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Jamie McGonnigal
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Jamie McGonnigal is the founder of TalkAboutEquality.com and is a contributor to LGBTQNation as well. He has produced and directed more than 200 Broadway concerts and events and can be heard most Saturday mornings as a cartoon voice actor on Pokemon. He now lives in Washington D.C. with his fiancé Sean and their dog, Eli. Jamie works as the Community Engagement Manager at the New Organizing Institute.

Blog Entries by Jamie McGonnigal

Wisconsin Church Allegedly Cancels Appearance by LeRoy Butler, Former NFL Player, After His Tweet of Support for Jason Collins

(24) Comments | Posted May 1, 2013 | 12:40 PM

After NBA player Jason Collins came out this week, there was a flood of support for his courageous move. Everyone from his family members to President Barack Obama and the first lady publicly showed their support.

Of course, there were detractors, as...

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'So... Who's the Bride?'

(42) Comments | Posted April 22, 2013 | 11:50 AM


It's no secret that I'm getting married in a month. The generally frazzled look, the messy hair, the hundreds of wedding-planning Google docs open on my computer... there's really no hiding it.

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I've always heard that the three most stressful...

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Man Arrested for Refusing to Leave Husband's Hospital Bedside

(45) Comments | Posted April 11, 2013 | 12:34 PM

When it comes to marriage, one of the final arguments of the anti-gay movement is "why not civil unions?"

This is why.

This week Roger Gorley was visiting his husband's bedside at Research Medical Center in Kansas City, Mo. When the ill man's family demanded that Roger be...

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Husband Threatens Custody Suit After Ex-wife Befriends 'Known Homosexual'

(719) Comments | Posted March 21, 2013 | 6:16 PM

Here's one for the books. A Roman Catholic father in Maryland has asked his lawyer, Paul C. Sullivan, to pen one of the most horrific pieces of undeniable bigotry that I have seen in recent years.

Ed Taylor and Kelly Robertson were married, had two sons and then divorced (as...

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Will Anti-Gay NOM Be This Band's Yoko Ono?

(18) Comments | Posted March 18, 2013 | 5:16 PM

It's been a rough week for the anti-gay group National Organization for Marriage (NOM) -- actually, a really rough two days, to be specific. Let's review.

In an AP interview on Thursday, NOM chairman John Eastman blasted families with adopted children, specifically the family of Chief Justice John...

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Ender's Game, Superman and Anti-Gay Bigotry

(67) Comments | Posted February 14, 2013 | 5:25 PM

More and more, the sci-fi, comic book, gaming and anime communities are coming out in favor of equality for their gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) friends, superheroes and artists. While these communities remain fairly dominated by straight guys, it's rare to see homophobic messages stated, and when they are,...

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No, You Can't Go Back to Chick-fil-A

(178) Comments | Posted January 29, 2013 | 12:26 PM

In a HuffPost blog post published yesterday, Jan. 28, Campus Pride executive director Shane Windmeyer issued a cease and desist on behalf of Chick-fil-A.

Following several meetings with Chick-fil-A president Dan Cathy and an invitation to be his personal guest at the Chick-fil-A Bowl, Shane issued the all-clear....

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Why I Am Marrying Sean Carlson

(9) Comments | Posted December 6, 2012 | 12:22 PM

When I was a little boy, I read all the same books every kid read. I watched all the Disney movies everyone else saw. I knew the happily-ever-afters in and out. The prince found the princess and woke her up with a kiss, and they rode off into the sunset.

...
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Don't Let It Happen Again

(1) Comments | Posted November 8, 2012 | 1:28 PM

As the dust settles on what was a long and happy night for so many of us, I can't help but think of what happened just two short years ago.

I want so much to stay in the present and appreciate the enormous wins for equality and justice, but I...

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Obama Responds to 10-Year-Old's Heartfelt Letter About Her Dads

(1063) Comments | Posted November 5, 2012 | 10:23 AM

Tomorrow, Election Day, we have an extraordinarily important decision to make. Many look at the economy and wish the recovery were happening more rapidly. Some would like to see a larger return on their stocks. And a select few look at their families and hope each day for the same...

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Sophia Bailey Klugh, 10-Year-Old Girl With Gay Dads, Has an Important Question for President Obama

(890) Comments | Posted October 30, 2012 | 4:58 PM

On May 9, 2012, I was visiting New York with my fiancé, who works for the Family Equality Council. I was taking some pictures for them as they rang the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange. That day, no one knew until a few hours before it was...

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Romney May End Hospital Visitation Rights for Many Gay Couples

(1454) Comments | Posted October 22, 2012 | 7:59 PM

It's known that Romney stands against rights for LGBT people. In August 2011 he signed the National Organization for Marriage's (NOM) pledge to stand against marriage equality, appoint Supreme Court justices who would also oppose marriage equality, and support an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would block...

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14 Years Ago Today

(158) Comments | Posted October 7, 2012 | 4:20 PM

On October 7, 1998, Aaron Kreifels was riding his bike through a field in Wyoming. He wasn't expecting that day to be different from any other beautiful sunny afternoon in the vast plains surrounding Laramie, but that day would change many lives.

Aaron spotted what he initially thought was a...

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Broadway Siblings Launch Broadway for Obama

(1) Comments | Posted September 19, 2012 | 5:33 PM

The Broadway community is one that holds a very special place in my heart. For 12 years I lived in New York and had the unique opportunity of working with hundreds of the most talented people who've ever grapevined across a stage.

What always amazed me, though, was that...

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Anti-Gay Boy Scouts Find Some Skeletons in Their Closet

(17) Comments | Posted September 18, 2012 | 6:11 PM

In light of the anticipated wave of emotion and anger over the upcoming release of more than 20 years of child molestation records from the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), we need to make one thing clear: The vast majority of child molesters are not gay men.

On...

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Is It Christian to Be Anti-Gay?

(213) Comments | Posted August 21, 2012 | 1:40 PM

Between the Chick-fil-A controversy and last week's despicable shooting at the Family Research Council's (FRC) offices, there's been a lot of discussion about something called a "hate group."

Groups such as the FRC, the National Organization for Marriage, Focus on the Family, Public Advocate, the American...

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What Happens When a Broadway Star Supports Chick-Fil-A?

(566) Comments | Posted August 9, 2012 | 2:59 PM

Yesterday, I wrote on my personal blog about Broadway star and Chick-fil-A fan Bailey Hanks as part of a broader discussion. Today, I feel as though it deserves it's own post.

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Bailey, who was cast to take over the starring role in...

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Anti-Gay Craigslist Ad a Hoax

(15) Comments | Posted June 14, 2012 | 3:08 PM

You may have read about it first at TalkAboutEquality.com two nights ago, or perhaps you saw the story yesterday on Towleroad or JoeMyGod. Maybe you caught it on Fark.com or today on The Huffington Post.

It seems that a parent...

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School Board Bans Kid's Book for Mention of Gay Families

(16) Comments | Posted June 6, 2012 | 3:52 PM

I grew up in a small town in Massachusetts and I knew from a very young age that I was different from the other kids. My story starts off like many of yours. I read all the storybooks you read, saw all the Disney Princess movies you saw and I...

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Gap Shows Paul Ryan the Door

(10) Comments | Posted May 8, 2012 | 2:53 PM

Last week an interesting item showed up on Queerty. It seemed that Gap, Inc., a longtime friend to the LGBT community, was hosting a fundraising breakfast for anti-gay Congressman Paul Ryan.

Ryan is best known for his proposed federal budget that would drastically cut Medicare and Social Security,...

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