Daily Archives: July 18, 2019



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#AM_Equality Tipsheet: July 18, 2019

#AM_Equality Tipsheet: July 18, 2019

NO APPETITE FOR DISCRIMINATION — AN END TO VIRGINIA’S ANTI-LGBTQ LAWS IS NEAR: After another disappointing legislative session, Equality Virginia and HRC are going all-in to flip Virginia’s House of Delegates and oust anti-Equality Speaker Kirk Cox: “HRC will be going door to door and engaging our 10,000 plus equality voters in Cox’s district, and millions more across Virginia, to put him out of a job come November,” says Lucas Acosta, HRC National Press Secretary of Campaigns (@LucasRAcosta). More from Mother Jones.

SEN. KAMALA HARRIS, REPS. WATSON COLEMAN AND SCHIFF INTRODUCE PREP ACCESS AND COVERAGE ACT IN CONGRESS: More from HRC.

Thank you @RepBonnie @RepAdamSchiff and @SenKamalaHarris for introducing the PrEP Access and Coverage Act in Congress.

This critical legislation would expand access to and insurance coverage of the anti-HIV medication and treatment-related services. t.co/80YIB9boB5

— Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) July 17, 2019

HRC RECOGNIZES PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY (MD) SOCIAL SERVICES DEPT. FOR STRIDES IN PROMOTING INCLUSIVITY: “For years now, the HRC Foundation’s All Children – All Families program has worked side-by-side with Prince George’s County Department of Social Services as the department implements LGBTQ-inclusive policies and practices,” said Alison Delpercio, deputy director of Children, Youth & Families Program at the Human Rights Campaign Foundation (@AlisonDel). Reports Jalen Wade: “This recognition was garnered due to the exemplary work that the department has done for the LGBTQ community, such as enhancing safety, permanency and well-being for LGBTQ youths and families.” More from The Sentinel.

THANKFUL THURSDAY — SAN ANTONIO TRANS WOMAN AND HER FATHER APPEAR IN NATIONAL AD CAMPAIGN ABOUT ACCEPTANCE: The video campaign features transgender model and advocate Jessica Zyie (@TheJessicaZyrie), who has been featured on magazine covers and on the runway during New York Fashion Week. More from San Antonio Current.

NEW HAMPSHIRE PROVIDES NON-BINARY OPTION ON PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION DOCUMENTS: More from New Hampshire Union Leader, The Hill and Metro Weekly.

READING, PA. MAYOR BLOCKS RAISING OF PRIDE FLAG, CALLING IT AN EMBLEM OF A “POLITICAL MOVEMENT”: The City Council and the LGBTQ community were set to make history by raising the flag at City Hall for the first time Monday evening. More from the Reading Eagle. 

TWO DETROIT MEN CHARGED IN THE JUNE MURDER OF A GAY MAN: More from WXYZ.

GLOBAL EQUALITY NEWS

HORRIFIC — RUSSIAN BISEXUAL MAN TORTURED AFTER FINDING EVIDENCE OF ANTI-LGBTQ PURGE IN CHECHNYA: More from Gay Star News. 

  • Russian city withdraws permits for pride parade, citing “gay propaganda”: Strezhevoy was poised to be the first city in Russia to hold a Pride parade before the mayor withdrew the permit citing a law to protect children from knowledge of “unconventional sexual relationships”: More from Gay Star News.

HORRIFIC: Elbrus, a Russian bisexual man, was forced to flee for his life after being kidnapped & tortured for exposing the ongoing anti-LGBTQ crackdown in Chechyna—only for officials to reject his asylum claim because he “cannot prove” he is LGBTQ. t.co/xVbR2RslM1

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

EGYPTIAN TRANS ACTIVIST RELEASED AFTER FOUR MONTHS IN SOLITARY CONFINEMENT: Malak Al-Kalshef was released from an all-male prison after a social media campaign called for her release. More from Pink News.

UNITED NATIONS URGES FOR GREATER URGENCY IN FIGHT AGAINST HIV AND AIDS: More from Openly.

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

The Root highlights Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund’s (@TLDEF) ‘The Name Project,” which provides legal name change services to low-income transgender and non-binary people; Advocate spotlights Alaskan trans woman, activist and longtime HRC supporter Lillian Lennon (@mislillianlennon); HRC hosted former HRC board chair Fred P. Hochberg (@fredhochberg) and Ambassador Susan Rice (@AmbassadorRice)

.@HRC was glad to host former HRC board chair @FredHochberg and @AmbassadorRice for a discussion with students from @HarvardIOP & @UChiPolitics on foreign policy and national security issues–including her work to promote and protect the rights of #LGBTQ people around the world. pic.twitter.com/CUl6L1CHKm

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

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-18-2019?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

NEWS

Sexual Assault Case Against Kevin Spacey Dropped After Accuser Refuses to Waive Fifth Amendment Right

Sexual Assault Case Against Kevin Spacey Dropped After Accuser Refuses to Waive Fifth Amendment Right

As expected, following court testimony from Kevin Spacey’s accuser in which he pleaded the Fifth, and a missing cell phone, a sexual assault case against Spacey has been dropped. The case involving the son of Heather Unruh, a former Boston TV anchor, who claimed that Spacey groped him at a bar on Nantucket in 2016.

In January, Spacey pleaded not guilty to charges that he forcefully put his hands down the 18-year-old’s pants. Spacey also challenged the Nantucket allegations in a weird video titled “Let Me Be Frank” uploaded to an unverified YouTube account in late December.

The phone which allegedly contained evidence of the assault, was missing in the case, so Unruh, the accuser, and the accuser’s father were forced to testify about its contents.

The accuser Pleaded the Fifth and couldn’t recall how many times Unruh saw the phone, or if she asked him to delete anything on it. He said he couldn’t find certain text messages and denied having any knowledge of deletions on the phone, though in one of the three screenshots presented as evidence, half the conversation is missing.

The accuser and Unruh said they gave a cell phone to prosecutors shortly after going to the police and say they never got it back.

Their attorney, Mitchell Garabedian, provided back-up files from the accuser’s Macbook. A state trooper testified that he gave the phone back to the family, but there is no record of it. Another officer testified that he saw the state trooper give the phone back to the family.

The state trooper said that Unruh told him that she had deleted “frat boy activities” that were in the phone’s files before handing it over, and the state trooper said he took her at her word.

The judge threatened to hold the accuser’s father in contempt after he took the stand and had an outburst at Spacey’s defense attorney, and claimed that his son had shown him text messages that indicated he needed help. He also testified that he has no idea where the phone is, nor did he tell his son to dispose of it.

WBZ reports: ‘The man’s decision not to testify caused Judge Thomas Barrett to question the viability of the case against the two-time Oscar winner, whose career collapsed in 2017 amid a string of sexual misconduct allegations. On Sunday, prosecutors met with the accuser and his family to discuss the case. “The complaining witness was informed that if he chose to continue to invoke his Fifth Amendment right, the case would not be able to go forward,” O’Keefe said in a statement. The accuser said he would not waive his Fifth Amendment right, and prosecutors told him the only way to continue the case would be to “indict the defendant, immunize the complaining witness and force his testimony.” That process would make “further prosecution untenable,” O’Keefe said.’

Spacey is still facing sexual assault charges in the UK.

In November 2018, an allegation against Spacey by actor Anthony Rapp snowballed into an avalanche of similar accusations including filmmaker Tony Montana, who said that Spacey groped him in public in 2003, and the actor Roberto Cavazos.

That was followed by an as yet unnamed man who claimed Spacey raped him at 15, Unruh’s claim, and 8 crew members on House of Cards who said they were harassed by Spacey as well as a London bartender who said Spacey flashed him and then tried to shut him up with an expensive watch.

Spacey was subsequently dumped by his agency, CAA, his publicist Polaris, and also by Netflix.

In July 2018, it emerged that London’s Metropolitan Police were investigating three new claims of sexual assault by Spacey. Fellow actor Guy Pearce also said Spacey had once been “handsy” with him.

The post Sexual Assault Case Against Kevin Spacey Dropped After Accuser Refuses to Waive Fifth Amendment Right appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.


Sexual Assault Case Against Kevin Spacey Dropped After Accuser Refuses to Waive Fifth Amendment Right

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