HRC Statement on the Release of Kim Davis From Federal Custody
Today, U.S. District Judge David Bunning ordered the release of Kentucky’s Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis from federal custody.
HRC.org
Daily Archives: September 8, 2015
Sam Smith Becomes First Gay Man To Sing James Bond Theme
Sam Smith Becomes First Gay Man To Sing James Bond Theme
Sam Smith has proven he has more in common with Adele, Shirley Bassey and Tom Jones than just big booming voices and British accents. The out soul singer has announced that he’ll join those illustrious vocalists and the latest to land the prestigious gig of recording the theme song for a James Bond caper.
“Writing’s on the Wall,” Smith’s theme for the upcoming Spectre, will be released September 25, ahead of the film’s November 6 premiere.
“This is one of the highlights of my career,” Smith said in a statement released today. “I am honored to finally announce that I will be singing the next Bond theme song. I am so excited to be a part of this iconic British legacy and join an incredible line up of some of my biggest musical inspirations. I hope you all enjoy the song as much as I enjoyed making it.”
He also posted a photo of himself lounging in bed with the cheeky caption: Practising to be the best Bond girl I can be.
Jeremy Kinser
Kim Davis To Be Released From Prison
Kim Davis To Be Released From Prison
Anti-gay Rowan County, Kentucky clerk Kim Davis has been released from prison by federal judge David Bunning just days after Bunning jailed Davis for contempt.
Breaking News: Kim Davis to be released from prison.
— Ryan Ruggiero (@RyanRuggiero) September 8, 2015
According to reporter Shannnon Ragland and a copy of the judge’s order, Davis is to be released immediately and has been ordered not to interfere with the issuing of marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
Judge Bunning has released #KimDavis from jail immediately.
She must not interfere with issuing marriage licenses.
t.co/m8yZEjzwXL— Shannon Ragland (@JuryReporter) September 8, 2015
Read Bunning’s order below:
Developing…
The post Kim Davis To Be Released From Prison appeared first on Towleroad.
Sean Mandell
This Man Identifies As 'Graysexual.' Here's What That Means.
This Man Identifies As 'Graysexual.' Here's What That Means.
You know what “gay” and “lesbian” and “bisexual” mean. You might even know what “asexual” and “pansexual” mean. But have you ever heard of someone identifying as “graysexual?”
In Christopher Stoudt‘s new short film, “I’m Graysexual,” a young man named Jared explains what it’s like to identify as graysexual, a term which exists under the asexuality umbrella and one he defines as a “magical place between asexual and someone who is sexual.” As The Frisky put it, “asexuality is often thought of as a spectrum, and gray-sexuality is the in-between — something more fluid between sexuality and asexuality.” Those who identify as graysexual might also identify as gay or straight or any other sexual identity along the binary.
In the clip, Jared, who also identifies as gay, explains, “I used to think I haven’t met the right person but I’ve been with a lot of guys and the experience has been very similar — I want to hold them, I want to kiss them but I don’t want to have sex with them. I don’t want a blow job, I don’t really want to give them a blow job and if they left their underwear on I would be super happy.”
He adds, “I hate that I thought of myself as broken. I don’t want to fix myself. I think I’m fine.”
In an email to The Huffington Post, Stoudt noted, “It’s not that graysexuals are people with low sex-drives who have sex infrequently; graysexuals would be happy to never have sex again, as long as they live. In this video, you spend a night seeing the world through someone else’s eyes and see the world in a way that you might not have knew existed. They like to miss, they like to snuggle, they like human contact, and might even enjoy masturbating alone… but they don’t want to have sex. It’s not on their agenda.”
Stoudt added that he wanted to make the video to reach others who might feel the way that Jared does but didn’t realize there was a term for how they identify.
“It’s a relatively new label that, twenty years ago, might have been written off and discounted… but with the power of the internet today to connect people and bring people together, those who don’t view their sexuality as a black-and-white distinction are able to form a community around a label,” he said. “Asexuality is all about empowering people with whatever label they feel comfortable with, and I wanted to make a video that gave validity to the graysexual term in the hopes of re-affirming those who felt this way.”
For more from Stoudt, have a look at his video series “Cannibal,” which features “I’m Graysexual” and other films that explore subcultures and other topics in just 60 seconds.
Also on HuffPost:
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This open letter from an ex-lesbian, born-again Christian will break your heart
This open letter from an ex-lesbian, born-again Christian will break your heart
A woman describing herself as an ex-lesbian, born-again Christian has penned an open letter that
makes for very difficult reading.
Writing for the religious publication Charisma News, Linda Italiano claims a meeting with a pastor changed her sexuality after 30 years as an out gay woman.
‘When I walked out the pastor’s office, I had received the unchangeable truth. Homosexuality is a sin. God hates all sin. God loves me. Jesus died for me,’ she writes. ‘I will forever be grateful to my pastor for holding to the truth of God’s Word and pastors, I pray that your congregants will be the same.’
She then calls on other pastors across America to ‘boldly speak the truth in love’ if she asks them for help; that her ‘salvation depends on it.’
‘First, I need you to tell me in no uncertain terms that homosexuality is a sin. Show me what the Bible says and tell me that the Word of God is eternal and does not change with the times.’
‘Next, please let me know that Jesus’ death on the cross was enough to cover any sin I have committed, including that of homosexuality.’
‘I need you to tell me to repent. Please tell me that true Christianity calls for genuine repentance of sin, including homosexuality.’
She writes: ‘I am living proof! I have completely renounced the homosexual lifestyle, am a devoted follower of Christ and live in truth, victory and freedom every day of my life!’
To read the full letter, click here.
The post This open letter from an ex-lesbian, born-again Christian will break your heart appeared first on Gay Star News.
Jamie Tabberer
HRC Gears Up for United States Conference on AIDS 2015
HRC Gears Up for United States Conference on AIDS 2015
The 19th annual United States Conference on AIDS (USCA) will take place this week in Washington, D.C.
HRC.org
Ted Cruz Announces Pilgrimage To Kim Davis’ Jail Cell
Ted Cruz Announces Pilgrimage To Kim Davis’ Jail Cell
Canadian and 2016 GOP presidential hopeful Ted Cruz is currently en route to Kentucky to visit jailed Rowan County clerk Kim Davis.
Last week, Cruz issued a barely coherent statement voicing his support of the antigay clerk who has made a grand show of defying not just the court, but the U.S. constitution.
Related: Canadian Ted Cruz Demands “Every Lover Of Liberty Stand With Kim Davis”
“We are a country founded on Judeo-Christian values, founded by those fleeing religious oppression and seeking a land where we could worship God and live according to our faith, without being imprisoned for doing so,” Cruz sais. “I call upon every Believer, every Constitutionalist, every lover of liberty to stand with Kim Davis. Stop the persecution now.”
This afternoon, Cruz will hold a press conference outside the Carter County Detention Center, where Davis has been hanging out since a federal judge ordered her there last week.
In a statement, spokeswoman Catherine Frazier said, “It is important to Sen. Cruz for Kim Davis to know that he supports her and will do everything in his power to ensure her situation is resolved and that no other Americans who strive to live out their faith fall victim to religious persecution by the government.”
Related: Kim Davis’ Marriage History Explained In One Handy Flowchart
According to the statement, Cruz is dead set on defending “the freedom of religion, the freedom of speech and expression,” even when it means unapologetically violating the U.S. Constitution while simultaneously collecting an $80,000 annual salary from the U.S. government.
Of course, ol’ Teddy won’t be the only 2016 GOP contender making an appearance outside the jail. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee will be holding a separate press conference, which he is billing on Twitter as an #ImWithKimLibertyRally Tuesday afternoon.
Meanwhile, Davis’ lawyers filed an emergency request on Monday to exempt her from having to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, arguing that her free speech is being violated.
Related: Huckabee Compares Kim Davis’ Refusal To Marry Same-Sex Couples To Lincoln’s Battle Against Slavery
Graham Gremore
Ted Cruz and Mike Huckabee to Visit Kim Davis in Jail
Ted Cruz and Mike Huckabee to Visit Kim Davis in Jail
U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (TX) and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee will travel to Kentucky today to meet with jailed Rowan County clerk Kim Davis. As you’ll recall, Davis was jailed by federal judge David Bunning for failing to offer marriage licenses to same-sex couples despite the order from the U.S. Supreme Court in June.
As The New York Times reports, the two Republican presidential hopefuls will be holding separate events protesting Davis’ imprisonment rather than holding a joint rally:
Mr. Cruz […] will fly down early and then take questions from the press around 1 p.m. Mr. Huckabee’s event will start around 2:30, and feature Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council and Mathew D. Staver of Liberty Counsel.
Both candidates have been among the most vociferous in supporting Ms. Davis. Mr. Cruz released a statement after her arrest that called on “every believer, every constitutionalist, every lover of liberty to stand with Kim Davis.”
“It is important to Sen. Cruz for Kim Davis to know that he supports her and will do everything in his power to ensure her situation is resolved and that no other Americans who strive to live out their faith fall victim to religious persecution by the government,” Cruz spokeswoman Catherine Frazier said in a statement.
Every Believer, every Constitutionalist, every lover of liberty should stand w/ Kim Davis: t.co/zyBRG91OXG t.co/0DGG9gZyQE
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) September 6, 2015
Exercising #ReligiousLiberty should never be a crime in America –> t.co/fYxFEng5gH #ImWithKim #KimDavis pic.twitter.com/TzEB2TYjUW
— Gov. Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) September 3, 2015
In an email sent Monday, Huckabee called on his supporters to follow his lead and ‘stand with Kim.’ Huckabee wrote,
There comes a time when you must take a stand for your faith and this is one of those times. Let’s make sure Kim knows she is not alone. We must always defend our religious liberty and never surrender to judicial tyranny.
Huckabee also penned an op-ed for Fox News in which he argued that Davis’ “right to religious liberty” has been violated. He writes,
Today, I ask on behalf of Kim: “Under what law is she authorized to issue homosexual couples a marriage license?” Can you site the specific right in the Constitution? Is there a statute, passed by Congress that actually says that the five unelected lawyers in the majority of the court’s opinion were right to throw out the very definition of marriage and make up one on their own?
Huckabee goes on to call Kim Davis’ “stand for religious liberty” a “pivotal moment in our nation’s history”:
“Will we continue to pretend as though the Supreme Court is the “Supreme Branch” with the authority and ability to make laws? It most certainly is not. The Supreme Court is one of three co-equal branches of government under our Constitution. It is no more the “Supreme Branch” than it is the “Supreme Being” with the authority to redefine the laws of nature or of nature’s God!
He concludes:
“I refuse to sit silently as our Constitution is torched and the courts violate our fundamental rights. We did not fight a revolution against the tyranny of one unelected monarch so we could surrender our freedoms and abandon our Constitution to the tyranny of five unaccountable, unelected lawyers.
This shredding of the most fundamental civil rights of our citizens cannot stand. I will fight for, and protect, the religious liberty of every American. This will go down as a seminal moment in American history if we do not free Kim Davis now and make sure this never happens again.”
The post Ted Cruz and Mike Huckabee to Visit Kim Davis in Jail appeared first on Towleroad.
Sean Mandell
Arson Suspected in Fire That Destroyed New York Church's Rainbow Bench
Arson Suspected in Fire That Destroyed New York Church's Rainbow Bench
The pastor of the church says congregants and neighbors are pitching in to restore the bench that symbolized their house of worship’s mission to be inclusive.
Dawn Ennis
www.advocate.com/religion/2015/09/08/arson-suspected-fire-destroyed-new-york-churchs-rainbow-bench
Let Go of the Fig Leaf
Let Go of the Fig Leaf
In general, I don’t spend much time thinking about the sanctity of the public restroom. Mostly, I rate bathrooms according to their cleanliness; whether there is urine on the toilet seat or skid marks in the bowls or how I can get in and out without touching anything. But, as I read the news about South Dakota State Legislator Roger Hunt calling for “genital inspections” to keep our playing fields and locker rooms penis and vagina specific, or about high school students Lila Perry at Hillsboro High School in Missouri and Gavin Grimm in Gloucester, Virginia under siege for wanting to use the school bathroom appropriate for their gender identity, why are there people who care so deeply about the place specifically designated for urination, defecation and, hopefully, hand washing.
Just as some of the most heinous “bathroom bills” denying trans people appropriate bathroom access seemed to be abating, Mr. Hunt comes along, proclaims that” we here in South Dakota aren’t like people on the West or East Coasts” and offers legislation that calls for genital inspections of transgender athletes. This on the heels of the South Dakota High School Athletic Association making sports trans inclusive.
I wonder if that includes anyone “suspected” of being transgender. Will that give coaches, school officials and athletic directors carte blanche to examine the genitals of anyone they think might be transgender? I continue to ask why people like Mr. Hunt could possibly care? Is he concerned a boy might claim to be transgender so that he can dominate girl’s field hockey and thus upset the delicate competitive balance of high school sports in South Dakota?
In Missouri, are people fearful Lila will lay down on the bathroom floor and peer under the stall divider to watch other girls relieve themselves (I can’t help but be reminded about former Idaho Senator Larry Craig’s “wide stance” when I think about bathroom etiquette.) Or that Gavin is “gaying up” the boy’s room and his mere presence threatens the other guys.
Historically, school officials, wrestling with behavioral issues inside bathrooms has generally been about smoking or bullying or too much gossip time. I assume controlling those kinds of behaviors is why the hall pass was invented.
Let’s cut to the chase. Those people who are fearful about transgender folks using the bathroom that aligns with their gender identity are worried we are perverts, peeping Toms or molesters. Perhaps they think the simple fact of just being trans is perverted. First “the gays” get to marry, and now this. We may have to share our schools and our wedding vows, we may be losing our right to discriminate, but by God we must keep our bathrooms holy. “I don’t want that transgender person hearing me pee or watching me buy a sanitary napkin from the machine on the wall.”
I promise neither Lila nor Gavin (as an aside I happen to know him-he is a great guy; warm, smart and intent upon being successful in life) have any interest in spying or peeping. They just want to go to the bathroom in a safe place among their gender peers. I would say the same thing about every single trans person I know.
Are public and school restrooms sacred spaces? As a transgender person, am I somehow defiling an inviolate law that has been handed down for generations when I use the restroom designated with a stick figure skirt?
If one more time I see the phrase “change is hard” as an excuse for intolerance, I may be forced hurl in a public bathroom. Change is not hard. Being mindful about acceptance and being intentionally loving does require self-discipline. It may be surprising when Lila or Gavin come into the bathroom. It may be upsetting when a trans girl plays on the field hockey team and scores the winning goal. But you know, maybe it is time to prioritize acceptance and unconditional love over winning a game or keeping our school bathrooms and locker rooms the way they have always been.
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