Thursday, February 28, 2013
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Minnesota GOP Lawmaker to Media: Gays Who Tell You They're 'Born That Way' are Lying
From The Towleroad:
Minnesota State Rep. Glenn Gruenhagen, R-Glencoe appeared at a press conference yesterday in response to the introduction of a marriage equality bill (which has bipartisan support), and Gruenhagen intended to put the fear of God in the media.
Said Gruenhagen:
"We're talking about gay marriage. We're
not talking about an immutable characteristic like the color of your
skin. The human genomap was completed in 2003. There is no gay gene.
Okay? So the concept that you're 'born that way' and it's an immutable
characteristic is an unscientific LIE. Okay? The human genomap has been
completed. I urge you, as the news media, to give both sides a fair and
open hearing on this debate because it has tremendous ramifications not
only for our society but for our children in general."
Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...
The Uptake notes: "The latest research into a "gay gene" contradicts what Gruenhagen said. Research is focused on epigenetics, throwaway DNA that triggers hormone production in fetuses. Although scientists haven't found a "gay gene," they haven't found a straight one either. This isn't the first time Gruenhagen has made up facts. A few years ago, he claimed alcoholism and drug addiction is not a disease despite a consensus of medical opinion and evidence showing a physiological dependence."
Hmm, I didn't know insurance salesmen were well versed in human genetics.
Regardless, like all left wing know it all's, he still fails to explain exactly how being gay harms him or his family.
Gay Rights Emerge as Campaign Issue in Germany
The debate here was given new impetus by a decision earlier this month
by the Federal Constitutional Court, which ruled that gays and lesbians
should be allowed to adopt children already adopted by their partners. The next battle, over tax benefits for civil unions, has already begun.
“The decision to put civil unions and marriage on level footing needs a
big push,” Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger told the
news Web site Spiegel Online on Wednesday.
The issue is particularly contentious for Ms. Merkel’s Christian
Democratic Union, which has tried to balance a conservative, traditional
family-values approach favored by the party’s older voters with
appealing to younger voters who support gay rights in greater numbers.
A new opinion survey found that roughly three-quarters of Germans
support gay marriage, the newsweekly Stern reported Wednesday. According
to the magazine, 74 percent of Germans and two-thirds of Christian
Democratic voters are in favor of raising civil partnerships to the same
status as traditional marriages.
“Ms. Merkel cannot ignore this,” said Gero Neugebauer, a political
scientist at Berlin’s Free University. “She will have to react.”
Adding to the pressure here, last month the lower house of Parliament in France approved a bill to legalize same-sex marriage
in spite of significant opposition from religious leaders. The Senate
is expected to pass the legislation in early April. France and Germany,
neighbors, partners and the two most influential countries in the
European Union, often measure themselves against each other.
Germany recognized civil unions for gay and lesbian couples in 2001 but
they still lack many of the rights and benefits of their straight
counterparts.
Gay rights issues put Ms. Merkel in a particularly tight spot with her
political allies. The Christian Social Union, the sister party in
conservative, Catholic Bavaria, is even more reluctant to grant
additional rights to gay people. The pro-business Free Democrats, a
party with a historic libertarian streak, has been looking for a winning
issue to reinvigorate it after a series of electoral setbacks.
Over the weekend, several leading Christian Democrats announced that
they would support legislation to provide the same tax benefits to gays
in civil unions as they do to heterosexual partners, an apparent shift
in policy that annoyed the party’s socially conservative wing. Indeed,
just last December the Christian Democrats rejected a similar proposal.
But legal experts expect the influential Constitutional Court to issue a
ruling this summer that would provide those benefits. As a result of
the “clear tendency in the decisions of the Federal Constitutional
Court, we should move as quickly as possible to implement the necessary
constitutional right of equality,” Michael Grosse-Brömer, the Christian
Democrats’ parliamentary whip, told the daily Süddeutsche Zeitung last
weekend.
The policy shift by the Christian Democrats was quickly criticized by
opposition politicians, who accused them of pandering to voters. The
news could also put Ms. Merkel in an awkward position between a socially
liberal populace, which she is keen to please before elections in
September, and her religious conservative Christian Democrats.
Ms. Merkel, a tactical politician who is not averse to changing her
party’s stance on issues important to the public if she thinks it will
win votes, has in the past embraced center-left policies on a minimum
wage and on ending mandatory military conscription, and she could very
well do the same with gay rights. But if she tilts too far, conservative
voters could stay home in September.
“She is oriented toward maintaining her power,” Mr. Neugebauer said.
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Study Shows Same-Sex Couples Less Healthy than Heterosexual Counterparts
Many studies have shown that marriage can have valuable benefits from both a physical and mental standpoint. Research has illustrated that married people are less likely to get cancer, less likely to have heart attacks, and also have a lower risk of developing dementia later in life. Studies have also found that married people are less likely to suffer from depression.
Sadly, since same-sex couples are denied the right to marry in many states, this might mean that they could miss out on some of these benefits. In fact, a newly released study published in the March issue of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior has shown just that.
Researchers at the University of Michigan and the University of Texas at Austin analyzed data from the National Health Interview Surveys (NHIS) from 1997 to 2009. Their findings showed that same-sex male couples who cohabitated were 61 percent more likely to report poor health when compared to married heterosexual males of the same age and socioeconomic status. The same was found for women—same-sex cohabitating women were about 46% more likely to suffer from poor health when compared to married heterosexual women of the same background.
What can account for this disparity in health? For one thing, same-sex couples are denied the many benefits that can come from walking down the aisle. Not only are these benefits important from a financial and legal standpoint (health insurance, taxes, etc.), there are also emotional and mental benefits as well.
According to the researchers, LGBT couples suffer from social stigma and mental distress which can have far-reaching effects on their physical health and their overall well-being. According to the lead author of the study, Hui Liu, “Research consistently suggests that ‘out’ sexual minorities experience heightened levels of stress and higher levels of discrimination, and these experiences may adversely affect the health of this population,”
In other words, discrimination can do more than just complicate a gay person’s ability to get married or adopt a child. It can chip away at their sense of self-worth and their feelings of security and value. They often feel like second-class citizens, and no wonder: It’s how they are often treated by our government. They are denied the rights that heterosexual people enjoy and they are often bullied and harassed on top of it. All of this stress and anxiety can actually end up impacting a person’s mood as well as their physical health. The mind-body connection is quite powerful, and when one area of our lives is in distress, it can often impact us across the board.
Hence, in denying gay couples the right to wed and be recognized by the government, we are doing more then denying them to the right to enjoy financial benefits. Getting married isn’t just a cause to celebrate and file for joint tax returns, it’s also a huge milestone that helps couples to take their commitment to the next level. It allows couples to solidify their union and announce their love to the world. It makes them more than just a couple, it makes them a family, and in doing so, it offers them love, support, and stability. When gay couples are denied the right to marry, they are denied the right to all of these amazing and joyful benefits.
As this study shows, getting married is about more than just a slip of paper, a tux, or a big white dress—it’s about being recognized as a couple under the law, and about being treated as equals by the government and as a society. Until all gay people are allowed the right to marry, we will likely continue to see studies such as these. Although saddening, these findings are important because they highlight the physical and emotional strain that gay couples are under in today’s society, and they help to remind us all that there is still work to be done in their fight for civil rights.
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
John Bercow wrongly outs rugby star Ben Cohen in gay gaffe
The Speaker of the House of Commons was left red-faced after accidently referring to rugby star Ben Cohen as “openly gay” – even though the former player has a wife and is straight.
Bercow made the gaffe last night at a meeting of ParliOut, the Houses of Parliament’s gay staff network.
The MP was introducing the ex-England rugby international to a room full of guests when he made the slip-up.
Since retiring from professional rugby in 2011, Cohen has dedicated much of his time to tackling the problem of homophobic bullying among young people through his StandUP Foundation.
Keen to press the point home to the assembled guests, the Speaker introduced Cohen by saying:
“I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting Ben Cohen before but I’m delighted to remedy that serious deficit.
“For those of you who aren’t aware, and I’m sure this august and well informed audience will be – his background is as a rugby international – capped no fewer than 57 times for his country”.
However, John Bercow was then left embarrassed by his subsequent comment of Cohen being “openly gay” as the MP praised his dedication towards “fighting for gay rights”.
Instantly realising the error, the audience burst into laughter and Cohen jokingly shouted: “Don’t tell my wife!”
Bercow quickly corrected himself: “No he’s not openly gay!” before adding. “I am not in favour of outing people against their will and that was an ignorant outing that I apologise to Ben for.
“I’m not sure how I’m going to be getting back from this faux pas!”
Afterwards, Cohen said the gaffe had been taken with good humour.
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