In this week’s headlines: • A Tennessee teen commits suicide after being outed by fellow students (If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255) • The Trump administration tried to wipe out Pride crosswalks • A suspect has been arrested in brutal crime where a gay man was tied to a minivan and dragged through the streets of Jacksonville • Collegiate swimmer says he was kicked off Stanford’s swim team for being openly gay • Tom Goss’s new music video ‘La Bufadora,’ dives into domestic violence among LGBTQ couples All that and more in this episode of The Randy Report. Reminder – if you enjoy catching up on LGBTQ news in a quick podcast, I’d appreciate if you would share The Randy Report with your friends 🙂
Thousands attend the funeral of military veteran Edward Pearson (screen capture) It was a small obituary for Edward K. Pearson, 80, that appeared in a local newspaper recently. It simply said he was going to be interred at Sarasota National Cemetery on Tuesday and that, “This veteran has no immediate family and all are welcome to attend.” And then, social media happened:
Ok, twitter, do your thing. Mr. Edward K Pearson, a veteran, is being buried tomorrow in Florida. He has no family, according to his obituary which was only 2 lines. Everyone is welcome to attend. Burial: October 1, at 12:30pm at Sarasota National Cemetery 9810 State Road 72 pic.twitter.com/gol1eNkJ7z
The pavilion at Sarasota National Cemetery was designed to hold 3,200 people for funerals that would be typical for well-known individuals.
U.S. Army veteran Edward Pearson was not a well-known person, but the 80-year-old’s funeral was standing room only on Tuesday as at least 4,000 people packed into the pavilion. The line of cars kept streaming into the cemetery and an hour into the service, hundreds more were still trying to get in to send the veteran off with honor.
“I started getting calls from all over the country and some from as far as Germany around 8 a.m. (Monday),” said cemetery volunteer Tina Beeler. “I haven’t seen this many people since this place was dedicated. The response has been phenomenal.”
There were veterans, retired veterans, active duty personnel in uniform, family of veterans, friends of veterans, students with teachers. All just wanted to pay their respect to a man they had never met.
According to his military discharge papers, Pearson served in the U.S. Army from 1962-1964 and after being honorably discharged went on to become an engineer. Click the video below to watch.
(screen capture) Police officer Amber Guyger was convicted of murder by a Dallas County jury on Tuesday for fatally shooting Botham Jean in his own apartment last year. According to the Dallas Morning News, the verdict came following five hours of deliberation by the jury. The court now moves to the punishment phase of Guyger’s trial. In Texas, murder carries a sentence of five to 99 years or life in prison. The charge is not eligible for probation. Guyger, 31, fatally shot 26-year-old Jean in his apartment last year. She had said she mistook his apartment for her own and thought Jean, who was sitting on the couch eating ice cream, was a burglar. During testimony, she told the jury she shot Jean because she was ‘scared,’ even though Jean was only armed with a bowl of ice cream. One of the prosecutors asked her during cross-examination if she could have stepped out of the apartment after realizing someone was there and called for backup. She answered, ‘Yes.’ She is the first Dallas officer convicted of murder since the 1970s. On Monday, Judge Tammy Kemp ruled the jury could consider the Castle Doctrine during deliberations. The Castle Doctrine, similar to the Stand Your Ground Law, allows for “using force (even deadly force) in the protection of a home, vehicle, or other property if someone attempts to forcibly enter or remove an individual from the premises.” The judge also allowed the jury to consider manslaughter. According to some legal experts, the judge may have been appeal-proofing the trial outcome by including Castle Doctrine and “mistake of fact.” An appeals court may have more easily overturned the conviction if jurors weren’t allowed to consider both.
(image via Ames, Iowa) When the Trump administration wrote to the city of Ames, Iowa, instructing the town to remove its rainbow-themed crosswalks, the Ames City Council said, “Thank you, but no.” At the intersection of Fifth Street and Douglas Avenue, the city has installed rainbow crosswalks as a sign of LGBTQ inclusion for the city. This year’s Ames PrideFest was held at the intersection on September 7.
Two of the crosswalks use the colors of the inclusive Pride flag which adds black and brown to the traditional rainbow flag designed by Gilbert Baker in the 1970s. Another utilizes the colors of the transgender Pride flag (blue, pink, white) and the fourth features purple, yellow, black and white representing gender-nonbinary pride. The Ames Tribune reports that on September 5, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) sent the city a letter saying the crosswalks could “compromise pedestrian and motorist safety by interfering with, distracting from, or obscuring official traffic control devices.” Mark O. Lambert, City Attorney for Ames, penned a memo to the mayor and city council saying the FHWA has no jurisdiction over the streets where the crosswalks are installed since they are not part of a federal highway and Ames receives no federal funds for their upkeep. Lambert’s interpretation of the law was that the state of Iowa should decide whether the federal standards should apply to city streets. “With the system of federalism in the United States, the federal government does not have jurisdiction over everything,” Lambert summed up in his memo. Lambert also noted that the FHWA’s letter didn’t threaten any penalties regarding the crosswalks, and had only ‘requested’ the removal of the crosswalks. During a meeting of the Ames City Council, members discussed the issue and decided no action would be taken. City Council member Chris Nelson said during the discussion, “Can we just accept the letter and say thank you?” One resident even pointed out that the FHWA had gotten its own rules wrong. “The crosswalk lines are white pavement markings that identify the crosswalks,” said resident Bill Diesslin reports the Ames Tribune.“The rainbow crossing in Ames has white lines demarcating, so it’s consistent with federal recommendations.” Rainbow crosswalks have been a fixture in the United States for years. From West Hollywood, which installed colorful walkways in 2012, to San Francisco’s The Castro which celebrated Pride with the rainbow crosswalks in 2014. Philadelphia, Seattle, Key West and more have all embraced the rainbow. https://www.instagram.com/p/4xKhAvIkR6/ https://www.instagram.com/p/4X199ThyJ3/ https://www.instagram.com/p/BIanWmOA6MU/ https://www.instagram.com/p/BCoXaWmAp-A/ (Source: Ames Tribune)
Sec of State Mike Pompeo (image via Flickr/WhiteHouse – public domain) Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has informed House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel that he plans to defy a congressional subpoena asking to interview five State Department employees. Pompeo writes, “I’m concerned with aspects of the committee’s request that can be understood only as an attempt to intimidate, bully and treat improperly the distinguished professionals of the Department of State.” “Let me be clear: I will not tolerate such tactics, and I will use all means at my disposal to prevent and expose any attempts to intimidate the dedicated professionals whom I am proud to lead and serve alongside at the Department of State,” he added. On Friday, Engel informed Pompeo that “failure or refusal to comply with the subpoena shall constitute evidence of obstruction of the House’s impeachment inquiry.” A new twist in the ongoing impeachment inquiry occurred yesterday when it was revealed Pompeo was on the now-infamous July 25 call between the president of Ukraine and Donald Trump when Trump pressed the Ukrainian leader to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter.
Flashback: Sept. 22
Q: WSJ is reporting Trump pressed the president of Ukraine to work with Giuliani to investigate Biden's son. What do you know about those conversations?
POMPEO: "So, you just gave me a report about a I.C. whistleblower complaint, none of which I've seen." pic.twitter.com/9ytSV3tznb
When asked about the phone call and subsequent investigation last week, Pompeo was evasive and vague during interviews seeming to have little information about the conversation. From Pompeo’s letter today (via Twitter): “This amounts to an attempt to circumvent the Executive Branch’s unquestionably legitimate constitutional interest in protecting potentially privileged information related to the conduct of diplomatic relations. “Therefore, the five officials subject to your letter may not attend any interview or deposition without counsel from the Executive Branch present to ensure that the Executive Branch’s constitutional authority to control the disclosure of confidential information, including deliberative matters and diplomatic communications, is not impaired.”
I’m concerned with aspects of the Committee’s request that can be understood only as an attempt to intimidate, bully, & treat improperly the distinguished professionals of the Department of State, including several career FSOs. pic.twitter.com/QRtMaXlhQM
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton: Sure I’ll testify for 11 hours. No problem.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo: I will hide behind my staff forever even though I lied to you all and was on the call with Ukraine. https://t.co/iRUrN5mDBO
The Secretary of State cannot lawfully order staff to break the law.
Anyone at State holding a subpoena for a deposition has a choice of whether to join Pompeo in violating the law as well or instead operate within it and show up as required.
Flix and Orka in ‘Star Wars Resistance’ (screen capture) During an appearance on the podcast Coffee with Kenobi, producers of the children’s animated series Star Wars Resistance revealed that two characters, Orka and Flix (voiced bu Jim Rash and Bobby Moynihan respectively) are a gay couple. Producers Justin Ridge, Brandon Auman, and Athena Portillo sat down with the popular podcast to chat on what fans can expect in Season Two of the series. Asked about the duo’s relationship, Ridge replied, “I think it’s safe to say they’re an item. They’re absolutely a gay couple and we’re proud of that.” Fans of the series had surmised as much, especially with the bit of foreshadowing of the relationship in Season One when Orka and Flix visited Flix’s mother bearing a gift of flowers.
Fans of the Star Wars franchise have long called out creators of the sci-fi flicks for the woeful lack of LGBTQ representation. Back in 2015, the chemistry between Finn (John Boyega) and Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) was palatable onscreen in The Force Awakens. But, no same-sex anything ever came up between the characters. Well, except this fan video mashup:
And characters that are part of the LGBTQ community in the Star Wars comics and books don’t make it into the major feature films. Reess Kairn, a villain in the 1999 comic book The Bounty Hunters: Aurra Sing,had transitioned from alien to a human woman. Goran Beviin and Medrit Vasur-Beviin were the first confirmed gay couple in Star Wars literature appearing in the Legacy of the Force series. Season Two of Star Wars Resistance (nominated for a 2019 Emmy Award for ‘Outstanding Children’s Program’) premieres on the Disney Channel and Disney’s streaming app DisneyNow on October 6th at 10PM.
Amari AllenUPDATE: CBS News is reporting that Amari Allen has recanted her accusations regarding white boys holding her down and cutting off her hair.
Following an investigation by the Fairfax County Police Department, Danish said Amari Allen, the student who accused three of her classmates of assault, acknowledged the accusations were not true.
Allen’s family apologized to the boys and the school for “the pain and anxiety these allegations have caused.”
“To the administrators and families of Immanuel Christian School, we are sorry for the damage this incident has done to trust within the school family and the undue scorn it has brought to the school,” the family said. “We understand there will be consequences, and we’re prepared to take responsibility for them.”
They added, “To the broader community, who rallied in such passionate support for our daughter, we apologize for betraying your trust.”
The girl’s aunt says Amari did have a verbal dispute with the boys but “embellished the story.”
Three sixth-grade boys at a Christian school in Northern Virginia pinned down a black classmate and cut off some of her dreadlocks while telling her her hair was “nappy” and “ugly,” she told News4.
Twelve-year-old Amari Allen said the three boys, who she said are white, cut off her hair on Monday. She’s a student at Immanuel Christian School in Springfield, Virginia, where Vice President Mike Pence’s wife, Karen Pence, teaches part-time.
“They said my hair was nappy and I was ugly,” she said.
Amari — a straight-A student and violin player — said the boys started bullying her at the beginning of the school year. She has attended the school since kindergarten and has always liked it.
But on Monday, she was at recess and about to go down a slide when one of the boys grabbed her and put a hand over her mouth. Another boy grabbed her arms. A third boy cut off some of her hair.
“They put their hands over my mouth. They put my hands behind my back. And they started cutting my hair and saying it was ugly,” Amari said.
The bell rang and the boys ran off laughing.
Scared, Amari told no one. On Wednesday, her grandmother was doing her hair when she noticed long portions of it missing. The girl started crying and told the whole story.
The family called Fairfax County police, who took a report of the incident.
Amari’s grandparents aren’t sending her back to the school until the boys are punished.
L-R Sen. Bernie Sanders, Mayor Pete Buttigieg As we begin a new quarter, Democratic candidates are touting their fundraising prowess with email blasts. Mayor Pete Buttigieg’s campaign writes that Pete for America pulled in over $19 million during the 3rd quarter, which brings his total haul from the beginning of the year to more than $51 million. And Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) announced his campaign took in $24.8 million in the 3rd quarter. More to come…the day is early.
InstaHunk Dan Tai (via Instagram) Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: Ok, who knew hottie Dan Tai (above) even owned this much clothes??? Btw – Dan shares in his Instagram post wise words about cherishing the moment you’re in. Follow him here. • Billboard: Rapper Lil Nas tells CBS This Morning’s Gayle King he knew he was gay early on and used to “pray, pray and pray.” When King asked what he prayed for, he said, “That it was a phase.” • CNN: The latest polling by SSRS shows 47% of Americans support impeaching Donald Trump and removing him from office, up from 41% who felt that way in a CNN poll in May. Opposition stands at 45% in the new poll, down from 54% who said so in May and the lowest point in CNN polling. There’s equally bad news for Trump in the latest Quinnipiac (47% support) and CBS News (55% support) polls. • Buffalo News: Rep. Chris Collins (R) – most famous as the first member of Congress to support Donald Trump’s presidential campaign – resigned from Congress today after pleading guilty to criminal insider trading. • LGBTQ Nation: Abrahm DeVine, a 23-year-old collegiate swimmer who came out as gay in a 2018 interview with Swimming World magazine, says he was kicked off of the Stanford University swim team due to “systematic homophobia.” DeVine is a member of the U.S. men’s national swim team and was an NCAA champion at Stanford. • Out Music: Peter Thomas drops his latest single, “If You’re Happy Now,” about the aftermath of a breakup. “Heartbreak has been replaced by a less intense heartache,” explains Thomas. “I find myself wondering about you. Are you okay? Do you have someone new? Are we in the same time zone? Maybe we’re not ready to talk yet, and maybe we won’t end up together, but I still care. I’ll always care. And I want to know if you’re alright.” I have stood in the center of that emotional landscape. Hit the play button below.
In this week’s headlines: • A Tennessee teen commits suicide after being outed by fellow students (If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255) • The Trump administration tried to wipe out Pride crosswalks • A suspect has been arrested in brutal crime where a gay man was tied to a minivan and dragged through the streets of Jacksonville • Collegiate swimmer says he was kicked off Stanford’s swim team for being openly gay • Tom Goss’s new music video ‘La Bufadora,’ dives into domestic violence among LGBTQ couples All that and more in this episode of The Randy Report. Reminder – if you enjoy catching up on LGBTQ news in a quick podcast, I’d appreciate if you would share The Randy Report with your friends 🙂 
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