San Jose Police Face Class-Action Lawsuit Over Gay Sex Stings – VIDEO

San Jose police are facing a class-action lawsuit for allegedly singling out gay men in sex stings at a public restroom.

The Police Department cited dozens of men at Columbus Park in 2014 and 2015, charging them under Section 647(d) of the California penal code, which prohibits loitering in or around a public restroom for the purpose of engaging in a lewd or lascivious act.

But famed gay civil rights attorney Bruce Nickerson says the arrests are invalid because the state Supreme Court ruled in 1979 that lewd conduct is only a crime if it’s performed with the intent to offend. The Police Department has been using undercover officers to “honey-trap” the men, which Nickerson says generates the “reasonable belief that the decoy is interested and not likely to be offended.”

Nickerson also says police haven’t used decoys to arrest anyone for male-female sexual encounters, meaning the arrests violate the 14th Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection.

“It is the gay equivalent of stopping Jim Crow laws,” he told KPIX-TV.

RELATED: Judge Rules Gay Sex Stings Carried Out by Long Beach Police Are Discriminatory

San Jose Inside has more on Nickerson’s history of winning similar cases, as well as additional detail on the nature of the stings.

“A lot of gay rights attorneys turn up their noses at what I do,” Nickerson said. “But there’s a reason I do these kinds of cases. Because worse than being fired because you’re gay is to be arrested for being gay. The most fundamental right is to be free of imprisonment.”

Watch KPIX’s report below.

The post San Jose Police Face Class-Action Lawsuit Over Gay Sex Stings – VIDEO appeared first on Towleroad.

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Tom Daley and Dan Goodfellow Win Bronze at Rio and Celebrate in the Most Adorable Way Possible – WATCH

Tom Daley and his synchronized diving partner Dan Goodfellow won the bronze medal in the synchro 10m platform dive on Monday.

Daley finished fourth in the same event at the London games in 2012. He and Goodfellow waited in agony as the judges deliberated over their scores.

Once the scores came in, and the bronze was assured, Daley and Goodfellow celebrated in the most adorable way possible: by hugging and falling into the pool.

Tom Daley and Dan Goodfellow win Bronze for diving at the Rio Olympics! Well done @TomDaley1994 #TeamGB pic.twitter.com/3KZdaHVg1c

— Scott Campbell (@stenchmobile) August 8, 2016

The Guardian reports: 

Not all of their dives had been perfect up to that point but with the pressure on Tom Daley and his 10m platform diving partner Daniel Goodfellow delivered.

As they did so, they secured the bronze that for Daley laid to rest the demons of London, when he finished fourth in the same event, and four years earlier in Beijing when had come last as a 14-year-old amid a very public falling out with his dive partner.

After jousting over five rounds for third, the pair executed a difficult back three and a half somersault pike that guaranteed bronze. Their coach, Jane Figueiredo, let loose an ear-piercing scream and the rest of the watching British diving entourage went wild.

Daley’s fiancé, Academy Award-winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, was on hand at the event on Monday to cheer him on.

Black congratulated Daley on Twitter.

So proud of you my love!!!Congratulations @TomDaley1994 & @danngoodfellow! #Bronze #Diving #Rio2016 ❤️

— Dustin Lance Black (@DLanceBlack) August 8, 2016

Check out more photos of Daley’s history-making moment, below.

UPDATE #1. Daley tweeted out a photo with Goodfellow celebrating their bronze medal win.

OLYMPIC BRONZE MEDALISTS!! Can’t believe it! So happy and proud of you @danngoodfellow 🙂 pic.twitter.com/uc4DPL5sFG

— Tom Daley (@TomDaley1994) August 8, 2016

UPDATE #2. Daley and Goodfellow’s bronze medal-winning moment is made even better when you sync it to “My Heart Will Go On.”

Tom Daley’s Bronze is better with titanic music #TomDaley pic.twitter.com/7tpbD4AcI1

— Mr L (@Lynchy30) August 8, 2016

[Top photo via Instagram]

The post Tom Daley and Dan Goodfellow Win Bronze at Rio and Celebrate in the Most Adorable Way Possible – WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.

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Stephen Colbert Takes on Donald Trump's Very, Very Bad Week (Video)

Trump initially refused to support fellow Republicans, creating animostiy within his party, but he thinks things are going just fine. 

www.advocate.com/comedy/2016/8/08/stephen-colbert-takes-donald-trumps-very-very-bad-week-video

What If Muggings Were Treated Like Sexual Assault? (Video)

When victims of sexual assault come forward, they are often asked strange questions, but what would happen if the same questions were asked of mugging victims? 

www.advocate.com/women/2016/8/08/what-if-muggings-were-treated-sexual-assault-video

Roy Moore Tries to Say He Never Blocked Alabama Marriage Equality

The suspended chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court was the defendant in his own courtroom today and claimed that he never told the state’s lower judges to ignore federal law on marriage equality. 

www.advocate.com/marriage-equality/2016/8/08/roy-moore-tries-say-he-never-blocked-alabama-marriage-equality

Anti-Gay GOP Mayor Arrested for Recording Game of Strip Poker with Underage Boys: VIDEOS

The mayor of Stockton, California was arrested at a youth camp where he is accused of, among other things, having taped a game of strip poker he played with teen boys in his cabin.

That mayor, Anthony Silva, was an advisor and leader at the Stockton youth camp prior to being arrested. He has been released on $20,000 bail.

Silva reportedly only taped an audio recording of the strip poker game. According to authorities, at least one 16 year-old boy was naked during that game.

Silva is officially charged with eavesdropping or recording confidential communications, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, providing alcohol to a minor and cruelty to a child by endangering health.

KCRA reports: 

The arrest stems from a September 2015 FBI investigation where Silva’s cell phone was seized by Homeland Security investigators at San Francisco International Airport as he got off a flight from China.

One of the clips on Silva’s phone contained audio of several people during a strip poker game in Silva’s bedroom at the camp, the Amador County district attorney said. One of the participants was 16 years old. […]

Witnesses stated that Silva supplied alcohol to a number of underage counselors at the camp as well, according to the Amador County district attorney.

“He absolutely maintains his innocence, and he’s looking forward to his day in court and he absolutely believes he will be vindicated,” [Silva’s lawyer Allen] Sawyer said.

The blog Back2Stonewall describes Silva as “a family values anti-gay GOP politician who has held official town hall meetings at an anti-gay megachurch and gave the key to the city of Stockton to God.”

This is not the first time that Silva has been accused of inappropriate behavior with a minor. In 2004, he allegedly secretly taped male teenagers using his private bathroom in his apartment. Silva was a high school water polo coach at the time. No charges were filed in that case.

Back in 2013, Silva was accused of sexual battery involving a 19-year-old woman.

Add to those past allegations of wrong-doing the fact that a gun reportedly stolen from Silva’s home was used to a kill a 13-year-old boy last year, according to CBS news. Silva didn’t report the gun stolen until a month after it supposedly went missing. Police have said Silva did not cooperatewith their investigation.

Watch news reports on Silva’s latest troubles with the law, via CBS 13, below.

[h/t NNN]

The post Anti-Gay GOP Mayor Arrested for Recording Game of Strip Poker with Underage Boys: VIDEOS appeared first on Towleroad.

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Watch ‘Gays Against Guns’ Pay a Brave, Haunting Visit to the NRA and the NJ State Fair

Six members of the activist organization Gays Against Guns (GAG) paid a visit to the New Jersey State Fair on Sunday in conservative Sussex County.

The group told Towleroad: “Gays Against Guns has had a powerful presence in the 6 weeks since its founding in places like the NYC Pride march and at protests against corporate and political enemies in central NYC and DC, but this was the first time the group went into mixed/hostile territory, and you can see as much from the video. What they did was very brave. We hope to seed unnerving, silent, nonviolent actions like this at points of NRA and gun-industry power all over the U.S.”

RELATED: Hundreds to March with New Gays Against Guns (GAG) Group in NYC Pride Parade

The activists, draped in white, carried framed photos of people who lost their lives by gun violence.

They staked out a place in front of the National Rifle Association (NRA) booth where they held a peaceful, silent vigil. As you can see from the video there were more than a few people who were unhappy to see them.

Watch

The post Watch ‘Gays Against Guns’ Pay a Brave, Haunting Visit to the NRA and the NJ State Fair appeared first on Towleroad.

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Mr. Gay China Is a Win for LGBT Visibility

The crowning of its first Mr. Gay could be a turning point in China, where most LGBT people are still closeted.

www.advocate.com/world/2016/8/08/mr-gay-china-win-lgbt-visibility