Early Notice: Madonna - The Love & Rebellion Tour

The Madonna Company is on tour again, now with a special benefit for American Friends of Rainbow Railroad Inc.

Rainbow Railroad (url) helps LGBT+ people escape from countries with state-sponsored violence and persecution, in this case, gay and bisexual men in Chechnya, who are being tortured, abused and murdered, to leave that country and get relocated somewhere else in the world.

The upcoming event on Saturday July 22, 2017, at 1PM SLT, is sponsored by Second Pride.

Be there or be square and bring your wallets!

Pulse, Orlando, Florida - 1st Anniversary

Honor the dead and the survivors of the massacre at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, on June 12, 2016. 

1. Stanley Almodovar III, 23 years old
2. Amanda L. Alvear, 25 years old
3. Oscar A. Aracena Montero, 26 years old
4. Rodolfo Ayala Ayala, 33 years old
5. Antonio Davon Brown, 29 years old
6. Darryl Roman Burt II, 29 years old
7. Angel Candelario-Padro, 28 years old
8. Juan Chavez Martinez, 25 years old
9. Luis Daniel Conde, 39 years old
10. Cory James Connell, 21 years old
11. Tevin Eugene Crosby, 25 years old
12. Deonka Deidra Drayton, 32 years old
13. Simón Adrian Carrillo Fernández, 31 years old
14. Leroy Valentin Fernandez, 25 years old
15. Mercedez Marisol Flores, 26 years old
16. Peter Ommy Gonzalez Cruz, 22 years old
17. Juan Ramon Guerrero, 22 years old
18. Paul Terrell Henry, 41 years old
19. Frank Hernandez, 27 years old
20. Miguel Angel Honorato, 30 years old
21. Javier Jorge Reyes, 40 years old
22. Jason Benjamin Josaphat, 19 years old
23. Eddie Jamoldroy Justice, 30 years old
24. Anthony Luis Laureano Disla, 25 years old
25. Christopher Andrew Leinonen, 32 years old
26. Alejandro Barrios Martinez, 21 years old
27. Brenda Marquez McCool, 49 years old
28. Gilberto R. Silva Menendez, 25 years old
29. Kimberly Jean Morris, 37 years old
30. Akyra Monet Murray, 18 years old
31. Luis Omar Ocasio Capo, 20 years old
32. Geraldo A. Ortiz Jimenez, 25 years old
33. Eric Ivan Ortiz-Rivera, 36 years old
34. Joel Rayon Paniagua, 32 years old
35. Jean Carlos Mendez Perez, 35 years old
36. Enrique L. Rios, Jr., 25 years old
37. Jean Carlos Nieves Rodríguez, 27 years old
38. Xavier Emmanuel Serrano-Rosado, 35 years old
39. Christopher Joseph Sanfeliz, 24 years old
40. Yilmary Rodríguez Solivan, 24 years old
41. Edward Sotomayor Jr., 34 years old
42. Shane Evan Tomlinson, 33 years old
43. Martin Benitez Torres, 33 years old
44. Jonathan A. Camuy Vega, 24 years old
45. Juan Pablo Rivera Velázquez, 37 years old
46. Luis Sergio Vielma, 22 years old
47. Franky Jimmy DeJesus Velázquez, 50 years old
48. Luis Daniel Wilson-Leon, 37 years old
49. Jerald Arthur Wright, 31 years old

Second Pride Festival 2017 - The Logo

Poster by LLedge Eames

Below is the logo of this years Second Pride festival, which was recently released. 

I like it! Its powerful and illustrates that we still have to stand up and be counted in the fight for our own and our International sisters and brothers rights and protections.

Sure, pride is a celebration of who we are and how far we have come in some countries, but we must also always remember there are places in the world where the situation for our sisters and brothers our far from comfortable and easy as it is for us.

We are here to celebrate and to give them hope and show support in their struggles. We are here to be in the faces of their and our oppressors, to show we exist and we are here to stay. We will be loud and proud because we cant!

Get Ready: Second Pride 2017 Is Coming

Basic information on the upcoming Second Pride event as supplied by persons close to - but not on - the board.

The amazing Second Pride Festival is coming to the grid again, ✯ ✯ June 23 - July 2, 2017 ✯ ✯! 

For the 12th edition of Pride we are going to be better, stronger and faster! One entire sim filled with Parties - Shopping - Amusement Rides - Lounging in cafe's and parks and much more! Amazing Content Creators - The Best DJ's and Hosts - Superb Live Vocalists and more, this years Pride cannot be missed!

Get your outfits ready as free pride outfits emerge all over SecondLife - Mark your calendar - Get your avie in shape and JOIN us to show Pride! LGBTQ+ - Gay - Straight - In Between or anything you want to be, come show support and inclusion! 

Help Pride and the charities we support, together we are stronger!

Check our the Second Pride Website or this Facebook page Second Pride on Facebook for updates, schedules and sponsors when the festival nears. Check these page for more info in the weeks to come!!! 

JOIN the in-world Second Pride Festival Group today!

Parties from as early as 10 am till as late as midnight, all we need now is YOU!

DJ slots and Vendor Spaces are sold out. We can always add more sponsors though! For more information please visit us in-world: Second Pride HQ (SLurl).

Panti Bliss on Homophobia & Orlando

(via ILGA Europe, hat tip to J.M.G.)

The Queen of Ireland, Panti Bliss, rocking the European Equality Gala 2016 in Brussels, Belgium. 

It's IDAHOT Day!

"This day was created in 2004 to draw the attention of policymakers, opinion leaders, social movements, the public and the media to the violence and discrimination experienced by LGBTI people internationally.

In under a decade, May 17 has established itself the single most important date for LGBTI communities to mobilise on a worldwide scale.

The Day represents an annual landmark to draw the attention of decision makers, the media, the public, opinion leaders and local authorities to the alarming situation faced by lesbian, gay, bisexuals, transgender and intersex people and all those who do not conform to majority sexual and gender norms.

May 17 is now celebrated in more than 130 countries, including 37 where same-sex acts are illegal, with 1600 events reported from 1280 organizations in 2014. These mobilisations unite millions of people in support of the recognition of human rights for all, irrespective of sexual orientation or gender identity or expression.

The International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia is not one centralised campaign; rather it is a moment that everyone can take advantage of to take action.

The date of May 17th was specifically chosen to commemorate the World Health Organization’s decision in 1990 to declassify homosexuality as a mental disorder.

The International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia has received official recognition from several States, international institutions as the European Parliament, and by countless local authorities. Most United Nations agencies also mark the Day with specific events."
From "What is May 17th" at IDAHOT's webpage.

IDAHOT Day 2015

"The International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia was created in 2004 to draw the attention of policymakers, opinion leaders, social movements, the public and the media to the violence and discrimination experienced by LGBTI people internationally.

In under a decade, May 17 has established itself the single most important date for LGBTI communities to mobilize on a worldwide scale.

The Day represents an annual landmark to draw the attention of decision makers, the media, the public, opinion leaders and local authorities to the alarming situation faced by lesbian, gay, bisexuals, transgender and intersex people and all those who do not conform to majority sexual and gender norms.

May 17 is now celebrated in more than 130 countries, including 37 where same-sex acts are illegal, with 1600 events reported from 1280 organizations in 2014. These mobilizations unite millions of people in support of the recognition of human rights for all, irrespective of sexual orientation or gender identity or expression.

The International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia is not one centralized campaign; rather it is a moment that everyone can take advantage of to take action.

The date of May 17th was specifically chosen to commemorate the World Health Organization’s decision in 1990 to declassify homosexuality as a mental disorder.

The International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia has received official recognition from several States, international institutions as the European Parliament, and by countless local authorities. Most United Nations agencies also mark the Day with specific events."

The International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia (Official webpage)

Faces - Can You See Beyond the Label?

(via J.M.G.)

Clip info

""Lesbian", "gay", "bisexual", "transgender", "intersex", "queer": can you see past the labels?

This video from the United Nations Free & Equal campaign celebrates the contributions that millions of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people make to families and local communities around the world. The cast features "real people" (not actors), filmed in their workplaces and homes -- among them, a firefighter, a police officer, a teacher, an electrician, a doctor and a volunteer, as well as prominent straight ally and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon."