Hillary Clinton Meets ‘Queen’ Mariah Carey at Barbra Streisand Concert

And Twitter is exploding.

www.advocate.com/people/2019/8/06/hillary-clinton-meets-queen-mariah-carey-barbra-streisand-concert

Ex-Gov thinks it’s ridiculous the gay man he discriminated against was just awarded $1.5 million

Former Republican Gov. Terry Branstad of Iowa and Donald Trump’s Ambassador to China thinks it’s absolutely absurd that a former government employee he once discriminated against for being gay has been awarded $1.5 million.

Last month, a jury found Branstad guilty of discriminating against Christopher Godfrey, the former Iowa Workers’ Compensation Commissioner, because Godfrey is gay. Now, Branstad wants the ruling thrown out. Because, he says, it’s just not fair!

Quick backstory: Godfrey was originally appointed to a six-year term by Branstad’s predecessor, Democrat Chet Culver. After Branstad took office in 2010, he asked Godfrey to resign so he could appoint someone else to his job.

When Godfrey refused, citing a law intended to prevent partisan politics by declaring holdouts can retain their positions between administrations, Branstad responded by slashing his salary almost $40,000, from from $112,070 to $73,250, effectively driving Godfrey out.

But here’s the thing: Other Culver appointees who refused to resign did not have their salaries cut. The only difference between Godfrey and them was that they were all straight.

And here’s the other thing: Branstad has a history of opposing LGBTQ equality. Not only has he gone on record to say he believes marriage is “the union of one man and one woman,” but he supported an amendment blocking same-sex marriage.

Eight years later, in July 2019, a jury finally declared Branstad had, indeed, discriminated against Godfrey because of his sexual orientation.

“I have always treated everyone, gay or straight, with respect and dignity,” Branstad, who claimed he didn’t even know Godfrey was gay until he threatened to sue, insisted at trial. “That’s the way I have always operated.”

But the jury, unconvinced of this, awarded Godfrey $800,000 for emotional distress and $200,000 for future distress after having his constitutional due process rights violated plus another $400,000 for his discrimination and retaliation claims and $100,000 for emotional damage.

In response, Branstad’s team just filed an appeal on the verdict, calling the whole case a “charade” and “a political circus” and saying the $1.5 million award is “excessive.”

“Defendants can only pray that the trial phase of the Godfrey saga will be viewed by history as the low point in a dangerous era of Iowa jurisprudence,” his lawyers argued this week. “All citizens of this state should hope that the Godfrey trial will not be remembered as a harbinger of the end of the American democratic experiment.”

“This jury decided that former Gov. Terry Branstad discriminated against Chris Godfrey because he was gay and then retaliated against him after he refused to resign,” Conlin said. “That is the fact that was decided by the jury and that cannot be overturned.”

www.queerty.com/ex-gov-thinks-ridiculous-gay-man-discriminated-just-awarded-1-5-million-20190806?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29

Here She Goes Again: Cher Recording Second Album of ABBA Tracks

Cher has revealed that she is working on a second set of tracks for a new ABBA album, and has four completed already.

She later revealed a bit more of what might be on the way.

The post Here She Goes Again: Cher Recording Second Album of ABBA Tracks appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.

Here She Goes Again: Cher Recording Second Album of ABBA Tracks

Lesbian Judge Nominated by Trump Confirmed by Senate

Mary Rowland of Illinois is the the president’s first out judge appointed since he took office in January 2017.

www.advocate.com/news/2019/8/06/lesbian-judge-nominated-trump-confirmed-senate

Meet Victoria’s Secret’s first out-transgender model

Lingerie brand Victoria’s Secret has just reached a watershed moment. The company has cast its first out-transgender model for a photo shoot.

22-year-old Valentina Sampaio of Brazil will become the first trans model to grace the pages of the famed catalog, sporting the VS Pink line, the company’s athletic brand.

“Never stop dreaming,” Sampaio said in celebration of her casting via Instagram. 

Related: Male Model Andrej Pejic Would Become A Woman (For A Victoria’s Secret Contract)

News of the announcement also attracted overwhelmingly positive feedback from other celebrities and queer rights groups. GLAAD trumpeted the move as a positive step toward equality. Transgender actress Laverne Cox took to Sampaio’s social media to congratulate the model. “Wow, finally!” Cox wrote.

The move to hire Sampaio comes as Victoria’s Secret has come under recent fire both for oversexualizing its models, and for anti-transgender posturing. Last year, Ed Razek, chief marketing officer of the company, expressed disgust at the thought of hiring transgender models. Though he later dialed back his remarks, the company announced his retirement this week.

A few more pics of Sampaio in action…

View this post on Instagram

?????????????? #sunflower #spring #sun #sunshine #italy #primavera

A post shared by Valentina Sampaio (@valentts) on Apr 26, 2019 at 12:09pm PDT

View this post on Instagram

Baile da Vogue? @voguebrasil Stylist dos amores @julianoezuel ?@rosacha ????? @luguerra77 @telmaribeiromakeup #aboutlastnight #bailedavogue #2019 #carnaval #carnival #party #fashion #style #beauty #model #life #vstorm #vogue #brasil

A post shared by Valentina Sampaio (@valentts) on Mar 24, 2019 at 12:09pm PDT

View this post on Instagram

Bonjour Paris?? #preparaasmalas #paris #city #selfie #photooftheday #gratitude #airportstyle #model #life #fashion #vstorm #madeinbrazil #bonjour #goodmorning #bomdia

A post shared by Valentina Sampaio (@valentts) on Sep 19, 2018 at 6:10am PDT

View this post on Instagram

Ciao, ciao Italia! ?? sei meravigliosa!!! Which one do u prefer?? With or without gelato?? #positano #summer #happy #gelato #goodvibes #photooftheday #smile #verão #europe #italy #valentinasampaio

A post shared by Valentina Sampaio (@valentts) on Jul 27, 2019 at 8:36am PDT

View this post on Instagram

Valentina Crepax ??????? #mood #morena #beauty #backstage #model #fashion #eyes #valentinacrepax #valentinasampaio #vstorm

A post shared by Valentina Sampaio (@valentts) on Jul 16, 2019 at 7:22am PDT

www.queerty.com/meet-victorias-secrets-first-transgender-model-20190806?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29

Ohio Lawmaker Defies Calls to Resign After Blaming Mass Shootings on Gays

On Monday we reported that Ohio State Rep. Candice Keller (R – District 53) blamed America’s mass shootings on a long list of things including gay marriage, drag queen advocates, and President Obama.

Wrote Keller on Facebook: “After every mass shooting, the liberals start the blame game. Why not place the blame where it belongs? The breakdown of the traditional American family (thank you, transgender, homosexual marriage, and drag queen advocates); fatherlessness, a subject no one discusses or believes is relevant; the ignoring of violent video games; the relaxing of laws against criminals (open borders); the acceptance of recreational marijuana; failed school policies (hello, parents who defend misbehaving students): disrespect to law enforcement (thank you, Obama).”

Ohio Republican Party leader Jane Timken called on Keller to resign.

Said Timken: “While our nation was in utter shock over the acts of violence in El Paso and Dayton, Republican State Representative Candice Keller took to social media to state why she thought these acts were happening. Candice Keller’s Facebook post was shocking and utterly unjustifiable. Our nation is reeling from these senseless acts of violence and public servants should be working to bring our communities together, not promoting divisiveness.”

Dayton, Ohio Mayor Nan Whaley and Butler County Sheriff Richard K. Jones did as well.

Said Keller in response: “Establishment moderates have never been fans of mine because I ran against their endorsement and won. As the only conservative in this race, I will be taking my Senate campaign to the voters to decide.”

The post Ohio Lawmaker Defies Calls to Resign After Blaming Mass Shootings on Gays appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.

Ohio Lawmaker Defies Calls to Resign After Blaming Mass Shootings on Gays

HRC Marks Anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, Renews Calls for Congress to Pass H.R. 4

Today, HRC marks the anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and renews its call for Congress to pass the Voting Rights Advancement Act (H.R. 4) — critically important civil rights legislation that would ensure fair access to the ballot for all Americans is protected. The measure was introduced by Representative Terri Sewell (D-AL) and Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) as S. 561.

“The right to vote is a central principle and a bedrock of our democracy,” said HRC Government Affairs Director David Stacy. “Yet across the country, there are concerted efforts to prevent and discourage Americans from voting, particularly targeted at disenfranchising people of color and others who are most marginalized. The Voting Rights Advancement Act is a crucial step toward ensuring the voting rights of all Americans are restored and fully protected. Full equality will not be achieved until we halt the systematic efforts to restrict access to the ballot box, disenfranchise voters and undermine our democracy.”

In June 2019, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of partisan redistricting in two cases out of Maryland (Lamone v. Benisek) and North Carolina (Rucho v. Common Cause).

• Lamone v. Benisek: Maryland voters argued that Democratic state lawmakers enacted a congressional redistricting plan that intentionally diluted the impact of Republican votes in the state’s 6th Congressional District.
• Rucho v. Common Cause: The North Carolina Democratic Party argued that Republican state lawmakers intentionally created a redistricting plan that disadvantaged Democratic candidates.

On June 25, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court delivered a blow to civil rights in Shelby County v. Holder by striking down a key provision in the Voting Right Act that protected voters and their right to vote. Since the Supreme Court’s ruling, states and localities have brazenly pushed forward discriminatory changes to voting practices, including changing district boundaries to disadvantage select voters, instituting more onerous voter identification laws and changing polling locations with little notice. 

Within the LGBTQ community, people of color, LGBTQ youth, and transgender individuals are often the most impacted by weakened voting rights laws. A poll found that African-American and Latino voters were three times as likely as white voters to report trouble finding their polling place. With one-third of transgender people reporting having no government identification that reflects their gender identity, voter ID laws often forcibly “out” transgender voters to poll workers, putting them at risk for discrimination and harassment.

www.hrc.org/blog/hrc-marks-anniversary-of-the-voting-rights-act-renews-calls-to-pass-hr4?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed