First Same-Sex Marriage Certificate Issued in Japan

Japanese gay couple Hiroko Masuhara (R) and Koyuki Higashi display a certification paper of "partnership" issued by the Shibuya ward office after they received it in Tokyo on November 5, 2015. While the certificates are not be legally binding, the district hoped they would encourage hospitals and landlords to ensure same-sex couples receive similar treatment to married people. AFP PHOTO / Yoshikazu TSUNO (Photo credit should read YOSHIKAZU TSUNO/AFP/Getty Images)

What do Koyuki Higashi and Hiroku Masuhara have that no one else in Japan currently has? A legal marriage certificate! According to CNN, the couple is Japan’s first legally married same-sex couple. The pair tied the knot in Tokyo’s Shibuya Ward on Tuesday morning. The progressive Shibuya Ward legalized gay marriage back in March and fellow ward Setagaya followed suit a few months later. Masuhara told Reuters, “I am exhilarated that the city I am living in has recognized my partner as my family.”

Aww! Congrats you two. If you’re looking for a wedding card, peruse our gallery, why don’t you?

Filmmaker & Shakespeare Prove That Love Wins

Filmmaker Yulin Kuang collaborated with YouTube artist collective Field Day to produce an incredible video. Inspired by the legalization of same-sex marriage, the video is Kuang’s visual interpretation of William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 116. It’s guaranteed to put a smile on your face.

Monday Meme: Older

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Happy birthday to openly gay chanteuse and Grammy-award winning badass K.D. Lang! Today’s meme sums up Lang’s persona from moment one. After all, she was lesbian chic way before it even existed, was out of the closet before it was cool, collaborated with Tony Bennett before Gaga and was always 100% herself. In short, she’s an inspiration for all us to embrace who were are.

And if you’d like to get a card for the person you love to embrace, you’ve come to the right place! 

Ireland Signs Gay Marriage into Law

Here’s some news to celebrate– after months of delays gay marriage was signed into Irish law on Thursday! The law was signed in by Ireland’s Presidential Commission in place of President Michael Higgins who is currently on a visit to the United States.

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Per Time.com

“A defining moment has been reached in our development as a nation and together we are sending out a message to the world that Ireland is a country where people continue to believe in equality for all,” Irish Senator Katherine Zappone, who married her partner Ann Louise Gilligan in Canada and hopes to renew her vows in Dublin next year, said in a statement, according to the Irish Times.

Justice and Equality Minister Frances Fitzgerald said same-sex marriage ceremonies could start as soon as mid-November.

When Your Daughter Becomes Your Son

Cosmopolitain.com produced a fantastic video called “Mom, I’m Not a Girl” and we couldn’t wait to share it with you. The 7 minute documentary profiles Brooklyn mother of five Jodie Peterson and her son Penelope who started showing signs of being transgendered at a really young age. Peterson tells Cosmo sharing this story was important. “People are dying over it,” she says. “Until that changes, it’s important to speak out. All the evils — racism, genderism, all the isms — rely on silence. So in order to push social change, we need to speak up.”​