Courageous Transgender Woman & HRC Volunteer Earns Prominent Feature in Mississippi Newspaper
Through ‘Commercial Dispatch’ Story, Blossom Brown talks about living openly & honestly as a transgender Mississippian
HRC.org
Category Archives: NEWS
Procter & Gamble Comes Out Strong For Same-Sex Marriage, Proves Inclusion Is Good Business
Procter & Gamble Comes Out Strong For Same-Sex Marriage, Proves Inclusion Is Good Business
Few major corporations have a better track record when it comes to internal LGBT policy than Procter & Gamble, and now the consumer product giant has evolved one step further. They’ve publicly embraced same-sex marriage, and in doing so, have set the bar even higher for profit-conscious corporate America.
“We have always supported our employees and fostered a culture of inclusion and respect – this includes the right to marry whomever they choose and to have that union legally recognized,” said Deborah P. Majoras, P&G’s chief legal officer and executive sponsor to GABLE – the company’s gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender-allied employee group.
The company weighed potential losses from angry customer fallout and decided the reward of supporting their LGBT employees and LGBT people everywhere outweighed any potential risk.
Their decision reflects an impressive history of inclusion within the company.
22 years ago in 1992, P&G first introduced anti-discrimination language into their equal employment opportunity clause. In 2001 they began offering full benefits to domestic partners, and in 2010 decided to include transgender transition benefits in their health package.
They’ve proven that the market can (and should) evolve alongside the rest of society. Meanwhile they continue to focus on their products, and with brands like Tide, Bounty, NyQuil and Crest, it’s hard to imagine sales slowing down by showing the LGBT community support.
Dan Tracer
Freedom to Marry Campaign Director Says Organization Will Disband if Supreme Court Rules for Marriage
Freedom to Marry Campaign Director Says Organization Will Disband if Supreme Court Rules for Marriage
The Washington Blade has a new interview out today with Marc Solomon — National Campaign Director for Freedom to Marry (pictured).
Probably the highlight of the interview comes at the end, when Solomon talks about what happens if the Supreme Court rules for marriage nationwide. Solomon says this would mean the end of Freedom to Marry, because the organization’s goal would be achieved:
We’ve always been set up as a campaign, and we are a campaign, and when we’ve won nationwide, we’re finished…I want to see some of the really good people stick around in LGBT stuff, or in other progressive causes, but Freedom to Marry’s done. That’s I think a great holding out is put yourself out of business.
Solomon is optimistic about such a ruling, deeming it “highly unlikely” that the court will rule against same-sex marriage. Further, with support climbing in the polls, he is “pretty confident” that voters are also more supportive of gay marriage. He suggests there will not be the same opposition to pro-gay marriage ballot marriages we saw in 2012.
Solomon also talks the long road it’s been to this point, saying he must’ve seen “more than 10 field organizers” bit by dogs while going door-to-door. “Other people have been chased down the street by homophobes,” he said. “We don’t send people door-to-door in Cambridge, or in Chelsea, or in parts of the Chicago that we’re doing well.”
Check out the whole interview here.
Jake Folsom
Pam Bondi Working Overtime to Stop Same-Sex Marriages in Florida
Pam Bondi Working Overtime to Stop Same-Sex Marriages in Florida
Florida’s thrice-engaged Attorney General has submitted a flurry of briefs to stop same-sex marriages from starting.
Matt Baume
Executive Action on Immigration
Executive Action on Immigration
It is widely expected that President Obama will soon issue his long-awaited executive action on immigration, but it is still unclear exactly what the relief package will include.
HRC.org
www.hrc.org/blog/entry/executive-action-on-immigration?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed
Former “Ex-Gay” Activist Marries A Man And Finally Finds His Happily Ever After
Former “Ex-Gay” Activist Marries A Man And Finally Finds His Happily Ever After
Smid and his husband, Larry McQueen, pose with their marriage certificate.
John Smid, who once claimed to have been “cured” of homosexuality and who worked with various “ex-gay” groups, is once again a married man. Only this time, he didn’t marry a woman. He and his partner, Larry McQueen, announced they tied the knot last weekend.
In 1980, Smid left his wife to be with guys, but he had misgivings and tried to go straight again by marrying a second woman and becoming a leading spokesman for conversion therapy. He ran Love In Action, an ex-gay ministry based in Memphis, and sat on the board of Exodus International for 11 years.
In 2011, he went ex-ex-gay, divorcing his second wife and admitting he “never met a man who experienced a change from homosexual to heterosexual.” He apologized for his past actions and launched a new ministry, Grace Rivers, which caters to the gay community.
“I believe that due to my former notoriety, my marriage will definitely have its impact,” he just told Towleroad in an interview.
He says he hopes it will encourage other self-proclaimed “ex-gays” to learn to accept who they are and lead more open and truthful lives.
“I believe it is encouraging for other former ex-gays, and maybe even those who are still trying to hold on to their ex-gay belief system,” he said. “We think our relationship reveals something very normal, not strange or deceptive gay stereotypes. We have come to realize that our marriage is very much the same as your average heterosexual marriage.”
When asked if there have been any people within the LGBT community who have given him grief over marrying a man, Smid replied: “No actually, I think that’s been worked out, but you never know, there may be some.”
Congrats to the happy new couple.
Related stories:
It’s “Ex-Gay” Awareness Month! Here Are Five Former Homos And What They’ve Been Up To Lately
STUDY: Two More Cases That Prove That Ex-Gay Therapy Is A Crock
Ex-Ex-Gays: Meet The People Who Tried To “Cure” You
Graham Gremore is a columnist and contributor for Queerty and Life of the Law. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter.
Graham Gremore
Eli Lieb Wants You To Know You're 'Lightning In A Bottle' – VIDEO
Eli Lieb Wants You To Know You're 'Lightning In A Bottle' – VIDEO
Out singer-songwriter Eli Lieb is back with another original song, “Lightning in a Bottle,” about believing in the power of your own unbridled spirit. Lieb told Out Magazine,
“I want people to see the music video, hear the song, really listen to the lyrics, and live their truth. This is a celebration of people. I’ve lived promoting the idea of the authentic self and not to be afraid of who you are. It’s proven to be one of the key elements of my life and career. The song is about that: about being who you are.”
The music video for Lieb’s latest song, which just dropped today, features Shangela from RuPaul’s Drag Race, and professional dancers Jenna Riegel (Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company) and Caitlin Scranton (The Lucinda Dance Company). Lieb hopes this video will inspire people to be their truest selves: “It’s a feel-good video. I want people to be their brightest light.”
Watch the rousing video, AFTER THE JUMP…
And ICYMI, be sure to check out Lieb’s previous videos for “Zeppelin,” “Safe in My Hands,” “Young Love,” and a cover of P!nk’s “Try.”
Sean Mandell
www.towleroad.com/2014/11/eli-lieb-wants-you-to-know-youre-lightning-in-a-bottle-video.html
9 Tweets to Celebrate Trans Awareness Week
9 Tweets to Celebrate Trans Awareness Week
See how these trans advocates, students, and allies brought visibility to their trans community members this week.
Mitch Kellaway
www.advocate.com/politics/transgender/2014/11/19/9-tweets-celebrate-trans-awareness-week
Honoring Harvey Milk's Legacy in Europe
Honoring Harvey Milk's Legacy in Europe
Harvey Milk did something that few people ever do — he started a movement that changed the nation. His legacy lives on through the great work being done by his nephew, Stuart Milk, who accepted the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Harvey’s behalf posthumously in 2009, the same year that I humbly received the same award for my work with Susan G. Komen. Meeting Stuart that day changed my life, and gave me a new cause to pursue — achieving equal rights for the LGBT community in our nation and across the world.
Last month, I was extremely pleased to join the U.S. Embassy in Budapest to honor both the legacy of Harvey Milk and the incredible work that the Harvey Milk Foundation is doing to promote LGBT inclusion and acceptance across the globe. I did so not just as a former U.S. Ambassador, but as a proud American who believes in inclusion and not exclusion.
It is an honor to serve in a leadership advisory role and stand with the incredible Harvey Milk Foundation that is supporting LGBT visibility on all corners of the globe, doing so with a strong grace and successful efficacy. It is imperative to raise awareness about the LGBT community around the world, and the only way to do that is to educate those around us, everywhere we go.
One of the late Harvey Milk’s core messages was visibility. When I promised my sister, Susan G. Komen, that I’d do everything I could to stop the heartless progression and social stigma of this disease, the word “breast cancer” wasn’t even fit for polite conversation, let alone a national discussion. Slowly but surely, we changed that through visibility. And while the LGBT community has made enormous strides in the U.S. there still is significant work ahead at home and abroad.
36 years ago, Harvey Milk said:
You must come out. Come out… to your parents… I know that it is hard and will hurt them but think about how they will hurt you in the voting booth! Come out to your relatives… come out to your friends… if indeed they are your friends. Come out to your neighbors… to your fellow workers… to the people who work where you eat and shop… come out only to the people you know, and who know you. Not to anyone else. But once and for all, break down the myths, destroy the lies and distortions.
Today, we are seeing the incredible impact of those words. Just recently, Apple CEO Tim Cook announced publicly that he was gay. He did so because he believed that sharing his story with the world could “help someone struggling to come to terms with who he or she is, or bring comfort to anyone who feels alone.” He couldn’t be more right, and by coming out to the world, he paved the way for many others to be honest with their friends, their family and their peers about who they really are, and for them to be accepted with open arms by all.
The Harvey Milk Foundation is doing terrific work in helping people like Mr. Cook feel comfortable about being who they are by coming out to their friends and family. Recently, the Foundation helped establish the annual Harvey Milk Day in California. They were also successful in working with the United States Postal Service to issue a Harvey Milk stamp, which will go a long way in educating our nation about the decades-long effort to bring about real change for the LGBT community.
Today 65 percent of Americans say being gay is just the way some people are, not something people choose to be and they should be accepted and have equal rights. These are remarkable statistics because gay people like Tim Cook had the courage to be honest with themselves and their families. This turnaround is also due to the education work being done by the Milk Foundation and the other LGBT civil society organizations that move the LGBT community towards greater acceptance and equality every day. But the work is far from over – just last week a federal appeals court upheld gay marriage bans in four states. We must double our efforts to ensure that every American can spend their life with the person they love.
And although I have long supported LGBT visibility in everything I have done, it is personal for me. Not only because of dear friends who are members of the LGBT community but because one of the most important and inspiring people in my life, my son, is a proud and wonderful gay man. I could not be more proud of my son Eric, and am so pleased that he was able to join me in Hungary as we work for equality for the LGBT community in central Europe and across the globe.
There is much more to be done to ensure that the LGBT community is endowed with the same rights as all humans across the globe. But what I saw in Hungary last month gives me hope. People like Tim Cook give me hope. And my own son, who works tirelessly for the cause, helps me believe that we will someday bring about real change in the world for justice for all.
Mississippi Dad’s Beautiful Response to Son’s Coming Out
Mississippi Dad’s Beautiful Response to Son’s Coming Out
One dad finds inspiration from HRC’s All God’s Children campaign.
HRC.org
