Don’t Be Dumb at Brunch: A Homophobic Reverend Gone, Sexy Gay Love From Suitsupply
Happy Sunday! This week’s stories include the loss of a homophobic Reverend, the hope emanating from a Parkland student, some sexy gay love from Suitsupply and a lack of pride from Mississippi. Our whackjob of the week seems to make news quite often — if only we could cleanse ourselves of him. Check out who it is below.
Here are the week’s 5 news stories that’ll keep you looking well-informed at brunch:
1. Rev. Billy Graham is not “America’s Pastor”
Rev. Billy Graham died this week at the age of 99. He’s probably the world’s most famous evangelical preacher — and it’s most notorious homophobe. The homophobic Reverend, who preached to a dozen presidents, loudly proclaimed, “We traffic in homosexuality at the peril of our spiritual welfare” and that homosexuality is “a sinister form of perversion” which, he believed, contributes to the decay of civilization.
He regularly encouraged our community to repent while there was still time. We just learned from House Speaker Paul Ryan that the homophobic Reverend will lay in honor at the U.S. Capitol next week while politicians come and pay their respects, and all former presidents have been invited to attend his funeral on March 2. We are curious as to which ones will attend the service. He may have been an important voice to some, but he certainly did not embrace an inclusive religious culture where his God truly loved all.
2. Emma González for Prez (Turns Out She Already Is)
If you don’t know Emma González, don’t worry — we’ll get you caught up. Emma is one of the outspoken voices coming out of the Stoneman Douglas High School tragedy. She’s also an out-and-proud LGBTQ person. She’s been trending for being a full-throated representative of the student movement that is demanding lawmakers and the president take on gun control. Since the shooting Emma has emerged as a familiar face with both her eloquent speeches and fiery rebuttals. She stood tall and strong in the recent CNN Town Hall and held her own when taking on Sen. Marco Rubio and NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch.
It makes sense that Emma is one of the prominent voices being platformed and supported by her peers and the media. She’s been involved in activism as the president of her school’s Gay-Straight Alliance. She’s the real deal. And when she decides to run for office to take on NRA-funded elected officials, we should take note and write that check!
3. Suitable for All
More and more we see companies all over the world embrace the LGBTQ community — especially during Pride season. Now more than ever, we are seeing companies include our community in their marketing and advertising. Check out Suitsupply’s new 2018 ad campaign, which is embracing our gay love in such a cool and sexy way.
It’s really exciting to see a company be so confident and overt in their advertising. hese sexy men and their gay relationships will be front-and-center in stores, online social media channels and even outdoor billboards as the campaign, which founder and CEO Fokke DeJong calls “overdue and particularly relevant to our brand,” rolls out. He added they are aware of a potential negative backlash in some areas, but that is not stopping them from celebrating gay love all over the world. Let’s show our appreciation for Suitsupply by supporting them — and looking sexy in the process.
4. Pride-Less:
The Aldermen of Starkville, Mississippi, denied a Pride organization the permit to hold a parade next month. They did so after a dozen people spoke in support of the event while only two spoke out against it. The ACLU of Mississippi immediately released a statement: “It is disappointing and disturbing that the Starkville Board of Alderman would decide to treat LGBTQ people differently from everyone else. The ACLU of Mississippi, therefore, urges the Starkville Board of Alderman to reconsider their decision and approve the request.”
Just in case the board needed any more encouragement, attorney Roberta Kaplan has offered to represent Starkville Pride in a lawsuit against the city. Kaplan, who represented Edie Windsor in the Supreme Court, said she has a strong case of “blatant and overt violation of the First Amendment.” Don’t mess with Robbie.
5. Our Whackjob of the Week: Milo Yiannopoulos
Why is it that we just can’t stop staring at this trainwreck? It’s no secret that we (along with millions of others, presumably) are not fans of the razor-tongued and often “fake news”-purporting Milo Yiannopolous. We were glad to see him exposed for his strangely self-hating anti LGBTQ hate speech, and we were delighted when awful Breitbart let him go. We cheered when he lost his book deal and then was forced to drop his lawsuit against the publisher when his lawyers dropped him. He was re-banned (yes RE-banned) from Twitter and was exposed for working with white supremacists.
So you’d think he’d just take a break, right? Think again. This pariah is now selling supplements on the “fake news” site InfoWars. Yep, InfoWars, which adopts the “are you effing kidding me?!” position that Sandy Hook was faked and that Hilary Clinton was running a child porn ring out of a gay-owned pizzeria. So we trust Milo with selling us liver cleanse pills? Seriously, some company actually thinks a toxic betch can sell a product that reportedly cleanses toxins?
Paul Katami and Jeff Zarrillo were one of two plaintiff couples in California’s 2013 challenge of Proposition 8, which brought marriage equality back to the state after being ruled on by the U.S. Supreme Court. These activists also host the weekly podcast The Husbands. Catch them there or follow them on Instagram @JeffZandPaulK.
