BREAKING: 11th Circuit Denies Stay in Alabama Marriage Equality Case
Today, the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit denied the Alabama Attorney General’s motion for a stay in Searcy v. Strange and Strawser v. Strange.
HRC.org
Two Male Nurses Caught On Video Humping In Front Of 99-Year-Old Stroke Victim
Well, this is rather disturbing.
Two male nurses in San Diego have been charged with inflicting mental suffering on an elder after humping one another multiple times in front of a paralyzed, 99-year-old stroke victim, CBS8 reports.
The incidents occurred back in 2011. According to Deputy District Attorney Paul Greenwood, 42-year-old Russel Torralba and 43-year-old Alfredo V. Ruiz were caught on surveillance video fondling one another on several occasions in the victim’s room while she lay helpless and unable to move in her bed.
Last year, attorneys for the defendants argued at a preliminary hearing that, while the men’s behavior was certainly “inappropriate,” there was no evidence to suggest the century-old stroke victim was neglected, injured, or even aware of what was taking place just inches away from her.
Judge Lorna Alksne called the men’s behavior “shocking,” but dismissed a count of lewd and lascivious behavior.
Both Torralba and Ruiz are scheduled to be sentenced March 30.
Related stories:
The $5 Million Fondle: Hospital Sued After Nurse Molests Male Patient On Video
Man Checks Into Hospital For Colonoscopy, Wakes Up Wearing Lacy Lady Panties
College Voyeur Sneaks Into Frat Boy’s Bedroom, Fondles Him In His Sleep
Graham Gremore
REPORT: 'Gay' Man Thrown From Building By ISIS Survives, Is Stoned To Death By Syrian Villagers
Reports are emerging that a man in Syria thrown from a building by ISIS militants for being gay was stoned to death by villagers when he survived the fall.
A series of images show two masked men throwing the victim – charged with having a “homosexual affair” – from a seven-story building.
After surviving the fall, the man was stoned to death by locals in ISIS stronghold Raqqa.
Photos posted on LiveLeak show the man being checked after the fall and finally being circled by a waiting crowd.
While ISIS has labeled the individual as a homosexual, it is important to bear in mind that this is a charge frequently leveled by the Islamic State against individuals who are perceived as dissidents. A statement released by The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission following a similar reportedly anti-gay attack in Iraq best sums up the caution that should be taken when viewing ISIS’ crimes that put sexual orientation front and center:
IGLHRC and MADRE caution concerned members of the media, representatives of foreign governments and people of conscience generally in the strongest possible terms against assuming that the men identified as ‘gay’ and against assuming the men engaged in homosexual acts. […]
At this time, to publicly call Iraqi men “gay” can only do harm. If the men did not identify as gay, the allegation is inaccurate and obscures the Islamic State’s motivation for publicly labeling them as such. If the men indeed identified as gay, extreme caution should be exercised and consultation held with those they loved as widespread publicity potentially exposes their families, loved ones and intimate partners to harm. Honor killings are pervasive in Iraq, so the safety of those most affected must be a paramount concern.
Furthermore, one cannot assume that the executions were for sodomy solely on the basis of information from the Islamic State. Without evidentiary basis or independent confirmation, this sweeping allegation could be applied to anyone the Islamic State seeks to discredit—including human rights activists and anyone opposed to the Islamic State. Accusing opponents of homosexuality is a tried and true tool used to discredit political adversaries throughout the world.
Video footage has also emerged today of a captured Jordanian pilot being burned alive by ISIS. From The New York Times:
The lengthy footage shows clips of Jordan’s involvement in the United States-led airstrikes against the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL.
At the end, the pilot, First Lt. Moaz al-Kasasbeh, stands inside of a cage and is burned alive when an unidentified militant uses a torch to ignite flammable liquid that has drenched the pilot’s clothing.
The Islamic State’s previous video executions of captives were all beheadings. The latest video, which was reported by the SITE Intelligence Group, an organization that monitors jihadist activity on the Internet, was the group’s first known execution by fire.
Additional images of ISIS’ most recent attack against an individual they have labeled as gay can be seen AFTER THE JUMP… (warning: graphic content)
Jim Redmond
Meet Inside Edition's First Trans Reporter
The syndicated show has hired L.A.’s Zoey Tur, a former helicopter pilot whose claim to fame came from live coverage of the O.J. Simpson freeway chase.
Dawn Ennis
www.advocate.com/politics/media/2015/02/03/meet-inside-editions-first-trans-reporter
Circuit Court Clears Way For Gay Marriage In Alabama
A court has rejected the state of Alabama’s request to put a stay on gay marriage until the U.S. Supreme Court rules on the matter. The decision means gay marriage in the state will be allowed beginning Feb. 9.
The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied the request of state Attorney General Luther Strange on Tuesday. The Supreme Court plans to take up the matter of gay marriage bans in states this year.
U.S. District Judge Callie V.S. Granade ruled Jan. 23 that the state’s gay marriage ban was unconstitutional. Granade had issued a 14-day stay on her ruling to give the appeals court in Atlanta time to rule on the attorney general’s request.
The case’s plaintiffs, Cari Searcy and Kim McKeand, said they plan to ask the judge to lift the stay immediately, according to AL.com.
“I’m very excited about it. I just got off the phone with Kim and Cari. They’re thrilled,” attorney Christine Hernandez told the outlet. “It’s a great day for Alabama.”
This post has been updated with more details on the judge’s stay and the plaintiffs.
Trailblazer: Alexis Mateo – 'I have a fascination with Egyptian culture'
On the road with the RuPaul’s Drag Race alumni, from Texas to Puerto Rico
G2003
Working in Partnership to Advance LGBT Equality in New Jersey
Last week, HRC Field Director Marty Rouse and Senior Legislative Counsel Alison Gil met with Andrea Bowen, the Executive Director of Garden State Equality.
HRC.org
Nancy Reagan Abandoned Her Friend Rock Hudson As He Was Dying Of AIDS
Nancy Reagan refused to help her friend Rock Hudson get a bed at an experimental treatment facility in France as he was dying of AIDS, BuzzFeed reports.
New documents discovered in the Reagan Presidential Library offer yet another glimpse into just how far the Reagans went to distance themselves from the AIDS epidemic as it swept across the country in the 1980s.
When Hudson’s publicist, Dale Olson, sent a life-or-death telegram on July 24, 1985 to the White House begging the First Lady to help get his client transferred to a French military hospital where he could be seen by Dr. Dominique Dormant, she flat out denied the request.
At the time, Dr. Dormant, who had treated Hudson before, was working on an early experimental drug believed to help bolster the immune systems of people living with AIDS.
The telegram read:
Doctor Dominique Dormant, specialist treating Rock Hudson in Paris, reports only one hospital in the world can offer necessary medical treatment to save life of Rock Hudson or at least alleviate his illness. This hospital is Ministere du la Defence Centre d’Researches du Service de Sante des Armees Percy Hospital in the city of Clamart. Commanding general of Percy Hospital has turned down Rock Hudson as a patient because he is not French. Doctor Dormant in Paris believes a request from the White House or a high American official would change his mind. Can you help by having someone call the commanding general’s office at the Percy Hospital at the above number.
But Mrs. Reagan, who had known Hudson since the 1950s, said no, claiming “it” (a.k.a. AIDS) was not something she wanted to “get into” and instead suggesting Hudson try contacting the U.S. Embassy in France.
Mark Weinberg, Reagan’s deputy press secretary at the time, tells BuzzFeed that the First Lady’s decision had nothing to do with homophobia or the Reagan Administration’s AIDS policy (or lack thereof). Instead, he says the first family’s view towards Hudson’s predicament was: “Well, we’re so sorry, but were about treating everybody the same.”
“They were both very sorry for Rock’s condition and felt for him and all the people,” Weinberg says. “But it just wasn’t something that the White House felt that they could do something different for him than they would do for anybody else.”
AIDS activist Peter Staley calls the Reagans’ excuse “strange,” since they often pulled favors for their friends while in power.
“I’m sure if it had been Bob Hope in that hospital with some rare, incurable cancer, Air Force One would have been dispatched to help save him,” Staley speculated.
“There’s no getting around the fact that they left Rock Hudson out to dry,” he continued. “As soon as he had that frightening homosexual disease, he became as unwanted and ignored as the rest of us.”
Reagan, now 93 years old, does not grant interviews of any kind, but a spokesperson for the former First Lady told Buzzfeed that “she simply does not recall the incident.”
Related stories:
Thirty-Three Years Ago Today, Here’s What The New York Times Published About AIDS
On This Day In 1985, Rock Hudson Announced His AIDS Diagnosis
And The Films Played On: 16 Essential Movies About AIDS
Graham Gremore
Baptist Pastor Accused Of Murdering Wife So He Could Marry Boyfriend Pleads Not Guilty
A longtime former Southern Baptist pastor accused of killing his wife so he could marry his boyfriend in Europe has pleaded not guilty to a charge of murder.
Richard Shahan, 54, entered the plea Monday in Jefferson County, Alabama, where he served as children and families pastor at First Baptist Church of Birmingham, according to AL.com.
Shahan was arrested last January as he tried to board a plane for Germany. A grand jury would later indict him in the July 2013 slaying of his wife, who was found stabbed to death in their home.
AL.com reported last year:
[Deputy District Attorney Leigh] Gwathney said that information obtained from more than 3,000 of Shahan’s emails indicated that he was planning to leave the country and never return. He was heading to Kazakhstan via Germany and ultimately planned to move to the United Kingdom, she said.
“He planned to become a citizen there and begin a new life with his boyfriend… who he intended to marry,” Gwathney said. “He had no intention of ever returning to the United States. He had no home to return to and he had said his goodbyes to his family.”
Shahan, who maintains his innocence, was initially arrested for investigative purposes in July 2013, but released without being charged. He was placed on administrative leave by the church, which later sent out newsletters and prayer cards saying he planned a three-year mission trip to Germany. Shahan’s attorneys claim he was leaving for the mission trip when he was arrested at the Nashville airport with $27,000 in US and foreign currencies.
Shahan was released on $100,000 bond but is on house arrest.
BaptistNews.com reports on Shahan’s long career as a Southern Baptist minister, including at churches in Oklahoma, Texas, North Carolina and Tennessee:
He wrote books, curriculum and articles over 30 years for publishers including Zondervan and LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention.
None of the reports include comments from representatives of First Baptist Church of Birmingham, or mention the denomination’s views on homosexuality. But in case you’re wondering, here’s the Southern Baptist Convention’s official position statement:
“We affirm God’s plan for marriage and sexual intimacy – one man, and one woman, for life. Homosexuality is not a ‘valid alternative lifestyle.’ The Bible condemns it as sin. It is not, however, unforgivable sin. The same redemption available to all sinners is available to homosexuals. They, too, may become new creations in Christ.”
Watch a report on the case from WBRC-TV last year, AFTER THE JUMP … (warning: auto-play)
John Wright
Hillary Clinton Is Headed Off-Broadway?
Kerry Butler will fill the former first lady’s pantsuits in Clinton the Musical.
Brandon Voss
www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/theater/2015/02/03/hillary-clinton-headed-broadway
You must be 18 years old or older to chat
