Introducing Trump, N.C. Governor Pat McCrory Reminds Us He's Still a 'Potty Prefect'
Meanwhile, reporters at right-wing media outlets are filming Democratic convention attendees using the all-gender restroom in Philadelphia.
Daily Archives: July 26, 2016
White Jacket Jess
Young Gay Republican Explains Why He’s Okay with GOP’s Homophobic Platform: WATCH
Young Gay Republican Explains Why He’s Okay with GOP’s Homophobic Platform: WATCH
After the GOP stunned the political world with its most anti-LGBT platform in the party’s 162-year history with provisions supporting gay conversion therapy, endorsing anti-trans bathroom bills, and even denying marriage rights for LGBT couples, it became noticeably harder for gay Republicans to stand by their party.
Rachel Hoff, the first openly gay Republican on the party’s platform committee considered leaving the Republican Party for the first time in her life.
Log Cabin Republicans’ president Gregory T. Angelo couldn’t hide his disappointment and wrote on a fundraising email: “There’s no way to sugar-coat this: I’m mad as hell — and I know you are, too.”
But that didn’t stop Colton L. Buckley, a young gay Republican from Texas, from showing his love and support for a party which doesn’t exactly love and support him the same way.
In full Texan gear, complete with a cowboy hat, a Texas pin and a red bow tie, Buckley explained to Slate why he’s still a GOP supporter: “I’d rather deal with a Republican who’ll say ‘I don’t necessarily agree with you,’ than deal with someone who aligns themselves with Hillary Clinton and the Democrats,” he said adding that “the Clinton Foundation has taken tens of millions of dollars from Saudi Arabia nations, [sic] where if I live there as a gay man, I’d be publicly executed.”
Buckley is a “practicing Baptist” who is “found in church every Sunday morning.” He came out of the closet two days after the Orlando tragedy and said that he got “lots of support from federal, state and local officials, party activists, etc.”
He feels embraced by the party “for the most part,” except for that “slim, quarter-page of the platform,” referring to what The New York Times called the most extreme Republican platform in memory.
But the small detail in the platform that states that “our laws and our government’s regulations should recognize marriage as the union of one man and one woman,” doesn’t bother Buckley too much. The self described “fiscally conservative and socially awesome” young Republican is not a big fan of equality, anyway. “I may be one of the most conservative gay Republicans here because of the fact that I don’t believe in same-sex marriage,” he said.
“Marriage is a religious term between a man and a woman,” he concluded.
Watch the full video below:
The post Young Gay Republican Explains Why He’s Okay with GOP’s Homophobic Platform: WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.
This Is What It’s Like To Have Your Gay Sex Tape Posted Online – WATCH
This Is What It’s Like To Have Your Gay Sex Tape Posted Online – WATCH
A gay Singaporean man is opening up about having a sex tape he made posted online and shared without his consent.
Lokies Khan spoke with YouTube channel “Dear Straight People” about how the experience felt like a violation. “The main reason why [the incident] affected me so much was because this is not something I want people to see,” Khan says.
While Khan is no stranger to showing off his body on his Instagram account, he says the key difference between posting a sexy selfie and having his sex tape leaked was that he didn’t get to make the decision about posting the sex tape. He had no control.
Khan explains, “Things that I post on Instagram are things that are within my control, are things I want people to see, [that] I’m comfortable with people to look at. But these gifs of me on Tumblr are not within my control. I did not give consent. I did not know it was there.”
Khan also calls out “backstabbing, slandering, gossiping, shaming” and “judgment’” in the gay community.
Of ‘revenge porn’, Khan drives home how dangerous it can be: “There are people out there who wouldn’t have the mental capacity to cope with this. These are things that are potentially lethal. It could destroy someone’s life.”
For others that have been victimized, Khan says, “You are not alone. I get what you’re feeling. There is nothing to be ashamed of.”
Watch, below.
The post This Is What It’s Like To Have Your Gay Sex Tape Posted Online – WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.
WATCH LIVE: Day 2 of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia
WATCH LIVE: Day 2 of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia
We have made it through the raucous first day of the Democratic National Convention. Michelle Obama won night 1 and Sarah Silverman got honorable mention fort blasting the Bernie or Bust-ers.
Tonight, Hillary Clinton’s name will officially be entered into nomination during a roll call vote. Among those speaking tonight will be Bill Clinton, Donna Brazile, Nancy Pelosi, and Mothers of the Movement.
Watch live, below.
The post WATCH LIVE: Day 2 of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia appeared first on Towleroad.
Tuesday at the DNC: Pro-Equality Speakers Include Nancy Pelosi, Cecile Richards, Eric Holder
Tuesday at the DNC: Pro-Equality Speakers Include Nancy Pelosi, Cecile Richards, Eric Holder
The Democratic National Convention continues tonight with a lineup of pro-equality speakers including House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, Planned Parenthood Action Fund President Cecile Richards and former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder. Former President Bill Clinton will deliver the keynote address.
House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi
Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi has long been a champion of the LGBTQ community, both within the Democratic Party and in Congress, and has earned a perfect 100 percent rating on the Human Rights Campaign’s Congressional Scorecard during her entire congressional tenure. As Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives – the only woman to ever hold the powerful office – she made equality a priority, ushering through the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, and the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act.
As a Member of Congress whose district includes San Francisco, Pelosi has focused on combatting the HIV epidemic. She has been at the forefront of harnessing funding for HIV research, shaping the Ryan White Care program for low-income people living with HIV, and removing pre-existing condition limits under the Affordable Care Act so people with HIV and other chronic health conditions have access to quality health care coverage.
Pelosi is also a cosponsor of the federal Equality Act, which establishes explicit, permanent protections against discrimination based on an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity in matters of employment, housing, public places and services, federal funding, credit, education and jury service.
Planned Parenthood Action Fund President Cecile Richards
As the president of Planned Parenthood, Richards has been the face of the organization fighting for reproductive rights for all people. Planned Parenthood offers countless health care services to the LGBTQ community — including hormone replacement therapy (HRT), HIV testing, reproductive health services and more. Planned Parenthood is inclusive, opening its doors to all, “regardless of gender identity, gender expression, and/or sexual orientation.”
Attorney General Eric Holder
During his tenure as U.S. Attorney General, Eric Holder was a fierce ally of LGBTQ Americans. His exemplary leadership was marked by the U.S. Department of Justice’s swift implementation of the Supreme Court’s Decision in Windsor v. United States. The ruling, Holder said, meant that, “Americans in same-sex marriages are entitled to equal protection and equal treatment under the law.” The decision finally gave same-sex couples across the country more than 1,000 federal rights and benefits that previously only flowed to non-LGBTQ married couples. Additionally, in 2014, Holder announced that the DOJ would recognize the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)’s decision in Macy v. Holder asserting that discrimination based on an individual’s gender identity is sex discrimination and violates the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
President Bill Clinton
President Clinton, husband of presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, is tonight’s keynote speaker. President Clinton’s evolution on LGBTQ rights has been well documented: in 2013, he wrote in an op-ed for The Washington Post urging the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the Defense of Marriage Act — legislation he signed into law during his presidency:
“We understand that, while our laws may at times lag behind our best natures, in the end they catch up to our core values… I join with the Obama administration, the petitioner Edith Windsor, and the many other dedicated men and women who have engaged in this struggle for decades in urging the Supreme Court to overturn the Defense of Marriage Act.”
The combination of Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine make for the most pro-equality ticket in history. Hillary Clinton has made LGBTQ equality a pillar of her campaign, including calling it her “highest priority” to pass and sign into law the Equality Act. In addition, she supports the military’s decision ending the ban on open transgender military service, is fighting to outlaw dangerous and debunked “conversion therapy” for minors and is calling for an end to the epidemic of transgender violence. Read more on Clinton’s strong LGBTQ platform and record here.
Running mate Tim Kaine also has a strong LGBTQ record. In addition to supporting marriage equality, Kaine is an original co-sponsor of the Equality Act. One of Kaine’s first actions as Virginia Governor in 2006 was to sign an executive order adding sexual orientation protections to the non-discrimination policy for state workers. Kaine also recently signed onto an amicus brief in the 2nd Circuit case, Christiansen v Omnicom Group Inc., arguing that sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination are prohibited under the Civil Rights Act of 1964. He has voted in favor of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) and the Student Non-Discrimination Act (SNDA).
Clinton-Kaine stand in stark contrast with the Republican ticket of Donald Trump and Mike Pence. Among his anti-equality positions, Trump has vowed to rescind marriage equality and pledged to appoint U.S. Supreme Court justices who would overturn last year’s historic Obergefell marriage equality ruling. He has pledged to sign the so-called First Amendment Defense Act, which could allow individuals, many businesses, and nonprofit organizations to circumvent critical federal protections and blatantly discriminate against LGBTQ families.
Pence, in a now notorious interview with ABC last year, refused to answer eight separate times when asked whether businesses should be able to discriminate against LGBTQ people. Pence became a national disgrace in 2015 for his “license to discriminate” bill — which threatened to allow businesses to deny service to LGBTQ people — and for subsequently defending the bill after an outcry from the business community and a majority of Hoosier voters.
Read more on how Trump and Pence would put LGBTQ equality at risk here on HRC’s new “Dump Trump” site.
GLAAD calls for increased and accurate media coverage of transgender murders
GLAAD calls for increased and accurate media coverage of transgender murders
Photo credit: GLAAD
Last year was the deadliest year on record for transgender Americans, with 21 transgender women killed in the United States, nearly all of them transgender women of color.
As of July, 2016, this year is expected to be even more deadly for transgender people.
In the first seven months of this year, the deaths of 16 transgender people have been reported. That’s a rate of more than two transgender people killed every month. This number does not include transgender people whose deaths were not reported due to misgendering in police reports, news stories, and sometimes by the victim’s family.
The most recent victim is Dee Whigham, a 25-year-old Black transgender woman who was stabbed to death in a hotel near Biloxi, Mississippi on Saturday night. Whigham worked as a registered nurse in Hattisburg, Miss.
The victims of this violence are overwhelmingly transgender people of color, mostly transgender women, who live at the dangerous intersections of transphobia, racism, sexism, and criminalization which often lead to high rates of poverty, unemployment, and homelessness. While some of these homicides have not yet been identified as hate crimes due to lack of information about the perpetrators or motives, the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs reports an alarming multi-year trend showing that transgender women experience a greater risk of death by hate violence than any other group.
By the numbers in 2015:
- Of the 24 reported LGBTQ people killed by hate violence, 67% (16) were transgender and gender non-conforming people.
- Of the homicides, 54% (13) were transgender women of color.
By the numbers in 2014:
- Of the 20 reported LGBTQ people killed by hate violence, 55% (11) were transgender women.
- Of the homicides, 50% (10) were transgender women of color.
By the numbers in 2013:
- Of the 18 reported LGBTQ people killed by hate violence, 72% (13) were transgender women.
- Of the homicides, 67% (12) were transgender women of color.
With violence against transgender people at an all-time high and rising, media coverage is severely lacking. The media must do a better job of reporting these murders and bringing needed attention to a community under vicious and violent attack. Without acknowledging this transphobic violence as the reality, we cannot begin to address, and put an end to, the epidemic.
GLAAD is calling on the media to:
- Report on each transgender person murdered. In order for people to be aware of the unprecedented violence affecting the community, the public needs to know it is happening. The media has a responsibility to communicate about the deadly realities faced by transgender people.
- Respect and use the lived identity, name, and pronoun of the victim.Disregarding the victim’s gender identity and misgendering them in news reports adds further insult to injury, compounding the tragedy by invalidating who the victims were. GLAAD’s Doubly Victimized: Reporting on Transgender Victims of Crime offers clear guidelines for reporting respectfully on stories where transgender people have been victimized by crime.
For additional information about the poverty, discrimination and violence faced by the transgender community, see the Injustice at Every Turn report. GLAAD’s Media Reference Guide offers a glossary of terms, and best practices for fairly and accurately covering transgender stories.
As necessary, GLAAD reaches out to media outlets to correct incidents of irresponsible reporting where misgendering and victim-blaming occur. We also work with local communities and advocates, connecting them to journalists to confirm information about the victims. If you see a news story which misgenders a transgender victim and/or publishes details about their personal life irrelevant to their murder, contact us at [email protected].
We say their names to remember those we’ve lost in 2016:
- Monica Loera of Austin, Texas murdered January 22. She was 43 years old.
- Jasmine Sierra of Bakersfield, California murdered January 22. She was 52 years old.
- Kayden Clarke of Mesa, Arizona killed on February 4. He was 24 years old.
- Veronica Banks Cano of San Antonio, Texas found dead on February 19. She was in her mid-30s.
- Maya Young of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania murdered on February 21. She was 25 years old.
- Demarkis Stansberry of Baton Rouge, Louisiana murdered on February 27. He was 30 years old.
- Kedarie/Kandicee Johnson of Burlington, Iowa murdered on March 2. They were 16 years old.
- Quartney Davia Dawsonn-Yochum of Los Angeles, California murdered on March 23. She was 32 years old.
- Shante Isaac of Houston, Texas murdered on April 10. She was 34 years old.
- Keyonna Blakeney of Rockville, Maryland murdered on April 16. She was 22 years old.
- Tyreece Walker of Wichita, Kansas murdered on May 1. She was 32 years old.
- Mercedes Successful of Haines City, Florida murdered on May 15. She was 32 years old.
- Amos Beede of Burlington, Vermont murdered on May 25. He was 38 years old.
- Goddess Diamond of New Orleans, Louisiana murdered on June 5. She was 20 years old.
- Deeniquia Dodds of Washington D.C. murdered on July 13. She was 22 years old.
- Dee Whigam of Shubuta, Mississippi murdered on July 23. She was 25 years old.
(This page will be updated regularly as new deaths are reported.)
Learn more about each of the victims’ individual lives and stories on The Advocate’s dedicated page.
July 26, 2016
Issues:
Tags:
www.glaad.org/blog/glaad-calls-increased-and-accurate-media-coverage-transgender-murders
MTV's 'True Life: We Are Orlando' will profile survivors of the Pulse shooting
MTV's 'True Life: We Are Orlando' will profile survivors of the Pulse shooting
MTV’s True Life: We Are Orlando
MTV will be airing True Life: We Are Orlando, a special dedicated to four of the survivors of the mass shooting at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, on August 15th at 8 PM EST. The hour-long episode will give viewers a chance to explore the lives of these survivors in the wake of this tragedy, and to support the Orlando community in its efforts to move forward. It will also feature interviews with different members of the LGBTQ community who were either present the night of the attack or who were affected by the shooting.
The survivors featured include Tony Marrero, Patience Carter and Tiara Parker, and Joshua McGill. True Life: We Are Orlando marks the premiere of a new digital format for the series. MTV will be releasing exclusive videos and pictures from production through the August 15th premiere on multiple social media platforms. Already, they have released two clips from the special which can be viewed below, both of which center on Marrero.
Watch the full special on August 15th on MTV at 8 PM EST. Donations can be made to help the victims and families affected by the Pulse shooting through Equality Florida’s GoFundMe page. The tribute single “Hands” is also available through iTunes with proceeds from the sale benefitting Equality Florida Pulse Victims Fund, the GLBT Community Center of Central Florida, and GLAAD.
July 26, 2016
Issues:
www.glaad.org/blog/mtvs-true-life-we-are-orlando-will-profile-survivors-pulse-shooting
Will Bernie's Supporters Disrupt Hillary's Speech?
Will Bernie's Supporters Disrupt Hillary's Speech?
Bernie Sanders has put his support behind Clinton, but many of his vocal supporters at the convention are refusing to follow suit.
www.advocate.com/election/2016/7/26/will-bernies-supporters-disrupt-hillarys-speech
Philadelphia's Newest Monument Honors LGBT Pioneer Barbara Gittings
Philadelphia's Newest Monument Honors LGBT Pioneer Barbara Gittings
Philadelphia resident Barbara Gittings helped remove homosexuality from the Diagnostic and Statistic Manual of Mental Disorders.
