President Obama: 'We're Not As Divided As We Seem' (Video)

www.advocate.com/crime/2016/7/12/president-obama-were-not-divided-we-seem-video

'Enemies of Equality' Report Draws Liberty Counsel's Ire

Freedom for All Americans charts the interlocking relationships of anti-LGBT groups, and Liberty Counsel protests, especially against conservative LGBT rights supporter Paul Singer.

www.advocate.com/politics/2016/7/12/enemies-equality-report-draws-liberty-counsels-ire

Coming Soon: An HIV Filter On Grindr???

Hmmm. We’re not sure how we feel about this.

Rumor has it, Grindr may soon be adding a new feature that allows users to filter guys by their reported HIV status.

Related: Doctor Explains Why You’re Addicted To Grindr

The discovery was first reported by David Myles, a Ph.D candidate at the University of Montreal. He received an unusual survey when he logged onto Grindr recently. He took a screenshot of it then posted it to an online forum for academics researching hookup apps:

Blogger Josh Robbins claims he received the same survey when he logged onto Grindr last week as well.

The ten question survey asks users about their HIV status, whether they’d list it online and how they felt about an HIV-status filer on Grindr. It also asks if they list their status as positive but undetectable, as well as what led them to choose that option.

Related: These Awkward #GrindrFails All But Guarantee A Night Alone

Understandably, not everyone is pleased by this.

Daniel Reeders of Bad Blood calls the idea of an HIV filter “digital quarantine” and “an automatic block function” that will “set the scene for even more stigmatizing.” And Dan Avery at New Now Next wonders if it creates a “dangerous divide” among gay men. Not to mention, he writes, “the filter would be based on the honor system, presumably, so anyone who doesn’t want to be stigmatized as positive could simply lie about their status.”

What do you think of an HIV status filter on Grindr? Vote in our poll below…

Do you agree with an HIV filter on dating apps?

Related: Bottom Shame With A Side Of “No Asian”: A Message For All You Racist Grindr Users Out There

feedproxy.google.com/~r/queerty2/~3/ClMSnfkNXsI/coming-soon-hiv-filter-grindr-20160712

Most Awesome Mom Ever Creates Tinder Profiles For Her Gay Sons

YouTubers The Monastero Twins are lucky enough to have a mom that takes PFLAG to a new level – she even created their Tinder profiles for them!

While we wouldn’t personally want our mother to have anything to do with our online profiles, the twins decided to give it a shot, and created a cute and funny video that brings a new meaning to “ally.”

Related: Watch Your New Favorite Gay Twins Come Out To Each Other

Take a look below, and refrain from asking your own mom to help you with your online profiles – something tells us it may not work out quite so well for you.

feedproxy.google.com/~r/queerty2/~3/XjeV5PdOwlk/awesome-mom-ever-creates-tinder-profiles-gay-sons-20160712

Shawn Mendes Will ‘Treat You Better’ (and Takes His Shirt Off to Prove It) – WATCH

Shawn Mendes has dropped a new music video for his track “Treat You Better”, and in it, the singer shows some skin.

“Treat You Better” follows Mendes as he pines for the girl next door (literally) who is caught up in a toxic and physically abusive relationship with another guy.

Mendes goes shirtless in an emo (but beautifully shot) scene where he confronts his own reflection in the mirror and ponders what is going on the other side of the wall he shares with the objection of his desire.

Mendes, 17, recently attempted to dispel rumors that he is gay, saying,

Now I’m not frustrated because people were saying that I was gay at all, I have no problem with that cause it wouldn’t make a difference to me. I’m frustrated because in this day and age people have the audacity to…write online that I’m gay as if it were a bad thing.That’s all I really have to say about that.

PREVIOUSLY: Canadian Singer-Songwriter Shawn Mendes: ‘I’m Not Gay’

Watch Mendes’s new music video, below.

The post Shawn Mendes Will ‘Treat You Better’ (and Takes His Shirt Off to Prove It) – WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.

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Donald Trump Blasts RBG: She Should Step Down from SCOTUS ASAP

Donald Trump on Tuesday blasted Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg for characterizing a possible Trump presidency as an unthinkable and negative prospect for the county.

Ginsburg made those comments in a Sunday interview with The New York Times. During that interview, she also jokingly hinted that a Trump presidency would be so bad as to merit a move to New Zealand. Via NYT:

“I can’t imagine what this place would be — I can’t imagine what the country would be — with Donald Trump as our president,” she said. “For the country, it could be four years. For the court, it could be — I don’t even want to contemplate that.”

It reminded her of something her husband, Martin D. Ginsburg, a prominent tax lawyer who died in 2010, would have said.

“‘Now it’s time for us to move to New Zealand,’” Justice Ginsburg said, smiling ruefully.

Trump responded to those comments by suggesting Ginsburg acting in a “highly inappropriate” fashion and that he hopes she will step down from the bench “as soon as possible”:

“I think it’s highly inappropriate that a United States Supreme Court judge gets involved in a political campaign, frankly,” Mr. Trump said. “I think it’s a disgrace to the court and I think she should apologize to the court. I couldn’t believe it when I saw it.”

He continued: “That she should be saying that? It’s so beneath the court for her to be making statements like that. It only energizes my base even more. And I would hope that she would get off the court as soon as possible.”

Donald Trump labeling out anyone else’s actions other than his own as inappropriate is the latest absurdity we are forced to endure this election cycle.

The post Donald Trump Blasts RBG: She Should Step Down from SCOTUS ASAP appeared first on Towleroad.

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Congressman Cummings Destroys Arguments For License-To-Discriminate Bill In Three Minutes Flat

One month after the mass shootings in Orlando, Congressional Republicans held a hearing on how to allow more anti-LGBT discrimination.

The post Congressman Cummings Destroys Arguments For License-To-Discriminate Bill In Three Minutes Flat appeared first on ThinkProgress.

thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2016/07/12/3797610/elijiah-cummings-destroys-first-amendment-defense-act/

Say it Ain’t Pence: Is Trump About to Double Down on his Anti-LGBTQ Agenda?

With speculation growing that Donald Trump might actually choose notoriously anti-LGBTQ Indiana Governor Mike Pence as his running mate, HRC today released a memo revisiting Governor Pence’s disastrous record.

Governor Pence became a national disgrace in 2015, for his “license to discriminate” bill that would have allowed businesses to deny service to LGBTQ people — and subsequently defending the bill over an outcry from the business community and a majority of Hoosier voters. In a now notorious interview with ABC last year, Pence refused to answer eight separate times when asked whether businesses should be able to discriminate against LGBTQ people.

Pence’s discriminatory bill had enormous consequences for the business and economic health of Indiana after a flood of companies spoke out against his bill. Indianapolis’s nonprofit tourism agency estimated that in their city alone, Pence’s anti-LGBTQ bill cost up to 12 conventions and $60 million in lost revenue. Polling conducted by HRC after the 2015 fight found that 75 percent of Hoosiers said the debate was bad for the state’s economy and 70 percent of those surveyed said they opposed to the law.

Voters in Indiana continue to have strongly negative feelings toward Pence. In a recent poll, only 36 percent said that Pence deserved re-election, and they gave their governor a net negative job disapproval rating. Only 40 percent approved of his job performance and 42 percent disapproved.

Pence also opposes marriage equality and Department of Education guidelines supporting transgender students. When serving in Congress, he voted against the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, calling it a “radical social agenda.”  

“As Governor of Indiana, Mike Pence has given us all a preview of his vision for America — a future where LGBTQ people everywhere are put at risk for discrimination because of who they are or whom they love,” said HRC Senior Vice President of Policy and Political Affairs JoDee Winterhof. “It’s alarming that Donald Trump is considering putting an atrociously anti-LGBTQ Governor like Mike Pence just a heartbeat away from the Presidency. If Trump’s own despicable anti-LGBTQ record wasn’t enough, this reality is a vivid reminder of what disaster a Trump-Pence administration would spell for LGBTQ Americans and our allies.”

Despite Governor Pence’s disastrous record, speculation has grown about his potential selection as Donald Trump’s Vice Presidential pick. Trump — whose own disgraceful record of opposing marriage equality and threatening to revoke, repeal, or block LGBTQ equality at nearly every turn aligns closely with Gov. Pence’s worldview — will campaign alongside him this evening in Indiana.

Below is a snapshot of how Donald Trump and Indiana Governor Mike Pence stack up on LGBTQ issues.

In recent weeks, Donald Trump has reaffirmed his opposition to transgender equality, appeared alongside Tony Perkins — leader of SPLC-designated hate group the Family Research Council — and delusionally bragged about fictional support from the LGBTQ community in the wake of the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando. His false claims about his own support are belied by his own long record of opposing LGBTQ equality.

As Donald Trump prepares to campaign alongside Governor Pence in Indiana tonight — and potentially name Pence his running mate — here’s a snapshot of where the two align on the issues.

On Marriage Equality

• Trump: Vowed to roll back nationwide marriage equality by appointing justices to the Supreme Court who would reverse nationwide marriage equality. 
• Pence: Pence opposed the Supreme Court’s nationwide marriage equality ruling, saying, “Like many Hoosiers, I believe marriage is the union between one man and one woman…” Prior to that, he supported the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and after section 3 of DOMA, which barred legally married same-sex couple from having their marriages recognized by the federal government, was ruled unconstitutional, he urged amending the state of Indiana’s constitution to outlaw marriage equality.

On Non-Discrimination Protections

• Trump: Trump has committed to signing the so-called “First Amendment Defense Act,” a bill to enable taxpayer-funded discrimination against LGBTQ people in the federal government. Trump said at the Iowa Faith and Family Coalition, his priority as President would be to “preserve and protect our religious liberty.”
• Pence: While in Congress, Pence voted against the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. He opposed the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” by saying it would turn the military into “a backdrop for social experimentation.” He voted against the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, calling it a “radical social agenda.” As governor, his “right to discriminate” bill could have allowed businesses to discriminate and deny service to LGBTQ people because of who they are or whom they love.

On Transgender Equality

• Trump: When asked about laws like North Carolina’s deeply discriminatory HB2, Trump said he supported the law, saying, “I’m going with the state. The state, they know what’s going on, they see what’s happening and generally speaking I’m with the state on things like this. I’ve spoken with your governor, I’ve spoken with a lot of people and I’m going with the state.” Trump previously told Sean Hannity that when it comes to laws like North Carolina’s HB2, Trump said he would “leave it up to the states.”
• Pence: Opposed guidance from the Department of Education that clarifies that transgender students have a right under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 to access restrooms consistent with their gender identity, saying, “The federal government has no business getting involved in issues of this nature.”

www.hrc.org/blog/say-it-aint-pence-is-trump-about-to-double-down-on-his-anti-lgbtq-agenda?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed