Videos | Alaska group responds to 'unacceptably offensive and distorted cartoon ads of gay and transgender individuals'

News release from Yes On Proposition 5 – One Anchorage in Alaska:

Yes On Proposition 5 – One Anchorage Campaign Responds to Stigmatizing Cartoons of Gay and Transgender Individuals

Anchorage, Alaska – Today, supporters of Proposition 5 released a response ad to the opposition group depicting unacceptably offensive and distorted cartoon ads of gay and transgender individuals.

In the last two weeks, ads paid for and produced by those opposing Proposition 5 -  Jim Minnery, “Protect Your Rights”, and Glenn Clary and Jerry Prevo’s Anchorage Baptist Temple’s “Protect your Freedoms” have made false claims about the legal effects of Proposition 5. Moreover, the TV versions of these ads contain highly offensive cartoon imagery which seeks to dehumanize and demean our transgender friends, family and neighbors.

The Yes On Proposition 5 – One Anchorage campaign has called for the offensive ads opposing Proposition 5 to be removed from all broadcast and internet media immediately.

To support or learn more about the Yes On Proposition 5 – One Anchorage campaign please visit www.oneanchorage.com.

From Yes on Proposition 5's website:

The One Anchorage Initiative simply provides to gay and transgender Alaskans the same legal protections that we already provide to other persons in Anchorage in employment, financial practices, housing, and restaurants, department stores and other businesses.

Here are the ads that have outraged Yes on Proposition 5:

Feminist poet and essayist Adrienne Rich dies at 82

ASSOCIATED PRESS

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. -- Adrienne Rich, a fiercely gifted, award-winning poet whose socially conscious verse influenced a generation of feminist, gay rights and anti-war activists, has died. She was 82.

Rich died Tuesday at her Santa Cruz home from complications from rheumatoid arthritis, said her son, Pablo Conrad. She had lived in Santa Cruz since the 1980s.

Through her writing, Rich explored topics such as women's rights, racism, sexuality, economic justice and love between women.

Rich published more than a dozen volumes of poetry and five collections of nonfiction. She won a National Book Award for her collection of poems "Diving into the Wreck" in 1974, when she read a statement written by herself and fellow nominees Alice Walker and Audre Lorde, "refusing the terms of patriarchal competition and declaring that we will share this prize among us, to be used as best we can for women."

Click here to read the complete article.

HRC: Rick Santorum tells boy not to use pink bowling ball

News release from HRC, Human Rights Campaign:

Washington – At a campaign event at a bowling alley in Wisconsin today, GOP presidential hopeful Rick Santorum told a boy who reached for a pink bowling ball: “You’re not gonna use the pink ball. We're not gonna let you do that. Not on camera.” Santorum went on to say “Friends don’t let friends use pink balls.” The comments were tweeted by Reuters reporter Sam Youngman.

“This is another example of Rick Santorum intentionally making ignorant statements that have a real impact on LGBT people,” said HRC Vice President of Communications Fred Sainz. “Whether he’s comparing our marriages to inanimate objects, saying our children would be better off with a parent in prison as opposed to two loving same-sex parents, or calling open military service a ‘tragic social experiment;’ he’s proven that he thinks LGBT people are second-class citizens not worthy of dignity or respect. In this case, he’s advancing tired gender norms by implying a boy should be ashamed or embarrassed to use a certain color bowling ball.”

Santorum’s anti-LGBT record speaks for itself: in addition to his frequent and vitriolic remarks about issues like marriage equality or LGBT families, he consistently voted against workplace protections while serving in the U.S. Senate, and was an early and vocal supporter of the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act.

“Kids have enough to worry about,” added Sainz. “They don’t need Rick Santorum telling them that using a pink bowling ball is a bad thing.”

The Human Rights Campaign is America's largest civil rights organization working to achieve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality. By inspiring and engaging all Americans, HRC strives to end discrimination against LGBT citizens and realize a nation that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all.

'What Are We Waiting For' | Danny Rose 'marriage proposal video to the love of my life'

Posted to YouTube Tuesday by Danny Rose:

This is my marriage proposal video to the love of my life. I cant imagine anyone telling us we cannot get married! The song is available on iTunes and 100% of the profits will go to marriage equality. Please enjoy and share and comment!

http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/what-are-we-waiting-for-single/id512975897

Neo-Nazi killing of gay man moves Chile toward law

ASSOCIATED PRESS

SANTIAGO, Chile -- Prosecutors in Chile asked for murder charges Wednesday in the death of a young gay man whose attackers brutally beat him and carved swastikas into his body.

Daniel Zamudio died Tuesday night, 25 days after he was attacked. The case has prompted a national debate in Chile over hate crimes, with President Sebastian Pinera saying from Asia that his government won't rest until a proposed anti-discrimination law is passed.

Four suspects have been jailed on attempted murder charges, some of whom already have criminal records for attacks on gays.

Hours after Zamudio's death, prosecutor Ernesto Vazquez formally requested that the charges be changed to premeditated murder, carrying maximum life sentences if convicted. He said the attack was clearly motivated by homophobia.

Click here to read the complete article.

Bruce Weber's new homoerotic Abercrombie & Fitch ad features young men in a shower, kissing

Click above to view Bruce Weber's new homoerotic Abercrombie & Fitch ad, Other Sports Require One Ball. The features young men disrobing in a shower, kissing.

Gallery | Miami Beach Gay Pride bachelor auction featuring dancers from Swinging Richards

Miami Beach Gay Pride raised hundreds of dollars Tuesday night with its fourth annual bachelor auction at MOVA lounge in Miami Beach.

Above, emcee Thomas Barker inspects one of the contestants, a dancer from Swinging Richards in North Miami Beach. Music provided by DJ AJ Reddy.

Click the photo to view a safe-for-work gallery from the auction. Photos by STEVE ROTHAUS / Miami Herald Staff.

Military academies hold first gay pride events

BY WILSON RING, ASSOCIATED PRESS

NORTHFIELD, Vt. -- At the beginning of the school year, gay pride events at a military academy with titles like "condom Olympics" and "queer prom" would have been unthinkable. This week, they're a reality.

Cadets in uniform at Norwich University, the nation's oldest private military academy, participated Monday in sessions about handling bullying and harassment as part of the school's first gay pride week. The events are believed to be the first of their kind on a military campus.

Just over six months after the end of the "don't ask, don't tell" rule that prohibited gays and lesbians from serving openly in the armed forces, it's a different - and less secretive - world.

Click here to read the complete article.

4th annual Miami Beach Gay Pride bachelor auction Tuesday night at MOVA lounge off Lincoln Road

From MOVA lounge:

The 4th Annual Miami Beach Gay Pride Bachelor Auction!

TONIGHT | 9 p.m. | at MOVA

Bid on South Florida's hottest bachelors and the gorgeous men of Swinging Richards!

All in support of Miami Beach Gay Pride 2012!

Hosted by GRINDR | Emceed by Thomas Barker

$7 Grindr Cocktails All Night Long - Anyway you like it!

Broward Sheriff's Capt. Rick Wierzbicki wins ADL Excellence in Law Enforcement Award

Broward Sheriff's Capt. Rick Wierzbicki has won the Anti-Defamation League Doris and Murray Felton Excellence in Law Enforcement Award.

From the Florida ADL award letter to Wierzbicki:

Your extraordinary efforts in combatting hate crimes and bullying in Broward County exemplifies an ongoing commitment to make your community a better place to live and work. The committee was extremely impressed with your credentials for this award, including your appointment to oversee BSO’s first Hate Crimes/Anti-Bias Task Force, your acceptance of the Community Alliance Award by the Dolphin Democrats of Broward County, and your work with the Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center to screen the film Bullied in several Broward County venues to raise awareness of the scourge of anti-Gay bullying in the school system.

We concur with Sheriff Al Lamberti, who nominated you for this honor, on your unwavering dedication and involvement with various initiatives. It is clear from his nomination narrative that your efforts are highly respected and appreciated amongst both your colleagues and the community at-large. This underscores the importance of how each person can make a significant difference in fostering better community relations through authentic and timely actions.

Wierzbicki will receive his award April 3 during the Florida ADL’s regional board meeting at the Westin Hotel in Fort Lauderdale.

Here is the complete letter: