Patrick Murphy, First Iraq War Vet to Serve in Congress, Endorses Pete Buttigieg for President

Patrick Murphy (D-PA), Iraq war veteran, former Congressman, and the 32nd under secretary of the U.S. Army , endorsed Pete Buttigieg for president in an op-ed Tuesday in the Military Times.

Wrote Murphy, in part: “Pete’s leadership was forged by combat. His foreign policy experience comes not from attending a committee hearing or a Washington cocktail party, but firsthand from behind the wheel of an armored vehicle in Afghanistan. That’s one of the reasons why I believe Pete is the candidate best prepared to bring an end to our endless war. Unlike President Trump, who has torched our credibility and tarnished our values, Pete appreciates why the United States must work closely with our allies around the world. I’m confident that he will promote American interests and American values abroad. And I appreciate he’s put forth a call to action for national service here at home that will bring together young Americans through the baptism of service that we both experienced when we were deployed overseas.”

“Pete is also deeply committed to upholding the rule of law and repairing our democracy,” Murphy added. “As a former prosecutor and West Point law professor, I grimace when the president disregards our democratic institutions and downplays attacks on our elections. As the Russians continue to interfere in our democracy, I’m confident a President Buttigieg won’t laugh it up with Vladimir Putin — he’ll take him head on. He will fight for a fairer and more inclusive democracy, tackling the corrosive impact of money in politics, reforming our hopelessly politicized Supreme Court, and ensuring that in states like ours in Pennsylvania, voters will pick their politicians instead of the other way around.”

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Patrick Murphy, First Iraq War Vet to Serve in Congress, Endorses Pete Buttigieg for President

Tadd Fujikawa: Golfing for Equality

Golfer and activist Tadd Fujikawa became the first male professional in his sport to come out as gay to help others with his visibility.

“I know that when I was struggling with my own sexuality and coming to terms with that, seeing other people sharing their truth, being authentic and sharing their story really, really helped me and gave me hope,” Fujikawa told HRC. “It made me feel that I wasn’t alone — and that’s the main reason why I came out. I wanted to do the same thing for others and pass it on.”

Yesterday, HRC was proud to present Fujikawa with the HRC Visibility Award at a reception following HRC’s 16th Annual HRC Greater NY Golf Outing in Port Washington, New York. As part of the event, Fujikawa led a golf clinic for 25 young LGBTQ people involved with the local Long Island group, Pride for Youth.

“I’m not big on awards, but this is one of those awards that I really wanted to get. Receiving it means a lot to me,” he said. “I’m thankful for everything that I’ve been given, the people who believe in me and the people I’ve touched with this.”

HRC is proud to recognize the visibility Fujikawa has brought to sports, given that heteronormativity and toxic masculinity permeate many sports, especially in male leagues. Although Fujikawa says his coming out experience was “smooth sailing,” he acknowledges that because of the culture of toxic masculinity, the experience of other LGBTQ athletes could be quite different.

“People don’t realize how much it affects an athlete being LGBTQ. Just the fears of hearing the typical locker room banter can be very traumatic,” Fujikawa said. “Those are the things that I believe we need to try to work on and eliminate from the way we speak. Personally, the way I handled it was by brushing it off and moving forward, but I know people who have been very affected by this.”

These obstacles can keep LGBTQ youth from participating in sports. According to HRC’s 2017 Youth Survey, of LGBTQ youth surveyed who said they didn’t play on their school sports teams, 16% reported not feeling safe participating in sports at school; 20% didn’t feel they would be accepted on their team because they are LGBTQ; and one in 10 transgender and gender-expansive youth didn’t participate because their coaches, teachers and administrators said they couldn’t because of their gender identity.

During his clinic with youth, Fujikawa said he wanted to inspire the young athletes to be their authentic selves while playing sports. As part of the event, Fujikawa held an hour-long discussion with the youth about his experience, the importance of coming out and visibility.

“If I can inspire them and empower them to be more of themselves and that it’s okay to be who you are and that we deserve that and we owe that to ourselves…be yourself, be authentic, be vulnerable, be able to share your true self with the world,” he said. “In my experience, that’s been one of the most authentic things that I have been able to do. It may sound simple, but it can be scary sometimes. If I can leave people with some sort of positivity about that aspect, I can be very happy.”

HRC is proud to honor Fujikawa for the visibility he brings and the work he’s doing to make sports more LGBTQ-inclusive. 

www.hrc.org/blog/tadd-fujikawa-golfing-for-equality?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Bishop Defends Belief Anal Makes Gay Babies As Church Doctrine

Neophytos of Morphou went viral with a peculiar take on faith and science. He standing by it. 

www.advocate.com/religion/2019/7/30/bishop-defends-belief-anal-makes-gay-babies-church-doctrine

Homophobic politician announces resignation after sending creepy texts professing his love to staffer

Jared O’Mara is a member of British Parliament who was first elected in 2017. But it looks as though his political career is being cut short after he fell in love with a staffer who didn’t reciprocate his feelings.

Jennifer Barnes says O’Mara repeatedly sent her creepy texts while she was under his employ, including several in which he proclaimed his undying love for her.

The 20-year-old said she finally quit her job two weeks ago after she received a 17-paragraph message on WhatsApp from O’Mara that left her “in tears.”

“It almost makes me kind of shiver being spoken to by someone who is 17 years older than me,” she told a reporter. “He is my boss. He’s an MP.”

O’Mara has since apologized for the texts, saying he is “deeply ashamed” for what he wrote to Barnes and blaming the whole thing on a “mental breakdown.”

But this isn’t the first time the 37-year-old has come under fire for writing inappropriate things online.

Last year, homophobic comments he made in an online forum years ago, including calling gay people “poofters,” “heterophobes,” and “fudge packers,” resurfaced.

At the time, O’Mara denied being homophobic, saying the comments were meant to be “satire” and claiming people were “bullying” him for them. When that didn’t work, he tried blaming rapper Eminem for everything.

“I used homophobic words,” he admitted, “but they were the words of the time. They were on the Eminem record that I listened to at the time.”

“I didn’t commit any crimes,” he added, “yet I have been made unfairly to feel like a criminal.”

In response to the latest text scandal, O’Mara announced he will be resigning as a Member of Parliament come September.

“Let everyone be assured I will be tendering my resignation via the official parliamentary procedure as soon as term restarts,” he said in a statement to constituents.

“I’m not well and am in the process receiving medical help.”

Adding another layer of drama to the story, last week, O’Mara’s former communications manager hacked into the MP’s public Twitter account to announce his own resignation.

www.queerty.com/homophobic-politician-announces-resignation-sending-creepy-texts-professing-love-staffer-20190730?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29

Shark Uses Log as Scratching Post in Never-Before-Seen Behavior: WATCH

Happy shark week everyone! Marine biologists off the coast of British Columbia, Canada caught some rare shark behavior on film this week: “Footage shows a 2 meters male Salmon Shark heaving itself onto, and sliding along, a barnacle-encrusted log adrift at sea. Researchers believe the shark was attempting to remove the large, visible parasites from its body and fins—copepods that are detrimental to the shark’s health and swimming efficiency.”

ICYMI: Shark Week Looms, But Don’t Panic

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Shark Uses Log as Scratching Post in Never-Before-Seen Behavior: WATCH

I Won’t Let the Catholic Church Silence Any More LGBTQ Students

Dominic Conover witnessed prejudice firsthand after his Catholic school fired his guidance counselor for her same-sex marriage. Now, he’s taking a stand.

www.advocate.com/commentary/2019/7/30/i-wont-let-catholic-church-silence-any-more-lgbtq-students

Nashville Out to Set a Gold Record for LGBTQ Representation

A record seven out candidates are running for election or reelection to the Metropolitan Council of Nashville and Davidson County.

www.advocate.com/politics/2019/7/30/nashville-out-set-gold-record-lgbtq-representation