Miss Universe Jimena Navarrete Supports Marriage Equality

Andrés Duque at Blabbeando translates an interview with the recently-crowned Miss Universe, Jimena Navarrete of Mexico. Navarrete is asked her opinion about same-sex marriage:

"I believe that every person in this world has the right to profess the beliefs they have and I am in agreement. We have to respect what each human being decides to do with their lives, no? Clearly, there are limitations, of course, also, as there also are with heterosexual couples, no? Better said, there are limitations for any of the two - if they are heterosexual or homosexual - but I believe we have to learn to be respectful because they are people who are the same as us. There is no difference. And I don't believe it's just to discriminate somebody based on the gender they prefer, no? Based on the partner they choose to select, if it's a man or a woman. The truth is that I am absolutely against discrimination and, well, what can I say. I have many friends who are homosexual and I adore them. And they are equal folk: There is no reason we should want to set them aside, there is no reason why we shouldn't let them enjoy what they want to enjoy with their partner."

As you may recall, the Mexican Supreme Court recently declared Mexico City's marriage equality law constitutional and ruled that all Mexican states must recognize same-sex marriages.

News: Kanye West, Today Show, Scott Long, HIV, Sean Penn

Obama's gay marriage timeline.

Miss Universe: Best pageant reaction ever?

Sean Penn tries on a Robert Smith look on set in Dublin.

Scott Long, founding director of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Rights Program at Human Rights Watch, has resigned, for health reasons: "Long joined the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission in 1996. He then began his work at Human Rights Watch in 2002 and after two years spent investigating Egyptian authorities’ violent responses to gay male sex, decided to launch the LGBT division in 2004. It was one of the first such programs to be involved with a mainstream human rights organisation."

John Barrowman holds two-day USA garage sale, insists he's not leaving Wales.

Baltimore holds wedding expo for same-sex couples hoping to wed in D.C.

Watch the Kickstarter trailer: From Baghdad to Brooklyn — a documentary about the story of gay Iraqi refugee Mohamed.

Kanye West says he's releasing a new song every weekend until Xmas.

Scientists identify components of protein that destroys HIV in rhesus monkeys.

The YouTube stars making more than $100,000 per year.

Semi-finalists selected in Pride Films and Plays Great Gay Screenplay contest.

Jury selection to begin in trial of Lawrence King's killer, Brandon Mcinerney: "A Ventura County judge has ruled that jurors from neighboring Santa Barbara County will be chosen for the upcoming trial of a teen accused of killing a gay classmate. Superior Court Judge Charles Campbell said Monday that the trial of 16-year-old Brandon McInerney will remain in Ventura County. McInerney's attorneys had been seeking a change of venue."

Dancing with The Situation?

Taylor Lautner has already become a prima donna.

OUT magazine presents oral histories of New York City's St. Vincent's hospital, which recently closed but was "the ground zero for AIDS and one time home to survivors of the Titanic, the Stonewall Riots, and 9-11."

Jon Hamm is a sharp dressed man.

Bristol Palin gets $14,000 speaking fee. How much to shut her up?

15-year-old arrested for anti-gay SF MUNI attack.

Extremely bendable go-go boy hits Splash bar NYC.

Joseph Farah on Ann Coulter and her lies: "My eyes have been opened."

No gay couples were chosen for the Today show's wedding contest: "There was public pressure on NBC from gay rights groups earlier in the summer to change the rules for the contest. Previously, same sex couples had been excluded from participating because of the restrictions on gay marriage in New York. After meeting with gay rights group GLAAD in July, though, NBC announced that it would be changing its rules, since New York's marriage laws recognize gay marriages performed in other states."

Watch: Miss New York 2010 Claire Buffie Talks About Being the First Miss America to Compete on a Gay Rights Platform

Miss New York 2010 Claire Buffie is the first Miss America contestant in the 90-year history of the pageant to run on a gay rights platform. Plum TV caught up with Buffie at the Empire State Pride Agenda's annual Hampton's Tea Dance.

Says Buffie: "I fell like gay rights are the civil rights movement of my generation, and I think it's really important to have straight ally support because any time you want to effect a change with a minority you have to have support from the majority, and I'm that voice now...My older sister Sarah is a lesbian, but in addition to her, I grew up in the performing arts. So many of my friends are LGBT, and it's my duty as a straight ally to represent them."

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

Slabs of Shirtless Swiss Judged in Geneva

So in Geneva, Switzerland they have an annual "Mister Switzerland" pageant in which presumably heterosexual men compete for the title. Jan Buehlman (above) won this year's title over the weekend.

 

From what I can gather, contestants are judged based on their ability to prance and crouch while wearing the pageant's signature khaki short uniform.

Watch: Keith Olbermann and Dan Savage Discuss Miss Beverly Hills 2010 Lauren Ashley and Her Gay-Hating Remarks

Dan Savage appeared on Countdown with Keith Olbermann last night to discuss Miss Beverly Hills 2010 and her remarks that gays should know they'll be put to death because it says so in the Bible.

They also discuss Ashley's predilection for plastic surgery, her fraudulent claim to the title, and everything else surrounding this fresh pageant controversy.

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

City of Beverly Hills Shuns Pageant Queen Lauren Ashley

A day after an interview with Miss Beverly Hills 2010 Lauren Ashley was published on FOX News in which she said she opposed gay marriage and said gays should take heed of what it says in Leviticus, the city of Beverly Hills says she is a fraud and disavows any connection with her, the L.A. Times reports:

"In a statement Wednesday, the city said it was shocked by Ashley's description of herself as 'Miss Beverly Hills.' The city 'does not sponsor a beauty pageant and has no association with Miss California USA,' the statement said. 'As such, there should be no individual claiming the title of Miss Beverly Hills.' The city's statement said Ashley lives in Pasadena and 'does not represent Beverly Hills in any capacity.' ... 'We are dismayed by any potential association with the city of Beverly Hills, which has a long history of tolerance and respect,' Mayor Nancy Krasne said....Beverly Hills said it had contacted pageant officials to determine how to prevent any future beauty contestants from claiming the title of Miss Beverly Hills."