Senegalese Journalist Given Six-Month Prison Sentence for Homosexuality
Tamsir Jupiter Ndiaye will serve jail time for committing an ‘improper or unnatural act.’
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Daniel Reynolds
Category Archives: NEWS
Sneak Peek: The Sexy Freedom Reigns Team Hits Malibu
Sneak Peek: The Sexy Freedom Reigns Team Hits Malibu
There’s a new Freedom Reigns video coming soon to a screen near you. But we at The Underwear Expert are much too impatient for that. So in the meantime, we decided to treat you to a sneak peek. Where our exclusive featured some of Freedom Reigns’ 2015 swimwear and apparel, the new Freedom Reigns video will also throw in Tech-Fit Shorts and iCandy underwear into the mix.
This time the gang heads to Malibu, land of sun, sand, and a healthy dose of sex appeal. We catch a glimpse of the ultra trendy G-Force Cropped Pants and even a Body Sport Mesh Tank. But that tank is the only top in sight. The rest is shirtless goodness, prime for a tan.
You can find a more in-depth sneak peek of the new Freedom Reigns vid on The Underwear Expert.
Photo Credit: Freedom Reigns
Underwear Expert
Five Bible-Based Responses To Common Arguments Against Marriage Freedom From A Biblical Scholar
Five Bible-Based Responses To Common Arguments Against Marriage Freedom From A Biblical Scholar
Matthew Vines is the author of the bestseller God and the Gay Christian. Vines calls the book “an open letter to modern Christians” about why they should support same-sex relationships, and what the Bible really says about homosexuality.
In the wake of June’s Supreme Court’s ruling on gay marriage, some conservative Christians, seeing the writing on the wall, have actually stepped up their denunciations of all things LGBT. So we asked Vines to provide us with some thoughtful Bible-based responses to their arguments. Here’s what he had to say…
Many Christians have changed their minds about the LGBT community, but not all—and those who haven’t can be pretty vocal.
Whether it’s your parent, your co-worker, or a childhood friend who posts a Bible verse on social media to say that same-sex relationships are wrong, here are constructive ways you can respond to five commonly-repeated points…
Argument #1: God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah for being gay, so he’ll surely judge America soon.
Actually, God didn’t destroy Sodom and Gomorrah for being gay. According to Genesis 19, the men of Sodom threatened to gang rape God’s messengers. Their threat was about power and humiliation, not sexual orientation.
Not only does the Bible never connect the sin of Sodom to same-sex relationships, it explicitly teaches that the sin of Sodom was about something else entirely. Ezekiel 16:49 says, “Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy.”
It’s worth pointing out that America has been guilty of those kinds of sins of oppression since our founding, from our brutal treatment of indigenous peoples to our practice of slavery and segregation. The Bible’s teachings about Sodom certainly highlight some of America’s sins—but marriage equality isn’t one of them. (Nor is it a sin at all!)
Argument #2: The Bible says that being gay is an abomination.
Leviticus 18:22 is the Bible verse most frequently quoted by opponents of same-sex marriage: “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.” But Leviticus is part of the Old Testament law, and the New Testament teaches that Christians should live under the new covenant, not the old one.
Jesus said in Matthew 5:17 that he came to fulfill the Old Testament law, and the author of Hebrews wrote that the law is “obsolete and outdated” and “will soon disappear” (Hebrews 8:13). That’s why Christians today widely accept other things that the Old Testament calls “abominations,” like charging interest on loans (Ezekiel 18:13), sex during a woman’s menstrual period (Leviticus 18:19), and eating pork (Deuteronomy 14:8).
Argument #3: The Bible says that being gay is unnatural.
While Leviticus may be the most commonly quoted verse, the most important one for many non-affirming Christians is in the New Testament. In Romans 1:26-27, the apostle Paul condemns same-sex behavior he describes as lustful, unnatural, and shameful. “We can’t accept something that the Bible says is unnatural and shameful,” many people say. But in fact, most Christians already do.
Paul says in 1 Corinthians 11:14 that for a man to have long hair violates what “nature” teaches and is “a disgrace to him.” But most Christians who oppose same-sex marriage wouldn’t condemn long hair in men. In fact, the Bible itself speaks highly of long hair in men in the Old Testament (see Numbers 6:5, 2 Samuel 14:26, and 2 Kings 2:23). That’s why most Christians interpret “nature” in 1 Corinthians 11 as referring to cultural conventions of Paul’s day.
But if “nature” really means “custom” in 1 Corinthians 11, might it also mean “custom” in Romans 1? There’s good reason to think so. In the ancient world, same-sex relations were widely considered “unnatural” largely due to the fact that same-sex partners violated customary, patriarchal gender norms: Men were passive instead of active, and women were dominant instead of submissive. That’s a cultural convention in a similar way to norms about hair length.
So the next time someone says they can’t accept something the Bible calls unnatural, point them to 1 Corinthians 11:14 and ask: Do you feel the same way about long hair in men?
Related: 10 Bible-Based Reasons Why Christians Should Love Homosexuality
Argument #4: The Bible says “homosexuals” won’t go to heaven.
Before 1946, no Bible translation had ever used the word “homosexual” at all. But starting in the mid-20th century, many translations of 1 Corinthians 6:9 and 1 Timothy 1:10 changed to say that “homosexuals” will not “inherit the kingdom of God.” Fortunately, many New Testament scholars have been pushing back against those translations in recent years, from Dale Martin to James Brownson. Their case is simple: The word “homosexual” didn’t even exist in any language until 1869, nor did the concept of sexual orientation as we think of it today.
It’s perfectly possible that the apostle Paul was condemning certain forms of same-sex behavior in 1 Corinthians 6 and 1 Timothy 1, but the types of behavior that were most widely practiced in his day were things like prostitution, sex between masters and slaves, and pederasty (sex between men and adolescent boys). Same-sex marriages between equal-status partners weren’t on the radar screen at all, so the idea that he was condemning those kinds of relationships can’t be right.
Neither the word “homosexual” nor the concept it represents existed when the Bible was written, so it’s simply not true to say that the Bible teaches that gay people won’t go to heaven.
Argument #5: Jesus defined marriage as between one man and one woman.
Jesus actually never defined marriage in the Bible. In Matthew 19, some Pharisees ask Jesus whether a man can divorce his wife “for any and every reason,” and Jesus says no. He responds to their question—a question specifically about a man and his wife—by saying that God “made them male and female” and that “what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
Jesus wasn’t asked about same-sex marriage. That’s to be expected given that no one was talking about same-sex marriage in the first century. But while Jesus didn’t directly address same-sex relationships, the core principles of his teachings on marriage can be applied to same-sex couples today. Both Matthew 19 and Ephesians 5 teach that marriage is fundamentally about the self-giving covenant that spouses make and keep with one another, reflecting God’s self-giving love for us.
That’s something everyone—straight, gay, or bi—can live out.
Related: 10 Bible-Based Reasons Why Christians Should Love Homosexuality
Graham Gremore
Random rooftop parties in London
Random rooftop parties in London
The Glory is a small pub on Kingsland Road – just next to Haggerston station in London’s inner-east.
With a management team boasting some of London’s finest alternative talent, The Glory has quickly established itself as a hub for all things queer in the UK capital.
But Jonny Woo and his crew are flexing their creative muscles beyond the physical constraints of the old pub, with the Glory Days festival taking over the space on top of the Old Street roundabout on a warm Saturday in early August.
There were drag queens, performances, singing, dancing, and drinking. Everything that The Glory does best.
The post Random rooftop parties in London appeared first on Gay Star News.
Gareth Johnson
www.gaystarnews.com/article/random-rooftop-parties-in-london/
REVIEW: Hanoi Cafe – Kingsland Road, London
REVIEW: Hanoi Cafe – Kingsland Road, London
Kingsland Road is a street that is awash with Vietnamese restaurants. Walking distance from Old Street and Liverpool Street tube stations, this is an extension of Shoreditch High Street, heading to the hipster-east of The City.
For the first-timer it can be a little difficult to see much difference between the myriad of Vietnamese restaurants concentrated in this precinct, but locals all have their favorites.
One of the good ones is Hanoi Cafe – I particularly like their Bánh mì, the filled baguettes that are one of Vietnam’s best-loved street foods. There’s a range of fillings available but it doesn’t get much better than the traditional pork.
The post REVIEW: Hanoi Cafe – Kingsland Road, London appeared first on Gay Star News.
Gareth Johnson
www.gaystarnews.com/article/review-hanoi-cafe-kingsland-road-london/
Cecil the Lion’s Brother Jericho Illegally Killed in Zimbabwe
Cecil the Lion’s Brother Jericho Illegally Killed in Zimbabwe
More heartbreaking news out of Zimbabwe as Jericho, the brother of slain lion Cecil, was gunned down illegally in Hwange National Park today.
CNN reports:
“It is with huge disgust and sadness that we have just been informed that Jericho, Cecil’s brother has been killed at 4pm today,” Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force said Saturday on Facebook.
“We are absolutely heart broken,” the Task Force added.
Jericho was considered to be caring for and defending Cecil’s cubs, but the survivability of those cubs wasn’t immediately clear in the aftermath of Jericho’s death.
Some of the cubs may have been Jericho’s, said David Macdonald, director of Oxford’s Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, who has been studying Cecil.
Earlier today, the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority announced it would be further tightening hunting regulations outside wildlife parks.
The post Cecil the Lion’s Brother Jericho Illegally Killed in Zimbabwe appeared first on Towleroad.
Kyler Geoffroy
www.towleroad.com/2015/08/cecil-the-lions-brother-jericho-illegally-killed-in-zimbabwe/
Leslie Jordan: I Threw 'Sweet Iced Tea, Not Coffee' in Starbucks Fight
Leslie Jordan: I Threw 'Sweet Iced Tea, Not Coffee' in Starbucks Fight
The Will & Grace star issued a public statement to clarify a recent confrontation over antigay slurs at a West Hollywood coffee shop.
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Daniel Reynolds
NYPD officers accused of anti-gay attack
NYPD officers accused of anti-gay attack
A New York City man charges officers assaulted him and used anti-gay epithets. According to the Daily News, police knocked on the door of Louis Falcone on 19 June. There was a complaint of noise from the Staten Island home he shares with his mother.
Staten Island is one of the five boroughs of New York City.
Falcone tells the newspaper four officers showed up at the door. He explained he and his brother had a loud argument earlier.
‘As I’m talking to them through the screen door, they’re saying to come outside,’ Falcone recalls to the Daily News. ‘I said, “For what?”‘
Falcone’s dog started to bark, and when he turned to quiet him one of the officers pulled Falcone outside.
‘They threw me against the concrete in front of my house,’ he said. ‘My first reaction was to try to get up a little bit.’
During the scrum, he charges he was called a faggot.
‘While I was on the ground, I had mud and blood in my mouth,’ he said. ‘One (of the cops) said, “Don’t let it get on you, he probably has AIDS, the faggot.”‘
A New York City Police Department spokesman tells the newspaper a different story.
‘Falcone became belligerent and uncooperative. He appeared to have been injured in the fight with his brother. As the officers attempted to subdue him, he resisted and spit blood in the face of one of them,’ the spokesman said to the newspaper.
‘The officers were able to restrain him and he was transported by EMS to a local hospital for evaluation,’ the spokesman continues.
Falcone claims he was left with a broken nose, two black eyes, and cuts to his face and body.
He faces no charges. However, Eric Subin, his lawyer, insists there are plans to sue in federal court for civil rights violations.
‘They’re criminals; they belong behind bars,’ Subin said to the Daily News.
Ralph W. Vogel, executive director of the Staten Island LGBT Community Center, is calling for an investigation.
‘The video shows Mr. Falcone pulled roughly from his home without an arrest warrant, and the imbalance of four officers on one civilian seems to lead to the victim’s severe injuries,’ Vogel said in a statement released by the Anti-Violence Project. ‘Hate speech and slurs are used against our communities as weapons and should never be a part of an arresting officer’s vocabulary.’
Below is a video of the arrest. It is impossible to hear what language was used.
The post NYPD officers accused of anti-gay attack appeared first on Gay Star News.
James Withers
www.gaystarnews.com/article/nypd-officers-accused-of-anti-gay-attack/
Leslie Jordan on Throwing Sweet Tea at Anti-gay Starbucks Patrons: ‘I Lost My Temper’
Leslie Jordan on Throwing Sweet Tea at Anti-gay Starbucks Patrons: ‘I Lost My Temper’
Yesterday, we told you the incredible story of character actor Leslie Jordan confronting a group of men who were shouting anti-gay slurs at a West Hollywood Starbucks earlier this week.
Jordan, perhaps best known for his role on gay-centric shows like Will & Grace and Sordid Lives, reportedly told the men to “get out of our house” before throwing his iced tea on the phobes.
Locals interviewed after the incident called Jordan a “hero,” but Jordan pushed back a bit against the designation in a Facebook post Friday night.
I was hoping to remain silent on the incident at Starbucks but somehow the story found legs and has made its way into the press. I feel I owe my friends an explanation:
Truth be told it was “sweet” iced tea, not coffee. I am a “sweet” mannered Southern boy who was taught not to start a fight. Nobody ever told me I could not end one. I refused to sit and watch these hate crimes continue. I guess our work for equality is not done yet!
I’m being hailed a hero which is all well and good but I lost my temper. My heroes in life always kept their cool.
Anyone who stands up against hate is a hero in our book. Thank you Leslie!
The post Leslie Jordan on Throwing Sweet Tea at Anti-gay Starbucks Patrons: ‘I Lost My Temper’ appeared first on Towleroad.
Kyler Geoffroy
Leslie Jordan on Throwing Sweet Tea at Anti-gay Starbucks Patrons: ‘I Lost My Temper’
LGBT Groups Stand With Planned Parenthood Against Right-wing Push to Defund Group
LGBT Groups Stand With Planned Parenthood Against Right-wing Push to Defund Group
LGBT groups are standing with Planned Parenthood as the reproductive health organization faces a new barrage of attacks from right-wing activists and lawmakers.
Republicans in Congress are calling for the group to be defunded after the right-wing Center for Medical Progress released secretly recorded, heavily edited videos allegedly showing the illegal sale of fetal tissue. Planned Parenthood maintains it follows all laws and ethical guidelines, but CNN reports the controversy could now lead to a government shutdown in October.
Abortions account for only about 3 percent of Planned Parenthood’s services, and the organization is hugely beneficial to the LGBT community. Planned Parenthood tests both men and women for sexually transmitted diseases. It also provides cancer screening, birth control, sex education, and even hormone therapy for transgender patients.
Which is why it isn’t surprising that LGBT groups issued statements this week in support of the organization.
From Rea Carey, executive director of the National LGBTQ Task Force:
“Why should LGBTQ people care about Planned Parenthood and other reproductive health providers? Because LGBTQ people use birth control, have abortions, get tested for HIV, get screened for breast and cervical cancers, and use fertility treatments – and many people receive those services through Planned Parenthood. We also recognize that those who attack organizations such as Planned Parenthood have a view that disavows empowered decisions about our reproductive health and LGBTQ people’s empowered decisions about how to build our own families.
“Finally, we all need reproductive rights and justice because our respective hard won legal rights as LGBTQ and as a reproductive rights movements, respectively, have long been intertwined through Supreme Court decisions going back over 40 years. From Roe v. Wade, to last year’s Hobby Lobby ruling, to the successful marriage decision this summer, our ability to live our lives fully and to not be discriminated against are dependent on each other’s progress. Reproductive health is an LGBTQ issue,” said Rea Carey, Executive Director, National LGBTQ Task Force.
From Kate Kendell, executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights:
“NCLR stands with Planned Parenthood at this time of unrelenting assaults. The specious allegations being leveled against this critical network of health centers are nothing more than a transparent attack on the ability of all people to receive compassionate, non-judgmental reproductive and preventive health care.
“Planned Parenthood health centers and other reproductive health care clinics, in addition to providing essential family planning and abortion care, are often the only source of care for many in underserved and vulnerable communities. For many LGBTQ people, who experience stigma and discrimination in the health care system, the specially trained staff and tailored programs – including services for transgender people – offered at these clinics are a lifeline.
“When the U.S. Supreme Court affirms our fundamental rights, it is often the beginning, rather than the end, of the struggle. As it has been for reproductive rights, so will it be for full LGBTQ equality. As an organization committed to securing the rights of LGBTQ people, the fight for full reproductive freedom is our fight too.”
The Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest LGBT group, hasn’t issued a press release, but JoDee Winterhof, HRC’s vice president for policy and political affairs, wrote in a blog post:
Right now, Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) is the target of an intense, politically-motivated smear campaign–fueled by misinformation and potentially illegal tactics–and it’s being driven by an extremist group that seeks to not only attack our fundamental right to access quality health care, but undermines our basic dignity as Americans.
PPFA provides vital medical services to many in the LGBT community–including routine examinations, pre-natal care, cancer screenings, HIV and STI testing, and contraceptive services, among other reproductive health care services. Not only that, but they are strong allies in the fight for full LGBT equality–including supporting the recently introduced Equality Act and other legislative priorities. The organization also joins HRC in strongly advocating for comprehensive, LGBT-inclusive sex education for our nation’s young people.
While some opponents of women’s rights and LGBT rights in Congress gear up again to try and defund this vital organization, we stand with PPFA.
Watch Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards’ official response to the controversy below.
The post LGBT Groups Stand With Planned Parenthood Against Right-wing Push to Defund Group appeared first on Towleroad.
John Wright
LGBT Groups Stand With Planned Parenthood Against Right-wing Push to Defund Group
