Mayor Pete Buttigieg: Being Gay is ‘Not The Only Thing That Defines Me’ — WATCH

Mayor Pete Buttigieg told the Des Moines Register that being gay is just one part of who he is, but it gives him a unique ability to relate to others with a different experience.

Said Buttigieg: “I am proud of who I am. I’m certainly very proud of my marriage and my husband. We don’t shy away from that. It’s also not the only thing that defines me. I’m here to be a president for everyone. Talking about my experience is an important part of that. But it’s especially important because it can help me relate to people who have a different experience than what I went through. All these things fit together.”

Added Buttigieg: “I think some people have an image of what a gay person or an LGBTQ activist is supposed to look like. And I think if you’ve met one gay person, you’ve met one gay person. We have different styles and different approaches. But what I try to do is just be who I am … I don’t know who else to be.”

Buttigieg also talked about “healthy identity” politics in which “each identity [can] connect with every other one.”

“This is a moment where anybody who can be marked down as different is in some way vulnerable because of the way this administration works.”

A recent Des Moines Register poll showed Buttigieg placing fourth among caucusgoers, right on the heels of Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren: “Twenty-four percent of Iowa’s likely Democratic caucusgoers say former vice president Biden is their first choice for president. Sanders, a Vermont senator, is the first choice for 16% of poll respondents, while Warren, a Massachusetts senator, and Buttigieg, mayor of South Bend, Indiana, are at 15% and 14% respectively. “

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Mayor Pete Buttigieg: Being Gay is ‘Not The Only Thing That Defines Me’ — WATCH

#AM_Equality Tipsheet: June 18, 2019

HRC OPPOSES ANTI-LGBTQ JUDICIAL NOMINEE MATTHEW KACSMARYK: “He has been vociferous in his opposition to same-sex marriage, legal protections for gender identity and sexual orientation, and the basic humanity of transgender people,” said HRC Legal Director Sarah Warbelow (@SarahWarbelow). “To be qualified for the bench, every nominee must demonstrate a commitment to equality under the law. Kacsmaryk fails a basic expectation of impartiality.” Text PROTECT to 472472 to stand with HRC and coalition partners against Kacsmaryk. Read more from HRC.

TUESDAY TWEET — SINGER/SONGWRITER TAYLOR SWIFT (@taylorswift13) ENCOURAGES SUPPORT FOR EQUALITY ACT IN NEW MUSIC VIDEO, “YOU NEED TO CALM DOWN”: Read more from The Hill.

“Let’s show our pride by demanding that, on a national level, our laws truly treat all of our citizens equally.” #YNTCDMusicVideo

Thanks @taylorswift13 for being an incredible LGBTQ advocate in Tennessee and across the nation. Support the #EqualityAct: t.co/8rkP6gPAUq pic.twitter.com/nYq68Obxa3

— Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) June 18, 2019

OPERA THEATER OF ST. LOUIS PREMIERES “FIRE SHUT UP IN MY BONES,” BASED ON CHARLES M. BLOW’S 2014 MEMOIR: After seeing the opera, Blow (@CharlesMBlow) wrote in his The New York Times column: “I sat there thinking just how far I had come in five years. I thought about how speaking my truth was to me like an act of being reborn and how much stronger and sure-footed I felt now than I felt five years ago… It is never too late for you to marshal the courage to be truly and fully yourself.” Read the full piece here.

MASTERCARD TO ALLOW TRANS AND NON-BINARY CUSTOMERS TO USE THEIR CHOSEN NAMES ON CARDS: “We want to be a force for change to help address and alleviate unnecessary pain points [in the LGBTQIA+ community],” the company said. Read more at CNN.

WASH POST COLUMNIST PETULA DVORAK (@ptulad) — “MURDER OF BLACK TRANSGENDER WOMEN IS BECOMING A CRISIS”: Transgender advocate Ruby Corado, who runs the LGBTQ community center Casa Ruby (@CasaRubyDC), tells Dvorak: “Leadership influences people. We have an administration where the narrative is to marginalize people that are already marginalized. We have an administration that is fueling the intolerance.” More at The Washington Post.

• Police are looking for an armed suspect who threatened three transgender women Saturday at Casa Ruby. More from The Washington Post.
• “He hoped no one would care” — man pleads guilty to 2016 murder of transgender woman, Hason “Jazz” Alford, in Alabama. Read Carol Robinson’s (@RobinsonCarol) piece in AL.com.
• Activists continue to call for an investigation into the death of Layleen Polcano, a Black transgender woman found dead at Rikers Island. Read more from EJ Dickson (@ejdickson) in Rolling Stone.

THREE TEENS ARRESTED IN DC ATTACK ON GAY MAN: Read more at The Washington Blade.

PRIDE MONTH ROUNDUP

CHRIS NOBLE WORKS TO MAKE GOLF MORE LGBTQ-INCLUSIVE FOR THE NEXT GENERATION: Learn more from Skratch.

This is how Chris Noble is changing the game for golf’s next generation. #Pride2019 pic.twitter.com/IUwcaUoj9Z

— Skratch (@Skratch) June 17, 2019

THE AP’S DAVID CRARY (@CraryAP) LOOKS AT THE STATE OF LGBTQ RIGHTS IN THE U.S., 50 YEARS AFTER STONEWALL: Read the full piece here.

MICHIGAN RAISES THE PRIDE FLAG ON STATE BUILDINGS FOR THE FIRST TIME: More from the Associated Press.

• Cincinnati will also fly the rainbow flag for the first time on Friday. More from the Cincinnati Enquirer.

THOUSANDS GATHER FOR PRIDE IN DENVER: More from the Denver Post.

GLOBAL EQUALITY NEWS

BRAZIL’S SUPREME COURT VOTES TO CRIMINALIZE HOMOPHOBIA AND TRANSPHOBIA: Read Joshua Bote’s (@joshua_bote) piece in USA Today.

TRANSGENDER ADVOCATE LILIT MARTIROSYAN (@LilitMa55887800) CONTINUES TO FACE HARASSMENT, DEATH THREATS AFTER SPEECH TO ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT: More from France 24.

ANTI-LGBTQ HATE CRIME RATES ARE AT HIGHEST EVER LEVEL IN SCOTLAND: More from Pink Saltire.

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

HuffPost features Daniela Lourdes Falanga, the first openly transgender woman to be elected president of a chapter of LGBTQ rights organization Arcigay in Italy; The New Yorker profiles openly gay singer/songwriter and actor Troye Sivan (@troyesivan)

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!

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Eugene Lee Yang Releases Revealing Behind-The Scenes Doc on His ‘I’m Gay’ Video: WATCH

Eugene Lee Yang filmed a behind-the-scenes video of the extravagant and deeply personal “coming out as gay” video he released last week, explaining why he was doing it. Watch the mini-doc below.

ICYMI: Eugene Lee Yang of ‘The Try Guys’ Comes Out as ‘a Proud Gay Man’ in Deeply Personal Dance Video: WATCH

Said Yang: “I need to own up to who I am 100 percent as a person. It’s kind of a weird weight on my shoulders because there’s so much more I can do as a person who is LGBT but also specifically gay. It’s gonna be a really big release. There’s been a lot of concealing and withholding and editing I’ve done to protect myself. It’s not like I’m going to be a different person the next day. It does mean that I don’t have to take a red pen through my life, mark out, or tear out pages.”

The post Eugene Lee Yang Releases Revealing Behind-The Scenes Doc on His ‘I’m Gay’ Video: WATCH appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.

Eugene Lee Yang Releases Revealing Behind-The Scenes Doc on His ‘I’m Gay’ Video: WATCH

Stonewall Survivor Victoria Cruz on the Future of the LGBTQ Movement

Fifty years after the uprising, trans activist Victoria Cruz has a message for her sisters and brothers.

www.advocate.com/exclusives/2019/6/18/stonewall-survivor-victoria-cruz-future-lgbtq-movement