FCKH8: A Letter From Dad

George Takei Surprises Jacob Rudolph, Gay Teen Who Came Out To Hundreds At High School Assembly 

If you haven’t watched it, click here. It’s a must.

Amazon Staffers: It Gets Better

Katy Perry: Trevor Project Hero Award

Sir Ian McKellen Backs UK’s Stonewall Anti-Bullying Campaign

Dan Savage Takes Down Tony Perkins

I long for the day when Dan and this son of a bitch of Tony Perkins face to face in a court room. Dan would cut this bitch.

An American Dream For A Gay Kid

This is by the Liberty Hill Foundation, created in 1976 by baking heiress Sarah Pillsbury.

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

Tonight.

MINNESOTA: Archbishop Tells Woman To Reject Her Gay Son Or Go To Hell

Joe.My.God. reports:

Truth Wins Out reports that Minnesota Archbishop John Nienstadt responded to a parishioner’s letter by telling her that she should reject her gay son or she too will go to hell. Think Progress has the letter: 

• I write to inform you that the teaching of the Catholic Church on homosexuality,a s described in paragraphs 2357 and 2358 and 2359 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church is rooted in Scripture and based on the Natural Moral Law. It, therefore, shares in God’s revelation to us. Catholics are bound in conscience to believe this teaching. Those who do not cannot consider themselves to be Catholic and ought not to participate in the sacramental life of the Church. Indeed, some might find this is a hard saying by many of Jesus’ teachings were likewise received as such. I urge you to reconsider the position that you expressed in your letter. Your eternal salvation may well depend upon a conversation of heart on this topic.

Truth Wins Out calls Nienstadt’s letter “spiritual bullying of the highest order.” 

• Such rejection can have devastating consequences for LGBT youth: according to a 2009 study conducted by San Francisco State University researcher Caitlin Ryan and published in the Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, LGBT teens who experienced negative feedback from their families were 8 times more likely to have attempted suicide, 6 times more vulnerable to severe depression, and 3 times more likely to use drugs than teens who did not experience negative feedback.

“Tell me, Archbishop, Pope, what purpose does the Church serve attempting to influence the affairs of a secular state? The federal benefits under law currently denied gay couples certainly fall under the realm of Caesar, don’t they? No one is forcing the Catholic Church to marry gay couples if that is not the Church’s wish. You can keep the sanctity of Catholic marriage solely between heterosexual couples if you feel that is what’s required (again though, I caution you on the dangers of presumed infallibility). All we are asking is for you to extend the open hand of tolerance instead of the closed fist of fear and hate. 

“As American citizens, we respect the right for everyone to practice whichever religion they so choose, including the right to not practice one at all. Haven’t we learned enough from the Crusades, the Inquisitions, the Talibans of the world? What does it benefit the Church to attempt to influence secular policy in this country, especially when that influence is to deny basic human rights to others? Will you now assume Caesar’s throne, grasping the transitory ephemera of worldly power and control, while forsaking the eternal kingdom of Heaven?”

Dan Savage: “Tony Perkins Sits On A Pile Of Gay Kids Everyday”

I just love Dan. He tells shit like it is. Straight forward. Love him.

CALIFORNIA: Gov. Jerry Brown Signs Bill Banning “Ex-Gay” Therapy For Minors

Joe.My.God. reports:

Last night [Saturday 29th, September] California Gov. Jerry Brown finally signed the billthat bans “ex-gay therapy” for children under the age of 18. 

The bill, SB1172 by Sen. Ted Lieu, D-Torrance (Los Angeles County), bars mental health practitioners from performing so-called reparative therapy, which professional psychological organizations have said may cause harm. Gay rights groups have labeled them dangerous and abusive. “This bill bans non-scientific ‘therapies’ that have driven young people to depression and suicide. These practices have no basis in science or medicine and they will now be relegated to the dustbin of quackery,” Brown said in a statement to The Chronicle.Brown approved the ban after the public release of two other lists of bills signed and vetoed earlier Saturday. Lieu’s bill is expected to appear on a new list to be released Sunday.

REACTIONS

National Center for Lesbian Rights: ”Governor Brown has sent a powerful message of affirmation and support to LGBT youth and their families. This law will ensure that state-licensed therapists can no longer abuse their power to harm LGBT youth and propagate the dangerous and deadly lie that sexual orientation is an illness or disorder that can be ‘cured.’”

Equality California: ”Governor Brown today reaffirmed what medical and mental health organizations have made clear: Efforts to change minors’ sexual orientation are not therapy, they are the relics of prejudice and abuse that have inflicted untold harm on young lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Californians. We thank Senator Ted Lieu and Governor Brown for their efforts in making California a leader in banning this deceptive and harmful practice.”

Truth Wins Out: “This is a historic day that protects LGBT youth from child abuse disguised as genuine therapy. We thank Gov. Brown for signing legislation that can serve as a model for similar bills across the nation.”

Human Rights Campaign: ”We’re grateful to Governor Brown for standing with California’s children. LGBT youth will now be protected from a practice that has not only been debunked as junk science, but has been proven to have drastically negative effects on their well-being. We commend Governor Brown for putting children first, and call on all states to take California’s lead on this issue. We will continue our fight against this kind of child abuse, which has been deemed harmful to children by all major mental health, medical, and child welfare organizations.”

Courage Campaign: ”Governor Brown has shown courage for enacting the first law in the nation to ban ‘conversion therapy’ for gay people. The Governor’s action will protect thousands of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth of California. This law will save lives here and across the nation by ending the torture of young people through the quackery that suggests that gay people can decide somehow not to be gay, which is akin to white people deciding not to be white. Once again, California is a model for the nation.”

United Kingdom: Mum’s Pride At Son Who Stood Up To Anti-Gay Bigots in Brighton

Pink News UK reports:

A mother in Brighton has spoken of her admiration for her son after he was beaten up for fending off homophobic thugs.
18-year-old Jack Young, who is straight, was bottled in the face, after confronting people who were shouting homophobic abuse during last weekend’s Brighton Pride celebrations.
He was on St James’s Street in Kemptown, on Saturday evening when he came across a group of individuals who were making derogatory remarks about the LGBT community.
According to the Argus newspaper, he confronted them only to be hit with a bottle.
The teenager has been left with injuries to his face
Jack’s mother, Sue Fallon, subsequently shared the story on theWipe Out Homophobia Facebook group.
She spoke of her gratitude at receiving kind words of support from the LGBT community and said in a post:

• “I am extremely proud of my son for what he did. I know for a fact that if he came across the same situation again he would react the same, it’s just how he is.
• I have just spent over an hour reading all of your lovely comments. I am overwhelmed by all [the] caring words.
• I LOVE how many of you like the photo. I know it’s because you like what he did, not what has happened. I would like to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for all of your comments.
• A lot of you have asked if the police are involved, they have been round to speak to Jack but he does not want it to go any further, This he says, is because there is no point, they would not get caught, They know they have done wrong & one day they will all get theirs.
• I wish he would make a statement but sadly at 18 he is classed as an adult so I have no control”.

Mrs Fallon ended her post by saying Jack: “Does not see himself as a hero, he was in his own words “‘Just doing his civic duty’”.
Earlier this week, Sussex Police revealed it had made 40 arrests during last weekend’s Brighton Pride festival.

Germany: Cool Dad Nils Pickert Wears Skirt In Solidarity With His 5-Year-Old Son 

The Huffington Post reports:

When it comes to supporting his son’s unconventional wardrobe, Nils Pickert talks the talk and walks the walk.
The German dad explains in Emma magazine that he wears women’s clothes (including nail polish) to help his 5-year-old son feel good about going out in dresses and skirts.
A picture of Pickert and his little boy, sporting matching red clothes — dad in a long skirt, son in a spaghetti-strap dress — has been making the Internet rounds, inspiring enough positive feedback to cancel out a thousand sideways looks and gender marketing fails.
Pickert says that in the small town where he lives, his son’s dress choices are seen as everybody’s business — and when it comes to standing up for his son, he’s determined to show, not just tell. He writes (according to Tumblr user steegeschnoeber’s translation):
Yes, I’m one of those dads, that try to raise their children equal. I’m not one of those academic daddies that ramble about gender equality during their studies and then, as soon as a child’s in the house, still relapse into those fluffy gender roles: He’s finding fulfilment in his carrier and she’s doing the rest.
Thus I am, I know that by now, part of the minority that makes a fool of themselves from time to time. Out of conviction.
Pickert is not the only parent to speak up for a child whose dress preferences stand out from the norm. American mom Cheryl Kilodavis, who wrote a picture book called “My Princess Boy” about her son Dyson, went on The Today Show in January 2011 to discuss the importance of accepting children for who they are — no matter what they wear. “Sooner or later my hope is that the world will embrace the uniqueness that is really within all of us,” she told Meredith Vieira.

In Emma, Pickert says that he chose to become the “role model” he knew his son needed. Chances are his actions will set an example not just for kids, but for parents, too.

David Levitz: How To Survive High School