2007 Gay List Pride
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Gay pride week kicks off Sunday with a blessing
The Jersey City Lesbian and Gay Outreach, Inc. and Grace Church Van Vorst will kick off Jersey City Pride Week Sunday by hosting a ceremonial blessing ceremony for same-sex couples. The Rev. Gregory Perez will conduct the service, which will consist of hymns, songs of praise, scriptural and non-scriptural readings, prayer and a special blessing of relationships. Lesbian and Gay couples, their families and friends are all invited to the blessing. Jersey City Pride Week will culminate with the Jersey City Pride Festival on Aug. 26 from noon to 8 p.m. at Exchange Place. For more information, visit www.jclgo.org or www.gracevanvorst.org or call Grace Van Vorst Church at (201) 659-2211, ext. 4. PATRICK VILLANOVA .
150 people expected to take part in Gay Pride
The organisers of this weekend's Gay Pride Festival have vowed to go ahead with the festival this weekend even after receiving a homophobic email from a disgruntled member of the public. Matthew Monaghan, Chairperson of Galway Pride told the Galway Independent the event would go ahead. "It was basically trying to put us off having the parade. It was trying to stop people from coming out over the weekend but it won't work. The email isn't going to make us change any of our plans for the weekend and why should it".This is the 27th instalment of the Galway Gay Pride Festival, which is the oldest festival of its kind in the country. The festival kicks off on Thursday evening, 17 August, at Club Arus na nGael at 7.30pm. The main event of the weekend will occur on Saturday afternoon at 2.30pm when the Brod Ireland Pride Parade makes its way through the streets of Galway, starting off on Prospect Hill and finishing up in Fr Griffin Park.
Gay And Proud
Twenty-five years ago, they were a small group gathered behind the Old State House, staking out a claim for gay pride, but uncertain and scared about what might happen at this rally. Masks were handed out to those who feared repercussions - would they be fired, evicted, attacked if their identities were known? Some watched from cars, wanting to take part, but afraid to be seen.
Richard Stillson remembers what it was like for him: He was just beginning to come out. He had been in a heterosexual relationship and was starting to question his sexuality. He had recently arrived in Connecticut for graduate school and knew no one, so he didn't fear others seeing him. However, taking part in the rally was a big step for him.
"It was my first public appearance," said Stillson.
Hear Me Out: Personal Truce: In the Aftermath of Middle East War ...
It seems to take a Middle East war for me to be able to call a ceasefire with my father. That is because there has been a personal, more private war going on between Sabir, my Palestinian father, and me, his gay son, for nearly two decades.Our war, of course, does not involve bombs or bullets. But in it, there have been plenty of explosions, lives have gotten ripped apart, and in its wake there has been more than enough suffering.The battle between my father and me began more than 20 years ago, when my parents accidentally found out their only son was gay.My mother, an American raised in the South, progressed from thinking I was mentally ill, to eventually volunteering for AIDS organizations and helping drag queens get dressed for their shows and marching in Gay Pride parades. But the leap was too big for my father.As the years went by, a Cold War of sorts set in between us about my sexual orientation.
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