Video | Jason Collins and Jarron Collins joke on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live'

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Jason Collins would always make excuses for why he wasn't interested in the women his twin brother and sister-in-law would set him up with on dates.

Jarron Collins still never figured out that Jason was gay.

Jarron joked Wednesday on ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live" that he missed "red flags" about Jason, who recently came out as the first active gay male athlete in one of the major U.S. sports.

The brothers, who played together at Stanford before playing in the NBA, appeared together on the show and discussed how Jason finally let Jarron know after being hesitant for so long.

"He's my best friend and any time you come out to someone, you always have that apprehension that they're going to reject, even though I knew that that wasn't going to be the case," Jason Collins said.

Jarron was supportive but said he botched his response at first, saying things such as "Are you sure?" and "Since when?"

"He's my twin brother, of course I was going to be supportive of him all the time," Jarron said.

Jarron said since Jason's announcement, he's been approached by other men asking if he is Jason. To help clear that up, Kimmel gave him a T-shirt that read: "I'm the straight one."

ACLU: Time for 'Modern Family' gay couple to wed

ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK -- The ACLU is lobbying for the gay couple on "Modern Family" to get married.

ACLU Action started a campaign to urge the show's producers to write a wedding episode for Mitchell and Cameron, fathers of an adopted child and one of three couples at the heart of the show.

The ACLU says it is appealing to the fictional family to draw more attention to the real issue as it awaits Supreme Court decisions on two important marriage equality cases.

"Mitch and Cam are a couple that America has come to know and love, and seeing them get married, and seeing the characters in the story grapple with their desire to get married, makes it real for a bigger part of America," said James Esseks, director of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Project at the ACLU.

Supporters are invited to "RSVP" to the wedding online. The ACLU plans to deliver the online "guest list" to the show's producers but said it had not yet contacted the show.

Esseks said the petition was a departure for the group, but that along with filing lawsuits, lobbying for bills or organizing ballot initiatives, the group saw public education and changing the culture as part of its mission. He applauded what "Modern Family" has done already for public perception of gay couples.

"It's a popular show, they're a lovable, very real couple, and it would be great to see them walk down the aisle," he said.

ABC referred questions to 20th Century Fox Studios, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Show creator Steven Levitan tweeted a link to the campaign with a simple "Wow." Jessie Tyler Ferguson, who plays Mitchell, tweeted: "Love this! Thank you ACLU! Maybe once Prop 8 is overturned!"

Video | 'My Boyfriend is Gay' by Hailey Rowe, who performs this week at Driven Music Conference

Singer Hailey Rowe, whose YouTube hit, My Boyfriend is Gay, has had more than 150,000 views since Feb. 1, performs this week at Driven Music Conference in Fort Lauderdale.

Click here for more information.

'Do it all': Singer Lorna Luft, Judy Garland's younger daughter, offers advice for going into show business

Jared Kenwood, a journalism student at Broward College, recently interviewed singer Lorna Luft, one week before she began treatment for breast cancer.

Luft, Judy Garland's younger daughter, spoke to Kenwood March 19 at Kravis Center for the Performing Arts in West Palm Beach, where she performed her tribute show, Songs My Mother Taught Me.

“If you want to go into this business, you have to learn to do it all. Don’t learn how to be vocal aerobics and stand on a stage and not do anything else but that. There is something in between the songs called dialogue and you have to be an actor and learn how to be choreographed,” Luft told Kenwood.

Click here to read more at The Judy Garland Experience website.

Gallery | Brunch at Biltmore, final screenings mark close of 15th annual Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Fest

The 15th annual Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival wrapped up Sunday with an awards brunch at The Biltmore in Coral Gables. Here are the winners:

HBO Latin America Audience Awards:

Best Short Film
"Dirty Talk"
Jeff Sumner director

Best Documentary
"The Rugby Player"
Scott Gracheff director

Best Feature
"Out in the Dark"
Michael Mayer director

Special mention to "Hot Guys with Guns" directed by Doug Spearman

HBO Latin America Juried Awards

Best Short
"Jackpot"
Adam Baran director

Best Documentary
"Valentine Road"
Marta Cunningham director

Special mention to "Wilderness" Wu Tsang director

Best Feature
"Pit Stop"
Yen Tan director

Later, several screenings took place at Coral Gables Art Cinema and O Cinema Miami Shores.

Click here to view pictures of the brunch and later screenings at O Cinema of the films Pit Stop and La Partida (sneak preview). Photos by STEVE ROTHAUS / Miami Herald Staff.

Gallery | 'Hot Guys With Guns' is closing night film at 15th annual Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival

Closing night film of the 15th annual Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival: Hot Guys With Guns by writer-director Doug Spearman.

Spearman and several members of the company attended the screening Saturday at the Colony Theatre on Lincoln Road in Miami Beach. Afterward, they attended a closing night party at the National Hotel on Collins Avenue.

Above: Actors Chad Strawn, Brian McArdle, Marc Anthony Samuel, Spearman, executive producer Joel Heisey and Darryl Stephens.

 

Saturday's screening was sponsored by Bear Nation.

Click here to view more pictures from closing night. Photos by STEVE ROTHAUS / Miami Herald Staff.

Billy Bean: It’s Jason Collins’ story, but it’s our day

BY BILLY BEAN

When I awoke early Monday morning, there were 25 text messages waiting on my phone. My heart raced, wondering if something awful had happened in my family.

My friends were asking how I felt about the big news: NBA center Jason Collins, in an act of courage and grace, had come out as gay.

Over the past dozen years, I have answered the same question a thousand times. “When will an active male athlete in one of the four major professional sports come out?” Over and over, I said the same thing. “I’m hopeful it will happen soon, but I honestly don’t know.”

Since I, a retired major league ballplayer, came out as a gay man in late 1999 while living in Miami Beach, the world has changed dramatically. The military’s don’t ask/don’t tell policy was scrapped. Marriage equality advanced in the courts and at the ballot box. But no active professional athlete in baseball, basketball, football or hockey had announced they were gay.

Until now.

Click here to read more.

Liza Minnelli poses for NOH8 campaign portrait in support of gay marriage equality

News release from Liza Minnelli:

May 3, 2012 – New York, NY -- The legendary Liza Minnelli was the latest celebrity to support the acclaimed NOH8 campaign. Liza’s NOH8 portrait was unveiled today by the organization whose mission is to promote equality through visual protest.

The NOH8 Campaign is a photographic silent protest created in direct response to the passage of California’s Proposition 8 which amended the state Constitution to ban same-sex marriage. Photos feature subjects with tape over their mouths, symbolizing their voices being silenced by Prop 8 and similar legislation around the world, with “NOH8” painted on one cheek in protest.

When Liza was asked her message for the LGBT community she responded, “Here’s what I believe … no shame, no blame, no guilt. Try and be happy. And be who you are. I love you.”

Photo by Adam Bouska courtesy of NOH8 Campaign.

Gallery | Entin twins of South Florida debut new film, 'Geography Club,' at Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Fest

Twins Edmund and Gary Entin, who grew up in South Florida, presented their new film, Geography Club, Thursday night at the Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival.

Edmund wrote the screenplay; Gary directed. The Entin twins, 27, are gay and now live in Los Angeles. They are sons of well-known Fort Lauderdale attorney Alvin Entin.

After the screening Gary and Edmund (and two of the film's producers) answered questions from the audience at O Cinema in Miami Shores. The twins posed with members of the Alliance For LGBTQ Youth in North Miami, the community sponsor of Thursday's presentation.

From the Geography Club website:

Based on Brent Hartinger's best-selling critically acclaimed novel, Geography Club is a smart, fast, and funny account of contemporary teenagers as they discover their own sexual identities, dreams, and values. 16-year old Russell is still going on dates with girls while having a secret relationship with football quarterback Kevin, who will do anything to prevent his football teammates from finding out. Min and Terese tell everyone that they're just really good friends. And then there's Ike who can't figure out who he is or who he wants to be. Finding the truth too hard to hide, they all decide to form the Geography Club, thinking nobody else in their right mind would ever want to join. However, their secrets may soon be discovered and they could have to face the choice of revealing who they really are.

The film is produced by Michael Huffington (Arianna's ex) and presented by Shoreline Entertainment.

The film festival continues through Sunday. Click here for program information.

Click here for more pictures from Thursday's screening. Photos by STEVE ROTHAUS / Miami Herald Staff.

Gallery | 'I Do' tackles immigration equality, is Centerpiece at Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival

Hundreds packed O Cinema Miami Shores Wednesday night for the Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival's Centerpiece screening, I Do, a movie about immigration equality starring screenwriter David W Ross and Jamie-Lynn Sigler.

Ross, who received the 2013 festival's Rising Star Award, attended the screening and answered questions (above with festival director Franc Castro, center, and I Do producer Stephen Israel).

Click here for more pictures from the screening and reception afterward. Photos by STEVE ROTHAUS / Miami Herald Staff.