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~*~*~ For every rainbow there must be a spectrum of colors, they exist beautifully in perfect harmony with each other. Take a color out and we will not have our rainbow anymore. Just as if we take a gender out of the rainbow of genders that exist we take away individual liberty, the freedom of things about us that are only different. There is nothing wrong about something capable of a consenting caring and responsible relationship. That is Love. One thing that is bad is closemindedness and when we do that we miss alot of the beautiful things in life. ~*~*~ |
Welcome to Rainbow of Equality! Here you can find an empirical look and a rebuttal to untrue claims that have been spread about gay / lesbian / bisexual / transgender people. Along with very important and educational info in them to help anyone out. If you would like to help achieve equality for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender people (GLBT), you can fill out these very quick petitions. This one is made by the Human Rights Campaign and it can be found at, http://www.MillionForMarriage.com This one is by www.Egay.com and will be presented to congress http://www.egay.com/content_egay/EgayMarriage1.htm www.loveisloveislove.com has alot of really great petitions to sign. Thank you so much for your contribution! Other great sites for helping the GLBT community! www.SaveOurConstitution.org www.TheTaskForce.org www.HRC.org www.SoulForce.org www.ForGayMarriage.org If you have a website would you like to link to Rainbow of Equality to spread the word? It would help very much! Checkout these stylish link pics you can use if you want to: Email: RainbowOfEquality@yahoo.com Now here is a list of answers to the claims anti gay people have claimed in order to use as an excuse to deny rights of GLBT people or just to discriminate against them. There is absolutely no excuse to be mean to others though. These are the answers to why they are not true and they can be used as a rebuttal. They were made to be absolutely sure they are based on nonbiased, empirical reason and facts with the leading proffessional scientific organizations. The mentioned organizations are not biased in favor of homosexuality. These are not the opinions of a biased website. They are the opinions are learned organizations who study these cases carefully and proffessionally, without any hidden agenda to either prove or disprove any specific fact. One of the main things scientists do in order to gather empirical data is to make sure it is not biased. Surely, the mentioned organizations cannot be seen as either pro or anti biased. They are simply the experts in what they do that came to their conclusion by reason and fact. Nothing has been shown gay people to be harmful or not any less a form of love than heterosexuality. Love is what is most important in any situation. I hope this will help to enlighten. The spirit of this is not only about GLBT people. As a society it is our responsibility to open our hearts to individual liberty. The freedom and acceptance of things that are only different. Everyone of us are different and special each in our own way and it is important for us to reconize that to get along and love each other as a society. Instead of not accepting someone because they do not fit into someones own tastes. Learning from other unions, religions, races, creeds, etc. would make us a profoundly open (accepting), intelligent, and loving society, which we aren't and this is a very sad thing. I am FOR individuals following their heart, and expressing themselves in ways that dont harm others (slander, abuse, nonconsent etc), but still allows freedom to the invidual to find what is right for them on a personal basis. Please spread this around as much as possible, to help those spreading untrue rumors about GLBT people. It is extremely important to educate the public about the truth to stop innocent minorities from being prejudged or misread. |
( Homosexuality is a fear of heterosexuality! ) If someones wants to be blonde are they scared of burnettes or red heads? No not if they don't care what everyone else wants to do with there hair and loves other people for expressing themselves that have red or burnette hair. It is only a form of self expression. The Gay community supports equality towards all orientations that includes Heterosexual. That is the opposite of fear and comes from love and acceptence. However prejudging things that are different because they go against a preconcieved concept of what is normal, comes from fear. Also saying people that are in a harmless form of love need to change. |
( Choice or not? ) 같It is not relevant같 It doesn't matter if it is a choice or not, it is a dead arguement. There is nothing that has shown that needs to be changed in the first place, even if it was a choice. It is being in a harmless, happy and loving relationship. Love is not to be changed but celebrated. 같Scientific Articles on Ex Gay organizations같 Gay No More? http://www.psychologytoday.com/htdocs/prod/ptoarticle/pto-19990301-000030.asp Reparative Therapy http://psychology.ucdavis.edu/rainbow/html/reptherapy.pdf Policy Statements on Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Concerns www.apa.org/pi/lgbpolicy/orient.html Facts About Changing Sexual Orientation psychology.ucdavis.edu/rainbow/html/facts_changing.html G/L/B Issues http://www.psych.org/public_info/gaylesbianbisexualissues22701.pdf Reparative Therapy a no no by The American Psychoanalytic Association http://www.apsa-co.org/ctf/cgli/reparative_therapy.htm This website shows alot more organizations that agree with the APA http://www.apa.org/pi/lgbc/facts.pdf Orientation & Youth A Primer for Principals, Educators & School Personnel A Publication Endorsed by: American Academy of Pediatrics American Counseling Association American Association of School Administrators American Federation of Teachers American Psychological Association American School Health Association Interfaith Alliance Foundation National Association of School Psychologists National Association of Social Workers National Education Association " The most important fact about 'reparative therapy,' also sometimes known as 'conversion therapy,' is that it is based on an understanding of homosexuality that has been rejected by all the major health and mental health professions. The American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Counseling Association, the American Psychiatric Association, the American Psychological Association, the National Association of School Psychologists, and the National Association of Social Workers, together representing more than 477,000 health and mental health professionals, have all taken the position that homosexuality is not a mental disorder and thus there is no need for a 'cure.' ...health and mental health professional organizations do not support efforts to change young people's sexual orientation through 'reparative therapy' and have raised serious concerns about its potential to do harm. " http://psychology.ucdavis.edu/rainbow/html/reptherapy.pdf "The movement to change gay men and lesbians into heterosexuals through so-called conversion therapy or reparative therapy is founded on the discredited view that homosexuality is a mental illness, is not based on scientific data, and uses practices that whose ethics have been questioned by the mainstream mental health profession." "For every story about someone whose sexual orientation was supposedly converted to heterosexuality, there are many other reports of people who tried unsuccesfully to change and who endure a great deal of psychological pain and suffering in the process." The "Ex-Gay" Fraud http://www.truluck.com/html/the__ex-gay__fraud.html Ex-Gay Watch http://blogs.salon.com/0001116/ Gay 'Conversion': Morality or Bigotry? http://www.igs.net/~tonyc/homousa.html "Ex-Gay" Scandals and Defections http://anythingbutstraight.com/learn/scandals.html Now to talk about the commenly mentioned www.exodus.org by anti gays saying they can change their orientation. The group is infamous. Especially since the 2 founders, Michael Bussee and Gary Cooper, fell in love, left the group and were united in a commitment ceremony. This group claims that they can successfully, with enough financial investment, "cure" homosexuality. Their 5 year success rate (or the number of treated homosexuals who claim not to be homosexual after a period of 5 years has passed) is 3%. In a July 27, 1999 Associated Press story on an "ex-gay" conference we find this item: "The group acknowledges that for some homosexuals, changing their orientation will prove impossible." Hello? Fringe-right activists like the Family Research Council, the Reverend Fred Phelps, and the American Family Association have been telling us for years that being gay is an evil "choice." Many of their "therapists" and "counselors" are affiliated with the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuals. Founded by Michael Bussee and Gary Cooper in 1976. Both left in 1979. Interestingly, Exodus's own web site notes that up until 1988 -- with the hiring of Kevin Oshiro -- the group was all of one person in size. In July of 1998, they acted in conjunction with the Family Research Council, the Christian Coalition, and Americans for Truth about Homosexuality to place ads in The New York Times and USA Today claiming that homosexuality can be overcome. The ads also implied that gay people are not people of faith. (On the lighter side, the first ad featured the religious reich's standard "quality fact checking." It gave out the wrong number -- much to the annoyance of an electrical contracting firm in Alabama.) In a 1994 PBS documentary "One Nation Under God," Exodus claimed to have treated hundreds of thousands of homosexuals and boasted a success rate of 71.6 per cent. But Exodus keeps no follow-up records or statistics to validate the claim "although it's something we ought to be doing," a spokesperson told a Canadian newspaper. "People are always asking us for numbers." Why not? Perhaps due to past experience... Examining whether Exodus really worked, two outside psychiatrists were allowed to interview members of Exodus International in 1978. Of the ministry's 800 members at the time, 30 were picked by the ministry staff as having changed from exclusively homosexual to exclusively heterosexual in orientation. The researchers interviewed the 30 and determined that only 11 had really been largely "cured" of their homosexual orientation. Eight of the 11 still reported homosexual dreams, fantasies and/or impulses. Two of the 11 were Michael Bussee and Gary Cooper, the founders of Exodus, who fell in love and were united in a commitment ceremony after this study was completed. (As shown in the documentary movie "One Nation Under God" they fell in love three years later, and criticized their own organization and other ministries for gays as fraudulent.) One can safely conclude from this study that essentially no clients were able to change their sexual orientation. Now we do not have any disagreement with people that want to volunteerily change there orientation, as long those feelings don't come from anti-gay influence or self hate (which would be just a matter of taste like apples or oranges) but there has been no organization so far to show they are not biased or create those two things. Along with them being very capable of being mentaly harmful. For scientists to gather evidence and facts that is empirical, one of the main parts of that process is to make sure it isn't biased or coming from people with a motive. As long as the organization only tries to change one orientation and not the rest, suggesting that one orientation is worse than the others and something to "cure" or change, it will be biased. There is nothing to support that and most of those views have come from prejudging homosexuality in some way. 같It is a fact that homosexuals have no choice in their orientation같 Mental health proffessionals do know that gay people have no choice in their orientation. They don't need to find a gay gene or anything like that in order to tell. They know by studying their psychology. The American Psychological Association explains it as, http://www.apa.org/pubinfo/answers.html What Causes a Person To Have a Particular Sexual Orientation? There are numerous theories about the origins of a person's sexual orientation; most scientists today agree that sexual orientation is most likely the result of a complex interaction of environmental, cognitive and biological factors. In most people, sexual orientation is shaped at an early age. There is also considerable recent evidence to suggest that biology, including genetic or inborn hormonal factors, play a significant role in a person's sexuality. In summary, it is important to recognize that there are probably many reasons for a person's sexual orientation and the reasons may be different for different people. Is Sexual Orientation a Choice? No, human beings can not choose to be either gay or straight. Sexual orientation emerges for most people in early adolescence without any prior sexual experience. Although we can choose whether to act on our feelings, psychologists do not consider sexual orientation to be a conscious choice that can be voluntarily changed. Can Therapy Change Sexual Orientation? No. Even though most homosexuals live successful, happy lives, some homosexual or bisexual people may seek to change their sexual orientation through therapy, sometimes pressured by the influence of family members or religious groups to try and do so. The reality is that homosexuality is not an illness. It does not require treatment and is not changeable. However, not all gay, lesbian, and bisexual people who seek assistance from a mental health professional want to change their sexual orientation. Gay, lesbian, and bisexual people may seek psychological help with the coming out process or for strategies to deal with prejudice, but most go into therapy for the same reasons and life issues that bring straight people to mental health professionals. What About So-Called "Conversion Therapies"? Some therapists who undertake so-called conversion therapy report that they have been able to change their clients' sexual orientation from homosexual to heterosexual. Close scrutiny of these reports however show several factors that cast doubt on their claims. For example, many of the claims come from organizations with an ideological perspective which condemns homosexuality. Furthermore, their claims are poorly documented. For example, treatment outcome is not followed and reported overtime as would be the standard to test the validity of any mental health intervention. The American Psychological Association is concerned about such therapies and their potential harm to patients. In 1997, the Association's Council of Representatives passed a resolution reaffirming psychology's opposition to homophobia in treatment and spelling out a client's right to unbiased treatment and self-determination. Any person who enters into therapy to deal with issues of sexual orientation has a right to expect that such therapy would take place in a professionally neutral environment absent of any social bias. NGLTF Statement on NIH Genetic Study on Homosexuality http://www-2.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs.cmu.edu/user/scotts/bulgarians/nih-ngltf.html More Evidence that Homosexuality is Genetic http://www.skeptictank.org/gaygene.htm Sexual Identity Hard-Wired by Genetics, Study Says October 20, 2003 http://www.libchrist.com/other/homosexual/genetics.html What "Causes" Homosexuality? http://www.pflagphoenix.org/education/homosexuality_cause.html Homosexuality and Genetics http://www.sciencedaily.com/search/?keyword=genetic+homosexuality&sort=relevance While many of the studies discussed in the the articles above and others (which took less than 2 minutes to find in a google search) admit that scientists and researchers are only just now getting started on serious research on the link between homosexuality and genetics, the reason they are looking harder into the matter is because every research study that has been done so far has shown some type of relationship between homosexuality and genetics. So far, no studies have proven there is no link, but every study has found that there is some type of link, and current studies are attempting to find out the exact relationship between the two. More Evidence Showing Homosexuals Are Born That Way http://www.psycport.com/stories/ascribe_2003_11_12_eng-ascribe_eng-ascribe_142713_9083074773882483309.xml.html Causes of Sexual Orientation http://www.fact-index.com/c/ca/causes_of_sexual_orientation.html There are many differations between the brain of a heterosexual male and a homosexual male. A homosexual male's vertexes of the brain are connected just like a females, when MRI's are conducted homosexual males use the same parts of the brain compared to a heterosexual male. A gay males brain is smaller like a females brain and after death with an autopsy doctors found that the hypothalamus in a gay male is similar to a females while a lesbians is similar to a males. Also there was a study that examined the brains between two twins one who was a straight male the other who was a gay male, which proved that there are diffrences physicaly in the brain. http://www.datalounge.com/datalounge/news/record.html?record=21035 LOS ANGELES -- Refuting 30 years of scientific theory that solely credits hormones for brain development, UCLA scientists have identified 54 genes that may explain the different organization of male and female brains. The research strongly suggests sexuality is genetically controlled. Now the anti gay arguement is all on defense that there is no medical proof. The above is proof but even if there wasn't, you cannot give something out of nothing. It is an arguement from silence. While most of the entire gay population say they were born that way, millions nationally and billions internationally. They cannot all be lying. I ask someone when they tell me it is a choice, "The choice to be gay cannot possibly exist without there being an alternative choice available. Which implies you realized at some point that you had homosexual tendencies of your own and just one day decided to be straight. It still doesn't erase the fact that you have homosexual tendencies, however. So the question we should be asking is, when did you discover you had both gay and straight tendencies and decided to be straight instead?" |
( It is racial discrimination to compare blacks to gays because being gay is a choice and being black is not! ) 같Only simular because they are both only different같 Even if blacks chose to be black (like if there was somewhere you could go to get a really good tan) if it was there preference, there still would be nothing wrong with it, because it is only different. Being gay is only a different form of love. Yes blacks have been through alot worse. So that is the only way in which we can compare. The only way they are compared are through "analogies". Meaning the are only specifically simular in the ways that are explained to show a point. When gay people compare them they ofcoarse mean in no way anything racist. They are just facing the same type of hate, for things that are only different because they do not fit into a preconcieved view of what other people think is normal. 같Interracial couples do "choose" to be with each other같 Especially when talking about interracial marriage not just race. They could have said they do choose the race of person they want to be with. So it is a choice but does that make it wrong or that they need to deny them rights? No. In the same way people do not choose there gender they are born with but "they try to say" that they choose the gender they want to be with. Even with that terminology it doesn't work in the same way with interracial marriages. They are both only different forms of love. Choice or not. "I still hear people say that I should not be talking about the rights of lesbian and gay people and I should stick to the issue of racial justice," she said. "But I hasten to remind them that Martin Luther King Jr. said, 'Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.'" "I appeal to everyone who believes in Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream to make room at the table of brother- and sisterhood for lesbian and gay people," Coretta Scott King. - Reuters, March 31, 1998. Checkout these articles for more info http://rainbowofequality.onasoapbox.com/AAleaders.html http://www.elkin.com/race_claims_echo_in_gay_marriage_debate.htm |
(The Roman Empire or other civilizations fell because they were gay) This another thing that could have only come about through a prejudgment, there is no reason for homosexuality to be the cause or symptom of a falling society because it is a form of love. Gays have been blamed for just about every bad thing that's ever happened in human history from anti gay organizations, the fall of the Roman Empire, the rise of Nazi Germany, to earthquakes in California, to the twin towers falling. How was homosexuality responsible for these events? Well, they happened and there were homosexuals around. There was the correlation. They can call anything a symptom in the same way. If someone didn't like them making in pottery at that time, they could call that a symptom in the same way they did. There are many important things to consider, It was accepted all over for some time, it didn't just come up when the empire was falling. Racist organizations claim the Roman Empire fell because the rise in inter-racial marriages. http://www.stormfront.org/whitehistory/romefall.htm Tenney Frank (1916): 뱑ace mixture and the fall of the Roman Empire;� Romans intermarried with slaves. Eduard Seeck (1930s): 뱑acial blending,� and the 밹ontamination� of the blood of the noble Romans by Syrians and the other 뱋ffspring of slaves.� Anyone can say things like that to fit their view. The following website describes in detail the real reason why the roman empire fell. http://www.roman-empire.net/collapse/collapse-index.html It is obvious it was do to an economic collapse. From being at war while at the same time not paying attention to the empires economy. The American Anthropological Association issued the following statement in February 2004 on same-sex unions: "The results of more than a century of anthropological research on households, kinship relationships, and families, across cultures and through time, provide no support whatsoever for the view that either civilization or viable social orders depend upon marriage as an exclusively heterosexual institution. Rather, anthropological research supports the conclusion that a vast array of family types, including families built upon same-sex partnerships, can contribute to stable and humane societies. The Executive Board of the American Anthropological Association strongly opposes a constitutional amendment limiting marriage to heterosexual couples." http://www.aaanet.org/press/ma_stmt_marriage.htm |
( It comes from lust! ) People that make these assumptions must come to the conclusion that they think they are psychic. That they think they know how gay people feel towards there partner. There isn't anything to show this and the only thing it can come from is prejudgements. What's lust got to do with it? (The more adult version of Tina Turner) If all it is about is lust, then what would be the point of gay people wanting to get married, making that commitment, having that bond with "One" special person? Why not stay single and just get sex whenever we want it without the commitment? Appears there is more to it then just lust or sex.... it is called love. That is a defining point, they would not get married if it was only based on lust. Just as heterosexual relationships they have a mutually bonding relationship by romance, friendhip and intimacy. As long as it is two adult human minds they are capable of looking past there wants and instead want to please there partners. That is the opposite of lust. |
( I think it is disgusting! ) Disgust is not a reason, it is a taste or a feeling. Each individual has tastes that are different. We wouldn't like people to not like us because they have different tastes. Everyone would not like us because everyone is an individual. What is important is that they are happy and we love each other for our differences. When a straight man looks in the mirror with there girlfriend/wife that is the same thing a gay man sees when they look in the mirror with the boyfriend/husband. Some may find spinage disgusting but it is still good for you. You see how they differentiate? If it is just a form of disgust then they should think about why two people doing what makes them happy threatens them so much before they start being mean to an innocent minority. When someone unreasonably hates something that usually means it can only come from feelings, which comes from a fear such as homophobia. Homophobia is a real condition and it can be treated by going to a psychiatrist. That is not meant in anyway as an insult or to be offending, it is something that is simply true, a real condition and those are some of the symptoms of it. Here is a medical analysis of Homophobia http://www.ohanlan.com/phobiahzd.htm Homophobia http://ncf.davintech.ca/freeport/sigs/life/gay/homo/menu It is described in the dictionary as, homophobia 1. Aversion to gay or homosexual people or their lifestyle or culture. 2. Behavior or an act based on this aversion. (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 3rd ed., 1992) homophobia Irrational fear of, aversion to, or discrimination against homosexuality or homosexuals. (Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 10th ed., 1993) homophobia n. 1. unreasoning fear of or antipathy toward homosexuals and homosexuality. [1955-60; HOMO (SEXUAL) + - PHOBIA] Derived words --ho'mo-phobe, n.; ho mo-pho'bic, adj. (Random House/Webster's Online Dictionary, Version 1 for Windows, 1992.) |
( Qoutes )
These are some wonderful and meaningful qoutes I randomly found throughout the internet or somewhere else. I hope you like them! " Love has no gender. If you truly love someone, you have a right to marry them no matter what. Taking away a gay person's right to marry is as bad as taking away a straight person's right to marry. Open minds, people. Open minds. " " I find it remarkable of the people that think there psychic. I absolutley know I was born this way or had no choice in the matter my entire life and someone telling me I wasn't born this way is like a man telling a woman that giving birth isn't painful. " " Perversion is the mind of the beholder. What is wrong is that people who are to quick to condemn that which they don't understand. " " And for those who believe homosexuality is choice -- well then I say it is a choice to prejudge and not love your neighbor -- that's certainly not genetic is it? " " Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no ones definition of your life; define yourself. " - Harvey Fierstein " I'll say what I said to Fred Phelps the other day. Maybe thats what you think but different strokes for different folks. " " Isn't it funny how people judge and have no clue what it is like to walk the mile in the persons shoes there judging? To me it is complete prejudgement. Maybe if we just stopped and really, really put ourselves in the other persons place..we would all be quiet! " " The problems that exist in the world today cannot be solved by the level of thinking that created them. -- Albert Einstein " " It's Not Easy Being Green " - Kermit The frog " Love is love my friends, whether it is a mixed union or a same sex union, the idea of love is one in the same. " " I'm gay, I pray .. I wish you a nice day ;-) " "The president asked for $1.5 billion to promote marriage in this country. Evidently, there's a problem in promoting marriage. The gays seem to be the only people that want to get married today, and here you are trying to stop it." - Congressman Gary Ackerman "Tell the sun not to shine Tell the rain not to drop Tell bed not to lay Don't you ever tell me love isn't true Its just something that we do" - Madonna " The reward for conformity was that everyone liked you except yourself. " -- Rita Mae Brown, Venus Envy "At the heart of liberty is the right to define one's own concept of existence, of meaning, of the universe, and of the mystery of human life." " When I was in the military they gave me a medal for killing two men and a discharge for loving one. " - From the tombstone of a Gay Vietnam Veteran " Why is it that, as a culture, we are more comfortable seeing two men holding guns than holding hands? " - Ernest Gaines " War. Rape. Murder. Poverty. Equal rights for gays. Guess which one the Southern Baptist Convention is protesting? " - The Value of Families " No matter how far in or out of the closet you are, you still have a next step." - Author Unknown " It always seemed to me a bit pointless to disapprove of homosexuality. It's like disapproving of rain. " - Francis Maude " If someone bought you an expensive and beautiful piece of jewlery for christmas that you absolutely LOVED, would you care what kind of paper it is wrapped in? I doubt it. It's the same with people. We're all just souls trying to get through this time here on earth, we're just wrapped in different kinds of paper. " - Author unknown "The only perversion is the incapacity to love." - Ana�s Nin "There comes a time when the cup of endurance runs over, and men are no longer willing to be plunged into an abyss of injustice" -Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. "We could learn a lot from crayons: some are sharp, some are pretty, some are dull, some have weird names, and all are different colors....but they all exist very nicely in the same box." |
Sappho (600 B.C.) Greek Poetess Socrates (470-399 B.C.) Greek Teacher and Philosopher Plato (427-347 B.C.) Greek Teacher and Philosopher Alexander The Great (356-323 B.C.) Macedonian King and Military Leader Wu (140-87 B.C.) Chinese Emperor Hadrian (76-138 A.D.) Roman Emperor Richard the Lion Hearted (1157-1199) English King and Crusader Edward II (1254-1327) English King Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) Italian Renaissance Artist, Teacher, Scientist and Inventor Michelangelo (1475-1564) Italian Renaissance Artist and Sculptor Montezuma II (1480-1520) Aztec Emperor Julius III (1487-1555) Catholic Pope Ieyasu Tokugawa (1542-1616) Japanese Shogun and founder of the Edo Shogunate Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1626) British Statesman and Writer Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593) English dramatist and poet Christina (1626-1689) Swedish Queen Peter the Great (1672-1725) Russian Czar Frederick the Great (1712-1786) Prussian King and Military Leader Madame de Stael (1766-1817) French Writer and Intellectual Lord Byron (1788-1824) British Poet Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875) Danish Poet and Writer Margaret Fuller (1810-1850) Euro-American Writer and Journalist Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) Euro-American Philosopher, Naturalist, and Peace Activist Walt Whitman (1819-1892) Euro-American Poet Herman Melville (1819-1891) Euro-American Writer Chief Crazy Horse (Tashunca witco) (1849-1877) Oglala Sioux Chief Peter I. Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) Russian Composer Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Irish Writer and Dramatist Dame Ethel Smyth (1858-1944) British Composer, Writer, and Activist Marcel Proust (1871-1922) French Writer Sergei Diaghileff (1872-1929) Russian Ballet Impresario Vita Sackville-West (1892-1962) British Writer Vaslav Nijinsky (1890-1950) Russian Ballet Dancer Edward Carpenter (1844-1929) British Author and Gay Rights Pioneer Willa Cather (1873-1947) Euro-American Writer and Critic Colette (1873-1954) French Writer and Actress W. Somerset Maugham (1874-1965) British Writer and Dramatist Alice B. Toklas (1877-1967) Euro-American Writer; Stein's Domestic Partner Gertrude Stein (1874-1946) Euro-American Writer and Art Collector; Toklas' Domestic Partner Bessie Smith (1894-1937) African-American Blues Singer and Entertainer E.M. Forster (1879-1970) British Writer Virginia Woolf (1882-1941) British Writer and Publisher Ernst Rohm (1887-1933) German Nazi and SA Leader T.E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) (1888-1935) British Soldier Jean Cocteau (1889-1963) French Writer and Filmmaker John Maynard Keynes (1883-1946) British Economist and Nobel Prize Winner Cole Porter (1893-1964) Euro-American Composer Bayard Rustin (1910-87) African-American Civil Rights, Labor Rights, & Peace Activist/Leader Alan Turing (1912-1954) British Mathematician and Computer Scientist James Baldwin (1924-1987) African-American Writer and Civil Rights Activist Truman Capote (1924-1984) Euro-American Author Tennessee Williams (1914-1983) Euro-American Dramatist Marguerite Yourcenar (1903-1987) Belgian-American Writer Federico Garcia Lorca (1894-1936) Spanish Poet and Dramatist Christopher Isherwood (1904-1986) British Author W.H. Auden (1907-1973) British Poet and Writer Harvey Milk (1930-1978) Euro-American Politician Audre Lorde (1934-1992) African-American Writer and Activist Billie Jean King (1943 - ) Euro-American Tennis Champion and Activist Martina Navratilova (1956- ) Czechoslovakian-American Tennis Champion and Activist Andy Warhol (1930-1987) Euro-American Pop Artist Frieda Kahlo (1907-1954) Mexican Artist and Activist Gore Vidal (1925- ) Euro-American Writer Rudolf Nureyev (1938-1993) Russian dancer Freddie Mercury (1946-1991) British Singer/songwriter/musician Elton John (1947 - ) British Singer/songwriter/musican Janis Ian (1951 - ) Euro-American Singer/songwriter/musician Nathan Lane (1956 - ) Euro-American Actor Ellen Degeneres (1958 - ) Euro-American Comedian/actor Melissa Etheridge (1961 - ) Euro-American Singer/songwriter/musician k. d. lang (1961 - ) Canadian Singer/songwriter Nazis murder thousands of homosexuals as part of campaign against "undesirables." Nazis burn books they consider subversive. "Stonewall Riots" in 1969--catalyst for modern American Lesbian/Gay Liberation Struggle. The "Names Project Memorial Quilt" commemorates those who have died of AIDS. The Pink Triangle symbolizes Lesbian/Gay struggles against oppression. The Rainbow Flag--symbolizes Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual Pride and Diversity. The Marches on Washington in 1979, 1987, & 1993 for Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Rights. Gay Heros that died on September 11th, http://www.angelfire.com/fl3/uraniamanuscripts/sept11.html |
( Conclusion ) Being gay is just two people in pursuit of happiness, capable of a caring, responsible and consenting relationship. Doing good to each other romantically, friendly and intimatley. Like any committed relationship, a gay marriage is greater than the sum of the two partners. It brings emotional fulfillment to those involved and contributes to their being better human beings. If they can see past the prejudgements and realize that true love is beautiful in whatever form it takes. Love encompasses many things. It encompasses closeness, shared interests, common bonds, values, mutual support, ongoing commitment, etc and those make up aspects of love which lead people to want to marry. Saying someones physical standards is love is like saying true beauty comes from the outside of a person, when actually it is what comes from the inside that makes someone beautiful. True love doesn't see physicality but it sees the heart. It is unconditional, that includes gender. If someone is able to love someone of the same sex then more power to them. Love is Love no matter what form it may come in. Straight people make their lifestyles public each and every day of the year, so I fail to see why somebody who happens to be gay can't do the same thing. It's that "live and let live" creedo. It is so funny when I hear someone say they disagree with homosexuality. It is like saying I disagree with a mountain or a rainbow. It is always going to be here whether someone disagrees with it or not and it doesn't hurt anyone. It is so true that people should learn to think for themselves. Many people THINK that they are, but they are just going with the crowd, going with the thoughts, beliefs, and prejudices that they grew up with...going with their friends who have the same prejudices. It is really important for all of us to examine our thoughts and beliefs. Why do we have certain beliefs, prejudices, dislike for others? If we really examined all this closely, we'd probably realize that there is no good reason or basis for this. This would be the start of actually thinking for ourselves....not allowing our ego and prejudices dictate to us. Inside were all the same. Forget about men and woman. Just pretend that there is no one but you and the person you love. At that moment you don't care what people think or feel or tell you. All you care about is the love between you no matter what gender or person you are. We need to ask ourselves what is going to happen if we can't embrace each others things about us that are only different. What if all of us attacked each other for our differences? Lets just through everyone that is different out of our country or don't fit into someones idealogy of what is normal. Guess who will be left, JUST ONE PERSON. We have to ask ourselfs where is the love? What is very important is to open our minds and your hearts when seeking the truth. Remember there is a difference between finding the truth by analyzing everything with an open mind, meaning with reason and logic instead of prejudgements. Then finding the truth by only listening to things that fit our view. Guess which one actually finds the truth? Love is Love no matter what form it may come in and they are trying to put a label on it, instead of letting it be itself. Embracing differentiality is what society needs to be freed of prejudices. Open minds people...open minds is the key to helping society evolve. The truth has to be made public to show everyone the untrue rumors being spread about an innocent minority. Please take heart and tell everyone you can. If you find anyone spreading these untrue rumors remember these things. From the soulforce website: The "religious right" is not our enemy. Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, James Dobson, D.James Kennedy and the other religious leaders aren't the source of our suffering. Gandhi and King remind us that our real enemy is untruth. Seven "Soul Force" Beliefs About My Adversary For Gandhi and King, to "love" our adversary means that we respond to our adversary guided exclusively by the principles of "ahimsa" or nonviolence. Gandhi said it this way. "No physical, verbal, or psychological violence." In King's words, "No violence of the fist, the tongue, or the heart." We will never win the minds and hearts of our adversaries until we learn to out-love them. You can learn more about the best ways to spread the truth at:http://www.soulforce.org/main/step1.shtml It is not the differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences. -Audre Lorde "We must learn to live together like brothers. Or perish together like fools." Dr. Marten Luther King |