Judy Shepard Warns of Consequences of Donald Trump’s Hate-Filled Campaign
Judy Shepard, the mother of Matthew Shepard, warns of the consequences of Donald Trump’s hate-filled campaign, stating: “It terrifies me.” A member of the HRC’s National Board of Directors, Judy and her husband, Dennis, founded the Matthew Shepard Foundation after their son was murdered — one of countless LGBTQ people who have been victims of hate.
Porn Sites Are Blocking Access to California Voters
Several porn sites are temporarily blocking access to their sites for California voters because of a proposition on the ballot that forces porn stars to wear condoms during filming.
www.advocate.com/politics/2016/10/18/porn-sites-are-blocking-access-california-voters
Days Before “King Cobra” Release, James Franco Sued For Head-Butting Photographer
According to court documents, James Franco went ferociously feral at a recent Lana Del Ray concert and charged and head-butt a photographer, just to be that way.
TMZ reports David Tonnessen was photographing the concert at Hollywood Forever Cematary when an unprovoked Franco head-butted him in the stomach.
Related: James Franco Asks Himself If He’s Really Gay And His Answer Might Surprise You
According to unusually poetic court documents, Franco was “smiling, rather demonically,” and wore a “blank expression of joy on his face” as he knocked the astonished photog to the floor.
Tonnessen claims he was subsequently hospitalized and suffered “permanent injuries,” whatever that means.
Related: Oops! James Franco Accidentally Posted A Dick Pic
He’s suing for medical expenses and additional damages. No word on whether he manage to snap a photo of the King Cobra star’s demonic smile and blank expression of joy just before he was sent screaming to the ground with the distant sounds of “High on the Beach” ringing in his ears as the crowd went on dancing, screaming, clapping, cheering…
Melania Trump Fights Back in Awkward AF Interview with Randy Rainbow – WATCH
Melania Trump responded to myriad concerns over her husband’s bid for the presidency in a new interview with Randy Rainbow.
Rainbow gets straight to the point: “America is concerned AF.” So is there anything Melania can say to reassure us as a nation? As it turns out, not really, no.
Watch as Rainbow asks Melania about ‘P–y’-gate, verb conjugation and much more, below.
The post Melania Trump Fights Back in Awkward AF Interview with Randy Rainbow – WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.
Melania Trump Fights Back in Awkward AF Interview with Randy Rainbow – WATCH
Join HRC Arizona’s Push to Elect Pro-Equality Candidates
Post submitted by Brandie Reiner, HRC Board of Governors
It’s not enough to simply vote this election. The issues are too important and the stakes are too high.
As vote-by-mail ballots have dropped in Arizona, our local team has been hitting the ground running! Arizona, a historically red state with leaders like U.S. Sen. John McCain and the infamous Sheriff Joe Arpaio and, has the potential to shift to electing more pro-equality candidates.
HRC Arizona has mobilized and energized the local LGBTQ community. We’ve partnered with local business to host debate watch parties and teamed up with the Hillary for America campaign, as well as HRC-endorsed federal and state campaigns focused on pro-equality agendas, to get out the vote.
Clinton has tirelessly championed for us, allowing us to climb through the very glass ceiling she smashed for all of us. It is now our turn to work for her, securing her path to victory as the next president of the United States. We must #turnOUT the vote for her and other pro-equality candidates!
This election is too important. Don’t boo. Don’t stay home. Be a part of history. Volunteer!
Join HRC Arizona for one of these upcoming events and help us elect Hillary and local pro-equality candidates!
Phone bank with us every Tuesday and Thursday from 6-8pm at the Arizona Democratic Party (2910 N. Central Ave., Phoenix, AZ)
Presidential Debate Watch Party, Wednesday, October 19 from 6-8pm at Bliss ReBAR (901 N 4th St., Phoenix, AZ 85004).
HRC Arizona Days of Action on October 29 and November 5 from 9am-12pm.
HRC Arizona is working hard to #turnOUT the pro-equality vote. To join our effort to get out the vote for pro-equality candidates in Arizona, sign up to volunteer.
Paid for by Human Rights Campaign PAC and not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.
Amazin LeThi: The Power of Sharing Asian LGBTQ anti-bullying Stories
“As a transracial adoptee, I suffered a double layer of bullying because I was Asian, especially as an Asian in an all-white background….Being constantly bullied as a child into young adulthood didn’t give me the confidence to dare to stand out and be different as it stripped away my sense of self. Without a mirror image of myself in the media, I had to create my own narrative as a child. As an adult, this helped me stand in my own truth: to be brave and unapologetically Asian.”
Amazin LeThi, the founder of the Amazin LeThi Foundation which is an international charity organization to end LGBTQ bullying and HIV/AIDS discrimination in the Asian community, wrote in her blog posted on Act to Change. As the first Asian Athlete Ally Ambassador and a fearless fighter for anti-bullying in Asian LGBTQ community, LeThi has come a long way and realized how Asians stereotypes portrayed in media, the lack of exposure of Asians in media, and the short of support systems and a mirror image deepen the stigma for Asian LGBTQ community.
“Asian youth are bullied the most out of all ethnic groups, yet nobody talks about it. In the U.S., I’ve never felt so invisible, because we (Asians) are portrayed as this non-threatening, invisible model minority community that ‘nothing have ever happened to us,’” LeThi said when asked about what makes Asians anti-bullying issues so important and urgent. The invisibility of Asian community in day-to-day conversations and those in politics and media frustrated LeThi. Therefore, she decided to collaborate with the White House AAPI Initiative. When Act to Change, a public awareness campaign working to address AAPI community bullying problems, was launched last year in October, she came on board as a supporting partner to share her stories with oppressed Asians.
“What lots of people don’t realize is that if you’re Asian LGBTQ, you’re suffered from racism and homophobia,” she said. These two layers, sexuality and racial minority, put Asian under double pressures. For example, Asian men are desexualized and demasculinized, while Asian women are seen as subservient. Then there comes the more known stereotypes people have on LGBTQ community. When one multiply those discriminations, Asian LGBTQ people are very susceptible to be bullied. What’s more? “Because of the racial stereotype”, LeThi said, “Asian LGBTQ are the victims of bullying within the LGBTQ community. They are not fully respected nor treated equally even in the community they belong to.”
“When I think of Act to Change and the issue of bullying in the Asian community, talking about coming out is not enough. We need to talk about the intersection as well because it’s so much about our culture, who we are as a person, how the media portrays Asian people, and how people see us.” — Amazin LeThi
When talking about other Asian cultures, LeThi said, “Because we are brought up to think about what kind of job we are going to have and if it is going to be a good job at the end of life to be able to support the family, the idea of coming out obviously brings on a lot of shame and pressure from our own community that encourages people to conform.” Because she sees Asians are conformists and such picture can be changed, LeThi wants to use more digital platforms to share the stories of Asians who can be the mirror images for those suffering from bullying or their intersectional identities. “We need to speak up,” as LeThi mentioned more than 3 times during the interview.
The problem that causes bullying can also be seen in Asian athlete community. Many Asians youth love to go into sports. However, due to the stereotype that “Asians are weak,” many have been discouraged and more so for Asian LGBTQ. LeThi said that we need more Asian athletes to come out or, at the very least, to publicly become an ally. “We need the support from both inside and outside of the Asian community,” she said.
Amazin LeThi has never given up, and she is still forging ahead. With Act to Change and Amazin LeThi Foundation, Asian LGBTQ’s voices have started to be heard. Nevertheless, we still have a long way to go. Go to Act to change (acttochange.org/#about) and Amazin LeThi Foundation (www.amazinlethifoundation.org/) to learn about how to become an ally for and contribute to Asian LGBTQ community.
www.glaad.org/blog/amazin-lethi-power-sharing-asian-lgbtq-anti-bullying-stories
Following Home Burglary, Colton Haynes Is Having A Messed-Up Week
So far it’s been a rocky week for Colton Haynes: He lost thousands of dollars after his Hollywood Hills home was burglarized.
But what’s really upset him is the media’s coverage of the crime.
As Pink News reports, Haynes claimed on SnapChat that “even though someone broke into my house and stole a bunch of stuff, that’s not going to get me down.”
Related: Colton Haynes Opens Up Honestly About His Sexuality And His Health
Gossip site TMZ leapt on the story, which displeased Haynes — as demonstrated by this follow-up Twitter post:
My home was broken into a few days ago & alot was stolen. I am ok. I don’t understand why it’s necessary that my personal info is on TMZ
— Colton Haynes (@ColtonLHaynes) October 13, 2016
“My home was broken into a few days ago & a lot was stolen. I am ok,” he writes. “I don’t understand why it’s necessary that my personal info is on TMZ.”
Related: Colton Haynes On The Struggle Of Being A Gay Heartthrob, Infamous XY Photos
As the gossip site reports, the thieves got away with “between $5,000 and $6,000 of property — including a television and computer.”
Frank Ocean Will Not Be Getting Any Grammys Because He Missed a Deadline
Frank Ocean missed a deadline for submitting his recent albums Blonde and Endless for Grammy consideration and is out of the running, Billboard reports:
A source confirms to Billboard that neither album was submitted for consideration by Ocean’s labels, management or other reps, even though both were released well before the 2017 Grammy eligibility cutoff date of Sept. 30, 2016.
Blonde (also known as Blond) — which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for the week ending August 25 with 276,000 equivalent-album units, the third-largest total of the year — was released on Ocean’s own Boys Don’t Cry imprint, although many traditional label functions for the still digital-only release were handled by Apple Music. Whether the album was intentionally not submitted for the Grammys or an oversight took place — which may have been the case last year with Drake’s “Hotline Bling,” which also was not submitted — was unclear at press time.
The Grammys take place on February 12, 2017.
The post Frank Ocean Will Not Be Getting Any Grammys Because He Missed a Deadline appeared first on Towleroad.
Frank Ocean Will Not Be Getting Any Grammys Because He Missed a Deadline
Mothers of Transgender Children Meet with HRC Houston Members
Post submitted by Melissa Vivanco, HRC Houston Community Engagement co-chair and Board of Governors
Last week, Erika R. and Kimberly S. visited with HRC members and supporters in Houston to share their personal stories about raising transgender children. Mini Timmaraju, Women’s Vote Director at Hillary for America, also came to meet Erika and Kimberly.
Erika and Kimberly shared two very different stories. As a pastor, religion played an important role in Kimberly’s story. Her church was involved in her child’s diagnosis and recommended the dangerous practice of so-called “conversion therapy.” Kimberly went on to describe the day when she realized her four-year-old was talking about wanting to die and how this could not continue.
Erika realized something was different about her child at an early age and let her child wear what they wanted growing up. At the age of 11, her child sent an email from the other room about being transgender. Even though Erika was ready to support her child from the beginning, it did not mean her path was any easier.
As Texas residents, Kimberly and Erika are both dealing with school boards and local officials who are not supportive of their transgender children. That’s why this election is so important to both of them. They both believe that the only way to get assistance in dealing with Texas laws is through federal legislation, which is why both of these brave mothers are united in support of Hillary Clinton. In fact, this is the first time Kimberly will vote for a Democrat in her lifetime.
Reflecting on how impactful this meeting was for me, I believe the path forward in opening hearts and minds is for other mothers of the movement to find the courage like these amazing mothers did. We need more parents to speak out and share their stories.
Over the past several years, HRC has seen dramatic gains in transgender visibility and acceptance. Despite this increase, we have seen a slew of hateful anti-transgender legislation and an epidemic of violence against transgender women of color.
Parental support is a key component in the fight for full equality for transgender and gender-expansive youth. When parents and families support and affirm transgender children, they help create a safer and more accepting world for them. Check out HRC’s Moms for Transgender Equality and Dads for Transgender Equality video series to learn more.
| Paid for by Human Rights Campaign PAC. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee. |
Donald Trump: I Would Appoint More Judges Like Scalia
So much is at stake for LGBTQ Equality this election. Donald Trump said he would appoint more Supreme Court Justices like Antonin Scalia, who had a proven track record of anti-LGBTQ animus. This is why we must elect Hillary Clinton, who will protect the LGBTQ community by appointing pro-equality judges to the Supreme Court.
You must be 18 years old or older to chat
