Sad Reminders That Homophobia Still Looms Large
A few recent news stories have served as sad reminders that even amidst positive developments for the gay communities, horrific events still occur far too often.
The past few days alone have seen some appalling stuff.
There was the random murder of a gay man in New York City, of which Reuters reports,
"Mark Carson, 32, was shot dead in Greenwich Village around midnight on Friday in what police are calling a hate crime. Others say it could be a backlash against the recent advance of gay marriage laws across the United States."
Then a story about a Texas judge who cited a "morality clause" to bar a lesbian couple from living together broke. As the AP reports:
"A judge has ruled that a North Texas lesbian couple can't live together because of a morality clause in one of the women's divorce papers. The clause is common in divorce cases in Texas and other states. It prevents a divorced parent from having a romantic partner spend the night while children are in the home. If the couple marries, they can get out from under the legal provision--but that is not an option for gay couples in Texas, where such marriages aren't recognized."
Then in Florida a teen is facing charges under statutory rape laws for a consentual sexual relationship she had with a younger girl at her school. Now this type of thing happens to opposite sex teen couples as well, but such laws are rarely applied fairly or uniformly.
These are obviously three very different stories, but they serve as a reminder that all over the country, whether it is in a state like New York, where gay marriage is legal, or in a place like Texas, where it is anything but, homophobia and its very dire consequence, remain a sad reality.
How to Argue With Homophobes
Often it doesn't even seem worth the bother, but sometimes you might just want to dive in when someone makes a homophobic comment.
Here are some tips for defeating homophobic arguments...Read more
Feeling Pressure to Have Sex?
Some GLBT teens feel pressured to have sex before they are ready. There are a lot of reasons this happens. Check out some ideas for dealing with this common situation!
More States Pass or Seem Set to Pass Gay Marriage
In the past few days, Delaware became the 11th state to legalize gay marriage and the Minnesota house just passed a measure to legalize gay marriage. If it passes, Minnesota would be the first midwestern state to pass a law legalizing same sex unions.
Things are moving fast!
Read more about gay marriage.
Same Sex Marriage Update
Rhode Island just became the 10th American State to legalize same sex marriage and recently New Zealand, Uruguay and France have passed laws that if enacted as expected, will also legalize same sex marriage in those countries. This would bring the number of countries allowing same sex marriage up to 14.
Here's what teens need to know about the marriage situation.
Is it Ever Ok for a 20-Something to Date a Teen?
A 23-year-old with a crush on a 17-year-old want to know if this makes him "sick and twisted."
The short answer is that it does not. But that also doesn't necessarily mean that this is a good idea!
How Do You Make the First Move?
Have you ever wondered if someone liked you and waited and waited for him or her to make the first move? Well, what if you stopped wondering and just made the first move yourself! Here are some reasons to do just that as well as some tips on making sure you don't make anyone feel uncomfortable in the process.
The Day of Silence
Today is the Day of Silence.
This is an event that happens every year and which hopes to fight anti-gay bullying, harassment and discrimination in schools.
Teachers and students can take part by spending the day without talking. This is done as a reminder that even today, many GLBT individuals cannot talk openly about who they are.
This year's Day of Silence asks, "What will you do to end the silence?"
How would you answer that question?
If You Know Your Crush is Gay, Should You Reveal How You Feel?
So: you've done some sleuthing and you have found out that your crush is also queer (GLBTQ).
That is pretty exciting, but is it enough information for you to reveal how you feel? Here are some different takes on the matter...Read more
Have you ever revealed a crush? How did it go?
When GLBT Teens Should Seek Counseling
A gay teen writes to the GLBT Teens forum:
"I really don't have anyone to talk to about anything so it just stays inside until I burst."
Is seeing a therapist right for him? Keep reading to find out...