HTJ Opening Ceremony Draws Large Crowd
Kofi Adoma and Alicia Skillman instruct the crowd to light their candles at the 19th annual Hotter Than July candlelight vigil Tuesday in Palmer Park. DETROIT - Nearly 100 people came out for the [...]
Gallery: Hotter Than July Boat Ride Makes A Splash
About 50 people came out Wednesday night for the fifth annual Hotter Than July Boat Ride. The three-hour cruise on the Detroit River was aboard the Diamond Queen. [...]
Michael Sam Responds To Tony Dungy’s Offensive Comments
By BTL Staff The Bilerico Project reports that openly gay NFL player, Michael Sam, has responded to offensive comments made by Tony Dungy. Dungy, a former NFL coach and current NBC sports commentator told the [...]
First Of Its Kind: New Condom May Kill HIV And HPV
BTL Staff AUSTRALIA - A pharmaceutical company out of Melbourne has designed a gel, much like spermicide, that has been found to be 99.9 percent effective at deactivating HIV, herpes, bacterial vaginosis and HPV. This [...]
Good News For LGBT Students At Michigan Universities
By BTL Staff Further LGBT progress has come to some Michigan universities this week. AP reports that an anonymous gift of $1 million will expand programs at Michigan State University's Lesbian, Bisexual, Gay, Transgender Resource [...]
State Rep. Zemke Introduces Bill To Prohibit Conversion Therapy In Michigan
BTL Staff LANSING -- State Representative Adam F. Zemke (D-Ann Arbor) sponsored legislation on July 16 that would outlaw the practice of conversion therapy in Michigan. House Bill 5703 prohibits "any practice by a mental [...]
Q&A: Sinéad O’Connor On How Gays Changed Her Life & Getting Her ‘D*ck Hard’
In 1992, Sinéad O'Connor was at the height of her career following the success of "Nothing Compares 2 U" when, during a one-woman protest against sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, she tore up a [...]
Mark Schauer Comes To Braun Court
By BTL Staff Braun Court. ANN ARBOR - Mark Schauer, Democratic candidate for the Michigan Governor's race, takes his campaign to /aut/BAR in a fundraising and awareness event this Thursday. Schauer lives in Battle [...]
Study: PrEP, Taken Regularly, 100 Percent Effective
By BTL Staff Scientists at the International AIDS Conference in Sydney, Australia, released the results of an open label study of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis this week, which found that regular dosing of the drug Truvada is [...]
Obama Signs LGBT Workplace Non-Discrimination Executive Order
Lisa Keen President Barack Obama delivers remarks before he signs an executive order regarding further amendments to Executive Order 11478, Equal Employment Opportunity in the Federal Government, and Executive Order 11246, Equal Employment Opportunity, to [...]
Feds Call On States To Revamp HIV Criminal Laws
Nick Rhoades, a gay man convicted of "criminal transmission of HIV' in Iowa and sentenced to 25 years in prison, despite the virus not being transmitted; talks to activists at the national HIV is not [...]
Top AIDS Researchers Killed: Update
By BTL Staff Australia - UPDATE: Previous reports that "more than 100" AIDS researchers lost their lives aboard the Malaysian flight MH17, as reported by the Australian Press, have been found inaccurate. The flight crashed [...]
Singer/Actress Demi Lovato Releases Marriage Equality Video
BTL Staff MotherJones reports that singer and actress Demi Lovato has released a video with the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) supporting marriage equality. According to the HRC, "Demi has made anti-bullying advocacy a cornerstone of [...]
Hot In Herre
When the mercury rises, so should your creativity. Consider these nine ways to beat the heat - and add a little sexy time to your life while you're at it. Make a batch of adult [...]
‘Week After Art Fair’ Showcases Musical Melting Pot
By Shelby Clark Petkus Ann Arbor's illustrious art fair is this weekend, but Kerrytown Concert House keeps the summer spirit singing with the "Week After Art Fair Song Fest." The four-day long concert event celebrates [...]
Guitarist Bill Kirchen Performs Hometown Show July 31
Guitar Player Magazine dubbed him the "Titan of the Telecaster." Rolling Stone said he's "an American treasure" and "one of our best." No matter what you call him, Bill Kirchen is a founding father of [...]
Anne Hathaway and Kristen Stewart Don Drag In Jenny Lewis’ “Just One of the Guys” Music Video
BTL Staff Anne Hathaway, Kristen Stewart and Brie Larson dress in drag for Jenny Lewis' first single, "Just One of the Guys" off her upcoming fourth album, The Voyager. It is Lewis' first solo album [...]
Former Detroit Drag Queen’s Play Looks At LGBT Issues Through African-American Lens
By Emell Derra Adolphus Demetris Dennis Taylor's new stage play, "No Time for the Pain," is gay melodrama in two acts, a fusion of Spanish telenovela and fairy tale, and rife with evil queens, monsters, [...]
Deep Inside Hollywood
By Romeo San Vicente 'Fault In Our Stars' actor takes up piano Not ready to be typecast just yet, hot property Ansel Elgort, currently making tweens cry nationwide in "The Fault In Our Stars," is [...]
Hear Me Out: Best of 2014 … So Far
Sia, '1000 Forms of Fear' Sia's come a long way since "Breathe Me," a song so emotionally vulnerable, it's overwhelming. No wonder premier pop starlets have been knocking on her door, hoping for a piece [...]
Summertime, And The Spoofing Is Easy
By Carolyn Hayes Not content to go dormant between mainstage seasons, The Ringwald has made an annual practice of throwing a bonus comedy production just as these lazy, hazy, crazy days reach their peak. Fittingly, [...]
‘Mr. Looong Gone’ Returns – In Spirit – To Tiger Town
By John Quinn I had the pleasure of reviewing the premiere of Detroit Free Press columnist Mitch Albom's homage to broadcasting legend Ernie Harwell in 2011. I wrote then that "Perhaps we can look forward [...]
Dreams On The Line In Tibbits Musical
By Bridgette M. Redman "A Chorus Line" may not be as gritty and shocking as it was when it first came out in 1975, but it is still an extravaganza of dance and a moving [...]
In Dexter, July Is Bustin’ Out All Over
By John Quinn Daniel C. Walker is a man of many talents. Friday I took in the return of "Ernie," in which his subtle yet startling lighting design is in its fourth season of keeping [...]
At Midsummer, A Sweet ‘Dream’
By Martin F. Kohn What do you call 800 people enjoying a Shakespeare play outdoors on a warm July evening in midtown Detroit? How about a midsummer night's dream? Which not coincidentally is the latest [...]
Netroots Nation in Detroit
Immigration: Out Of The Shadows Choice: Closely Aligned Environment: Only Way To Win Is By Working Together Housing: 'We Are All In This Together' Labor: A Decades Long Partnership DETROIT - Thousands of progressive activists [...]
Immigration: Out Of The Shadows
"Regardless of if you are speaking about the school to prison pipeline, workers' rights, religion, healthcare etc... the more you challenge yourself, the greater impact you will have on the entire community and the closer [...]
Choice: Closely Aligned
IMMIGRATION: Out Of The Shadows Choice: Closely Aligned Environment: Only Way To Win Is By Working Together HOUSING: 'We Are All In This Together' Labor: A Decades Long Partnership 1 A lot of people think [...]
Environment: Only Way To Win Is By Working Together
Brandon Kawalec, outreach coordinator for Mid-Michigan Environmental Action Council, works with Julie Powers, the groups executive director, to identify various animals living in the Red Cedar River in East Lansing. The assessment is part of [...]
Housing: ‘We Are All In This Together’
IMMIGRATION: Out Of The Shadows Choice: Closely Aligned Environment: Only Way To Win Is By Working Together HOUSING: 'We Are All In This Together' Labor: A Decades Long Partnership 1 You took office as the [...]
Labor: A Decades Long Partnership
IMMIGRATION: Out Of The Shadows Choice: Closely Aligned Environment: Only Way To Win Is By Working Together HOUSING: 'We Are All In This Together' Labor: A Decades Long Partnership 1 Can you briefly explain the [...]
Michigan Agencies Tapped For Experience With LGBT Homelessness
By AJ Trager Two seasoned community organizers who work with LGBT youth in Michigan have been tapped for a groundbreaking national project. For the next three years, LGBT youth advocates -- Ozone House Executive Director [...]
Two More Openly LGBT Candidates Announce MI Campaigns
AJ Trager MICHIGAN - Two more candidates have come out of the political closet. Susan Grettenberger, running for the 8th Congressional District, and Nathan Morrish, running for 34th State House Representative seat, both spoke with [...]
Hotter Than July Preview
By Shelby Clark Petkus Hotter Than July, Detroit's black gay pride festival, celebrates 19 years this month. with a week long event from July 22-27. The theme of this year's festival is "Happy Together." A [...]
New Report Exposes Deceptive Religious Right Strategy Targeting LGBT Equality
By Chuck Colbert Left: University of Pennsylvania law professor Tobias Barrington Wolff. Right: Jay Michaelson, Ph.D., visiting scholar at Brown University. Within in a few short years now, legal same-sex marriage has arrived in [...]
Comic Legend Archie Andrews Takes Bullet For Gay Best Friend
By AJ Trager LOS ANGELES - Famous freckle-face comic book icon, Archie Andrews, will see his final moments in this week's issue. Readers will see the beloved and inspirational redhead die as he takes a [...]
Creep of the Week: Bob Frey
Bob Frey, a Republican candidate for the Minnesota House of Representatives, was recently in the news for saying some really unhinged, not to mention scientifically inaccurate, things about how AIDS is transmitted. When it comes [...]
Parting Glances: Twinkling of the inner eye …
I'm sitting on my front porch during the twilight 9 o'clock hour. These early July evenings are both warm and occasionally, as now, delightfully cool. The temperature is 70-something or other. Caressingly mild. Motor City [...]
BTL Editorial: The Real Detroit Reflects Vision For A New America
A world where our environment is clean. A world where people who contribute to our society and culture are valued and not hunted down over documents. A world where economic inequity is kept in check. [...]
Facebook Reacts to Return Of HIV In Formerly “Cured” Child
By BTL Staff "Well I don't know why this is a big deal. They taught us in health class once you have it you have it. I know it can get to a degree that's [...]
Same-Sex Couples And The Marriage Penalty
By Michael Einheuser The June 2013 U.S. Supreme Court's ruling struck down one section of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), but upheld another section creating a legal quandary for some couples. States are no [...]
Mississippi Mayor Becomes First To Announce Support Of Marriage Equality
By BTL Staff WAVELAND, Miss. - LGBTQ Nation reports that they mayor of Waveland, Miss., David Garcia, has announced his support for same-sex marriage. This makes him the first sitting mayor of the southern state [...]
News You Should Know July 17
BTL Staff KANSAS CITY, MO - Pastoral associate, Coleen Simon, informed her possible employer that she was married to her longtime same-sex partner before they hired her. But after being hired, Simon's LGBT status was [...]
Elaine Stritch In One Of Her Last Interviews: ‘I Had A Ball In My Life!’
BTL Staff Elaine Stritch at her Birmingham home with writer Chris Azzopardi. Detroit's own Elaine Stritch died at the age of 89 in her Birmingham home Thursday morning. In February, a wheelchair-confined Stritch sat [...]
The Yin Yang Of PRIDE: Much Is Given, Much Required
Hard to believe June is over, we're halfway through July and I have just one PRIDE - Hotter Than July - left to attend. We've raised our rainbow flags across the country, marched and partied [...]