Supreme Court Sides Against Same-Sex Couples

Whether they intended or not, the justices sent same-sex couples a message about who is welcome.

www.advocate.com/business/2018/6/04/supreme-court-sides-against-same-sex-couples

Supreme Court rules in favor of anti-gay baker in wedding cake case
Only Ginsburg and Sotomayor opposed the narrow ruling in favor of the baker.

www.queerty.com/supreme-court-rules-favor-anti-gay-baker-wedding-cake-case-20180604?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29

Taylor Swift Marks Pride Month with Message for ‘Brave’ Out LGBTQ Fans at Chicago Concert: WATCH

Taylor Swift marked Pride month with a special message for fans at the Chicago stop on her Reputation tour on June 2.

Said Swift: “It’s very brave to be vulnerable about your feelings in any sense, in any situation, but it’s even more brave to be honest about your feelings and who you love when you know that it might be met with adversity from society…And so, this month and every month I want to send my love and respect to everybody who has been brave enough to be honest about how they feel, to live their lives as they are, as they feel they should be, as they identify. And this is a month where I think we need to celebrate how far we’ve come, but I think we also need to acknowledge how far we still have left to go.”

She added: “I want to send my love and respect to everybody who in their journey and their life hasn’t felt comfortable enough to come out yet… and may you do that on your own time and may we end up in a world where everyone can live and love equally and no one has to be afraid to be vulnerable and say how they feel. When it comes to feelings and when it comes to love and searching for someone to spend your whole life with… it’s all just really, really delicate, you know?”

The post Taylor Swift Marks Pride Month with Message for ‘Brave’ Out LGBTQ Fans at Chicago Concert: WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.

Taylor Swift Marks Pride Month with Message for ‘Brave’ Out LGBTQ Fans at Chicago Concert: WATCH

Narrow Scope of SCOTUS Ruling in Masterpiece Cakeshop Case Does Not Change Civil Rights Laws

Today, HRC released the following statement following the decision from the Supreme Court of the United States in the case of Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission.

The Supreme Court has ruled that the state of Colorado’s enforcement of its civil rights law was flawed, while reaffirming that LGBTQ Americans should not face discrimination in the provision of goods and services and state law may continue to prohibit such discrimination.

“In today’s narrow ruling against the Colorado Civil Rights Commission, the Supreme Court acknowledged that LGBTQ people are equal and have a right to live free from the indignity of discrimination,” said HRC President Chad Griffin. “Anti-LGBTQ extremists did not win the sweeping ‘license to discriminate’ they have been hoping for — and today’s ruling does not change our nation’s longstanding civil rights laws. Yet, the fact remains that LGBTQ people face alarming levels of discrimination all across the country and HRC’s efforts to advance equality are as urgent as ever. With LGBTQ people at risk of being fired, evicted or denied services in 31 states, HRC continues to build momentum for the Equality Act, to elect pro-equality candidates up and down the ballot, and to fight in every corner of our country to advance policies that protect LGBTQ people from being targeted for who they are or whom they love.”

With our allies, HRC will continue to fight against discrimination in all its forms — in communities across the country, at the ballot box, and in court. This year, HRC will continue to push to elect a pro-equality Congress and to work toward ensuring lasting, legal protections for the LGBTQ community. In addition, HRC will continue to push for the passage of the federal Equality Act. The bipartisan Equality Act would provide clear and consistent non-discrimination protections on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity across key areas of life, including employment, housing, federally-funded programs, public spaces and services, education, credit, and jury service.

The Masterpiece Cakeshop case involves a baker who refused to serve a gay couple in violation of Colorado’s statewide non-discrimination law. Represented by the SPLC-designated hate group Alliance Defending Freedom, the baker — who lost before the Colorado Supreme Court — claimed that he should be able to discriminate against LGBTQ people on religious freedom and freedom of speech grounds. The Trump-Pence Administration filed an amicus brief in this case in support of the baker’s claim.

HRC organized two major amicus briefs in the case featuring the nation’s leading bakers, chefs, and restaurateurs; as well as top businesses who oppose discrimination against LGBTQ people. The first brief inspired by  “Chefs for Equality” included more than 240 bakers, chefs, restaurateurs, and other culinary industry leaders from all 50 states, plus Washington, DC. They joined together to relay a very simple message: businesses must welcome all. If a business is open on main street, it must be open to everyone, regardless of who they are or whom they love. Backed by food professionals from Orlando, FL, to Seattle, WA, and Dallas, TX, to Philadelphia, PA, the brief was also signed by some of the most prominent names in the culinary industry, including Elizabeth Falkner, Jose Andres, Sophie LaMontagne and Katherine Berman of Georgetown Cupcake, Carla Hall, Padma Lakshmi, Christina Tosi, Anthony Bourdain, Tom Colicchio, Duff Goldman, Sam Kass, and many more. The brief was authored by Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, an international law firm headquartered in Washington, DC.

Additionally, dozens of major corporations spoke out in another HRC-led amicus brief. These companies sent a powerful message to the Supreme Court, as well as LGBTQ people and allies across the nation. With one voice, they made clear that a business owner’s personal beliefs should never be reason enough to discriminate against a customer because of who they are or whom they love. The business brief was authored by Steptoe & Johnson LLP, an international law firm headquartered in Washington, DC, and was signed by major corporations from a diverse spectrum of industries, from Apple and Intel to Levi’s and Mass Mutual. The full list of signatories includes Affirm, Inc.; Airbnb, Inc.; Amalgamated Bank; Amazon.com, Inc.; American Airlines; Apple; Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Inc.; Choice Hotels International, Inc., International; Cisco Systems, Inc.; Citigroup Inc.; Deutsche Bank; Glassdoor, Inc.; Intel Corporation; John Hancock; Levi Strauss & Co.; Linden Research, Inc.; Lyft Inc.; Marriott International, Inc.; MassMutual; Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams; MongoDB, Inc.; National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce; NIO U.S.; PayPal Holdings, Inc.; Pfizer Inc; Postmates Inc; PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP; Prudential Financial, Inc.; Replacements, Ltd.; salesforce.com, inc.; SurveyMonkey; The Estée Lauder Companies Inc.; Uber Technologies, Inc.; WeddingWire, Inc.; Weebly, Inc.; Witeck Communications; and Yelp Inc.

www.hrc.org/blog/narrow-scope-of-scotus-ruling-in-masterpiece-cakeshop-case-does-not-change?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

We Can Protect Religious Liberty Without Denying Rights to LGBT People

The Do No Harm Act would end this current game of discrimination.

www.advocate.com/commentary/2018/6/04/we-can-protect-religious-liberty-without-denying-rights-lgbt-people

Jim Parsons Unloads on Roseanne’s Tweets (How? Why?), Red State Sitcoms, and His Very Traditional Marriage: WATCH

Boys in the Band and Big Bang Theory star Jim Parsons sat down with CNN’s Van Jones (above) for a chat about a variety of topics, starting with Roseanne’s tweets.

Said Parsons: “I only felt about it on an emotional scale, so I guess that’s what I’ll say. Which was, ‘how?’ and ‘why?’ That was really my only reaction to it. I was surprised [the show] was cancelled immediately…But really to the face of it – just reading that tweet several times – I was like ‘how did you type that?’”

He also spoke about how entertainers today are held to higher standards than elected officials: “I did have one thought though which was that it’s okay to say certain things as an elected official right now that it is not necessarily okay to say as an entertainer and I find that fascinating…If your job is put into place by the votes of the citizens, then you can still get by. In this case, ABC cut ties with something that was obviously going to be a cash cow for them for however long.”

Jones then asked about red state sitcoms and whether there should be more of them.

Said Parsons: “Working in the industry I do get the sense that we are surrounded at the creative level by more of the left leaning mindset and heartset than the right-leaning…I have so many conservative traits about me. I’m such a family-first type of guy. Perhaps I have a more expansive view of family…I don’t see that as a left or right type of thing.”

Parsons also spoke about his marriage: “The big deal, which really took me by surprise was how – and this goes to me being a bit of a traditionalist – or maybe just human – was how meaningful the day was. We did it because it was meaningful, but to actually go through the wedding; to be there in front of all of your loved ones, and your family. It gave such meaning to doing this so people could bear witness to it. It meant so much more to me than I was prepared for. Especially having grown up where it wasn’t a possibility. And so it wasn’t a dream.”

The post Jim Parsons Unloads on Roseanne’s Tweets (How? Why?), Red State Sitcoms, and His Very Traditional Marriage: WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.

Jim Parsons Unloads on Roseanne’s Tweets (How? Why?), Red State Sitcoms, and His Very Traditional Marriage: WATCH