LGBT News

The Associated Press reports: Costa Rica’s supreme court has given the country’s legislature 18 months to change the law to allow gay marriage. The court voted to make gay marriage legal, declaring that existing laws banning it were unconstitutional. Magistrate Fernando Castillo said in a news conference that the laws were inconsistent with an opinion issued in January by the …

Rolling Stone reports: Cher has debuted “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight),” the first single off her forth ABBA cover album Dancing Queen. Produced by her longtime collaborator Mark Taylor — who was behind her massive hit “Believe” — the track sees the diva meshing her penchant for Nineties-esque house with plenty of faithfulness to the original material. She …

The San Jose Mercury-News reports: Amid a tense battle over rent control in California, real-estate interests are writing big checks to defeat a November ballot measure that would give cities more power to regulate what landlords can charge tenants — and the initiative’s backer responded this week with a $10 million cash infusion. “We know we will be significantly outspent …

CBS News reports: Former Vice President Joe Biden is launching an awareness campaign to promote the importance of family acceptance of LGBTQ youth. The vice president’s Biden Foundation kicked off the “As You Are” initiative on Tuesday with a video campaign, featuring Biden, pop singer Cyndi Lauper, former NFL player Wade Davis and numerous LGBTQ advocates and activists. “We’ll use …

Via press release: Governor Tom Wolf today will sign an executive order creating the Pennsylvania Commission on LGBTQ Affairs, the only one in the nation. “The creation of the commission on LGBTQ Affairs is one step of many we have taken to ensure obstacles are removed for anyone who is facing an unfair disadvantage based on sexual orientation, gender identity …

The Huffington Post UK reports: Britney Spears has raised eyebrows with her latest tweets, which has sparked accusations of “exploiting Pride” to sell her latest perfume. Over the weekend, Britney gave her first UK live performance in two years at Brighton Pride, where her show received huge praise from fans. However, shortly after the event, a tweet was posted on …

Irish Central reports: Irish leader Leo Varadkar will bring up same sex marriage to Pope Francis when he meets him in Ireland on August 25th saying that such marriages are the same as any conventional marriage and should be treated as such by the church. Varadkar is Ireland’s first gay leader. Questioned on what he would say to the Pope …

The BBC reports: Russian police have detained at least 25 LGBT rights activists during a protest in St Petersburg to promote the rights of sexual minorities. About 60 activists gathered at the main square in the city centre, despite a ban being placed on the rally. They held up placards and rainbow-coloured flags, and called for LGBT rights to be …

Well, here’s a very bright light at the end of the week: Seth Owen, a high school valedictorian from Florida whose parents ostracized him because of his sexuality, has reportedly been offered a full-ride scholarship to attend Georgetown University in the fall. Owen, who graduated from First Coast High School in Jacksonville with a 4.16 GPA, captured headlines late last …

The Los Angeles Times reports: A 21-year-old Newport Beach man charged with murder in the stabbing death of former high school classmate Blaze Bernstein will also face a hate crime sentencing enhancement, the Orange County district attorney announced Thursday. Orange County District Atty. Tony Rackauckas said prosecutors added the hate crime enhancement based on allegations that Samuel Woodward killed 19-year-old …

The Times of Israel reports: Two far-right groups held demonstrations in Jerusalem on Thursday, protesting against the city’s annual Pride Parade march and calling to protect ‘the normal family.’ Under the watchful eye of police officers deployed to keep the marchers and protesters apart, the extremist nationalist Lehava organization protested the march near its starting point in Liberty Bell Park. …

Deadline Hollywood reports: Using footage of the classic Real Ghostbusters animated series from the ’80s, The Late Show renamed the supernatural hunters as the “Religious Liberty Task Force” and threw in an animated version of Jeff Sessions in a jumpsuit and proton pack ready to battle the evil threat to religion. Spoofing the theme song by Ray Parker, Jr., The …

NBC News reports: With a 4.16 GPA and an acceptance letter from Georgetown University, it seemed like the high school valedictorian’s dream would become a reality. But when Seth Owens received his financial aid package from the prestigious school, a different reality set in: The financial aid package had been determined based on the expected contribution of his family, a …

Via press release: Today, U.S. Senators Kamala D. Harris (D-CA) and Tom Carper (D-DE), both members of the Senate Homeland and Governmental Affairs Committee, introduced the Census Equality Act, legislation to require the U.S. Census Bureau to ensure the approximately 10 million Americans who identify as LGBTQ are properly counted for and represented in Census data collection efforts. The Census …

According to the Mexican news site ContraMuro.com and Forbes Mexico, a 248-room LGBT resort featuring five bars and three restaurants will open next year on or near (this is unclear) Cuba’s resort island Cayo Guillermo. The “luxurious five-star” hotel is reportedly the project of MGM Mutha Hotels, which currently operates about two dozen resorts in Europe and India, and already …

The Washington Examiner reports: Attorney General Jeff Sessions has created a religious liberty task force to “protect and promote religious liberty.” Speaking from the Justice Department in Washington, Sessions said the task force, which he will chair, is to help implementation of the religious liberty memo he signed in October. That 25-page memo outlines 20 guiding principles that federal agencies …

The Herald Extra reports: As Imagine Dragons neared the end of a hot, busy summer day and upbeat onstage rock set Saturday night in Salt Lake City, a full crowd proudly displaying rainbow colors and flags cheered as frontman and LoveLoud founder Dan Reynolds announced that the 2018 festival had reached its goal of raising more than $1 million in …

USA Today reports: Following a standing ovation from his teammates, Air Force sophomore defensive back Bradley Kim became the first openly-gay athlete at a service academy when he publicly announced his sexual orientation on Friday. “I almost gave up my dream of playing Division 1 football for fear of not being accepted by everyone,” Kim wrote as part of an …

Patrick Saunders reports at Project Q Atlanta: Brian Kemp reiterated his support of anti-LGBTQ “religious freedom” legislation just as a gay Republican group endorsed the newly-named GOP gubernatorial nominee. Kemp signed a pledge to support “religious freedom” legislation last year. He stood by it at a Republican “unity rally” on Thursday after trouncing Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle in the GOP …

Agence France-Presse reports: Bill Clinton pleaded with the world Friday not to abandon the campaign to rein in the HIV virus which still kills nearly a million people every year and infects twice as many. The world must “hold the line” until a vaccine or cure is found, or face “calamitous” consequences, the US ex-president told the 22nd International AIDS …