One small ad, one big controversy
By Tara Cavanaugh David Garcia was an athlete when he was in high school, but he was too scared to be out. "I know what it's like in the locker rooms when coaches use words [...]
Dear Jody: Cut it out
by Jody Valley Q: I've been involved with "Lisa" for almost five months. Both of us have had bad relationships in the past and have been moving slowly with each other. We don't want to [...]
Cocktail Chatter: The Bourbon Sour
by Ed Sikov An afternoon in June. Under a bright blue dome of a sky, boys paraded around like Speedo models and dressed accordingly. Cher's "Believe" wafted through the air from two different houses, off [...]
Book Marks: Bob Smith’s transcendent new novel
by Richard Labonte "Remembrance of Things I Forgot," by Bob Smith. Terrace Books/University of Wisconsin Press, 272 pages, $26.95 hardcover. Comic book dealer John Sherkson is a gay man with foiled dreams, liberal ideals and [...]
UMS announces new director of education and community engagement
ANN ARBOR - The University Musical Society recently announced that Jim Leija has been named as the new director of education and community engagement. Leija (LAY-ha) has been with UMS since 2008. He currently serves [...]
Ewan McGregor: ‘I Learned a Lot’
Ewan McGregor didn't mean to offend you. As the debonair actor sits down in Los Angeles to talk up his latest film "Beginners," he's genuinely upset if his last "gay" movie, "I Love You Phillip [...]
‘Glee’ brings feel-good fun to Palace
The girl in me couldn't stop screaming on Monday night. Wait, let me back up. The "girl" was me, and she wrestled her way out when the "Glee" frenzy stormed the Palace of Auburn Hills [...]
Mike Mills: My Gay Dad
Mike Mills didn't really know his father until he came out. When the director's dad came swooshing out of the closet at the ripe age of 75, after decades of being married to a woman, [...]
Deep Inside Hollywood
By Romeo San Vicente Elijah Wood will turn 'Saucy Gay' Elijah Wood's suddenly very busy again. Now that the two "Lord of the Rings" prequels have titles ("The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" and "The Hobbit: [...]
Q Scopes: Watch your tongue, Scorpio!
By Jack Fertig Mercury moves into Cancer, squaring Uranus and triggering all sorts of outbursts, mostly tempests in teapots, but Jupiter softens the square, offering practical wisdom that might be gleaned from those brainstorms and [...]
Love, religion and the law at the Network
For centuries, science and religion have been at odds with one another. So too have religion and homosexuality. Mix the three together, and the result is "Next Fall," an intelligent and thought-provoking dramedy now playing [...]
Australians accept marriage equality
by Rex Wockner INTERNATIONAL NEWS A national poll has found that 75 percent of Australians believe legalization of same-sex marriage is inevitable. Marriage-equality advocates responded by calling on political leaders to act immediately. "The tide [...]
Transsexual takes seat in Madrid Assembly
by Rex Wockner INTERNATIONAL NEWS Actress Carla Antonelli took her seat in the Madrid Assembly June 7, becoming the highest-ranking openly trans elected official in Spanish history. "It's very exciting to be here, to see [...]
Gaga appears at Euro Pride
by Rex Wockner INTERNATIONAL NEWS Lady Gaga addressed the Euro Pride rally in Rome June 11 and sang a down-tempo version of "Born This Way" accompanied only by her piano playing. "It has become clear [...]
Public opposition to Moscow Pride drops
by Rex Wockner INTERNATIONAL NEWS A new poll has found that 61 percent of Russians agree with the Moscow city government's annual ban on the gay pride parade, down from 82 percent support for the [...]
Samoa may decriminalize gays
by Rex Wockner INTERNATIONAL NEWS Samoa's Law Reform Commission has told the government to legalize male-male sex and cross-dressing. Current law bans gay sex and men's wearing women's clothes. The government is likely to express [...]
Croatian gay pride parade attacked
by Rex Wockner INTERNATIONAL NEWS The gay pride parade in Split, Croatia, was attacked June 11. Activists said thousands of opponents hurled rocks, bottles, firecrackers, flares, tear gas, eggs, tomatoes, glass, bricks, shoes, paint, cigarette [...]
Thousands rally at state capitol for LGBT equality
LANSING- Nearly 2000 people from across Michigan rallied at the state Capitol on Saturday in support of LGBT equality. The crowd arrived at the Capitol after a short march through downtown Lansing lead by a [...]
A historic first
LANSING- For the first time in Michigan LGBT history, members of a local law enforcement department participated in a gay pride march and parade while dressed in full uniform. Lansing Police Department officers and commanders [...]
Holland City Council to vote on protecting LGBTs from discrimination
By Jeremy Martin On Wednesday the Holland City Council will make a historic decision, one that could potentially alter the practices and thinking of all who reside within the city's borders. The council will meet [...]
Between Ourselves: Kevin O’Brien
by Tara Cavanaugh Kevin O'Brien is a 20-year-old junior at Michigan State University. He's studying social relations and policy, and this summer he's working as an intern at the Michigan Roundtable for Diversity and Inclusion. [...]
Curtis Lipscomb recieves national award
DETROIT- Curtis Lipscomb, the executive director of KICK, a nonprofit for LGBT African Americans, has been honored with the National Outstanding Service Award from Prideindex.com's 2011 Esteem Awards. The Esteem Awards honor local and national [...]
30 Years of HIV/AIDS: The war still continues
By Ruchi Naresh June marks the 30th year of the discovery of the still-incurable HIV/AIDS. Worldwide, the disease has claimed 30 million lives. On a June 6 conference call, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human [...]
GLAAD letters to FCC questioned
by Rex Wockner U.S. NEWS Several gay bloggers have taken issue with three letters sent to the Federal Communications Commission by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. First, there was concern about an unusual [...]
U.S. gov’t expresses support for gay student groups
by Rex Wockner U.S. NEWS U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan said June 7 that the government supports formation of Gay-Straight Alliances in schools, according to a report from The Trevor Project. He made the statement [...]
HRC calls for action against LGBT violence in Puerto Rico
by Rex Wockner U.S. NEWS The Human Rights Campaign on June 8 urged federal and local officials and law-enforcement authorities to strengthen efforts to address violence against LGBT people in Puerto Rico. HRC cited reports [...]
Three San Diego mayoral candidates are gay
by Rex Wockner U.S. NEWS Two of San Diego's four declared mayoral candidates are gay, as is a third candidate who has opened a campaign committee. Republican District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis and Republican City Councilman [...]
Homophobia must be called out
Homophobia is homophobia, and it must be called out. Whether it's shouted from a stage or in a business' silent refusal to deal with a gay customer, homophobia is completely unacceptable. You'll see two examples [...]
Tracy Morgan
Creep of the Week Imagine you paid money to see some stand up comedy and the comedian was totally hilarious. He had this amazing bit about homosexuality where he said that gays are pussies for [...]
What do you think of Tracy Morgan’s anti-gay tirade?
Heard on Facebook SAD. I just don't get it! -Papi J Royce Peterson Tina Fey seriously needs to think about some cast changes to her show. I may quit watching after this. -Billy Barrett Pathetic [...]
Do not fold, mutilate or staple insertee
Parting Glances I had a marvelous time at Hart Plaza during Motor City Pride 2011, in spite of unrelenting 90+ heat, blazing sun, cascading perspiration, non-stop rainbow reveling. (No phone numbers. No requests for autographs. [...]
Sex scandals, 2012 presidential race
Compiled by Howard Israel S/he Said "I think that the appropriate liberal response to such things as the Anthony Weiner 'scandal' ... is a shrug: 'So they're human - big deal.' When someone is hypocritical, [...]
Why Prop 8 matters to everyone, not just Californians
By Abby Dees Though many states have endured ugly voter initiatives to take away LGBT marriage rights, none has captured attention quite like California's Proposition 8. One reason is that California is in the unique [...]
Hate crime in Ferndale under investigation
By Tara Cavanaugh FERNDALE- Ferndale Police are investigating a hate crime that occurred around 1 a.m. Monday morning. Ferndale Police Sergeant Patrick Jones said two victims were in a house on Fielding, west of Woodward, [...]
Holland City Council votes no on anti-discrimination ordinance
By Jeremy Martin More than 100 residents and concerned Michigan citizens watched on Wednesday night as an ordinance to protect LGBTs from discrimination in Holland was debated. The Holland City Council voted 5-4 against the [...]
Saugatuck votes against showing coming out video in sex ed class
By Jeremy Martin SAUGATUCK- On Monday night, following two months of deliberation, the seven member Saugatuck school board voted 5-2 against adding a video titled "Coming Out: What Every Teen (Gay or Straight) Needs to [...]
House Republicans attack same-sex benefits
By Tara Cavanaugh A committee in the Michigan House approved two bills today that restrict public employee benefits only to married couples. Now the bills will go to the House floor for debate. The House [...]
Students lobby for anti-bullying bill
By Tara Cavanaugh CUT/ Two dozen students from area high schools lobbied lawmakers in Lansing to pass an anti-bullying bill that would protect all students. Michigan is one of six states without any anti-bullying law. [...]