Audio: Lawmaker Laughs About Legislation To Execute Gays

Florida state Rep. Mike Hill (R) with Donald Trump (L)

A Florida lawmaker is being called unfit for office after a recording revealed him joking about executing gay Floridians.

An op-ed in the Pensacola News Journal shares an audio clip of Florida Rep. Mike Hill in a recent meeting with a group called Women for Responsible Legislation.

In the recording, a citizen comments, “In 1 Corinthians, it says that a man who has an affair with another man will be put to death.”

Hill can be heard responding, “It says that in the Old Testament, too.”

Another attendee inquires, “Can you introduce legislation?”

Laughter is heard in the background as Hill joins in the chuckles before saying, “I wonder how that would go over?”

It probably won't surprise you to know that Hill's Twitter account describes the 60-year-old as "Pro Life! Pro Guns! Pro Jesus!"

Andy Marlette, who penned the op-ed, writes that with that comment, “Hill proved why he is both an unfit legislator and an unfit Christian.”

Remember folks, this is the same state that lived through 49 people shot to death and 53 more injured at a gay bar, Pulse Nightclub, in June 2016.

Hill went on to share in the same meeting that he believes being gay is “a behavior, and it’s a choice” and that LGBTQ people don’t need legal protections.

In a longer audio clip obtained by The New Civil Rights Movement, Hill can be heard saying, “You can say, ‘But I was born that way.’ OK, well, fine, but nobody’s forcing you to engage in that relationship, even if you were born that way.”

In his essay, Marlette wonders why Hill, who clearly considers himself a Christian, didn’t just say, “No sir, stop right there, that’s wrong, that’s not what Jesus would do.”

But, he didn’t.

The op-ed calls for the Florida House to weigh in as well as Pensacola Mayor Grover Robinson.

“It’s not enough to groan, roll our eyes and privately lament Mike Hill,” writes Marlette. “When public officials espouse cruel and immoral ideas, we are morally obligated to shout them down in the public square.”

As news of the recording has gone public, State Rep. Carlos Gulliermo Smith, who is the first openly gay Latino legislator in the state, has called on Hill to either apologize or resign.

I’m shocked & disgusted to discover a colleague who I’ve worked closely with would joke about punishing me by death for being gay. As a survivor of anti-gay hate violence, I know the consequences of homophobia are real. @MikeHillfl should apologize to LGBTQ Floridians or RESIGN. https://t.co/BqMoxLc6Vo

— Rep. Carlos G Smith (@CarlosGSmith) May 31, 2019

Bigotry like this is the reason LGBTQ Floridians need protection from discrimination in state law. Homophobic and transphobic individuals can also happen to be employers, landlords, and business owners who may engage in legal discrimination. It still happens in 2019 people!!!!

— Rep. Carlos G Smith (@CarlosGSmith) May 31, 2019

To add insult to injury, I joined forces with @MikeHillfl last year to protect greyhound racing dogs. Apparently, he thinks DOGS deserve protection, but not LGBTQ people. Those are his priorities. How insulting.... https://t.co/zw0ISCwWCB

— Rep. Carlos G Smith (@CarlosGSmith) May 31, 2019

(source: Pensacola News Journal)

Celeb Baker Saves The Day After Couple Were Turned Away By Anti-LGBT Baker

Celebrity baker Jay Qualls (image via Facebook)

Last week, I reported on yet another baker who has refused to sell a wedding cake to a same-sex couple.

After meeting with Susie Dennison of Susie’s Sweets bakery in Burns Tennessee, Brandi Ray shared on her social media that Dennison sent her a Facebook message saying she wouldn’t make the cake in question because ‘Jesus.’

“I really enjoyed our time together and I truly wish you the best but after realizing that your union will be of the same sex, I cannot with my spiritual conviction and beliefs, do your cake,” wrote Dennison. She added, “I want you to know in saying that, I do love you in The Lord.”

Ray responded writing, “I’m sorry you feel that way. Have a good night.”

After the story went viral, celebrity baker Jay Qualls of Nashville stepped up and has offered to bake a free wedding cake for Ray and her fiancé, Michele Schmidt.

With over 30 years in the baking industry, Qualls has worked with Martha Stewart, appeared on TLC’s The Next Great Baker and Cake Boss, as well as Food Network's Cuthroat Kitchen.

The veteran baker told The Tennessean the story left him “enraged.”

“This has to stop. It’s discriminatory,” Qualls told the newspaper. “I can’t sit back and allow this, as a gay man who has a very healthy and meaningful life with two adult children who are loved, and a very meaningful relationship.”

The baker shares that his outrage stems in part from having experienced discrimination himself when planning his second wedding.

Qualls was married to a woman for 13 years and has two grown children. He was 33-years-old when he came out, and three years ago was denied wedding services due to homophobia.

He and his fiancé had made plans to hold their ceremony at Montgomery Bell State Park’s Cumberland Presbyterian Church. But when the couple went to pay the facility fee, they were turned away due to the same-sex marriage.

At the time, he didn’t go public with the story because he didn’t want his wedding “turning into a circus.”

But this time, he’s speaking out on behalf of Schmidt and Ray, and told the couple they can have “anything they want.”

Over his 30+ years as a professional baker, Qualls says he’s “sat across from thousands of couples over the years,” and some of them he didn’t share the same beliefs. But he didn’t turn any of them away.

“When you are serving the public, you have to be willing to serve all the public,” Qualls said.

(h/t The Tennessean)

Anti-Gay Kentucky County Clerk Kim Davis Loses Reelection

Kim Davis, who became famous for refusing to issue marriage licenses to a gay couple after the U.S. Supreme Court declared marriage equality the law of the land, has lost her bid for reelection.

The four-time married adulteress couldn't pull out another election. Awwww... oh well.

Ding dong the witch is dead!

TOTALS from the Kim Davis race in Rowan County:
Davis (R): 3566
Caudill (D): 4210@heraldleader @BGPolitics

— Will Wright (@HLWright) November 7, 2018

When you see Kim Davis officially lost. pic.twitter.com/Be64pPTxSx

— Chris Jackson (@ChrisCJackson) November 7, 2018

UK Supreme Court Rules In Favor Of Anti-Gay Northern Ireland Bakers

Amy and Daniel McArthur of Ashers Baking Company

In 2014, the Northern Ireland Equality Commission brought a lawsuit against Ashers Baking Company on behalf of LGBTQ activist Gareth Lee who had gone to the bakery to order a cake for a private function to be held observing International Day Against Homophobia.

Lee asked that the cake feature Sesame Street characters Bert and Ernie and bear the message “support gay marriage.”

The owners of Ashers Bakery, Daniel and Amy McArthur, originally accepted the cake order.

But Amy McArthur later contacted the man who ordered it and said they could not make such a cake "in conscience."

The McArthurs have maintained that the issue was not the customer but the message.

The BBC reports that back in May, Daniel McArthur told the press while standing in front of the court house, "We didn't say no because of the customer; we'd served him before, we'd serve him again. It was because of the message. But some people want the law to make us support something with which we disagree."

After two earlier court cases, the UK Supreme Court has now ruled in the bakers’ favor overturning a £500 damages award imposed on the bakery owners.

The five justices of the high court were unanimous in their ruling seeing the issue as not one of gay discrimination but one of freedom of expression.

Lady Hale wrote the decision.

From The Guardian:

“It is deeply humiliating, and an affront to human dignity, to deny someone a service because of that person’s race, gender, disability, sexual orientation or any of the other protected personal characteristics,” Hale said in the judgment.

“But that is not what happened in this case and it does the project of equal treatment no favours to seek to extend it beyond its proper scope.”

Freedom of expression, as guaranteed by article 10 of the European convention on human rights, includes the right “not to express an opinion which one does not hold”, Hale added. “This court has held that nobody should be forced to have or express a political opinion in which he does not believe,” she said.

The McArthurs expressed relief for the ruling, saying, “We are very grateful to the judges. We did not turn down this order because of the person who made it, but because of the message itself.”

Lee, however, says he feels “confused about what this actually means.”

“We need certainty when you go to a business,” he told The Guardian. “I’m concerned that this has implications for myself and for every single person.”

The original decision to turn down his order had left him feeling like a “second-class citizen”, he said.

Lee’s last option would be to appeal to the European court of human rights in Strasbourg.

It’s worth noting that Northern Ireland is the only place in the UK where same-sex marriage is not legal.

If this sounds familiar, it should.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Supreme Court narrowly ruled in favor of Jack Phillips, owner of the Masterpiece Cakeshop in Colorado, who refused to sell a cake to a gay couple celebrating their wedding.

In the U.S. case, the high court decided that a Colorado state agency had approached the case with religious bias. In the ruling, SCOTUS asked the Colorado Civil Rights Commission to re-examine the case.

Tennessee Hardware Store Puts Up Sign "No Gays Allowed"

In response to the recent ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court regarding the Colorado baker who refused to sell a wedding cake for a same-sex wedding in 2012, a Tennessee hardware store put up a sign which read, "No Gays Allowed."

From USA Today:

Jeff Amyx, who owns Amyx Hardware & Roofing Supplies in Grainger County, Tennessee., about an hour outside of Knoxville, added the "No Gays Allowed" sign on Monday, because gay and lesbian couples are against his religion.

Amyx, who is also a baptist minister, said he realized Monday morning that LGBT people are not afraid to stand for what they believe in. He said it showed him that Christian people should be brave enough to stand for what they believe in.

"They gladly stand for what they believe in, why can't I? They believe their way is right, I believe it's wrong. But yet I'm going to take more persecution than them because I'm standing for what I believe in," Amyx said.

On Tuesday, Amyx removed the "No Gays allowed" sign and replaced it with a sign that says: "We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone who would violate our rights of freedom of speech & freedom of religion."

Pogo Backtracks On Anti-Gay Rant: I'm Bi-Curious So I Can't Be Homophobic

Australian musician Pogo aka Nick Bertke

Australian electronic musician Pogo, aka Nick Bertke, says his anti-gay rant wherein he cheered the Pulse Nightclub massacre posted yesterday was just a bit of fun to attempt to "trigger" people.

YouTube has since deleted the Aussie's hate rant which probably has something to do with his "explanation" today.

Pogo now claims in a new video the whole bit was a bit of trolling to "grind the gears" of Internet folks who get triggered too easily.

“The things I said in this video I think have deserved the reception that the video has had. I love confusing people. Then I took it too far.”

“There is no pinch of salt big enough to be taken with what I have said. It’s all good and well for me to open a valve and to draw people out into the open – people I don’t like, you know, hypocrites etcetera, but I feel very strongly that it’s been very naive behavior on my part.

"If I’m going to tuck my tail between my legs and admit anything it’s that these posts and these videos and these things I’ve made for the sake of being edgy have not contributed to any productive conversation.”

He then confuses a bit by giving props to professional provocateur Milo Yiannopolous saying, “I like some of the things people like Milo Yiannopoulos say, but I don’t like the way he says them."

Predictably, he eventually plays the "I can't be homophobic because I have gay friends" card.

“Apparently I hate gay people," says Pogo. "Many of my friends and supporters are gay. There is definitely a degree of irony.”

Pogo also shares in an accompanying note that empathy is "muddled" for him because he himself is "bicurious" and also says he has Aspergers and Bipolar disorder.

“I don’t hate gays. I am in fact bicurious myself, and it has not been easy within the culture I have been raised. The 2016 video circulating was a satirical sh*tpost made in bad tastes and I never intended for it go public. I have Asperger’s and Bipolar disorder so my sense of humour and empathy for people is often very muddled. It’s a condition I’ve struggled with for many years as an artist who feels passionately about things and who faces the public eye every hour of my life. The internet has taken the video very far out of context and proportion, but I am very sorry to the people who I the video has hurt or confused.”

I think someone got a talking to.

What do you think? Watch the "explanation" below.

YouTube Musician Pogo Explains Hating "Disgusting" Gays & Cheering Pulse Nightclub Shooting

Pogo fist pumps in honor of Pulse Nightclub massacre

I should sub-title this post "How to lose your job in less than two minutes."

Pogo, aka Nick Bertke, an electronic musician from Western Australia whose videos remixing Disney animated classics have drawn more than 200 million views on YouTube, surprised his fans today in a video explaining the name of his channel - Fagottron.

For years many LGBT fans and outlets have shared his videos assuming his YouTube channel name was a nod to his own out and proud gayness.

But, no.

In the video, Berkte happily breaks down for his fans his “robust resentment” of the gays and actually fist pumps when he references the Pulse Nightclub shooting calling the deadly massacre “just fantastic.”

From the video:

“I came up with ‘Fagottron’ because I’ve always had a very thorough dislike of homosexuals. I’ve never liked a grown man acting like a 12-year-old girl. I’ve always found that to be quite disgusting.

“So, I thought to myself, how can I best express to the world that gays are just an abomination?

“So I thought, here in Australia - well, in America as well - you like to call gays ‘fags’ or ‘faggots.’ I think nothing encapsulates the sissiness of a gay guy quite like the word ‘faggot.’

“So, I thought to myself, I’m going to call myself ‘Fagottron’ and hopefully people get it.

“I have a fairly robust resentment of the gay community. I don’t want to really get into this, but when there was the Orlando shooting and the guy was shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ or something I was like (pumps fist).

“But yeah, I’ve got to be a bit careful with that because well, you know, I don’t like gays - but I don’t want to see people getting killed in nightclubs either.

“But still, I mean, it’s just fantastic. It just amazes me to see the West welcoming in a culture through the floodgates that wants gays dead (laughing). I think that’s fantastic.”

According to JoeMyGod, Bertke got a gig with Pixar and Nickelodeon after his work remixing Disney’s animated classics drew widespread acclaim. We'll be curious to see if Pixar likes what they see today...

I wonder if he'll try walking this back saying he was on Ambien?

Watch the disgusting message below.

China's Social Media Weibo Bans Gay Content As Netizens Respond "I Am Gay, Not A Pervert"

In an apparent crackdown by China's Communist Party to denounce any and everything to do with LGBT folks, the country's microblogging platform Sina Weibo began deleting "homosexual" content even as protesters reacted with the hashtag #IAmGay.

From Yahoo News:

Weibo said in a statement Friday it had begun a "clean-up campaign" to remove "illegal" content, including "manga and videos with pornographic implications, promoting violence or (related to) homosexuality".

It is the latest sign in a crackdown by the ruling Communist Party to purge the Internet of any content deviating from its "core values ​​of socialism" while stifling criticism of social norms and established policies.

The popular Twitter-like platform, which boasts 400 million active monthly users, said it was implementing China's new cybersecurity law and had already removed some 56,240 items by Friday evening.

The announcement provoked a flood of reaction from stunned or outraged Chinese Internet users, with protesters rallying behind the hashtag "I am gay".

By midday Saturday, it had been used by some 170,l000 Weibo users, before it was apparently banned by the platform.

"There can be no homosexuality under socialism? It is unbelievable that China progresses economically and militarily but returns to the feudal era in terms of ideas," one angry commenter said.

China only decriminalised homosexuality in 1997, but conservative attitudes remain widespread.

#Gay#LGBT Yesterday，one of the biggest app in China，like the Twitter, instagram, named Weibo，issued a statment that prohibit every article, picture, comment，topic—every thing about homosexuality. How I am disappointed about our country... pic.twitter.com/MoLKHJoNRZ

— Lucy Zhang (@xLucyZhangx) April 14, 2018

The most meaningful hashtag I've seen around Chinese social media in a long time following announcement of ban on gay content: #IAMGAY #我是同性恋. Some say: "If this is not the time to speak out, then when will we?" https://t.co/CLMCHP4cWk

— Manya Koetse (@manyapan) April 13, 2018

Many social media users in China protested with messages saying, “I am gay, not a pervert” following a Sina Weibo ban on gay-themed content https://t.co/LEyelq2KXX

— New York Times World (@nytimesworld) April 15, 2018

(h/t JoeMyGod) 

IL GOP Atty General Candidate Told Pageant Officials She'd Place Foster Children With Child Abusers Before Loving Gays

Erika Harold, a former Miss America and currently the frontrunner in the GOP nomination for Illinois Attorney General, once told Miss Illinois pageant officials that she would choose to place a foster child in the home of a child abuser rather than in the home of a loving gay couple.

It will not surprise you to learn Ms. Harold has no recollection of the "alleged exchange."

From the local NBC affiliate:

NBC 5 has spoken to three people, who all played a role in that Miss Illinois pageant, with direct knowledge of the exchange. They were present when Harold responded to the question.

One of the pageant officials said: "I remember it because it was so shocking. She took some time to answer it. And that drew people in. It stopped the room."

That pageant official said: "It said a lot about her, she spoke about reading the Bible daily and said her beliefs could not subject a child to the gay lifestyle.”

Harold’s spokesman originally told NBC 5 Harold did not recall this interview since it was nearly 20 years ago. In a second phone call, the spokesman said, "I have a real problem with this story, less than two weeks before the election, unnamed sources are going to say this?”

Another source who was also present for the interview said, “I remember it like it was yesterday. It was shocking.”

Harold's campaign released a statement to NBC 5 after repeated requests:

“Voters should first know that NBC Chicago has chosen to air an unverified story from anonymous sources twelve days before an election about an alleged event that supposedly occurred nearly two decades ago when Erika was 20 years old. Erika does not recall the alleged exchange, but Erika certainly support[s] same-sex adoption and foster care placement.”

One of the Miss Illinois pageant officials from the 2000 contest who spoke to NBC 5 said, "I find it literally impossible she does not remember, because it cost her the pageant, she did not even make the top 10 that year. There’s no way she does not remember.”

Current Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner, also a Republican, has endorsed Harold and donated $350,000 to her campaign.

(h/t Towleroad)

Jimmy Kimmel Trolls California Baker Who Refuses To Make Same-Sex Wedding Cake

I recently reported on the ruling by a judge in Kern County, California, that allowed a Bakersfield baker to continue to deny selling a wedding cake to same-sex couples based on the baker's "deeply held religious beliefs."

Jimmy Kimmel obviously heard about the ruling and recently staged this little skit to explain why the thinking behind the ruling is flawed.

Here's the clip description:

A controversial decision came from a court in Kern County, California that ruled in favor of a bakery that refused to make a cake for a same-sex wedding because the owner said it would violate her Christian faith.

This isn’t the first instance of a bakery refusing to make a cake for a same-sex wedding, there’s a case right now in the Supreme Court, but the judge’s ruling in this particular case is interesting. He says the bakery would have violated the law if it refused to sell the gay couple a cake that was already baked, but that they can’t be forced to bake one.

So Jimmy uses a common restaurant dining experience to explain why this isn’t right.

CA Judge: Baker May Continue To Deny Same-Sex Couples Wedding Cakes While Awaiting Trial

Basing his decision on the distinction between selling a product or creating an artistic expression, Kern County Superior Court Judge David Lampe has ruled that baker Cathy Miller of Bakersfield can continue to refuse to make wedding cakes for same-sex couples.

The case began last August when Miller, a conservative Christian, refused to make a wedding cake for Mireya and Eileen Rodriguez-Del Rio.

Miller claimed it violated her deeply held Christian beliefs.

The Rodriguez-Del Rioses filed a complaint to the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing alleging Miller had violated the Unruh Civil Rights Act, which prohibits public businesses from denying service to anyone on race, gender, religion or sexual orientation.

Note: This ruling is a motion regarding a preliminary injunction. The case has not been tried yet.

From Bakersfield.com:

“A retail tire shop may not refuse to sell a tire because the owner does not want to sell tires to same sex couples. There is nothing sacred or expressive about a tire. No artist, having placed their work for public sale, may refuse to sell for an unlawful discriminatory purpose. No baker may place their wares in a public display case, open their shop, and then refuse to sell because of race, religion, gender, or gender identification,” Lampe wrote.

His distinction, he said, is between the act of selling a product to a same-sex couple and creating a product for the same couple.

“The difference here is that the cake in question is not yet baked,” Lampe wrote. “The State is not petitioning the court to order defendants to sell a cake. The State asks this court to compel Miller to use her talents to design and create a cake she has not yet conceived with the knowledge that her work will be displayed in celebration of a marital union her religion forbids. For this court to force such compliance would do violence to the essentials of Free Speech guaranteed under the First Amendment.”

The ruling doesn't end the case. It just allows Miller to continue denying same-sex couples wedding cakes until the trial is resolved sometime this summer.

#ItsNotOver

UK Radio Host James O'Brien Decimates Anti-LGBT Caller With One Question

Radio host James O'Brien

Discussing homosexuality and religion on his LBC radio show in the UK, host James O'Brien shut down a "Christian" caller named Daniel with just one question.

"What did Jesus say in the Bible about homosexuality?"

From Attitude:

Scrabbling for an answer, Daniel begins: "Well, in 1 Corinthians…”

But O'Brien cuts in to point out that the First Corinthians is "a letter written by someone who never met Jesus."

He adds: "1 Corinthians is a letter that St Paul wrote. What did Jesus say, on the record, in the Bible about homosexuality?"

As Daniel struggles to answer, O'Brien keeps on coming.

"It’s a simple question. What did he say? You can say nothing, because that’s the true answer, or you can carry on blustering," he says.

In all, O'Brien asks Daniel what Jesus said about homosexuality an incredible 27 times.

He tells the befuddled caller: "Listen, you have a great day. May God go with you. You can't answer the question about Jesus... which is kind of the point. Which leads me to conclude what you're really terrified of Daniel is something that's going on inside of you."

Check O'Brien's expert handling of the situation below:

Egypt: Lawmakers Prepare To Criminalize Homosexuality

In response to the raising of a rainbow flag at a concert last month, lawmakers in Egypt have drafted new legislation that would make being gay a crime punishable with prison time.

On September 22 in Cairo, at a concert performed by Lebanese band Mashrou’ Leila, the rainbow flag was raised.

Nearly 70 people were arrested, and more than 20 have been sentenced to time in prison ranging from six months to six years.

The new legislation would make homosexual behavior punishable by a prison sentence of one to three years. A repeat offense could mean an additional five years in prison.

Anyone identified as an LGBT ally or "supporter" could be imprisoned for one to three years.

Media coverage of events like LGBT Pride, as well as the organizers, could also suffer prison time.

And anyone who displays a "symbol of homosexuality" would be risking one to three years in prison as well.

This is dangerous stuff. I just had friends visiting Egypt on a vacation.

I can definitely tell you where you won't be finding me anytime soon.

(source)

Gay Couple Shamed For Attempting To Share Dessert

(image via flickr)

Upscale restaurant The Prime Rib in Washington D.C. prides itself as one of the top-five romantic restaurants in America.

But when Ron Gage, 55, and his partner, Henry McKinnon, 58, ordered one sundae with two spoons to close out their evening, the romantic atmosphere quickly died as their waiter told them two men eating from the same dish "doesn't go with the ambiance of the restaurant."

From the Washington Post:

“When it came time for dessert, we asked for one sundae with two spoons,” Gage said. Their server “said he would bring it in two separate dishes. He said ‘It wouldn’t look right with two gentlemen eating out of the same sundae. It doesn’t go with the ambiance of the restaurant.’ ”

The pair didn’t know how to react.

“We were speechless, we nodded,” Gage said. “We weren’t expecting it.”

Stunned, they kept their conversation with the server to a minimum for the rest of the meal, and tipped him 15 percent — they usually tip 20 — and left the restaurant without addressing it with a manager.

“I’m kind of embarrassed to say we didn’t say anything,” McKinnon said. “It just took us back to such a shameful place, in a way.”

But after they had slept on it, they were angry about the encounter and posted about it on Facebook and Yelp.

When contacted by The Washington Post, the Prime Rib’s general manager, James MacLeod, said he was still trying to piece together the situation and hadn’t had a chance to speak to the server in depth yet.

“The waiter in question is Bulgarian, and he does speak four different languages,” said MacLeod, noting that English is not the server’s first language. “I am not sure if he got confused as to what he was saying, or how he was saying it.”

While the manager says he plans to reach out to the couple, Gage and McKinnon say they doubt they'll return to the restaurant. “It was unbelievable how it made us feel,” McKinnon said.

Oakland A's Matt Joyce Suspended For 2 Games After Yelling Anti-Gay Slur At Fan

Oakland A's Matt Joyce

Matt Joyce of the Oakland A's has been suspended for two games after shouting an anti-gay slur at a fan during the A's 8-6 loss to the Angels this past Friday.

BleacherReport has the details:

Oakland Athletics outfielder Matt Joyce used an anti-gay slur Friday night during a verbal exchange with a fan while the A's were playing the Los Angeles Angels on the road.

Associated Press photographer Mark J. Terrill provided details, though he admitted to not hearing the beginning of the conversation, per ESPN.com. The Oakland right fielder said following the game he felt "regret" about the situation.

"It's just one of those things that fans kind of get into the game. Obviously, we're pretty frustrated on our side, and I had just hit a ball hard and had Cron [first baseman C.J. Cron] make a good play," he said.

"I was walking back to the dugout and just had a fan yell some vulgar and obscene words. For me, it just wasn't the right time to say some stuff like that. I fired back, and obviously as soon as you fire back, you regret saying anything, because it's just not worth it."

The Oakland A's issued a statement via Twitter denouncing the slur:

The A's are disappointed by the comments Matt Joyce made to a fan last night. This language is unacceptable & will not be tolerated.

— Oakland A's 🌳🐘⚾️ (@Athletics) August 5, 2017

The 33-year-old has previously played for the Detroit Tigers, Tampa Bay Rays, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and Pittsburgh Pirates.

Suspended for two games for the incident, Joyce has issued an apology on his Twitter:

1/ In regard to last night's incident, I first and foremost want to sincerely apologize to the fans, the Oakland A's, MLB and the most

— Matthew Joyce (@sweetswingin20) August 5, 2017

2/ importantly the LGBTQ community for my comments and actions. A fan yelled vulgar and obscene words about me and my family and I let my

— Matthew Joyce (@sweetswingin20) August 5, 2017

3/ frustrations and emotions get the better of me. I am beyond sorry for the inappropriate language that I used and understand and agree

— Matthew Joyce (@sweetswingin20) August 5, 2017

4/ that those words should NEVER come out of someone's mouth no matter the situation. Anyone who knows me will tell you that incident it is

— Matthew Joyce (@sweetswingin20) August 5, 2017

5/ not reflective of me as a person, how I treat others, how I live my life and that those hurtful words are not my views. I fully support

— Matthew Joyce (@sweetswingin20) August 5, 2017

6/ and hope to help the LGBTQ community with their efforts in being treated fairly and intend to let my actions speak louder than anything

— Matthew Joyce (@sweetswingin20) August 5, 2017

7/ more that can be said about this truly regrettable moment.

— Matthew Joyce (@sweetswingin20) August 5, 2017

. @Athletics OF Matt Joyce has received a 2-game suspension w/o pay, starting tonight.

— MLB Communications (@MLB_PR) August 5, 2017

The A's are reportedly donating Joyce's lost salary of nearly $54,000 to PFLAG.

The You Can Play team would like to invite the Oakland Athletics’ Matt Joyce ... to promote respect for the game of baseball and all fans. pic.twitter.com/PfQDm080BE

— You Can Play Project (@YouCanPlayTeam) August 5, 2017

Indonesia: Two Gay Men Receive 83 Lashes For Having Consensual Sex

Two men received 83 lashes with a cane in Indonesia's ultra-conservative Aceh province today for the crime of having consensual sex in the privacy of their home.

The men, aged 20 and 23, became the target of vigilantes when in March neighbors barged into an apartment, harassing the men, filming them with the intention of shaming them publicly.

This is the first incidence of gay men being caned under Sharia law in the province.

The public torture began at 9AM local time today and ended four hours later.

Throughout the punishment, locals cheered the canings.

One of the men was in his final year of medical school, but his hope of becoming a doctor is gone now. The school has kicked him out.

The student told the BBC, "I just want the caning to be over and to go back to my family, I have been deeply depressed. I am trying to pull myself out of a deep black hole."

Texas Congressman Weeps While Begging God To Forgive America For Marriage Equality

Oh, lord.

Republican Congressman Randy Weber became a weepy, crying mess on Wednesday night as he begged God to forgive America for allowing gay couples to get married.

Speaking at the annual “Washington – A Man of Prayer” event in Washington, D.C., Weber repeatedly got all teary-eyed while begging God to forgive America for the sins of marriage equality and abortion.

“We have endeavored to try and kick your word out of public schools.

“Father, we have endeavored to take the Bible out of classrooms, the Ten Commandments off the walls. Oh, Lord, forgive us. Father, we think we’re so smart, we have replaced your word and your precepts with drug-sniffing dogs, with metal detectors, with uniformed police officers in our schools. Oh, Lord, forgive us.

“Father, we have trampled on your holy institution of holy matrimony and tried to rewrite what it is and we’ve called it an alternate lifestyle. Father, oh Father, please forgive us.

“Lord, we have gone to killing the most innocent amongst.

“Your servant Moses warned in Deuteronomy 19 for us to choose life so that we and all our descendants might live. Father, we’re killing our descendants and we’re calling it a choice. Oh, God in heaven, forgive us, please.”

Watch the weeping below:

Tennessee "Don't Say Gay" Lawmaker Accused Of Adultery With Second Cousin

File this under "Christian Values Hypocrisy."

Ye who protesteth the loudest, do it the mosteth!

Tennessee state Sen. Joey Hensley, four times married and divorced “Christian family values” crusader, has been named in the divorce filing for a local couple.

According to court documents, both parties in the divorce allege he’s been "having relations" with the wife for three years.

Apparently, having sex with your married second cousin is ok with Jesus, but whatever you do, "don't say gay."

From The Nashville Scene:

Hensley, 61, was subpoenaed to appear last week in Williamson County Circuit Court to testify in the divorce proceedings of Hohenwald Vice Mayor Don Barber and his wife Lori. He refused to show up, citing legislative and medical privilege. “I didn’t have time to do it,” Hensley said when contacted on Friday afternoon. “I had nothing to do with the court case, and any testimony I would have given wouldn’t have made any difference.” But according to the sworn testimony of both Barbers, Hensley has been having an affair with Lori since 2014. Lori, 48, is a part-time nurse in Hensley’s medical practice in Lewis County; she is also his second cousin.

Hensley gained national notoriety in 2012 as a sponsor of the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which would have banned public school teachers from even mentioning that homosexuality exists. During one hearing that year, Hensley commented, “I don’t think Modern Family is appropriate for children to watch” — because it features a married gay couple raising children. This session, Hensley is sponsoring a bill from the Tennessee Family Action Council that would make children created using donor sperm illegitimate — an attempt to make it harder for gay and lesbian parents to establish paternity. He is also a sponsor of the so-called “Milo Bill,” aimed at liberal practices on college campuses.

But Lori Barber is not just a friend or a cousin or a lover — she is also Hensley’s patient. Barber testified in court that Hensley is her only doctor other than a cardiologist, and that she relies on him for recurrent Botox injections. She also said he has regularly prescribed her the hydrocodone pill Lortab — a Schedule II controlled substance — for “chronic back pain,” which she said Hensley first diagnosed after she hurt her neck.

Bolding is mine.

(h/t JoeMyGod)

Susan "Cindy Brady" Olsen Fired From Radio Gig Over Anti-Gay Slurs

Susan Olsen, famous for playing the precocious  "Cindy Brady" 40 years ago on The Brady Bunch sitcom, got the boot from her Los Angeles talk radio gig after using extremely anti-gay slurs in a Facebook message made public.

Via Gay Star News:

The politically conservative Olsen, who played Cindy Brady on the classic sitcom, was incensed when out actor Leon Acord described as a ‘Trump fanatic’ and called for her to be fired from the radio show in Facebook post. He accused Olsen of spreading misinformation.

She sent him a private message calling him a ‘faggot’ more than once and a ‘pussy’ among other crude insults.
Acord screenshot the messages and made them public.

The station said in a statement on its Facebook page that it had ‘severed ties’ with Olsen but did not use her name in sharing the news.

‘LA Talk Radio takes pride in its close and collaborative relationship with the LGBT community, and will continue to provide a home for those who have hopeful and positive messages of togetherness and tolerance to share with our listeners.’

‘We will not tolerate hateful speech by anyone associated with our radio station and have severed our ties with a host that veered off the direction in which we are going.

‘Thank you for your loyalty and continued support. LA Talk Radio stands for love and community, and we will always support all of our friends around the world.’

Tyler Clementi's Roommate Gets Bias Convictions Overturned

Today, former Rutgers student Dharun Ravi, who's anti-gay bullying led his roommate Tyler Clementi to commit suicide, saw his 15 count conviction overturned due to a change in state law in New Jersey.

Folks in the LGBT news world are stunned.

From NJ.com:

The appellate court sided with Ravi's attorneys who had argued he never should have been charged with bias crimes and his convictions should be reversed. The court also ordered a new trial saying Ravi could not have received a fair trial as the bias evidence "permeated the trial."

"It's far from over," Ravi's attorney Steven Altman said Friday morning. "I'm extraordinarily pleased with the decision. I haven't spoken with the Ravi family yet, but I can only imagine they're pleased as well."

The appellate decision arrives four years after Ravi's conviction on several counts of bias intimidation and other charges following a highly publicized trial in New Brunswick, which put a national spotlight on cyber bullying.

Clementi, of Ridgewood, who was Ravi's dorm mate at Rutgers University when the two were freshmen, jumped off the George Washington Bridge several days after the bullying incidents in September 2010 in which Ravi set up a remote webcam that spied on Clementi while he was having an intimate encounter with another man.

Ravi was not charged in Clementi's death and his defense maintained the webcam incidents had nothing to do with Clementi's decision to commit suicide. He was sentenced — and has already served — his 30-day sentence, three years of probation and 300 hours of community service.

After Ravi's conviction in 2012, the state Supreme Court in a separate case struck down part of the state's bias crime statute that focused on the victim's state of mind. According to that case, it is the defendant's state of mind and intent that is important, not the victim's.

The appellate court said the prosecution conceded in its oral arguments four of Ravi's bias convictions should "be void as a matter of law," and, accordingly, dismissed those charges with prejudice. The court also dismissed Ravi's conviction on hindering his own apprehension and tampering with witnesses.