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A man has been sentenced to 16 years in prison for setting fire to a church LGBTQ flag, after a jury found him guilty on several charges.
Adolfo Martinez from Iowa was convicted in Ames last month on hate crime charges — a class “D” felony in the state — as well as third-degree harassment and reckless use of fire.
The incident took place early on 11 June, when police say Martinez approached the United Church of Christ in Ames, and then burned it outside of the Dangerous Curves Gentleman’s Club, a strip club.
Martinez, police say, later admitted to police that he took the flag and burned it. He used lighter fluid, he said, and a common lighter.
The hate crime charges were added by Story County attorney Jessica Reynolds who said the crime was carried out against the property because of “what it represents as far as sexual orientation.”
Show all 25 1 /25Top 25 LGBT moments in pop culture since Stonewall Top 25 LGBT moments in pop culture since Stonewall 25. Bronski Beat - Smalltown Boy (1984) A song about a young gay man leaving home, accompanied by a video which shows desire, persecution, rejection and ultimate freedom, Jimmy Somerville’s anthem epitomised the experience of generations of gay men.
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Top 25 LGBT moments in pop culture since Stonewall 24. Dana International wins Eurovision (1998) Singer Dana International provided another big moment of visibility for transgender people when she won the competition for Israel with her song “Diva”.
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Top 25 LGBT moments in pop culture since Stonewall 23. Angels in America (1991) Tony Kushner’s epic two-part play tackled the Aids crisis in the context of contemporary America and its many ghosts. A profound piece of theatre.
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Top 25 LGBT moments in pop culture since Stonewall 22. Madonna - Vogue (1990) Madonna took voguing from the ballroom culture of New York’s black LGBT scene and repackaged it for a global audience, bringing along some of its best dancers for her iconic music video. Her rap, which name-checks Hollywood screen legends, is one of pop’s campest moments.
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Top 25 LGBT moments in pop culture since Stonewall 21. Paris is Burning (1990) While “Vogue” was for mainstream consumption, the cult documentary Paris Is Burning went behind the scenes of the glamorous ballroom culture, exploring the darker reality of those outcast and stigmatised by a hostile society.
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Top 25 LGBT moments in pop culture since Stonewall 20. Carol and Susan's wedding on Friends (1996) While Friends has often been criticised over its LGBT representation, this was one moment it did get right.
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Top 25 LGBT moments in pop culture since Stonewall 19. Macklemore - Same Love (2012) As a rap song advocating for same-sex marriage, “Same Love” sends a impactful message of support from a traditionally hostile area of the music world.
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Top 25 LGBT moments in pop culture since Stonewall 18. Britney and Madonna kiss at the VMAs (2003) An obvious and bizarre publicity stunt, but this split-second snog at the MTV VMAs is surely the most famous same-sex kiss of all time.
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Top 25 LGBT moments in pop culture since Stonewall 17. The Golden Girls tackle gay marriage (1991) Our beloved Miami foursome weren’t just camp icons – they were ardent LGBT allies. In one much-discussed episode, Blanche is upset that her brother is marrying a man. Sophia gives an impassioned speech, saying: “Everyone wants someone to grow old with – and shouldn’t everyone have that chance?”
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Top 25 LGBT moments in pop culture since Stonewall 16. Christina Aguilera's "Beautiful" video (2002) The gay kiss featured in this memorable video was a huge signal to a generation of kids that their feelings were normal, and that individuality was to be celebrated. An LGBT anthem was born.
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Top 25 LGBT moments in pop culture since Stonewall 15. Stephen Fry introduces Grindr on Top Gear (2009) Grindr was brand new when Stephen Fry showed it off to Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson, and his estimated global audience of about 350 million. App downloads quickly shot up, and gay hook-up culture was never the same again.
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Top 25 LGBT moments in pop culture since Stonewall 14. Ellen DeGeneres comes out (1997) Now the most-high profile lesbian in the world, Ellen took the bull by the horns when she came out in a memorable episode of her sitcom, with a simultaneous cover of Time magazine on which she declared: “Yep, I’m gay.”
Top 25 LGBT moments in pop culture since Stonewall 13. Queer As Folk (1999) Russel T Davies’s groundbreaking Channel 4 series was unapologetic in its portrayal of gay men and their sex lives, and taught a pearl-clutching British public about rimming.
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Top 25 LGBT moments in pop culture since Stonewall 12. Moonlight wins Best Picture (2017) A powerful portrayal of a young black man coming to terms with his sexuality, Moonlight broke through barriers for LGBT, black and Muslim representation when it triumphed at the Oscars.
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Top 25 LGBT moments in pop culture since Stonewall 11. Modern Family (2009) One of the most successful TV shows in the world, Modern Family succeeded in portraying Mitchell and Cameron as parents just as capable of raising (and embarrassing) their daughter as any straight couple.
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Top 25 LGBT moments in pop culture since Stonewall 10. Boy George on Top of the Pops (1982) When Culture Club appeared on Top of the Pops to perform “Do You Really Want To Hurt Me?”, the androgynous look of its colourful frontman threw viewers and the UK tabloids into a spin.
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Top 25 LGBT moments in pop culture since Stonewall 9. Lady Gaga - “Born This Way” (2011) Lady Gaga’s love of the LGBT community, and her status as "Mother Monster" for all outcasts, was brilliantly channelled into this mainstream dance hit. In a rebuke to religious inspired homophobia, she delivered the poignant lyric: “I’m beautiful in my way, cos God makes no mistakes.”
Top 25 LGBT moments in pop culture since Stonewall 8. Caitlyn Jenner on Vanity Fair & Laverne Cox on Time (2014, 2015) Orange Is the New Black star Laverne Cox was the first transgender woman on the cover of Time magazine, while Caitlyn Jenner presented herself for the first time on the cover of Vanity Fair the following year. Transgender people were being seen, understood and appreciated like never before.
Top 25 LGBT moments in pop culture since Stonewall 7. George Michael - Outside (1998) Six months after being spectacularly outed after an incident in a Los Angeles public toilet, George Michael decided to own it, with this number one single, complete with an outrageously tongue-in-cheek video about cruising. Jaw-dropping to this day.
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Top 25 LGBT moments in pop culture since Stonewall 6. Glee (2009) Glee presented high-camp musical numbers and wacky plot lines alongside some of the first openly gay and transgender characters seen within a high school setting. Its impact on a post-millennial generation of kids forging their own queer identities was enormous.
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Top 25 LGBT moments in pop culture since Stonewall 5. Brokeback Mountain (2005) Perhaps the most famous LGBT film of all time, Brokeback Mountain was the first to put a gay relationship front and centre in a mainstream Hollywood plot.
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Top 25 LGBT moments in pop culture since Stonewall 4. Queen at Live Aid (1985) Freddie Mercury wasn’t open about his sexuality when he stole the show at Live Aid, but he was unmistakably one of our own. His 20-minute tour de force in front of two billion TV viewers goes down in history as the greatest rock performance of all time.
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Top 25 LGBT moments in pop culture since Stonewall 3. Philadelphia (1993) The first mainstream film to portray the HIV/Aids crisis was built on a haunting performance from Tom Hanks and brought an understanding of the issue to millions of cinemagoers.
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Top 25 LGBT moments in pop culture since Stonewall 2. RuPaul's Drag Race (2009) The show that launched a thousand memes. RuPaul’s incredible popularity is a testament to how widely the show reached out beyond the LGBT community and into the wider public, who have been duly educated about drag culture and the courage of those who take part.
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Top 25 LGBT moments in pop culture since Stonewall 1. Will and Grace (1998) Will and Grace was the first time a sitcom put gay characters front and centre, and delighted audiences with its razor-sharp wit. Joe Biden once said the show “probably did more to educate the American public” on gay issues than anything else. Powerful stuff.
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He was convicted of the crimes in November.
He was sentenced to 15 years in prison for the hate crime of arson, and another year for the reckless use of explosives of fire. He also received a 30 day sentence for harassment.
Ms Reynolds told USA Today that Martinez is the first person to be convicted of a hate crime in the county.
The June burning of the flag came just weeks before the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, which are credited as a key starting moment for the gay pride movement in the United States.
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