Category Archives: Hate
Zakar Twins Book, Tour plus Off Broadway!
I can’t remember exactly how I stumbled upon the Zakar Twins, but I found them on Instagram and have been a loyal follower, watching their careers soar for over 1 year now! Their best-selling book “Pray The Gay Away” came out in the Fall of 2017. That’s probably about the time I first discovered them.
These young gay models, writers, entrepreneurs, leaders in the LGBTQ+ community, and lovable goofballs Michael and Zach Zakar are known not only for their identical good looks but for trailblazing a path forward for queer people who come from Near and Middle Eastern cultures. As smart as they are funny, their memoir last year is a dual-account tragicomedy about growing up with deeply religious Iraqi immigrant parents.
“Mom knows.” A simple text that would change two twin brothers’ lives forever. Coming out is hard. The struggle is ongoing, a daily part of life whether to a new friend, a co-worker, or most importantly yourself. Pray the Gay Away chronicles Michael and Zach as they face awkward sexual encounters, drug-fueled escapades, coming out to each other, and their biggest foe – Mom, a woman who not only gave birth to what she calls one regret – but two.
The memoir hilariously and poignantly explores what it’s like growing up as gay, Iraqi twins in modern America. Pray the Gay Away was inspired the night Mom snuck into their bedroom and force fed them “holy grapes,” determined to “de-gay” them. She threw Holy Water on them as well!
The Zakar Twins are new voices speaking out against generations, particularly within the Iraqi culture, who look down on being gay. This book is not only for the LBGTQ community, but for young adults, looking to achieve normalcy.
“The book started kind of as a hateful thing. We wrote it because we were angry that our Mom reacted in such a demeaning way,” Zach said. “Then, over time, the project, it really resulted in kind of a beautiful thing. We were growing with the book, it was growing with us.”
Currently they are on tour with Drag Queen Christmas – The Naughty Tour! 37 cities now through Dec 29th! Presented by Murray & Peter. They will be heading South and West in the coming weeks. Get specific city and tour info at www.DragFans.com.
Their Mom has come a long way to acceptance and actually attended the show in Detroit! Her first drag show ever!
I am told that the producers, Murray and Peter are helping to bring their book to Off Broadway, hopefully in time for Pride 2019!
Recently the brothers relased a calendar for 2019. Defiance: taking a stance on changing the world’s conservative view on what it means to be gay in the Middle Eastern world. Shot by Dexter Brown.
“Everyone has their own unique story. Fortunately for us, we just wrote ours down,” Zach said with a laugh. “The book is done, but it’s not finished. We’re writing two more books about different things.”
Buy the BOOK and CALENDAR Here.
Get to know Michael and Zach with their great YouTube videos!
ZT on Instagram
ZT on Facebook
ZT on Twitter
ZT My Twin Chat App – a way to communicate with others who might be struggling with coming out or just needing someone to talk to. Many people coming out usually feel like they are the only one. So this app is a support system for those scared to talk to a stranger or a close friend.
“You cannot forget the bigger picture. It feels like life is caving in to a lot of people when it first happens. I think that’s one of the scariest things. Because all I was worried about, was when you grow up, there’s so much involved in the bigger picture,” Michael said. “That’s what I tell people, just realize there is light at the end of the tunnel even if it feels almost impossible.”
San Francisco Remembers Harvey Milk Nov 27th
Source Towleroad
Gay rights icon Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone will be remembered on November 27 at 7 pm with a candlelight walk from the plaza named for Milk to City Hall, where they were assassinated by SF Supervisor Dan White 40 years ago.
The walk, which will echo the spontaneous march that took place shortly after the murders, is being organized by the Harvey Milk LBTQ Democratic Club, which writes: “In November of 1978, bookending the Thanksgiving holiday, the city of San Francisco and, it might be said, the world was changed forever. The double horror of the tragedy at Jonestown, followed by the slaying of Harvey Milk and George Moscone was a crushing trauma to the heart and soul of San Francisco, and yet in that darkness we rose together in candlelight not only to remember those we had lost but to strengthen and galvanize ourselves to give them voice to continue their fight and and vision for the future….In honour of that same eloquent response, the Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club invites all to join us in quiet reflection from those who knew these great advocates of social justice at Harvey Milk Plaza. Following this, we will walk in candlelight to the steps of City Hall where current community leadership will echo their vision, just as those who were there did that warm November night in 1978.
Andrea Gibson on Gender Identity
Andrea Gibson is not gentle with their truths. It is this raw fearlessness that has led them to the forefront of the spoken word movement– the first winner of the Women’s World Poetry Slam –Gibson has headlined prestigious performance venues coast to coast with powerful readings on war, class, gender, bullying, white privilege, sexuality, love, and spirituality. After 7 full length albums and 2 publications Andrea is working on their 3rd published book and 8th studio album.
Their work has been featured on the BBC, Air America, C-SPAN, Free Speech TV and in 2010 was read by a state representative in lieu of morning prayer at the Utah State Legislature.
“Your Life” from Andrea’s upcoming album HEY GALAXY (out January 12th 2018)
Pre-Order the new record at www.andreagibson.com
GOOGLE to do Stonewall project
GOOGLE to spend $1 Million on 50th Anniversary Stonewall project!
NY POST reported – Google pledged $1 million on Sunday to help record the stories of anyone and everyone involved in the Stonewall riots, a landmark moment in the battle for gay rights.
The Web giant’s “digital experience” will be an oral history featuring interviews with New Yorkers who were on the front lines in Greenwich Village in the summer of 1969.
The project is aimed for completion by June 28, 2019, the 50th anniversary of the riots.
The impromptu uprising outside the Stonewall Inn on Christopher Street against police harassment is remembered as a watershed moment in the push for LGBTQ equality.
“I remember the Stonewall riot — whatever you want to call it — I remember the debate, I remember the time, and it’s hard to go back there. I can tell you, you don’t want to go back there either.” said Eric Schmidt, executive chairman of Alphabet, Google’s parent company.
Artist and Stonewall veteran Tommy Lanigan-Schmidt said he’ll tell his story, in honor of activists who have since died.
“What sticks in my mind most is all the people who aren’t here to talk about it,” he told reporters at the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center on West 13th Street. “Most of the people — I knew because I was one of the street kids — didn’t live to be 22 years old. I’m lucky to be alive.”
He added, “If the smell of lighter fluid is in the air, I think of Stonewall.”
New York Lawyer Raises Money for Chechnya Men
For months now, we had heard many awful news reports coming out of Chechnya, the semi-autonomous state in southwest Russia, where authorities carried out a brutal, months-long campaign of kidnapping, imprisoning, torturing and killing LGBTQ people. But over the past month, we’ve learned of Lithuania, France and Germany issuing visas to queer Chechen refugees escaping the violence, and now of Fred Erick, a New York attorney who raised $256,278 to help queer men flee Chechnya.
Erick, a 33-year-old lawyer whose Jewish family fled Ukraine in 1987 to escape anti-Semitic persecution, hated hearing about the violence in Chechnya. He said, ” I couldn’t stop thinking about it. It was frustrating and scary — it makes you angry because you can’t do anything.”
So he started a now-completed Facebook fundraiser entitled Helping Gay Men Flee Chechnya to aid Rainbow Railroad, a Canadian organization that has helped 37 men flee Chechnya by working closely with the Russian LGBT Network, a non-governmental organization who has helped Chechens escape the region.
“After the Holocaust everyone asked, ‘How did the world standby and do nothing?’” Erick’s fundraising page said. “Well, here is your chance to do something. Or will our grandkids ask the same question of us?”
Erick says that 6,000 people donated and 7,300 thousand shared the campaign’s page including gay Star Trek actor George Takei which helped boost the campaign’s notoriety. Erick has encouraged others to start their own fundraisers as well to help Chechen refugees.
There has been little news of Chechnya’s anti-LGBTQ purges since May 26, 2017 (the start of Ramadan, the date that Chechen officials reportedly wanted to exterminate all LGBTQ residents by). Russia denied the reports of violence, Chechen officials obstructed the official investigation into it and worlds leaders (including the U.S.) stayed mostly silent during the purge.
read more at UNICORN BOOTY
March for Equality 2017
Supporters of LGBT rights marched and rallied in the nation’s capital and dozens of other U.S. cities on Sunday, celebrating gains but angry over threats posed by the administration of President Donald Trump.
The centerpiece event, the Equality March in Washington, was endorsed by virtually every major national advocacy group working on behalf of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans.
Activists have been embittered by the Trump administration’s rollback of federal guidance advising school districts to let transgender students use the bathrooms and locker rooms of their choice.
They also complain that Trump, who campaigned as a potential ally of gays and lesbians, has stocked his administration with foes of LGBT rights, including Vice President Mike Pence, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price.
Throngs of marchers, many thousands strong, paraded past the White House and toward the Capitol, trailing behind a giant rainbow flag near the head of the procession.
Two 15-year-old marchers, Jessica Dodge and Shekinah Aho, held hands and wore shirts that said, “Make America Gay Again.”
The Los Angeles pride parade was renamed the ResistMarch, and tens of thousands turned out in Hollywood, some carrying rainbow flags or signs reading “Love Trumps Hate.” Speakers included Mayor Eric Garcetti, U.S. Reps. Adam Schiff, Maxine Waters and Nancy Pelosi, and RuPaul, the host of “RuPaul’s Drag Race.”
Waters led the crowd in a chant of “Impeach 45.”
“We’re going to take our country back from him,” she said. “I know that you have the strength. I know that you have the courage. And I know that each of you understand you have the power.”
Back in Washington, the activist leaders on hand included Sarah Kate Ellis, president of GLAAD, which monitors media coverage of the LGBT community.
She noted that Trump, breaking from the practice of Barack Obama, has declined to issue a proclamation in honor of Pride Month, and that the Trump administration has deleted questions about sexual orientation from planned federal surveys.
“If you look at their prioritization, we’re really low on it,” she said. “There absolutely is a resistance aspect to this march.”
READ MORE HERE
PULSE in Orlando…1 year Later
From the Washington Post –
For the first time since the massacre last June, when Orlando’s Pulse nightclub went from patrons’ safe haven to nightmare in a matter of seconds, owner Barbara Poma turned on the building’s outside lights Sunday — reminding mourners what it looked like before everything closed down.
Hues of pink and purple splashed across the bar’s black exterior and blue-green spotlights illuminated palm trees. The club’s logo — a large “P” — was projected on the wall.
It had been a year since the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history stole 49 lives there and scarred countless others; a year since Pulse, a safe space for Orlando’s gay community, fundamentally changed.
From CBS News –
Church bells throughout Orlando will ring 49 times at noon Monday, a year after the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history.
Gov. Rick Scott ordered U.S. flags around Florida to be flown at half-staff, a giant rainbow flag will be unveiled at the Orange County government building, and three separate services at the Pulse nightclub will be held as well as a large evening gathering in the heart of downtown Orlando to honor the 49 patrons massacred at the gay nightclub.
The first service, closed to the public, was held for survivors, local officials and club employees, overlapping with the exact time gunman Omar Mateen began firing shots — a little after 2 a.m. on June 12, 2016 — during “Latin Night” at Pulse, reports CBS Orlando affiliate WKMG-TV.
“Just after 1 a.m. the angels walked through the parking lot and surrounded the nightclub,” the station says. “The same people dressed in wide, white angel wings protected family and friends in the days after the shooting last year so they could mourn in private. … Soft music played and the angels held candles, their backs facing the club as family gathered behind them.”
Target says #TakePride
Target doubles down on ‘gay’ pride despite losses in bathroom war
Rainbow-themed merchandise reflects retail giant’s aggressive LGBT stance
Target gives the right wing a big FUCK YOU!
Despite the drastic financial blowback Target Corporation has been weathering since announcing its plan last year to allow men to enter women’s bathroom facilities, the retail giant is continuing full-speed ahead in its pursuit of LGBT social activism, all in the name of “inclusivity.”
For the second year, Target is using a #TakePride hashtag on social media to promote its rainbow-themed online merchandise. The retailer’s “pride” paraphernalia include tee-shirts, swim trunks, flip-flops, headphones, iPhone cases and an assortment of other products emblazoned with LBGT logos.
Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2017/05/target-doubles-down-on-gay-pride-despite-losses-in-bathroom-war/#JLKbgjEzbGorSDC2.99
I’m A Gay Catfish – And Just Want to be Loved
Vlogger Davey Wavey put out a call for a gay “catfish” several months ago. For those unfamiliar with the term, which originated in a 2010 documentary by Nev Schulman about people who use other people’s photos to establish fake identities in order to carry on online relationships with strangers. In the documentary, and subsequent MTV series, producers seek out the catfish and out them in the company of their targets.
Wavey has posted a video of an interview with a man who confesses to being a catfish.
Writes Wavey to Towleroad: “I found him by reaching out to guys who catfish through a Facebook post. Rather than vilify these guys, my intent was to explore their motivation and logic. Overwhelmingly, many of these men told me that they feel invisible. And if they don’t catfish, they’d have no interaction with other gay men. Rather than be angry or outraged at these men for wasting our time or playing games, it may be more productive to question the role that each of us plays in making these men feel invisible.
The catfish said that he made a fake profile using the photo of a guy he’d been following on Instagram with a “gorgeous” body and face. His motivation was to get attention from men who would normally see him as invisible because he is overweight.
WATCH THE VIDEO
READ the rest at TOWLEROAD
TRUMP will NOT Protect Federal LGBT workers
LGBT NEWS FLASH
President Trump has flip-flopped once again on his promise to protect LGBT workers who work for federal contractors from workplace discrimination. – I am so tired of this shit talker – when can we impeach him???
Trump signed an order on Monday revoking protections signed into law by President Obama in 2014. Obama signed an executive order banning LGBT discrimination among federal contractors; he concurrently signed an order requiring contracted businesses prove they’re complying with federal laws and executive orders. President Trump rescinded the latter order, making it much more difficult to know whether a business has committed to ending LGBT bias in hiring, firing, and promotions.
Lambda Legal condemned Trump’s actions, saying, “This administration has made it extremely difficult to enforce these federal laws as applied to federal contractors.” “It’s sending a message to these companies,” said Camilla Taylor, senior counsel at Lambda Legal, “…that the federal government simply doesn’t care whether or not they violate the law.”
Read more at ADVOCATE
Mitchell Gold Takes Aim at North Carolina
GAY NEWS
Mitchell Gold Takes Aim at
North Carolina’s HB2 in Statement
Faith in America calls on North Carolina legislators to leave religious beliefs on LGBT people at the door
Mitchell Gold today released a statement opposing North Carolina’s Legislators and NC clergy and churches that offer despair and exclusion to NC LGBTQ youth. HB2 must be repealed and North Carolina’s youth must be embraced:
I’m writing today as Co-Founder and CEO of Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams Home Furnishings, and Co-Founder and Co-Chair of Faith in America to express my support for a FULL repeal of HB2 immediately. As leaders in our state, it would immediately signal that NC is open for business to everyone, and more importantly send a lifesaving message to the vulnerable LGBT teens in North Carolina that you care about their lives.
Today in North Carolina, you can still be fired, denied housing, or refused service simply for being gay or transgender. It’s bad for the economic sustainability of North Carolina. We have close to 1 million SF of manufacturing and warehouse facilities and over 600 employees in western North Carolina where we proudly make all our upholstered products. We can’t afford to have barriers in place when it comes to attracting and retaining the top talent we need to succeed. Especially for senior level talent, competitors in other states already have these protections in place, giving them a distinct advantage in recruitment and attraction. Recent decisions by the NFL, NCAA, and NBA to move or not award big events to places lacking equal protections has made this issue even more salient when it comes to North Carolina’s reputation and economic sustainability.
The principles of non-discrimination are rooted in core conservative values of fairness, equality, and opportunity. Everybody should have the chance to earn a living and provide for themselves and their families. Nobody should have to live in fear that they can be legally fired for reasons that have nothing to do with their job performance.
I want to state clearly that the issue of risk associated with transgender people using the restroom of their choice is an irresponsible and reckless witch-hunt. If you are concerned about safety for a problem that has not existed (and believe me, transgender people have been using the restroom of their choice for years), then implement stronger harassment or peeping Tom laws. But don’t underestimate the immense harm you are causing to vulnerable transgender people. Put yourself in their shoes! Have compassion for a transgender teen who suffers mental anguish from the pressures of their everyday life.
Finally, those who would like to be able to discriminate do so with a foundation in religious beliefs that LGBT people are sinners and consequently immoral and not deserving of full equality. These kinds of outdated religious teachings are extremely harmful to the over 1.5 million LGBT teenagers in America. LGBT teens are 4-6 times more likely to suffer immense mental anguish, attempt or commit suicide, or abuse drugs and alcohol than their straight peers. In conservative or anti-LGBT religious homes and churches, this number jumps to 8 times. You can bet that is the statistic in North Carolina. Equal rights legislation says to these precious individuals that the state recognizes their worth. I know from personal experience such leadership saves lives.
As you might be faced with opposition to full repeal, please look carefully into who and why they are opposed to treating LGBT people with dignity. We know from history that using religious teachings to cause harm or marginalize others was mistaken. Please don’t allow yourself to fall prey to their pressure.
Thank you for your commitment to a North Carolina that respects, protects, and celebrates all who live, work, and play in this great state.
Sincerely,
Mitchell Gold
Gay News – LGBT HATE BUS FreeSpeechBus
Anti-LGBTIQ Hate Bus
Tours The United States
The so-called FreeSpeechBus, is currently spreading its hateful message through the streets of New York City. The organizers behind the bus include the International Organization for the Family, labeled a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, and the notoriously anti-LGBTIQ group National Organization for Marriage. The bright orange bus is covered in the message, “It’s Biology: Boys are boys…and always will be. Girls are girls…and always will be. You can’t change sex. Respect all.”
Jessica Stern of OutRight Action International commented,
“Free speech is a constitutional right, but language has consequences. Trans youth already have an extremely high risk for violence, discrimination, and suicide. Broadcasting a message that erases and denies the reality that transgender and intersex children and youth exist is irresponsible, factually misleading, disrespectful, and dangerous. This vehicle is part of the reason trans youth are driven to suicide.”
A group of individuals and organizations advocating for the human rights of LGBTIQ people have banded together calling attention to the bus’s harmful message. They are asking New York City’s political and civil society leaders to join them in speaking out against the harmful, untrue and discriminatory message it promotes and the violence against trans individuals it will likely encourage.
Gillian Kane, Senior Policy Advisor at Ipas, an international women’s reproductive health and rights organization, a member of the coalition, stated,
“We call on politicians everywhere that the bus is traveling to take a stand for diversity and respect for all people—including intersex, transgender, and gender non-conforming people— and to speak out against the hate and transphobia propagated by this bus.”
A similarly styled bus received strong pushback in Spain earlier this year and was recently banned in Madrid on the premise that it was discriminatory and could incite hate crimes. After the bus was banned, it received high-profile attention from the likes of Chelsea Clinton who Tweeted, “Please don’t bring these buses to the U.S. (or anywhere).”
Kimberly Zieselman, JD Executive Director of “interACT: advocates for intersex youth, commented,
“This isn’t biology–this is hatred rooted in an entirely false understanding of the human body. Being a girl or a boy isn’t about biology, it is about gender. The reality is that biological sex is on a spectrum, and no amount of argument will prove otherwise. Approximately 2% of children are born intersex, meaning they transcend typical notions of what the “FreeSpeechBus” says is “boy” and girl.” This bus attempts to erase the lived realities of the incredibly brave young people I work with every day who do not fit into this binary. In the same way that gender is not limited to strict male and female categories, neither is our biological sex.”
Haven Herrin, Executive Director of Soulforce, an LGBTQI social justice organization that challenges Christian Supremacy through spiritual healing, radical analysis, and strategic direct action, added their perspective commenting,
“Religion that denies the sacred being of trans and intersex children is no religion at all – it’s a gross abuse of power. We need to send the message to trans and intersex youth that they are cherished just as they are and that they don’t have to conform to pressure from hateful ideologies.”
The bus will also be stopping in New Haven, Boston, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC.
#gaynews LGBTQ Movie FAIR HAVEN
KERSTIN KARLHUBER’S DEBUT FEATURE FILM FAIR HAVEN
STARRING TOM WOPAT, GREGORY HARRISON & MICHAEL GRANT
TACKLES POLITICALLY TOPICAL SUBJECT MATTER SUCH AS GAY CONVERSION THERAPY, LGBT YOUTH & RELIGION
Writer/Director Kerstin Karlhuber always knew she wanted to tell this story. She couldn’t have expected that its themes would become so deeply relevant to the current American political and social climate.
Kerstin’s debut feature film Fair Haven is a tender love story, a rural working class family drama, and a poignant exploration of the lingering effects of “gay conversion therapy” on a young man and the people he loves most. As America begins to come to terms with a new presidential administration, issues of LGBT rights and acceptance have once again been thrust to the forefront of the national conversation, with many fearful that the progress of recent years is in danger of being reversed.
Kerstin has dedicated the film to her late cousin Katelyn, a young transgender woman who tragically passed away soon after the film was completed.
“Spreading the message of acceptance and tolerance is our mission,” said Kerstin Karlhuber. “If we can help young people gain confidence in their differences and maybe open a few closed minds we’ll have achieved our goal.”
Fair Haven’s theatrical debut on March 3 and VOD/DVD release on March 7
A trailer for Fair Haven is available HERE.
Gavin Grimm Transgender Case goes to Supreme Court
There was nothing remarkable about Gavin Grimm’s first trip to the boys’ bathroom at Gloucester High School. It was a little more than a month into his sophomore year, when the transgender teenager had begun quietly reintroducing himself to the student body as a boy.
Grimm had used men’s restrooms at restaurants, stores and the local amusement park, and using the boys’ bathroom at his school felt like “the natural progression of things,” he said. Just like cutting his hair short, just like wearing baggy pants and graphic T-shirts, just like beginning testosterone shots. He started using the boys’ bathroom shortly after he got word from Principal Nate Collins that it would be okay.
But that decision to use the boys’ bathroom one fall day in 2014 clashed with this town’s sensibilities and led to an acrimonious public debate. Now, Grimm’s case has made this quiet, out-of-the-way community in Virginia’s Tidewater region the unlikely center of the national debate over how public schools should accommodate transgender students.
The U.S. Supreme Court announced Friday it will hear a school board’s appeal of a lower court decision affirming transgender students’ access to facilities appropriate for their gender identity — and if it lets that decision stand, it will be a major victory for transgender rights relating to students.
After Donald Trump‘s election, there was some question about whether the court would uphold last October’s decision to hear the case of transgender teen Gavin Grimm, who is suing his Virginia high school for the right to use the restroom and locker room that corresponds with his gender.
The justices are scheduled to hear the case on March 28 and Grimm is preparing for the spotlight. Grimm was initially allowed to use the boys’ restroom at his high school, but after receiving complaints, the school board adopted a policy requiring students to use the restroom that corresponds with their sex assigned at birth or be segregated to a single-stall restroom.
His case drew headlines as it advanced from remarks before the school board to federal courts. That’s because it’s not just Grimm’s life on the line. The Supreme Court’s ruling could settle, one way or another, the debate over whether transgender people should be regarded as the gender they say they are, and allowed equal access to public spaces like restrooms, for years to come.
STONEWALL on dvd with Jeremy Irvine
THIS IS A MUST SEE MOVIE !! Especially for LGBTQ youths!
STONEWALL is a drama about a fictional young man caught up during the 1969 Stonewall riots. Danny Winters (Played by the handsome and talented Jeremy Irvine) is kicked out of his home, moves to New York City from the Mid West following an incident with a schoolmate that causes problems with his family.
Struggling to come to terms with his sexuality, Danny falls in with Ramona (Jonny Beauchamp is outstanding!) and her friends and quickly becomes part of the Greenwich Village scene. During a night in the Stonewall Inn, Danny learns about the harsh realities of being gay in the late 60s but a chance meeting with Trevor (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) promises to change his life until he’s forced into the hands of Stonewall Inn manager Ed Murphy (Ron Perlman) who exploits young gay homeless people.
Pip Ellwood -Hughes gave a great review which I agree with 100%.
It’s true – Stonewall was pretty much a critical and commercial failure on its theatrical release. Many took exception to the film’s perceived white-washing of the Stonewall Riots and complained that it didn’t accurately reflect the ethnic diversity that actually played a part in the historical event. The poor reception led to the film flopping despite director/producer Roland Emmerich and star Jeremy Irvine going on the offensive to try and counter the negative press.
What becomes clear while watching Stonewall is that the film was a victim of deceptive marketing more than anything else. It’s actually an engaging, emotional and entertaining film but the emphasis on the Stonewall Riots is a little misleading. Stonewall is actually the story of a teenage boy coming to terms with his sexuality against the backdrop of the Stonewall Riots; it’s not a recreation of the event as the marketing and indeed the film’s title would lead you to believe.
It’s well worth watching!
Read more HERE.
Official Website HERE
Mother Stabs and Kills Gay Son
I hate to even share news like this – but it is important for people to understand that this goes on!
Mother Stabs Son To Death For Being Gay– on Christmas Eve!
A mother in Brazil has confessed to stabbing her teenage son to death because of his sexuality.
The attack occurred on Christmas Eve as Tatiana Lozano Pereira, 32, and her 17-year-old son Itaberli Lozano were returning home after having a heated argument. Once they entered the house, the boy was ambushed by Pereira and two men she’d hired to assault him.
Though the original plan was to bruise him up to “teach him a lesson” about being gay, halfway through the beating, Pereira ordered the men to kill him. When they refused, she took a kitchen knife and stabbed him herself, according to local news sources.
The 32-year-old mother told police that after he was dead, she removed the body from the house with the help of her husband, the boy’s stepfather. They took it to a nearby cane field where they burned it.
The young boy’s charred remains were discovered on January 7. During her first interrogation, Pereira reportedly confessed her part in the crime, naming the two men she’d hired. Her husband was charged for aiding in the disposal of the body.
According to several family members, including the boy’s uncle, Pereira had long rejected her son for his sexuality.
Upstairs Inferno – Gay Mass Murder
UPSTAIRS INFERNO recently received the JURY AWARD: HONORABLE MENTION at Frameline: the San Francisco International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, citing its “Special Contribution to Queer History“, the JURY AWARD: BEST MEN’S DOCUMENTARY FEATURE and AUDIENCE AWARD: BEST MEN’S FEATURE at the North Carolina Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, the BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE AWARD at the Long Beach QFilm Festival, the JURY AWARD: BEST DOCUMENTARY FILM at the Seattle Lesbian and Gay Film Festival, the AUDIENCE AWARD: FAVORITE DOCUMENTARY at the North Louisiana Gay and Lesbian Film Festival and the JURY & AUDIENCE AWARDS: BEST DOCUMENTARY at FilmOut San Diego.
This is an incredibly important story in LGBT history and U.S. history. While we never imagined there’d be another LGBT mass murder in the United States, we MUST UNITE as a community AND a country and NEVER allow this to happen again. Especially in the wake of the Orlando tragedy, we must continue to educate and enlighten people. “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” UPSTAIRS INFERNO can open the door to a cathartic and constructive conversation.
49 Celebrities Honor 49 Victims of Orlando Tragedy
Stop the Hate: 49 Celebrities Honor 49 Victims of Orlando Tragedy in Ryan Murphy-Produced Tribute
For too long, a toxic combination of anti-LGBTQ hate and easy access to guns has put LGBTQ people at disproportionate risk of violence and murder. On June 12, forty-nine innocent people — most of them Latinx — were killed at Pulse nightclub in Orlando simply because of who they were. It’s on all of us to keep their memories alive, and to ensure part of their legacy becomes meaningful action to end hate violence. Join the Human Rights Campaign and urge your legislator to support legislation that will ensure LGBTQ people are safe and equal in every community and find out how to support the survivors and families of the Orlando victims. Learn more at:
http://www.hrc.org/StopTheHate
Special thanks to Ryan Murphy, Ned Martel and their colleagues at Ryan Murphy Television for making this project possible and all of our friends in the entertainment community for their support of this project including (in order of appearance) Lady Gaga, Chris Pine, Cuba Gooding Jr., Connie Britton, Matt Bomer, Sarah Paulson, Angela Bassett, Lea Michele, Colton Haynes, Sophia Bush, Jane Fonda, Harry Shum Jr., Denis O’Hare, Rob Reiner, Melissa Benoist, Caitlyn Jenner, Édgar Ramírez, Max Greenfield, Chaz Bono, Cheyenne Jackson, Emma Roberts, Kerry Washington, George Lopez, Evan Rachel Wood, Sofia Vergara, Diego Boneta, Nina Jacobson, Demi Lovato, Tyler Oakley, Yeardley Smith, Kid Cudi, Kaitlin Olson, Kevin McHale, Jamie Lee Curtis, Lee Daniels, Chace Crawford, Evan Peters, Gerard Butler, Katey Sagal, John Stamos, Laverne Cox, Jordana Brewster, Wes Bentley, Finn Wittrock, Darren Criss, Kathy Bates, Anna Paquin, Guillermo Díaz and Joe Mantello.
SHARE this Transgender Video
I was born in the 60’s.
Being GAY was a struggle. And I never thought I would see gay marriage in my lifetime. But something happened in the last 10 years….gays were accepted more and more. Equality. Marriage. What slowly started in 2001, snowballed by 2015!
TRANS had always been around, but in 2013, 2014 and 2015 IT SNOWBALLED, faster than the speed of light. TRANS was out of the closet and everywhere!
This is a GREAT video – please share it! Moms are calling on all who dare to use the transgender community for dishonest and divisive politics: Meet my child.
North Carolina and Mississippi Boycott Continues
It is truly amazing that SO MANY companies have stood up to North Carolina and Mississippi in recent weeks!
The rights holders of the musicals West Side Story and Footloose have quietly withdrawn permission for their musicals to be done in the states of North Carolina and Mississippi, apparently in reaction to laws passed in those states that discriminate against LGBT individuals.
Wicked ’s Stephen Schwartz Hopes Banning Shows from North Carolina Will Turn Anger Into Activism
Similarly, the Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization announced that the rights holders of the musical Footloose had also withdrawn permission for their show, described as one of the most popular in the R&H catalogue, to be done in the two states. They issued this statement:
To the residents of North Carolina and Mississippi:
In light of the recent passage in your states of heinous and discriminatory laws that severely curtails the rights of many minorities, the creators of “Footloose” are suspending the issuance of any license to present or produce their work until such time as the legislature and governor reverse their decision.
Among arts groups, Cirque du Soleil canceled engagements in North Carolina after the state passed HB2, a “religious freedom” bill that allows individuals and businesses to deny services to LGBT individuals based on personal religious beliefs.
Upcoming performances of Ovo in Greensboro (April 20-24) and Charlotte (July 6-10), as well as Toruk – Avatar in Raleigh (June 22-26), have all been canceled in the wake of the legislation. “Cirque du Soleil strongly believes in diversity and equality for every individual and is opposed to discrimination in any form. The new HB2 legislation passed in North Carolina is an important regression to ensuring human rights for all. We therefore choose to cancel our scheduled performances.”
Gay Colors and Gay Clothes
DOUCHEBAG INDIANA GOVERNOR
MIKE PENCE is at it again!
Indiana Gov. Mike Pence signed an executive order Wednesday that bans what he called “gay colors” to be worn by boys in public elementary and secondary schools in the state.
Pence referred to pink, chartreuse, teal and magenta, in particular, as “gateway colors” for young boys who might have an inclination toward homosexuality.
“Governor Pence believes that if boys wear clothes with colors traditionally worn by young girls, this can cause gender confusion for the boy,” said Hugh Strait, a spokesman for the governor.
Pence’s announcement comes as the state prepares for Tuesday’s presidential primary.
The executive order comes as other states have passed laws that critics say discriminate against gays and LGBTs.
read more at Huffington Post!
Manny Pacquiao Banned from Mall
WE DON’T WANT YOUR KIND HERE!
Boxer Manny Pacquiao has been banned from Los Angeles’ The Grove following his most recent anti-gay comments. And it’s not the first time he’s been declared “not welcome” by the shopping mecca because of his hateful remarks.
That’s pretty cool, that HUGE COMPANIES are standing up for us!!
“These are statements of hatred,” Grove owner Rick Caruso tells us … “A lot of people from the gay community come to The Grove and they have a right not to feel uncomfortable.”
“Manny Pacquiao is no longer welcome.”
IN OTHER SIMILAR NEWS….
SUPERBOWL –
Georgia’s ‘Religious Freedom’ Bill could put the state’s future hosting the Super Bowl in jeopardy following a statement from the NFL.
The bill has been passed by the state’s general assembly and awaits Governor Nathan Deal’s signature. But Deal’s decision could come at a significant cost to the state’s football future.
The Atlanta Falcons’ owner was quick to respond with the following statement:
“One of my bedrock values is ‘Include Everyone’ and it’s a principle we embrace and strive to live each and every day with my family and our associates, a vast majority of which live and work in Georgia. I strongly believe a diverse, inclusive and welcoming Georgia is critical to our citizens and the millions of visitors coming to enjoy all that our great state has to offer. House Bill 757 undermines these principles and would have long-lasting negative impact on our state and the people of Georgia.”
These are major actions, in support of gay rights! YAY!
