N.C. Governor Thinks LGBT Backlash Is Plot to Remove Him From Office
“You’ve got to be politically naïve if you think this is not coordinated by a very effective — a very effective — group,” McCrory told the New York Times.
www.advocate.com/transgender/2016/4/27/nc-governor-thinks-lgbt-backlash-plot-remove-him-office
Eleven men jailed for three to 12 years in Egypt just for being gay
An Egyptian court has sentenced 11 men to prison for between three to 12 years for the ‘crime’ of being gay.
The defendants were arrested in a flat in the Cairo suburb of Agouza in September last year.
Police have cracked down on the LGBTI community. They are using dating apps to lure gay men to their arrests, raid saunas and underground bars and clubs.
The court convicted the men of ‘debauchery and incitement to debauchery’. While homosexuality is not explicitly illegal under Egyptian law, the law is used as if it were.
Three of the men were jailed for 12 years, three were jailed for nine years, one was jailed for six years and four were jailed for three years.
Dalia Abdel Hameed, director of the Gender Studies program of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, that raids against the LGBTI community have become so common in Egypt that ‘we have almost become accustomed to wait for them to arrive’.
Egyptian police have arrested more than 80 people this past year for the ‘crime’ of being LGBTI.
The post Eleven men jailed for three to 12 years in Egypt just for being gay appeared first on Gay Star News.
Oxford, Alabama to Jail Transgender People for Using ‘Wrong’ Bathroom
Oxford, Alabama has passed a new so-called bathroom ordinance that makes it illegal for transgender people to use public bathrooms and changing rooms in accordance with their gender identity. Moreover, the ordinance would punish violators with a $500 fine or 6 months in jail.
Oxford’s city council approved the measure unanimously on Tuesday. The action was reportedly taken in response to retail giant Target’s announcement that it would support transgender bathroom rights.
Police Chief Bill Partridge said the law, which makes the offense a misdemeanor, would be enforced like any other city ordinance, such as noise violations or public indecency.
“If somebody sees something that makes them uncomfortable, they would call the police,” he said. “If the person is still there when the officer arrives, the officer has to witness the crime. Then we take down the person’s information, and the person who reported it has to sign out a warrant.”
According to the Anniston Star, the ordinance, which passed unanimously, would levy a $500 fine or six months jail time for violations.
Council President Steven Waits said in a statement that the ordinance came in response to Target’s new restroom and changing room policies. Target has a store in the Oxford Exchange shopping center [below].
Oxford, Alabama’s Target store
As previously reported, Target recently announced it would allow both transgender shoppers and employees to use bathrooms in accordance with their gender identity.
“[Council President Steven] Waits said he and the council sought the law “not out of concerns for the 0.3 percent of the population who identify as transgender,” but “to protect our women and children.” […]
Waits said he’s received an “overwhelming” number of complaints from city residents regarding the company’s policy since it was announced.
Under the new law, alleged violations must be reported by a witness or committed in front of a police officer to be prosecutable. […]
There are some exceptions to the new rule, though: Adults are allowed to accompany children under the age of 12 into the restroom. Those who need to do janitorial or maintenance work, to offer emergency medical assistance, or to assist the disabled, likewise are permitted to enter any bathroom.
The post Oxford, Alabama to Jail Transgender People for Using ‘Wrong’ Bathroom appeared first on Towleroad.
GLAAD and The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation announce PSA airing exclusively on Logo
GLAAD today announced the release of a Public Service Announcement (PSA) in partnership with The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation (ETAF). The PSA, produced by award-winning Martian Entertainment and airing exclusively on national LGBT cable channel Logo, was created to inspire, inform, and reignite the passion needed to beat the HIV and AIDS epidemic once and for all.
This is the second PSA launched for broadcast as part of an ongoing partnership following GLAAD’s release of a resource guide for journalists covering HIV and AIDS and a PSA starring a wide variety of celebrities.
“GLAAD was founded in order to combat the sensationalized media coverage surrounding the HIV and AIDS crisis in the 80s, and we have been committed to this cause ever since,” said Sarah Kate Ellis, GLAAD President & CEO. “This campaign will help bring more awareness to HIV and AIDS and remind everyone that we have the power to end this epidemic in our lifetime.”
The PSA harnesses the power and emotion of Elizabeth Taylor’s speech at the 1992 Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert and includes participation from Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Lane, Tituss Burgess, and Daniel Franzese. The four point out that even 20 years after that historic speech an estimated 1 in 5 gay men in major U.S. cities are living with HIV, and that today, we have the tools to make HIV history. The PSA will air on Logo beginning on Thursday, April 28th and will also be available on GLAAD’s YouTube channel.
“HIV infection rates are up 133% in last decade among young gay men,” Joel Goldman, Managing Director of The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation noted. “It’s troubling that 1 in 3 gay men have never had an HIV test. We must find new ways of raising awareness in order to reach this community and inform them of the tools available to prevent new infections. We are so fortunate to have the support from Logo as well as our incredible partners at GLAAD on this PSA campaign.”
In 1985, GLAAD was founded in response to the New York Post’s grossly defamatory coverage of the HIV and AIDS epidemic. Three decades later, GLAAD’s legacy of fighting injustice in the media for the LGBT community has reshaped our culture and created historic levels of acceptance.
www.glaad.org/blog/glaad-and-elizabeth-taylor-aids-foundation-announce-psa-airing-exclusively-logo
Did the Archbishop of Canterbury tell Robert Mugabe gay sex is ‘morally wrong’?
Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, the head of the Church of England, has reportedly told President of Zimbabwe Robert Mugabe that homosexuality is ‘morally wrong’.
Mugabe, who identifies as a Catholic and has threatened to behead gay people while comparing them to dogs and rats, met with Welby on Sunday (24 April).
‘As the leaders of the church we are here to learn how Zimbabwe managed to resolve its conflict, this will be a lesson to the whole Anglican in the world,’ he reportedly told the Harare Sunday Mail.
When asked about the Anglican position on homosexuality, Welby reportedly said: ‘You know [homosexuality] is morally wrong but legally we cannot condemn those who practice it.’
Welby’s tone on homosexuality appears to differ wildly to when he’s speaking in Zimbabwe to when he’s speaking in the UK.
Earlier this year, the Archbishop of Canterbury said for him it was a ‘constant source of deep sadness that people are persecuted for their sexuality’.
‘The love that we have at times completely fail to show, and still do, in many parts of the world including this country (UK),’ he said.
When asked about what the Archbishop and Mugabe discussed, Welby said: ‘We talked about the past in Zimbabwe, the mistakes that have been made, the breakdowns of the relationships from time to time and we ended with prayer for the future of this country.
‘The relations between the Church and the State greatly improved and President Mugabe also talked about that.’
In a statement, Lambeth Palace confirmed the meeting. The spokesperson said: ‘The Archbishop of Canterbury paid a pastoral visit to President Mugabe of Zimbabwe yesterday late afternoon.
‘This last minute visit, made at the request of the Bishop of Harare, was in support of the church in Zimbabwe.
‘It lasted less than an hour.’
The post Did the Archbishop of Canterbury tell Robert Mugabe gay sex is ‘morally wrong’? appeared first on Gay Star News.
www.gaystarnews.com/article/archbishop-canterbury-tell-robert-mugabe-gay-sex-morally-wrong/
At Long Last, Pregnant Man Erotica Is Here For Your Viewing Pleasure
“Oh, I can feel you moving inside of me,” the young man coos to the imaginary fetus growing inside his non-existent uterus. Minutes later, he’s in stirrups and screaming for an epidural. Meanwhile, somebody somewhere in the world is watching this all unfold and totally getting off.
Pregnant man erotica, commonly referred to as “MPREG,” is just one of the genres fetish site Film911 specializes in. The company was launched three years ago after its founder, a man by the name of Jay, says he couldn’t find any satisfying MPREG porn on the internet.
Related: PHOTOS: Nothing Is Off Limits Inside Amsterdam’s Most Popular Fetish Club
“There was no content out there catering to what I’m into,” he tells VICE. “I own a production company, so why don’t I produce content geared toward what I’m into?”
So he posted an ad on Craigslist seeking male models, held auditions and transformed his house into a porn studio. Sort of. None of the videos depict any actual sex, nudity or orgasms, and despite catering to a primarily gay audience, many of the models are straight.
Today, Film911 offers a variety of genres in addition to MPREG, including tickling, feet and belly button worship, gut punching, and vore, short for vorarephilia, or the desire to be eaten. There’s also stuffing, where guys cram their faces with pizza then belch loudly while showing off their engorged bellies, and CPR, where they pretend to die and need to be resuscitated with defibrillators. And, of course, inflating, where men pump their stomaches full of air with bike pumps and other devices.
Related: A Foot Fetishist Taught Me About Objectification in Starbucks
“I had never heard of these things before, but when people told me what they were into, I was like, ‘Wow that’s different,’” Jay says. “There are certain people who tell me their ideas and send me their scripts and feedback all the time. I’m very connected to them and they’ve driven the business in the right direction.”
Next up on Jay’s agenda is amputee fetish films. He explains that one of his models recently lost a leg in a motorcycle accident so they’re going to produce a few films and “see how it goes.”
Check out a the trailer for one of Film911’s MPREG films below…
NC GOP Lawmaker Who Controls Fate of HB 2 Wants to Put It on the Ballot as a Constitutional Amendment: WATCH
Senator Tom Apodaca, who controls the fate of a bill to repeal North Carolina’s anti-LGBT HB 2 tells WLOS that it’s not going to happen:
“Our caucus seems pretty well dug in.”
The bill to repeal HB 2 was filed by Democratic lawmakers on Monday.
But Apodaca has other plans:
“If it was up to me, I’d just put it out to a vote of the people. Let them decide what they want to do. And I’ve floated that idea. Let’s put it on the ballot and get it over with once and for all. If the majority wants this, fine. If they don’t, fine. “
Watch:
Sen. Apodaca: “It could be on the ballot in November. We’d bring it on as a constitutional amendment.” #ncga #ncpol @WLOS_13
— Evan Donovan (@EvanDonovanNews) April 26, 2016
Apodaca: “It’d be similar to marriage amendment. Do you want this or not, once and for all. Let’s see what people want.” #ncga #ncpol #hb2
— Evan Donovan (@EvanDonovanNews) April 26, 2016
Apodaca’s plans come after a day of heated protest:
Dozens of protesters arrested late Monday at North Carolina’s Legislative Building have been released after a day of demonstrations for and against House Bill 2. Officers arrested 54 protesters who came to voice opposition to the law late Monday as legislators returned to start their session. Detention records show the protesters were released late Monday or early Tuesday on a written promise to appear or on bonds that were generally around $1,000. Their court dates are scheduled for early June.”
The post NC GOP Lawmaker Who Controls Fate of HB 2 Wants to Put It on the Ballot as a Constitutional Amendment: WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.
Alabama City Will Lock Trans People Up For 6 Months If They Pee
Following North Carolina’s example, Oxford, Alabama wants to lock up transgender people for going to the bathroom.
The post Alabama City Will Lock Trans People Up For 6 Months If They Pee appeared first on ThinkProgress.
thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2016/04/27/3773081/oxford-alabama-transgender-jail/
Ahead of Anniversary of Oral Arguments in Historic Marriage Case, HRC Urges Senators to #DoYourJob
Tomorrow, we mark one year since oral arguments in Obergefell v. Hodges were heard at the Supreme Court of the United States. The historic case eventually brought marriage equality to all 50 states, showing the power and influence the Supreme Court has on the rights and freedoms of all Americans.
That’s why the battle over the current Supreme Court vacancy is so crucial.
President Obama nominated Judge Merrick Garland to fill the open seat, however, Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans have thus far failed to fulfill their constitutional obligation and hold confirmation hearings for Judge Garland.
HRC has joined dozens of progressive advocacy organizations around the country, reminding Republican Senators that justice delayed is justice denied. By refusing to consider President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee, these Senators are standing in the way of democracy. Judge Merrick Garland deserves fair consideration, which means a timely committee hearing and a confirmation vote by the full Senate.
The decisions made by the Supreme Court establish important legal precedents that impact the daily lives of all Americans — and have in a number of crucial cases determined the rights of LGBT Americans. This year alone, the Court is expected to rule on many crucial issues–including affirmative action, immigration, religious exemptions and access to reproductive care–and the American people deserve a Court with a full bench.
Take action now with HRC and tell Mitch McConnell to stop playing politics and fulfill his constitutional obligation – urge him to hold confirmation hearings immediately for Judge Garland’s nomination to the Supreme Court.
PHOTOS: The Grizzlies Host the Bingham Cup
www.advocate.com/sports/2016/4/27/photos-grizzlies-host-bingham-cup
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