GLAAD responds to failed repeal vote of NC's discriminatory HB2 law

www.glaad.org/blog/glaad-responds-failed-repeal-vote-ncs-discriminatory-hb2-law

Yet Another Fashion Icon Refuses to Dress Melania Trump

Vogue‘s André Leon Talley, a personal friend of the future first lady, told The New York Times he can’t support Trump’s administration.

www.advocate.com/business/2016/12/22/yet-another-fashion-icon-refuses-dress-melania-trump

On second thought, North Carolina decides to remain the most homophobic state in America

After briefly flirting with the idea of repealing the state’s most homophobic law, Republican lawmakers in North Carolina have decided that, actually, on second thought, never mind, they’re going to keep the law that cost them the governorship and millions and millions of dollars, sparked countless boycotts and lawsuits, and made them the laughing stock of America earlier this year.

Related: Benham brothers fear “forced participation” in “sexual revolution” after repeal of antigay law

HB2 (aka The Bathroom Bill), which was passed by state Republicans and signed into law by Gov. Pat McCrory back in March, voided all legal protections for LGBTQ people statewide and policed which bathrooms trans people were allowed to use. After it became law, a huge backlash ensued, and lawmakers have been scrambling to figure out how to deal with it ever since.

Well, this week they announced they were going to hold a one-day special session to finally repeal the law, but after more than nine hours of closed-door meetings yesterday, they were unable to figure out how to do so. Apparently simply hitting the “undo” button is challenging for some Republicans.

Related: North Carolina’s Newest Pastime: Burning Rainbow Flags Outside Of LGBTQ-Friendly Churches

“We came here to solve a problem that apparently nobody had any clear idea as to how it was going to be solved,” Senator Daniel T. Blue Jr., the chamber’s Democratic leader, said after the meeting ended. “It’s one thing if, during the regular session, we waste time and do this kind of stuff.”

Apparently within the first few minutes of the meeting, Republican lawmakers attempted to declare the special session unconstitutional. When that didn’t work, they tried to adjourn early. When that didn’t work, they tried saying OK, OK, fine, they’ll repeal the law, but no new anti-discrimination ordinances expanding protections for LGBTQ people can be passed by any local governments. And when that didn’t work, everyone just threw their hands up and left.

Related: From Ted Cruz To Pat McCrory, Republicans Cannot Stop Talking About Going Potty

In the end, nothing really changed. North Carolina still has its law banning non-discrimination ordinances. Transgender people must still use public bathrooms, locker rooms, et cetera of the gender on their birth certificate, and local municipalities are still forbidden from passing LGBTQ protections.

www.queerty.com/second-thought-north-carolina-decides-remain-homophobic-state-america-20161222?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29

Appeals Court Overturns Michael L. Johnson’s 30 Year Sentence for Exposing Someone to HIV

An appeals court has overturned former student-athlete Michael L. Johnson’s conviction for infecting a sexual partner with HIV.

In 2015, Johnson was sentenced to 30 years in prison after he had unprotected sex with a fellow student just weeks after discovered he was HIV positive.

A jury found Johnson guilty of three crimes: recklessly infecting a sexual partner with HIV, recklessly exposing a partner to HIV and attempting to recklessly infect a partner with HIV.

RELATED: Michael Johnson Feature Explores The Danger of HIV Scapegoating

However, on Tuesday a panel of appeals court judges in Missouri reversed the trial court’s judgement. According to the appeals court, the prosecution rendered the fundamentally unfair by using cellphone recordings that “were not disclosed to the defense until the morning of the first day of the trial.”

State of Missouri v. Michael L. Johnson, Mo. Ct. of Appeals, E.D., No. ED 103217 (Dec. 20… t.co/icOkuQrRuT

— Center4HIVLaw&Policy (@CtrHIVLawPolicy) December 20, 2016

The Washington Post reports:

“The wrestler discovered he was HIV positive in early January 2013, after a medical exam at Lindenwood University. A few weeks later, Johnson had unprotected sex with a fellow student, known only by the initials D.K.-L. in court documents. The student would testify in court that Johnson did not disclose his HIV-positive status.

“A month after Johnson’s positive HIV test, physicians diagnosed D.K.-L., too, with HIV. The doctors determined that the student only recently acquired the HIV infection. Johnson was the sole person, D.K.-L. testified, with whom he had had sex in the previous year. When D.K.-L. saw that Johnson continued to use hookup apps without informing potential partners he had HIV, the student contacted the Saint Charles police. They arrested Johnson on Oct. 10, 2013.

“During the trial, Johnson remained adamant that he informed his partners of the positive HIV test. He pleaded not guilty. The prosecution, however, impeached his testimony using three clips of cellphone conversations, recorded while Johnson was jailed. In one snippet of phone conversation, Johnson admitted he was just “pretty sure” he had informed his partners he was HIV positive.”

Lambda Legal lawyer Scott Schoettes, who assisted Johnson’s public defender, said the group was elated by the reversal. “Living with HIV is not a crime,” he said in a statement. “Except in the most extreme cases, the criminal law is far too blunt an instrument to address the subtle dynamics of HIV disclosure.”

Johnson’s attorney Lawrence Lustberg added that “statutes like the one used to prosecute Mr. Johnson are inherently problematic, as they promote stigma and animus towards people living with HIV in violation of their legal and constitutional rights.”

The appeals court has remanded the case for a new trial.

Watch a report on Johnson’s conviction below.

The post Appeals Court Overturns Michael L. Johnson’s 30 Year Sentence for Exposing Someone to HIV appeared first on Towleroad.

Appeals Court Overturns Michael L. Johnson’s 30 Year Sentence for Exposing Someone to HIV

#AM_Equality Tipsheet: December 22, 2016

HB2 REPEAL FAILS, DEEPLY DISCRIMINATORY BILL CONTINUES TO TARGET LGBTQ PEOPLE ACROSS NC: Yesterday, the North Carolina General Assembly failed to repeal the state’s deeply discriminatory HB2. Full repeal of HB2 was a central part of a deal negotiated by Governor-elect Roy Cooper that included the recent repeal of Charlotte’s non-discrimination ordinance. At the last minute, GOP leadership in the General Assembly blew up the deal when they sought to keep hateful, anti-LGBTQ provisions that would have maintained, potentially indefinitely, the prohibition on cities protecting their own residents. These very same inclusive protections exist in more than 100 cities, including Minneapolis, Minn., which passed them in 1975. HB2, which continues to remains in effect, was rammed through the legislature nine months ago, causing a significant national outcry, severe economic fallout, and the defeat of the state’s Republican governor — the only incumbent governor from either party to lose on election day. “Today, the public trust has been betrayed once again. Lawmakers sent a clear message: North Carolina remains closed for business,” said HRC President Chad Griffin. “It’s been 273 days since Republican state lawmakers passed the hateful HB2 law, and they have resisted fixing the mess they created every step of the way. Even after Charlotte responded to the GOP leadership’s loathsome demand to repeal common sense protections that exist in more than 100 cities, Senator Berger and Speaker Moore failed to make good on the ‘deal’ they brokered with Governor-elect Cooper to fully repeal HB2. Their shameful actions and broken promises subject LGBTQ North Carolinians to state-mandated discrimination, contribute to a heightened environment of harassment and violence, and will continue the significant harm done to the state’s reputation and economy. It’s clear today that the GOP leadership’s cruelty towards lesbian, gay, bisexual and particularly transgender North Carolinians knows no bounds. For our part, we will continue to fight to defeat all of HB2 and protect North Carolinians no matter what it takes.” More from HRC.

Just received this statement from the @NCAA: “The NCAA’s decision to withhold championships from North Carolina remains unchanged.” #abc11

— Heather Waliga (@WaligaABC11) December 22, 2016

HATE CRIME CHARGES FOR MURDER OF TRANSGENDER WOMAN: For the first time since its passage in 2009, the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act has been used to bring charges for targeting a victim because they were transgender. This Act expanded existing federal hate crime law to include crimes motivated by bias against the victim’s sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or disability. In Mississippi, federal prosecutors charged Joshua Vallum under the act for the brutal 2015 murder of 17 year old Mercedes Williamson. Vallum pled guilt today for violating the federal Hate Crimes law on Wednesday. He faces up to a life sentence and a $250,000 fine. He pled guilty to murder charges under state law in Mississippi in July, but Mississippi is one of 15 states that does not include sexual orientation or gender identity in its hate crimes law. More from BuzzFeed.

THROWBACK THURSDAY: On December 22, 2010, President Barack Obama signed into law a bill repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and placing it where it belongs — in the dustbin of history. For 17 years, the law prohibited qualified gay, lesbian and bisexual Americans from serving in the Armed Forces and sent a message that discrimination was acceptable. HRC was proud to play a crucial role in that fight to end the ban. This moment was a pivotal point on the path toward full LGBTQ equality in the military, allowing countless Americans to serve their country with dignity and respect every service member deserves.

VANDERBILT WILL RESEARCH EFFECTS OF LGBTQ POLICIES: Vanderbilt University has received a $400,000 grant to study public policy’s effect on the health and economic security of the LGBTQ community. The study’s lead researcher noted, “These are policies that are being actively passed, adopted, debated in state legislatures throughout the United States, and evidence on their effects — either good, bad, intended, unintended — is scant at best.” More from Nashville Public Radio.

ORLANDO’S STRUGGLE TO HEAL: Billy Manes is the editor of Orlando’s only LGBTQ newspaper, Watermark (@WatermarkOnline). NPR’s Ari Shapiro (@AriShapiro) sat down with Manes to talk about the city in the months following the horrific shooting at Pulse Nightclub, which took the lives of 49 innocent victims, particularly in light of Donald Trump’s election. In the days since the election, there has been a terrifying uptick in reports of hate-fueled crimes and harassment against people of color, as well as LGBTQ, Muslim and Jewish people across the country. Manes says, “The city itself has done an amazing job of pulling itself together — and the turnout to all of the events and there are funds that have been set up in this community. Our mayor has really taken charge. There are quilts that have been made for much of this community. And there is a lot of love and respect, but it doesn’t mean that we’re not scared anymore.” More from NPR.

FILIPINO SENATE ANTI-DISCRIMINATION BILL TO PROTECT LGBTQ COMMUNITY REACHES SENATE PLENARY: The bill will provide legal protection to the LGBTQI community from hate crimes and discrimination. The Filipino House version of the bill is still at the committee level. More from Rappler.

INDIA’S FIRST TV SHOW TO FEATURE LGBTQ CHARACTERS FILLS PRIME-TIME SPOT: The show, “All About Section 377,” draws its name from Section 377 of India’s Penal Code, which criminalizes same-sex sexual activity. The show’s creators and cast hope the show will spread awareness and bring visibility to India’s LGBTQ community. More from Rapid TV News.

READING RAINBOW

NBC interviews a transgender Latina immigrant about her fears during a Trump administration… Slate talks to Minnesota State Rep. Susan Allen about her lesbian and two-spirit identities… Bustle shares nine powerful moments for transgender people in fashion in 2016… NewNowNext reports the popular video game Overwatch now has an openly lesbian character…

Happy holidays, all! #AM_Equality will be on hiatus for the next week as we break to join loved ones to reflect on 2016 and prepare for 2017. We look forward to hitting your inboxes again in the New Year.

Have news? Send us your news and tips at [email protected]. Click here to subscribe to A.M. Equality and follow @HRC for all the latest news. Thanks for reading!

www.hrc.org/blog/am-equality-tipsheet-december-22-2016?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

10 classic holiday movies that promise a gay ‘ol time

With the 2016 holiday season arriving, the time has come again for gatherings of family and friends, epic feasts, gift exchanges and the occasional sing along. Holiday movies have also become essential to the end of year celebration, and contrary to popular belief, a number of them have LGBTQ themes.

We here at Queerty took the liberty of assembling a list of ten of the most noteworthy.

So, have a look at 10 Holiday Movies that Promise a Gay Old Time…

1. Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer

The perennial holiday favorite comes as standard viewing on most Christmas special lists, and one catering to LGBT interests is no different! Rudolph has aired for more than 50 years, becoming the most watched Christmas special in history, and shows no signs of going out of fashion. In that sense, it offers nostalgia to most of the Christmas-celebrating American population, who can recall the memories of watching the show and anticipating the joys of the holiday season.

For an LGBT audience though, Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer has a special interest. One of the recurring themes in the story is that of alienation—Rudolph gets bullied by the other reindeer for being different, while Hermie the Elf lost his job in Santa’s workshop for having different interests. Rudolph, Hermie, bearish prospector Yukon Cornelius and the yeti-like Bumble form a community with the ghettoized residents of the Island of Misfit Toys. Their positive actions not only end up saving Christmas, but also teach the other North Pole residents the value of celebrating diversity.

2. Meet Me in St. Louis

Not a Christmas movie per se, the Christmas segment of the season-themed Meet Me in St. Louis manages to upstage all the others, thanks to the misty-eyed ballad “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” The song became an immediate classic upon debuting in 1944, and Meet Me in St. Louis remains a holiday viewing favorite. It helps, of course, to have gay icon Judy Garland in the lead, and delivering one of her best performances. That she gets to sing “Have Yourself…” is almost an added bonus. Queer director (and father of Liza) Vincente Minnelli spearheaded the production, which teems with Hollywood Golden Age charm and lushness. A film starring an LGBTQ icon and helmed by a queer director has an automatic place in gay history. That Meet Me in St. Louis is one of the great musical movies makes it essential holiday viewing too.

3. Home for the Holidays

Out-ish lesbian actress/director Jodie Foster directed this dramedy film set at Thanksgiving, though the antics of the lovably dysfunctional family might as well take place at Christmas. Home for the Holidays chronicles the relationships of the Larsen family, with particular attention paid to disgruntled sister Claudia (played by Holly Hunter) and quirky gay brother Tommy (an irrepressible, if drug-addled Robert Downey, Jr.). Like any holiday movie, the family bickers, whispers secrets, has meltdowns and reconciles, finding the hope for the future that every holiday celebration represents. Besides Downey and Hunter, a stellar cast which includes Anne Bancroft, Charles Durning, Geraldine Chaplin and Claire Danes make Home for the Holidays an entertaining, if predictable, romp.

4. The Family Stone

Much like Home for the Holidays, The Family Stone uses the bickering family, screwball comedy premise to warm hearts and provide a good share of laughs. With an appealing cast that features Diane Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Craig T. Nelson, Luke Wilson, Claire Danes (again) and Sarah Jessica Parker, the story revolves around the Stone family, as uptight brother Everett (Dermot Mulroney) brings his fiancé Meredeth (Parker) home to meet the family. Hilarity and heartwarming ensue in predictable fashion, though the movie does feature a groundbreaking and fascinating subplot involving deaf, gay brother Thad and his partner Patrick trying to adopt a child. No doubt, in an age of marriage equality, plenty of LGBTQs will have similar experiences with their crazy families this holiday season.

5. Make the Yuletide Gay

Going home for the holidays can hold its perils, particularly for our brethren still in the closet to their families. Make the Yuletide Gay takes that premise, and turns it into a heartwarming romantic comedy. College student Olaf has come out at school and even nabbed a boyfriend for himself, but his family back home doesn’t know. As he celebrates the holidays, Olaf tries to maintain a “straight” identity, even after his boyfriend Nathan shows up at the house! Make the Yuletide Gay falls into the same traps as a good deal of rom-coms, with broad characters and some corny jokes. Still, that it centers on an LGBT couple makes it refreshing holiday fun.

6. Too Cool for Christmas

Soap opera staples George Hamilton and Donna Mills star in this Here! TV produced movie about a spoiled teen who would rather spend Christmas skiing than with her family. Of course, she learns the True Meaning of Christmas over the course of the film’s runtime in predictable fashion. What makes the film interesting is that the 16-year-old heroine is the daughter of two gay dads. Lifetime runs a censored version of the movie, which subs the gay parents for reshot scenes with straight parents. Avoid that version (dubbed A Very Cool Christmas) at all costs.

7. Star Wars Holiday Special

Otherwise known as the weirdest Christmas special of all time, The Star Wars Holiday Special has never had a commercial release, though it shows up frequently on sites like YouTube. Broadcast once in 1978, the special features the cast of Star Wars (yes, including Harrison Ford, gay icon Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill) trying to help Chewbacca get home to his Wookie family in time for “Life Day,” the Star Wars analog of Christmas, in a musical adventure. The camp factor alone makes the Holiday Special worth watching at least once, as do the celebrity cameos, including appearances by gay icons Diahann Carroll as a pornographic hologram (yes, really), Bea Arthur as a cantina bartender, and Harvey Korman as an alien chef. George Lucas has reportedly said he wants to destroy every copy of the special. That the statement comes from the man who created JarJar makes The Star Wars Holiday Special something that needs to be seen to be believed!

8. Diva’s Christmas Carol

Anything with the word “diva” in the title should get a rise out of a good chunk of the LGBT population. That the movie also stars Vanessa Williams, Kathy Griffin and Chili (of the band TLC) should also grab A Diva’s Christmas Carol some attention. The telefilm debuted in 2000 on Vh1, and reimagines A Christmas Carol as a modern day tale about a vein pop singer. Griffin gets in some good laughs as the Ghost of Christmas Past, while Williams lends her own vocals to some holiday standards making A Diva’s Christmas Carol a fun take on the popular tale.

9. White Christmas

It has Bing Crosby. It has Rosemary Clooney. It has possibly gay actor Danny Kaye. And it’s a musical.  What’s not for the LGBTQ audience to love about White Christmas? Indeed, the movie—long a holiday standard, and a great example of Technicolor musical moviemaking to boot—has become a holiday classic the world over, and with good reason. It’s just a damn good movie.

It helps, of course, that White Christmas centers on a pair of musical composers trying to mount a new show. It also helps to have gay icon and bisexual star Clooney in the female lead, and Bing Crosby never looked better in a movie. Kaye and Crosby also perform a hysterical drag number—just one of the highlights of, quite possibly, the best holiday movie ever.

10. Mrs. Santa Claus

Leave it to Angela Lansbury to make an almost laughably dated premise into an endlessly entertaining romp. It also helps that she collaborates again with composer Jerry Herman, the openly gay musician behind Mame and Hello, Dolly! A made for TV movie, Mrs. Santa Claus finds the title character, as played by Lansbury, feeling under appreciated by her workaholic husband, Santa (played by the great Charles Durning). Thus, she sets out on a sleigh ride, but gets stranded in New York. There she helps start the feminist movement and end child labor. Seriously!

Mrs. Santa Claus becomes more than a standard musical telefilm, subtly confronting issues like bigotry, sexism, interfaith marriage and overzealous capitalism. It gets away with it all thanks to the frothy touch of Herman’s music, and an irresistible performance by Lansbury. Originally airing in 1996, Mrs. Santa Claus speaks to an LGBT audience with a wink and a nudge, and should have become an immediate holiday classic.

www.queerty.com/10-classic-holiday-movies-promise-gay-old-time-20161222?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29

Horrible Woman Banned from Kentucky Mall for Disgusting Racist Tirade: WATCH

A Kentucky mall has banned a woman for life after she went on a racist tirade against another shopper.

The video, which was posted to Facebook on Tuesday evening, shows a woman verbally attacking a shopper who was checking out.

Appealing to a mostly silent check out line, the woman is heard to say: “Just go back wherever the f**k you came from.”

RELATED: Sheriff in Joe McKnight Case Reads Homophobic and Racist Slurs on Live TV – WATCH

After a cashier asks the woman to watch her language, she replies:

“Hey, tell them to go back where they belong. You know, they come here to live and they act like they’re everybody else. Get in the back of the line like everybody else does.”

The woman then suggests that the Hispanic women she is attacking are “probably on welfare,” are “nobodies” and should “learn to speak English.”

According to Raw Story, officials at Jefferson Mall in Louisville said they planned to ban the woman once she’s identified.

In a statement on the mall’s Facebook page, officials said:

“We are aware of the video posted online today from inside JCPenney.

“Jefferson Mall strives to create a comfortable and convenient experience for all of our guests and we absolutely do not condone this type of behavior. We will work with JCPenney to identify this woman and, once identified, she will be permanently banned from Jefferson Mall, per our Behavioral Code of Conduct.”

The cashier is the only person seen to make any attempt to stop the angry tirade while other shoppers appear to laugh and agree with the woman.

The post Horrible Woman Banned from Kentucky Mall for Disgusting Racist Tirade: WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.

Horrible Woman Banned from Kentucky Mall for Disgusting Racist Tirade: WATCH

Hate Crime Charges for Murder of Transgender Woman

For the first time since its passage in 2009, the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act has been used to bring charges for targeting a victim because they were transgender.. This Act expanded existing federal hate crime law to include crimes motivated by bias against the victim’s sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or disability.  In the Mississippi case, federal prosecutors charged Joshua Vallum under the act for the brutal 2015 murder of 17-year-old Mercedes Williamson.  

Vallum pled guilty yesterday for violating the federal Hate Crimes law.  He faces up to a life sentence and a $250,000 fine.  He pled guilty to murder charges under state law in Mississippi in July, but Mississippi is one of 15 states that does not include sexual orientation or gender identity in its hate crimes law.  

HRC welcomes last week’s federal charges in this tragic case.  The Department of Justice’s leadership on hate crimes prevention is essential for stemming the epidemic of violence facing the transgender community.  We urge the incoming Trump administration to continue to enforce this important law and to commit to protecting the rights of LGBT Americans facing violence in their communities.

www.hrc.org/blog/hate-crime-charges-for-murder-of-transgender-woman?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

The 12 Best LGBT Films of 2016

Here are this year’s scripted stories that shone in their depiction of LGBT lives.

www.advocate.com/film/2016/12/22/12-best-lgbt-films-2016