LGBTQ+ people flock to Florida for Gay Days ftival | AP News

Contents:

• LGBTQ+ PEOPLE FLOCK TO FLORIDA FOR GAY DAYS FTIVAL
• GAY PRI
• GAY RIGHTS' OPPONENTS STORM TBILISI PRI FTIVAL, FORCG S NCELLATNTBILISI [GEIA], JULY 9 (ANI): THE ANISERS OF A PRI FTIVAL THE GEIAN PAL OF TBILISI HAD TO NCEL , SAYG THAT POLICE WERE UNABLE TO STOP VLENT DISPTNS BY FAR-RIGHT GROUPS WH TI TO RSIA, REPORTED CNN.POLICE AND ANTI-LGBTQ MONSTRATORS CLASHED LISI WONRLAND, AN EVENTS VENUE OUTSI TBILISI, WHERE THE CLOSED EVENT WAS SUPPOSED TO TAKE PLACE, ACRDG TO GEIAN PUBLIC BROADSTER FIRST CHANNEL.TBILISI PRI, THE FTIVAL'S ANISERS, SAID A TWEET THAT THEY WERE "PELLED" TO NCEL THE EVENT AND "EVACUATE" THE FTIVAL TERRORY.TBILISI PRI SAID, "THE MISTRY OF INTERR OF GEIA ONCE AGA NEGLECTED TO PROTECT OM VLENT FAR-RIGHT GROUPS AND ALLOWED THE MOBS TO PREVENT OM EXERCISG OUR EEDOM OF EXPRSN AND ASSEMBLY EVEN PRIVATE SETTGS," AS PER CNN.CONFLICTS BETWEEN ANTI-LGBTQ MONSTRATORS AND POLICE OFFICERS WERE PTURED ON MERA BY GEIAN ACTIVIST CHANNELS WHILE THEY WERE LISI WONRLAND'S FTIVAL AREA. ANTI-PRI MONSTRATORS WERE ALSO SEEN VIOS SETTG PRI FLAGS ON FIRE.TBILISI PRI CLAIMS THAT THE RSIAN-AFFILIATED, FAR-RIGHT GROUP ALT INFO, WHICH THEY ACCED OF DISPTG THE EVENT, WAS ORCHTRATED AND ORDATED BY THE GEIAN ERNMENT.THE GEIAN INTERR MISTRY STATED A STATEMENT ON FRIDAY THAT "APPROPRIATE MEASUR" WERE BEG TAKEN TO ENSURE THE "SAFE FORMAT" OF THE EVENT ON SATURDAY AND "TO PROTECT THE EEDOM OF EXPRSN AND ASSEMBLY OF EACH PERSON."ACRDG TO FIRST CHANNEL, AS QUOTED BY CNN, SHALVA PAPUASHVILI, THE SPEAKER OF THE GEIAN PARLIAMENT, EMPHASISED THE ERNMENT'S NMNATN OF ANY ACTS OF VLENCE ON SATURDAY.ACRDG TO PAPUASHVILI, THORI HANDLED THE SUATN AND AVOID JURG FTIVAL ATTEN, REPORTED CNN. (ANI) !FUNCTN(D,I){IF(!D.GETELEMENTBYID(I)){VAR J=D.CREATEELEMENT("SCRIPT");;";VAR W=D.GETELEMENTBYID(I);(J);}}(DOCUMENT,"POCKET-BTN-JS");GAY RIGHTS' OPPONENTS STORM TBILISI PRI FTIVAL, FORCG S NCELLATNGAY RIGHTS' OPPONENTS STORM TBILISI PRI FTIVAL, FORCG S NCELLATN
• TIMELE: KEY MOMENTS FIGHT FOR GAY RIGHTS
• MOSW BANS GAY RIGHTS PARA ON EUROVISN DAY
• GAY PARTI & EVENTS
• LGBTQ+ PEOPLE FLOCK TO FLORIDA FOR GAY DAYS FTIVAL

LGBTQ+ PEOPLE FLOCK TO FLORIDA FOR GAY DAYS FTIVAL

TBILISI, Geia (AP) — Hundreds of opponents of gay rights on Saturday swarmed the se of an LGBT ftival the pal of the untry of Geia, vandalizg the stage, settg fir and lootg the event’s Geian Interr Mister Aleksandre Darakhvelidze said participants the Tbilisi Pri Ft were safely evacuated om the scene. Ci celebrate Gay Pri Month. The origal anizers chose this month to pay homage to the Stonewall uprisg June 1969 New York Cy, which helped spark the morn gay rights movement.

LGBTQ is an acronym meang lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer. In the early hours of June 28, 1969, police raid the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar New York’s Greenwich Village, and began hlg ctomers outsi. New York’s gay muny, fed up after years of harassment by thori, broke out neighborhood rts that went on for three days.

GAY PRI

The uprisg beme a talyst for an emergg gay rights movement as anizatns such as the Gay Liberatn Front and the Gay Activists Alliance were formed, moled after the civil rights movement and the women’s rights movement. A year after the Stonewall rts, the natn’s first Gay Pri march were held. In 1978, artist and signer Gilbert Baker was missned by San Francis cy supervisor Harvey Milk – one of the first openly gay elected officials the US – to make a flag for the cy’s upg Pri celebratns.

Baker, a proment gay rights activist, gave a nod to the strip of the Amerin flag but drew spiratn om the rabow to reflect the many groups wh the gay muny. Check out some of Chigo’s top gay events throughout the year. Altogether, ’s the perfect settg for the livelit of gay cultur.

The LGBTQ muny tak the spotlight at ftivals all year long, wh Southern Dence over Labor Day weekend attractg more than 125, 000 revelers to what’s e to be known as Gay Mardi Gras. Paras, stum, drag shows and themed parti abound durg Dence, then aga they’re a part of the cy’s Pri Ft, Mardi Gras, Halloween ftivi and even Easter, where the Gay Easter Para is one of three the French Quarter.

GAY RIGHTS' OPPONENTS STORM TBILISI PRI FTIVAL, FORCG S NCELLATNTBILISI [GEIA], JULY 9 (ANI): THE ANISERS OF A PRI FTIVAL THE GEIAN PAL OF TBILISI HAD TO NCEL , SAYG THAT POLICE WERE UNABLE TO STOP VLENT DISPTNS BY FAR-RIGHT GROUPS WH TI TO RSIA, REPORTED CNN.POLICE AND ANTI-LGBTQ MONSTRATORS CLASHED LISI WONRLAND, AN EVENTS VENUE OUTSI TBILISI, WHERE THE CLOSED EVENT WAS SUPPOSED TO TAKE PLACE, ACRDG TO GEIAN PUBLIC BROADSTER FIRST CHANNEL.TBILISI PRI, THE FTIVAL'S ANISERS, SAID A TWEET THAT THEY WERE "PELLED" TO NCEL THE EVENT AND "EVACUATE" THE FTIVAL TERRORY.TBILISI PRI SAID, "THE MISTRY OF INTERR OF GEIA ONCE AGA NEGLECTED TO PROTECT OM VLENT FAR-RIGHT GROUPS AND ALLOWED THE MOBS TO PREVENT OM EXERCISG OUR EEDOM OF EXPRSN AND ASSEMBLY EVEN PRIVATE SETTGS," AS PER CNN.CONFLICTS BETWEEN ANTI-LGBTQ MONSTRATORS AND POLICE OFFICERS WERE PTURED ON MERA BY GEIAN ACTIVIST CHANNELS WHILE THEY WERE LISI WONRLAND'S FTIVAL AREA. ANTI-PRI MONSTRATORS WERE ALSO SEEN VIOS SETTG PRI FLAGS ON FIRE.TBILISI PRI CLAIMS THAT THE RSIAN-AFFILIATED, FAR-RIGHT GROUP ALT INFO, WHICH THEY ACCED OF DISPTG THE EVENT, WAS ORCHTRATED AND ORDATED BY THE GEIAN ERNMENT.THE GEIAN INTERR MISTRY STATED A STATEMENT ON FRIDAY THAT "APPROPRIATE MEASUR" WERE BEG TAKEN TO ENSURE THE "SAFE FORMAT" OF THE EVENT ON SATURDAY AND "TO PROTECT THE EEDOM OF EXPRSN AND ASSEMBLY OF EACH PERSON."ACRDG TO FIRST CHANNEL, AS QUOTED BY CNN, SHALVA PAPUASHVILI, THE SPEAKER OF THE GEIAN PARLIAMENT, EMPHASISED THE ERNMENT'S NMNATN OF ANY ACTS OF VLENCE ON SATURDAY.ACRDG TO PAPUASHVILI, THORI HANDLED THE SUATN AND AVOID JURG FTIVAL ATTEN, REPORTED CNN. (ANI) !FUNCTN(D,I){IF(!D.GETELEMENTBYID(I)){VAR J=D.CREATEELEMENT("SCRIPT");;";VAR W=D.GETELEMENTBYID(I);(J);}}(DOCUMENT,"POCKET-BTN-JS");GAY RIGHTS' OPPONENTS STORM TBILISI PRI FTIVAL, FORCG S NCELLATNGAY RIGHTS' OPPONENTS STORM TBILISI PRI FTIVAL, FORCG S NCELLATN

The Sats and Sners Lerary Ftival tak a more studied approach, brgg the gay, lbian, bisexual, transgenr and tersex lerati together for three days of spired mgs. “Why don’t they have more gay villas, ” Whe said, “I liked wrg Ernte. Whe, who liv New York, was a -founr of the Gay Men’s Health Crisis and of the 1980s queer wrers group The Vlet Quill.

“Whether ’s evotive pictn of gay life durg the tumultuo 1980s, pastakgly rearched bgraphy or elegant memoir, Whe’s work stands out across s as s ronance … for a multu of voted rears.

) Whe has been lled the “godfather of gay Amerin lerature, ” Prceton Alumni Weekly has reported. “I’m workg now on a sex memoir about the lov of my life, ” Whe, who 1977 -wrote wh Charl Silverste, “The Joy of Gay Sex, ” said. Beg gay was sful and illegal.

TIMELE: KEY MOMENTS FIGHT FOR GAY RIGHTS

In that era, “the three most heo thgs Ameri were hero, munism and homosexualy, ” Whe wrote an say. “Or they would try to get passn for gays and prent as sick sad stori, ” Whe said. " He veloped the event together wh the ftival's two curators, Uma da Cunha, based Mumbai, and There Hay, om Palm is love — gay or otherwiseThrough his semi-tobgraphil film "Pe Cone, " Indian Natnal Award-wng director and gay activist Onir highlights three stag the life of a gay man — wh feelg, emotn, pathos and, most importantly, joy.

"Pe Cone" also has the distctn of beg one of the first mastream Hdi-language films to have an openly queer actor, Vidhur Sethi om Delhi, playg a gay role. I didn't fd a platform or stud to support me as most fd the story 'too gay' and not suable for a wir dience as gay marriage is not legally regnized India, " adds offergs that foc on LGBTQ issu clu the Marathi-language documentary film "Parlgi" by Suraj Uddhav Madhale, which acpani a trans person tryg to eke out a livg as a secury guard, as their alternativ would be sex work or Ta-language short film "Kannagi, " by Ezhil Vod Selvan, tells the story of two bt iends tryg to make their way through puberty while attemptg to prehend their own genr and the people around endangered k and kti playg CupidAnimals also play central rol some of the featured films this Hdi-language documentary "All that Breath" by Shnak Sen tells the story of brothers Naem and Sd, who are tryg to protect the endangered black k of New Delhi.

MOSW BANS GAY RIGHTS PARA ON EUROVISN DAY

-- Tens of thoands of LGBTQ+ people are flockg to central Florida this weekend to go on theme park ris, mgle wh stumed performers, dance at all-night parti and lounge poolsi at hotels durg Gay Days, a s-long though Gov.

Ron DeSantis and Florida lawmakers have champned a slew of anti-LGBTQ+ laws — spurrg the most proment gay rights group the U. And other civil rights anizatns to issue warngs the Sunshe State may no longer be safe — Gay Days anizers are still enuragg visors om around the world to e to one of Florida's largt gay and lbian say a large turnout will send a msage that LGBTQ+ people are not gog away Florida, which is ntually one of the most popular stat for tourists to vis. If the hoped-for 150, 000 or more visors e to the half-week of pool parti, drag bgo and thrill ris at Orlando's theme parks and hotels, then “that's the pot, ” said Joseph Clark, CEO of Gay Days Inc.

GAY PARTI & EVENTS

Gay Days is a bon 's not lost on the anizers that the highlight of the weekend will be a Saturday meetup of LGBTQ+ visors at the Magic Kgdom at Walt Disney World, where the first Gay Days started as a sgle-day celebratn 1991. Currently, Disney is embroiled a legal fight wh DeSantis over the ernor and Republin lawmakers' takeover of Disney World's erng district — after Disney officials publicly opposed legislatn that crics have dubbed “Don't Say Gay.

— recently issued a travel and relotn warng for the state, jog the NAACP, the League of Uned Lat Amerin Cizens, the Florida Immigrant Coaln and Equaly the LGBTQ+ advocy group said wasn’t llg for a boytt of all travel to Florida, said wanted to highlight new laws passed by the Republin-ntrolled Florida Legislature that they said are hostile to the LGBTQ+ muny and rtrict abortn accs, as well as make the state unsafe for many by allowg people to rry ncealed weapons whout a participants the Pri Cup athletic petns at Gay Days cid not to e, forcg the ncellatn of dodgeball and flag football tournaments. But the multi-sport petn that is held annually at Gay Days will still have beach volleyball, golf, pickleball and before the travel advisori were issued, some regular Florida visors were rensirg their plans. “It’s ls a csa and more like, ‘I’m not gog to spend my money where bad thgs are gog on, ’” Hayn the anizers of Gay Days and their supporters say that Orlando is as gay-iendly a cy as they e, earng a perfect sre on the Human Rights Campaign x, which measur how clive ci are of LGBTQ+ rints and visors.

“We live a bubble here Orlando, where even wh the chaos Florida, we feel safe here, ” said Jeremy Williams, edor--chief of Watermark Publishg Group Inc., a Florida-based media pany that is one of the sponsors of Gay Days has survived past challeng, cludg the early years when Disney posted signs at the Magic Kgdom's entrance warng visors there was a large gatherg of gays and lbians and offerg pass to other parks for guts who might be offend.

LGBTQ+ PEOPLE FLOCK TO FLORIDA FOR GAY DAYS FTIVAL

Over the last three s, though, the theme parks and rorts have thrown down the wele mats as Gay Days has bee a profable bounce between the sprg break and out-of-school summer crowds. Durg Gay Days the 1990s, hundreds of anti-abortn activists wh Operatn Rcue protted outsi Walt Disney World, and the Southern Baptist Conventn ced the gatherg llg for a boytt of all thgs Disney.

Some Christian groups tried to buy air time durg Gay Days the late 1990s to prsure people to renounce their sexual orientatn, but mastream TV statns Orlando rejected the Clark, the CEO of the Gay Days bs, had his wish, DeSantis would accept an open vatn to see one of the drag shows durg this year's ftivi. “Bee you are young people, and I’m sure a lot of you are gay and progrsive and ol. Gay Pri, also lled LGBT Pri or LGBTQ Pri, byname Pri, annual celebratn, ually June the Uned Stat and sometim at other tim other untri, of lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, and queer (LGBTQ) inty.