Jeans & Jacket
jessicajane9 posted a photo:
Navy skinny jeans, leather jacket, scarf & ankle boots
Monthly Archives: March 2017
Republicans plan to jack up the price of PrEP because, hey, who needs HIV/AIDS prevention anyway?
Republicans plan to jack up the price of PrEP because, hey, who needs HIV/AIDS prevention anyway?
HIV/AIDS prevention? Who needs it?! That seems to be the attitude of the Trump administration and his fellow Republicans. Not only have they closed down White House Office of AIDS Policy, but now they’re trying to strip away access to PrEP in more than 30 states.
At the moment, PrEP costs around $1,500 a month without insurance. With insurance, that number is drastically reduced to anywhere from $0 to $500, depending on a person’s health insurance plan and provider. But that might be changing if the Affordable Care Act is repealed and “Trumpcare” takes effect.
In their blueprint to replace the ACA released earlier this week, House Republicans said they plan to eliminate the Medicaid expansion. As a result, access to PrEP, particularly for low-income Americans, would be cut off in 31 states and the District of Columbia.
Related: Report: Trump closes down White House Office of AIDS Policy
How would it do this? Time reports:
The new bill would begin phasing out federal money for the expansion in 2020, likely blocking new applicants and access to meds like PrEP. If the plan passes in its current form, traditional Medicaid will be replaced by per-capita grants, a fixed-sum per person, which could result in cuts over time. And a proposed repeal of the ACA’s cost-sharing assistance, which paid insurers to reduce the burden of enrollees based on their income, would make coverage more expensive for poor Americans.
Considering that the vast majority of PrEP users are gay and bisexual men, we can’t help but feel like this is yet another direct attack against the LGBTQ community.
Nearly 80,000 Americans have started PrEP from 2012 to 2015.
“When PrEP was first approved, gay and bisexual men were not using it,” Noël Gordon Jr., a senior program specialist for HIV prevention & health equity at the Human Rights Campaign, tells Time. “Now, we’ve seen an exponential increase in users.”
Gordon says a repeal of the ACA would be “devastating” as “it has the potential to turn the tide the other direction, where we could potentially see the spread of HIV.”
Related: Insurance Company Slut Shames Man, Denies Him Coverage Because He’s On Truvada
ABC ’20/20′ Report Looks Inside The Controversial Practice of Conversion Therapy: WATCH
ABC ’20/20′ Report Looks Inside The Controversial Practice of Conversion Therapy: WATCH
ABC’s 20/20 is set to air an investigation into the harmful practice of gay conversion therapy on Friday evening.
Conversion therapy is a discredited mix of psychological treatments and faith-based counselling aimed at changing a person’s sexual orientation.
Treatments in the past have included chemical castration, hormonal therapy, electroshock therapy, the use of nausea-inducing drugs and masturbatory reconditioning.
RELATED: Watch This Shocking Report on How Gay Conversion Therapy Began – VIDEO
The practice has has been outlawed for licensed mental health providers in California, Oregon, New Jersey, Vermont, Illinois and Washington, D.C. The 20/20 report reveals that many camps are not operating as licensed mental health facilities and are therefore not covered by laws prohibiting the practice.
ABC also explores a conversion therapy program in Alabama in which Christian pastors were convicted of child abuse following allegations of beatings administered to teens who resisted efforts to change their sexual orientation.
Peter Sprigg of listed hate group Family Research Council (FRC) told ABC News:
“I certainly hope that [Trump’s] administration will pull back from some of the aggressive activism that the Obama administration engaged in.
“As a Christian, I believe that the Bible teaches that to choose to engage in homosexual conduct is a sin.
“If someone is experiencing something mentally, like same-sex attractions, that is causing distress, then that’s a mental health issue.”
Sprigg denied that physical abuse takes place during conversion sessions.
He added that FRC does not believe that “same-sex attractions are a choice” but that he also does “not believe that experiencing same-sex attractions is a normal and natural variant of human sexuality.”
Watch ABC interviews with two conversion therapy survivors below.
The post ABC ’20/20′ Report Looks Inside The Controversial Practice of Conversion Therapy: WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.
ABC ’20/20′ Report Looks Inside The Controversial Practice of Conversion Therapy: WATCH
San Antonio TV station bans local activists and showcases anti-LGBTQ activists
San Antonio TV station bans local activists and showcases anti-LGBTQ activists
Take action: call WOAI and demand equal time for LGBTQ Texans
Last night in San Antonio, Texas, Sinclair Broadcasting Group television affiliate WOAI failed to bring balance and equal representation to a town hall special surrounding the state’s Senate Bill 6 – a measure that would openly discriminate against transgender Texans.
WOAI’s town hall follows what has been a contentious week in Austin surrounding the debate around Senate Bill 6. Thousands of Texans crowded the State Capitol in opposition of the measure, but ultimately, the bill was voted through committee by an 8-1 margin – ignoring the will of the hundreds who testified against the measure.
According to Equality Texas, panelists included two members of local anti-LGBTQ groups, the San Antonio Family Association and Texas Conservative Republicans, and just one person who identified as LGBTQ.
If you were booking a television panel about a law that would harm transgender youth in Texas, wouldn’t you include the voice of a transgender young person? Instead, the station thought that known anti-LGBTQ activists were the experts on the topic. This prompted local LGBTQ advocates, including many members of Equality Texas, to walk out during the event in protest and hold a counter press conference outside of the town hall event space.
WATCH: Walkout happens near 12:00 marker.
It is Journalism 101 to showcase accuracy and balance when covering stories – especially ones as critical as this. This should always include national network, cable, and local affiliates across the nation.
Simply put, WOAI failed their viewers by hosting a panel that did not equally represent both sides of the Senate Bill 6 debate.
“By failing to provide equal representation in the debate on Senate Bill 6 – a measure that would openly discriminate against transgender Texans – WOAI and the Sinclair Broadcasting Group are blatantly ignoring the basic journalistic responsibility of fairness,” said Sarah Kate Ellis, President and CEO of GLAAD. “WOAI should give equal time to LGBTQ Texans and real experts who know trans students are the only ones who will be harmed by this discriminatory un-American policy.”
With the LGBTQ community under a barrage of attacks in Texas, in other states, and in Washington, D.C., now is the time to stand up and make our voices heard. We must fight back against open discrimination against marginalized groups.
We need your help. Below is the contact information and names of WOAI’s Program Director, News Director, and Public Affairs Coordinator. Reach out to WOAI and demand full and equal time for the LGBTQ community.
- Carolyn Mastin (Program Director): 210-225-4444 ext.206, [email protected]
- Blaise Labbe (News Director): 210-226-4444, [email protected]
- Liz Quinones (Public Affairs Coordinator): 210-226-4444 ext. 209, [email protected]
With hundreds who testified against SB6 and with the health and safety of transgender Texans on the line, now is the time to act and demand equal representation on Senate Bill 6. This discriminatory bill has already cause the City of San Antonio to lost three conventions and about $3 million in revenue – with possibly more to come.
Help us demand equal time, and help us in our fight to protect the rights and lives of the thousands of transgender Texans.
March 10, 2017
Issues:
Tags:
www.glaad.org/blog/san-antonio-tv-station-bans-local-activists-and-showcases-anti-lgbtq-activists
‘American Idol’ Runner-Up La’Porshe Renae: ‘I Chose to Be Heterosexual After Being Homosexual for 2 Years’
‘American Idol’ Runner-Up La’Porshe Renae: ‘I Chose to Be Heterosexual After Being Homosexual for 2 Years’
American Idol runner-up La’Porsha Renae, who caused a stir last year with remarks that she disagrees with the “homosexual lifestyle,” now says she “chose to be heterosexual after being homosexual for 2 years.”
Added Renae: “I chose a belief system that felt TRUE to my spirit. #TRUTH”
You’re wrong to think it’s not a choice for some….because it was for me. #Truth t.co/qHPqu4eJjN
— La’Porsha~Renae (@laporsharenae) March 8, 2017
@JessicaLandd15 I chose to be heterosexual after being homosexual for 2 years. I chose a belief system that felt TRUE to my spirit. #TRUTH
— La’Porsha~Renae (@laporsharenae) March 8, 2017
Last year, the singer said:
“This is how I feel about the LGBT community: They are people just like us. They’re not animals as someone [Manny Pacquiao] stated before. They’re people with feelings. Although all of us may not agree with that particular lifestyle for religious reasons, whatever the reason is, you still treat each other with respect. Everybody is a human being. We should be able to coexist with one another.
“[However] I am one of the people who don’t really agree with that lifestyle. I wasn’t brought up that way. It wasn’t how I was raised. But I do have a lot of friends and a lot of people that I love dearly who are gay and homosexual and they’re such sweet, nice people. We should just respect each other’s differences and opinions and move on.”
She then backtracked after a firestorm erupted:
We don’t have to agree with each other’s life choices to love/respect one another. Live and let live. #RENAETION #RespectThatWeAreDifferent
— La’Porsha~Renae (@laporsharenae) April 9, 2016
And said she “deeply apologized” for the remarks.
The post ‘American Idol’ Runner-Up La’Porshe Renae: ‘I Chose to Be Heterosexual After Being Homosexual for 2 Years’ appeared first on Towleroad.
How James Baldwin's Return to America Can Inspire Us
How James Baldwin's Return to America Can Inspire Us
The writer left out of frustration with a racist country, but the reason he returned reveals the hope he still had as a black gay American.
www.advocate.com/politics/2017/3/10/how-james-baldwins-return-america-can-inspire-us
Wanna Defund Planned Parenthood, Trump? Ask Pence How That Went
Wanna Defund Planned Parenthood, Trump? Ask Pence How That Went
The president is playing a dangerous game by threatening this vital resource, writes Brian Tashman of People for the American Way.
www.advocate.com/commentary/2017/3/10/wanna-defund-planned-parenthood-trump-ask-pence-how-went
“Ancora una volta sono i giudici ad aprire una finestra sulla vita”
“Ancora una volta sono i giudici ad aprire una finestra sulla vita”
“Il tribunale dei minori di Firenze ha aperto un’altra finestra sulla vita”. Nichi Vendola accoglie la notizia mentre è in casa con Tobia (“sta url…
Continua a leggere: Italia Diritti, Adozioni Gay, Gay Voices, Nichi Vendola, Adozioni, Adozione Gay, Coppia Gay, Italy News
www.huffingtonpost.it/2017/03/10/vendola-adozioni-gay_n_15275210.html
Gay Couple in Fear That Trump's Ban Will Divide Them
Gay Couple in Fear That Trump's Ban Will Divide Them
A man in Texas is hoping to be reunited with his partner from Iran in three months.
www.advocate.com/politics/2017/3/09/gay-couple-fear-trumps-ban-will-divide-them
