Box Turtle Bulletin
News and commentary about the anti-gay lobby“Now you must raise your children up in a world where that union of man and box turtle is on the same legal footing as man and wife…”
News and commentary about the anti-gay lobbyJune 13th, 2016
I’m seeing the same trend here in the states, and I’ll have much, much more to say about this. But here’s Owen Jones walking out of a Sky News panel discussion over the host’s insistence on downplaying the homophobia aspect to yesterday’s mass shooting.
“The issue is I will not have people, as a gay man, appropriating — the people who never speak about gay rights except when this happens if there are Muslims involved. Then they’s jump on the bandwagon and they’ll spam as much bile as they want. And I’m proud to live in a city, one the the greatest cities on the face of the earth whose mayor is a Muslim. He votes for equal rights including equal marriage in defiance of lots of other people and death threats.”
Host Mark Longhurst then brought up the arrest in L.A. of James Wesley Howell who was reportedly preparing to attack the Gay Pride celebration there. He only acknowledged that Howell was not Muslim “as far as we know,” and asked “whether there is, as you say, a hate crime or whether something is being done in the name of religion.” As if there was a difference.
Jones responded: “Can we just be clear, because you say its lunatics and all the rest of it. We’ve got to be clear. If he went into a synagogue and killed innocent Jewish people… People have done that, disgusting anti-Semitic terrorists, we will call it out for what it is. This person is a homophobic terrorist, whatever else he is. Presumably he’s got some twisted view of Islamic fundamentalism to justify his… even though he’s a knuckle-dragging thug and a get. At the end of the day this is a homophobic hate crime as well as terrorism. It as be called out because I have to say on Sky News and lots of other news, there’s not been many LGBT voices I’ve personally heard myself. And people have to understand as LGBT people watching this and elsewhere, they look at something like this and it is one of the worst atrocities committed against LGBT people in the Western world for generations.”
Longhurst continued to insist that the attack was carried out against human beings. “You cannot say this is a worse attack than what happened in Paris.” It was, he said, a crime Host Mark Longhurst interjected and said the crime had been carried out against “human beings” who were “ trying to enjoy themselves, whatever their sexuality.”
“What are you talking about?” Jones exclaimed. “I’m trying to understand the point you’re making. It was a deliberate attack on LGBT people in an LGBT venue. It was a homophobic terrorist attack. Do you understand that? It’s not some abstract… just kind of he picked a random club out of nowhere. He picked a club because it was full of people he regarded as evil. That’s why he picked the club.”
Co-panelist Julia Hartley-Brewer joined the minimization by suggested that the killer “might have equally horrified by me as a gobby woman”.
“Well fuck!,” Jones replied. “Why would you try to deflect?”
“I’m sorry, I just find this the most astonishing thing I’ve ever been involved in on television,” he continued. “If he’d walked into a synagogue and massacred dozens of Jewish people, you wouldn’t be saying what you’re saying now. You’d be saying it was an anti-Semitic attack. This was a deliberate attack on LGBT people. It was a deliberate attack on the LGBT community. It’s bizarre…”
As the panel continued to divert and dissemble, Jones clearly withdrew himself form the discussion. Longhurst then brought up Peter Tachell’s gay rights group Stonewall to introduce the LGBT element on Longhursts’ chosen terms (“Is the danger… that you focus on one particular area and not the whole threat to our modern way of life?”). “I’ve had enough of this,” Jones said as he took off his microphone and walked off the set.
June 13th, 2016
June 13th, 2016
We’ll be posting photos of tribute, vigils and rallies throughout the day. A BTB reader Mike sent this one in from Nashville, via the Metro Government’s Facebook page.
June 13th, 2016
The city of Little Rock, Arkansas pays tribute to Orlando. Other landmarks paying tribute included:
Minneapolis and St. Paul
Kansas City
The World Trade Center
The top of the Empire State Building remained dark to signify mourning.
Downtown Tulsa’s First Place Tower lit it’s top in a rainbow.
Seattle’s Space Needle
San Francisco City Hall
Tel Aviv City Hall
June 13th, 2016
These are the names of the dead as of late last night.
Edward “Top Hat Eddie” Sotomayor, Jr., 34 years old. A brand manager for a travel agency that specializes in gay cruises.
Stanley Almodovar III, 23 years old. A pharmacy tech, originally from Massachusetts. “Always bubbly and super down to earth and such a sweet guy.”
Luis Omar Ocasio-Capo, 20 years old. Friends called him “Omar.” One aunt says he now “dances freely in heaven.”
Juan Ramon Guerrero, 22 years old (left). His boyfriend, Drew Leinonen, was also at the night club. Late last night, his mother confirmed that he had died. Drew had established a Gay-Straight Alliance in his high school.
Eric Ivan Ortiz-Rivera, 36 years old. Originally from Puerto Rico, he had been married to his husband for about a year.
Peter Ommy Gonzalez-Cruz, 22 years old. Originally from New Jersey. “R.I.P. Peter Ommy. A great person with a beautiful smile.”
Luis S. Vielma, 22 years old. A student at Seminole State College. Worked the “Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey” ride at Universal Orlando Resort.
Kimberly”KJ” Morris, 37 years old, a bouncer at Pulse. Friends remembered her dancing and her smile.
Eddie Jamoldroy Justice, 30 years old. “Mommy I love you,” he texted to his mother at 2:06 a.m. “In club they shooting.”
Darryl Roman Burt II, 29 years old. (No photo available as of 10:15 PDT.)
… And 39 others.
June 13th, 2016
55 YEARS AGO: A state investigation in a “morals case” ended with the arrest of fifteen men, aged sixteen to twenty-seven years. As The Mattachine Review commented, the sixteen-year-old “unfortunately gives authorities a valid reason to conduct the investigations,” although it is unclear from the Wilmington Evening Journal’s article of June 13 whether that was the focus of the investigation or merely something police discovered sometime after it began. The investigation started on April 6 when police officers in Newark arrested Vance H. Middleton, 37, who “admitted participating in immoral acts.” Police went to his home and “seized a mass of obscene pictures and literature and photographic equipment and original photographs. It was through these photographs that the identity of many of those in the investigation was established.” Through a kind of a snowballing operation in which each contact was interrogated in order to obtain the names of other contacts, police surmised that “The Newark parties drew persons from throughout Delaware, Elkton, Philadelphia and New York” and that “most of the immoral activity centered in the Newark-Brookside area of week-ends.” One man, James M.F. Short, 31, of Newark and Wilmington, was charged with “63 morals charges by state police” and was being “held for psychiatric treatment on the Newark charges.”
A reader sent a copy of the Wilmington Evening Journal’s article to The Mattachine Review, and added the following details.
Police pressure is terrible throughout the state, they are pressuring homosexuals that are picked up to name and identify all their acquaintances. They even go to the places where they are employed, call them off the job and not even permit them to inform their employers they are leaving. They then are held as long as the police desire to hold them and generally cost the respective employee his job (which the police clearly envision because of their actions). When they are picked up, they are taken to the station for interrogation, subjected to a contingent of police officials’ questioning, and their actions and conversation filmed and tape recorded for the entirety of their stay. Their legal rights are denied on a wholesale basis, and none of them as yet has taken any action against the police.
Of course, in some towns down state, attorneys will not even defend a prospective client against the police even on charges other than homosexuality. (Proof of that statement In the Delaware State News, Dover, Delaware)
Short, one of the defendants in the case, attempted to implicate a State Trooper, so, of course, the numerous charges placed against him clearly indicate how the police plan to handle him.
[Sources: “15 Arrests in Morals Case End State’s Investigation.” Wilmington (DE) Evening Journal (June 13, 1961). As reprinted in the The Mattachine Review 7. no. 7 (June 1961): 27-28.]
Letter to the editor. The Mattachine Review 7. no. 7 (June 1961): 27.
Harold Call. “Calling Shots.” The Mattachine Review 7. no. 7 (June 1961): 4-5.]
June 13th, 2016
Relations between the LGBT community and the Clinton Administration were at a low point in 1995. Instead of repealing the ban against gays in the military, the Clinton Administration negotiated “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” with conservative Democrats and Republicans. Instead of filing a Justice Department brief with the Supreme Court to weigh in on a lawsuit challenging Colorado’s Amendment 2 which would have banned civil rights protections for gay people, Attorney General Janet Reno sat on her hands. But with the White House beginning to cast an eye toward the 1996 elections, they realized that they needed to do something to try to placate a seriously pissed off constituency.
So on June 14, the Clinton Administration invited 40 gay leaders, including state senators and representatives, city council members, judges and other elected officials from around the country, to a special White House meeting. The meeting’s purpose was to announce that Marsha Scott, a deputy assistant to President Clinton, was being named as White House liaison officer for gay and lesbian issues. They were also there to learn about a new 30-member presidential advisory council on HIV/AIDS. But before the meeting even got started, things got off on the wrong foot when the LGBT leaders were greeted at the White House by Secret Service agents who had put on rubber gloves before granting them access. The activists were furious when agents told them they were wearing the gloves to protect themselves from HIV. “For that to even happen at the White House shows they haven’t a clue about AIDS,” said Act-Up spokesman Steve Michael. “It just shows where they’re at.”
What was supposed to be a grand kiss-and-make-up session quickly turned into yet another embarrassment for the administration. Secret Service director Eljay Brown issued a statement saying that he regretted “the unfortunate actions” taken by his agents. “It is not the policy of the Secret Service to wear gloves merely based on known sexual preference.” The Treasury Department, which had jurisdiction over the Secret Service, was asked to investigate. White House press secretary Mike McCurry said, “It’s safe to say the chief of staff (Leon Panetta) and others were distressed by that and believe it to be an error of judgment.”
June 13th, 2016
(d. 1982) He studied drama at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois with fellow students Cloris Leachman, Charlotte Rae, Patricia Neal, Jeffrey Hunter and Claude Akins. Imagine what that class must have been like. After graduating in 1948, he moved to New York and became a stand-up comic and a Broadway actor. In 1960, he appeared in Broadway’s Bye Bye Birdie, as well as in its film adaptation in 1963. But most of his work was in television, where he appeared in numerous sitcoms (he was Uncle Arthur in Bewitched) and lent his voice to animated cartoons. He is probably best known as the “center square” for the game show Hollywood Squares with host Peter Marshall, where Lynde became famous for his one-liners and double entendres. They say his sexual orientation was an open secret in Hollywood. It’s hard to imagine any secret being more open than his. Especially considering Hollywood Squares answers like these:
Peter Marshall: In the Wizard of Oz, the lion wanted courage and the tin man wanted a heart. What did the scarecrow want?
Paul Lynde: He wanted the tin man to notice him.
Marshall: Is the electricity in your house A.C. or D.C.?
Lynde: In my house it’s both.
Marshall: What do you call a man who gives you diamonds and pearls?
Lynde: I’d call him “darling”!
Marshall: It is the most abused and neglected part of your body– what is it?
Lynde: Mine may be abused but it certainly isn’t neglected!
Marshall: Paul, in what famous book will you read about a talking ass who wonders why it’s being beaten?
Lynde: I read it, “The Joy of Sex.”
Marshall: Paul, why do Hell’s Angels wear leather?
Lynde: Because chiffon wrinkles too easily.
Marshall: According to the old song, what’s breaking up that old gang of mine?
Lynde: Anita Byant!
And here are a couple more:
Lynde was enormously popular, but several attempts to give him his own shows invariably ended in low ratings and swift cancellations. Audiences loved him, but only in small doses. This will give you an idea of how powerful his presence was: we may remember his appearances on Bewitched, but he only appeared on that show ten times throughout its eight year run.
Also working against him were skittish TV executives, who were concerned his homosexuality and his worsening alcoholism and substance abuse. When he was sober, he was well-loved by his fellow performers. When Lynde won an Emmy for Entertainer of the Year in 1976, he immediately turned the statue over to host Jackie Gleason, who had never won an Emmy, saying that Gleason was “the funniest man ever.” But when he was drunk, he was one of the most out-of-control drunks to inhabit the planet. In 1965, he was partying with a young actor (and alleged lover) in Lynde’s room at San Francisco’s Sir Francis Drake hotel when the actor fell from the eighth-floor window to his death. That tragedy was hushed up, which saved Lynde’s career but did little to sober him up. He was repeatedly arrested for his drunken behavior, including one arrest in1978 outside of a gay bar in Salt Lake City which led to his being dropped from a guest appearance on the Donnie and Marie show. That same year, he was banned from the campus of Northwestern University after unleashing a horrendously racist tirade at a black professor in a nearby Burger King.
Lynde left Hollywood Squares in 1979 (some say he was fired for being drunk and belligerent on the set), but came back a year later, clean and sober. He also started living a much quieter life outside the studio, hosting dinner parties at home and apologizing to friends and co-workers. But a lifetime of hard living had already taken its toll and he died of a heart attack in 1982 at the age of 55.
June 12th, 2016
As the world’s attention was fixed on the terrible massacre at the Pulse night club in Orlando, Santa Monica police narrowly averted another massacre at Los Angeles Pride, which took place today. That suspect has been identified as James Wesley Howell, 20, of Jeffersonville, Indiana.
Police responded to a “suspicious activity” call at about 5:00 a.m. to the 17oo block of 11th St. after someone called 911 about a man knocking on resident’s door and windows.
When officers arrived, they found Howell siting in his white Acura with Indiana tags. Inside the car, police discovered a virtual armory: three rifles — one of them identified simply as an “assault rifle” — loaded clips, a camouflage outfit, security badge, and five pounds of mixed tannerite, “capable of forming an improvised explosive device. ”
The bomb squad was called in to secure the car and Howell was arrested. Santa Monica Chief of Police Jaqueline Seabrooks tweeted that Howell told the police officer during the arrest “of wanting to harm Gay Pride event” during his arrest.
Howell is being held on a $500,000 bond at the Santa Monica jail. Police tightened security for today’s LA Pride parade. No incidents have been reported.
June 12th, 2016
The Hill reports:
The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) claimed responsibility Sunday for a deadly nightclub shooting in Orlando, Fla., that left 50 dead and 53 injured. “The attack that targeted a nightclub for homosexuals in Orlando, Florida and that left more than 100 dead and wounded was carried out by an Islamic State fighter,” ISIS said in a statement. The organization offered no proof for the attacks.
ISIS’ claim of responsibility came several hours after news of the attack hit the news. It’s important to remember that authorities have not established a connection between the Orlando shooter Omar Mateen and ISIS. Friends, family, and an ex-wife all say he was not particularly religious. Co-workers at the security company he worked for called the FBI in 2013 after he made comments about terrorist connections, but the FBI investigation found no basis for concern. The FBI investigated in 2014 over potential ties with someone who became an Al-Quida suicide bomber in Syria. That investigation was inconclusive.
The FBI did put him on a watch list, but that alone was not enough to prevent Mateen to purchase an AR-15. Congress refused to close that loophole last December. ATF says that Mateen legally purchased his weapons in the last week. Shortly before attacking Pulse, Mateen called 911 and pledged his allegiance to ISIS. According to NBC News:
Investigators are trying to determine whether religious extremism motivated the attack and piece together what exactly set off Mateen, who lived less than two hours south of Orlando in Port St. Lucie and worked as a security guard.
Mateen didn’t appear to have any direct ties with ISIS, sources told NBCNews, although he was a follower of ISIS propaganda and referenced the Tsarnaev brothers, who carried out the Boston Marathon bombings in 2013, at the scene of the shooting.
Based on what we know so far, the most immediate reason why Mateen chose this particular target and these particular people appears to be what Mateen saw in Miami:
Because of his name and heritage, there were immediate questions about Mateen’s possible ties to Islamic fundamentalism. But his father told NBC News that his son was affected by a recent incident involving two men showing each other affection.
“We were in Downtown Miami, Bayside, people were playing music. And he saw two men kissing each other in front of his wife and kid and he got very angry,” Mateen’s father, Mir Seddique, told NBC News on Sunday. “They were kissing each other and touching each other and he said, ‘Look at that. In front of my son they are doing that.’ And then we were in the men’s bathroom and men were kissing each other.”
“We are saying we are apologizing for the whole incident,” Seddique said. “We weren’t aware of any action he is taking. We are in shock like the whole country.”
Seddique added: “This had nothing to do with religion.”
Mateen’s ex-wife describes him as being very violent:
“He was not a stable person,” said the ex-wife, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because she feared for her safety in the wake of the mass shooting. “He beat me. He would just come home and start beating me up because the laundry wasn’t finished or something like that.”
…“He seemed like a normal human being,” she said, adding that when they were married he wasn’t very religious and often worked out at the gym. She said in the few months they were married he gave no signs of having fallen under the sway of radical Islam. She said he owned a small-caliber handgun.
June 12th, 2016
There’s an arbitrary FDA ban on blood donations for gay men who have had sex in the past year. It appears that the ban has been lifted, at least temporarily in Orlando. U.S. Representative Alan Grayson (D-FL) released this statement at 12:30 am EST Sunday:
“Due to the critical need for blood donations in Orlando, ALL blood donations will be accepted and screened. Nobody will be turned away because of their sexual orientation. O Positive and O Negative blood types are needed most urgently. Please make appointments to donate throughout the week as there will be a continued need.”
HIV Plus magazine noticed earlier that local hospitals appear to be accepting blood from all comers.
Update: Others are suggesting that the blood banks are accepting donations, but are probably using the application forms to screen out those who answer the gay-and-had-sex question to dispose of that donation.
June 12th, 2016
Here is a transcript of President Barack Obama’s remarks on today’s massacre:
Today, as Americans, we grieve the brutal murder — a horrific massacre — of dozens of innocent people. We pray for their families, who are grasping for answers with broken hearts. We stand with the people of Orlando, who have endured a terrible attack on their city. Although it’s still early in the investigation, we know enough to say that this was an act of terror and an act of hate. And as Americans, we are united in grief, in outrage, and in resolve to defend our people.
I just finished a meeting with FBI Director Comey and my homeland security and national security advisors. The FBI is on the scene and leading the investigation, in partnership with local law enforcement. I’ve directed that the full resources of the federal government be made available for this investigation.
We are still learning all the facts. This is an open investigation. We’ve reached no definitive judgment on the precise motivations of the killer. The FBI is appropriately investigating this as an act of terrorism. And I’ve directed that we must spare no effort to determine what — if any — inspiration or association this killer may have had with terrorist groups. What is clear is that he was a person filled with hatred. Over the coming days, we’ll uncover why and how this happened, and we will go wherever the facts lead us.
This morning I spoke with my good friend, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, and I conveyed the condolences of the entire American people. This could have been any one of our communities. So I told Mayor Dyer that whatever help he and the people of Orlando need — they are going to get it. As a country, we will be there for the people of Orlando today, tomorrow and for all the days to come.
We also express our profound gratitude to all the police and first responders who rushed into harm’s way. Their courage and professionalism saved lives, and kept the carnage from being even worse. It’s the kind of sacrifice that our law enforcement professionals make every single day for all of us, and we can never thank them enough.
This is an especially heartbreaking day for all our friends — our fellow Americans — who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. The shooter targeted a nightclub where people came together to be with friends, to dance and to sing, and to live. The place where they were attacked is more than a nightclub — it is a place of solidarity and empowerment where people have come together to raise awareness, to speak their minds, and to advocate for their civil rights.
So this is a sobering reminder that attacks on any American — regardless of race, ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation — is an attack on all of us and on the fundamental values of equality and dignity that define us as a country. And no act of hate or terror will ever change who we are or the values that make us Americans.
Today marks the most deadly shooting in American history. The shooter was apparently armed with a handgun and a powerful assault rifle. This massacre is therefore a further reminder of how easy it is for someone to get their hands on a weapon that lets them shoot people in a school, or in a house of worship, or a movie theater, or in a nightclub. And we have to decide if that’s the kind of country we want to be. And to actively do nothing is a decision as well.
In the coming hours and days, we’ll learn about the victims of this tragedy. Their names. Their faces. Who they were. The joy that they brought to families and to friends, and the difference that they made in this world. Say a prayer for them and say a prayer for their families — that God give them the strength to bear the unbearable. And that He give us all the strength to be there for them, and the strength and courage to change. We need to demonstrate that we are defined more — as a country — by the way they lived their lives than by the hate of the man who took them from us.
As we go together, we will draw inspiration from heroic and selfless acts — friends who helped friends, took care of each other and saved lives. In the face of hate and violence, we will love one another. We will not give in to fear or turn against each other. Instead, we will stand united, as Americans, to protect our people, and defend our nation, and to take action against those who threaten us.
May God bless the Americans we lost this morning. May He comfort their families. May God continue to watch over this country that we love. Thank you.
June 12th, 2016
I’m sure I’ve missed quite a few, but here is the list that I have so far. I’ll post updates as I find them. You can also check a new web site, We Are Orlando, is also tracking vigils.
Do you have any photos? Please send them here.
Albany, NY: 8 p.m. at Rocks.
Allentown, PA: 6 p.m. at Candida’s Bar.
Ann Arbor, MI: 8:30 p.m. at Aut Bar.
Anchorage, AK: 5:30 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church (616 W. 10th Avenue, Anchorage)
Albuquerque, NM: 7:30 p.m. at Morningside Park.
Atlanta, GA:
Aspen, CO: at 8:00 p.m. in Paepcke Park.
Augusta, GA: 8 p.m. at MCC of Our Redeemer.
Austin, TX: 7:30 p.m. on Fourth Street.
Bainbridge Island, WA: 8 p.m. at Winslow Way and 305.
Baltimore, MD:
Belton, TX: 8:30 p.m. at the Bell County Courthouse.
Berea, KY: Tomorrow at 6 p.m. at Union Church Berea.
Beverly, MA: 7:30 at Beverly Common.
Billings, MT: 8 p.m., Grace United Methodist Church.
Bisbee, AZ: 7 p.m. at Grassy Park next to the Mining Museum.
Bloomington, IN: Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. at City Hall.
Boston, MA:
Bozeman, MT: 9 p.m. at the Gallatin County Courthouse.
Bremerton, WA: Tomorrow at 8 p.m. at Evergreen Park.
Buffalo, NY: Tomorrow at 6 p.m. at Niagara Square.
Burlington, VT: Tomorrow at 6 p.m. at the First Unitarian Universalist Society.
Butte, MT: 8 p.m. at the county courthouse steps.
Castro Valley, CA: 7 p.m. at the Safeway parking lot.
Cedar Rapids, IA: 7:30 p.m. at Belle’s Basix.
Charleston, SC: Tomorrow at 7 p.m., downtown Charleston (location TBD).
Charlotte, NC:
Chattanooga, TN: Tomorrow at 8 p.m. at Chuck’s II.
Chicago, IL: 7 p.m. at Halsted and Roscoe.
Clarksville, TN: 7 p.m. at Riverside Drive Park.
Dallas, TX: 8 p.m. at the Resource Center on Cedar Springs.
Denton, TX: 5 p.m. at the Denton County Courthouse Square.
Denver, CO: 8:30 p.m. at Tracks.
Dillon, MT: 8 p.m. at St. James Church.
Eureka Springs, AR: 8 p.m. at Basin Park.
Fairbanks, AK: 8 p.m. at Golden Heart Plaza.
Farmington, NM: Tomorrow at 8:30 p.m. at Orchard Park.
Fayetteville, AK: 8:15 p.m. at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church.
Ferndale, MI: 8 p.m. at Ferndale City Hall.
Fitchburg, MA: Tomorrow at 8 p.m. at Upper Common.
Flint, MI: Tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. at Wilson Park.
Fort Smith, AR: 8 p.m. at Kinkead’s.
Fresno, CA: 7 p.m. at the Fresno LGBT Community Center.
Gainesville, FL: 8 p.m. at Ayers Medical Plaza.
Grand Junction, CO: 8 p.m. at Charlie Dwellington’s.
Great Falls, MT: 8 p.m. at the New Federal Courthouse.
Greensboro, NC:
Greenville, NC: Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. at Five Points Plaza.
Greenville, SC: 8 p.m. at Greenville Falls Park.
Guerneville, CA: 10 p.m. at the Main Street Bistro & Piano Bar.
Harlingen, TX: Tomorrow at 7 p.m. at the Valley AIDS Council.
Helena, MT: 8 p.m. on the Capitol Steps.
Honolulu, HI:
Houston, TX: 8 p.m. at Hermann Park.
Indianapolis, IN: 6 p.m. at the Egyptian Room.
Jacksonville, FL: 7 p.m. at Memorial Park.
Jamaica Plain, MA: 5 p.m. at the Monument.
Jersey City, NJ: Tuesday at 8 p.m. at the Newark Ave. Pedestrian Plaza.
Johnson City, TN: Tomorrow at 8 p.m. at Founder’s Park.
Kansas City, MO: 6:30 p.m. at Barney Allis Plaza.
Kingston, NY: 9 p.m. at Wall St and N. Front Street.
LaCrosse, WI: 6 p.m. at the Seven Rivers LGBTQ Connection.
Lafayette, IN: Tomorrow at 8:30 p.m. at Congress Street UMC.
Lakeland, FL: Tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. at Lake Mirror.
Lancaster, PA: 7 p.m. at Penn Square.
Lansing, MI: 6 p.m. at the State Capitol.
Las Cruces, NM: 7 p.m. at Pioneer Women’s Park.
Las Vegas, NV: 7 p.m. at the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Southern Nevada.
Lexington, KY: 8:30 p.m. at Triangle Park.
Lincoln, NE:
Long Beach, CA: 7:30 in Harvey Milk Park.
Long Island, NY: Tomorrow at 7 p.m. in Bay Shore.
Los Angeles, CA: Tomorrow at 7 p.m. at Los Angeles City Hall.
Louisville, KY: 8 p.m. candlelight vigil on both the Louisville and Jeffersonville sides of the Big Four Bridge.
Memphis, TN: 8:30 at the Memphis Gay & Lesbian Community Center.
Mexico City: 8 p.m. in front of the U.S. Embassy.
Milford, PA: 6:p.m. at the Upper Delaware LGBT Center.
Minneapolis, MN: 7 p.m. at Loring Park.
Missoula, MT: 8 p.m. on the Oval.
Nashville, TN:
Nevada City, CA: Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Robinson Plaza.
New Hope, PA: 8:30 on the Delaware.
New York, NY:
Norfolk, VA: Tomorrow at 8:30 p.m. at the LGBT Center of Hampton Roads.
Norristown, PA: Tuesday at 7:30 at the Reformed Church of the Ascension UCC.
Northampton, MA: Wednesday at 7 p.m. at City Hall.
Oakland, CA: 8 p.m. at Oscar Grant Plaza.
Oceanside, CA: 5 p.m. at the North County LGBTQ Resource Center.
Oklahoma City, OK: 7 p.m. at Freedom Oklahoma.
Omaha, NE: 8 p.m. at Dundee-Memorial Park.
Orlando, FL:
Palm Springs, CA: 6:30 p.m. at Arenas Rd.
Pensacola, FL: tomorrow at 6 p.m. at Seville Square.
Philadelphia, PA: Tomorrow at 6:30 p.m. at Philadelphia City Hall.
Pittsburgh, PA: 8 p.m. at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center.
Phoenix, AZ:
Porterville, CA: 8 p.m. at Centennial Park.
Portland, OR:
Raleigh, NC: 8 p.m. at the Legends Night Club complex.
Reno, NV: 7 p.m. at the LGBT Community Center.
Rochester, NY:
Salem, MA: 6:30 at Riley Plaza.
Salt Lake City, UT: Tomorrow at 7 p.m. at the Salt Lake City and County Building.
San Juan, PR: 7 p.m. at Centro Comunitario LGBTT de PR.
Sarasota, FL: Tomorrow at 8 p.m. at the Harvey Milk Festival, Five Points Park.
St. Louis, MO: 8:30 at the Triangle at Sarah St, Manchester Ave, and Cheauteau Ave.
San Diego, CA:
San Francisco, CA: 8 p.m. at Harvey Milk Plaza.
San Jose, CA: 5 p.m. at the Billy DeFrank LGBTQ Community Center.
Santa Barbara, CA: 7:30 at De La Guerra Park.
Santa Cruz, CA: 1 p.m. at the Town Clock.
Santa Fe, NM: Tomorrow at 6 p.m. at Santa Fe Plaza.
Seattle, WA: 8 p.m. at Cal Anderson Park.
Syracuse, NY: 6 p.m. at City Hall.
Tacoma, WA: 8 p.m. at Tollefson Plaza.
Tallahassee, FL: 7:30 at Lake Ella Park.
Tucson, AZ: 8 p.m. at Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation.
Tulsa, OK: 8:#0 p.m. at Club Majestic.
Visalia, CA: 7 p.m. at the Source LGBT+ Center.
Walnut Creek, CA: tomorrow at 6:30 at Club 1220.
Washington, DC:
West Hollywood, CA: 6 p.m. at Santa Monica Blvd and Holloway Drive near the fountain.
Wichita, KS: 7 p.m. at Pine Valley Christian Church.
Wilmington, NC: 7:30 at Costello’s Piano Bar.
Wilton Manors, FL: 5 p.m. at the Pride Center.
Winston-Salem, NC: 7 p.m. at Parkway UCC.
Worcester, MA: 7 p.m. at MB Lounge.
June 12th, 2016
Both CNN and NBC are reporting that shortly before the shooting, Omar Mateen called 911 and claimed allegiance to ISIS.
June 12th, 2016
Pride celebrations are scheduled for today in several cities including Philadelphia and Los Angeles, where police in Santa Monica found possible explosives and assault rifles and ammunition in the car of a man who said he was going to LA Pride in West Hollywood:
Early Sunday, there was a call into Santa Monica police of a suspected prowler near Olympic Boulevard and 11th Street. Patrol officers responded and encountered an individual who told officers he was waiting for a friend. That led officers to inspect the car and found several weapons a lot of ammunition as well as tannerite, an ingredient that could be used to create a pipe bomb.
The car had Indiana plates. He did make comments that he was in town for the pride event in WeHo this weekend. Source said they did not know of any connection between what happened in Orlando and the investigation has been taken over by FBI.
I’ve already seen reports of police heightening security in LA and Philly.
Featured Reports
In this original BTB Investigation, we unveil the tragic story of Kirk Murphy, a four-year-old boy who was treated for “cross-gender disturbance” in 1970 by a young grad student by the name of George Rekers. This story is a stark reminder that there are severe and damaging consequences when therapists try to ensure that boys will be boys.
When we first reported on three American anti-gay activists traveling to Kampala for a three-day conference, we had no idea that it would be the first report of a long string of events leading to a proposal to institute the death penalty for LGBT people. But that is exactly what happened. In this report, we review our collection of more than 500 posts to tell the story of one nation’s embrace of hatred toward gay people. This report will be updated continuously as events continue to unfold. Check here for the latest updates.
In 2005, the Southern Poverty Law Center wrote that “[Paul] Cameron’s ‘science’ echoes Nazi Germany.” What the SPLC didn”t know was Cameron doesn’t just “echo” Nazi Germany. He quoted extensively from one of the Final Solution’s architects. This puts his fascination with quarantines, mandatory tattoos, and extermination being a “plausible idea” in a whole new and deeply disturbing light.
On February 10, I attended an all-day “Love Won Out” ex-gay conference in Phoenix, put on by Focus on the Family and Exodus International. In this series of reports, I talk about what I learned there: the people who go to these conferences, the things that they hear, and what this all means for them, their families and for the rest of us.
Prologue: Why I Went To “Love Won Out”
Part 1: What’s Love Got To Do With It?
Part 2: Parents Struggle With “No Exceptions”
Part 3: A Whole New Dialect
Part 4: It Depends On How The Meaning of the Word "Change" Changes
Part 5: A Candid Explanation For "Change"
At last, the truth can now be told.
Using the same research methods employed by most anti-gay political pressure groups, we examine the statistics and the case studies that dispel many of the myths about heterosexuality. Download your copy today!
And don‘t miss our companion report, How To Write An Anti-Gay Tract In Fifteen Easy Steps.
Anti-gay activists often charge that gay men and women pose a threat to children. In this report, we explore the supposed connection between homosexuality and child sexual abuse, the conclusions reached by the most knowledgeable professionals in the field, and how anti-gay activists continue to ignore their findings. This has tremendous consequences, not just for gay men and women, but more importantly for the safety of all our children.
Anti-gay activists often cite the “Dutch Study” to claim that gay unions last only about 1½ years and that the these men have an average of eight additional partners per year outside of their steady relationship. In this report, we will take you step by step into the study to see whether the claims are true.
Tony Perkins’ Family Research Council submitted an Amicus Brief to the Maryland Court of Appeals as that court prepared to consider the issue of gay marriage. We examine just one small section of that brief to reveal the junk science and fraudulent claims of the Family “Research” Council.
The FBI’s annual Hate Crime Statistics aren’t as complete as they ought to be, and their report for 2004 was no exception. In fact, their most recent report has quite a few glaring holes. Holes big enough for Daniel Fetty to fall through.
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