by Dana Friday, July 25th, 2008  0 comments

McCain, Snickers, and More Gay Fun

Things have been happening fast in the world o’ gay this week. Here are updates on a few previous posts, plus a bonus item about Snickers bars:

• Alan O’Brien-Myers, a rising senior at Holyoke High School in Massachusetts, gave John McCain a talking to. The presidential candidate said last week that he doesn’t believe in gay adoption, despite being an adoptive parent himself. O’Brien-Myers, who was adopted by his two moms (along with his younger brother, left), wrote at Bilerico:
  

  What’s not to believe in? Many gays and lesbians adopt children and create wonderful, loving families. My moms adopted me out of foster care when I was eleven years old. I’m seventeen now. I love my family. My moms provide for me in all the ways that other parents provide for their children. We have our problems just like everybody else, but in the end we take care of each other. We believe in each other. What we don’t believe in is John McCain and any other politician who is out of touch with the reality of American families.

  Worth reading in full and forwarding to anyone you know who might be considering a vote for McCain. (Photo used with permission.)

• Newsweek got slammed across the blogosphere for its coverage of the Lawrence King murder. They published a follow-up article on the Web about the controversy—but failed to apologize for the original article’s “blame the victim” attitude.
• In related news, Brandon McInerney, the classmate who shot King, will be charged as an adult, even though LGBT-rights groups have urged he be treated as a juvenile so as not to compound the tragedy.
• Thomas Beatie, the transgender man who gave birth on July 3, shared the first pictures of his daughter Susan Juliette. Towleroad has some beautiful stills from Good Morning America’s coverage Wednesday. From what Beatie says, the family is settling in to being a family.
• After meeting with LGBT-rights group HRC (and perhaps feeling pressure from the blogosphere) the Mars candy company pulled a controversial ad showing an effeminate man being shot at with a Snickers-spewing Gatling gun by Mr. T and told to “run like a real man.” (See under “Lawrence King: Effeminate boy shot because he was gay” above.)

Tags: john mccain, lawrence king, snickers, thomas beatie

Filed under Business, Hobbies, Politics and Law, Selves and Identities.