July 30, 2012
Olympics Go Gay: Gay Couple Kiss, 'Ab Fab' Stars Carry Torch & Wash. Gay Marriage Ad Airs
Jason St. Amand READ TIME: 3 MIN.
On Friday, the Olympic Opening Ceremony celebrated all things British (see the gang of Mary Poppins fighting Lord Voldemort). In addition, for the first time, the games celebrated the LGBT community with sentiment and satire.
A gay man who carried the Olympic torch on the streets of London kissed his boyfriend during his once-in-a-lifetime run. Onlookers cheered as the couple shared their tender moment, Gay Star News reported.
Chris Basiurski of the Gay Football Supporters Network in Great Britain was one of the lucky people chosen to carry the symbolic flame. He also told spectators that he would be marrying his partner James next year.
"I'm honored to have carried the torch through London and it was amazing to see and hear all the support from both my family and GFSN members along the route," he told the publication. Basiurksi's group is a network for LGBT soccer players.
Mark Healey, a gay campaigner against hate crimes, also carried the torch.
"There were thousands of people along the route clapping and cheering as we travelled along," he said. Healey founded the charity 17-24-30, which is a tribute to victims of the London Nail Bomb attacks in Brixton, Brick Lane and Soho. The Soho attack targeted a gay bar, which killed three people and wounded 70.
"Now that I have the torch I want to take it out to the people that have supported 17-24-30 over the past three years, to make sure that they can share in this experience," he said. "Through community events like this that we learn to set aside our differences and become as one, more united, stronger community and that will help us tackle issues like hate crime."
As if that weren't gay enough, the two most fabulous gay men trapped in women's bodies also carried the torch.
The stars of the iconic British comedy show, "Absolutely Fabulous," a show many gay men on both sides of the pond consider gayer than "Will & Grace," "Modern Family" and "Glee" (times ten) also took part in the torch ceremony.
Actresses Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley, who play Eddie and Patsy on the TV show, carried the Olympic torch through Sloane Square in central London.
The British newspaper the Telegraph reported the comedy duo "smiled and waved to the hundreds of spectators who lined the route to cheer them on, as they completed the leg in a quick walk."
Additionally, those who watched the Opening Ceremony in Washington State may have caught an ad that promoted gay marriage.
Pride Foundation, an LGBT group based in Seattle, launched the ad during the event in hopes to educate viewers on the importance of marriage equality. The commercial features Republican State Senator Cheryl Pflug and emphasizes "that all loving and committed couples, whether gay or straight, hope to marry for similar reasons: to make a lifetime promise to another person and to share the joys and challenges that life brings."
"This advertisement reflects the fundamental values of Washington State - where all families are treated with respect and dignity under the law - and that is why it will be so powerful," Kris Hermanns, executive director of Pride Foundation, said in a statement.
"We took this step of investing in television because it will invigorate and expand the conversations we've had across Washington about the importance of marriage for all loving and committed couples. Washington is a state where we treat others as we want to be treated, and that includes being able to marry the person you love."