Supreme Court Will Hear Case on Law Restricting Abortion Access

A Louisiana law bears resemblance to a Texas statute tossed by SCOTUS three years ago. But that was before confirmation of two Trump nominees.

www.advocate.com/politics/2019/10/04/supreme-court-will-hear-law-restricting-abortion-access

Conform or reform? This seminal gay rights magazine sparked the debate in 1954

Courtesy of USC Digital Library Archive

In honor of LGBTQ History Month, we’re taking a deep dive look-back at the first gay publication in America—ONE magazine. Launched in Los Angeles in 1953, ONE was published by One, Inc., which grew from The Mattachine Society, the seminal gay-rights group founded by Harry Hay. Its editorial founders were Martin Block, Don Slater, and Dale Jennings, who also served as editor-in-chief. Produced on a shoestring and sold for 25 cents, ONE began to change the course of history with an unapologetic exploration of homosexuality and the largely unexamined societal taboo against it. 

This is the second in our series of ONE magazine cover stories.

Volume 2, Issue 3: The Importance of Being Different

This cover story—which provocatively begins “Homosexuals have some problems heterosexuals don’t have. Agreed?”—was written by the prolific Jim Kepner under one of his many pseudonyms, Lyn Pedersen. A brave activist with a difficult past (Kepner’s biological parents abandoned him under a bush in Texas, and he was later adopted into a religious family), Kepner had authored more than 2,000 articles, poems, stories, and essays for the gay press by the time he died in the 1990s.

This one pinpoints an issue the gay-rights community would continue to debate to this day: Should the goal be simple inclusion in the broader society, or was being gay the perfect opportunity to critique norms, blow open boundaries, and reshape society itself? Kepner leans toward the latter:

What can a Society accomplish if half of it feels its object is to convince the world we’re just like everyone else and the other half feels homosexuals are variants in the full sense of the term and have every right to be?

Homosexuals are natural rebels. … They find themselves compelled by wild and mysterious desires to cross the line which all the authorities have set between what they call Right and what they call Wrong.

Kepner goes on to identify two extreme reactions to this conundrum: becoming either reactively anti-social and anti-authoritarian or overly concerned with propriety to the point of cowardice, trying to fit in while “puritanically attacking the ‘swishes and fairies’” among the crowd. He wisely settles on this solution:

Will we leave room for disagreement, but with the basic group energies attacking the present laws and customs as unjust, developing ourselves as free individuals and joining a broad defense of liberty against the dead hand of conformity?

I am interested in defending my right to be as different as I damn please. And somewhere, I’ve picked up the notion that I can’t protect my own rights in that quarter without fighting for everyone else’s.

Well said, Mr. Kepner, well said.

Magazine cover courtesy of ONE Archives

ONE Archives Foundation provides access to original source material at the ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives at the University of Southern California Libraries—the largest such collection in the world

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Suddenly Seymour: Pose’s MJ Rodriguez and George Salazar Belt the ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ Classic – WATCH

MJ Rodriguez (Pose), George Salazar (Be More Chill), Amber Riley (Glee), Kevin Chamberlin (Seussical, The Addams Family), and Matthew Wilkas (Gayby, Matt & Dan) are currently starring in a production of Little Shop of Horrors at the Pasadena Playhouse in Pasadena, California.

This week, James Corden invited Rodriguez and Salazar on The Late, Late Show to perform the show’s classic track “Suddenly Seymour”.

The post Suddenly Seymour: Pose’s MJ Rodriguez and George Salazar Belt the ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ Classic – WATCH appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.

Suddenly Seymour: Pose’s MJ Rodriguez and George Salazar Belt the ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ Classic – WATCH

Police Obtain Search Warrant for Seth Dunlap’s Cell Phone Records as Investigation into ‘Fag’ Tweet Progresses

Police have obtained a search warrant for WWL Radio host Seth Dunlap’s cell phone records as the investigation into a September 10 tweet sent to Dunlap from the station’s twitter account calling him a “fag” continues. The warrant seeks information from T-Mobile.

Last week news emerged that WWL Radio and its parent company Entercom allege that Dunlap sent the homophobic tweet himself in an attempt to extort $1.8 million from the station.

NOLA.com reports: “The station told the NOPD that the forensic investigation found an IP address — a unique number given to a piece of hardware, such as a cellphone — connected to the tweet that was associated with Dunlap’s phone. Megan Kiefer, Dunlap’s attorney, has disputed the claims, saying the radio station has not done anything to prove them. She’s noted that her client passed a lie-detector test centering on his denials that he sent the tweet in question.”

The post Police Obtain Search Warrant for Seth Dunlap’s Cell Phone Records as Investigation into ‘Fag’ Tweet Progresses appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.

Police Obtain Search Warrant for Seth Dunlap’s Cell Phone Records as Investigation into ‘Fag’ Tweet Progresses

#AM_Equality Tipsheet: October 4, 2019

HRC ANNOUNCES EXPANSION OF LEGAL ADVOCACY TO COMBAT ATTACKS ON LGBTQ EQUALITY IN THE U.S. AND AROUND THE WORLD: Through strategic impact litigation, HRC will — working with movement partners — more effectively shape law and ensure the equal application of Constitutional rights and protections. “As the largest LGBTQ civil rights organization in the world, it’s incumbent upon the Human Rights Campaign to fight against discrimination at every turn, ” said HRC President Alphonso David (@AlphonsoDavid). “By adding domestic and international impact litigation to our approach, we will wield a critical tool to fight against oppressive legislative and policy measures through the courts.” More from Phil Elliott (@Philip_Elliott) at TIME and HRC. 

ELISHA STANLEY IS REPORTEDLY THE 19TH TRANS PERSON KILLED IN 2019: Of the 19 transgender people who have been killed in 2019, nearly all of them — including Muhlaysia Booker, Jazzaline Ware, Ashanti Carmon and Bee Love Slater — were Black trans women, and the vast majority lost their lives as a result of gun violence. More from Out. 

Devastated to learn of the death of Elisha Stanley, a Black transgender woman who was killed in Pittsburgh last month. Elisha was a member of DC’s LGBTQ community and was reported to have been visiting family. #SayHerNamet.co/97wejYkPrc

— Alphonso David (@AlphonsoDavid) October 3, 2019

HRC ENDORSES STEVEN REED FOR MAYOR OF MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA: “Steven Reed has long been willing to speak up loudly and publicly for the LGBTQ community. The Human Rights Campaign is proud to endorse Reed, a strong LGBTQ ally, and fight alongside him to achieve a more fair and equal Montgomery,” said HRC Alabama State Director Carmarion D. Anderson (@cander01). More from HRC. 

“WE ARE AT A CROSSROADS FOR THE SOUL OF OUR COUNTRY” — METRO WEEKLY INTERVIEWS HRC PRESIDENT ALPHONSO DAVID ON TRUMP’S ANTI-LGBTQ AGENDA: “We have an opportunity — and, personally, I have an obligation — to make sure that I can use my skills and my time to advance and protect the rights of LGBTQ people,” David (@AlphonsoDavid) tells Metro Weekly. “He’s the president of the United States, the buck stops with him. If he is employing people or empowering people to make decisions that are discriminatory in nature, I’m going to hold him accountable.” Read more from John Riley (@JohnAndresRiley) in Metro Weekly.

Thanks to @JohnAndresRiley and @metroweekly for an important conversation about Trump’s dangerous anti-LGBTQ agenda, the crossroads our country faces, and @HRC‘s fight to deliver on our nation’s promise of equal justice for all. t.co/FQ0vZjpFnb

— Alphonso David (@AlphonsoDavid) October 3, 2019

OUR RIGHTS ARE AT STAKE ON OCT. 8 — U.S. SUPREME COURT TO HEAR KEY CASES ON LGBTQ EMPLOYMENT PROTECTIONS: The justices will hear three cases that could decide whether federal non-discrimination laws apply to LGBTQ people. “The Supreme Court has an opportunity to clarify this area of law to ensure protections for LGBTQ people in many important areas of life,” said HRC Legal Director Sarah Warbelow (@SarahWarbelow). “The impact of this decision will have very real consequences for millions of LGBTQ people across the country.” More from HRC. 

LOUDOUN COUNTY, VA., SCHOOL BOARD APPROVES LGBTQ-INCLUSIVE RESOLUTION CONDEMNING WHITE SUPREMACY, HATE SPEECH AND HATE CRIMES: More from Washington Blade. 

GET CULTURED – Entertainment, arts and sports news!

POSE’S MJ RODRIGUEZ (@MJRODRIGUEZ7) SHINES IN PRODUCTION OF LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS: More from NewNowNext.

GLOBAL EQUALITY NEWS

HISTÓRICA SENTENCIA EN PARAGUAY TRAS LA MUERTE DE ROMINA VARGAS, UNA MUJER TRANSGÉNERO: Vargas fue atacada a plena luz del día por su asesino en 2017 y falleció mientras la trasladaban al hospital. Este es el primer juicio oral que concluye con la pena máxima entre los más de 60 casos relacionados a muertes de personas transgénero en los últimos 30 años en Paraguay. Más de Reuters. 

RUSSIAN COURT MOVES TO BLOCK LGBTQ GROUPS FROM ENGAGING ON COUNTRY’S SOCIAL NETWORK: Under Russia’s “gay propaganda law,” the Russian LGBT Network and the Russian LGBT Community would be prohibited from engaging on the country’s largest social network, Vkontakte. More from The Moscow Times. 

¡TRIUNFO! – LEGISLADORES DEL ESTADO MEXICANO DE TLAXCALA APRUEBAN LEY DE IDENTIDAD DE GÉNERO: En una votación histórica, la 63 legislatura aprobó un decreto que permitirá que personas transgénero actualicen sus actas de nacimiento y otros documentos legales. Más de Quadratin.

READING RAINBOW – Bookmark now to read on your lunch break!
The Daily Pennsylvanian reports that the Annenberg’s School for Communications is working on a documentary about the lives of Southern gay men

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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