Jo Cox, Chicago, Bill O’Reilly, Chris Christie, Jack’d, Liam Hemsworth, Nick Jonas: NEWS

Jo Cox, Chicago, Bill O’Reilly, Chris Christie, Jack’d, Liam Hemsworth, Nick Jonas: NEWS

pulseTODAY. Obama and Biden fly to Orlando to meet with victims’ families: “President Barack Obama will head to Orlando, Florida, on Thursday to meet with victims’ families and first responders in the deadly nightclub shooting the president has decried as ‘an act of terror and an act of hate.’ Obama, along with Vice President Joe Biden, will “stand in solidarity with the Orlando community,” the White House said of the afternoon visit, which is expected to private.”

DENVER. Gun sales surge among gays and lesbians following Orlando shooting: “George Horne, the owner of The Gun Room, Denver’s oldest firearms dealer, said Tuesday business is booming at his store. ‘For this time of year I’d say its three to four times what we normally have,’ he said. Background checks that once took minutes can now take hours. It’s a sales surge similar to what happened after Sandy Hook and the Aurora theater shootings. ‘We’re not surprised by it,’ Horne said. However, what’s different this time around is the clientele. Mike Smith, a firearms instructor in Colorado Springs, is one of many closely tracking the sudden surge in gays and lesbians buying weapons.”

CONNECTICUT. Home Depot customer calls cashier anti-gay slur, references Orlando: “The suspect began a harassing conversation about the cashier’s sexuality after asking the employee why he was wearing gloves while working the register, West Hartford Police said.  The cashier told police the suspect called him a slur and referenced the deadly Orlando incident where a gunman opened fire at an LGBT nightclub on Sunday, according to police.”

Jo CoxJO COX. British MP and LGBT ally shot and stabbed: “An eyewitness said the 41-year-old mum-of-two was attacked near Birstall’s library, where she holds advice surgeries. The Batley and Spen MP was left lying bleeding on the pavement after the incident, an eyewitness said. The MP was airlifted to Leeds General Infirmary after the attack in a critical condition, according to reports. A 52-year-old man has been arrested.”

NYT. The barely remembered anti-gay massacre at NYC’s Ramrod: “As bullets sprayed the front window of the bar, panic swept the crowd inside. Customers dropped to the floor. Several crawled to a stairway at the back of the building in a desperate attempt to survive.”

jackdJACK’D. Mainstream media tries to understand gay dating apps. “”Like Grindr or Tinder, Jack’d is a location-based dating app, meaning users can scroll through about 300 thumbnail images of other men on the app who are nearby (see the image above). Clicking on one allows you to open the full profile. Users can browse by location or click check (yes) or minus (no) underneath a guy’s profile, similar to swiping on Tinder.”

kimmel_trumpTRUMP TV. Donald Trump considering TV network: “Trump is indeed considering creating his own media business, built on the audience that has supported him thus far in his bid to become the next president of the United States. According to several people briefed on the discussions, the presumptive Republican nominee is examining the opportunity presented by the ‘audience’ currently supporting him. He has also discussed the possibility of launching a ‘mini-media conglomerate’ outside of his existing TV-production business, Trump Productions LLC.

Donald Trump Chris Christie2016 ELECTION. Chris Christie spokesman denies he is Trump’s “manservant”: “Governor Chris Christie, of New Jersey, another of Trump’s opponents early in the campaign, has transformed himself into a sort of manservant, who is constantly with Trump at events. (One Republican told me that a friend of his on the Trump campaign used Snapchat to send him a video of Christie fetching Trump’s McDonald’s order.)”

HRC Mark Kirk endorsementCHICAGO. Senator Mark Kirk asks FBI to devote security resources to upcoming Pride parade: “The safety and security of the people of Northern Illinois is our top priority and we work hand-in-hand with our Federal, State and Local law enforcement partners to gather, share and act upon threat information as it comes to our attention,” the office of the Chicago FBI said in a statement. “In that light, we urge the public to report any and all suspicious activity to the FBI or any of our partners.”

SYDNEY. Save the gay bars: “Today, the heart of our community, Oxford Street, beats irregularly and the inner west is besieged by violent thugs fleeing the confines of the CBD lockout. We carry on though, seeking out new spaces as the old ones become gentrified, and the leaders of our own community embrace respectability politics and parrot conservative models of heterosexual life in their attempt to grab at equality.”

View post on imgur.com

MOHAMMED RADY. Arab humanist shocked at social media reactions to Orlando attacks: “I considered collecting screenshots of these comments to raise awareness about the amount of hatred towards the gay community in the Middle East, but it soon dawned on me that such a task would be impossible. There were simply too many hateful comments, with thousands celebrating the attack, from Tunisia to Egypt, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. It was only through deep digging that a single person who expressed so much as a shred of sympathy to the victims and their families, or even condemned the blatant massacre that took place could be found.”

8thaIN THE 212. New arrivals on Chelsea’s 8th Avenue.

BILL O’REILLY. We need tougher gun laws. “There is too much gun crime in the USA, and high-powered weaponry is too easy to get. That’s the fact. So let’s deal with it. We all have the right to bear arms, but we don’t have the right to buy and maintain mortars. Even if you feel threatened by gangsters or a New World Order. No bazookas, no Sherman tanks, no hand grenades.”

SHATTER TEST. Reporter invited to take sledgehammer to China’s longest glass bridge:

INVENTIONS. Heading to Shark Tank soon.

LIAM HEMSWORTH. Introducing the Liam Hemsworth blow-up doll.

NICK JONAS. What are his fetishes?

The post Jo Cox, Chicago, Bill O’Reilly, Chris Christie, Jack’d, Liam Hemsworth, Nick Jonas: NEWS appeared first on Towleroad.



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Adam4Adam Seeks Info From Members Who Had Contact with the Orlando Shooter

Adam4Adam Seeks Info From Members Who Had Contact with the Orlando Shooter

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Gay dating site Adam4Adam is seeking information from members who may have had contact with the Orlando shooter.

In the wake of Sunday’s mass shooting, multiple individuals came forward to say they had seen or interacted with the shooter on gay dating apps and sites including Adam4Adam, Jack’d and Grindr.

Adam4Adam’s call for information came on the same day the FBI announced they were seeking information from anyone who had contact with the shooter.

Wrote Adam4Adam on their Facebook page, 

Any of our members who think have been in contact with Omar Mateen on Adam4Adam, please get in touch with us. Rumours are that he had an account on many gay apps including Adam4Adam and we would like to find that information to be able to give it to the Police. We are looking for any piece of information as we speak,

The Orlando Sentinel reports: 

David Lesage, spokesman for Adam4Adam, said in a text message that the company was “looking at all users’ profiles in Florida especially where he lived and Orlando as well.”

Lesage said it’s possible the accounts didn’t have photos, although most people who claimed they saw him on the apps said Matteen did have photos.

Lesage says he doesn’t have high hopes that they will be able to turn up anything on the Orlando shooter. “Because we don’t have any username, IP address or anything, it’s like searching a needle in 10M users data base,” he texted the Sentinel.

Lesage added that two individuals came forward with email addresses the shooter may have used to create his profile. However, after following those tips, Lesage says “nothing came up.”

Lesage wrote, “We hope to find something, but I doubt we will, unless Police has information to share with us.”

Meanwhile, another app that the Orlando shooter reportedly used, Jack’d, tweeted on Wednesday that they are cooperating with law enforcement’s investigation into the shooting.

pic.twitter.com/droJsr34g7

— jackd (@jackd) June 15, 2016

The post Adam4Adam Seeks Info From Members Who Had Contact with the Orlando Shooter appeared first on Towleroad.



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Threatening Homophobic Notes Left On Cars in NYC’s Hell’s Kitchen

Threatening Homophobic Notes Left On Cars in NYC’s Hell’s Kitchen

West 46th Street between Ninth and 10th New York

Handwritten notes have been left on several cars in the Hell’s Kitchen area of New York City threatening death to “the homosexuals,” “faggots” and “sexual perverts.”

The notes were spotted on West 46th Street between Ninth and 10th avenues on Sunday and Monday.

With several variations, the notes included such statements as: “God commanded Jewish people to 1) Kill the homosexuals 2) Kill the witches among us”; “America is a Christian nation. Satan will not be a king in N.Y.C. – might be the end of Homosexuality in N.Y.C.”; and “Those faggots, homosexuals, sexual pervert, sexual impotents – trash, garbage, socio-economic drop out – bartenders – cooks – trash – you will be corpes [sic].”

RELATED: Gay Couple Records Uber Driver Calling Them ‘Faggots’ in Homophobic Rant: LISTEN

Yesterday, a manager at a local laundromat said a man aged around 40 came into the store Sunday and handed him one of the notes.

Brad HolymanAn area resident said he had seen a man placing notes on cars in the area in recent days, but added “It could have been more than one person.”

In a statement, State Senator Brad Hoylman (D-Manhattan) (right), the only LGBT member of the New York State Senate, said:

“I am deeply concerned by reports of handwritten notes threatening the LGBT community being left in various parts of Hell’s Kitchen. Homophobic and vitriolic language has no place in our city, and is especially concerning on the heels of the horrific hate crime at a gay bar in Orlando over the weekend. I encourage all New Yorkers – LGBT people, in particular – to remain vigilant and report any similar incidents to the NYPD immediately.”

Midtown North Precinct’s Deputy Inspector John Hart told DNAInfo “the investigation into who is leaving them is ongoing, and it is being handled as a possible bias crime.”

The post Threatening Homophobic Notes Left On Cars in NYC’s Hell’s Kitchen appeared first on Towleroad.



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After Orlando, Congressman Defends Reading Bible Verse About Gay People Being ‘Worthy Of Death’

After Orlando, Congressman Defends Reading Bible Verse About Gay People Being ‘Worthy Of Death’

Rep. Rick Allen’s homophobic prayer is under new scrutiny.

The post After Orlando, Congressman Defends Reading Bible Verse About Gay People Being ‘Worthy Of Death’ appeared first on ThinkProgress.

thinkprogress.org/politics/2016/06/16/3789293/rick-allen-orlando-shooting-death-to-gays-no-regrets/

Florida’s Attorney General Declared War On Anderson Cooper. It’s Not Going Well.

Florida’s Attorney General Declared War On Anderson Cooper. It’s Not Going Well.

Bondi complained that Anderson Cooper “basically mocked me” for saying everyone should “just focus on unity and love.”

The post Florida’s Attorney General Declared War On Anderson Cooper. It’s Not Going Well. appeared first on ThinkProgress.

thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2016/06/16/3789295/pam-bondi-attacks-anderson-cooper/

OFCCP Updates Final Rule Protecting LGBTQ People From Sex Discrimination

OFCCP Updates Final Rule Protecting LGBTQ People From Sex Discrimination

Post submitted by HRC Law Fellow Melissa Wasser

On Tuesday, the Department of Labor (DOL) Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) published a Final Rule in the Federal Register setting forth requirements that covered contractors must meet under Executive Order 11246 prohibiting sex discrimination in employment. The Final Rule will go into effect August 15, 2016.  

The Final Rule addresses several sex–based barriers to equal employment and fair pay, including compensation discrimination, sexual harassment, hostile work environments, failure to provide workplace accommodations for pregnant workers, and gender identity and family caregiving discrimination.

This Rule specifically prohibits discrimination by federal contractors against workers on the basis of gender identity or sex stereotyping.  Specifically, it requires contractors to allow workers to use bathrooms, changing rooms, showers, and similar facilities consistent with the gender with which the workers identify. The OFCCP revised rule not only provides much needed protection for LGBTQ people working for federal contractors and subcontractors, but also sets an important example of fair and effective personnel policies for private employers.

HRC has consistently supported the adoption of these essential protections and we applaud the Department of Labor for providing this clear guidance to contractors receiving federal tax dollars. Whether in the workplace, healthcare access, public accommodations, or housing, discrimination against LGBTQ people should never be allowed to permeate into our society.

Tuesday’s Final Rule makes clear that sex discrimination includes discrimination based on an employee’s gender identity or sex stereotyping, however it does not explicitly protect from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.  As HRC stated in letters and throughout the public comment processes, explicit sexual orientation protections are of the utmost necessity to protect all LGBTQ people working for contractors and subcontractors.

HRC applauds the DOL and OFFCP for this clear guidance and for their continued leadership and commitment to improving the lives of LGBTQ workers nationwide. 

To read the rule visit:  www.dol.gov/ofccp/sexdiscrimination.html

www.hrc.org/blog/ofccp-updates-final-rule-protecting-lgbtq-people-from-sex-discrimination?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

“Looking” The Movie, And 14 Other Must-See Flicks On The Summer Film Festival Curcuit

“Looking” The Movie, And 14 Other Must-See Flicks On The Summer Film Festival Curcuit

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The king of queer film festivals — San Francisco’s Frameline — hits the four-decade mark this year.

Running June 16-26th at venues across the SF Bay Area, this year’s festival showcases more than 150 films from filmmakers all over the globe. In addition to presenting the best new films of the year, Frameline40 is showcasing a selection of memorable classics and panel discussions looking back and contextualizing cinema today.

This year’s prestigious Frameline Award will be presented to longtime indie industry figure Bob Hawk (Trick, The Celluloid Closet). Seven of this year’s presentations (AWOL, Growing Up Coy, Her Story, The Joneses, Kiki and Out Run) were recipient’s of Frameline’s annual Completion Fund Grant. All descriptions below courtesy of Frameline.

OPENING NIGHT FILM
Kiki
KIKI / DIR Sara Jordenö / 2016 / USA, Sweden / 94 min
More than two decades after PARIS IS BURNING, filmmakers Sara Jordenö and Twiggy Pucci Garçon’s vibrant documentary fast-forwards to the ballroom scene of today: an unapologetically flamboyant and political subculture centered on LGBTQ youth of color, for whom dance is far more than performance.

 

 

CENTERPIECE US NARRATIVE
AWOL
AWOL / DIR Deb Shoval / 2016 / USA / 85 min
Tomboy Joey and married mom Rayna fall for each other in this star-crossed love story set in working class Pennsylvania. The pair can’t quit each other, but struggle to imagine a life together as Joey’s deployment for Afghanistan approaches.

 

 

 

 

CENTERPIECE WORLD NARRATIVE
Being 17
BEING 17 / DIR André Téchiné / 2016 / France / 116 min
When Thomas, the adopted son of rural mountain farmers, has to temporarily share a home with the more urbane Damien, the two hostile boys are forced to negotiate the challenges of unspoken desire, in director André Téchiné’s alluring new masterwork.

 

 

CENTERPIECE DOCUMENTARY
Salem
SOUTHWEST OF SALEM: THE STORY OF THE SAN ANTONIO FOUR

DIR Deborah Esquenazi / 2016 / USA / 89 min

At the tail end of the “Satanic ritual abuse panic” of the 1990s, four Latina lesbian women were accused and wrongfully convicted of a heinous sexual assault. After serving over a decade in prison, the women won’t stop fighting to prove their innocence, in this heart-wrenching examination of the criminal justice system.

 

CLOSING NIGHT FILM
Looking Movie
LOOKING / DIR Andrew Haigh / 2016 / USA / 86 min
Rendered in the same radically real style that made the HBO series a watershed in the presentation of ordinary gay lives, LOOKING, the movie, reunites the show’s sexy San Franciscans in a romantic drama that delivers the sweet satisfaction of closure.

 

 

 

SHOWCASE FILMS
Showcases are gems that are handpicked by Frameline programmers from the hundreds of outstanding films at this year’s Festival.

Girls Lost
GIRLS LOST

DIR Alexandra-Therese Keining / 2016 / Sweden / 105 min
In this delectably twisted fairytale of gender fluidity, three outcast girls’ dreams of boyhood become reality, sending them down a shadowy path of self-discovery.

 

 

 

Growing Up Coy
GROWING UP COY / DIR Eric Juhola / 2016 / USA / 86 min
In a highly conservative Colorado town, a pink-loving, pig-tailed six-year-old girl named Coy becomes the unlikely poster child for transgender rights, in a landmark case that is reverberating in state courts across the country.

 

 

 

 

The InterventionTHE INTERVENTION / DIR Clea DuVall / 2016 / USA / 88 min

Friends and family stage a marriage intervention for a toxic couple, only to have to confront their own issues in writer-director-star Clea DuVall’s sharp, funny, and honest portrayal of the complexities of modern adult relationships.

 

 

 

 

Theo and Hugo
PARIS 05:59: THEO & HUGO / DIRS Olivier Ducastel and Jacques Martineau / 2016 / France / 97 min
The thrilling, sexy contours of a new relationship have rarely been mapped as well as in this bold romance, which unfolds in real time on the streets of Paris. After a sweaty bout in a sex club, Theo (Geoffrey Couët) and Hugo (François Nambot) take off together on their bicycles, engaging in a beautifully crafted and moving dialogue that traverses an extraordinary range of personal and psychological territory.

Pushing Dead
PUSHING DEAD / DIR Tom E. Brown / 2015 / USA / 108 min
In this quirky dark comedy set in San Francisco, a bureaucratic snafu keeps an HIV-positive writer from getting his prescriptions. Skewering healthcare bureaucracy, a gentrifying city, and the tribulations of being a longtime HIV survivor, the film features a terrific ensemble cast, including James Roday, Robin Weigert, Danny Glover, and Khandi Alexander.

 

 

Rara
RARA / DIR Pepa San Martín / 2016 / Chile, Argentina / 88 min
With her first feature, writer-director Pepa San Martín constructs a brilliantly subtle family drama that is both a poignant coming-of-age tale and a based-on-a-true-story account of a lesbian marriage threatened by social forces, told chiefly from almost-13-year-old daughter Sarah’s perspective.

 

 

Spa Night
SPA NIGHT / DIR Andrew Ahn / 2016 / USA / 93 min
The LA air is thick with sublimated desire and frustrated yearning in Andrew Ahn’s deeply felt feature debut, a touching study of a virginal, closeted teenager wrestling with his Korean-born parents’ expectations and the forbidden, mysterious allure of men’s bodies.

 

 

 

Strike a Pose
STRIKE A POSE / DIRS Ester Gould & Reijer Zwaan / 2016 / Netherlands, Belgium / 83 min
In 1990, seven male dancers joined Madonna on her taboo-busting Blond Ambition tour-which blew the roof off of global pop culture, raised AIDS awareness, and turned the dancers into sudden celebrities. This empathetic yet probing portrait revisits that era and traces the dancers’ paths from youthful exuberance to complicated adulthood.

 

Summertime
SUMMERTIME / DIR Catherine Corsini / France
This 1970s-set, French love story provokes a rush of nostalgia (even if you weren’t there) for that heady time when political and romantic passions intertwined. French farm girl Delphine finds love with Parisian feminist Carole, but family keeps pulling her back into the closet in this smart, sexy movie.

 

 

 

The Trans List
THE TRANS LIST / DIR Timothy Greenfield-Sanders / 2016 / USA / 60 min
Boasting an impressive assemblage of transgender luminaries-including Buck Angel, Laverne Cox, and Shane Ortega-this riveting documentary highlights the distinct individuality and diverse outlooks of its subjects, while simultaneously evoking the collective power of an indomitable community.

 

 

Visit Frameline.org for complete information on all of this year’s films.

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