* The MPAA has reversed its decision about Bully, the documentary about America’s bullying epidemic that was initially saddled with an R rating. The film, which hits theaters nationwide on April 13, will now have a PG 13 rating—which teens can see it without adult supervision. “Putting anything in the way of kids seeing this movie—kids who could well be victims of bullying themselves –was not only foolish but destructive,” says media analyst Paul Levinson. [Christian Science Monitor]
* Maryland’s State Supreme Court will hear a divorce case involving a lesbian couple who were originally wed in California. Though marriage equality passed in the state earlier this year, it won’t take affect until January—if opponents don’t manage to overturn it in a voter referendum first. “”If you’re validly married somewhere else, the rule in Maryland is your marriage is going to be respected in Maryland, and that’s what we’re asking the court to do here,” said Shannon Minter, legal director for the National Center for Lesbian Rights in San Francisco.” [Associated Press]
* Next week, The Long Island Gay Parent Teacher Student Association (LI G-PTSA) will officially receive its charter, making it the first PTA in the country to specifically address the needs of LGBT students. “Anti-GLBT bullying is a problem that affects the entire community, both on school grounds and off,” said G-PTSA co-president Laurie Scheinman. “The LI G-PTSA will for the first time engage not only students and teachers to create safer schools, but parents and the community will now also have a stake in this work. It is truly historic.” [LIGALY]
* Senator John Kerry (D-MA) is stepping in to help a married lesbian couple in his state who are facing separation because one of them is not a legal U.S. citizen. On March 27, Kerry sent a letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano asking her to stay the deportation of Gloria (right), who is only making her first name public, back to Pakistan. “I know that you and I both believe that every family is worthy and recognition and respect, and that no family should be torn apart based on a discriminatory law,” wrote Kerry. “Abeyance will allow this remarkable young couple to move forward with their dream of building a life together at home in Massachusetts.” [Washington Blade]
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
* The Tennessee Senate has passed a new sex-education measure—a revised version of its odious “Don’t Say Gay” bill that would ban discussion of LGBT subject matter in public classrooms. The new bill classifies students holding hands as a “gateway sexual activity” and allows parents to sue schoolteachers if they deviate from the so-called family-life education curriculum, which prohibits the promotion of contraception, homosexuality and any activity or health message that might encourage children to explore sexual activity outside of marriage. “Abstinence’ means from all of these activities, and we want to promote that,” Republican state Sen. Jack Johnson told The Tennessean. “What we do want to communicate to the kids is that the best choice is abstinence.” [The New Civil Rights Movement]
Photos: Stop the Deportations/The DOMA Project, The Weinstein Company
Ron
and if you teach kids to hold their breath indefinitely you can save a whole lot of oxygen.
Cam
The MPAA has NEVER been able to defend any decision, they just arbitrarily based their ratings on the prejudices of the members. That is why they don’t publish their guidelines and try to keep the members identities a secret.
They got some bad P.R. and couldn’t defend to the decision so caved like the spineless bigots they are.
You can have a movie where somebody gets beaten with their arm that just got torn off , then shot get a PG 13, and yet you can’t have a movie that sympathizes with gays get the same.