#AM_Equality Tip Sheet: May 9, 2016

BREAKING: MCCRORY SUES FOR RIGHT TO DISCRIMINATE: Gov. McCrory is doubling down on discrimination, suing to defend HB2 in court. “North Carolina’s HB2 law is blatantly unconstitutional and violates federal civil rights law,” said HRC President Chad Griffin. “The Department of Justice has already been clear that it violates the civil rights of North Carolinians. The idea Governor McCrory is going to waste even more time and millions more taxpayer dollars defending it is reckless and wrong. HB2 is a vile law attacking transgender North Carolinians and leaves many more unprotected from discrimination. Rather than defending it, Governor McCrory should be working with state lawmakers to fix the mess he’s created.” North Carolina has already lost more than a half billion dollars – and counting – in economic activity just from companies canceling or reconsidering plans to come to the state, and in cancelled conventions, concerts, and other lost tourism dollars. That doesn’t even include potential economic development that now just won’t happen in North Carolina because of HB2’s discriminatory provisions, or the potential catastrophic loss of federal funding for schools, roads, bridges, and other essential services.

• NC educators speak out at 4 p.m. … By doubling down on their support of HB2 in spite of the DOJ’s call to repeal, McCrory is recklessly risking $4.5 billion in federal education funding. Equality NC and HRC will hold a press conference today at 4 p.m. in front of Broughton High School (723 St Marys St, Raleigh, NC 27605) to address the potential consequences of McCrory’s decision to defend HB2.

MCCRORY RAMPS UP HYPOCRISY: During an appearance on Fox News Sunday, a flustered McCrory continued to defend the discriminatory HB2 law and dismissed the hundreds of millions in economic damage it has wrought. Perhaps most appallingly, the same man who signed HB2 into into law in the dead of night after legislators rammed it through in 9 hours, complained of not having more time to respond to the DOJ’s request. When McCrory claimed that preventing NC from losing any money was his No. 1 priority, FOX News Sunday host Chris Wallace astutely pointed out that HB2 has already cost the state millions of dollars and thousands of jobs. Wallace even pinned him down on his sham arguments about public safety. To top it all off, McCrory claimed that he needed to “talk to businesses” before determining the best response to the DOJ’s directive, ignoring the nearly 200 executives who have called for the law to be fully repealed. HRC recaps McCrory’s Fox News follies in this video.

• HB2’s economic fallout continues… Last week, two bond rating agencies flagged North Carolina in upcoming bond offerings because of the discriminatory law’s effects. Moody’s Investors Service warned of a potential slowing of economic activity in the state. More from Fidelity.
• New York values… NY Gov. Cuomo has announced that the Empire State will be filing an amicus brief in support of Lambda Legal, the ACLU and Equality North Carolina’s lawsuit calling for HB2 to be overturned. More from New York Daily News.
• On a high note… Broadway vet and LGBT ally Kristin Chenoweth will donate all the proceeds from her upcoming performance in the Tar Heel State to charity. More from The Huffington Post.

ALABAMA ETHICS COMMISSION SAYS #NOMOORE, SUSPENDS ANTI-LGBT CHIEF JUSTICE FOR ABUSE OF POWER: On Friday, notoriously anti-LGBT Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore was suspended by the Judicial Inquiry Commission of Alabama for his consistent defiance of pro-marriage equality federal rulings. The commission found that Moore has been abusing his position and authority by issuing multiple orders defying federal rulings that found the state’s same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional. For too long Moore has flouted the Constitution, becoming a persistent embarrassment to the judicial system, and the state of Alabama. The commission is finally holding the rogue judge responsible for defying the laws he is entrusted to uphold. His suspension is welcome news, and HRC urged his permanent removal from the court. Last year, HRC joined the Southern Poverty Law Center’s ethics complaint against Moore, delivering to the commission 28,000 petitions from our members demanding his removal. Moore from Reuters. And check out AL.com’s timeline documenting Moore’s long history of judicial defiance.

OBAMA ADMINISTRATION TO RAMP UP SUPPORT OF TRANSGENDER STUDENTS: Politico reports that in the coming weeks the Obama Administration is expected to ramp up efforts to reinforce its position that transgender students have the right to use bathroom facilities that correspond with their gender identity. While several government departments have already issued guidance to that effect, with the recent uptick in attacks on transgender youth, the administration also plans to warn of the potential loss in federal funding to states and school districts that do not comply. More from Politico.

• In a commencement speech Saturday at Howard University, President Obama acknowledged that transgender people are among those still struggling in the U.S., and noted that the global expansion of marriage equality is one of the ways the world is better than when he graduated. More in The Washington Blade.

MEANWHILE, OREGON LEADS BY EXAMPLE: As certain states (looking at you NC) double down on anti-trans discrimination, the Oregon Department of Education announced a new policy based on established state nondiscrimination law that treats transgender students at every level with the dignity and respect they deserve. Several other states, including Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York have already implemented similar guidelines. Nice to see that some places are getting it right. More from The Oregonian.

NO DISCRIMINATION ZONE: Last week, HRC and members of the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus hosted a congressional staff briefing on recent decisions from Federal courts, and interpretations by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) regarding discrimination against LGBT people as unlawful sex discrimination under existing law. Read more on HRC’s blog.

SAME-SEX ADOPTION COMING TO IRELAND: Over a year after marriage rights were granted to same-sex couples in Ireland a new adoption bill will finally grant them the right to adopt as well. More from Gay Star News.

READING RAINBOW

The International Business Times explores the ongoing threats faced by Japan’s LGBT community… Vox breaks down the political battle for transgender people’s right to use the correct restroom… HRC’s blog highlights The Gambia’s human rights violations… The Charlotte Observer wonders how the Department of Justice’s directive to North Carolina may affect Mississippi’s recently-passed anti-LGBT law… Media Matters continues to debunk the trans bathroom myth… ABC11 introduces us to First Lt. Megan Joyner, the first openly gay chaplain of North Carolina’s National Guard… WHO-TV Des Moines shares the story of an Iowa teen whose school isn’t recognizing his LGBT scholarship… Reuters covers Tokyo’s thousand people strong LGBT pride march.

Have news? Send us your news and tips at [email protected]. Click here to subscribe to A.M. Equality and follow @HRC for all the latest news. Thanks for reading!

www.hrc.org/blog/am-equality-tip-sheet-may-9-2016?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

HRC & Equality NC Respond to Gov. McCrory’s Reckless Lawsuit

Today, the Human Rights Campaign and Equality NC issued the following statements in response to the news that Governor Pat McCrory has filed a lawsuit defending his deeply discriminatory HB2.

“North Carolina’s HB2 law is blatantly unconstitutional and violates federal civil rights law,” said HRC President Chad Griffin. “The Department of Justice has already been clear that it violates the civil rights of North Carolinians. The idea Governor McCrory is going to waste even more time and millions more taxpayer dollars defending it is reckless and wrong. HB2 is a vile law attacking transgender North Carolinians and leaves many more unprotected from discrimination. Rather than defending it, Governor McCrory should be working with state lawmakers to fix the mess he’s created.”

“The lawsuit that was filed today is just another tactic to delay a decision and is a continued waste of taxpayer dollars when it is already very clear that the only option is a full repeal of HB2,” said Equality NC Executive Director Chris Sgro. “The 4th circuit court has already provided guidance on this and continued litigation by the state is simply wasteful. The state house and senate must fully repeal HB2 with Governor McCrory’s leadership.”

North Carolina has already lost more than a half billion dollars – and counting – in economic activity just from companies canceling or reconsidering plans to come to the state, and in cancelled conventions, concerts, and other lost tourism dollars. That doesn’t even include potential economic development that now just won’t happen in North Carolina because of HB2’s discriminatory provisions, or the potential catastrophic loss of federal funding for schools, roads, bridges, and other essential services.

The U.S. Department of Justice determined North Carolina’s discriminatory HB 2 violates federal civil rights law — including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972 — and gave McCrory and state officials until today to address the situation “by confirming that the State will not comply with or implement HB 2.”

HB2 has eliminated existing municipal non-discrimination protections for LGBT people and prevents such protections from being passed by cities in the future. The legislation also forces transgender students in public schools to use restrooms and other facilities inconsistent with their gender identity, putting 4.5 billion dollars in federal education funding at risk. It also compels the same type of discrimination against transgender people to take place in publicly-owned buildings, including in public universities, convention centers, and airports. It also eliminated the ability of North Carolinians to be able to sue if they experienced discrimination in the workforce, including on the basis of race, religion, national origin and sex.  Lawmakers passed the legislation in a hurried, single-day session, and Governor McCrory quickly signed it into law in the dead of night.

North Carolina has the unfortunate distinction of becoming the first state in the country to enact a law attacking transgender students, even after similar proposals were rejected across the country this year — including a high-profile veto by the Republican Governor Dennis Daugaard of South Dakota.

www.hrc.org/blog/hrc-equality-nc-respond-to-gov.-mccrorys-reckless-lawsuit?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Band Announces Lead Singer’s Gender Transition with Hilarious and Perfect Song: WATCH

Jordan Raskopoulos, the lead singer of Australian band/comedy group Axis of Awesome came out as transgender in February, but the band hasn’t toured since then and knew that people would have questions when they appeared at the Sydney Comedy Festival .

Writes SBS:

When they started touring again, would they do a speech at the beginning of each show to address the issue? Or would they ignore it, hoping everyone had heard the news and moved on? What would be the best way to bring it up with their audience, while still maintaining the comedy and music they are renowned for?

So they decided to explain all the questions using their bandmate Lee in a song called “Elephant in the Room”, and pulled it off flawlessly.

Watch:

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Gay Couple’s 7 Pets and Home Perish in Fire They Say Was Homophobic Hate Crime: WATCH

A gay couple from Canaan, Maine, believes a fire that destroyed their mobile home and killed their seven pets in September was an anti-gay hate crime.

However, police maintain the motive for the arson was an alleged dispute over missing money — even though there’s little evidence to support that theory.

Brian Aldo Baldie, 63, and Ron Pelletier, 71, initially thought the fire at their home in Canaan was accidental. But last week, their former neighbor Matthew Short (right) was indicted on charges of arson, burglary and aggravated cruelty to animals in connection with the incident.

“After they told me somebody did it, I thought, ‘Well, I wonder if it’s because we’re gay,’ ” Pelletier told The Portland Press Herald.

“Why would somebody break into somebody’s house, take a little bit of money, a little bit of jewelry and then set the house on fire with the animals in there?” said Baldie. “It doesn’t make any sense. It would have to be a hate crime.”

Short claims Baldie and Pelletier took $150 from his nearby mobile home, where the couple previously lived. But the couple called that allegation “crazy,” and according to a police affidavit, Short told an acquaintance that he “didn’t like the guys based on their sexuality.”

Baldie and Pelletier have since moved to another city in Central Maine, where they live close to Pelletier’s daughter and have adopted three new pets.

“We never had any problems,” Pelletier said. “We’re well liked by everybody. … I want to let other people know not to be naive, because I didn’t think that stuff went on. (The fire) kind of put me somewhere else. I don’t trust anymore. I lock my doors.”

Watch a report from WGME-TV below.

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As NC and Pat McCrory Face Fed Deadline, Lead Sponsor of HB2 Says He Opposes Rescinding It: WATCH

CNN’s Chris Cuomo spoke with Rep. Dan Bishop, the lead sponsor of NC’s anti-LGBT HB 2, this morning.

North Carolina’s Governor Pat McCrory faces a deadline today to respond to the Justice Department, who has demanded the state stop enforcing the law, which it says violates Title IX of the Civil Rights Act. McCrory appeared flustered and defensive in an interview conducted on FOX News Sunday over the weekend.

Asks Cuomo: “In light of the federal action in the letter, Cuomo asks Bishop, do you have any thoughts about whether to change or rescind this bill?”

Replies Bishop:

“Well it’s a very common sense and reasonable law. It’s fully consistent with the civil rights law, including Title VII including Title IX and it’s important to protect basic personal privacy rights of folks who would use public showers and bathrooms in North Carolina.”

Cuomo replies: “I’ll take that as a no.”

RELATED: Flustered NC Gov. Pat McCrory Lashes Out at Feds in FOX News Sunday Interview: WATCH

Adds Bishop:

“There’s always been the possibility of tweaking something that there’s an imperfection in it but no, the law’s reasonable and I’m not in favor of rescinding it…Governor McCrory has taken an unbelievable pounding. He’s been under siege, and he’s been excellent throughout. I’m confident Governor McCrory will continue making excellent decisions. It’s his call. “

Watch:

North Carolina transgender bathroom law “is reasonable and I’m not in favor of rescinding it” — @jdanbishop t.co/61RqULLpja

— New Day (@NewDay) May 9, 2016

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National Foster Care Month: Gay Youth Rejected from Foster Family Finds Acceptance and Success

This year, HRC is proud to mark National Foster Care Month with the launch of HRC Foundation and FosterClub’s #FosterEquality campaign. Throughout the month, HRC will share stories and interviews conducted by FosterClub about LGBTQ youth in foster care and agencies that are working to improve their practices with LGBTQ youth. Today, HRC is highlighting the story of Mark Casas and the five years he spent in California’s foster care system.

Mark Casas, who identifies as gay, entered the foster care system for the same reasons as many non-LGBTQ youth—namely abuse and neglect. However, like many LGBTQ youth, Mark had to navigate both his developing sexual orientation and the rejection that followed.

 “Guys used to make fun of me and tease me,” he said. “I even remember someone spitting on me when he found out about my sexuality. ”

According to the Williams Institute, LGBTQ youth are more likely than non-LGBTQ youth to report being treated poorly in the foster care system. Mark’s experiences after he received a placement in a foster home were no exception:

“My foster parents did not know how to be supportive, caring, and understanding,” he continued. “When they found out I was gay, they were angry. My foster dad said that I couldn’t be gay in his house. They did not speak to me. They grounded me for weeks…One of the family members would throw the restroom trash all over my bed and constantly call me ‘faggot.’ No one was there to defend me.”

Mark’s story exemplifies the unacceptable reality that many LGBTQ youth face. They often face rejection from their families, society and then the foster care system. Through all of the traumatic experiences and feelings of isolation he faced in foster care, Mark was resilient. He is currently a senior at Cal State Fullerton and plans on pursuing a master’s degree in social work after graduating.

“By succeeding and moving on with my life, I was able to have an impact on my former foster parents and prove that we are all equal,” he concluded. “It took a while for them to learn, but now they are accepting and loving, and admitted to their faults in the past. “

HRC’s All Children – All Families project works with foster care agencies nation-wide to help improve policies and practice to ensure young people like Mark are safe, welcomed and affirmed.

Read Mark’s full story here and check back with HRC’s blog throughout National Foster Care Month for more stories that raise awareness about the experiences of LGBTQ foster youth.

www.hrc.org/blog/national-foster-care-month-gay-youth-rejected-from-foster-family-finds-acce?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

PHOTOS: The Greatest, Gayest Insults

www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/2016/5/09/photos-greatest-gayest-insults

Rare Mercury Transit of the Sun Has Begun: WATCH LIVE

Mercury, the innermost planet in our solar system, has begun a transit that only happens about 13 times every 100 years. The transit is currently underway and you can watch it LIVE below.

The last transit happened in 2006, the next will happen in 2019, and there won’t be another one until 2032. Since it’s not wise to look at the Sun unless you’ve got a solar filter, you’re best to head to a planetarium or find a viewing event.

It began at 7:12 AM ET and will continue for about 7.5 hours.

Here are a few different live streams from around the world:

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6 Out of 10 People Oppose Anti-LGBT Bathroom Bills: CNN Poll

A majority of Americans oppose anti-trans “bathroom bills” like the one that makes up part of North Carolina’s draconian HB 2, according to a new poll from CNN.

Overall, 57% say they oppose laws requiring transgender individuals to use facilities that do not match their gender identity, 38% support such laws. Strong opposition (39%) outweighs strong support for these laws (25%). There’s a partisan gap on the question, with Democrats and independents more apt to oppose them than Republicans.

But Republicans aren’t broadly in favor of them either. The poll finds Republicans about evenly split on laws like this, with 48% in favor and 48% opposed. Republicans are divided by ideology, with moderate and liberal Republicans tilting against the laws and conservative Republicans breaking in favor. That mirrors a pattern found in surveys on support for legal gay marriage, with moderate or liberal Republicans generally more in favor of gay couples’ right to marry than conservative Republicans.

The poll was conducted before the Justice Department advised North Carolina that its law requiring transgender people to use the bathroom that corresponds with their birth gender violated civil rights. The state faces a deadline Monday to respond to the letter and modify the law or the federal government could impose penalties.

The poll also shows that 75 percent favor laws guaranteeing equal protection for trans people in jobs, housing, and public accommodations.

Read the full poll results:

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Adult Film Star Denis Reed Dies in Motorcycle Accident

Denis Reed, a Czech adult film star also known as Jan Velička, Pavel Matous, Honza XL, and Jan Vector, who appeared in many gay films from William Higgins, Staxus, and CzechBoys, died over the weekend in a motorcycle accident. He was one of the men behind Czech Hunter as well. Reed was one of the most well known adult stars in straight and gay films in Eastern Europe with a career lasting 12 years and encompassing hundreds of films.

The death was reported on Reed’s Facebook site.

His rep wrote: “In a sharp right-hand bend on the horizon mishandled his machine, the motorcycle fell to the ground and flew straight into a tree. During transport to hospital succumbed to serious injuries. We see the moto pictures but we will not publish them.”

We wake up here in Canada and we learn that Denis had a motorcycle accident and died. We think of his wife and son #RIP #DenisReed

— #RIP Denis Reed (@denisreedxxx) May 7, 2016

According to Czech media, his wife hated his motorcycle and discouraged him from using it:

Good weather to take a motorbike pic.twitter.com/f3GbvlQkFE

— #RIP Denis Reed (@denisreedxxx) April 3, 2016

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