Transgender Target Customer Confronts Anti-LGBT Protester (Video)
When a man goes on an anti-trans rant at a Target store, a transgender shopper calls him out, saying among other things that other people’s gender is none of his business.
Daily Archives: May 23, 2016
109 Pics of Long Beach's Sweaty Pride Party
109 Pics of Long Beach's Sweaty Pride Party
www.advocate.com/pride/2016/5/23/109-pics-long-beachs-sweaty-pride-party
San Diego Padres Take Action Against Employees Involved in Gay Chorus Mishap
San Diego Padres Take Action Against Employees Involved in Gay Chorus Mishap
The team insists that the Gay Men’s Chorus wasn’t intentionally drowned out, but still took action following the highly publicized incident.
www.advocate.com/sports/2016/5/23/padres-take-action-against-employees-involved-gay-chorus-mishap
San Diego Gay Men’s Chorus Face Homophobic ‘Nightmare’ At Padre’s Game
San Diego Gay Men’s Chorus Face Homophobic ‘Nightmare’ At Padre’s Game
New Book Will Explore “Intersections Of Sexuality, God, And Race”
New Book Will Explore “Intersections Of Sexuality, God, And Race”
Clay Cane, director of the White House approved documentary Holler If You Hear Me: Black and Gay in the Church, will add a new title to his name next June: author.
Live Through This: Surviving the Intersections of Sexuality, God, and Race will be published via Cleis Press just in time for pride season in June 2017, and we personally can’t wait to see what Cane has to offer:
Live Through This: Surviving the Intersections of Sexuality, God, and Race, marches you through the journey of Clay’s life, from enduring spiritual violence in the African-American church, to learning unique lessons from transgender sex workers, to living in the double consciousness of blackness and gayness.
Each essay is delivered with vulnerability and cultural critique, using his narrative to highlight the most sidelined of communities. Live Through This is the new American story.
Sounds like the kind of gay memoir/book of essays we’d like to see much more of. Congrats to Clay, and we’ll be sure to look out for it next summer.
Ireland Is An Epic Emotional Mess On Marriage Referendum Anniversary: VIDEO
Ireland Is An Epic Emotional Mess On Marriage Referendum Anniversary: VIDEO
A year after Ireland became the first country to legalize same-sex marriage, the country celebrated its momentous first anniversary of marriage equality over the weekend.
64% voted in favor of same sex marriage in last year’s referendum.
Same-sex marriage: ‘My God, this is what feeling equal feels like’#MarRefMemoriest.co/3LB1GVs6FD pic.twitter.com/knNx66hqYe
— Áine McMahon (@AineMcMahon) May 23, 2016
Yes campaigner Rory O’Neill / Panti Bliss said the public vote has changed Ireland more than had been anticipated. “I think,” said O’Neill, “because we did it by referendum it is a much more powerful way of doing it and I think that immediately after the referendum the gay community here felt much more secure in their place in Irish society.”
This day last year was one of such tears and joy. I felt so proud of my country and so happy to be me. At last. #marrefmemories
— Barry Brett-McStay (@bazmcstay) May 23, 2016
There have been 412 same-sex couples married in Ireland since the passing of the referendum on May 23 last.
Even nature was on our side that day. #marrefmemories pic.twitter.com/iccmVPcIRe
— dave donovan (@david75donovan) May 23, 2016
Even the hardest of hearts will be torn by the thousands of #marrefmemories posted on Twitter.
I have two sons
I love them both equally
One can marry & one cannot…t.co/2HIjlNwpjE#marrefmemories pic.twitter.com/NHzGRod7UK— Sabina Brennan (@Sabina_Brennan) May 23, 2016
#MarRefMemories #AnIrelandForAll #GettingThere #1YearOn #Equality pic.twitter.com/mh0xGbKEGQ
— Evan Murphy – Cork (@evanmurphycork) May 23, 2016
We’re marking the anniversary of #MarRef & sending solidarity to @NUS_USI #LoveEqualityNI #marrefmemories #IPropose pic.twitter.com/Rru9jZNWnr
— USI (@TheUSI) May 23, 2016
Attempts to hijack the hashtag – notably by gay man No campaigner Keith Mills and Paddy Manning – were mostly ignored.
Government putting leading phrase “Marriage Equality” on ballot when Referendum Commission refused #marrefmemories pic.twitter.com/QpRV2HibQa
— Keith Mills (@KeithM) May 22, 2016
(Image via Twitter)
State broadcaster RTE will tonight premiere documentary The Story of Yes. Watch a trailer below.
More #marrefmemories 9pm tomorrow @RTE2 in ‘The Story of Yes’ Looks really good! t.co/SkRj97HDud
— Colm O’Gorman (@Colmogorman) May 22, 2016
The post Ireland Is An Epic Emotional Mess On Marriage Referendum Anniversary: VIDEO appeared first on Towleroad.
Democrats Vow to Unseat Republicans Who Switched Votes on LGBT Rights
Democrats Vow to Unseat Republicans Who Switched Votes on LGBT Rights
Democrats are vowing retribution against the Republican congressmen who switched their votes on Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney’s amendment to a defense spending authorization bill that would have prevented federal funds from going to contractors who don’t comply with President Obama’s order on LGBT discrimination.
In particular, Democrats plan to go after representatives who face tough re-election bids this November.
PREVIOUSLY: Chaos Erupts in Congress As Republicans Block Measure That Would Protect LGBT Workers – WATCH
The total list of Republican representatives who switched sides is as follows:
- Reps. Jeff Denham (Calif.)
- Darrell Issa (Calif.)
- David Valadao (Calif.)
- Mimi Walters (Calif.)
- Greg Walden (Ore.)
- Bruce Poliquin (Maine) [above right]
- David Young (Iowa) [above left]
According to a Democratic leadership aide, they were able to identify which Republicans changed votes using a computer on the floor that prints updates of vote results as they occur. Democrats were able to compare the printouts to see who switched positions.
Of the seven, Young, Poliquin, Denham and Valadao are among Democrats’ biggest targets this election cycle. And Democrats see the vote-switching as a prime way to counter those Republicans’ claims of independence from their leadership and paint them as hiding their actions from the public.
[…] An official for House Democrats’ campaign arm, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), told The Hill that the vote is expected to become a major issue in a competitive race like Young’s. Nonpartisan political prognosticators like the Cook Political Report and Sabato’s Crystal Ball rate Young’s district as a “toss up.”
Young’s expected general election opponent, Democrat Jim Mowrer, seized on Young’s vote as local news headlines piled up about Young’s role in the House floor chaos.
“This type of extreme partisanship is something we should expect from someone who has never held a job outside of Congress,” Mowrer said in a statement. “This is why we need new representation in Congress and why I believe so strongly in putting service to Iowans ahead of politics.”
Poliquin has denied he voted against the amendment, saying, “I abhor discrimination in any form and at any place.”
That hasn’t stopped Emily Cain, his Democratic challenger, from going after him. In a statement issued Friday, Cain said, Congressman Poliquin apparently has no moral compass on the issue of discrimination. But what’s truly disappointing is that Congressman Poliquin didn’t come clean with voters, but instead reversed himself in secret as part of a backroom deal with Republican leadership.”
Polquin also received unfavorable local news headlines over the vote:
Local news headlines about Poliquin’s vote were largely unflattering. “Poliquin takes flak for switching to vote against LGBT-rights provision,” blared a headline in the Bangor Daily News. “Poliquin among 7 House Republicans to switch votes, defeating gay rights protection,” read another in the Portland Press Herald.
Denham and Valadao are reportedly also vulnerable, though not as much as so Cook and Polquin.
The post Democrats Vow to Unseat Republicans Who Switched Votes on LGBT Rights appeared first on Towleroad.
HRC Applauds Lawmakers for Ensuring Magnitsky Act Includes LGBTQ People
HRC Applauds Lawmakers for Ensuring Magnitsky Act Includes LGBTQ People
The Global Magnitsky Act, a vital bill that would give the U.S. government the authority to freeze the U.S. assets of, and deny U.S. visas to, anyone who has committed “gross violations of human rights” against anti-corruption activists or human rights defenders around the world, is currently moving through the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill was named for the anti-corruption lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, who died in a Russian prison, and passed the Senate late last year.
While lawmakers have not included explicit language in the bill covering LGBTQ people, HRC and other organizations have pressed Congressional lawmakers to make it clear that the bill cover LGBTQ people nonetheless. And in a colloquy, or prepared dialogue, in the House Foreign Affairs Committee this week, lawmakers clarified that the bill would indeed cover LGBTQ people, which would send a clear message abroad that the U.S. will not tolerate human rights abuses against LGBTQ people. Should the bill become law, those who persecute people based on their sexual orientation or gender identity abroad may be blocked from entering the U.S. or from using U.S. financial institutions.
Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI), who is both a member of the Committee and a Chair of the LGBT Equality Caucus, began the colloquy by referring to the myriad threats that LGBTQ people face around the world, from torture in The Gambia to hateful rhetoric in Indonesia and gruesome executions in ISIL-controlled areas.
“Because of the particularly heinous nature of the violations routinely committed against LGBT communities around the world,” he said, “I intended to offer an amendment to this legislation, clarifying that the persecution of the LGBT individuals and those protecting their rights are included (in the legislation).”
He concluded, however, by saying that it was his understanding that LGBTQ people were already included in the bill, making his amendment unnecessary.
The chairman of the committee, Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA), then answered that LGBTQ people were most certainly covered by the bill.
“I want to make clear that the internationally-recognized human rights referenced in the Global Magnitsky Act apply to all people, including those who identify as LGBT,” he said.
The senior Republican lawmaker then referred to a number of “truly severe human rights violations, some directed at people solely on the basis of their professed or perceived sexual orientation or gender,” from Africa to Russia, Iran and recently Bangladesh, where a USAID employee and gay rights activist were brutally murdered just last month.
Royce also added that his committee would soon hold a hearing focusing on “the alarming threats to fundamental human rights worldwide,” including threats to LGBTQ people.
You can view the Committee’s complete meeting here, with the seven-minute colloquy beginning at 52 minutes.
The bill passed the Senate last December and, following its unanimous approval in the Foreign Affairs Committee, will now be sent to the full House of Representatives for its approval.
HRC will continue tracking the bill and pushing for its approval in the House.
#AM_Equality Tip Sheet: May 23, 2016
#AM_Equality Tip Sheet: May 23, 2016
TODAY: LGBT ADVOCATES ENCOURAGE CHARLOTTE LEADERS TO REJECT PRESSURE TO ROLL BACK NON-DISCRIMINATION PROTECTIONS: On a press conference call today, leaders from HRC, Equality North Carolina and the National Center for Transgender Equality encouraged the Charlotte City Council to stand behind its LGBT-inclusive non-discrimination protections. For weeks, the North Carolina Chamber of Commerce and Republican legislative leaders in Raleigh have refused any efforts to repeal HB2, and have instead been calling on the City Council to roll back its protections. While this is being framed as a “compromise,” the Chamber (which never supported the ordinance) is actually suggesting that the Council ram through a gutting of LGBT-inclusive non-discrimination protections. Charlotte is being scapegoated by the Chamber and lawmakers in Raleigh who, coincidentally, rammed the hateful HB2 through in less than 12 hours. More than 200 business leaders, including executives from 13 companies that are members of the Chamber, have spoken out strongly against HB2. The call comes days after HRC President Chad Griffin, NCTE Executive Director Mara Keisling, and Equality North Carolina Executive Director Chris Sgro sent a letter to the pro-equality councilmembers who passed Charlotte’s critical LGBT-inclusive ordinance, similar to ordinances that exist in 18 states and more than 100 cities.
- Transgender activists call on City Council to stay the course…. Transgender activists and supporters in a morning news conference outside the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center also urged Charlotte City Councilmembers to stand behind the city’s non-discrimination ordinance.
- Business leaders continue to speak out…. More than a dozen trade associations have written to Governor McCrory about the damaging effect HB2 is having on attracting businesses to the state. And last week, on behalf of 45,000 businesses, the Consumer Technology Association — including the National Association of Manufacturers (the NC Chamber of Commerce is the Association’s ‘exclusive state affiliate’) — also made clear their opposition to HB2 and support of ordinances like Charlotte’s.
NOT IN MY HOUSE: Following U.S. House of Representative’s shameful approval of an anti-LGBT provision in a defense spending bill last week, they’re at it again with a vote expected tonight on HR 5286. A section of the bill would allow veteran’s facilities to receive government funds without entering into a contract, thus removing coverage from President Obama’s executive order prohibiting anti-LGBT discrimination by federal contractors — opening the door to discrimination.
- Meanwhile, last week’s last-minute vote flips are not going away…. Democrats are vowing to target anti-LGBT lawmakers who flipped their votes last week under pressure from Republican leadership. The vote changes occurred when GOP leadership held open a floor vote longer than rules permit to kill an amendment that would have ensured that funds from an appropriations bill couldn’t be used to discriminate against LGBT workers. Four of the seven Republicans face tough reelection races, and their votes will be remembered in November. The Hill has more. The White House also weighed in, saying that the underlying amendment, which could invalidate President Obama’s Executive Order protecting LGBT Americans from discrimination, has “nothing to do with our national defense.”
NEW YORK TIMES REVEALS YEARS OF WORK BEHIND OBAMA’S HISTORIC MOVE PROTECTING TRANSGENDER STUDENTS: The Obama administration’s historic guidance ensuring that transgender students are treated with respect in public and federally-funded schools, including securing their ability to use restrooms and locker rooms consistent with their gender identity, was “the product of years of study inside the government,” the New York Times reports, and the involvement of LGBT advocates. The deliberate effort came to a head after North Carolina passed its discriminatory HB2 law, the Times says. In a meeting with President Obama’s senior adviser Valerie Jarrett, advocates including HRC President Chad Griffin sounded the alarm that transgender students are under attack, and needed the federal government to “stand up for them.” Read more here.
- Meanwhile, officials in Georgia and Indiana are recklessly contemplating defying the Obama Administration’s recent guidance on transgender students, potentially risking billions in federal education funding.
- GOP state lawmakers in Oklahoma have introduced an anti-transgender bill, which would allow any student to request that their public schools bar transgender people from school bathrooms and facilities based on “sincerely held religious beliefs.” The bill passed in a committee on Friday, and is moving to the state House and Senate for a vote. More from Gay Star News.
- ADF strikes again: With the help of the notoriously anti-LGBT organization the Alliance Defending Freedom, the Grayson County (Va.) School Board passed an anti-transgender policy that forces transgender students to use the wrong restrooms. More from WSLS10.
- Yale “aims to be a leader”: The Ivy League institution announces it now has gender-neutral bathrooms in 23 buildings, and is allowing transgender grads to have on their diploma the name they use, rather than the one on their birth certificate.
TENN. GOV DEFUNDS UT DIVERSITY OFFICE: The University of Tennessee (UT) is disbanding its Office of Diversity after it was defunded under a new state law that prevents the institution from using state funds “to promote the use of gender-neutral pronouns, to promote or inhibit the celebration of religious holidays, or to fund or support sex week.” The controversy began when the UT Pride Center sent out a newsletter suggesting that staff learn students’ preferred names and pronouns to be more LGBT-inclusive. Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam also recently signed an anti-LGBT law allowing counselors in private practice to cite their religious beliefs as a reason to deny services to LGBT clients, or refer them to another professional. The move led the American Counseling Association to cancel its annual conference next year in Nashville. More from HRC.
SHE’S BAAAACK: KEEPING UP WITH KIM DAVIS: Kim Davis, the Kentucky county clerk infamous for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, claims in an interview with D. James Kennedy Ministries that same-sex couples “wanted to shove that [the Supreme Court ruling] down my throat and make me eat it for my dinner.” More from The Huffington Post.
EQUALITY IS SWEET: Hersheypark says that it encourages employees and visitors to use the bathrooms and facilities that correspond with their gender identity. A spokesperson says the announcement reinforces existing policies designed “to ensure those visiting or working at Hersheypark are comfortable and feel secure.” It really is the “Sweetest Place on Earth.” More from PennLive.
OLDER FOLKS SAY “I DO!” TO MARRIAGE EQUALITY: A recent Gallup Poll found that 53 percent of Americans over age 65 say that same-sex marriages should be recognized with full legal marital rights and benefits. It’s the first time since Gallup began asking the question in 1996 that a majority of people age 65 and older expressed support. Overall, 61 percent of Americans support marriage equality. More from The Huffington Post.
CELEBRATING A HAPPY ANNIVERSARY IN IRELAND: One year ago, more than 60 percent of Irish voters said ‘yes’ to the world’s first-ever national referendum for marriage equality. More than 400 same-sex couples in Ireland have tied the knot since. Sláinte!
THE KIRK MAKES HISTORY, SAYS OK TO MINISTERS IN SAME-SEX MARRIAGES: The Church of Scotland has voted to allow ministers to continue to serve if they are in a same-sex marriage or civil union, but still bars them from conducting same-sex weddings in the Church. More from BBC News.
TRANSGENDER EQUALITY LAW ADVANCES IN BOLIVIA: The Bolivian Congress has approved sweeping legislation expanding the rights of transgender citizens. According to TeleSur, the law grants transgender people “the right to change their name, their gender, and their photo in their government documentation in order to reflect the gender they identify with.” More here.
- WATCH: Thousands march for LGBT rights in the Peruvian capital of Lima during its third Equality march.
TRANSGENDER VISIBILITY WINS AT THE BILLBOARD MUSIC AWARDS: Pop star Demi Lovato, who had previously canceled her shows in North Carolina over the state’s discriminatory HB2 law, took another stand for transgender rights during Sunday’s Billboard Music Awards. The singer performed her “Cool for the Summer” hit while wearing a shirt that featured an inclusive bathroom symbol. More from The Huffington Post.
MAKING TEXAS GAY AGAIN?: Apparently most Texans are gay…. at least according to the Texas GOP’s grammatically flawed and anti-LGBT party platform. More from The Advocate.
READING RAINBOW
The New York Times takes a closer look at new legislation in Oklahoma attacking transgender students… The Washington Blade breaks down Trump’s anti-LGBT judicial choices… AL.com explores where Alabama stands in the “transgender bathroom debate”… The Daily Record makes an argument for federal action on transgender equality… and NBC DFW spotlights a new LGBT center in Dallas, noting that the state’s anti-LGBT Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick was invited to the opening.
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-23-2016?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed
NYPD Seeking 3 Men Connected to Transphobic Brooklyn Attack (Video)
NYPD Seeking 3 Men Connected to Transphobic Brooklyn Attack (Video)
Three men, between the ages of 17 and 23, are wanted for questioning in relation to a vicious May 13 attack on a transgender woman in Brooklyn’s Park Slope neighborhood.
www.advocate.com/crime/2016/5/23/nypd-seeking-3-men-connected-transphobic-brooklyn-attack-video
