Religious leader asks mayor to ban rainbow flags during Pride

Aryeh Stern, the 74-year-old chief rabbi of Jerusalem, recently asked the city’s Mayor Moshe Lion to ban rainbow flags during next week’s Pride Parade. This is a bit like asking to ban American flags during a 4th of July celebration.

In his letter, Stern wrote:

“To my great regret, I request on this painful subject of the ‘March.’ I know from the point of view of the law, the mayor has no ability to prevent the parade, and therefore I ask you to at least give a ruling for the flags not to be waved, as they make the city ugly.

I trust you to act wisely to remove this disgrace from us, especially now in these holy days between Jerusalem Day and Shavuot.”

When asked about his letter, Stern explained:

“I didn’t ask to ban parade participants from waving the flags. I asked that the municipality, which is hanging flags along the route, not do that, especially near the city’s magnificent synagogues. It’s not appropriate that the flags should fly there.”

“Flags are an expression of friendship, participation and identification. We’re talking about hurting feelings — what they symbolize hurts the feelings of much greater portions of the population than those who do want the flags.

“I’m not trying to harm the parade itself or the people in it, or their personal behaviors. We have no interest in that. That’s not the issue. The issue is the public space, and I represent the opinion of many good people in Jerusalem. This is an explicit prohibition in the Torah, these are serious things, and for this we wave flags? Imagine if we were waving flags in support of a movement to eat pig.

Stern added that he didn’t think his letter to the mayor would be published and wondered whether he’d made a mistake by writing it, stating, “I did not think it would make such a ruckus.”

Related: Rabbi who attempted to seduce teen boy with x-rated pics and chats slapped with two day jail sentence

Stern himself is no friend of teh gayz. In 2018, the ultra-orthodox rabbi opposed allowing same-sex couples the right to have children born through surrogates, stating that the children’s lives would be “wretched… very strange and unnatural.”

Jerusalem Pride is just one of 50 Pride events that will be held throughout Israel this year. According to the Times of Isreal, “The Jerusalem Municipality said in a statement that the flags would be put up like in previous years ahead of the June 6 rally, in accordance with court rulings on the matter.”

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SCOTUS Leaves Ruling in Place Allowing Transgender Students to Use Restroom and Locker Rooms Matching Gender Identity

The Supreme Court has denied review of Doe v. Boyertown School District, leaving a ruling from the Third Circuit in place which allowed students to use the locker room or bathroom of their choice based on the student’s gender identity

SCOTUSblog’s Amy Howe writes: “The school district had a policy of allowing transgender students to use locker rooms and restrooms that match their gender identity. The Third Circuit upheld that policy, and the Supreme Court denied a petition for review of that decision today, which means that the Third Circuit’s decision (and the policy) will stand.”

Read the order HERE.

The ACLU’s page on the case:

The ACLU and the ACLU of Pennsylvania filed a motion to intervene on behalf of a transgender student and an LGBTQ youth organization. They seek to defend the Boyertown Area School District’s practice of allowing transgender students to use restrooms and locker rooms consistent with their gender identity.

In March 2017, the Boyertown Area School District was sued by a student identified by the pseudonym Joel Doe. The complaint claims that allowing transgender boys to use the same facilities that Doe uses is a violation of Doe’s privacy.

The ACLU represents Aidan DeStefano, a student at Boyertown Area Senior High who is transgender, and the Pennsylvania YouthCongress, a coalition of LGBTQ youth leaders and youth organizations. One of the organizations is the Boyertown Gay-Straight Alliance, whose members include transgender students who would be harmed by the lawsuit.

Said Ria Tabacco Mar, senior staff attorney with the ACLU LGBT & HIV Project: “This is an enormous victory for transgender students across the country. Boyertown’s schools chose to be inclusive and welcoming of transgender students in 2016, a decision the courts have affirmed again and again. This lawsuit sought to reverse that hard-won progress by excluding transgender students from school facilities that other students use. That would have increased the stigma and discrimination that transgender students already face. Thankfully, today’s announcement allows schools to move forward with policies that support transgender students. But our work is far from over. We will continue to defend the transgender community from attacks in the courts, the legislatures, and the White House.”

Said DeStefano: “By the time I graduated high school, I was using the boys’ bathroom and participating on the boys’ cross country team. I felt like I belonged and had the confidence I needed to continue with my education. I’m glad the Supreme Court is allowing schools like mine to continue supporting transgender students.”

The post SCOTUS Leaves Ruling in Place Allowing Transgender Students to Use Restroom and Locker Rooms Matching Gender Identity appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.

SCOTUS Leaves Ruling in Place Allowing Transgender Students to Use Restroom and Locker Rooms Matching Gender Identity

Pete Buttigieg Making Massive Fundraising Push to Sustain Early Momentum

South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg is making a massive second-quarter fundraising push to sustain the momentum that has put him ahead of the Democratic pack.

Politico reports: “Buttigieg is encouraging moneyed supporters to juice his campaign’s fundraising with a new bundling program, details of which were recently circulated to some donors and obtained by POLITICO. Members at different levels of the program pledge to raise anywhere from $25,000 to $250,000 for Buttigieg over the course of the primary campaign and receive special perks, including briefings with the candidate and senior campaign staff.”

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Politico adds: “The furious pace of in-person fundraisers has set Buttigieg apart from some other Democratic candidates, including those who have preferred mining for digital dollars and others who have had trouble attracting widespread interest from Democratic donors.”

The post Pete Buttigieg Making Massive Fundraising Push to Sustain Early Momentum appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.

Pete Buttigieg Making Massive Fundraising Push to Sustain Early Momentum

109 IML Day 3 Pics: Cosplay Heroes, IML Victory, and Community Joy

www.advocate.com/photography/2019/5/27/109-iml-day-3-pics-cosplay-heroes-iml-victory-and-community-joy