Sulu is gay in 'Star Trek Beyond'

John Cho reveals a significant new detail about his iconic character's private life.



Oh myyyy. Spoiler alert.

Sulu is gay in Star Trek Beyond and it's not a big deal. In the latest Star Trek movie, it is revealed that the USS Enterprise's helmsman, played by John Cho, is married and has a daughter with a same sex partner.

Okay, this is kind of a big deal, but I guess the movie is treating it like just another character detail about Hikaru Sulu's personal life in the forward-thinking future of Star Trek. We've already established that he's a badass and exceptionally good at his job. He's also a dad and married to a man.

The decision by director Justin Lin and screenwriter/co-star Simon Pegg to make Sulu gay was, of course, a nod to George Takei, who played the character in the original 1960s television series and beyond.

"Are You Asian and Don't Want To Be?"

All these years later, this fake billboard keeps making the rounds.



Feeling the need to post this, since an old meme seems to have popped up and is making the rounds again... Every couple of months, and once again within in the last week or so, I've recently seen several people post this photo with the expected levels of exasperation, usually in the realm of "WTF? Have you seen this?"

As a public service, let's make it clear: this image is at least seven years old, and it's fake.

LGBT organizations will march in Orange County Tet parade

Community members vote to include formerly barred groups in this year's celebration

Victory in Orange County! After prohibiting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people from participating in last year's Tet parade, the Vietnamese American Federation of Southern California voted this weekend to allow LGBT organizations to march in this year's upcoming festivities.

LGBT Orgs Cleared to March in 2014 Tet Parade

On Saturday, federation members voted 51-36 to allow LGBT organizations to take part in the 2014 Tet Festival in Westminster, scheduled for February 1. The vote comes after an earlier vote, held last year, barring the organizations from the 2014 festival. The re-vote was scheduled following a meeting between federation leadership and community members last month.

Supporters are calling the decision historic:

Mayor Evan Low organized a blood drive, but he can't donate. Because he's gay.

So the mayor of Campbell, California can organize and host a blood drive, but he is not allowed to donate his own blood. Because he is gay: Bay Area mayor's blood donation rejected because he’s gay.

Last week, Mayor Evan Low and Vice Mayor Rich Waterman, who are both openly gay, helped host an American Red Cross blood drive, both for charity's sake -- there is a reported shortage of donors in the summer months -- and also to make a statement against the federal ban that prohibits gay men from giving blood.

The Food and Drug Administration adopted a lifetime ban on homosexual donors in 1983 in response to the AIDS scare. Low says the policy is outdated and should be reconsidered:

NYPD accused of anti-gay violence in Brooklyn incident

In New York City, three gay men are accusing the NYPD of homophobia and harassment, saying they were called anti-gay slurs, assaulted and wrongly arrested in a confrontation with officers last week: Brooklyn Police Beat Gay Man and Use Homophobic Slurs, Victim and Friends Say.

26-year-old Josh Williams says that he and two friends, Ben Collins and Antonio Maenza, were walking past the 79th Precinct police station when an officer accused one of the men of urinating against the station house and threw him against a squad car. During the ordeal, the men were pepper sprayed, handcuffed and called homophobic slurs.

Part of the incident was caught on video:

Gays Beware! A PSA from George Takei

Check out this funny instructional public service announcement, produced by Funny or Die, and narrated by person, Trekkie and bowtie enthusiast George Takei, explaining how to handle the dangerous individuals that oppose marriage equality. Your best bet for overcoming intolerant fools in the wild? Why, with bowties and kindness: Gays Beware with Jesse Tyler Ferguson and George Takei.

David Phan's family speaks out

My heart breaks for this family... Just wanted to make sure you saw this Salt Lake Tribune article with the family of David Phan, the bullied 14-year-old junior high student who committed suicide outside his school earlier this month: Utah family hopes son's suicide buries bullying.

The family opens up to speak out about the way school officials mishandled David's situation, both before and after his death. The school district was quick to cover its ass, stating that David had not reported any incidents of bullying, and that he was "facing significant personal challenges on multiple fronts" -- basically blaming the victim.

This week, the ACLU of Utah wrote a letter to the school district on behalf of the Phan family, urging for a cease and desist of any further public statements about David and his family: