With Valentine’s Day on the horizon, I thought it would be nice to focus on a little love, baby, love—and politics and the law and how it is and will affect queer people around the world.

While the churning maelstrom of Proposition 8 in California has been experiencing high-profile coverage (and the ensuing nastiness that accompanies it), there have been a few advances and breakthroughs in the fight for equal marriage for gays in other parts of the world. Read the full story

Oh Tiger, what a twisted tale you have…

Another day and another salacious report on the state of Tiger Woods: the bizarre car crash, the jilted, humiliated wife, the ambulance leaving the Tiger den with a “mysterious blonde”, the 11 (and counting) mistresses, the buddy who hooked him up, the alleged drugs, the alleged purchasing of sexual favours, the millions in endorsements. It’s a gossip columnist’s wet dream.

This story has hit the media like a tsunami and even makes diddling David Letterman look like a choirboy. It has become fodder for massive amounts of speculation from sports and news pundits and amazing material for late night comic monologues. Read the full story

Fundamentalist Christians. Right-Wing Neo-Cons. The Vatican.
Carrie Prejean. Gay Men.

Above is a short list of enemies of same sex marriage. Which one of those is making your eyebrows wiggle? Yea, I bet it’s the last one. Sure, there are the usual suspects who spout off about the ills, follies and dangers of same sex marriage. Yet, among the choir of puritanical Calamity Janes is a not-so-small group of gay men.

Turns out there are a cadre of queers out there that would rather gay marriage didn’t exist. I wonder how many of their signatures were on Prop 8? But I digress… Read the full story

Ever since I began writing this blog, I have always hoped that I would come up with amazing things to write about.

I know that the Law of Attraction is always in action, working… It is a law of the universe.  It’s on whether I am aware or not.  My practice ever since learning about the Law has been to maintain awareness as often and prolonged as possible.  You do, actually, get better at doing this.  It becomes easier and fruitful. Read the full story

With the unrelenting media masturbation over Michael Jackson’s death it can be hard to find real news. Well, here’s one that actually may affect people: The Saskatchewan Party government has put forth a proposal that would give the province’s marriage commissioners the right to refuse to perform same-sex marriages.

The proposed law would make sure that a marriage commissioner would be available to perform the ceremony should another be too offended (morally or religiously) to perform the task.

Refusing to perform an otherwise legal marriage is simply discrimination!

Saskatchewan’s Justice Minister and Attorney General Don Morgan has said he will ask the province’s Court of Appeal if the proposed legislation flouts Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Morgan said there are two options being put on the legislative table, “One would grandfather the existing marriage commissioners that are reluctant or unwilling to perform a same-sex marriage and the second option would grant religious exemption for not only the existing ones, but for future marriage commissioners that would have the same concerns.”

This has been an on-going issue in Saskatchewan for a number of years. Last year, the Saskatchewan Human Rights Tribunal ordered marriage commissioner Orville Nichols to pay $2,500 in compensation after refusing to officiate a gay couple’s nuptials. Nichols said he refused on the basis of his religious beliefs.

I don’t talk much about my personal life in this blog but I will say this: my husband and I were married at Toronto’s City Hall two years ago and we experienced nothing but joyous acceptance and smiles as we went through the marriage process. It seems obvious that the city vetted its marriage commissioners and JOP’s to ensure they weren’t morally or religiously conflicted. If Orville Nichols finds himself in a religious dilemma, perhaps he should only perform marriages in the church.

Second to this, if a marriage commissioner has a moral objection to a mixed race couple’s nuptials, will he or she have the right to refuse and be protected legally? I get the feeling that would be deemed an egregious case of discrimination.

Hopefully Saskatchewan’s courts can put this to rest and align the province’s public servants with the rest of the nation and with out Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

He was one of the puppet masters of the Bush administration. He was one of the biggest proponents of waterboarding as a form of torture at his offshore prison camp, Guantanamo Bay and he beat the war drums ceaselessly for eight years, rattling the planet and fanning the flames of fear and xenophobia.

You can imagine my surprise – or should I say slack-jawed shock – when former American vice president Dick Cheney came out in support of same-sex marriage this week. Yep, he’s pro gay marriage.

Cheney was speaking at the National Press Club the other day when he made this stunning pronouncement that gay and lesbian people, “ought to be free to enter into any kind of union they wish, any kind of arrangement they wish.” He went on to say he believes the matter should be handled state-by-state and should not be made a Federal issue.

Now, at first glance this statement feels completely out-of-step with the man so intent on bombing the world into submission but there is a rationale behind his thinking: his lesbian daughter Mary. According to Cheney, Mary’s sexuality has greatly informed his attitude about gays and gay rights.

It’s just shocking to hear this kind of openness from a man most people relate to as a heartless warlord. Go figure. I am by no means becoming a fan of Dick Cheney but what strikes me is that someone with his political record and destructive policies and initiatives on a global scale has a soft spot – and its for gay people.

It underscores the importance
of gay people coming out!

I think it underscores the importance of gay people coming out and showing that we are indeed everywhere – even at the family dinner table of such a right-wing politician who seems to have so much contempt for human life. Who knows what his feelings about this issue would be if his daughter stayed in the closet?

What’s even more stunning is that Cheney has trumped President Obama on this issue. Obama supports civil unions for gays.

Ok, Mr. President, it’s time to step up. You don’t want to be outmaneuvered by a big Dick.