LGBTQ news and entertainment
According to reports, the D.C. office of the Human Rights Campaign and the office for the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force were evacuated after police passed along credible bomb threats.
Staff have since returned to the HRC office following the “all clear” from D.C. police, but the story concerning the NGLTF is still developing.
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Four time Tony Award winning singer and actress Audra McDonald tells why she supports President Obama’s announcement of his support for the freedom to marry.
Audra is nominated for a Tony for her role in the Broadway smash “The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess.”
More bad news may be on the way for George Zimmerman. The FBI is conducting their own investigation to consider adding a federal hate crime charge to the murder charge already filed by the state of Florida against George Zimmerman.
FBI investigators are actively questioning witnesses in the retreat at the Twin Lakes neighborhood, seeking evidence for a possible federal hate crime charge. Martin was unarmed when he was shot to death, police said, and some accuse Zimmerman of targeting the teenager solely because of the color of his skin. WFTV legal analyst Bill Sheaffer said federal prosecutors would have to prove the hate crime to charge Zimmerman, though. “What the government would have to prove is that Mr. Zimmerman acted out of hatred toward African-Americans. That’s why he came into contact with him. That’s why he shot and killed him,” Sheaffer said. Sheaffer said a federal hate crime murder charge could bring more serious consequences than the second-degree murder charge Zimmerman faces now. “Mr. Zimmerman could be punished by up to life in prison or even the death penalty,” said Sheaffer.
18 year-old singer/songwriter Noah Guthrie is sexy, and quite frankly, 2.5 million YouTube fans “know it.” Guthrie’s cover of LMFAO’s hit song “Sexy and I Know It” became an overnight YouTube sensation, catapulting the musician to instant Internet stardom. Take a listen…
The soulful cover went viral a few days after Guthrie posted the video on May 9 and the Internet has stopped to stare.
Glamour writer Lauren Brown praises Guthrie’s “… voice, his creativity and willingness to go for it … That’s the beauty of live music–there are so many ways to hear the same song yet take away different messages and emotions from each performer.”
Guthrie currently has 53 videos uploaded to his YouTube channel.
The artist has covered popular singles by Selena Gomez, Foster the People and even Adele.
The Huffington Post raves about the viral video, commending his musical talent and daring adaptation.
“Dare we say it — the cover just might be better than the original.”
MSNBC writer Randee Dawn notes, YouTube captures 2 days worth of video — every minute.
It’s something when one breaks through like this.
“Guthrie is not quite just a basement rocker; he’s self-taught on the acoustic and as a singer (his voice is raspy and bluesy, reminiscent of John Mayer and John Popper) and he’s been making a name for himself around his hometown by playing small shows, and even has a management contract.”
On the Today Show today, Guthrie expressed his humble gratitude for the recognition his cover has received thus far.
“The next morning after I posted it, I woke up and it had like 200,000 views on it. I pretty much lost my mind. I’m very blessed with my situation, and everything.”
When asked about his future, the self-taught star stated he hopes to release an original album in the future, but will continue producing the weekly acoustic covers that made him famous. But one thing is clear — Guthrie’s vocals simply “work out”.
Even though it had the votes to pass, Colorado House Speaker Frank McNulty sent the civil unions bill to the House State Affairs Committee, where it will be killed, the Denver Post reports:
Asked why he sent the bill to House State Affairs, known as a “kill committee” because its members are all in safe seats, McNulty again spun the discussion back toward Hickenlooper.
“This is Gov. Hickenlooper’s special session that he called for the purpose of passing same-sex marriage,” the speaker said, continuing his practice of equating civil unions legislation as the same legal footing as marriage. “From our perspective, our side is focused on job creation and economic recovery. We ought not and we should not be spending time on divisive social issues when unemployment remains far too high and far too many Coloradans are out of work. . . .It’s unfortunate that this scenario has played out where it appears that Gov. Hickenlooper is out of touch with Coloradans.”
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The very loathsome Tony Perkins appeared on FACE THE NATION yesterday with Clay Aiken to discuss President Obama’s recently announced support of gay marriage.
Note how Tony Perkins says more than once that our civil rights are derived from “natural law.” As I’ve mentioned before, one of the techniques political activists use to “make their case” is to simply repeat their own made up talking points until people start to buy into them. I’ve seen several appearances by Tony Perkins, who works with the designated hate group Family Research Council, and he often makes statements that have no basis in fact but he wants his folks to believe.
He often states, for example, that children do better with a mother and a father and that’s why gays shouldn’t marry. Now, first of all, marriage can’t be predicated on the supposition of child bearing. Many married couples don’t have children. Plus, there are studies that have proven children raised by two dads or two moms do just as well in life as children raised by heterosexual couples. This is just a made up “fact” to spoken with no fanfare to make it seem as though what he’s saying is true.
I have to say that Clay Aiken handles himself well here. He looks and sounds very polished here.
Lindsay Wagner, known by gays around the globe as the original Bionic Woman, was honored on Saturday, May 12 with a ‘star’ on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars.
Adding an extra dose of fabulous to the commemorative ceremony was Wagner’s long-time friend and fellow icon Lynda Carter (Wonder Woman), who took time off from her current tour to present the actress with the award.
My cool funny friends down at ANYTHING GOES have done a sassy-fun job on this video of the “getting hotter by the minute” One Direction’s “What Makes You Beautiful.”
Take a peek. You’ll like 🙂
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The Huffington Post is reporting the governor of Illinois has made a statement in support of full marriage equality for gays and lesbians:
“Governor Quinn joins with President Obama in supporting marriage equality and looks forward to working on this issue in the future with the General Assembly,” said Brooke Anderson, a spokesperson for the governor, in an email to Windy City Times.
The Chicago Tribune first reported Quinn’s announcement, which comes on the heels of President Obama’s proclamation to ABC News that he supports marriage equality.
Gov. Lincoln Chafee signed an executive order today that allows Rhode Island to recognize same-sex marriages performed out of state.
The executive order is expected to have many real-world implications. Same-sex spouses of state employees and anyone covered by an insurance company regulated in Rhode Island will be entitled to health and life insurance benefits, gay rights advocates say.
Both partners in a same-sex couple will be able to list their names as parents on a child’s birth certificate, and same-sex couples will be entitled to sales tax exemptions on the transfer of property including vehicles.
Rhode Island has been the one state in New England to drag it’s feet to actually legalizing same-sex marriage.