Arrest Made In Deadly Beating Of Transgender Woman Islan Nettles

Arrest Made In Deadly Beating Of Transgender Woman Islan Nettles
An arrest has been made in the beating death of a transgender woman, according to the victim’s mother.

Delores Nettles told DNA Info on Tuesday that prosecutors have informed her of an arrest in the 2013 killing of her daughter, 21-year-old Islan Nettles.

“I’m overwhelmed,” Nettles said. “I still want to know the facts, but it’s been a long time coming.”

The New York Police Department did not immediately return a request for comment from The Huffington Post.

The Manhattan District Attorney’s office declined comment when reached by DNA Info.

The name of the suspect was not known nor were the charges they could face.

On Aug. 17, 2013, Nettles was walking with friends in the early morning near her home in Harlem when they ran into a group of young men outside a police precinct. A fight ensued, and Nettles, who was knocked to the ground and beaten by one of the young men, slipped into a coma. A few days later, she died.

Police initially charged Paris Wilson, 20, with misdemeanor assault. Nettles’ friends and family were upset that the charge had not been homicide.

Then another man came forward and confessed to the beating, but said he was too drunk to remember any of the details. That man was not charged. Charges were also dropped against Wilson, according to the New York Daily News.

Like Us On Facebook |
Follow Us On Twitter |
Contact The Author

www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/03/arrest-islan-nettles_n_6794680.html?utm_hp_ref=gay-voices&ir=Gay+Voices

Flip It And Reverse It: The Joys Of Being Versatile In Bed

Flip It And Reverse It: The Joys Of Being Versatile In Bed

tumblr_ndsogylRYo1rczqluo1_1280“More and more I’ve been feeling like even the question ‘Are you a top or a bottom?’ is passé,” blogger Rich Juzwiak writes in a new op-ed published on Gawker.

Versatility, he believes, is where it’s at. But he didn’t always feel that way.

For years, Juzwiak identified as a top. “But curiosity kept creeping up on me,” he says, “temping me to try what makes many a guy’s eyes roll back in his head uncontrollably.”

So he decided the give bottoming a try.

“The first guy who ever fucked me I met via gay.com; I don’t remember his name. He lived on the inland of South Jersey, so that’s probably for the best,” Juzwiak writes. “He was a terrible top. He knew that I was inexperienced, but told me that I just needed to relax to enjoy the experience. I felt the white heat of pain in my butt the entire time.”

But he didn’t let that one bad experience dissuade him from trying it again. (With a different gentleman, of course.)

“Bottoming remained a crapshoot (pun intended),” he says. “It could be great; it could be massively painful; it could be uncomfortable enough to feel like a big waste of time.”

Then, in 2013, Juzwaik had a prostate exam. His doctor asked him, “Has anyone ever told you that you’re a real tight ass?”

To which he replied: “Isn’t that a good thing?”

Juswaik’s doctor recommended exercises he try (including taking poppers) that might help him relax and enjoy bottoming more. Today, Juzwaik says he loves pounding just as much as getting pounded.

“One of the greatest things about being versatile is that you are potentially sexually compatible with anyone,” he writes. “I’d say I’ve topped in 75 percent of my casual encounters in the past two-and-a-half years. I was also in a relationship where I bottomed exclusively.”

“Finding your preferred sexual role…requires a deep level of introspection about something generally regarded as carnal,” Juswaik writes. “It requires work and experimentation to get it right.”

“But that work,” he concludes, “clearly, is loads of fun.”

What do you think? Is the notion of “top” and “bottom” passé? Sounds off in the comments section below.

Related stories:

How You Dance Determines Whether You’re A Top Or A Bottom

WATCH: Challenge What You Think You Know About Tops Vs. Bottoms

STUDY: Your Face Gives Away Whether You’re A Top Or Bottom

Graham Gremore

feedproxy.google.com/~r/queerty2/~3/i0fuoeQl3OM/flip-it-and-reverse-it-the-joys-of-being-versatile-in-bed-20150303

Slovenian Parliament Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage And Adoption

Slovenian Parliament Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage And Adoption

VoteBy a vote of 51-28, Slovenia’s Parliament today passed legislation that would amend the current marriage and family relations act to allow same-sex couples to legally be married and adopt. As STA reports, “A coalition of conservative groups has already announced efforts for a referendum.” Slovenia is the 12th European nation to recognize same-sex marriage.

(Photo via Twitter)


Sean Mandell

www.towleroad.com/2015/03/slovenian-parliament-legalizes-same-sex-marriage-and-adoption-.html

Reporter Uses Grindr At CPAC Gathering To Track Down Gay Men

Reporter Uses Grindr At CPAC Gathering To Track Down Gay Men
Were there gay men at one of the year’s biggest gatherings of conservatives? Of course there were!

Paul Detric, a reporter for Reason.TV, attended this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) and used the gay hook-up app Grindr to try and track down gays attending the event. Rather unsurprisingly, he found a number of them and several were willing to talk to Detric — though not necessarily on camera.

The most compelling response in the series of interviews might be from one attendee who admitted that he feels conservative ideology is behind the times.

“Especially for conservatives to be able to win an election, they’re going to need to get younger voters. To do that they need to start being more socially liberal — essentially they need to shift libertarian.”

Another young man added, “if we’re true conservatives, we really don’t want the government to be involved in our lives — period.”

Some of these responses may surprise you — check them out in the video above.

www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/03/grindr-cpac-gathering_n_6792274.html?utm_hp_ref=gay-voices&ir=Gay+Voices

Russell Tovey Baffled By Becoming “Worst Gay Ever,” Half-Apologizes For Comments

Russell Tovey Baffled By Becoming “Worst Gay Ever,” Half-Apologizes For Comments

russell-tovey-jonathan-groffYesterday the internet was divided over comments made by Looking actor Russell Tovey in an interview with The Guardian.

You can read more about that here.

Essentially, he expressed gratitude towards his father for not allowing him to go to a performing arts high school which might have made him a “more effeminate, tap dancing freak,” instead attending a school he feels “toughened him up.” His acting career, Russell contends, benefitted as a result.

Some readers thought we were making a mountain out of a mole hill by suggesting his comments were off-base, while many others took offense, feeling his words fell in line with a pattern of gay men casting shame on femme identity.

Russell, for his part, took to Twitter to sort-of apologize.

He fired off this series of Tweets:

#whiteflag #whiteflag

Russell Tovey (@russelltovey) March 3, 2015

I surrender. You got me. I’m sat baffled and saddened that a mis- fired inarticulate quote of mine, has branded me worst gay ever Contd

Russell Tovey (@russelltovey) March 3, 2015

If you feel I have personally let you down, I’m sorry, that was never my intention — Russell Tovey (@russelltovey) March 3, 2015

I’m proud to be who I am and proud for others We’re in this together, I want you to know whatever you think I meant, I didn’t — Russell Tovey (@russelltovey) March 3, 2015

I’m gonna ride this out, and one day we will all look back on this moment with a half smile of fascination and amusement

Russell Tovey (@russelltovey) March 3, 2015

Until that day I’m gonna carry on being me #lowersflag x

Russell Tovey (@russelltovey) March 3, 2015

We’re not sure if everyone will look back on this with “fascination and amusement,” but we’re certainly not branding him the worst gay ever. Not while these guys are around.

Dan Tracer

feedproxy.google.com/~r/queerty2/~3/XkEcE38Gd9o/russell-tovey-baffled-by-becoming-worst-gay-ever-half-apologizes-for-comments-20150303

Texas Lawmaker Introduces Arkansas-Style Ban On Local LGBT Protections

Texas Lawmaker Introduces Arkansas-Style Ban On Local LGBT Protections

Miller

A Texas lawmaker has introduced a draconian anti-LGBT bill almost identical to the one that became law in Arkansas last week. 

The proposal from GOP Rep. Rick Miller (above) would prohibit cities from enforcing nondiscrimination ordinances that include protected classes not contained in state law. 

The Texas Observer reports: 

Texas law doesn’t include sexual orientation or gender identity and expression. If passed, Miller’s bill would undo LGBT protections passed by numerous cities, including Austin, Dallas, San Antonio, El Paso, Fort Worth, Houston and Plano. Altogether more than 7.5 million Texas are covered by such ordinances. 

Miller’s office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

HB 1556 is more specific than a similar measure introduced by Sen. Don Huffines (R-Dallas). Huffines’ SB 343 would bar cities from enforcing any ordinances that are more stringent than state law, unless otherwise authorized by statute.

In Arkansas last month, a similar bill became law without the governor’s signature. Grassroots activists criticized national LGBT organizations for not doing enough to oppose the Arkansas measure, SB 202, which was drafted in direct response to Fayetteville’s passage of an LGBT-inclusive nondiscrimination ordinance.  

It will be interesting to see if things are any different in Texas. 

Read the full text of HB 1556, AFTER THE JUMP

SB00856I


John Wright

www.towleroad.com/2015/03/texas-lawmaker-introduces-arkansas-style-ban-on-local-lgbt-protections.html