Right-Wingers Slam Megan Rapinoe For Silence During Anthem

Out soccer star won’t sing the anthem because U.S. Soccer won’t let her kneel. 

www.advocate.com/sports/2019/6/12/right-wingers-slam-megan-rapinoe-silence-during-anthem

Lee Daniels Says He’s ‘Beyond Embarrassed’ About Forcefully Defending Jussie Smollett on Social Media After Staged Attack

Empire co-creator Lee Daniels said he’s “beyond embarrassed” that he came out so forcefully in defense of Jussie Smollett after initial reports broke that the Empire actor had been the victim of a hate crime, which later turned out to be staged by the actor himself.

Said Daniels to Vulture: “I’m beyond embarrassed. I think that when it happened, I had a flash of me running from bullies. I had a flash of my whole life, of my childhood, my youth, getting beaten.”

Daniels added that Smollett’s behavior was something out of the blue and would be a “huge betrayal” if “it turned out that he did it, was guilty, and all of it’s accurate.”

Daniels said that he still holds out hope that it’s not true that it was staged: “Of course, there’s some doubt. I’m telling you that because I love him so much. That’s the torture that I’m in right now, because it’s literally if it were to happen to your son and your child, how would you feel? You would feel, Please, God, please let there be that glimmer of hope that there is some truth in this story. That’s why it’s been so painful. It was a flood of pain.”

Continued Daniels, “We weren’t there. I can’t judge him. That’s only for the f**king lady or man with that black robe and God. I had to detach myself and stop calling him, because it was taking away the time I have for my kids, the time I have for my partner. It was affecting my spirit and other shows, everything.”

The post Lee Daniels Says He’s ‘Beyond Embarrassed’ About Forcefully Defending Jussie Smollett on Social Media After Staged Attack appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.

Lee Daniels Says He’s ‘Beyond Embarrassed’ About Forcefully Defending Jussie Smollett on Social Media After Staged Attack

#AM_Equality Tipsheet: June 12, 2019

HRC MARKS THREE YEARS SINCE THE PULSE NIGHTCLUB SHOOTING: “In our work to achieve a future free from hate and fear, we carry with us the memories of the 49 LGBTQ people and allies — nearly all of them Latinx — whose lives were cruelly and senselessly taken at Pulse,” said HRC President Chad Griffin (@ChadHGriffin). “In the three years since that tragic night, thousands more have been killed by guns, horrifically underscoring the failure of too many of our elected leaders to implement common-sense gun reform. Today and every day, we must honor those taken with action, and HRC remains committed to working with our coalition partners to finally ensure meaningful steps are taken before one more life is lost to gun violence.” More from HRC and Florida Today.

• Three years after this tragedy, lawmakers must address the ongoing epidemic of gun violence. Since June 12, 2016, more than 100,000 people have been killed by gun violence in the U.S. Despite efforts by lawmakers to pass measures to stop the bloodshed, no major federal gun violence prevention legislation has been signed into law since 1994. More from HRC.

Take action June 8-16 at events nationwide supporting LGBTQ and Latinx communities in honor of those taken at #Pulse.

Find and create a local event to #HonorThemWithAction at t.co/BQ5C1FnV69 pic.twitter.com/tGakOCq68b

— Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) June 11, 2019

NEW RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PrEP AND HIV SCREENING COULD INCREASE ACCESS FOR MILLIONS OF AMERICANS: The US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) yesterday finalized its recommendations regarding access to PrEP and HIV testing. “These recommendations from USPSTF represent a critical step forward for the health and welfare of millions of Americans, ” said J. Maurice McCants-Pearsall (@McCantsPearsall), HRC’s Director of HIV and Health Equity. “Despite steadily declining HIV infection rates overall in the U.S., the HIV and AIDS epidemic has not slowed its assault on our community’s and country’s most marginalized — including gay, bisexual and transgender people, especially Black and Latinx communities. More from HRC.

HRC CONGRATULATES PRO-EQUALITY CANDIDATES FOLLOWING VIRGINIA PRIMARY RESULTS: Said Narissa Rahaman, HRC Senior Regional Field Organizer: “For too long, the anti-equality leadership in the General Assembly has used LGBTQ people as political pawns and blocked any pro-equality legislation from making it to the Governor’s desk. With strong majorities of Virginians on the side of LGBTQ rights, HRC will work hard to turn out the 1.2 million Equality Voters in Virginia and ensure Speaker Kirk Cox, Majority Chairman Tim Hugo and anti-equality politicians are out of a job come November.” More from HRC.

MAJOR CEOS SIGN FULL PAGE NYT AD SPEAKING AGAINST BANS ON ABORTION ACCESS:

More than 180 CEOs signed on to a full-page ad in @nytimes speaking out against the bans on abortion access across the country. These bans are a threat to the reproductive rights of all, including members of the LGBTQ community. #StopTheBans t.co/wbIOKcevVt

— Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) June 11, 2019

WHAT WE’RE READING WEDNESDAY: A runner up for the New York Times annual student editorial contest made an eloquent case for the Equality Act, writing: “Queer people…are at constant risk and disadvantage; the door of opportunity isn’t consistently open for us,” writes 16-year-old Lane Schnell. More from The New York Times.

THE TREVOR PROJECT RELEASES SOBERING RESULTS OF SURVEY ON MENTAL HEALTH OF LGBTQ YOUTH: The data, The Trevor Project reports, illustrates “how far we still have to go to protect LGBTQ young lives…but also reveals the resilience and diversity of LGBTQ youth and provides guidance on what can be done to enable them to survive and thrive.” Among the findings: two out of three young people surveyed said someone tried to convince them to change their sexual orientation or gender identity, and more 76 percent said the recent political climate affected their mental health or sense of self. Read the full report here.

SHOREWOOD HILLS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IN MADISON (WISC.) EARNS HRC FOUNDATION’S “NATIONAL SEAL OF EXCELLENCE”: More from WKOW.

 PRIDE MONTH ROUNDUP

ADD THESE INCREDIBLE LATIN AMERICAN TRANS AND NON-BINARY ARTISTS TO YOUR PRIDE PLAYLISTS: More from Remezcla.

GLOBAL EQUALITY NEWS

GERMAN HEALTH MINISTER ANNOUNCES PLAN TO PROTECT LGBTQ YOUTH FROM SO-CALLED “CONVERSION THERAPY”: More from DW.

‘ROCKETMAN’ FILM BANNED IN SAMOA OVER LGBTQ CONTENT: More from The Wrap.

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

The New Yorker interviews a gay Russian man who was exiled to Ireland; Vox reviews the new book, Indecent Advances: A Hidden History of True Crime and Prejudice Before Stonewall; History.com explores queer culture from the 1920s; Outsports shares the experiences of Emma Elizabeth Gee, who is believed to be the only openly LGBTQ athelete at BYU

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-12-2019?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Your NYC WorldPride Calendar of Events Is Here

“Siri, put the rally on my calendar for… “

www.advocate.com/exclusives/2019/6/12/your-nyc-worldpride-calendar-events-here

Florida Governor Sets Execution Date for Killer of 6 Gay Men

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has set the execution of Gary Bowles for August 22 at 6 pm. Bowles received the death penalty for the 1994 murder of Walter Hinton, but later confessed to the murder of five additional gay men whom he said he killed because of their sexual orientation.

FOX 13 reports: “In November 1994, Bowles helped Hinton move from Georgia to his mobile home in Jacksonville. In exchange, Hinton let Bowles live with him. One night, while Hinton slept, Bowles dropped a concrete block on his head, causing a fracture from Hinton’s right cheek to his jaw. Hinton woke up, but Bowles then strangled him to death. After Bowles’s arrest, police say he confessed to killing Hinton, as well as the other men. Bowles reportedly confessed to beating and strangling another roommate, John Hardy Roberts, in Daytona Beach; strangling David Jarman and then stealing his car in Wheaton Maryland; strangling 72-year-old Milton Bradley and dumping his body on a golf course near his home in Savannah, Georgia; and strangling and shooting Albert Morris in Hillard Florida.”

The post Florida Governor Sets Execution Date for Killer of 6 Gay Men appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.

Florida Governor Sets Execution Date for Killer of 6 Gay Men

Beto O’Rourke Unveils LGBTQ Rights Platform

If he becomes president, the former Texas congressman says he’ll work to pass the Equality Act, appoint an envoy for LGBTQ rights, and more.

www.advocate.com/politics/2019/6/12/beto-orourke-unveils-lgbtq-rights-platform