LGBTQ news and entertainment
From Westboro Baptist Church: “In light of NBA veteran Jason Collins becoming the first active professional athlete who is openly homosexual, Westboro Baptist Church’s Twitter account @WBCSays said Tuesday it will picket outside Chesapeake Energy Arena for the Rockets and Thunder Game 5 first-round playoff matchup.”
Never let it be said that the idiots from Westboro Baptist Church let an opportunity to let their bigoted voice be heard…
Sad. Just sad.
(via JoeMyGod)
Former (and famous) Green Bay Packer Leroy Butler has lost out on an $8,500 speaking gig for praising Jason Collins on Twitter.
A church in Wisconsin pulled the plug on the contracted gig after noticing Butler congratulated Jason Collins for coming out of the closet, citing a morality clause.
Here’s how he responded (read bottom to top):
“Wow, I was scheduled to speak at a church in WI, and a member said that the pastor wants to cancel my event. I said ok why? Then I was told, because I said congrats to Jason Collins on Twitter,” Butler wrote. “I said really? we have a contract, he said check the moral cause, FYI the fee was $8,500, then I was told if I removed the tweet, and apologize and ask god forgiveness, I can have the event. I said no, only god can judge.”
(via Instinct)
So, here’s how I got the story:
A couple of months ago, Baronelle Stuzman, a Washington state florist, told longtime customers, Robert Ingersoll and Curt Freed, that she refused to do business with them — or “participate in the wedding,” as she called it — because she believed as a Christian “that marriage is between a man and a woman.”
Freed, 43, pointed out that they never asked her to “participate” in their wedding — just to sell them flowers FOR their wedding. The couple has been buying flowers from the shop for nine years.
In any case, Stuzman hugged her gay customer and merrily went on her way.
Now, she’s now being sued by Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson, the SeattlePI reports:
The AG’s office s asking that a $2,000 fine be imposed for every violation in a complaint filed in Benton County Superior Court.
I think it’s important to reiterate that this legal action is not about marriage equality. The law being cited and sued under, the Consumer Protection Act, was passed years before Washington’s recent marriage equality law. The same suit could be filed if someone decided they didn’t want to serve African Americans or Catholics.
Of course, the anti-marriage equality folks are already touting this as a “gay marriage” issue.
From the National Organization for Marriage: “Like clockwork, those who disagree with gay marriage are being fined and forced out of the public square — by the state-imposed redefinition of marriage.”
And from Tony Perkins at Family Research Council:
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| Suspended UFC fighter Mike Mitrione |
The Ultimate Fighting Championship has suspended one of its fighters after he went on a transphobic rant against transgender fighter, Fallon Fox.
In an interview with The MMA Hour on Monday, mixed martial artist Matt Mitrione went on a tirade against Fox, whom he repeatedly referred to as a man. Fox transitioned ten years ago but came out as a transgender woman earlier last month after facing pressure from a reporter.
When host Ariel Helwani asked Mitrione, “Why do you hate Fallon Fox so much, and why do you keep calling she a ‘he’?”, he responded:
“Because she’s not a he. He’s a he,” he said. “He’s chromosomally a man. He had a gender change, not a sex change. He’s still a man. He was a man for 31 years. Thirty-one years. That’s a couple years younger than I am. He’s a man. Six years of taking performance de-hancing drugs, you think is going to change all that? That’s ridiculous.
“That is a lying, sick, sociopathic, disgusting freak,” he continued. “And I mean that. Because you lied on your license to beat up women. That’s disgusting. You should be embarrassed yourself. And the fact that Florida licensed him because California licensed him or whoever the hell did it, it’s an embarrassment to us as fighters, as a sport, and we all should protest that. The woman that’s fighting him, props to you. I hope you beat his ass, and I hope he gets blackballed and never fights again, because that’s disgusting and I’m appalled by that.”
The UFC acted swiftly and decidedly, issuing the following statement later that day:
The UFC was appalled by the transphobic comments made by heavyweight Matt Mitrione today in an interview on ‘The MMA Hour.’The organization finds Mr. Mitrione’s comments offensive and wholly unacceptable and – as a direct result of this significant breach of the UFC’s code of conduct – Mr. Mitrione’s UFC contract has been suspended and the incident is being investigated. The UFC is a friend and ally of the LGBT community, and expects and requires all 450 of its athletes to treat others with dignity and respect.
(via Pink News)
The vote, in support of the Federal anti-gay DOMA, was registered as “unanimous” but only after more than half of the state Democratic House members walked out rather than honor the resolution with their vote.
The House approved the resolution Monday on an 84-0 vote. House Democratic Leader Scott Inman and openly gay Rep. Kay Floyd of Oklahoma City were among more than half of the chamber’s 29 Democrats who walked out of the chamber instead of voting.
The resolution now heads to the state Senate.
The resolution would not carry the weight of law. Its supporters say it’s meant as a message to the U.S. Supreme Court, which recently heard arguments in two cases concerning same-sex marriage rights.
Read more at KJRH.com
For the centennial celebration of the Anti-Defamation League.
From the YouTube video description:
Join ADL in our Centennial Year as we Imagine a World Without Hate™, one where the hate crimes against Martin Luther King, Anne Frank, Matthew Shepard and others did not take place.
Support us in the fight against bigotry and extremism by sharing this inspirational video and taking the pledge to create a world without hate at http://www.adl.org/imagine
Speaking at CPAC this afternoon, Sen. Marco Rubio complained that the people he would deny rights to (same-sex marriage rights, pro-choice rights) don’t respect him:
“I respect people who disagree with me on certain things, but that means they have to respect me too. Just because I believe states should have the right to define marriage in a traditional way does not make me a bigot. Just because we believe that life, all human life, all life, all human life is worthy of protection in every stage of its development doesn’t make you a chauvinist. In fact, the people who are actually close minded in American politics are people who love to preach about the certainty of science in regard to our climate, but ignore the absolute fact that life begins at conception.”
New York City actor and comedian Michael Hartney writes on his blog:
This afternoon, my partner Turtle walked out of our apartment to grab a bite. Before he even left our block, a man called him “faggot” as he passed. Rather than let the guy get away with it, Turtle decided to confront this man about his hateful behavior. And he filmed it.
Notice how well Turtle handles himself in this video. No need to fight hate with hate; calling him “slick hair” is as hateful as Turtle gets (which is hilarious and awesome). He lets that ignorant clown have it with poise and decency. Not surprising, considering Turtle is the absolute best guy around and I couldn’t be prouder of him.
Our neighbors saw this altercation, and told Turtle that this man has been harassing their thirteen year-old son for years, sometimes even calling him “faggot” while the kid was in recess at school with his peers. They know who he is and where he lives. They’ve been too scared for the kid’s safety to do anything about it. But it’s going to end today.
Let’s hear it for Turtle!
Clearly the bigot had no idea a “faggot” would stand up for himself. I’ll be curious to see if the man’s identity becomes public as this story has gone viral today.
I personally think it would be grand if everyone in the neighborhood pointed and called Mr. Slick Hair “faggot” every time he walks down the street.
The couple plans to file a complaint today.
(via JMG)
Superintendent Mark A. Baker released a statement Tuesday distancing the Northeast School Corporation from Diana Medley’s anti-gay statements but defending her free speech:
“I would like to clearly state the Northeast School Corporation has never denied any student the right to attend prom or any other Northeast School Corporation sponsored event due to their race, gender, or sexual orientation. Furthermore, the Northeast School Corporation has never denied any student access to any events sponsored by Northeast School Corporation. This includes sports, plays, musicals and any other extra-curricular activities.
In regards to the story that WTWO aired on February 10, 2013, the Northeast School Corporation employee that was interviewed was expressing her First Amendment rights. The views expressed are not the views of the Northeast School Corporation and/or the Board of Education.
These comments were expressed during a Sunday community meeting at a local church and at no time was she representing the Northeast School Corporation. The teacher was participating in a meeting with her local church congregation.
I’d like to point out that, yes, Ms. Medley does have a right to express her anti-gay speech. Just as I have a right to point out that it’s hurtful to her students and bigoted.
Free speech.
