Luke Evans, Masha Gessen, Brett Kavanaugh, Iran, Quiet Skies, Guy Branum, Jack’d, Lindsay Lohan, John Kelly: HOT LINKS

Luke Evans, Masha Gessen, Brett Kavanaugh, Iran, Quiet Skies, Guy Branum, Jack’d, Lindsay Lohan, John Kelly: HOT LINKS
Mehcad Brooks

RIP. Patriarch of An American Family, Bill Loud dies at 97.

LUNCH DATE. Obama and Biden grabbed lunch at Georgetown bakery.

Look who stopped by @DogTagBakery for lunch today! Thank you @BarackObama and @JoeBiden for supporting our mission of empowering veterans with service-connected disabilities, military spouses, and military caregivers! #BakingADifference #veterans #milspouses #caregivers pic.twitter.com/bLHttsgXJF

— Dog Tag Bakery (@DogTagBakery) July 30, 2018

Brett Kavanaugh / PD-USGov

BRETT KAVANAUGH. Trump SCOTUS nominee sided with Trump in 2012 casino dispute: ‘Kavanaugh was one of three Republican-appointed judges who in 2012 voted unanimously to set aside an order by the National Labor Relations Board that would have required the Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, to bargain with the United Auto Workers.

SHE’S BACK. Lindsay Lohan releases teaser for MTV reality show set in Mykonos.

QUIET SKIES. TSA program surveilled ordinary Americans not under any type of investigation.

NO PRECONDITIONS. Trump says he’d meet with Iranian president. “I’m ready to meet any time they want to,” Trump said during a joint press conference with Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte. “If they want to meet, I’ll meet.”

MASHA GESSEN. What the Provincetown AIDS Memorial leaves out. “All memorials smooth over history, leaving out much of the passion, the tragedy, and, most of all, the stories of the victims. (The two-hundred-and-fifty-foot Pilgrim Monument that towers over Provincetown, indeed almost directly over the new aids memorial, is a study in omissions.) The AIDS monument, too, is remarkable for what it omits.”

RON DESANTIS. Florida gubernatorial candidate teaches kids about Trump in stomach-churning new campaign ad.

CHIEF IN NAME ONLY. John Kelly’s impotence: “A year into the job, Kelly’s attempts to implement traditional processes in an untraditional White House have failed, according to a dozen people in and outside the administration — though virtually all concede the West Wing runs better than it used to.”

VOGUE ITALIA. New Madonna shoot by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggot.

NASHVILLE. Man uses social app Jack’d to meet and rob gay man. ‘Desmond S. Clements, who has a lengthy criminal background and lives in Atlanta, is charged with robbery, criminal impersonation and vandalism following the weekend incident and, as of Monday, was being jailed in Nashville on $11,500 bond. According to an arrest affidavit, Clements met the man on Jack’d, a dating app for gay men, and arranged for him to come to the home where he was staying. When the man arrived, the affidavit states, Clements demanded $100 from him causing the man fear.’

LUKE EVANS. Speedoed out in Portofino.

GUY BRANUM. My gay voice: ‘We have to sound “like that” so we can find each other. Gays are a small, diffuse, physically invisible minority. This is deeply isolating. We spend most of our lives in a world built for straight people, where only 70 to 80 percent of our actual life is executable. It takes other gay people for us to have sex, but also for other, less basic operations of identity. Sharing experiences, building relationships and fighting for equality. Silent, we are isolated. Using our voices, we become a culture and a family.’

TEXTING WHILE DRIVING OF THE DAY. A stationary bicyclist gets clobbered by a cop who isn’t paying attention.

SURVIVOR OF THE DAY. A dog is found living in a burnt-out house in Mati, Attica, Greece, after wildfires raged through.

TRAILER OF THE DAY. Maniac starring Jonah Hill and Emma Stone, Justin Theroux and Sally Field.

MONDAY MUSCLE. Mehcad Brooks.

Instagram Photo

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Luke Evans, Masha Gessen, Brett Kavanaugh, Iran, Quiet Skies, Guy Branum, Jack’d, Lindsay Lohan, John Kelly: HOT LINKS

HRC Mourns the Passing of Former Congressman and Mayor Ron Dellums

HRC Mourns the Passing of Former Congressman and Mayor Ron Dellums

Today, HRC mourned the passing of former U.S. Representative and former Oakland mayor Ron Dellums.

“Throughout his life, Ron Dellums was a courageous voice in the fight for justice at home and abroad,” said HRC President Chad Griffin. “From his historic fight against South Africa’s apartheid to his early support of lesbian, gay and bisexual service members and advocacy for HIV research, prevention and services, Ron Dellums leaves behind a legacy of action on behalf of those facing discrimination and prejudice. HRC extends our deepest condolences to the Dellums family and all those who knew this champion of equality.”

As a member of Congress, Dellums consistently earned a perfect score of 100 on HRC’s Congressional Scorecard. Then-Representative Dellums was a co-sponsor of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and voted against the so-called Defense of Marriage Act in 1996. As the chairman of the U.S. House Armed Services Committee, Dellums was an early supporter of allowing lesbian, gay and bisexual Americans to serve openly in the military.

www.hrc.org/blog/hrc-mourns-the-passing-of-former-congressman-and-oakland-mayor-ron-dellums?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

GLAAD denounces Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ announcement of a ‘Religious Liberty’ Task Force

GLAAD denounces Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ announcement of a ‘Religious Liberty’ Task Force

GLAAD today denounced Attorney General Sessions’ announcement of his new Religious Liberty Task Force at the Department of Justice’s Religious Liberty Summit. As stated by Sessions, the group’s purpose is to ensure that the Justice Department upholds the administration’s guidance for religious exemptions, which he released in October.

“Though freedom of religion is a core American value, religious exemptions from adhering to non-discrimination protections are not,” said Sarah Kate Ellis, President and CEO of GLAAD. “Sessions’ announcement today is yet another example of the Trump administration’s anti-LGBTQ agenda as they seek to weave protections for those seeking anti-LGBTQ religious exemptions into the government.”

Sessions claimed that the goal of this task force is to accommodate people of faith, but his explanation of its purpose and his extensive anti-LGBTQ record suggest otherwise. Sessions has a long history of defending the use of “religious exemptions” to discriminate against LGBTQ people and opposing non-discrimination protections for the community. In his announcement, Sessions called attention to legal battles such as Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, in which lawyers from the Southern Poverty Law Center-designated anti-LGBTQ hate group Alliance Defending Freedom argued that Jack Phillips had the right to discriminate against two men who were seeking a wedding cake based on their sexual orientation.

Today’s Religious Liberty Summit featured a number of panelists, each boasting a lengthy anti-LGBTQ record. Among those honored in Sessions’ speech were Kerri Kupec, Archbishop Joseph Kurtz, Jack Phillips, Senator Lankford, and Emilie Kao. Their anti-LGBTQ records are detailed below.

Today’s event comes on the heels of the Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom, hosted last week by the vehemently anti-LGBTQ Ambassador of International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback. The ministerial was largely focused on global issues that the administration frames as pertaining to religious freedom, but invited a multitude of prominent anti-LGBTQ figures to speak, including Tony Perkins, the most frequently booked anti-LGBTQ pundit and president of the anti-LGBTQ group Family Research Council (FRC), and ADF CEO Michael Farris. ADF was intimately involved in the Religious Liberty Summit, issuing a press release a few days prior calling attention to the event.

ANTI-LGBTQ RECORDS OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY SUMMIT PANELISTS

Former ADF staffer and current DOJ Media Affairs Specialist Kerri Kupec’s anti-LGBTQ record:

Condemned Yelp for supporting trans students, saying “Big business shouldn’t be advocating for boys to share the girls’ locker rooms and showers — and vice versa — in our public schools.”

Claims transgender support “renders sex meaningless” and that money and politics are the reasons the Obama administration took a favorable stand

–Against all available evidence, argued that North Carolina’s infamous HB2 was “good for business” and “absolutely not” anti-transgender

President of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Archbishop Joseph Kurtz’s anti-LGBTQ record:

Referred to marriage equality as a “tragic error”

Jack Phillips’ anti-LGBTQ record:

–Plaintiff in the recent Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission Supreme Court case, which he narrowly won on grounds particular to his case

Represented in this case by ADF, which consistently litigates for religious exemptions from non-discrimination laws

Senator James Lankford’s anti-LGBTQ record:

Believes it is acceptable to fire people based on their sexual orientation

Heritage Foundation staffer Emilie Kao’s anti-LGBTQ record:

–In a piece called “The Left’s Assault on Adoption,” argued that adoption agencies have the right to discriminate against LGBTQ couples based on their sexual orientation

July 30, 2018
Tags: 

www.glaad.org/blog/glaad-denounces-attorney-general-jeff-sessions%E2%80%99-announcement-%E2%80%98religious-liberty%E2%80%99-task-force

Imagine Dragons Frontman Dan Reynolds to LGBTQ Youth: ‘We Need You. We Love You. We Accept You.’ – WATCH

Imagine Dragons Frontman Dan Reynolds to LGBTQ Youth: ‘We Need You. We Love You. We Accept You.’ – WATCH
dan reynolds lgbtq

Imagine Dragons frontman Dan Reynolds spoke out for LGBTQ equality (above)  at the Love Loud Festival Sunday night at the Rice Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, Utah. The festival supports LGBTQ charities.

Reynolds spoke at the end of an Imagine Dragons set before launching into the track “Believer”.

Said Reynolds. “We’ve got one last song for you. We love you. We love you. To our LGBTQ youth, stay with us every day. We need you, we love you, we accept you. Your love is valid, it’s pure, it’s true, it’s beautiful. We stand with you.  Love Loud will be here. We’re just going to stay here. Thank you for raising over a million dollars tonight. Peace, love, equality. We’ll see you again soon.”

Reynolds, a straight Mormon, is the subject of the new documentary Believer, directed by Don Argott (DeLorean, Batman & Bill, The Art of the Steal), which follows Reynolds as he explores how the LDS church treats its LGBTQ members.

The doc, which premiered at Sundance, began airing on HBO this summer.

Reynolds told Billboard in 2017: “One of the reasons I’ve felt such a need to speak out on this is I’ve gotten countless emails and letters from fans around the world who said, ‘I’m gay, but I know you’re Mormon so that probably means you don’t accept my lifestyle, but I love ‘It’s Time’ and your music.’ That was devastating and it broke my heart to get letters like that. I’ve written back to these people to tell them, “No, I do support you and I’m here for you.” It’s been a driving force for me to raise awareness and make a difference and not just sit back to let people feel that hurt. “It’s Time” reached a lot in a lot of different ways.”

Apple CEO Tim Cook also spoke at the concert: “I stand before you tonight as an uncle, a sports nut, a CEO, a lover of the beautiful Utah outdoors, and a proud gay American. I’ve come to deliver a simple message that I want every LGBTQ person to hear and to believe: You are a gift to the world, a unique and special gift just the way you are. Your life matters. To you I say, find your truth, speak your truth, live your truth.”

Watch:

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Imagine Dragons Frontman Dan Reynolds to LGBTQ Youth: ‘We Need You. We Love You. We Accept You.’ – WATCH

DOJ Creates Task Force to Defend Anti-LGBTQ Discrimination in the Name of “Religious Liberty”

DOJ Creates Task Force to Defend Anti-LGBTQ Discrimination in the Name of “Religious Liberty”

Today, HRC blasted the Trump-Pence Administration’s creation of a taxpayer-funded task force as part of their ongoing campaign to license discrimination against LGBTQ people in the public square. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the creation of the task force this morning at the U.S. Department of Justice alongside anti-LGBTQ extremists from Alliance Defending Freedom and the Colorado baker who refused to serve a gay couple in violation of the state’s nondiscrimination law. It will be led by Jesse Panuccio, who was an attorney in 2010 for supporters of Proposition 8, California’s same-sex marriage ban.

“This taxpayer funded task force is yet another example of the Trump-Pence White House and Jeff Sessions sanctioning discrimination against LGBTQ people,” said HRC Legal Director Sarah Warbelow. “Over the last 18 months, Donald Trump, Mike Pence and Jeff Sessions have engaged in a brazen campaign to erode and limit the rights of LGBTQ people in the name of religion..  The Attorney General standing shoulder-to-shoulder this morning with anti-LGBTQ extremists tells you everything you need to know about what today’s announcement was really all about.”

Today’s announcement is the latest effort in an 18-month campaign by the Trump-Administration to license discrimination against LGBTQ people for so-called ‘religious’ reasons. Last year, Donald Trump issued an Executive Order directing Jeff Sessions to look across the federal government and assess ways in which the administration could license discrimination at government agencies. In January, the Department of Health and Human Services announced the creation of a so-called “Conscience” Division, empowering health care providers to discriminate against LGBTQ people. The Trump Administration has also proposed rule permitting health care providers–doctors, nurses, and even non medical support staff like receptionists–to deny even potentially life-saving care to LGBTQ people, women, and other vulnerable communities on the basis of the worker’s personal beliefs.

HRC has been chronicling the Trump-Pence Administration’s onslaught of attacks on the LGBTQ community here: www.hrc.org/timelines/trump.

www.hrc.org/blog/doj-creates-religious-liberty-taskforce-to-defend-anti-lgbtq-discrimination?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

New Land O’Lakes CEO Beth Ford Breaks Barrier as First Openly Gay Woman to Lead a Fortune 500 Company

New Land O’Lakes CEO Beth Ford Breaks Barrier as First Openly Gay Woman to Lead a Fortune 500 Company
Beth Ford Land O Lakes

Beth Ford Land O Lakes

Land O’Lakes has named Beth Ford its new CEO. Ford is the first openly gay woman named CEO of a Fortune 500 company.

Fortune reports: ‘When Ford—who was previously the chief operating officer of the $14 billion cooperative—takes on the role on August 1, she will become one of 25 women running a Fortune 500 company. With the promotion, she also joins an even smaller group: By Fortune’s count, Ford will be the third openly gay CEO of a Fortune 500 company and the first woman. Ford said it didn’t even come up in her discussions with the board. But she conceded that “it’s not nothing.” Ford takes over as Land O’Lakes is contending with tariffs on U.S. dairy goods that were put into effect in retaliation for President Trump’s trade war.’

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New Land O’Lakes CEO Beth Ford Breaks Barrier as First Openly Gay Woman to Lead a Fortune 500 Company

#AM_Equality Tipsheet: July 30, 2018

#AM_Equality Tipsheet: July 30, 2018

COUNTDOWN TO ELECTION DAY: With Sunday marking just 100 days before November’s critical midterm elections, HRC is more than doubling its staff in key states — racing to a total of 130 in order to #TurnOUT 10 million LGBTQ voters and millions more allies. For the final 100 days, HRC is hiring another 45 organizers and deploying 50 more staff, who will join 35 existing staff already on the ground in key districts and states leading GOTV efforts, training hundreds of local organizers and volunteers across the country, and organizing online as part of the largest grassroots expansion in the organization’s 38-year history. More from HRC and On Top Magazine.

100 days and counting! ⏱��️@HRC’s newest massive window display at our building in Washington, D.C. is counting down the days, hours, minutes AND seconds until #ElectionDay. Make sure you #TurnOut and are registered to vote at t.co/JHpdNpaaIg. pic.twitter.com/fRmIk5bq4M

— Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) July 29, 2018

SENATE JUDICIARY CHAIR CHUCK GRASSLEY REFUSES TO REQUEST KAVANAUGH RECORDS: “During his time in the Bush White House, Brett Kavanaugh almost certainly was involved with numerous legal and policy issues that impact the lives and rights of LGBTQ people, including hate crimes legislation, non-discrimination protections for federal workers and a proposed Constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage in every state,” said HRC Associate Legal Director Robin Maril. “The American people demand and deserve to have the most comprehensive and transparent view of Brett Kavanaugh’s record.” More from HRC.

MUST READ MONDAY — FRANK BRUNI ON THE REAL MIKE PENCE: Pence has fought hate crimes laws, the repeal of ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’, marriage equality and actively sought to enable discrimination against LGBTQ people in the public square. As the ‘shadow president’, he has continued to undermine our fundamental equality and leads an administration that has attacked our nation’s trans students, targeted brave trans troops and licensed discrimination against LGBTQ people. More from The New York Times.

1/ MUST READ from @nytimes@FrankBruni. The LGBTQ community has long known how @mike_pence really is — because he has antagonized and worked to undermine our rights for decades. t.co/AZObgfMzgW

— Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) July 29, 2018

HRC ENDORSES GRETCHEN DRISKELL FOR U.S. HOUSE IN MICHIGAN’S 7TH DISTRICT: Said HRC Michigan State Director Amritha Venkataraman. “We look forward to mobilizing our thousands of members and supporters across the district to turn out for equality in November, and to working with Gretchen Driskell in the ongoing fight for full federal equality.” More from HRC.

BETH FORD BECOMES FIRST OPENLY GAY WOMAN TO RUN A FORTUNE 500 COMPANY: “Her authentic leadership as an out lesbian is well-known in the LGBT corporate community, and the fact that she is assuming this role as an out lesbian sends an especially powerful message,” says Deena Fidas, HRC director of workplace equality. More from CNN.

MORMON MUSIC FESTIVAL PROVIDES LGBTQ INCLUSIVE SPACE: “You are a gift to the world,” Apple CEO Tim Cook told attendees at the LoveLoud Festival in Salt Lake City.  More from Reuters and The Advocate.  

BRADLEY KIM BECOMES FIRST FOOTBALL PLAYER AT A SERVICE ACADEMY TO COME OUT: As the Air Force Academy defensive back makes history, he hopes ‘living his dream,’ will help pave a path for others. More from The Washington Post.

GLOBAL EQUALITY NEWS

HORRIFYING — ATTACK ON TRANS WOMAN IN LEBANON CAUGHT ON FILM: More from The Observers.

HRC GLOBAL INNOVATOR IRINA SHARES HER STORY OF COMING OUT AS INTERSEX:

READING RAINBOWBookmark now to read on your lunch break!

The Daily Beast explores Hollywood’s LGBTQ history

Paid for by Human Rights Campaign PAC (www.hrc.org) and not authorized by any candidate or committee.

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-july-30-2018?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Gay Couple Forced to Separate on Alaska Airlines Flight So Straight Couple Could Sit Together

Gay Couple Forced to Separate on Alaska Airlines Flight So Straight Couple Could Sit Together
alaska airlines gay

gay alaska airlines

A gay man and his  partner were forced to separate on an Alaska Airlines flight to make room for a straight couple who wanted to sit together. David Cooley, the owner of the West Hollywood nightclub The Abbey, wrote about the incident on Facebook.

Wrote Cooley: “I have never been so discriminated against while traveling before. I was removed from an Alaska Airlines flight # 1407 from John F. Kennedy International Airport to LAX to give preferential treatment to a straight couple. After my traveling companion and I had been seated in our assigned seats for a while, we were approached by the flight attendant and my companion was asked to move from his premium seat to coach, so a couple could sit together. I explained that we were a couple and wanted to sit together. He was given a choice to either give up the premium seat and move to coach or get off the plane. We could not bear the feeling of humiliation for an entire cross-country flight and left the plane.”

Cooley added: “I cannot believe that an airline in this day and age would give a straight couple preferential treatment over a gay couple and go so far as to ask us to leave. We will never be flying Alaska Airlines or their recently purchased Virgin Airlines Group ever again. Thank you to Delta Air Lines for getting us home safe. If you are an #LGBT person, please spend your travel dollars with an LGBT friendly airline like Delta.”

Alaska released a statement about the incident, acknowledging that it did take place: “When boarding flight 1407 from JFK to LAX, a couple was mistakenly assigned the same seats as another couple in Premium Class. We reseated one of the guests from Premium Class in the Main Cabin. ‘We are deeply sorry for the situation, and are investigating the details while communicating directly with the guests involved to try and make this right. Alaska Airlines has a zero-tolerance policy for discrimination of any kind, and our employees value inclusion for our guests and each other.’”

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Gay Couple Forced to Separate on Alaska Airlines Flight So Straight Couple Could Sit Together