Trying our best to get married
I have been dating my partner, now my finance, for over five years. Five years and three months to be exact. We met shortly after I made the decision to come out, had separated from my wife and moved into my own apartment. We met at a Meetup group that held monthly dinners in local restaurants for gay and bi men. A mutual friend introduced us. But, it would be eight months before we would go on our first date. Continue reading
The Family Leader is a Christian organization whose mission is to, “Strengthen families, by inspiring Christ-like leadership in the home, the church, and the government.” They do this, according to their website by, transforming the culture; impacting elections; and influencing policy. While the organization has chosen not to publicly endorse a presidential candidate before the Iowa Caucuses, they have encouraged their leadership to speak out. Bob Vander Plaats, President and CEO of The Family Leader, who the New York Time calls, “an influential leader of Iowa’s Christian right” has endorsed Sen. Ted Cruz. The Family Leader, said the New York Times article, is “staunchly opposed to abortion and same-sex marriage.”
The Advocate reported that the White House would give LGBT Syrian refugees priority for entry given the persecution they face under ISIS. The Advocate writes, according to White House spokesman Josh Earnest, “the administration would instead prioritize letting in those refugees ‘deemed to be the most vulnerable.’ LGBT people would be among those meeting that definition.” The article goes on to say that the State Department has said that, “priority would be placed on those facing extreme persecution,” and that the definition of those being persecuted included LGBT refugees. Another interesting dimension the article described was a change recently in the State Department definition of the word, ‘spouse’, which now includes LGBT. So LGBT spouses of Syrian refugees are now seen differently than they might have been, thanks to marriage equality.
