Prominent red carpet reporter Marc Malkin comes out as HIV-positive
“On this beautiful day of LGBTQ pride, I have something to say for the first time.”

www.queerty.com/prominent-red-carpet-reporter-marc-malkin-comes-hiv-positive-20180613?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29

New Jersey’s Capital City Trenton Just Elected its First Gay Mayor, Reed Gusciora, in Stunning Upset Win

Assemblyman Reed Gusciora has been elected mayor of Trenton, New Jersey, and is the first gay man to hold that office.

The Trentonian reports: “In stunning fashion, Gusciora (D-Mercer/Hunterdon) knocked off opponent Paul Perez by a 4,500-to-4,145 margin, according to unofficial election results…Gusciora’s upset win comes even more as a surprise since he was shy of Perez by 740 votes in the May election. Gusciora may be one of the first mayoral candidates to finish second in the May election and then cruise to victory in the June runoff. Gusciora, who came out in 2006 as the state’s first openly gay legislator, led the charge to legalize gay marriage and civil unions in New Jersey.”

The post New Jersey’s Capital City Trenton Just Elected its First Gay Mayor, Reed Gusciora, in Stunning Upset Win appeared first on Towleroad.

New Jersey’s Capital City Trenton Just Elected its First Gay Mayor, Reed Gusciora, in Stunning Upset Win

HRC Statement on American Medical Association Endorsement of Two LGBTQ-Inclusive Policies

Today, HRC Foundation praised the American Medical Association (AMA) for endorsing two new pro-LGBTQ policies, one focused on appropriate treatment and placement of transgender prisoners and one supporting the inclusion of LGBTQ people in medical leave policies. The AMA and its members will advocate for these policies, adopted at the AMA annual meeting earlier this week.

The AMA has endorsed a policy on transgender prisoners urging correctional facilities to allow prisoners to be housed in facilities consistent with their gender identity and to cease the use of administrative segregation and solitary confinement based on transgender status . In many cases, transgender prisoners are forced into incorrect facilities, leading to increased levels of harassment and violence, or forced into solitary housing simply based upon the fact that they are transgender . The policy regarding family and medical leave calls for a more inclusive definition of “family” in the application of family and medical leave laws, including the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), that would specifically include LGBTQ-led households.

“It is heartening that the American Medical Association continues to lead the way in endorsing policies that would improve the health outcomes of LGBTQ Americans,” said Mary Beth Maxwell, Senior Vice President for Programs, Research and Training at the Human Rights Campaign. “These policies would allow transgender prisoners to be treated with dignity and respect while incarcerated, and help to expand LGBTQ-led families’ access to family and medical leave.”

Earlier this year, HRC Foundation released a report detailing the results of its groundbreaking nationwide survey of LGBTQ people that reveals an urgent need for inclusive employer-paid family and medical leave. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), a federal law guaranteeing certain employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave per year.

Read more about the AMA’s LGBTQ-inclusive policies here.

www.hrc.org/blog/hrc-on-american-medical-association-endorsement-of-two-lgtbq-inclusive-poli?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Apple CEO Tim Cook Talks Equality and Coming Out: ‘I Did It for a Greater Purpose’ – WATCH

In a wide-ranging interview (above) with Bloomberg’s David Rubenstein, Apple CEO Tim Cook spoke about if he’d ever consider running for president, his recent meeting with Trump, Apple’s products and succeeding founder Steve Jobs, as well as the issues of privacy and equality, including his own coming out.

Said Cook: “Many of the problems of the world come down to the lack of equality. It’s the fact that it’s the kid who is born in one ZIP code doesn’t have a good education because he happens to be born in that ZIP code. It’s someone who is maybe in the LGBT community who is fired because of that. It’s someone who has a different religion than the majority and are therefore ostracized in some way. If one day you could wave a wand and everybody would treat each other with dignity and respect, there are many, many problems that would go away with that….I (decided to come out) for a greater purpose. I realized there were a lot of kids out there that were not being treated very well—including in their own families. Kids need someone to say ‘oh, they did okay in life, and they’re gay, so it must not be a life sentence in some kind of way.’ We’re getting these notes… it would tug on my heart even more, and it got to the point, and it got to the point where I thought, I’m making the wrong call, by trying to do something that is comfortable for me, which is to stay private. I needed to do something for the greater good.”

The post Apple CEO Tim Cook Talks Equality and Coming Out: ‘I Did It for a Greater Purpose’ – WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.

Apple CEO Tim Cook Talks Equality and Coming Out: ‘I Did It for a Greater Purpose’ – WATCH

#AM_Equality Tipsheet: June 13, 2018

SHAMEFUL — AG JEFF SESSIONS SAYS DOMESTIC AND GANG VIOLENCE ARE NOT GROUNDS FOR ASYLUM: Sessions’ decision will have wide-reaching negative consequences for countless asylum-seekers looking for safe havens to escape deadly violence. In too many countries, gang violence is pervasive, and it disproportionately targets the LGBTQ community — especially transgender people. The Trump-Pence administration continues to recklessly put lives in jeopardy by blocking people in extreme danger from reaching safety in the U.S. HRC will continue to stand up against attacks on all communities by Trump-Pence and call out the peril in which their shameful tactics place the international LGBTQ community. More from The New York Times.

• Reports show this heartless decision is partially in response to recent reports about  a caravan of migrants traveling to the southern border from Central America, including LGBTQ people, seeking asylum in the United States. Tragically, a transgender women on the caravan, Roxsana Hernandez, recently died in ICE custody. HRC has called for an investigation into her death. More from HRC.

Shameful. Heartless. Un-American. This administration isn’t even attempting to mask their bigotry. Innocent lives, including those of LGBTQ ppl, are in the balance & Trump-Pence-Sessions are turning their backs. t.co/ScJCcE5hU6

— Chad Griffin (@ChadHGriffin) June 12, 2018

HRC CELEBRATES VICTORIES FOR PRO-EQUALITY CHAMPIONS IN NEVADA PRIMARY: Pro-equality candidates Rep. Dina Titus (NV-01), Rep. Jacky Rosen (NV-03) for U.S. Senate, Kate Marshall for Lt. Governor, State Senator Aaron Ford for Attorney General, Assemblyman Nelson Araujo for Secretary of State and Susie Lee for Congress won their primaries yesterday. “HRC was proud to support pro-equality candidates in these crucial races up and down the ballot, and will continue to mobilize our thousands of members and supporters in the Silver State to turn out for equality in the months ahead,” said HRC Nevada State Manager Briana Escamilla. More from HRC.

HRC CONGRATULATES PRO-EQUALITY CALEB FROSTMAN ON HIS WI STATE SENATE WIN: “This is a historic day for Wisconsin and an exciting victory for Caleb Frostman,” said HRC Wisconsin State Manager Wendy Strout. “Throughout these crucial special elections, HRC was proud to mobilize our members and supporters in Senate District 1 on behalf of Frostman, who is deeply committed to moving equality forward in the Badger State. We look forward to harnessing the same energy that led him to victory to elect pro-equality candidates up and down the ballot this fall, in Wisconsin and across the country.” More from HRC.

WHAT WE’RE READING WEDNESDAY: Following the tragedy at Pulse two years ago, local governments and nonprofits created the Family Assistance Center at Camping World Stadium to address urgent practical and emotional needs for survivors and victims families. A month later, the Orlando United Assistance Center (OUAC) opened as a long-term hub of services and support for survivors, victims’ families and other community members affected by the Pulse tragedy.  HRC spoke with Joél Morales, the Community Partnerships Manager for the Orlando United Assistance Center, about the five most important things they have learned about how communities heal after tragedy. Read it here.

• Yesterday, HRC honored the lives of the 49 people — most of them young, LGBTQ and Latinx — killed in the LGBTQ nightclub attack two years ago with a moment of silence at the HRC headquarters. More from Washington Blade and Teen Vogue.
• We must do more to end the epidemic of gun violence in America. More from John Paul Brammer (@JPBrammer) from them.

#MustRead: @HRC sat down with Orlando United Assistance Center’s Joél Morales to learn about how the community has come together to heal from the senseless massacre at #Pulse nightclub two years ago. #HonorThemWithAction t.co/CZENK4R7LU

— Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) June 12, 2018

PENTAGON’S LEADERS SNUB LGBTQ SERVICE MEMBERS THIS PRIDE MONTH: For the first time since the repeal of the discriminatory  ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell,’ the Department of Defense failed to recognize LGBTQ Pride Month. The silence is especially deafening in light of the Trump-Pence administration’s unconstitutional ban on qualified transgender service members. Reminder: This ban is opposed by national security leaders, military officials, servicemembers’ organizations and a wide, bipartisan swath of elected officials, including top Republicans in Congress. More from Advocate.

NPR REPORTS ON HOW QUALIFIED, PROSPECTIVE LGBTQ FAMILIES COULD BE DENIED THE OPPORTUNITY TO TAKE IN A CHILD IN NEED: Rebekah Wilson and Kris Williams are ready to expand their family, but fear what will happen in light of Oklahoma’s anti-LGBTQ adoption law that grants child welfare agencies a license to discriminate against LGBTQ individuals and same-sex couples, among others. This year, Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin and Kansas Governor Jeff Colyer signed bills that would allow child welfare organizations to turn away qualified prospective parents seeking to care for a child in need, including LGBTQ parents or other parents to whom the agency has a religious objection. More from Rachel Hubbard (@kosurachel) at All Things Considered.

HORRIFYING — THIRD TRANS WOMAN SHOT THIS YEAR IN JACKSONVILLE, FLA: The victim of Friday’s attack survived and is recovering. Antash’a English and Celine Walker were shot to death in separate incidents in Jacksonville — English on June 1, and Walker earlier this year. Inexcusably, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office continues to misgender the women. More from The Florida Times Union.

• 2017 was the deadliest year on record for transgender people. Learn how organizations like HRC and the New York City Anti-Violence Project are working against this epidemic of violence from CNN.

MAINE TO ISSUE DRIVER LICENSES WITH OPTION FOR ‘X’ GENDER MARKER: Maine joins Oregon, California and the District of Columbia in making this option available. More from The Boston Globe.

WHY WE NEED TO BEGIN COLLECTING CENSUS DATA ON LGBTQ AMERICANS: Inclusive data collection policies are vital to understanding and improving the health and well being of LGBTQ Americans. While some federal data on LGBTQ communities is collected, there is no requirement prioritizing the collection of LGBTQ data in federal surveys. More from Public News Service.

• The D.C. Council has introduced a bill that would require the city’s Department of Health and Office of the State Superintendent of Education to collect demographic data on sexual orientation and gender identity as part of their public health surveys of adults and students. More from Washington Blade.

BUH-BYE — ANTI-TRANS EXTREMIST JAZMINA SAAVEDRA CRUSHED IN CONGRESSIONAL BID IN CALIFORNIA:  In May, HRC and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law called on California Attorney General Xavier Becerra to investigate an incident during which Saavedra recorded and posted a non-consensual video following a transgender woman into a bathroom, harassing her and repeatedly and intentionally misgendering her. More from Georgia Voice.

DISTURBING — SAME-SEX COUPLE KICKED OUT OF UBER AFTER KISSING: Uber says it’s investigating a report by two women who were harassed and asked to leave by their driver, who called their affection “illegal” and “disrespectful.” In a statement, Uber said it “does not tolerate any form of discrimination, and we have reached out to the rider regarding her experience.” More from NBC.

RUPERT EVERETT REVEALS HOMOPHOBIA FACED IN HOLLYWOOD: “But there were three or four big films, when I was successful, that I was absolutely blocked from, when the director and the other actors wanted me to be in the film, by a studio, just for the fact of being gay,” he told the Press Association.

HATE GROUP TARGETS PENNSYLVANIA HIGH SCHOOL FOR SHOWING ANTI-BULLYING MESSAGE: The American Family Association — a known anti-LGBTQ hate group — is attacking the Emmaus High School LGBTQ student club for showing a video during the morning announcement spreading awareness about anti-LGBTQ bullying. More from The Morning Call.

PRIDE MONTH ROUNDUP

USA TODAY RELEASES ‘FACES OF PRIDE,’ HONORING LGBTQ ADVOCATES ACROSS THE COUNTRY: Read the full list at USA Today.

For #PrideMonth @USATODAY released “Faces of Pride” honoring #LGBTQ advocates from across the country, including @FairAnchorage‘s @MsLillianLennon, @HRC Board of Governors member @LouWeaver, Washington state’s Danny Cords (@cordsd) & Rep. @BrianSimsPA t.co/vihN954Zg6

— Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) June 13, 2018

NFL AND MLB TO MARCH IN NYC PRIDE PARADE FOR FIRST TIME: They will join representatives from the NHL, NBA, WNBA, MLS and National Women’s Hockey League who have marched in the past. More from The Hill.

RESOURCES ON COMING OUT AS LGBTQ: Resources from HRC and the Trevor Project are included on the list at a plus. And more from USA Today.

GLOBAL EQUALITY NEWS

PRO-EQUALITY PRIEST JAMES MARTIN, S.J. (@JamesMartinSJ), TO SPEAK AT WORLD MEETING OF FAMILIES: Martin’s talk is titled “Showing Welcome and Respect in Our Parishes for LGBTI+ People and Their Families.” Organizers have advocated for the meeting — organized by the Roman Catholic Church — to be more LGBTQ-inclusive. More from America Magazine.

FRENCH SAME-SEX COUPLE WELCOMES LGBTQ MALI REFUGEE INTO HOME: More from the UN Refugee Agency.

READING RAINBOW – Bookmark now to read on your lunch break!

Fast Company looks at the history of LGBTQ equality in the workplace; Texas Observer rides the bull with the Texas gay Rodeo Association; Montgomery News interviews Adoption Center Executive Director Ken Mullner, whose agency was awarded the HRC All Children-All Families Seal of Approval

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-june-13-2018?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Donald Trump Claims North Korea is ‘No Longer a Nuclear Threat’, Attacks ‘Punchy’ Robert De Niro in New Tweetstorm

Donald Trump claimed there is no longer a threat from North Korea in a series of tweets lauding himself for making America safe again.

Tweeted Trump on Wednesday morning: “Just landed – a long trip, but everybody can now feel much safer than the day I took office. There is no longer a Nuclear Threat from North Korea. Meeting with Kim Jong Un was an interesting and very positive experience. North Korea has great potential for the future! …Before taking office people were assuming that we were going to War with North Korea. President Obama said that North Korea was our biggest and most dangerous problem. No longer – sleep well tonight! …We save a fortune by not doing war games, as long as we are negotiating in good faith – which both sides are!”

Just landed – a long trip, but everybody can now feel much safer than the day I took office. There is no longer a Nuclear Threat from North Korea. Meeting with Kim Jong Un was an interesting and very positive experience. North Korea has great potential for the future!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 13, 2018

Before taking office people were assuming that we were going to War with North Korea. President Obama said that North Korea was our biggest and most dangerous problem. No longer – sleep well tonight!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 13, 2018

We save a fortune by not doing war games, as long as we are negotiating in good faith – which both sides are!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 13, 2018

Trump also blasted OPEC: “Oil prices are too high, OPEC is at it again. Not good!”

Oil prices are too high, OPEC is at it again. Not good!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 13, 2018

He applauded the U.S. getting the World Cup in 2026: “The U.S., together with Mexico and Canada, just got the World Cup. Congratulations – a great deal of hard work!”

The U.S., together with Mexico and Canada, just got the World Cup. Congratulations – a great deal of hard work!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 13, 2018

And he attacked Robert De Niro, who blasted him at the Tony Awards on Sunday night: “Robert De Niro, a very Low IQ individual, has received too many shots to the head by real boxers in movies. I watched him last night and truly believe he may be “punch-drunk.” I guess he doesn’t……realize the economy is the best it’s ever been with employment being at an all time high, and many companies pouring back into our country. Wake up Punchy!”

…realize the economy is the best it’s ever been with employment being at an all time high, and many companies pouring back into our country. Wake up Punchy!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 13, 2018

The post Donald Trump Claims North Korea is ‘No Longer a Nuclear Threat’, Attacks ‘Punchy’ Robert De Niro in New Tweetstorm appeared first on Towleroad.

Donald Trump Claims North Korea is ‘No Longer a Nuclear Threat’, Attacks ‘Punchy’ Robert De Niro in New Tweetstorm

HRC Congratulates Pro-Equality Champion Caleb Frostman

HRC released the following statement celebrating the victory of Caleb Frostman in Wisconsin State Senate District 1– a proven champion of equality who will fight for Wisconsin’s working families.

“This is a historic day for Wisconsin and an exciting victory for Caleb Frostman,” said HRC Wisconsin State Manager Wendy Strout. “Throughout these crucial special elections, HRC was proud to mobilize our members and supporters in Senate District 1 on behalf of Frostman, who is deeply committed to moving equality forward in the Badger State. We look forward to harnessing the same energy that led him to victory to elect pro-equality candidates up and down the ballot this fall, in Wisconsin and across the country.”

In Wisconsin, HRC has identified more than 560,000 “Equality Voters” — voters who support LGBTQ-inclusive policies including marriage equality, equitable family law, and laws that would prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. HRC has prioritized investments and organizing in Wisconsin in the 2018 cycle, and has had staff and resources on the ground in the state since last fall. Last year, HRC announced a coast-to-coast campaign called HRC Rising, which represents the largest grassroots expansion in the organization’s 38-year history.

www.hrc.org/blog/hrc-on-pro-equality-champion-caleb-frostman?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Unlikely Duo of Téa Leoni, T Cooper Team Up to Explore Trans Bodies

Bodybuilders — and metamorphoses — are at the center of the fascinating new doc Man Made.

www.advocate.com/transgender/2018/6/13/unlikely-duo-tea-leoni-t-cooper-team-explore-trans-bodies