White House Announces Support for Equality Act
Today, HRC reacted to news that the Obama Administration has endorsed the Equality Act.
HRC.org
Yusaf Mack, Boxer Who Wasn’t Drugged, Throws Himself West Hollywood Coming Out Party
Yusaf Mack, Boxer Who Wasn’t Drugged, Throws Himself West Hollywood Coming Out Party
Freshly out former boxer Yusaf Mack has been on quite the emotional rollercoaster of late, but we’re happy to report he’s managed to turn the whole ordeal into a way to get drunk in West Hollywood. It’s the fairytale ending every little boy dreams of.
If you haven’t been following this story, it’s a real doozy. Here’s a quick rundown:
Mack, 35, former lightweight title contender and father of 10, shoots a gay hardcore threesome video for some extra dough with DawgPoundUSA.com.
Because the internet, the dots eventually connect (they always do). Mack freaks out, comes up with fool-proof plan.
He tells the press he was tricked, drugged, raped on camera and sent off on a train. The world believes it for about absolutely zero seconds, but he sticks with it.
DawgPound (understandably) doesn’t appreciate the accusations, and threatens a lawsuit.
Mack says well OK, maybe I wasn’t drugged. And yeah, I guess I’m actually bi.
A few days later he changes his story again (he loves doing that). Actually, I’m just gay.
So what’s a guy to do now that the cat is finally out of the bag?
Throw yourself a coming out party!
Mack hosted the “Socialite Sundays” hip hop party at Rage in West Hollywood, where he was reportedly in very high spirits — hope he didn’t leave his drink unattended.
TMZ was outside to catch some of the absurdity:
Dan Tracer
Dory is Back and Still Swimming in First Trailer for ‘Finding Dory’ – WATCH
Dory is Back and Still Swimming in First Trailer for ‘Finding Dory’ – WATCH
The first trailer for Finding Dory, the highly anticipated sequel to 2003’s Finding Nemo, has finally been released and, as expected, the film centers on your favorite forgetful fish, as voiced by Ellen De Generes.
From the film’s IMDB page: “The friendly-but-forgetful blue tang fish reunites with her loved ones, and everyone learns a few things about the true meaning of family along the way.”
Check out what to expect from Dory’s adventure to find her family (which she probably won’t remember) which also sees the return of Nemo and the most sarcastic clownfish there ever was (voiced by Albert Brooks), below:
The post Dory is Back and Still Swimming in First Trailer for ‘Finding Dory’ – WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.
Sean Mandell
Dory is Back and Still Swimming in First Trailer for ‘Finding Dory’ – WATCH
This Woman Says She Was Fired for Being Lesbian
This Woman Says She Was Fired for Being Lesbian
A former employee of a feminist publishing company associated with the City University of New York has filed a multi-million dollar lawsuit alleging she was fired for being a lesbian, according to the New York Daily News.
Elizabeth Koke, 30, is suing CUNY, the press and its executive director, Jennifer Baumgardner, for $3.5 million. The suit alleges retaliation, wrongful termination and discrimination based on sexual orientation, according to the paper.
In court documents Koke wrote that she was fired in 2014 along with two other lesbian employees after bisexual author Baumgardner, 45, took the helm of the press in 2013 and decided along with the board of directors that it was “too lesbian,” the Daily News reported.
At the time she was fired, Koke claims she was the last remaining lesbian staffer, according to the paper.
As part of additional de-lesbianing of the press, a French lesbian love story called “Therese and Isabel” was nixed in favor of more “mainstream” titles, according to the suit.
Koke worked for Feminist Press begining in 2010 and claims that before she was fired, she was told she was getting a raise, according to the paper.
“During my four years at the Feminist Press, I put my heart into my work and dedicated myself to the organization with respect and care. It’s hurtful that I was not given the same in return,” Koke said in a statement to the Daily News.
“My client’s hope is that as a result of this lawsuit, Feminist Press employees will be treated equally and will not have to tolerate discrimination in the workplace or fear being fired simply because of who they are,” Koke’s lawyer Erica Kagan told The News.
The defendants named in the suit did not provide comments to the paper.
Elizabeth Daley
www.advocate.com/media/2015/11/10/woman-says-she-was-fired-being-lesbian
I Am an Out-and-Proud Happy Face Carved Into an Open, Pussey Sore
I Am an Out-and-Proud Happy Face Carved Into an Open, Pussey Sore
Picture this: A church beautifully festooned for a lovely wedding. White tulle is swathed everywhere, fragrant flowers fill the air, the wedding march plays. It is the wedding of two open sores – oozing, pus-filled, gross, gaping sores. Happy faces have been carved into the sores. Crimson blood and yellowy pus drip and stain the purity of the environment. A pile of cow manure is at the entrance to the church. The father of one of the sores is writhing in the manure, spreading it all over his naked body.
Guests at this wedding include Mike Huckabee, Bobby Jindal, and Ted Cruz.
Well, sort of.
The ‘open sores’ wedding imagery was supplied by pastor Kevin Swanson, the organizer of last week’s National Religious Liberties Conference, which was attended by the three GOP presidential hopefuls.
Swanson made the comments because, he says, “I’m grieving! I’m mourning! I’m pointing out the problem.”
“It’s not a gay time!” he bellows. What time is it, then? Lunatic Christian time? Religious extremist time? Totally unhinged time? I can’t believe this is 2015 time?
What is Swanson’s source? [Lephobicus 20:13] And the Lord sayeth that, if man lies with man, then the manure of cow shall be spread on thy body at the entrance of the place of worship, for it is an abomination.
I believe this follows another prescient verse: [Lephobicus 20:12] Worship thy Lord with appropriately adorned cups at Bucks of Star Coffee during the two months before Jesus’ birth.
Is our country more lunatic all of a sudden? Or is the internet helping to aggrandize and popularize the lunacy that has always been there?
Pastor Swanson, at the same conference, reminds his audience that the Old and New Testaments affirm that the sin of homosexuality should be punishable by death:
This conference, with its multiple calls for the death of homosexuals from Swanson and others, was attended by three GOP presidential candidates. One current senator, one current governor, and one former governor. Our elected officials joined a “Kill the Gays” rally (as Rachel Maddow has coined it.)
Before attending the rally/conference, Senator Cruz was asked about Swanson’s violent views. He chose to avert the question by denying any knowledge of Swanson’s extremism.
At the rally, Cruz declared that “Any president who doesn’t begin every day on his knees isn’t fit to be commander-in-chief of this country.” On his knees? For prayer? For a blow job?
Cruz and Swanson believe that one must believe in, and fear, their version of God in order to be fit for the presidency.
I do not fear God. I do not believe in God.
You know what I do fear? I fear …
… nut jobs like Swanson who host rallies to promote the execution of gays
… the cruel, hysterical, intense hatred that is being promoted and cheered by the audience
… the senator and governors who attend that rally as a way to gain votes
… that death penalty for homosexuals is considered religious liberty [The conference slogan was “Freedom 2015”]
Last week, ISIS executed two Syrian gay men by throwing them off a roof in front of a crowd of onlookers. Is this what the National Religious Liberties Conference attendees have in mind? This is “Christian”?
Mr. Swanson is strikingly creative in his savagery. A smiley face carved into an open, pussey sore? Wow. That takes imagination. He also believes that America must repent for Harry Potter’s homosexual mentor Dumbledore, that Girl Scout cookies are wicked and promote lesbianism, and that a gay kiss led to Colorado wildfires. The man’s originality and inventiveness is impressive, I’ll give him that.
He says that carving happy faces into gross, pussey sores is “not a nice thing to do.” You know what else is not a nice thing to do? Executing people because of twisted interpretations of an ancient book. That’s not nice. Promoting hatred and intolerance to the level of lunacy. That’s not nice either.
I fear you, Kevin Swanson, not God.
— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
The UK wouldn’t be making poppers illegal if they were used for straight sex
The UK wouldn’t be making poppers illegal if they were used for straight sex
We now know for sure that poppers will likely be illegal in the UK from next year – and gay men’s health will be worse off for it.
The government’s Psychoactive Substances Bill is in its final stages in parliament. It is designed to deal with ‘legal highs’ but the way it does so is by banning any ‘psychoactive substance’ from sale or importation unless it is explicitly exempted from the provisions of the law.
Alcohol for example is exempted. But poppers are not.
Barring something very unexpected, it will be a criminal offence to sell poppers and a criminal offence for us to import them even for our personal use (for example buying them online from overseas) from April next year.
This will have a significant impact on the lives of gay men. Evidence suggests that at any one time about one in three gay men have used poppers in the previous four weeks. Are we all just going to stop? That seems unlikely.
Not only do a lot of men get pleasure from the rush of poppers but many men find them important in enabling them to have comfortable anal sex. Use of poppers is for many gay men linked to the pleasure and intimacy of their sex lives and sexual relationships.
What then will gay and bi men do? Poppers of course will still be available but not from licensed sex shops. Men will approach drug dealers or buy from overseas sources.
Not only will it move gay men towards criminal activity, it will mean gay men access unregulated compounds with little knowledge as to their safety.
Over the years, a couple of the compounds used as poppers (the official name for poppers is ‘alkyl nitrites’) have been banned through regulation because they were found to be particularly harmful for health. The compound currently sold is known as isopropyl nitrite and is much safer. There are still low-level risks but good health promotion advice can make such risks readily avoidable.
But who knows what you are buying once everything is equally unlawful and you access poppers from obscure sources. Prohibition means in National AIDS Trust’s view a risk of increased harm to gay men.
NAT gave evidence on poppers to the Home Affairs Select Committee who held an inquiry into the Psychoactive Substances Bill. We called for poppers to be exempted from prohibition. The Home Affairs Committee agreed with NAT – but the government refuses to budge.
We are supporting Members of Parliament as they question the minister on the issue in the Commons. But it looks like we will have to go through the extended process of persuading the Advisory Committee on the Misuse of Drugs to make a recommendation to the Secretary of State to add poppers to the list of exemptions – and that may take some time.
I doubt very much that we would be dealing with this if straight people also took poppers to aid them in their sex lives and at a roughly equivalent scale to alcohol and tobacco.
Instead poppers would have been exempted and any harms addressed through public health measures.
The decision to ban poppers reveals an insensitivity to gay and bi men’s sex lives and culture.
They want us to marry… but sex? Not so much.
Yusef Azad is director of strategy at the UK’s National AIDS Trust (NAT).
The post The UK wouldn’t be making poppers illegal if they were used for straight sex appeared first on Gay Star News.
Yusef Azad
Moving Forward in Mississippi After Election Day
Moving Forward in Mississippi After Election Day
On November 3, 2015, thousands of Mississippians went to the polls and voted for Joce Pritchett, an HRC supporter and the first openly LGBT candidate for statewide office.
HRC.org
Nick Jonas Doesn’t Deny Hooking Up With Guys; Hope Is Alive.
Nick Jonas Doesn’t Deny Hooking Up With Guys; Hope Is Alive.
Nick Jonas doesn’t mind if you think he’s gay. In fact, it seems he’d actually prefer it.
His two current acting projects — Kingdom and Scream Queens — cast him as gay. He regularly appears in gay clubs to promote his music, and he even stepped in to save Pittsburgh Pride last summer after Iggy Azalea was uninvited.
Related: Nick Jonas Teases Gay Sex Scenes, Aiming For “As Much Depth As Possible”
But the burning question remains. “So…are you gay?”
When quizzed by Daily Star Online at the Radio One Teen Awards recently about whether he’s hooked up with guys, Nick responded, “I can’t say if I have or haven’t, but if you watch [Kingdom] you’ll see more of that.”
Related: Five Straight Musicians Who Have Courted The Gays To Varying Degrees Of Success
You can’t say, or you won’t say?
It does appear that all the gay baiting is just some very clever marketing, and yet we still wind up liking Nick at the end of the day.
Speaking about his gay fan base, Nick has said, “There’s a thing of recognizing that you have gay fans, as a male artist. I was speaking to some of my very close gay friends as I was making the record, and they told me I should really make the effort to embrace my gay audience as it’s bigger than I might think. There should be more of it. There should be more heterosexual male artists who are comfortable to attract a gay audience and do it in a way that’s authentic. With me, it comes from a very genuine and loving place.”
Could it be that Nick has been “embracing” his gay fans more than we previously thought?
Related: Nick Jonas Got Chained Up In A Gay Bar In London Over The Weekend
Dan Tracer
NEW MUSIC: Bill Ryder-Jones, Cowboy Junkies, Paul Weller, The Twilight Sad, ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ Turns 40
NEW MUSIC: Bill Ryder-Jones, Cowboy Junkies, Paul Weller, The Twilight Sad, ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ Turns 40
This week in new music: former The Corals guitarist Bill Ryder-Jones almost rocks out but won’t upset fans of deeply confessional alt pop, Cowboy Junkies release an epic four-CD compilation, Paul Weller returns to form at 56 on Saturn’s Pattern and Scottish miserablists The Twilight Sad strip back last year’s Nobody Wants to Be Here & Nobody Wants to Leave for pure listening pleasure and The Muppets cover “Bohemian Rhapsody.”
Bill Ryder-Jones – West Kirby County Primary
The former guitarist with English indie act The Coral, Bill Ryder-Jones (above) has on two previous solo albums revealed himself to be something of a consummate musician and performer.
Released to critical acclaim, his 2011 debut album If… was an orchestral album recorded with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, an imaginary film score for a movie that doesn’t exist inspired by Italo Calvino’s novel If On A Winter’s Night A Traveller….
The 2013 follow-up On A Bad Wind saw Ryder-Jones take center stage on a collection that brings to mind the confessional work of the likes of Mount Eerie.
On West County Kirby Primary, there is much in the way of a similar sound. However, his hushed vocals – see “Tell Me You Don’t Love Me Watching” and “Daniel”, a song about parents losing a child (Daniel, you belong to the ocean…) – often give way to a heavier sound on the almost-rock “Two to Birkenhead” for example.
Cowboy Junkies – Notes Falling Slow
A four-CD box set, Notes Falling Slowly includes three albums recorded by Canadian alt folk act Cowboy Junkies.
Along with the remastered versions of Open, One Soul Now and At The End Of Paths Taken, the package also includes a CD of newly recorded songs written during the making of those albums.
Of the new recordings, the beautiful “Cold Evening Wind” is most likely to strike a chord with the legions who bought The Trinity Session and The Caution Horses back in the band’s heyday.
A timely and perfect reminder of why an underrated band had great initial success that in no way explains their fading fortunes.
Paul Weller – Saturn’s Pattern
At 56, Paul Weller is something of an elder statesman of the English pop scene.
From the still fresh thunder of The Jam to the unexpected 1980s pop act The Style Council and right through to his prolific solo work, Weller is always hailed although often difficult, especially with his recent experimental output.
On his 12th solo album Saturn’s Pattern, Weller has perhaps come out of the other end of a midlife crisis with a collection that borrows from many styles – compare 1970s rock tribute “White Sky” with pop offering “Going My Way” which recalls both The Style Council and The Beautiful South and “Pick It Up,” a mesmerizing offering worthy of Merchandise.
However, you get the feeling that Weller has rediscovered his craft. Saturn’s Pattern reminds you that he is one of the best songwriters in England and a worthy contemporary of Paddy McAloon.
The Twilight Sad – Òran Mór
In the build up to last year’s Nobody Wants to Be Here & Nobody Wants to Leave, there was a palpable sense that Scottish miserabilists The Twilight Sad were perhaps coming to an untimely end. However, the album proved to be critical hit and even managed to notch up close to 2 million plays on Spotify.
Not bad for an outfit often seen as less bombastic and second-run version of Muse.
Recorded live in Glasgow, Scotland, Òran Mór includes most of Nobody Wants to Be Here & Nobody Wants to Leave in fine acoustic format along with covers and b-sides.
Always interesting to hear a band doing an alternative take on earlier work, the album is particularly effective as it strips back a charged set to reveal powerful songwriting. This is perhaps best revealed in “I Could Give You All That You Want.”
Queen – Bohemian Rhapsody
Yes, you are that old.
Released on October 31st, 1975, “Bohemian Rhapsody” has since become one of the most recognizable songs in music history. Whether legendary status is based on irony, songwriting or aural madness, the song has been covered umpteen times.
Here’s two of our favorite homages.
The post NEW MUSIC: Bill Ryder-Jones, Cowboy Junkies, Paul Weller, The Twilight Sad, ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ Turns 40 appeared first on Towleroad.
Michael Fitzgerald
Washington Man Sentenced for Antigay Knife Attack in Seattle
Washington Man Sentenced for Antigay Knife Attack in Seattle
Troy Deacon Burns, 38, was sentenced to 30 months in prison for yelling antigay slurs and threatening to stab three Seattle gay men, according to Reuters. Burns, who claims he doesn’t remember his actions that night, was charged under the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr., Hate Crimes Prevention Act.
Burns pleaded guilty in early August and claimed he was drunk and on drugs at the time of the attack. According to the Justice Department, he approached three gay men in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood and started yelling homophobic slurs while holding a knife above his head in a stabbing position.
When the men ran, Burns gave chase and caught one of the victims. He continued to threaten to stab the man while yelling slurs. While one of the other victims returned to rescue the man Burns had cornered, the third ran to get help from police.
Officers arrested Burns at the scene. He continued to yell antigay slurs while inside the police vehicle. No one was injured in the incident.
“No one should have to fear attack because of their sexual orientation when they walk down the streets of the cities and towns in Western Washington,” said U.S. Attorney Annette Hayes.
Bil Browning
www.advocate.com/crime/2015/11/10/washington-man-sentenced-antigay-knife-attack-seattle
