LGBT News

A Italian study has linked homophobia with psychoticism in a research paper that should have been titled “Duh.” Via the International Business Times: Led by researchers at the University of L’Aquila in Italy, the team asked 551 university students, aged between 15 and 30, to complete several psychometric tests to examine the psychological factors that could correlate with homophobia. Using …

82 year-old Donald Hallman is among an estimated 114,000 men and women who were booted from the military over their homosexuality between WWII and the end of DADT. Hallman appeared on CNN yesterday to demand that his record be cleared of its “dishonorable” notation. The Dallas Morning News agrees in an editorial published today which supports a bill pending before …

Late last year the voters of Fayetteville, Arkansas repealed a city council-approved and comprehensive LGBT rights bill after a vicious campaign spearheaded by the Duggar family. Today Fayetteville voters rejected hate and by a 53-47 margin approved an imperfect new LGBT rights bill. The Democrat-Gazette reports: In a reversal of a similar special election last year, Fayetteville voters resoundingly ratified …

According to a report published today by the Georgia Voice, R&B star and felony-convicted domestic abuser Chris Brown failed to appear at an Atlanta Pride event because there were a handful of gay men present in the crowd of 4000 lesbians. Georgia Voice editor Darian Aaron writes: Brown failed to show up at The Georgia Freight Depot nightclub as thousands …

Excellent new web campaign from Guinness Beer. Clip recap: Gareth Thomas: Never Alone tells the story of how the former Wales captain’s greatest fear wasn’t the opposition he faced on the pitch, but the fear of rejection from everything he had known, because of his sexuality. The film celebrates the courage of Gareth, and most importantly, the empathy shown by …

Yesterday dozens of activists demonstrated outside the federal courthouse in downtown Brooklyn in protest against the raid on Rentboy.com headquarters. The New York Daily News reports: Chanting “Keep your laws off my body,” gay activists marched Thursday outside Brooklyn Federal Court demanding that prosecutors drop prostitution charges against seven employees of the Rentboy.com website. About 70 protesters — men and …

Suck it, Kim Davis! The Lexington Herald-Leader reports: James Yates and William Smith Jr. paid $35.50 and filled out some paperwork early Friday to become the first couple to get a marriage license in Rowan County since the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage June 26, prompting a license ban by County Clerk Kim Davis. With Davis in jail on …

From the Facebook event page: LGBT and Civil Liberties Advocates Denounce Arrests of Rentboy.com Staff, Call for Dropping Charges and Decriminalization of Sex Work. RALLY: Thurs., Sept. 3rd, Noon, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York in Brooklyn LGBT activists, civil rights organizations, the HookUp Collaborative and supporters will hold a demonstration this Thursday, Sept. 3rd, at Noon at …

Wolf Sterling, owner of Pint, Jersey City’s only gay bar, claims that workers from the city-contracted trash removal service have threatened his staff with violence unless they are given free alcohol in return for hauling away his recyclables. The Jersey Journal first reported on the incident several days ago: Sterling said the two men approached one of his bartenders in …

Denouncing “East Coast culture,” GOP South Dakota state Rep. Roger Hunt plans to draft a law requiring a “visual inspection” of genitalia to determine gender identity. Via the the Rapid City Journal: The battle over how to officially determine someone’s gender arises from a controversy over whether transgender high school students can declare their own gender when participating in sports. …

The editorial board of the New York Times is “baffled” by Homeland Security’s raid on Rentboy.com.  An excerpt: The criminal complaint is so saturated with sexually explicit details, it’s hard not to interpret it as an indictment of gay men as being sexually promiscuous. “Based on my investigation,” Susan Ruiz, a Homeland Security special agent, wrote in the complaint, “I …

Pennsylvania Democrats are taking another run at a comprehensive LGBT rights bill.  Via press release from state Rep. Brian Sims: “While Pennsylvanians have enjoyed the right to marriage equality for over a year now, we are long past due for equality in our discrimination laws. This is no longer a progressive issue, but an issue of basic fairness. As we …

The gay community may have dodged a huge bullet as it’s being reported that Ashley Madison execs were seriously considering buying Grindr before their hacking scandal. Forbes reports: Amongst the masses of emails dumped by The Impact Team, a group of hackers who have made a mockery of Ashley Madison’s digital defences this month, are a handful of conversations showing …

The mayor of Venice has declared that he will not allow tacky gay pride parades in his city. The Guardian reports: Luigi Brugnaro, a businessman who was elected mayor on a centre-right ticket in June, was quoted as saying that gay pride marches were the “height of kitsch” and would not happen in Venice on his watch. “There will never …

Big news from USA Today: The Pentagon’s ban on transgender troops would end May 27 under a draft timeline on repeal of the policy that affects about 12,000 troops, according to a document obtained by USA TODAY. The memo, circulated last week among top personnel and medical officials, lays out the road map for ending the policy and highlights some …

A coalition of five national LGBT groups reacted to today’s raid on the Rentboy.com offices by tweeting out links to a recently published joint statement calling for decriminalizing sex work. The statement was first issued two weeks ago. An excerpt: As LGBT rights organizations in the United States, we join to applaud and support Amnesty International’s recent resolution to protect …

From the clip recap: We were asked to share our faith story in front of our congregation at First United Methodist Church of Austin. This is a church that has welcomed us and changed our lives. All are welcome, no exceptions. As members of this incredible church family we have grown as Christians, individuals, and as a couple. After 9 …

After having been found mentally competent to stand trial, the Jerusalem Pride killer has finally been formally charged with murder. The Associated Press reports: Jerusalem’s District Court indicted Yishai Schlissel for murder on Monday for last month’s deadly attack, along with multiple attempted murder charges for those he wounded. Schlissel, who had been freed from prison weeks earlier after serving …

Several days ago a trade organization for the porn industry sent out an alert about the ever-combative AIDS Healthcare Foundation, which is most famous for its deep-pocketed advertising campaigns against the use of Truvada as an HIV preventive. From the Free Speech Coalition: Earlier this week, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) served several testing centers with subpoenas, asking them to …

A few days ago I reported that anti-gay Oregon bakers Aaron and Melissa Klein had sent ten cakes to LGBT groups as a “gesture of love for homosexuals.” Included in those loving packages was the latest viciously anti-gay DVD from banana man nutcase Ray Comfort. Today we learn that one of the recipients of the cakes was a San Diego-based …