LGBTQ Presidential Town Hall: Where the Candidates Stand

www.advocate.com/election/2019/9/19/lgbtq-presidential-forum-where-10-candidates-stand

Everyone’s pissed at Ellen for being friends with George W. Bush… but what about Michelle Obama?

So everyone’s pissed at Ellen because she was spotted at a Dallas Cowboys game over the weekend sitting next to George W. Bush. Not only that, but she later admitted that, yes, she’s friends with the former president and, yes, they had a “fun” time together at the game.

Quick! Let’s all write to NBCUniversal and demand she be fired. Better yet, someone call the executioner. (That was hyperbole.)

Just to be clear: It wasn’t until very recently that George W. Bush was considered by many to be the worst president in American history. Thanks to Donald J. Trump, however, he’s now been relegated to second worst president in American history. So this is absolutely not a defense of him.

But all this outrage being lodged at Ellen seems a little misguided and, frankly, kinda fake. Because if you’re mad at Ellen for being friends with George W., then you should probably also be mad at former first lady Michelle Obama. After all, she and Georgie have formed a deep and well-documented friendship over the last decade.

In fact, Town & Country recently did a story about the unlikely pair and all the “heart-warming moments” they’ve shared over the years, like that time he gave her a piece of candy at his father’s funeral, which she graciously accepted. Everyone thought that was really sweet.

Last year, Mrs. Obama, a noted LGBTQ ally, famously called George W. “a wonderful man” and said “I love him to death” on the TODAY show.

“President Bush and I, we are forever seatmates because of protocol, and that’s how we sit at all the official functions,” she said. “He’s my partner in crime at every major thing where all the ‘formers’ gather. So we’re together all the time. I love him to death. He’s a wonderful man, he’s a funny man.”

Now, I’m not saying this to make everyone mad at Michelle Obama. I repeat: I am NOT saying this to make everyone mad at Michelle Obama! She doesn’t deserve our ire. She is the Forever First Lady and a shining example of American excellence.

But if we’re able to understand that her friendship with George W. Bush doesn’t define who she is as a person, then why can’t we do the same for Ellen?

Sure, Ellen may be out of touch with the average LGBTQ person. (Having a net worth of $400 million can do that to an individual.) And, yes, she has disappointed us in the past. (Her refusal to comment on longtime BFF Drew Brees’ involvement with Focus on the Family last month year was frustrating.) But most people would agree that she’s not a terrible, awful person with a poisonous heart. In fact, she’s a pretty good role model and an inspiration to many. She’s just flawed, like everyone else.

And she certainly doesn’t deserve to be burned at the stake for sitting next to a dude who doesn’t know how to properly put on a poncho.

The Supreme Court is about to decide whether it should be legal for employers in America to fire people for being LGBTQ and there is a very good chance that they’re going to rule in favor of the homophobes. Surely, that deserves a little more outrage than this.

Let’s save our torches and pitchforks for the fights that actually matter.

Related: Ellen DeGeneres defends “fun” afternoon with “friend” George W. Bush

www.queerty.com/everyones-pissed-ellen-friends-george-w-bush-michelle-obama-20191009?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29

HRC Mourns Itali Marlowe, Black Transgender Woman Killed in Houston

HRC is deeply saddened to learn of the death of Itali Marlowe, a Black transgender woman who was killed in Houston on September 20.

Marlowe, 29, was shot multiple times and found by police in the driveway of a local home. She was transported to a nearby hospital where she was pronounced dead, as reported by Monica Roberts of TransGriot.

Police have charged Raymond Donald Williams, 23, with murder and are seeking his whereabouts. Williams was known to be living with Marlowe at the time of her death, and he was seen fleeing the scene of the crime. Anyone with information on Williams’ whereabouts should call Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS (8477), according to a police press release issued today.

Marlowe is the 19th known transgender person killed this year, the majority of whom were Black transgender women. She is the 4th known transgender person to be killed in Texas this year. 

Of the known transgender people killed this year, 13 have died from gun violence. Of the more than 150 known victims of anti-transgender violence from 2013 to present, approximately two-thirds of those killed were victims of gun violence.

In November 2018, ahead of Transgender Day of Remembrance, HRC Foundation released “A National Epidemic: Fatal Anti-Transgender Violence in America in 2018,” a heartbreaking report honoring the trans people killed and detailing the contributing and motivating factors that lead to this tragic violence. 

These victims are not numbers — they were people with hopes and plans, dreams for the future, loved ones and communities who will miss them every day. 

There are currently very few explicit legal protections for transgender or gender-expansive people. Transgender people in Houston are not explicitly protected across many aspects of daily life, including housing and employment, and they are not covered under the state’s hate crimes legislation.  

Despite marginal gains in state and local policies that support and affirm transgender people, recent years have been marked by anti-LGBTQ attacks at all levels of government. We must demand better from our elected officials and reject harmful anti-transgender legislation appearing at the local, state and federal levels because it is clear that fatal violence disproportionately affects transgender women of color. The intersections of racism, transphobia, sexism, biphobia and homophobia conspire to deprive them of necessities to live and thrive.

HRC will continue to hold the Trump administration and all elected officials who fuel the flames of hate accountable at the ballot box.

This epidemic of violence that disproportionately targets transgender people of color — particularly Black transgender women — must cease.

For more information about HRC’s transgender justice work, visit hrc.org/Transgender.

www.hrc.org/blog/hrc-mourns-itali-marlowe-black-transgender-woman-killed-in-houston?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed