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.
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.”
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.
[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)
'Sex And The City' Goes Lesbian In 'Remix' Clip That Sees Carrie Bradshaw On The Search For Mrs. Right
“Sex and the City” was a pioneering show in terms of lesbian, gay and bisexual representation in many respects — but this clip goes a step further.
YouTube user Elisa Kreisinger has “remixed” segments from all six seasons and puts a same-sex spin on the HBO series. Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte and Samantha are still on the same quest for romance as they were in the original show, but this time, their hopes are focused on finding Mrs. Right instead of mister.
Kreisinger’s clip is so cleverly edited, you’d think lesbian love affairs were part of the show all along. Both of Mr. Big’s wives, Barbara and Natasha, become Carrie’s paramours in this version, while her pals appear to engage in some sapphic conquests of their own.
The clip was uploaded to YouTube over a year ago, but recently resurfaced on Reddit and Buzzfeed.
Bipartisan Support Grows for the Respect for Marriage Act
Recently-elected Representatives Carlos Curbelo (R-FL) and Bob Dold (R-IL) joined previous cosponsors Representatives Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) and Richard Hanna (R-NY) in supporting this important legislation. HRC.org
NEW MUSIC: Courtney Barnett, Pinkshinyultrablast, To Be Frank, Hot Cops, Patawa, Korsairs
New Music is brought to you weekly by Deadly Music!, which covers mostly indie/alternative music as well as electronica, ambient/modern classical, pop and anything really, really good.
Named after a 2002 Astrobite album, St Petersburg, Russia-based shoegaze outfit Pinkshinyultrablast are everything that you would expect of a band that’s been charged with spearheading the revival of a genre.
Pulsating and shimmering with the best of 1990s shoegaze acts, Pinkshinyultrablast have been compared to Lush, Ride and my bloody valentine among others.
A love at first listen affair for fans of 90s noise pop, Pinkshinyultrablast are happy to court comparisons with the likes of the Cocteau Twins, especially given the washed-out fuzziness of the Liz Fraser-esque vocals.
However, the Russian quartet say they are eager to push the electronic side of their sound, citing electronica, modern classical and krautrock among their influences.
***
Listen to new songs by To Be Frank, Hot Cops, Patawa and Korsairs, AFTER THE JUMP…
English musician and producer To Be Frank (above) released a series of tracks and EPs over the last couple of years that move effortlessly between piano ballad, glitchy instrumentals and downtempo electronica.
Watch the video for “Let It Go”, “a bittersweet tale of a break-up foreseen and foretold, love gone bad with a distinctly wintery feel,” taken from his debut album U to be released later this year.
Released immediately off the back of double-single “Origami” / “Novelty’, the band’s forthcoming four-track EP #1 Babes capitalizes on their strengths and practically revels in references to anything Pavement.
Moving effortlessly from grungy to indie pop, the EP highlight may well be the closing track “Televisual” which is both Pixies in its killer hooks and loud denouement and Parquet Courts in its occasionally sleazy delivery.
<a href=”http://hot-cops.bandcamp.com/album/1-babes” data-mce-href=”http://hot-cops.bandcamp.com/album/1-babes”>#1 Babes by Hot Cops</a>
Patawa is an English trio making trippy indie pop that “blends beats to pump blood, glittered guitar riffs and bass lines that bite.”
Not afraid to occasionally go full-on disco and get their Donna Summer on, latest track “Strange” blends disco/funk with a 90s Manchester baggy indie pop vibe without the attitude and grump.
“Strange” is taken from their upcoming EP “Knowleston Palace” which is to be released in March 2015.
A perfect follow-up to Patawa is Manchester, England-based Korsairs, two sets of siblings aged 15 and 18.
There’s a touch of the classic Manchester sound here with a hint of the likes of Go-Betweens and twee classic pop.
Have a listen to stomping indie pop track “She’s Mine” below which has the confident swagger of early Bluetones and includes the quite brilliant line Not every cloud has a silver lining / not every monster has a wardrobe to hide in.
LGBT Scene 2015 – Amazing Gay Boy Kiss 2015 – Ian and Mickey Shameless
LGBT Scene 2015 – Amazing Gay Boy Kiss 2015 – Ian and Mickey Shameless, girl kissed a girl,lgbt indonesia,lgbt couple,lgbt thailand, tag :,lgbt parents,lgbt playlist,lgbt q&a,lgbt qc,lgbt…
