culliver has since apologized for the controversial statements, the backlash seems unlikely to dissipate now that a new wrinkle has emerged. The 49ers’ linebacker Ahmad Brooks and nose tackle Isaac Sopoaga, both of whom participated in the team’s widely-praised “It Gets Better” video last summer, have denied ever producing the clip.
The players told USA Today Sports that they didn’t realize the video’s aim was to specifically combat bullying experienced by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) teens.
“This is America and if someone wants to be gay, they can be gay,” Brooks told the publication. “But I didn’t make any video.” Later, after he was reportedly shown the video on an iPhone, the player clarified, “Oh, that. It was an anti-bullying video, not a gay [rights] video.”
Even more curiously, Sopoaga also denied taking part in the clip, even as a teammate reportedly tried to jog his memory. “I never went,” he declared. “And now someone is using my name.”
LGBT rights activists have yet to respond to Brooks and Sopoaga’s claims. But the firestorm over Culliver’s statements (he told Artie Lange that he “don’t do the gay guys, man” and that an openly gay player would not be welcome on the 49ers) continues to rage, even though team officials have released a statement saying they “proudly support the LGBT community.”
Interestingly, Culliver’s comments initially came on the heels of news that former 49ers offensive tackle Kwame Harris was in court on assault charges from a former boyfriend. Though Harris last played for the 49ers in 2007, many former teammates quickly came to his defense in the media.
A petition has since been launched on change.org asking the NFL to send Culliver to spend a day with the New York Gay Football League.
“This will give him an opportunity to see that openly gay players perform just as well as heterosexual players,” the petition’s organizer, Christian Fuscarino, writes. “It will also allow him to ask questions and speak with members of the team.”

Amazon Staffers: It Gets Better

Royal Canadian Mounted Police: It Gets Better

Second “It Gets Better” Special To Air On MTV & Logo TV

Tonight.

Austin Police Department: It Gets Better

San Francisco 49ers: It Gets Better

They are the first NFL team to join the project.

Debate: Dan Savage Vs Brian Brown

San Francisco General Staffers - It Gets Better

Dan Savage, An Emmy Nominee 

Congrats to Dan and the It Gets Better team!

Dan Savage And It Gets Better Team To Produce Film On Openly LGBT Politicians

Denis Dison, for Victory Fund’s Gay Politics, reports:

Dan Savage and the producing team behind the “It Gets Better” documentary specials for MTV and Logo haveannounced a new project that will examine openly LGBT political candidates and how they prepare to run for office.  Filmmakers have been granted unprecedented access to the LGBT Candidate and Campaign Training offered by theGay & Lesbian Victory Institute.
“This is uncharted territory,” said Savage.  ”We’re seeing progress on LGBT issues, but in order to effect real change, representation in government is essential.  Aspiring LGBT candidates face a unique set of hurdles on the way to political office.  The goal of this project is to follow a number of LGBT political candidates, and highlight Victory’s groundbreaking approach to helping them win.”
Chuck Wolfe, president and CEO of the Victory Fund and Institute, said the project will highlight the stories that lead to careers in public service.  ”Out officeholders are crucial leaders in our fight for equality.  We look forward to partnering with this talented team of producers and filmmakers to lift the veil on how these men and women learn to run and win.”
The project’s executive producers are Dan Savage, Brian Pines, Ted Skillman and Belisa Balaban.
Victory’s next Candidate and Campaign Training will be held in Long Beach, Calif., from November 28 to December 2.  Go here to learn more and apply to attend.

As expected, GOProud is having a meltdown over Victory Fund’s partnership with Dan:

No conservative or GOP group should be willing to work with the Victory Fund if they choose to partner with Dan Savage.

— Chris Barron (@ChrisRBarron) July 18, 2012

Bully @fakedansavage finds new home at @VictoryFund. GOProud’s statement here - goproud.org/pages/news—pr…

— GOPROUD (@GOPROUD) July 18, 2012

Here’s their full statement:

GOProud Criticizes Victory Fund Decision to Partner with Dan Savage
Jimmy LaSalvia, Executive Director – “How can the Victory Fund claim to work to elect openly gay Republicans while at the same time partnering with a man who called gay Republicans ‘house faggots”?
(Washington, D.C.) – The Victory Fund - an ostensibly ‘bipartisan’ organization - that works to elect openly LGBT candidates announced a partnership with the controversial founder of the It Gets Better Project, Dan Savage. Savage previously called gay Republicans “house faggots” and wrote a column where he compared gay Republicans to meth addicts. In response, Jimmy LaSalvia, Executive Director of GOProud – a national organization of gay and straight Americans seeking to promote freedom by supporting free markets, limited government, and a respect for individual rights and the only gay organization to endorse Governor Mitt Romney’s Presidential bid – issued the following statement.
“How can the Victory Fund claim to work to elect openly gay Republicans while at the same time partnering with a man who called gay Republicans ‘house faggots’ and compared us to meth addicts? What kind of message does this partnership send to the openly LGBT Republican candidates across the country? What kind of message does it send to Republicans in general about the type of organization that the Victory Fund actually is?
“If the Victory Fund truly is committed to a bipartisan mission, then they should immediate end any relationship with Dan Savage.”

RELATED: “Moron Of The Week” Inductee Jimmy LaSalvia still thinks that saying faggot is not cool unless he uses it:

Of course the tweet has been deleted already.

Seattle Police Department - It Gets Better

Portland Police: It Gets Better

European Leaders: It Gets Better