UKIP politician resigns after calling gays 'disgusting poofters'
He blamed the remarks on taking painkillers
joem
www.gaystarnews.com/article/ukip-politician-resigns-after-calling-gays-disgusting-poofters151214
Category Archives: NEWS
Thousands march in first Quezon City pride
Thousands march in first Quezon City pride
Gay-friendly city marks 20 years of pride in the country
darrenw
www.gaystarnews.com/article/thousands-march-first-quezon-city-pride151214
Joseph Scott Pemberton, U.S. Marine, Charged With Murder Of Transgender Woman In Philippines
Joseph Scott Pemberton, U.S. Marine, Charged With Murder Of Transgender Woman In Philippines
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine government prosecutors charged a detained U.S. Marine with murder Monday in the killing of a Filipino transgender that reignited an irritant between the military allies over custody of American military personnel suspected of committing crimes.
Prosecutor Emily de los Santos said there was “probable cause” that Marine Pfc. Joseph Scott Pemberton killed Jennifer Laude, whose former name was Jeffrey, in a motel room, where the victim’s body was found in October in Olongapo city, northwest of Manila. She had apparently been drowned in a toilet bowl. “It’s murder,” de los Santos told reporters after filing the non-bailable charge against the 19-year-old Pemberton before a regional court. “It was aggravated by treachery, abuse of superior strength and cruelty.”
The case reignited a debate over custody of American military personnel accused of crimes. But the looming irritant between the treaty allies over Pemberton’s custody was eased after Washington agreed to move him from a U.S. warship to the Philippine military’s main camp in metropolitan Manila, where he remained under American custody with an outer ring of Filipino guards.
Pemberton, who has not been seen in public, would have to appear during court arraignment, de los Santos said, urging loved ones of the victim, who doubted whether the Marine was still in the country, to attend to see him for the first time.
Harry Roque, the lawyer of Laude’s family, welcomed the prosecutors’ ruling and angrily demanded that Pemberton be thrown into an ordinary jail.
The murder case comes as the Philippines and the United States strengthen ties with the recent signing of a defense accord that allows greater U.S. access to Philippine military camps. The accord would help Washington’s bid to reassert its presence in Asia, and for Manila to deter what it calls China’s aggressive moves to reinforce its claims in disputed South China Sea territories.
South Carolina Could Owe Gay Groups $150,000 — or Maybe Even More
South Carolina Could Owe Gay Groups $150,000 — or Maybe Even More
South Carolina’s anti-gay Attorney General may have to pay tens of thousands of dollars to gay rights groups. New research shows why marriage equality has been so successful so fast. And Hillary Clinton gets thanks for supporting the freedom to marry from an unlikely source.
Marriage is here to stay in South Carolina, but Attorney General Alan Wilson seems to be having a hard time accepting it. Even though South Carolina couples have been getting married since last month, Wilson has continued his losing battle to stop the weddings. But the longer he drags out his appeal, the more money he may wind up having to give to a coalition of gay rights groups.
That’s because the coalition has filed a petition seeking to recoup the money that they’ve had to spend to keep marriage legal. If the court grants their request, Wilson will have to give over $150,000 to organizations fighting for equality. Wilson really has no chance of stopping marriage at this point. He’s appealing to the Fourth Circuit, which has repeatedly allowed marriages to go forward. So all he’s doing now is running up a huge tab.
And the same thing’s happening Arkansas. Outgoing Governor Mike Beebe and incoming Governor Asa Hutchinson both say they oppose marriage equality. Last week Beebe went even further, telling supporters that he might be willing to consider limited civil unions. That might’ve been an okay position twenty years ago. But civil unions are a compromise, and at this point we’re so close to winning we don’t have to compromise anymore.
In fact, there’s a new study this week that shows why we’re so close to winning. And no surprise, it’s what Harvey Milk said back in the ’70s: you have to come out. The new study in the journal Science shows that when door-to-door canvassers come out, and talk about wanting to get married, voters’ minds change — and stay changed. If we don’t come out, their minds change back after less than a week. So that’s why coming out as queer is so important, and why those anti-gay politicians are going to lose.
And finally this week, congratulations to Hillary Clinton, who came out in favor of marriage equality last year and has now won the “Straight Ally of the Year” award, as decided by users of Grindr.
Benjy the gay bull makes it to his new home in time for Christmas
Benjy the gay bull makes it to his new home in time for Christmas
Benjy the gay bull, saved from an end in an Irish slaughterhouse, is settling in at Hillside Animal Sanctuary in Norwich, England and is already making new friends
andrewp
www.gaystarnews.com/article/benjy-gay-bull-makes-it-his-new-home-time-christmas151214
Video director for a National Football League team comes out as gay
Video director for a National Football League team comes out as gay
‘I’ll do whatever I can to help people. And I’ve had enough’
Jamesw
www.gaystarnews.com/article/video-director-national-football-league-team-comes-out-gay151214
Kansas Pastor Claims She's Received Death Threats For Officiating Same-Sex Weddings
Kansas Pastor Claims She's Received Death Threats For Officiating Same-Sex Weddings
A Kansas pastor is refusing to give in to hate.
Rev. Jackie Carter, a pastor at First Metropolitan Community Church, claims she’s been getting death threats after she started performing same-sex weddings for couples in her area.
After alleged vandals broke windows at the Wichita church, her congregations is considering taking extra security measures — like purchasing cameras and having people stand guard outside during services.
“When you’re here and the phone rings, and there’s heavy breathing and two seconds later the doorbell rings and then somebody’s throwing rocks through the windows. All those things combined create fear,” Carter told KSN.
Despite the threats to herself and to her church community, Carter says she won’t stop helping LGBT couples tie the knot.
“I’m not going to change my message of inclusion, I’m not going to change my message of love, and I’m not going to stop marrying people. I’m going to keep it up!” she told the news station. “This is ridiculous hatred that has no place in this city or state or this country.”
Some counties in Kansas have been issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples since October. However, it is unclear whether the state will continue to recognize these marriages, as Kansas’ ban on same-sex marriage is still being debated in the courts.
Kansas state is currently facing a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of two lesbian couples who weren’t allowed to obtain marriage licenses in Douglas and Sedgwick County, which is where Carter’s church is located. The state wanted to put a stay on gay marriages as it fought the lawsuit, but the U.S. Supreme Court denied that request last month, the AP reports.
As of Thursday, Kansas has issued 23 marriage certificates to same-sex couples, according to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.
Earlier this year, Carter made history by officiating the weddings of 15 same-sex couples on the steps of the County Courthouse in Wichita.
ABC Family Orders Trans Reality Series 'My Transparent Life'
ABC Family Orders Trans Reality Series 'My Transparent Life'
Move over, Maura. Make room for Ben and his transgender parent, Carly.
Dawn Ennis
South Carolina lawyers who fought for marriage rights seek legal fees from state
South Carolina lawyers who fought for marriage rights seek legal fees from state
Lambda Legal and South Carolina Equality sued after the state governor and attorney general declined to apply the Fourth Circuit decision
Jamesw
Bianca Del Rio Finds It Surreal To Be Called “The Joan Rivers Of Drag”
Bianca Del Rio Finds It Surreal To Be Called “The Joan Rivers Of Drag”
Surreal. As a faggot, as a little gay boy, anytime my name is mentioned with hers, it is surreal. Winning Drag Race was amazing, but sitting in bed with this lady who I respected, admired, and loved, and getting a moment to film an episode of In Bed With Joan, was surreal for me. I don’t get nervous. I don’t get excited. I do what I do, and I think over the years you just do it. I have a good time. But that was different. I questioned, ‘Should be I over-friendly? Should I be aloof?’ I didn’t want to be any of that. I didn’t know where to go. But once I was in a room with her, she made me feel totally comfortable. When that little inner boy realized that I was sitting in bed with Joan Rivers and she was laughing at something that I said, it was incredible. She was the sweetest, kindest, and most genuine individual I had ever met. As a comedienne, there are times when people are like, ‘It is my show.’ I never felt that with her. … I don’t know what it seemed like to everyone else, because, shockingly, I haven’t watched it. I can’t even go there, because what I felt, it doesn’t matter what anybody else felt. I had that moment. I remember going into the car leaving Melissa Rivers’ house (because that all happens in her basement). I was third of the four people filming that day, and I had a gig in some other city that day. My manager told me that I had a gig and would have to shift it. I don’t back out of anything, but it was Joan Rivers! I was like, ‘Bitch, no question!’ They said it was the only day she could do it, so we said, ‘Let’s do it.’ Luckily that other gig reworked itself out. It was effortless to have a conversation with her. My heart was like, ‘How do you beat that?’ It’s just like talking with Ru. Surreal.”
— Drag superstar Bianca Del Rio telling HuffPo how she felt when the New York Times recently profiled her and compared her to Joan Rivers
Jeremy Kinser
