Religion and Murderous Hate Crimes

More people have killed in the name of "Religion" or "God" than any other motive on the planet and have done so since the beginning of the human race. I know a ton of very good "religious people" who would agree with me. It makes me sick to my stomach to even put the words "God" and "Religion" in the same sentence. There is nothing wrong with people worshiping in his/her own way and sharing their views with others, until it crosses the line. That line is crossed when they start campaigning to take away human rights from other people. Not only do they attempt to take away rights, they attempt to kill certain groups to "cleanse" our society. Hitler comes to mind.

Winds are shifting?

This past Saturday we went to my niece's wedding with 150 people in attendance. About 90% of the guest list were in their early 20's and some still in High School. The other 10% were mostly over 40, including us (well almost 40 :) ).
It was very interesting to observe people's reactions to 2 gay men together at a str8 wedding. While most of the older crowed stared and whispered, the younger crowd did not even seem to notice us at all. It may just be that they were too busy partying, but I would like to think that the younger generation are less ignorant than their parents.
It was a wonderful wedding and we felt very comfortable attending. After almost 16 years together, it was a little sad not being able to attend our own wedding. However, we see hope in the younger generation and maybe someday that will be us exchanging vows.
Cheers!

Domestic Partnership Woes

What a pain in the a** this is. My partner and I are registered in California as domestic partners, because we thought it would help. Instead, it created loop-holes that apply to everything we try to do. It is better than nothing, but still not as powerful as a "marriage license". We still had to register medical power's of attorney, because a domestic partnership can be contested. We had to file bankruptcy in 2006 and were required to file separately (doubling the cost), because we were not "married". We are required to file State taxes as "married", but still file "single" on our federal returns, which raises our accountant costs because of the added paperwork. I am disabled and would qualify for assistance, if not for my spouses income. If it benefits local, county, state, or federal interests then we are considered "spouses"., but if its for our benefit we are told "you are not married" thus treated as separate. Crazy!
Marriage or civil union? I don't really care what they call it, as long as it is legally recorded and recognized as the same, countrywide.

LGBT Postage

Gay Blades by Admurray
Make Zazzle custom stamps with zazzle.com

Gay Youth follow up

We added a new link this morning for LGBTQ youth support. The mental health of children is extremely important, so we did not want this resource to go un-noticed. Please take a minute and visit this blog http://queeryouthmentalhealth.wordpress.com/ and pass it on to others who may find the information helpful.
Tony

Gay Marriage in California

I guess we missed the "window" of opportunity, however we are pleased that some couples are equal under the law. We have been together for almost 16 years and have talked often about getting married. Timing is everything, so we will just sit and wait until the right moment arrives. Congratulations to all the "legally married" gay couples in California.

If you are interested in our story, visit us at http://twistedpride.com/

Bob and Tony