Matt Baume on How Candidates Handled the Kim Davis Question At the GOP Debate: WATCH

Writer Matt Baume has a new video out that takes a look at how the GOP candidates handled the “Kim Davis question” at both of the presidential debates last night.

As we reported previously, candidate answers varied widely, from “she should have been fired” to “she’s like the Columbine victim who stood up for her faith.”

Mike Huckabee, who stood by Davis at a rally when she was freed from the clink, had this to say:

“We made accommodations to the Fort Hood shooter, to let him grow a beard. We made accommodations to the detainees at Gitmo. I’ve been to Gitmo and I’ve seen the accommodations that we made to the Muslim detainees who killed Americans. You’re telling me that you cannot make an accommodation for an elected Democrat county clerk from Rowan County, Kentucky? What else is it other than the criminalization of her faith and the exaltation of everyone else who might be a Fort Hood shooter or a detainee at Gitmo?”

“Republicans know they can’t get away with the kind of outright animus they used to,” explained Baume. “So now they have to be crafty about signaling their disapproval of homosexuality. Now it’s coded by referring to religious freedom or claiming that Christianity has been criminalized.”

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The post Matt Baume on How Candidates Handled the Kim Davis Question At the GOP Debate: WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.

Kyler Geoffroy

Matt Baume on How Candidates Handled the Kim Davis Question At the GOP Debate: WATCH

Jeb Bush Agrees With Mike Huckabee: All You Need to Know About GOP Anti-Gay Bigotry for 2016
Last night’s second debate of the top tier GOP candidates — as well as the earlier bottom feeeders’ debate — confirmed something so many pundits claimed would not be the case: Marriage equality and LGBT rights are 2016 campaign issues, and probably will be issues in the GOP for a long time to come.

Jeb Bush agreed with Mike Huckabee that Kim Davis, the Kentucky clerk who was jailed for refusing to give out marriage licenses, should be provided special “accommodations” so she could opt-out of serving certain members of the public. Bush equated Davis to the florists who’ve refused to serve gay couples for their weddings in states where gays and lesbians are protected against discrimination in public accommodations.

This is extraordinary considering the polling that has shown the vast majority of Americans — 63 percent in a Washington Post/ABC poll — believe Davis should be required to give out licenses. Even some prominent religious conservative thinkers have said Davis is a disaster for their cause. The clerk issue plays out differently than the cases of bakers and florists refusing service because most Americans have less of an understanding about private businesses and anti-discrimination laws while they definitely believe a government employee, paid by taxpayer dollars, should do her job. It’s a clear-cut issue of a state worker and following the rule of law.

Considering this, how laughable is it now thinking back to when some reporters early on — based largely on anonymous sources, too afraid to publicly say Bush is supposedly secretly pro-gay — were telling us that Jeb Bush was going to be 2016’s “gay friendly Republican”?

Among the supposed proof of this was that he hired an openly gay communications director, Tim Miller — as if having a gay spokesman makes the anti-gay rhetoric go down easier. That was back in the beginning of the year, when Fred Sainz of the Human Rights Campaign, the largest LGBT group, gave a front page interview for the Washington Post, headlined “Has Jeb Bush Shown Republicans a New Way to Talk About Gay Marriage?” in which he slobbered all over Bush, who was once his nice neighbor and an “early mentor.”

Well, last night showed us that Bush, rather than teaching the GOP how to talk about the issue in a new way, has been completely schooled by the Mike Huckabee crowd that you’ve still got to speak about it in the same old bigoted way in the GOP. Huckabee, distorting the Constitution and the role of the Supreme Court while defending Davis, implied that he and Bush had the same position about the Kentucky clerk, and Bush refused to distance himself. While Bush made a gesture to following the law, he said:

“There should be some accommodation for her conscience, just as there should be for florists that don’t want to participate in weddings or bakers,” Bush said. “A great country like us should find a way to have accommodations for people so that we can solve this problem in the right way. This should be solved at the local level.”

And then Bush added, regarding Huckabee, “And so we do agree… If a law needs to be changed in the state of Kentucky, which is what she’s advocating, it should be changed.”

None of this should be surprising, however, since Bush by spring of this year had shown what direction he was going to go — and it was decidedly not “gay friendly,” earlier reports notwithstanding. In the context of marriage equality he spoke of defending “religious liberty” — the new code word for promoting anti-gay positions — and has since said, as he did last night, that florists and other businesses should be exempted from serving gays even where laws protect LGBT people against such discrimination.

In the second-tier debate earlier in the night, both Rick Santorum and Bobby Jindal stoked the Kim Davis issue in ridiculous and ugly ways, playing to the base and clearly viewing it as their only hope to get some traction. If the issue were dead, Jeb Bush, one of the GOP establishment’s great hopes, would not be putting himself in bed with these guys but would rather be standing up to their continued bigotry.

From immigration to foreign policy, the GOP, via it’s field of presidential candidates, has shown it is as extreme as ever. And, no matter the pundits’ claims or the hopes of some gay activists, that holds true on LGBT rights as well.

— 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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Fort Lauderdale’s LGBTI marketing spend has risen 2757.14% in 19 years

Greater Fort Lauderdale has increased its LGBTI marketing spend by 2757.14% since 1996, from $35,000 (€30,949, £22,561) to £1m (€1,371,783, £1,551,300), it has emerged.

The figures were revealed in an interview with Richard Gray, the managing director of Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender market, conducted by the New York Times.

Asked how the destination started its efforts to reach out to LGBTI tourists, Gray responds: ‘At first, it was too risky to use the word “gay,” so we used “rainbow.” We started with a budget of $35,000, which has grown to over $1 million. We now welcome 1.3 million L.G.B.T. travelers who spend approximately $1.5 billion in the area.’

This year, the city will host the 25th annual Southern Comfort Conference – the world’s largest gathering of the trans community.

Explaining his commitment to trans tourists, Gray added: ‘It was during a run less than two years ago that I really started to think about the T in L.G.B.T. It’s really the forgotten T. I realized I knew nothing about transgender travelers, and, as a gay man, I knew nothing about the transgender community.’

He added: ‘I researched and saw they had this conference that had been in Atlanta for 24 years, and I contacted their president, Lexi Dee. No one had ever courted them or paid them any attention before. They liked our commitment of raising the bar for trans inclusion.’

Discussing the results of his trans travel study, organized with Community Marketing & Insights, Gray explained: ‘We found that 62 percent of transgender people travel alone, many because they’re “stealth” — often they have a partner who has no idea they’re transgender. The Southern Comfort Conference is mostly male to female and that’s what we’ve looked at. Female to male blend easier; male to female often don’t. By far their biggest concerns were physical and verbal violence and a lack of gender-neutral restrooms. Unlike the gay market, trans travelers are more in line with budget travelers, without a lot of disposable income.’

For more information about the Southern Comfort Conference, click here.

The post Fort Lauderdale’s LGBTI marketing spend has risen 2757.14% in 19 years appeared first on Gay Star News.

Jamie Tabberer

www.gaystarnews.com/article/fort-lauderdales-lgbti-marketing-spend-has-risen-2757-14-in-19-years/

Bisexual Adults Face Heightened Risk for Health Issues Including Cancer, STDs and Depression

HRC Joins Call to Close Knowledge and Care Gap
HRC.org

www.hrc.org/blog/entry/bisexual-adults-face-heightened-risk-for-health-issues-including-cancer-std?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Insurance Company Slut Shames Man, Denies Him Coverage Because He’s On Truvada

A Boston man claims he was slut-shamed by an insurance provider when he was denied coverage after revealing he takes Truvada as a preventative measure.

The man, who is identified only as John Doe, just filed an official complaint against Mutual of Omaha with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination, alleging the company discriminated against for being gay.

Related:  San Francisco Politician Comes Out Of The Truvada Closet To Combat PrEP Stigma

“I was shocked,” the man, speaking anonymously because his complaint contains private medical information, told the Associated Press. “I really was. I thought maybe they misunderstood me. I’m HIV-negative. I’m not HIV-positive. I was taking Truvada as a prophylactic.”

But when he tried explaining this, the company still said no. Days later, he received a letter that said, “We do not offer coverage to anyone who takes the medication Truvada, regardless of whether it is prescribed to treat HIV infection, or is used for pre-exposure prophylaxis.”

Related: PHOTOS: Truvada Takers Given #PrEPHeroes Treatment In Edgy, Sex-Positive Campaign

“It’s really based on the stereotypes and the fears that are out there, that somehow gay male sexuality is inherently risky and unhealthy,” Bennett Klein, director of GLAAD’s AIDS Law Project, told the AP. “We have a lot of bias about gay male sexuality in our society.”

Dr. Kenneth Mayer, a professor at Harvard Medical School and director of HIV Prevention Research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, added, “The last thing we want to do is discourage people from using this preventive mediation. The goal is to eradicate the number of new HIV infections.”

“I lived through the Holocaust of people dying from AIDS,” the man said. “I was doing my little part to stop that.”

So far, Mutual of Omaha is not commenting on the matter. Jim Nolan, a company spokesman, told the AP, “We have not seen the complaint and it’s our practice not to comment on potential litigation.”

Related: Gay Men Who Take Truvada Daily Remain Free Of HIV, According To New Study

Graham Gremore

feedproxy.google.com/~r/queerty2/~3/4V0mMMXxSzo/insurance-company-slut-shames-man-denies-him-coverage-because-hes-on-truvada-20150917

Bearded Buddies Respond to Kim Davis with #KissesForKim Campaign: WATCH

Two bearded buddies have launched a #KissesForKim campaign in response to Rowan County, Kentucky clerk Kim Davis.

Write the duo, who also make web videos under the name Comedians in Public: “Fight intolerance with a little love! Grab your bestie, a buddy or stranger, give them a smooch and take a pic. Gay, straight, bi, trans, WHOMEVER! Show some love! Tweet, Instagram, whatever and #KissesForKim.”

Watch:

The post Bearded Buddies Respond to Kim Davis with #KissesForKim Campaign: WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.

Andy Towle

Bearded Buddies Respond to Kim Davis with #KissesForKim Campaign: WATCH

Texas Judge Recognizes Lesbian Common Law Marriage

When Sonemaly Phrasavath and Stella Powell met in 2004, they had no idea their relationship would make history in the Lone Star state. The couple were married in Texas in 2008, long before the Supreme Court’s ruling in favor of marriage equality, which forced the state to recognize same-sex marriages.

And this week a probate judge in Travis County, Texas, issued a historic ruling of his own, recognizing the first common law marriage between two women, and removing interloper and state attorney general Ken Paxton from the case, according to the Houston Chronicle.

Powell died of colon cancer in 2014, forcing Phrasavath to battle with her wife’s family over her estate and begin a fight for her marriage to be recognized as valid in Texas. 

Citing Texas law concerning common law marriages and armed with the Supreme Court ruling, Phrasavath finally settled her case with the family on September 10.

The case was presented to Judge Guy Herman for his approval, and he did so on Tuesday.

Phrasavath won the right to have her longtime relationship recognized by the state, over the objections of the attorney general. Paxton had argued that the ruling could lead to “confusion by potentially leading to the reopening of past probate cases long finalized, in the process creating new conflicts between families and surviving domestic partners,” according to spokeswoman Cynthia Meyer.

University of Texas professor and family law expert John Sampson disagreed. He argued that once probate cases are closed, they don’t get reponed very often. “”If it’s a final, unappealed decision in any context … the litigants are bound and the litigants can’t reopen it,” he told the Houston Chronicle.

Brian Thompson, Phrasavath’s attorney, pointed out that Paxton’s history of opposing LGBT rights should shed light on his decision to oppose the settlement and subsequent recognition of gay and lesbian common law marriages.

“The state of Texas, and in particular Ken Paxton, would have absolutely no interest in this case if it were one of the thousands of cases in Texas, thousands of heirship proceedings, except for the fact that it’s a same-sex couple, and that’s discrimination,” he said. “This is just part of his continuing disregard for the most fundamental concepts of American jurisprudence.”

Paxton, a former Republican state legislator, was indicted by a grand jury in August on multiple securities fraud charges and failing to register with the state’s securities board after allegations he misled investors. The most serious charges, two first degree felonies, can result in a sentence of five to 99 years in prison for each count.

As a freshman legislator in 2003, Paxton voted to amend the state securities law to make it a felony to act as an investment advisor without registering with the state – the same law he is accused of violating.

His office reportedly is now mulling options to appeal the judge’s ruling. 

Bil Browning

www.advocate.com/marriage-equality/2015/9/17/texas-judge-recognizes-lesbian-common-law-marriage

No One Thinks To Call It Rape When You're A Sex Worker

I wouldn’t say that I was raped that night, but that’s not because I can’t be. And just in that sad assertion — that someone could hypothetically rape me — I’m in disagreement with an editorial published in this weekend’s Chicago Sun-Times, in which writer Mary Mitchell essentially argued that sex workers cannot be raped. She talks about a case in which a sex worker was held at gun point and forced to have sex; calling it rape, she says, “mak[es] a mockery of rape victims.”

I’ve written before that the experience of being a sex worker is relatively benign compared to what some might imagine, and that it is often “what some might imagine” that is so impacting. The way sex workers are gaslighted and shamed is much more traumatic than the simple and lucrative task of having average sex with average men.

— 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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Elton John reacts to Vladimir Putin phone prank

Elton John has reacted after getting pranked into thinking he was talking to Vladimir Putin in an effort to help Russia’s LGBTI population living under homophobic laws.

TV pranksters Vladimir Krasnov and Alexei Stolyarov has taken responsibility to the cruel joke, saying they rang the gay superstar pretending to be the Russian president.

Reacting today, he described the joke as an ‘unfortunate incident’, but said he was happy to be pranked if it did some good in raising awareness.

‘Pranks are funny. Homophobia, however is never funny. I love Russia and my offer to talk to President Putin about LGBT rights still stands.

‘I will always stand up for those that are being degraded and discriminated against.

‘If this unfortunate incident has helped push this vital issue back into the spotlight, then I am happy to be pranked on this occasion.’

It comes after the pranksters revealed extracts of the phone conversation, with Sir Elton saying he would be ‘very happy’ to perform at a Pride event in Moscow.

They also spoke about his wish to talk face to face about the issues facing the LGBTI community in Russia.

Sir Elton had posted a picture of Putin on his Instagram, thanking him for calling him to discuss gay rights. But this was later refuted by the Kremlin who denied any call took place.

The post Elton John reacts to Vladimir Putin phone prank appeared first on Gay Star News.

Joe Morgan

www.gaystarnews.com/article/elton-john-reacts-to-vladimir-putin-phone-prank/

Gay Man Shuts Down Younger Sister’s Homophobic Bully With One Fantastic Facebook Post

Joseph Flinders, a radio producer in the U.K., has proved that the pen is mightier than the sword. Buzzfeed is reporting that when Flinders discovered his 11-year-old sister Lola had been told by a schoolmate that it was “disgusting” she had a gay brother, he posted an open letter on Facebook addressing the situation.

Upon learning about the homophobic bully, Flinders explained to Lola, “Not everybody gets an upbringing like we’ve had. We know it’s not disgusting, because what does it matter? It’s not a choice you can make. But some people’s parents don’t think in the same way as the rest of us.” Although Flinders made an attempt at expressing compassion in order to pacify his visibly upset sister, his protective big brother instincts kicked in as he became upset that Lola was shaken by the words of another boy at her school.

“I explained to her I wasn’t mad he said it, because it’s not the first person to have said something like that, but I was upset that she was upset and that she didn’t need to be because I’m a big boy.”

Flinders’ anger when he began to post his thoughts on the social media network soon turned to pity as he realized the bully’s homophobic viewpoint was the unfortunate result of his upbringing. “You’re not born homophobic,” the 21-year-old from Manchester told Buzzfeed. He added, “Lola was such a clean slate so when I told her I was gay it was no issue because it’s not an issue until you’re taught it’s one.”

Along with the Facebook status update, Flinders also included a photo of the siblings at Manchester Pride. Joseph and Lola were clearly brought up in a loving, accepting and non-judgmental environment. Their parents should be very proud.

The full post reads as follows:

“An open letter to the odious little toad who gave my baby sister a hard time for having a gay big brother. I just wanted to give an example of what a decent upbringing looks like. This is a photo I took of us at the gay pride parade, which she asked to attend with me. I think that’s pretty cool of an eleven year old, don’t you?

I’ve never known such an accepting, compassionate, loving child and I don’t want your hate-filled existence making her any less than she is.

I’m not confrontational but this is a nerve I wouldn’t touch if I were you. Thankfully, you’re a dying breed and I imagine this is the last generation that’ll have to endure narrow-minded tools.

I think she’s pretty great and she’s prouder than ever to tell people her brother is gay. So enjoy spreading hate to nobody that gives a toss.”

According to Buzzfeed, one of the replies Joseph Flinders received on his post simply stated, “Marry me.” Something tells us the proposals are going to keep on coming for a while.

Read Flinders’ full response below.

Jeremy Kinser

feedproxy.google.com/~r/queerty2/~3/SL5_oYvuk64/gay-man-shuts-down-younger-sisters-homophobic-bully-with-one-fantastic-facebook-post-20150917