Did Ace Hardware Just Acknowledge Gay Marriage in Their New Holiday Ad? – WATCH

A new Christmas advert from Ace Hardware has some wondering whether the retailer subtly acknowledged gay marriage.

The ad, “Two names, one gift”, touts a new promotion whereby if you buy certain Ace tools you get a free gift card as well, thus helping you cross two names of your Christmas shopping list. A woman in the ad excitedly comes upon a circular saw and says, “This takes care of my son and my son-in-law.” But are we supposed to interpret those two ‘sons’ as being married to one another? Or are they her son and a man who is married to her daughter (aka her son-in-law)?

You decide.

[h/t JMG]

The post Did Ace Hardware Just Acknowledge Gay Marriage in Their New Holiday Ad? – WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.

Did Ace Hardware Just Acknowledge Gay Marriage in Their New Holiday Ad? – WATCH

HRC Hosts Town Hall to Mobilize LGBTQ Equality Supporters in Arkansas

Post submitted by James K Rector, HRC Arkansas Field Organizer

On Tuesday, more than 35 people joined HRC Arkansas for a discussion about the results of the general election. Staff provided an interactive presentation including a look at the current political climate in America and a preview of potentially bad legislation in the upcoming Arkansas legislative session. Members and supporters asked important questions about what a Trump Administration could mean for LGBTQ people, their families and friends in the Natural State.

Republicans in Arkansas hold a supermajority of 76 seats in the House and 25 in the Senate, while Democrats hold 24 seats in the House and 10 in the Senate. The upcoming 91st General Assembly of the Arkansas Legislature begins on Monday, January 9. HRC Arkansas is working with its members, supporters, businesses and faith leaders to counter any potential legislation that might negatively affect our community.

Click here to learn what a Trump Administration could mean for LGBTQ people and our families, our marriages, and our service to country.

To stay up to date on what is  happening in the Natural State and find out ways to get involved, like the HRC Arkansas Facebook page and follow us on Twitter. You can also text ARKANSAS to 30644 for action alerts.

www.hrc.org/blog/hrc-hosts-town-hall-to-mobilize-lgbtq-equality-supporters-in-arkansas?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

HIV 101: Does Being HIV-positive Mean I Also Have AIDS?

No, but that’s one of the most frequent assumtions people make.

www.advocate.com/together-we-know/2016/12/15/hiv-101-does-being-hiv-positive-mean-i-also-have-aids

Donald Trump erupts on Twitter after scathing review of namesake restaurant

Yesterday, Donald Trump threw one of his Twitter temper tantrums after reading Vanity Fair‘s hilariously acidic review of Trump Grill, succinctly titled “Trump Grill Could Be The Worst Restaurant In America.”

Has anyone looked at the really poor numbers of @VanityFair Magazine. Way down, big trouble, dead! Graydon Carter, no talent, will be out!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 15, 2016

Writing for VanityFair.com, Tina Nguyen claims the restaurant — which teems with tourists and people proposing to their SO.’s — feels like “a cheap version of rich.”

The menu is “chock-full of steakhouse classics doused with unnecessarily high-end ingredients.”

The dumplings come with soy sauce topped with truffle oil, and the crostini is served with both hummus and ricotta, two exotic ingredients that should still never be combined.

Related: Is there a shady secret message on TIME’s Donald Trump cover?

If you wind up there one night, you’ll probably want to avoid the hamburger altogether:

Renowned butcher Pat LaFrieda once dared me to eat an eyeball that he himself popped out of the skull of a roasted pig. That eyeball tasted better than the Trump Grill’s (Grille’s) Gold Label Burger, a Pat LaFrieda–branded short-rib burger blend molded into a sad little meat thing, sitting in the center of a massive, rapidly staling brioche bun, hiding its shame under a slice of melted orange cheese. It came with overcooked woody batons called “fries”—how can someone mess up fries?—and ketchup masquerading as Heinz. If the cheeseburger is a quintessential part of America’s identity, Trump’s pledge to “make America great again” suddenly appeared not very promising. (Presumably, Trump’s Great America tastes like an M.S.G.-flavored kitchen sponge lodged between two other sponges.)

And if you think alcohol can save you from the indignities of Trump Grill, think again:

The one thing required to save the meal—booze—turned into its greatest disappointment. Trump himself does not drink alcohol, a possible explanation for why the cocktails seemed to be concocted by a college freshman experimenting in their dorm room. The Tower was a tall glass filled with three types of rum and several types of fruit concentrate. (One person named it “The Cancun,” and slowly nursed the spring-break-colored drink over the next two hours like morphine.) The You’re Fired, an oversized Bloody Mary, appeared to be a chunky shrimp-cocktail sauce, heavy on the horseradish, mixed with ice and a lot of vodka. The Fifth Avenue—Grey Goose with Cointreau and a “splash of cranberry”—tasted like vodka mixed with Crystal Light, the ultimate drink for an 18-year-old pledging a sorority. The alternative to these cocktails—which we could not bring ourselves to finish over the course of two hours—was Trump’s own branded Trump Wine, which came with one red option and one white option.

Apparently, the notorious Taco Bowl isn’t quite as delicious as we’ve been led to believe. Nguyen ventures to say that NASA may as well have served the guacamole “in a tube labeled ‘TACO FILLING’ in the early days of the space program.”

Happy #CincoDeMayo! The best taco bowls are made in Trump Tower Grill. I love Hispanics! t.co/ufoTeQd8yA pic.twitter.com/k01Mc6CuDI

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 5, 2016

Oh, and one more thing worthy of note: it evidently didn’t take too long for Vanity Fair to turn Trump’s tweet into an advertisement:

www.queerty.com/donald-trump-erupts-twitter-scathing-review-namesake-restaurant-20161216?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29

Sense8 Returns for a 2-Hour Christmas Special – WATCH

Netflix has just debuted a trailer for the Wachowskis’ Sense8 Christmas Special that will be released on December 23.

The 2-hour special is is essence the first episode of season 2 of the entrancing series that follows the lives of 8 individuals who find they are connected mentally and physically in ways they never could have imagined.

While the second 10-episode season will be released in earnest on May 5, this special lays the groundwork.

Co-creator Lana Wachowski says she wanted to create a holiday special because holiday specials from TV shows were so important for her as a child.

“Holidays can make you feel so connected in the way that holidays can make you feel so isolated and alone,” Wachowski explains. “I wanted to tell a story in this first episode that was about time and presence and how these new lives that these characters were experience ing made them feel empowered, that they could do anything as long as they’re together.”

The Christmas special appears to pick up right where season 1 left off, including with hunky Mexican actor Lito Rodriguez (Miguel Ángel Silvestre) being outed to the public.

PREVIOUSLY – Sense8’s Miguel Ángel Silvestre and Brian J. Smith Make Out at São Paulo Pride: WATCH

Despite all their troubles, Lito and boyfriend Hernando seem to be working things out.

Watch the trailer, below.

[h/t Bleeding Cool]

The post Sense8 Returns for a 2-Hour Christmas Special – WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.

Sense8 Returns for a 2-Hour Christmas Special – WATCH

House Freedom Caucus Demands to Revoke Important LGBTQ Protections the Majority of Americans Support

Today, HRC blasted the House Freedom Caucus’ efforts to end two crucially important protections for LGBTQ people at the federal level. As part of a document outlining more than 200 rules, regulations and executive orders they want revoked, the caucus targeted federal guidance on the fair and equal treatment of transgender students from the Department of Education, as well as non-discrimination protections in the Affordable Care Act.

“In a ridiculous hit list of policies they want revoked, the House Freedom Caucus is shamefully demanding a rollback of protections from discrimination for LGBTQ people — protections the majority of Americans support. These guidelines ensure Americans aren’t denied health care simply because of who they are or whom they love and ensure transgender students have the same opportunities as their peers to thrive in a classroom. They are crucially important protections that absolutely must remain in place. Lives depend on them,” said JoDee Winterhof, HRC Senior Vice President for Policy and Political Affairs. “Congressman Mark Meadows’ and the House Freedom Caucus’ efforts must be stopped. It’s time for folks to stand up, speak out, and demand lawmakers keep these fundamental protections for LGBTQ people in place.”

Earlier this month, HRC released the results of major post-election polls conducted by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research showing that the majority of the electorate — including voters that supported Donald Trump and Mike Pence — has in no way backed down from supporting LGBTQ equality. The national survey found significant support for comprehensive legal protections for LGBTQ Americans. An impressive 69 percent of voters — including a 55 percent majority of Trump voters — support the Equality Act which would broaden — not contract — equality in this country.

The House Freedom Caucus is targeting U.S. Department of Education guidance offered to schools in May clarifying that transgender students have the right to be free from discrimination in public and federally-funded schools, including the ability to use gender-separated facilities (such as restrooms and locker rooms) that match their gender identity. This guidance follows similar policies in states and school districts across the country, including many that have been treating transgender students with dignity and respect for more than a decade. The Department of Education released the guidance because schools and districts requested clarification on their obligations under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX), which prohibits discrimination in education programs based on sex, and how they can safeguard transgender students’ rights to privacy and safety. This approach ensures that transgender students’ civil rights will be protected, including guaranteeing them access to facilities consistent with their gender identity.

The caucus is also targeting LGBTQ non-discrimination protections in healthcare. In May, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published the final regulation implementing the landmark non-discrimination provision of the Affordable Care Act, Section 1557, which prohibits discrimination in healthcare on the basis of a number of protected classes, including sex.  These regulations codified existing informal guidance from HHS interpreting this provision to include protections from discrimination on the basis of gender identity and sex stereotyping.  This interpretation extends real, concrete protections to not only transgender and gender nonconforming people in federal programs, but also to many lesbian, gay and bisexual people who experience discrimination based on sex stereotyping.  The regulation also equips people who have experienced discrimination with a mechanism for reporting a claim and seeking justice.

Access to healthcare should never be denied because of a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. LGBTQ people have too often faced healthcare systems that provide inequitable and hostile treatment. The important regulation addresses many of these disparities and is crucial to help end discrimination against LGBTQ people in healthcare and insurance.

www.hrc.org/blog/house-freedom-caucus-demands-to-revoke-important-lgbtq-protections-the-majo?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Guest post: One possible moderate does not moderate the Trump cabinet

www.glaad.org/blog/guest-post-one-possible-moderate-does-not-moderate-trump-cabinet

PHOTOS: Reload and release with the hunks in Los Angeles
Reload is one of L.A.’s favorite gay after hours parties.

www.gaycities.com/photos/370-reload/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29

NYC Loses a Longtime Gay Bar: ‘G Lounge’ in Chelsea to Close

NYC’s gayborhood Chelsea used to be filled with gay bars. Now it has lost another one, G Lounge on 19th Street.

Longtime local Kenneth in the 212 reports:

I just confirmed this with G Lounge, a gay-bar staple in Chelsea for 20 years. I first heard rumblings about G closing in early 2014, but then was told I was wrong in 2015. Sadly, I wasn’t. The bar — which signed a confident 20-year lease when it opened in 1996 — seemed to remain vibrant as Splash, Rawhide, The Break, Champs, View Bar and others faded away.

The bar announced it on Facebook, writing: “IM SAD TO SAY AFTER 20 YEARS G LOUNGE IS CLOSING ITS DOOR PERMANENTLY. WE WANT TO THANK EVERYONE FOR THEIR PATRONAGE AND EXPRESS OUR GRATITUDE AND RECOGNITION OF OUR TEAM OVER THE YEARS. COME JOIN THE STAFF ON OUR FINAL WEEKS WE LOVE YOU AND SEE YOU SOON”

(image via Facebook)

The post NYC Loses a Longtime Gay Bar: ‘G Lounge’ in Chelsea to Close appeared first on Towleroad.

NYC Loses a Longtime Gay Bar: ‘G Lounge’ in Chelsea to Close

HRC Hosts Successful “United Against Hate” Rally in Mississippi

On Sunday, dozens of fair-minded Mississippians joined HRC for a “United Against Hate” rally. Faith leaders, lawmakers and community leaders marched from the Capitol to the Governor’s Mansion to speak out against discrimination and against the discriminatory H.B. 1523.

H.B. 1523, deceptively titled “Protecting Freedom of Conscience from Government Discrimination Act,” enables almost any individual or organization to discriminate against LGBTQ Mississippians at work, at school and in their communities. 

Grammy-award winning songwriter and producer Tena Clark joined us at the rally.  A Mississippi native, Clark wrote “My, My Mississippi” a song that expresses her sorrow over H.B. 1523 and Mississippi’s history of discrimination, while looking toward a hopeful future for the state she loves. A mass choir comprised of local singers performed the beautiful and stirring piece in front of the Mississippi Governor’s Mansion.

This wasn’t the first rally HRC has held in Mississippi. Since H.B. 1523 was introduced more than nine months ago, HRC has actively spoken out against Mississippi’s harmful H.B. 1523.

Our hard work came into fruition when on July 1, U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves blocked the implementation of H.B. 1523. However, H.B. 1523 continues to be a threat while under appeal. HRC and our allies are focused on stopping H.B. 1523 and any other new bills that seek to harm the LGBTQ community.

We are grateful to everyone from across the state to speak up and sing out. Enough is enough – we do not want hate in our state.

HRC and our allies have made a commitment to continue to make our voices heard any chance we can get. We will be relentless in the pursuit of creating a state where all citizens are safe and welcome. Together, if we are united against hate, we can build a brighter, more inclusive future for Mississippi.

To learn more about HRC Mississippi’s work, click here. To get involved, text “My Mississippi” to 30644.

www.hrc.org/blog/hrc-hosts-successful-united-against-hate-rally-in-mississippi?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed