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A quarter-century has passed since gay NYPD cops sued for and won the right to march in the annual Pride Parade in their police uniforms, notching a small victory in the decades-long battle to end anti-LGBT discrimination within the now 36,000-uniformed-member force.

The long arc of history just bent the wrong way. The woke folk at Heritage of Pride, the nonprofit that’s run the parade since 1984, have just imposed a new ban on cops in uniform participating next month’s COVID virtual Pride March. Somehow, people chronically discriminated against — with a shameful history of being sidelined from other parades — see no irony in kicking a group to the curb just because of their jobs.

Organizers said the ban is warranted because cops in uniform can create “an atmosphere of fear or harm,” particularly for Black and transgender people. Shame on them; while cops, like some of every group, do bad deeds, far many more routinely risk life and limb to protect members of the city’s LBGT community. Which is, frankly, beside the point when considering whether a gay man or lesbian woman who happens to also be a police officer should be able to celebrate their sexual orientation at the same time that they express pride in their profession.

Since its creation in 1982, the trailblazing Gay Officers’ Action League has advocated insistently for LGBT officers and helped address discrimination in the department.

What good is served, for example, by banning a transgender officer like Aiden Budd, who marched in uniform in the parade in 2016, from showing the world that gender identity and sexual orientation don’t stop a person from practicing any occupation with dignity and skill?

Maybe the parade’s organizers should read their own mission statement, proclaiming that “we respect, value, and celebrate the unique attributes, characteristics and perspectives that make each person who they are.”

Or would organizers prefer that gay, lesbian and transgender cops participate in the parade, but in plainclothes, hiding who they really are? That’s called closeting.

— New York Daily News

201W on the corner of Orange Street and Water Street in the heart of downtown Lancaster. The Orange St. building is considered one of the oldest taverns in the city.

According to the LNP archive, taverns occupied the place until the 1700s. However, the history of Tally Ho, which ends shortly after more than half a century at that location, began in 1966.

The· First ad The new tavern, which announced its opening that night, was run in New Era on March 11, 1966. Tally Ho will take over the place recently occupied by Pip’s Place.

In 1974, owner George Sentini opened a small restaurant called Loft on the second floor of the tavern. 3 years later Loft expanded In a larger space with a larger kitchen that allows you to evolve into the flagship of Lancaster’s luxury dining scene.

From the 70’s to the 80’s, Tally Ho became a bustling spot for local nightlife. (This is the intelligence journal 1983 article The neon lights that decorate the ceiling of the Tally Hodance floor have been recycled from the oldest. Comet drive-in.. )

But it was also the target of neighbors and other urban dwellers who complained about noise and destructive behavior late at night. Sunday news Cover story Under the heading “The neighborhood of the city turns into a gay playground” in 1986.

According to Centini, who was interviewed, a group of underage gay men gathered outside his bar for sex. Also, anti-homosexuals often walked, drove past, and loudly harassed people outside the bar.

The article proved to be like a flash point. After it appeared, Centini no longer allowed “female spoofing” (drag performers) to enter his bar.

A group of performers exiled from Tally Ho and calling themselves Nous Cageles 1987 effort Do as much charity performance as possible to “promote a more positive view of Lancaster’s homosexuality” as well as raise funds for legitimate purposes.

Also in 1987, Centini Selling both Tally Ho and Loft Formerly an executive chef at the Host Farm Resort in Lancaster County and Grove Park Inn in Asheville, North Carolina, to Gunterbackhaus.

Backhaus was aimed at bringing a long career in fine dining to the already established loft and further raising the bar in terms of culinary and reputation.

But Tally Ho remained the focus of the anti-gay sentiment he had by the early 1990s. Converted from verbal abuse “Gay bashing” physical violence.

But taverns survived and the times changed gradually-by 2000, drug shows Advertised in the newspaper..

In 2007, Lancaster’s first pride celebration was cancelled, Fundraising activities The following year’s festival was held in Tally Ho. The following year, the first Lancaster Pride event was held in Buchanan Park as planned. After party At Tally Ho.

The after-party has become an annual tradition of the Lancaster Pride event every summer.

TOKYO — Criticism is mounting over discriminatory remarks made by Diet lawmakers, including that “LGBT people are morally unacceptable,” during and after a recent meeting by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) to review a bill promoting understanding of LGBT issues.

A petition demanding LDP legislators withdraw their remarks and apologize was also launched; it had gathered over 10,000 signatures by the morning of May 21.

On the morning of May 20, a meeting was held at the LDP headquarters in Tokyo’s Nagatacho district to review a bill specifying policy measures for improving public understanding of LGBT issues. Former Defense Minister Tomomi Inada and opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan lawmaker Chinami Nishimura, working members of a nonpartisan parliamentary group, have held discussions over the bill.

The text of the bill is based on the LDP’s proposed draft, which added the passage “discrimination must not be tolerated” in its “objectives” and “basic principles” after a request from opposition parties. A draft was compiled May 14, and the parliamentary group aims to have the bill enacted in the current Diet session.

But when it was reviewed at the May 20 LDP meeting, a two-hour debate ensued, with views against its proposed content raised continuously. Consequently, approval was called off for the time being, and a decision made to hold a meeting on it again the following week.

In the afternoon of the same day, a TBS news program reported on the meeting and aired some remarks made by participants, including, “LGBT people are morally unacceptable,” and, “From a biological perspective, human beings must preserve the species; LGBT people go against this.”

Criticism exploded on social media, with posts reading: “So this really discriminatory political party is Japan’s ruling party” and, “The LDP itself is morally unacceptable.” Related terms began trending on Twitter in Japan from the night of the same day.

The Mainichi Shimbun also confirmed that lawmakers attending the LDP meeting made remarks to the effect that LGBT people are not desirable in light of species preservation. An LDP member who approves of the bill said, “The discussion was full of extremely emotional opposing views which were unbearable to listen to.”

Furthermore, House of Councillors member Eriko Yamatani, who opposes the bill, told reporters after the meeting: “In the United States, school bathroom use issues have been brought up at various PTAs, and there are also issues of individuals with male bodies participating in female competitions, because they say they identify mentally as women, and ending up getting lots of medals. Given these absurdities, we should be a bit more careful. Were it to grow into a social or political movement, wouldn’t there be various side effects?”

She added, “I’d like to make a bill to promote understanding that can serve as a model to the world, based on Japan’s national character.” She also said that “discussion is necessary.” This remark appears to have been made in reference to transgender women in Japan registered male at birth, but who identify as women. It has also invited a flood of criticism.

(Japanese original by Miyuki Fujisawa, Digital News Center)

This is a preview of our pop culture newsletter The Daily Beast’s Obsessed, written by senior entertainment reporter Kevin Fallon. To receive the full newsletter in your inbox each week, sign up for it here.

Special is one of those TV series that is “important,” which sounds so insufferable and pretentious—especially because the Netflix show, which returned for season two this week, is anything but that. But it’s also one of those series that is doing important storytelling—that word again…gross…—in so many different ways that focusing on just one does a disservice to the others.

The comedy is created by and stars Ryan O’Connell, a comedy writer in Los Angeles who gained fame and critical attention with the release of his memoir I’m Special: And Other Lies We Tell Ourselves, about his experience as a millennial gay man living with cerebal palsy.

The series has essentially the same logline. It chronicles his attempts at dating and having a sex life, his possibly codependent relationship with his mother (Jessica Hecht), and his attempts to accept the ways in which his life is and isn’t defined by his cerebral palsy.

That dumb word again: It’s important because of the spotlight it gives to the disabled community, with a moving and insightful storyline in season two featuring a disabled support group. Their vibrant lives make Ryan interrogate the ways his worries about other people’s comfort around his existence have robbed him of his own comfort and happiness.

A lot of space is given to his mother’s storyline, exploring how a caretaker’s life is impacted by that duty and calling, and what happens when those services are no longer needed. Ryan’s best friend, Kim (Punam Patel) who, for all these wordy explanations about thematic importance, it must be said is hilarious, considers the ways in which conversations about body positivity have triggered her own feelings about self-worth.

Then there’s the sex.

Special may be the most insightful series there has been about gay sex and dating, which one might not expect based on its sunny branding and the assumption that you’ll be watching inspiration porn. While not exactly porn of the other kind, its sex scenes are realistic, occasionally graphic and certainly sexy. But in that realism, they may even be educational.

Story continues

And that’s just not in how they reveal the mechanics of gay sex, perhaps to some straight viewers for the first time. But they also show how gay sexual relationships are navigated, the pressures and expectations, the negotiations, the anxieties, as well as the pleasures. Because of Ryan’s cerebral palsy, all those considerations are more complicated.

In an interview with the Huffington Post, O’Connell said, “I want gay sex and Special to be synonymous. I want my show to be known for topping, bottoming, top anxiety, lube―all those things. I want to take the mystery and shame out of gay sex by depicting it as I’ve experienced it: erotic, humiliating, empowering, funny and intense, all within the same thrust.”

It’s also refreshing that the series, in its concerted effort to skirt, again, these ideas of “inspiration porn,” allows its gay characters including Ryan to be toxic. Gays no longer have to be model citizens on TV in order to be enjoyed or interesting. How nice!

Season 2 sees Ryan brave the waters of dating someone (named Tanner) in an open relationship, a depiction of queer non-monogamy that, while common in the real world, is rare on TV. Tanner is played by excellent new cast member Max Jenkins, whose performance alongside Heléne Yorke on High Maintenance is a master class of chaotic comedy acting.

Tanner and Ryan are so cute together, but also so wrong for each other. You root for them and you boo them. It’s blurred lines in a series with themes—disability, homosexuality, codependence—that are typically on told in bold, unequivocal terms. It’s messy and it’s funny and sometimes painful. Which is to say, it’s real.

Special was nominated for four Emmys for its first season, including nominations for O’Connell, Hecht, and Patel. (Taking advantage of eligibility quirks, it was submitted as a short-form series.) It’s clearly gotten notice. But it would be nice for its reach to expand even more in season two.

It’s a series that takes topics so often reduced into one acceptable way to talk about them. If it’s still rare for gay character to be given a full life—the good, bad, and ugly—on TV, then it’s almost nonexistent for disabled characters. A gay and disabled character? Forget about it.

But what I appreciate about the show is that, while it’s about all those things, it’s also not about those things at all. It’s a slice of life for an interesting character who is surrounded by interesting people whose own interesting lives are explored, irrespective of those identifying qualities, traits, or perceived marginalizations or limitations.

To stress again, it’s very funny, too. You could say—and sorry/not sorry for the incredibly corny observation that’s about to follow—it’s special. Most of you only watch truly horrible content on Netflix. I know you do. Maybe watch something good instead.

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HANOI: As an LGBTQ activist, legal whizz-kid and Vietnam’s first openly gay candidate running for a seat in its rubber-stamp parliament, Luong The Huy is determined to lead long-lasting change for the country’s marginalised communities.

Huy, 32, is one of just nine independent candidates running for Vietnam’s National Assembly in elections to be held across the country on Sunday and wants to boost the voices of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people, who have long felt discrimination.

But getting his name on the ballot in the communist, one-party state was no simple task.

At the last elections five years ago, more than 100 independent candidates — including dissidents, a taxi driver and a pop star — tried to run, but just a handful made it through the gruelling selection process.

Now that he’s made it this far, he’s clear about what he wants to achieve.

“I want people’s voices to be heard,” Huy told AFP, sitting in his Hanoi office beside a framed poster bearing the slogan “Human rights are for everyone”.

Huy, who is currently director of Vietnamese NGO iSEE, which aims to empower minority groups to protect and promote their rights, has been campaigning for a decade to improve the lives of the Vietnamese LGBTQ community.

He once addressed a session of the UN Human Rights Council and was listed by Forbes as one of the 30 most inspiring people under the age of 30 in Vietnam.

But despite studying law — Huy got a scholarship from the US’s Fulbright Program to study at the University of California — he says he has struggled to bring policy to the people who matter in Vietnam’s opaque governmental system.

“If I’m a member of the National Assembly, that path will be shorter, easier and more convenient for the community groups we serve,” he said.

‘The first, but not the only’

Vietnam is seen as relatively progressive on LGBTQ issues compared with some other countries in Asia.

But although the country lifted its ban on same-sex marriage in 2015, it stopped short of full legal recognition for those unions, and a long-promised transgender law to allow legal gender changes has not yet materialised.

In schools, misinformation about sexual orientation and gender identity is widespread and some children are taught by both teachers and parents that being gay is a mental illness, according to a Human Rights Watch report published last year.

“Some people find it hard to accept someone from the minority LGBT community representing them at a powerful legislative body,” he admitted.

“There have been (negative) comments about me personally, about how I look and about my sexual orientation.”

Huy had pinned his hopes on votes from millennials and Generation Z, but to his surprise, many of his backers seem to be older men and women.

Some have messaged him privately, while others have openly declared their support on social media.

“Suddenly I realised that my support network isn’t as small as I thought it was,” he said.

“I have truly made a step out to the huge society beyond.”

Other than the nine independents, there are more than 850 candidates who made it onto the ballot with the help of powerful backers.

They are all competing for one of almost 500 seats in parliament, which is always dominated by members of the ruling Communist Party and rarely seen to fight for the general public.

But Huy believes he may be able to bring about real change for ordinary Vietnamese.

“I may be the first (openly gay man to run for a seat) but I hope I will not be the only one,” he said.

“People will keep on talking about the first gay candidate, whatever the result may be. This is a story for those in the future who can accomplish even more than I do.”

HANOI: As an LGBTQ activist, legal whizz-kid and Vietnam’s first openly gay candidate running for a seat in its rubber-stamp parliament, Luong The Huy is determined to lead long-lasting change for the country’s marginalised communities.

Huy, 32, is one of just nine independent candidates running for Vietnam’s National Assembly in elections to be held across the country on Sunday and wants to boost the voices of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people, who have long felt discrimination.

But getting his name on the ballot in the communist, one-party state was no simple task.

At the last elections five years ago, more than 100 independent candidates — including dissidents, a taxi driver and a pop star — tried to run, but just a handful made it through the gruelling selection process.

Now that he’s made it this far, he’s clear about what he wants to achieve.

“I want people’s voices to be heard,” Huy told AFP, sitting in his Hanoi office beside a framed poster bearing the slogan “Human rights are for everyone”.

Huy, who is currently director of Vietnamese NGO iSEE, which aims to empower minority groups to protect and promote their rights, has been campaigning for a decade to improve the lives of the Vietnamese LGBTQ community.

He once addressed a session of the UN Human Rights Council and was listed by Forbes as one of the 30 most inspiring people under the age of 30 in Vietnam.

But despite studying law — Huy got a scholarship from the US’s Fulbright Program to study at the University of California — he says he has struggled to bring policy to the people who matter in Vietnam’s opaque governmental system.

“If I’m a member of the National Assembly, that path will be shorter, easier and more convenient for the community groups we serve,” he said.

‘The first, but not the only’

Vietnam is seen as relatively progressive on LGBTQ issues compared with some other countries in Asia.

But although the country lifted its ban on same-sex marriage in 2015, it stopped short of full legal recognition for those unions, and a long-promised transgender law to allow legal gender changes has not yet materialised.

In schools, misinformation about sexual orientation and gender identity is widespread and some children are taught by both teachers and parents that being gay is a mental illness, according to a Human Rights Watch report published last year.

“Some people find it hard to accept someone from the minority LGBT community representing them at a powerful legislative body,” he admitted.

“There have been (negative) comments about me personally, about how I look and about my sexual orientation.”

Huy had pinned his hopes on votes from millennials and Generation Z, but to his surprise, many of his backers seem to be older men and women.

Some have messaged him privately, while others have openly declared their support on social media.

“Suddenly I realised that my support network isn’t as small as I thought it was,” he said.

“I have truly made a step out to the huge society beyond.”

Other than the nine independents, there are more than 850 candidates who made it onto the ballot with the help of powerful backers.

They are all competing for one of almost 500 seats in parliament, which is always dominated by members of the ruling Communist Party and rarely seen to fight for the general public.

But Huy believes he may be able to bring about real change for ordinary Vietnamese.

“I may be the first (openly gay man to run for a seat) but I hope I will not be the only one,” he said.

“People will keep on talking about the first gay candidate, whatever the result may be. This is a story for those in the future who can accomplish even more than I do.”

HANOI: As an LGBTQ activist, legal whizz-kid and Vietnam’s first openly gay candidate running for a seat in its rubber-stamp parliament, Luong The Huy is determined to lead long-lasting change for the country’s marginalised communities.

Huy, 32, is one of just nine independent candidates running for Vietnam’s National Assembly in elections to be held across the country on Sunday and wants to boost the voices of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people, who have long felt discrimination.

But getting his name on the ballot in the communist, one-party state was no simple task.

At the last elections five years ago, more than 100 independent candidates — including dissidents, a taxi driver and a pop star — tried to run, but just a handful made it through the gruelling selection process.

Now that he’s made it this far, he’s clear about what he wants to achieve.

“I want people’s voices to be heard,” Huy told AFP, sitting in his Hanoi office beside a framed poster bearing the slogan “Human rights are for everyone”.

Huy, who is currently director of Vietnamese NGO iSEE, which aims to empower minority groups to protect and promote their rights, has been campaigning for a decade to improve the lives of the Vietnamese LGBTQ community.

He once addressed a session of the UN Human Rights Council and was listed by Forbes as one of the 30 most inspiring people under the age of 30 in Vietnam.

But despite studying law — Huy got a scholarship from the US’s Fulbright Program to study at the University of California — he says he has struggled to bring policy to the people who matter in Vietnam’s opaque governmental system.

“If I’m a member of the National Assembly, that path will be shorter, easier and more convenient for the community groups we serve,” he said.

‘The first, but not the only’

Vietnam is seen as relatively progressive on LGBTQ issues compared with some other countries in Asia.

But although the country lifted its ban on same-sex marriage in 2015, it stopped short of full legal recognition for those unions, and a long-promised transgender law to allow legal gender changes has not yet materialised.

In schools, misinformation about sexual orientation and gender identity is widespread and some children are taught by both teachers and parents that being gay is a mental illness, according to a Human Rights Watch report published last year.

“Some people find it hard to accept someone from the minority LGBT community representing them at a powerful legislative body,” he admitted.

“There have been (negative) comments about me personally, about how I look and about my sexual orientation.”

Huy had pinned his hopes on votes from millennials and Generation Z, but to his surprise, many of his backers seem to be older men and women.

Some have messaged him privately, while others have openly declared their support on social media.

“Suddenly I realised that my support network isn’t as small as I thought it was,” he said.

“I have truly made a step out to the huge society beyond.”

Other than the nine independents, there are more than 850 candidates who made it onto the ballot with the help of powerful backers.

They are all competing for one of almost 500 seats in parliament, which is always dominated by members of the ruling Communist Party and rarely seen to fight for the general public.

But Huy believes he may be able to bring about real change for ordinary Vietnamese.

“I may be the first (openly gay man to run for a seat) but I hope I will not be the only one,” he said.

“People will keep on talking about the first gay candidate, whatever the result may be. This is a story for those in the future who can accomplish even more than I do.”