Atlanta Rapist Pretended to Be Gay to Gain Victim’s Trust

Taurence Callagain had told his victim, a lesbian, that he was gay. He has now been convicted of raping her.

www.advocate.com/crime/2020/2/25/atlanta-rapist-pretended-be-gay-gain-victims-trust

Coronavirus Warnings, Orville Peck, Lady Gaga, Alanis Morissette, Judge Judy, Gay NFL Hopeful, Disney Plus: HOT LINKS

CDC. Spread of coronavirus in U.S. inevitable: “Ultimately, we expect we will see community spread in the United States,” Nancy Messonnier, a top official at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told reporters. “It’s not a question of if this will happen but when this will happen and how many people in this country will have severe illnesses.”

ITALY. Grocery store shelves empty as coronavirus spreads. “The death toll from the sudden outbreak in northern Italy climbed to seven by Tuesday morning and the number of confirmed cases grew from 152 to 229 amid fears efforts to contain the virus are faltering and a global pandemic is likely.”

MORE: “The emergence of Italy, Iran, and South Korea as new hubs of the outbreak underscored the lack of a coordinated global strategy to combat the coronavirus, which has infected nearly 80,000 people in 37 countries, causing at least 2,600 deaths.”

NOT FAMILY FRIENDLY. Why Disney moved the Love, Simon spinoff from Disney+ Plus to Hulu. “Sources also note that Disney felt many issues explored on the show, including alcohol use and sexual exploration, would not fit in with the family-friendly content on Disney Plus.”

PETE DAVIDSON. I think I should leave SNL because they make fun of me.

ON DIVERSITY. Pete Buttigieg and voters of color.

IDAHO. 11-year-old brings AR-15 to hearing on gun legislation. “An 11-year-old girl toting a loaded AR-15 assault weapon appeared Monday at a legislative hearing with her grandfather, who is supporting a proposal that would allow visitors to Idaho who can legally possess firearms to carry a concealed handgun within city limits.”

JUDGE JUDY. I’ll “fight to the death” for Mike Bloomberg. “America doesn’t need a revolution. It’s the most perfect country in the world and those people that are trying to change it and revolutionize it, don’t have a chance, because I’ll fight them to the death.”

TEXAS. Stacy Bailey, a teacher who was placed on leave in 2017 after showing students a picture of her fiancee, has been awarded $100,000 after a federal ruling. “As part of the settlement, the school district agreed to provide mandatory training to human resources and counseling staff on LGBTQ issues in schools, and to require the Mansfield ISD board of trustees to vote on whether to add protections for sexual orientation into its policies, according to a representative for Bailey.”

MARTHA STEWART’S CHEAT MEAL. You’ll never guess what it is.

SCOTT FRANTZ. Gay player hoping to make the NFL:

UNEXPECTED RESULT OF THE DAY. This backflip in stilettos.

LADY GAGA. The new era starts Friday.

View this post on Instagram

“STUPID LOVE” THE NEW SINGLE BY LADY GAGA OUT FRIDAY AT MIDNIGHT ET #LG6

A post shared by Lady Gaga (@ladygaga) on Feb 25, 2020 at 8:52am PST

PREVIEW CLIP OF THE DAY. Nicki Minaj on Drag Race.

NEW TUNE OF THE DAY. Alanis Morissette “Smiling”.

MUSIC VIDEO OF THE DAY. Orville Peck “Queen of the Rodeo”.

TEST KITCHEN CLIP OF THE DAY. Gourmet Combos.

TORSO TUESDAY. Pablo.

View this post on Instagram

_keep <<< calm >>> and relax 5.57PM 9° C #home

A post shared by (@buho___) on Feb 22, 2020 at 9:57am PST

The post Coronavirus Warnings, Orville Peck, Lady Gaga, Alanis Morissette, Judge Judy, Gay NFL Hopeful, Disney Plus: HOT LINKS appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.

Coronavirus Warnings, Orville Peck, Lady Gaga, Alanis Morissette, Judge Judy, Gay NFL Hopeful, Disney Plus: HOT LINKS

Should #BeardedButtigieg Really Let It Grow?

All the buzz about Pete’s fuzz.
 

www.advocate.com/commentary/2020/2/25/should-beardedbuttigieg-really-let-it-grow

Under Brutal Grilling, Acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf Appears to Have No Clue About Coronavirus or U.S. Response: WATCH

Chad Wolf, the Trump-appointed Acting Secretary of Homeland Security appeared to have no clue about the coronavirus or the U.S. response to it during a brutal grilling from Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) on Tuesday.

Wolf could not tell Kennedy the extent of the infections the U.S. was anticipating or prepared for, if the country has enough respirators, and seemed stumped when Kennedy asked him how the virus was transferred.

When Wolf tried to refer Kennedy to the CDC and HHS, the senator responded: “I’m asking you questions as the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. And you’re supposed to keep us safe. And you need to know the answers to these questions.”

The post Under Brutal Grilling, Acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf Appears to Have No Clue About Coronavirus or U.S. Response: WATCH appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.

Under Brutal Grilling, Acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf Appears to Have No Clue About Coronavirus or U.S. Response: WATCH

HRC Mourns Neulisa Luciano Ruiz, Trans Woman Killed in Puerto Rico

HRC is deeply saddened to learn of the death of Neulisa Luciano Ruiz, also known as Alexa, a transgender woman fatally shot in Toa Baja, Puerto Rico yesterday. Ruiz is believed to be the second violent death of a transgender or gender non-conforming person in 2020. 

“This is a horrifying crime that must be investigated with the utmost thoroughness and care. This victim, who has now been identified as Neulisa Luciano Ruiz, was a human being, a member of a community, a friend and family member,” said HRC Director of Community Engagement for the Transgender Justice Initiative Tori Cooper. “She had dreams, hopes, hobbies and did not deserve to have her life taken from her. HRC has heard that Ruiz was experiencing homelessness, further highlighting the ways a toxic mix of transphobia and misogyny conspire to put the transgender community at risk of extreme violence.”

According to reports, Ruiz appeared to have been targeted by her killers after a social media post claimed a homeless transgender woman was using the women’s restroom. Her attackers followed her in a car, filmed the brutal killing and posted it online.

Puerto Rico Governor Wanda Vázquez tweeted that they are considering all possible motives in this crime, and have encouraged anyone with information on Ruiz’s death to contact local authorities.

According to the U.S. Trans Survey, 30 percent of respondents had experienced homelessness in their lifetimes. 

As we mourn this tragic loss, HRC is also closely monitoring the death of a transgender woman in Washington, D.C. on December 29, 2019. According to the latest reports, police are waiting to notify the woman’s next of kin before releasing her name publicly. 

In November 2019, ahead of Transgender Day of Remembrance, HRC Foundation released “A National Epidemic: Fatal Anti-Transgender Violence in America in 2019,” a heartbreaking report honoring the trans people killed and detailing the contributing and motivating factors that lead to this tragic violence. Sadly, 2019 saw at least 26 transgender or gender non-conforming people fatally shot or killed by other violent means. We say at least because too often these stories go unreported — or misreported.

These victims are not just numbers or headlines. They were real people worthy of dignity and respect, of life and love. 

There are currently very few explicit federal legal protections for transgender or gender-expansive people. However, transgender and gender non-conforming people in Puerto Rico are explicitly protected in employment, and they are covered under the state’s hate crimes legislation. Nationally, despite some 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-Pence 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-neulisa-luciano-ruiz-trans-woman-killed-in-puerto-rico?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed