2018 Gay Travel Award Winners Revealed!

Today GayTravel.com announced the winners of the 2018 Gay Travel Awards!

The mission of the Gay Travel Awards is to recognize and promote select LGBTQ welcoming properties, events, destinations and travel-related companies around the globe. These distinguished organizations lead by example and help to inspire other companies and brands around the world to follow their spirit of inclusiveness and acceptance.

This year, the 25 winners were selected from over 100 nominees.

"The Gay Travel Awards support and promote LGBTQ travel and tourism by identifying and rewarding select organizations which exemplify a spirit of inclusiveness, acceptance, exemplary customer service and hospitality excellence," said Stephen Prisco, Vice President of GayTravel.com.

A complete list of this year's categories and winners are listed alphabetically below:

Bed & Breakfast - Mauger Estate B&B

Car Rental - Advantage Rent A Car

Casino Resort - The Cosmopolitan, Las Vegas

Destination, Domestic - Miami, FL

Destination Honeymoon - Riviera Maya, Mexico

Destination International - Paris, France

Gay Bar - Cafe Lafitte in Exile, New Orleans

Gay Pride - Vallarta Pride

Glamping - Patagonia Camp, Chile

Hotel, Best Restaurant - The Restaurant - Meadowood, CA

Hotel, Boutique - The Orlando Hotel, West Hollywood

Hotel, City Domestic - The Westin St. Francis San Francisco on Union Square

Hotel, City International - The St Regis Mexico City

Hotel, Beach Resort - The St. Regis Punta Mita

Hotel Luxury, Europe - Hotel Romazzino, Costa Smeralda, Italy

Hotel Luxury, Mexico - The Ritz-Carlton, Cancun

Hotel Luxury, US - Monarch Beach Resort, CA

Hotel, Pet-Friendly - Atlantic Hotel & Spa, Fort Lauderdale

Hotel, Seasonal - AWOL, Provincetown, MA

Hotel, Spa - Dorado Beach, A Ritz-Carlton Reserve, Puerto Rico

Hotel, Value - Best Western Plus Inn Of Sedona

Hotel, Wedding - Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort & Spa

LGBT Event - Life Ball Vienna

LGBT Friendly Cruise - Celebrity Cruises

LGBT Tour Operator - Venture Out

An invitation to take part in the Metro Weekly Cover Story

By Randy Shulman, Publisher / Editor-in-Chief, Metro Weekly Magazine

I'm personally inviting you to participate in next week's Metro Weekly cover story Forum and Survey for the issue dated January 3, 2019.

The Metro Weekly Forum is a major feature where we share the views of important and diverse community members and allies, such as yourself, about topics vital to both the LGBTQ world and the world-at-large. Our curated conversations and opinions are shared with a print readership of 55,000 and online readership of more than 2 million.

For next week's issue, we are creating a cover story that takes the temperature of how people are feeling about the 2019 political landscape, mostly pertaining to LGBTQ issues and the Trump presidency. The working title is "The Year Ahead." It will be a mixture of intelligent conversational style text, with data graphs from the survey portion added for general illumination.

To participate, please complete the survey form at this link.

Please submit by no later than Monday, December 31 at Noon.

Please answer what you feel comfortable answering. You can optionally take the survey portion 100% anonymously -- just check the "Survey Portion Only" box before you start. Either way, we hope you'll want to weigh in!

Answers may be edited and/or consolidated for length and clarity. We do not share any data we collect, and not all of the answers will be used in print.

For guidance, here are a few examples of past Forums: Gun Control in the U.S. and Is President Trump a Racist?

Please feel free to email me if you have questions, and thank you for being part of our list!

Again, thank you for your time and consideration. And best wishes for a Happy and Healthy New Year!

OutServe-SLDN: Freedom to Serve Guide

By Peter Perkowski, Legal & Policy Director, OutServe-SLDN

I am excited to announce the release of our much-anticipated, second installment of the Freedom to Serve Guide. The publication pulls its name from our organization’s vision. It was first released at the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” providing immediate guidance as lesbian, gay, and bisexual members began serving openly and without fear of reprisal or separation. Since the Guide's first installment, there have been many changes that have affected the service of our LGBTQ service members and their families. This new update reflects those changes and the impacts they had.



In this era of open service for LGB service members—and uncertain open service for transgender service members—this guide is intended to help the LGBTQ military community make informed decisions about how to lead their lives and serve equally. It may also help LGBTQ service members understand how to protect themselves and respond if they feel they have been targeted. This guide does not, however, provide comprehensive counseling for service members, nor is it intended to be a substitute for seeking assistance from an attorney familiar with military law. Each service member’s situation is different and must be evaluated and handled based on its own facts. Service members who need an in-depth assessment of their unique circumstances should contact our legal department directly.

All LGBTQ service members and their allies should be aware of the information contained in this publication. It is important to review the entire guide before studying individual sections. This will provide an overview of the laws and policies, which is necessary to understand individual sections and how they work together, both on paper and in practice. It is also important to know that this guide was created using research of Defense Department directives. Regulations of the individual services generally mirror the Defense Department’s directives, though some differ in minor but sometimes significant ways.

You can download the Guide through this link: Freedom to Serve Guide (2018)

One Colorado: Ushering in the new year with a new pro-equality majority

By Daniel Ramos, Executive Director, One Colorado Education Fund


We've said it before, but it bears repeating: 2018 was a monumental election for Colorado. Voters helped expand a pro-equality majority in the state house and ushered in more pro-equality lawmakers in the state senate. We elected the country's first openly gay Governor.

These are huge accomplishments and there's a lot to celebrate — that being said, we also wanted to take a moment to recognize that Colorado will have one of the largest delegations of LGBTQ legislators in history. That's huge. Representation matters and 2018 made that clear.​





Our state just swept a huge wave of LGBT and pro-equality candidates into office and we can't wait to get to work with so many new allies. Consider making a donation of $10, $25, or $50 before the end of the year to build on this momentum.

We couldn't do it without you. Thank you for your support and Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

 
I'm doing some traveling this week so posting will be sporadic but wanted to wish everybody Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Are You Gay With Something To Say? Bloggers Wanted For Denver's Best Gay Blog!

Are you a new or experienced writer or blogger? Do you want to be? Or maybe you're just some gay guy with something to say? Well, what better forum for you than MileHighGayGuy?

MileHighGayGuy is looking for regular and guest bloggers to write about local news and events, do music and movie reviews, or write opinion or feature pieces from a gay perspective.

These are unpaid positions but offer the opportunity to be published in Colorado's Best Gay Blog (2010, 2011, 2012 OUTstanding Awards, Denver 2012 #WebAwards), expand your audience and gain valuable experience. There's also swag available in the form of free movie and concert tickets, music, books and other cool stuff.

If interested, shoot an email over to Drew Wilson at drew@milehighgayguy.com. And if you've got column or story ideas to pitch, this is the place to do it.

Do You Want To Reach Denver's Gay Community? Advertise With Denver's Best Gay Blog!

Do you want to advertise to Denver’s gay community? Of course you do, it’s the 7th largest in the United States! And the best way to reach them is with MileHighGayGuy – Colorado’s Best Gay Blog.
 
Just click the Advertising page or email sales@milehighgayguy.com to get started today.

The Gay Vegans: Go Vegan

By Dan Hanley

So much going on in the world. 

In my personal life, I am super swamped. I’m in the nonprofit fundraising world and December is a crazy (and wonderful) time. It’s also the time I like to share an awesome blog post, one to end the year with. I’m not sure this is that post, but after much thought about what I want to write about, it comes down to veganism. 

Like I started out with, there is a lot going on in the world. I could write about climate change, poverty, homelessness, Yemen, Syria, human rights, the death of my dad, our new dog, my marriage, etc. 

I chose to write about veganism, about going vegan. When I first started this blog, I thought anyone reading it would be vegan. That wasn’t the case then and still is not the case. I think that’s awesome, and I am always honored when someone takes the time to check out The Gay Vegans and maybe even read a post. 

I decided to go vegan almost 23 years ago because I didn’t want to participate anymore in the killing and torture of animals, of living beings who did not want to die. My little part in living a way that matched how I believe: that I abhor cruelty towards animals. In my new thoughts on being vegan, I simply just wanted to live my compassion. 

Going vegan does so much good. You’re not participating in the biggest animal cruelty, you’re leaving less of a footprint environmentally speaking, you’re supporting human rights and you’re doing your body good. I am not an expert in how veganism affects all of this, and I know in my personal journey all of this has been affected in a positive way because I decided to go vegan. 

For some reading this going vegan may be the furthest thing from your mind. Like no way. You may think that you simply love cheese too much, or don’t have the time for such a drastic change in your life. The reality for me was that going vegan was super easy. I kept thinking about the why, and that’s all I needed. And today! Wow, it’s so much easier. So many more options at the grocery story, at restaurants and online. Any question you have is answered on the web. And it’s SO easy to find a vegan community, no matter where you live. 

Here on this site I have a list of links to websites that I think can be super helpful. Check them out. 

More to come. If you’re not vegan, I would be super stoked if you at least started to consider what a vegan you would look like! 

Thanks so much for reading this!

Denver Limo, Inc.: The Hottest Limos at the Lowest Prices!

Denver Limo, Inc. is the leader in ground transportation in Denver, Colorado. Providing limousine service in Colorado for over 17 years, Denver Limo, Inc. has the hottest limousines, SUV limos, and Party Buses in the state - and they're currently available at the lowest prices of the year! 

Jennifer Lopez - Limitless

Today, multiplatinum-selling recording artist, actress, producer and entertainer Jennifer Lopez shares the music video for the new anthem entitled "Limitless" from her forthcoming film, Second Act from STXfilms – available everywhere now. 

Penned by Sia, "Limitless" is song with soaring vocals and music that delivers a timely, empowering, and inspiring message. 

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year, the Gay Travel Awards Are Here!

The 2018 Gay Travel Awards are underway and the finalists have been revealed! This year, 150 nominees have been selected from across 25 categories. To see the full list of nominees, visit the official web page at www.gaytravelawards.com. Voting is open now through December 24, 2018.

The mission of the Gay Travel Awards is to recognize and promote select destinations and travel-related companies around the globe. These distinguished organizations lead by example and help to inspire and challenge other companies and brands to follow their spirit of inclusiveness as well as to constantly improve their amenities and service levels.

WalletHub Study: 2018’s Best Places for Christmas Celebrations

Source: WalletHub

The most wonderful time of the year is just around the corner. With Christmas being the most popular holiday in the U.S. and one of the most expensive – Americans are projected to spend up to $720 billion over the holiday season this year – the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2018’s Best Places for Christmas Celebrations as well as accompanying videos.
To help Americans celebrate Christmas without breaking the bank, WalletHub compared the 100 biggest cities across 31 key metrics. The data set ranges from Christmas events per capita to average price per Christmas party ticket to shopping centers and outlets per capita.
 

Best Cities for Christmas Celebrations
1	Orlando, FL		11	St. Louis, MO
2	Las Vegas, NV		12	Washington, DC
3	New York, NY		13	Cincinnati, OH
4	Atlanta, GA		14	Birmingham, AL
5	Pittsburgh, PA		15	Denver, CO
6	San Francisco, CA		16	Houston, TX
7	Los Angeles, CA		17	Portland, OR
8	Chicago, IL		18	Tampa, FL
9	Seattle, WA		19	Miami, FL
10	Dallas, TX		20	Austin, TX

Greg Dulli - Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

This morning Afghan Whigs leader Greg Dulli debuts the video to his version of “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas.” The clip was directed by Philip Harder.

“I saw Meet Me In St. Louisas a child and this song just stayed with me forever,” Dulli remarked. “It has a spectral quality that I always wanted to exaggerate.”

Service Members Living with HIV Fired Just Before the Holidays

Today, OutServe-SLDN AND Lambda Legal, with partner law firm Winston & Strawn, filed a lawsuit on behalf of two HIV-positive members of the United States Air Force who were given discharge orders just days before the holiday season. Lambda Legal and OutServe-SLDN filed the lawsuit, Roe and Voe v. Mattis, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. The case was filed anonymously to protect the plaintiffs’ medical privacy. As detailed in a Washington Post exclusive, the plaintiffs received notification just days before Thanksgiving, denying their discharge appeals despite compliance with fitness assessments and medical treatment, as well as strong support from commanding officers. Nevertheless, the plaintiffs were found “unfit for continued military service.”

“Anyone willing to put their life on the line to defend our country deserves respect, not discrimination,” said Peter Perkowski, Legal & Policy Director of OutServe-SLDN. “These Airmen are acknowledged leaders and good at their jobs. They have served honorably for many years. They have the support of their commanders and medical personnel, who state that having HIV will not affect their ability to do their jobs. There is simply no justification for this decision.”

The lawsuit challenges the Pentagon’s discriminatory deployment policies, which prevent Service members living with HIV from deploying outside the United States without a waiver. For years, these policies have restricted the opportunities of Service members with HIV. Now these same deployment restrictions are being used to justify separating Service members solely based on HIV status.   The “Deploy or Get Out” policy, unveiled by the Trump administration in February 2018, directs the Pentagon to identify service members who cannot be deployed to military posts outside of the United States for more than 12 consecutive months and to separate them from military service. Since current U.S. military policy identifies service members living with HIV as non-deployable, they face immediate discharge under this Trump policy.

OutServe-SLDN is also an organizational plaintiff in this case to advance the interests of its members who are living with HIV and serving in the military.  Along with Harrison v. Mattis and Deese and Doe v. Mattis, this is the third lawsuit that OutServe-SLDN and Lambda Legal have brought to challenge military policies that discriminate against people living with HIV.

“It’s disgusting that the Trump Administration is sending some men and women in uniform home for the holidays without jobs simply because of their HIV status,”said Scott Schoettes, Counsel and HIV Project Director at Lambda Legal. “These decisions should be based on science, not stigma. Lambda Legal is suing to stop these separations and will keep fighting until President Trump understands that there’s not a job in the world a person living with HIV cannot safely perform, including the job of soldier.”

The case is entitled Roe and Voe v. Mattis, et al.  Joining Lambda Legal and OutServe-SLDN on the legal team are attorneys from Winston & Strawn LLP, serving as pro bono counsel.

Uno Mas Taqueria: Farm-to-table, absolutely fresh locally sourced food

Uno Mas Taqueria y Cantina is one of those cool little hole-in-the-wall gems that once discovered, you don’t want to tell your friends about in case it gets too busy.

They opened in 2013, bringing elevated street tacos to South Pearl, along with specialty tequillas and drinks, traditional tortas, appetizers, and classic Mexican desserts.