‘It’s my Florida too’: Pulse shootg survivor Brandon Wolf on beg Black, gay and the anti-Ron DeSantis | US news | The Guardian

Contents:

• GAY CLUBS AND NIGHTCLUBS READG BERKSHIRE
• ‘IT’S MY FLORIDA TOO’: PULSE SHOOTG SURVIVOR BRANDON WOLF ON BEG BLACK, GAY AND THE ANTI-RON DESANTIS
•  PENNSYLVANIA LBIAN AND GAY BARS, RTRANTS, LODGG, PRI EVENT, BS MAPS
• IRS 'WHISTLEBLOWER X,' A GAY DEMOCRAT, REVEALS INTY AND TELLS CONGRS HE WAS BLOCKED OM INVTIGATG HUNTER BIN
• GAY UNED KGDOM
• GAY PHILALPHIA
• THE BT LGBTQ+ AND GAY CLUBS LONDON

GAY CLUBS AND NIGHTCLUBS READG BERKSHIRE

”Wolf had sought refuge Florida 15 years ago when he was done wh ral Oregon, the childhood home where he suffered embedd racism and homophobia on a daily basis.

Among his motivatns for wrg the book was to reclaim tersectnaly om DeSantis and others on the right who seek to hijack explas: “I wanted to give a human flavour to what tersectnaly actually looks and feels like and what feels like to experience racism and homophobia at the same time. Growg up a nservative majory whe town was difficult bee the same kid who would ll me the N-word on one day would ll me a homophobic slur on another day and I was nstantly navigatg the tersectns of those two thgs.

Last month DeSantis’s mpaign released an anti-LGBTQ+ vio assailg Tmp for his past support of gay and transgenr ments: “It is a sry time to be not jt LGBTQ but LGBTQ and Black this state and ultimately that’s the tent.

‘IT’S MY FLORIDA TOO’: PULSE SHOOTG SURVIVOR BRANDON WOLF ON BEG BLACK, GAY AND THE ANTI-RON DESANTIS

Andrew Ahn’s father once told him that there were “no gay people Korea.”Ahn was so aaid of his parents’ reactn if he me out to them that he had a backpack and a iend on standby se he need to leave.

In a culturally nservative muny, where gog to church and buildg a fay were heavily emphasized, Ahn felt his gay inty kept him “om beg able to participate Korean culture.” Then, he started equentg GAMeBoi, a weekly Asian Amerin gay party at Wt Hollywood’s Rage Nightclub. He learned to embrace beg both Korean and gay, so much so that he directed “Fire Island,” a groundbreakg queer Asian Amerin rom- released last year.

Beg Asian Amerin and LGBTQ+ n feel lonely, wh stutns such as ethnic church often disavowg non-heterosexual relatnships while tradnal LGBTQ+ spac such as gay bars n be unwelg to people of lor.

 PENNSYLVANIA LBIAN AND GAY BARS, RTRANTS, LODGG, PRI EVENT, BS MAPS

But the muny is beg visible — California now has an out Asian Amerin ngrsman and state legislators — and partyg person remas an important way to nnect, even an onle age.“Fdg plac like GAMeBoi, where beg queer and Asian do -exist … It’s not like a 1,000-year-old Korean cultural rual, but I uld create a new rual,” said Ahn, 37.On a recent Friday, hundreds packed QT Nightlife’s monthly K-Pop Night at Micky’s, a Wt Hollywood gay club a block or so east om the old GAMeBoi se.Some posed for selfi a pk Barbie box wh dis balls hangg overhead. “If we get our face out there, then people will start takg a ltle more serly.” (Michael Owen Baker / For The Tim) Even historilly gay neighborhoods like Wt Hollywood or San Francis’s Castro district, Asian Amerins have long been ignored or fetishized, seen as feme and weak.

In 2019, then-Wt Hollywood Mayor John Duran argued that he did not appropriately touch a member of the Gay Men’s Chos of Los Angel bee “he’s a skny Korean kid wh pimpl on his cheek.” Asian Amerin advocy groups cricized Duran’s remark, wh API Equaly-LA potg to the long history of discrimatn agast Asian men gay muni such as Wt Hollywood, whose clubs “ed to require three forms of photo intifitn om anyone they perceived as Asian.” Duran eventually rigned om his posn as mayor, cg health reasons, after several other allegatns of sexual harassment.Miss Shu Mai, a Taiwane Amerin drag queen who hosted the K-Pop Night, relled seeg whe actors yellowface — makp that ma them look East Asian L.A.’s drag scene.

IRS 'WHISTLEBLOWER X,' A GAY DEMOCRAT, REVEALS INTY AND TELLS CONGRS HE WAS BLOCKED OM INVTIGATG HUNTER BIN

(Michael Owen Baker / For The Tim) “In a time when there is anti-Asian hate and feels like the whole world is cmblg … what’s more revolutnary polilly than dancg, havg a good time and lovg one another?” said Crisman, a 36-year-old gay Korean Amerin rearcher and artist.

On this night, he had brought some female high school iends who wanted to experience the gay clubbg scene.“I am an environment where I feel safe exprsg myself,” he said.Then, he cut the terview short.“Attentn” by NewJeans was playg, and he uldn’t rist spng around, lghg and dancg on the floor. The downtown nightclub, loted at 18 E Universy Ave, beme Gaville’s first gay club after openg s doors more than 30 years ago. However, wh the progrsn of the natnwi gay rights movement, Gaville’s current nightlife scene is much more clive of the LGBTQ+ muny, and aterny members now e to Universy Club for a fun night out, Spangler said.

Jianna D’Addar, a 22-year-old psychology senr, attend her first gay club and drag show at Universy Club sce livg nservative Panama Cy, Florida. Like D’Addar, equentg UC sce the Sprg semter of sophomore year, Swarthman has noticed a change the club’s clientele sce enterg the scene. Although Unversy Club is the only official gay nightclub Gaville, havg one dited space for LGBTQ+ people to gather mak for a close-kn muny, Summers said.

GAY UNED KGDOM

“As today’s report mak clear, that perd many endured the most horrific sexual abe and vlence, homophobic bullyg and harassment, all while bravely servg this untry, ” Sunak told MP. Promisg the ernment would implement the “vast majory” of Etherton’s remendatns, Wallace said he would fully update the Commons a formal bate about the issue after the about pensatn, Wallace said he hoped to fd “an elegant solutn that match the need and the requirements of those dividuals”, promisg to set this out after Kelly Holm, who served the army and me out as gay last year, was among mpaigners who weled the apology.

Starmer said one of his nstuents, Ken Wright, a former RAF service member who was “forced to leave the job he loved simply bee he was gay”, was the public gallery to hear the apology.

GAY PHILALPHIA

Colorado Sprgs, the state’s send-most populo cy wh jt unr 500, 000 rints, is home to a number of ary bas and is the headquarters for Foc on the Fay, the nservative Christian group that says homosexualy and same-sex marriage are ss. He and his bs partner toured other succsful LGBTQ spac and noted a mon theme: “They were gay as hell, ” Grzecka told the outlet. We knew we had to be gay as hell (to survive).

Jared Polis, a Democrat and the natn’s first openly gay ernor, issued a statement Sunday llg the attack “horrific, sickeng and vastatg” and offered state rourc to lol law enforcement. Polis told CNN’s Jim Asta there are only two gay bars Colorado Sprgs, and Club Q was one of the ma venu. Joe Ziegler, a special agent wh the tax agency for 13 years, scribed himself as a "gay Democrat married to a man" and said he cid to e forward spe his personal polics bee he believ "no one should be above the law regardls of your polil affiliatn.

THE BT LGBTQ+ AND GAY CLUBS LONDON

"I equate this to the experience and feelgs I enuntered when g out [as gay], " said Ziegler. You nnot be discrimated agast any way and homophobic attus are wily nsired unacceptable by the vast majory of the populatn.