LGBTQ news and entertainment
Some news items you might have missed:
• Gay Times: Prime Video has renewed the acclaimed coming-of-age LGBTQ college comedy Overcompensating (above), created by comedian and actor Benito Skinner, for a second season.
• Kenneth-in-the-212: U.S. Open champ Carlos Alcaraz revealed a new platinum blond look after his big win. Continue reading “‘Overcompensating’ Renewed For 2nd Season + More News”
Police have arrested a teenage suspect in connection with vandalism at the Newberg Public Library, where a window displaying a rainbow LGBTQ Pride flag was shattered by a BB gun on Wednesday night. Continue reading “Teen Arrested After Public Library Window Displaying Pride Flag Shattered”
The folks at UCLA’s Williams Institute crunched the numbers to come up with a list of the gayest states in the U.S. Continue reading “Which Is The Gayest State In The U.S.?”
Some news items you might have missed: • WKBW: Michael Naab, 34, and Amber Naab, 37, reportedly bragged on social media of using fake vaccination cards to attend a Buffalo Bills game. They’ve been charged with criminal possession of a forged instrument in the second degree with a possible 7 year prison sentence. Continue reading “News Round-Up: January 27, 2022”
Some news items you might have missed: • LGBTQ Nation: Residents of an Oregon town banded together to make a giant Pride flag (above) after the Newberg school board voted to ban it and other “divisive symbols.” Continue reading “News Round-Up: August 19, 2021”
Some news items you might have missed: • Instinct Magazine: A Michigan bodybuilder named Logan Barnhart (above) has been charged in connection to the Jan. 6 Capitol riots on several counts including assaulting a police officer. He was eventually tracked down thanks to his thirst pics on Instagram. Continue reading “News Round-Up: August 18, 2021”
‘Map daddy’ Steve Kornacki (screen capture)
The new gig is right up @AdamRippon's alley. https://t.co/n48kwzcU7I
— Out Magazine (@outmagazine) May 14, 2021
(stock image of a nurse working in a hospital)
In a statement, the hospital said the nurse, who has not been publicly identified by her employer, “displayed cavalier disregard for the seriousness of this pandemic and her indifference towards physical distancing and masking out of work.”
“We also want to assure you that this one careless statement does not reflect the position of Salem Health or the hardworking and dedicated caregivers who work here,” said the hospital, adding that an investigation is underway.
@amandabutcher2To each their own, but why would you brag about it to others? 🤦🏻♀️ I guess we could ask Loveiskind05 #nurse #covid #health #pandemic #fyp #foryou ♬ original sound – Amanda Butcher
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| Melissa and Aaron Klein (image via Facebook) |
Just months after the U.S. Supreme Court issued a narrow ruling on Colorado baker Jack Phillips’ appeal for refusing to make a cake for a gay couple, another anti-LGBT bakery has asked the Supreme Court to consider their appeal.
The petition for review, filed last Friday by the conservative law firm First Liberty on behalf of Aaron and Melissa Klein of Sweet Cakes by Melissa, asserts the couple’s First Amendment rights to refuse service to a lesbian couple, according to SCOTUSblog.
In 2013, Laurel and Rachel Bowman-Cryer asked the Gresham, Oregon, bakery to sell them a cake for their upcoming commitment ceremony.
Based on her ‘deeply held religious beliefs,’ Melissa Klein refused to sell the couple a cake saying same-sex marriage was not consistent with her religious beliefs.
It’s worth underscoring that the Bowman-Cryers weren’t asking for a wedding cake, or holding any kind of religious ceremony, as marriage equality hadn’t been adopted by Oregon at the time.
Also, the state of Oregon’s public accommodation laws clearly prohibit any discrimination based on sexual orientation.
The lesbian couple filed a complaint with the state’s Bureau of Labor & Industries which found the bakery had, indeed, violated the state’s laws.
The Bureau fined the couple $135,000 for the violation, which the Kleins’ claim put them out of business, even though a Christian-led crowdfunding campaign raised over $352,000 for the couple.
The Kleins appealed the decision to the Oregon Court of Appeals, but the Bureau’s decision was upheld.
The bakers then asked the Oregon Supreme Court to review the decision, but the state’s high court refused that request earlier this year.
It’s worth noting that this summer’s ruling regarding the Colorado baker was a win for Phillips only in that the Supreme Court felt the Colorado administrative agency that initially ruled against him appeared to be “too hostile” to Phillips’ religious beliefs. The Supreme Court never actually ruled on whether religious beliefs trump public accommodation laws.
The Supreme Court has several options regarding the petition for review.
In order to accept the case, at least four justices must vote to do so.
The court could decline the review completely, or decline to review but vacate the earlier rulings in Oregon remanding the case back to the earlier courts to review their decision.
That’s the route the high court took in June of this year regarding an anti-LGBT florist in Washington state, Barronelle Stutzman of Arlene’s Flowers.
According to SCOTUSblog, the state of Oregon now has 30 days to respond to the filing although a 30 extension is possible.
Should the Supreme Court choose to review the case, after oral arguments a decision would come down sometime before the end of June 2019.
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| Aaron Klein of Sweet Cakes by Melissa |
The Oregon Supreme Court has declined to review the case of Aaron and Melissa Klein, who as Sweet Cakes by Melissa, refused to serve a lesbian couple in 2013.
The Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries found that the Kleins were guilty of discriminating against the couple when they refused to sell a cake for a commitment ceremony.
The bakers were fined $135,000 for emotional damages in 2015.
They Kleins took their case to the Oregon Court of Appeals which ultimately upheld that decision.
The business owners’ lawyers now say they intend to head to the U.S. Supreme Court.
While the Kleins exhaust all their options for appeal, the check they wrote for $135,000 is being held.
In the aftermath of the story coming to light, Christian crowdfunding efforts raising over $500,000 to more than cover the bakers’ loses after they decided to stop making wedding cakes for anyone.