Ahead of Anniversary of Equality Act Introduction, HRC Announces Support of More Than 80 Major Corps

Today, ahead of the one-year anniversary of the introduction of the Equality Act, HRC announced that Adobe Systems Inc., Advanced Micro Devices Inc., Alcoa Inc., Automatic Data Processing Inc., Bank of America Corp., Booz Allen Hamilton Inc., Cargill Inc., Chevron Corp., Cisco Systems Inc., Darden Restaurants Inc., Delhaize America Inc., InterContinental Hotels Group Americas, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Kenneth Cole Productions Inc., Pure Storage Inc., TIAA, Uber Technologies Inc., WhiteWave Foods Co., Williams-Sonoma Inc., Xerox Corp., and Office Depot Inc. have joined HRC’s Business Coalition for the Equality Act. Now including more than 80 major employers, the complete list of coalition members that have officially endorsed the bipartisan Equality Act can be found below.

Introduced one year ago tomorrow — one month after the historic Supreme Court marriage equality ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges —  the Equality Act would finally guarantee explicit, permanent protections for LGBTQ people under our existing civil rights laws. It would provide clear, permanent, and equal protections under federal law for all Americans in vital areas of life, like employment, access to public spaces, housing, credit, education, jury service, and federally-funded programs.

“These leading companies are joining a bipartisan chorus in Congress and the vast majority of Americans who support ending unfair and unjust discrimination against LGBTQ people,” said HRC President Chad Griffin. “They are stepping forward to say that all Americans should be able to live free from fear of discrimination and have a fair chance to earn a living. Momentum is on our side, and we will not rest until the Equality Act is the law of the land.”

Discrimination is a real and persistent problem for too many LGBTQ Americans. HRC polling has found that nearly two-thirds of self-identified LGBTQ Americans report experiencing discrimination — including people like Carter Brown, a transgender man who lost his job after he was outed by his colleagues. Currently, 50 percent of LGBTQ Americans live in states where they are at risk of being fired, denied housing, or refused service because of who they are. There is no federal law explicitly protecting LGBTQ people from discrimination, and thirty-one states still lack fully-inclusive non-discrimination protections for LGBTQ people.

Polling released this year by the nonpartisan Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) found that support for a bill like the Equality Act topped 70 percent nationally, including a majority of Democrats, Republicans and Independents. PRRI’s groundbreaking survey included 42,000 interviews in 50 states and found majority support for the Equality Act in all 50 states.

Hillary Clinton has called the Equality Act her “highest priority,” while in contrast, Donald Trump has pledged to sign a bill that would put LGBTQ people at even greater risk of discrimination nationwide.

Now co-sponsored by 218 members of Congress, the Equality Act was introduced last year by Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Cory Booker (D-NJ); and Representatives David Cicilline (D-RI) and John Lewis (D-GA). The measure also has bipartisan support, including from Senator Mark Kirk (R-IL) and Representative Bob Dold (R-IL).

HRC first launched the Business Coalition for the Equality Act in March of this year. With combined operations in all 50 states, headquarters spanning 23 states, and $2.6 trillion in revenue, the companies that now make up the coalition employ over 5.6 million people in the United States.

Members of HRC’s Business Coalition for the Equality Act:
Abercrombie & Fitch Co.
Accenture
Adobe Systems Inc.
Advanced Micro Devices Inc.
Airbnb Inc.
Alcoa Inc.
Amazon.com Inc.
American Airlines
American Eagle Outfitters Inc.
Apple Inc.
Automatic Data Processing Inc.
Bank of America Corp.
Best Buy Co. Inc.
Biogen
Boehringer Ingelheim USA Corp.
Booz Allen Hamilton Inc.
Broadridge Financial Solutions Inc.
Brown-Forman Corp.
CA Technologies Inc.
Caesars Entertainment Corp.
Capital One Financial Corp.
Cardinal Health Inc.
Cargill Inc.
Chevron Corp.
Choice Hotels International Inc.
Cisco Systems Inc.
Coca-Cola Co., The
Corning Inc.
CVS Health Corp.
Darden Restaurants Inc.
Delhaize America Inc.
Diageo North America
Dow Chemical Co., The
Dropbox Inc.
EMC Corp.
Facebook Inc.
Gap Inc.
General Electric Co.
General Mills Inc.
Google Inc.
Hershey Co., The
Hilton Worldwide Inc.
HP Inc.
Hyatt Hotels Corp.
IBM Corp.
Intel Corp.
InterContinental Hotels Group Americas
Johnson & Johnson
JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Kellogg Co.
Kenneth Cole Productions Inc.
Levi Strauss & Co.
Marriott International Inc.
MasterCard Inc.
McGraw Hill Financial
Microsoft Corp.
Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams
Monsanto Co.
Moody’s Corp.
Nike Inc.
Office Depot Inc.
Oracle Corp.
Orbitz Worldwide Inc.
PepsiCo Inc.
Pure Storage Inc.
QUALCOMM Inc.
Replacements Ltd.
Salesforce
Sodexo Inc.
Symantec Corp.
Target Corp.
Tech Data Corp.
TIAA
T-Mobile USA Inc.
Twitter Inc.
Uber Technologies Inc.
Unilever
WeddingWire Inc.
WhiteWave Foods Co., The
Williams-Sonoma Inc.
Xerox Corp.

www.hrc.org/blog/ahead-of-anniversary-of-equality-act-introduction-hrc-announces-support-of?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Trump and Pence Close Out Week of Attacks on LGBTQ Equality at RNC

HRC today released the following statement at the conclusion of the Republican National Convention, during which the party adopted the most anti-LGBTQ platform in its history and featured a parade of anti-LGBTQ speakers. Earlier today, HRC released a new microsite highlighting how Donald Trump and Mike Pence threaten historic gains the LGBTQ community has made in the last eight years.

“Donald Trump and Mike Pence are now leading the most antiquated, anti-LGBTQ ticket in recent memory,” said HRC Communications Director Jay Brown. “Together, Donald Trump and Mike Pence threaten everything we’ve gained — from marriage equality to worker protections — and Trump has vowed to sign hateful federal legislation that would open LGBTQ people to Kim Davis-style discrimination across the country. This week has also shown, sadly, just how far the GOP has left to go, as they doubled down on the most anti-LGBTQ platform in history. This is clearly a ticket that will ‘Take America Backward Again.’”

This week, the platform committee passed a slew of anti-equality provisions, including attacks on transgender people and a commitment to overturn nationwide marriage equality. Meanwhile, speakers at the Republican National Convention launched a slew of attacks on LGBTQ people. Retired U.S. Army Lieutenant General Michael Flynn attacked transgender people serving in our military during his speech Monday. Meanwhile, former GOP presidential candidate Ben Carson, speaking at the Florida delegation breakfast, compared transgender people to someone who “woke up… after seeing a movie about Afghanistan and saying ‘you know what? I’m Afghanistani [sic].”

In his speech tonight, Donald Trump appallingly feigned support for LGBTQ people after opposing equality at every turn. In addition to his anti-LGBTQ agenda, in recent weeks, he has spoken out against 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.

Trump has also doubled down on his anti-LGBTQ agenda by putting Indiana Gov. Mike Pence on the ticket. Pence became a national disgrace in 2015, for his “license to discriminate” bill that could have allowed 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. 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 the measure. 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 the law.

Here’s a snapshot of how Donald Trump has been threatening to roll back LGBTQ equality:

• Vowed to rescind marriage equality and, with a vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court,  pledged to appoint U.S. Supreme Court justices who would overturn last year’s historic Obergefell ruling;
• Vowed 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;
• Would support anti-LGBTQ governors like North Carolina’s Pat McCrory and Indiana’s Mike Pence when they write discrimination into state law;
• Pledged to repeal President Obama’s executive orders, which include protections for LGBTQ employees of federal contractors;
• Has verbally attacked women, immigrants, Muslims, people of color, people living with disabilities, asylum seekers and others for political gain.

Visit www.hrc.org/dumptrump to learn more about why Donald Trump is unfit for the presidency.

www.hrc.org/blog/trump-and-pence-close-out-week-of-attacks-on-lgbtq-equality-at-rnc?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

This 14-Year-Old ‘America’s Got Talent’ Teen with Two Gay Dads is Here to Slay Your Emotions: WATCH

Campbell Walker Fields is a 14-year-old pianist and singer whose mother gave him up for adoption as an infant. He was adopted by two amazing gay dads who gave him a loving home and a place where his musical talents could flourish.

RELATED: ‘America’s Got Talent’ Star Brian Justin Crum Will Give You Chills With His Radiohead Cover – WATCH

He let those talents shine this week on America’s Got Talent and brought everyone — even emotionless bot Heidi Klum — to the brink of bawling. Actually, a few probably went over the brink, including his dads who were in the audience to cheer him on.

Watch Fields perform Christina Perri’s “A Thousand Years”.

The post This 14-Year-Old ‘America’s Got Talent’ Teen with Two Gay Dads is Here to Slay Your Emotions: WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.

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David Duke Loved Trump’s RNC Speech: ‘Couldn’t Have Said It Better’

Former KKK Grand Wizard David Duke had high praise for Donald Trump’s speech accepting the Republican nomination: “Great Trump Speech, America First! Stop Wars! Defeat the Corrupt elites! Protect our Borders!, Fair Trade! Couldn’t have said it better!”

Great Trump Speech, America First! Stop Wars! Defeat the Corrupt elites! Protect our Borders!, Fair Trade! Couldn’t have said it better!

— David Duke (@DrDavidDuke) July 22, 2016

Duke has been professing his support for Trump since early in the election season.

If you’ll recall, back in February Trump pretended that he didn’t know anything about Duke and claimed he wasn’t aware that he was garnering the support of white supremacist groups like the KKK while continuing to use coded language indicating his support for white supremacist tenets.

When asked if he would denounce groups like the KKK publicly, Trump declined, saying he needed to know more specifics.

He later indicated that he was aware who was endorsing him and disavowed the endorsement:

As I stated at the press conference on Friday regarding David Duke- I disavow. pic.twitter.com/OIXFKPUlz2

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 28, 2016

The post David Duke Loved Trump’s RNC Speech: ‘Couldn’t Have Said It Better’ appeared first on Towleroad.

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Jon Stewart Takes Over Stephen Colbert’s Late Show Desk, Goes for the GOP Jugular: WATCH

Jon Stewart got back in the political saddle again last night as he took over Stephen Colbert’s Late Show desk.

And, thankfully, headed straight for Donald Trump and the hypocritical conservatives who attacked Obama for being exactly what Trump is. Of course they’re now all on Trump’s team.

“A thin-skinned narcissist with no governmental experience. Yes, that sounds exactly like Barack Obama.”

Stewart then laid in to Sean Hannity (aka Lumpy) for labeling Trump a “blue collar billionaire,” praising Trump for using a teleprompter, and giving him a pass over his views about Mexicans.

And then Stewart got to the heart of why Trump has picked up so many hypocritical Republican supporters:

“You just want that person to give you your country back, because you feel you’re this country’s rightful owners. There’s only one problem with that: This country isn’t yours. You don’t own it. It never was. There is no real America. You don’t own it. You don’t own patriotism. You don’t own Christianity. You sure as hell don’t own respect for the bravery and sacrifice of military, police, and firefighters. Trust me. I saw a lot of people on the convention floor with their Blue Lives Matter rhetoric, who either remained silent or actively fought against the 9/11 first responders bill reauthorization. I see you, and I see your bulls**t. I see it!”

Welcome back. Please stay.

Watch:

The post Jon Stewart Takes Over Stephen Colbert’s Late Show Desk, Goes for the GOP Jugular: WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.

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Spock Is Gay, Not Sulu

The announcement of one Star Trek character’s homosexuality detracts from another’s longtime role as a queer icon.

www.advocate.com/film/2016/7/22/spock-gay-not-sulu

Los Angeles Stands 'United FORlando' with Emotional Tribute Concert

It was a night of catharsis and conversation as the Los Angeles LGBT Center held an emotional benefit for the victims of the Pulse massacre in Orlando and their loved ones. 

www.advocate.com/crime/2016/7/22/los-angeles-stands-united-forlando-emotional-tribute-concert

Handsome Model Gifts Internet With With His Shirtless Cat Workout

Model Travis Deslaurier has figured out the perfect formula for winning over the bitter-hearted Internet — namely, it boils down to shirtlessness and cats. As always.

Related: Calvin Klein Model Mark Brent’s Revealing Photos Make The Rounds

The Canadian model/actor has watched his popularity rise overnight thanks to his ongoing series of workouts, starring his pecs and his super-hammy cat, Jacob.

And here’s the important one — the aforementioned full-body workout, using nothing but an oddly placid cat as a dumbbell:

Me & @jacobscrate? are taking our training seriously meow, it’s nice he doubles up as my training partner, medicine ball, and weight set!?? #felineworkout #cattrainer #jacobscrate #fluffybastard ?Snapchat?? travbeachboy

A video posted by Travis DesLaurier® (@travbeachboy) on Jul 12, 2016 at 6:34pm PDT

Apparently, Jacob should probably go on a health kick himself. He currently clocks in at over twenty pounds, according to BuzzFeed.

Related: Fitness Model Ben Hetfleisch Spins Like A Shish Kebab For Your Viewing Pleasure

So even in these dark days, there are still some some tiny spots of brightness out there.

But only one or two.

feedproxy.google.com/~r/queerty2/~3/rxDYDLdOhi0/handsome-model-gifts-internet-shirtless-cat-workout-20160722

Seattle: Best American City For Gay Dads?

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