 Hi, I'm Linda Quinlan. I'm Ann Charles. Welcome to All Things LGBTQ. It's Tuesday, October... Third. Third. And we are taping in Montelia, Vermont, which we recognize as unceded indigenous land. Unfortunately, Keith can't be here with us today, so it's Linda and me. Take it away, Linda. All right. On the top of our things, as I just turned on the way here, is that McCarthy has lost his seat. Uh-huh. He's been voted out. So what happens now? I don't know. But the other breaking news is that California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom has chosen a lesbian and radical pro-abortion on-demand pro-LGBTQ activist, Leponza Butler, who lives in Maryland to fill the Senate seat left vacant by Senator Diane Feinstein, who died Thursday at the age of 90. Butter heads up the leading pro-abortion PAC Political Action Committee, Emily's List, which boasts on its website. At Emily's List, we work to elect Democratic pro-choice women up and down the ballot and across the country with the goal of fighting for our rights and our communities. Butler also registers another first in the world of left-wing intersectionality and liberal media causes celebrate to quote Newsom, she will make history becoming the first black lesbian to openly serve in the U.S. Senate. The left-based, Butler confirms that her child is being raised in a same-sex household that is intentionally fatherless. Butler is lesbian, she and her partner, Nani Keeley, have a daughter. They moved to Maryland in 2021 when she assumed the presidency of Emily's List. Governor Newsom's office stated, Butler will register to vote in California before taking office as a senator. And he has her picture. Well, I wonder if there's gonna be pushback because she lives in Maryland. Well, I think she was in California. So maybe she still has a house there or something. I don't know, but. That's great news. Yes. I wondered that too myself, but. And on a sad note, a Philadelphia journalist and activist, Josh Kruger, a gay man was shot to death early Monday at his home in Philadelphia. Police were called to Kruger's neighborhood around 1.30 a.m. He had seven gunshot wounds in his chest and abdomen and had collapsed on the sidewalk outside his house. Police believe Kruger was shot in his house and went outside to get help. He was taken to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center where he died about 2.15 at a.m. He was 39. Did they have any idea? No, nothing yet. That's awful. Okay. I'm gonna save this one in case I get a chance to do it later because it's not really. It's about the Pope, so. Oh, no. I know. So we'll leave that for now. Former Anaheim City Councilman Jordan Bradman, who became the city's first gay council member after he was first elected in 2012, was also found dead at his home Friday night. Officials said police responded to Brandon's home about 7.45 p.m. after receiving a request for a welfare check. According to the statement from the city, officials found the 43-year-old Bradman unresponsive. There was no signs of foul play, but the cause of death remains under investigation. Officials said it was with sorrow and sadness that we learned of the passing of former council member Brandon Bradman. Anaheim Mayor Ashley Aitken said in the news release, any loss of life in our city is a tragedy. And my heart goes out to all who knew Jordan and who are now coping with the news of his passing. And here's a picture of him. Outside of San Francisco City Hall, several U.S. flags were at half staff in Memoriam Friday for the late Senator Diane Feinstein. Inside, a blue and yellow floor arrangement was gently tucked in the left arm of a bus of a smiling Feinstein erected outside the mayor's office. Outside, Feinstein's hilly home in the city-specific Heights neighborhood, a makeshift memorial of yellow, pink, and white flowers began to accumulate and in the city's Castor District, a historic haven for LGBT plus community. Morners reflected and celebrated the pioneering politician who passed away Thursday night. And she was well respected and known as an ally and longtime champion for LGBTQ rights. I'll never forget her coming and telling the press that Harvey Milk had been assassinated. I'll never forget seeing her sworn in in San Francisco. Oh. And when I arrived there two weeks after Harvey Milk's death. So the city, I arrived to a city in Papua. And grieving probably. And now I'm gonna have a movie clip, but I'm gonna give you a little synopsis of the movie. Hillary Clinton helped Nicole Payone become a film director. And while the revered presidential candidate is a far cry from the morally compromised art dealer at the center of Payone's new film, The Kill Room, they're both strong, resourceful women. The type of women whose stories the out director seeks to tell. The Kill Room, which opened in theaters Friday, stars Uma Thurman as Patrice Forma. Anna Heim's, let me see. Oh yeah. And Patrice Capullo, a glamorous, but broke New York gallery owner who can't get through the day without some Adderall. She's desperate for cash and for a way to attract wealthy customers. She finds both when, through her drug dealer, she meets Gordon Davis, Samuel L. Jackson, a baker with connections to organized crime. And she needs money for her gallery. So here we go and here is the. Don't judge me, it helps with my anxiety. Usually the drugs come out at the after party, not at the opening. There's no one here but friends and deadbeats. Any collectors coming? Many have shown interest. Any sales? The gallery is going through some changes. My math sucks, but I know half of zero is zero. We're a team, right? We need to find a new way to deal with the money. I suggest art. This thing that looks like a smurf wipe his ass with it can sell for a million bucks. I give you the piece and I give you the money for it and everything will be clean. I need something to sell. I will call my guy, have him grab his brushes and whip something up. What's the artist's name? Bagman. The Bagman. Haven't seen you at any of the events. It was under the impression the gallery wasn't doing well. She just closed this deal on a painting from the Bagman. Act? $150,000. That's crazy. I'm starting to see why he has an appreciative audience yet remains under the radar. Everybody wants one. There's not a wait list because there's nothing to wait for. I'm not used to being told nothing. Pleasure doing business with you. I need another painting. This thing's supposed to be a front. That means low profile. He's a talented artist. And when you make big sales, you have the power to control the narrative. You giving interviews today, Rembrandt? I don't want anybody to know about me. When you make art from a truthful place, people find out something about you. I knew that money laundering was a crime. But murder? You know I'm not a psycho or anything. I work with artists, trust me. You're not a psycho. Family, never leave. You're part of this family now. Please. It makes a call. I go away forever. Now I get you too. He's not going to let you out of this. Whatever happens, whatever anybody says, we're just making art. Where could we see it? Well, I think... I don't know. I think it's coming to movie theaters. But I don't know when. And I'm not sure it's said. But if I see anything, I'll give an update. Okay. Amid a climate of high political tension and controversial statements, U.S. Republican Laura Bobit of Colorado drew shock criticism during a House debate over defense appropriations Wednesday. Specifically, Bober aimed Assistant Secretary of Defense for readiness Sean Skelly a high-ranking transgender official at the Pentagon. Bober introduced an amendment to reduce Shelly salary to a mere $1. Oh. Oh. Arguing that Shelly was failing at her job and a symbol of wokeism. In her remarks, Bober went as far as to misgender Skelly offensively asserting this delusional man thinking he is a woman embodies and espouses the wokeism that's causing significant harm to our military readiness and troop morale. I so fervently hope she's not going to be elected again. I mean, it was a squeaker for her last election. What if she gets the McCarthy seat? Oh, I doubt it. Well, who knows? It's a circus there, for sure. Yeah. And for one more story for right now, Shelly Swain a 26-year-old member of the Jefferson County Democratic Executive Committee is looking to become Alabama's state representative. She's actually made history as the first out-transgender candidate according to Teen Vogue. Official results reported by the Birmingham Times. Swain secured 21.45 percent of the vote share in a seven candidate race. The district encompasses parts of Birmingham. No one outright won the election, so a runoff will take place on October 24th. Swain has received a notable endorsement from LPAC and organized dedicated to electing LGBT plus women and non-binary vision individuals to political office. So, let's hope for her that she gets elected. What have you got for us? I've got interesting stories from North America to involve in Canada. Unfortunately, U.S. hate groups have been operating in Canada and causing some transphobia. The first story involves how Canada's constitution makes it possible for Saskatchewan to trample on LGBTQ to S plus rights. And apparently the premier of Saskatchewan is a real transphobe and his name is Scott Moe and he is going to use this clause which is called the notwithstanding clause to force through his anti-trans pronoun policy for schools. There are two laws. One is the Canadian Charter for Rights and Freedom which is a great legal achievement enacted in 1982 to protect individual rights. But in this bastion of liberty is a curious provision the notwithstanding clause that allows a federal or provincial government to violate certain charter protections with relative impunity. The government wants to pass a law that tramples on the equality rights of its citizens. For example, the government can invoke the notwithstanding clause to do so. In fact, on the face of it there's very little courts can do if this happens. So his government has announced a policy that would require students under the age of 16 to receive parental consent before changing their name or pronouns at school. In response to a legal challenge to his proposed changes he just announced that he would use what some call Canadian Constitution's nuclear option. So that's just a hint of things that are going on in Canada. Eight were jailed across Canada in a coordinated attack a coordinated group of LGBTQ rallies and there were anti-LGBTQ protesters who were protesting against sex ed. The protests rocked almost 80 cities across Canada in a significant escalation of tactics by Canada's anti-trans extremists. The coordinated protests were dubbed one million March 4 children and they're demanding an end to discussions on sexual orientation and gender equality in Canadian classrooms. They came as several Canadian provinces have enacted policies that require students to have parental permission to change their preferred name or pronoun used in schools and shortly after the Federal Conservative Party and they're really the villains in this. They adopted a series of anti-trans policies at their National Convention. CBC reported that counter protesters numbered roughly double the anti-LGBTQ protesters in St. John's Newfoundland. Linda and I went to a LGBTQ Pride March in St. John's. I know there was about 100 people. Was it their first or second? It was like really... There were very few people and very few women. We kept saying, where are the women? Inclusive sex education has long been a part of school curriculum in Canada and has generally enjoyed support of all the major political parties. Protests were mostly peaceful at least four anti-LGBT protesters were arrested in front of provincial legislatures so that the protest was rendered unsafe. This is the good part of the story. Justin Trudeau who was at the UN General Assembly in New York and more about that condemned the anti-LGBTQ protests in a tweet on X formerly Twitter. Let me make one thing very clear. Transphobia, homophobia and biphobia have no place in this country. It has condemned this hate and its manifestations and we stand united in support of 2SL GBTQI plus 2SL is Two Spirit Lesbian Bay Canadians across the country you are valued and you are valid he wrote and then there are the conservatives party leader Pierre Boulevard did not put out a statement nor the deputy leader Melissa Lansman I'd like to have heard from her because she's an open lesbian who has previously spoken on behalf of LGBTQ rights Alberta teachers association president said the protesters are part of North American wide movement fomenting hatred against people using misinformation and lies and there are a few provinces that are outliers in many cities the anti-LGBTQ protesters were officially condemned by mayors and school boards Toronto mayor Olivia Chow who has publicly supported LGBTQ rights since the 80s issued a strong statement condemning the protests the city of Whitehorse Yukon also issued a statement in advance of the protests condemning its bigotry however premier of New Brunswick Blaine Higgs who was the first to introduce a parental consent policy for trans students joined the protesters in front of the provincial legislature in federation bc conservative party leader and i was going to move there i thought i'm moving to New Brunswick well i don't advise it at the moment also it's pretty cold bc conservative party leader went further in the statement on the protests while he says he doesn't officially support the protests if his party wins next year's election he promised to cancel the province's sex ed curriculum and applied he would ban trans girls from the schools on the poll though the protests weren't successful Mexico more North America news throuples are in the news love of three a court will decide if there could be marriages of more than two in Mexico and so the complainants intend to reconfigure the situation of marriage and cohabitation so that they can become legally recognized multiple unions the court is a trio throuple they're a throuple but they want polyamory generally and so it's before the courts there are two provisions in the constitution that talk about marriage between a man and a woman two people the complainants are seeking to overturn those particular provisions and the supreme court turned it down and so now the court that originally held up the ruling against its will in Puebla said come on you got to decide about this and so the court has taken it up again due to the complexity of the case the first collegiate civil court in Puebla insisting in August that the highest court resolved the issue on its marriage and so they're kind of in favor of the throuples and their polyamorous companions now another story from Mexico is I learned it's really disturbing and I have a picture before you now of Alejandro Romero Siguroa and Emmanuel Romero Cesarres who are fighting HIV discrimination in Mexico they planned their elaborate wedding their family came from all over Mexico they get to the place where they're going to get married and they learn that they're barred from marrying because both are HIV positive really? apparently there's provision in Mexican law that says if you have any dangerous condition or that it can be transmitted including diabetes I was thinking but anyway if you have one of those conditions you can't get married but if you both have it it seems they both have it but no on their wedding day they discovered they were ineligible the local judge told them it would be impossible for them to marry for the reason the civil code of the state of Puebla forbade anyone from getting married if they carry a hereditary or contagious disease so hereditary would be diabetes right? lots of things I mean they think breast cancer Cesarres and Siguroa both HIV positive and they indicated on mandatory health forms submitted to the registrar as much Puebla wasn't alone in barring people living with HIV from getting married nine other states across Mexico have laws barring people from HIV from getting married it's incredible Chiapas, Durango Guanajuato, Guerrero Nueva León Oaxaca Guantanarua and several other states people with HIV can only get married if their partner signs a document that they they have been informed where that applies in some provinces but in others the marriage rights of people with HIV are entirely at the whim of the local judges they'll have to change venue obviously they'll have to change countries well some countries say you can do it as long as you're open about it yes but these people are petitioning to change the law and I think that's more but in the meantime well in Mexico the government provides PrEP for free in clinics in major cities so if you go to hospitals in Mexico city you can get PrEP for three but if you do you can face stigma the stigma against the virus also explains why these laws have persisted despite falling infection rates and a growing understanding that HIV can be controlled with proper treatment while those efforts were unsuccessful for this couple they contacted the lawyer immediately and became proactive it's been unsuccessful but they're able to file a suit in federal court seeking in order to allow them to marry they've also been in contact with a friend who's involved with the newspaper and they're publicizing it widely and hoping for some progress if everybody knows about this law it's crazy following up on the Nigeria case where 200 people were arrested in what authorities say was a wedding 69 people have been freed on bail remember the gay wedding I reported on it they were arrested last month the court in Wari ruled on Tuesday that those being held would be free after posting 520 found bail state prosecutors oppose the move the detainees did not appear in court but they're also required to register once a month until their next hearing so cross-dressing is not legal but tends to be socially unacceptable the legislation we know about the 2014 law was almost homosexuality in Nigeria so that's the news there now let's go to Europe you need to be this could be your last story for now oh I have so many European stories alright I'll tell you quickly about this LGBTQI protesters in Vilnius Lithuania who were harassed by marginal groups and the police stood by and intervened aiming to support the proposal to highlight the need for inclusive education education is really a flashpoint in all these stories it was scheduled by the national LGBTQ rights organization LGL which is the Vilnius Civil Day Group it was scheduled to take place the permit was coordinated with the municipality and police counter-protest by a group of traditional family value supporters took place in the same venue at 12 when the gay group was supposed to meet the first protest the anti-LGBT people didn't stop their protest so it was joined by more forces only to interrupt the LGL protest and harass peaceful protesters police were there the LGBT protesters called for help and the police stood by and activists says it was a humiliating experience with numerous other public figures human rights defenders and scholars agreed that the events of September 28 ended in a total failure of authorities to secure the freedom of speech in peaceful assembly as LGBTI human rights situation deteriorates in Lithuania the LGBTQ activist group seeks to consolidate support in order to defend its rights restore its fundamental freedoms and use available legal remedies I mean it looks really rough in Lithuania right? I have much more I know so I'll go through these and you'll have time to go through other stories I don't know if you want to prioritize them a California infectious disease doctor specializing in the care of LGBT community has been arrested and charged with sexually assaulting at least nine former male patients over a five year period prosecutors announced on Thursday Dr. William Thompson 56 of Huntington Beach was arrested on Wednesday at his medical offices in nearby Newport Beach he was charged with eight felony counts of sexual penetration by means of fraudulent representation of professional purpose three felony counts of sexual battery by fraud and two felony counts of forcible oral copulation now this is one of my favorite shows which is The Morning Show oh and it has returned for its anticipated 30th it was clear that Reese Witherspoon's Bradley Jackson and Juliana Margulies Laura Peterson had parted ways following their relationship in season two however the advocate as an exclusive clip from the upcoming TV series that proves that chemistry that brought the iconic plastic on-air personalities together is still rolling offering hope of a queer woman storyline we've only seen part of it we haven't seen yeah we don't have Apple TV yeah so we watch it different people's houses in a quietly remarkable moment on a bustling Tuesday evening speaker Nancy Pelosi made a surprise appearance at a gay bar that has become a popular hotspot for locals and visitors alike in a short time since it's been open situated in the heart of Washington DC Logan Circle Community the little gay pub also known as LGP has earned a reputation as a beloved and welcoming space known for its ornate bathroom a social media sensation owned as Dusty Martinez and Benjamin Gander and Dito Sevilla opened the trendy bar in March and he has a picture of Nancy Pelosi in the bar waving at everybody that's right Devoni Jauré Johnson a black trans woman who was experiencing homelessness was fatally shot by a security guard at a rel's grocery store in Los Angeles in her late 20's her death and her identity are just now being widely acknowledged police said she confronted the guard and was wielding a fire extinguisher and then a screwdriver according to the Beverly Press a neighborhood news outlet but Devoni's family contended that she was not the aggressor and has been demanding more investigation into her so sounds fishy to me it always sounds fishy to me U.S. Representative Paul Gosar of Arizona one of the most mega of mega Republicans went on an outrageous and homophobic rant against General Mark Milley chairman of the joint chiefs of staff accusing him Milley of sodomy promoting so there's a charming because of his stance on the military and women with abortion saying you know if they're stationed in a place where there's no abortion the military will pay for them to go to a state that has abortion that has abortion so you know there's that whole thing and then transgender stuff and then Trump said Milley should be executed exactly we're in such great times here on a good note though Megan Rapino has cultivated over her international career a legacy of you know fighting for more pay for women and LGBTQ stuff and feminist stuff so she has two world cup titles in Olympic gold medal about the 38 year old has never been satisfied with sporting achievements the midfielder from California has become an influential campaigner a fashion icon and an advocate of equal rights across our society so that's a good claim isn't it yeah a district in Florida has used all box books LGBT plus characteristics themes and storylines from libraries available to elementary and middle school students a document from the Charlotte County school district obtained by the advocacy group Florida Freedom to Read directs librarians in the district to remove from there 1978 when to remove their libraries and media centers of all books with references to LGBTQ characters and themes and a hundred students walked out of class at great old high school in Temakula Temakula maybe on Friday to protest a wave of anti-LGBT plus policies implemented by the local school board despite warnings that they would be punished and thrown out of school and whatever if they went but they did anyway so good for them efforts by a group of clergy members to shut down a drag show in upstate New York have failed leading to an outpouring of support for the 22 plus 21 plus event Pastor Tim Lindsay of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Albion New York initially asked organizers to cancel this when they didn't Lindsay wrote an open letter co-signed by 23 other local clergy members and published it online I've been to Albion have you what's it Nia Albany you don't remember we took the bus from Buffalo it stopped in Albion we went to Albion to do charitable work with the great pictures and for my last story it turns out that something very excited happened excited or exciting exciting happened and it's the first rainbow flag used to celebrate LGBTQ plus pride has been found and is back in San Francisco it's on display at the GLBT Historical Society Museum just in time for Pride Month for years it was thought to have been lost and this is the very first one and I think they found in the closet in the back of a bar right I think showing its bright colors is now protected behind an acrylic panel the first ever rainbow flag is a manifestation of freedom it was created by Gilbert Baker in 1978 when activist Harvey Milk asked him to come up with a symbol for the LGBT community so that's good news I'm glad they found it I'm going to skip the Pope I've been asked by some retro cardinals to make a decision about where he stands about gay people which they don't feel he has really done and they want him to condemn I suppose LGBTQ people so we'll see how that goes okay it's time for me while I have a follow up like story it will put my stories out of order but let me tell you the original rainbow flag was created by Gilbert Baker as Linda just said in 1978 to celebrate members of the gay and lesbian movement it was initially made up of 8 colored stripes stacked on top of each other to represent a rainbow a symbol of hope but now each color was given a specific meaning pink for sex red for life yellow for sunlight turquoise for magic indigo for serenity and violet for spirit a year later the pink and turquoise stripes were dropped owing to a shortage of pink fabric at the time and legibility concerns resulting in the 6 color rainbow flag now most commonly used and here it is 6 colors but if I may continue with my stories in order you may okay this is Europe and I have a series of good news stories the first is and this is accompanied by a picture this is Stefanos Kosolakis 35 and he has distinguished himself because he's been elected to lead Greece's leftist party in a historic first he's a Greek businessman he was elected to the largest opposition party in Greece on Sunday becoming the first out gay leader of a political party in the country is he new to the country too or something no he studied in the US I'll tell you the whole thing he's in line Greece's first gay prime minister he's married to Tyler McBeth a nurse he met while living in the US he mentioned McBeth during his acceptance speech to supporters on Sunday in the opposition party marriage equality is not recognized in Greece it isn't? no and while the pair married in the US the relationship will be considered a partnership he promised to reform the country's anti-LGBTQ plus laws that've elected his campaign platform is very progressive it was a tight race and he was credited for his use of social media that led to his victory against a more established candidate he was born in Greece 35 came to the US to study at Phillips Academy Prep School and eventually graduate from Wharton Business School during this period he spent time working on then Senator Joe Biden's 2008 presidential campaigns he later worked as a trader with golden and sex before founding his own shipping company Swift Bulk while some welcomed the election results a fresh air for the party others took a less optimistic view following a contentious election that they say could create deep sisms within the party that's baloney it's just naysayers it's my editorial opinion I'm always Larry of Liberals with working Wall Street but you know he's a business magnet alright Morgan news Amsterdam HIV cases dropped to almost zero after a prep scheme new cases have dropped because of the preventive drug prep according to figures in the Dutch AIDS Fund there were only nine cases of the virus in Amsterdam in 2022 down from 66 people in 2021 it claimed that 120 the organization Dutch AIDS Fund claimed that 128 were diagnosed in 2019 and since 2010 the number of new infections in the Dutch capital in the Dutch capital has fallen by 95% with the goal to reach zero new HIV transmissions in the city by 2026 the city of Amsterdam actually provided an extra budget in 2019 to make prep which we know is the medication to reduce viral load more widely accessible including to people like sex workers who may have a higher risk in February this year it was announced that 50 this is sort of interesting and I don't know what to think about in February this year it was announced that a 53 year old man from Germany became the fifth person worldwide to be cured of HIV diagnosed with the virus in I don't remember that diagnosed with the virus in 2008 he received stem stem cell transplants in 2013 to treat leukemia I heard of this and has ended his HIV treatment without relapsing he is now the third person to have been cured of the virus through stem stem cell transplants according to researchers more good news in my view I'd like to show you a picture now of Donatella Versace who slams the Italian government's anti-LGBTQ policies at Lascala in Milan gay rights groups in Italy have praised her for speaking out against the government's anti-gay policies and a heartfelt and personal speech while receiving a fashion award our government is trying to take away people's rights to live as they wish she said on Saturday night citing in particular the government policy that allows only the biological parent couples to be officially recognized they're restricting our freedom she said we must all fight for freedom in a time that still sees trans people suffering terrible violence a time when children of the same sex couples are not considered their children a time when minority voices are attacked by new laws the speech received a standing ovation from the fashion crowd while Versace received a humanitarian award gay rights activists praised her for clearly challenging the government's actions but called on the entire fashion community to do more Donatelli Versace was the first person in Italy to be so clear and explicit in the face of the government's homophobic policies that's the water that's a set of gay activists she's one of the most important names in fashion and I invite others to follow her example I can do the cardinals while you you can do what? I can do the cardinals while you can sorry we have we went on vacation it's not covid we tested but you know it does have a cough the cardinals submitted a five question or dubia whatever that is ahead of the cyanode of synod the weeks long meeting of the religious policies teachings and beliefs in a culturally changing world they seek a years of no response to questions related to marriage equality in same sex union women in the priesthood and who is the ultimate worldly authority of the catholic church the five cardinals who signed the dubia dubia dubai what is a dubai? it's a city no this is some kind of a dubia some kind of like council or something or a group of cardinals signed the dubia not a country I don't know it's a city anyway no but this is not a city look up a dubia catholic church anyway the cardinals who signed the dubia German cardinal Walter Brandmula 94 American cardinal Raymond Burke 75 Chinese cardinal Zenzikouin 90 and Guinean cardinal Robert Sarah 78 explained their intent in a notification to Christ's faithful released today the cardinal said they had asked for this from the pope for clarification on all of these issues for the upcoming sign-out Senate I'm not catholic I don't know but that's the response that his responses did not provide definitive answers the groups resubmitted the questions in a yes or no format so did you find out what it was? it's a plural for adubium literally means from the latin doubts but another way of translating is to see the word meaning questions that seek clarifications well there you go learn something every day I know so that's adubia I'd like to go back to Versace if I could besides the evil doings of the Italian government besides blocking recognition of children of same sex couples by the way 33 lesbians have been removed from birth certificate so far in Italy the right-wing government of the prime minister is pushing through legislation making it punishable with prison terms and stiff penalties a 2004 law already banned surrogacy within Italy Versace was accompanied by the democratic law maker who drafted legislation expanding anti-discrimination policies and LGBTQ blessed community in a touching moment Versace also recalled the day her brother Gianni came out to her I was 11 years old when my brother Gianni told me he was gay for me it changed nothing I loved him and I didn't care who he loved she told the crowd my last year the story involves a clip for this new film that's hit the Telleride Festival it's taking it by storm it's from Britain and it's kind of strange I think it's December 22nd release one night in his near empty block tower block in Contemporary London Adam has a chance encounter with a mysterious neighbor Harry which punctuates the rhythm of his everyday life Adam is preoccupied and as a relationship develops between them Adam is preoccupied with memories of his past and finds himself drawn to the suburban town where he grew up and the childhood home where his parents appear to be living they died 30 years before hey that's cool and here's the recommendation from the review I read while the film tantalizingly hints at mysteries it primarily delves into themes of grief self-acceptance and the enduring loneliness that can plague the lives of gay men early reactions from its premiere at the Telleride Film Festival revealed a fearless commitment to romance by Scott and Miss Gal those are the two actors promising a passionate and unforgettable portrayal of love let's see a clip from all of us strangers now I saw you looking at me from the street I'm assuming you're not with anyone never see you with anyone this is Mom and Dad yeah they died just before I was 12 I'm trying to write you back tonight how's it going strangely hi hi is this real? does it feel real? are our boys back home? oh son look at you you were just a boy and now you're not it was a long time ago I don't think that matters I've always felt like a stranger in my own family I'm always scared of something always running away, do you remember? never came in your room when you were pregnant it's funny it doesn't take much to make you feel the way it felt back there again I think he might have been wrong with him I've always felt it this is a new feeling and me good I have two Asian stories one involves a TikToker who was fatally shot as Iraq cracks down on the LGBTQ community so let's look at a picture of 23 year old Noor al-Saffir he was popular TikTak personality he had 370,000 followers collectively on Instagram and TikTak he mostly posted short videos showing dresses, hair and makeup styles often dancing to music following news of the shooting many posted comments lamenting his death some others cheered it celebrating the man who fired the shot there's a rock for you the killing comes as a rock cracks down on LGBTQ expression and moves to criminalize it in law while being queer is not explicitly banned under current Iraqi legislation LGBTQ people are often targeted under vague morality clauses in the penal code he faced online abuse I'm not transgender and I'm not gay I don't have other tendencies I'm only a cross stressor in a model he said he identified as a male who worked as a model and makeup artist and we've been talking about how Iraq is moving in bad directions for LGBTQ people he said I'm cautious I'm cautious but not afraid he said about TikTaker's appearance he'd been threatened and as I mentioned last time well a new law has been proposed that explicitly criminalize same sex gay sex gender expression and other forms of LGBTQ conduct if adopted it would punish same sex relations with the death penalty or life in prison punish promoting homosexuality with the minimum sentence of seven years and criminalize imitating women with up to a three year sentence and you remember that I reported last time that Iraq is media regulator in August homosexuality across all traditional and social media platforms demanding that the term sexual deviance be used instead one more quick thing Turkey president Erdogan bothered by the LGBTQ colors at the UN headquarters let's take a look at those colors in the UN headquarters and it wasn't the LGBTQ flag at all but the flag of the last development project that the UN was launching can't use rainbows at all anymore I know rainbow colors you know so anyway I'm sorry about the coughing spell I'll try to do better in the future no worries everybody has a cough once in a while take care and remember to always resist