Self Evident Truths

Dear Straight People

HAPPY JULY!!!

First let me say Happy July! The LGBT Community has had such an amazing week, its unbelievable!  DOMA was struct down, along with Prop 8 and our couples are finally being recognized. We are definitely on the way to national acceptance.

Second I wanna say Ive had so many views but still no one comments! Maybe its harder than I think? So lets try this, I have two other ways of talking with readers without them being in the spotlight.

Twitter: ur_superwoman
Ask.fm: DesContess

Ask me questions, give me topics or just drop a line letting me know you follow my blog :-) I wont bite I promise!

Have you been following the Supreme Court's Cases?

CNN Supreme Court Producer Bill Mears provides five summaries of the biggest cases all to be ruled on before the end of June including the cases on DOMA & Prop. 8. Here's his breakdown:

Defense of Marriage Act: Windsor v. U.S.

ISSUE: Does DOMA violate equal protection guarantees in the Fifth Amendment's due process clause as applied to same-sex couples legally married under the laws of their states?

CASE: Windsor v U.S. - A woman legally married to another woman was forced to assume a bigger tax bill than other married couples because her marriage wasn't recognized.

THE ARGUMENTS: Federal courts have not yet addressed the federal law's other key provision: states that do not allow same-sex marriages cannot be forced to recognize such unions performed in other states. Traditionally, marriages in one jurisdiction are considered valid across the country.

THE OUTCOME: There are many options. The simplest solution would be for the court to dismiss the appeal on standing grounds, or who has a right to bring a case before the court. That would leave the lower courts or the other branches to decide who would defend DOMA. But if the court strikes down the benefits provision -- the only part of DOMA at issue here -- that would create many unanswered questions, especially in those states that currently ban gay marriage.

California ballot measure (Proposition 8): Hollingsworth v. Perry

ISSUE: Does the Constitution's 14th Amendment guarantee of "equal protection" prevents states from defining marriage as being only between one man and one woman?

CASE: The "Prop 8" case, as it has become known, has been down a complicated legal road. California's Supreme Court ruled same-sex marriages were legal in 2008. After the statewide ballot measure banning them passed with 52% of the vote later that year, gay and lesbian marriages were put on hold. Then a federal appeals court in San Francisco ruled the measure unconstitutional. In its split decision, the panel found Proposition 8 "works a meaningful harm to gays and lesbians" by denying their right to civil marriage.

THE ARGUMENTS: California is the only state that accepted, then revoked, same-sex marriage as a legal right. The measure's supporters asked the justices to preserve the will of the voters in this politically charged social issue. Opponents of Prop 8 seek a court-ordered expansion of the "traditional" views of marriage.

THE OUTCOME: With so many options, the simplest one would be to "DIG" it -- dismiss the case as "improvidently granted," meaning the larger constitutional issues would not be settled, at least now. That could throw the case back to the lower courts to sort out the jurisdictional issues and perhaps allow another voter referendum next year on gay marriage. A sweeping ruling on whether same-sex marriage is a fundamental constitutional right seems unlikely.

Click here for the entire article.

Where I have been?

You can find me on Etsy :-)
I've just opened my own store full of inspirational prints, you should definitely check it out!

BTB's a week away!

Beyond the Bar is exactly a week away!
I'm EXCITED!!!!
....and nervous.
So much to do, so little time, so many worries!
BLAC interview.
I wonder how my pieces will print?
What the heck am I gonna wear?!?
Did I take off work yet?
Nope.
I should do that.....
I'm EXCITED!!!!!
And I hope you are too!
I hope to see you in seven days.
:-)

What is Beyond The Bar?

Despite the victories of LGBT Americans, many continue to stereotype this unique subculture. Now is the time to debunk these stereotypes and show Metro Detroit the talents of the LGBT community, through art and design and thats what Beyond the Bar is all about.

Details.
When: June 6, 2013
            7 pm - 10 pm

Where: Start Gallery
             Downtown Detroit
             206 E. Grand River Ave.,
             Detroit, MI 48226

A little history.
This is our third year and we've come a long way from where we started. Our curator Alex Harvilla started with maybe 20 artists in a small gallery concentrating on only graphic design. Our second year we broadened that category to all professional art work and kicked off Ferndale Pride with around 50 artists.

This year were back in Detroit, kicking off for Motor City Pride at the Start Gallery and we couldn't be more happier with its growth in not only number of artists and its fan base but also with its reputation. Each years only gotten better and this year will be no different!

Partners.
Motor City Pride, Detroit Design Festival, The AdCraft Club, Ruth Ellis Center, Between The Lines, Wink Detroit, DJ Lena

Sponsors.
DC3, Donor, Lush-ious Cupcakes, the Great Lakes Coffee Co., the Capitol Grille, Element PR, Batch Brewing Company, Rodin

Beyond the Bar.

Two weeks until 1 very special night.
A gallery.
Over 70 LGBT Michigan artists will show their contribution to the world.
I am one of them.




2012 AIGA Beyond The Bar from Erik Bare on Vimeo.

2 GAY 2 function.

People keep asking me about some of my LGBT favorites soooooooo....... heres a list for you guys and yes everything is linked. Let me know what you think!

MOVIES
Lost & Delirious
But Im a Cheerleader
I love you Phillip Morris

MUSIC
Tegan & Sara
Uh huh Her

SERIES (Web & TV)
Anyone but me
The L Word
Lip Service 

COMEDIANS
Alan Carr
Graham Norton

Leave me some of your favorites! I'm always looking for more.

Our Fight.

   Two days, two cases, two arguments and two different anti-gay measures BUT the rulings made by the Supreme Court on gay marriage and DOMA will change one world: Gay America.

   Yesterday the court heard arguments on Proposition 8, a ballot measure approved by California voters in 2008 that stripped away existing marriage rights in the state for same-sex couples. Today the court will listen to arguments on the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which prohibits federal recognition of same-sex marriage.

Click here for Tuesday's audio
  
   In the Prop 8 case, known as Hollingsworth v. Perry, Ted Olson, a former solicitor general under President George W. Bush, will argue against the constitutionality of the measure on behalf of the American Foundation for Equal Rights.

   The ban on same-sex marriage will be defended by anti-gay groups, such as ProtectMarriage.com, because California state officials have declined to defend the marriage ban. The lawyer arguing on behalf of the anti-gay measure will likely be private attorney Charles Cooper, who defended Prop 8 during the district court trial in 2010.


   Make no mistake, whether we win this victory or shot down we will not go away.

Information taken from The Washington Blade
Images from Fckh8 and the Human Rights Campaign

My favorites.

Two of my very favorite websites are definitely worth checking out!
Two artists, two LGBT activists, two people with a very different perspective on the life we live everyday.

The Embodiment Project
Jess Dugan

Let me know what you think!

Our President.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness."  Today we continue a never-ending journey, to bridge the meaning of those words with the realities of our time.  For history tells us that while these truths may be self-evident, they have never been self-executing; that while freedom is a gift from God, it must be secured by His people here on Earth.  The patriots of 1776 did not fight to replace the tyranny of a king with the privileges of a few or the rule of a mob.  They gave to us a Republic, a government of, and by, and for the people, entrusting each generation to keep safe our founding creed. For more than two hundred years, we have. Through blood drawn by lash and blood drawn by sword, we learned that no union founded on the principles of liberty and equality could survive half-slave and half-free.  We made ourselves anew, and vowed to move forward together.  Together, we determined that a modern economy requires railroads and highways to speed travel and commerce; schools and colleges to train our workers. Together, we discovered that a free market only thrives when there are rules to ensure competition and fair play.  Together, we resolved that a great nation must care for the vulnerable, and protect its people from life's worst hazards and misfortune. Through it all, we have never relinquished our skepticism of central authority, nor have we succumbed to the fiction that all society's ills can be cured through government alone.  Our celebration of initiative and enterprise; our insistence on hard work and personal responsibility, are constants in our character. But we have always understood that when times change, so must we; that fidelity to our founding principles requires new responses to new challenges; that preserving our individual freedoms ultimately requires collective action.  For the American people can no more meet the demands of today's world by acting alone than American soldiers could have met the forces of fascism or communism with muskets and militias.  No single person can train all the math and science teachers we'll need to equip our children for the future, or build the roads and networks and research labs that will bring new jobs and businesses to our shores.  Now, more than ever, we must do these things together, as one nation, and one people.  This generation of Americans has been tested by crises that steeled our resolve and proved our resilience.  A decade of war is now ending.  An economic recovery has begun.  America's possibilities are limitless, for we possess all the qualities that this world without boundaries demands:  youth and drive; diversity and openness; an endless capacity for risk and a gift for reinvention.   My fellow Americans, we are made for this moment, and we will seize it - so long as we seize it together.  For we, the people, understand that our country cannot succeed when a shrinking few do very well and a growing many barely make it.  We believe that America's prosperity must rest upon the broad shoulders of a rising middle class.  We know that America thrives when every person can find independence and pride in their work; when the wages of honest labor liberate families from the brink of hardship.  We are true to our creed when a little girl born into the bleakest poverty knows that she has the same chance to succeed as anybody else, because she is an American, she is free, and she is equal, not just in the eyes of God but also in our own. We understand that outworn programs are inadequate to the needs of our time.  We must harness new ideas and technology to remake our government, revamp our tax code, reform our schools, and empower our citizens with the skills they need to work harder, learn more, and reach higher.  But while the means will change, our purpose endures:  a nation that rewards the effort and determination of every single American.  That is what this moment requires.  That is what will give real meaning to our creed. We, the people, still believe that every citizen deserves a basic measure of security and dignity.  We must make the hard choices to reduce the cost of health care and the size of our deficit.  But we reject the belief that America must choose between caring for the generation that built this country and investing in the generation that will build its future.  For we remember the lessons of our past, when twilight years were spent in poverty, and parents of a child with a disability had nowhere to turn.  We do not believe that in this country, freedom is reserved for the lucky, or happiness for the few.  We recognize that no matter how responsibly we live our lives, any one of us, at any time, may face a job loss, or a sudden illness, or a home swept away in a terrible storm. The commitments we make to each other - through Medicare, and Medicaid, and Social Security - these things do not sap our initiative; they strengthen us.  They do not make us a nation of takers; they free us to take the risks that make this country great.  We, the people, still believe that enduring security and lasting peace do not require perpetual war.  Our brave men and women in uniform, tempered by the flames of battle, are unmatched in skill and courage.  Our citizens, seared by the memory of those we have lost, know too well the price that is paid for liberty.  The knowledge of their sacrifice will keep us forever vigilant against those who would do us harm.  But we are also heirs to those who won the peace and not just the war, who turned sworn enemies into the surest of friends, and we must carry those lessons into this time as well. We, the people, still believe that our obligations as Americans are not just to ourselves, but to all posterity.  We will respond to the threat of climate change, knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations.  Some may still deny the overwhelming judgment of science, but none can avoid the devastating impact of raging fires, and crippling drought, and more powerful storms.  The path towards sustainable energy sources will be long and sometimes difficult.  But America cannot resist this transition; we must lead it.  We cannot cede to other nations the technology that will power new jobs and new industries - we must claim its promise.  That is how we will maintain our economic vitality and our national treasure - our forests and waterways; our croplands and snowcapped peaks.  That is how we will preserve our planet, commanded to our care by God.  That's what will lend meaning to the creed our fathers once declared. We will defend our people and uphold our values through strength of arms and rule of law.  We will show the courage to try and resolve our differences with other nations peacefully - not because we are naïve about the dangers we face, but because engagement can more durably lift suspicion and fear.  America will remain the anchor of strong alliances in every corner of the globe; and we will renew those institutions that extend our capacity to manage crisis abroad, for no one has a greater stake in a peaceful world than its most powerful nation.  We will support democracy from Asia to Africa; from the Americas to the Middle East, because our interests and our conscience compel us to act on behalf of those who long for freedom.  And we must be a source of hope to the poor, the sick, the marginalized, the victims of prejudice - not out of mere charity, but because peace in our time requires the constant advance of those principles that our common creed describes:  tolerance and opportunity; human dignity and justice.  We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths - that all of us are created equal - is the star that guides us still; just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall; just as it guided all those men and women, sung and unsung, who left footprints along this great Mall, to hear a preacher say that we cannot walk alone; to hear a King proclaim that our individual freedom is inextricably bound to the freedom of every soul on Earth.It is now our generation's task to carry on what those pioneers began.  For our journey is not complete until our wives, our mothers, and daughters can earn a living equal to their efforts.  Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law - for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well.  Our journey is not complete until no citizen is forced to wait for hours to exercise the right to vote.  Our journey is not complete until we find a better way to welcome the striving, hopeful immigrants who still see America as a land of opportunity; until bright young students and engineers are enlisted in our workforce rather than expelled from our country.  Our journey is not complete until all our children, from the streets of Detroit to the hills of Appalachia to the quiet lanes of Newtown, know that they are cared for, and cherished, and always safe from harm. That is our generation's task - to make these words, these rights, these values - of Life, and Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness - real for every American.  Being true to our founding documents does not require us to agree on every contour of life; it does not mean we will all define liberty in exactly the same way, or follow the same precise path to happiness.  Progress does not compel us to settle centuries-long debates about the role of government for all time - but it does require us to act in our time. For now decisions are upon us, and we cannot afford delay.  We cannot mistake absolutism for principle, or substitute spectacle for politics, or treat name-calling as reasoned debate.  We must act, knowing that our work will be imperfect.  We must act, knowing that today's victories will be only partial, and that it will be up to those who stand here in four years, and forty years, and four hundred years hence to advance the timeless spirit once conferred to us in a spare Philadelphia hall. My fellow Americans, the oath I have sworn before you today, like the one recited by others who serve in this Capitol, was an oath to God and country, not party or faction - and we must faithfully execute that pledge during the duration of our service.  But the words I spoke today are not so different from the oath that is taken each time a soldier signs up for duty, or an immigrant realizes her dream.  My oath is not so different from the pledge we all make to the flag that waves above and that fills our hearts with pride.  They are the words of citizens, and they represent our greatest hope.  You and I, as citizens, have the power to set this country's course.  You and I, as citizens, have the obligation to shape the debates of our time - not only with the votes we cast, but with the voices we lift in defense of our most ancient values and enduring ideals.  Let each of us now embrace, with solemn duty and awesome joy, what is our lasting birthright.  With common effort and common purpose, with passion and dedication, let us answer the call of history, and carry into an uncertain future that precious light of freedom.  Thank you, God Bless you, and may He forever bless these United States of America.

My label.

A lot of people think the LGBT Community is black & white but it really isn't. Theres no easy way to explain it to people which is why I think we hang on to labels so tightly but for most of us no one label truly fits.

For years and years I've tried to find the label that fits me....
Am I a fem or a stud? Depends on the day.
So I'm a stem? I don't really like the unisex look.
Androgynous? I quite like being a woman.
So what am I?

These are only a small percentage of the questions that before would drive me mad but I've finally found a label that is absolutely perfect. Me. I, Desiree, am a me.

Truth.