Florida Denies Pulse First Responder Workman's Comp for PTSD
Gerry Realin helped pull 49 bodies out of the club on June 12. That night has haunted him and made him unable to work.
www.advocate.com/politics/2016/8/23/florida-denies-pulse-first-responder-workmans-comp-ptsd
Can India's Spiritual Guru End a 150-Year Ban on Gay Sex?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is among those calling for an end to India’s Section 377, which criminalizes same-sex relations.
www.advocate.com/world/2016/8/23/can-indias-spiritual-guru-end-150-year-ban-gay-sex
Trump Supporters Too Intolerant To Pass His “Extreme Vetting” Test
Via The Daily Show, YouTube.
Donald Trump has called for stricter immigration policies throughout his campaign and he has recently come up with a new idea he’s calling “extreme vetting.”
Related: Trump Promises To Protect the LGBTQ Community, Twitter Reacts
Trump told a crowd in Ohio that we need to “screen out any who have hostile attitudes toward our country or its principles or who believe that Sharia law should supplant American law. Those who do not believe in our Constitution, or who support bigotry and hatred, will not be admitted for immigration to our country.”
“My administration will speak out against the oppression of women, gays, and people of different beliefs,” he said, presumably hoping no one has been paying attention to anything he has said up to this point in the election.
The Daily Show sent a correspondent to a recent Trump rally to see if they had the degree of tolerance necessary to make it into the country. Spoilers: No, no they do not.
Related: Trump Says He’ll Overturn “Shocking” Same-Sex Marriage Decision
From calling same-sex marriage “disgusting,” to suggesting being president is a “man’s job,” to saying they believe in religious freedom except in the case of Islam, these Trump voters represent everything their candidate claims to want to keep out of the country.
Enjoy the train wreck below.
Lochte Loses All Four Sponsors After Emotional Apology; Twitter Gloats
Following Ryan Lochte’s emotional apology for his “exaggerated” story about being robbed at gunpoint at a gas station in Rio, all four of his corporate sponsors unceremoniously dropped the athlete on Monday.
Related: 10 Times Ryan Lochte Was A Perfect ‘Sex Idiot’
Speedo USA, Ralph Lauren, hair removal company Syneron Candela, and Japanese mattress designers Airweave have all terminated their working relationship with the airy athlete.
Related: Ryan Lochte Apologizes “For My Behavior”; Won’t Admit He Lied About Being Robbed
Early Monday morning, mere hours after the Games wrapped up, swimwear maker Speedo USA announced it would be dropping Lochte and donating a hefty portion of his earnings to Save the Children.
Related: UPDATE: Sources Claim Lochte Lied About Rio Robbery; Footage Shows Fight With Security Guard
Here’s Speedo’s official statement regarding the scandal:
The official response regarding our sponsorship of Ryan Lochte. pic.twitter.com/0DdP2RyceD
— Speedo USA (@SpeedoUSA) August 22, 2016
Lochte reacted to the news with his own terse statement:
I respect Speedo’s decision and am grateful for the opportunities that our partnership has afforded me over the years. I am proud of the accomplishments that we have achieved together.”
Twitter’s peanut gallery was quick to leap on the news, sharing song parodies, faux news articles, and an awesome (albeit fake) interview with Stephen Colbert:
@foxandfriends @FoxNews This lesson is what Lochte needs to get his act together Lying whether your drunk or sober isn’t acceptable
— kathy (@ktd101551) August 23, 2016
R Lochte should’ve taken a page from @HillaryClinton‘s playbook and explained the reason he lied was he “short circuited” or something
— patrickmgleason (@patrickmgleason) August 23, 2016
Report: Ryan Lochte took sniper fire while boarding aircraft in Rio t.co/4ktMW4mkM1
— Jax Pavan (@JaxPavan66) August 23, 2016
Stephen Colbert parodies Ryan Lochte’s interview about his ‘over-exaggerated’ story t.co/O22ZTLy67n #ROIMentor
— Vipul Jasani (@Taxtreats) August 23, 2016
ok i get lochte did a bad thing but this seems to be a bit drastic lol pic.twitter.com/BLSnafgiSk
— olympic hopeful 2020 (@seanwalleesh) August 23, 2016
Ryan Lochte is a spoiled brat and I’m glad he’s getting what he deserves. Hit ’em where it hurts the most, his wallet.
— Luna Love (@happi_ale) August 23, 2016
Maine Snakeskin, The Weeknd, Sam Smith, Daft Punk, LGBT Rio, Istanbul, Adam Lambert, Mykonos: HOT LINKS
RIO 2016. Team LGBT’s Olympic medal count beat every country that criminalizes gay sex. “The publicly out gay, lesbian and bisexual Olympic athletes in Rio outperformed expectations, with 25 of the 53 publicly out athletes winning medals. All told they accounted for 14 medals, when you combine multiple athletes on single teams (e.g., four out women played on the gold-medal-winning Team USA basketball team). Those 14 medals beat every single country that criminalizes sex between people of the same gender. Jamaica, with 11 medals, was the closest such nation to catching Team LGBT. Most countries that criminalize gay sex fared very poorly in the Olympics. Iran, for example, won only eight medals; While 47% of the out LGBT athletes won medals, only 13% of Iranian athletes won medals.”
CALIFORNIA. All-Gender Bathroom bill heads to Jerry Brown: “The measure would require businesses and public buildings to designate single-occupancy restrooms as “all gender,” as opposed to specifically for men or women. The bill’s author, Assemblyman Phil Ting (D-San Francisco), said such a change is more accommodating to transgender people, but also for parents needing to attend to their children or other family members.”
NEW YORK. Ithaca College just added 12 ‘All Gender Restrooms’. “The renovations took place throughout the summer, with a budget of $975,000, and were completed Aug. 11, in time for incoming students to use the new facilities. These restrooms add to the 40 existing gender-neutral restrooms on campus and can be found on the 11th through 13th floors of West Tower. The college’s efforts come as support for gender-neutral bathrooms sweeping increases at institutions across the nation.”
ISTANBUL. Turkish protesters demand justice for murdered transgender activist Hande Kader: “The murder of Hande Kader, a transgender activist and sex worker, led to a massive protest in Turkey’s Istanbul, on Sunday evening (21 August). Protesters chanted slogans and demanded justice for Kader, who was found dead earlier in August. The 22-year-old’s body was found mutilated and badly burnt in the neighbourhood of Zekeriyakoy — a village of the Sarıyer district of the Istanbul municipality.”
OREGON. Gay man punched in bias attack: “Matthew Holt was booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center on suspicion of fourth-degree assault and second-degree intimidation. He is accused of punching the other man in the face and trying to hit him with a chair around 11 p.m. at the RV park in the 21400 block of Northeast Sandy Boulevard.”
NEW JERSEY. Judge allows fired gay teacher’s lawsuit against Catholic school to move forward.
FLEXING. Idris Elba is ready to fight.
MAINE. A massive snakeskin found in the Maine woods has people flipping out! “Until the type of snake is determined and we can assess the safety risk, we caution people who recreate along the Presumpscot River to remain alert, maintain a safe distance from any wildlife, and report any sightings of the snake to the Westbrook Police Department.”
MUSIC. The Weeknd and Daft Punk may be making music together: “Wendy Goldstein, the executive VP and head of A&R for Republic Records, let slip in the interview that her client The Weeknd was in the midst of planning a session with the boys of Daft Punk.”
GREEK WEEK. Adam Lambert and Sam Smith are hanging out together in Mykonos.
TOO HOT FOR TUESDAY. Guto Oliveira.
The post Maine Snakeskin, The Weeknd, Sam Smith, Daft Punk, LGBT Rio, Istanbul, Adam Lambert, Mykonos: HOT LINKS appeared first on Towleroad.
One of London’s Oldest Gay Bars is Pouring its Last Pint
One of London’s oldest gay bars is closing next month, after the pub’s owners failed to come to an agreement with their landlord.
The Old Lady of Tryon Street — officially known as The Queen’s Head — confirmed the rumor on its Facebook page. “We’re bloody gutted,” the post reads.
The bar itself is almost two centuries old. Freddy Sipson, who has managed The Queen’s Head for seven years, says it’s been known as a gay bar since about the 1920s.
“We used to have the army barracks here, and soldiers used to come and frequent the bar,” Sipson says. “The gay community realized that, and so from then on it started to become a gay bar.”
The dispute behind the closing of The Queen’s Head might seem specific, but it comes after a year of prominent gay bars closing abruptly across London.
It’s hard to say exactly why.
One theory is that the gay bars may not be needed today as they once were, as mainstream society becomes more accepting of homosexuality.
“A lot of the younger gay people feel like they don’t need to go to the gay bars like we used to do back in the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s — places where [we] would be ourselves and discover ourselves,” Sipson says. “The older generation like myself, we’re dying out.”
The Queen’s Head own clientele suggests that a change has taken place.
For many years, straight bar patrons self-segregated. Heterosexual people generally mingled in one section, and the rest of the bar belonged to the LGBT community. But today, Sipson says, the barriers are down.
Another factor could be the rise of online dating apps like Grindr or Tinder. Gay bars once provided rare opportunities for LGBT people to meet.
“Today they don’t have to” visit the bar to meet partners, Sipson says. “They just have to get on their phones, find a picture and off they go.”
But gay bars aren’t the only ones closing. The number of UK pubs of any kind is down from 67,800 in 1982 to 51,900 in 2014, according to the latest data from The British Beer and Pub Association.
“Public houses in total are closing at an alarming rate because they’re standing on prime real estate that can be made into extremely luxury apartments,” Sipson says.
And a few old favorites are hanging on.
Just across town from The Queen’s Head in Soho, a well-known gay bar called The Yard just won a two-year battle to stay open.
We did it! The landlord has lost the appeals. We can’t thank you enough for your support. The Yard & its rich history live on #SAVETHEYARD
— Yard_Soho (@Yard_Soho) August 12, 2016
The two pubs faced almost identical situations. Developers wanted to build apartments in The Yard’s courtyard. But heritage and historical groups protested the proposal, and a local council blocked the redevelopment completely.
The bar is hosting a farewell party on Sept. 3, and will vacate the property by Sept. 13.
This article first appeared on PRI’s The World.
The post One of London’s Oldest Gay Bars is Pouring its Last Pint appeared first on Towleroad.
Did Donald Trump Really Donate $100,000 To Hate Group Leader Tony Perkins?
It has been widely reported in recent days that Donald Trump donated $100,000 for flood relief to a Louisiana church which is run by anti-gay activist Tony Perkins (right), the well-remunerated head honcho of hate group the Family Research Council.
On August 20, CNN reported that Trump made the donation to a Greenwell Springs Baptist Church which is working to coordinate volunteers and help victims of the recent floods. Perkins is the church’s interim pastor. On Sunday, the church claimed that Trump was “sending a financial contribution.”
#Trump Flood Relief Donation went to anti-Gay Tony Perkins’s Church t.co/ZkFOLJsz4c. Follow the money! pic.twitter.com/wWHscL1fRI
— bmaggiemay (@bmaggiemay) August 23, 2016
Much has been made of the story by publications including The Advocate. However, according to Snopes there is as yet no proof that either Perkins or the FRC benefited in any way from the donation if in fact it has actually been made.
If Trump did, as reported, send a contribution to the church, that doesn’t necessarily benefit Perkins or the Family Research Council directly, though some publications interpreted it as a political statement on LGBT civil rights. While the FRC’s political activity is controversial, as is Perkins himself and the Greenwell Springs Baptist Church’s stance on the LGBT community, it seems the money was intended for flood relief activities. However since we do not currently have documents showing that the donation was made, much less identifying to whom it was made, it is impossible to say exactly where the funds might be going and what they will be used for.
However, Snopes points out that in a Facebook post yesterday, Perkins noted that Franklin Graham‘s The Samaritan’s Purse is organizing relief efforts and using Greenwell Springs Church as its “base of operations.”
It’s also worth noting that best-for-the-gays Trump continues to court the religious right. Yesterday, he suggested his followers might be interested in homophobe and anti-Semite Ann Coulter’s new book In Trump We Trust.
.@AnnCoulter‘s new book, ‘In Trump We Trust, comes out tomorrow. People are saying it’s terrific – knowing Ann I am sure it is!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 23, 2016
.@realDonaldTrump Isn’t it great that I’m using my political celebrity to hawk crappy books by batshit psycho @AnnCoulter ? I have no pride.
— Fake Donald Trump (@TheFakeTrump) August 23, 2016
The post Did Donald Trump Really Donate $100,000 To Hate Group Leader Tony Perkins? appeared first on Towleroad.
Frank Ocean is Back with 'Blonde' (Video)
www.advocate.com/music/2016/8/23/frank-ocean-back-blonde-video
Bette Midler Deletes Transphobic Tweet, Apologizes (Sorta) (Video)
www.advocate.com/transgender/2016/8/23/bette-midler-deletes-transphobic-tweet-apologizes-sorta-video
Model Irina Shayk: 'I'd Have Given My Left Arm to Be A Boy' (Video)
www.advocate.com/people/2016/8/23/model-irina-shayk-id-have-given-my-left-arm-be-boy-video
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