Mercedes Successful Becomes 11th Transgender Person Killed in 2016

The popular entertainer was a staple of her local LGBT community in Haines City, Fla. She was 32 years old when she was found dead Sunday. 

www.advocate.com/transgender/2016/5/19/mercedes-successful-becomes-11th-transgender-person-killed-2016

Randy Rainbow Sits Down With Donald Trump And Things Get Weird, Fast

We’ve long been admirers of Randy Rainbow‘s green-screened insertions into pop culture, so it’s only natural he’d score an exclusive one-on-one interview with the biggest puppet-master buffoon of media there is — Donald John Trump.

It’s so exclusive, in fact, that Trump wasn’t even allowed in the room. Very hush hush.

The two talk everything from the presidential candidate’s racist remarks to his cameo in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York to what America really wants to know: whether or not Trump is, in fact, a real person.

Watch below:

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Prince Harry Can’t Resist Urge To Tweak Volleyball Player’s Nipple On Live TV

By all accounts, Prince Harry appears to be a pretty stand-up guy, and an interaction with former Army Rifleman Ashley Coles earlier this month would certainly bolster that case.

While attending a volleyball event at Britain’s Invictus Games, the Paralympic-style games that Harry himself founded in 2014 in which wounded, injured or sick armed services personnel and their associated veterans take part in sports, the young Prince of Wales could just couldn’t resit tweaking the nipple of participant.

Wait, what?

Related: British Soldier Recalls When Prince Harry Saved Him From Homophobic Attack

Yes, though it may sound a bit creepy (can you imagine an American official pinching someones nipple on TV?), the incident was laughed off in good spirits.

Coles lifted up his shirt to reportedly show Harry his tattoo, and Harry locked onto the target and executed a first-rate purple nurple.

Watch below:

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Prince Harry Enjoys Tweaking a Man’s Nipple – WATCH

Prince Harry tweaked the nipple of an athlete at the 2016 Invictus Games in Florida earlier this month.

HRH was talking with the athlete, whom The Mirror has identified as former Army Rifleman Ashley Coles, at a seated volleyball match between the UK and Afghanistan.

Coles pulled up his shirt to show Harry a chest tattoo and, like any playful bro would, Harry went right for the nipple and gave it a good pinch. A move which seems to have surprised Coles.

More on Coles from The Mirror:

Mr Coles, from Hampshire, suffered a brain injury after a car accident in 2010 which affects the right side of his body and his speech.

He said he is focusing on the games as it keeps him motivated.

Coles’ tattoo is on the right side of his body so it may have something to do with his injury and his recovery.

Watch the video, below.

[h/t Dlisted]

The post Prince Harry Enjoys Tweaking a Man’s Nipple – WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.

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WATCH: Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney Lead Efforts to Support LGBT Non-Discrimination Protections

Over the last two days, Representative Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY) has tirelessly led efforts to support LGBT non-discrimination protections in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Last night, Maloney, who is openly gay, spoke passionately on the House floor while trying to strip an anti-LGBT provision from the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

“This is about whether we will reaffirm equal rights or rationalize discrimination,” he said. “When my husband and I got married after waiting 22 years, so many of you expressed your support. Will you now look me in the eye and say it would be okay for me to lose my job over it?”

The provision Maloney opposed would allow sweeping, taxpayer-funded discrimination in all federal contracts and grants across all agencies under the guise of religious liberty and it would jeopardize President Obama’s executive order prohibiting LGBT discrimination in federal contracting. It could also have far-reaching consequences, potentially even undermining existing federal non-discrimination provisions protecting workers against discrimination on the basis of race, religion, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity and more.

The night before, the House Rules Committee, an arm of House Republican Leadership, rejected a bipartisan attempt to strip the provision. Unfortunately, Maloney’s amendment was also defeated on a near party-line vote.

This vote, however, did not deter Maloney. Just hours after he spoke against the LGBT provision in NDAA, he introduced an amendment to a separate spending bill to ensure that the funding could not be used to hire contractors who discriminate against LGBT workers. This amendment had broad bipartisan support, initially gaining enough votes to pass including 36 Republicans. However, the Republican House leadership held the vote open long after the time expired and pressured seven Republican members to switch their votes to no, thus defeating the amendment by a single vote.

HRC commends Rep. Maloney’s extraordinary leadership to ensure that federal funds are not used to discriminate.

“This is about whether we will reaffirm equal rights or rationalize discrimination,” he said. “When my husband and I got married after waiting 22 years, so many of you expressed your support. Will you now look me in the eye and say it would be okay for me to lose my job over it?”

www.hrc.org/blog/watch-rep.-sean-patrick-maloney-lead-efforts-to-support-lgbt-non-discrimina?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

House Democrats Shout 'Shame' at Republicans Who Voted Down Nondiscrimination Amendment

After seven GOP congressmen changed their vote, an amendment to a defense bill that would have prohibited discrimination against LGBT people failed to pass. 

www.advocate.com/politics/2016/5/19/house-democrats-shout-shame-republicans-who-voted-down-nondiscrimination

Is Methodist Punt on LGBT Issues a Positive Move?

Some activists feel hopeful in light of a decision to set up a special commission to study issues of sexuality.

www.advocate.com/religion/2016/5/19/methodist-punt-lgbt-issues-positive-move

Is The Era Of The Gay ‘Adult Theater’ Gone And Forgotten?

Say goodbye to yet another institution: the Tea Room Theater, one of San Francisco’s oldest gay porn theaters, is calling it quits.

Blame goes to the usual suspects: the internet, hookup apps, and a more open culture that no longer forces queer people to hide. These days, porn is practically something you can find out in the open — especially in San Francisco.

There was a time when porn theaters like these were one of the primary ways that men hooked up. You’d spend a few bucks to slip into a grubby theater, or loiter in a hallway, or watch a live dancer. If theaters weren’t your thing, you could also poke your head into certain bathrooms; or hide in the bushes down by the ocean. Half a century ago, for a lot of men, there simply weren’t any good clean wholesome ways to meet each other — and for some people, that was just fine.

Time have changed, though, and the guys still going to porn theaters are the real devotees from a bygone era. You’d have to be intensely devoted to such an establishment to keep coming back, especially at a time when it’s far easier to meet people online. They remain important internationally, though, in countries where oppressive regimes still make it difficult for LGBTs to congregate.

Related: Bathhouses And Beyond: A Brief History Of Gay Cruising

Most of the Tea Room’s clientele is elderly, reflecting the slow waning of interest in going to a store for sexual gratification. It’s tucked away in the Tenderloin, which was once the epicenter of SF’s queer culture but is now mostly the epicenter of crime and poverty — especially as the rest of the city is converted into corporate housing for Silicon Valley.

A few other options remain for naughty gay men: There’s the Nob Hill Theater, which is unfortunately quite a schlep up the hill from Union Square. And there are also a smattering of porn shops and leather establishments sprinkled around SOMA, though their days are probably numbered as well.

So now what’s to become of the Tea Room? A few bits will probably be sold off, and then it’ll likely become home to a fancy coffee shop, or maybe a place to buy sofas that cost more than most people make in a year. Every now and then, someone will find out what it once was, and giggle about it.

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