Category: defense of federal gay marriage law

"I Love You Phillip Morris," and Donald Trump

I know this sounds like a strange title for a blog post. But I watched “I Love You Phillip Morris” last night right after watching Donald Trump in a news clip.

Trump gave a speech in Florida and he started ranting about the President’s birth certificate. Blah, blah, blah…I’ve already posted about this and I’m not going there again.

The reason why Trump fascinates me so much is because of his hard stand against legalizing lgbt marriage. And this lack of protection, for lgbt couples who’ve been together for years, can be financially devastating when a life partner dies. This issue is simply too important for lgbt people to ignore…on so many levels.

I’m not going to get into how I feel about Trump on a moral or ethical level. He’s made a lot of his money in gambling. And I’m not a huge fan of legalized gambling of any kind, not even lotteries. And, I’m not a fan of Trump’s own questionable marriage record, especially since I personally know many lgbt couple, men and women, who’ve dedicated their lives to each other without being able to legally marry. Which is something Trump seems to take for granted: his record speaks for itself. And, like Trump is so fond of saying all the time these days, I also went to a good college, received good grades, and I’m a relatively sane person.

But after watching “I Love You Phillip Morris,” I couldn’t help wondering whether or not Trump really knows any gay people that aren’t like the characters in “I Love You Phillip Morris.” I know he lives in places where there are many gay people. But I can’t help wonder if he knows that the people in films like “I Love You Phillip Morris,” aren’t all like that. I know the film was based on a true story. And there are actually gay people out there like this. I’ve met them myself and I’m not very impressed with them. When I see them I smile and try to move on as fast as I can. But we’re not all like that.

I actually did like “I Love You Phillip Morris” in spite of the tone of this post. I thought it was very entertaining. But I’d like films like this a lot more if there were more of a balance. In other words, the lgbt community is very diversified. And we’re everywhere, not just in Florida, California, and New York. I know many gay Republicans, most of whom are extremely disappointed by Donald Trump’s harsh words against civil rights.

I think Trump might want to pay more attention to who and what the lgbt community is all about…on a realistic level instead of the pop culture level he’s obviously so used to seeing. Because he’s definitely missing something very important.

Freedomtomarry.org

I came across this web site a short time ago and fell in love with it. At the time, I was doing a little web research for a book that concentrated on gay marriage, GAY PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, and I’ve been following it ever since.

On March 8, Ron Wallen lost his husband and partner of 58 years, Tom Carrollo, to leukemia.

Even as he grieves, Ron also faces the loss of the home he and Tom shared. Unfairly denied the Social Security coverage his husband earned — payments he would receive were it not for the so-called Defense of Marriage Act’s “gay exception” — Ron cannot afford to keep his home.

The sad truth is that Ron’s story of discrimination isn’t unique. Doug Gentry, married to a Venezuelan citizen named Alex Benshimol, faces the possibility of being torn apart from his husband because DOMA treats their marriage with contempt. If Doug and Alex weren’t gay, Doug could sponsor Alex for American citizenship but, because of DOMA, they are treated as strangers under federal law. “It’s gut-wrenching,” Doug says.

Couples send us stories like these — each heartbreaking, each infuriatingly unjust — and the remedy is clear: We must overturn DOMA now.

http://freedomtomarry.org/OverturnDOMA

Freedom to Marry has worked closely with members of Congress on a bill to repeal this discriminatory law, which denies married same-sex couples federal protections that touch every area of life — from birth to death, with taxes in between.

We stood with congressional leaders a few weeks ago when they introduced the repeal bill, the Respect for Marriage Act, in the Senate and House. But now we need to grow the support, make the case, build momentum, and add co-sponsors to the bill.

Will you take action now? Ask your senators and representative to co-sponsor the Respect for Marriage Act. Send a letter today:

http://freedomtomarry.org/OverturnDOMA

On behalf of couples like Ron and Tom and Doug and Alex, and because discrimination has no place in America, Freedom to Marry will not stop until we’ve wiped this discriminatory law from the books. But we can only do it with your help.

Thanks for all you do,

Evan Wolfson
President, Freedom to Marry

The LGBT Community Needs To Boycott Donald Trump Everywhere: Let’s Trump Trump This Time

This is not a joke. And it’s not media hype either. I heard Donald Trump blast gay marriage in a Fox News interview and posted about it a month ago here.

Those who read this blog know I don’t get political on most issues. But this one I can’t ignore. So here’s another article from The Advocate that’s asking for the same boycott on Trump.

Seriously, folks. Donald Trump is going to make a bid to run for President of the United States. I’ve been watching him in action for a while now. That grand stand with his family on the Oprah Show wasn’t an accident. This man is clever and he works with an agenda. I write sneaky characters into my books all the time, trust me on this. He wants to be President. What gets me is that he’s been married and divorced more times than any of the gay couples in long term relationships that I know. And I’d like to know where he gets the audacity to even go near the subject of the sanctity of marriage.

So let’s stick together this time for once. And make a point of banning and boycotting everything and anything Donald Trump is associated with. Even if you’re in the closet, no one will know you’re boycotting him privately (we need your closeted support, too). Even if you’re not gay and you have a family member or friend who is gay. If we do this in large numbers, we’ll have the power to trump Trump!!