Meet the First Out UFC Champion, Amanda Nunes (Video)

www.advocate.com/sports/2016/7/12/meet-first-out-ufc-champion-amanda-nunes-video

House Considers Anti-LGBT Right to Discriminate on Anniversary of Orlando (Video)

Democrats denounced the bill as “shameful,” while Republicans and right-wing activists on the congressional panel claimed that the First Amendment Defense Act is necessary to protect the beliefs of those offended by marriage equality. 

www.advocate.com/politics/2016/7/12/house-considers-anti-lgbt-right-discriminate-anniversary-orlando-video

One Month After Pulse, 10 Activists Arrested at Rubio Sit-In

The organizers staged a sit-in outside of Sen. Marco Rubio’s office in Orlando, chanting “No Justice, No Peace!”

www.advocate.com/2016/7/12/one-month-after-pulse-10-activists-arrested-protesting-gun-control-inaction

President Obama Speaks at Memorial Service for Slain Dallas Officers: WATCH LIVE

President Obama on Tuesday is traveling to Dallas to speak an interfaith memorial service for the 5 police officers who were killed last Thursday in a targeted attack on law enforcement.

Watch live, below.

The post President Obama Speaks at Memorial Service for Slain Dallas Officers: WATCH LIVE appeared first on Towleroad.

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Emotional ‘Hands’ Lyrics Video Released on One Month Anniversary of Orlando Massacre – WATCH

An emotional lyric video has been released for the Orlando tribute song “Hands” that features YouTube stars who traveled to Orlando in the wake of the Pulse massacre and also some of the survivors of that shooting that left 49 people dead.

The video was released on Tuesday to coincide with the one month anniversary of the massacre.

One of the survivors featured in the video, 20 year-old Patience Carter, became known for the heartrending poem she wrote about the massacre as she was recovering in hospital.

RELATED: Orlando Survivor Shares Her Story in Harrowing Poem: ‘The Guilt of Being Alive Is Heavy’ – WATCH

As previously reported, “Hands” was released by Interscope Records in partnership with GLAAD.

A host of music stars lent their voices to the song, including Mary J Blige, Jason Derulo, Tyler Glenn, Selena Gomez, Halsey, Ty Herndon, Imagine Dragons, Juanes, Adam Lambert, Mary Lambert, Jennifer Lopez, the Trans Chorus of Los Angeles, Kacey Musgraves, MNEK, Alex Newell, P!nk, Prince Royce, Nate Ruess, RuPaul, Troye Sivan, Jussie Smollett, Britney Spears, Gwen Stefani, and Meghan Trainor. The song was written by Justin Tranter, Julia Michaels, and BloodPop and produced by BloodPop, Mark Ronson, and Justin Tranter.

All proceeds from the US sales of the track will benefit Equality Florida Pulse Victims Fund, the GLBT Community Center of Central Florida, and GLAAD.

You can purchase the song on iTunes.

GLAAD is also calling on people to accelerate acceptance and end hate by signing a petition which you can see HERE.

Watch the video for “Hands” and see the list of YouTube stars who joined in the tribute, below.

Here’s the list of YouTubers that appear in the video:

• Connor Franta
• Mitch Grassi
• Toby Randall
• Lucas Cruikshank
• Pablo Vlogs
• Missesmae
• Nina and Randa
• Kingsley
• Skylar Kergil
• Nicola Foti
• PatrickStarrr
• Sam Tsui
• Trevor Moran
• Rebecca Black
• Gigi Gorgeous
• Jack Merridew
• Mariale Marrero
• Raymond Braun
• Lia Marie Johnson
• Us The Duo
• Trans Chorus of L.A.
• Luan Palomera
• Austin and Aaron Rhodes
• Zuri Hall
• Michael Buckley
• Amymaire Gaertner
• Manny Mua
• Jake Roper
• Bradlee Wannemacher
• Travis Bryant
• Scott Hoying

The post Emotional ‘Hands’ Lyrics Video Released on One Month Anniversary of Orlando Massacre – WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.

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A Gay Version of ‘The Bachelor’ Is Currently in Production (and Lance Bass Is Hosting)

Fans of dating reality show The Bachelor who have long pined for a gay version of the franchise will be keen to know that their wish has finally been granted. Well, kind of.

LOGO TV announced on Tuesday that they will be debuting a new Bachelor-esque show called Finding Prince Charming that will feature a gay male ‘bachelor’ and 13 suitors vying for his, er, heart. Lance Bass is slated to host, playing the role of Chris Harrison.

EW reports:

The series follows 13 suitors living together and competing “to win the heart of one of the nation’s most eligible gay heartthrobs,” according to the network. The ultimate goal is as you’d expect: an intimate connection, true love, and a committed, exclusive relationship.

“Finding Prince Charming will take viewers on a whirlwind journey through modern love and relationships in a way that only Logo can do,” Pamela Post, SVP of original programming for Logo, promised in a statement.

Meanwhile, TMZ reports that Prince Charming is Robert Sepulveda Jr., “an interior designer with Puerto Rican roots who now lives in ATL.”

The only hitch? No word whether The Bachelor producers are in on this spin-off or have any problems (legally or otherwise) with the show.

No word on whether UnREAL will be inspired to take Everlasting into gay territory. Rachel is always looking to make history.

via GIPHY

Check out more photos of Sepulveda, via his Instagram, below.

The post A Gay Version of ‘The Bachelor’ Is Currently in Production (and Lance Bass Is Hosting) appeared first on Towleroad.

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We Need to Talk About Anti-LGBTQ Violence in Brazil

This post originally appeared in The Advocate

As the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympic Games approach, a number of crises are plaguing the host nation of Brazil, including a troubling escalation of brutal anti-LGBTQ violence. Brazil’s ongoing political and economic turmoil, with the suspension of the country’s president, a recession, and the Zika virus scare, have been hogging news headlines. But much of the the coverage tends to gloss over a highly worrying trend for the country and its LGBTQ community: Levels of violence are rising dangerously, including anti-LGBTQ attacks marked by exceptional viciousness and brutality.

A recent brief by the Human Rights Campaign illuminates the tragic violence facing Brazil’s LGBTQ population, particularly transgender women. Brazil has the unfortunate reputation of being one of the deadliest places in the world in terms of recorded anti-LGBTQ violence, despite the fact that police are often reluctant to register anti-LGBTQ crimes as hate attacks.

Shockingly, on average, about one LGBTQ Brazilian is killed in a hate-motivated crime each day. This past January, in a single day, three transgender women were killed, and another was wounded in a stabbing. Forty percent of murder victims from anti-LGBTQ attacks are transgender women, despite the fact that they represent only about 10 percent of the LGBTQ population in the country.

Despite being sworn to protect all people, police officers are repeatedly perpetrators of criminal violence against transgender people. The rising specter of evangelical intolerance and the toxic effects of poverty also pose serious dangers to LGBTQ Brazilians. In spite of discrimination, violence, and poverty, LGBTQ leaders continue to courageously organize and advocate for a more equal future for LGBTQ Brazilians.

Brazilian LGBTQ activists have done an admirable job pushing their federal, state, and municipal representatives to enact a broad array of protective measures. The violence is also surprising to many outside the country given that Brazil has been a global and regional leader on LGBTQ rights. On the domestic front, marriage equality was enacted in 2013, same-sex relations have been legal since the 19th century, Rio and São Paolo host the world’s largest annual Pride parades, and a variety of federal and local antidiscrimination laws protect LGBTQ Brazilians. This impressive progress has been achieved despite opposition from a vocal but powerful evangelical minority.

Just three weeks to the start of the Rio Olympics, the escalation of brutal anti-LGBTQ violence is deeply worrying. It also comes at a troubling moment for our community as a series of vicious attacks have been unleashed on LGBTQ people in places as diverse as Orlando, Bangladesh. and ISIL-controlled territories in the Middle East. For Brazil’s LGBTQ community, the Olympics provide an opportunity to illuminate their plight well beyond the country’s borders.

As the focus begins to turn to the Rio Olympics, our attention must not be diverted from the ugly truth of rising violence against LGBTQ Brazilians. We must continue to sound the alarm about this dangerous escalation and call on Brazilian authorities to take swift and decisive action to investigate attacks, prosecute attackers, and end the prevailing sense of lawlessness and impunity. 

www.hrc.org/blog/we-need-to-talk-about-anti-lgbt-violence-in-brazil?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

'Hands' lyric video is released on one month anniversary of Orlando massacre

www.glaad.org/blog/hands-lyric-video-released-one-month-anniversary-orlando-massacre