Photo by Paulo Murillo
ORLANDO CANDLELIGHT VIGIL IN L.A.
Over 2,000 gathered for a candlelight vigil last month at the footsteps of the Los Angeles City Hall to protest and mourn the 49 people that were killed in the Orlando mass shooting. Lorri L. Jean, the CEO of L.A. LGBT Center spoke out against anti LGBT bigotry being taught by fundamentalist Christian leadership in this country. Singer Lady Gaga made a surprise appearance, speaking about solidarity with Orlando victims and pledged an allegiance of love for their families.
YOUTUBER CHARGED WITH FILING FALSE POLICE REPORT
Gay YouTube personality Calum McSwiggan made headlines last month after he posted a selfie on his Instagram account that showed him in the hospital with a bandage on his head and a caption that claimed he had been brutally beaten outside of a bar in West Hollywood and then mistreated by WeHo police. However, West Hollywood Sheriff Deputies reported that they saw no evidence that he had been attacked and say they were forced to place McSwiggan under arrest after they witnessed him vandalizing a car. Capt. Holly Perez told WEHOville that McSwiggan was observed injuring himself with the handle and receiver to a payphone inside the detention hall. McSwiggan was charged filing a false police report a few days later. He also faces charges filed by West Hollywood Sheriff’s deputies for vandalizing a car.
FORMER FAULTLINE OWNER HONORED
City of Los Angeles Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell presented Jorge Usatorres, the financial executive responsible for rebranding and reviving the Faultline bar, with a City of Los Angeles Certificate of Commendation after Usatorres set up two scholarship awards for LGBTQI students at Los Angeles City College as a parting show of appreciation shortly after he sold the bar in May, which he purchased in 2014. “I’m deeply humbled by this recognition…” Usatorres posted on his Facebook page.
To apply for a scholarship, visit: laccfoundation.org/students/apply-for-scholarships.
RAINBOW KEY AWARDS CEREMONY IN WEHO
The City of West Hollywood hosted the Rainbow Key Awards last month. This year’s Rainbow Key Awards honorees are: Jay M. Kohorn, civil rights attorney; Mark Lehman, board chair of the National AIDS Monument Foundation; Carol Taylor-DiPietro, one of the creators of the first Gay Nights at Disneyland; Ruth Williams, former Director of Advocacy for the National Council of Jewish Women Los Angeles and longtime community volunteer; and West Hollywood Community Housing Corporation, which has provided key assistance to people living with HIV/AIDS.
POST THREATENS LGBT COMMUNITY IN SAN DIEGO
A Craigslist post is under investigation after San Diego Police were alerted of a possible threat of violence towards the LGBT community similar to what happened at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando Florida. Authorities were alerted to a post that showed a handgun being fired in a men-seeking-men ad on Craigslist. The posting title read “We need more Orlandos” with a message that read, “Orlando was long overdue. Cleanse your community of the filth that gives decent gay men and women a bad name. Those people were walking diseases, bug chasers, and thank god for AIDS and 9-11 and now Orlando. San Diego you are next…”
San Deigo Mayor Faulconer and Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman said that they have stepped-up security in San Diego, but there have been no specific threats to the city.
