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Freddie Mercury’s mother, Jer Bulsara, passed away on Nov. 13 at the age of 94. Kashmira Cooke, Mercury’s sister, confirmed the news of her mother’s death on Sunday (Nov. 20) in a statement to the press, saying that she died in her sleep.

It wasn’t enough for the NBA to celebrate the coming out of Jason Collins, although he was only a marginal player in the league, although his identical twin brother was not gay, and although his long-time girlfriend was surprised to learn he was gay.It wasn’t enough for the NBA to slap players with stiff fines for making “anti-gay” comments, especially after a well-known NBA ref came out as gay.It wasn’t enough for the NBA to threaten to punish the city of Charlotte, North Carolina with the removal of next year’s All-Star game from the city unless the state allowed men...

It was very late at night in a nearly-deserted airport and I was alone in the bathroom when a man walked in. Or maybe just a person who looked like a man, dressed like a man, walked like a man, and had a man’s haircut. As I washed my hands I looked up and casually observed, “Oh, I think you’re in the wrong bathroom.” He or she gave me a frozen glare and an angry, sarcastic retort: “No – YOU’RE in the wrong bathroom!” The gender-nonspecific person headed for the stalls and I headed out the door. He or she...

Brent Hawkes, a prominent Toronto pastor, has been charged with committing sex crimes in Nova Scotia, lawyer Clayton Ruby confirmed to CBC News. Ruby said his client was charged by the RCMP in December with indecent assault and gross indecency in Kings County, N.S. The offences are alleged to have happened in the 1970s. The 65-year-old, who delivered the eulogy at former New Democratic Party leader Jack Layton's 2011 funeral, has been the senior pastor at the Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto for nearly 40 years. He is well known in the LGBT community, and has been recognized for his...

(AUDIO-AT-LINK)U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, one of many recent targets of fellow presidential hopeful Donald Trump, took the opportunity to swing back at Trump during an appearance on Boston Herald Radio’s “Morning Meeting” show. “I see (the GOP) getting killed if he is the nominee,” the South Carolina Republican said. “We are not going to elect a man president of the United States who has said the things he’s said about John McCain, who believes that most illegal immigrants are drug dealers and rapists, who has openly espoused the fact that he thinks the president of the United States was born...

Via the Free Beacon, I think it was Dan McLaughlin of Red State who tweeted after last week’s SSM decision was released, “Now the contest begins to see who’ll be the angriest winner.” His point was that, for a movement that’s been unstoppable culturally over the past 10 years, there’s a curiously strong impulse towards nastiness in some lefties’ reaction to each new victory. With this remark from George Takei, I think it’s safe to say the contest is now over. Takei’s overreacting to a point Thomas made in response to Kennedy’s idea that state recognition of gay marriage is...

South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham is “ready to be commander-in-chief on day one,” the Republican will say when he announces his presidential candidacy in South Carolina today, according to excerpts of his remarks as prepared for delivery. “I intend to be president not of a single party, but of a nation,” he will say. “I want to do more than make big government smaller. I want to help make a great nation greater.” Graham, a retired Air Force colonel, enters the race just as a fierce battle over national security rages in the Senate. The South Carolina senator – a...

Indicted former House Speaker Dennis Hastert was paying an individual from his past to conceal sexual misconduct, two federal law enforcement officials said Friday. One of the officials, who would not speak publicly about the federal charges in Chicago, said “Individual A,” as the person is described in Thursday’s federal indictment, was a man and that the alleged misconduct was unrelated to Hastert’s tenure in Congress. The actions date to Hastert’s time as a Yorkville, Ill., high school wrestling coach and teacher, the official said.

We all know our president is a fan of taking pictures of himself. Now we have even more proof. In a new video produced by BuzzFeed entitled, “Things Everybody Does But Doesn’t Talk About, Featuring President Obama,” Obama poked a little fun at himself by showing America his best selfie and mirror poses. The clip is below. Barack 0bama - BuzzFeed video to sell 0bamacareHow did BuzzFeed get the leader of the free world to agree to do such a silly video? Easy – they allowed him to promote the Affordable Care Act. While staring at himself in the mirror practicing...

Clay Aiken isn’t the only one smarting over his failed attempt to become a congressman in North Carolina. RadarOnline.com has learned that the 35-year-old former American Idol contestant’s baby mama, Jaymes Foster, 50, is also deeply disappointed he lost. According to a source, a win would have meant she could have petitioned for a reduction in the $7,500 child support payment she must give Aiken every month.

Fidelity Investments holds big fundraiser for Barney Frank, raising thousands of dollars for his campaign fund. Supporting Congressman connected to financial crisis, hate crimes bill, more. May 5, 2009 US Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) is probably among the most despised members of Congress these days. As Chairman of the House Banking Committee, most people have seen his arrogant, condescending manner in various television interviews over the past several months. Barney Frank's recent activities seem to range across the spectrum (and this is just his recent stuff): Financial meltdown. Frank's complicity in this country's financial crisis has become legendary. This includes...

Former Missouri defensive end Michael Sam became the first openly gay player in NFL history to be drafted when the Rams took him with the 249th pick on Saturday, but Sam almost didn't make history because he almost fell out of the draft. Sam was taken with the eighth-to-last pick, meaning he almost wasn't drafted at all, something he found rather shocking. The NFL's first openly gay player said he should've been picked higher. "From last season alone, I should've been in the first three rounds -- SEC Defensive player of the year, All-American," Sam said, listing off his 2013...

Actor and LGBT activist George Takei weighed in on Russia's harsh new anti-gay policies–and the news that those policies would be enforced on athletes and spectators at the Sochi Winter Olympics in 2014. "Given this position, the IOC must do the right thing, protect its athletes and the fans, and move the 2014 Winter Olympics out of Russia," wrote Takei on his blog.

Eric Fanning, the acting secretary of the U.S. Air Force and the first openly homosexual to hold the post, touted how “gay pride” events were being celebrated around the globe, including in Afghanistan. Fanning said he wanted to give “a shout-out to all the other DOD Pride events” at the Department of Defense’s LGBT Pride Month event at the Pentagon on Tuesday.Eric Fanning, acting secretary of the U.S. Air Force and openly homosexual.(VIDEO-AT-LINK) “This is not the DOD pride event,” Fanning said. “They're all over the world, including in Kandahar and Bagram this week in Afghanistan.” The U.S. State Department’s...

(1918 Bolshevik Poster by Alexander Apsit reads "Citizens, hand over your weapons!") Why I gave up my guns • A former firearm enthusiast explains his personal epiphany Late one night in the spring of 2008, I was jolted awake by the sound of yet another a burglar trying to break into my Atlanta home. We’d already had a series of scary close calls, but this time I was ready: I had staged my shotgun and a box of shells in a broom closet right by the back door, next to the umbrellas. While my girlfriend called the police, I...

Matt Damon's film is set to intensify debate on fracking As one of Hollywood's highest-paid actors with a reputation for straight-talking, he has made little secret of his willingness to confront thorny political and social issues. Now Matt Damon is facing off against one of America's most powerful institutions - the oil and gas industry - in a film that represents a new battleground for environmentalists' campaigns against fracking. Promised Land, which goes on nationwide release in the US this week, is set to intensify debate on the controversial drilling technique to such an extent that the industry has...

(Reuters) - U.S. Democratic Representative Barney Frank wed his longtime partner, James Ready, on Saturday, becoming the first sitting congressman to enter into a same-sex marriage. Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick officiated the ceremony and added some levity by saying Frank, 72, and Ready, 42, had vowed to love each other through Democratic and Republican administrations alike, and even through appearances on Fox News, according to Al Green, a Democratic congressman from Texas. "Barney was beaming," said Green, who attended the ceremony. He added that Frank, a champion of gay rights and the sweeping reform of Wall Street, shed a tear...

President Barack Obama will host a reception at the White House to observe Gay Pride Month on Friday. In a proclamation earlier this month, the president stressed that his administration has worked to “level the playing field for lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender people.” Obama’s recent declaration of support for gay marriage was celebrated as a key endorsement among gay rights groups. After the reception, the first family leaves for Chicago, where they will spend the night.

EXCLUSIVE The drag queen, 12 Schoolboy is ‘Naughty Nora’ By JOHN COLES  A SCHOOLBOY aged 12 has been crowned the DRAG QUEEN of his village - and his parents are delighted. Redvers Stokes slips on his mum's bra, a tight pink dress, blonde wig and towering heels to become "Naughty Nora". He clinched the title against tough competition from local men by belting out camp versions of Michael Jackson's Thriller and Dolly Parton hits. The tiny Cornish village of Sticker, near St Austell, started its drag queen contest two years ago - because not enough girls among the population...

It doesn't matter if it wasn't meant for our ears. It doesn't matter that NBA players might do it all the time. And it doesn't matter in the slightest that Kobe Bryant(notes) wasn't using the usual, hateful, meaning behind a homophobic slur that starts with an "f" and ends with those who are mindful of the pain and suffering that the LGBT community has gone through cringing as we hear it. Before we get to the specifics, here is Bryant's statement on the incident: "What I said last night should not be taken literally. My actions were out of frustration...