On June 26th 1993 Lawrence v. Texas was handed down by the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) ensuring that people in same sex relationships were safe from prosecution based upon who they wanted to have sex with. On September 21, 1996 President Bill Clinton signed the Defense of Marriage Act, causing marriage in the United States to be confined… Read more →
Two years ago I wrote a piece for Offbeat Bride called Blind Women Get Married Too One year ago on Sunday, I married my now husband. (You can see the wedding profile on offbeat bride right here!) I’ve been thinking a lot about what it means to be a visibly married disabled woman, and how people seem to be completely… Read more →
I’m choosing to run this story in the ‘Sexual Assault and Disability’ series because not all sexual assault or sexual damage is physical. It can also be mental. In the case of Purity Culture, it is an all encompassing world. It is an enforced code of ethics, and that too can leave scars. In the case of this story, purity… Read more →
I remember being very little and going to a few meetings of what was called the “Daisy Scouts”. I don’t remember why I stopped going, but I do remember being very uncomfortable with the idea that we had prayer circles. When people returned or refused their Eagle Scout medals I payed attention, recognizing that the Boy Scouts of America were… Read more →
Yesterday was the first day that same sex couples could get married in Washington State. And my home state did me very very proud. It also has reduced me to a puddle of tears at least 3 times in the last 48 hours. I have been raised by a community – and much of that community was queer, or trans,… Read more →
Yesterday was the first day that same sex couples could get married in Washington State. And my home state did me very very proud. It also has reduced me to a puddle of tears at least 3 times in the last 48 hours. I have been raised by a community – and much of that community was queer, or trans,… Read more →
Welcome to Uganda, the country where the “Kill the Gays” bill of 2009 will become law as a “Christmas Gift to the population” (according to Speaker Rebecca Kadaga) The bill has been written to allow the death penalty in cases of what is defined in the text as “aggravated homosexuality”. The Offence of Homosexuality will still be punished with life… Read more →
Last night was definitely an all around win. We got President Obama for another four years. And in his acceptance speech he acknowledged all creeds, disabled Americans and gay voters. In other words, he recognized that his constituency is not the 47%, but 100% of the people. In Missouri Claire McCaskill (a woman!) beat back rape apologist Todd Aiken for… Read more →
“Do things gradually will bring more tragedy. Why don’t you see it, why don’t you feel it? I don’t know, I don’t know. You don’t have to live next to me, just give me my equality. Everybody knows about Mississippi Goddamn!” – Nina Simone, Mississippi Goddamn. Once a week I’ll be covering a different issue of the election season. This… Read more →
A few weeks ago I woke up to the news that my wedding bouquet was on Offbeat Bride’s Monday Montage. Later that afternoon, a friend of mine told me that she’d seen my bouquet on The Mary Sue. Two days after that Corey Doctorow showed up on my flickr page and asked if he could put it on Boing Boing,… Read more →
