Texas Oil Executive Arrested in Attack on Gay Couple
The head of an oil company stands accused of knocking a man unconscious after referring to him with an antigay slur.
Neal Broverman
www.advocate.com/crime/2015/06/17/texas-oil-executive-arrested-attack-gay-couple
Pride's Race Problem
My first Pride celebration happened in college. In famously hot Columbia, South Carolina, I marched in the parade, staggered my way through the festival, tipped the local drag talent and even threw some Bible verses at the inevitable protesters — ones I could still remember from back at my childhood church in the Alabama boondocks. I like to believe I handled myself pretty well, except for my choice in after-party. And that story is one best told with tequila.
It was not until many hangovers later that I learned Pride had an actual history behind it. I had assumed it was simply like Black History Month — a queer concession from the PC wars to showcase our community. The word “Stonewall” meant more to me as a piece of Confederate history from my Southern indoctrination than a rallying cry from the queer past — a past I was now a part of. The riots, the arrests, the birth of the gay movement — the story was and should remain an eye-opener to many young gay people during this month of the progress made on the backs of gay men and women before us.
Compare the story of Stonewall with how we celebrate it today. I’m not hear to cast judgment of the festivities themselves like some philistine — if anything, I think our gay ancestors would be thrilled to see us making merry in the sun, oftentimes with police forces marching beside us rather than arresting us. No, I would rather cast the first stone at the diversity of today’s Pride — or the lack thereof.
Recently, Nick Jonas replaced Iggy Azalea as the headliner for Pittsburgh Pride. His performance was a rousing success, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and his role in HBO’s “Kingdom” has made him a rising star among gay fans. But as the local paper reported, Azalea’s cancellation was not the only hiccup for the city’s Pride event this year. Several accusations have been brought against the Delta Foundation, the event’s organizer, of a lack of diversity in its leadership — mainly, that there are too many white gay men running the show.
The storyline is not new. White gay men have typically been the faces of Pride organizers across the country, and even national groups like the Human Rights Campaign have been criticized for having a particularly monochrome palette among their leaders. Take this together with questions regarding the ethnicity of NAACP official Rachel Dolezal, and this really has been a month of remembrance — more specifically, of how whites tend to co-opt minority narratives and speak for everyone.
Consider this: More than 40 years have passed since Stonewall, and the men and women who were instrumental to those riots are only just now having their moment — transgender people, especially those of color. I say “moment” in the sense of Hollywood’s acceptance; the deaths of many transgender women of color this year alone have shocked us into a frightening realization of the dangers that remain. Still, the black women who squared off with police officers in the streets of New York could hardly imagine the visibility their culture enjoys today. The question that remains for me is, why has it taken so long?
The question has obvious answers, but leads to some not-so-obvious lines of thinking. The gay community should ask itself: Have 40 years of Pride celebrations crafted and showcased by white gay men held back the advancement of rights for transgender people of color? As we wait on the brink of a Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage this month — the crown jewel in the post-AIDS crisis gay movement — who have we left behind in the struggle toward a better future?
Pride needs to change. It remains, each year, a product of the present, not the past or even the future. Its organizers in cities across the country treat each June as the month to commemorate a struggle they might have inherited, but not necessarily one their community sparked. Black transgender women gave us a legacy decades ago. It is time to turn that legacy into change. I say this year’s Pride, next year’s Pride and all those that follow should open doors to those in our community who have been held for too long in the background, waiting their turn. Let’s make the effort to let the story of Pride be told by those who were there — and carry on its fight today.
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Spotted: HRC’s Red Logo
With a decision expected in the historic marriage equality case Obergefell v. Hodges any day now, we want you to join the movement for nationwide marriage equality.
HRC.org
www.hrc.org/blog/entry/spotted-hrcs-red-logo?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed
Pope Francis Makes Dimwitted Statement About The Sanctity Of Marriage, Angers Gay Catholics
On the heels of Rome’s LGBT pride parade last weekend, Pope Francis immediately marched out and made some blandly offensive proclamations regarding the sanctity of marriage. “Children mature seeing their father and mother [happy],” he droned airily, to an audience of 25,000 dozy worshippers. “What great richness this diversity is, a diversity which becomes complementary, but also reciprocal. It binds them, one to the other.”
Um, we’re not sure what that’s even supposed to mean, but his statement clearly excludes a number of people in one fell swoop — single parents and LGBT parents not least among them. Marianne Duddy-Burke, executive director of LGBT advocacy group DignityUSA, took umbrage with his rhetoric: “This leads to the refusal to honor and support families that don’t look like the model held up by church officials,” she told The Huffington Post.
Francis DeBernardo, executive director of Catholic LGBT advocacy group New Ways Ministry, wholeheartedly agrees: “Pope Francis’ message… is harmful to many others in the Catholic Church: single-parent families, families where emotional and physical abuse occurs, families who are separated geographically because of political or economic situations, to name a few.”
When the Pope visits Philadelphia in September, Duddy-Burke plans to sit him down with a handful of gay couples so they can share their stories. “Sizable majorities of Catholics readily embrace their LGBT members,” she said. “They are impatient for the leadership to catch up!”
While she’s at it, she should tell him to stop comparing marriage to “a good wine.” Because that’s just wack.
Derek de Koff
Father Finally Charged In Hate Crime Murder Of Houston Lesbian Couple
The father of one of the victims has finally been charged in the murder of a Houston lesbian couple committed last year.
James Cosby was indicted on capital murder charges Tuesday in the deaths of his daughter, Britney Cosby, and her girlfriend, Crystal Jackson, who were both 24. James Cosby has been in jail on a charge of tampering with evidence since shortly after the murders.
The bodies of Cosby and Jackson were found near a Dumpster outside a convenience store in Galveston County in March 2014. Autopsy results showed Cosby died from blunt force trauma to the head, and Jackson — who had a 5-year-old daughter — died from a gunshot wound.
From KHOU-TV‘s report on James Cosby’s indictment:
Investigators later found a lot of blood at Cosby’s Houston home.
According to court documents, they searched Cosby s bedroom and found large areas of blood on surfaces throughout.
A criminal complaint filed in court says detectives also noticed a missing window shutter on Cosby s home. They found a shutter matching the missing one covered in blood near where the victim s bodies were found. Detectives say Cosby’s thumb print was on the shutter.
Following James Cosby’s arrest, Britney Cosby’s mother told KHOU that he “didn’t like the idea of her being gay.” Cosby’s mother also told the The Houston Chronicle: “He would throw it in her face,” adding that her daughter quoted James Cosby as saying, “Don’t throw that gay (expletive) around in this house.”
In addition, Houston civil rights activist Quanell X, who was advising the family in the wake of the murder, told Fox 26 he “found writings about homosexuality on Cosby’s Koran indicating he may have had an issue with his daughter’s sexual orientation.”
James Cosby had been released from prison in October 2013, where he served time for failing to register as a sex offender after being convicted two decades before of sexually assaulting a 22-year-old woman.
John Wright
Southern Baptists Ready to Defy SCOTUS Supreme Court on Marriage Equality
The resolution approved Tuesday reaffirms the faith group’s longstanding opposition to marriage equality, ‘no matter how the Supreme Court rules.’
Sunnivie Brydum
Everything Straight Men Want To Know About Anal Play But Are Afraid To Ask
It’s about time for straight men to appreciate the power of the ass. Don’t take our word for it — outlets as wide-ranging as Vice, Queerty and “Broad City” are all taking notice of the growing heterosexual interest in the back door.
But we understand exploring anal stimulation can be daunting at first, so HuffPost Live has a few tips for the uninitiated non-queer man. In the video above, host Josh Zepps talks with Brent Aldon, marketing director for the prostate stimulator Aneros, and Reid Mihalko, a sex and relationship expert, about eliminating the taboo around anal play and what men need to know before they give it a try.
Watch the full HuffPost Live conversation about sex toys for men here.
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— 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.
Meet Boston’s Newest Cops, Who Also Happen To Be In Love
There’s a first for everything, and this week, boyfriends graduating the police academy together is having its moment.
Meet Jimmy Moccia and Shawn MacIver, who as of today are cadets in the Boston Police Force. They’re also a happily partnered couple of five years.
Moccia, whose father and brother who are also Boston cops, told the Boston Herald “I think it’s important to note that throughout the entire academy experience we were never afraid to be ourselves.”
“I’m not going to lie. I was pretty nervous on the first day back in December,” he continued. “I sort of didn’t want people to find out because I didn’t want people to look at me differently. I wanted people to get to know us. We didn’t want to be known as ‘the gay cops.’ We’re cops who just happen to be gay. There’s so many other things we are. Yeah, gay’s on the list, but it doesn’t define us.
MacIver almost gave up his dream of joining the force were it not for the inspiration he found in Tim Hancock, a member of the BPD’s SWAT team.
“Tim came out 20 years ago this month after he graduated from the police academy,” MacIver said. “He’s a former Marine, a legend in the department, not to mention an inspiration and motivator who told me I could pick up my dream and follow it here in Boston.”
The two met working security for gay bar Club Cafe in Boston, and hope their being part of a minority community will serve them in their new jobs.
“On the civil service exam there is no box you can check for being ‘gay,’ but the truth is we are a minority,” Moccia said. “We are a minority in the country as well as the department. But when you talk about community policing, I think it really provides us with a deeper empathy. We understand what it is like to exist in the shadows.”
Dan Tracer
Bellevue, Idaho Passes LGBT Non-Discrimination Ordinance
The city of Bellevue, Idaho Monday passed a non-discrimination ordination that will provide protections for LGBT people against discrimination in housing, employment and public accommodations. While the measure passed by the Bellevue City Council bans discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity or expression, the new protections are “subject to certain exceptions,” as Idaho Mountain Express reports:
Bellevue City Attorney Rick Allington, who was not present Monday, said in an interview that the new law does not apply to churches at all, except to prohibit discrimination against an LGBT or supposed LGBT employee, such as a janitor.
“The statute is not designed to step on anyone’s religious beliefs,” Allington said. […]
Allington said a judge would not be required to perform same-sex marriages because he or she would be an employee of the state. He pointed out that the state never added the words “sexual orientation” or “sexual identity” to its Human Rights Act.
Other exceptions to the new anti-discrimination law include not forcing people to rent rooms in their homes or duplexes to LGBT people.
The new law does not apply to some organizations, including the Boy Scouts of America, or to any state or federal agencies.
The law will go into effect next month.
Same-sex marriage became legal in Idaho in October 2014.
Sean Mandell
www.towleroad.com/2015/06/bellevue-idaho-passes-lgbt-non-discrimination-ordinance-1.html
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