5 THINGS TO KNOW

Paris authorities stop terrorist plot to attack gay nightclubs.

A plan to attack gay nightclubs in Paris was among a dozen terror plots thwarted in France since the start of the year, according to Interior Minister Gerard Collomb. “This plan of violent action” targeted “Parisian nightclubs and in particular gay clubs,” he told a parliamentary committee examining government proposals for new anti-terror laws.

5 THINGS TO KNOW

Thank you and RIP Edith Windsor for your fight for same-sex marriage.

Edith Windsor, the gay-rights activist whose landmark case led the Supreme Court to grant same-sex married couples federal recognition for the first time and rights to a host of federal benefits that until then only married heterosexuals had enjoyed, died on Tuesday in Manhattan. She was 88.

DESTINATIONS

Island House in the Key West rebuilding after Irma.

Key West’s gay-owned Island House resort — one of the most famous men’s resorts in Florida — sustained damage from Hurricane Irma, but is working to repair and reopen. Island House is currently closed and assessing the damage caused by the mammoth storm, which battered the Florida Keys on Monday. Most of the resort thankfully survived Irma’s impact, though much of its beautiful foliage was torn to shreds by the wind and rain.

HEALTH

Reproduction rights for lesbians now a matter of social justice in France.

The right of lesbian couples and single women to have access to assisted reproduction was “a matter of social justice” and will likely be legislated next year, a French government minister said on Tuesday. The move would mark a significant extension of gay rights in France, where violent protests preceded the legalization of same-sex marriage and adoption by homosexual couples in 2013.

5 THINGS TO KNOW

Fighting for surrogacy for gay men in Utah.

Jon and Noel started talking about having a family not long after they married in 2013. An author and a professor who have been together more than a decade, the couple considered adoption, but settled on surrogacy out of a strong desire to have a biological child. That plan was derailed last year when a southern Utah judge denied their petition to enter a surrogacy agreement with a woman who wanted to help make their family complete.

GayARP

Albany County supports veterans who were denied benefits.

When it comes to discharged LGBT veterans in Albany County, they don’t have to worry about being denied benefits due to their sexual orientation. County lawmakers on Monday passed a law that will ensure that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender veterans who were discharged under the federal government’s Don’t Ask Don’t Tell police started under President Bill Clinton to receive county-level veteran’s benefits.

5 THINGS TO KNOW

Nigel Owens – Coming out as gay easier than talking about bulimia.

Nigel Owens, one of the top rugby referees in the world, says it was easier for him to talk about being gay than to admit he still has bulimia. As a referee in world-class rugby, one of the most macho sports on the planet, I was the first in the sport to come out as being gay. In the hope of reaching out to other young people struggling with mental health, I was also one of the first sportsmen to speak openly about the biggest regret of my life — a suicide attempt. …