Gay and Lesbian

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Metta World Peace: Jason Collins Is Welcome on the Lakers

Originally posted 05/05/2013 05:00PM

Jason Collins, the professional basketball player who recently announced he's gay, will have no trouble fitting into an NBA locker room, according to one All-Star.

"I'd play with him on my team," Los Angeles Lakers star Metta World Peace told PEOPLE at the Showtime pre-fight party before the Floyd Mayweather Jr./Robert Guerrero bout in Las Vegas. When asked whether Collins would be accepted in an NBA locker room, World Peace's answer was simple: "Of course."

With Collins's historic announcement in Sports Illustrated, he became the first active player in American team sports to publicly announce he's gay. For World Peace, though, the outing wasn't a big deal.

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Filed Under: Gay and Lesbian, Jason Collins, Ron Artest

Credit: Chuck Hodes/OWN

Jason Collins's Parents Share How They Reacted When They Learned He Was Gay

Originally posted 05/05/2013 10:00AM

Jason Collins's parents had to change the way they thought about both the past and the future when he told them he was gay – but not in the way that counted the most.

Paul and Portia Collins both say they were shocked at their son's revelation. But they supported him almost from the moment he told them.

"Part of the process, after he told us, was to go home and kind of let it resonate, for the two of us to talk about it," Portia tells Oprah Winfrey in an interview airing Sunday on OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network.

"And on the way home we called him. And on the way home we said, 'We love you.' "

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Filed Under: Gay and Lesbian, Jason Collins, Real People Stories, TV News, Oprah Winfrey

Credit: Jeff Sheng/Outserve-SLDN/AP

West Point Hosts First Same-Sex Marriages

Originally posted 12/03/2012 12:35PM

West Point Military Academy has made history by hosting the institution's first same-sex marriages.

The 210-year-old Academy hosted the nuptials of Brenda "Sue" Fulton, a 53-year-old West Point graduate, and Penelope Gnesin, 52, at the Academy's Cadet Chapel on Dec. 1. "It was such a sacred, joyous day," Fulton told CNN.

The chapel was the first place Fulton heard the Cadet Prayer – which includes the line, "make us to choose the harder right instead of the easier wrong" – and it resonated with her.

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Filed Under: Couples, Marriage, Gay and Lesbian, Real People Stories, Military and Soldiers

Modern Family's Jesse Tyler Ferguson & Eric Stonestreet React to Prop 8 Ruling

Originally posted 02/07/2012 05:00PM

Could there be an (on-screen) wedding in their future?

Modern Family stars Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Eric Stonestreet, who play partners Mitchell and Cameron on the Emmy-winning ABC comedy, posted a photo of themselves on their WhoSay pages, asking, "How could you not want to see us tie the knot?" just as it appeared they may be closer to legally being able to do so.

On Tuesday, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that California's Proposition 8, which bans same-sex marriage in the state, was unconstitutional.

Ferguson also Tweeted: "Historic! #Prop8 is unconstitutional. @AFER & I won’t stop until ALL Americans are #free2marry."

On the show, their characters also have a daughter together, Lily, but are not officially married.

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Filed Under: Gay and Lesbian, Politics, Politics and Current Events, Modern Family, TV News, Ellen DeGeneres, Eric Stonestreet, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Michael Urie