Charles Pugh, a TV reporter turned politician, made history in 2009 as the first openly gay elected official in the city of Detroit. In an overwhelming show of support, Pugh won a seat onto Detroit city council and replaced Cockrel as council president.

Born and raised in Detroit, Pugh rose up from what some might call insurmountable circumstances. Pugh’s mother was murdered when he was only 3 years old. Four years later, Pugh’s father committed suicide when he shot himself in the head just across the hall from Charles’ bedroom, leaving him to make a 911 call no child should ever have to make. Raised by his grandmother, Pugh went on to become an honor student in high school and eventually left Detroit to attend the University of Missouri on a journalism scholarship. He did a stint as a reporter in Virginia and Indiana before returning to his hometown to join the Detroit Fox 2 News team.

Pugh is known for being a very public and positive figure in the LGBT community. Unapologetically gay, Pugh Read the rest of this entry »

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Vallejo, California mayor Osby Davis is on the hot seat for anti-gay comments published in the New York Times article titled, Faith and Tolerance Collide in Vallejo. In the article, Davis comments “They’re committing sin and that sin will keep them out of heaven.” Davis further referred to Vallejo as a “city of God.”

Davis has since apologized for his statement and claims it was taken out of context. He now states he will not discuss his faith with anybody anymore. Davis’ apology may not be enough for many members of the LGBT community in Vallejo. One gay resident, Charles Legalos, stated, “I would like to hear him explain in what context those comments would be appropriate coming from a public official.”

Openly gay bishop Father Lou Bordisso is organizing a protest against Davis for violating the separation of church and state. Bordisso has called for a peaceful protest rally to be held on Tuesday, December 1st at 6:15 p.m. on the steps of Vallejo City Hall.

Check out video of the news coverage after the jump… Read the rest of this entry »

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Out magazine has released its Class of 2009 honorees representing those outstanding and inspiring figures in the LGBT community.

So who made the list?

Lee Daniels made the list as “Most Likely To Win An Oscar,” Wanda Sykes as “Entertainer of the Year,” Kehinde Wiley & Bebe Zahara Benet as “Promoter & Director,” Pam Spaulding of Pam’s House Blend as “Most Likely to Be In The Computer Lab,” Nick Cave as “Most Artistic,” Tina Mabry as “The Fighter,” The Hetrick-Martin Institute and Harvey Milk High School as “The Real Class of 2009.”

Check out the photos after the jump… Read the rest of this entry »

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Playboy playmate Stephanie Adams, a.k.a. Miss November 1992, gained public notoriety as the first openly gay playmate in the publication’s history. Adams came out in 2003 and became an instant public figure in the LGBT community, even garnering the title of “Best NYC Lesbian Sex Symbol” in 2004 by the Village Voice. However, Adams has since entered into a relationship with a man with whom she’s now engaged.

Adams, who describes her man as “loving, supportive, and successful,” told Page Six, Read the rest of this entry »

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Tessa Moon (L), Mitrice Richardson (R)

Mitrice Richardson, the 24 year-old Cal State Fullerton graduate that went missing after her release from police custody on September 17, is still missing despite the efforts of her family and friends. Now, her girlfriend of two years, Tessa Moon, has made a public plea to the Los Angeles LGBT community to come out and help find Mitrice. The community is asked to attend a special community meeting oon Monday, November 2nd at 6pm in the Read the rest of this entry »

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This past Thursday (October 22), the United States Senate passed the “Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act,” which expands existing federal hate crime law to include crimes based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Matthew Shepard was a college student beaten and killed because of his sexual orientation.  James Byrd, Jr. was an African-American man chained to a pickup truck and dragged to his death in rural East Texas back in 1998 solely because of his race.

President Obama will sign the bill into law on Wednesday (October 28).

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The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, starring Jill Scott, and True Blood have received recognition by GLAAD as two of several shows on HBO that promote visibility of LGBT characters in the media. Both shows were included in GLAAD’s 3rd-Annual Network Responsibility Index, released today. The Index reports GLAAD’s “evalution of the quantity and quality of images of LGBT people on television.”

Among broadcast network television, America’s Next Top Model also received recognition for its part in promoting visibility in the LGBT community and was noted as being the show responsible for providing most of the CW’s LGBT content.

Click HERE to check out GLAAD’s Network Responsibility Index.

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The trial against accused transgender killer, Dwight DeLee, began yesterday, June 13, in Syracuse, NY. DeLee has been charged with second-degree murder as a hate crime under New York state law, which may add additional years to DeLee’s prison sentence if he’s convicted, stemming from an incident that occurred November 2008, in Syracuse, NY, wherein transgender Lateisha Green was murdered because of her sexual orientation. Green, born a boy, named Moses Canon, but lived mostly as a female since age 16, attended a party with her brother, Mark Cannon. Both Green and Cannon attended this party dressed as men, but since the partygoers believed them to be gay, rejected their presence and began shouting “profane and vulgar comments” at the brothers, according to police reports. Moments later, DeLee allegedly went outside to find Green and Cannon sitting in their car and fired a single shot from a .22-caliber rifle into the car, grazing Cannon’s arm but hitting Green, 22, in the chest, killing him.

More of the story and video of the family’s press conference after the jump… Read the rest of this entry »

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