People who espouse anti-gay views die younger than those who don't, found a sure-to-be-controversial study in the February issue of the American Journal of Public Health. "Anti-gay prejudice is associated with elevated mortality risk among heterosexuals, over and above multiple established risk factors for mortality," wrote the researchers, led by Mark L. Hatzenbuehler of Columbia University. In fact, those who were not highly prejudiced against gay people lived an average of 2.5 years longer than those who were. The researchers acknowledged that the questions represent "a limited range of potential indices of anti-gay prejudice," adding that the effect of such prejudice may actually be larger than they were able to measure. The respondents included in the study were 20,226 heterosexuals who participated in GSS interviews between 1988 and 2008, 4,216 of whom had died by the end of the study period.Want to live longer? Embrace the gay!
The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Eugene by Portland attorneys Lake Perriguey and Lea Ann Easton on behalf of two gay couples, seeks to have 2004's Measure 36 ruled unconstitutional. It names Gov. John Kitzhaber and Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum, as well as a few other officials, as defendants. It argues that one couple—Deanna Geiger and Janine Nelson—should be able to legally marry. The other plaintiffs, Robert Deuhmig and William Griesar, were legally married in Vancouver, B.C., and wish to have their rights recognized in Oregon. The suit is separate from the anticipated $12 million campaign to overturn Measure 36 being orchestrated by Oregon United for Marriage. Volunteers are collecting signatures to put an initiative on the ballot next year.Rosenblum is a Democrat and Oregon's first female Attorney General. I think I hear some sadz coming 'round the bend!
“Attorney General Rosenblum is right in refusing to waste taxpayers’ dollars by defending the indefensible anti-marriage law in Oregon. Rosenblum is joined by other attorneys general from Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Nevada; and even Republican Governor Brian Sandoval in Nevada, who all came to the same conclusion that the state cannot in good conscience defend a law denying committed same-sex couples the freedom to marry. The rapid momentum for the freedom to marry in states across the country underscores the understanding that the Constitution’s guarantee of the freedom to marry and equal protection under the law apply to gay and non-gay people alike. America – and Oregon – are ready for the freedom to marry.”UPDATE II: Oregon United reacts. Pay attention to the second paragraph.
“This is tremendous news. The Attorney General has taken a close look at the facts, and came to the same conclusion that courts around the country and freedom-minded Oregonians have: there is no reasonable or legal justification to exclude committed gay and lesbian couples from marriage,” campaign manager Mike Marshall says. “The dramatic increase in Oregonians’ support for the freedom to marry—from 42 percent support in May 2010 to 55 percent support today—mirrors the movement we’re seeing nationally. More and more people understand that no one should be denied the freedom to marry the person they love.”
Oregon United for Marriage also announced today it has gathered enough signatures to to be assured a place on the November 2014 ballot. 116,284 are required but the campaign has gathered more than 160,000 signatures—well over the requirement and more than enough to qualify for the November ballot. Oregon United will hold onto the signatures, pending the outcome of the federal lawsuit.
Spiritual
change is precisely a process that is bigger than you. You don’t
control it. You surrender to it. You don’t reinvent yourself through
spiritual work. You face yourself, and then you must let go of all the
ghastly things you find. But there is no end to these ghastly things.
They keep coming. The ego is a bottomless pit of suckiness. And so you
finally let go of the self that clings to itself (one definition of
ego). True freedom comes when ego goes.
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DEAR ABBY: My husband and I relocated to Florida a little over a year ago and were quickly welcomed into our new neighbors' social whirl. Two couples in the neighborhood are gay -- one male, one female. While they are nice enough, my husband and I did not include them when it was our turn to host because we do not approve of their lifestyle choices. Since then, we have been excluded from neighborhood gatherings, and someone even suggested that we are bigots! Abby, we moved here from a conservative community where people were pretty much the same. If people were "different," they apparently kept it to themselves. I don't feel we should have to compromise our values just to win the approval of our neighbors. But really, who is the true bigot here? Would you like to weigh in? -- Unhappy in TampaMore than 30 years ago, Pauline said the same thing, but a bit more succinctly.
DEAR UNHAPPY: I sure would. The first thing I'd like to say is that regardless of what you were told in your previous community, a person's sexual orientation isn't a "lifestyle choice." Gay people can't change being gay any more than you can change being heterosexual. From where I sit, you may have chosen the wrong place to live because it appears you would be happier in a less integrated neighborhood surrounded by people who think the way you do. But if you interact only with people like yourselves, you will have missed a chance for growth, which is what you have been offered here. Please don't blow it.
Even
in close relationships, spending time with a friend, even while helping
others or doing other good works, if your attention is on what you are
feeling, on what you are getting out of it, then you see these
relationships as transactions. Because your focus is on how you are
feeling, consciously or unconsciously you are putting yourself first and
others second. This approach disconnects you from life, from the
totality of your world.
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When
we read or hear about the benefits of meditation, it is tempting to
dwell on the stories of wonderful outcomes instead of doing the work of
actualizing these possibilities ourselves. There can be a big gap
between what we have read about and what is actually happening. Sitting
is a way of putting our bodies behind our aspirations.
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Forty-four players said a teammate's sexual orientation didn't matter to them, and 39 said they would be comfortable showering around a gay teammate. But 32 players said they had teammates or coaches who used homophobic slurs last season, and when asked whether an openly gay player would be comfortable in a NFL locker room, just 25 players said yes; 21 said no, while five declined to answer. One concern for players appeared to be learning how they could relate to a teammate they knew was gay and whether they would need to behave any differently around him. According to one starting receiver, "Whoever takes [Michael Sam in the draft] should have an open talk at the beginning of camp, where everybody can ask what he's comfortable with, what offends him, what boundaries there should be. When it comes to race, people already know the boundaries, to a certain extent. But I don't think football players are overly familiar with what can and can't be said around a gay person."Right wing sites are focusing on the 25% who say they wouldn't shower in the presence of a gay teammate. Of course.
It’s
through our intentions that we shape the world we experience, along
with the amount of pleasure or pain we take out of that experience. To
formulate intentions that really do lead to happiness is a skill. And
because it’s a skill, nobody else can master the skill for you; you
can’t master the skill for anyone else.
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