There was a lot of LGBT history made over the weekend both here in the US and also in Europe. Late Friday evening a circuit court judge in Arkansas struck down that state's ban on Marriage Equality and did not stay the ruling pending an almost automatic appeal. This resulted in same sex couples lining up at the courthouse in Eureka Springs where the first licenses were issued and 15 same sex couples tied the knot. Arkansas thus becomes the 18th state with Marriage Equality and the first state in the South. Who would have thought Arkansas would be the first Southern state to allow Marriage Equality? Certainly not me nor the 73 per cent of Arkansans who oppose Marriage Equality. Yet there they are at the front of line, simply amazing!
Moving over to the East Coast, the first same sex wedding celebrated in the Chapel of the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis took place on Saturday. David Bucher and Bruce Moats were married in front of 100 friends and family members including their own children. Bucher graduated from the Naval Academy over 20 years ago. But Academy Chaplain Lt. John Connolly, who officiated the ceremony, said the run-up to the memorable day wasn’t all smooth sailing. "Not everyone agrees that this should be happening and it took a significant amount of discernment on my own part as well as this couple’s as they were preparing for the day,” Connolly said. But as he got to know Bucher and Moats, he understood how in love they were. “The more I met with this couple, the happier I was to be presiding today,” he added. Congratulations to the happy couple and the Naval Academy.
Crossing the pond over into Europe at the prestigious annual Eurovision Song Competition, Austria's gender bending, bearded drag queen Conchita Wurst took home first prize. This immediately sent the Russians in apoplexy with one politician, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, making the following statement: "There's no limit to our outrage. It's the end of Europe. It has turned wild. They don't have men and women any more. They have 'it'. Fifty years ago the Soviet army occupied Austria. We made a mistake in freeing Austria. We should have stayed." Thus proving that the Russians are still stuck in the stone age when it comes to human rights.
Then the most covered and talked about story over the weekend was the drafting of openly Gay Missouri DE Michael Sam by the St. Louis Rams in the 7th round. The Rams franchise is not a stranger to historic firsts, they drafted the first African American football player in the NFL in 1947, the year before Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in MLB. For Sam, it was an emotional day drawn out to almost the last minute of the last round. His celebratory kiss with his boyfriend Vito Cammisano, a championship swimmer at Missouri, was televised on ESPN and the videos of his hearing the news and the kiss have gone viral on the Internet.
There were a lot of positive and supportive statements, emails and tweets along with some that were less so. One NFL player, Don Jones of the Miami Dolphins, tweeted "OMG" and "Horrible" in response to the kiss. He has since been fined and suspended by the Dolphins. Jones must complete sensitivity training before being allowed to participate in any team functions.
All that remains to be seen is how hard Michael Sam works to make the 53 man roster of the Rams and the historic moment when he steps on the field for the first time in a regular season game this fall. I will be rooting for Michael all the way. I tweeted to him "Congratulations! I can't wait to see you sack Kaepernick!" as the Rams play in the NFC West which includes the SF 49ers (boo, hiss) and their QB Colin Kaepernick. I just might have to become a Ram Fan!
This week on your Monday With Mozart we continue our exploration of the complete symphony cycle of Mozart with the part II video which encompasses Symphonies Number 16-29. You may also hear Mozart's Violin Sonata Number 32 in B Flat Major, K454 over on my tumblr.
On display below the play list in this week's collection of muscly men in their Monday's Undies for you to cruise and peruse. You may also find further inspiration with the Hottie of the Day! over on my tumblr. Thanks for taking time out of your day to visit with me, see you again tomorrow. Until next time as always, Enjoy!
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