Tribeca's Clive Davis Celebration Had Notes of Resistance
Aretha Franklin, Barry Manilow, Jennifer Hudson, and more stars sang to the bisexual music mogul at Tribeca’s opening night, which was also a call-to-arms for the arts.
www.advocate.com/music/2017/4/20/tribecas-clive-davis-celebration-had-notes-resistance
London dancer shows you the best way to face the morning
And just imagine what he’s like after the first cup of coffee.
Dan Savage, Lana del Rey, North Korea, Bernie Sanders, Chris Pratt, Frankie Knuckles: HOT LINKS
PRE-EMPTIVE STRIKE. North Korea says a “super-mighty preemptive strike” will reduce U.S. to ashes: “In the case of our super-mighty preemptive strike being launched, it will completely and immediately wipe out not only U.S. imperialists’ invasion forces in South Korea and its surrounding areas but the U.S. mainland and reduce them to ashes.”
IN A BOTTLE. Guess who is in talks to play The Genie in Disney’s live-action Aladdin movie?
ITMFA. Dan Savage resistance organization donates $100,000 to ACLU, Planned Parenthood and IRAP: “This morning I had the distinct pleasure of mailing off checks to Planned Parenthood ($33,333.34), the ACLU ($33,333.33) and the International Refugee Assistance Project ($33,333.33)—money we raised selling ITMFA (“Impeach The Mother Fucker Already”) buttons, t-shirts, hats, stickers, coffee cups, and lapel pins at www.ITMFA.org and www.impeachthemotherfuckeralready.com. And I got to mail those checks out because nearly 10,000 Savage Love readers and Savage Lovecast listeners have ordered #ITMFA gear over the last eight weeks!”
GOP ETHICS VIOLATION. Congressional Republicans selling access to top donors: “Documents obtained by The Intercept and the Center for Media and Democracy show that the National Republican Senatorial Committee and the National Republican Congressional Committee are both telling donors that in exchange for campaign contributions, they will receive invitations to special events to meet with congressional staff including chiefs of staff, leadership staffers, and committee staffers.”
RESISTING. Bernie Sanders tweets about the silver lining of the Trump administration.
TAIWAN. Marriage equality efforts face bitter backlash: “Over the last year, mostly Christian community groups have mobilized against the marriage-equality movement, warning, contrary to evidence, that same-sex partnerships are a threat to children, that giving LGBT families legal protection will hurt Taiwan.”
SABBATICAL. Apple’s 5th Avenue glass cube is going away for a while.
DALLAS. Council member wants homeless LGBT youth off the streets by 2020. “…whatever the number, until it’s zero, LGBT youth homelessness has become one of the task force’s top priorities, Medrano said. And it has led to the creation of Outlast Youth, a collaboration among the city, DISD, Dallas police, state offices and local homeless service providers intent on finding beds, counseling, health care and job training for kids on the streets and on their own.”
NEW MEXICO. Westboro Baptist Church holds demonstration outside Rancho High School: “The group is peacefully protesting their anti-gay agenda, but the police are on hand just in case things escalate.”
BAYWATCH. Zac Efron is nips out in two new posters.
GUARDIANS. Chris Pratt prepares for a premiere.
Now it’s getting real. Chris may be annoyed. 403pm pic.twitter.com/67qMmlTdCO
— Anna Faris (@AnnaKFaris) April 19, 2017
NOW PLAYING. The Frankie Knuckles Collection: “With the record collection of Frankie Knuckles now at Theaster Gates’s Stony Island Arts Bank in Chicago, The Frankie Knuckles Foundation has shared a video expressing what they hope the archive stands for. Knuckles set up The Frankie Knuckles Foundation later in his life in order to help support causes he felt strongly about, like LGBTQ rights, youth homelessness, music in schools and diabetes research. Today it also helps to educate people on Knuckles’ legacy.”
NEW TUNE OF THE DAY. Lana Del Rey and The Weeknd “Lust for Life”.
THIRSTY THURSDAY. Paul-Marie Brou.
The post Dan Savage, Lana del Rey, North Korea, Bernie Sanders, Chris Pratt, Frankie Knuckles: HOT LINKS appeared first on Towleroad.
Dan Savage, Lana del Rey, North Korea, Bernie Sanders, Chris Pratt, Frankie Knuckles: HOT LINKS
The World Cannot Ignore Gay Men Being Murdered, Put in Detention
Post submitted by Digital Strategist Brian McBride & Director of HRC Global Ty Cobb
It was a headline that seemed pulled from another century — but earlier this month, a Russian newspaper, Novaya Gazeta, reported that Chechen police have detained, beaten and tortured at least 100 gay men. The Russian LGBT Network claimed that as many as 20 men may have been killed in the attacks in Chechnya, a republic within Russia. More disturbingly, the paper reported that Chechen authorities were engaged in purging gay men by kidnapping and imprisoning them secretly in “detention style camps.”
Over the last few weeks, HRC has been vigilant in drawing the attention of world leaders to the developments in Chechnya. In advance of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s recent trip to Russia, HRC President Chad Griffin urged him “to make clear to your Russian counterparts that such lawless detentions, arrests, torture and murders are unacceptable and will not be tolerated.” That letter was also delivered to U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley and members of the White House National Security Council.
Haley, in a statement earlier this week, said she was “disturbed” by the reports.
Read Ambassador @nikkihaley‘s full statement on reports of detentions and killings in #Chechnya: pic.twitter.com/S7xGD08G65
— US Mission to the UN (@USUN) April 17, 2017
Former Vice President Joe Biden issued a powerful statement urging people of conscience to speak out about the crimes, as has House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD).
When faced with crimes of hate and inhumanity, every person of conscience must speak out in support of #LGBT rights t.co/crzQTFQKmS
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) April 14, 2017
The United States must not sit idly by while such human rights violations take place. (2/2)
— Steny Hoyer (@WhipHoyer) April 19, 2017
Fifty other Members of Congress from both sides of the aisle have also weighed in, joining the Congressional Equality Caucus in writing a letter to Secretary Tillerson urging him to speak out publicly and pressure the Russians to investigate and intervene.
Rep. Alan Lowenthal (D-CA), who recently met with HRC’s Global Innovative Advocacy Summit, led the letter along with Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI). U.N. human rights experts have also spoke out, from the newly-appointed U.N. LGBTQ rights expert Vitit Muntarbhorn to several UN Special Rapporteurs on human rights.
In addition, celebrities including Ariana Grande, Evan Rachel Wood, Trace Lysette, Don Cheadle, RuPaul, Nyle Dimarco, and Alyssa Milano have joined HRC in bringing attention to the issues by sharing our content through social media.
Sadly, according to ABC News, Chechen authorities have denied the arrests and torture, asserting that LGBTQ people in Chechnya don’t even exist in the republic. The Russian government has also refused to intervene, telling victims to “file official complaints and go to court,” which is highly unlikely to yield any success.
In a terrifying new report, CNN interviewed two men who experienced the violence first hand — even obtaining disturbing video showing their torture at the hands of Chechen police.
The Lead investigation: gay men tell of brutality in Chechnya t.co/3czALhgYnt @mchancecnn reports on #TheLead
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) April 18, 2017
While these victims are lucky to have escaped with their lives, others continue to fear for theirs. Novaya Gazeta reporter Elena Milashina, who first broke the story of anti-gay actions by Chechnya authorities, has had to flee her home in Moscow due to death threats.
We have Elena Milashina to thank for alerting the world to the atrocities in Chechnya. t.co/f0MfO6TbMy
— Chad Griffin (@ChadHGriffin) April 17, 2017
Despite a message of condemnation from the State Department, Secretary Tillerson made no public remarks on the matter during his recent visit to Moscow. HRC continues to ask our members to join in urging President Trump and Secretary Tillerson to speak out on this issue.
These horrific acts towards gay men cannot be ignored and the world community must not allow Russia to turn a blind eye toward Chechnya’s human rights abuses.
Reports of gay men being held in detention camps in #Chechnya is not only a crime against the #LGBTQ community, but a crime against humanity
— HumanRightsCampaign (@HRC) April 11, 2017
HRC is working closely with the Russian LGBT Network, the primary organization leading efforts to evacuate people in danger in Chechnya. They have set up a hotline to provide assistance to LGBTQ Chechens. They accept donations. More information can be found on their webpage.
Pictured above: In this photo taken Wednesday, April 19, 2017, Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, meets with Chechnya’s regional leader Ramzan Kadyrov in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia. Putin met late Wednesday with Kadyrov, who told the president not to believe the “provocative” articles, reporting detentions and killings of gay men in Chechnya, which he says have no basis in fact. (Alexei Druzhinin/Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Mark Green uses Bible verse to call transgender people “evil”
Tennessee State Senator and Army Secretary Nominee Mark Green has once said transgender Americans have a “disease.” But now, GLAAD has exposed audio of Mark Green using a Bible verse as a source to call transgender people an “evil” that must be “crushed.”
“The Trump Administration must have been desperate to fill this post because Mark Green’s anti-LGBTQ remarks should disqualify anyone seeking to be in charge of the United States Army, which includes many out and proud soldiers,” said Sarah Kate Ellis, President and CEO of GLAAD. “Our nation is strongest when we are together – and calling transgender people ‘evil’ does just the opposite.”
State Senator Green’s anti-LGBTQ words and record as Tennessee State Senator fall right in line with President Trump and his anti-LGBTQ administration. From being the lead sponsor of SB 127, a bill that would allow Tennessee companies to discriminate LGBTQ people, to supporting the state’s so-called “bathroom bill” – Mark Green would only add to a Trump Administration that from Day One has consistently aimed to erase the LGBTQ community from the fabric of the United States.
Below is the transcription from Mark Green’s interview with the Hotwash with CJ and Alex Program, which aired on June 3, 2016.
“The government exists to honor those people who live honorable who do good things – to reward people who behave well and to crush evil. So that means as a state senator, my responsibility very clearly in Romans 13 is to create an environment where people who do right are rewards and the people who do wrong are crushed. Evil is crushed. So I’m going to protect women in their bathrooms, and I’m going to protect our state against potential infiltration from the Syrian ISIS people in the refugee program. And whoever wants to stand up and take me on that, I’m ready to fight.”
BACKGROUND INFORMATION: MARK GREEN’S ANTI-LGBTQ HISTORY
— Insists that being “transgender is a disease.”
— Lead sponsor of a Tennessee state bill that would allow local companies to discriminate against LGBTQ people without any repercussion from local government.
— Sponsor of an anti-trans Tennessee state bill requiring students to use restrooms in accordance with their birth certificates.
— Green backed Tennessee state bill that allows therapist to turn away LGBTQ clients based on their “sincerely held religious beliefs.”
— Sponsor of bill allowing teachers to shun content that conflicts with their beliefs (widely interpreted to include LGBTQ inclusion).
###
www.glaad.org/blog/mark-green-uses-bible-verse-call-transgender-people-evil
Family Research Council: Washington D.C. is under the thrall of powerful gay witches
You have “a lot of witchcraft” in D.C., and it’s really “pretty souring.”
Gay Man Has Chance Encounter with Longtime Crush in New Uber Ad: WATCH
Uber is running a new campaign based on stories of actual passengers, and used a real series of tweets by Uber rider AJ Tabangay to create this sweet vignette about a gay man’s crush.
Based on a real series of tweets by Uber rider AJ Tabangay, watch how he reacted when he ended up in an uberPOOL ride with his crush.
Watch:
The post Gay Man Has Chance Encounter with Longtime Crush in New Uber Ad: WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.
Gay Man Has Chance Encounter with Longtime Crush in New Uber Ad: WATCH
#AM_Equality Tipsheet: April 20, 2017
TOP TEXAS HOUSE DEM CALLS ON NFL AND NBA TO “STRONGLY OPPOSE” ANTI-TRANS BILLS: Texas Rep. Chris Turner, chair of the House Democratic Caucus, sent letters to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver asking them to speak out against anti-transgender bills raised in the state legislature that would prevent people from using facilities consistent with their gender identity. Turner writes in one letter, “Laudably, the NFL has taken a strong stance over the last several years in opposing similar discriminatory measures. In keeping with this stance, it seems natural you would also strongly oppose HB 2899.” The measure would prevent local communities and schools from protecting their transgender populations and students. In this way, it is strikingly similar to SB 6, another heinous anti-LGBTQ bill being considered by Texas legislators. More from The San Antonio Express-News and The Dallas Morning News.
●Student-athletes in North Carolina speak out on NCAA decision to reward state with championship games despite continuing discrimination against LGBTQ people. More from ESPN.
●Also in Texas: Two couples who bravely fought in the courts for their state to overturn its ban on marriage equality will be awarded $600,000 in fees and other costs. More from The Dallas Morning News.
WHIP HOYER CALLS ON U.S. TO ACT ON REPORTS OF MURDERS OF GAY MEN IN CHECHNYA: Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD) took to Twitter to call on the United States to “not sit idly by” while police in the Russian republic of Chechnya detain and murder gay men. The Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta first confirmed the anti-gay actions being taken by authorities in Chechnya, reporting that hundreds of gay men were being detained, and at least three killed, by Chechen police. HRC has called on President Trump and the U.S. State Department to help stop anti-LGBTQ atrocities in Russia. In a letter earlier this month to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson last week, HRC President Chad Griffin urged him “to make clear to your Russian counterparts that such lawless detentions, arrests, torture and murders are unacceptable and will not be tolerated.”
I am appalled by reports of violence and murder against LGBT individuals in Chechnya t.co/zDXsAW3XVU (1/2)
— Steny Hoyer (@WhipHoyer) April 19, 2017
The United States must not sit idly by while such human rights violations take place. (2/2)
— Steny Hoyer (@WhipHoyer) April 19, 2017
●From Atlanta to San Francisco, hundreds of LGBTQ advocates held candlelight vigils and protest to draw attention to the anti-gay arrests, torture and and murders in Chechnya. More from The Georgia Voice and San Francisco Weekly.
THROWBACK THURSDAY — GEORGIA HOUSE GOP CANDIDATE HAS ANTI-LGBTQ HISTORY: Karen Handel, who will face HRC-endorsed Jon Ossoff in a runoff election for Georgia’s Sixth Congressional District seat, opposed marriage equality, civil unions, domestic partnership benefits and allowing same-sex couples to adopt during her 2010 gubernatorial campaign. In an interview with WXIA, she said that same-sex relationships a “are not what God intended,” and implied that same-sex parents were not as qualified as different-sex parents. More from The Advocate and Project Q Atlanta.
CONGRATULATIONS — TIME 100 FEATURES MAJOR LGBTQ ADVOCATES AND ALLIES: Gavin Grimm, Sarah Paulson, Ava DuVernay, Demi Lovato, RuPaul and Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) are among the LGBTQ advocates and allies featured on this year’s TIME 100 Most Influential People list. Author and transgender rights advocate Janet Mock writes this for TIME about Gavin: “So many are made to feel as if they should hide, pretend or perish. Gavin’s refusal to be treated unjustly is an enduring reminder that we will not be stayed.” More from TIME.
ANTI-TRANSGENDER DISCRIMINATION CASE APPEALED TO 6TH CIRCUIT COURT: After working at Harris Funeral Home for seven years, Aimee Stephens was fired in 2014 after informing her employer that she would be transitioning. Though the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission found that her termination was a result of unlawful sex discrimination under Title VII based on her gender identity, a federal court in Michigan later ruled that the funeral home was exempt from Title VII compliance under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). Stephens has appealed the decision to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. More from Reuters.
NY GOV. CUOMO TO REQUIRE INSURANCE COMPANIES TO COVER FERTILITY TREATMENTS FOR ALL, REGARDLESS OF SEXUAL ORIENTATION: Governor Andrew Cuomo announced yesterday that health insurance companies are required to provide fertility treatment coverage to all individuals, regardless of their sexual orientation or marital status. Find the circular letter from Governor Cuomo here.
WHAT MAKES A HATE CRIME A HATE CRIME?: CNN takes a look at the recent uptick in reports of bias-motivated crime, and explores how the FBI defines ‘hate crimes’, and how it determines when an incident truly is motivated by hate. “In a hate crime, the victim is targeted because of his characteristics,” says HRC Government Affairs Director David Stacy. “These are bias-motivated crimes, and often they are much more violent than traditional crimes.” According to the Southern Poverty Law CEnter, LGBTQ people are targeted for violent hate-motivated crimes at higher rates than other marginalized groups. More from CNN.
NIGERIAN POLICE ARREST 53 PEOPLE ATTENDING A SAME-SEX WEDDING: The 53 people — mostly students — were arrested on April 15 for “conspiracy, unlawful assembly and belonging to a gang of unlawful society.” More from Premium Times.
STRANGER THINGS ACTRESS SHANNON PURSER COMES OUT AS BISEXUAL: Shannon Purser, known for playing the iconic character ‘Barb’ on the Netflix series Stranger Things, came out in a powerful post on Twitter, where she discussed coming out to her friends and family, and her Christian identity. More from USA Today.
— Shannon Purser (@shannonpurser) April 19, 2017
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GEORGE TAKEI: Today, openly gay actor and advocate George Takei, who is also a longtime HRC supporter, celebrates his birthday. Takei was honored at HRC’s second annual Time to THRIVE conference in 2015. He is an outspoken activist for the LGBTQ community, speaking out on Indiana’s discriminatory Religious Freedom Restoration Act and supporting The People’s Brief in preparation for the Supreme Court ruling on marriage equality.
READING RAINBOW
Vice explores the term “sexual fluidity”; Advocate reports on a study of anti-LGBTQ sentiment in Arabic media; Seattle Weekly talks to a local advocate who is interviewing the city’s LGBTQ immigrant community; NewNowNext features a powerful interview Ellen DeGeneres recently had NBA icon Magic Johnson about Johnson’s love for his openly gay son;
Have news? Send us your news and tips at [email protected]. Click here to subscribe to #AM_Equality and follow @HRC for all the latest news. Thanks for reading!
www.hrc.org/blog/am-equality-tipsheet-april-20-2017?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed
Diversity Ball 2017 Fashion Show Shooting © gayinvienna.com.
gay in vienna posted a photo:
Diversity Ball 2017 Fashion Show Shooting © gayinvienna.com
Sarah Palin, Ted Nugent, and Kid Rock Visited Trump in the White House and Mocked Hillary Clinton’s Portrait
Sarah Palin, Ted Nugent, and Kid Rock spent time with Donald Trump in the Oval Office on Wednesday. Palin posted photos to her Facebook account.
Wrote Palin: “A great night at the White House. Thank you to President Trump for the invite! 
“
Palin also posted this photo of the threesome in front of Hillary Clinton’s portrait.
The post Sarah Palin, Ted Nugent, and Kid Rock Visited Trump in the White House and Mocked Hillary Clinton’s Portrait appeared first on Towleroad.
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