Free Republic

Springfield, Mo.SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — An LGBT-inclusive non-discrimination ordinance passed by the Springfield, Mo., city council last October, was overturned by voters on Tuesday.With more than 97 percent of the votes tallied, 51.4 percent of voters opted to repeal the ordinance, while 48.5 percent voted to retain the measure.The vote comes following months of campaigning by advocates and opponents of the measure, which added sexual orientation and gender identity to the list of protected categories in employment, housing, and public accommodations.The city council approved the ordinance by a 6-3 vote on October 13.But any celebration was short-lived when, in November, an...

Country star Ty Herndon has something to share: He's an "out, proud and happy gay man." Herndon, 52, came out publicly as gay in an interview with People magazine. He says he's known he was gay since he was a child and started coming out to family members in his 20s. But the "What Mattered Most" singer, who had a number of hits in the 1990s, kept the news close to the vest. It wasn't until he attended a Tony Robbins seminar in 2009 that he decided to become more public, he told the magazine. "I realized I had an...

Hidden cameras used to film men in bathroom stalls has led to the arrest of a Missouri police officer who's accused of taking and posting the videos on a pornographic website. The shocking bust of 33-year-old Chesterfield officer David Cerna caps the discovery of videos of numerous men — some with faces shown — using a bathroom stall without knowing that a camera was trained on them, Fox2Now reported. "When I saw myself pooping, I was just like, you've gotta be kidding me," alleged victim Rob Cheney told Fox reporter Chris Heyes, who was the first to crack the investigation....

NEW YORK — The announcement May 30 that the National Park Service will begin installing markers at places of importance to the history of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans is a step toward including them in the national narrative — and components of education, supporters said. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell made the announcement at the Stonewall Inn, the scene of riots in June 1969 that are widely credited with starting the modern gay rights movement. Stonewall was made a national historic landmark in 2000, and June is widely celebrated as LGBT Pride Month. Jewell said the nation is on...

A Walmart employee in upstate New York allegedly made very productive use of his time during overnight shifts in the store. Unfortunately, he did so by advertising his services online as a prostitute, then meeting clients in a store bathroom during his breaks. Great efficient use of time, but also kind of illegal.According to state police, the store bosses became suspicious and alerted authorities about the 22-year-old’s possible side hustle. Police had an undercover officer set up an appointment and offer to exchange sex for money. The man was arrested and charged with prostitution, and has been suspended while Walmart...

INDIANA (KDKA/AP) An Indiana County man was sentenced to serve jail time for recording men on a cell phone while they were using the restroom. According to an Associated Press report, Christopher Marsh, 31, of Blairsville, recorded men on 42 occasions from September to November 2008. The incidents took place at restrooms in Wal-Mart stores in Unity Township and Burrell Township and on the campus of Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He was arrested after a Wal-Mart employee noticed that Marsh had spent more than 3 ½ hours in the restroom.

The list of rules in Seattle parks may be about to grow. A proposed ban on spitting in parks — one of 13 behaviors Seattle Parks and Recreation wants to regulate, including a ban on smoking on its grounds — already is generating heated public comment. [snip] Besides spitting and smoking, the newly prohibited behaviors would include going into a restroom for the opposite sex, "sexual misconduct," possession of fireworks and other explosives, using flammable liquids and leaving packages and backpacks unattended. Some of these behaviors already are prohibited by existing law but have not been itemized in parks regulations.

PINEVILLE, La. (AP) - Fourteen men were arrested at a central Louisiana rest area during an eight-day sting police launched in response to complaints that people were engaging in sexual acts there. Those rounded up included a retired realtor, a Rapides Parish school bus driver and a Bastrop mailman. Police say many of the suspects are married with children and grandchildren. Lieutenant Greg Henley says the men were booked into the Rapides Parish jail on a charge of felony obscenity after police caught them having either oral or anal sex in the park. This is not the first time a...

<p>MEGA-RICH pop superstar George Michael this week sank to new levels of depravity—trawling for illegal gay sex thrills in a London park.</p> <p>News of the World investigators caught the singer red-handed and red-faced as he emerged from the bushes after cavorting with a pot-bellied, 58-year-old, jobless van driver.</p>

Park Still A Hotbed For Illicit Sex Threatened Crackdown So Far Has Little Effect August 7, 2004 By GARY LIBOW, Courant Staff Writer HADDAM -- Word of an impending police undercover crackdown on illicit sexual activity at Seven Falls State Park doesn't appear to have deterred gay men looking for an encounter. On Friday at 3 p.m., men sat in two vehicles in the lower parking lot of the state park, located just over the Haddam-Middletown border. On Thursday afternoon, several cars were parked alongside Route 154 as well as in the lower lot. Resident Trooper Jim Connelly said that...