Gay Couple in Maine Loses 7 Pets in Fire, Calls It Hate Crime
The couple thinks the man who allegedly set fire to their home in Canaan, Maine, killing three dogs and four cats, targeted the elderly couple because they are gay.
www.advocate.com/crime/2016/5/10/gay-couple-maine-loses-7-pets-fire-calls-it-hate-crime
Counseling Student Proudly Refuses Gay Couples
So let’s say you go to your therapist to work out some issues, and a few sessions in, you mention going to synagogue.
“Well, there’s your problem right there,” he says. “You’re Jewish. Ugh, Jews. You guys are the worst. Get out.”
That’s pretty much what former counseling student Andrew Cash wanted to do, only for queers — to refuse to treat them because he considers them immoral. Missouri State University felt that this might not be a great way for a therapist to care for his clients, and so he was kicked out — and now, of course, he’s suing. Because he’s the victim here.
Specifically, Cash said that he could counsel gay people, but not a couple. He said that his style is based on his “core beliefs, values and Christian worldview.” Which is all fine and dandy, but that’s really not allowed — the American Counseling Association’s Code of Ethics specifically says that you’re not allowed to use your own personal baggage as an excuse to discriminate.
In fact, there’s a whole clause devoted to it:
A.11.b. Values Within Termination and Referral
Counselors refrain from referring prospective and current clients based solely on the counselor’s personally held values, attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors. Counselors respect the diversity of clients and seek training in areas in which they are at risk of imposing their values onto clients, especially when the counselor’s values are inconsistent with the client’s goals or are discriminatory in nature.
And that makes perfect sense. Imagine if other medical professionals were able to do the same: You go to a doctor to look at a suspicious mole, and he refuses to take your insurance because you have it through your same-sex spouse. Or you go to a dentist to get a root canal, and he tells you that he won’t use any anesthesia because he’s in a cult that worships pain. Or you need open-heart surgery, but the doctor’s a Jehovah’s Witness and might let you bleed to death because he doesn’t do blood transfusions.
You would of course be free to go to other doctors — and you probably should in all of those situations — but really those people shouldn’t be allowed to practice medicine in the first place. A medical license means something, and isn’t just handed out to anyone who wants to make up their own fancy imaginary treatments. If your invisible sky daddy is so important to you that you need to break the ethical rules of your chosen discipline, well, maybe theological school might be a better fit.
Gay Cyclist Stands Up to Homophobic Street Preacher, Leaves Crowd Cheering – WATCH
A viral video posted on Facebook over the weekend shows what happens when religious bigots are called out for their hatred.
In the video, a homophobic street preacher in Glasgow, Scotland calls for gay people to repent for their wickedness. While a group of onlookers is assembled, no one says anything to the hate monger at first. That is until a cyclist rides by and does a double take before turning back to confront the preacher. The cyclist looks directly at him and challenges him: “I’m gay! I’m gay, so say it to me.” The preacher then tells him to repent. But the cyclist is having none of it. He replies, speaking over the preacher’s hate-speech, “I love me and I don’t need a f*cking God to do it.”
It was that line that caused the assembled crowd to erupt in cheers and applause.
The poster of the video, Emlyn Pearce, who is gay himself, was able to track down and identify the cyclist as Ryan Vance. He also wrote of how inspiring it was to watch Vance stand up to the bigot:
I walk through Glasgow holding hands with my boyfriend all the time, and we have never experienced any homophobia. So to walk down the main shopping street and hear a man shouting that ‘the 99%’ need to stand up to the ‘1%’ who are gay was very sad and very scary.
Then Ryan arrived and did that thing that we all like to think we’d do but few of us ever manage: he stood up to hatred and bigotry without any fear or hesitation. And Ryan is right, we all need to start by loving ourselves, and we don’t need anybody else’s permission to do that.
Ryan Vance, as a gay man and a human being, I salute you: you made the world a better place. Thank you, sir – your pint awaits!
Watch the video, below.
[h/t Attitude]
The post Gay Cyclist Stands Up to Homophobic Street Preacher, Leaves Crowd Cheering – WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.
Woman Who Attacked Trans New Yorker on Subway Refuses to Apologize: ‘That Person Offended Me’ – VIDEO
Last week, we told you about a disgusting transphobic attack that occurred on a busy New York City subway train. Now, the cisgender woman seen in a viral video of the attack is speaking out and refusing to apologize for viciously attacking Pearl Love, the transgender woman whose only crime was riding in the same car as her attacker.
In an interview with New York’s PIX11, Sarah Eldridge says she does not believe she was fully in the wrong. When asked if she would apologize to Love, Eldridge replies, “Now is not the time.”
“I meant what I said. That person offended me in a way,” Eldridge said of Love. “That person was, to me, explicit. To me, too much. To me, I couldn’t stand it. To me, this is not fair to me.”
When it was suggested to Eldridge that Love was merely existing and being herself, Eldridge told the camera, “I can’t deal with that. I guess I’m not ready.”
[…]
Though we don’t hear the words come out of her mouth, PIX11 reports that “Eldridge said she now feels like a victim” as a result of receiving death threats on Facebook after Love’s video went viral. Additionally, Eldridge tells the public, “Don’t judge me unless you know me. Don’t throw stones unless you haven’t sinned against, you know, someone yourself.”
Eldridge also said of the hate she has received since video of the attack went viral, “Don’t judge me unless you know me. Don’t throw stones unless you haven’t sinned against, you know, someone yourself.”
Juzwiak reached out to Pearl Love for her comments on Eldridge’s lack of contrition:
“Why did she judge me?” said Pearl Love when I reached out to her for a comment on Eldridge’s interview. “She doesn’t even know me. She feels that she was right for assaulting me. She doesn’t feel sorry about it.”
“I’m not angry at all,” said Love when I asked how she feels. “Why be angry? It’s not my mistake to sit in front of her. I respect people who love me, but I also respect people who don’t like me. I respect them for myself. If you are not happy with me, that’s your problem, not mine. You don’t see the beauty in me? That’s your loss.”
Eldridge is reportedly in therapy.
Watch the news report, below.
The post Woman Who Attacked Trans New Yorker on Subway Refuses to Apologize: ‘That Person Offended Me’ – VIDEO appeared first on Towleroad.
Anti-Gay Bigots Attack Texas GOP Chair Over LGBT Booth at State Convention
Back in February, we mentioned that the Texas GOP’s 2016 state convention would include an LGBT booth, sponsored by the Metroplex Republicans, for the first time in its history this year.
The decision to allow the booth prompted Texas Eagle Forum President Cathie Adams, who’s running for vice president of the party, to suggest that it would scare away parents who didn’t want their children to be exposed to LGBT people during the event.
Now, with the convention set to begin Thursday in Dallas, anti-gay Houston bigot Dr. Steve Hotze has sent out the above flier attacking the current chair of the party, Tom Mechler, for allowing the booth.
Hotze supports Jared Woodfill, who served as spokesman for the campaign to repeal Houston’s Equal Rights Ordinance and is running against Mechler for chair.
In fact, Woodfill announced his candidacy for state party chair at a rally last summer where Hotze wielded a sword on stage and pledged to drive “homofascists” out of Houston and back to San Francisco.
The Dallas Morning News reports on Hotze’s flier:
Mechler said that he did not have anything to do with the decision to allow the group, the Metroplex Republicans, to have a booth at the state GOP convention.
“I understand that hatred has spewed into the chairman’s race,” Mechler said. …
“Mechler and the RINOs want to promote ‘diversity’ and ‘inclusivity’ at the expense of the principles in our party platform, so that they can embrace the homosexual political movement,” the mailer states. RINO stands for “Republican in name only,” a jab that staunch conservatives like to take at those they deem insufficiently to the right. …
Rudy Oeftering, vice president of the Metroplex Republicans, said he was happy with the decision and excited about the booth.
“We know there are people upset out there,” he said. “The booth will be very positive.”
In fact, the booth was only allowed because Metroplex Republicans agreed not to use it to promote LGBT rights.
As for Mechler, he once said he’d cancel his subscription if his hometown newspaper ever published a photo of a gay couple kissing. But apparently that’s not anti-gay enough for some Texas Republicans.
The post Anti-Gay Bigots Attack Texas GOP Chair Over LGBT Booth at State Convention appeared first on Towleroad.
TurnOUT! North Carolina Participates in Weekend of Action in Charlotte and Raleigh to Repeal HB2
Organizers from TurnOUT! North Carolina (NC), a coalition of HRC, Equality North Carolina, the ACLU and the Campaign for Southern Equality, descended on a series of events in both Raleigh and Charlotte last weekend. TurnOUT! NC organizers worked at these public events to collect signatures on petitions calling for full repeal of House Bill 2 (HB2).
In Charlotte, organizers joined hundreds of people marching in the 20th Annual Charlotte AIDS Walk. Our TurnOUT! NC organizers collected petition signatures to Repeal HB2 from many of the event participants, who were there to help raise over $145,000 for RAIN.
A a field organizer for HRC, my time has been contributed to the TurnOUT! NC campaign as Deputy Director of Member Mobilization. In this role, I focus on getting members and supporters of pro-equality organizations to take action to fully repeal of HB2. As I collected petitions on Saturday at the Charlotte AIDS Walk, I was overwhelmed by the opposition to HB2. The only people who declined to sign the petition were people who had already signed the petition online or at other events. It is clear that this harmful bill is hurting North Carolinians no matter your race, gender, religion, sexual orientation and gender identity.
While our team was busy in Charlotte, another team of TurnOUT! NC organizers was busy collecting petitions at Out! Raleigh, a day-long LGBT festival just blocks from the North Carolina General Assembly.
TurnOUT! NC field organizer Maddie Majerus collected petitions at Out! Raleigh. They joined the pro-equality crowd to collect petition signatures calling on North Carolina legislators and Governor McCrory to repeal HB2.
TurnOUT! NC is working to mobilize thousands of pro-equality North Carolinians to speak out for full repeal of HB2. TurnOUT! NC has field organizers based in Asheville, Charlotte and the Triangle area. Additionally, HRC staff is on the ground working with coalition partners across the Tar Heel State. There are daily opportunities to volunteer with weekly phonebanks and weekend canvassing opportunities.
If you live in North Carolina and want to join the efforts to repeal HB2, RSVP for upcoming phonebanks and volunteer opportunities. For more information about our work in North Carolina, contact HRC Associate Regional Field Director Ryan Rowe at [email protected].
Above: TurnOUT! field organizers pause for a photo with Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts at the 20th Annual Charlotte AIDS Walk.
Above: HRC staff members Ryan Wilson (left) and Hope Jackson (right) catch a selfie with openly LGBT Charlotte City Councilwoman LaWana Mayfield at the Charlotte AIDS Walk.
#AM_Equality Tip Sheet: May 10, 2016
US ATTY. GEN. LORETTA LYNCH’S HISTORIC REMARKS ON HB2 A TURNING POINT FOR TRANSGENDER EQUALITY: Attorney General Loretta Lynch’s powerful and moving remarks Monday supporting transgender equality represents a major advance in the community’s fight for full inclusion — not only under law, but also in American society. Lynch’s words invoked civil rights struggles of the past and carried special weight given that North Carolina is her home state. “This action is about a great deal more than just bathrooms,” Lynch said during her announcement that the U.S. Department of Justice is suing North Carolina for discrimination embedded in its anti-LGBT law HB2. “This is about the dignity and respect we accord our fellow citizens and the laws that we, as a people and as a country, have enacted to protect them – indeed, to protect all of us. And it’s about the founding ideals that have led this country – haltingly but inexorably – in the direction of fairness, inclusion and equality for all Americans.” Speaking directly to the transgender community Lynch said, “…[W]e see you, we stand with you and we will do everything we can to protect you going forward. Please know that history is on your side.” Watch the full speech on C-SPAN.
DOJ LAWSUIT DECLARES HB2 “IMPERMISSIBLY DISCRIMINATORY,” SUES TO PROHIBIT STATE ENFORCEMENT: The DOJ’s lawsuit against NC Governor McCrory, the state’s Department of Public Safety, and the University of North Carolina and its Board of Governors declares the state’s HB2 law “impermissibly discriminatory.” The DOJ is also asking the court to prohibit the state from enforcing HB2, which violates federal civil rights law and the Violence Against Women Act. The DOJ’s action came shortly after McCrory filed a lawsuit seeking to forestall DOJ action. NC has already lost more than a half billion dollars in economic activity because of McCrory’s radical law, and is facing the potential catastrophic loss of federal funding for schools, roads, bridges, and other essential services. More from Reuters.
MCCRORY POINTS FINGER AT ANYONE BUT HIMSELF: McCrory outlined the details of his suit against the DOJ at a press conference on Monday, again attempting to shift blame for the discriminatory fiasco that has been HB2. He said that local leaders in Charlotte should instead be held accountable for passing a non-discrimination ordinance that would have allowed transgender individuals to use bathrooms that corresponded with their gender identity. Claiming that the issue was “not a North Carolina state agenda,” McCrory said that the DOJ asked the state to agree to “unrealistic terms” when it imposed a deadline for him to respond to the law’s federal civil rights violations. The Charlotte Observer’s Editorial Board calls McCrory’s lawsuit “familiar, disturbing defense against discrimination.”
MAJORITY OF AMERICANS ACROSS PARTY LINES OPPOSE ANTI-TRANSGENDER BILLS: A new CNN poll has found that a majority of Americans oppose bills like North Carolina’s HB2. Overall, 57 percent oppose “laws that require transgender individuals to use facilities that correspond to their gender at birth rather than their gender identity.” While the majority of those opposed were Democrats or Independents, even Republicans were split 48 to 48 percent.
ACLU SUES THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI OVER ITS ANTI-LGBT LAW: The ACLU and a same-sex couple hoping to marry in Mississippi have sued the state over its passage of HB1523 — a discriminatory law that allows almost any individual or organization to use religion as an excuse to discriminate against LGBT Mississippians in some of the most important aspect of their lives, including at work, at schools, in their family life, and more. The ACLU argues that the law violates the U.S. Constitution and the Supreme Court’s marriage equality ruling. Oliver Diaz, a former Mississippi Supreme Court Justice, who filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Jackson, says, “We’ve had a long history in Mississippi of bigotry and discrimination, and House Bill 1523 brings that back to life.” More from ABC News.
AMERICANS ON TRUMP NAMING SCOTUS JUSTICES: A majority of Americans just don’t trust presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump to select the next Supreme Court justice — including nearly 30 percent of Republicans who said they’d rather have President Obama or Hillary Clinton make the pick, according to a new poll. To top that off, 65 percent of voters surveyed want Obama SCOTUS nominee Judge Merrick Garland to get a fair hearing immediately. If only the Senate Republicans would #DoYourJob.
TRANSGENDER TURNING POINT: This week, Geraldine Roman, a transgender woman, became the first openly-LGBT person to be elected to the Philippine Congress. This is a historic moment for the transgender community, which still faces widespread discrimination in the country. More from BuzzFeed.
METHODIST MINISTERS COME OUT AS LGBT TO CHALLENGE CHURCH BAN: On Monday, more than 100 Methodist ministers made a powerful statement by coming out as LGBT, challenging their church’s ban on ordaining “practicing homosexuals.” Their statement serves as a reminder that they have been faithfully serving the church, despite its lack of acceptance. More from ThinkProgress.
READING RAINBOW
Teen Vogue tells the stories of mothers with transgender teenagers, and the effect discriminatory laws have on their children… CNN shares the love with a high school girl who got kicked out of her prom for wearing a suit… The Los Angeles Times interviews Randy Berry, the first U.S. Special Envoy for Global LGBTI Rights… The Huffington Post details how McCrory’s obsession over policing bathrooms has been years in the making… and The Associated Press chronicles Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore’s long history of judicial defiance…
www.hrc.org/blog/am-equality-tip-sheet-may-10-2016?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed
Antigay Boxing Champ Manny Pacquiao's Next Title: Filipino Senator (Video)
This Minister Defied His Church to Perform His Son's Wedding
www.advocate.com/religion/2016/5/10/minister-defied-his-church-perform-his-sons-wedding
Is North Carolina Having An Identity Crisis? (Video)
www.advocate.com/politics/2016/5/10/north-carolina-having-identity-crisis-video
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