Melissa Etheridge Debuts ‘Pulse’, a Vital Musical Response to Orlando – LISTEN

Melissa Etheridge wrote a new song with producer Jerry Wonda on Monday, following Sunday’s massacre in Orlando, and plans to donate proceeds from the track, called “Pulse”, also the name of the nightclub where the shooting took place, to an as yet unspecified LGBT charity.

She spoke with Rolling Stone about writing the track:

“I’m dealing with it the way I deal, which is, I wrote a song,” she said. “I just sat here, and I just started writing a song… That’s how I first started to cope because, as a singer songwriter, I feel very… I’ve done this before. I feel called to speak; to do what musicians do. We’ve been the town criers for hundreds of years. We’re mirrors of society. We want to try to make sense. We want to try to heal. We want to bring some meaning, some purpose. We also want to put it down forever in history. That’s how I’m coping.”

Etheridge also posted the lyrics to Facebook:

PULSE (LOVE WILL ALWAYS WIN)
Everybody’s got a pain inside
Imaginary wounds they fight to hide
How can I hate them
When everybody’s got a pulse

(photo via Facebook)

The post Melissa Etheridge Debuts ‘Pulse’, a Vital Musical Response to Orlando – LISTEN appeared first on Towleroad.

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Utah Lt. Governor Responds After Apology to LGBTQ Community Goes Viral – WATCH

More than 1,000 people gathered in downtown Salt Lake City on Monday for a vigil in support of the Orlando victims. Utah Lieutenant Governor Spencer Cox was one of the speakers, and he gave a moving and heartfelt speech that surprised a lot of people. The speech has since gone viral.

Cox is a Republican who endorsed Ted Cruz for president, and who comes from a deep red state — one of 12 states suing the Obama administration over the transgender bathroom directive. He was never really an ally of the LGBTQ community, but the horror in Orlando made his heart change.

Just catching up to the tragedy this morning. Devastating. Please love. Just love. Always love.

— Spencer Cox (@SpencerJCox) June 12, 2016

Cox was invited to the vigil by openly gay Utah State Senator Jim Dabakis and he seemed genuinely thankful to be there. He started by telling the crowd that he wanted to apologize to the LGBTQ community.

There were some kids in my class that were different. Sometimes I wasn’t kind to them. I didn’t know it at the time, but I know now that they were gay. I will forever regret not treating them with the kindness, dignity and respect — the love — that they deserved. For that, I sincerely and humbly apologize.

Over the intervening years, my heart has changed. It has changed because of you. It has changed because I have gotten to know many of you. You have been patient with me. You helped me learn the right letters of the alphabet in the right order even though you keep adding new ones. You have been kind to me. Jim Dabakis even told me I dressed nice once, even though I know he was lying. You have treated me with the kindness, dignity, and respect — the love — that I very often did NOT deserve. And it has made me love you.

He said that he we are not at a crossroad of “hate and terror,” and that there’s no easy solution for it. But we need to try and find one together, leaving politics out of it. “Today we need fewer Republicans and fewer Democrats. Today we need more Americans.” And he ended the powerful 9-minute speech with a call-to-action:

And so may we leave today, with a resolve to be a little kinder. May we try to listen more and talk less. May we forgive someone that has wronged us. And perhaps, most importantly, try to love someone that is different than us. For my straight friends, might I suggest starting with someone who is gay.

Cox appeared on Andrea Mitchell Reports on Thursday to discuss the viral response to his speech on Monday in the wake of the Orlando shooting.

Said Cox, “I didn’t want it to be a political speech. I wanted to share what was in my heart.” He added, “I think it’s pretty sad that a speech by a Lieutenant Governor in Utah is getting this much attention just by saying we should love each other. How low is the bar in our country?”

You can read the full transcript from KSL and check out the video below:

Also, watch video of Cox speaking to Andrea Mitchell on Thursday, below.

The post Utah Lt. Governor Responds After Apology to LGBTQ Community Goes Viral – WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.

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‘Pulse’ Owner Says Club Will Reopen to ‘Keep Our Hearts Beating and our Spirit Alive’ – VIDEO

In her first interview after Sunday’s shooting in Orlando, the owner of the Pulse Barbara Poma, opened up to Matt Lauer on the Today show. She described the club to him as a “safe and fun place to come be who you are. Simple as that.”

She told him how all of that changed in an instant, after she received the “most surreal phone call” from her manager to tell her they were dealing with an active shooter on the place they all considered home.”It was overwhelming.”

Poma opened Pulse 13 years ago to celebrate the life of her late brother John, who had died from HIV/AIDS complications. She chose the name “Pulse” because she wanted to “keep the heartbeat alive.”

John was gay and introduced her to a world she came to adore. She was 14 when she started going out to gay bars and clubs, and he would always do her hair and makeup for her. When he passed away, she wanted to open a place to honor him and “reach out to our gay community in Orlando.”

When Lauer asked how her mission would change, from honoring one person to now honoring 49, she said she would always have a mission. “We just welcome those families into our families, and we just have to move forward and find a way to keep our hearts beating and keep our spirit alive; and we’re not going to let somebody take this away from us.”

Poma focused on the 49 lives that were lost, but she wouldn’t talk about the shooter: “It’s important to never let hate win,” she said.

Watch the full interview below:

The post ‘Pulse’ Owner Says Club Will Reopen to ‘Keep Our Hearts Beating and our Spirit Alive’ – VIDEO appeared first on Towleroad.

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Anti-Transgender Campaign Urges Male Petitioners To Chase Women Into Their Bathrooms

Joseph Backholm’s strategy to oppose trans protections is to do the very illegal thing he thinks they allow for.

The post Anti-Transgender Campaign Urges Male Petitioners To Chase Women Into Their Bathrooms appeared first on ThinkProgress.

thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2016/06/16/3789346/washington-transgender-petition-bathroom-strategy/

#WeAreOrlando: Twitter users share their #QueerSelfLove

www.glaad.org/blog/weareorlando-twitter-users-share-their-queerselflove

Anderson Cooper Answers Pam Bondi's Attack: She's Mistaken or Lying

The CNN anchor hit back at the attorney general’s claims that a Tuesday interview was “edited.”

www.advocate.com/media/2016/6/16/anderson-cooper-destroys-florida-ag-pam-bondi-shes-mistaken-or-lying

Again, Trump Insists He’s Better For ‘The Gays’ Than Hillary. This Time, ‘The Gays’ Strike Back.

A meme is born. In the wake of the Orlando massacre, Donald Trump has been working overtime throughout week, mawkishly yammering and hammering the world with ludicrous proclamations that he’s the best candidate for the LGBTQ community; far better than Hillary.

Related: Donald Trump, Who Turns 70 Today, Just Said He Cares More About Gays Than Hillary

Blaring on at a rally on Wednesday, Trump made the grandiose assertion again. Discussing what it’s like for “gays” in Saundi Arabia, he crowed, “Ask the gays what they think and what they do, in, not only Saudi Arabia, but many of these countries, and then you tell me – who’s your friend Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton?”

Judging by tens of thousands of subsequent Tweets, “the gays” don’t appear to be having it.

Donald trump: Ask the gays!
The gays: pic.twitter.com/iF80y7Z8ii

— Alysa Auriemma (@allyauriemma) June 16, 2016

Trump: go ask the gays

The gays: pic.twitter.com/z1W6OQcR6X

— Granny Alex (@Alexxcopeman) June 16, 2016

TRUMP: “Ask the gays!”
THE GAYS: pic.twitter.com/jleufbVDor

— Adam Jay (@itsAdam) June 16, 2016

Trump: Ask the gays!
Gays: pic.twitter.com/Q8IqMVn4n9

— Nicole Redifer (@nicoleredifer) June 16, 2016

TRUMP: “Ask the gays!”
GAYS: pic.twitter.com/dzoYId6JBe

— love is love is love (@oskrNYC) June 15, 2016

TRUMP: Ask the Gays!

The Gays: pic.twitter.com/A9nAvHoznq

— Capt. Spike #Litten (@spikepoint) June 15, 2016

TRUMP: ASK THE GAYS! THE GAYS: pic.twitter.com/jz8B5ORRkX

— Tom Eaton (@DorkyUdon) June 15, 2016

Trump says Ask The Gays

Reaction of The Gays: pic.twitter.com/Pi2HeLeXOW

— Just Maybe (@ShomahKhoobi) June 15, 2016

Trump: “ASK THE GAYS”

The Gays: pic.twitter.com/oirfqzDQnI

— Ethan (@ethanharv) June 15, 2016

TRUMP: “Ask the gays!”

THE GAYS: pic.twitter.com/PB55FrLZuI

— Slade Sohmer (@Slade) June 15, 2016

TRUMP: “Ask the gays!”

THE GAYS: pic.twitter.com/OZWoNIS8Gg

— Ryan McPhee (@rdmcphee) June 15, 2016

Trump: Ask the Gays.
The Gays: pic.twitter.com/R7rmS9u7TZ

— Julian Aldana (@cowboytuxedo) June 16, 2016

Trump: “Ask the gays.”
Me: pic.twitter.com/Loy3hGqYoC

— Tyler Cox (@tyler_j_cox) June 16, 2016

TRUMP: “Ask the gays!”

THE GAYS: pic.twitter.com/vbs10KqevW

— Mëdiöcrë Pässës (@VikingsHalfie) June 16, 2016

Trump: “Ask the Gays!”
The Gays: pic.twitter.com/EM4cmhRnq1

— Bram Flannerian (@VictorianDewott) June 16, 2016

Trump: “ask the gays! Who’s your friend, Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton?

Me: pic.twitter.com/F2vm8Swiue

— Alex (@alexmalloyy) June 16, 2016

TRUMP: “Ask the gays!”

THE GAYS: pic.twitter.com/2RC8GaJBxs

— Rami Malla (@ramiiii) June 16, 2016

– Trump: ask the gays. – Gays: pic.twitter.com/YabqecZiuv

— chucho? (@Soy_Chucho19) June 16, 2016

Trump: “Ask the gays!”

“The gays”: t.co/Y6EeAvjAKV

— Jeremy?Reichenberger (@jroakwood) June 16, 2016

#askthegays

Trump: Ask the gays.
Me: pic.twitter.com/e29MZF1GyF

— ry (@likebyee) June 16, 2016

Trump: Ask the gays
Gays: pic.twitter.com/zuvwELzQG9

— Homo Alone (@LakesideHomo) June 16, 2016

Trump: go ask the gays

The gays: pic.twitter.com/KfbwhIXZ1Q

— Granny Alex (@Alexxcopeman) June 16, 2016

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After Orlando, This Random Act Of Kindness Towards A Gay Couple Will Help Restore Your Faith In Humanity

After what has a been a heartbreaking and difficult week, we have some honest, genuine feelgood news.

Alexander Peña and his partner, Jeff, were finishing up a nice dinner at the Monte Alban Mexican Grill in Irondequoit, NY on Sunday when the waitress approached. But instead of the check, she handed them a handwritten note:

“Have a great night!” the note read. “Humanity showed its worst this weekend so it just felt right to do something nice today.”

Related: The 13 Most Heartbreaking, Romantic Gay Movie Kisses Ever

The waitress then informed them that a woman with a young child had paid for their dinner just before leaving the restaurant.

“I was puzzled and confused, mostly because I’m not usually the type that even gets a drink bought for them,” Peña writes on Facebook, “but then I read the note and paused–Jeff and I are clearly a couple, we are affectionate toward each other, and even admired the young kid together in the booth across from us. ”

He continues: “I can’t stop thinking, or better yet ‘feeling’, about how genuinely sweet this woman’s gesture was to me, my boyfriend, and our family together. How fortunate that child is to have such a tolerant and kind caretaker… We need more people who teach love over hate.”

“You never know what anybody’s going through,” server Aileen Centeno tells Time Warner Cable News. “Even if they didn’t lose a child that day, somebody did. That doesn’t mean we can’t all hurt for them.”

I’m so thankful for this woman’s reminder to be kind and loving to everyone, including strangers, without a reason… Just because,” Peña adds.

Related: Guy Realizes His Roommate Is Actually His Boyfriend In Most Adorable Way Possible

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