GLAAD names Brett Ratner straight ally of the year (with video)

Miami Beach-born director Brett Ratner has been named straight ally of the year by GLAAD, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.

A big comeback for Ratner, who resigned as producer of the 2012 Oscars after telling an audience that “rehearsing is for fags.” He quickly apologized and said he’d make pro-gay public-service videos for GLSEN, the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network.

Ratner will be honored March 16 in New York, the same night Madonna presents a GLAAD special award to Anderson Cooper.

Adam Lambert to headline Miami Beach Gay Pride

From Miami Beach Gay Pride:

Glamberts rejoice! Adam Lambert will be the headline performer at the Fifth Annual Miami Beach Gay Pride Parade and Festival, Sunday, April 14, 2013. He will perform for Pride-goers from the Main Stage in Lummus Park just off Ocean Drive between 11th and 12th Streets. His performance is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m.

A finalist on the eighth season of the immensely popular American Idol, Lambert's 2009 album For Your Entertainment debuted at #3 on the Billboard Top 200, Top 10 in numerous countries worldwide and featured the singles "For Your Entertainment," "Whataya Want from Me" and "If I Had You." The album has gone on to sell more than two million copies and nearly five million singles worldwide. Soon after the album release, Lambert headlined a worldwide concert tour, Glam Nation, becoming the first American Idol contestant to immediately tour worldwide. Lambert's 2012 album Trespassing bettered his first album by debuting at #1 on the Billboard Top 200 chart - making Lambert the first openly gay artist with an album at the top of the charts.

Lambert has an over-the-top, theatrical performance style and a powerful, technically skilled tenor voice with a three-octave range. He has received numerous awards and nominations, including a Grammy Award nomination in 2011 for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. Lambert joined forces as lead vocalist with the legendary band Queen for a sold-out 2012 tour across Europe and the United Kingdom. Lambert has also established himself as one of the few high-profile Western acts across Asia with recent TV performances on the finale of "The Voice of China" and the MNET Music awards, reaching more than three billion viewers. Most recently, Lambert was the host and headline performer of the 2012 VH1 "Divas," which was broadcast live from Los Angeles.

As one of the first Pride events of the year, Miami Beach Gay Pride is extremely excited to have Lambert as part of the fifth annual celebration, said Babak Movahedi, chair of the Pride board of directors. "In five short years, Miami Beach Gay Pride has gone from a neighborhood event to an event on the global stage. The fact that someone of Adam Lambert's caliber is enthusiastic about performing at Miami Beach Gay Pride speaks volumes about the significance of our events," he said.
In addition to Lambert's participation, Movahedi said the diverse, week-long line-up of Pride activities speaks to the rising popularity of the event. "Pride is a celebration for the whole community," Movahedi said. "It's gratifying to realize that Miami Beach Gay Pride has grown so exponentially and attracts not only locals but also visitors who travel here to experience our Pride."

The expanded schedule of events starts with a rainbow flag raising ceremony on Monday, April 8, at Miami Beach City Hall, followed by a reception honoring Miami Beach Pride's founders and Pride's Legacy Couples, partners who have been together for 20 years and longer. Pride Week culminates on Sunday, April 14, with the festival starting at 11 a.m. and the parade kicking off at noon.

In between, other Pride events include an outdoor family movie night, three events exclusively for women, a block party and an afternoon beach party. Internationally renowned DJs spinning for Pride dance parties include Joe Gauthreaux, Tony Moran, Theresa, Manny Lehman, Peter Rauhofer, Abel, Juan Carlos "JC," Frankken, Delma, Grind, Hans, Paulo and Jackinsky.

The mission of Miami Beach Gay Pride is to bring together members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community, their friends, allies, and supporters in celebration of the unique spirit and culture of the LGBT community by producing free, safe, quality mass-appeal events that are open to all, including the Parade, Festival and allied Miami Beach Pride sanctioned events. Miami Beach Gay Pride is produced with the support of the Miami Beach Visitors and Convention Authority. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.miamibeachgaypride.com.

Steve Rothaus, Daniel Shoer Roth to guest noon Friday on The Florida Roundup, WLRN 91.3FM

Join me at noon today on The Florida Roundup, WLRN 91.3FM.

Host Phil Latzman's guests today also include Michael Grunwald of Time magazine and Daniel Shoer Roth of El Nuevo Herald.

Listeners can join the conversation by:

• phone at (800) 743-WLRN or (800) 743-9576,
• email thefloridaroundup@gmail.com,
• post on our Facebook page or
• tweet @WLRN.

Video | russmarine2014: 'Boyfriend Tag'

russmarine2014 has a YouTube channel about "Your Favorite Gay Marine." More than 10,000 subscribers follow the channel.

Wednesday, Russ posted a video title "Boyfriend Tag," which already has had nearly 24,000 views. He and Matt tell how they met and about their relationship.

Bill Clinton: Court should nix anti-gay marriage law

ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON -- Former President Bill Clinton is calling on the Supreme Court to overturn a law he signed that bars federal recognition of same-sex marriages.

Clinton says the Defense of Marriage Act is incompatible with the Constitution. He says he signed the law in 1996 to avoid legislation that would have been even worse for gays.

Clinton writes in a Washington Post op-ed that American society has changed. He says he now realizes the law discriminates against gays and provides an excuse for others to discriminate, too.

The Obama administration has stopped defending the law in court, and the Supreme Court is expected to take up a challenge to it later this month.

Separately, the high court is also considering whether California's gay marriage ban should stand.

Mexico's top court: Anti-gay terms are hate speech

BY OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ, ASSOCIATED PRESS

MEXICO CITY -- Mexico's Supreme Court has ruled that two anti-gay words commonly used in Mexico are hate speech and not protected as freedom of expression under the country's constitution, allowing those offended by them to sue for moral damages.

The magistrates voted 3-2 late Wednesday in favor of a journalist from the central city of Puebla who in 2010 sued a reporter at a different newspaper who had written a column referring to him as "punal" and others at the plaintiff's newspaper as "maricones." Both words roughly translate into "faggot."

The majority said the terms are offensive and discriminatory.

"Even though they are deeply rooted expressions in Mexican society, the fact is that the practices of the majority of society can't validate the violations of basic right," their opinion said.

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