Good Chemistry, Denver's Gay-Friendly Marijuana Dispensary

GoodChemistry, Denver’s gay-friendly dispensary, is guided by four core principles:

SCIENCE – Good Chemistry believes that Cannabis has significant therapeutic benefits and work to support and expand its study.

ACCESS - Good Chemistry believes that many barriers exist which fundamentally restrict access to safe reliable medical grade cannabis and search for meaningful ways to remove them.

DIGNITY - Good Chemistry believes in the fundamental and inalienable right of a person to choose their medical treatment. Recognizing that often patients who take cannabis are subjected to unfair treatment under the law, Good Chemistry is committed to defending and protecting the rights of their patients.

COMPASSION - Good Chemistry recognizes that medical cannabis is a potent and effective medicine for many patients who cannot afford it and is dedicated to providing for those in need.

Dixie Longate Is Back, Bigger and Better Than Ever!

Dixie Longate, the fast-talking Tupperware Lady, packed up her catalogues, left her children in an Alabama trailer park and took Off-Broadway by storm! 

Now, join Dixie as she travels the country throwing good ol' fashioned Tupperware parties filled with outrageously funny tales, heartfelt accounts, FREE giveaways, audience participation and the most fabulous assortment of Tupperware ever sold on a theater stage. Loaded with the most up-to-date products available for purchase see for yourself how Ms. Longate became the #1 Tupperware seller in the US and Canada as she educates her guests on the many alternative uses she has discovered for her plastic products!

Billy Dee Williams Coming to StarFest Denver!

The biggest Star Wars Day celebration in the central U.S. just got bigger!

Visitors to StarFest Denver can now meet Billy Dee Williams, who played Lando Calrissian, in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi in the 1980s. Lando, one of the most popular characters in the original trilogy, was the suave space scoundrel who eventually became an invaluable friend to the Jedi. Williams is also slated to appear in the much anticipated Episode VII, the first Star Wars movie under the Disney umbrella, being released next year.

This year, the largest May the 4th Star Wars day celebration announced for the United States (outside of Disney’s theme parks) is taking place in Denver, CO, at the annual StarFest convention. Not just a day – but a full weekend of activities celebrating Star Wars, including a Jar Jar Dunk Tank, Yoda Sound-Alike contest, Miss Empire Pageant, light saber piñata bashes, stormtroopers, life-size functioning R2D2 robots, live costumed stormtroopers, a “These ARE the Droids You’re Looking For” scavenger hunt, trivia, and art and costume contests.

“It’s the ultimate Star Wars Geekend,” says organizer KathE Walker. “We’ve been running this convention since May, 1977. That first year, we were contacted by Lucasfilm, asking if we would mind running a 16mm trailer for a movie they were releasing at the end of the month called Star Wars. They gave us some hand outs and t-shirts to give away and as far as I know we were one of the first conventions to show the trailer anywhere. I figure it this way…if it weren’t for us showing the trailer and getting folks excited about the movie, Star Wars wouldn’t have been the success it is today,” she laughs. “Okay, so I like to think that way.”

Royksopp and Robyn, the Do It Again Tour!

Yay! But boo, because they're not coming to Denver! Röyksopp and Robyn are proud to announce their ‘Do It Again’ tour, which begins at Sonar Festival in Spain on 13th June 2014, and includes a headline slot on the BBC Radio 6 music stage at Latitude Festival on 19th July, and a show at the Hollywood Bowl on 29th June, - tickets for all headline shows in North America go on sale this week with further dates to be announced soon.

Fairchild - Burning Feet

It's fun to hear people say "whores" in an Australian accent! Australian indie pop band 'FAIRCHILD' who have just released a music video for 'Burning Feet'. It is the title track off their debut EP which was produced & mixed by Catherine Marks (Foals, Howling Bells, Wolf Alice) and will be digitally released worldwide on April 25th through Canvas Sounds.

Stonewall Fitness: Fitness Flash Mob!

By David Smith
We're going to INVADE the 16th St. Mall with fitness! Turn a few heads and have a fun time! BE SURE TO WEAR SOMETHING FABULOUS, SPARKLY and SHINY! (I'll be in my sparkly speedo!) This will be a short but high intensity class designed to really challenge yourself and push your limits physically and sociologically! The time it takes to complete will vary based on your pace. Here's how it works...

We will start and end on the top of Civic Center Station on the southeast end of the 16th St. Mall. It's running based, we will do a short warm up at the southeast end of the 16th St. Mall in Denver, CO. At the mall we will run down until we hit the next RED light. At the light we will do an exercise (pushups, lunges, squats etc.) that I call out until the light turns green.

When the light turns green we will continue running to the next RED light and do another exercise, continuing this until we make it to the top of the Millennium Bridge at Union Station. From there we will take a short rest period and then do the same thing going back up the mall until we finish at the top of Civic Center station in which we will cool down. Overall we will cover 2 miles on the mall.

This class will be of a higher intensity than Bootcamp, and is not recommended for those who are more deconditioned or are still new to exercise.

The idea is to dress up in something fun, give the people on the mall a smile at the randomness, to work hard and have a great time! We will accept donations that will be contributed to TBA. Email david@stonewallfitness.com for more information. RSVP here on Facebook!

The Gay Vegans: Dog Pee On The Floor

By Dan Hanley

This post isn't really about dog pee on the floor.

It's about making mistakes.

With many dogs in our house, it's inevitable that once in a while one of them pees on the floor. When that happens, there is no yelling or screaming, no punishment, no harsh judgment. We simply clean it up and continue loving on them.

If only this could happen with humans.

We all make mistakes.

We all fall short of someone elses expectations at times.

We might say something "wrong", or in a way that someone else misinterprets.

I try to live in the thought pattern of best intention. With friends and family I love, when their behavior or communication seems off or maybe even borderline offensive, I try to give them the benefit of the doubt.

I at least start there.

I try to honor the humanness in another. 

So perhaps I can accept that my high expectations in another might not always be reached. And when they're not, I need to let go and not judge.

Perhaps I can come from love knowing that the other person loves me too.

Perhaps I can treat everyone else as I treat our dogs when they pee on the floor.

Sometimes we need to gives others a break.

And sometimes the one we need to give a break to is the one staring back at us in the mirror.

This post originally appeared on Dan Hanley's website The Gay Vegans. Republished with permission.

After Gay Scout leader fired, Amazon under pressure to end Boy Scouts donations

Check out this Change.org petition that’s quickly gaining steam (more than 19,000 signatures in the past 48 hours alone) after the Boy Scouts of America fired an openly gay Scout leader, Geoff McGrath, in Seattle.

Following McGrath’s dismissal, Pascal Tessier, the first openly gay Eagle Scout since the Boy Scouts changed their policy to allow gay Scouts, launched a petition calling on Amazon.com to remove the Boy Scouts from its “Amazon Smile” program -- a program that allows customers to donate a portion of their purchases to charity -- until the Scouts stop discriminating against gay leaders.

Last year, after Scouts and Scout leaders launched more than 124 Change.org petitions garnering more than 1.9 million signatures in support of ending the Boy Scouts’ anti-gay policies, the BSA voted to allow openly gay Scouts. But their continued policy of discriminating against gay Scout leaders, Pascal says, sends a dangerous message that shouldn’t be rewarded with corporate dollars from LGBT-friendly companies like Amazon.com.

Says Pascal: "It’s clear that Scouting still isn’t a safe place for LGBT adults and parents. This is both a wake up call and a personal slap in the face to me. Last year’s vote showed that members of the Boy Scouts of America are ready for full inclusion. In four months when I turn 18, I will be kicked out of Scouting. This has to stop, and Amazon can help.”

You can check out Pascal’s petition and comments from supporters here: www.change.org/amazonscouts.

DGLCC's April Luncheon with Pat Steadman

Quarterly Luncheon (April 17 at the Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel) will be none other than State Senator Pat Steadman!

Steadman was selected in May 2009 to fill a vacancy in the Colorado State Senate that occurred when former Sen. Jennifer Veiga announced her resignation from office due to her planned relocation to Australia.

At age 49, he has been a long-time resident of Denver’s Capitol Hill neighborhood. He grew up in Westminster, Colorado, and graduated from Westminster High School, Regis College and the University of Colorado School of Law. In 2010 Steadman was elected to finish out Sen. Veiga’s term, and in 2012 he was re-elected to a full four-year term. He currently serves as the Vice-Chair of the Joint Budget Committee.

As a lobbyist, he worked extensively to support public education, advance civil rights and civil liberties, protect a woman’s right to choose, expand worker’s rights, and defeat censorship and other far-right assaults on cherished freedoms. Over the course of 15 years of lobbying his accomplishments were many and included several significant pieces of legislation protecting the LGBT community that were sponsored by his predecessor, Sen. Veiga. Steadman has always been actively engaged in his community. He was appointed by Mayor Webb to the Denver Women’s Commission and by Mayor Hickenlooper to the Denver GLBT Commission, and was the first person to chair the Advisory Board for Denver’s Agency for Human Rights and Community Relations. As a senator, he continues to fight for progressive causes and give voice to those communities and issues that for too long have been marginalized and under-represented in the state legislature. In 2013 he was honored at the White House with the Harvey Milk Champion of Change Award for more than two decades of advocacy for equal rights.In other words, you do NOT want to miss DGLCC's next Quarterly Luncheon! 

Archie Bronson Outfit - We Are Floating

Archie Bronson Outfit, the duo of S. Windett and Arp Cleveland, are back with another taste of their forthcoming LP, Wild Crush (out May 20th on Domino). 

Arp Cleveland says, "'We Are Floating' is about flux, transition, motion, potions, disappearing notions, moving, grooving, hovering, bothering; being dazed but giving praise." Accompanying the track is an Adam Mallett-directed video depicting phantoms in the night moving between horizon lines in a psychedelic world of transmogrification and candy colored beauty. Open up your brain window to a land where trees are ears, forks are fingers and your heart is overwhelmed by a greater love.

Get Your Andrew Christian Underwear at MileHighGayGuy.com!

Andrew Christian is one of the largest retailer and manufacturers of men’s underwear on the web. They carry hundreds of styles from cutting edge basics to performance fabrics, to body enhancing designs and everything is made in sunny Los Angeles, California.

Click the pic to start your summer shopping today!

Open for Business Coalition Begins New Effort to Block Anti-Gay Laws— Says They Will Hurt the Bottom Line in States that Enact Them

The Open for Business Coalition, comprised of some of the nation’s leading business associations, has formed to actively oppose the so-called “Religious Freedom Bills” that some say are really anti-gay bills and are currently before several state legislatures.

The coalition formalized its efforts as Miss. Gov. Phil Byrant signed his state’s version of the bill. Many of the coalition members worked together to successfully oppose Arizona’s version of the bill, which Gov. Jan Brewer recently vetoed. At least two other states, Missouri and Oklahoma, have similar forms of this bill progressing through their legislatures.

The coalition is convened by the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce and members to date include: National Black Justice Coalition; Small Business Majority; US Business Leadership Network; and U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

In letters to the Mississippi governor and lawmakers in Missouri and Oklahoma, the coalition stated: “This bill, like the others currently being considered, would not protect ‘religious freedom’ as claimed but would effectively guarantee in state law the right to discriminate against vulnerable minority groups.”

The Open for Business Coalition represents consumers and corporations in states where this legislation is being progressed, and across the nation. Members believe these backward-looking laws, being pursued under the guise of religious freedom, will have a significant impact on economies where they are passed.

“The legislation works to discourage businesses seeking to expand in given states by shrinking a well-qualified, competitive and diverse workforce. We can see clearly the damaging effect the proposed bills would have on our businesses’ ability to hire and retain the best talent, to attract new customers, and to expand operations into these states,” says Chance Mitchell, co-founder and CEO, NGLCC.

Coalition supporters are emboldened by their success in Arizona, where their strong voices helped lead Brewer to veto Senate Bill 1062.

“No one should face discrimination while going about their daily lives. No one should fear that they might be seated in a separate area while visiting a restaurant, be thrown out of a sporting event, or denied a bank loan simply because of who they love. Given a choice, very few would choose to reside in or visit a state where these laws exist,” says Justin G. Nelson, co-founder and president, NGLCC.

The Open for Business Coalition will galvanize their association members to speak out against the legislation; seek new members to join the coalition; and continue to raise awareness through the media and online.

Meet Alison Rose, She Wants to Photograph Your Gay Wedding!

Alison Rose Photography has a message for Denver's gay community!

"Hi!  I'm Alison, and I'm here to help you relax in front of the camera so that every photo at your wedding or civil union is genuine and real. 

What sets me apart from other photographers is that I have a bright sense of humor and sentimental nature, which allows me to truly connect with you on a deeper level and feel the emotion of the day right alongside you. Sometimes I'm as emotional as you on your big day!  Because of this, you are able to relax and simply have fun when I'm taking pictures, which results in authentic shots that never appear fake or forced.  Plus, we have endless fun in the process!"

Gay Bloggers Wanted for Colorado's Best Gay Blog

Are you a new or experienced writer or blogger? Do you want to be? Or maybe you're just some gay guy with something to say? Well, what better forum for you than MileHighGayGuy?

MileHighGayGuy is looking for regular and guest bloggers to write about local news and events, do music and movie reviews, or write opinion or feature pieces from a gay perspective.

These are unpaid positions but offer the opportunity to be published in Colorado's Best Gay Blog (2010, 2011, 2012 OUTstanding Awards, Denver 2012 #WebAwards), expand your audience and gain valuable experience. There's also swag available in the form of free movie and concert tickets, music, books and other cool stuff.

If interested, shoot an email over to Drew Wilson at editor@milehighgayguy.com. And if you've got column or story ideas to pitch, this is the place to do it.

Judge to hear bias case brought against Library of Congress

A federal judge has refused to dismiss the case of a gay man who is suing his employers at the Library of Congress for alleged harassment and discrimination based on sexual orientation. U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly ruled that Peter TerVeer (pictured) is entitled to protection under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on race, religion, ethnicity or gender but not specifically sexual orientation. Kollar-Kotelly's ground-breaking decision asserts that LGBT job discrimination is already illegal under federal statutes. 

"In my opinion this represents movement forward for the LGBT community, bringing us one large step closer to equal treatment under Title VII," attorney Christopher Brown said in response to the ruling.