Tag: LGBTQ

Gay couple searching internet for new home (stock photo via Depositphotos) The National Association of Realtors recently released its first-ever Profile of Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Buyers and Sellers. Crunching the numbers from four years of data, the report shows some definite differences in how LGB folks feel about, and approach, homeownership compared to heterosexuals. When it comes to first-time buyers: • 58% of bisexual homebuyers surveyed indicated they were purchasing their first home • 36% of gay and lesbian buyers said the purchase...

White House deputy press secretary Judd Deere (images via Instagram/JuddPDeere) Openly gay Judd Deere lives in Washington, D.C. He has a boyfriend, attended DC Pride, and since January, has served in the Trump White House as Deputy Press Secretary. Tasked with touting Donald Trump’s policies – including those that erode LGBTQ progress – Deere recently told Buzzfeed News he doesn’t care what the LGBTQ community thinks of him. He says his rise in the Trump administration is proof Trump isn’t homophobic. “I’m...

Porn star Jay Dymel (image via Facebook)Gay porn star Jay Dymel (real name Julian Pereza) has died at the age of 27 after slipping into a coma at Cedar-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles. No cause of death has been reported. Falcon Studios, the company he had worked for most frequently, shared the news Wednesday night. “It is with great sadness to inform the passing of Jay Dymel today,” the studio tweeted. “Our thoughts go...

(stock photo via Depositphotos)A new Reuters/Ipsos poll shows nearly half of all Americans erroneously believe that there are federal laws to protect LGBTQ people from discrimination. The survey of 2,237 adults in the U.S. indicates 45% of those polled believed the federal government has anti-discrimination laws in place for lesbian, gay, and bisexual people. Twenty-three percent knew there are no nationwide protections for LGB folks. The results were nearly evenly split when asked...

Beto O’Rourke announced a wide-ranging list of actions he would take on behalf of LGBTQs as presidentDemocratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke has announced a wide-ranging plan for LGBTQ equality on Wednesday. Listing an agenda of more than 30 actions he would take and/or support, the plan is divided in three parts: Executive Action to Protect LGBTQ+ People, Legislative Action to Ensure Full Equality and Protect the LGBTQ+ Community Across the Globe. Via Instagram,...

The temporary memorial at Pulse Nightclub (screen capture)The nation mourns today as we observe the 3rd anniversary of the tragic Pulse Nightclub shooting that left 49 dead and 50+ more injured. Beginning at noon on Wednesday, bells were tolled 49 times in Orlando, Florida, to commemorate the life of each person who died in the deadly mass shooting.  CNN reports that during a memorial ceremony on Monday, Reps. Stephanie Murphy, Val Demings and Darren Soto...

Image via PixabayShould Payment For Sex Between Two Consenting Adults Be Considered Safe And Legal? I don’t believe many people have a passive opinion when it comes to sex work. Sex workers have long been looked over, never over-looked. From media, entertainment, and even in society, we either glamourize, objectify, or pity them. I know a handful of people my age (late 20s) who have OnlyFans accounts and literally sell their sex videos online to make some extra cash. Browsing...

Billy Porter slays on the Tony Awards Red Carpet (screen capture)The theater world celebrated the best of this year’s Broadway season at the 73rd Annual Tony Awards Sunday night, and the festivities were – no surprise – très gay. At one point in the telecast, presenter Ben Platt told the viewing audience, “For anyone at home who is a latecomer who is just now tuning in, yes, these are the Tony Awards, and you are, in fact, gay.” ...

Aftabjit Singh arrested on several gun related charges at DC Pride (screen capture)The mass stampede that brought an end to DC Pride this weekend was triggered by an altercation involving a straight couple, according to the Washington Blade. When a concerned citizen flagged down police to point out a man with what looked to be a gun, officers approached Aftabjit Singh, 38, and “conducted a stop.”  Police reports say officers saw “what appeared...

New Verizon campaign says “It’s never too late for love to call back” (screen capture)Television viewers watching the Tony Awards last night were wrecked by a new video from Verizon that features real families who struggled with a family member coming out, but were eventually able to find better communication and understanding. Verizon worked with PFLAG, the nation’s largest organization uniting families and allies with people who are LGBTQ, on the message that a bad “first call” doesn’t have to...

Madison’s Café in O’Fallon, Missouri (screen capture)A same-sex couple in Missouri were surprised when the restaurant they had booked for their wedding rehearsal dinner cancelled the reservation upon learning their sexual orientation. Kendall Brown and Mindy Rackley are getting married on June 15, and had planned on holding their rehearsal dinner on June 13 at Madison’s Café. Newsweek reports that the couple chose the restaurant because it had been Rackley’s father’s favorite place...

NYC LGBT Community Center & Google launch digital monument ‘Stonewall Forever’In 2016, President Barack Obama ordered 7.7 acres of Christopher Street in New York City to be designated as the Stonewall Monument, the first-ever national monument dedicated to the LGBTQ movement. Today, with generous support from Google, New York’s LGBT Community Center is launching Stonewall Forever, a digital extension of the Stonewall Monument. “Stonewall is such a big moment in our history,” Glennda...

(photos courtesy of Michael Fullem/Rogers & Cowen)Fifty years after the historic Stonewall uprising, YouTube personality Raymond Braun teamed up with Oscar-winning filmmakers Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman (The Times of Harvey Milk, The Celluloid Closet) to travel to diverse communities across the U.S. for an unflinching look at LGBTQ Pride in America. The result of their efforts is the new documentary from YouTube Originals, State of Pride. Braun’s cross-country road trip takes him to big cities and rural towns where he...

Out singer/songwriter Mika releases his latest single ‘Ice Cream’ (photo: Peter Lindbergh)Out singer/songwriter Mika drops his perfect-for-summer new single, “Ice Cream,” in advance of his upcoming album, My Name Is Michael Holbrook. The Lebanese-born artist calls the song “a daydream fantasy” that was borne during a sweltering August in Italy. “It shimmers like a mirage, and makes me feel like anything is possible,” adds the 35-year-old singer. The song came to him near...