Tag Archives: Orlando

Moments ago Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer raised the death toll to 50. Dyer added that another 52 nightclub patrons remain hospitalized. The increased death toll means that the Pulse nightclub killings are now the deadliest mass shooting in United States history. Now eclipsed is the 2007 massacre at Virginia Tech in which 32 died. BREAKING: “There are 50 casualties” in …

Republican Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who has tried to turn himself into a national political figure with his vicious responses to the transgender rights issue, wasted no time this morning in delivering an apparent message to the LGBT community.

The “H” on Hillary Clinton’s tweet indicates that she wrote it herself.

Via White House press release: The President was briefed this morning by Lisa Monaco, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, on the tragic shooting in Orlando, Florida. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and loved ones of the victims. The President asked to receive regular updates as the FBI, and other federal officials, work with …

CBS News reports that authorities have named the Orlando nightclub shooter as Omar Mateen, a 31 year-old US citizen from Port St. Lucie, a town on Florida’s east coast about two hours away. Mateen’s parents are reportedly Afghani immigrants. Federal authorities say there are “suggestions” that the killer has ties to radical Islam.

HORRIBLE. Via ABC News: A shooting at an Orlando nightclub early Sunday morning has been described as a “domestic terror incident” with at least 20 fatalities and at least 42 hospitalized individuals, officials said. At a press conference on Sunday at 7 a.m., an FBI official was asked if the shooter, who was shot and killed by police, had ties …

The Orlando Sentinel reports: A transgender woman live-tweeted what she described as a “denigrating” experience that caused her to miss a Monday evening flight out of Orlando International Airport because she was detained by federal security officials. Shadi Petosky, a writer and producer at a small Los Angeles entertainment company, tweeted that she was pulled out of line at the …

Unswayed by the lawsuit from Liberty Counsel and the Florida Family Policy Council, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer will host a mass same-sex wedding at city hall at 9AM today. Watch the live stream below. The ceremony will take place not far from Liberty Counsel’s home office. Snork! UPDATE: Some crackpot tried to disrupt the ceremony by screaming anti-gay slogans from …

Local hater John Stemberger is at it again with help from the Orlando-based Liberty Counsel. Via CBS Miami: With Florida’s gay marriage ban scheduled to be lifted on January 6th, a conservative group is trying to put the brakes on the plan. The Florida Family Action Inc. filed two lawsuits Tuesday, asking a judge to prevent the officials from either …

Brooklyn and Philadelphia both lost iconic neon signs this year and today the same happens in my hometown of Orlando. For decades, the Merita Bread sign acted as a welcoming beacon to downtown Orlando for those traveling eastbound on I-4, just south of downtown. Two years ago, the bread company closed its doors when Hostess, its former parent company, went …

The cities of Tampa, St. Petersburg, Orlando, and Miami Beach today jointly filed an amicus brief in support of the plaintiffs suing for same-sex marriage in a Tallahassee federal court. Also joining the brief are the popular LGBT tourism town of Wilton Manors, the tiny Miami-Dade County town of Biscayne Park, and the government of Broward County (home to Fort …

Orlando’s legendary/infamous Parliament House, where I made my first tentative steps into a gay bar on April 18th, 1976*, has declared bankruptcy. Via the Orlando Sentinel: Parliament House, a gay resort and entertainment complex, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Friday citing $15.5 million in debt. The 4.5-acre complex defaulted on loans during the recession in 2009 and has been …

Via the Orlando Sentinel: A majority of Orange County commissioners have voiced support for gay marriage after activists questioned the Republican-dominated board about its stance last week before Florida’s courts settle the issue. Three of the pro-gay-marriage commissioners are Republicans: Jennifer Thompson, Scott Boyd and Pete Clarke. Democrat Tiffany Moore Russell also strongly endorsed same-sex marriage rights. “I truly believe …

Via Orlando’s WKMG-TV: Orange County deputies arrested on Friday the owner of a towing company who they say was illegally towing vehicles during the annual Gay Days celebration and appeared to target its attendees. The owner of ASAP Towing, Jason Combs, 44, has been charged with grand theft, failure to release vehicle, failing to maintain records, failure to post towing …

As it has done for several years, this weekend the Florida Family Association will fly anti-gay banner planes over the Magic Kingdom.

“I don’t care if you’re straight or gay, there are some things kids don’t need to see – and trust me, two queens frenching outside Cinderella castle is really high on that list. I can’t help but think of, and feel sorry for – the unsuspecting family who saved for years for a once in a lifetime trip – only …

“Diversity is our greatest strength and a vibrant, welcoming community attracts the kind of industries and talent our cities need. That’s why we were one of the first cities in Florida to adopt a domestic partner registry, and now we have more than 1,200 couples registered. I hope that one day we are the city that hosts the state’s first …

The University of Central Florida, my alma mater, scored a huge upset in last night’s Fiesta Bowl. I don’t report on many sports items, but this one is rather satisfying as UCF’s opponent was the highly-ranked and highly-anti-gay Baylor University, which bans “homosexual acts” by students and which recently offered a course titled “Homosexuality As A Gateway Drug.” Go Knights!

Just arrived from Fort Lauderdale for the Orlando portion of my trip and these people are waiting in line to get in the line to wait in line for security. So…did anybody legalize gay marriage during my 40-minute flight?