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Kentucky Hub



04/19/2007


Gay Louisville Pastor and His Partner of 9 Years Arrested After Demanding Marriage License: VIDEO

Blanchard

Openly gay Louisville Baptist Minister The Rev. Bojangles Blanchard and his partner of 9 years, Domique James, were arrested yesterday after a peaceful "pray-in" at City Hall, where they requested and were denied a marriage license.

2_blanchardThe couple then refused to leave. They were taken into custody and charged with criminal trespass.

Said Blanchard to WDRB: "President Obama obviously supports this. There's other people in our state and city and country who support it. But, we need regular folk to stand up and be heard and let their faces be seen and their words be read, so that people know that this is not alright,"

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

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Tiny Appalachian City of Vicco is Fourth in Kentucky to Pass an LGBT Non-Discrimination Ordinance

City_vicco
The Vicco City Commission, via the Fairness Campaign.

Vicco, Kentucky, a small Appalachian city, is the fourth in the state (and the first in a decade) to pass an LGBT non-discrimination ordinance, the ACLU reports:

Situated in the southern tip of Perry County in the Appalachian mountain region, Vicco was incorporated in 1964 and currently boasts a population of 334 residents, according to 2010 U.S. Census data. It is nestled in the heart of coal country and was originally named for Virginia Iron Coal and Coke Company, a large land business still operating in the region.
 
"Vicco is a community that believes all folks should be treated fairly," shared Vicco City Attorney Eric Ashley. "We believe everyone deserves the opportunity for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Fairness is a Kentucky value, a Vicco value, and one of our most American values."
 
Vicco's passage of a Fairness law comes on the heels of several other Kentucky communities' movements towards anti-discrimination protections through work with the Fairness Coalition of the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky (ACLU-KY), Fairness Campaign, Kentucky Commission on Human Rights, Kentucky Fairness Alliance, and Lexington Fairness.


News: Powerball, Action Figures, Morsi, Botany

A somewhat belated congratulations to California lawmaker Cathleen Galgiani! The Democratic state senator who came out of the closet to fight anti-gay bullying eked out a reelection victory last week.

RomneyGasAs Mitt Romney settles into post-campaign life at his mansion in La Jolla, California, one has to wonder how he's coping with the town's growing stench. From the NYT: "...The smell, a pungent stench that emanates from the accumulation of bird feces on the rocks, has become a growing problem. And strict environmental regulations in the cove have stymied the city’s efforts to address the problem before it drives tourists and businesses away, effectively roping the rocks off with red tape."

There's definitely still plenty of red tape to be put up before Washington and Colorado residents can buy legal green: "Like Washington, Colorado still needs to set up a regulatory framework to handle what is expected to be a big expansion of its marijuana market, even though the state already has more medical marijuana dispensaries than it has Starbucks."

A cost of mobile accessibility in India: "Millions once bought sex in the narrow alleys of Kamathipura, a vast red-light district here. But prostitutes with inexpensive mobile phones are luring customers elsewhere, and that is endangering the astonishing progress India has made against AIDS."

Now you too can be an action figure.

BlackDahliaThe mystery of the black dahlia has been solved. The actual flower, not the legendary murder mystery.

Twilight Breaking Dawn Part 2 topped the box office this weekend, as expected.

Derek Hough left his sleeves at home for Dancing with the Stars rehearsal.

PETA says happy birthday to Miley Cyrus by giving her a pig.

Feeling lucky enough to buy a ticket for the $425 million Powerball drawing?

And a very happy birthday to The Killing actor Joel Kinnaman.

A Catholic speaks out against Vatican-backed hate.

Faced with protests for his ouster, Egyptian President Morsi now claiming his dictatorial power grab is just temporary. "The presidency reiterates the temporary nature of those measures, which are not intended to concentrate power, but to avoid ... attempts to undermine democratically elected bodies and preserve the impartiality of the judiciary," he office said in a statement that gave no end date for his sudden one-man rule.

CarlaBruniFormer French first lady Carla Bruni said that she, unlike husband Nicolas Sarkozy, supports same-sex marriage and gay adoption. "I am rather in favor of gay marriage and adoption, I have a lot of friends -- women and men -- who are in this situation and I see nothing unstable or perverse in families with homosexual parent," the former model and musician told Vogue.

It will be a big, gay week for the Supreme Court.

A Kentucky teacher has been reprimanded after writing "You can’t be a Democrat & go to Heaven" on her classroom's chalk board.


Ky. Men Acquitted In Anti-Gay Hate Crime Case

KYHateCrimeAnthony Ray Jenkins and David Jason Jenkins managed to escape a federal hate crime guilty verdict in their Kentucky trial yesterday. The Jenkins boys were brought up on kidnapping and hate crime charges after they attacked 29-year old Kevin Pennington in 2009.

Pennington and prosecutors said Pennington's sexual orientation was the target; defense said the incident stemmed from a family feud and accused prosecutors of kowtowing to President Obama's "special interests" looking to win the federal government's first anti-gay hate crime case.

"If the government and President Obama want to bow to the special-interest groups, that’s their business, but they picked the wrong case," said the criminal defense attorney, Willis Coffey. Coffey previously challenged the hate crime charge for "arbitrarily" creating "protected classes".

While they escaped hate crimes charges, the Jenkins cousins were found guilty of kidnapping and conspiracy to kidnap. They will be sentenced in February.


Gay Man Sues Kentucky Jail After Inmate Bites Off Part of Nose

Brandon Milam, a gay man incarcerated in Kentucky for violating his probation for a guilty plea to felony theft, is filing a lawsuit against the Warren County Regional Jail after he was placed into a cell with 14 other men where he was subject to a week of homophobic harassment before he was pinned down by fellow inmate Timothy Schwartz who bit part of his nose off.

A photo of Milam's injuries (warning: graphic), AFTER THE JUMP...

JailGayNZ.com reports:

Brandon Milam claims he was disfigured, lost his sense of smell and remains in pain from the July attack in the Warren County Regional Jail.

“Other inmates made it well known that they did not approve that I was gay,” he says in a statement.
“I remember hearing my nose getting ripped off my face and seeing him spit it on the floor. They all four started in yelling ‘kill the faggot’ and ‘beat that lil’ ho fag’.”

He is seeking unspecified damages. He has sued the jail, its top official, the county and the accused attacker, Timothy Schwartz.

The AP adds:

Milam was attacked while sitting on his bed, the suit said. Schwartz pinned Milam against the wall and punched him in the face, then bit off part of Milam's nose, according to the lawsuit. Bartley Hagerman, another attorney for Milam, said jail guards were slow to respond.

"You would think with all of the commotion they would have gotten there quicker," Hagerman said.

Milam has since been placed on house arrest, Mehr said. Kentucky Equality Federation, a gay rights and civil rights group that has offered assistance to Milam, has urged federal authorities to pursue a case against Schwartz as a hate crime.

A photo of Milam's injuries (warning: graphic), AFTER THE JUMP...

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Gay Wedding Video of the Day: Robert and Nathanael

Lexington

Robert and Nathanael celebrated a September 8 wedding at The Mansion at Griffin Gate Marriott Resort in Lexington, Kentucky.

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

The Advocate writes: "Video of the couple's wedding went viral on Twitter Tuesday, as some found it surprising that a member of the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity, a traditionally African-American fraternity, would get hitched with the support of family and friends. Brown confirmed on Twitter that only Gay is a member of the fraternity, but added that he's glad he could be an inspiration for others who have reached out to him."

Don't miss our other recent Gay Wedding videos...
Gay Wedding Video of the Day: JoAnna and Jenny [tr]
Gay Wedding Video of the Day: Kenton and Johnny [tr]
Gay Wedding Video of the Day: Jeff and Joe [tr]
Gay Wedding Video of the Day: Tim and Nic [tr]
Gay Wedding Video of the Day: Randy and Keaton [tr]

Continue reading "Gay Wedding Video of the Day: Robert and Nathanael" »





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