Oy Vey! My Son Is Gay!

“Oy Vey! My Son Is Gay!” a completed indie comedy film is seeking the public’s help to fund distribution through  www.oyveymovie.com “Oy Vey” has partnered with Freestyle Releasing to start an Indigogo campaign to help finance the distribution dollars to take the movie theaters in the U.S. and beyond.

“Oy Vey” is the heartwarming story about the journey a Jewish mother goes through after finding out her son is not only gay, but that he is dating a Roman Catholic boy. The film stars Golden Globe, Emmy & Tony nominee Lainie Kazan, Emmy winner Jai Rodriguez, Vincent Pastore, Carmen Electra and Saul Rubinek.

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Esurance Donating $100,000 To LGBT Charities

Esurance, the direct-to-consumer personal car insurance company, has kicked off its third annual charitable giving campaign supporting LGBT equality.

This year, however, Esurance is increasing its support by donating a total of $100,000 to three very important causes GLAAD, PFLAG, and The Trevor Project. Friends and fans can steer Esurance's donation to these organizations by visiting Esurance's Facebook page, "Liking" Esurance, and voting for their favorite cause. Each organization will earn a percentage of the donation based on the number of votes they receive. The voting campaign will run through June 30.

"As a company rooted in the principles of diversity and inclusion, Esurance recognizes the importance of raising awareness for LGBT issues. We hope that LGBT supporters will cast a vote to help these three deserving causes make a difference in the community," said Esurance Vice President of Marketing Darren Howard.

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Governor Brown Issues Proclamation Declaring "Harvey Milk Day"

 Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today issued a proclamation declaring May 22, 2013 as "Harvey Milk Day" in the State of California.

The text of the proclamation is below:

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Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles (GMCLA) Hosts Second Annual Voice Awards

  Honors Leaders Who Use Their Voices for Equality

Omar Sharif Jr.

The Globe Theatre at Universal Studios was brought to life on Sunday, May 19, 2013 where the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles (GMCLA) hosted its second annual Voice Awards, honoring organizations and activists who have helped lead the charge in support of equality for the LGBT Community.

This year’s honorees included pioneers American Idol and AT&T, which have set precedents for national recognition of equality, activists Fred Arens and Jason Duguay who have helped to raise more than one million dollars for LGBT organizations nationwide, and writer/director Liesel Reinhart, the board member and creator of GMCLA’s national tour of it gets better, which visits schools and communities across America’s heartland with a message of acceptance and anti-bullying. Performances at the Voice Awards were held by the more than 200-member chorus, “Glee” actor Alex Newell and “The Voice” contestant De’Borah.

GMCLA Executive Director, Chris Verdugo, spoke to the crowd of more than 500 attendees, and said that the Chorus was an outlet that saved his life. His was not a story unique to him, he said to the attentive audience. But rather the story of many GMCLA members.

Proud sponsors of GMCLA’s Voice Awards included State Farm, Brian Pendleton & Chad Goldman, Geffen Foundation, Macias Media Group, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Athens Services, Combined Properties, HBO, IAC, Outlook Amusements, Inc. and JimmyWin.com. Hilton Los Angeles/Universal served as the Voice Awards Official Host Hotel, and Southwest Airlines was the Official Airline.

The Chorus will soon conclude its 34th Season, which was sponsored by Wells Fargo, on June 22nd and June 23rd at the Saban Theatre with two performances of “Not Entirely Wicked,” which will feature the music and an appearance of Broadway legend Stephen Schwartz along with the voice of Emmy Award winning singer Liz Callaway. For more information about the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles, or to buy tickets for “Not Entirely Wicked,” please visit www.gmcla.org.

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Nordstrom Continues Support Of Same Sex Marriage With New Video

Nordstrom’s has continued its history of support for the LGBT community, this time including two same-sex couples in a commercial for its wedding suite.
The commercial, titled “Ultimate Dance Party,” features both a lesbian couple and a gay couple, along with heterosexual couples and their party guests, dancing to music by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, the musical duo whose hit 2011 Same Love celebrates LGBT equality

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METRO AREAS WITH HIGHEST PERCENTAGES OF SAME-SEX COUPLES RAISING CHILDREN ARE IN STATES WITH CONSTITUTIONAL BANS ON MARRIAGE

Salt Lake City, Memphis and San Antonio among top 5 metro areas over 1 million.

 The metro areas with the highest percentages of same-sex couples raising children are in states that have a constitutional ban on marriage, according to a new infographic created by the Williams Institute.

"Research consistently shows that same-sex couples raise children all across the country," said Williams Institute public policy research fellow, Angeliki Kastanis. "This analysis underscores the fact that recognition of LGBT families is a consequential policy question in every state."

Mississippi has the highest percentage of same-sex couples raising children at 26 percent.

http://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/research/census-lgbt-demographics-studies/infographic-msas-may-2013/



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Matthew Morrison & Human Rights Campaign Announce Partnership in Support of LGBT Equality

EMMY, TONY, and Golden Globe-nominated star Matthew Morrison is proud to announce that he is partnering with the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) in support of LGBT equality. Partial proceeds from the pre-sale of his new studio album, Where It All Began, will benefit HRC. The album, which will be released on June 4, 2013, features an assortment of classic standards, many of which were first made famous in Broadway musicals. Morrison turned to legendary producer Phil Ramone, along with GRAMMY Award-winning producer Gregg Field, to create the 12 songs featured on Where It All Began. The record marks the first release from 222 Records, the newly formed label from Adam Levine. Place your pre-order of Where It All Began now, on Amazon.com, and 222 Records in partnership with Matthew Morrison will donate a portion of the proceeds to the Human Rights Campaign.

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More than 1 in 5 same-sex couples live in states where they can marry; Compared to 1 in 20 in 2009

Today, with the passage of marriage equality legislation in Minnesota, 18% of the entire U.S. population and 22% of same-sex couples now live in the 12 states, and the District of Columbia, where same-sex couples can legally marry. In 2009, only 3% of the U.S. population and 5% of same-sex couples lived in marriage equality states.

If Illinois extended marriage to same-sex couples, and the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Prop. 8 in California, more than 4 in 10 same-sex couples (or 41%) would live in the 14 states and the District of Columbia where they could legally get married. Thirty-four percent of the entire U.S. population would also live in marriage equality states.



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Minnesota Governor Signs Law Legalizing Marriage for Same-Sex Couples

Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton signed a law legalizing marriage for same-sex couples today. Dayton signed the bill shortly after its passage by the state legislature.

Minnesota is now the twelfth state, in addition to the District of Columbia, to recognize marriage for same-sex couples. It joins Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Washington, New York, Iowa, Rhode Island, and as of last week, Delaware.

"It has been 40 years since the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota filed Baker v. Nelson, the first marriage equality case in the country," said Charles Samuelson, executive director of the ACLU of Minnesota. "We are pleased that after 40 years of fighting for the freedom to marry, equality has finally been realized for all Minnesotans. We are glad to join the 11 other states and the District of Columbia in recognizing marriage for all loving committed couples."

"We congratulate the people of Minnesota and all those who worked so hard to allow loving and committed couples the freedom to marry," said James Esseks, director of the ACLU Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender Project. "It is thrilling to see Minnesota become the third state in just two weeks to grant same-sex couples the recognition and protection that only marriage can provide."

This statement is available at:
aclu.org/lgbt-rights/minnesota-governor-signs-law-legalizing-marriage-same-sex-couples



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SPORTS ILLUSTRATED COVER STORY EXCLUSIVE: JASON COLLINS, 12-YEAR NBA VETERAN ANNOUNCES HE IS GAY

 “I’m a 34-year-old NBA center. I’m black and I’m gay,” begins Jason Collins the 7-foot, 12-year NBA veteran who sat down with Sports Illustrated contributor Franz Lidz and Executive Editor L. Jon Wertheim to openly discuss his sexuality and why he is now making it public.  Collins’s exclusive story is part of a Sports Illustrated cross-platform editorial package on the gay athlete. The issue hits newsstands this week and Collins’ poignant thoughts can be found here now on SI.com.

Collins’s essay takes us through his decision as well as reaction from family members and close friends. “I realized I needed to go public when Massachusetts congressman Joe Kennedy, my old roommate at Stanford, told me he had just marched in Boston’s 2012 Gay Pride Parade.  I’m seldom jealous of others, but hearing what Joe had done filled me with envy,” Collins explains. “I want to do the right thing and not hide anymore. I want to march for tolerance, acceptance and understanding. I want to take a stand and say, “me, too.”

Also from the piece: “The strain of hiding my sexuality became almost unbearable in March, when the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments for and against same-sex marriage. Less than three miles from my apartment, nine jurists argued about my happiness and my future. Here was my chance to be heard and I couldn’t say a thing. I didn’t want to answer questions and draw attention to myself. Not while I was still playing.”

Collins's decision to go public causes his family trepidation. “My maternal grandmother was apprehensive about my plans to come out publicly," he says. "She grew up in rural Louisiana and witnessed the horrors of segregation. During the civil rights movement she saw great bravery play out amid the ugliest side of humanity. She worries that I am opening myself u up to prejudice and hatred. I explained to her that in a way, my coming out is preemptive. I shouldn’t have to live under the threat of being outed. The announcement should be mine to make, not TMZ’s.”

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Full-Page Ad in Politico Declares that “Reagan’s Big Tent Isn’t What it Used to Be”

Log Cabin Republicans (LCR) has a full-page ad in Politico tomorrow calling on the Republican Party to grow the proverbial “big tent” by dropping its opposition to granting equal rights to the LGBT community. The ad is a part of LCR’s relaunch efforts, which will more aggressively challenge the GOP to not be beholden to the vocal minority within the party that oppose rights for gays and lesbians.

View the ad here: http://www.logcabin.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/lcr-big-tent.pdf

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GLAAD Launches PSA Campaign Created by Brett Ratner Asking for Straight Allies to 'Come Out For Equality'

 GLAAD, the nation’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) media advocacy and anti-defamation organization, today officially launched a new public service announcement campaign helmed by director Brett Ratner. The GLAAD 'Coming Out for Equality' PSA series features a diverse group of straight celebrities and athletes "coming out of the closet" as supporters of equality and calling for other Americans to speak out.  Viewers are directed to www.glaad.org/ally to pledge to be an ally and sign up for the GLAAD Ally Network.





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