Crowd Applauds Tennessee Commissioner’s Racist, Homophobic Rant: White Men Are Losing Rights, and ‘We Got a Queer Running for President’ — WATCH
Sevier County, Tennessee Commissioner Warren Hurst exploded at a public meeting on Monday about the county’s pending vote on becoming a gun sanctuary city.
Said Hurst: “It’s time we wake up people, it’s been time, it’s past time. We got a queer running for president, if that ain’t about as ugly as you can get. Look what we got running for president in the Democratic party. We can go over here to Hoss’s jail [Sevier County Sheriff] and get better people out of there than those running for democratic to be President of the United States.”
HISTORIC VICTORY FOR MARRIAGE EQUALITY IN NORTHERN IRELAND: “Unlike much of the United Kingdom, same-sexcouples in Northern Ireland had been denied the right to marriage equality for years,” said HRC President Alphonso David (@AlphonsoDavid). “The overwhelming support and tireless efforts of advocates and allies have made this day a reality. We congratulate them on this critical milestone for LGBTQ equality.” More from The Guardian, The Washington Post and HRC.
TUESDAY TWEET — ��️ TONIGHT’S THE NIGHT! EIGHTH ANNUAL CHEFS FOR EQUALITY BENEFITTING THE HRC FOUNDATION: The evening of food, cocktails and music to benefit the fight for full LGBTQ equality will be held for the second year at the Washington National Cathedral, and features a pre-reveal reception, 50 tasting stations, 20 dessert stations, 20 mixologists and a Champagne lounge. Learn more here.
Tonight is the night! The Washington National Cathedral will be lit up in rainbow once again for DC’s premier culinary event, #ChefsForEquality — all to benefit the fight for LGBTQ equality.
MICHIGAN BILL WOULD ADD SEXUAL ORIENTATION & GENDER IDENTITY TO STATE’S HATE CRIMES LAW: More from WEMU.
GEORGIA SCHOOL DISTRICT REVERSES POLICY ALLOWING TRANSGENDER STUDENTS TO USE BATHROOMS CONSISTENT WITH THEIR GENDER IDENTITY: Instead, trans students will have to use a single-stall restroom. More from Metro Weekly.
THIS PAST WEEKEND MARKED LGBTQ CENTER AWARENESS DAY: Find out more about the 250+ LGBTQ community centers and 210 LGBTQ campus centers that provide vital resources for LGBTQ people here.
GET CULTURED – Entertainment, arts and sports news!
ACTOR JIM PARSONS & DIRECTOR GREG BERLANTI (@GBerlanti) TEAM UP FOR LGBTQ DOCUSERIES: More from NewNowNext.
OLYMPIAN AND FIGURE SKATER ADAM RIPPON (@Adaripp) OPENS UP ABOUT HIS EXPERIENCE AT THE 2018 WINTER OLYMPICS: Watch here.
GLOBAL EQUALITY NEWS
WORLD PRIDE 2023 TO TAKE PLACE IN AUSTRALIA: Previous hosts of the biennial celebration include Jerusalem, London, Toronto, Madrid and New York City. More from LGBTQ Nation.
THE FIGHT FOR MONTEGO BAY, JAMAICA, PRIDE GOES ON: The mayor may have forced the cancellation of this year’s Pride celebrations, but the fight for the rights of LGBTQ Jamaicans goes on. More from HRC.
READING RAINBOW – Bookmark now to read on your lunch break!
KTLA reports on Sunday’s 25th annual AIDS walk in Los Angeles; Out Magazine speaks with U.S. Soccer stars and partners Ali Krieger (@alikrieger) and Ashlyn Harris (@Ashlyn_Harris)
Gay bar’s reaction to the passing of equal marriage is beautiful
Drag queen Titti Von Tramp (Photo: Facebook)
At the stroke of midnight last night, same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland became a reality after years of campaigning by local equality advocates. The region was the last remaining part of the UK not to recognize same-sex marriage.
The relief and joy felt by many in the region was perfectly encapsulated by the reaction at one gay bar.
The bar, Maverick in Belfast, held a countdown party with a local drag queen, Titti Von Tramp. When the clock ticked down to midnight, the entire bar erupted into cheers while confetti cannons blasted confetti over their heads.
Von Tramp shouted, “We can love who we want to love … and they can do nothing about it! We are equal! We are proud to be who we are!”
“Last night was an Unforgettable occasion,” bar spokesperson Aaron Eakin told Queerty. “I think we all knew this was a special moment in history and we wanted to share it with our LGBT+ community.
“The atmosphere was absolutely electric. Our hostess, prominent Belfast Drag queen Titti Von Tramp, did a countdown to midnight with her own ‘very unique’ commentary. When the moment actually arrived, the cheers were deafening.
“There was just a feeling of pure joy and relief. Although it was a party atmosphere, it was actually very emotional and a moment we will all treasure.”
Von Tramp told Queerty: “We as a community fight every day to be accepted and hopefully this is a battle won in a much larger war on discrimination and hate that we suffer on a day-to-day basis.”
Same-sex marriage became legal in England, Scotland, and Wales in 2014. It was held back in Northern Ireland because a political party, the DUP, consistently blocked legislation.
However, the Parliament in Northern Ireland, which meets at Stormont in Belfast, has been suspended since the DUP and the region’s other power-sharing ruling party, Sinn Féin, fell out with one another in January 2017.
It has left the region politically paralyzed for over 1,000 days.
With no end in sight to the impasse, the British Parliament in London stepped in. It ruled in July that if Stormont failed to re-establish itself by October, 21, it would introduce new laws to the region. These included same-sex marriage and legalized abortion.
The intervention by Westminster means Northern Ireland officials will be instructed to start amending regulations to allow same-sexcouples to marry. This is expected to take 12 weeks. From 13 January 2020, couples will be able to give 28 days’ notice to marry. The first weddings are expected on Valentine’s Day 2020.
In a region steeped in religious dogma and sectarian troubles, it’s hard to downplay the significance of these law changes.
By midnight tonight Marriage Equality will be legally recognised in Northern Ireland! ???????????????
Waking up to a very different place than yesterday, and all for the better! Amazing to see photos of same sexcouples getting engaged after midnight last night & knowing women won’t be criminalised for choosing what to do with their bodies ???#TheNorthIsNow
‘Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’ Trailer Previews the Epic End of the 42-Year Saga: WATCH
How does one being to an end 42 years of Star Wars storytelling? We will soon find out, but here’s a tease of it.
Director JJ Abrams told EW last month: “This is about bringing this thing to a close in a way that is emotional and meaningful and also satisfying in terms of actually answering [as many] questions as possible. So if years from now, someone’s watching these movies, all nine of them, they’re watching a story that is as cohesive as possible.”
Added Abrams: “While there were many things that were planned for and discussed—George Lucas himself said when he created this he saw it as three, three-act plays—that doesn’t mean there isn’t discovery, that doesn’t mean there aren’t things that come up that make you realize, ‘Oh, here’s an opportunity.’ It also doesn’t mean that there’s a list of payoffs that we have to do because of setups. But we also were very much aware this is the end of the trilogy and it needs to satisfy. We went into this thing knowing it has to be an ending. We’re not screwing around.”
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker stars Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Naomi Ackie, Richard E. Grant, Keri Russell, Kelly Marie Tran and Billy Dee Williams.
