Saturday, June 25, 2011

Gay marriage passes in New York state N.Y. becomes sixth and largest state to legalize gay marriage

Same-sex marriages can begin in July after Gov. Cuomo signs bill into law

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Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy



Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy



http://video.nytimes.com/video/2011/06/25/nyregion/100000000881489/celebration-at-the-stonewall-inn.html

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43507672/ns/politics-more_politics/t/ny-becomes-sixth-largest-state-legalize-gay-marriage/

By MICHAEL GORMLEY
The Associated Press
updated 6/25/2011 9:51:54 AM ET

ALBANY, N.Y. — After days of contentious negotiations and last-minute reversals by two Republican senators, New York became the sixth and largest state in the U.S. to legalize gay marriage, breathing life into the national gay rights movement that had stalled over a nearly identical bill here two years ago.

Pending any court challenges, legal gay marriages can begin in New York by late July after Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed his bill into law just before midnight Friday.

At New York City's Stonewall Inn, the Greenwich Village pub that spawned the gay rights movement on a June night in 1969, Scott Redstone watched New York sign the historic same-sex marriage law with his partner of 29 years, and popped the question.

"I said, 'Will you marry me?' And he said, 'Of course!'" Redstone said he and Steven Knittweis walked home to pop open a bottle of champagne.

New York becomes the sixth state where gay couples can wed, doubling the number of Americans living in a state with legal gay marriage.

"That's certainly going to have a ripple effect across the nation," said Ross Levi, executive director of the Empire State Pride Agenda. "It's truly a historic night for love, our families, and democracy won."

"We made a powerful statement," Cuomo said. "This state is at its finest when it is a beacon of social justice."

The leading opponent, Democratic Sen. Ruben Diaz, was given only a few minutes to state his case during the Senate debate.

"God, not Albany, settled the issue of marriage a long time ago," said Diaz, a Bronx minister. "I'm sorry you are trying to take away my right to speak," he said. "Why are you ashamed of what I have to say?"

The Catholic Bishops of New York said the law alters "radically and forever humanity's historic understanding of marriage."

"We always treat our homosexual brothers and sisters with respect, dignity and love," the bishops stated Friday, "We worry that both marriage and the family will be undermined by this tragic presumption of government in passing this legislation that attempts to redefine these cornerstones of civilization."

Legal challenges of the law and political challenges aimed at the four Republicans who supported gay marriage in the 33-29 vote are expected. Republican senators endured several marathon sessions, combing through several standard but complex bills this week, before taking up the same-sex marriage bill Friday.

Almost identical bill defeated in 2009
The bill came to the floor for a vote after an agreement was reached on more protections for religious groups that oppose gay marriage and feared discrimination lawsuits.

"State legislators should not decide society-shaping issues," said the Rev. Jason McGuire of New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms. He said his organization would work in next year's elections to defeat lawmakers who voted for the measure.

The big win for gay rights advocates is expected to galvanize the movement around the country after an almost identical bill was defeated here in 2009 and similar measures failed in 2010 in New Jersey and this year in Maryland and Rhode Island.
Story: Some celebrity quotes on NY's new gay marriage law

Jerry Nathan of Albany, who married his partner in Massachusetts, called the vote "an incredible culmination of so much that's been going on for so many years it doesn't seem real yet."

Ultimately, gay couples will be able to marry because of two previously undecided Republicans from upstate regions far more conservative than the New York City base of the gay rights movement.
Image: People in the Senate gallery react to the passage of gay marriage at the Capitol in Albany, N.Y
Mike Groll / AP
People in the Senate gallery cheer the passage of a gay-marriage Friday night at the Capitol in Albany, N.Y.

Sen. Stephen Saland, 67, voted against a similar bill in 2009, helping kill the measure and dealing a blow to the national gay rights movement. On Friday night, gay marriage supporters wept in the Senate gallery as Saland explained how his strong, traditionally family upbringing led him to embrace legalizing gay marriage.

"While I understand that my vote will disappoint many, I also know my vote is a vote of conscience," Saland, of Poughkeepsie, said in a statement to The Associated Press before the vote. "I am doing the right thing in voting to support marriage equality."

Also voting for the bill was freshman Sen. Mark Grisanti, a Buffalo Republican who also had been undecided. Grisanti said he could not deny anyone what he called basic rights.

"I apologize to those I offend," said Grisanti, a Roman Catholic. "But I believe you can be wiser today than yesterday. I believe this state needs to provide equal rights and protections for all its residents," he said.

A huge street party erupted outside the Stonewall Inn Friday night, with celebrants waving rainbow flags and dancing after the historic vote.

Watching the festivities from across the street was Sarah Ellis, who has been in a six-year relationship with her partner, Kristen Henderson. Ellis said the measure would enable them to get married in the fall. They have twin toddlers and live in Sea Cliff on Long Island.

"We've been waiting. We considered it for a long time, crossing the borders and going to other states," said Ellis, 39. "But until the state that we live in, that we pay taxes in, and we're part of that community, has equal rights and marriage equality, we were not going to do it."

The bill makes New York only the third state, after Vermont and New Hampshire, to legalize marriage through a legislative act and without being forced to do so by a court.

© 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

'Have to do this': Cuomo charts course for gay marriage in NY

Wall Street donors and advocates also show more might than an ineffective opposition

Image: Andrew Cuomo
Mike Groll / AP

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo reacts after same sex marriage was legalized after a vote in the Senate Chamber at the Capitol in Albany, N.Y., on Friday.

By MICHAEL BARBARO
The New York Times
updated 6/25/2011 2:36:57 PM ET

In the 35th-floor conference room of a Manhattan high-rise, two of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s most trusted advisers held a secret meeting a few weeks ago with a group of super-rich Republican donors.

Over tuna and turkey sandwiches, the advisers explained that New York’s Democratic governor was determined to legalize same-sex marriage and would deliver every possible Senate vote from his own party.

Would the donors win over the deciding Senate Republicans? It sounded improbable: top Republican moneymen helping a Democratic rival with one of his biggest legislative goals.

But the donors in the room — the billionaire Paul Singer, whose son is gay, joined by the hedge fund managers Cliff Asness and Dan Loeb — had the influence and the money to insulate nervous senators from conservative backlash if they supported the marriage measure. And they were inclined to see the issue as one of personal freedom, consistent with their more libertarian views.

Within days, the wealthy Republicans sent back word: They were on board. Each of them cut six-figure checks to the lobbying campaign that eventually totaled more than $1 million.

Steve Cohen, the No. 2 in Mr. Cuomo’s office and a participant in the meeting, began to see a path to victory, telling a colleague, “This might actually happen.”

The story of how same-sex marriage became legal in New York is about shifting public sentiment and individual lawmakers moved by emotional appeals from gay couples who wish to be wed.

But, behind the scenes, it was really about a Republican Party reckoning with a profoundly changing power dynamic, where Wall Street donors and gay-rights advocates demonstrated more might and muscle than a Roman Catholic hierarchy and an ineffective opposition.

And it was about a Democratic governor, himself a Catholic, who used the force of his personality and relentlessly strategic mind to persuade conflicted lawmakers to take a historic leap.

“I can help you,” Mr. Cuomo assured them in dozens of telephone calls and meetings, at times pledging to deploy his record-high popularity across the state to protect them in their districts. “I am more of an asset than the vote will be a liability.”

Over the last several weeks, dozens of lawmakers, strategists and advocates described the closed-door meetings and tactical decisions that led to approval of same-sex marriage in New York, about two years after it was rejected by the Legislature. This account is based on those interviews, most of which were granted on the condition of anonymity to describe conversations that were intended to be confidential.

‘I have to do this’
Mr. Cuomo was diplomatic but candid with gay-rights advocates in early March when he summoned them to the Capitol’s Red Room, a ceremonial chamber with stained-glass windows and wood-paneled walls.

The advocates had contributed to the defeat of same-sex marriage in 2009, he told them, with their rampant infighting and disorganization. He had seen it firsthand, as attorney general, when organizers had given him wildly divergent advice about which senators to lobby and when, sometimes in bewildering back-to-back telephone calls.

“You can either focus on the goal, or we can spend a lot of time competing and destroying ourselves,” the governor said.

This time around, the lobbying had to be done the Cuomo way: with meticulous, top-down coordination. “I will be personally involved,” he said.

The gay-rights advocates agreed, or at least acquiesced. Five groups pushing for same-sex marriage merged into a single coalition, hired a prominent lobbying firm with ties to Mr. Cuomo’s office and gave themselves a new name: New Yorkers United for Marriage.

Those who veered from the script faced swift reprimand. When Assemblyman Daniel J. O’Donnell, an openly gay Democrat from Manhattan, introduced a same-sex marriage bill in May without first alerting the governor’s office, he was upbraided by Mr. Cohen. “What do you think you’re doing?” the governor’s aide barked over the phone.

Mr. Cuomo’s hands-on management was a turning point not just for the marriage movement, but also for his long and fraught relationship with the gay community. Advocates groused that he had waited until 2006 to endorse same-sex marriage, years after many leading New York political leaders did so. And many of them still remembered his work on his father’s unsuccessful 1977 bid for mayor of New York, which had featured homophobic posters aimed at Edward I. Koch.

Over time, however, championing same-sex marriage had become personal for Mr. Cuomo. He campaigned on the issue in the race for governor last year, and after his election, he was staggered by the number of gay couples who sought him out at restaurants and on the street, prodding him, sometimes tearfully, to deliver on his word.
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The pressure did not let up at home. Mr. Cuomo’s girlfriend, Sandra Lee, has a gay brother, and she frequently reminded the governor how much she wanted the law to change.

Something else weighed on him, too: the long shadow of his father, Mario, who rose to national prominence as the conscience of the Democratic Party, passionately defending the poor and assailing the death penalty. During his first few months in office, the younger Mr. Cuomo had achieved what seemed like modern-day miracles by the standards of Albany — an austere on-time budget and a deal to cap property taxes. But, as Mr. Cuomo explained by phone to his father a few weeks ago, he did not want those accomplishments to define his first year in office.

“They are operational,” he told his father. Passing same-sex marriage, by contrast, “is at the heart of leadership and progressive government.”

“I have to do this.”

A Democratic surprise

Nobody ever expected Carl Kruger to vote yes.

A Democrat from southeast Brooklyn, known for his gruff style and shifting alliances, Senator Kruger voted against same-sex marriage two years ago, was seen as a pariah in his party and was accused in March of taking $1 million in bribes in return for political favors.

Some gay activists, assuming he was a lost cause, had taken to picketing outside of his house and screaming that he was gay — an approach that seemed only to harden his opposition to their agenda. (Mr. Kruger has said he is not gay.)

But unbeknown to all but a few people, Mr. Kruger desperately wanted to change his vote. The issue, it turned out, was tearing apart his household.

The gay nephew of the woman he lives with, Dorothy Turano, was so furious at Mr. Kruger for opposing same-sex marriage two years ago that he had cut off contact with both of them, devastating Ms. Turano. “I don’t need this,” Mr. Kruger told Senator John L. Sampson of Brooklyn, the Democratic majority leader. “It has gotten personal now.”

Mr. Sampson, a longtime supporter of same-sex marriage, advised Mr. Kruger to focus on the nephew, not the political repercussions. “When everything else is gone,” Mr. Sampson told him, “all you have left is family.”

With Mr. Kruger suddenly a possible yes vote, the same-sex marriage organizers zeroed in on the two remaining Democrats who had previously voted no but appeared open to switching sides: Shirley L. Huntley and Joseph P. Addabbo Jr., both of Queens.

Senator Huntley, a close friend of Mr. Sampson, had privately assured him that she would support the marriage bill, largely out of personal loyalty to him and fellow Democrats.

Persuading Senator Addabbo proved trickier. Same-sex marriage advocates had nicknamed him the Counter, after he told them that his vote would hinge entirely on a tally of his constituents who appealed to him for or against the measure.

By mid-May, Mr. Addabbo sent word to Mr. Cuomo that the numbers were not there for same-sex marriage.

Until then, members of the same-sex marriage coalition had deliberately refrained from inundating Mr. Addabbo’s office with feedback from supporters of the bill, fearing it might alienate and offend him.

But now, the advocates received a message from the governor’s office: Open the floodgates. Brian Ellner, who oversees the marriage push for the Human Rights Campaign, called the head of his field team, who had compiled an exhaustive list of supporters of gay rights in Mr. Addabbo’s district.

“Bury him in paper,” Mr. Ellner said.

Over the next week, the field team collected postcards signed by 2,000 of Mr. Addabbo’s constituents who favor same-sex marriage, twice as many as he had received in the previous few months combined.

When his final tally was completed in early June, he had heard from 6,015 people — 80 percent of whom asked him to vote yes. “In the end, that is my vote,” Mr. Addabbo said.

Republicans resist

In a private room at the Fort Orange Club, a stately brick manor in Albany where the waitresses still wear French maid uniforms, a pollster laid out the results of his research on same-sex marriage for Senate Republicans in early June.

There was little political rationale for legalizing it, the numbers suggested: statewide support did not extend deeply into the rural, upstate districts that are crucial to the state’s Republican Party. And with unemployment at 9 percent, the issue was far down the list of priorities for voters.

Many of the Republicans wanted to avoid ever taking a vote on the issue — a simple strategy to carry out. As the majority party in the Senate, they could block any bill from reaching the floor.

But the caucus — a group of 32 senators who had seized control of the Senate in the elections last year but held just a single-seat majority — was far from unified. And, crucially for same-sex marriage advocates, the Republicans’ relatively untested leader showed no interest in forcing them to reach a consensus. “My management style,” the Senate majority leader, Dean G. Skelos of Long Island, had told lawmakers, “is that I let my members lead.”

Mr. Cuomo was determined to exploit the leadership vacuum by peeling off a few senators from moderate districts.


A major target was James S. Alesi, a Republican from suburban Rochester, who seemed tormented by his 2009 vote. Cameras in the Senate chamber captured him holding his head in his hands as the word “no” left his mouth.

The coalition approached him from every angle. The Republican donors invited him to a meeting on Park Avenue, telling him they would eagerly support him if he backed same-sex marriage. “That’s not the kind of lily pad I normally hop on,” Mr. Alesi recalled.

The advocates collected 5,000 signed postcards from his constituents and nudged a major employer in his district, Xerox, to endorse the bill.

And Mr. Cuomo called him, over and over, to address his objections and allay his fears. He told Senator Alesi that as the first Republican to endorse same-sex marriage, he “would show real courage to the gay community.”

On June 13, aides to the governor left urgent messages with same-sex marriage advocates, who had just left a meeting in Mr. Cuomo’s office, to return there immediately, offering no explanation.

As the group assembled around a conference table, the governor opened the door to his private office and peeked in. “I want to introduce the first Republican to support marriage equality,” he announced.

Mr. Alesi walked into the room, which erupted into applause. In emotional remarks, he apologized to them for what he called his “political vote” against same-sex marriage in 2009.

Bill Smith, a lobbyist for the Gill Action, a gay-rights group, turned to the governor in disbelief. “How many rabbits are you going to pull out of the hat?” he asked.

Outgunned opponents

It was befuddling to gay-rights advocates: The Catholic Church, arguably the only institution with the authority and reach to derail same-sex marriage, seemed to shrink from the fight.

As the marriage bill hurtled toward a vote , the head of the church in New York, Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan, left town to lead a meeting of bishops in Seattle.

He did not travel to Albany or deliver a major speech in the final days of the session. And when he did issue a strongly worded critique of the legislation — he called it “immoral” and an “ominous threat” — it was over the phone to an Albany-area radio show.

Inside the Capitol, where a photograph of Mr. Cuomo shaking hands with Archbishop Dolan hangs in the governor’s private office, the low-key approach did not seem accidental. Mr. Cuomo had taken pains to blunt the church’s opposition.


When he learned that church leaders had objected to the language of the marriage legislation, he invited its lawyers to the Capitol to vent their frustration.

Mr. Cuomo even spoke to Archbishop Dolan about the push for same-sex marriage, emphasizing his respect and affection for the religious leader. An adviser described the governor’s message to Archbishop Dolan this way: “I have to do what I have to do. But your support over all is very important to me.”


By the time a Catholic bishop from Brooklyn traveled to Albany last week to tell undecided senators that passing same-sex marriage “is not in keeping with the will of their people,” it was clear the church had been outmaneuvered by the highly organized same-sex marriage coalition, with its sprawling field team and Wall Street donors.

“In many ways,” acknowledged Dennis Poust, of the New York State Catholic Conference, “we were outgunned. That is a lot to overcome.”

With the church largely out of the picture, the governor’s real worry was the simmering tension in the Senate Republican delegation. Its members met, for hours at a time, to debate the political and moral implications of allowing a vote.

But each time new arguments arose. Some questioned whether homosexuality was genetic or chosen. Others suggested that the same-sex marriage legislation be scrapped in favor of a statewide referendum.

Mr. Cuomo invited the Republicans to visit him at the governor’s residence, a 40-room Victorian mansion overlooking the Hudson River, just a few blocks from the Capitol.

There, in a speech the public would never hear, he offered his most direct and impassioned case for allowing gays to wed. Gay couples, he said, wanted recognition from the state that they were no different than the lawmakers in the room. “Their love is worth the same as your love,” Mr. Cuomo said. “Their partnership is worth the same as your partnership. And they are equal in your eyes to you. That is the driving issue.”

In the late hours of Friday night, 33 members of the State Senate agreed with him.

Danny Hakim contributed reporting.

This story, "The Road to Gay Marriage in New York," originally appeared in The New York Times.

Copyright © 2011 The New York Times


Thursday, February 3, 2011

Ricky Martin's book "ME"

Excerpt from Me

By Ricky Martin

Just like everyone else, I have had to walk down my own spiritual path and live through my experiences—the good and the bad, the love and the lack of love, the sense of feeling lost and then finding myself—to arrive at where I am today. Before I could begin to answer the endless questions that were constantly asked of me, I needed to face myself.

Of course, some might say I should have done this many years ago, but in the deepest part of my being, I am certain that the moment is now, because that is how it was always meant to be. It is only now that I am ready, and it is only now that I can do it—not one day earlier or one day later.

The process of writing this memoir has not been easy. It has demanded a lot from me—above and beyond what I expected. I've had to tie up loose ends that I'd never attempted to tie up before, to work deeply into memories that were already erased from my mind, and to find answers to very difficult questions; but above all else...above everything, I have finally had to accept myself. I have had to bare myself utterly and completely to see myself exactly as I am. I discovered things that I liked—and others not as much. And it was precisely the things I didn't like so much that I became intent on remedying from the moment I became conscious of them. I would have never imagined that writing this book would lead me to where it has; however, today I know that I am a better man—and a happier man—because of what I have learned about myself throughout the process.

I wanted to say a lot in these pages, but I wanted to do it with humility and dignity, focusing on the experiences that have helped shape me. More than an autobiography, this book is a testament of my spiritual beliefs, an account of the steps I have taken to arrive at the place of happiness and completeness where I now find myself.


The Real Ricky Martin

The Oprah Winfrey Show
November 02, 2010

From the time he was 12 years old, Ricky Martin drove women wild. As a member of Latin American boy band Menudo, Ricky's youthful good looks sent teenage girls worldwide into hysterics.

As Ricky got older, his sexy voice, red-hot dance moves and chiseled good looks turned him into an international solo sensation. He sold out stadiums, gave one of the most explosive performances in television history at the 1999 Grammys and found himself surrounded with beautiful women on and off the stage.

To the world, it appeared Ricky was truly living la vida loca. In reality, he says he was living a lie. For years, Ricky declined to respond to rumors of his sexuality—until March 29, 2010. That day, Ricky came out on his website, saying: "I am a fortunate homosexual man. I am very blessed to be who I am."

Now, Ricky is opening up about his decision to speak his truth in a new memoir, Me. In his first television interview since coming out, Ricky sits down with Oprah to reveal why he stayed silent about his sexuality for years and his decision to become a father.


Ricky says his 2-year-old twins, Valentino and Matteo, inspired him to tell the world he is a proud gay man. "I had to because I couldn't take it anymore," he says. "But who gave me that final push was definitely my children, because if I didn't come out for them, what was I going to be teaching them? How to lie? I don't want my family to be based on lies. I want to be transparent to them. I want them to be proud of their dad. I want them to be proud of themselves, of their family."

After writing that message and posting it, Ricky says he felt a rush of emotion. First he says he was numb, then relieved. "I was in my studio alone for a minute. My assistant walked in, and I just started crying like a little baby," he says. "He [grabbed] me in my arms. He goes: 'Let it go. Let it go. Finally you're free.'"

Watch Ricky remember that experience

In that moment, Ricky says he felt liberated. "I felt that I could finally say, 'I love myself completely,'" he says. "It's very difficult because for many years I was trying to pretend I was somebody."

Ricky says he knew from a young age that he was gay. "I was 4, 5 years old and I felt this chemistry," he says. "The first day I went to school, when I came back, the first thing they asked me was: 'Do you have girlfriends already? How many girlfriends do you have?' ... I was like: 'What? I don't understand what you mean.'"

Ricky says he never felt he could be himself. "For many years, I was told that the way I was feeling was a mistake. I was told that what I was feeling, that my emotions, were evil," he says. "I would try to deny those emotions as much as I could. There was a moment in my life that I thought I was a really bad person, that I was not enough."

Ricky says his parents were always there for him.

When Ricky was 20, he says he fell in love with a man for the first time—and had his heart broken. "I was ready to give up my career," he says. "And he told me: 'I think your mission in life is very clear. You move masses of people. And I cannot be a burden to that. If something goes wrong between us, you're going to blame me for that.'"

Ricky was devastated. "I was sad and my mom asked me, 'Are you in love, my son?' And I said, 'Yes, Mom, I am in love,'" he says. "[She asked], 'Is it with a man?' [I said], 'Yes, Mom, it's with a man.'"

Then, Ricky says his mother embraced him. "[She said]: 'I love you. Don't worry,'" he says. "She told me everything's going to be fine."

As Ricky's mom held him, he says she began to cry. "She said: 'Oh, my God, what's going to happen to my child? What's going to happen to his career?'" he says. "Unfortunately, people [were] not ready back then, and unfortunately we're still dealing with this issue of homophobia."

Ricky says his dad also accepted him. "I have a really cool dad," he says.

Despite his parents' acceptance, Ricky says the pain of that breakup pushed him farther away from his truth. "[I thought]: 'Being heartbroken? I don't want to feel ever again. So you know what? I'm going to start going out with women because maybe this is telling me that this is not my path.'"

Ricky says he had passionate affairs with women—and even fell in love. "I felt with women and I felt amazing. I felt comfort. I felt passion and sexual. It felt good," he says. "I had long relationships with women. In fact, they are still my friends today."

Ricky attributes his chemistry while performing with women to his love of entertaining. "I just allow my thoughts and my feelings and the music [to] take over," he says. "Yes, we are sexual beings. Let's enjoy it. Let's have fun. This is me. When I'm onstage, I just feel it."

Although he had relationships with both men and women, Ricky says he is gay. "I am not bisexual," he says. "I am a gay man."

On March 26, 2000, Ricky's interview with Barbara Walters aired before the Oscars®. During the interview, Barbara said to Ricky: "You know, you could stop these rumors. You could say, as many artists have, 'Yes I am gay.' Or you could say, 'No, I am not.'"

Ricky responded: "For some reason, I just don't feel like it."

Though Ricky says he expected the question, he says it felt like Barbara wouldn't let it go. "I have a lot of respect for Barbara. She's an amazing journalist, and she was doing her job," he says. "I was feeling she was beating me up."

In that moment, Ricky says he felt punch-drunk. "Was I ready to tell the world who I was?" he says. "Maybe I didn't even know who I was."

After the interview, Ricky says he felt invaded. "I felt violated in many ways. But once again, it was not the first time I was asked this question in an interview," he says. "But this was a massive TV show, and then that gave the right to every journalist to ask."

Oprah: One of the things you say in Me is that the constant bombardment of the gay question actually pushed you further away from the truth.

Ricky: Because it was treated in a very scandalous way. And people were mocking my sexuality, and I was like: "I don't want to be that. Is that me? I totally want to reject myself. You know what? I think I hate myself." And that's where you go. Those are the thoughts where you go. That's why I must insist when someone is not ready, we must not try to force that person to come out. Right now we're dealing with people that are being bullied because they are gay, and now we're dealing with people that are committing suicide because they're forced to come out. And that is horrible. You're ready whenever you're ready. You have to go through a process. You have to go through a very spiritual process in order for you to accept yourself, and then it feels amazing when you do so.

The scrutiny and secrets had begun to take a toll on Ricky. "You just go to bed and you say, 'I hate myself.' And you just don't want to say that again," he says. "[I'd think]: 'Look at everything you've done with your family. With your charity. Look at all the love that you've given. How can you hate yourself?'"

To heal, Ricky stepped away from the spotlight. While working with his foundation in India, Ricky learned about the horrors of sex trafficking and founded the People for Children project to help defend exploited children around the world. Ten days after the 2004 tsunami in Thailand, Ricky and his team arrived to assist in the humanitarian efforts and help ensure that human traffickers wouldn't take advantage of the devastation.

While in Thailand, Ricky met a baby who would change his life forever. A baby, nicknamed Baby Wave, was the last unclaimed orphan at a local hospital in Phuket. He was found abandoned in a park with a short note pinned to his blanket. "Please adopt this baby. I cannot afford to take care of him. His parents are missing because of the tsunami disaster at Patong. If you cannot adopt this baby, please take him to the orphanage adoption center."

Ricky writes in Me about meeting Baby Wave. "The first thing I thought was that I wanted to adopt him," he says. "Of course, given that he had become a national hero, that was not even an option."

PAGE 7 of 12

http://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/Ricky-Martin-on-Coming-Out/7

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Elton John and David Furnish's Baby Boy!

Meet Sir Elton John and David Furnish's Baby Boy!

Posted Tue Jan 18, 2011 10:33am PST by Us Magazine in Stop The Presses!

Ladies and gentlemen....introducing Zachary Jackson Levon Furnish-John!

In the new issue of Us Weekly (out Wednesday), Sir Elton John and David Furnish share first-ever photos of their beautiful baby son, who was born on Christmas Day.



*******

Sir Elton, 63, and his partner David Furnish have appointed a top Hollywood interior designer to turn the unit beside their luxury home into a dream nursery, The Mail on Sunday in the UK reported.

Although the work is not yet finished, several months after it started, eight-day-old Zachary is already installed there, and looked after by round-the-clock nannies.

"Elton and David have wanted this baby for a long time. They bought their first apartment in 2007 and then the following year they bought the smaller one next door," a New York television star who is a long-time friend of the couple said.

"Everyone originally thought they bought the smaller apartment because they wanted extra space, but then I found out they were trying to have a baby.

"They haven’t said whether they have knocked the wall down between the two apartments but I must say at Elton’s age, I wouldn’t blame him if there is no adjoining door. Will he really want to be woken up at night by a screaming baby?

"From what I understand the baby and his nannies are living in one apartment and Elton and David are living in another."

The couple have hired "interior designer to the stars" Martyn Lawrence-Bullard to decorate the baby’s unit. Lawrence-Bullard, who also masterminded Sir Elton’s flat, was overheard telling a friend: "I am still decorating it. It is not quite finished yet."

"It seems a slightly odd arrangement when you have waited so long to have a child. It certainly gives a new answer to the question: what do you give the baby who has everything? His own flat, of course," a source at the building, the 32-storey Sierra Towers, said last night.

"Everyone in the building has been talking of nothing else but the baby all week.

"Apparently he is seriously cute with wispy blond hair. He is in his own apartment with a Filipino lady and an African-American nurse, who are with him 24/7."

Sir Elton’s spokesman Gary Farrow yesterday said of the baby’s sleeping arrangement: "It’s private. No comment."

Zachary was born to a surrogate mother on Christmas Day. Sir Elton, who has battled alcohol and cocaine addiction throughout his career, and Furnish picked an egg donor to match their specifications.

Sir Elton and Furnish rang in the New Year at the five-star Regent Beverly Wilshire hotel at the end of Rodeo Drive, a 10 minute drive from Sierra Towers.

They joined their decorator Lawrence-Bullard and his partner, photographer David LaChapelle and magazine editor Ingrid Sischy at Wolfgang Puck’s acclaimed Cut steakhouse at the hotel.

The group donned fake black plastic top hats and blew cheap trumpets to welcome in the New Year.

As Furnish left he said: "The baby is beautiful. He’s back at the apartment sleeping. We’re just so excited."


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* Buying a baby - not a pair of shoes The Daily Telegraph, 3 hours ago
* Who's the daddy? Elton doesn't know The Australian, 17 hours ago
* Two godmothers for Elton's boy Herald Sun, 10 days ago
* Elton John's family dream is born Courier Mail, 1 Jan 2011
* Elton's spending spree for new baby Courier Mail, 1 Jan 2011

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