Bachmann, Romney, Santorum and Pawlenty Sign NOM Marriage Pledge

The National Organization for Marriage has release a anti-gay marriage pledge it is asking politicans to sign. So far, GOP Presidential hopefuls of Michelle Bachmann, Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum and Tim Pawlenty are said to have signed on. The pledge calls for on the candidates to:
1. Support a federal amendment to eliminate gay marriage
2. Appoint anti-gay judges
3. Defend DOMA
4. Create a commission to investigate the harassment of anti-gay Christians
5. Abolish gay marriage in DC

The pledge is so hateful the Log Cabin Republicans denouced it right away:



Michelle Bachman's signed pledge:NOM Hate Pledge

NOM's Chairwomen Maggie Gallagher On GOP Anti-Gay Marriage Pledge:


Here NOM's President Brian Brown tries to justify the pledge with his ridiculous ramblings on gay adoption and the Chatholic Church.....somehow he ties that to marriage....yeah, exactly...WTF.

LGBT History Month

Love - Kenneth Cole Gay Billboard

Drivers caught in traffic on New York's Westside Highway could ponder this political statement in a billboard sponsored by Kenneth Cole.

NABJ's LGBT Task Force Reception

From NLGJA to the National Black Journalist Association (NABJ) - which is currently in Philadelphia for its national convention. The LGBT Task Force of NABJ teamed up with the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation to talk about "What's New" in gay Philadelphia for 2012. One of Philadelphia's premier dance troops - Philadanco - performed at the event.









Photos by M. Edlow for GPTMC

Eddie Elias Remixes Kwanza Jones

Here is a new mix from Eddie Elias to get your Friday going.

Dear Packing for NLGJA

The National Lesbian and Gay Journalist Association will hold its annual convention in Philadelphia on August 25-28, 2011. The above email went out to NLGJA's member giving some reasons to come early or stay late.

Last "Pink Triangles" Survivor Dies

Rudolf Brazda, last known survivor of the so-called "Pink Triangles" -- gays interned in Nazi camps because of their homosexuality -- died in France Wednesday aged 98, officials said.

Straight Pride called for in San Paulo

Well, you knew it was coming and why not?

The city council of South America's biggest city has adopted legislation calling for a Heterosexual Pride Day to be celebrated on the third Sunday of each December.

Sao Paulo Mayor Gilberto Kassab must sign the legislation for it to become law and has said only that he is studying it. His office declined Wednesday to say whether he supports the proposal.

The legislation's author, Carlos Apolinario, said the idea for a Heterosexual Pride Day is "not anti-gay but a protest against the privileges the gay community enjoys."

As an example, he mentioned how Sao Paulo's huge gay pride day parade is held every year on Paulista Avenue, one of the main thoroughfares in this city of 20 million people, while the March for Jesus organized by evangelical groups is not allowed on the same avenue.

"I respect gays and I am against any kind of aggression made against them," Apolinario said. "I have no trouble coexisting with gays as long as their behavior is normal."

The Brazilian Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Association criticized the legislation, saying it could provoke homophobic violence.

"How many LGBTs will be attacked because of the message that only heterosexuality makes someone a moral person and a good citizen," the association said in a statement.

"The celebration of heterosexual pride is inappropriate because it belittles the just cause of the LGBT community," the statement added. "Unlike homosexuals, heterosexuals are not discriminated against simply for being heterosexuals."

In a recent report, the gay rights group Grupo Gay da Bahia said 260 gays were murdered last year in Brazil, up 113 percent from five years earlier. (ap)

1st International Family Equality Day planned for 2012 in Philly

Gay and Lesbian family equality activists from around the world, led by Family Equality Council, the Network of European LGBT Families Associations (NELFA) and the Canadian LGBT Parenting Network, will establish the first "International Family Equality Day" (IFED) in Philadelphia on May 6, 2012.

IFED will partner with R Family Vacation which has a weekend get-away planned in Philadelphia at that time. The group meet this past July during R Family Vacation's Club Med excursion in July. At that meeting, parents from around the world shared what it is like to be an LGBT family in their respective countries. Organizers felt that meeting was so successful and necessary that an annual event was in order.

Nightlifegay.com presents "On the Gaydar" - August 2011

We can't believe that Labor Day is only a few weeks away. With summer vacations winding down and the fall event season inching closer each day, August is typically a slow month for gay Philly. But this year appears to be an exception to that rule - as evidenced by the diverse range of events from which we had to select for this month's edition of Nightlifegay.com presents "On the Gaydar" in the Philadelphia Weekly.

After careful consideration, we settled on 4 priority recommendations for August 2011-

1) ASANA's "Bring the Love" National Softball Tournament
2) Bar AIDS Philly
3) Boys of Summer
4) Gay Community Night at the Phillies

We didn't include the highly anticipated events being put together by local LGBT leaders and businesses for the 2011 National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association Annual Convention, taking place from August 25th - 28th at the Loews Hotel Philadelphia. We'll release more details about those special events closer to the date! Check out www.nlgja.org to learn more!!

"Open Air" Light Display To Hit Philly In 2012

Open Air will be the world premiere of an interactive public art project created specifically for Philadelphia by acclaimed new media artist Rafael Lozano-Hemmer. Using a free custom-made mobile app, participants will use their voices and GPS positions to activate 24 powerful robotic searchlights placed along a halfmile
section of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway - creating enormous three-dimensional light formations in the night sky. Open Air celebrates Philadelphia’s democratic potential, and notions of tolerance, participation, bottom-up control, and the sense of public agency.

WHEN & WHEREOpen Air will be the kick-off event of the 2012 Philadelphia Live Arts & Philly Fringe Festival. The project will be seen and activated within a 10-mile radius of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway each evening from
8-11pm during the month of September. The artwork will be physically located between 21st and 24th streets on the Parkway, and a project headquarters will also be located in this area.

ARTIST
Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, an internationally recognized Mexican-Canadian artist, has produced large-scale interactive art installations across the globe including at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics and the Light in Winter Festival in Melbourne, Australia. He also represented Mexico in the 2007 Venice Biennale.

HOW IT WORKS
A computer program automatically analyzes Open Air app users’ GPS positions and voices for frequency, intonation, and volume, and converts these characteristics into searchlight formations in the sky over the Parkway. The resulting light array will be unique because everyone’s voice is different, and the lights react in
brightness and position to the different words being spoken. (The effect is similar to how a graphic equalizer shows that a sound wave is made out of a unique pattern of different frequencies.)

GLAAD Releases Network Responsibility Index

The fifth annual GLAAD Network Responsibility Index is an evaluation of the quantity, quality and diversity of images of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people on television. It is intended to serve as a road map toward increasing fair, accurate and inclusive LGBT media representations.

Primetime programming on the five broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, The CW, Fox and NBC) was evaluated as well as 10 highly-rated cable networks (A&E, ABC Family, AMC, FX, HBO, Showtime, Syfy, TBS, TNT and USA). Based on the analysis, a grade was assigned to each network: Excellent, Good, Adequate, or Failing.

Key findings From the GLAAD Network Responsibility Index include:

•This year, ABC Family becomes the second network, cable or broadcast, to receive an "Excellent" rating in this report due to the quality and diversity of its many LGBT impressions. Of the 10 cable networks evaluated, ABC Family posted the largest increase (+18%) and ranked highest for LGBT-inclusive original content. Out of 103 total hours of original primetime programming, 56.5 (55%) hours included LGBT impressions. ABC Family was also the most racially diverse this year, with 35% white impressions, 25% black, 13% Latino/a, and 28% multiracial.

•Compared to last year's NRI, GLAAD has found that the five major broadcast networks have all remained relatively steady in the percentage of LGBT-inclusive hours found in their primetime programming. There has been no change in their rankings relative to one another based on these figures, though The CW, Fox, and ABC all experienced slight declines, while NBC and CBS both experienced slight increases. ABC saw the greatest decline at -3%, while CBS saw greatest increase at +3%.

•For the second year in a row, The CW is the top broadcast network in this report with 171 (33%) LGBT-inclusive hours out of 521 total hours of original programming. Last year, The CW reached 35% LGBT-inclusive hours, which remains the highest percentage ever recorded for a broadcast network since this report's inception. The CW's programming also reflected the second greatest racial/ethnic diversity among its LGBT impressions of all the broadcast networks.

•Once again, ABC had to settle for third place behind The CW and Fox in terms of the percentage of its LGBT-inclusive primetime hours. However, ABC led all the broadcast networks in total hours of LGBT inclusion. Of the 1108 total tracked hours of primetime programming, 253 (23%) included LGBT impressions.

•For the third year in a row, CBS remains in last place among the broadcast networks. Since GLAAD began the NRI, CBS has demonstrated the least overall improvement over a five year period. This year however, it posted the largest gain of any network with a modest 3% increase; 114 (10%) LGBT-inclusive hours of programming out of 1110 hours total. Because of this, CBS' score was raised from "Failing" to "Adequate."

•Showtime made a stronger showing this year with 35.5 (37%) LGBT-inclusive hours out of 96.5 total. Though it didn't feature the most racially diverse range of impressions (85% white), it did include a strong showing for both lesbians (54%) and bisexuals (48%) in its LGBT-inclusive hours.

•Another network that showed improvement was USA, which increased from 4% LGBT-inclusive hours to 18% thanks to the upgrading of Diana Berrigan on White Collar to regular status. This improvement moves USA from a score of "Failing" to "Adequate."

•A&E and TBS continue to reside at the bottom of our rankings and earn "Failing" grades with only 5% LGBT-inclusive programming hours each. Those numbers are a slight improvement over the 2% and 1% they respectively posted in last year's NRI.

Gay Marriage will be a focus of 2012 Presidential race

Have you ever been at a party and overheard a group of people talking about you - as if you're not in the room? It's a little irritating and awkward because they know you've been listening.

That's the feeling I get when a room full of straight politicians start talking about the merits of gay marriage. There's nothing quite like waiting for the "majority" to decide when it's appropriate to extend civil rights to a "minority" group. Not only do they speak in sweeping generalizations that meld very different segments of the LGBT umbrella (totally disregarding diversity within our community), but they dehumanize our civil rights in an attempt to justify overtly discriminatory policy positions.

If you're like me, you're not particularly excited about the gradual ramp-up to the 2012 Presidential election that will kick into high gear immediately after Labor Day. As the Washington Post reported today, gay marriage will be one of the top domestic policy issues in play. That means all the republican candidates will rhetorically compete for the best anti-gay sound byte during the primary campaign. And the general election will feature President Obama trying to navigate the gay marriage mine field by showing enough support not alienate gay voters - while his opponent will proclaim like a broken record that gay marriage is evil, and that granting equal rights to tax paying adults (who happen to be gay) will trigger the apocalypse. To say that I'm less than enthusiastic about the infuriating way this is likely to play out is a gross understatement. What are your thoughts?

Heated Debate at NAACP's LGBT Town Hall Meeting

No More Down Low captured the NAACP's LGBT Town Hall meeting which became very interesting after Don Lemon and Wanda Sites talked to the crowd.
(fyi: Yesterday, we reported the "T" in LGBT was not included)

The debate got heated when the current NAACP president Benjamin Jealous is asked how can the LGBT community take the NAACP seriously when its current board members are out saying gay rights are not civil rights...referring to current NAACP board member Rev. Keith Ratliff recent statement "Gay community stop hijacking the civil rights movement."

Jealous responded by saying the gay community should take the NAACP seriously because the NAACP was there with the Human Rights Campaign helping to pass the Matthew Shepard / James Byrd Hate Crimes Bill. He continued to site the NAACP's help with fighting Prop 8 in California as well as fighting alongside the LGBT community in Maine, Massachusetts, in Washington D.C. and in Maryland, and in other places.

Jealous also said the gay community came to the black community late in the game with an expectation and that they were not treated with the same respect as others. Saying the LGBT community needs to show up early, organize and build relationships in the community.

This of course prompted another question by the audience member as to why the gay community had to come to the black community?....why couldn't the black community come to the aid of the gay community?

Check it out.

Suquamish Indian Tribe Approves Gay Marriage

Yesterday, the Suquamish Tribal Council formally changed its ordinances to extend marriage rights to same-sex couples. The Suquamish ordinance means gay couples are afforded all the rights heterosexual couples are allowed on the reservation and other places in which gay marriages are allowed.

The Suquamish are a Lushootseed-speaking Native American tribe, located in present-day Washington in the United States. Like many Northwest Coast natives, the Suquamish relied on fishing from local rivers and Puget Sound for food. They built plank longhouses to protect themselves from the wet winters west of the Cascade Mountains.

The Suquamish traditionally lived on the western shores of Puget Sound, from Apple Tree Cove in the north to Gig Harbor in the south, including Bainbridge Island and Blake Island. During the summer, the Suquamish were widely dispersed, but during the winter, they lived in a winter village centered around Old Man House, the largest longhouse on Puget Sound.

Photo: Suquamish woman photographed by Edward S. Curtis in 1913.

Miami Beach to pay $75,000 for wrongful arrest of gay man

A settlement was reached in a lawsuit against the City of Miami Beach and two Miami Beach police officers. Harold Strickland was wrongfully arrested in March 2009 in retaliation for calling 911 to report that two Miami Beach police officers were beating and kicking a man who lay handcuffed on the ground near Flamingo Park.

“For years, the ACLU has received reports about two systemic problems with the Miami Beach police: the harassment of gay men in and around Flamingo Park, and the retaliation against persons reporting police misconduct,” said ACLU of Florida LGBT Staff Attorney Shelbi Day. “We are hopeful that this settlement marks a turning point for the City of Miami Beach in seriously addressing these chronic problems.”

The settlement reached today requires the City of Miami Beach to pay Harold Strickland $75,000 which includes attorneys’ fees, as well as enact new policies regarding the reporting of police misconduct. The city will also implement specific trainings for new police officers addressing the harassment of gay men by police in and around Flamingo Park, as well as the rights of citizens to document police behavior.

In March 2009, Strickland was walking in South Beach and talking to his sister on his cell phone when he saw two men – undercover Miami Beach police officers Frankly Forte and Eliut Hazzi – chase, tackle, and beat a young gay Hispanic man in a parking lot next to Flamingo Park. Strickland hung up with his sister and called 911 to report the attack.

When the officers saw Mr. Strickland, they approached him, took his cell phone, and arrested him on charges of loitering and prowling and claimed he was trying to break into cars – a claim refuted by Strickland’s 911 call. On the way to the police station, officers Hazzi and Forte hurled anti-gay epithets at a handcuffed Mr. Strickland and suggested that he could be made to “disappear.”

Trans People of Color Coalition Protests NAACP

One week ago, the NAACP held its first LGBT Forum as part of their 102nd Annual Convention in Los Angeles. The NAACP preaches its commitment to inclusion and diversity across all demographics within the black community. However, the country's "oldest and largest civil rights organization" included no transsexual people of color in the forum and addressed no trans-specific issues.

But the most glaring absence, in the opinion of Kylar Broadus from the Trans People of Color Coalition, was a discussion of the economic struggles of trans people of color. According to the National Center for Transgender Equality, trans people of color "live in extreme poverty with 34% reporting (annual) income of less than $34,000." It appears that this high rate of poverty is due in large part to unemployment that results from simultaneous racial and gender discrimination. 32% of trans people of color said they lost their job due to bias or discrimination. Those numbers are shocking, and they should bring discrimination of trans people of color to the top of the NAACP's list of policy priorities. If an organization touts "inclusion" as their guiding principle, they can't choose to exclude certain members of the black community - or ignore the severity of discrimination they experience, and its associated effects on quality of life.

Join the Trans People of Color Coalition in protesting the NAACP's behavior at last week's LGBT forum by writing a letter to Chairman Ben Jealous at their National Headquarters in Baltimore. Make sure you cite the 102nd NAACP Annual Convention, LGBT Forum in the subject line. Here is the mailing address:

Chairman Ben Jealous
NAACP
National Headquarters
4805 Mount Hope Drive
Baltimore, MD 21215

Beth Ditto Vogues in Moscow Gay Club

This is why I am such a big fan of Beth Ditto! The former Gossip lead singer was in a Moscow gay club where she performed Vogue in her underwear! Madonna's manager, Guy Oseary, tweeted Madonna thought Beth was great....check it out.


Also very Madonna like:

So you think you got moves?

American junior wrestler Ellis Coleman performing an amazing wresting move called "the flying squirrel" at the junior world championships. Check it out.



I love how expressionless his face is afterward.....like he routinely busts that move out!

Gayborhood Games returns September 17th

Calling all comedians, vocalists, drag queens, bartenders and chefs - the Gayborhood Games is returning on September 17th. Each year, the Gayborhood Games searches for "The Best" in these categories....since you all no how I hate those fake lists put out each year. If you are interested in competing please email me at byelk@nightlifegay.com for more information. Below is a rundown of this year's categories.

Outstanding Comedian
Stand-up comedy has always been at the center of gay culture and entertainment. From icons, like Joan Rivers, Kathy Griffin, and Margaret Cho to upcoming stars, comics are worth their weight in gold. Finalists will each perform a five to seven-minute set during the Gayborhood Games. All area residents are eligible to participate.

Outstanding Vocalist
Calling all local karaoke champs, theater, buffs, and piano bar divas. You may never be a multi-platinum recording star, but you can become a local celebrity by entering the Gayborhood Games vocalist competition. Finalists will be selected by the event producer to battle it out on September 18th.

Outstanding Drag Act
This is the competition where the area drag queens can put up or shut up! This live competition of the Gayborhood Games will determine who really is the Queen Bee in Philly. All area Drag Acts are welcome to participate in this battle royale for supreme stiletto domination.
* Two back-up performers are allowed on stage for Drag Queen category.

Outstanding Bartender
Get your drink on with samples from the bartender's concoctions! This year the competing bartenders will whip up a specialty cocktail off-stage using a Smirnoff Flavored Vodka. The judges will sample all concoctions – picking a winner based on originality, quality, taste, and flair.

Outstanding Chef
Every year, this remains to be one of the most popular contest. Area chefs are to prepare a “cake” off-site and deliver it to Voyeur before the doors open. Judges will pick the winner on the same criteria as the bartender contest.

Miley Cyrus Supports Gay Rights with New Ink

Disney's reigning teen queen, Miley Cyrus, got a new tattoo over the weekend - and this time around, she's using her ink and her visibility to make a powerful statement in support of gay rights. Soon after she left the tattoo artist, she took to Twitter to post the above photo accompanied by the following quote: "All LOVE is Equal." While we love it, some of her "family-friendly" fans have already started criticizing her - posting Bible verses and scripture all over Twitter and Facebook. I'm thrilled she's thinking for herself and not pandering to a small, but vocal percentage of her massive following.

As an aside, I'm getting a little peeved that the term "family-friendly" has been co-opted by a lot of bigoted conservative Christians. Let's be clear, the rhetoric and tactics used by the far right and ultra-conservative organized religion is NOT family-friendly. Thoughts!!