Tim Kaine Explains Why He Didn’t Raise LGBT Issues at the VP Debate – WATCH

Democratic Vice-Presidential nominee Tim Kaine responded to critics of his debate performance on Thursday and explained why he didn’t challenge Indiana Governor Mike Pence on the issue of LGBT rights.

Kaine pointed out that moderator Elaine Quijano didn’t ask any questions about LGBT rights or Governor Pence’s record on the subject.

“Well, it is the case that there was no question that was asked that dealt with Governor Pence or just the issue of LGBT equality,” Kaine said.

“Hillary and I are strongly for LGBT equality, including marriage equality, and a Trump-Pence ticket is deeply against it, especially Governo Pence,” he added.

RELATED – Here’s a Recap of Mike Pence’s Attacks on LGBT Rights

Kaine seemed to agree that he missed an opportunity to call out the governor on his LGBT record.

“That was an opportunity,” he said. He hinted that he wished an additional question would have been asked to extend the debate so as to pay heed to LGBT issues. Said Pence, “I would have loved to have had a 93-minute debate instead of a 90-minute debate. But I think that pundit who said that was probably accurate.”

PREVIOUSLY – Rachel Maddow: Mike Pence’s Radical Anti-LGBT Views Got Off Easy in VP Debate – WATCH

Kaine said he didn’t go out of his way to mention Pence’s record on LGBT rights because he wanted to keep the focus squarely on Donald Trump:

“I viewed this as fundamentally a debate that was about Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, not about Tim Kaine and Mike Pence. So I went in with the thought that, look, Hillary Clinton is the top of the ticket, and Donald Trump is the top of the ticket, and that’s where I’m going to focus. That was my goal and I think we succeeded at doing it.”

Earlier today in an op-ed published in the Philadelphia Gay News, Hillary Clinton attacked Pence’s record on LGBT rights, calling him “one of the most anti-LGBT public officials in America.”

RELATED – Hillary Clinton Outlines Her Goals for LGBT Equality in Historic Op-Ed for LGBT Newspaper: READ

Watch Kaine talk about his debate performance, below.

The post Tim Kaine Explains Why He Didn’t Raise LGBT Issues at the VP Debate – WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.

Tim Kaine Explains Why He Didn’t Raise LGBT Issues at the VP Debate – WATCH

‘Silver Daddy’ Mike Pence Made Randy Rainbow Do a Spit-Take During the VP Debate – WATCH 

Randy Rainbow has served up his take on the first and only Vice-Presidential debate between Tim Kane and Mike Pence–or as Randy calls him, the “ultra conservative silver daddy who says he hates the gays but like most Republican politicians can’t get enough of the big D–Donald Trump.”

PREVIOUSLY: Randy Rainbow Makes the First Presidential Debate a Super Braggadocious Musical – WATCH

Though the debate only explicitly referred to LGBT issues once–when discussing Vladimir Putin–that doesn’t mean there weren’t moments that caught the attention of LGBT viewers.

“I try and spend a little time on my knees every day.”

Me too, Mike. Me too.#VPDebate pic.twitter.com/1x53cVcu5Q

— Benjamin Cook (@benjamin_cook) October 5, 2016

.@mike_pence to @timkaine: “You whipped out that Mexican thing again” t.co/x6vEzCfzh0

— POLITICO (@politico) October 5, 2016

For the record, Randy asks that you keep that Mexican thing in your pants. And also, next time give him some warning before you talk about getting on your knees.

Watch, below.

The post ‘Silver Daddy’ Mike Pence Made Randy Rainbow Do a Spit-Take During the VP Debate – WATCH  appeared first on Towleroad.

‘Silver Daddy’ Mike Pence Made Randy Rainbow Do a Spit-Take During the VP Debate – WATCH 

HRC Mississippi Hosts First Interfaith Symposium

Post submitted by Daniel Ball, HRC Mississippi Faith Organizer

On Friday, September 30, HRC Mississippi–in partnership with Millsaps College–hosted its first interfaith symposium. Entitled Brave Spaces, this event united faith leaders and civil rights advocates to discuss how to create a truly intersectional social justice movement by addressing issues that span religion, race, gender identity and sexual orientation.

The Right Reverend Bishop Brian Seage, presiding bishop of the Mississippi Episcopal Diocese, delivered the opening address and Rabbi Jeremy Simons, the Institute of Southern Jewish Life, gave a “Call to Action,” challenging our attendees to mobilize their communities to do more, be more and grow more with our LGBTQ brothers and sisters. We were also honored to have a spectrum of community and faith organizations represented.

This was an important opportunity for attendees to hear faith leaders discuss their journeys through faith and how it has shaped their understanding and acceptance of LGBTQ people. They also participated in workshops on the importance of building interpersonal relationships with LGBTQ people both within and outside of their faith communities.

The Interfaith symposium is the very first event of its kind in Mississippi. We hope that Mississippians will continue to learn and grow in unison so that we can continue to have events similar to Brave Spaces to change hearts and minds across the great state of Mississippi.

For those who are exploring a new spiritual home, thinking about reconnecting to a religious tradition or to live more fully within it, please read our Faith Positions on LGBTQ Equality and our guide, Coming Home: To Faith, To Spirit, to Self.

www.hrc.org/blog/hrc-mississippi-hosts-first-interfaith-symposium?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Clinton v. Trump: Discrimination

This election year, everything we’ve fought for is on the line. We have seen so much progress for the LGBTQ community under the leadership of President Barack Obama, and it all could be reversed by a Donald Trump presidency. Trump has attacked, belittled and maligned anyone and everyone he considers different.

Hillary Clinton, on the other hand, has made LGBTQ equality a cornerstone of her campaign, proving herself a champion for LGBTQ rights both at home and abroad. From military inclusion, to advocating for inclusive non-discrimination policies, to supporting transgender youth, to combating violence, it is clear that Hillary Clinton stands on the right side of history with HRC.

Here’s where the candidates stand on discrimination:

Donald 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.”

Additionally, his running mate, Governor Mike Pence, voted against the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) and Pence’s “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.

Trump also supports anti-LGBTQ governors like North Carolina’s Pat McCrory and Indiana’s Mike Pence, both of whom wrote discrimination into state law.

In the U.S. Senate, Clinton was a strong supporter of LGBTQ non-discrimination legislation, including being an original cosponsor of ENDA.  Now she has called it her “highest priority” to pass and sign into law the Equality Act — landmark legislation that would establish full federal equality for LGBTQ Americans. This groundbreaking, comprehensive bill would establish explicit, permanent protections against discrimination based on an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity in matters of employment, housing, access to public places, federal funding, credit, education and jury service. In addition, it would prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex in federal funding and access to public places. Clinton has vowed to fight with HRC for full LGBTQ equality. 

www.hrc.org/blog/clinton-v.-trump-discrimination?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Kaine Has 3 Reasons for Not Raising Pence's Anti-LGBT Record (Video)

Hillary Clinton contradicts one of those reasons in an op-ed published today by an LGBT newspaper.

www.advocate.com/election/2016/10/06/kaine-has-3-reasons-not-raising-pences-anti-lgbt-record-video

Orlando Pride Is Postponed (Not Canceled) Due to Hurricane

Religious extremists had meanwhile blamed Orlando Pride for Hurricane Matthew’s path.

www.advocate.com/pride/2016/10/06/orlando-pride-postponed-not-canceled-due-hurricane

Now’s As Good A Time As Any To Ogle “Girl On The Train” Star Luke Evans

Much-anticipated thriller The Girl on the Train opens tomorrow, October 7th, and to honor the occasion, the good people at Attitude evidently pulled multitudinous all-nighters and gulped down their body weight in black coffee in order to assemble the most diverting photographs of star Luke Evans they could find online.

And while it doesn’t necessarily take a crack team of investigative journalists to unearth evidence that Evans is, in fact, rather gifted in the handsomeness department, we nevertheless must admire their efforts. And perhaps you should, too.

Let’s take a look: 

www.queerty.com/nows-good-time-ogle-girl-train-star-luke-evans-20161006?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29

Bisexuals Are On Track To Take Over The World, Study Suggests

We’ve known bisexuality was on the rise for a while now, but it appears to be happening at faster rate than ever before.

A new study out of the U.K. has found that the number of people who identify as bisexual has absolutely skyrocketed in just three years.

According to the Office for National Statistics, 230,000 people identified as bisexual back in 2012. In 2015, that number has jumped to 334,000. That’s a 45 percent increase.

Related: Broadway’s Hottest Bisexual Has An Important Message For All You Bi-Deniers

Not only that, but for the first time ever, more people ages 16 to 24 describe themselves as bi rather than gay or lesbian, increasing from 76,000 in 2012 to an astounding 133,000 in 2015.

The number of people who identify as solely gay or lesbian saw a much smaller uptick, going from 541,000 to 586,000 over the same three years.

Of course, gay, lesbian, and bisexuals still only make up a very small percentage of the U.K. population as a whole, coming in at around 1.7 percent in total, with 1.1 percent falling into the gay/lesbian category and 0.6 percent falling into the bisexual category. Straight people make up 93.7 percent of the population. And the remainder fall into the “other” category, either saying the “didn’t know” or they declined to answer the question.

Researchers also discovered that younger people are more likely to identify as something other than straight–3.3 percent of people ages 16 to 24 did so, compared to 2.7 percent ages 25 to 34, 1.7 percent ages 35 to 49, and only 0.6 percent in the over 65 crowd.

According to the ONS report, “Sexual identity does not necessarily reflect sexual attraction or sexual behavior–these are separate concepts with the Office for National Statistics currently does not measure.”

Related: Would You Date Someone Who Identifies As Bisexual?

h/t: Daily Mail

www.queerty.com/bisexuals-track-take-world-study-suggests-20161006?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29

Hillary Clinton Outlines Her Goals for LGBT Equality in Historic Op-Ed for LGBT Newspaper: READ

Hillary Clinton has become the first presidential candidate from a major party to pen an op-ed for an LGBT newspaper.

In a piece published in Philadelphia Gay News, Clinton outlined her record on LGBT equality and the goals she hopes to achieve if elected president.

While acknowledging the huge strides made for LGBT rights during President Obama’s tenure, Clinton writes,

…the simple truth is that even now, in 2016, there are still too many states in America where LGBT people can be fired or evicted from their home because of who they are or who they love. Pennsylvania is one of them. Here, you can get married on Sunday and fired on Monday, just for being gay or transgender.

That goes against everything we stand for as a country.

We need to act on the federal level to take on discrimination in all its forms. That’s what I’ll do as President — with your help.

On the threat posed by Donald Trump to the LGBT community, Clinton says,

He would rip away so much of the progress we’ve made. He would appoint Supreme Court justices who would overturn marriage equality and rescind many of President Obama’s executive orders — including those protecting LGBT people.

Clinton also took on Mike Pence’s horrifying record on LGBT issues, calling him “one of the most anti-LGBT public officials in America”:

As governor of Indiana, Pence supported a bill that legalized discrimination against LGBT people. As a member of Congress, he voted against expanding the definition of hate crimes to include sexual orientation and gender identity. He opposed the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” saying doing so would be “social experimentation.” And he’s said that homosexuality would bring about “societal collapse.”

That’s why the stakes in this election are so high.

RELATED: Here’s a Recap of Mike Pence’s Attacks on LGBT Rights – READ

If elected, Clinton vows that she would work to pass the Equality Act, a federal bill that would prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexuality and gender identity in the areas of employment, housing, public accommodations, public education, federal funding, credit and the jury system.

Says Clinton of the bill,

It would finally provide LGBT people full federal nondiscrimination protections in housing, employment and so much more. I know that differences of opinion on LGBT equality still exist in the hearts of some Americans, but they should not exist under our laws. As president, I’ll be your partner in bringing about the vision of the inclusive nation that advocates, activists and allies have been seeking for decades.

Of the violence that LGBT people, especially LGBT people of color, face, Clinton calls for more data collection to help find ways to stop hate crimes:

LGBT people are now more likely than any other group to be the target of a hate crime. America saw the effects of hate in Orlando, with the attack on the Pulse nightclub — the deadliest mass shooting by a single person in our history. The danger is compounded for LGBT people of color, who face intersectional pressures and dangers, particularly transgender people of color. Last year, more than 20 transgender women were killed in America. Recently, three were murdered right here in Philadelphia.

We need to stop the violence and save LGBT lives. We need to collect more data around gender identity and sexual orientation in hate crimes, so we can stop them in a smarter, more effective way. And we need to finally pass common-sense reforms to address the gun violence epidemic.

Clinton also reiterated her commitment to fighting for an AIDS-free generation and advocated for expanding the use of preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to help prevent HIV transmission:

HIV and AIDS still disproportionately impact gay and bisexual men, communities of color, transgender people and young people. We need to increase research, expand the use of effective prevention medications like PrEP, cap out-of-pocket drug costs and reform outdated HIV-criminalization laws.

Like many, I’ve lost friends and loved ones to AIDS. We owe it to them — the people we love and miss, and the people whose names we’ll never know — to continue this fight.

PREVIOUSLY – Hillary Clinton Calls for End to HIV Criminalization: WATCH

Clinton concluded by saying she “won’t quit until all our laws reflect” the reality that LGBT rights are human rights—once and for all.

You can read Clinton’s full op-ed for PGN here.

[Photos via Instagram]

The post Hillary Clinton Outlines Her Goals for LGBT Equality in Historic Op-Ed for LGBT Newspaper: READ appeared first on Towleroad.

Hillary Clinton Outlines Her Goals for LGBT Equality in Historic Op-Ed for LGBT Newspaper: READ