Don’t Forget the Long, Proud History of Transgender Activism
Trans folks are among the country’s greatest revolutionaries. So why do Americans keep forgetting we exist?
www.advocate.com/advocate50/2017/5/01/these-trans-revolutionaires-are-unforgettable
108 Photos That Show Buffalo Pride Is Everything
www.advocate.com/pride/2017/6/06/108-photos-show-buffalo-pride-everything
Turns out Zac Efron is one hell of a pole dancer–and he’ll prove it to you
You gotta admit: He works that pole right good.
Gay Man Testifies Church Members Beat Him for Hours to Exorcise ‘Homosexual Demons’
Matthew Fenner gave disturbing testimony this past Thursday in the North Carolina trial of Brooke Covington, leader of the Word of Faith Fellowship, on how she and church members physically abused him for hours to purge his “homosexual demons.”
The assault, in which around 20 members participated, came in January 2013 against the then-21-year-old following a service at the Rutherford County church based in Spindale. The Washington Post reports:
The attacks took place “to break me free of the homosexual demons they so viciously despise,” Fenner, who identifies as gay, told television station WSPA a year later. After the episode, he left the fellowship.
In December 2014, a minister and four members of the Rutherford County church were indicted on charges that they kidnapped, beat and strangled Fenner, then 21. They pleaded not guilty.
And on Thursday, Fenner was the first person to testify in the trial of Brooke Covington, 58, the church minister accused of leading the alleged kidnapping and assault of Fenner on that day, more than four years ago. She is the first of five church members to face trial in the case, the Associated Press reported. If convicted, she faces up to two years in prison.
Fenner said he thought he was “going to die” while the church members beat and choked him. He accused Covington of telling him, “God said there is something wrong in your life.”
Fenner’s own family members, who still belong to the church, contradicted his testimony before a grand jury in 2014, which nevertheless resulted in an indictment.
The Word of Faith Fellowship has been accused of mistreatment of its LGBTQ members before, but this is the first time charges have stuck:
When Fenner brought the allegations three years ago, it was not the first time the church had been accused of beating members over their sexual orientation. Two years earlier, former church member Michael Lowry said he was beaten and held against his will at the church as an effort to eliminate his gay demons.
Lowry testified before a grand jury, but about a year later, the same month Fenner says he was beaten and strangled, Lowry rejoined Word of Faith and took back his allegations. He has since left the church, and later said in a statement that his original claims are true.
It is part of a pattern of legal troubles the church has faced over the years for its harsh doctrinal behavior:
In the four decades since the Word of Faith was founded, it has been entangled in a series of lawsuits, criminal charges and custody fights surrounding its treatment of children. More than 15 years ago, the state and Rutherford County Department of Social Services launched a series of investigations into allegations the church abused children, the Charlotte Observer reported.
Attorneys for the church have claimed that Fenner was never harmed and has previously praised the church publicly.
The post Gay Man Testifies Church Members Beat Him for Hours to Exorcise ‘Homosexual Demons’ appeared first on Towleroad.
Gay Man Testifies Church Members Beat Him for Hours to Exorcise ‘Homosexual Demons’
Al Franken Out, Michael Eric Dyson in for Bill Maher Show After ‘N’ Word Incident
And now Maher also says he’s open to having Milo Yiannopoulos on Real Time again.
How this teen athlete used weightlifting to overcome depression and accept his sexuality
Preston Cope is looking to a brighter future.
Betsy DeVos Affirms Again That She’s Fine with Letting Schools Discriminate Against LGBTQ Students: WATCH
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos was grilled today by Senator Jeff Merkley and again, as she did before a House Appropriations subcommittee in May, DeVos refused again to say that schools receiving funding from the federal government would be punished for discriminating against LGBTQ students.
Watch:
GLAAD condemned DeVos:
“By once again turning a blind eye to LGBTQ students who experience discrimination in school, Secretary DeVos continues to prove why she was the wrong choice to lead our nation’s education system,” said Sarah Kate Ellis, President and CEO of GLAAD. “DeVos once claimed she was an LGBTQ ally, but has now supported back to back policies that would erase LGBTQ students from classrooms. If she wants to be known as more than an anti-LGBTQ activist the time is now to reverse course.”
Since her controversial confirmation hearing process, which included a tie-breaking vote by Vice President Mike Pence, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has fallen in line with the Trump Administration’s attempt to erase LGBTQ Americans from the fabric of this nation. In February, DeVos joined the President and Attorney General Jeff Sessions by rescinding guidance that provided protection to transgender students at our nation’s schools.
DeVos’s anti-LGBTQ record extends well before her confirmation as Education Secretary. From contributing more than $200,000 toward efforts to add a marriage equality ban to Michigan’s Constitution to donating money to Focus on the Family, an anti-LGBTQ organization which openly advocates for so-called “conversion therapy” practices, Betsy DeVos’s record shows she will do anything to prevent LGBTQ acceptance from becoming a reality.
The post Betsy DeVos Affirms Again That She’s Fine with Letting Schools Discriminate Against LGBTQ Students: WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.
HRC is Ready for the Los Angeles #ResistMarch. Join Us!
This Sunday, HRC will join the Los Angeles Pride #ResistMarch, an event that will attract hundreds of thousands of LGBTQ people, HRC supporters and our allies from all parts of the nation.
In addition to the #ResistMarch, HRC will join Equality Marches across the country to celebrate the historic strides the LGBTQ community has achieved, while also peacefully marching against the Trump administration and other forces determined to strip away our basic human rights.
Details of when and where to join HRC at the LA #ResistMarch are below. Click here to sign up to be part of HRC’s contingent at the LA #ResistMarch.
Sunday, June 11, 2017
8:00am
7021 Hollywood Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90028
HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN from Brian Pendleton on Vimeo.
March with HRC and don’t forget to document your experience on social media with #ResistMarch. Click here to learn more about the Los Angeles #ResistMarch and other events happening in the community.
At our headquarters in Washington, HRC will host an Action and Resource Center, giving supporters concrete ways to take action and resist in their own communities.
The Action and Resource Center will be open Friday, June 9, from 12 – 9 p.m.; Saturday, June 10, from 9 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.; and Sunday, June 11, from 7 a.m. – 12 p.m..
Governor Greg Abbott announces new “special discrimination session” to target LGBTQ Texans
GLAAD President & CEO: Abbott will have blood on his hands if anti-trans bill is signed into law
Announcement follows 2017 Texas Session, which included numerous bills targeted at marginalized communities, including LGBTQ Texans
NEW YORK – GLAAD, the world’s largest LGBTQ media advocacy organization, criticized Texas Governor Greg Abbott today for pursuing a dangerous agenda with his announcement for a special session at the Texas State Capitol. This agenda includes passing a so-called anti-trans “bathroom bill” which openly targets and discriminates against transgender Texans for living their lives according to their gender identity. The so-called “bathroom bill” has already received negative attention as some of the nation’s top business CEOs, including Apple, Microsoft, and Facebook, have denounced any sort of discriminatory, anti-trans legislation.
This special session announcement follows what was a “discrimination session” against marginalized communities across the state, including LGBTQ Texans. From shoving through HB 3859 – which allows adoption agencies to use religion as a weapon to deny LGBTQ families the ability to adopt a child – to signing a ban on “sanctuary cities” into law, policy that could potentially harm LGBTQ immigrants, the Texas Capitol has promoted an out-of-touch agenda at the expense of the state’s most vulnerable.
“Governor Greg Abbott is proving everything is bigger in Texas including prioritizing discrimination. If the governor moves forward with this harmful legislation against trans students, LGBTQ people, businesses, and fair-minded Texans will respond in Texas style – Big,” said Sarah Kate Ellis, President and CEO of GLAAD. “Trans Texans have experienced harassment and threats because of this last session and if any anti-trans bills get signed into law, then Governor Abbott’s legacy will be turning Texas into a state known for harming some its most marginalized people.”
GLAAD has been on the frontlines with local LGBTQ organizations like Equality Texas and the Texas Freedom Network to help stop discriminatory and harmful anti-LGBTQ bills at the Texas Capitol. In April, GLAAD coordinated “Students Against Hate” rallies where college students from many campuses across Texas came together to show their disapproval to the anti-LGBTQ bills that were currently in Austin. Rallies were held in Austin, San Antonio, and Houston.
Further, GLAAD worked with Equality Texas to push for inclusive airtime during a recent town hall debate hosted by a local television affiliate in San Antonio. After it appeared there was not a balance between pro-LGBTQ voices and the opposition, GLAAD called on the local television station to dedicate future coverage to include pro-trans stories for their viewers.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION: TIMELINE – The 2017 “Discrimination Session” at the Texas State Capitol
1.05.17: Lt. Gov Dan Patrick and State Senator Lois Kolkhorst unveil Senate Bill 6, a bill aimed at blocking transgender access to public accommodations in public schools, universities, and government buildings.
1.15.17: House Speaker Joe Straus issues warning of the economic threat of such a discriminatory bill as SB 6: “We should be very careful about doing something that would make Texas less competitive for investments, jobs, and the highly skilled workforce needed to compete.”
3.06.17: Lt. Gov Patrick recruits anti-LGBTQ hate groups, Vision America and Tony Perkins’ Family Research Council to help push for the passage of SB 6 with the launch of “Operation One Million Voices.”
3.06.17: Rep. Simmons files House Bill 2899, an even harsher bathroom bill that bars transgender people’s access to public accommodations as well as invalidating existing local non-discrimination LGBTQ ordinances in Texas.
3.09.17: WOAI News 4 San Antonio airs a town hall on SB 6; with two members of known anti-LGBTQ hate groups and only one person who identified as LGBTQ, sparking GLAAD to team with Equality Texas and campaign for equal airtime for pro-trans voices.
3.14.17: The Texas Senate passes SB 6 with a 21-10 vote; during the debate, the Democrats call the bill a solution in search of a problem that would lead to economic fallout.
3.24.17: House Speaker Straus again condemns SB 6, calling the bill “manufactured and unnecessary.” The House never takes up the bill.
4.19.17: Five hours of public testimony heard on HB 2899, with 369 people registering to speak in opposition of the anti-LGBTQ bill. After the testimony, the bill was left pending in committee until the end of the legislative session.
4.25.17: Student Against Hate Rallies held across the state of Texas to speak out against SB 6 and HB 2899 and other anti-LGBTQ legislation. These rallies were organized by GLAAD, the Texas Freedom Network, Equality Texas, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), ACLU of Texas, and the Transgender Education Network of Texas (TENT)
5.16.17: Gov. Abbott called the “bathroom bill” must pass piece of legislation and one of his top priorities for the remaining weeks of the legislative session.
5.17.17: Lt. Gov Patrick issues a threat to force a special session over the so-called bathroom bill: “I will ask the governor to call us back again and again and again.”
5.22.17: The Texas House successfully adds an anti-trans amendment to Senate Bill 2078 that would restrict bathroom access to K-12 transgender students in TX public schools.
5.25.17: The Texas Senate refuses to concur with SB 2078 as amended by the house; this disagreement is not addressed before the end of the legislative session.
5.26.17: Lt. Gov Patrick takes five state agency bills hostage in order to force a special session and include SB 6 or HB 2899. One of these, the arcane “sunset” bill, failed to pass before the end of the session.
5.29.17: Regular session of the 85th Legislature adjourns.
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