Kiss of the Week - Issue No. 028 - Anonymous

Kiss of the Week - Issue No. 027 - Romans 2:1

Quoted - Andrew Garfield on Gay Marriage

Awww, Our Spidey in his "It Gets Better" T-shirt

“Of course I’m in favor of marriage equality. Same-sex couples should have the same rights as anybody else  - there is no argument against equality.... How can anyone argue against compassion and understanding?” 

 - Andrew Garfield aka Spiderman to The Times of London on same-sex couples right to marry.

Kiss of the Week - Issue No. 026 - Anonymous

"When [he] kisses you he isn't doing anything else. You're his whole universe.. and the moment is eternal because he doesn't have any plans and isn't going anywhere. Just kissing you...it's overwhelming."
~ Anonymous

Loving One Another - Issue No. 027 - Ryan Joseph Lopez

And this is what Loving One Another is all about...  My beautiful, handsome husband, Ryan knows how to really make my day.

You Are My Brick

 

We may fight, argue, disagree or discuss a subject kinda loudly; whatever you may call it, it doesn't make our love any less stronger than the moment before. More than likely the conversation probably helped solve a problem to make our bond even more powerful.

After nearly 8 years, no matter how much you may frustrate me at times, even though the instances are few, in the end I cannot hide the love I have for you.

I look into your eyes as you go to bed at night, and see them first thing in the morning as you kiss me goodbye. And I can never get enough of that.

Nothing could ever replace that feeling of compassion.

No one could ever make me feel that same way.

It's a constant reminder that after nearly 8 years together, there can always be too much of a good thing, except when it comes to you.

You are my better half that I do not wish to survive without. You are the brick which holds us together, the foundation that keeps us from sinking and the roof that always protects us from whatever comes our way. I'll be the tiny nails and screws in the wooden beams - though they may be small, they are mighty.

Together our loving relationship not only survives, it thrives and will continue to venture on for many more years to come.

I couldn't be prouder of the house we built together, and I couldn't be happier to live in it with you, my partner, husband and best friend forever.

Almost happy eight years together, my love.

We'll face all challenges together and conquer them, smiling, knowing nothing can ever stop us now.

Love you bunches, my one true love. 

- Ryan Joseph Lopez

Loving One Another - Issue No. 026

Kiss of the Week - Issue No. 025 - Ashley

Quoted - The President of The United States on Jason Collins Coming Out

Can you name another President or World Leader who has been outspoken and supportive of LGBT equality?  No, you can't.

What is even more striking about the quote and video below is that at the end of Tuesday's news conference, The President wasn't initially asked about Collins.  

As he was leaving the podium, he turned around, came back and said this: 

"Yeah, I’ll say something about Jason Collins. I had a chance to talk to him yesterday. He seems like a terrific young man, and, you know, I told him I couldn’t be prouder of him. You know, one of the extraordinary measures of progress that we’ve seen in this country has been the recognition that the LGBT community deserves full equality, not just partial equality, not just tolerance but a recognition that they’re fully a part of the American family.

And, you know, given the importance of sports in our society, for an individual who’s excelled at the highest levels in one of major sports go ahead and say, this is who I am, I’m proud of it, I’m still a great competitor, I’m still seven feet tall and can bang with Shaq and, you know, deliver a hard foul — and for, you know, a lot of young people out there who, you know, are — are — are, you know, gay or lesbian, who are struggling with these issues, to see a role model like that who’s unafraid, I think it’s a great thing. And I think America should be proud that this is just one more step in this ongoing recognition that we treat everybody fairly. And everybody’s part of a — part of a family, and we judge people on the basis of their character and their performance, and not their sexual orientation. And so

I’m very proud of him. All right?"

- President Barack Obama on basketball player, Jason Collins recently coming out as a gay man.

I Quote That - Think Again

Loving One Another - Issue No. 025

Quoted - Clint Eastwood on Marriage Equality

Loving One Another - Issue No. 024

Kiss of the Week - Issue No. 023 - Author Unknown

Loving One Another - Issue No. 023

Quoted - Pastor Jay Bakker on Churches Refusal to Support Gays and Welcome Them Into Their Flock Is a Sin

“This is sin on a level that most churches ignore. This is sin; meaning, that which destroys. That which is destructive, which causes hurt in other people and perhaps even in your own life. When people lose their jobs, aren’t promoted, are discriminated against, are treated differently, are described as `gay’ as an insult, get kicked out of churches, and are disowned by their families, that is sin.” 

– Pastor Jay Bakker, from his book,  
Faith and Doubt and Other Lines I’ve Crossed: Walking with the Unknown God,
available at Amazon.com

Quoted - Republican Senator Mark Kirk on Having an Open Mind and Greater Respect For Others

“When I climbed the Capitol steps in January, I promised myself that I would return to the Senate with an open mind and greater respect for others. Same-sex couples should have the right to civil marriage. Our time on this earth is limited, I know that better than most. Life comes down to who you love and who loves you back — government has no place in the middle.”

– Republican Senator Mark Kirk, whose stroke in 2012 allowed him to see things in a different perspective.  The senator endorsed gay marriage on Tuesday, April 2nd. (BuzzFeed)

Quoted - Susan Olsen, "Cindy" from The Brady Bunch on her TV Dad & Gays

“As a child, I was BLESSED to have another father figure in my life. He did not replace my own beloved, Norwegian version of Jed Clampett, nor would he have wanted to. He simply harmonized with all of my family values and brought his own heart to our table.

This wonderful man was a giant in my world, a true king among men. His name was, and is, Robert Reed (OK that’s his stage name).

This tempetuous actor who bottle fed puppies when he wasn’t quarreling with the heads of networks, shaped my heart as much as my biological parents did. So I really can honestly say, “My dad was Gay”

I can also say that being gay killed him. Because it was so taboo, he could never make peace with himself. He never allowed himself to have a genuine love. He was forever taunted by his own disdain for the natural inclinations that he was BORN WITH.

Bob was a family man. Had he been allowed to form a relationship with another man, he would have been the best husband ever and might still be alive. But Bob could not be at peace with this because the people surrounding him shoved their own judgement down his throat and, sadly, he bought into it. He thought he was wrong. He felt the shame that every hypocritical “God is love” fundamentalist wanted him to feel.

To me, the vilification of homosexuality is exactly like the primitive practice of people who killed babies who were born with cleft palates or birth marks. It is a worship not of God but of fear itself in the form of a God who hates.

I am eternally grateful for having a golden rule placed before me as a child. I had a gay father! I knew he was gay when I was nine years old and had the wisdom of a child. I knew it was OK and none of my business.. I knew with all certainty that this was a very good man. And so, any ideology that demonized such a good man would have to be evil itself.

Robert Reed, unwittingly, showed me the true nature of religion. And this is why I steer clear of it to this day.

God and I are good pals. We have a clear line of communication and I don’t need religion’s telephone service. It’s full of static.

I could never worship, let alone LOVE, a God who would put my beloved father into the fires of Hell because he loved men. THAT is a God who deserves disdain. THAT is a God who must be ignored. THAT is a concept of God that must go away just as surely s humans have shed their prehensile tails.

You might call it evolution. IF you believe in evolving.

I do not necessarily believe in evolution, religion, politics or even gravity. I think the flying spaghetti monster might be the real deal! All I truly know is what works right here, right now.

What works is love.

What doesn’t work is judgement.

If two people love each other enough to want their union consecrated by a mythological being – they are undoubtedly insane, but LET THEM HAVE AT IT!!” 
                   - Actress, Susan Olsen, "Cindy" from The Brady Bunch on her
                     TV dad, gays & their fight for equality.

Kiss of the Week - Issue No. 022 - Author Unknown

Kiss of the Week - Issue No. 021 - Agnes de Mille

"...then I did the simplest thing in the world.
I leaned down... and kissed him.
And the world cracked open."
~ Agnes de Mille

Quoted - Dan Savage on What The Bible Got Wrong

"The shortest book in the New Testament is a letter from Paul to a Christian slave owner about owning his Christian slave.

And Paul doesn’t say, "Christians don’t own people." Paul talks about how Christians own people.

We ignore what the Bible said about slavery because the Bible  got slavery wrong.

If the Bible got the easiest moral question that humanity has ever faced wrong, what are the odds that the Bible got something as complicated as human sexuality wrong?"   
                   - Dan Savage to a National High School Journalism                                                       Conference in 2012