Free Republic

New York (AFP) - One of the large digital billboards dotting New York's iconic Times Square briefly caught fire Saturday, before the blaze was extinguished with no reported injuries, officials said. Flames started bursting out of the billboard around 3:00 pm (1900 GMT). Social media users posted images and video showing the blaze burning on one side of the sign as it displayed an ad for SKYY vodka as sponsor of New York's WorldPride celebrations next month, marking the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall gay rights uprising. The ad featured drag queen Trixie Mattel. Other ads were also displayed on...

When applying for college, Anna Conner said Baylor University was a top choice for her. She grew up heavily in the church, but as a gay young woman, things proved complicated. The church wasn’t accepting of the LGBTQ community. “Can I be gay and Christian? Will God love me? Am I going to hell? There’s always those questions,” Conner said. ... Conner, from Houston and now a junior at Baylor, joined the club Gamma Alpha Upsilon, formerly known as the “Sexuality Identity Forum,” a LGBTQ student group on campus where she found community and solace. But the same feeling of...

For the first time ever, Bud Light is selling rainbow bottles for Pride Month to celebrate the LGBTQ community. The bottle features words of inclusivity and support. You can get the special bottle at bars nationwide from May 27 through June 30. Bud Light will donate a dollar from every purchase to GLAAD -- up to $150,000.

A U.K. retail chain is getting toasted roasted on social media over a controversial sandwich. In celebration of Pride festivities in the U.K., Marks and Spencer recently began offering its “LGBT” sandwich — a guacamole-inclusive twist on a BLT — complete with packaging decorated with the colors of the rainbow flag. But despite praise from some within the LGBTQI+ communities, the item raised more than a few eyebrows on Twitter, with some accusing the retailer of marginalizing the community and culture.

FULL TITLE: Pete Buttigieg is interrupted by homophobic hecklers AGAIN: Four evangelical protesters are dragged out of the Democratic candidate's rally after shouting 'marriage is between a man and a woman - repent' Presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg was subjected to homophobic heckling during an event in Texas on Friday night – but one of his Democratic challengers was quick to come to his aid. Buttigieg was speaking at the Dallas County Democratic Party’s Johnson Jordan Dinner yesterday evening when he was interrupted by anti-LGBT+ remarks on four separate occasions. ‘Marriage is between a man and a woman,’ shouted one protester....

Rachel Held Evans, a best-selling Christian author who was unafraid to wade into fierce theological battles over issues such as the role of women, science, LGBT issues and politics on her blog and social media, died Saturday, after spending weeks in the hospital for an infection. She was 37. Her husband Dan, who has been writing health updates, wrote on her blog on Saturday that she had been weaned from an induced coma, but swelling in her brain was not survivable. The hashtag #PrayforRHE became a trending topic on Twitter for Evans, who had two young children, ages 3 and...

Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg was interrupted several times by hecklers shouting anti-gay messages during a speech Friday evening in Dallas. The South Bend, Ind., mayor, who is gay, was speaking at the Dallas County Democratic Party's Johnson Jordan Dinner when he was interrupted several times by protesters, at least some of whom appeared to yell anti-gay messages, according to The Texas Tribune. "Marriage is between a man and a woman," one shouted. "Repent," another yelled, according to a video posted to Twitter by CNN reporter DJ Judd. Buttigieg reportedly carried on through the interruption, noting that he served in...

Did you see the front cover of Time? It features a picture of Mayor Pete Buttigieg and his “husband,” with the caption, “First Family.” Why this exaltation of a fairly obscure, outlying political figure?Could it be that he’s a white male?If anything, that would be a disqualifying factor for a Democratic presidential candidate today, even though Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders are still frontrunners.Could it be that he is young (just 37 years old)?So are Beto O’Rourke (46), Tim Ryan (45), Andrew Wang (44), Julián Castro (44), Wayne Bessam (44), Seth Moulton (40), Eric Swalwell (38), and Tulsi Gabbard (37).Could...

Don Lemon Cuts off Guest for Telling the Truth About Donald Trump Former White House aide Cliff Sims appeared on CNN Pre White House Correspondent Dinner Coverage with Alisyn Camerota and Don Lemon. Lemon tried to push his usual Liberal narrative but Sims was not having it and corrected Lemon. So in the usual Lemon fashion, he cut him off, as a strong opposing opinion is not allowed. Camerota started them off claiming that Trump says a lot of nice things but because he talks about how the Mueller Report was a witch hunt, it diminishes what he says in...

The confirmation class at First United Methodist Church in Omaha wanted to take a stand against the denomination’s longtime ban on same-sex marriage and gay clergy. So when it came time to join the church on Sunday — the traditional end to a yearlong exploration of their faith — the class, made up of eight middle-schoolers, said no. Their decision was in response to a vote at February’s United Methodist General Conference in St. Louis affirming the denomination’s rules against ordination of gay clergy and performing same-sex weddings on church property. U.S. delegates to the conference, for the most part,...

Some Game of Thrones fans are incredibly disappointed after the big sex scene in the show's most recent episode — and they're convinced one of the participants was disappointed, too. Most viewers were surprised when Arya Stark got together with Gendry in Sunday's night's episode, but it wasn't just because Arya is young and hadn't had sex before. On Twitter, a vocal contingent of fans are insisting that Arya is a lesbian and are upset that Game of Thrones writers aren't acknowledging it.

There’s at least one area of agreement among conservative, centrist and liberal leaders in the United Methodist Church: America’s largest mainline Protestant denomination is on a path toward likely breakup over differences on same-sex marriage and ordination of LGBT pastors. The differences have simmered for years, and came to a head in February at a conference in St. Louis where delegates voted 438-384 for a proposal called the Traditional Plan, which strengthens bans on LGBT-inclusive practices. A majority of U.S.-based delegates opposed that plan and favored LGBT-friendly options, but they were outvoted by U.S. conservatives teamed with most of the...

Socially conservative former Rep. Aaron Schock, R- Ill., was reportedly photographed at a music festival making out with another man. During his tenure in Congress, the 37-year-old Schock voted against the repeal of "don’t ask, don’t tell" and voted in favor of adding a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. He received a zero rating from the Human Rights Campaign for his voting record. Despite his socially conservative political career, Schock, who now lives in West Hollywood, was purportedly photographed with a group of gay men at California's famed Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, according to Metro Weekly, an LGBT-focused...

Kirsten Gillibrand wants to be president, but for one night, she was hanging with queens. The New York senator and Democratic hopeful stopped by a gay bar in Des Moines, Iowa, Friday night. She joined the girls backstage, swapped dresses with a drag queen, and painted her mug for the gods. (Translation: she applied makeup beautifully.) On Friday night, Gillibrand wrote on Twitter that she had been invited by “Vana and the amazing queens at the Blazing Saddle for a visit before their show. I felt underdressed, so I brought a dress I picked up yesterday—turns out it fit me,...

The 37-year-old Indiana mayor — a graduate of Harvard and Oxford universities, Rhodes Scholar, Afghanistan veteran and musician — sent social media ablaze Monday night when he delivered a touching message to the people of France in the wake of the Notre Dame blaze — in fluent French. English and French are just two of seven languages that Buttigieg speaks. “To the people of France, I would like to say that Notre Dame cathedral was like a gift to the human species,” the Democrat told a reporter from the French station BFM TV at a fundraiser in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. “We...

NEW YORK (AP) — CNN anchor Don Lemon has announced his engagement to New York real estate agent Tim Malone. Lemon, who has two dogs with Malone, posted on Instagram photos of customized canine tags that read: “DADDY WILL YOU MARRY PAPA?” on Saturday. Referring to Malone, the 53-year-old Lemon wrote in the caption: “He gave me a present on his birthday. How could I say no?” Malone confirmed the engagement on his Instagram story, posting: “He said YES!” Other photos show Lemon and Malone together with friends for Malone’s birthday celebration at a New York restaurant Friday.

Is America ready for a gay couple in the white house?

SCIENCEDIRECT.COM A mid-2000’s study linking anti-gay prejudice to shorter lifespans for lesbians, gays, and bisexual individuals has been retracted on grounds that it was an “erroneous” finding.The study “Structural stigma and all-cause mortality in sexual minority populations” was conducted by researchers from Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health and was published by the peer-reviewed academic journal Social Science & Medicine in February 2014.The study purported to have found that lesbian, gay, and bisexual people who live in communities with high levels of anti-gay sentiment tend to die earlier than lesbians, gays and bisexuals who live in communities that are...

20th Century Fox Television and Fox Entertainment have voiced their support for “Empire” star Jussie Smollett after it was reported the actor and musician staged an attack on himself in Chicago. Chicago media had previously reported that Smollett staged the attack because he was being written off of the Fox series. However the Chicago P.D. said the reports of a hoax are still unconfirmed. “The idea that Jussie Smollett has been, or would be, written off of ‘Empire’ is patently ridiculous,” the network and studio said in a joint statement. “He remains a core player on this very successful series...

Jussie Smollett has given his first interview about the shocking racist and homophobic attack he was subjected to as he walked home from a Subway in Chicago last month at 2am. The Empire actor spoke to ABC's Robin Roberts for an interview that will air on Good Morning America on Thursday morning. In a brief promo for the interview, he is seen tearing up after Roberts asked him if he feared for his life at any point during the attack. It is the first time the 36-year-old himself will answer questions on camera about the incident which shocked the nation...