If there’s something I personally hate, it’s when people abuse their power to accomplish their own personal vendettas. When TV hosts, politicians and famous people use their social standing to attack topics they have no right or basis to speak about. Especially when that topic is love.

This is why it makes my blood boil when discrimination about marriage or sexuality comes into play. When someone beats their definition of marriage as ‘it was in the bible’ into law, knowing this because they are religious and white, it undermines the progress towards unity that we’ve made over the past 50 years.

Frankly, some of these people know about as much about ‘traditional marriage’ as Falcon “Balloon Boy” Heene knows about flying - basically nothing.

Nevertheless, bigots pushing their own dated views are nothing new. Let’s take a look at a Justice of the Peace who denies marriage licenses for interracial couples and a bunch of politicians who are calling for a Department of Education appointee to be kicked out because he is.. wait for it.. gay. Stay tuned, after the jump. Read the full story

If you were around Greenwich Village anytime during the end of June, chances are you caught glimpses of flashy colors, costumes and rainbow flags. Gay Pride festivities in New York span an entire week, with parties, parades, rallies, and festivals to celebrate and commemorate a landmark event in gay rights.

This year’s “Pride Week” was awe-inspiring not only in terms of the celebrations put on by the LGBT community, but also in the wider political context of this year’s festivities– especially the parade. With marriage equality a pivotal topic of contention between the gay community and conservatives, this year’s festivities were decidedly more pointed at the issues gays still face, rather than fun and frivolity. It was a widespread hope amongst the gay community that this year’s parade would sway some of the silent or indecisive voices on the issue of gay equality in their favor. The hope for change was even stronger this year than most; adding to the weight of the event was the 40 year anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, which took place on June 28, 1969, and spawned the Gay Rights Movement in The Village. The riots were, at the time, the gay community’s only response to continued police harassment and raids of known gay bars. Read the full story

99Problems.org is founded on the principles of empowerment through open discussion and debate. We value open discussion that allows you, the reader, to see all sides of the issue. That’s why we’re introducing a feature we’d like to call..

(drumroll please)

This week, we’re covering the most controversial movie star in recent history: Sacha Baron Cohen and his movie Brüno, which is set to be released next week. Some think that Brüno’s release is going to have a huge detrimental effect on modern perspectives of the homosexual male. We asked our reporters this question:

Check out what they had to say, after the jump!

Read the full story

After months of waiting on Obama’s campaign promises, the gay community will finally observe a small victory tonight when President Obama announces the implementation of certain benefits for same-sex partners of government employees. But is it really a victory worth celebrating?

While on the campaign trail, Obama made countless speeches promising the gay community that he would extend full health benefits to same-sex couples. Tonight is the first time since his election that he will broach the topic, and health coverage is not on his list. This is huge: it’s an omission which has left many gay rights advocates screaming “WHAT THE %&*#?” Read the full story

In a sign that decency and honor might actually be on the rise in our fair country, Senator Patrick Leahy from Vermont has proposed a bill that would allow legal immigrants in America to pursue residency for their same-sex partners if they are not yet citizens.

President Obama has immigration reform on his agenda, though the specifics of all the pending legislation is, of course, hotly contested.  Senator Leahy’s bill appears particularly ambitious with its union of immigration and gay rights, certainly two much talked about issues with massive energy on both sides.

Read the full story

A few moments ago, in California, the decision to overturn Prop 8 was struck down. For gay rights activists, a sense of anger was in the air outside the California State Supreme Court today, as the CA State Supreme Court upheld a controversial ban on gay marriages that was voted in on November 4th. However, the court stated that those marriages that were enacted during the six month period of legalization before Prop 8 will remain legal, in a somewhat awkward state of limbo.

This does not mean the fight is over. This only means that those who fight must keep going. Read the full story

LIFT THE FEDERAL BAN TO FUND SYRINGE EXCHANGE PROGRAMS IN THE UNITED STATES TO REDUCE THE SPREAD OF HIV/AIDS

• One third of people with HIV in the United States were infected through injection drug use.
• Blacks account for 50% of all injection drug users infected with HIV in the US.

Allen Kwabena Frimpong is the Outreach Coordinator for an adolescent HIV/AIDS prevention program for HIV testing and education in New York City. He also works as a consultant with the Harm Reduction Coalition, a national organization that works through advocacy and capacity-building efforts to promote the health and dignity of those impacted by drug use.

GET INVOLVED!  http://www.champnetwork.org/

Call your congressperson: 202-224-3121

League Executive Director Biko Baker shared the stage with Cleve Jones, the legendary gay rights activist, at a rally in San Francisco, California.

Biko’s powerful message is one we can all relate to.  Often times we face the conflict between doing what we know is right, and facing the social intimidation that can come with it. 

But what challenge isn’t challenging? Who are heroes, except those who act heroically?

“In the end, we have to be on the right side of history.”

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The problem: LGBT people are not allowed the same rights to marriage as heterosexual people. Some watchdog and religious groups have spent millions to get Prop 8 passed. Now, the thousands of LGBT couples who rushed to the altar to marry when they had the right to do so in the state of California are unsure of where their union stands.

Benjamin Manson and Sarah White waited 23 years before their marriage was deemed legal and honored by the United States of America. Their formal yet non-binding wedding ceremony in 1843 while enslaved is one of the few documented. Today, it’s viewed as a testament to the injustices of slavery and the heart wrenching tale of love conquering all. After their wedding, they returned to their respective plantations to work for their masters, spending most of their “marriage” living apart.

On April 19, 1866, 23 years, nine children and one Civil War later the two were officially acknowledge as man and wife.

Ninety-two years later, Mildred and Richard Loving eloped in Washington D.C. to avoid prosecution. She was black, he was white. Under their home state of Virginia’s Racial Integrity Act they could not marry. The Jim Crow era was in full effect. Their marriage wasn’t legal in Virginia. The two were arrested one night while they slept. Someone tipped off the local police about their nuptials. They were found guilty of being married and sentenced to either one year in jail or extradition from the state. It took a decade and a Supreme Court ruling to overturn the laws.

Today, thousands of LGBT couples, families and their supporters will take to the steps of San Francisco’s City Hall to announce the Civil Rights March to Sacramento, a 5-day march from San Francisco to Sacramento to call on the Supreme Court to overturn Prop 8.

They are walking for what they feel are their rights, not as men who love men or women who love women, but people who love people.

The Solution:

Benjamin and Sarah were people in love. Over time they were allowed to marry.

Mildred and Richard were people in love. Over time they were allowed to marry.

Raymond and Byron are people in love. Over time they will be allowed to marry.

We’re in the middle of a new wave of civil rights activism. Prop 8 may have passed by a slim margin last November, but it did something that our country didn’t expect…it brought HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of people - straight and gay alike - out into the streets, and it brought us together in our resolve to change things.

On March 5, the California Supreme Court will begin hearing a case about overturning Prop 8. Join us in San Francisco and LA that morning to show the judges the strong, popular support for equal rights. You can find more info at http://bamn.com.

Then join us from March 25-30 to march from San Francisco to Sacramento. We’ll call for the repeal of Prop 8, and we’ll meet with communities along the way to hear about their local struggles for social and economic justice. You can find out more about us at http://onestruggleonefight.com.

-Kip Williams

30 years after his life was cut short, Harvey Milk continues to inspire new generations of people around the world to follow his vision of love and support for all people.

The triumphant success of Milk at the Oscars ceremony last night is not the end of our journey, but it is a sincere tribute to the man who lived, and lost, his life in a constant pursuit of equality, respect, and appreciation for his community.

Whether personal or societial, change is not easy. The great contribution of this biopic - and the talent of Dustin Black, Milk’s screenwriter - is to encourage some people, some where in the world, to question their prejudices. To question the bigotry of their families, or friends. And to see that, on the road to healing, on the road to a greater society, we all have many companions, past and present. We do not walk alone.

Today’s Artist: Rufus Wainwright

Rufus Wainwright is a gay, outspoken artist who writes fantastic songs that battle the status quo. This song, Gay Messiah, uses a sense of irony and humor to challenge bigoted perceptions. Like Dustin Black, Wainwright inspires his fans to question and challenge dated prejudices and to join him in vocally demanding equal rights.