WATCH: Actor Emerson Collins teaches you how to make a jockstrap mask

Actor/producer/funny man Emerson Collins just shared a minute-long video with his social media followers on how to turn a jockstrap into a face mask.

“Jockstrap mask tutorial,” he wrote in the caption. “Because, why not!”

Related: Which famous actor is selling his used jockstrap on the internet?

“The internet may be out of masks, bandanas, and scarves, but it’s not out of jockstraps!” Collins explains in the video. “And yes, straight boys, you can make it with that sad, tired one you still have from high school football, or whatever.”

Just for the record: Queerty does not endorse wearing a jockstrap as a face mask to protect yourself against coronavirus.

Scroll down for more pics from Collins’ Instagram page because, as he puts it, why not?

Related: Steve Grand shows off every angle of his jockstrap in sizzling Instagram story

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NYC Planning Temporary Mass Graves in Public Parks to Bury Coronavirus Victims

New York City is planning to use public parks to temporarily bury coronavirus victims because of the lack of space in morgues, funeral homes, and cemeteries, according to NYC Council Member Mark Levine.

Tweeted Levine: “NYC’s healthcare system is being pushed to the limit. And sadly, now so is the city’s system for managing our dead. And it, too, needs more resources. This has big implications for grieving families. And for all of us. NYC’s “city morgue” is the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME), which luckily is the best in the world. But they are now dealing w/ the equivalent of an ongoing 9/11. And so are hospital morgues, funeral homes & cemeteries. Every part of this system is now backed up.”

“A typical hospital morgue might hold 15 bodies,” added Levine. “Those are now all full. So OCME has sent out 80 refrigerated trailers to hospitals around the city. Each trailer can hold 100 bodies. These are now mostly full too. Some hospitals have had to add a 2nd or even a 3rd trailer. Grieving families report calling as many as half a dozen funeral homes and finding none that can handle their deceased loved ones. Cemeteries are not able to handle the number of burial requests and are turning most down.”

“It’s not just deaths in hospitals which are up,” Levine continued. “On an average day before this crisis there were 20-25 deaths at home in NYC. Now in the midst of this pandemic the number is 200-215. *Every day*. Early on in this crisis we were able to swab people who died at home, and thus got a coronavirus reading. But those days are long gone. We simply don’t have the testing capacity for the large numbers dying at home. Now only those few who had a test confirmation *before* dying are marked as victims of coronavirus on their death certificate. This almost certainly means we are undercounting the total number of victims of this pandemic. And still the number of bodies continues to increase. The freezers at OCME facilities in Manhattan and Brooklyn will soon be full. And then what?”

Levine laid out the plans: “Soon we’ll start ‘temporary interment’. This likely will be done by using a NYC park for burials (yes you read that right). Trenches will be dug for 10 caskets in a line. It will be done in a dignified, orderly–and temporary–manner. But it will be tough for NYers to take. The goal is to avoid scenes like those in Italy, where the military was forced to collect bodies from churches and even off the streets. OCME is going to need much more staff to achieve that goal. Thankfully the Dept. of Defense and the NY National Guard have already sent teams, and volunteer medical examiners have come from around the country. But we are going to need much more help if we’re going to avoid disaster. As New York City continues to appeal to the nation for help, we need to ask not just for doctors and nurses and respiratory therapists. We also need mortuary affairs staff. This is tough to talk about and maybe tough to ask for. But we have no choice. The stakes are too high.”

Concluded Levine: “As New York City continues to appeal to the nation for help, we need to ask not just for doctors and nurses and respiratory therapists. We also need mortuary affairs staff. This is tough to talk about and maybe tough to ask for. But we have no choice. The stakes are too high.”

The post NYC Planning Temporary Mass Graves in Public Parks to Bury Coronavirus Victims appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.

NYC Planning Temporary Mass Graves in Public Parks to Bury Coronavirus Victims: Councilmember

#AM_Equality: April 6, 2020

TRUMP, ALLIES OUT-OF-STEP WITH U.S. CATHOLIC VOTERS: Last week, Trump’s campaign announced its “Catholics for Trump” coalition — elevating extremists and cementing Trump and his campaign as out of step with modern Catholic voters. U.S. Catholics are more likely to support LGBTQ rights than the average American largely due to Catholic values of inclusion and justice. More from HRC.

• PRRI: 72% of white Catholics and 71% of Hispanic Catholics support LGBTQ nondiscrimination protections versus 69% of all Americans
• PRRI: 68% of Catholics describe themselves as “more supportive” of transgender rights versus 62% of all Americans

MEMBERS OF CONGRESS AND HRC CALL FOR STATEMENT ASSURING EQUAL TREATMENT AT FRANKLIN GRAHAM-BACKED COVID-19 FIELD HOSPITAL: “We call on Franklin Graham and Samaritan’s Purse to issue a public statement assuring LGBTQ+ New Yorkers that they will receive equal treatment and respect at this operation. Mount Sinai Hospital, one of many medical centers undertaking the herculean task of caring for our city’s sick, and the City of New York must continue to closely monitor the field hospital to ensure the rights of all New Yorkers being treated at the facility,” reads a statement by Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY) (@RepEspaillat).

MONDAY MUST READ — RACIAL DISPARITIES IN COVID-19 RESPONSE: The federal government is failing to address or even acknowledge the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on people of color and the LGBTQ community. Instead, they have limited access to health care by refusing to reopen the ACA exchanges and spouted untruth after untruth about the crisis. Trump, Pence and our entire federal government are failing us. “We may be waiting for a racial time bomb to explode with this disease,” writes Charles Blow (@CharlesMBlow) in The New York Times.

When it comes to the coronavirus pandemic, “people like to say ‘we’re all in this together,'” writes @CharlesMBlow. “Black people have every right to respond, ‘but will we all emerge from it together?'” t.co/f0guX6Gewp

— New York Times Opinion (@nytopinion) April 3, 2020

LGBTQ HELPLINES SEEING SURGE IN CALLS DURING COVID-19: More from Gay Star News.

• HRC shared resources for struggling LGBTQ young people here.
• Homeless LGBTQ youth are struggling to find shelter during quarantine: More from Chronicle of Social Change.
• Casa Ruby (@CasaRubyDC), an LGBTQ community center in D.C., is fighting like hell to protect our community during COVID-19. More from Washington Blade.

COVID-19 STIMULUS PLAN EARMARKS $155 MILLION FOR HIV ORGANIZATIONS: More from The Advocate.

SENATOR TAMMY BALDWIN (D-WI) ON THE NEED FOR MORE LGBTQ ELECTED OFFICIALS: “This upward cycle of representation and leadership builds the foundation of a political pipeline. When supplemented with sufficient financial resources, this pipeline, at its best, ensures that those often left outside of the decision-making room have a viable path in,” writes Senator Baldwin (@tammybaldwin). “And right now, there is an urgent need for a strong, inclusive pipeline for LGBTQ people.” More from The New York Times.

IN THE STATES 

NEW YORK STATE PASSES LEGISLATION TO SUPPORT INDIVIDUALS AND COUPLES, INCLUDING LGBTQ PEOPLE, WHO ARE BUILDING THEIR FAMILIES: 

Today, New York passed the Child-Parent Security Act, important legislation that will support & protect individuals & couples who rely on medical advances to build their families. This is a crucial victory for LGBTQ New Yorkers seeking to have a child. t.co/nSiobMM4ix

— Alphonso David (@AlphonsoDavid) April 2, 2020

WESTERN DISTRICT OF WISC. WILL EXPAND ACCESS AND EASE OF ABSENTEE VOTING: “In the age of COVID-19, expanding access to absentee and mail-in voting is absolutely crucial to ensuring a safe and smooth voting process,” said HRC Wisconsin State Director Wendy Strout. “[This] decision strengthens our democracy and opens the door for more participation in the Wisconsin Spring Election. The Human Rights Campaign applauds the court for its inclusive decision as well as civil rights groups and leaders across Wisconsin for their advocacy to remove barriers to safe voting across the state.” 

GLOBAL EQUALITY NEWS

GENDER-SEGREGATED QUARANTINES IN PANAMA AND PERU PUT TRANSGENDER PEOPLE AT RISK: More from Oscar Lopez (@oscarlopezgib) at Reuters.

READING RAINBOW – Bookmark now to read on your lunch break!

The Randy Report interviews Justin Utley (@JustinUtley), an LGBTQ musician; Book Riot highlights 15 books for middle schoolers with LGBTQ themes; WMFE looks at a show of local LGBTQ performers to raise funds for non-profits during COVID-19

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!

www.hrc.org/blog/am-equality-april-6-2020?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Anti-gay televangelist blows “wind of God” to defeat COVID-19

Not content with previously inviting followers to cure themselves of COVID-19 by touching their television screens, televangelist Kenneth Copeland tried a different tact last week.

In a service delivered to an empty church but streamed online, Copeland, founder of the Texas-based Kenneth Copeland Ministries, summoned the “wind of God” to defeat the pandemic sweeping the world.

Surrounded by just four of his followers, Copeland thundered: “Wind, almighty, strong, south wind, heat: Burn this thing, in the name of Jesus. Satan, you bow your knees. You fall on your face.

“COVID-19,” he says, before blowing at the camera, “I blow the wind of God on you. You are destroyed forever.”

The comments come just after the one-minute mark below.

Related: Televangelist Kenneth Copeland is “curing” people of coronavirus through the television

Copeland preaches an evangelical interpretation of the Bible, with his website talking of the “sinful desires” and “unnatural affection” of homosexuality.

A staunch supporter of President Trump, he previously suggested at a church service in mid-March that hatred directed at Trump had opened the door to the pandemic.

“This disease called COVID-19 will be over much sooner than you think,” he claimed. “Christian people all over this country praying have overwhelmed it.

“There’s been some really nasty things that have happened this year—last year and this year—that I’m quite certain—well, I know—opened the door to a lot of this,” Copeland said. “Displays of hate and hatred by politicians toward the president. And hate on both sides. The Democrats hate him, and we have some people that hate them because they hate him.”

Copeland and his wife, Gloria, have served on Trump’s Evangelical advisory board.

Copeland is far from being the only person of faith to offer unorthodox methods of healing. Fellow televangelist Jim Bakker was recently sent a cease and desist letter by authorities after he tried to sell a silver solution online that he claimed could cure the virus.

Related: Antigay preacher sued for selling fake coronavirus cure 

Like Copeland, Franklin Graham also suggested to Fox News this weekend that COVID-19 was due to the fact, “Man has turned his back on God, we have sinned against him.”

Meanwhile, in Brazil, the country’s notoriously anti-gay President, Jair Bolsonaro, in response to a request from evangelical Christian, set aside yesterday (Sunday) as a national day of prayer and fasting to “free Brazil from this evil” coronavirus epidemic.

“With the pastors and religious leaders we will call for a day of fasting by Brazilians so that Brazil can free itself from this evil as soon as possible,” he later said on radio station Jovem Pan.

As of yesterday, there have been over 337,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the US and 9,643 deaths. Officials, including Trump, have said the next two weeks are likely to see a further increase in deaths. Most states have issued stay-at-home orders to curb the spread of infection.

For the latest advice on COVID-19, check the CDC and WHO websites.

Related: White House streams anti-gay church sermon at service attended by Mike Pence

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U.S. Surgeon General: ‘This is Going to Be the Hardest and Saddest Week of Most Americans’ Lives, Frankly’ — WATCH

U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams offered some dire thoughts on the week ahead in an appearance on FOX News Sunday.

Said Adams: “This is going to be the hardest and the saddest week of most Americans’ lives, quite frankly. This is going to be our Pearl Harbor moment, our 9/11 moment, only it’s not going to be localized, it’s going to be happening all over the country and I want America to understand that.”

Adams later said, “I want Americans to understand that as hard as this week is going to be, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. There is hope but we’ve also got to all do our part.”

The post U.S. Surgeon General: ‘This is Going to Be the Hardest and Saddest Week of Most Americans’ Lives, Frankly’ — WATCH appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.

U.S. Surgeon General: ‘This is Going to Be the Hardest and Saddest Week of Most Americans’ Lives, Frankly’ — WATCH