Domestic Partners Registry

Interested in registering a domestic partnership in California? Read this first:

Provisions governing domestic partnerships are found in the California Family Code http://www.sos.ca.gov/dpregistry/

LGBTQ Youth Shelter

The Ali Forney Center is the nation’s largest organization dedicated to homeless LGBT youth. AFC currently provides eight residential sites offering emergency shelter and longer-term housing, and additionally provides two drop-in centers which offer medical care, mental health treatment, HIV prevention, testing and treatment, housing and benefit assistance, and job training and placement services. The mission of the Ali Forney Center is to help homeless LGBT youth be safe and become independent as they move from adolescence to adulthood. Ali Forney was a queer youth who was murdered on the streets in 1997, when there was no safe shelter for LGBT youth in NYC.

Learn more and visit their website http://www.aliforneycenter.org/

Medical Decisions for Gay Partners

I wanted to share a little information that might help, in case you ever find yourself in a medical emergency situation with your spouse. I'm not sure that this is available outside of California, but you can pick up the form at any Kaiser hospital. The form is called "Advance Health Care Directive" and it only needs to be signed by two witnesses. My partner and I had ours notarized, to play it safe. This form comes in a wallet size version as well, to tell paramedics who is in charge of your medical decisions if you were found unconscious. We made copies of the original and placed them with other family members as well, in case they make it to the hospital first. You can also designate a second person to make decisions on your behalf if one needs to be made immediately and you have not arrived yet.

Yes, it is a pain in the a** that we have to provide so much paperwork, but this might help. After 16 years together, we are willing to make a huge scene in the hospital if anyone even dares question one of us.

I hope this helps.
Tony

Gay to Straight Therapy?

The American Psychological Association declared last week that mental health professionals should not tell gay clients they can become straight through therapy or other treatments.

In a resolution adopted on a 125-to-4 vote by the APA’s governing council, and in a comprehensive report based on two years of research, the 150,000-member association put itself firmly on record in opposition of so-called “reparative therapy” which seeks to change sexual orientation.

No solid evidence exists that such change is likely, says the report, and some research suggests that efforts to produce change could be harmful, inducing depression and suicidal tendencies. Read the full story at http://www.365gay.com
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All I can say to this is DUH!!

Gay Teen Suicide

Trust me when I say "Your life is worth living", no matter how bad it seems now. Do you feel alone, isolated, and generally worthless? I made it through my "teenage" years alone with no one to talk to, but you don't have to. The Trevor Project has many resources and people to talk to, free! Click on the Trevor Project link to the left and talk to someone now!

Tony http://twistedpride.com

Gay's Religious Identity

Hmmm!
Where does that put me in the scheme of things? I consider myself a Christian because I believe in God and Christ. However, I believe that the Bible is a work of fiction and written by men who wanted to control the greater population. I am not an atheist, because I believe in God. Does this make me an agnostic or am I just confused?

I do adhere to the 10 commandments, I just can't swallow most of the Bible (I have read several different versions).

My religious friends (Mormon, Jewish, Muslim, Catholic) say that they love me and will not judge me, because that is God's job. These same friends still believe that I am going to hell though, because of what the Bible says. This sounds like a contradiction to me.
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This was my response to an article I read at http://365gay.com