Panti Bliss Erupts Over Anti-Gay Abuse Of Friend In Dublin Store – VIDEO

Panti Bliss Erupts Over Anti-Gay Abuse Of Friend In Dublin Store – VIDEO

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Irish drag artist Panti Bliss, aka Rory O’Neill, has shared on Facebook how a heroic shop assistant in Dublin dealt with one customer hurling anti-gay slurs at another, reports The Journal.

 

Panti came to worldwide attention earlier this year when she made an impassioned speech at the Abbey Theatre against homophobia. That speech came about after O’Neill called out a number of well known Irish figures who he said are homophobes because of their anti-gay activism. The activists sued state broadcaster RTE and were awarded damages.

There’s been an inevitable backlash against the story of the shop assistant leaping to the defense of Rory’s friend but Panti has softened their coughs as only she can.

Wrote Bliss on Facebook:

So the story of my friend Colm who was called a ‘faggot’ in Spar yesterday has gone viral overnight, and while the vast majority of the responses have been lovely and positive, poor Colm has also had to deal with lots of abuse online – from people calling him a liar, to the people who claim it’s his own fault for not dressing how they think he should. Because apparently the problem isn’t that some asshole called him a faggot while he was minding his own business in his local shop, but that some faggots refuse to dress how assholes in shops think they should.
Dolly give me strength!

Heroic #SparGuy as yet remains unidentified.

Let us not forget that #SparGuy oppressed the right of customers to oppress the rights of others. Is this what we want for society?

— King of Iona (@KingOfIona) November 24, 2014

 
Watch Panti’s Abbey Theatre speech, AFTER THE JUMP


Jim Redmond

www.towleroad.com/2014/11/panti-bliss-erupts-over-anti-gay-abuse-of-friend-in-dublin-store-video.html

A Feminist Gift Guide For Your Most Equality-Friendly BFFs

A Feminist Gift Guide For Your Most Equality-Friendly BFFs
Finding a gift for an outspoken feminist friend can be a difficult task. And since Gloria Steinem and bell hooks presumably won’t be giving out free lunch dates anytime soon, we’ve rounded up some awesome (and affordable) gift ideas for your feminist friends this holiday season.

Between a notorious R.B.G. tote bag and some awesome Leslie Knope-inspired wall art, there’s bound to be something on this list for every feminist.

Here are our picks:

www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/24/feminist-gift-guide-ideas_n_6171708.html?utm_hp_ref=gay-voices&ir=Gay+Voices

Billboard and Newly Released Ad Feature Gay Iraq Army War Veteran in LGBT Public Education Campaign

Billboard and Newly Released Ad Feature Gay Iraq Army War Veteran in LGBT Public Education Campaign

Featured in HRC’s All God’s Children” campaign, Army Sergeant Justin Kelly is a Greenville native and fourth-generation soldier
HRC.org

www.hrc.org/blog/entry/billboard-and-newly-released-ad-feature-gay-iraq-army-war-veteran-in-lgbt-p?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel Stepping Down Amid Pressure: VIDEO

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel Stepping Down Amid Pressure: VIDEO

Hagel

Chuck Hagel is stepping down from his position as Defense Secretary, The New York Times reports:

The president, who is expected to announce Mr. Hagel’s resignation in a Rose Garden appearance on Monday, made the decision to ask his defense secretary — the sole Republican on his national security team — to step down last Friday after a series of meetings over the past two weeks, senior administration officials said.

The officials described Mr. Obama’s decision to remove Mr. Hagel, 68, as a recognition that the threat from the Islamic State would require a different kind of skills than those that Mr. Hagel was brought on to employ. A Republican with military experience who was skeptical about the Iraq war, Mr. Hagel came in to manage the Afghanistan combat withdrawal and the shrinking Pentagon budget in the era of budget sequestration.

The paper adds Michèle Flournoy, the former under secretary of defense; Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) and Ashton B. Carter, a former deputy secretary of defense are at the top of the list for potential replacement candidates. 

Watch a CNN report on the breaking news, AFTER THE JUMP


Kyler Geoffroy

www.towleroad.com/2014/11/defense-secretary-chuck-hagel-stepping-down-amid-pressure-video.html

Some Kansas Clerks Refuse to Issue Marriage Licenses (VIDEO)

Some Kansas Clerks Refuse to Issue Marriage Licenses (VIDEO)
We’ve added two or maybe three states to the marriage equality map this week: Montana, South Carolina, and sort of Kansas. Let’s start with Montana, where a District Court Judge ordered the state to start issuing marriage licenses this week. Montana is the last state in the Ninth Circuit to get the freedom to marry. Attorney General Tim Fox will appeal the ruling, but he’s not seeking a stay, probably because he knows there’s no point, since the Ninth Circuit will definitely uphold this decision, and the Supreme Court won’t review it. Marriage is here to stay in Montana.

And marriages have also started in South Carolina. That’s the last state in the Fourth Circuit to get marriage. Attorney General Alan Wilson had asked the Supreme Court to block marriage, pending an appeal, but they declined. Wilson’s appeal will still go to the Fourth Circuit, but they’ve already overturned marriage bans in neighboring states, so just like in Montana, marriage is there to stay.

Now on to Kansas. This is a tricky one. A District Court judge struck down the state’s ban, and the stay on the ruling expired at the end of last week. Some counties have started issuing marriage licenses. But others haven’t. And state agencies are refusing to honor the licenses that have been issued, since Governor Brownback is appealing the decision. Kansas is in the Tenth Circuit, where the every other court has overturned marriage bans, so they have virtually no chance of stopping marriage. Governor Brownback will lose his appeal, it’s just hard to say when.

A lawsuit in South Dakota is moving ahead. A federal judge there rejected the state’s claim that the 1972 case Baker v. Nelson prevents a federal ruling. Just a few weeks ago, the Sixth Circuit cited Baker as justification for upholding a marriage ban, so it’s a promising sign that the South Dakota judge rejected that argument.

Florida attorney general Pam Bondi has filed appeals in multiple cases to try to stop marriage. Her chances of prevailing are not great. But for now, marriage is still on hold in Florida. In Louisiana, gay couples have asked to skip the Fifth Circuit and go right to the Supreme Court for a ruling. And over in Alabama, the state has cited the work of Mark Regnerus in its latest brief. Regnerus is the author of a discredited study on gay parenting, which a federal Judge in Michigan called “entirely unbelievable and not worthy of serious consideration.” So, good luck with that, Alabama.

And finally, the National Organization for Marriage is not doing well. New tax filings show donations dropped over 50% in 2013, with the group ending the year $2.5 million in debt. NOM has faced large fines over the last year due to campaign finance violations, and donations have dropped sharply since the organization really hasn’t had a major victory in several years.

www.huffingtonpost.com/matt-baume/some-kansas-clerks-refuse_b_6210462.html?utm_hp_ref=gay-voices&ir=Gay+Voices