Roses

News of the week…

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation will have a float in this year's Rose Parade, their third. This year the float will feature a real live ceremony of a same-sex wedding. Yup, right there during the Parade! Their slogan is "Love is the Best Protection" from AIDS. Though I'll be visiting family that day we'll have to watch the parade.



Prez. Obama has announced that he and Michelle will not attend the Sochi Olympic Games. Neither will VP Joe Biden. Instead, America will send a delegation who are not current athletes in his place. This delegation will include two openly gay people -- tennis star Billie Jean King and Caitlin Cahow who is Olympic silver and bronze medalist in women's hockey. Can you say snub?

Figure skater Brian Boitano will also be in the group. That has many commenters wondering: He's gay, isn't he? Why doesn't he just come out already? Then he did.



Michigan's Gov. Rick Snyder was asked about civil rights protections for gays in the state. His answer: yeah, nice idea, but don't expect me to lead the effort. This needs to be a dialog and I need someone to have a dialog with. Certainly not the GOP controlled legislature.



I wrote a few days ago that New Jersey Democrats wanted to pass a marriage equality law and that we could end up the losers. That bill has been withdrawn.



A lesbian couple filed a challenge to the Oklahoma ban on same-sex marriage. But it isn't a recent case -- it was filed nine years ago. And nothing has happened, not even a date for a hearing.



Brandon Ambrosino, writing in The Atlantic, explores the idea that it is possible to be against marriage equality and not be a homophobe. Timothy Kincaid of Box Turtle Bulletin agrees, going on to explain a bit more. A homophobe torments us out of animus. That may not be true of everyone who is against marriage equality. It could be they (1) believe the lies of the homophobes, (2) are still caught up in the religious associations with the word marriage, (3) haven't gotten used to the idea yet, or (4) they are still back in 1994. That last indicates that with each passing year it is harder to be an opponent of marriage equality and not be a homophobe.