Lesbian Drama, Legal Battles and ‘The Little Prince’ Streaming In August

Looking for something to stream while you Netflix and chill? Check out our picks for new additions to streaming services this month below, including gay love stories Holding The Man and Blue Is the Warmest Color.

Holding The Man (2015), Available on Netflix August 1

Timothy Conigrave’s memoir gets an emotional film adaptation in this sweeping gay Australian love story. Holding The Man chronicles Conigrave’s 15-year relationship with John Caleo while portraying the coming out process and the AIDS crisis against a backdrop of the 1970s and ‘80s.

Capote (2005), Available on HBO Now August 1

The late Philip Seymour Hoffman’s Oscar-winning turn as iconic gay author Truman Capote in this drama chronicling his writing of In Cold Blood, a sort of pre-cursor to The Jinx and Making A Murderer.

Legally Blonde (2001), Available on Hulu August 1

Now’s your chance to perfect your bend and snap! Reese Witherspoon’s classic comedy hits Hulu in all its wonderful pink glory. Cast includes gay faves like Victor Garber, Holland Taylor, Jennifer Coolidge and Ali Larter. (OK, maybe Ali Larter is a stretch, but have you seen Obsessed? Come on.)

The Little Prince (2016), Available on Netflix August 5

One of the most beloved children’s books ever, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s The Little Prince is brought to life with stunning animation, featuring the voices of Rachel McAdams, Marion Cotillard, Jeff Bridges, Paul Rudd, James Franco and more. While not an expressly LGBT film, the fable will resonate with anyone who’s ever looked at the adult world and did’t understand why we do the things we do.

Blue Is the Warmest Color (2013), Available on Netflix August 26

Lauded for its raw realism (and notable for the graphic sex scenes that earned the film an NC-17 rating), this critical darling was the first film to win the Palme d’Or at Cannes for both its director and its actresses. The French film follows young lovers Adèle and Emma from the beginning of their high-school romance into their turbulent adult relationship.

The State Of Marriage (2015), Available on Netflix August 29

Same-sex marriage may be the reality across the country today, but you can trace its roots to lawyers Mary Bonauto, Susan Murray, and Beth Robinson in Vermont. This documentary tells the story of the struggle behind Vermont Supreme Court case Baker v. Vermont, and reminds us how different things were not too long ago.

What are you streaming this month?

The post Lesbian Drama, Legal Battles and ‘The Little Prince’ Streaming In August appeared first on Towleroad.

feeds.towleroad.com/~r/towleroad/feed/~3/kHUgpWAmojY/

California Bill Aims to Ban Anti-Gay Discrimination at Religious Schools: VIDEO

A bill moving through the California legislature could remove anti-discrimination exemptions for religious institutions.

Currently, religious institutions can discipline students for violating moral codes of conduct. In practice, the exercising of such “religious freedom” clauses often leads to anti-gay and anti-trans policies.

The AP reports that under SB 1146, schools would  have to disclose if they have been granted exemptions from federal Title IX rules against discrimination to prospective and current students.

RELATED: These Federally Funded Religious Schools Received Title IX Waivers to Discriminate Against LGBT Students

The bill’s sponsor, Senator Ricardo Lara (above), says that students who attend religious colleges should have the same rights and protections as students who attend non-religious institutions.

Derry Connolly, president of John Paul the Great Catholic University in Escondido, says that SB 1146 will force the school to “change 2,000-year-old teachings to be in line with LGBT ideology.” Meanwhile, John Jackson, president of William Jessup University, argues that the bill would prevent the college from offering Cal Grant funding to low-income students.

Christian schools are trying to keep their federal funding all the while breaking federal laws. #SB1146 aims to end that.

— Eliel Cruz (@elielcruz) August 1, 2016

However, Patti Colston, a spokeswoman for the California Student Aid Commission, said nothing in HB 1146 would explicitly prevent a religious institution from voluntarily participating in the Cal Grant program.

HB 1146 law faces an upcoming test in the state Assembly after passing the Senate.

Watch Biola University President Barry H. Corey speak out against SB 1146 along with a video in support of the law, below.

(Top image via Wikipedia)

The post California Bill Aims to Ban Anti-Gay Discrimination at Religious Schools: VIDEO appeared first on Towleroad.

feeds.towleroad.com/~r/towleroad/feed/~3/JFbaFSIWvXU/

‘RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars’ Is Back, and Queens Will Be Lip-Syncing for Their Legacies: WATCH

RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars is back, and this time the returning queens aren’t just lip-sycncing for their lives; they’re fighting for their legacies.

A new trailer for the second season of the show reveals a new twist in store for the all stars.

Vulture explains: 

The bottoms aren’t lip-syncing this time — it’s the tops! In this exclusive trailer for the second season of All Stars, RuPaul has decided that the rules have changed and the top two queens will “lip-sync for their legacy.” The winner of that lip-sync will then decide who goes home.

PREVIOUSLY: RuPaul Explains Why ‘Drag Race’ Can’t Go Mainstream – WATCH

The returning queens are Roxxxy Andrews, Alaska, Detox, Alyssa Edwards, Coco Montrose, Ginger Minj, Katya, Adore Delano, Phi Phi O’Hara, and Tatianna.

Get ready, queens.

Let’s get All-Star-ted!!!! 🌟👑 Starting August 25th at 8/7c, Thursdays are going to get WILD! t.co/HPF5Dfkw5G pic.twitter.com/dfyxbf9Fnk

— RuPaul’s Drag Race (@RuPaulsDragRace) August 2, 2016

Watch the new trailer, below.

The post ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars’ Is Back, and Queens Will Be Lip-Syncing for Their Legacies: WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.

feeds.towleroad.com/~r/towleroad/feed/~3/MU04YgSWilU/

Queer Women Have Absolutely No Reason To Support Donald Trump

And nothing Rush Limbaugh says on the radio will change that.

The post Queer Women Have Absolutely No Reason To Support Donald Trump appeared first on ThinkProgress.

thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2016/08/02/3804173/melania-trump-photos/

Marco Rubio to Speak at Antigay Rally on Anniversary of Pulse Shooting

The senator was called “Florida’s most brazen political opportunist” by a local alt-weekly.

www.advocate.com/politics/2016/8/02/marco-rubio-speak-antigay-rally-anniversary-pulse-shooting

Skye Mockabee Is 17th Trans Person Murdered in the U.S. This Year

Skye Mockabee was found on Saturday morning, but initial misgendering from police and media hampered reporting of her death.

www.advocate.com/transgender/2016/8/02/skye-mockabee-17th-trans-person-murdered-us-year

‘Christian’ Store Owner in Arkansas Doesn’t Want Lesbians Holding Hands in Front of the Children

Saying he’s “a family person” and would have done the same thing if they had been “regular people,” an Arkansas store owner asked a lesbian couple to stop holding hands in his business on Saturday.

Ashley Looper and Jessica Perkins, who’ve been together since January and recently got engaged, were shopping together at Spa City Treasures, a flea market and antique store in Hot Springs. Although they were holding hands, Looper and Perkins said they weren’t being “handsy” or disrespectful — or even hugging or kissing. Nevertheless, store owner Steve Salyers began following them around and eventually asked them to stop.

“I’m a family person so I want this to be a family store,” Salyers told KARK-TV. “It’s like I wouldn’t want to take my kids to a strip club or something.”

“I just felt like they were just doing something that was inappropriate to have kids around,” he added. “It would have been the same whether it had been regular people or not.”

Salyers didn’t ask Looper and Perkins to leave, but the couple put back their merchandise and stormed out.

“Love is love, and no one else should be able to say anything about it,” Looper said. “I don’t judge people for who they’re with. We don’t want to be judged for who we’re with.”

Looper and Perkins said they want to get the word out in the LGBT community that Spa City Treasures discriminates. And apparently it’s working, as hundreds of people have flooded the business’ Facebook page with negative reviews.

Sayers said people can write what they want, but he’s not a homophobe.

The post ‘Christian’ Store Owner in Arkansas Doesn’t Want Lesbians Holding Hands in Front of the Children appeared first on Towleroad.

feeds.towleroad.com/~r/towleroad/feed/~3/om7FdFvpLjQ/

Samantha Bee Recaps the DNC: ‘Vote for Hillary If You Want to Live’ – WATCH

Samantha Bee recapped the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia and compared it to the parade of “hemorrhoidal has-beens” on display at the Republican National Convention.

As opposed to the doom and gloom of the RNC, the DNC “left us feeling like we got a national blow-job from the American flag,” Bee quipped.

And while the Democrats don’t always excel at throwing conventions (see: the 2004 DNC balloon drop fiasco), they had extra motivation this year. “Turns out, the Democrats had it in them all along. All they had to do to get their sh*t together was to have the looming certainty of Armageddon,” said Bee.

There were also plenty of people on hand to vouch for Hillary Clinton’s credentials at the DNC, including “half the f*cking Pentagon standing on stage saying, ‘Vote for Hillary if you want to live.’” Not to mention past presidents, governors, generals, Republicans and more.

Despite all those endorsements, and Clinton’s unprecedented qualifications, Hillary might still lose to “the least qualified candidate to ever lurch into the public spotlight and sh*t on Gold Star moms while cradling Putin’s sweaty sack.” Bee added, “Let’s hope Hillary doesn’t get lipstick on her teeth between now and November or it’s all over.”

Watch, below.

The post Samantha Bee Recaps the DNC: ‘Vote for Hillary If You Want to Live’ – WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.

feeds.towleroad.com/~r/towleroad/feed/~3/uoVQwzfn1uA/

Obama: Trump Keeps on Proving He’s Unfit to President – WATCH

President Obama on Tuesday kept up his assault on Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, saying that he believes Trump is “unfit” to be commander-in-chief.

President Obama sharply rebuked Trump last week in his much-lauded speech at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.

Speaking before reporters at a press conference with the Prime Minister of Singapore, President Obama said of Trump, “The fact that he doesn’t appear to have basic knowledge around critical issues in Europe, in the Middle East, in Asia means that he’s woefully unprepared to do this job.”

Obama says Trump “keeps on proving” he is unfit to serve as president t.co/2UE6BImNS5 t.co/gDsjNQUVLK

— MSNBC (@MSNBC) August 2, 2016

RELATED: Watch President Obama’s Full Speech at the Democratic National Convention

Drawing a distinction between Trump and past Republican presidential nominees, Obama made clear that while he disagreed with John McCain and Mitt Romney, whom he faced off against in 2008 and 2012 respectively, he never doubted that either individual would be able to faithfully execute the duties of commander-in-chief. Obama could not say the same about Trump. He explained,

“I never thought that [McCain or Romney] couldn’t do the job. And had they won I would’ve been disappointed but I would have said to all Americans, ‘This is our president. And I know that they are going to abide by certain norms and rules and common sense; will observe basic decency, will have enough knowledge about economic policy and foreign policy, and our constitutional traditions and rule of law that our government will work. And we will compete four years from now to try and win an election.’ But that’s not the situation here. And that’s not just my opinion. That’s the opinion of many prominent Republicans. There has to come a point at which you say enough. And the alternative is that the entire party — the Republican party — effectively endorses and validates the positions that are being taken by Mr. Trump.

Obama to GOP: “There has to come a point in which you say ‘enough.’” t.co/FBMvsyIcfv

— MSNBC (@MSNBC) August 2, 2016

The post Obama: Trump Keeps on Proving He’s Unfit to President – WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.

feeds.towleroad.com/~r/towleroad/feed/~3/oG8AZ5SEF4U/