Cecil the Lion’s Brother Jericho Illegally Killed in Zimbabwe

More heartbreaking news out of Zimbabwe as Jericho, the brother of slain lion Cecil, was gunned down illegally in Hwange National Park today.

CNN reports:

“It is with huge disgust and sadness that we have just been informed that Jericho, Cecil’s brother has been killed at 4pm today,” Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force said Saturday on Facebook.

“We are absolutely heart broken,” the Task Force added.

Jericho was considered to be caring for and defending Cecil’s cubs, but the survivability of those cubs wasn’t immediately clear in the aftermath of Jericho’s death.

Some of the cubs may have been Jericho’s, said David Macdonald, director of Oxford’s Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, who has been studying Cecil.

Earlier today, the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority announced it would be further tightening hunting regulations outside wildlife parks.

The post Cecil the Lion’s Brother Jericho Illegally Killed in Zimbabwe appeared first on Towleroad.

Kyler Geoffroy

www.towleroad.com/2015/08/cecil-the-lions-brother-jericho-illegally-killed-in-zimbabwe/

Leslie Jordan: I Threw 'Sweet Iced Tea, Not Coffee' in Starbucks Fight

The Will & Grace star issued a public statement to clarify a recent confrontation over antigay slurs at a West Hollywood coffee shop.

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Daniel Reynolds

www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/people/2015/08/01/leslie-jordan-i-threw-sweet-iced-tea-not-coffee-starbucks-fight

NYPD officers accused of anti-gay attack

A New York City man charges officers assaulted him and used anti-gay epithets. According to the Daily News, police knocked on the door of Louis Falcone on 19 June. There was a complaint of noise from the Staten Island home he shares with his mother.

Staten Island is one of the five boroughs of New York City.

Falcone tells the newspaper four officers showed up at the door. He explained he and his brother had a loud argument earlier.

‘As I’m talking to them through the screen door, they’re saying to come outside,’ Falcone recalls to the Daily News. ‘I said, “For what?”‘

Falcone’s dog started to bark, and when he turned to quiet him one of the officers pulled Falcone outside.

‘They threw me against the concrete in front of my house,’ he said. ‘My first reaction was to try to get up a little bit.’

During the scrum, he charges he was called a faggot.

‘While I was on the ground, I had mud and blood in my mouth,’ he said. ‘One (of the cops) said, “Don’t let it get on you, he probably has AIDS, the faggot.”‘

A New York City Police Department spokesman tells the newspaper a different story.

‘Falcone became belligerent and uncooperative. He appeared to have been injured in the fight with his brother. As the officers attempted to subdue him, he resisted and spit blood in the face of one of them,’ the spokesman said to the newspaper.

‘The officers were able to restrain him and he was transported by EMS to a local hospital for evaluation,’ the spokesman continues.

Falcone claims he was left with a broken nose, two black eyes, and cuts to his face and body.

He faces no charges. However, Eric Subin, his lawyer, insists there are plans to sue in federal court for civil rights violations.

‘They’re criminals; they belong behind bars,’ Subin said to the Daily News.

Ralph W. Vogel, executive director of the Staten  Island LGBT Community Center, is calling for an investigation.

Below is a video of the arrest. It is impossible to hear what language was used.

The post NYPD officers accused of anti-gay attack appeared first on Gay Star News.

James Withers

www.gaystarnews.com/article/nypd-officers-accused-of-anti-gay-attack/

Leslie Jordan on Throwing Sweet Tea at Anti-gay Starbucks Patrons: ‘I Lost My Temper’

Yesterday, we told you the incredible story of character actor Leslie Jordan confronting a group of men who were shouting anti-gay slurs at a West Hollywood Starbucks earlier this week.

Jordan, perhaps best known for his role on gay-centric shows like Will & Grace and Sordid Lives, reportedly told the men to “get out of our house” before throwing his iced tea on the phobes.

Locals interviewed after the incident called Jordan a “hero,” but Jordan pushed back a bit against the designation in a Facebook post Friday night.

I was hoping to remain silent on the incident at Starbucks but somehow the story found legs and has made its way into the press. I feel I owe my friends an explanation:

Truth be told it was “sweet” iced tea, not coffee. I am a “sweet” mannered Southern boy who was taught not to start a fight. Nobody ever told me I could not end one. I refused to sit and watch these hate crimes continue. I guess our work for equality is not done yet!

I’m being hailed a hero which is all well and good but I lost my temper. My heroes in life always kept their cool.

Anyone who stands up against hate is a hero in our book. Thank you Leslie!

The post Leslie Jordan on Throwing Sweet Tea at Anti-gay Starbucks Patrons: ‘I Lost My Temper’ appeared first on Towleroad.

Kyler Geoffroy

Leslie Jordan on Throwing Sweet Tea at Anti-gay Starbucks Patrons: ‘I Lost My Temper’

LGBT Groups Stand With Planned Parenthood Against Right-wing Push to Defund Group

LGBT groups are standing with Planned Parenthood as the reproductive health organization faces a new barrage of attacks from right-wing activists and lawmakers.

Republicans in Congress are calling for the group to be defunded after the right-wing Center for Medical Progress released secretly recorded, heavily edited videos allegedly showing the illegal sale of fetal tissue. Planned Parenthood maintains it follows all laws and ethical guidelines, but CNN reports the controversy could now lead to a government shutdown in October.

Abortions account for only about 3 percent of Planned Parenthood’s services, and the organization is hugely beneficial to the LGBT community. Planned Parenthood tests both men and women for sexually transmitted diseases. It also provides cancer screening, birth control, sex education, and even hormone therapy for transgender patients.

Which is why it isn’t surprising that LGBT groups issued statements this week in support of the organization.

From Rea Carey, executive director of the National LGBTQ Task Force:

“Why should LGBTQ people care about Planned Parenthood and other reproductive health providers? Because LGBTQ people use birth control, have abortions, get tested for HIV, get screened for breast and cervical cancers, and use fertility treatments – and many people receive those services through Planned Parenthood. We also recognize that those who attack organizations such as Planned Parenthood have a view that disavows empowered decisions about our reproductive health and LGBTQ people’s empowered decisions about how to build our own families.

“Finally, we all need reproductive rights and justice because our respective hard won legal rights as LGBTQ and as a reproductive rights movements, respectively, have long been intertwined through Supreme Court decisions going back over 40 years. From Roe v. Wade, to last year’s Hobby Lobby ruling, to the successful marriage decision this summer, our ability to live our lives fully and to not be discriminated against are dependent on each other’s progress. Reproductive health is an LGBTQ issue,” said Rea Carey, Executive Director, National LGBTQ Task Force.

From Kate Kendell, executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights:

“NCLR stands with Planned Parenthood at this time of unrelenting assaults. The specious allegations being leveled against this critical network of health centers are nothing more than a transparent attack on the ability of all people to receive compassionate, non-judgmental reproductive and preventive health care.

“Planned Parenthood health centers and other reproductive health care clinics, in addition to providing essential family planning and abortion care, are often the only source of care for many in underserved and vulnerable communities. For many LGBTQ people, who experience stigma and discrimination in the health care system, the specially trained staff and tailored programs – including services for transgender people – offered at these clinics are a lifeline.

“When the U.S. Supreme Court affirms our fundamental rights, it is often the beginning, rather than the end, of the struggle. As it has been for reproductive rights, so will it be for full LGBTQ equality. As an organization committed to securing the rights of LGBTQ people, the fight for full reproductive freedom is our fight too.”

The Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest LGBT group, hasn’t issued a press release, but JoDee Winterhof, HRC’s vice president for policy and political affairs, wrote in a  blog post:

Right now, Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) is the target of an intense, politically-motivated smear campaign–fueled by misinformation and potentially illegal tactics–and it’s being driven by an extremist group that seeks to not only attack our fundamental right to access quality health care, but undermines our basic dignity as Americans.

PPFA provides vital medical services to many in the LGBT community–including routine examinations, pre-natal care, cancer screenings, HIV and STI testing, and contraceptive services, among other reproductive health care services.  Not only that, but they are strong allies in the fight for full LGBT equality–including supporting the recently introduced Equality Act and other legislative priorities.  The organization also joins HRC in strongly advocating for comprehensive, LGBT-inclusive sex education for our nation’s young people.

While some opponents of women’s rights and LGBT rights in Congress gear up again to try and defund this vital organization, we stand with PPFA.

Watch Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards’ official response to the controversy below.

The post LGBT Groups Stand With Planned Parenthood Against Right-wing Push to Defund Group appeared first on Towleroad.

John Wright

LGBT Groups Stand With Planned Parenthood Against Right-wing Push to Defund Group

Here are the 17 best pictures from the Brighton Pride parade

Over 160,000 lined the streets of Brighton and paraded in one of the UK’s biggest Pride events today (1 August).

While there was a 90 minute delay, thanks to a bomb scare that was quickly dealt with, it didn’t dampen spirits.

George Montague, at 92 who calls himself the ‘oldest gay in the village’, married his partner Somchai Phukkhlai yesterday (31 July).

‘If we could have, we would have married 20 years ago when we met! It feels no different being married, but we’re doing it to promote gay marriage!’ Montague told Gay Star News.

Phukkhlai added: ‘It’s great that same-sex marriage is here, even for couples like us that don’t need it. It shows that gay marriage is an important part of life.’

And with a message to everyone in Brighton: ‘Enjoy Pride as much as we are!’

1. Lots of people from different walks of life came to celebrate.

2. Whether you were a nurse in a hospice…

3. Or working for the NHS.

4. Some came from their bank…

5. While others were humble butlers.

5. People came for the drinking…

6. Or the swimming in the sea…

7. But mostly, people were just here to be themselves.

8. Whether you’re an activist…

9. Or celebrating progress made…

10. Or being proud of their own personal journeys…

11. Everyone felt welcome. That included baboons…

12. Chickens…

13. Dogs….

14. Or little monsters, it didn’t matter. Everyone was here for a good time.

15. So whether you were there to party…

16. Everyone knew that, at the end of the day, they were celebrating uniqueness, identity…

17. But most of all love.

The post Here are the 17 best pictures from the Brighton Pride parade appeared first on Gay Star News.

Joe Morgan

www.gaystarnews.com/article/here-are-the-17-best-pictures-from-the-brighton-pride-parade/

The Need for Full Federal LGBT Equality: Jury Service and Federal Funding

Last week, HRC was proud to endorse The Equality Act, a comprehensive federal non-discrimination law.
HRC.org

www.hrc.org/blog/entry/the-need-for-full-federal-lgbt-equality-jury-service-and-federal-funding?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed