Hate Crimes Based on Sexual Orientation Up By 6 % In 2007

WASHINGTON—The Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights organization, responded today to the Federal Bureau of Investigation report which showed the incidence of bias-motivated crimes based on sexual orientation increased by 6 percent in 2007. Hate crimes based on sexual orientation remain the third most common type of hate crimes, behind race and religion. This increase comes as the Hate Crimes Statistics, 2007, also reported that the overall incidence of bias-motivated crimes decreased in 2007.

“The FBI’s 2007 hate crimes report shows once again that hate crimes protections for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community are long overdue,” said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese. “We are hopeful that after next week’s election we will finally have a President and a Congress that will enact federal hate crimes legislation into law."

Each year the FBI releases statistics of bias-motivated crime in the United States. While thousands of crimes are reported by hundreds of jurisdictions each year, the Human Rights Campaign believes this is only a fraction of the actual number of bias-motivated crime that occur in any given year. Reporting by state and local authorities to the FBI is voluntary and many jurisdictions lack the time and training to effectively report each incident of bias-motivated violence that occurs in a year.

While the FBI statistics provide a glimpse of the pervasiveness of bias-motivated violence in the United States, these statistics should be used as a starting point, not a comprehensive number. The Human Rights Campaign compiles media reports of hate crimes throughout the United States, in 2007 alone the media reported dozens of incidents of violent, bias-motivated crime that were clearly not reflected in the FBI report. While not authoritative, the Human Rights Campaign was able to match up several jurisdictions that reported zero incidents and non-reporting jurisdictions with media reports of bias motivated violent crime towards the LGBT community.

Via HRC

10 Years Later...Nothing Is Done...

It's been ten years since 21-year-old Matthew Shepard lost his life after being violently beaten and left for dead along a remote Wyoming road.

His offense? Being himself – a conscientious college student who happened to be gay.

The murder shocked and saddened the nation, but a decade later, federal law still fails to recognize hate crimes based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

It's time to get our heads out of the sand and stop pretending everthing is ok. It's not!! Over all we have not gained any rights. If anything we have lost many of our rights. We can no longer hold out for the states to do the right thing. If Black American's waited, like we are doing, they would still be slaves. Is that what you want? Do you want to be treated like a second class citizen? Do you want to be the next one to be tied to a fench post? I know I don't. So lets stand up together, let us hold hands, let us march for what is right! We must no longer be timid. We must not look weak! I'm Standing up!! Will you stand beside me or will you walk away with your head down?

Tell Obama to continue the fight to support hate crimes legislation and ask McCain to reverse his idiotic position.

Lets Not Forget....

I know there is alot going on in America today with the the election. Yes, its very important, but let not forget what is going on in the rest of the world. We might be on the brink of a new day, but some will not see a new day. My heart goes out to all that are fighting, on both sides. Lets take a moment.

California Marriage Equality Vote Losing By 5 Points

We are losing the vote in California. This is not good for any of us. If California , one of the most open-minded states in America passes prop 8, then what hope is their for the rest of us?

Here in florida we are going to vote on amendment 2. Which takes the rights away from all unmarried couples stright or gay. Not that gay couples in florida have any rights as it is, but this will make it virtually impossibly for gays to have any kind of civil rights.

We need to do all we can to make sure that both do not pass. Unfortionaly this takes money. So please donate anything you can for the California adds or for the Florida adds. It does not matter if its a dollar or a hundred dollars. Every dime matters.

I know that money is very tight these days because of the economy. So if you can not donate please let everyone you meet know how important your rights are to you. write your newspaper, a blog, your parents and your friends. Make bulletins and put them up in your neighborhoods. Do what you can. We need all the help we can get from the gay community and friends of the gay community.

Lets make sure that no one takes our rights away!!!

Live Blogging Of The Last Debate....

PETERPAN will be doing a live blog of tonights debate via brickbat. Stop on by. Its going to be fun

Update On "Did I Just See That?!?"

Click here for the video

A Gay Couple's Worst Nightmare

Sometimes opponents of same-sex marriage will argue that we don't need legal marriage if we can get all the same things from domestic partnership, or power-of-attorney paperwork. But it is not the same thing, as these true stories tragically illustrate:

Here is one of many storys found on UpWord:

Just ask Bill Flanigan. Bill’s partner of five years, Robert Daniel, was admitted in critical condition to a Baltimore shock trauma center because of complications arising from AIDS. The two were on a family trip from California on their way to visit Bill’s sister in the Washington, D.C. area. Bill followed Robert’s ambulance to the hospital and rushed into the critical care unit. When he arrived, he asked to see Robert and confer with his doctors. Staff members shut him out. They said that only family could visit, and Bill didn’t count.

But, Bill insisted, what about my durable power of attorney for health care decisions? What about the fact that we are registered as domestic partners? (Bill and Robert carried around with them all the legal documentation they could to make sure their relationship would be respected.) The staff paid these things no mind. They let other patients’ family members in and out of critical care throughout the night, while Bill waited. He was never permitted to make the physicians aware of Robert’s wishes not to have life-prolonging treatment, and he was kept from Robert’s side. The nightmare the couple had tried to make sure would never happen came to pass.

Bill was allowed to see Robert only after Robert’s sister and mother arrived, hours later. By that time, Robert was unconscious, his eyes taped shut and a breathing tube – something Robert specifically did not want – down his throat. Robert died a few days later, without the two men ever having a chance to say goodbye.

We can not allow this to happen to us. We have to fight for our rights. Please contact your congressman. I don't want this to be my story.

Did I Just See That?!?

OMG! I just saw David Archuleta singing "God Bless America" at the Boston / Tampa Bay play offs. It's not like baseball needed any help to become gayer.

Video coming soon.....Here it is.....

Egotistical Madonna Goes Off On Sara Palin

You know, I really dont like Sara Palin either, but Madonna has a few problems of her own. She even goes off on this poor guy who probably spent way to much money to go see a fucking concert. Watch this video.....

Florida High School Coach/Molester Found Dead

High school coach, Ray Totten of Fort Walton Beach, was found dead the day before his trial. Ray was charged with 50 counts of lewd and lascivious molestation of a child under 16-years-old. 50 FUCKING COUNTS!!!! REALLY!! What a piece of shit! He would have got what he deserved in jail. There is some big bubba upset right now that he did'nt get to rape this guy.

Get the story at brickbat

Gay Hockey Team Not Out Done By Stright Team

The Ohio Mayhem, the only gay hockey team in the state, completed its unbelievable playoff run with a 4-0 victory over the NetJets in front of a standing room only crowd at the Chiller Ice Rink in Dublin, Ohio. With the shutout victory the Mayhem earned their first CAHL Championship in team history! The team is comprised of gay men, lesbians and their straight friends.

Get the rest of the story at outsports.com

A Little Bit Of Grrrr!

I absolutely love college wrestling. This story makes it even hotter. Two college wrestlers, Paul Donahoe and Kenny Jordan from the University of Nebraska, were discovered showing all that they have. MMMM....MMMM....Both video and photo, capture the duo undressing, showering and masturbating, among other graphic actions, for the website fratmen.tv.

Via Outsports.com

Gay Adult Performer And Online Personality Was Raped And Beaten

Gay adult performer Mason Wyler was raped, beaten and held at gunpoint at his home in late September. GAYVN.com confirmed that an incident report was filed with the Dallas Police Department.

The seeds of the assault were sown several months ago, Wyler said, when he corresponded with a fan online. The fan told Wyler he was a captain in the U.S. Army, he lived in Kansas and he was about to ship out to Iraq. The fan asked Wyler if the two of them could meet while the fan was in Dallas visiting family before he went overseas. Wyler, 24, said yes and the two men spoke online several times after that, but they never met. Wyler assumed the alleged captain had changed his mind about meeting or had run out of time before he was deployed.

Then, in late September, Wyler left his wallet on a table in a Dallas club.

"I always wear tight jeans, so I take my wallet and keys out of my pocket and lay them on the table when I sit down," he told GAYVN.com. "The next day when I realized I'd left my wallet, I called the bar, but they didn't have it."

Wyler went online later that day to chat with fans and friends, and an instant message popped up on his screen. "Remember me?" the messager asked.

It was the alleged Army captain, who sent Wyler pictures to help him remember and then said he thought he had found Wyler's wallet and wanted to return it, asking, "Can we hang out?"

Wyler, who is in a committed relationship, said he didn't feel comfortable meeting the man at a club. However, when the fan showed up at his apartment complex with the wallet and helped Wyler's boyfriend carry groceries from the car, the pair let him in the house.

The meeting started off pleasantly enough, Wyler recalled.

"The guy was hotter than his pictures," he told GAYVN.com. "Real big and muscular. Me being who I am, I felt him up and then kissed him. He kissed me back. Then his shirt came off; then my shirt came off...."

The assailant-to-be told Wyler he was into muscle worship, and that suited Wyler just fine. When he wanted to move into edge play, Wyler said he figured "Why not?" He let the alleged captain bind his wrists, then blindfold him and later tie his ankles.

"That freaked my boyfriend out," Wyler said. "But I was like, you know, he's going to Iraq and we're being safe."

Wyler's assessment of safe changed the moment the man pulled out a gag.

"I've always been afraid of that," he told GAYVN.com. "I don't breathe well through my nose, so I breathe through my mouth a lot. When he wanted to gag me, I decided it was time to stop."

The captain, however, wouldn't take "no" for an answer, and when Wyler's boyfriend tried to run for help, he brandished a gun to enforce his will.

Wyler said the gunman repeatedly raped both him and his boyfriend over the next five hours. He beat them. He sodomized them with foreign objects and injected them with what may have been drugs.

"I thought it was a piss enema at first," Wyler said, "but because of the way I felt afterward, I don't know."

Wyler said things became a bit confused after that. He remembers loosening the restraints on his wrists and finding the assailant's gun within reach. He said he tried to fire it in the direction of his attacker's voice, but the weapon either wasn't loaded or was only partially loaded. Nothing happened when he pulled the trigger. The effort earned him more physical and verbal abuse. At some point, Wyler heard the assailant use a phone to invite others over to participate, but he can't say for sure whether any arrived or how many others may have participated.

"Eventually, I got so exhausted from fighting him and the drugs, I didn't even care anymore," he said. "I thought we were going to die."

After being questioned by police - whom Wyler said accused him of bringing the assault on himself by making his living the way he does - Wyler and his boyfriend were taken to Parkland Hospital. It was just another indignity that the hospital Dallas County trusts to take care of indigents and crime victims charged him $100 for a rape kit and to examine his injuries.

Also of concern to him is that the police confiscated a cell phone, a digital camera and a computer from his residence, and he's been told he may not get those items back once they're entered as potential evidence. Ironically, the police did not confiscate an item left behind by the attacker: a wallet containing business cards, a hotel key card and cash, but no ID.

To make matters worse, after Wyler posted about the attack on his blog, industry insiders and fans began to accuse him of dreaming up a publicity stunt to get attention. He said he also has received threatening emails addressed to his real name at the email address listed on his MySpace page.

"My boyfriend is terrified that someone knows who we really are and where we live," he told GAYVN.com. "He was just destroyed by this."

In fact, the boyfriend is so fearful that the men have moved to an undisclosed location and are maintaining a low profile and hoping not to be recognized. Wyler said he changed the details of the assault when he posted them to his blog in order to allay his boyfriend's fears, but that hasn't made the boyfriend feel more at ease.

Wyler said he's coping with the assault better than he imagined. He has not become leery of sex or of most people, although he said he is much more cautious about where he goes, who he talks to and how he expresses himself these days.

"Be aware that looks can be deceiving," he said. "[My attacker] didn't look like a rapist. What does a rapist look like? Just be careful."

Via AVN

McDonald's Denounces Gays, Families Can Now Go Get Fat Again!

The American Family Association has called off a five-month boycott of Oak Brook-based McDonald's Corp. after a company executive left the board of a gay and lesbian business association.

The conservative Christian group had been calling for Richard Ellis, formerly McDonald's vice president of U.S. communications, to step down from the board of the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce.

Ellis recently left his U.S. post and returned to an executive position in McDonald's Canadian operation, McDonald's officials said. Because Ellis is based in Canada and the gay and lesbian chamber is a U.S. association, Ellis resigned from its board, said Bill Whitman, a McDonald's spokesman.

McDonald's doesn't plan to replace him. "We don't have a slot on the board to fill," said Jack Daly, McDonald's global chief communications officer. "Richard's decision to be a member of the board was a personal decision, not a company decision."

The American Family Association also said McDonald's notified it that the restaurant giant has no plans to renew its membership in the chamber when it expires at the end of the year.

Daly said the company is not a member of the chamber. McDonald's provided $20,000 to be one of the corporate sponsors of the chamber's annual fundraising gala, he said, but added that McDonald's has no plans to be a sponsor next year.

The economic impact of the boycott is unclear; McDonald's sales have continued to be strong. But Tim Wildmon, president of the American Family Association, said the boycott was a success. "The fact of the matter is they've done what we've asked them to do," he said.

Via chicagotribune.com

Vote NO On Florida Amendment 2!!!!!!

I know this is just for Floridians, but Florida is where PETERPAN resides.

The god lovers and fag haters have gotten together to "protect" Florida's families from "The gays" getting married. Well, not true at all. The real reason behind this amendent is to block companies that provide benefits for unmarried partners -- regardless of whether such unions are homosexual or heterosexual.

I'm kinda glad this amendment is on the ballot. I think it will make stright people think and feel the way gay people do. Now, they will see what its like to have their rights taken away. Now maybe they will have a connection with us. Maybe now they will see all we want.... is our rights!

Take a look at this commercial that has been playing in Florida. Two old stright people talking about their rights getting taking away. Don't get me wrong, its kinda touching, but all they have to do is FUCKING get married. We can't do that. They have know idea. Well I will shut up long enough for you to watch this.



Oohhhh....Their rights might get taken away (sarcaism). I don't have any rights. If my partner goes to the hospital tonight I have no rights to see him. So yes Please vote No on 2. Not for the old dumbass couple that didn't get married, but for all of us that don't have any rights.

Thank you for listening or reading my drunkin rambling. NOW VOTE NO ON 2 (for the gays or the old people, I don't care as long as you vote no!)

The Policies Of "Chuck And Larry"

Here is an email I received from the HRC. I'm sure many of you have seen it already, but for the few that have not, I want to show you how FUCKED UP our government is.

How would you expect top officials in the administration to prepare for a Senate hearing? By reviewing studies and data, or going to the movies?

If you picked the latter, apparently, you'd be right.

Last week at a Senate hearing on equal family benefits for LGBT federal workers, the Bush Administration's Howard Weizmann cited the plot of the Adam Sandler movie "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry," about two men who pretend to be gay, as evidence the program would be scammed.

What next? Education policy drawn on the wisdom of "Ferris Bueller's Day Off"?

Tell Mr. Weizmann public policy shouldn't be based on Hollywood comedies.

56% of Fortune 500 companies and 16 state governments already provide family benefits to LGBT employees, and there is zero evidence these workers are any more likely than heterosexuals to perpetrate fraud.

The American people deserve policies based on facts, fairness, and logic, not fictional scenarios designed to sell a ticket and get a laugh. Using a Hollywood comedy to justify opposing fair compensation is a new low even for this administration.

Weizmann went into the hearing with a neutral position on the equal compensation bill, which HRC has long championed. But when a colleague passed him a note he changed his tune.

The day after the hearing, Weizmann was still at it, telling the Washington Post his "Chuck and Larry" example "is not farfetched." Click here to remind him that lowbrow Hollywood comedies are meant to get a laugh, not drive policy decisions.

LGBT Americans demand no more for their families than the basic benefits and protections afforded to different-sex spouses. Let's remind Washington what's really at stake here—not box office receipts, but real American lives.

Now really what fucked up world do these people live in? I have a great idea, why dont they just take the blue pill and FUCK OFF!

The Vote

The republicans got their feelings hurt and the stock market lost close to a trillion dollars. Thats 300billion dollars more than the bailout. here is what openly gay Representative Barney Frank had to say about it.

JefferySelf Makes Fun Of Clay Aiken

SURPRISE!!!!! Clay Aiken Is Gay

Following the Aug. 8 birth of his son Parker, singer Clay Aiken is following through on a promise he made to himself as a new dad: to publicly acknowledge that he's gay.

"It was the first decision I made as a father," Aiken, 29, tells the upcoming issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday. "I cannot raise a child to lie or to hide things. I wasn't raised that way, and I'm not going to raise a child to do that."

Aiken says he expects the news may overwhelm some of his fans. "Whether it be having a child out of wedlock, or whether it be simply being a homosexual, it's going to be a lot," said Aiken, who returned to Broadway last week as Sir Robin in Monty Python's Spamalot.

He adds that he hopes his fans "know that I've never intended to lie to anybody at all. ... But if they leave, I don't want them to leave hating me."


Via People

Jonathan Burkin On The Today Show

Jonathan might have been kick off America's Got Talent a few weeks ago, but that has not stopped america from loving him. If it had not been for the Judges' horrible decision to kick him off America would still be voting for him today. He brought real talent to the stage and made the show more than just another singing competition.

Even though he was kicked off he is still performing for America. Here is his appearance on the Today Show.

Good luck in Belgium, Jonathan!!!

Brad Pitt Supports Doing It Up The Butt

Brad Pitt has donated $100,000 to fight California's November ballot initiative that would overturn the state Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage.

It's the first time voters will be asked to ban same-sex marriage in a state where gay couples already have won the right to wed. Same-sex marriage is legal in Massachusetts and California.

It's the first time voters will be asked to decide the issue in either California or Massachusetts _ the states where gays have won the right to wed.

"Because no one has the right to deny another their life, even though they disagree with it, because everyone has the right to live the life they so desire if it doesn't harm another and because discrimination has no place in America, my vote will be for equality and against Proposition 8," Pitt said Wednesday.

Trevor Neilson, Pitt's political and philanthropic adviser, told The Associated Press that Pitt was surprised that his colleagues in the entertainment industry had not donated more money to support the battle against Proposition 8.

Earlier in the week, Pitt and Angelina Jolie announced they donated $2 million to help fight HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis in Ethiopia.

Via Huff Post

Its Not Just A Time For A Change

Here is a video I found deeply moving. This election is not just a time for change. Its a time to continue the dream that we all have. It's time for everyone in America to be equal. Native American, White, Black, Latino, Asian, Middle Eastern, Straight, Gay, Its time for us all to stand as one and keep the dream alive. We are America, We are one!

Very Funny Sarah Palin Video

This woman is soooooo funny. Everyone must watch her videos. All I have to say is...."Rats off to ya"!

Sarah Palin, Is She For Or Against Same-Sex Marriage?

Republican Senator John McCain has selected Sarah Palin, Alaska's governor and a little-known conservative with a slim record on gay and AIDS issues, to be his running mate in the 2008 presidential race.

"She's fairly socially conservative, she's fairly anti-choice," said Jeffrey A. Mittman, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska (ACLU).

Palin became governor in 2006 after serving as a councilwoman and then mayor of a small Alaskan town. She made an unsuccessful run at becoming Alaska's lieutenant governor in 2002. Palin has confronted a single piece of gay rights legislation in that time.

In 2005, Alaska's highest court ruled, in a case brought in 1999 on behalf of nine couples, that the state could not deny benefits to the domestic partners of state government employees. The court ordered the state to implement that ruling in late 2006.

The ruling was seen by right wingers as conflicting with a 1998 amendment to the Alaska Constitution, passed by voters in a ballot referendum, that defined marriage as solely between one man and one woman. The Republican-dominated State Legislature passed a bill that barred the state's administrative agency from implementing the ruling. Palin vetoed it.

"The Department of Law advised me that this bill... is unconstitutional given the recent court order... mandating same-sex benefits," Palin said in a statement. "With that in mind, signing this bill would be in direct violation of my oath of office."

The statement added, "The governor's veto does not signal any change or modification to her disagreement with the action and order by the Alaska Supreme Court. It is the governor's intention to work with the Legislature and to give the people of Alaska an opportunity to express their wishes and intentions whether these benefits should continue."

Eight days before signing the veto, Palin signed another bill that called for a "statewide advisory vote" regarding the ruling from Alaska's high court, saying in a statement, "We may disagree with the rationale behind the ruling, but our responsibility is to proceed forward with the law and follow the Constitution... I disagree with the recent court decision because I feel as though Alaskans spoke on this issue with its overwhelming support for a Constitutional Amendment in 1998 which defined marriage as between a man and woman. But the Supreme Court has spoken and the state will abide."

Get the whole story here Gay City News

Book Burner Palin Tries To Ban Gay Book

According to sources in Wasilla, Alaska, Palin tried to use her sway as mayor to censor the local library. Though then-librarian Mary Ellen Baker tells ABC News Palin didn't specifically ask her to censor any specific titles, journalist Paul Stuart attests that Baker, who was later fired, had named names. And - surprise! - one of the books had gay themes:

"Stuart told PolitiFact that in a conversation with [Baker] after his article ran, she listed three titles. He said he could recall only two, and initially said they were I Told My Parents I’m Gay and I Asked My Sister. We looked for these titles; they don’t appear to exist.

“Mary Ellen told me that Palin asked her directly to remove these books from the shelves,” Stuart said. “She refused.”

Asked later if the first book could have been Pastor, I am Gay, a controversial book written by a pastor who lives just outside Wasilla, Stuart said that was it.

Howard Bess, author of Pastor, I am Gay and former pastor of Church of the Covenant in nearby Palmer, recalls that his book challenging Christians to re-examine their ideas about and prejudices against gays and lesbians was not well received in Wasilla when it was published in 1995 — the year before Palin was elected mayor."

Coincidentally enough, Palin's church at the time, Wasilla Assembly of God, had been campaigning against Bess' book.

These details suggest two things. One, Palin's not so clear on that whole church, state separation. And, two, Palin's easily - and irresponsibly - swayed by outside forces, not a good trait for a politician, national or otherwise.

Via queerty

Pope Joke Takes Us Back To The Middle Ages

Guzzanti is accused of "offending the honour of the sacred and inviolable person" of Pope Benedict XVI.

The satirist and comedian, during a routine at a rally in Rome in July, condemned the Vatican‘s interference in issues such as gay rights.

“Within twenty years the Pope will be where he ought to be, in Hell, tormented by great big poofter devils — and very active ones, not passive ones," she said.

Now the Rome prosecutor has been given permission to proceed against her under the 1929 Lateran Treaty.

The treaty, between the Vatican and the Italian government, was signed when fascist leader Benito Mussolini was in power.

It stipulated that an insult to the Pope carries the same penalty as an insult to the Italian President.

Via Queerty

Openly Gay Olympic Diver, Matthew Mitcham, Gets Postage Stamp!

Australia's, Gold Medal Winner, Matthew Mitcham is now on a postage stamp! This is a new dawn for the gay community. Thank you Matthew for standing up for yourself and for us all.

Iran Prefers Trannies Over Gays

A disturbing documentary titled Be Like Others, exposes the twisted remedy Iran proposes for gay and lesbian people.

(What the Eshaghian) film reveals is a culture so steeped in hatred of gays and lesbians that it deems a sex change preferable to simply accepting differences in sexual orientation. The shift in policy came more than two decades ago, when Ayatollah Ruholla Khomeini issued a fatwa (religious decree) declaring sex changes permissible for “diagnosed transsexuals.” Be Like Others introduces us to a number of the people who have been given this label. Some have accepted their fate, and feel the sex change to be a way to avoid further persecution; others are clearly uncomfortable with the idea, but have agreed to it simply because of intense outside pressure.

Those who undergo the procedure are often ostracized by friends and family. Most of the candidates are poor individuals who don’t have the options available to the wealthy. They believe they have no choice except to conform to the demands of the state.

Eshaghian relates that during her filming, a reporter from government controlled media showed up and proceeded to berate and criticize the young people waiting to undergo the operation. The reporter claimed they had brought their troubles with the authorities upon themselves by breaking the rules and cross-dressing before they had the operation.

Iranian authorities suffer from a bad case of myopia when it comes to even acknowledging the existence of homosexuality in their society. This would explain the bizarre statement by Ahmadinejad during his visit to the US, when he claimed that unlike the US - ‘there are no homosexuals in Iran.’

Be Like Others screens as part of Montreal’s World Film Festival which runs until September 1.

Via gayswithoutborders

Posters Call For Execution Of Gays

International observers have spoken out after tensions around the first ever gay festival in Bosnia intensified.

The Queer Sarajevo Festival is to take place in from September 24th to 27th. The Dutch, Canadian and Swiss embassies are among those supporting the event.

However, a Muslim politician in Bosnia has criticised the country's gay community for holding an LGBT event that coincides with his religion's observance of Ramadan.

Posters appeared on the streets of Sarajevo this week proclaiming "Death To Gays" and imams have spoken out, claiming that homosexuality is immoral and contrary to the Koran.

The Bosnia mission of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe expressed concern about the situation.

"The mission strongly condemns attempts to incite violence against any group within Bosnia and Herzegovina," the OSCE said in a statement.

Croat and Serb leaders also expressed their displeasure at gay people holding such an event.

"We've been preparing the project for the past year and I would not spend my time only to provoke someone," Svetlana Djurkovic, head of the gay and lesbian rights group Association Q, told AFP.

"It is a festival of culture and art."

Bosnia and Herzegovina is a potential candidate country for EU membership.

If admitted it would have the largest Muslim community of any member state.

Recent figures indicate that 40% of the population are Muslims, 31% are Orthodox Christians and 15% are Roman Catholics.

There is an equal age of consent but discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation is "widespread" according to the EU.

Via PinkNews

America's Got Talent Jonathan Burkin....Way To Go Boy!!!

Jonathan Burkin doesn't just play with fire. He twirls it, tosses it, even throws it. It flickers from the tips of his batons as he swirls around the stage like a young man possessed.

There were days when some people used to make fun of him for this. They would say mean things and bully him for being a male baton twirler.

That's OK, because David Hasselhoff digs it. Ditto for the other judges on the NBC reality show America's Got Talent who selected the 18-year-old from this town southeast of Fremont as one of the program's top 40 competitors.




Mr. Burkin's unlikely trip to the reality TV universe began at the age of 4 when he saw a feature twirler for the local high school band performing with fire batons.

"I thought it was the coolest thing I'd ever seen," Mr. Burkin told the Blade. "I came home that night and broke a twig off that tree and started twirling it."

Two years and numerous sticks and toy batons later, he started taking lessons. Eventually, Mr. Burkin joined the Hi Society Baton Corps out of Fremont as the only male member. (Today, he is one of two in the 65-person group.)

A man in a traditionally female discipline, Mr. Burkin remembers being harassed by other kids, especially in eighth grade. He'd get prank phone calls. Someone taped his locker shut. A bench in front of the school had to be repainted - twice - after someone scrawled nasty comments about him on it.

"People hated me," Mr. Burkin said. It was a minority, he added, but "people that did make fun of me made it hell."

Doug and Denise Burkin saw how much it hurt their son.

"There were times that Doug and I seriously wondered: Should he stay with it? I mean, in the long run, what will it do to him?" his mother said.

No one said anything to her face, but there were times at parades when she would hear some disparaging comment from the crowd.

"Sometimes we would just walk by and let it go. Sometimes ... I'd have to stop and just say a few words," Mrs Burkin said.

Things improved later in high school, Jonathan Burkin said, as more people appreciated his talent and he became more self-assured.

He was successful too. At last count, about 280 sparkling trophies were sitting in his garage. Mr. Burkin has been crowned a national champion in each of the last three years by different organizations, and he also qualified to compete in the world championships in Belgium in April.

It's no accident. Knowing how others in and out of the sport might view him, he resolved to answer naysayers with his performances.

"If you're going to do something that's different, you have to make sure you do it well," Mr. Burkin said.

During the summer, he practices two to three hours every night and spends at least 12 hours training each Tuesday.

"With baton you have to make sacrifices," he said.

One of them was not getting his driver's license, since he decided he couldn't take two weeks off to receive driver's education instruction. Another has been to defer for a year his dream of attending Ohio State University, where the young man hopes to study nursing and one day be drum major.

Because of America's Got Talent, his inability to drive, and the upcoming world championships, he has enrolled for this year at Tiffin University, where his mother works as assistant to the vice president of enrollment management.

Even with this change in plan he only had time to attend the first day of regular classes Monday before flying to Los Angeles to prepare for the TV show, which is hosted by Jerry Springer and whose other judges include Sharon Osbourne and Piers Morgan.

Tuesday's episode will mark Mr. Burkin's third performance for the show. After his initial audition, he did a routine in Las Vegas to the tune of "Footloose."

Each original routine has been purposefully designed to build upon the last, increasing in difficulty and energy, he said. He wouldn't reveal what particular skills or song he'll use next week, only saying, "The lyrics portray my attitude."

This time it's the television audience, not the judges, who determines who stays on the show. Mr. Burkin's coach hopes viewers will enjoy it but also be changed by it.

"We want to show that it's a sport," said DeDee Carte, a director of Hi Society who thinks more boys will be captivated by the activity. "It takes a true athlete to be able to do it. It's not just about flipping a baton."

That's something a few of Mr. Burkin's former tormentors may have finally realized, even if it's a bittersweet victory for him.

"It's weird looking back now because it takes someone being on TV to make kids that used to make fun of me say: Oh, I'm really sorry," he said.

As he prepares for his next appearance, the Clyde teen refuses to daydream just yet about how he would spend the $1 million in prize money.

"I would love to win but the chances that I'm going to win are not great," he said.

He just says he's grateful for the support of his hometown and the little perks that come with being on television.

"Being noticed at the grocery store is nice," he said.

Via Toledoblade