Judge Rules Long Beach Police Illegally Targeted Gay Men In Sex Sting Operations

A Los Angeles Superior Court judge just ruled that the Long Beach Police Department discriminated against gay men by ensnaring them in a homophobic sex sting operation.

Rory Moroney filed a lawsuit against the police department after he was charged with lewd conduct and indecent exposure in October 2014 when an undercover male officer lured him into the restroom at a public park then coaxed him into masturbating, only to arrest him as soon as he did.

Related: Long Beach Police Accused Of Illegally Targeting Gay Man In Bathroom Sex Sting

Moroney pleaded not guilty to the charges, which, if he were convicted, could have landed him on the sex offender for the rest of his life. Then he hired Bruce Nickerson, also known as the Gloria Allred of lewd conduct cases and police sting operations targeting gay men, to represent him in court. And it looks like that was a wise move, because Judge Halim Dhanidina invalidated Moroney’s arrest on Friday, ruling that the LBPD’s tactics were “tantamount to discrimination” and “indicative of animus toward homosexuals.”

“The presence and tactics of the decoy officers actually caused the crimes to occur,” Dhanidina said.

Prosecutors had tried arguing that the LBPD had based its policing tactics on citizen complaints about lewd conduct in men’s public restrooms, but Dhanidin was not convinced. In his ruling, he said the department failed to provide any evidence of such complaints and that officers had “intentionally targeted men who engaged in homosexual sex” simply because they were homosexual.

Related: Sexy Gladiator Sues The City Of San Diego For Arresting Him For Being “Too Sexy”

In a statement, the LBPD called the ruling “unexpected,” but promised to evaluate how it responds to complaints of lewd conduct in the future.

“We are 100 percent committed to civil rights and equality for all people, including the LGBTQ community,” Police Chief Robert Luna said. “Our department has many openly gay and lesbian employees who are a critical part of our team.”

After the ruling, Nickerson told press the case “should send a message to police in the rest of California not to do these kinds of ridiculous, silly, sting operations.”

As for Moroney, he’s just glad to have the whole thing behind him. As he left the courthouse Friday, he told reporters: “It was really hard to come out and be the voice, but I had to do it because I believe that Long Beach is discriminating against gay men.”

Related: Most Warm Sands Sex Sting Defendants Will Plead Guilty (But Avoid Sex Offender Scarlet Letter)

h/t: LA Times

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Hollywood’s LGBT Representation Has Gotten Worse, Says GLAAD Report

Tangerine (2015)

A new report from GLAAD paints a bleak picture of LGBT representation in Hollywood.

According to the 2016 GLAAD Studio Responsibility Index, LGBT representation in Hollywood got worse in 2015 compared to 2014. LGBT people had shockingly few roles in films made by the industry’s major studios, and those roles were given only marginal screen time.

The report out Monday found that of 126 releases from major studios in 2015, only 22 of them (17.5%) included characters that identified as LGBT. That is not a change from 2014 which saw the same percentage of LGBT-identified characters in major studio films. However, In 2015, 25.5% of LGBT characters were people of color, compared to 32.1% in 2014. Of LGBT characters counted by GLAAD in 2015, 34 (72.3%) were White, 5 were Latino/a (10.6%), 4 were Black/African American (8.5%), and 3 (6.4%) were Asian/Pacific Islander.

Breaking down how the characters identify, the overwhelming majority of LGBT characters that were represented were gay and white.

Of the 22 LGBT-inclusive films, 77% featured gay male characters, 23% included lesbian characters, and 9% included bisexual characters. Perhaps most damning, there was only one film among all releases from major studios that included a transgender character.

PREVIOUSLY: What Is The Answer To Hollywood’s Homophobia Problem?

And it wasn’t just about the number of LGBT characters. The few that were depicted were short-changed in terms of screen time. Seventy-three percent of LGBT-inclusive films gave LGBT characters less than ten minutes of screen time.

GLAAD did not give any of the studios it surveyed a “Good” rating for their 2015 releases. 20th Century Fox, Lionsgate Entertainment, Sony Columbia Pictures, and Universal Pictures all received ratings of “Adequate”, while Paramount Pictures, Walt Disney Studios, and Warner Brothers all received a “Failing”
grade for their portrayals of LGBT people.

Said Sarah Kate Ellis, GLAAD President & CEO, “Hollywood’s films lag far behind any other form of media when it comes to portrayals of LGBT characters. Too often, the few LGBT characters that make it to the big screen are the target of a punchline or token characters. The film industry must embrace new and inclusive stories if it wants to remain competitive and relevant.”

Watch a video from GLAAD that nails why LGBT underrepresentation matter, and why making LGBT people the butt of offensive jokes is so damaging, below.

And read GLAAD’s full report here.

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HRC Marks the Start of National Foster Care Month

This year, HRC is proud to mark National Foster Care Month with the launch of HRC Foundation and FosterClub’s #FosterEquality campaign. Throughout the month, we will share stories of LGBTQ youth in foster care and agencies that are working to improve their practices with LGBTQ youth.

There are over 400,000 children and youth in the foster care system in the U.S. LGBTQ youth are over-represented in this system and too often receive unequal treatment simply because of who they are or who they love.

National Foster Care Month is a time to remember that each and every one of us can play a part in enhancing the lives of children and youth in foster care. First and foremost, you could become a foster parent. More and more agencies are opening their doors to LGBTQ and allied adults who are ready and willing to open their homes to young people in need.

If you are not ready to commit to being a foster parent, consider becoming a mentor. There is immense power and potential in being an affirming voice in a child’s life, especially for young people in foster care, who may never have had a caring adult affirm them for who they are. Click here to learn more about other opportunities to enhance the lives of foster care youth.

HRC advocates for foster youth all year round through our All Children – All Families project that helps agencies improve their services for LGBTQ youth in foster care. Agencies that implement best practices for this work are designated “Leaders in Supporting and Serving LGBTQ Youth.” Check out our list of participating agencies here.

Check back with HRC’s blog throughout the month as we celebrate National Foster Care Month. You can join us in sharing your stories and raising awareness about the needs of LGBTQ foster youth by using the hashtag #FosterEquality.

www.hrc.org/blog/hrc-marks-the-start-of-national-foster-care-month?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch: Ending Transgender Discrimination About 'Fundamental Fairness'

The U.S. Attorney General called the issue a matter of “funadmental fairness.”

www.advocate.com/transgender/2016/5/02/us-attorney-general-loretta-lynch-ending-transgender-discrimination-about

Bernie Sanders Says Democratic Convention Will Be Contested – WATCH

Bernie Sanders on Sunday said that he believes the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia will be a contested one and urged superdelegates to back his presidential bid.

Sanders particularly appealed to superdelegates from states where he won by large margins.

Politico reports:

Speaking at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., the Vermont senator argued that Clinton “will need superdelegates to take her over the top at the convention in Philadelphia. In other words, it will be a contested convention.”

Sanders said that in the states where he handily defeated Clinton, superdelegates who aren’t supporting him should reconsider aligning themselves with the will of voters of those states.

“In the state of Washington, we won that caucus with almost 73 percent of the vote there — 73 percent of the vote. In anybody’s opinion, that is a massive landslide. But at this point Secretary Clinton has 10 superdelegates from the state of Washington, we have zero,” Sanders said, offering an example of a state where he won the popular vote but did not collect any superdelegates. “I would ask the superdelegates from the state of Washington to respect the wishes from the people in their state and the votes they have cast.”

Here’s where the delegate count stands at this point, ahead of Tuesday’s Indiana primary.

Of the road ahead, Sanders said, “For us to win the majority of pledged delegates, we need to win 710 out of the remaining 1083. That is 65 percent. That is, admittedly, a tough road to climb, but not an impossible one. And we intend to fight for every vote and delegate remaining.”

Watch Bernie Sanders make his remarks, below.

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PETA Calls Out Justin Bieber for Posing with Abused Tiger at Party Hosted by His Dad

PETA has called on Justin Bieber and his family “never to use animals as selfie props or party entertainment again” after Bieber posted an Instagram photo of himself petting a tiger on a leash at a party hosted by his father in Toronto.

Writes PETA:

In an attempt to amuse party guests, he had a tiger and other animals, who were apparently brought in from the Bowmanville Zoo, at the event. What Justin and other party guests probably don’t know is that Michael Hackenberger, the owner of that zoo, was recently charged with five counts of cruelty to animals because of PETA’s undercover footage, which shows him viciously whipping a young tiger during a “training” session and then bragging about it. Hackenberger has supplied tigers for films such as Life of Pi and The Interview. … Tigers used in this way are denied everything that they need to be happy, and we can only imagine that the tiger Justin posed with has experienced a life of misery. Justin and other guests are lucky that they weren’t attacked by the wild animals. In similar situations, animals have been known to lash out because of the stress of their miserable lives.

Warning: graphic.

Bieber has yet to comment on PETA’s release.

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LGBT Politics By the Numbers

www.advocate.com/current-issue/2016/5/02/lgbt-politics-numbers

The Shirtless Male Gymnasts of 4G Know How to Use Their Bods on ‘Britain’s Got Talent’- WATCH

4G, described as a “men’s artistic gymnastic act” took the stage on Britain’s Got Talent over the weekend and inspired a lot of enthusiastic reaction shots, particularly from judge David Walliams, who encouraged them to strip down to their thongs next time.

The other judges also pointed out the group’s main appeal.

Said Alesha Dixon: “Oh my Goodness, that is some serious six packs. You’re brilliant at what you do, you look fantastic and I really enjoyed it, well done!”

Amanda Holden just cut to the chase: “It was good when you took your tops off.”

Watch the flip their meat around:

The post The Shirtless Male Gymnasts of 4G Know How to Use Their Bods on ‘Britain’s Got Talent’- WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.

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