YouTube Star’s Dad Talks About His Suicidal Thoughts After His Son Came Out

YouTube star Riyadh K., a longtime friend of HRC who helped us share the celebrations in Ireland when marriage equality was passed there, posted a video on his YouTube channel this week that featured his parents talking about their reactions when Riyadh came out to them.

His mom found out on her own, and was the one who initiated the conversation with Riyadh.

“Do you have something to say to me? You know, you can say anything to me, I love you,” she said. “It doesn’t matter what. I don’t want you to be holding things in. You can tell me anything.”

Riyadh remembers that his mother was understanding as they spoke about it until 4 a.m.

His father didn’t have quite the same reaction when Riyadh came out to him 9 months later. In the video, Riyadh’s dad talks about the shame he feels now about what happened a few hours after Riyadh told him.

“If you think about it really, it’s just stupid thinking, to be honest. It’s so stupid. What I’m thinking for ever every father, every mother. They love their kid. They have to stand by them, because the only one who is going to stand by you is your kid,” Riyadh’s dad said.

“I actually got up that night when you all when to sleep, I think about three or four o’clock in the morning, sitting on the deck, and I was looking for a tablet to commit suicide. It was so stupid,” he said.

Though the first night was rough, the experience brought the whole family together and now they’re closer than ever.

“You are the best dad in the [expletive] world,” Riyadh said. “We talk about everything. Like, we actually talk about too much. It’s a little bit over the top.”

“I feel blessed that we’ve had this experience,” Riyadh’s mom said.

Riyadh said he shared this story to help others who might be struggling when a family member or friend comes out to them.

“I hope this helped in some way. If you’ve got someone that’s going through a difficult time coming out, send this to them, hopefully it will help them too.”

Watch here (warning: mature language is used throughout the video):

www.hrc.org/blog/youtube-stars-dad-talks-about-his-suicidal-thoughts-after-his-son-came-out?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Wife Enacts Ultimate Act Of Revenge On Husband Who Slept With The Male Gardener

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

When Heather Antonsson discovered her husband of 16 years, Egill Antonsson, had been cheating on her with their male gardener, she prepared the coldest dish of revenge imaginable.

Related: High-Ranking British Spy Outed By Wife For Having Sexual Affairs With Men

First, she created a name and shame website–www.egillantonsson.com–detailing the specifics of her husband’s wandering ways. It reads, in part:

This website is dedicated to my cheating husband Egill Antonsson. A man who had it all but decided to throw it all away for a quick romp.

Egill and I were married for 16 years. We have 3 kids and until recently we were, or so I believed, happily married. We had it all. A nice house, a loving relationship, beautiful kids, a dog and enough joint income to make our living comfortable. What more could you want? Well, it looks like Egill also wanted John. Our Gardener. On the 15th of October 2015 I received an anonymous call to say that Egill was no longer attending one of his by biweekly swimming sessions down our local swimming pool. He was in fact having an affair.

The site goes on to say, “This website is in memory of you my soon to be ex-husband Egill Antonsson, liar and cheat!”

But she didn’t stop there.

Heather then hired a local SEO company to boost the site’s Google ranking. Now, whenever a person searches “Egill Antonsson,” the first thing that pops up is the story about him banging the gardner behind his wife’s back.

Related: PHOTOS: This Year’s World Naked Gardening Day Was Absolutely Plantastic

The plot seems to be having the desired effect. Egill, who is currently looking for a job, says he hasn’t been able to make it past the interview stage. He blames the site.

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Matt Dallas and Blue Hamilton Share How They Built Their ‘Dream Family’ – VIDEO

Matt Dallas and Blue Hamilton are opening up about their son Crow and how they built the family of their dreams.

Dallas (33), the former Kyle XY star, and husband Hamilton (36), a singer, have been married for almost a year and have already been on quite a journey. The pair introduced their adopted son, Crow, to the world around Christmas last year. They also started their own YouTube channel, Matt + Blue, and are reported to be making a docuseries about their family. 

Of meeting Crow, Dallas told PEOPLE, “We locked eyes. And he had a giant smile on his face, “It was a moment. Instantly we knew — that’s our kid!”

Hamilton, says of their journey to finding their son,

“There were so many kids, and so many stories that broke our hearts. I was obsessed. Every night in bed I’d pull out my iPad and say, ‘Look at this story.’ So many kids! And then they age out of the system at 18. We wanted to feel like we were doing something good for a child out there.”

PREVIOUSLY – Matt Dallas and Blue Hamilton Share Their Adorable Coming Out Stories: WATCH

Adopting was never a question for the couple. Dallas says, “Blue and I both knew that we would love [an adopted child] the same [as a biological one]. The amount of time we spend with that kid and the bond we have, it makes no difference. He’s ours.”

As for whether Crow will get a sibling, Dallas says, “I would love for him to have a sibling. But we want Crow to cement his place in this family. Right now, we’re just enjoying this time.”

Of their family, Hamilton says, “In the end, this was the family we had imagined in our dreams.”

Watch a recent adorable vlog from Matt + Blue about their trip to see The Jungle Book, below.

And check out more photos of the family, below.

The post Matt Dallas and Blue Hamilton Share How They Built Their ‘Dream Family’ – VIDEO appeared first on Towleroad.

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Prominent Catholic Cardinal Mocks ‘Demonic’ Transgender Rights Laws: WATCH

A high-ranking Catholic cardinal has said that god “is being eroded, eclipsed, liquidated” by laws “promoting transgender equality.”

Speaking at the 12th annual National Prayer Breakfast, Cardinal Robert Sarah, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, also condemned same-sex marriage as a “demonic” attack on the traditional family. He also had it in for divorce, cohabitation, contraception….everything really.

– High-ranking Catholic Cardinal Robert Sarah spoke out against homosexuality and mocked legislation promoting… t.co/cNd6xkZcxX

— MICHAEL CAPUTO (@PAT_CO0PERS_son) May 26, 2016

RELATED: The Cardinal, The Ambassador, and ‘the Little Faggot’

According to Christian Daily, Sarah said:

“Should not a biological man use the men’s restroom? How simpler can that concept be?

“In the name of tolerance, the Church’s teaching on marriage, sexuality and [the] human person are being dismantled. The legalization of same-sex marriage, you’re beginning to accept contraception within healthcare programs and even bathroom bills that allow men to use the women’s restroom and locker rooms.

“The rupture of the foundational relationship of someone’s life through separation, divorce or distorted imposters of the family such as cohabitation or same-sex unions is a deep wound that closes the heart to self-giving love into death, and even leads to cynicism and despair. These situations cause damage to the little children through inflicting upon them deep existential doubt about love.”

Intolerance and evangelization: Thoughts on Cardinal Sarah at the National Prayer Breakfast | t.co/O4SzUFcuuG

— Christoph Sperling (@pfarrer39387) May 25, 2016

Last year, Cardinal Raymond Burke (right) said that Irish people who voted in favor of same-sex marriage are “worse than pagans.”

(Top image via Wikimedia)

Watch Sarah’s comments below (starting at 75 minutes).

The post Prominent Catholic Cardinal Mocks ‘Demonic’ Transgender Rights Laws: WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.

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Young Transgender Activist in Pakistan Dies after Hospital Delays Treatment

The young transgender activist who was shot on Sunday in Pakistan died Wednesday morning, after a local hospital refused to give her proper treatment.

Alesha, the 23-year-old district coordinator for TransAction Khyber Paktunkha, an activist organization in northern Pakistan which fights for “protection needs for trans population, ending transphobia, improving interaction, promoting equality,” was shot eight times, during an altercation between a group of men and several transgender people, The Telegraph reported.

Her friends took her to Lady Reading Hospital, the biggest hospital in the Khyber Paktunkha province, where she had to wait for over one hour, as hospital management decided whether to take her to the male or female ward. When Alesha was finally taken o the women’s ward (where female patients complained about the situation), doctors told her friends she was in critical condition and that she needed to stay in ICU, as the following nine hours would be crucial.

One again, the hospital refused to move her and she was placed in a curtained-off bed in a corridor next to a lavatory before eventually being given a private room, according to The Telegraph.

Qamar Naseem, coordinator of Blue Veins, a transgender advocacy group in Pakistan, told The Express Tribune that staff at the hospital “failed to provide her with urgent care or necessary facilities as she was transgender.”

“We blame LRH authorities for not giving Alesha urgent care or providing facilities to her even after her story was highlighted in the media and government officials took action,” Naseem said.

Hate crimes targeting the trans community are common in Pakistan. The Los Angeles Times reported that at least five transgender activists have been attacked in recent months in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a socially conservative province next to the country’s northern tribal areas.

Photos: Trans Action Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Facebook Page

The post Young Transgender Activist in Pakistan Dies after Hospital Delays Treatment appeared first on Towleroad.

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#LoveTrumpsHate: HRC Brings Post-it Wars to the Nation’s Capital

Today, HRC brought the famous Post-it Wars in New York City to the nation’s capital, helping to ring in this 2016 pride season with a message crafted from over 3,500 neon Post-its: #LoveTrumpsHate.

The Post-it Wars has gone viral on the streets on NYC, displaying fun and creative messages through colorful Post-it notes. HRC decided to bring the effort to DC with a political twist, sending a pointed message aimed at anti-LGBT Republican candidate Donald Trump, whose divisive campaign has targeted women, people of color and others who are part of the LGBT and allied community. 

Trump, now the presumed candidate for the Republican Party, remains dangerously out of step with the majority of fair-minded Americans who believe that LGBT people should be treated equally under the law. Trump has not only promised to use the Supreme Court to roll back nationwide marriage equality, but he’s supported a bill that would lead to more Kim Davis-style discrimination, and said that he would allow states like North Carolina violate federal civil rights laws.

He has said that if elected president he would rescind the Obama Administration’s historic directives protecting transgender people from discrimination and has refused to support the Obama Administration’s ground-breaking guidance that public schools and schools receiving federal money must ensure that transgender students are treated with dignity and allowed equal access to facilities, such as restrooms, consistent with their gender identity.

While Trump continues to spew anti-LGBT rhetoric, it is clear he is on the wrong side of history. A survey by the HRC Foundation found that three-quarters of transgender students feel unsafe in school settings. A report by the Williams Institute found that half of transgender adults who were bullied in school had attempted suicide. These startling numbers can only be expected to rise if the North Carolina law, and other similar bills proposed in other states, continue to target these young people.

Watch the video below to see our building’s transformation and get your own Love Trumps Hate t-shirt at hrc.org/shop.

www.hrc.org/blog/lovetrumpshate-hrc-brings-post-it-wars-to-the-nations-capital?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

GOP Convention Planners Preparing 'Protest Area' (Video)

www.advocate.com/election/2016/5/26/gop-convention-planners-preparing-protest-area-video

House GOP Reverses Vote, Upholds Protections for Federal LGBT Workers

The House voted Wednesday to prohibit federal LGBT contractors from being fired, despite its prior vote.

www.advocate.com/politics/2016/5/26/house-gop-reverses-vote-upholds-protections-federal-lgbt-workers

High School Footballers Accused Of Sexually Assaulting Disabled Teammate With Coat Hanger

Well, this is disturbing beyond belief.

Three white high school football players in southern Idaho have been charged with sexually assaulting a disabled black teammate.

According to court documents, the incident occurred in the male locker room of Dietrich High School last October. 18-year-old John R.K. Howard, 17-year-old Tanner Ward, and a third student, age 16, are accused of luring the victim, who suffers “mental disorders including learning disabilities,” over to them then restraining him as they “physically forced a coat hanger into the plaintiff’s rectum.”

Howard then proceeded to kick the coat hanger over and over and over again while it was inside the boy. The injuries were so severe they required medical treatment.

“It was terrible–a pain I’ve never felt,” the victim said during a preliminary hearing last month. “I screamed. I was pretty upset. I felt really bad. A little bit betrayed and confused at the same time.”

Just in case all that isn’t disturbing enough, court documents also allege that before the attack the victim was “taunted and called racist names by other members of the team, which names included ‘Kool-Aid.’ ‘chicken eater,’ ‘watermelon,’ and ‘n*****r’,” as well as subjected to wedgies, simulated anal sex and “aggressive humping.”

The victim’s family is seeking $10 million from the school and the 11 employees, including administrators and coaches, who they say “ignored or were deliberately indifferent to the behavior of Mr. Howard, which included aggression, taunting and bullying of the plaintiff and other students in the district.”

“With deliberate indifference, the defendants did nothing to curb the vicious acts of Mr. Howard who brought with him from Texas a culture of racial hatred towards the plaintiff,” the lawsuit reads.

Howard is scheduled to appear in court on June 10. Hearing dates for the other alleged attacks have yet to be announced.

h/t: Huffington Post

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