One of the two Staten Island men charged with assault as a hate crime for beating a gay man in the bathroom of the Stonewall Inn spoke to the Daily News to insist that he's no homophobe. Matthew Francis claims he had no idea he was in the bar that is considered the birthplace of the modern gay rights movement. Plus, "My sister's a full-blown lesbian... I don't discriminate against gay people." more ›

Two Staten Island men were arrested for allegedly attacking a man at the legendary inn Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village. According to the Post, the suspects asked a man in the bar's bathroom if he was gay—which he confirmed—and, after asking for money, punched him, with one saying, "We don't like gay bars, and we don't piss next to f---ts." more ›

Yesterday, a woman driving a 2005 Toyota Prius crashed into a stone wall in Harrison, NY. The Journal News reports that police say "a stuck accelerator pedal 'shot' the vehicle forward. The floor mat had been tied to the seat base with plastic ties and had pretty much been ruled out as the cause of the accident, acting Police Chief Anthony Marraccini said." The woman, who injured her knee, is a housekeeper and was driving her employer's car. The employer said she had driven it many times before, "It was clearly the automobile and not anything else." Just the other day, police in San Diego had to help stop a speeding Prius whose owner says the accelerator was stuck. more ›

Citing the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, city officials are hoping to make NYC's gay history and culture a compelling reason for gay tourists to visit the Big Apple: Today they launched a new $1.9 million marketing campaign, "Rainbow Pilgrimage," hoping to make visiting NYC seem like a "a ‘rite of passage’ for the gay and lesbian traveler," according to City Room. The city's tourism marketing website now has a gay section, nycgo.com/gay which offers suggestions on things to do and a list of gay landmarks. University of Illinois at Chicago professor of history and gender and women's studies John D'Emilio remarked to CityRoom, "Forty-plus years ago, a newspaper like The New York Times had front-page articles alerting the city to the growing problem of ‘overt homosexuality.' Within living memory, something has been turned around. People who were seen as an unwelcome presence are now encouraged to arrive." Here's a Stonewall riots podcast from the Bowery Boys. more ›