Sadness Follows Murder of Man Motivated by Hate

A national group that works to combat violence is speaking out on this week’s fatal beating of Ricky Griffin in Dallas.

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Dawn Ennis

www.advocate.com/hate-crimes/2015/06/25/sadness-follows-murder-man-motivated-hate

Fighting for Equitable Financial Services: Money Challenges Facing Same-Sex Couples
Same-sex marriage is still not recognized in all 50 states, but by the end of the month that could all change. The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to weigh in on whether same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry or whether current state bans against same-sex marriage will remain in place. How the ruling will impact the LGBT community is yet to be fully determined. However, I expect that this ruling will finally open the doors to a broader understanding of the many financial challenges that same-sex couples have faced when financially planning for their future.

No doubt the face of financial planning will be much impacted by the ever-growing presence of legally recognized same-sex married couples and families across the country. In many ways it will be simpler, but in others more complex. In order to win the business of this $830 billion investment market, many financial planners have a lot of catching up to do on the financial planning realities of same-sex married couples and families. As someone who has experienced these challenges first-hand, I think it’s important for families to understand the implications for their financial plans and how they can best prepare for the future.

If the Court rules to recognize these unions across the U.S., there will be a number of financial considerations that same-sex couples will want to look into:

• Extension of Healthcare: Spouses (and children) in same-sex marriages will be eligible for healthcare insurance that is provided by their spouse’s employer.
• Retirement Plans: Same-sex couples will be recognized as spouses for benefit purposes. Additionally same-sex spouses will be covered under the survivor benefits rule for both the defined contribution and defined benefits plans.
• Social Security: It’s important for couples to understand Social Security benefits and whether they will be eligible for spouse and survivor benefits.

• Tax Implications: Couples will be able to file federal tax returns using the “married filing jointly” or “married filing separately” options in order to receive spousal tax breaks and benefits. However, it is important to understand the financial implications of filing jointly, so couples may want to consult a tax advisor to help them make the best choice for their unique situation.
• Estate and Gift Planning: If both spouses are U.S. citizens, they will be able to use the unlimited estate tax marital deduction to pass assets to a surviving spouse without incurring federal estate taxes. Also, they will be eligible to pass any unused estate tax exemption, as well as any gift tax exemption, to a surviving spouse.
• College Planning: Couples with children heading off to college in a few years may want to consider the impact their union would have on applying for financial aid. If the couple’s union were recognized then both incomes would be listed on the financial aid application impacting the amount of money available to the student.
• Protecting your Children’s Financial Future: For many in the LGBT community full acceptance within their own immediate, or extended, family remains spotty at best. So having your intentions regarding your children well articulated, and perhaps contractually sanctioned, can go a long way in protecting your children’s financial futures should something happen to you or your spouse.

With or without full marriage equality, there are still many in the LGBT community who have yet to catch up to the many benefits of financial planning. As their unique challenges become more understood by the industry, no doubt many innovative financial services will surface to try and meet their needs.

For couples needing help with planning, Lambda Legal offers a variety of resources designed to help same-sex couples navigate what are often difficult financial matters.

TD Ameritrade, Inc., member FINRA/SIPC. Stock investing is subject to risks, including risk of loss. Commentary provided for educational purposes only. Past performance of a security, strategy, or index is no guarantee of future results or investment success.

TD Ameritrade does not provide tax advice. We suggest you consult with a tax-planning professional with regard to your personal circumstances.

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

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The Oxford English Dictionary Now Includes “Cisgender,” “Twerk,” And “Hot Mess”

The Oxford English Dictionary has been loosening its bow-tie in recent years, demonstrating that it’s not afraid to rip off its tweed coat to twerk the night away and just be, like, a total hot mess.

Indeed, it’s just added 500 sexy new entries, including  “cisgender” (“Designating a person whose sense of personal identity matches their gender at birth”); “twerk” (to dance “in a sexually provocative manner, using thrusting movements of the bottom and hips while in a low, squatting stance” — ooh-la-la!); and yes, “hot mess” (“A person or thing that is spectacularly unsuccessful or disordered, especially one that is a source of a peculiar fascination.”)

Related: Oxford Dictionary Justifies Religious Right’s Fear In Changing Definition Of “Marriage”

Noteworthy additions include “meh,” “masshole,” “Twitterati,” and “Fo’ shizzle,” a term we’d hoped would fade from consciousness. Better luck next time, “Left Shark.”

Any words or terms you’d like Oxford to include next year? (Please note they’ve already written entries for “fierce,” “girlfriend,” and “honey.”)

Derek de Koff

feedproxy.google.com/~r/queerty2/~3/dAH5Y80ew1A/the-oxford-english-dictionary-now-includes-cisgender-twerk-and-hot-mess-20150625

Larry Kramer in Love & Anger: An Exclusive Clip from the Upcoming HBO Film

On Sunday June 29 at 9 pm, HBO will be premiering Larry Kramer in Love & Anger, a new documentary directed by Jean Carlomusto which offers a detailed look at the evolution of Kramer into an outspoken activist who helped change the course of the AIDS crisis.

Towleroad has an exclusive clip from the film which you can watch below which features Kramer at a meeting of ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power) the activist group whose protests and demands that the U.S. government provide access to experimental AIDS drugs were the most effective medical activism in U.S. history.

While we’ve seen much of ACT UP’s story in documentaries like the Oscar-winning How to Survive a Plague, this documentary digs deeper into Kramer’s upbringing, his relationships with his parents and brother, his career as a screenwriter of films such as Women in Love and Lost Horizon, his controversial first novel Faggots, the success of his play (and later film) The Normal Heart, his health victories against an ailing body, and his 2013 marriage (in the hospital) to David Webster.

It’s a must-see film and a thoughtful tribute to an activist icon many credit for saving their lives.

Check out the clip and a trailer for the film, below:

Kramer turns 80 today. He was recently in Provincetown, Massachusetts for a screening of the film at the Provincetown International Film Festival where we also recorded him reading from his new novel The American People: Volume One: Search for My Heart. You can hear him read from his book in our TowleREAD feature, published to the site earlier today.

The post Larry Kramer in Love & Anger: An Exclusive Clip from the Upcoming HBO Film appeared first on Towleroad.

Andy Towle

‘Larry Kramer in Love & Anger’: An Exclusive Clip from the Upcoming HBO Film

Conversion Therapy Is Fraud, New Jersey Court Rules

The jury returned its unanimous verdict after just three hours of deliberation: Telling gay people they can be turned straight is fraud under New Jersey law.

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Sunnivie Brydum

www.advocate.com/ex-gay-therapy/2015/06/25/conversion-therapy-fraud-new-jersey-court-rules

Hate Crime Stabbing Suspect Allegedly Called 3 Men 'Faggots For Wearing Tight Jeans'
Blake Abbey says he was walking home from a bar with two friends on Sunday when a knife-wielding man jumped out, yelled homophobic slurs and stabbed all three of them.

“[He] called us ‘faggots for wearing tight jeans,'” Abbey wrote on his Facebook page, after the attack in Sacramento, California. “We did nothing to provoke him. We were in the wrong place at the wrong time. My arm was completely mangled by a 7-8 inch Rambo knife.”

Their alleged assailant, 25-year-old Timothy Brownell, was arrested Monday on assault and weapons charges and released on bail. Police issued a new warrant for his arrest after they reclassified the stabbings as a hate crime, and Brownell turned himself in on Tuesday, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Abbey, Alex Lyman and Weston Richmond, all local musicians, were assaulted at about 11:45 p.m. on Sunday. They were all treated for stab wounds and will recover, according to NBC affiliate KCRA.

All of them took to social media to describe the stabbing, and Abbey says he got stitches for a 4-inch cut that just missed his spleen, as well as treatment on his arms and throat. He posted photos of his injuries pre- and post-operation on Facebook, which can be seen at the bottom of this post.

Police say they saw the social media postings, and considered the hate crime charge after the men reported what Brownell allegedly said.

“The Sacramento Police Department has zero tolerance for these crimes,” a department spokesperson said Monday, according to The Sacramento Bee.

A benefit concert called “I Wear Skinny Jeans” has been set up to help the three victims with their medical bills.

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

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News: North Korea, Jiggery-Pokery, Donald Trump, PrEP

A bipartisan coalition of lawmakers wants the Supreme Court to provide a live audio feed of the release of its gay marriage decision.

Kim Jong Un unveils new, extravagant North Korean airport terminal.

Aaron Taylor-Johnson flaunts his ass-ets for Flaunt magazine.

Politico has the insiders weigh in on who lost Iraq? “As Americans try to understand what $2 trillion and nearly 4,500 American lives really accomplished, partisans are battling over how much blame falls on Obama, who left Iraq, and on President George W. Bush, who took us there.”

“Jiggery-pokery” and other Antonin Scalia-isms from his Obamacare dissent.

Batffleck goes after PBS for attempting to include his slave-owning ancestors on an episode of Finding Your Roots.

Donald Trump dumped by Univision over his anti-immigrant comments during his 2016 presidential campaign announcement.

Kris Jenner breaks her silence on Caitlyn Jenner’s Vanity Fair cover. “I think that someone following their dream is truly inspirational to a lot of people…. you have to do what makes you happy.”

Is anti-intellectualism at the core of the Charleston shooting and America’s dysfunction? “Many will correctly blame Roof’s actions on America’s culture of racism and gun violence, but it’s time to realize that such phenomena are directly tied to the nation’s culture of ignorance. In a country where a sitting congressman told a crowd that evolution and the Big Bang are “lies straight from the pit of hell,”where the chairman of a Senate environmental panel brought a snowball into the chamber as evidence that climate change is a hoax, where almost one in three citizens can’t name the vice president, it is beyond dispute that critical thinking has been abandoned as a cultural value.”

A pro-O’Malley super PAC goes after Bernie Sanders on guns.

Scientists have finally found the face on the fossilized remains of Hallucigenia, a bizarre-looking 508-million-year-old worm creature.

Ohio theater terrifies children by accidentally showing Insidious: Chapter 3 instead of Pixar’s Inside Out.

National Center for Lesbian Rights applauds the Supreme Court ruling on Obamacare and the Fair Housing Act. “We are elated that the U.S. Supreme court protected health insurance for millions and reinforced the importance of rooting out discrimination in housing.  These two rulings reaffirm the most basic principles of equality, access, and fair dealing.”

Author Evan J. Peterson wants to know why more gay men aren’t on PrEP. “Not everyone needs to rush out and get a prescription, but for those of us who have HIV-positive partners or frequent new partners, it’s a godsend. I have no idea how long I’ll stay on Truvada. Right now, I need it. I’m single, I’m definitely not abstinent, and I refuse to reject anyone simply because of worries about HIV. I have more peace of mind and increased confidence because of PrEP. I wish you the same, however you come by it.”

A big LGBT health study is coming to an iPhone near you.

Ezra Miller in talks to join Eddie Redmayne in Harry Potter spin-off Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

The Washington Post gives Mike Huckabee “Four Pinocchios” for his claim that “global freezing” theories from the 1970s proves the scince on climate change isn’t settled.

Bill O’Reilly declares war on “anti-Fox defamers.”

Dustin Diamond sentenced to 4 months in jail for stabbing a man on Christmas.

Are Channing Tatum, Nick Jonas and other male celebrities signaling the dawn of the “stromo” (straight homo)? “These are not your mother’s metrosexuals, a term coined in 1994 by British social critic Mark Simpson, who called out straight men for indulging in feminine-seeming pedicures and hair products. Today’s stromos are the flip side of gay actors who want to read straight for their careers: They are straight actors striving to read gayish to optimize their appeal — and maximize the number of butts, gym-molded or otherwise, in movie theater seats.”

The post News: North Korea, Jiggery-Pokery, Donald Trump, PrEP appeared first on Towleroad.

Kyler Geoffroy

News: North Korea, Jiggery-Pokery, Donald Trump, PrEP

WATCH: A Cappella Group Pentatonix Sings Michael Jackson's Hits Through The Years

The Grammy-winning quintet features two out singers.

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Gina Vivinetto

www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/music/2015/06/25/watch-cappella-group-pentatonix-sings-michael-jacksons-hits-thro