Las Vegas Walmart Reportedly Refuses To Print 'Gay' On Cake For Gay-Straight Prom 'Couple'
Two Nevada teens — one gay and one straight — have become Internet sensations in the wake of their viral promposal, but a new wrinkle in what had been a heartwarming story has emerged.

Jennifer Sandoval, the aunt of one of the teens, told local Fox affiliate KVVU-TV that employees at a Las Vegas Walmart refused to include the word “gay” on a surprise cake she bought for the duo. Sandoval’s nephew is Anthony Martinez, who attended the Desert Oasis High School junior prom with his straight best friend, Jacob Lescenski, on May 2.

In a Teen Vogue video profile of Lescenski and Martinez, which can be seen below, Sandoval revealed the original inscription she’d hoped to have written on the icing: “You’re gay, he’s straight, you’re going to prom, you couldn’t have had a better date.”

After the Walmart associates refused to print the word “gay,” she opted for, “You matter, prom kings.”

“One word — ‘gay’ — which is the meaning of happy, isn’t going to harm putting that on a cake,” Sandoval said in the KVVU-TV interview. “I don’t understand. It’s one word. It’s ‘gay.’“

When the news station contacted the Walmart, a spokesperson said store policy doesn’t prohibit the word “gay,” and management wasn’t alerted when Sandoval made the request. The spokesperson said a store manager would contact Sandoval.

Sandoval said she was “disappointed” by the incident. The word “wasn’t hurtful,” she said. “It was to make my nephew happy, to see a smile on his face.”

No word on Lescenski and Martinez’s reaction to the cake news, but from the look of the Teen Vogue video below, the guys couldn’t have been happier with their prom night.

View the tweet that started the buzz below:

Guess who just got asked to prom by @JacobLescenskii pic.twitter.com/eDrTRkX7fp

— AnthonyseXC (@anthonyseXC) April 21, 2015

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Joe Manganiello’s Ready To Be Worshipped, Madonna’s Bathroom Has Rats, How To Get Rid Of The Kardashians

After the recent death of Vine user Ryan McHenry, who created the 2013 meme Ryan Gosling Won’t Eat His Cereal, Ryan Gosling finally ate his cereal.

If you’re tired of keeping up with the Kardashians (and, honestly, who isn’t?), get ready to be indebted to James Shamsi. His company has created software that will eliminate any mention of the publicity-hungry clan, except for Bruce Jenner, from your news feed. God bless!

Sia + Giorgio Moroder = song of the summer. Enjoy their “Deja Vu” collaboration below.

Maria Bello recently chatted with GLAAD’s Claire Pires about how she reconciles her Catholic faith with her relationship with a woman.

Veteran actress Ellen Albertini Dow, perhaps best-known for her scene-stealing work in the 1998 comedy The Wedding Singer, has died at 101. Watch her perform her unforgettable take on “Rapper’s Delight” below.

It’s challenging to adequately describe this very NSFW video that’s been making the rounds the past few weeks, other than to say it features two guys who sort of resemble David Beckham (below) and a pre-Guardians of the Galaxy Chris Pratt and will forever change the way you hear Lionel Richie’s classic “Hello.”

It’s odd enough to see Madonna drinking wine and eating pizza, but is there really a rat living in her bathroom? While answering questions submitted by fans during her AskAnythingChat with Romeo Saturday Night Online, there appears to be the reflection of a rodent in the mirror at the 9:55 mark. (h/t: Perez Hilton).

Jimmy Fallon and Jack Black have taken their love of music to a new extreme. The duo donned heavy metal wigs to film a shot-for-shot remake of the video for “More Than Words,” Extreme’s 1991 chart-topping ballad.

You probably already know that Morrissey has a huge Latino following so to wish everyone a very happy and safe Cinco de Mayo, here’s this…

Oh yeah, Joe Manganiello popped by Good Morning, America to offer a sneak peek at the new Magic Mike XXL trailer. He, Channing Tatum, Matt Bomer and company are ready to be worshipped so down on your knees, folks.

ABC Breaking US News | ABC Politics News

Jeremy Kinser

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WATCH: Oprah Talks Trans Identities, Gender Roles And More With Janet Mock

Anthony Costello

www.towleroad.com/2015/05/watch-oprah-talks-trans-identities-gender-roles-and-more-with-janet-mock-in-own-interview.html

Hawaii Passes Bill Allowing Transgender People To Change Birth Certificate
HONOLULU (AP) — The Hawaii Legislature has passed a bill that could make it a lot easier for transgender people to change their gender on their birth certificates.

Right now, people in Hawaii are required to undergo gender reassignment surgery if they want to make that change. But the state House and Senate approved a bill Tuesday that removes the surgical requirement, sending the bill to Gov. David Ige.

Many people don’t want to have surgery or can’t afford to. Advocates say this paves the way for transgender people to access life’s necessities and participate more fully in society.

At least six other states have made similar changes to their birth certificate laws.

Republican Sen. Sam Slom says everyone’s born as a man or woman and the state’s heading down a sketchy slope.

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Man Sentenced To Six Months After Years Of Knowingly Spreading HIV: “I Am Not A Monster”

“I am not a monster,” Thomas Guerra told the courtroom before receiving his sentencing this week.

Back in August of last year we reported on an unsettling story out of San Diego involving then-29-year-old Guerra knowingly infecting his boyfriend with HIV.

The boyfriend was contacted by a former lover of Guerra via Facebook Messenger, who warned him that Thomas was a liar and HIV-positive.

“Texts where he’s stating he’s negative to people then bragging to others about giving people his ‘positive load.’ It’s crude, it’s… I don’t know how someone could treat another individual like that,” Guerra’s accuser, who chooses to remain anonymous, said at the time.

Related: Sean Cody Model-Turned-Murderer Profiled In Crime Series: “Killing Aroused Him”

Guerra was charged by the San Diego City Attorney’s Office for willfully exposing himself to another person with HIV, a misdemeanor with a maximum sentence of six months and $1,000 fine.

Judge Lewis, who sentenced him, called the six-month jail time in the case a “travesty.”

“I think that’s a tremendous oversight in the law if this is just a misdemeanor,” she said. “If any good comes out of it, that this law would change” and become a felony.

Guerra pleaded no contest, and throughout sentencing showed no signs of wrongdoing or remorse.

In fact, he blamed the victim — in this case, his former lover of a year.

Related: Seven High School Football Players Charged With Sex Crimes For Penetration Hazing Ritual

“I did not rape this person,” he told the visibly frustrated judge. “I did not take him against his will. Within 5 minutes of Grindr text messaging, he was there. So if you’re that reckless with your life, how can you blame anyone else for your actions?”

Evidence included 11,000 text messages he sent and 36 audio clips showing he was deceitful with sexual partners about being HIV positive.

“I don’t think in my 25-plus years in a law, I’ve ever seen somebody be so lacking of insight, blame or responsibility that you have demonstrated,” Judge Lewis told Guerra.

Dan Tracer

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Kenyan Deputy President William Ruto: Kenya Has 'No Room' For Gays

Charles Pulliam-Moore

www.towleroad.com/2015/05/kenyan-deputy-president-william-ruto-kenya-has-no-room-for-gays.html

Incarcerated Delaware Trans Man Gets Help in Fight for Name Change

Kai Short, already joined by the ACLU, got support this week from Delaware’s governor in his ongoing pursuit of a legal name change.

read more

Mitch Kellaway

www.advocate.com/politics/transgender/2015/05/05/incarcerated-delaware-trans-man-gets-help-fight-name-change

From Tears to Joy: My Life in Transition
It’s almost impossible to describe the mixture of fear and excitement that I felt while sitting in the HR manager’s office at work. I can finally live as me! No more lying about who I am, or questing whether people would accept me. Until this point, I was used to only being able to tell people about myself when I was either very intoxicated, having a severe episode of depression or behind closed doors in the therapist’s office. You see, my name is Chloe and I’m a trans-woman.

From a very young age I remember stealing things like nail polish, clothes and makeup from my mother. I would even role play and fantasize about being a woman. One time, my older brothers caught me and told me that was not for boys to do. After being caught, it was ingrained in my head that boys must act like boys. I learned very quickly how to pretend to be what people wanted me to be.

For me, the worst part about pretending to be something I was not from such a young age was that I missed out on those teen years where you get to discover who you are. Instead of this era of self-discovery, my teen years were spent trying to be who others said I should be. Dating was also next to impossible, because I kept everybody away and there was a level of dishonesty I felt in my core of cores. At the time it was impossible to put into words, but now I understand. Truthfully, if I couldn’t be honest with myself I couldn’t be honest with someone else.

By my twenties I was in a state of extreme depression. I often toyed with the idea of suicide, and I began to try everything I could to drown out the sorrow. At a job I had at the time, I told some people that I was very close to that I was gay, and that I liked to dress up. One of them took me shopping and I was nervous as hell and stayed very close to her so nobody would suspect anything. A couple of weeks later I got told by a higher up in the company that I couldn’t dress like that at work. Of course I played it off saying something along the lines that I only do that at home during my personal time. Although, it really hurt and led me to believe that I was going to be stuck being someone that I’m not, forever. I had many nights where I’d drink heavily and talk of suicide and my little brother would stick it out with me, and make sure I didn’t do anything. Finally, one night I had enough, I broke down and told my mom about me and told her that I can’t keep living this life. So she called up a therapist in the area and told me she’d help pay for it just so I could get the help I needed.

So there I was, sitting in my therapist’s office all alone waiting… and waiting… and waiting. Finally I got in and started to tell her about what was going on with me. The initial fear was awful, but the need to break away from the pain that I felt due to my gender identity was just crippling. My therapist recommended that I go to a group session to meet other people who had gone through the same kinds of things. Up until this point I was only used to seeing negative depictions of transgender people in the media and naturally I was skeptical, but I decided to go along with it. The people I met surprised me. They were all normal people that just wanted to live a normal life as the people they were in their hearts. Furthermore, I saw that the one thing I always needed to know was possible. That it is possible to live the life as the person I know I am rather than person I was told to be.

I started to experience more moments of joy and clarity. When I came out at work and started to live full time as me, Chloe, I dealt a lot with people who tried to bring me down. I was called “ladyboy” and told that people wouldn’t accept me and there was nothing that could be done. People refused to call me by my name and kept referring to me as “him” and “a guy.” There were many times I just had to find a quiet place to be alone and cry. Finally, I came to the realization that I will NOT let the hate and discrimination of others dictate my happiness anymore. Instead, I grew stronger from it and in reality it made me a better person.

For all the people who go through the process that I have, just remember, there is light at the end of the tunnel. Often times we have to create it ourselves but it’s there. You, much like myself, have hopes and dreams that you need to fulfill in life and giving up cannot be an option. Stay strong, and remember that there is love in our community and are supporters for you. You certainly have my love.

Chloe Hudson is a cast member of Discovery Life Channel’s “New Girls on the Block.” The docu-series follows a group of friends in Kansas City, MO – who happen to be transgender. The show airs Saturdays at 7/6c on Discovery Life Channel. To find Discovery Life Channel, please visit the channel finder: www.discoverylife.com/channel-finder/

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