Via JMG: CALIFORNIA: Proposed Bill Outlaws "Ex-Gay" Therapy For Kids Under 18

California state Sen. Ted Lieu (D) has introduced a bill that would outlaw "ex-gay" or so-called reparative therapy for children under the age of 18. Around The Capitol sums up the proposed item:

This bill would prohibit psychotherapists, as defined, from performing sexual orientation change efforts, as defined, in the absence of informed consent of the patient. The bill would require a specified statement to be included on the informed consent form. Informed consent would not be effective for patients under 18 years of age. The bill would provide for a cause of action against psychotherapists by patients, former patients, or certain other persons in specified cases.

Think Progress notes that the bill passed out of its Senate subcommittee yesterday.

Labels: "ex-gay", California, child abuse

Reposted from Joe

How My Priest Helped Me Come Out

Via JMG: Your Gayness Is A Hobby

"Stop using the word gay, because implicit in the notion of a gay identity is the fact that they’re born gay and that it should be a fundamental human right, but fundamental human rights are based on human nature not on capricious desires. If fundamental human rights are based on capricious desires, guess what, we’d have every group on this planet with a different hobby arguing for fundamental rights and benefits based on the fact that they play hockey, based on the fact that they play basketball or surf, or anything that they’re interested in." - Anti-gay activist Ryan Sorba, speaking at Awakening 2012, a convention of hate group leaders.

Labels: asshattery, douchenozzles, Ryan Sorba

reposted from Joe

Bia JMG: Babs Turns 70 Today

And here's her first ever charting single, People. The clip below is from her Oscar-winning performance in the 1968 movie version of Funny Girl, but the single reached #5 on the Billboard pop chart when it was first released from the 1964 original Broadway cast recording. Yes kids, Babs had her first hit record 48 years ago.

Labels: Barbra Streisand, Broadway, gay icons, pop music

Reposted from Joe

Tibetan Chant - Heart Sutra

Phoenix LGBT flash mob silences bigoted preachers with "Born This Way"

Via JMG: IOWA: Sioux City Newspaper Devotes Front Page To Stopping Anti-Gay Bullying

JMG reader Alan points us to this AP story:

In a rare and forceful act of advocacy, an Iowa newspaper devoted the entire front page of its Sunday edition to an anti-bullying editorial after a gay teen committed suicide. Relatives have said 14-year-old Kenneth Weishuhn Jr. suffered intense harassment, including threatening cellphone calls and nasty comments posted online, after coming out to family and friends about a month ago. He died April 15 from what the local sheriff's office described only as a "self-inflicted injury." The Sioux City Journal's front-page opinion piece calls on the community to be pro-active in stopping bullying and urges members to learn more about the problem by seeing the acclaimed new film, "Bully," which documents the harassment of a Sioux City middle school student. It notes that while many students are targeted for being gay, "we have learned a bully needs no reason to strike."

Hit the link for the full editorial.

Labels: bullying, Iowa, LGBT youth, newspapers

Reposted from Joe

Via JMG: Bright Side: Romney's New Homocon Is Infuriating The Talibangelicals

Labels: AFA, Bryan Fischer, GOP, hate groups, homocons, infighting is funny, Mitt Romney, Richard Grenell

reposted from Joe

JMG EXPOSED: Secret Christian Facebook Group Plots Web Attacks On Gay Sites

Fellow blogger Alvin McEwen has uncovered a secret Facebook group whose members share tips on how to flag and take down gay blogs, Facebook pages, and YouTube clips that they find contrary to the Christianist cause. According to McEwen, among the group's members are well-known religious leaders and anti-gay activists.

Based upon information I received from an anonymous source, there is a project afoot by members of the religious right to strike at the gay community via sites like Youtube, Twitter and Facebook. This project is conducted by a secret Facebook group called Truth4Time. According to the creator of the group (whose name shall remain anonymous because he is not a public figure), Truth4Time is supposed to be a library of anti-gay articles, blogs, and other materials for its members to use in their fight against the supposed "gay agenda." Apparently the group has a large lists of documents which contains anti-gay information (i.e. propaganda) that members are invited to use. The founder says that the group is supposed to be a sort of a "behind the scenes support system for the religious right. He seems to think that he is on some type of divine mission.

Hit this link for sample postings from the group, which is apparently invisible to non-members. McEwen has redacted their names because some members are private citizens. He also notes that the group is particularly focused on JMG. Because I'm in cahoots with Satan!

Labels: Christianists, Facebook, internet, religion

reposted from Joe

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma April 23, 2012

The Koans of Life

Something appears sometimes to be good or bad or right or wrong or long or short or big or small—but what is it overall? The same thing with our life. We must see what it is beyond duality. Our life literally comes down to right now. Now! Here! What is it?

- Maezumi Roshi, "Appreciate Your Life"
Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection