Jim Obergefell Featured on Politico 50
Longtime HRC member Jim Obergefell was featured on the annual Politico 50 today.
HRC.org
www.hrc.org/blog/entry/jim-obergefell-featured-on-politico-50?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed
Absolutely, Positively DO NOT Ask Antigay Sen. David Vitter About His Prostitution Past!
It’s not easy running for office on an antigay “family values” platform when you have a history of patronizing expensive prostitutes. Just ask Louisiana senator/gubernatorial candidate David Vitter.
In 2007, Vitter admitted to spending thousands and thousands of dollars on hookers, who he reportedly paid to dress him up in diapers and spank him like a little baby. Now, as he mounts his campaign for the Louisiana governor’s office, his pervy past is coming back to haunt him yet again.
On Tuesday, WVLA-TV reporter Derek Myers caught up with Vitter, who, by the way, opposes anything having to do with equal rights for gay people, to ask whether the senator still enjoys roleplaying with prostitutes.
The exchange happened in the parking lot of the Louisiana Secretary of State’s office. Vitter declined to answer his question on record and instead got on the phone with WVLA-TV and allegedly threatened to pull $250,000 worth of advertising if Myers wasn’t immediately fired.
Related: Antigay Senator/Prostitute Patron David Vitter Gets Trolled On Twitter
The station apparently caved to Vitter’s demand because, hours later, Myers got a call saying he was being terminated from his job. No clear explanation was given.
Jim Baronet, the station’s general manager, said the rumors that Myers was fired at Vitter’s request simply aren’t true.
“Nobody from the senator’s office called and asked for anything or demanded anything whatsoever,” Baronet said. “Not at all. I’m surprised to even hear that.”
But that doesn’t quite jive with what Vitter’s campaign is saying. Luke Bolar, a spokesperson for the senator, said they did call the station. But it was only to alert them that Myers had violently assaulted one of the campaign’s volunteers, a claim Myers denies.
“Vitter’s people had accused us of assault, which obviously is not true,” he told Gawker.
According to Myers, he has the video of the confrontation that would completely exonerate him of any assault allegations, but that the station immediately issued him “an unofficial cease-and-desist letter” demanding he not to publicize it.
Something tells us there’s more to this story. We’re patiently waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Related: Prostitute Lover Sen. David Vitter Doesn’t Go to Work When Hookers Are Discussed
Graham Gremore
The OXD Mirror: New Music For The Final Weeks of Summer
By JOSH APPELBAUM
Little Boots (Victoria Hesaketh) released her third studio album, Working Girl, earlier this summer on her new record label, On Repeat Records. Hesketh retains her unique, dreamy electronic sound heard on her previous albums and EPs, but takes a different approach on lyrical topics, with the album acting partly as her own version of a feminist manifesto and personal biopic. The album often references “lean in” feminism in the workplace, mirroring some of Little Boots’ experiences working in a male-dominated music industry (which also lead to her opening her own label). ‘No Pressure’ is one of the lighter pop/house moments from Working Girl, all while tackling the topic of crippling self doubt. Vicetone has taken the song and added some dramatic pianos, synths and handclaps for drama; it’s a perfect dance track to send off the summer properly.
Night Fever
THIS WEEKEND IN NYC: After a summer hiatus spending some time in Fire Island, the boys of Occupy The Disco return to the city to deliver more deep house, techno and late night disco tunes (many of which you hear here first on Towleroad) at the303 in SoHo, NYC. Come join us in our favorite dance den, where we’ll keep you moving all night long. No cover and no fuss – just great music and fun people all night.
OCCUPY THE DISCO (OXD) curates and recommends music events to the gay community in NYC—in an effort to move the focus of the nightlife scene beyond the promoter and venue and to the music itself. OXD’s goal is to educate, entertain, engage and empower the gay audience to reclaim their ability to question and experience the unknown. The OXD Mirror will serve to showcase tunes that are definitely off-the-beaten-path but rightfully deserve the attention of the gay ear.
Follow us on Spotify! Subscribe to our ‘As Seen on Towleroad Playlist to listen to tracks posted from past weeks. For more information on OXD, check out our website and accompanying blog at www.occupythedisco.com, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter: @OccupyTheDisco.
The post The OXD Mirror: New Music For The Final Weeks of Summer appeared first on Towleroad.
Occupy the Disco
Lesbian On Trial For Seducing Woman With Fake Penis
A British woman is on trial, charged with sexual assault for allegedly tricking a female classmate into thinking she was having sex with a man, according to the Liverpool Echo.
Gayle Newland, 25, of Willaston, Cheshire, is accused of inventing the persona of “Kye Fortune,” a brain cancer victim, who would not allow his female partner to look at him because he had scars, reported The Guardian.
Prosecutors showed the jury an “ultra cyberskin penis,” which Newland allegedly used as part of her deception, the newspaper reported.
While not involving anyone who identifies as transgender, these allegations of deception do bear some resemblance to those used to justify the deadly attack of Brandon Teena, who was gang raped and brutally murdered in 1993 in Nebraska when his attackers discovered he was not assigned male at birth. That case was made into an award-winning film starring Hilary Swank: 1999’s Boys Don’t Cry. However unlike Teena, Newland does not generally present herself as male apart from this persona.
Newland’s case could also be compared to the elaborate “catfish” of Manti Te’O, who was a star college football player at the time when it was revealed the person with whom he’d had a long relationship had created a fake identity online and was actually a male friend of his. The hoax, apparently at Te’O’s expense, even went so far as to fake the death of the fake person.
In this case, Newland actually met her alleged victim in person. They spent at least 100 hours hanging out and having sex while the woman was blindfolded, but her suspicions were not aroused until after they became engaged, according to The Guardian‘s report.
The alleged victim wasn’t suspicious when she saw Newland drive away after she had a sexual encounter with the person she knew as Kye Fortune: “If I could go back and scream at me, I would. It does look ridiculous on paper,” the woman reportedly said.
“Every time I met up with Kye Fortune, I either had the mask on already, or he would wait outside the door and I would put it on. I was so desperate to be loved. It’s pathetic, so desperate for love, so desperate,” the woman reportedly told the court.
Newland reportedly claimed in court that the invented character was a fantasy she shared with her female sex partner, whom she said she met at a gay party. However, according to the alleged victim, the pair met online. The alleged victim’s lawyer described her as extremely gullible.
Describing their last sexual encounter, as reported by The Telegraph, the woman said: “When I was having sex I grabbed for the back of his head, and my hand got caught on something. It did not feel right.
“I was sat on the bed, he was standing up. Something in my mind said ‘pull it (the blindfold) off, pull it off’. I just pulled it off. Gayle was just standing there… I just couldn’t believe it, I couldn’t believe it.”
On the witness stand, Newland admitted she created the persona of Kye Fortune when she was just a teen grappling with her sexuality.“I had never spoken to any gay people and especially in those years you didn’t see gay people on television. It was quite a negative thing. I just felt that speaking to people [in real life] I couldn’t really be myself,” she reportedly said.
According to The Guardian, after Newland was arrested, another woman came forward claiming she also was seduced online by Kye Fortune.
Live coverage of the trial can be seen here.
Elizabeth Daley
www.advocate.com/world/2015/9/10/lesbian-trial-seducing-woman-fake-penis
Boss Who Asked Transgender Woman 'What Are You?' Agrees To Significant Settlement
Last November, Jessi Dye showed up at Summerford Nursing Home for what would turn out to be both her first and last day of work.
The morning started well. Dye attended a series of training sessions, completed paperwork, received vaccinations. She was excited about the new job; it seemed like there was a real future with the company, and they’d offered to pay for her training to become a certified nurse’s assistant.
But then over lunch, she was asked to go speak with Robert Summerford, the manager of the company, about her paperwork.
“What are you?” he asked her, as soon as she’d entered his office.
“It was exactly like being punched in the stomach,” Dye recalled this week during a phone interview with The Huffington Post.
The feeling wasn’t entirely unfamiliar to Dye, a transgender woman living in Vinetown, Alabama. She came out seven years ago, when she was 21, and since then, employment has sometimes been a challenge. Sooner or later, employers realize, as Summerford did, that the identity on her driver’s license doesn’t match the gender of the person they’ve hired. But no employer, or prospective employer, had ever been as direct or as final as Summerford.
After Dye answered Summerford’s question, explaining that she was born male and was in the process of transitioning to female, he asked her, “What am I supposed to do with you?” and then instructed her to get her things and leave the premises.
In March, Dye, with the support of lawyers from the Montgomery-based Southern Poverty Law Center, filed a charge of discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. On Thursday, the Southern Poverty Law Center announced that Summerford had reached a settlement with Dye. Rather than face a possible fight over Dye’s accusation in federal court, the company agreed to implement a policy that prohibits discrimination against job applicants and employees on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, and to conduct sensitivity training concerning LGBT people. (The amount of money paid to Dye in the settlement has not been disclosed.)
Sam Wolfe, a lawyer with SPLC, sees Summerford’s quick capitulation and favorable settlement offer as a positive sign that the climate toward LGBT people in the workplace is shifting around the country, even in states like Alabama, which have no statewide laws prohibiting LGBT discrimination.
“I think the takeaway here is that we have a small company that is represented by competent lawyers and they saw the writing on the wall,” Wolfe told The Huffington Post. “It’s an admission that employers do need to pay attention to their obligations under federal law to not discriminate because of someone’s gender identity or sexual orientation.”
The laws protecting LGBT people from workplace discrimination are not as clear-cut as advocates wish. Despite more than two decades of effort, supporters have been unable to pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which would prohibit bias in hiring and employment on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. However, outside of Congress, there have been signs of progress. Last summer, President Barack Obama signed an executive order protecting federal employees (and the employees of federal contractors) from anti-LGBT discrimination. Over the last several years, the EEOC has also held that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity are prohibited by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the commission has successfully sued both private and public-sector employers using that argument.
David Lopez, general counsel with the EEOC, said that pursuing such cases has been a “top priority” for the commission. Yet he acknowledged that while recent court rulings on the issue have mostly sided with the EEOC, not every court that has considered these cases has sided with the LGBT person charging discrimination. “The courts have not yet reached a consensus,” he said.
Both Summerford and his lawyer declined to speak with The Huffington Post about how they reached their decision to offer a settlement.
Dye, for her part, hopes the announcement of the settlement will make it clear to other transgender people that they do have legal protection in the workplace and will serve as a warning to employers that they can’t fire someone just because of their gender identity. “I don’t want anybody else to have to to through what I went through that day,” she said.
— 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.
Why I want the Pope to sit down with gay couples when he visits the US
A faithful parishioner of St. Anthony Roman Catholic Church in Oceanside, New York, has teamed up with media advocacy organization GLAAD to campaign for Pope Francis to sit down with gay families when he visits the US later this month.
Nicholas Coppola has a particular interest in persuading the Pope to take speak out on LGBT issues. The devout Catholic was stripped of his many church duties – including altar service, helping bereaved families to plan funerals and visiting sick parishioners – after he married his husband.
‘My partner and I had gotten married in October 2012,’ he told Gay Star News. ‘We had a wonderful wedding in Bethpage State Park, which was attended by parishioners and clergy.
‘We had to postpone our honeymoon until that January because of Superstorm Sandy. When we came back from our honeymoon, I returned to mass – ironically on Martin Luther King Day – and I was called into the pastor’s office by the deacon.
‘I was informed that the bishop had received a letter of complaint. Someone complained about the fact that a married gay man had a position within the ministry. I was removed from any active service.
‘They said it was because I had made a very public statement that went against the church’s teachings.’
‘It was horrible,’ he says, reflecting on how he reacted to the news.
‘In my entire life – I’m now 50 – I have really never experienced discrimination in a very direct way. It was shocking. It was surreal and took a couple of days to sink in.
‘It saddened me. I wasn’t angry but I was definitely very sad and hurt. The community there welcomed me, and they still continue to welcome me. The pastor did not want to do it. He was forced by the bishop. So I still feel terrible for him.’
Coppola has been a parishioner at the Church since he moved to the area from Queen’s in 2002. He says that he and his partner, David Crespo, have been friends for 25 years, and became a couple 12 years ago.
When he first relocated, Coppola attended Church weekly but after suffering an accident and requiring multiple surgeries in 2008, he was unable to work for a while and began attending mass daily, which he says helped him with his recovery. He subsequently became more involved with the Church.
‘The pastor at that time – a wonderful, wonderful Jesuit – introduced himself and asked if I’d be interested in being an altar server. At that point I was very upfront with him. I told him that I was gay, and he said that he didn’t care, and I become an altar server.
‘I was very involved in the community and then cut off completely.’
He says that he has been encouraged by some of the things that Pope Francis has said since becoming Pontiff, but that much more needs to be done by way of action to assure LGBT Catholics that they are truly welcomed and embraced by the Catholic church.
‘We continue to have LGBT people removed from their posts within the church, and I struggle with the fact that the Pope has not addressed these things specifically.
‘But I’m very hopeful about his forthcoming trip to the US. I’m very encouraged by his words, and am now just hoping that he takes action. And being a Jesuit, he knows St Ignatius’ famous words; “Love is best expressed in deeds and not in words.”
‘Jesuits follow that and I believe in that, and I believe that when they removed me, they stopped me practicing my faith. Although they allow me to come to church and receive communion, that’s not what’s involved 100% in practicing my faith. It’s to go out there and help the community.
‘This is what people don’t realize, it doesn’t just hurt me and my husband and family, it hurts the community.’
‘I’m cautious with my feelings because I don’t want to be hurt again, but hope is a wonderful thing.
‘I genuinely believe that if the Pope sat with us, he’d realize that gay people in relationships have the same struggles as any other loving couple; we have the same joys as any other loving couple, that our love is the same for each other.’
Coppola has teamed up with GLAAD to start a petition urging the Pope to meet with LGBT Catholics during his visit to the US.
‘In the US and around the world, LGBT people experience alienation from the Church, higher rates of poverty and violence, and discrimination in employment, housing, educational opportunities, and access to health care,’ says Coppola on the petition site.
‘The Pope can help address this crisis by meeting with LGBT Catholic families like mine and hearing our stories of perseverance, hope, and struggle.’
The post Why I want the Pope to sit down with gay couples when he visits the US appeared first on Gay Star News.
David Hudson
www.gaystarnews.com/article/why-i-want-the-pope-to-sit-down-with-gay-couples-when-he-visits-the-us/
HRC Supporter Sally Field Awarded National Medal of Arts
Today, President Barack Obama will present actress Sally Field with the National Medal of Arts at the White House.
HRC.org
It’s 2015 And This Tennessee Man Claims He Was Just Fired For Being Gay
A Tennessee man has just filed a federal lawsuit against his former employer alleging that he was fired for being gay.
Until recently, James Thompson (pictured) worked as a staffing coordinator for Maryland-based Abacus Corporation, where he said he never had any problems with his supervisors.
“Never been written up, never been put on probation,” Thompson told WSMV-TV.
Related: Guess What? You Can No Longer Be Fired For Being Gay Anywhere In America.
Then in June, there was an incident with another employee who launched into a homophobic tirade at the office. According to Thompson, the employee unleashed a string of nasty comments about same-sex marriage to some of his co-workers. When Thompson confronted him about it, the employee made a scene, cursing at him and storming out of the building. As a result, Thompson fired him.
Days later, Thompson’s boss, Abacus VP Bill Lund, flew down to Nashville to meet with him about what happened.
“After that meeting he actually asked me if I was gay,” Thompson recalled. “And the following working day he terminated me.”
Thompson is now seeking $400,000 in damages from his former employer. He says he also hopes his story will raise awareness to about how many LGBTQ employees are still treated in the workplace.
“What I want to see come out of this is for the discrimination to stop,” he said. “Not just for gays, bisexuals, lesbians, all discrimination.”
Tennessee law does not prohibit discrimination of the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.
Abacus is remaining tight-lipped about the incident, though the company did release the following statement in response:
It is Abacus Corporation policy not to comment on the facts relating to pending litigation. Abacus firmly believes Mr. Thompson’s allegations are without merit and will be proven to be mere fabrications. Abacus is extremely confident it will be fully exonerated in this matter.
Related: Five Reasons Why Marriage Equality Isn’t The Be All And End All Of The Fight
Graham Gremore
Mike Huckabee on Getting to Kim Davis Before Ted Cruz: He Can’t ‘Invite Himself’ to My Rally – VIDEO
Poor Ted Cruz tried to cash in on the Kim Davis anti-gay spectacle but Mike Huckabee beat him to the punch.
Yesterday, we showed you video of Rachel Maddow dissecting a surreal clip outside the Carter County Detention Center where a bemused-looking Cruz was blocked from taking part in the “Kim Davis” money shot after she was released from jail.
“So when it comes to political exploitation of the county clerk who’s in contempt of court in Kentucky, we have an obvious winner,” said Maddow on the segment.
Now, Huckabee is speaking out about his team’s decision to keep Cruz away from the spotlight at the “Free Kim Davis” rally.
Said the former Arkansas governor in an interview with Newsmax’s Steve Malzberg:
This was our event. My team put it together. We’re the one’s who recruited the people not only to be on the program, but we’re the ones who coordinated the effort. We’re the ones who secured the permits, the staging. We had no idea Ted Cruz was going to show up until the day before and he didn’t call us, he called several other people on the program and asked about it. Of course anybody is welcome, it’s a free rally. He can come. But he’s not free to come to an event that we’re putting together and invite himself on the program…
Watch below [starts around the 5:45 mark]:
[h/t Mediaite]
The post Mike Huckabee on Getting to Kim Davis Before Ted Cruz: He Can’t ‘Invite Himself’ to My Rally – VIDEO appeared first on Towleroad.
Kyler Geoffroy
Mike Huckabee on Getting to Kim Davis Before Ted Cruz: He Can’t ‘Invite Himself’ to My Rally – VIDEO
Tennessee Hardware Store Stocks Up on Hate and Sells Out Immediately
Jeff Amyx’s hardware store in Washburn, Tennessee, is back in the news again, after it was revealed the owner has been creating antigay merchandise to sell in his store, and can’t keep the items in stock. Amyx Hardware & Roofing Supplies made headlines earlier this year when the owner posted a “No Gays Allowed” sign in the store’s window.
According to WATE-TV, Amyx said he received “bundles of hate mail” after posting the controversial sign but the brouhaha only drove more local business to the hardware store. He decided to capitalize on the opportunity by printing up bumper stickers and hats with slogans like “Choose God or Gays.” He says he’ll soon have t-shirts with the slogan available for sale as well.
Amyx, also a Baptist minister, is keeping a firm grasp on his homophobia in the face of rising sales. “God created Adam and Eve not Adam and Steve,” Amyx told the news station, citing the old antigay chestnut. “I just don’t agree with their lifestyle. I don’t want any part of it, I don’t want it around me and I’ll never agree with it. I’m just doing it because people have asked me for it.”
When he first posted his handmade “No Gays Allowed” sign in his store’s window, Amyx defended his actions and said he had no plans to remove it.
“They gladly stand for what they believe in, why can’t I? They believe their way is right, I believe it’s wrong,” Amyx said at the time.
The store owner says the antigay merchandise will be available again by the end of the week. And that hate-inspired sign still hangs in the store window.
Watch WATE-TV’s report on Amyx merchandise and reaction, below:
Bil Browning
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