Illinois Families Sue Obama Administration Over Trans-Inclusive Policies
The families, represented by right-wing attorneys, claim the federal government’s policies on trans students amount to “discrimination” against cisgender students.
Daily Archives: May 6, 2016
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Jared Leto Will Be Perfect As The Vampire Lestat; Adele Sanctioned A Gay Couple’s On-Stage Proposal
Jared Leto Will Be Perfect As The Vampire Lestat; Adele Sanctioned A Gay Couple’s On-Stage Proposal
If you were like us or just about everyone on the planet and found the 1994 film of Anne Rice‘s homoerotic classic Interview With the Vampire to be a bit de-fanged thanks to the controversial casting of Tom Cruise as flamboyant bloodsucker Lestat, how do you feel about Jared Leto in the role? Writer-director Josh Boone, who’s been entrusted with the reboot, thinks he’ll be perfect.
Lestat – there can be only one. #JaredLeto pic.twitter.com/CsFqtYw9Na
— Josh Boone (@JoshBooneMovies) May 4, 2016
Heads up Wicked fans! Elphaba and Glinda reunited when Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel took the stage for a new duet of “For Good.”
Usually when you think about Patsy and Eddie and AbFab, you’ll be popping corks on Bolly, but Diet Coke will release a limited edition bottling of the soft drink bearing the cartoon likeness of the comic duo timed to the release of the feature film adaptation in July.
Justin Timberlake‘s new single “Can’t Stop The Feeling” from the film Trolls features a bunch of people who are anything but.
Hello! Anything can happen at an Adele concert, including an on-stage marriage proposal involving a gay couple.
?? Made me tear up!! ??One of the most beautiful moments in my life! ?? #proposal #adele #goforgaymarriage #lotsoflove
A video posted by Clara Dahlberg-Garde (@clarasdg) on
Jennifer Lopez may sing that she “Ain’t Your Mama” but in her new video she is your Howard Beale from Network and Tess McGill from Working Girl.
Antarctica, Harry Styles’ Hair, DC Shootings, Prince Harry, Kristen Bell: NEWS
Antarctica, Harry Styles’ Hair, DC Shootings, Prince Harry, Kristen Bell: NEWS
NATURE. Scientists have discovered huge cache of animal fossils in Antarctica believed to be 70 million years old.
FBF. Celebrate your favorite TV moms of the 90s.
WATCH. President Obama on the 2016 election: “And I speak to all of you in this room, as reporters, as well as the American public: I just want to emphasize the degree to which we are in serious times and this is a really serious job. This is not entertainment. This is not a reality show. This is a contest for the presidency of the United States.”
GUN VIOLENCE. Three people shot and killed in Metro DC area: “Police have just arrested a federal Department of Protective Services officer they believe may be responsible for the shooting deaths of three people in the Washington, D.C. and Bethesda, Maryland area. The officer, Eulalio Tordil, ‘shot and killed his wife, a chemistry teacher, outside their children’s school in Beltsville Thursday. Tordil was wanted on a first-degree murder charge in that case.’”
BOY BANDS. Harry Styles cuts off his his hair (to donate to charity); internet has a melt down.
NEVER TRUMP? For those keeping track Dick Cheney says he will vote for Donald Trump. Jeb Bush says he will not vote for Trump or Hillary Clinton (see below). Meanwhile, Erick Erickson says Republicans owe an apology to Bill Clinton because they have now endorsed a “pathological liar and womanizer.”
DUDE. SWEET. Ellen and Kristen Bell grill Mila Kunis about what Ashton Kutcher is like in bed. Kristen Bell says she bets Ashton is a “generous” lover.
CUBA. “What it’s like to be young and gay in Havana’s Malecón.”
THE WINDSORS. Prince Harry reflects on his mother’s legacy: “All I want to do is make my mother proud.”
RIGHT WING NUTS. Michelangelo Signorile on how Trump is already surrounding himself with homophobes: “Also reported to be on the [VP] shortlist is another enemy of LGBT equality, who’s been advising Trump as part of his inner circle for months now and who endorsed Trump early: Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama. The GOP senator is among the most anti-LGBT senators in history, scoring a zero continually from the Human Rights Campaign, voting for everything anti-gay that ever came before the Senate, like a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, and against everything remotely pro-gay, from a hate crimes bill to protect gays to the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell.”
INSTASTUD. Meet Diogo de Castro Gomes.
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HRC Sounds the Alarm about The Gambia’s Human Rights Violations
HRC Sounds the Alarm about The Gambia’s Human Rights Violations
HRC and 15 human rights organizations joined forces to once again raise concerns with the U.S. government about a recent spike in human rights violations in the West African nation of The Gambia.
“Recent reports from The Gambia about arbitrary arrests, police brutality and possible torture once again raise concerns about the safety and security of the Gambian LGBT community, who have been the frequent targets of state repression,” said Ty Cobb, Director of HRC Global. “It is time for the U.S. to act.”
Gambia’s President Yahya Jammeh, who has held power for more than 20 years, has verbally attacked the LGBT community numerous times, most recently telling parliament in March that homosexuality is “ungodly” and that “I will never tolerate it here in The Gambia. Those who will be caught practicing it will face the full force of the law.”
Last year, he threatened to “slit the throats” of any gay men in his country. These threats followed the 2014 passage of a law that created a charge of “aggravated homosexuality,” carrying a life sentence. LGBT Gambians have been arrested, detained without trial and subject to ill treatment by state security forces, including reports of torture.
In recent weeks, Jammeh’s crackdown on human rights defenders has intensified, particularly in light of national elections scheduled for December. In mid-April, Gambian security forces broke up demonstrations in Banjul calling for justice and electoral reforms and arrested a number of people, including prominent members of the Gambian opposition party (UDP). There are reports that at least one opposition member died under suspicious circumstances while in custody, possibly as a result of torture. Dozens are still being held. A wide range of bodies, including the United Nations Secretary-General, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the ECOWAS Commission and the U.S. State Department, have criticized these arrests.
HRC and other human rights organizations have urged the U.S. government to announce sanctions against Gambian officials in order to send a clear message that continued human rights violations will place a severe strain on U.S.-Gambian relations. These could include travel bans or sanctions available in International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), which the U.S. government has used before in response to human rights abuses in Belarus, Venezuela, Zimbabwe and others.
HRC has partnered with many of these organizations on several occasions in the past to push for sanctions on The Gambia and will continue raising the issue for as long as the violations continue.
Hillary Clinton Sends Message Of Support To Trans Woman Accosted On NYC Subway
Hillary Clinton Sends Message Of Support To Trans Woman Accosted On NYC Subway
Earlier this week, a transgender woman from New York posted a video of herself being verbally and physically assaulted while riding the subway during rush hour.
Pearl Love is an outreach social worker for Translatina Network. Last Thursday, she was riding the 6 train to work when a woman sitting across from her launched into an unprovoked transphobic tirade, verbally assaulting her before eventually standing up and beating Love while the other riders did nothing.
Related: Video Captures Trans Woman Being Physically Assaulted On NYC Subway While Bystanders Do Nothing
In just a few days the video has received over 400,000 views on Facebook and YouTube combined, received nearly 2,000 shares and hundreds of comments… including one from the Democratic frontrunner in the 2016 presidential election.
Yesterday, Hillary Clinton left Love a message on Facebook, writing:
Pearl, I’m so sorry that you experienced this. The all-too-high prevalence of violence and hatred faced by the transgender community — in 2016! —is a rebuke to all of us. Every single person deserves to be safe and live free from discrimination and cruelty, period. And transgender people need to hear from every one of us that you are loved, respected, and deserving of equality under the law. Know that you have my support, and I’m on your side.
Related: When Is It OK To Ignore A Hate Crime Happening In Public?
It is unclear whether Love has chosen to file a police report, but the Anti-Violence Project says it is aware of the assault and has reached out to officials in the appropriate districts.
Franklin Graham Thinks Proposed Stonewall Monument Is A “Monument To Sin”
Franklin Graham Thinks Proposed Stonewall Monument Is A “Monument To Sin”
Ariana Grande Wants A Little Less Conversation in Sultry New Single ‘Into You’ – LISTEN
Ariana Grande Wants A Little Less Conversation in Sultry New Single ‘Into You’ – LISTEN
Ariana Grande has released the fourth track off of her album, Dangerous Woman, an energetic and sultry song called, “Into You.”
The song is produced by music greats Max Martin and Ilya Salmanzadeh.
Complex writes,
Grande travels down a rabbit hole of slinky vocals that simmers in some deep, throbbing production before boiling over at the chorus where an uptempo disco backline explodes into a monstrous club-ready hook. “A little less conversation, a little more touch my body,” she sings at the chorus. “‘Cause I’m so into you, into you, into you.”
You can check out all the lyrics here.
And listen, below.
The post Ariana Grande Wants A Little Less Conversation in Sultry New Single ‘Into You’ – LISTEN appeared first on Towleroad.
Oregon Dept of Education Introduces Unprecedented Progressive Guidelines for Transgender Students
Oregon Dept of Education Introduces Unprecedented Progressive Guidelines for Transgender Students
The Oregon Department of Education just unveiled one of the most progressive sets of guidelines regarding transgender students in the nation, The Oregonian reports:
In a sweeping 15-page document the department issued what are likely to be controversial suggestions for Oregon educators — directing them to allow transgender females to play girls sports, for example, and transgender men to wear tuxedos to prom.
They also suggest school leaders use transgender students’ preferred names, even if that differs from a legal name, on all transcripts and diplomas. And they say the state will require no proof before changing a student’s gender in Oregon records.
“A student who says she is a girl and wishes to be regarded that way throughout the school day should be respected and treated like any other girl,” the document reads. “So too with a student who says he is a boy.”
Check out the new guidelines in the doc below:
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Tina White Delivers Powerful Speech at the 2016 HRC Atlanta Gala
Tina White Delivers Powerful Speech at the 2016 HRC Atlanta Gala
