Marsha P. Johnson Gets Screen Time in New ‘Stonewall’ Clip: WATCH

In a new clip from Roland Emmerich’s upcoming gay rights bio-pic Stonewall, we meet Marsha P. Johnson, the legendary activist and trans pioneer.

You’ll recall much of the controversy surrounding the film’s trailer centered on speculation over how the film treats Johnson. While Emmerich and star Jeremy Irvine among others have defended the film, others suggest the trailer downplays the role role drag queens, the transgender community, and people of color played in the 1969 Greenwich Village riots.

RELATED: Gay Iconography: Paying Mind To Marsha P. Johnson

Take a look below to see Otoja Abit make his turn as Marsha P. Johnson.

Stonewall opens in theaters September 25.

The post Marsha P. Johnson Gets Screen Time in New ‘Stonewall’ Clip: WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.

Sean Mandell

Marsha P. Johnson Gets Screen Time in New ‘Stonewall’ Clip: WATCH

Kim Davis Isn't Back to Work… Yet

Elizabeth Daley

www.advocate.com/marriage-equality/2015/9/09/kim-davis-isnt-back-work-yet

See The Start Of Julianne Moore And Ellen Page's Relationship In Exclusive 'Freeheld' Clip

Long before Kim Davis could take it upon herself to deny couples’ legal marriage rights, same-sex partners were battling for the very ability to enjoy such basic freedoms. In 2005, one New Jersey woman fought to have her pension benefits transferred to her girlfriend, with whom she was in a domestic partnership. That uphill battle forms the centerpiece of the new movie “Freeheld,” which stars Julianne Moore and Ellen Page as the duo who challenge the state’s discrimination. Ahead of the movie’s Toronto Film Festival premiere, The Huffington Post has an exclusive clip that shows the couple’s first meeting, well before they became inadvertent gay-rights activists. 

Directed by Peter Sollett (“Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist”), “Freeheld” opens Oct. 2.

Also on HuffPost:

For a constant stream of entertainment news and discussion, follow HuffPost Entertainment on Viber.

— 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.

www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/09/09/freeheld-clip_n_8111084.html?utm_hp_ref=gay-voices&ir=Gay+Voices

Fayetteville votes in favor of non-discrimination LGBT protections

The residents of Fayetteville, Arkansas, have voted in favor of LGBT non-discrimination policies in regard to the employment, housing and public accommodation.

Yesterday’s election came just nine months after the city last voted on the issue. In December last year, a similar vote – with a similar 29% turnout – saw civil rights protections for LGBT people being repealed.

Yesterday’s vote saw the vote swing back in favor, by a margin of 53% to 47%. The results were announced at 10.15pm last night.

The city had originally introduced non-discrimination legislation in August 2014, but a campaign led by the Christian right led to last December’s vote to repeal.

‘Today the people of Fayetteville voted for acceptance over fear and showed that cities can ensure religious freedom while protecting the rights of each and every citizen,’ the Northwest Arkansas Center for Equality said in a statement.

‘People from all walks of life chose to lead Fayetteville and Arkansas toward a more inclusive future. History will remember this as a proud moment when businesses, religious leaders and everyday citizens worked together to unite our community, grow our economy and finally move Fayetteville forward.’

In February of this year, the Arkansas legislature passed an anti-anti-discrimination bill (SB 202) that prevents the state’s cities and counties from protecting the civil rights of LGBT people.

However, this new vote makes Fayetteville the fifth municipality – after Little Rock, Hot Springs, Pulaski County and Eureka Springs – to pass an ordinance challenging that legislation.

Arkansas state Attorney General Leslie Rutledge has said that the LGBT protections are not enforceable because of the state’s religious freedom bill. Lawyers in the municipalities concerned have argued that they are enforceable due to a loophole in the state’s anti-bullying statute.

It is likely that a legal test case will need to reach court before a judgment is decisively made on the issue.

In a statement to Arkansas Times, Kyle Smith, campaign chairman of For Fayetteville, said, ‘I am really impressed to see our community come together after the divisive 119 fight and pass ordinance 5781.

‘I was amazed at how our campaign grew with more and more local volunteers and donors pitching in every day. We had substantially fewer resources this time, but ran a much better and more positive campaign this time.’

Opponents of the proposed legislation tried to stop the election going ahead by seeking a last-minute injunction. However, this was rejected by Judge Doug Martin who said that seeking an injunction the day before the election was too late.

Main image: Brandonrush. Licensed under Public Domain via Commons.

The post Fayetteville votes in favor of non-discrimination LGBT protections appeared first on Gay Star News.

David Hudson

www.gaystarnews.com/article/fayetteville-votes-in-favor-of-non-discrimination-lgbt-protections/

Star Wars Author Posts Epic Take Down Of Homophobes Upset Over New Major Gay Character

— Chuck Wending, author of the new novel Star Wars: Aftermath, in a blog post responding to complaints by homophobic readers that he added a major gay character to the series, one even accusing him of “jumping on the Caitlyn Jenner bandwagon” 

H/t: Pink News

Jeremy Kinser

feedproxy.google.com/~r/queerty2/~3/NrYNmCtFzQ0/star-wars-author-posts-epic-takes-down-of-homophobes-upset-over-new-major-gay-character-20150909

The 2016 Candidates and the ‘Mad As Hell’ Americans

MIXNER’S 2016 ELECTION CENTRAL

The upcoming presidential election promises to be one of the most extraordinary in years. Already it has been called everything from a full fledged ‘circus’ to a ‘ship of fools’.

What is clear is that the American people are in a foul mood and are determined to defy the common wisdom and the inside-the-beltway crowd. As actor Peter Finch screamed in the film Network, ‘I’m as mad as hell and I am not going to take this anymore.” It could be this election cycle’s sound bite.

Despite a thriving economy, the deficit being reduced by two thirds, unemployment cut in half, close to 19 million people newly-insured, the stock market doubling and other healthy indicators, the American people are amazingly angry and distrustful of their government.

Could it be they have figured out the system has been rigged?

Do they know that their concerns can’t possibly be heard over the overwhelming power of money in both parties? Could it be they know that the parties, through redistricting, have guaranteed re-election of even the most abhorrent government representatives? Could it be they are tired, for the last 35 years, of only having either a Bush or Clinton (or both) on a ticket?

They know that they have witnessed their sons and daughters die in far-off lands in useless wars and watch as politicians say it was a ‘mistake’ to send them in the first place. Of course they know about fighting to fulfill the American dream by sending their children through college only to realize that those young Americans have been saddled with an unbearable lifelong debt of student loans. They see that almost every candidate is near 70 and our future young stars are frozen out of the process. Every day they are caught in massive traffic jams. In most cities they are treated to water mains and sewers erupting because the infrastructure is more than a hundred years old. They are keeping their fingers crossed that our dams and bridges don’t collapse and cause death and devastation.

I am sure the parents of the 14% of American children who go to bed hungry every night are mad as hell. Especially as they see the rich buy multiple homes for millions of dollars each.

As the great organizer Saul Alinsky said, ‘all politics is local.’ Perception is everything and even stronger than reality. For me, the streets of New York City seem much dirtier. The street in front of my house near Times Square was stripped to be repaved. Everyone on our street was pleased it was being repaved until the city forgot to repave it and it remained dug up for more than five weeks! All the good will among the residents disappeared and it became another symbol of government incompetence.

America has lost its greatness.

Our country used to be number one in everything from education to healthcare. Now we are lucky as a nation to be in the teens in the rankings. We are number one in the number of prisoners and are ahead of both China and Russia in that statistic! In the ranking for ‘freedom from corruption’ we only manage to come in at a lowly number 18. In New York state, it is easier to remember who hasn’t been indicted in our legislature.

Who wouldn’t be mad as hell with all this going on?

So that brings us to the 2016 elections and the people who feel they have been left out.

Major donors are swamping the political process with hundreds of millions to push their agendas of privilege and ambassadorships. The Republican establishment and the Clinton campaign are proceeding and organizing like this is any other election year. They both are convinced that what worked in the past will work again this year. They believe that the anger will disappear as it has in the past and the voters will regain their stability. As a result they are making horrible mistakes that will haunt their campaigns into next November.

The Republicans are attempting to hang on to not only old ideas but, in an attempt to rig the rules for a Jeb Bush victory, might have made a Donald Trump possible. States like California, Illinois, New York and Ohio are now ‘winner take all.’ That means someone can get 27% of the vote and take all the delegates in those states.

Everyone said not to take Trump seriously and appeared to be quite amused by his candidacy. Especially the voters who adore how he’s rubbing the faces of the Republican establishment in the dirt. Right now substance and practical politics are out the window since the voters are delighting in his show. For years they have been attempting to share their unhappiness with the establishment and have been completely ignored and left out in the face of the unbelievable corporate domination of their party.

The Clintons don’t get it either.

Hillary is running a horrible campaign. It might have worked perfectly even four years ago but given the underlying anxiety of the American voter it is not working now. The email crisis is becoming a greater disaster each day as each explanation falls with new information. By embracing the rich and powerful, the Clintons are part of the problem. Even small things like spending $100,000 of their own money to rent a home in the Hamptons for just two weeks adds to the perception that they are out of touch. (Really? Couldn’t they have asked a friend to borrow a home?) The perception is just horrible in the current climate. As a result of her bad campaign she has allowed the Sanders campaign to flourish and is now viewed as untrustworthy and part of the problem by over 60% of the American people.

She can’t blame the Republicans for her image problems because the American voters have had more than 30 years to get to know her!

The fact of the matter is that the American electorate is right. The system is rigged against them. Those in power are not listening. America is in decline.

So I guess we have a right to be mad as hell and we shouldn’t have to take it anymore and come to think of it, “I am mad as hell…..”

This is the first in a series of columns about the upcoming 2016 election. The opinions expressed are those of the author.

The post The 2016 Candidates and the ‘Mad As Hell’ Americans appeared first on Towleroad.

David Mixner

The 2016 Candidates and the ‘Mad As Hell’ Americans

Op-ed: Kim Davis, Mike Huckabee's Hate Show Needed an X Rating

Somewhere in Kentucky Tuesday, a closeted gay kid might have turned on CNN or MSNBC and caught an antigay rally broadcast live. The whole experience was surreal to watch here in the newsroom, leaving me with a sense of awe and deep sadness. A twinge of dread too.

It isn’t surprising, or shouldn’t be, that such bigotry still exists in states that the Supreme Court — only months ago — forced to recognize same-sex marriages. But we can’t let this rally pass without fully appreciating its significance.

If there is an uptick in suicides of closeted youth with religious families, the rally is partly to blame. If hate crimes or aggressions against LGBT people seem to occur with alarming regularity, let’s harken back to the rhetoric from this rally.

Mike Huckabee, a top-tier candidate for U.S. president, was the opening act. He gave a full-throated speech, or sermon, against people like me living as I do — a man married to another man, raising two kids together.

“It is far more than one clerk saying she will not issue marriage licenses,” said Huckabee, alluding to the movement he’s hoping Davis will incite across America. “It’s that every one of us will have to decide whether or not we want to keep this great republic, or whether we are willing to sacrifice it and surrender it to tyranny.”

The people at that rally were being told of a growing threat, and Huckabee used the language of war to make his point.

“We will not surrender,” he promised, “to the tyranny of one branch of government.”

The crowd went wild at every applause line. Meanwhile, wooden crosses and a Confederate flag were being waved back and forth in the air. It seemed to go on forever.

“I’m not willing to spend one day under the tyranny of people who believe they can take our freedom and conscience away,” said Huckabee.

Speaking on behalf of this group, Huckabee said they “will not be bullied no matter even if they incarcerate us.” He volunteered to go to jail himself, begging the question of whether his fellow fighters have the fortitude to do the same. First, he said, they came for Kim Davis.

“Whose next? Your pastor? The head of a school?” Huckabee asked. The whole thing had a tinge of World War II to it, with Huckabee casting himself in the moral rebellion against the coming evil oppression. We all remember the poem that warned about what happens if you don’t stand up for each other.

First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a communist; Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a socialist; Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a trade unionist; Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out— because I was not a Jew; Then they came for me— and there was no one left to speak out for me.

Huckabee and the rest of the right wing want their voters believing that they are under attack. Worse, perhaps, they want their voters to believe that the whole country, and maybe all of society, is on the precipice of judgment by God. Those who do nothing will be judged.

Huckabee and these Christians hold up God’s example as the ideal. Then Huckabee on Tuesday went a step further and cast Kim Davis as their savior incarnate.

“God showed up,” he told the rally. “And he showed up in the form of an elected Democrat named Kim Davis.”

Kim Davis is a model Christian, he said, and anything less than her example might mean hell for you too. That’s a pretty serious motivator, if you believe in God and hell, which a lot of people do.

So what are you to do? If you’re like Kim Davis, and are told that all of your past sins are forgiven if only you keep proving your devotion to this God, then what are you to say when you see a gay couple holding hands? You must “stand up,” as Huckabee puts it, before it’s too late.

The shocking thing about that rally, for me and the gay kid somewhere in Kentucky, is that they weren’t ashamed of their beliefs.

No one wore a hood. Instead everyone there was just fine with being broadcast on television sets nationwide. Their message, beamed to millions in real time, is clear: Gay people are the enemy.

So maybe the next time Mike Huckabee holds a hate rally, it shouldn’t be broadcast live. 

LUCAS GRINDLEY is the editorial director of Here Media, the parent company of The Advocate.

Lucas Grindley

www.advocate.com/commentary/2015/9/09/op-ed-kim-davis-mike-huckabees-hate-show-needed-x-rating

That's Me in the Corner, Losing My Religion
Governor John Kasich (R – OH) worries that the Kentucky spectacle of Christian extremism will turn people away from religion. He is right to worry. I am disgusted by the un-American, hypocritical, mean-spirited rallies and shows of support for Kim Davis. The whole business besmirches organized religion. Kasich says that when people “see dust-ups like this, my concern is they would go the other way and say, ‘Look, I don’t want anything to do with that.” Lord, I hope so.

Do not get me wrong. I do not oppose personal faith or practice of religion. But Kim Davis’ rejection of American law has nothing to do with freedom of religion. Her story is being packaged as a Christian persecution narrative, but nothing is stopping that woman from practicing her religion. Religious freedom laws were instituted originally to protect, say, a Muslim woman who wears a hijab. Kim Davis and her supporters have hijacked “religious freedom” to mean “Christian supremacy.” Practicing your religion does not give you free reign to do whatever the hell you want, laws be damned. We live in a diverse country. Assuming your religion trumps our core civil laws is arrogant, ugly, and un-American.

The Kim Davis Crazies are not at all Christ-like. Christ said absolutely nothing about homosexuality, but he did specifically mention prayer: (Matthew 6: 5) “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by men.”

Blasting “Eye of the Tiger” at a rally is not what Jesus had in mind.

Jesus had some specific thoughts on divorce, too, but Kim Davis conveniently crossed out that part in her Bible.

These public displays of hatred toward the gays makes me wince every time I pass a church. I realize that not every church harbors these feelings but, at this point, it does not make a difference. The Christian extremists in this country have done a fantastic job of painting the gays as the enemies of religion. I am gay, so I am going to stay as far afield of these people as I can get.

Here are two sides of a sign that popped up yesterday at a church near my home:

All are welcome? Really? C’mon.

I have blocked the name in these photos because I do not want to give the church any free advertising. If I left the name visible, the church would probably claim persecution and, the next thing you know, Christian conservative money would come rolling in. We have seen it happen before. A bakery or a pizza parlor announces it will discriminate against the gays and, miraculously, a million dollars is donated to the “persecuted” business. These “Christians” turn a blind eye to real problems (poverty, abuse, war, etc.) and, instead, throw their energies and money into supporting people who flout the law.

I do not believe in a god. I certainly do not believe in your God. But, you want to hear something ironic? The closest I have ever come to feeling a loving presence that is bigger than myself was at my wedding (my gay wedding, the day I married another man.) When I walked up the aisle and I saw my husband’s face and I felt the warmth and surge of love from our family and friends – that is the moment that I perceived a glimmer of something godlike. Those “Christians” out there want to bar people like me from getting married and having that feeling. They are purposely pushing me away from wanting to know their God. They claim they are motivated by compassion and love and faith and blah blah blah. Sorry, but once the hypocrisy starts emanating from your mouths, I tune you out.

Governor Kasich says that “we have bigger fish to fry in terms of the whole issue of faith.” I agree. It would be nice if these “Christians” did more to follow Christ — you know, feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, that kind of thing – rather than spending all their time and money to express their virulent hatred toward the gays.

— 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.

feeds.huffingtonpost.com/c/35496/f/677065/s/49b30b8d/sc/7/l/0L0Shuffingtonpost0N0Cdomenick0Escudera0Cthats0Eme0Ein0Ethe0Ecorner0Elo0Ib0I810A99140Bhtml0Dutm0Ihp0Iref0Fgay0Evoices0Gir0FGay0KVoices/story01.htm

Sam Smith wins GQ Award, lands magazine cover

An elated Sam Smith won Ciroc Solo Artist at the GQ Men of the Year Awards last night – as the

men’s publication revealed he is to grace the cover of its next issue.

It was an eventful day for the 23-year-old – he had earlier confirmed, after months of speculation, he’s recorded the theme tune for the upcoming James Bond film Spectre. The track will be called Writing’s On the Wall.

During his acceptance speech, the Stay With Me singer said: ‘Today has been an amazing day. To announce the Bond thing is incredible. I’ve been keeping it a secret for a year – it’s been intense! I couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate with all of you tonight!’

On the release date of his upcoming second album, Sam told BBC News: ‘It’s not going to be any time soon! I think people are going to get bored of me if I carry on, I’m just trying to make it the most honest work I’ve ever done.’

He added: ‘I’m writing when I want to, so when bad things happen in my life I’m going into the studio and writing about it.’

Elton John also put in an appearance at the ceremony, presenting Blur with the British Band award.

Get our new issue NOW on iTunes and all good digital stores featuring @samsmithworld // Follow GQ Editor Dylan Jones @dylanjonesgq

A photo posted by British GQ (@britishgq) on Sep 8, 2015 at 4:25pm PDT

GQ awards 2015

A photo posted by Sam Smith (@samsmithworld) on Sep 8, 2015 at 2:25pm PDT

The post Sam Smith wins GQ Award, lands magazine cover appeared first on Gay Star News.

Jamie Tabberer

www.gaystarnews.com/article/sam-smith-wins-gq-award-lands-magazine-cover/

Bernie Sanders Smacking Down Antigay Slurs In Congress 20 Years Ago Is Worth Revisiting

In 1995, one year after the Clinton administration enacted Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell to address and reenforce the ban on openly gay military servicemen and women, then-representative Bernie Sanders of Vermont delivered the following smack-down to then-representative Randall “Duke” Cunningham of California.

It’s worth a re-watch.

Related: 32 Years Before Marriage Equality, Bernie Sanders Fought For Gay Rights

Sanders takes passionate objection to Cunningham’s language — “homos in the military” — and puts himself squarely in the corner of a then-unpopular minority (i.e. us).

“You have insulted thousands of men and women who have put their lives on the line,” Sanders argues.

Watch below:

Dan Tracer

feedproxy.google.com/~r/queerty2/~3/xcKU0cvhdw4/bernie-sanders-smacking-down-antigay-slurs-in-congress-20-years-ago-is-worth-revisiting-20150909