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Via the Tico Times: A Costa Rican judge has granted the first openly gay common-law marriage in Central America, said Francisco Madrigal, political affairs director for the Center for Research and Promotion of Human Rights in Central America (CIPAC). On Tuesday morning, news broke that Gerald Castro and Cristian Zamora, a gay couple in the city of Goicoechea, north of …

Via the Hollywood Reporter: Jim Bailey, a self-proclaimed “character actor” who did spot-on re-creations of such iconic female entertainers as Judy Garland, Barbra Streisand and Peggy Lee, has died. He was 77. Bailey died Saturday of cardiac arrest from pneumonia complications at Pacifica Hospital of the Valley in Sun Valley, Calif., his manager of 27 years, Stephen Campbell, told The …

NPR reports: The Senate has approved the USA Freedom Act, which will alter the way U.S. agencies conduct surveillance and gather data. A final vote on the bill came late Tuesday afternoon, after amendments to the bill failed. President Obama can now sign the bill into law as soon as it reaches him, after an expedited enrollment process. Sen. Rand …

Endangered peregrine falcon pairs have been nesting atop three New York City bridges and city environmentalists are tagging the twelve newborns with the help of the MTA. Each year around the end of May research scientist Chris Nadareski, of the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, climbs to the top of the three bridges and puts identifying bands on …

Via the Local Denmark: John Erik Wagner wants voters to know two things: 1) he is running for prime minister and 2) he is proud of his penis. He doesn’t stand a chance of winning, but say this for John Erik Wagner: the man’s got balls. Although to be fair, they aren’t on full display along with his penis in …

“Now I wish that someone told me that when I was in high school that I could have felt like a woman when it came time to take showers in PE. I’m pretty sure that I would have found my feminine side and said, ‘Coach, I think I’d rather shower with the girls today.’ You’re laughing because it sounds so …

Yuk, yuk, yuk.

The “Casting Director” is Casey Lee Ross. Get tickets.

The Advocate reports: Out NYC Hotel owners Ian Reisner and Mati Weiderpass, still doing damage control after their ill-fated dinner with antigay presidential candidate Ted Cruz, recently received more bad news — four former and current employees at the KTCHN restaurant and XL Nightclub, located within the Out NYC, are suing the establishment. The suit, alleging discrimination and withheld pay, …

Via the BBC: Belfast City Council has voted in favour of same-sex marriage at a meeting on Monday. A total of 38 councillors voted for, 13 voted against and there were two abstentions, so the motion was carried. It had been moved by Alliance councillor Emmet McDonough-Brown. Councillors from Sinn Féin, the SDLP, Green Party, PUP, People Before Profit and …

Yesterday it was Adidas and today it’s Converse that steps out with a pride-related shoe line. The Converse Pride Collection is honored to join the LGBT movement. Any crusade that hits the streets as loud and passionate as this one definitely needs sneakers to fit the occasion. We happily abide. The Converse Chuck Taylor All Star Pride hi-tops are adorned …

Over at Kenneth In The 212, my pal Kenneth Walsh has published a rather comprehensive photo essay recounting the dozens of businesses that have departed the Eighth Avenue corridor of Chelsea that was arguably once the nation’s most popular stretch of gay nightlife, retail, and restaurants. Chelsea’s demise as the center of Manhattan gay life began early this century and …

Great piece on Politico. An excerpt: Negative national headlines on religious freedom continue to fuel a negative image of the entire party. Both in my private conversations with and in public (and private) polling, conservatives are moving ever closer to supporting full equity for LGBT Americans. Gallup’s Values and Beliefs poll released last month showed a more than 20 percentage-point …

From the website: Alabama! Be a voice for truth: Marriage = One Man + One Woman. God created it. Nature reveals it. Societies thrive on it. Children are nurtured by it. History affirms it. The Gospel is exemplified by it. Man doesn’t change it. Calling all pastors, churches, families and individuals to join thousands in Montgomery on June 6th, to …

“Ireland appears to be going the way of Europe and America. Christianity is everywhere in retreat before the onslaught of secularism, materialism, and hedonism, especially among the young. And I think it holds.When the faith dies, the culture it produced begins to die, then the civilization goes, and, then, the population. As for the Catholic schools, I am sure that …

The record had previously been broken just two weeks ago by President Obama’s @POTUS account.

For its 17th annual issue Pride Magazine has changed its name slightly and you’ll soon find it stacked around the gayborhoods as Pride Life – which is the same name as its sister publication in the UK. Inside you’ll find my interview with the always hilarious Panti Bliss, which I’ll excerpt here once the physical copies hit the streets.

More from Mediaite: The Fox host was particularly outraged by the way some in the media have highlighted connections between the Duggars and Republican presidential candidates like Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum. “Bill Clinton was accused of rape. He has been accused by several women of sexually assaulting them,” Kelly stated. But the fact that a presidential candidate has posed …