Category Archives: NEWS

Alabama Supreme Court Blocks Same-Sex Marriage

Alabama Supreme Court Blocks Same-Sex Marriage
The Alabama Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered probate judges in the state to stop issuing same-sex marriage licenses.

The ruling adds to the confusion surrounding gay marriage in the state. A federal judge found that the state’s ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional in January. Some probate judges refused to comply with that ruling and Alabama Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore said that probate judges didn’t have to follow it.

The conflicting orders prompted Elmore County Probate Judge John E. Enslen to ask for clarification from the Alabama Supreme Court, according to WBRC.

Read the Alabama Supreme Court’s full decision here.

Below, more from The Associated Press:

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — The Alabama Supreme Court is ordering the state’s probate judges to stop issuing marriage licenses to gay couples.

The all-Republican court sided with a pair of conservative organizations Tuesday in ruling that the U.S. Constitution doesn’t alter the judges’ duty to administer state law.

The court says Alabama has defined marriage as between only one man and one woman for about 200 years. And it says a federal court used “sleight of hand” in a case that resulted in most of Alabama allowing gay marriage last month.

The Alabama Policy Institute and the Baptist-run Alabama Citizens Action Program asked the court to halt same-sex unions after a federal judge in Mobile said Alabama laws banning them were unconstitutional.

www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/03/alabama-same-sex-marriage_n_6796380.html?utm_hp_ref=gay-voices&ir=Gay+Voices

Breaking: Alabama Supreme Court Orders Halt On Same-Sex Marriages Statewide

Breaking: Alabama Supreme Court Orders Halt On Same-Sex Marriages Statewide

same-sex-marriage-coming-to-alabamaJust a few weeks after a United States District Court Judge in Mobile ordered a local probate judge to begin issuing same-sex marriage licenses, the Alabama Supreme Court has ordered a halt on statewide same-sex marriage.

“As it has done for approximately two centuries, Alabama law allows for ‘marriage’ between only one man and one woman,” the order said. “Alabama probate judges have a ministerial duty not to issue any marriage license contrary to this law. Nothing in the United States Constitution alters or overrides this duty.”

The order gives probate judges five days to present arguments on why they should be allowed to issue the licenses.

This only adds to the confusion in the state.

Last month, Alabama’s chief justice Ray Moore (the same Ray Morore who defied a federal court order to remove a monument to the 10 commandments from the state courthouse) ordered state judges to disobey the ruling of the federal judge. It resulted in some counties following one authority, and some following another.

That situation prompted Elmore County Probate Judge John E. Enslen to ask for clarification from the Alabama Supreme Court, and thus we have this even more confusing decision form the state supreme court.

David Kennedy, one of the lawyers who represented the couple who initially challenged the same-sex marriage ban, doesn’t think the decision will hold up to federal scrutiny.

“I don’t really think that they can do that. I’m not surprised, but I’m somewhat appalled,” he said. “The Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the stay (on the order striking down the gay marriage ban) would expire on Feb. 9. On Feb. 9, same-sex marriage effectively became legal in Alabama.”

“Whenever state law conflicts with federal law, federal law wins,” he added.

via AL.com

Dan Tracer

feedproxy.google.com/~r/queerty2/~3/9pghbWBccv0/breaking-alabama-supreme-court-orders-halt-on-same-sex-marriages-statewide-20150303

One Of Nation's Few Homeless Shelters For LGBT Youth Opens Doors In San Antonio, Texas

One Of Nation's Few Homeless Shelters For LGBT Youth Opens Doors In San Antonio, Texas

Homeless

One of the nation’s few homeless shelters specifically for LGBTQ youth has opened its doors in San Antonio. 

Thrive Youth Center is a 13-bed, 1,400-square-foot facility — including five individual rooms for transgender youth. 

The center, which will serve LGBTQ youth ages 18-25, was initially scheduled to open last year at a downtown church, but that plan was nixed due to zoning issues. The shelter finally opened last week through a partnership with Haven for Hope, a larger facility serving the general homeless population. 

Texas Public Radio reports: 

WhitleyThrive Executive Director Sandra Whitley (right) said Haven has changed its intake process since Thrive came on board, asking new applicants if they required LGBT services. “And if they check yes, then they call one of us over at our office and we come over and talk to the person and see if they’ll be a fit for our program.” …

Thrive’s initial mission —getting people back on their feet — is being upheld through Haven’s programs. “The services that we were going to offer, the GED program; the career counseling; the job placement, all those things are now located 25 feet from our door,” said Whitley.

Scott Ackerson, a Vice President for Haven for Hope, said they also found space for certain individuals who did not meet Thrive’s 18-25 age group criteria. “We’ve got the capacity to serve an additional 10 LGBT individuals that don’t necessarily fit within Thrive’s target population,” said Ackerson.

According to Thrive Youth Center’s website, 50 percent of homeless youth in San Antonio are LGBTQ, mostly as a result of family rejection. And homeless LGBTQ youth on the street are more than twice as likely to commit suicide as other youth on the street.

Meanwhile, nearly nearly one in three transgender men and women report being turned away from homeless shelters because they are transgender, according to the National Center for Transgender Equality. 

Before opening Thrive Youth, Whitley and other founders visited the Ali Forney Center in New York City and the LA Gay and Lesbian Center in Los Angeles — two of the only other homeless shelters in the nation for LGBTQ youth. Whitley, whose parents once sent her to a mental hospital because she was gay, sold her business last year so she could run the shelter. 

For more information on the Thrive Youth Center or to make a donation, go here. And to listen to the stories of some of the youth who’ll be served by the facility, go here

With any luck, Thrive Youth Center can serve as a model for shelters serving homeless LGBTQ youth across Texas and in other red states — where the facilities are often most needed due to high levels of family rejection.

Watch a video report from last year about plans for the Thrive Youth Center, AFTER THE JUMP … 


John Wright

www.towleroad.com/2015/03/one-of-nations-few-lgbtq-youth-homeless-shelters-opens-its-doors-in-san-antonio.html

Angry Activists Confront Trans Teen in Charlotte Bathroom, As Nondiscrimination Ordinance Fails

Angry Activists Confront Trans Teen in Charlotte Bathroom, As Nondiscrimination Ordinance Fails

Tensions flared in Charlotte, N.C. Monday, as nearly 120 citizens gave passionate speeches for and against an ultimately stymied LGBT nondiscrimination ordinance.

read more

Mitch Kellaway

www.advocate.com/politics/transgender/2015/03/03/angry-activists-confront-trans-teen-charlotte-bathroom-nondiscrimina

Gay Group Sex May Soon Be Illegal In China Thanks To This Guy

Gay Group Sex May Soon Be Illegal In China Thanks To This Guy

1-110622160344419_0If it’s always been your dream to partake in a wild gay orgy with a gaggle of hot Chinese men, then you better book your flight to Beijing ASAP because lawmakers there are getting ready to consider a ban on group sex between men.

That’s right. Gay gang bangs may soon be illegal in the communist country of China. And all thanks to dermatologist Dr. Sun Jianfang (pictured) from the Institute of Dermatology at Peking Union Medical College.

Jianfang plans to propose the ban at the country’s upcoming annual legislative sessions. He will argue that banning gay orgies will help prevent the spread of AIDS. According to statistics, the number of HIV cases among men who have sex with men increased from 2.5 percent in 2006 to 25.1 percent in the first half of last year.

Current law criminalizes consensual group sex between three or more people, regardless of gender, so why this random dermatologist feels a new law created to explicitly criminalize gay sex is needed is unclear. But not everyone is pleased with his plan to police what they call “matters of the crotch.”

China’s leading sexologist, Li Yinhe, has been particularly outspoken about the matter.

“The crime of group sex is an outdated law, an erroneous law,” she said. “Its abolishment would not harm social customs, nor corrupt social values…It does not make sense to expand its scope to include same-sex sexual activity between multiple people.”

China’s annual legislative sessions begin March 4.

Related stories:

How A Chinese Gay Dating App You’ve Never Heard Of Just Hit 15 Million Users

WATCH: China’s First Same-Sex Marriage Ad Has A Surprise Twist

Research Finds Tolerance Of Homosexuality In China Dating Back Thousands Of Years

Graham Gremore

feedproxy.google.com/~r/queerty2/~3/msFbJc3bh6U/gay-group-sex-may-soon-be-illegal-in-china-thanks-to-this-guy-20150303

Disney Is Bringing The World of 'Avatar' To Life – VIDEO

Disney Is Bringing The World of 'Avatar' To Life – VIDEO

Screenshot 2015-03-03 15.57.55

When “Avatar” first hit theaters back in 2009 the film was lauded for the technical innovation used to create a uniquely immersive experience. James Cameron brought Pandora, the home planet of the alien Na’Vi people, to life in a way that invited viewers to lose themselves in the vibrant world.

Though we’re still more than two years out from the first of three Avatar sequels, Disney’s team of Imagineers are hard at work building a real-life analogue to Pandora for Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park in Florida.

When plans for the Avatar theme-park were first announced, Cameron and his team described a multi-sensory journey that would transport people to the fictional planet that captured their imaginations. Everything from the sprawling landscapes to the lush, bioluminescent forests would be recreated to the T, offering park-goers the chance to experience the most fantastic aspect of the planet from a first-person perspective.

A new video from the park’s production team gives us our first look at what Cameron described, and from the looks of it there’s a good chance you’ll be going to Pandora long before you see the next Avatar film.

Check out some early footage of the real world Pandora AFTER THE JUMP

Screenshot 2015-03-03 15.57.16

 


Charles Pulliam-Moore

www.towleroad.com/2015/03/disney-is-bringing-the-world-of-avatar-to-life-video-1.html

What You Need to Know About Anti-Trans Bathroom Bills

What You Need to Know About Anti-Trans Bathroom Bills
Bills have been filed in three states to prevent transgender people from using bathrooms consistent with their gender identity. The one in Kentucky targets transgender students. The bills in Texas and Florida apply would everywhere. Between all three, there are various provisions for:

1. Civil and criminal penalties transgender people who use a bathroom

2. Fines, criminal and civil liability for school administrators and business owners who let a transgender person use a bathroom different than their birth sex

3. People who report a transgender people in the bathroom to claim civil damages (i.e. collect a bounty)

Understandably, this has caused fear and dismay among transgender people around the country. We all have to use the bathroom, but these laws would seemingly force transgender people to choose between fines and jail, risking horrific violence or leaving the state.

While this is theoretically possible, it’s also extremely unlikely. Here’s what you need to know, and what the probable outcomes are:

1. The bills probably won’t pass

These bills are considered kind of kooky even for conservatives, who’d much rather be talking about tax cuts, “Religious Freedom,” repealing “Obamacare,” and “getting government out of people’s lives.” The Florida and Texas bills haven’t even been assigned to committees yet, and may never be heard. Beyond this, the legislators who proposed them in Texas and Florida aren’t exactly well regarded even within their own party. The Kentucky bill passed in the state senate, but both the house and governor’s office are controlled by Democrats.

Americans have 99 problems, and transgender people in bathrooms ain’t one of them. Republicans who focus on this will open themselves up to a lot of ridicule, while most of the mainstream ones would rather find issues that are better at pulling in both the base and independents.

2. Even if they do pass, it will be a nightmare… for conservatives

If by some weird quirk of fate one of these passes, the storm of lawsuits from everyone involved will be a debacle. Non-transgender people who are accidentally targeted by these laws will be suing. So will transgender people, whose lives are at risk. Business owners will be claiming that the government mandate is unenforceable; how are they supposed to spot check someone’s DNA? Police departments will have an unfunded mandate for DNA testing, and it will be a huge test of evidence and privacy laws.

People trying to claim bounties will be reporting anyone who looks suspicious, or even turn each other in to file civil suits against business owners for quick cash.

Transgender men in women’s bathrooms will also quickly make it obvious how ridiculous the bills are. The bearded guy who benches 300 lbs in the ladies rooms isn’t exactly what these lawmakers wanted, but will get anyway. If or when a butch cisgender woman gets arrested and forced to undergo DNA testing, the result would be a media firestorm.

If they do pass and get put into effect, the chaos that follows will ensure no one repeats the mistake.

3. They probably won’t hold up in court

The Department of Labor (DOL) recognizes discrimination against transgender people as sex discrimination under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Some of the most recent case law also finds that restricting bathroom access for transgender workers is a form of sex discrimination. Similarly, the Department of Education recognizes transgender people as being covered by the provisions for sex discrimination under Title IX.

These are just the challenges that transgender people would mount under Title VII and IX. There will also probably be the equal protection, privacy, disparate impact, sex stereotyping, animus and enforceability challenges these bills would face from transgender people, people who were falsely accused and business owners affected by the laws.

Given the number of vulnerabilities and potential challenges to these laws, many people believe they are unlikely to stand up in court.

4. These are last gasp attempts to hurt LGBT people

“No, I think we have to go all out. I think that this situation absolutely requires a really futile and stupid gesture be done on somebody’s part!” – Otter, Animal House

Most people, including conservatives, see the writing on the wall for marriage equality. As a result, they are desperately casting about for something ways to hurt LGBT people legislatively. Recent polls show that the window for singling out transgender people is closing, and the results are acts of desperation.

Most of these attempts have involved preempting local non-discrimination ordinances with state law, or expansions of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) to allow people, businesses, churches and religiously affiliated organizations to discriminate against LGBT people on the basis of “sincerely held religious beliefs.”

Whatever those are.

These bathroom bills represent a futile and not particularly well thought out side show to where the real point of attack is. Their introduction may be simple grandstanding for the base, fear mongering or sincerely held paranoia, but as public accommodations access becomes settled law these bills will have less and less “pull.”

People whose greatest fears in life include transgender people in bathrooms will increasingly be seen for what they are, and the rest of us will be able to just get on with our lives.

www.huffingtonpost.com/brynn-tannehill/last-chance-to-see-transg_b_6753712.html?utm_hp_ref=gay-voices&ir=Gay+Voices

Transgender Discrimination Bill Scheduled for Hearing in Florida House Civil Justice Committee

Transgender Discrimination Bill Scheduled for Hearing in Florida House Civil Justice Committee

Today is the first day of the state legislative session in Tallahassee and already mean-spirited, anti-transgender legislation has been put on the calendar for a vote.
HRC.org

www.hrc.org/blog/entry/transgender-discrimination-bill-scheduled-for-hearing-in-florida-house-civi?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed