Activists

Rude behavior just gives more fuel to the conservative, homophobic Americans who believe we are simply crazy gay activists pushing our gay agenda into the face of every American. It gives credence to their idea that we are simply a bunch of perverted morons, who want attention and rights, and will do whatever, whenever to garner attention which they don’t believe we deserve. Michelle Obama is not an elected official. She is the wife of the President of the United States... [ Read more → ]

WASHINGTON -- First Lady Michelle Obama on Tuesday threatened to walk out on a private Democratic fundraiser after a lesbian activist repeatedly interrupted her speech to demand that President Obama sign an executive order to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. [ Read more → ]

This man, the first openly gay ordained bishop in the history of Christendom has become something more than himself — and he realizes it. And he realizes it with such humility, cheer and even delight that it can’t help but be infectious. And he was so kind to me personally, even asking me to call him “Gene." [ Read more → ]

Had Harvey Milk lived he might have been the one to set the benchmark for full equality, something our LGBT movement has yet to do. Harvey did not survive and never had the opportunity, yet his legacy has provided inspiration to so many. What remains often untold and so profoundly significant is Harvey’s absolute insistence on the imperative of full inclusion within the gay movement itself... [ Read more → ]

Richard Adams, an early pioneer in the fight for marriage equality for gays and lesbians, died Dec. 17 in the Hollywood home he shared with Tony Sullivan, his partner of 43 years, his attorney said Sunday. Adams was 65. [ Read more → ]

Lou Rispoli, a well-respected and beloved community leader in the Queens, N.Y., gay neighborhood of Sunnyside, has been removed from life support and remains in hospice care, the result of an early morning attack last week. He is not expected to survive. [ Read more → ]

Henry Gerber was among the earliest gay rights activists in America. He founded the nation’s first gay organization and gay publication. [ Read more → ]

Many of us who lived through the 1960s and early 1970s when activism meant getting in the trenches and actually protesting in order to accomplish change have now been made to feel that our way is “old fashioned” and antiquated. That would indicate that we’re ineffective and docile, and with the effects of aging on our body, that our minds are equally ineffective and as a result we should just shut up, sit in our rocking chairs and let the “million dollar babies” handle the world of activism now... [ Read more → ]

PHILADELPHIA -- A street naming dedication ceremony for Barbara Gittings Way -- named for the LGBT civil rights pioneer -- was held Monday in the heart of Philadelphia's gay neighborhood at the intersection of Locust and 13th Streets. [ Read more → ]

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- An Ohio teen who was brutally beaten by a fellow high school student last fall because of his sexual orientation, has teamed with his mother to become activists against anti-LGBT bullying. [ Read more → ]

Minor planet 40463, an asteroid that orbits between Mars and Jupiter, has been named after gay rights pioneer Frank Kameny. [ Read more → ]

A small group of LGBT Russians have taken their protest against laws intended to silence their movement to every region — and on Wednesday night they produced images of their protesting arrest in front of the Kremlin. [ Read more → ]

SAN DIEGO – Well-known AIDS and LGBT activist Mike Tidmus of San Diego died Sunday. He was 60. Tidmus’ death was reported on his Facebook page by his brother. [ Read more → ]

American Christian cartoonist Joe King’s calendar, "I’m Not Gay, I’m Just a Sissy," drew a firestorm of criticism from the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) and LGBT bloggers, who this week denounced the calendar and its sale through internet retail giants Amazon and Barnes & Noble, both of whom have since removed the calendar from their sales offerings. [ Read more → ]

Continuing a series of posts on the significant developments in the LGBT community in 2011, the growth of activism and international projects help shape the continuing evolution of gay rights and visibility around the world. [ Read more → ]

One year after filing the initiative petition to end the same-sex marriage prohibition in the state of Nebraska, Chris Dyer, 18, is more dedicated than ever in reaching the required 112,877 signatures to place the Constitutional amendment repeal onto the 2012 ballot. [ Read more → ]

In a moving, and at times humorous tribute, official Washington and the city's LGBTQ community on Thursday paid its last respects to gay civil rights icon Dr. Frank Kameny. The ceremony was held in Washington's old Carnegie Library in the heart of the city Kameny called home for over 50 years. [ Read more → ]

Pedro Zamora was an AIDS activist who appeared on MTV’s reality series “The Real World.” As the first openly gay and openly HIV-positive person on a television series, he brought national attention to HIV/AIDS and LGBT issues. [ Read more → ]

Lilli Vincenz is a pioneering gay rights activist. In 1965, she was the only lesbian to participate in the first White House picket. From 1965 to 1969, Vincenz demonstrated each Fourth of July in front of Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell. These protests, called Annual Reminders, launched the gay and lesbian civil rights movement. [ Read more → ]

Dan Savage is an award-winning author, journalist, newspaper editor and political commentator. He launched the “It Gets Better” video project to combat bullying and prevent LGBT teen suicides. [ Read more → ]