I'm From Driftwood

feral-femme:

feral-femme:

there are lots of white queer people who i hold very near and dear to my heart. my best friend/platonic life partner, my girlfriend, and many of the queer people who i am closest to are white. my mom is also white and is kind of queer. i think they all…

cassket:

On Saturday, at the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force’s 24th National Conference on LGBT Equality: Creating Change, U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan announced a new HUD policy to fight discrimination against LGBT people in federally supported housing programs.

Under the new guidelines, any program that receives funding or insurance through HUD will be prohibited from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. This includes Section 8 housing, emergency shelters, and other social services, as well as mortgage lending through the Federal Housing Administration. Importantly, all of these programs will now be required to recognize same-sex and otherwise LGBT families — regardless of their marital status or the adoption status of their children — to ensure they can stay together as a family unit when accessing HUD resources. Donovan stated:

And so, first and foremost, this rule includes a new equal access provision that prohibits owners and operators of HUD-funded housing, or housing whose financing we insure, from inquiring about an applicant’s sexual orientation or gender identity or denying housing on that basis. If you are denying HUD housing to people on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity—actual or perceived—you’re discriminating, you’re breaking the law – and you will be held accountable. That’s what equal access means – and that’s what this rule is going to do.

Secondly, this rule makes clear that LGBT families, like the DeShanes, are eligible for HUD’s public housing and Housing Choice Voucher programs that collectively serve 5.5 million people. Third, the rule also makes clear that sexual orientation and gender identity should not and cannot be part of any lending decision when it comes to getting a mortgage insured by the FHA – part of HUD.

I’m proud to announce that this rule will be published as final in the Federal Register next week and go into effect 30 days later.

Watch his remarks here:

Many folks might argue that marriage equality or the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell are the harbingers of progress from queer people and families. I think it’s this kind of policy change that truly demonstrates equity. It’s in the connection between economic justice and sexual orientation/gender identity in which families are created and destroyed. This connection creates a stark contrast to the idea that queer families are “just like us” so they should be able to have access to the benefits of heterosexuality and military citizenship. It is through this kind of visibility and validation, of alternate family family structures, that we can queer the movement for economic justice.

by Kori Ashton

Think being gay is tough because your church or synagogue disapproves? Try being gay and Christian, getting prejudice from both sides of the fence.

From Pastor’s kid to worship pastor, I’ve certainly known what it means to be part of a religious world. All I’d ever known was private Christian school and then Bible College, but somewhere along that time I started to notice that I was different and that my journey in faith would be a “scenic route!”

Coming out to my parents at 18 was more of a “homecoming” situation. And by homecoming I mean - coming home. I was kicked out of Bible College for being a lesbian and had to return home with the news. This wasn’t what a minister’s family needed, and my parents certainly were disapproving.

Wanting to please God and my folks, I confessed my “sins” and decided to live as straight. Returning to Bible College I found a faith based ex-gay organization who was international and offered counseling. After contacting them, I was quickly moved into a “ministry” position and began singing and teaching at their conferences and workshops. During this time I started a band called the Kori Ashton Band who opened for such popular Christian bands as Skillet, Pax 217, Chris Tomlin, Tree 63 and others.

While well on my way to ex-gay fame in the Christian realm, I knew in my heart that I was a lesbian woman who just needed to find my own balance between my faith and orientation. So, I left those ministries and started one of my own online called LesBePure. I wanted to know if there were other lesbians out there who loved God in spite of with Scripture supposedly said. This site has rapidly grown and we now have a group of over 250 ladies who fellowship regularly on our online forums of faith.

My path has had many trials and triumphs, but one of the sweetest moments was June 19, 2010, when I stood in a Christian church and exchanged vows with my wife before God, friends and family. At that moment, we overcame all the prejudice that we had experienced being kicked out of Bible College, kicked out of churches and removed from leadership. All of the hurt from religion faded in that moment as we held each other’s hands and asked the Lord to bless our marriage, and He has.

We haven’t set aside our faith because of our orientation. God hasn’t set us aside because of it either. Love is His greatest challenge to us all.

I wanted to share this story in hopes that the hurt which might be in your life due to religion, would somehow lessen by knowing that not all Christians are hateful, but what’s more powerful than that – Christ, Himself, loves you where you are, as you are! My life and my marriage stand as a testimony of that!

-(Share your story with us!)

gaywrites:

Two teachers in Canada have stirred controversy among parents for displaying cards stating that they are allies for LGBTQ students. 

Stephanie Fortier and Peter Wohlgemut are fifth-grade teachers who have received special training on sexual orientation and gender identity. As a result they are encouraged to display “ally” cards in their classrooms. The cards read: “As an Ally, I support lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, Two-Spirit, intersex, queer, and questioning individuals, families and communities. As an Ally, I will work towards a more aware, affirming, safe and open work environment in both policy and practice.”

But for whatever reason, parents have complained about the cards. School officials have decided to cover up everything on the cards except the word “ally,” but some parents are still demanding the cards be removed from the classroom. 

“I would like to have the choice of how I choose to teach my children about these words and what they mean,” Peters Sawatzky said.

This is absurd. It’s an ally card. It’s the equivalent of putting up a “Safe Space” sign. Come on.