David Cameron: I'm OK With Gay PDA

British Prime Minister David Cameron was interviewed last night by gay journalist Evan Davis, who grilled Cameron about his positions on "modernizing" issues. Via Gay Star News:

Davis asked if he saw two recently married men kissing in a public park, would he consider it to be 'sweet' or 'mildly inappropriate'? 'No, that's fine. I've been very clear about this and this is where I do, as it were, marry traditional and modern values,' Cameron said. 'I believe in the family, I believe in marriage and I think it's such a great institution I think men should be able to marry each other and women should be able to marry each other.' He added: 'If I can kiss my wife in public I don't see why you can't kiss your husband in public.'

Cameron was also asked whether he wanted children to learn weights in kilograms or pounds and ounces, with the Prime Minister picking the latter. And he also said if a company had to choose between a moderately capable Brit or a very good Latvian for a job, he would rather the British company employed British people but it would be entirely up to them. Davis used the questions to highlight Cameron's attempts to heal the rift between the two sides, the modern and the socially conservative, of his party.

Start at the 9:30 mark.

HomoQuotable - Frank Bruni

"A kiss is nothing. On the sidewalks, in the park, I see one every few minutes, a real kiss, lip to lip. It barely registers. It’s as unremarkable as a car horn in traffic, as an umbrella in rain. And yet a kiss is everything. A kiss can stop the world. The football player Michael Sam recently demonstrated as much. [snip] I still sometimes feel panic when my partner, meeting me in a restaurant, gives me a perfunctory kiss on the lips. And yet I feel robbed — wronged — if I sense that an awareness of other people’s gazes and a fear of their judgment are preventing him from doing that. We shouldn’t be bound that way, and on the day of the pro football draft, in front of the cameras, Sam rightly declared that he wasn’t. He did so with a gesture at once humdrum and heroic, a gesture that connects everyone who has been in love and affirms what every love shares: physical tenderness, eye-to-eye togetherness. It was something to behold. It was something to hold on to." - Frank Bruni, writing for the New York Times.

Read the full essay.

Frank Bruni On Hand-Holding

"After all the education that we Americans have had and all the relished progress we’ve made, being gay does mean feeling constrained in situations where most people aren’t, scared in circumstances that wouldn’t frighten others in the least, self-conscious when you shouldn’t have to be. Like when you’re holding someone’s hand. It’s the sweetest, most innocent and most natural of gestures: to interlock your fingers with those of a person for whom you’re feeling a sudden rush of affection. A person you maybe love. And yet when my partner takes my hand in public in New York City, I look at the sidewalk ahead. I note how many pedestrians are coming our way, and how quickly, and whether they’re male or female, young or old, observant or distracted. And I sometimes take my hand back, wishing I were braver, wishing our world didn’t ask me to be." - Frank Bruni, in a New York Times essay which refers to yesterday's gay-bashing in Chelsea.

Southwest Vs. Lesbians (CONT)

Southwest says:

Additional reports from our Employees and Customers onboard flight 2274 during a stop in El Paso on Sunday now confirm profane language was being used loudly by two passengers. At least one family who was offended by the loud profanity moved to another area of the cabin. Although we have reports of what Customers characterize as an excessive public display of affection, ultimately their aggressive reaction led to their removal from the aircraft. We do not tolerate discrimination against anyone for any reason. In this situation, their removal was directly and solely related to the escalated conversation that developed onboard the aircraft.

Leisha Hailey says:

In no way were our actions on Southwest Airlines excessive, inappropriate or vulgar. We want to make it clear we were not making out or creating any kind of spectacle of ourselves, it was one, modest kiss. We are responsible adult women who walk through the world with dignity. We were simply being affectionate like any normal couple. We were on the airplane less than 5 minutes when all was said and done. We take full responsibility for getting verbally upset with the flight attendant after being told it was a “family airline.” We were never told the reason the flight attendant approached us, we were only scolded that we “needed to be aware that Southwest Airlines was a family oriented airline.”

Gay Pilots: Don't Boycott Southwest Yet

The National Gay Pilots Association says everybody should chill until we get the entire story about Southwest Airlines and actress Leisha Hailey. Via press release:

The National Gay Pilots Association (NGPA) opposes any premature boycott measures against Southwest Airlines until we hear all sides. Southwest Airlines has strict non-discrimination policies in place and is actively working with NGPA and other gay rights organizations to further enhance their policies and employee training. We still expect SWA to send a clear signal to all its employees that such behavior cannot be tolerated (especially when it comes to definition of family), should the accusations be true.

This Weekend: Great Global Kiss-In

The Great Global Kiss-In takes place around the world this weekend as part of the International Day Against Homophobia. Hit the link for times and locations in your town.

20/20 Explores "Gay PDA"

Friday night's edition of 20/20 explored the reactions of the public to two gay couples engaging in public displays of affection in Birmingham, Alabama and suburban New Jersey. In Birmingham, the sight of two men kissing on a park bench prompted one woman to call 911, but overall the reactions were surprisingly supportive.