1. Police say that two gay men were assaulted during Miami Beach Pride. The attackers were said to be three men. Several witnesses saw the attack. The victims were in line for the restroom in the 500 block of Ocean Drive at Lumus Park when they were assaulted. According to at least one of the victims, one of the attackers yelled a Spanish slur for homosexuals before striking the victim several times. The two victims had several bruises and cuts, and were treated at the scene by paramedics.
2. The Anchorage anti-transgender bathroom proposal has been declared officially defeated. The final results indicate that 57.3 percent of voters rejected Proposition 1. This means that Anchorage is the first civic area in the United States to actively reject an anti-transgender measure at the ballot box. According to the Washington Blade, “The rejection of the measure also ensures Anchorage, which passed its trans-inclusive non-discrimination ordinance in 2015, is one of more than 250 cities across the country with such a policy in place.”
3. The Mississippi Supreme Court has handed down a landmark judgment. The court ruled that the state must recognize the parental rights of a lesbian mother. Justice Ishee stated that Christine Strickland has rights as a parent, because she acted as a parent prior to the divorce — despite the fact that the other parent, Kimberly Day, was the child’s birth mother. Strickland and Day were wedded in Massachusetts in 2009, but lived in Mississippi. They separated in 2013.
4. Venezuelan Olympic diver Robert Páez just came out in an essay for Outsports. The athlete, 23, competed in three-meter springboard in the 2012 and 2016 Olympics. In his confessional, he relates his history and the process of coming out to his family. He writes, “Accepting ourselves and respecting ourselves are big first steps. Life is too beautiful to be hidden in a closet.”
5. VIDEO OF THE DAY: In the new video for her “Universal Love” track “I Need a Woman To Love Me,” Kesha officiates a real-life lesbian wedding. This is the third same-sex ceremony the pop star has performed.