Anti-trans rights journalist Andrew Gilligan was appointed as a Downing Street advisor by Boris Johnson last week. Gilligan, who works for The Times, will be the transport advisor at number ten, after he served as cycling commissioner when Johnson was London mayor. Johnson and Gilligan have a long history and, according to…

Corrections officers knew of condition before putting her in solitary. 

The organisers of the the first ever Pride event in Rhondda, south Wales, have apologised after asking attendees to not come dressed in “bondage wear or sexualised costumes.” The Facebook page for Rhondda Pride 2019, which has since been taken down, came under fire after posting earlier this week that they had…

Talia Fogelman, who is working towards a BA in American Studies and English, is joining others from the University of Sussex in taking part in this year’s Brighton & Hove Pride parade on Saturday…

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Craig Northcott is the District Attorney for Coffee County, Tennessee and a self-proclaimed “good Christian man.” But he may soon be without a law license after spouting off his homophobic beliefs at a religious conference and then doubling down on them later.

A letter signed by over 330 lawyers is urging the Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility to issue an emergency suspension of Northcott’s law license after he was caught on video telling a religious conference that he doesn’t believe the state’s domestic violence laws apply to LGBTQ people because he doesn’t recognize their relationships as being valid.

“So, what do I do with domestic assaults?” Northcott said on the tape. “On one hand, I don’t prosecute them because I don’t recognize it as marriage. On the other hand, if I don’t prosecute him, then the sinner, the immoral guy, gets less punishment. I say, ‘There’s no marriage to protect.’ So I don’t prosecute it as domestic [assault].”

In response to the leak, Northcott put out a statement saying he personally believes the laws are intended to “promote and protect the sanction of the institutions of marriage and family.”

“I assume that two adults who live together that are of the opposite gender are involved in a marital-type relationship absent some other relationship that suggests otherwise,” Northcott wrote.

Evidently, he didn’t get the memo about the Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage back in 2015.

Northcott then tried arguing that, really, he’s honoring LGBTQ people’s wishes, writing, “In fact, my intent was in part to honor what I know has been the desire of the LGBTQ community–keeping the government out of their bedrooms.”

Tennessee’s domestic violence laws apply to any people who live together, regardless of whether they have a sexual relationship. This includes roommates, siblings, house guests, etc.

“Mr. Northcott’s written reply to the complaint removes all doubt as to his current defiance of the rule of law and intent to further engage in conduct beneath the decency required of our profession along with raising serious questions as to his competency and fitness to practice,” the five-page letter, which was delivered to the Board yesterday, reads.

It continues: “Any attorney who believes he has the power to ignore the decisions of the United State Supreme Court is in violation of his oath and is disqualified from the practice of law.”

The letter also calls out things Northcott has posted on Facebook, including describing Islam as an “evil” religion and comparing it to the Ku Klux Klan and suggesting only true Christians deserve constitutional rights.

“There are no Constitutional rights. There are God given rights protected by the Constitution,” the DA wrote. “If you don’t believe in the one true God, there is nothing to protect. No one other than God has given us any rights.”

Northcott argues that the remarks are based on his religious beliefs and are, therefore, protected under the First Amendment.

One of the perks of our fundraiser was the opportunity to be included in a special edition of “You Need Help!” You’ll find questions ranging from dealing with your girlfriend’s conservative family, to how to plan for single parenthood as a lesbian, and what to do when you’re the only queer girl bridesmaid at a straight wedding!

Patrick Murphy (D-PA), Iraq war veteran, former Congressman, and the 32nd under secretary of the U.S. Army , endorsed Pete Buttigieg for president in an op-ed Tuesday in the Military Times.

Wrote Murphy, in part: “Pete’s leadership was forged by combat. His foreign policy experience comes not from attending a committee hearing or a Washington cocktail party, but firsthand from behind the wheel of an armored vehicle in Afghanistan. That’s one of the reasons why I believe Pete is the candidate best prepared to bring an end to our endless war. Unlike President Trump, who has torched our credibility and tarnished our values, Pete appreciates why the United States must work closely with our allies around the world. I’m confident that he will promote American interests and American values abroad. And I appreciate he’s put forth a call to action for national service here at home that will bring together young Americans through the baptism of service that we both experienced when we were deployed overseas.”

“Pete is also deeply committed to upholding the rule of law and repairing our democracy,” Murphy added. “As a former prosecutor and West Point law professor, I grimace when the president disregards our democratic institutions and downplays attacks on our elections. As the Russians continue to interfere in our democracy, I’m confident a President Buttigieg won’t laugh it up with Vladimir Putin — he’ll take him head on. He will fight for a fairer and more inclusive democracy, tackling the corrosive impact of money in politics, reforming our hopelessly politicized Supreme Court, and ensuring that in states like ours in Pennsylvania, voters will pick their politicians instead of the other way around.”

The post Patrick Murphy, First Iraq War Vet to Serve in Congress, Endorses Pete Buttigieg for President appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.

Ellis, who led the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team to back-to-back wins, says the time is right to move on. 

Some people just never learn.

30-year-old Charles Yarbrough is being charged with multiple hate crimes after repeatedly breaking into and vandalizing a local church in Connecticut because he believed its congregation members and pastor “were supporting and pushing the LGBT agenda.”

Yarbrough was arrested on June 27 after police say he broke into the Memorial United Methodist Church in downtown Milford, Connecticut and slashed two chairs on the church’s altar and carving into an antique wooden banister.

He was upset because the church had posted a rainbow banner that read, “To be clear if you are queer LGBTQIA+ you are affirmed here!”

Police charged Yarbrough with a hate crime, burglary and criminal mischief in relation to the break-in.

Then, less than one week later, on July 1, he was arrested again.

This time Yarbrough broke into the building next to the church, which houses its classrooms and offices, and vandalized the pastor’s office door with a box cutter.

This week, police charged him with another hate crime in relation to the second attack.

“What can I say but pray for this guy,” Rev. Kristina Hansen of Mary Taylor Church says. “We are not dissuaded in any way, shape or form. We’re going to love our neighbor and we’re not going to stop because of one person’s response.”

“It’s unfortunate,” she added. “But it doesn’t dissuade us from our stance of affirmation. We’re the church, and we’re going to continue to be that.”