Sunday Funday is Following Its Gay Heart to the Altar and the Internet

It’s finally here! It’s only been seven days since last week but you’re probably in need of a dosage of happiness. Especially after getting that flu shot (ouch!) and buying 48 packs of Ramen because you’ve developed your first cold-weather illness! Stay warm by cuddling, if you need to.

Plus, since it’s Sunday Funday I get to warm your heart with stories of gays defying expectations, following their dreams, and getting a little love.

People Seriously Supporting Gay Marriage, Partnership, -ness

+ Gay marriage is banned in France, but the mayor of Cabestany doesn’t really care. He want ahead and married two gay men in an act of protest:

Mayor Jean Vila said performing the wedding for the men, identified only as Patrick and Guillaume, was a “militant act,” Reuters reports. 

“To outlaw homosexual marriage is to deny the reality of thousands of homosexual couples,” he said after the ceremony, held in the Cabestany City Hall. “This decision to join these two people for me is an act of anger and revolt in the face of the authorities’ refusal to legitimize such unions.” He did not enter the marriage in the official registry, however, to avoid the possibility of annulment. 

+ Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal is personally working on the behalf of a British binational couple to get their marriage-based petition for a green card accepted. He is doing so, however, because he wants the Defense of Marriage Act to go away for real:

“The question of DOMA’s constitutionality and validity as applied to the lawful marriages of same-sex couples in states like Connecticut has yet to be decided by the federal courts and Congress,” Blumenthal writes. “Until such a final determination is made, I ask that you withhold judgment on the validity of this petition from lawfully married Connecticut citizens.”

This Veteran’s Day Is Gayer Than the Rest

It’s the first Veteran’s Day weekend in a post-DADT world. Ain’t that crazy? We’re in on the honor and the glory this time, y’all!

Gender Reassignment Is Now Tax Deductible

Gender reassignment surgery is now classified as a medical necessity, and is therefore tax deductible.

Another Gay Minister

Rev. Dr. Jonipher Kwong became the first gay – and the first Asian – minister in the First Unitarian Church of Honolulu’s history. He couldn’t be happier:

“It’s important to celebrate. This is especially true for younger people, who may be struggling with their identity and face bullying and teen suicide. I want to highlight the church’s role in honoring [sexual orientation] instead of shaming it.”

Ugandan Lesbian Granted Asylum

When Lilian Ikulmet, the former head of Uganda’s female rugby team, came out, she faced harassment and violence in her home country. So she has been granted asylum in Germany. She said she’s hoping to live a quiet life and marry her girlfriend, just like everyone else.

This Wonder Woman Mixer

I don’t have anything more to say.

Win An Advocate Signed By Adam Lambert

You can win an issue of The Advocate signed by Adam Lambert.

“I Can’t Think Straight”

The lesbian film “I Can’t Think Straight” from 2007 may be making a return as a web series. It’s up to you:

Our aim is to bring you the characters, challenges and triumphs, in a TV quality show but in short, web series episodes, with the high production quality you’ve come to expect from Enlightenment Productions.We have been overwhelmed by the response to I Can’t Think Straight the movie. 34 million hits on our trailers and related videos. Thousands of fan videos on YouTube. Two thirds of you told us that the movie changed your life. Your help and support in every way, not just in financial sponsorship, is crucial for us to produce this series and to keep its creative integrity and values intact.

You can donate to the crowdsourcing effort here.

Zebras

Look at this baby zebra picture courtesy of ZooBorns. Did all the sad go away? Yep. I know.

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Carmen

Carmen spent six years at Autostraddle, ultimately serving as Straddleverse Director, Feminism Editor and Social Media Co-Director. She is now the Consulting Digital Editor at Ms. and writes regularly for DAME, the Women’s Media Center, the National Women’s History Museum and other prominent feminist platforms; her work has also been published in print and online by outlets like BuzzFeed, Bitch, Bust, CityLab, ElixHER, Feministing, Feminist Formations, GirlBoss, GrokNation, MEL, Mic and SIGNS, and she is a co-founder of Argot Magazine. You can find Carmen on Twitter, Instagram and Tumblr or in the drive-thru line at the nearest In-N-Out.

Carmen has written 919 articles for us.

19 Comments

  3. so…if gender reassignment surgery is legally considered a “medical necessity”, why don’t insurance companies cover it?

    in other news, I want two kittens to cuddle!

    • usually depends on the insurance company and the type of surgery. also whether you’ve got any preexisting medical conditions too.

      also “gender reassignment” kinda rubs me the wrong way? like. gender isn’t supposed to be physical. that’s kind of the point. and so it can’t be reassigned, except maybe with forcible conversion therapy and that’s gross and doesn’t work

      so the term is sex reassignment

  5. i get what the mayor in france is doing, but i’m not sure if i would want my marriage to be part of someone else’s “act of anger and revolt.”

      • yeah, i see what you mean. i guess what i don’t like about it is not that marriage shouldn’t be an act of protest, i just think a marriage should be more about the couple getting married than about the person performing the marriage and his/her personal protest desires. it just seemed like he was in it for himself and the couple was merely a prop for his political statement. (i, for one, fully intend to maximize the kickassness of a gay wedding as a protest act if i get married, but i hope my officiant is there to facilitate that for my partner and me and not for him/herself.)

        • Marriage has so many meanings to so many different people. For some it’s a religious act. For some it’s a civil act. I don’t see why it can’t be a big ol’ “FUCK YOU” to mainstream society if you want it to be.

        • To me it seems like the couple said “I wish we could get married” and then the Mayor was like “WHY THE FUCK NOT? LET’S DO IT!”

          That actually sounds a lot like my first experience with vodka.

  6. I’ve always dreamed of living in France, so lets hope to see more of the revolts and anger so I can take my (future, not yet found, open to offers :P ) beautiful, smart funny, perfect girlfriend there, get married, have gorgeous bi lingual children and live in a windmill… See how optimistic the Zebras made me!

    • If you find a windmill I’d move in for sure. When I was seven my life plan was to live in France, keep chickens and write a book. 20 years later and I haven’t done any of these. But I did start the book this summer.

      • You write a best seller now, and i’ll get windmill hunting. Then with the money from the book we’ll buy it, and the chickens, and you can write the sequels there? ( I believe this is my romanticized way of saying good luck with the book! :) )

        • Wonderful plan, what a happy-sounding household. And don’t worry if the windmill is a ruin, I trained in architecture so we can refurbish it no problem. Right, off to the library first thing to get back onto the book. Not joking.

  8. It’s really nice and refreshing to hear about people who are actually fighting for our rights instead of fighting to keep them from us. I like good news! And baby zebras!

Comments are closed.