THEGAYUK

Tag: Texas News

Get the latest LGBT+ Texas news from THEGAYUK. Breaking news, features and interviews from the gay community in Margate, Texas, USA.

  • Here are the US states with the most anti-LGBT+ laws…

    Here are the US states with the most anti-LGBT+ laws…

    t’s important to note that attitudes towards the LGBTQ+ community can vary widely within individual states, and it’s not accurate to label an entire state as “anti-LGBTQ+.” However, some states have passed laws or have political climates that are perceived as being less supportive of LGBTQ+ rights.

    That being said, there is no definitive list of the “most anti-LGBTQ+” states in the US. However, some states have been criticized for passing laws or taking actions that are perceived as discriminatory towards the LGBTQ+ community. For example, in recent years, some states have passed laws that allow businesses to refuse service to LGBTQ+ individuals on the basis of religious objections, or have attempted to restrict access to gender-affirming healthcare for transgender individuals.

    Some states that have been criticized for passing laws or taking actions that are perceived as discriminatory towards the LGBTQ+ community include:

    • Texas 49 bills
    • Oklahoma 35 bills
    • Missouri 34 bills
    • Iowa 29 bills
    • Tennessee 26 bills
    • Mississippi 24 bills
    • Indiana 18 bills
    • South Dakota 18 bills
    • North Dakota 17 bills
    • Kansas 12 bills

    It’s worth noting that attitudes towards the LGBTQ+ community can change over time, and some states that were once perceived as less supportive of LGBTQ+ rights have since passed more inclusive laws or become more accepting. Additionally, there are many individuals and organizations within these states that actively work to promote LGBTQ+ rights and acceptance.

  • Third man pleads guilty to hate crime assault on gay men, using gay chat sites

    A third man has pleaded guilty to assaults on men because they were gay.

    A gang of men, in Plano Texas, who used gay dating websites to target gay men, have pleaded guilty to hate crime assaults. The three men, Chancler Encalade, Nigel Garrett and Cameron Ajiduah used gay dating sites to arrange meetings with men. once inside the victims’ home they would bound their victim with tape, assault them and verbally abuse them. They would also steal from their homes.

    Once inside the victims’ home, they bound their victims with tape, assault them and verbally abused them. They would also steal from their homes.

    According to Yahoo News, the men are facing life in prison sentences and a fine of up to $250,000.

    A fourth man, Anthony Shelton is awaiting trial.

     

     

  • Man wanted for questioning in connection to the disappearance of gay man turns himself in

    A 26-year-old man wanted for questioning in relation to the disappearance of a gay man has turned himself into the authorities.

    Cousins allegedly use dating app lure gay men to their deaths

    Jerret Jamal Allen (right), 26, had been sought by police over the disappearance of a university student, Vinh Nguyen who has been missing since 31st March. Allen was allegedly seen in April using the missing student’s credit cards. His body has not been recovered and investigators presume that he is dead.

    Terrebonne sheriff’s Capt. Kody Voisin said that Mr Allen turned himself on Sunday.

    The younger of the two cousins, Brandon Alexander Lyons, 18, of Houston, Texas has already been charged with capital murder in connection with the death of a 44-year-old nurse. The body of Glenser Soliman was found in February. Lyons has been jailed and his bond set at $200,000. Soliman was reported missing on the 16th February. He was found 9 days later.

    Detectives have not disclosed which app it is thought was being used, but think that the pair colluded to target Asian men and that there may be other victims.

    A statement from the Anti-Violence Project mourned the loss of the two victims saying,

    “We mourn the loss of Glenser Soliman and An Vinh Nguyen, who likely lost their lives to hook-up violence, a form of violence that we need to talk about more and address in our LGBTQ communities.

    Homophobia is a key factor the targeting of gay men for robbery and violence, and so far in 2017 we have seen an increase in pick-up homicides. As our communities move online we need awareness raising about this form of violence, affirming messages around sex, sexuality and safety, and safe spaces for our communities to meet and hook up.”

     

    The mother of Allen said to ABC13,

    “Like I said, it does not sound like my son, The only thing that I can tell you is it does

    The only thing that I can tell you is it does not sound nothing like my nephew and nothing like my son. Okay.”

     

     

     

  • Cousins allegedly use dating app lure gay men to their deaths

    Two cousins from Texas have allegedly used a dating app to lure gay men to their deaths, authorities say.Cousins allegedly use dating app lure gay men to their deaths

    The younger of the two cousins, Brandon Alexander Lyons, 18, of Houston, Texas has been charged with capital murder in connection with the death of a 44-year-old nurse. The body of Glenser Soliman was found in February. Lyons has been jailed and his bond set at $200,000. Soliman was reported missing on the 16th February. He was found 9 days later.

    Jerret Jamal Allen, 26, is being sought by police over the disappearance of a university student, Vinh Nguyen who has been missing since 31st March. Allen was reportedly seen in April using the missing student’s credit cards. His body has not been recovered and investigators presume that he is dead.

    Detectives have not disclosed which app it is thought the cousins were using, but think that the pair colluded to target Asian men and that there may be other victims.

    A statement from the Anti-Violence Project mourned the loss of the two victims saying,

    “We mourn the loss of Glenser Soliman and An Vinh Nguyen, who likely lost their lives to hook-up violence, a form of violence that we need to talk about more and address in our LGBTQ communities.

    Homophobia is a key factor the targeting of gay men for robbery and violence, and so far in 2017 we have seen an increase in pick-up homicides. As our communities move online we need awareness raising about this form of violence, affirming messages around sex, sexuality and safety, and safe spaces for our communities to meet and hook up.”

     

    The mother of Allen, said to ABC13,

    “Like I said, it does not sound like my son, The only thing that I can tell you is it does

    The only thing that I can tell you is it does not sound nothing like my nephew and nothing like my son. Okay.”

     

     

     

  • Trial delayed for man accused of killing his boyfriend

    Brian Canchola’s trial has been delayed until October after witness illness cancels a court hearing.

    The family of Stephen Sylvester will have to wait until October to learn the outcome of court proceedings against Brian Canchola, who stands accused of killing his boyfriend. The 18-year-old victim was found unconscious by police at his home, but died later from injuries sustained in an attack.

    Kxan.com reports that a witness illness caused the delay after a hearing on Friday was cancelled. The judge pushed the trial until October 16th 2017.

    Canchola was charged with first-degree murder after allegedly beating his 18-year-old boyfriend, Stephen Sylvester, to death. According to Canchola’s co-workers, the pair had been dating for two months.

    In 2015, a roommate told police that he had heard fighting between the two boyfriends after he arrived home in the early morning and it was then that Canchola accused Sylvester of cheating. An alleged fight apparently escalated with the roommate hearing “banging and violent crashing”.

    According to an affidavit, supplied by the roommate, the roommate also heard Sylvester’s pet dog crying out in pain after Canchola reportedly threatened to kill it.

    The roommate found Sylvester after the fight, conscious but with bleeding coming from the back of his head and transported him to University Medical Center Brackenridge. However, Sylvester left the hospital before receiving medical treatment. He returned back to his apartment, where he lost consciousness, was transported back to a hospital and later died.

    Canchola, who is now 22, is currently out on bond.

     

  • Young Gay Man Sends Friends Final Message Moments Before Being Killed In Hit And Run

    A young gay man has been killed after being hit by a car in Texas City, moments after texting his friends to say he would be with them in moments.

    (more…)

  • Memorial Fund For Teen Allegedly Killed By Boyfriend Raises $13K

    A memorial page, which was set up to raise money for the funeral for a teenager who was allegedly killed by his boyfriend in a violent domestic attack, has raised nearly $13,000.

    Stephen Sylvester died after he was reportedly brutally attacked by his boyfriend Bryan Canchola after an argument about cheating. Canchola is now facing charges of murder in Texas, USA.

    Although Stephen’s funeral was on the 24th July, a memorial fund is raising money for a memorial for the Austin teenager who died from a head injury.

    The page, which was organised by Amy Dawn Robinson has raised $12,345 with donations from 236 people in just 9 days.

    In his obituary, Stephen was described as someone who “arrived into this world the same way he lived, with as much spunk and glitter as any one person could handle.”

    Canchola is in the Travis County Jail and his bail is set at $500,000

    If you are affected by issues raised in this story, please contact Broken Rainbow http://www.brokenrainbow.org.uk or call 0800 999 5428.

  • Gay Man In Texas Charged With Murder After Violent Attack On Boyfriend

    Bryan Canchola, a 20-year-old from Texas has been charged with the murder of his boyfriend after a violent fight over suspected cheating.

    The Austin American-Stateman reports, that the Texas man has been charged with first-degree murder after allegedly beating his 18-year-old boyfriend, Stephen Sylvester, to death. According to Canchola’s co-workers the pair had been dating for two months.

    Sylvester was found unconscious by police at his home, but died later from injuries sustained in a brutal attack.

    A roommate told police that he had heard fighting between the two boyfriends after he arrived home in the early morning and it was then that Canchola accused Sylvester of cheating. The fight apparently escalated with the roommate hearing “banging and violent crashing”.

    According to arrest warrant affidavit the roommate also heard Sylvester’s pet dog crying out in pain after Canchola reportedly threatened to kill it.

    The last picture on Stephen’s Instagram account is of Canchola and him in an embrace. In the profile section of his account Stephen wrote: “This is my life’s journey, Dare to follow?”

    The roommate found Sylvester after the fight, conscious but with bleeding coming from the back of his head and transported him to University Medical Center Brackenridge. However, Sylvester left the hospital before receiving medical treatment. He returned back to his apartment.

    Later, Canchola called the police to report that the 18-year-old was unconscious. He was once again rushed to the hospital but died of bleeding on the brain according to an autopsy. He also suffered a neck fracture.

    Chanchola is in the Travis County Jail and his bail is set at $500,000

    A friend has set up a GoFundMe page to help fund Stephen’s funeral.

  • All Male version of Hooters opens in Dallas

    In parts of the US scantily clad buxom women waitress have made restaurant chains with names like Hooters and Twin Peaks (sic) very popular with men who just like to ogle and dribble when they are eating their burgers, but now one brand new eatery has turned the tables.

    The women (and obviously gay men) are getting a chance to to dine and drool over muscular waiters in tank tops and skin-tight short shorts/underwear in a place that has the tasteful name of Tallywackers!

    It is too early to see whether the fine upstanding citizens (and others not quite so upstanding) of Dallas will take to getting an eyeful of beef when ordering their juicy steaks, but we are shallow enough to welcome this new incentive to making dining that much hotter.

  • Texan Gay Man Badly Beaten After App Hook Up

    A 24 year-old man from Springtown, Texas has ended up in hospital after a hook up on the MeetMe app went terribly wrong.

    Arron Keahey was beaten and brutalised by an 18-year-old suspect, after meeting up with him an hour after the two men struck up conversation on the MeetMe app.

    Keahey said to ABC News8 reporter Steve Stoler that he was ‘ambushed almost immediately’ after his arrival at the 18-year-old’s address saying,

    ‘He started getting all frustrated and talking all angrily,” Keahey said. “I don’t remember anything after that.’

    Police in North Texas are currently investigating the attack after Brice Johnson called 911 to say that he had ‘found Keahey outside his house in the trunk of a car.’

    The police later arrested and charged Johnson with aggravated assault, causing serious bodily injury and are treating it as a ‘possible hate crime,’ however as the victim doesn’t remember the attack and Johnson is also saying that he remembers very little about the incident.

    Keahey has broken facial bones, nerve damage and has lost some teeth. He will require corrective cosmetic surgery for his injuries.

     

    A spokesperson for the MeetMe app has said,

    ‘Safety is MeetMe’s top priority. To ensure that our 1 million daily users have a safe and enjoyable experience online, we employ a variety of human and technological filters that include real-time review of every image posted to the site and a zero-tolerance policy for interactions that violate our terms of service.

    ‘As this tragic incident illustrates, offline meetings can carry significant risk – which is why MeetMe prominently displays safety messages to every user of our mobile apps and logged-in users of our website see reminders at the bottom every screen about the dangers of meeting people they don’t know.

    ‘In addition, MeetMe created and operates the website www.socialsafety.org as a resource to help users and their families stay safe online and links to it from throughout MeetMe’s website and app.’

     

    To watch the news report click here.

  • Texas Teen Vows To Fight For Right To Wear Prom Dress

    Teenager Tony Zamazal from Texas has vowed to fight for the right to wear a dress to Prom.

    Tony Zamazal from Spring, Texas is fighting for the right to wear what she feels comfortable in for her High School Prom.

    However Zamazal ran into problems when he asked an assistant principal at Spring High School, who is in charge of the dress code for the prom. The student claims that the assistant principle gave him an immediate answer.

    According to KHOU:

    “He told me it just wasn’t in the dress code. [He said] women wore dresses, and men wore tuxedos,” explained Tony Zamazal.

    Zamazal expressed disappointment at the remark, but has vowed to make a stand.

    “If I do get to go as a woman, I will be ecstatic,” said Zamazal. “If I don’t, it would be devastating, because I put myself out there.”

    The Spring High senior says she doesn’t care what others think about him, as long as she gets to be herself.

    “It’s not okay to just tell people, they can’t be the way that they are. It’s not just a choice of the way you look,” added Zamazal. “It’s more of who you are.”

    A Spring Independent School District spokeswoman says there is a process through which Zamazal can fight this. It would begin with him taking his request to the principal of Spring High School.