730 More North Carolina Jobs Lost Under Governor McCrory’s Watch

730 More North Carolina Jobs Lost Under Governor McCrory’s Watch

HRC President Chad Griffin and Equality North Carolina Executive Director Chris Sgro released the following statements after news broke today that North Carolina lost out on 730 jobs because Pat McCrory has refused to support the full repeal of HB2.

“With each passing day that Governor McCrory’s discriminatory HB2 remains law the people of North Carolina continue to pay the price,” said HRC President Chad Griffin. “North Carolina and its people are suffering under HB2, and yet Governor McCrory and his allies continue to defend the indefensible. Governor McCrory has proven he is unfit to lead this great state, and the majority of fair-minded North Carolinians will finally have a chance to make their voices heard on Election Day.”

“What a travesty — our state has lost 730 more jobs because of Governor McCrory’s bad bill,” said Equality NC Executive Director Chris Sgro. “HB2 puts LGBT people at risk for discrimination and violence and it’s hurting all North Carolinians every day. Where are Pat McCrory’s priorities? 200 days after he signed this bill, he still refuses to step up and fix the mess he made of our state. Shame on him for putting his politics above our economy.”

BACKGROUND:

Pat McCrory has refused to fully repeal HB2, despite massive economic fallout as companies concerned with protecting their consumers and employees have moved conventions, trainings, operations and productions out of state. Since Gov. McCrory and state lawmakers rammed HB2 into law, the outcry has continued to grow:

  • The NBA announced it was moving the 2017 All-Star Game because of the failure of the General Assembly to repeal HB2, costing North Carolina an estimated $100 million in All-Star Game related profits.
  • The NCAA, the ACC and the CIAA also announced they would stand up for the safety of their employees, players, and fans by moving championship games out of North Carolina due to the state’s refusal to repeal its anti-LGBTQ HB2 law.
  •  More than 200 major CEOs and business leaders signed an open letter calling for full repeal of HB2 – including many of North Carolina’s largest employers. More than 50 investment managers with more than $2.1 trillion in investments signed a similar letter.
  • Major film studios and corporations, from PayPal to Deutsche Bank, have stopped investments in the state because of the new law’s threat to employees and consumers. Conventions have withdrawn from the state, taking substantial revenue with them. Prior to the NBA and NCAA decisions, the Tar Heel State had already taken a hit of at least $329.9 million in lost business, and in taxpayer money used to defend the measure – including funding Gov. Pat McCrory’s road trips to explain why he signed discrimination into law.
  • Artists including Beyoncé, Bruce Springsteen, Dead & Company and Cyndi Lauper have spoken out.
  • In May, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed suit in federal court, stating that HB2’s state-mandated discrimination against transgender people, including government workers and students, violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1965, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and the Violence Against Women Act of 2011.
  • Joined by 68 major companies, HRC filed an amicus brief in support of DOJ’s effort to block some of the most egregious and discriminatory components of HB2.
  • Duke University men’s basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski called the bill “embarrassing” and North Carolina State University men’s basketball coach Mark Gottfried said it “appalled” and “embarrassed” him.

Paid for by Human Rights Campaign PAC and not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.

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Self-Proclaimed “Number One Escort In The World” Says He Likes His Men Old And Ugly

Self-Proclaimed “Number One Escort In The World” Says He Likes His Men Old And Ugly

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A man claiming to be the “number one escort in the world” has opened up about his chosen profession in a fascinating new Reddit AMA.

According to the man’s online profile, he is 29-years-old, 6’4, with brown hair and blue eyes. A scorpio, he’s originally from Australia but currently lives in London and has been an escort for about seven years. He doesn’t smoke or do drugs. And he identifies as a straight-leaning bisexual.

Related: The Surprising Results In A New Study On Male Escorts

Now, let’s take a look at what he had to say…

On having sex outside of work for his own personal enjoyment…

Yes, I do. My clients are nearly all men but I’m more towards the straight end of the bi spectrum, so I prefer women and TS for fun. It’s not that I dislike sex with my male clients, I do enjoy it, but sex with men is only a small part of my sexuality. If I only had sex with my male clients and never with women or TS, I’d be unsatisfied. If I ever started to lose interest in sex for fun outside of bookings with clients, I’d take a long break or possibly quit altogether.

On the weirdest request anyone has ever made…

I used to have a regular who was into ball busting. He’d arrive and with very little chit chat, take of his jeans but leave his underwear and the rest of his clothes on, and stand with his feet shoulder width apart and his hands behind his back. I’d stand in front of him fully dressed with my shoes on and kick him repeatedly. I’ve been doing martial arts since I was a kid. Taekwondo for 10 years. And I lived in Thailand for a few years and trained full time at a thai boxing gym and fought professionally. I can kick hard.

On what he will do…

Mainly naked oil massage, oral, and sex. I’m versatile, which means I have sex as a top or a bottom. I also do duos (two escorts with one client), double domination, cuckolding, forced bi with pro dommes, and I cater to all kinds of fetishes. … My clients, whether they’re male or female, are all different and I try to tailor each session according to the needs of the individual.

On what he won’t do…

I don’t kiss…use drugs, do duos with male escorts, or do anything as a submissive. I’ve outright refused to see people for being pushy about any of the above, if they’re drunk or high, or if they’ve arrived at my place dirty and smelly and refused to shower. … The worst clients are those who don’t read or my ad or deliberately come to see me to try to pressure me into doing something they know I don’t offer.

On STDs…

I’m very careful. I always use condoms. Almost all clients know that sex with an escort will be with condoms so there’s no need to mention condoms during the booking. … I get contacted sometimes by people asking for bareback and I block their number or email. I don’t want to see someone who initially asks for bareback even if they do agree to use condoms because if that’s what they’re into, they’re at very high risk for STDs and condoms can break. I get a sexual health check-up once every 3 months. Always get the all-clear.

On his ideal client…

I generally prefer clients who wouldn’t conventionally be considered attractive. I guess because my priorities are different. I want my clients to be clean, polite, respectful of my boundaries as per your first question, and to enjoy themselves. I associate all of the above more with older, overweight, bald, etc.

On his family and friends…

I haven’t told my family or any of my friends who I knew from before I started escorting. But I have a lot of friends I’ve met since I started escorting who know what I do. I rent out my apartment by the hour to other escorts so I’ve met a lot of other escorts that way and now I have a huge network of people I know in the industry and some close friends. It’s important in this job to have some people you can talk to about jobs who understand. And great to have security buddies who know where you are. I tell someone the location and start/end times of my outcalls so if something did happen and they didn’t hear from me and couldn’t get in contact with me, they’d send the police. I do the same for them.

Related: PHOTOS: An Intimate Glimpse At The Gay Male Escorts Of Amsterdam

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‘Moonlight’ Star on the Importance of Telling Black Gay Stories: ‘It’s Something That the World Needs’ 

‘Moonlight’ Star on the Importance of Telling Black Gay Stories: ‘It’s Something That the World Needs’ 

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Trevante Rhodes, star of the new film Moonlight, is speaking about the impact the film is having and on his experience playing a gay man.

Rhodes spoke with PEOPLE about the film, a bildungsroman in three acts about a boy growing up gay, black and poor in Miami.

Said Rhodes of the social significance of the film,

“It talks about a subject matter that is so prevalent today. Being a black man in American is relatively difficult right now, being a gay man in America is incredibly difficult and so being a black, gay man, like I’ve said before, can be perceived as the worst possible thing right now. So it is something that we need, that the world needs, and I’m thinking it’s a beautiful thing that people are receiving it. I didn’t think we were ready for something like that. And it’s really surprising and really refreshing to me to see that people are.”

Of how he approached playing a gay character, Rhodes said,

screen-shot-2016-10-25-at-10-00-50-am“I was born loving women but I easily could have been born loving men. It’s the exact same sensation… You don’t fall in love with someone [just] for their physical [traits], but for their mental.”

It was really just about me it was really just falling in love with the person that [my co-star] André Holland is. I respect him, I love him for the father figure he is.” 

RELATED – Oscar Season Preview: Moonlight, La La Land, Fences, Loving, The Arrival, and More!

Rhodes says he didn’t tap into from any specific story or source material for his performance:

“One of my best friends is homosexual so I knew his struggle, but it wasn’t about pulling from that. I didn’t want to make it about that. It was really just about understanding people, understanding love and relationships…As actors and directors, I feel like our job, more so than anything else, is to shine a light on a subject and to let people know that they’re not alone.”

Watch a trailer for Moonlight, below.

The post ‘Moonlight’ Star on the Importance of Telling Black Gay Stories: ‘It’s Something That the World Needs’  appeared first on Towleroad.


‘Moonlight’ Star on the Importance of Telling Black Gay Stories: ‘It’s Something That the World Needs’ 

PHOTOS: Russel Tovey Strips Down To Briefs In Season Two Of “Quantico”

PHOTOS: Russel Tovey Strips Down To Briefs In Season Two Of “Quantico”

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Attitude’s never-not-cultural editorial team have painstakingly assembled a cachet of revealing screenshots capturing actor Russel Tovey in the FBI thriller Quantico, and we salute them.

Related: Where To Look Next For The Stars Of ‘Looking’

Tovey will be playing the mercurial and mysterious Harry Doyle, a seductive flimflam man who’s not to be trusted, but is to be shamelessly ogled at every given every opportunity.

Let that ogling commence now

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Ivanka Trump, Jessica Drake, Man Booker, Lady Gaga, Leo Kalyan, Widower: HOT LINKS

Ivanka Trump, Jessica Drake, Man Booker, Lady Gaga, Leo Kalyan, Widower: HOT LINKS

Hillary Clinton Dallas Morning News ClintonPOLLS. Hillary Clinton maintains 5-point lead over Trump in NBC News national poll: “In a four-way match-up, Clinton enjoys 46 percent support this week among likely voters, while Trump holds onto 41 percent support. Gary Johnson maintains 7 percent support and Jill Stein has 3 percent support. In a two way race, Clinton enjoys a 6 point lead over Trump with 50 percent support compared to Trump’s 44 percent.”

getimage2GOLF COURSE. Clinton hits Trump’s Pine Hill golf course for discriminating against gay employee: “It is deeply disturbing that instead of stepping in to stop the tormentors, Trump’s golf club turned on the victim for coming forward,” Clinton said. “If that’s how Donald Trump runs his business, what does that say about how he would run our country?” Background HERE.

GRABBED. Trump trashes his latest accuser, Jessica Drake: Oh, I’m sure she’s never been grabbed before.”

THE UNIVERSE. Its expansion may not be accelerating after all.

BROWNSTONE BATTLE. Gay widower battles to keep brownstone he lived in with his partner of 55 years: “Mr. Cornwell died two years ago at age 88. Now, his will, in which he bequeathed the small apartment building to Mr. Doyle, is in dispute, leaving his partner with no clear claim to his home of 55 years. The property, on Horatio Street, is an extremely valuable asset, and several of Mr. Cornwell’s nieces and nephews have claimed it as their inheritance, rejecting the notion that their uncle wanted it to go to Mr. Doyle. They put the building up for sale, and it is now under contract — for over $7 million.”

#GRABYOURWALLET. Women are boycotting Ivanka Trump’s clothing line.

People are using #GrabYourWallet to boycott Ivanka Trump’s clothing line t.co/bse6yCAgJl

— New York Magazine (@NYMag) October 24, 2016

MAN BOOKER PRIZE. Bookies and public pick their favorites in Britain’s biggest book prize: “With hours to go before the winner of this year’s Man Booker prize is announced, former Waterstones bookseller Graeme Macrae Burnet’s tale of murder in a Scottish crofting community, His Bloody Project, is comfortably outselling the rest of the shortlist. But Madeleine Thien’s Do Not Say We Have Nothing has emerged as the frontrunner at the bookies.”

PREVIEW. Lady Gaga Carpool Karaoke.

MUSIC VIDEO OF THE DAY. Leo Kalyan “F-cked Up.” “The song, which Leo produced himself, reflects on his experiences growing up gay in a Muslim household, while the video, interspersed with footage from Leo’s youth, follows him as he journeys to let go of the baggage that his childhood saddled him with.”

TOO HOT FOR TUESDAY. Anthony Webster.

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The post Ivanka Trump, Jessica Drake, Man Booker, Lady Gaga, Leo Kalyan, Widower: HOT LINKS appeared first on Towleroad.


Ivanka Trump, Jessica Drake, Man Booker, Lady Gaga, Leo Kalyan, Widower: HOT LINKS

HRC Nebraska Works to #turnOUT the Vote for U.S. Rep. Ashford

HRC Nebraska Works to #turnOUT the Vote for U.S. Rep. Ashford

Post submitted by Michael Latta

It’s been an exciting couple of weeks on the ground here in Omaha, Neb., as early voting is now in full swing!

In mid-October, HRC President Chad Griffin joined our members in Douglas County who were among the first in line for early voting. Last week, as part of HRC’s work on-the-ground in Omaha, I worked to activate and recruit the LGBTQ community in support of U.S. Rep. Brad Ashford, a Democrat, who has been endorsed by HRC for re-election.

In addition to activating and making sure that voters were registered and had a plan to vote, we gave them an opportunity to meet U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wis., who was in town to support Rep. Ashford. The event space at Spirit World in Aksarben Village was packed with over 40 attendees, both LGBTQ and ally, as Pocan spoke about how important this election was to the LGBTQ community. Rep. Pocan is one of seven openly LGBTQ members of Congress.

Both Pocan and Ashford spoke about the need to come together in Congress and support meaningful legislation like the Equality Act. Both congressmen also stated that LGBTQ activism will be vital for both Ashford’s re-election and securing the electoral vote for Hillary Clinton in Nebraska, which has the unique ability to split its electoral votes.

HRC is counting on our members and supporters to mobilize and #turnOUT the pro-equality vote in November. HRC members are volunteering thousands of hours for endorsed candidates and are visible at campaign events across Colorado and across the country. HRC is holding regular phone banks and events throughout Omaha up through Election Day. Get involved by emailing [email protected].

Paid for by Human Rights Campaign PAC and not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.

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GorDivah posted a photo:

#VisibilidadeASSEX #QueAceTeMordeu? #SemanaDaVisibilidadeASSEX2016 #ASSEX #ACE #EntendaaAssexualidade #termosAssex #DicionárioDeTermosAssex #VisibilidadeAssexual #ace #assexualidadeTambémÉsexualidade #assexual #asexual #Ass“>#asexualawarenessweek2016 <a href=#VisibilidadeASSEX #QueAceTeMordeu? #SemanaDaVisibilidadeASSEX2016 #ASSEX #ACE #EntendaaAssexualidade #termosAssex #DicionárioDeTermosAssex #VisibilidadeAssexual #ace #assexualidadeTambémÉsexualidade #assexual #asexual #Ass“>

#asexualawarenessweek2016 #VisibilidadeASSEX #QueAceTeMordeu?  #SemanaDaVisibilidadeASSEX2016 #ASSEX  #ACE #EntendaaAssexualidade #termosAssex  #DicionárioDeTermosAssex  #VisibilidadeAssexual #ace #assexualidadeTambémÉsexualidade  #assexual #asexual  #Ass

Rob Gronkowski Giggles Like School Boy Thinking Of 69th Career Touchdown

Rob Gronkowski Giggles Like School Boy Thinking Of 69th Career Touchdown

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Ohmigod, you guys — Rob Gronkowski is so immature. 

According to NESN, New England Patriots’ All-Pro tight end Rob Gronkowski did the most Rob Gronkowkian thing you can imagine: titter at the number 69.

Related: PHOTOS: How Did We Miss New England Patriots’ Rob Gronkowski’s Perfect Tight End?

On Sunday, he caught his second touchdown pass this season in the midst of his teams victorious game with Pittsburgh Steelers. It was an important one, too — because he tied Stanley Morgan’s team record of 68 career scores. And you know what that means.

Related: New England Patriots’ Rob Gronkowski Reads Erotic Fan Fiction About Himself

Gronk on his next touchdown being the 69th of his career and he couldn’t be more excited,..@RobGronkowski #Patriots pic.twitter.com/w1KOfWhWy0

— Chad Amaral (@chad_amaral) October 24, 2016

NESN notes that this isn’t the first time Gronkowski went giddy about the number 69: He also proudly sported a jersey with that magic number during a trip to San Diego.

Is he not exceptionally naughty?

“Can one of you guys tell me what number I am?” #Gronk

Pats practice at usd=best week of my life@stoolpresidente pic.twitter.com/PshaNsVe7u

— Jason Peugh (@JasonPeugh) December 3, 2014

 

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