SCOTUS to Decide Whether Foster Agencies Can Reject LGBTQ Parents
The case centers on the city of Philadelphia ending its contract with a Catholic agency that rejects prospective LGBTQ parents.
www.advocate.com/news/2020/2/24/scotus-decide-whether-foster-agencies-can-reject-lgbtq-parents
OnlyFans star handing out free subscriptions to anyone who donates to Elizabeth Warren’s campaign
Gay adult film performer Kenny Benjamin is giving out free subscriptions to his OnlyFans page in exchange for donations to Elizabeth Warren’s campaign.
“If you send me a screenshot of you donating to Elizabeth Warren I will give you my alt and if you already have my alt I’ll give you a month of OnlyFans,” Benjamin told his 8K followers on Twitter last week.
IF YOU SEND ME A SCREENSHOT OF YOU DONATING TO ELIZABETH WARREN I WILL GIVE YOU MY ALT AND IF YOU ALREADY HAVE MY ALT ILL GIVE YOU A MONTH OF ONLYFANS
— warren 2020 stan account (@kenny_benj) February 20, 2020
He followed that up with a second tweet a few days later. It included a video of him urging followers to “donate to Elizabeth Warren!”
hello plz donate, i’m too drunk and donated too much just tonight to my bb liz and you should too!!!! pic.twitter.com/lzrHm6UoiT
— warren 2020 stan account (@kenny_benj) February 23, 2020
And the money came rolling in… Sorta.
People began sharing screenshots of their donations, ranging from $3 to $5 to $500, to Warren’s campaign.
It’s not much, but I hope it helps! pic.twitter.com/ahkRGuGNdM
— Kyle Gasaway (@KyleG_7) February 20, 2020
Ill do more I swear! pic.twitter.com/asLWGtiQ8Q
— KinkotterXXX (@kinkotter) February 20, 2020
Ok, now that the billing zip etc are edited. Voila. It’s a zen moment. I think I’m gonna go to the gym now. pic.twitter.com/CBIDf5nHYi
— baker (@barprephtx) February 20, 2020
Benjamin tells Gay Star News the whole thing started as a joke and he was surprised when people actually took his offer seriously.
“I originally posted it as kind of a joke,” he said. “It has actually been crazy. I had a lot of people messaged me to say, ‘I wanted to donate to Elizabeth Warren and this inspired me.’”
The 25-year-old says he mainly supports Warren’s candidacy because she’s a woman.
“I would just love to see a woman in the White House. In the 2016 election, the majority of the country voted for Hilary Clinton. America wants a woman president. And Warren is just so capable of being president.”
He adds that one of his goals of doing adult films is to combat the stigma that surrounds sex work, and Warren has said she is open to decriminalizing it.
Warren’s campaign hasn’t issued any comment on Benjamin’s grassroots fundraising efforts.
Related: Is everyone an adult film star now? ‘OnlyFans’ and the mainstreaming of gay sex
Town Burns Effigy of Gay Couple with Child as Part of Carnival Celebrations: WATCH
Carnival organizers in the town of Imotski, Croatia are under fire from Croatian president Zoran Milanovic, government officials, and LGBTQ rights group after they burned an effigy of a kissing gay couple with a child as part of annual carnival celebrations.
Balkan Insight reports: “Each year, carnivals across Dalmatia select new figures to feature as effigies, often selecting things or people that have made local inhabitants upset and angry. Part of the effigy burned in Imotski clearly showed the face of Social Democratic Party MP Nenad Stazic, who has campaigned in parliament for same-sex couples to be allowed to foster children. His character had also a red star on his forehead, the symbol of former communist Yugoslavia. When local media outlet Slobodna Dalmacija asked the carnival organisers why they had chosen a same-sex couple as an effigy to burn, one said: ‘We remain conservative, sticking to tradition. Give the baby to a mother, as the saying goes. We think that’s right.’ The torching comes after the Constitutional Court published a ruling at the end of January that obliges courts and relevant authorities to give all competent appliers to foster equal opportunities, including same-sex couples. The ruling was welcomed by human rights organisations but criticised in socially conservative circles.”
Said Milanovic on Facebook: “The symbolic burning of the same-sex partners with a home-made child in Imotski is sad, unpleasant and totally unacceptable act under the cover of the carnival celebrations. Hatred and inhumanity are not and will not be a Croatian tradition. I am looking for their public apology and explanation from the institutions responsible, especially since many children watched it and thus witnessed the spread of hate and encouragement of violence.”
The post Town Burns Effigy of Gay Couple with Child as Part of Carnival Celebrations: WATCH appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.
Town Burns Effigy of Gay Couple with Child as Part of Carnival Celebrations: WATCH
HRC Endorses Pro-Equality Ohio U.S Representatives
HRC announced the endorsements of U.S. Reps. Joyce Beatty, Marcy Kaptur, Marcia Fudge and Tim Ryan for reelection.
In 2019, Reps. Joyce Beatty, Marcy Kaptur, Marcia Fudge and Tim Ryan signed on as co-sponsors of the Equality Act — crucial federal legislation that would finally guarantee explicit, permanent protections for LGBTQ people under our nation’s existing civil rights laws when it was considered by the U.S. House last year. They have also been strong supporters of statewide protections for LGBTQ Ohioans. When Congresswoman Beatty served as Speaker of the Ohio General Assembly, she advanced through the House the Equal Housing and Employment Act, the first-ever vote by the Ohio legislature to protect LGBTQ people. Over the next year, HRC will devote significant resources to turning out the 2 million Equality Voters across the state of Ohio to ensure pro-equality leaders like Reps. Beatty, Kaptur, Fudge and Ryan remain in office.
“For decades, LGBTQ people across America have lived under a patchwork of protections that leaves them and their families at risk of discrimination. Leaders like Representatives Beatty, Kaptur, Fudge and Ryan have not only been steadfast allies of the LGBTQ community, they have used their positions of power to help improve the lives of LGBTQ people in Ohio and across the nation,” said HRC President Alphonso David. “Now, it’s time to make sure these leaders have the support they need to continue to work on behalf of all Americans, including the LGBTQ community. The Human Rights Campaign is proud to endorse Representatives Beatty, Kaptur, Fudge and Ryan in their bids for reelection.”
“I’m thankful to the Human Rights Campaign for their endorsement,” said Congressman Tim Ryan. “I supported and co-sponsored the Equality Act in 2019 to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, and childbirth. The U.S. Senate needs to pass the Equality Act and send it to the president for his signature. I will continue my long-standing history as an advocate for the civil rights of the LGBTQ community.”
“I am honored to have the endorsement of the Human Rights Campaign. I have supported Ohio’s Fairness Act and co-sponsored the Equality Act in Congress,” said Congresswoman Joyce Beatty. “ I will continue to advocate on behalf of the LGBTQ community and work with HRC to ensure no American faces discrimination for who they love.”
“I am grateful for the support of the Human Rights Campaign as we work together to ensure equality, safety and integration for all people,” said Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur. “The Human Rights Campaign has long been a leader in ensuring fundamental civil rights for all of our citizens and I am proud to stand alongside your efforts.”
“The Human Rights Campaign has advocated for millions of LGBTQ Americans for 40 years,” said Congresswoman Marcia Fudge. “ HRC’s work, and that of other organizations fighting for equality and human rights, restores hope for an America free from discrimination, hate crimes, and policies that block access to health care, prevent marriage equality and limit job opportunities. I will continue to support legislation that guarantees and protects the rights of the LGBTQ community and others who too often are denied their legal and human rights. Thank you, HRC, for all that you do. It is an honor to receive this endorsement.”
In the 2018 midterms, HRC helped register more than 32,000 voters and recruited more than 4,200 volunteers, who worked over 8,500 shifts and clocked more than 30,000 volunteer hours. In the critical final four days of the campaign, HRC staff and volunteers in get-out-the-vote efforts alone knocked on more than 80,000 doors, and held 36,400 conversations with voters at their doors and by phone on behalf of our endorsed candidates. HRC’s unprecedented grassroots mobilization represented an investment of approximately $26 million to recruit volunteers, mobilize constituents, register voters and grow the organization’s grassroots army in an all-out effort to pull the emergency brake on the hateful anti-LGBTQ agenda of the Trump-Pence administration and elect a Congress that would hold them accountable.
| Paid for by Human Rights Campaign PAC (www.hrc.org) and authorized by BEATTY FOR CONGRESS, KAPTUR FOR CONGRESS, MARCIA FUDGE FOR CONGRESS and TIM RYAN FOR CONGRESS |
Celebrities speak out in support of Dwyane Wade, Gabrielle Union, and their daughter Zaya at the 51st NAACP Image Awards
On the red carpet at the 51st NAACP Image Awards on Saturday, GLAAD’s Head of Talent, Anthony Ramos, spoke to H.E.R, Tamron Hall (“The Tamron Hall Show”), Lena Waithe (“Master of None”), Matthew A. Cherry (“Hair Love”), Robin Thede (“The Rundown with Robin Thede”), Jaboukie Young-White (“The Daily Show with Trevor Noah”), Yvette Nicole Brown (“Community”), and Yahya Abdul Mateen II (“Watchmen”) about Dwyane Wade and Gabrielle Union’s support for their daughter Zaya, who recently came out as transgender.
Check out the clip below:
During the 51st NAACP Image Awards, out rapper and singer Lil Nas X took home the award for Outstanding New Artist. Other nominated LGBTQ acts included Janelle Monáe, who was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture (Harriet), and Billy Porter, who was nominated for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series (Pose).
GLAAD’s coverage of the NAACP Image Awards is a part of its recently launched initiative called NEON, an ongoing digital content series that aims to increase the visibility of Black LGBTQ people and their allies. Learn about more NEON here.
Supreme Court takes up case on gay foster parents–may lead to reevaluation of 30-year-old ruling that places general law over religious beliefs.
bibleblender posted a photo:
The Supreme Court agreed today to decide if laws against discrimination go too far and violate religious freedom. The court will consider overriding a 30-year-old ruling that says religious beliefs cannot override general laws even if those beliefs violate a person’s religious edict.
www.bibleblender.com/2020/christian-news/supreme-court-ta…
Carnival-goers burn a giant effigy of a gay couple in Croatia
A giant papier-mâché effigy of a same-sex couple, holding a doll intended to represent a child, has been burned in front of a large carnival crowd in Croatia.
The carnival took place in the town of Imotski on Sunday. It’s a tradition of the carnival, stretching back 150 years, to burn giant effigies of political figures or others in the news.
The effigies are carried through the town and then set alight. This year’s effigy was followed by a group of kindergarten children on its walk through the streets.
The doll had the face of left-wing Social Democratic Party MP Nenad Stazić. The politician has recently called for laws to allow same-sex couples to foster children.
The effigy featured two men kissing and had a rainbow-colored design on its chest, clearly marking them out as a same-sex couple.
Before the figures went up in flames, an announcer could be heard telling the crowd, “My head is spinning from this culture of death… This year, let’s set this grotesque family with baby Nenad Stazić on fire!”
Defending the stunt, one of the festival’s organizers, Milivoj Djuk of the Bako Ceremony Cultural Society, told Slobodnadalmacija: “We remain conservative, we stick to the tradition. Give your mother a baby, as the saying goes. We think it’s the right thing to do.”
Although same-sex couples are allowed to enter civil partnerships in Croatia, they lack other rights. A constitutional ban on same-sex marriage was introduced in 2013 following a referendum and same-sex couples are not allowed to adopt.
Related: Croatia bans gay marriage
LGBTQ campaigners and allies were outraged by the carnival burning. Croatian MP Arsen Bauk has indicated he will lodge a complaint with the police, while local group The Rainbow Family Association says it intends to file a criminal complaint against the organizers for the crime of public incitement to violence and hatred.
“The frightening scenes from Imotski cannot be justified by carnival customs,” said the association’s coordinator, Daniel Martinovic.
“What kind of message is being sent to our children, children who nowadays in Croatia grow up with their lesbian mothers or gay fathers?
“What message is being sent to children without adequate parental care that it is okay to burn them because an adult cannot understand that someone wants to help them not spend their childhood in the home?”
Related: Bigots are losing it over a Croatian bank commercial
Martinovic said that poking fun at powerful political figures is one thing, “but attacking the minority within the minority, and specifically those who want to specifically help the most vulnerable members of our society, abandoned children in homes, is simply unacceptable and horrifying.”
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