Marco Rubio To Headline Anti-LGBT Event in Orlando on Two Month Anniversary of Pulse Massacre

Senator Marco Rubio will headline an anti-LGBT religious conference being held in Orlando on the two month anniversary of the massacre at gay nightclub Pulse.

Right Wing Watch reports: 

The Orlando-based Liberty Counsel Action, an extreme anti-LGBT group whose affiliate is famous for representing Kentucky clerk Kim Davis in her stand against the Supreme Court’s marriage equality decision, announced in an email [on July 27] that the Florida Renewal Project will be hosting an event called “Rediscovering God in America” in August. The event will be headlined by Rubio, who will speak alongside anti-LGBT activists David Barton, Bill Federer, Ken Graves and Mat Staver.

The Florida Renewal Project is an affiliate of conservative activist David Lane’s American Renewal Project, which hosts “Rediscovering God” conferences around the country.

Mat Staver is perhaps the most famous person on that list, as he represented anti-gay county clerk Kim Davis as she defied the Supreme Court’s ruling on gay marriage.

Another individual slated to appear at the conference is notorious homophobe David Lane. More on his record via NCRM: 

Lane has called homosexuality “debauchery,” suggested that Christians should be prepared to martyr themselves in order to prevent marriage equality, and has said that homosexuality is a moral crisis that “threatened our utter destruction.”

Lane’s focus for several years has been to encourage anti-LGBT Christian pastorsto run for political offices across local, state, and national levels. He has been closely tied to Mike Huckabee, Rand Paul, Rick Perry, and Ted Cruz, and in 2013 Lane wrote an op-ed calling for a “war to restore a Christian America.”

Rubio previously insinuated that it was the Orlando massacre which motivated him to seek re-election to the Senate after saying he would not seek re-election if he lost his bid for the Republican nomination for president (which he did). And while Rubio tried to court favor with the LGBT community in the days following the massacre, he’s apparently gone back to his old habits of pal-ing around with dangerous homophobes who sow the seeds of violent anti-LGBT crimes with their hateful rhetoric.

Eliel Cruz, Executive Director of Faith in America, a religious organization focused on sending affirming messages to LGBT people of faith, blasted Rubio in a statement issued Monday.

Said Cruz,

“The event ‘Rediscovering God in America Renewal Project’ is a who’s who [of] some of the country’s most hateful anti-LGBT persons. It’s incredulous a Senator of [the] United States is willing to collude with individuals who are dedicated to oppressing LGBT people. The beliefs shared by this group actively harm LGBT people. This is not the America we want. God will not be found anywhere near that event.”

Senator @marcorubio is headlining a vehemently anti LGBT conference in Orlando just after Pulse. Our statement: pic.twitter.com/8lgJA1Sgbc

— Eliel Cruz (@elielcruz) August 1, 2016

The post Marco Rubio To Headline Anti-LGBT Event in Orlando on Two Month Anniversary of Pulse Massacre appeared first on Towleroad.

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All-star HIV and AIDS awareness PSA set to begin airing across the nation this month

www.glaad.org/blog/all-star-hiv-and-aids-awareness-psa-set-begin-airing-across-nation-month

Memphis Man Says Uber Driver Called Him ‘Faggot,’ Tried to Run Him Over – VIDEO

A Memphis businessman says a driver for the ride-hailing service Uber repeatedly called him a “faggot,” told him to “suck [my] dick,” and then tried to run him over on Friday night.

Ray Rico (above), the owner of a local web design company, was leaving Dru’s Place, a bar and restaurant that caters to the LGBT community in midtown Memphis, when he hailed an Uber ride. After Rico got into the car with his take-out food — a box of pizza — the driver allegedly told him, “Faggot, no food in my car.”

Rico was able to snap these photos of the #Uber driver’s car and report the incident to police and the company pic.twitter.com/jEVJALhRn8

— Michael Quander WREG (@MikeQReports) August 1, 2016

Offended by the gay slur, Rico told the driver to stop and let him out. That’s when the driver said, “Get the fuck out, you suck my dick.” Rico then hailed another Uber ride, but he claims the same driver in the same vehicle — with a different profile on the app — showed up. When Rico opened the door and asked for the driver’s name, he said, “Fuck you, fag. Suck my cock,” before putting the vehicle in reverse and backing into Rico.

Uber, which has suspended the driver pending its investigation, claims its system shows the driver picked up a different customer and didn’t try to pick up Rico again, according to WREG-TV. The driver, meanwhile, reportedly claims Rico ran back to his car and began yelling obscenities while he was picking up the other customer.

The customer sent @3onyourside this screen shot of the #Uber driver he said used gay slurs and tried to run him over pic.twitter.com/1jJDJQHMPJ

— Michael Quander WREG (@MikeQReports) August 1, 2016

Rico took screen grabs of the driver’s profile and snapped photos of the vehicle and its license plate. He also filed a police report.

“Mr. Rico’s experience is an outrageous assault on his safety and dignity and therefore an assault on all LGBT Memphians,” Tennessee Equality Project board chair Ginger Leonard said in a statement. “Uber has begun an investigation of the incident and Mr. Rico is exploring pressing criminal charges.  We call on Uber to complete its investigation quickly and to work with TEP on a review of its diversity training for drivers.”

Watch WREG’s report below.

The post Memphis Man Says Uber Driver Called Him ‘Faggot,’ Tried to Run Him Over – VIDEO appeared first on Towleroad.

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Nick Jonas Gets Wet With Bear Grylls and More TV This Week

Check out our weekly guide to TV this week, and make sure you’re catching the big premieres, crucial episodes and the stuff you won’t admit you watch when no one’s looking.

Things get wet and wild when pop-star and professional gay-baiter Nick Jonas gets together with Bear Grylls on the season three premiere of Running Wild With Bear Grylls tonight at 10 p.m. Eastern on NBC. Other celebs walking on the wild side with Bear this season include Courteney Cox, Julianne Hough and Vanessa Hudgens.

She’s more than 90 years old, but she’s still serving couture costume jewelry realness. Fashion icon Iris Apfel is the focus of Albert Maysles’ documentary, Iris, tonight at 10 p.m. Eastern on PBS.

Ten years later the cast of MTV’s The Hills are back to dish on all the drama on The Hills: That Was Then, This Is Now Tuesday at 9 p.m. Eastern on MTV. Lauren Conrad, Whitney Port and Heidi Pratt are back to spill the T on the real story behind one of the most influential reality shows.

All the pomp and fanfare and Bob Costas you can stand will be on full display Friday at 7:30 p.m. Eastern on NBC when the 2016 Rio Olympic Games kicks off officially with the opening ceremonies.

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s classic children’s tale The Little Prince gets a gorgeous animated treatment in a new film featuring the voices of Jeff Bridges and Rachel McAdams. Initially meant for theatrical release, the movie will drop on Netflix this Friday.

What are you watching this week on TV?

The post Nick Jonas Gets Wet With Bear Grylls and More TV This Week appeared first on Towleroad.

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All-star HIV & AIDS awareness PSA set to air across the nation this month

www.glaad.org/blog/all-star-hiv-aids-awareness-psa-set-air-across-nation-month

Save the date for Spirit Day 2016 and plan to 'go purple' October 20

www.glaad.org/blog/save-date-spirit-day-2016-and-plan-go-purple-october-20

10 Gay Fan Fiction Romances People Love (And Hate)

Finding a great queer romance in our favorite films, comic books, and TV shows is usually about as easy as finding diversity at a Republican National Convention.

However, that hasn’t stopped fans from finding ways to help their favorite characters find a little forbidden love. In fact, Shipping – the vocal desire of fans to pair two characters in a romantic relationship through social media campaigns, fan art and fanfiction – has become an integral part of fandom.

An entire fleet of gay ships have been launched over the years with passionate fan followings of their own who would like nothing more than to see their two favorite guys sail across the same-sex seas.

Here are 10 gay ships fans love to love – and hate.

1.) Kirk and Spock – Star Trek
This is the one that started it all. The granddaddy of all ships. Kirk/Spock fired up the warp engine of the slash fiction genre and spawned a federation of fans long before the Internet became a sanctuary for such stories. Fan ‘zines were regularly published featuring the intimate adventures of these two “space husbands” throughout the ’70s and ’80s – and it’s a tradition that boldly continues today.

RELATED: 5 Queer Episodes From Star Trek History Worth Revisiting

2.) Steve and Bucky – Captain America
A pairing so powerful it began trending with the hashtag #GiveCaptainAmericaABoyfriend on social media. But it isn’t just a favorite fantasy in fandom. The romantic subtext between Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes in the Captain America films is so blatant even Dare Devil can see it. If it hasn’t set off your gaydar yet, watch Captain America: Civil War once more. It’s the Top Gun of the Marvel cinematic universe.

RELATED: 98 LGBT Characters In The Marvel Universe

3.) John Watson and Sherlock Holmes – Sherlock
It’s elementary my dear fanboys. Sherlock and Dr. Watson’s subtextual love affair began decades before this popular incarnation of their adventures aired. And with Benedict Cumberbatch playing the World’s Greatest Detective in this BBC production you don’t need a string of clues to figure out why fan thirst for these chaps is currently unquenchable.

4.) Charles and Eric – X-Men
Sure, the relationship between Professor Xavier and Magneto has been a complex one since Marvel’s merry mutants made their debut in 1963. But since James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender stepped into the roles with the latest trilogy of films, the two have seemed more like scorned lovers than mutant brothers. Their chemistry on screen is what earned them the shipping name “Cherik” and enough naughty fan art to make McAvoy blush on The Graham Norton Show.

RELATED: 11 Uncanny Gay And Bisexual X-Men

5.) Draco and Harry – Harry Potter
In a world where goblins, house-elves and ghosts are commonplace, it’s really not much of a stretch to think that Draco and Harry might have practiced their wand-wielding technique with one another on a lonely night in a dark Hogwarts dorm room. In fact, a quick Google search for their shipping name, “Drarry,” shows many fans have thought the young wizards may have studied spellcasting with each other more than once. Much more.

6.) Tim Drake and Conner Kent/Kon-El – Teen Titans
The beloved fan-favorite versions of Superboy and Robin may no longer be a part of the current DC Comics universe, but the desire for some fans to see the bromance between these two Titans evolve into a super-powered romance is alive and well online. A search for “TimKon” art proves their love is still going strong in an alternate universe.

RELATED: 37 Unintentionally Gay Moments In Comic Book History

7.) Sam and Frodo – Lord of the Rings
A couple tailor-made for memes.

Sam and Frodo may have just been really good friends when Tolkien sat down to craft one of the most epic stories of all time, but the performances of Elijah Wood and Sean Astin as the beloved Hobbits in the Lord of the Rings films opened the door to a softer side of our heroes from Middle-earth – and shipping fans didn’t hesitate to sail on through.

8.) Finn and Poe – Star Wars
These two guys from a galaxy far, far away awakened a force of a different kind in Star Wars fandom. Their potential romance launched a fleet of ships on social media, and the man who brought Poe to life on the big screen (Oscar Isaac) hasn’t exactly been shy about his thoughts on the subject.  “I think it’s a very subtle romance that’s happening,” Isaac teased during an appearance on Ellen. “You have to just look very closely. You have to watch it a few times to see the little hints, but there was. At least, I was playing romance.”

We’re not sure if that lip bite was very subtle, Oscar, but we love you for it.

RELATED: 9 Film Franchises That Need Gay Characters Now

9.) Dean and Castiel – Supernatural
The relationship between Dean Winchester and the angel Castiel (nicknamed “Destiel”) is perhaps one of the most frustrating among shippers. The relentless romantic teases between these two men over several seasons with zero payoff has earned Supernatural a reputation for being one of the biggest queerbaiting shows on the planet. Nevertheless that hasn’t stopped many fans from holding out hope that one day their beloved “Destiel” will have a chance to Marvin Gaye and get it on.

RELATED: 17 Classic Sci-Fi Studs You Forgot Were Totally Hot

10.) Stiles and Derek – Teen Wolf
The Titanic of gay ships! The will-they-won’t-they tension between Stiles Stilinski and Derek Hale was one of the reasons fans howled for MTV’s Teen Wolf during its first two seasons. However, when the network and creative minds behind the show began to distance themselves from the idea of a “Sterek” romance (after shamelessly teasing viewers for months), fans turned against their beloved wolf pack and the show’s ratings sank dramatically.

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