Quickies: Ireland Votes Yes, Eurovision 2015, Trans Visibility

• Ireland Votes “Yes” to Legalize Same-Sex Marriage – Ireland has overwhelmingly approved a referendum to legalize same-sex marriage. “Yes” won with 62% of the nation wide vote, with only one constituency voting against.
• “Yes I said yes I will yes!” – Gay activist and drag queen Panti Bliss aka Rory O’Neill reacts to Ireland’s legalization of same-sex marriage. “And I’m delighted. Ecstatic. I’m over the gay moon and drunk on Yes, and like any happy groom on his wedding morning, I’m truly, deeply, madly in love. I am in love with the whole country.”
• Interview: Sir Derek Jacobi and Sir Ian McKellen – The Daily Mail interviewed Jacobi and McKellen about their careers, being knighted, and being gay before it was legal in the U.K.. McKellen: “Yes, I did fancy Derek, but I didn’t act on it, God, no. It was illegal, remember. I do get on my high horse about it, because it was so difficult. There were no gay clubs you could go to. No gay bars, no gay newspaper, nothing. What there was was a bit sleazy, I suspect. One of the reasons I became an actor was that you could meet gay people.”
• Sweden Wins Eurovision 2015 – The Telegraph has a rundown of 2015, including video highlights, tweets and live blogging of the event.
• Anti-LGBT Christians Aim to Block Korean Queer Festival – “Police will grant permission to hold rallies and events on a first-come, first served basis after applications are submitted one month in advance. By making sure they are first in line and submitting multiple permits for the relevant days, [anti-LGBT activist] can effectively freeze out LGBTI event organizers.”
• Interview: Susan Stryker Schools the Media on Trans Issues – “What has seemed significantly different to me about the recent wave of attention is that the media professionals involved have the perception that this is a delicate topic with a potential for backlash, and that what sets us apart from other people needs to be handled with respect. They are very eager to ‘do the right thing,’ even if they don’t know exactly what that is.”
• Michael Sam Signed to the Montreal Alouettes – Sam was the first openly gay player drafted to the NFL, but he never got to play in the regular season. Now he’ll join the Canadian Football League as a Montreal Alouette. We here at Queereka want to wish M. Sam “bonne chance” with his new team!
• “Girls Clearly Rule When It Comes to Inclusive Scouting” – Boy Scout President and former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has indicated that the BSA should find a way to integrate openly gay scout leaders, doing so now only to avoid being forced later by the courts. Meanwhile, the Girl Scouts just made official policy that welcomes any child “recognized by the family and school/community as a girl and [living] culturally as a girl.”
• “Inside Out: Portraits Of Cross-Gender Children” – “For the past 12 years, Dutch photographer Sarah Wong has documented the lives and experiences of a group of children who have transitioned — or are in the process of transitioning — to live as their authentic selves.”
• “Remembering Harvey Milk and His Fight to End Job Discrimination” – “After his election to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, Milk authored a comprehensive anti-discrimination ordinance in 1978 that was signed by Mayor George Moscone. That same year, Assemblyman Art Agnos introduced Assembly Bill 1 to outlaw discrimination in employment based on sexual orientation. Many of us believed that the California Legislature would move swiftly to resolve the issue statewide. We were wrong.”

Featured image: Panti Bliss via Brian Lawless/PA Wire