NOH8!!!

What do Slash, Verne Troyer, Kat Von D, Steve-O, and Larry King have in common? They’re all activists of the NOH8 Campaign. The NOH8 Campaign was started as a silent protest. Instead of using words, photos are used to send their message. It was started short after the ban on same-sex marriages in California. Adam Bouska, a celebrity photographer, and Jeff Parshley are the founders of the movement. The pictures, at first, were just of everyday people who live in California and opposed the ban on same-sex marriage, but now they’ve developed their own symbol. Most of their photos are of people, celebrities and average Americans, of all ages, with duct tape over their mouths and “NOH8” written/painted on their cheek. The duct tape is a symbolization of their rights being silenced.

As time went by, more and more people have heard about NOH8 and the campaign grew by great measures. It’s no longer just a symbol of Californian’s rights but of everyone in the LGBT community. It’s no longer local people from California getting photographed. Now there are NOH8 photos of politicians, military personnel, artists, celebrities, and many more people.

The campaign itself has some pretty surprising activists; such as Weird Al, Audrey Kitching (the scene queen), Lt. Dan Choi (who has made news last year for being kicked out of the military because of the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy), and Tila Tequila (who also was the center of press for a while because of her bi-sexual dating show). Don’t worry though, to be a supporter of NOH8, one doesn’t have to be a celebrity, they just have to believe in what the campaign is fighting for, equality.

Everyone reading this should take a minute to just check out their site, look at the pictures. It shocked me to see how many of my favorite musicians, singers, actors/actresses, and models were supporters of this movement. Not to mention, the pictures are absolutely beautiful and get the message across in such a simple way. The videos are also great. My favorite is the “It Gets Better” video.

Ally Week

Any student who knows me personally or saw me often last year, probably knows that I participated in the Day of Silence. Day of Silence was an entire day where I quietly protested LGBT bullying by not speaking, at all. This year I’m hoping to add one more event to the list – Ally Week. Ally Week takes place this month on the 17^th- 21^st.

Ally Week was started by GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network) in 2005. It is a whole week dedicated to finding allies for the LGBT community in school. An ally, in this case, is any person who supports the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered community. They also stand up against bullying and harassment targeted toward LGBT youth in school.

If I get the okay to do this from the principal, I’ll be reaching out to others, students and teachers, to sign a pledge saying they’ll become an ally. This pledge states that the person signing it believes all students, be they straight, gay, transgendered, or other, deserves to feel safe in school and to help make this happen the person pledges to refrain from using anti-LGBT slurs, stop harassment targeted towards LGBT youth, if one safely can, and support the people trying to stop the harassment.

If more people decide to step up to the people who bully those who are different, maybe they’ll finally stop. I’m not saying this will change the world in a week, but one would be surprised how much one person, doing one thing can help and encourage someone else. Ally Week’s saying/motto is, “Change attitudes. Change behaviors. Change directions. Change lives. Change policies. Change voices. Be an ally. Be the change.” The motto means that by changing one’s attitude, behavior, or direction in life, or by changing school policies, can change the lives of so many.

Why Can't Gay Men Donate?!

According to the American Red Cross, every two seconds someone in the United States needs blood. With this great of a demand one would figure everyone who could safely donate blood would be allowed. Unfortunately that’s not the case. Gay men aren’t allowed to donate and haven’t been allowed since 1983. In 1983 a rule was implemented stating that any man that has had any form of sex with another man since 1977 isn’t authorized to donate blood.

The reason gay men aren’t allowed to donate blood is because it’s deemed “too dangerous”. It started when HIV detection didn’t exist, so it was a big concern with blood donations. Now there are more and accurate tests for HIV, so why can’t gay men donate blood now? The reason the ban hasn’t been lifted yet is because there’s a small window where HIV can slip through the tests. Up to two weeks after a person has become infected it may not show up on tests. This two week window also applies to straight men and women. Any person’s blood can slip through a HIV scan.

There are plenty of people and a lot of petitions fighting for this ban to be lifted though. Senator John Kerry has called it an “outdated policy” and unfair. Several other senators are also trying to change this ban saying it’s “medically and scientifically unwarranted”. Some places have even lifted the ban, such as the U.K.

I do understand why the ban was put into place, and why it stands but I still believe it’s outdated. With today’s statistics every sexually active person should be watched carefully for HIV, not just gay men.  It should be look at it blind of sexual preference. They should take people who demonstrate dangerous behavior aside and test them. Personally, I think it should be based on a person’s behavior, not sexual preference. 

If anyone thinks that gay men should be allowed to donate, click here to sign a petition.

"Kill All Gays" Law

How would someone feel if the government told them who they can and can’t love? What if one's opinion on his/her preference didn’t matter? In Uganda, that could shortly be the case. Uganda is trying to pass a law, named the “Kill All Gays” Law , which is truly as harsh as it sounds.  This law makes it illegal to love someone of the same sex, or even know someone who is gay, and not turn them in to the police.

I’d say this law has probably gotten such power because of a group of American’s implanting thoughts into Ugandan’s heads. This law is getting immense encouragement from American Evangelicals, who, for some years now have been in Uganda encouraging Anti-LGBT organizations. They have told lawmakers in Uganda that the “gay agenda” was to recruit children for sex.

The guidelines of the law are pretty simple to understand, but none-the-less disturbing. Anyone who is caught, or suspected, of having any form of sex with the same gender will be given a death sentence. The law doesn’t stop there though.  It also says that anyone with HIV can also be given a death sentence. Anyone who is hiding people who broke this law, or anyone who knows of people breaking this law, but doesn’t report it will be given prison time.

The vote for this law was supposed to happen a couple months back. Fortunately, it has yet to be voted for because occurrences have continually pushed the voting day back. The not so fortunate side is that it’s suspected that when it finally gets a vote, that it’ll be passed with no hesitation. They’re afraid that it’ll cause unchecked HIV/AIDS to skyrocket because people will be afraid to get checked. If this law does ever pass, it’ll become another witch hunt but it’ll be over something that can’t be helped, something that is a part of the human nature, to love.

A Little Bit About The Transgender Community

Today I decided to write a little bit about the transgender community. Transgender people tend to be overlooked when it comes to spreading knowledge about the LGBT community.  Transgender youth battle most of their life trying to figure out who they are. Physically, they don’t match their minds and most of the time they don’t match their parents/guardians vision of them. When a transgender person finally discovers who they want to be and take steps to be that person, such as dressing like their preferred sex, they get abused, or shunned by family and friends. According to youthprideir 90% of transgender youth feel unsafe at school and 74% reported being sexually harassed at school. No person, gay, straight, bisexual, or transgender should feel unsafe in school.  The harassment doesn’t stop at school though. 55% of transgender youth report being physically attacked because of their sexual expression. 

For transgender youth, and transgender adults, everyday things can be turned into very complicated subject. Heterosexuals and even gay and bisexual people know which bathroom to go to, but for a transgender person, its debate. They debate between what they feel is right and what society deems right. For example, a female-to-male transgender (female-to-male means that it’s a woman, who feels they’re mentally male) believes they should be allowed to use the male restroom because mentally they’re male, but society says they should use the female restroom because biologically they’re female.


Not only do they have issues in everyday life, but they also have issues with the LGBT community. They're considered an outsider in their own community because for transgender people it's not about loving the same gender it's about being in the wrong body. I'm not saying that they're always outsiders; it's just what I've noticed happening around me.

If any student sees people getting picked on in the halls because of their sexual orientation, or if the student is the one picking on someone, think about what they go through every day. Give them the respect they deserve.