14 hot gay Instagram travelers giving us serious wanderlust this month

14 hot gay Instagram travelers giving us serious wanderlust this month
Gay Instagram user Zsa Zsa at Bason Botanic Gardens in New Zealand

It’s official: the travel Instagram user’s selfie is the new postcard. Kind of.

Each month, we’re delving into the photo-sharing website for intimate glimpses into the lives and loves of gay travelers.

Tag us in your photos with #gaystartravel and you might be featured next week. And to follow Gay Star Travel on Instagram, click here!

1 Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

2 Krabi, Thailand

3 Niagara Falls, New York State

4 Santa Monica, California

En #santamonica #california #selfie

A photo posted by Koto (@iamkoto) on

5 Skógafoss Waterfall, Iceland

It was raining 🌧🌐 Skógafoss Waterfall, Iceland.

A photo posted by Leo 👬 – “in every picture” (@leo.h2) on

6 Middletown, California

#life returns to #Middletown #California after last Fall’s devastating #valleyfire

A photo posted by Mark Vogler (@markvogler) on

7 Santorini, Greece

8 Mallorca, Spain

9 Rome, Italy

Walking and eating through Rome #gaytravel #gaystartravel #gayitaly

A photo posted by Matt Skallerud (@mattskal) on

10 London, England

Stefan hanging out in his home town. Can you guess which iconic London building he’s spotted? 😂

A photo posted by Nomadic Boys (@nomadicboys) on

11 Government Gardens, New Zealand

#travel in #newzealand #rotoruagovernmentgardens those amazing #roses #gardens #flowers #gay #gayman #gaylife #gaytravel #rotorua

A photo posted by zsazsa (@zsazsaill) on

12 Prague, Czech Republic

Yesterday walking along the #VltavaRiver. The #charlesbridge behind me from the 14th century.

A photo posted by Gill ♎️👬🌈♂🇲🇽🇺🇸 (@jlovergill) on

13 New York City, New York State

Times Square 👌🏻🇺🇸 #NYC #Newyork #travel #gay #gaytravel

A photo posted by Reece Nixon (@reecenixon) on

14 Austin, Texas

The post 14 hot gay Instagram travelers giving us serious wanderlust this month appeared first on Gay Star News.

www.gaystarnews.com/article/14-hot-gay-instagram-travelers-giving-us-serious-wanderlust-this-month/

90-Year-Old Grandfather Finds Love Once Again… In A Man 50 Years His Junior

90-Year-Old Grandfather Finds Love Once Again… In A Man 50 Years His Junior

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Former Pennsylvania U.S. Sen. Harris Wofford made a big announcement over the weekend.

20 years after his wife of 48 years, Clare, succumbed to acute leukemia, the 90-year-old former top adviser to John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. is getting remarried… to a man… 50 years his junior.

Related: This Heartfelt Video Of Gay Seniors Giving Advice Will Make Your Monday

Screen Shot 2013-11-22 at 9.57.48 AM“Too often, our society seeks to label people by pinning them on the wall–straight, gay or in between,” Wofford writes in a powerful op-ed in the New York Times. “I don’t categorize myself based on the gender of those I love. I had a half-century of marriage with a wonderful woman, and now am lucky for a second time to have found happiness.”

Wofford met his new partner, Matthew, on a beach in Fort Lauderdale five years after Clare’s passing.

“It was afternoon,” he recalls. “I swam alone in the water, attracting the attention of two bystanders near the shore. They came over to say hello, which is how I met Matthew Charlton.”

He continues: “As we talked, I was struck by Matthew’s inquisitive and thoughtful manner and his charm. I knew he was somebody I would enjoy getting to know. We were decades apart in age with far different professional interests, yet we clicked.”

Related: Overcoming The Gay Age Gap Is No Small Feat

What started as a friendship quickly turned to love.

“We both felt the immediate spark, and as time went on, we realized that our bond had grown into love,” Wofford writes. “To some, our bond is entirely natural, to others it comes as a strange surprise, but most soon see the strength of our feelings and our devotion to each other. We have now been together for 15 years.”

And now they’re getting married.

“At age 90, I am lucky to be in an era where the Supreme Court has strengthened what President Obama calls ‘the dignity of marriage’ by recognizing that matrimony is not based on anyone’s sexual nature, choices or dreams,” Wofford says. “It is based on love.”

He and Charlton plan to exchange vows on April 30.

“We will join hands, vowing to be bound together,” Wofford concludes. “To have and to hold, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until death do us part.”

Related: QUESTION: What Do You Think Of The Idea Of Intergenerational Relationships?

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North Carolina Gay Couple Married by Methodist Minister in Act of Civil Disobedience Against Church: WATCH

North Carolina Gay Couple Married by Methodist Minister in Act of Civil Disobedience Against Church: WATCH

Methodist gay marriage

Jim Wilborne and John Romano were married on Saturday at First United Methodist Church in Charlotte, N.C. in an act of civil disobedience against the church that may cause the minster to be de-frocked.

Methodist gay marriageWrites Reconciling Ministries Network in a press release:

The ceremony may immediately jeopardize the pastoral credentials of Rev. Rosenquist because the current anti-LGBTQ policy of The United Methodist Church (UMC) pointedly instructs clergy not to preside at same-sex weddings, and that no same-sex wedding can take place in a UMC sanctuary.

The wedding also takes place just weeks from The UMC’s General Conference — the policy-making body of The UMC that meets every four years — where the issues of LGBTQ inclusion, clergy and same-sex weddings will be reconsidered. Wilborne and Romano — who have been together for six years — chose to hold their wedding at this time and partner with Reconciling Ministries Network (RMN) on the It’s Time campaign to play their part in moving the institutional church towards a more welcoming position.

“This church has been my home for almost 20 years, and has become John’s church family too. It is a blessing to be able to have the same opportunity as every other member of our congregation in celebrating our marriage here,” said Wilborne. “We were at the point where we considered leaving the church because of the hurt of discrimination. We’re grateful to First UMC and RMN for showing us that acceptance is possible within our faith.”

RMN continues:

In the last two years, the number of Reconciling United Methodists (RUMs) in the Southeastern jurisdiction, which includes North Carolina, has increased 35 percent. In fact, North Carolina is the third largest state in terms of recent growth of RUMs, which are churches and communities that welcome LGBTQ individuals and families.

“The United Methodist Church is where we learn and live out God’s love. My ministry requires — and all who are baptized in The UMC promise — to seek justice for all people. It grieves, angers and saddens me that the institution I love and through which I serve God has institutionalized injustice and oppression through its policies,” said Rev. Rosenquist. “I’m presiding over this ceremony in faithful response to my ordination. It’s time for this couple, it’s time for this church, it’s time for society: it’s time for justice and to celebrate the love shared by these two men, the church and God.”

Bishop Talbert, who received an official complaint for officiating a same sex wedding in 2013 and who remains the only Bishop to preside over a same-sex wedding in The UMC, was part of the original special commission at General Conference 1972 that stated LGBTQ individuals are people of sacred worth and deserve human and civil rights.

“I learned from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. himself during my time as an activist in the Civil Rights movement that hate won’t bring about change, but love will,” said Bishop Talbert. “I decided to participate in this wedding because this isn’t the time to give up. It’s time to keep pushing for what is right.”

“We are so proud and grateful for the leadership of Rev. Rosenquist, for the commitment of this couple and the ongoing leadership of Bishop Talbert,” said Matt Berryman, Executive Director of RMN. “This General Conference will face a growing surge of support for LGBTQ inclusion, from the pews and from its ministry. It’s Time to change and reward love, commitment and faith, and to welcome everyone, wherever they live and worship, into The UMC.”

The post North Carolina Gay Couple Married by Methodist Minister in Act of Civil Disobedience Against Church: WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.



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Hundreds of Thousands Call for Repeal of North Carolina Anti-LGBT Law As Legislature Returns

Hundreds of Thousands Call for Repeal of North Carolina Anti-LGBT Law As Legislature Returns

Nearly 190,000 signatures demanding the repeal of North Carolina’s anti-LGBT House Bill 2 were delivered to the office of Gov. Pat McCrory today by a collection of civil rights, faith, business, and advocacy groups as the state legislature returns for the first time since it introduced and passed the law limiting legal protections for LGBT people in a one-day special session on March 23. Thousands of people are expected to rally for the discriminatory law’s repeal outside the legislature throughout Monday.

Today’s petition delivery was coordinated by TurnOUT! NC, a joint project of the Human Rights Campaign, the ACLU of North Carolina, the Campaign for Southern Equality, and Equality North Carolina, whose goal is to mobilize and empower LGBT and pro-equality North Carolinians against HB 2.

“For more than a month, Governor McCrory, Senator Berger, and Speaker Moore have sat idly by as HB 2 has cost North Carolina millions, badly damaged their state’s reputation, and inflicted irreparable harm on the people they were elected to serve,” said Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin. “The catastrophe these leaders have created and the damage they have caused can only begin to be reversed by repealing HB 2 in its entirety and replacing it with commonsense non-discrimination protections for LGBT people. To do anything less would be to continue their streak of gross negligence. The time for leadership is now.”

“It’s time the legislature get to work repairing the damage it has caused with the passage of HB 2,” said Sarah Preston, acting executive director of the ACLU of North Carolina, which is challenging the law in federal court along with the national ACLU and Lambda Legal on behalf of six LGBT North Carolinians. “HB 2 was a reckless attempt to malign and marginalize transgender people, and it is bringing immense harm to our state’s people, economy, and reputation. The General Assembly must work as expeditiously as possible to repeal this terrible law as it worked to pass it.”

“HB2 is a blatant, unconstitutional attack on the transgender community in North Carolina and we call for its immediate repeal. We must come together as a community to organize and support each other to make North Carolina safe for all of its citizens,” said Ivy Hill, LGBT Rights Toolkit Coordinator for the Campaign for Southern Equality.

“House Bill 2 is a deeply discriminatory bill that has put the most vulnerable people of our community at risk. This bill is a mess that Governor McCrory and NCGA leadership have made for us. In a special session – in just 12 hours – they passed a bill without ever meeting the people that are directly impacted by the law – transgender North Carolinians,” said Equality NC Executive Director Chris Sgro. “Over the last month, Business leaders, entertainers, advocates and everyday North Carolinians have mobilized and called for the repeal of HB 2. Senator Berger, Speaker Moore, and Governor McCrory can no longer ignore the havoc the bill has wreaked on the state. The only way to restore North Carolina’s reputation is to repeal all of HB 2 and pass comprehensive nondiscrimination protections that protect all North Carolinians.”

Since Gov. McCrory signed HB 2, a host of high-profile Republicans, including Sen. Mark Kirk, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, have spoken out against HB 2 and similar bills.

More than 180 leading CEOs and business executives of major companies, including Apple, Bank of America, and Marriott International have called for HB 2’s repeal. The law has led Paypal to cancel a major expansion that would have brought more than 400 jobs to North Carolina, and Deutsche Bank to halt plans to add 250 jobs in the state. Major artists, including Bruce Springsteen, Ringo Starr, and Pearl Jam, have cancelled performances in North Carolina as a result of HB 2, and NBA commissioner Adam Silver said on Thursday that the league will move the 2017 All-Star Game from Charlotte if the law is not repealed.

In the federal court challenge, Lambda Legal, the ACLU, and the ACLU of North Carolina argue that through HB 2, North Carolina sends a purposeful message that LGBT people are second-class citizens who are undeserving of the privacy, respect, and protections afforded others in the state. The complaint argues that HB 2 is unconstitutional because it violates the Equal Protection and Due Process clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment by discriminating on the basis of sex and sexual orientation and invading the privacy of transgender people. The law also violates Title IX by discriminating against students and school employees on the basis of sex.

The Obama administration is presently considering whether HB 2 makes the state ineligible for billions of dollars in federal aid for schools, highways, and housing. North Carolina receives more than $4.5 billion in federal funding for secondary and post-secondary schools, all of which remains at jeopardy given the state’s policy of systemically violating Title IX, which prohibits sex discrimination, including discrimination against transgender students. On April 19, the federal appeals court that has jurisdiction over North Carolina ruled in a separate case that Title IX protects the rights of transgender students to use sex-segregated facilities, such as restrooms, that are consistent with their gender identity. Read more about how this bill puts federal funding at risk here and here.

Chad Griffin

Repeal HB2

www.hrc.org/blog/hundreds-of-thousands-call-for-repeal-of-north-carolina-anti-lgbt-law-as-le?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

PHOTOS: GLAAD at the North Carolina rally to #RepealHB2

PHOTOS: GLAAD at the North Carolina rally to #RepealHB2

GLAAD

GLAAD’s Strategist for Global and US South, Alexandra Bolles, joined North Carolina’s NAACPEquality North Carolina and HRC for a rally protesting against HB2.

The North Carolina Action Center calls HB2, a so-called “bathroom bill” that was recently signed into law, a “blatant attack on trans people” that takes away the rights of transgender individuals to use public restrooms in line with their gender identity. Additionally, HB2 overrides all local ordinances addressing employment, wages, or public accommodations; essentially, HB2 can allow the state government to completely minimize local nondiscrimination ordinances. It was passed as a response to Charlotte’s passage of an LGBT inclusive nondiscrimination bill. 

Over 1,000 people attended the rally at the State Capitol where a news conference and petition delivery was presented to the legislature. Take a look at some of the photos from the rally. 

 
 
 
 
 
 

For more information on how you can help repeal the law, TransEquality has provided an in depth list of resources and actions people can take, both locally and nationally.

April 25, 2016

www.glaad.org/blog/photos-glaad-north-carolina-rally-repealhb2

Malaysia police chief says gay people can’t become cops

Malaysia police chief says gay people can’t become cops
Noor Rashid Ibrahim, Malaysia’s Deputy Inspector-General of Police wants to exclude LGBTIs from police service.

Malaysian LGBTIs should not be allowed to join the police force, a top police official has said.

Noor Rashid Ibrahim, Malaysia’s Deputy Inspector-General of Police, made the statement during a press conference on Saturday (23 April), according to the Malay Mail Online.

‘Until today, the LGBTI culture is not accepted in this country, so based on that principle, we still maintain the current quota for men and women,’ he said.

‘If they have the qualification, they have to adhere to the practices accepted in this country.’

Rashid made his claim after he was asked whether the country’s police force would accept applications from openly gay or transgender citizens, according to the newspaper.

Community and cultural sentiments are the reason for the exclusion of LGBTI people from police service, according to Rashid, as he claims these mean the country is unable to accept gay culture.

‘I’m not the one who dictates this culture, but it is the acceptance of our community,’ he said.

‘We just follow our ways here.’

Social activist Marina Mahathir called Rashid’s comments nonsense, saying police should concentrate on solving crime in the country instead of making life hard for LGBTI citizens.

‘If you fit all the criteria to join the police enforcement, I think your sexuality does not matter at all. I think everyone has the right,’ she told Astro Awani.

‘I don’t think anyone who have openly declared themselves as a gay, would even think of joining police because everyone knows police style is hostile.’

Under Malaysian law, homosexuality is punishable by fines, corporal punishment in the form of whipping and prison sentences of up to 20 years.

In the primarily Muslim country, Muslim citizens found guilty of sodomy may also be charged in special Islamic courts.

In 2014, the country’s court of appeal ruled Sharia law prohibiting cross-dressing, under which several trans people had been found guilty, as void and violating citizens’ constitutional rights to ‘freedom of expression, movement and the right to live in dignity and equality’.

The post Malaysia police chief says gay people can’t become cops appeared first on Gay Star News.

www.gaystarnews.com/article/malaysia-exclude-lgbtis-police/

PHOTOS: Summer Beach Bods Are Ready To Burst Free

PHOTOS: Summer Beach Bods Are Ready To Burst Free

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Mid-to-late spring is arguably the most exciting time of the year. Warm weather is beginning to shine down, freeing us from long sleeves and beanies, and there’s still an entire season of warmth to look forward to, so that feeling of impending chill is nowhere near.

And if you’re one of the planning-types, that might mean your summer body is ready to come out and play.

Or maybe you haven’t seen the inside of a gym since the Reagan administration — who cares?! — come out and play anyways.

If you’re looking for something to (just barely) slip into for that perfect beach, park or pool day, check out the below stylings from Vanwolff.

Or if nothing else, just enjoy model Mark:

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