Month: September 2017

5 THINGS TO KNOW

Athlete Equality Index rates the nation’s college athletic conferences.

September 13, 2017 compassq Comments Off on Athlete Equality Index rates the nation’s college athletic conferences.

Athlete Ally released their new Athlete Equality Index, which scores each of the Power 5 conferences and schools based upon lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer inclusion, and the Pac-12 had the highest score (79.3). A perfect score would be 100. The Pac-12 was followed by the ACC (68.8), Big 10 (65.2), Big 12 (56.3), and the SEC (56.0). Conferences were sent their scores three and a half weeks ago with the opportunity to raise them.

5 THINGS TO KNOW

Fighting for surrogacy for gay men in Utah.

September 13, 2017 compassq Comments Off on Fighting for surrogacy for gay men in Utah.

Jon and Noel started talking about having a family not long after they married in 2013. An author and a professor who have been together more than a decade, the couple considered adoption, but settled on surrogacy out of a strong desire to have a biological child. That plan was derailed last year when a southern Utah judge denied their petition to enter a surrogacy agreement with a woman who wanted to help make their family complete.

GayARP

Albany County supports veterans who were denied benefits.

September 13, 2017 compassq Comments Off on Albany County supports veterans who were denied benefits.

When it comes to discharged LGBT veterans in Albany County, they don’t have to worry about being denied benefits due to their sexual orientation. County lawmakers on Monday passed a law that will ensure that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender veterans who were discharged under the federal government’s Don’t Ask Don’t Tell police started under President Bill Clinton to receive county-level veteran’s benefits.

5 THINGS TO KNOW

Nigel Owens – Coming out as gay easier than talking about bulimia.

September 12, 2017 compassq Comments Off on Nigel Owens – Coming out as gay easier than talking about bulimia.

Nigel Owens, one of the top rugby referees in the world, says it was easier for him to talk about being gay than to admit he still has bulimia. As a referee in world-class rugby, one of the most macho sports on the planet, I was the first in the sport to come out as being gay. In the hope of reaching out to other young people struggling with mental health, I was also one of the first sportsmen to speak openly about the biggest regret of my life — a suicide attempt. …

5 THINGS TO KNOW

Support for Aussie same-sex marriage from our four legged friends.

September 12, 2017 compassq Comments Off on Support for Aussie same-sex marriage from our four legged friends.

Nearly 30,000 people flooded the streets of Sydney over the weekend to show their support for marriage equality in Australia, but it was many of their pets that stole the show. Event organizers said that the rally, which was held ahead of the upcoming postal vote on same-sex marriage, was the largest LGBT demonstration in Australian history. And while thousands of activists proved that a massive segment of the population is in support of marriage equality, it was their rainbow-clad dogs that helped to spread the word even further.

5 THINGS TO KNOW

Inside the campaign to canonize 9/11 icon, Father Mychal Judge.

September 12, 2017 compassq Comments Off on Inside the campaign to canonize 9/11 icon, Father Mychal Judge.

When Salvatore Sapienza saw the small classified ad in the back of OutWeek, a gay news magazine in New York, he thought it seemed like a sign. “In the spirit of Francis of Assisi,” the ad read, “serving our brothers and sisters affected by AIDS.” At the bottom was the address of the St. Francis AIDS Ministry on West 31st Street in Manhattan. Sapienza was gay—he had been out for years—but he was also a Marist Brother, a Catholic office similar to the priesthood.