VA LT Gov candidate stays in
The way gay men conduct their lives still flummoxes the U. S. Republican Party. The latest example is a dust-up in Virginia. John Reid, a radio personality, is the nominee for lieutenant governor. He is an out and proud gay man who has done all the things most gay men have done except vote for Democrats. The Family Foundation Action Group called on him to get out of the race after media reports of a Tumblr account purporting to be registered to Reid surfaced. The account featured salacious pictures and statements, things most gay men call “a profile”. A usually politically sure-footed governor, Glenn Youngkin, was back-footed and called for Reid’s resignation. Reid said “no,” and furthermore, he doesn’t have a Tumblr account. No one has checked Grindr. He posted on X, “Have I seen porn? Yes. Have I had one-night stands? Yes. Are my exes all still in love with me? No,” he said. He accused his opponents of extortion. Reid does have some support. The candidate for governor, Winsome Earle-Sears, is unconcerned. An official in a red voting southwest Virginia County, told the Washington Post, “I’m not real fond of the fact that he’s a homosexual, but as long as he’s doing the job, that’s his business.”
Paying for sex with a minor OK in Calif.
California Democrats are flummoxed when it comes to teens and sex. Senators in the Cali-Legislature opposed a bill enhancing penalties for adults having paid-for sex with teenagers. Dems claimed the penalties would disproportionately affect LGBT Californians. They posited that parents who are upset that their children are in LGBT relationships with someone older may use the law to punish the other party. State Sen. Scott Wiener, a strong and usually level-headed proponent of LGBT protections, argued that “sending an 18-year-old high school senior to state prison for offering his 17-year-old classmate $20 to fool around isn’t smart criminal justice policy.” High schoolers get paid to fool around? Now they tell me. The bill removed the enhanced penalties over the objection of California Governor Gavin Newsom, who issued a statement, “California law should treat all sex predators who solicit minors the same — as a felony, regardless of the intended victim’s age.”
World Pride pulls out of Kennedy Center
The WorldPride event in Washington D.C. and host, Capital Pride Alliance, have been scrambling to hold performances and exhibitions in a venue other than their first choice, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Three WorldPride events initially planned at the Kennedy Center — a display of panels from the AIDS Memorial Quilt, a Drag Story Hour, and the Reading Room — have been relocated to the WorldPride Welcome Center in D.C.’s Chinatown-Gallery Place neighborhood. The relocation was caused by the change in management of the KCPA. The withdrawal from KCPA was because the organizers felt the new management was not “welcoming.” They cited statements on Truth Social earlier by the president that KCPA would not host drag shows or anti-American content. KCPA management said two of the three events would have been ok. The third was a little problematic, though there is no policy that would prevent “men dressed as women” from performing, says the KCPA PR office. Drag may be allowed, but sexualized performances or audience composition may be taken into account. Capital Pride Alliance Executive Director Ryan Bos said organizers “proactively pulled events from the ‘inhospitable’ environment.”
Poland no longer ‘LGBTQ free’
Since 2019, municipalities in Poland have used national legislation called the “Charter of Family Rights” to declare “LGBTQ-free zones.” One hundred municipalities did just that. The “Charter” allowed for the prohibition of events, literature, flags, businesses, behavior, and such that appeared to exhibit LGBT proclivity to be banned. This law ran afoul of the European Union’s Human Rights regulations, and opposition to the practice has been working through the EU bureaucracy. The European Union is withholding subsidies for schools, agriculture, economic development, and social services from cities and counties that had such zones. The governing council of the last “Charter LGBTQ Free Zone” in Poland has repealed the designation. Council members made clear, however, that they were motivated only by financial considerations. The national government, dominated by the Law and Justice Party, with the acronym which Polish syntax turns into PIS, passed the law in 2019 and made up the subsidies lost from the EU. PIS was removed from government control in recent elections, and the new government ended the subsidies.
HHS reduces LGBT-focused grants
The budget for the U. S. Health and Human Services Department is facing a 25 percent reduction in the 2025-26 fiscal year budget plan. The reduction is expected to change service delivery and research projects relating to the LGBTQ Community. The outline shows the consolidation of HIV services from 25 to 15 institutes and offices. The LGBT Youth suicide hotline is being folded into the general youth suicide hotline program. Grants ranging from $205,000 to $6.4 million for research are being canceled, cut, or consolidated into larger studies. Epidemiology research is mostly preserved through consolidation, but mental health grants will be cut. For example, eating disorders among transgender youth, HIV inequities among sexual and gender minorities, and sleep health disparities in Black sexual-minority men, and the impact of COVID-19 on LGBTQ+ individuals will all be defunded. Medical, prevention, and direct mental health programs will have budgets shifted to larger programs. Critics are unsure of the extent of cuts and consolidation, as many programs are embedded in law, but fear removing LGBT-focused service delivery and research risks losing understanding of small or marginalized populations.
Barry Diller, call him fluid
Better late than never, 83-year-old media mogul Barry Diller has revealed he is gay in a new autobiography. Maybe fluid is a better way to characterize him, as he also rhapsodizes about his 2001 marriage to, equally senior, fashion icon Diane von Furstenberg. Diller was head of Paramount Studios and is still involved with media holding company IAC and is chair of Expedia Group, a travel company, At Paramount he oversaw production of many iconic movies including, “Saturday Night Fever,” “Grease,” “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” and “Temple of Doom.” His television credits include “Laverne & Shirley,” “Taxi,” and “Cheers.” He writes that he decided to “live with silence, but not with hypocrisy,” and “wouldn’t do a single thing to make anyone believe I was living a heterosexual life.” He says that his attraction to men never conflicted with his love for von Fürstenberg, who has not yet publicly commented on his revelations.
Mayor Pete, tanned, rested, and ready
Publishing a policy book or personal history, giving speeches to big city economic clubs, or losing weight are indications of a person getting ready to run for president of the United States. Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg made the most positive move to throw his chapeau in the ring by stumping in Iowa three years before the Iowa caucuses, which he won in 2020. He made a major speech to the Democratic group VoteVets’ town hall event in Cedar Rapids. One of the previous presidential administration’s most articulate spokespeople, he criticized the current administration, but also called for the Democratic Party to start reaching out to swing and moderate voters, groups that voted Republican in the 2024 elections. Mayor Pete stoked presidential speculation earlier this year by bowing out of open Senate and gubernatorial elections in his new home state of Michigan, where he and his husband and children took up residence last year. Mayor Pete said many advise him to hang back and wait for the current president “to screw up.” He said he wanted the party to get in touch with “first principles.” He mentioned several, including restoring federally sponsored abortions, earning him a 30-second standing ovation.
Gay dating app sting nets twink terrorists
Police in Australia have arrested 35 individuals who have been using gay dating apps to lure, attack, and rob gay men. The arrests have mostly apprehended male suspects between the ages of 13 and 20 in the suburbs of Australia’s biggest cities. The arrests have resulted in charges of armed robbery, false imprisonment, violent disorder, affray, causing injury, and other assault-related offenses. Some of the crimes were live-streamed or posted online by the perpetrators.
Florida city can’t force Pride drag shows indoors
A court has ruled Naples Pride will be able to host drag shows in the sunshine. The Naples City government had refused to issue a permit for outdoor activities. The judge ruled Naples’ city officials violated free speech rights by issuing an event permit with a condition that Naples Pride host its drag performances indoors and limit attendance to those age 18 and older. The city’s action was tagged as being based on viewpoint and content, which the judge said is unconstitutional. The city also upped the bill for security to $36,000, and the judge said he thought the amount exorbitant, but made no ruling on what the city could charge.
No opposition to this post-Pride event
While cities, states, and even national governments continue to push back on LGBT events — especially Pride celebrations — one area and organizer are in perfect sync. The 14th annual “Out in the Vineyard’s Gay Wine Weekend” is expected to sell out once again, with a record-breaking 1,000+ attendees this July 18 through 20. Held in Sonoma County in Northern California’s wine country, the event enjoys strong local support. Sonoma County proudly promotes the gathering on its official website: Local and national sponsors — including La Crema Winery, Sotheby’s Wine Country Realty, Morgan Stanley, Brio Financial Group, and Visit Dallas — enthusiastically back the celebration, with no opposition from the Family Research Council. This year’s theme, “When We Gather, We Shine,” sets the tone for a weekend of vibrant festivities. Organizers have curated an array of events across Sonoma County, including multiple after parties, a pool soiree, and the signature weekend gathering, “The Twilight T-Dance,” hosted at La Crema Winery Estate. Additionally, attendees can partake in the “Drag Queen Brunch & Wine Auction,” which raises funds for the Sonoma County HIV/AIDS network. Bacchus, the powerful god of wine, does not tolerate opposition to a celebration of his favorite gift to humanity, and here, the revelry continues unhindered.
