Target CEO Won’t Back Down on Transgender Bathroom Policy: ‘We Made The Right Decision’ – WATCH

Target’s CEO Brian Cornell says the company isn’t backing down from its trans-inclusive bathroom policy that allows transgender people to use bathrooms in accordance with their gender identity.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports: 

He added the company is adding more family restrooms in its stores, an option for people who worry about the mixing of sexes in bathrooms.

Cornell made the remarks during an appearance on CNBC’s Squawk Box program. He noted that more than 1,400 of the company’s 1,800 stores already have family restrooms. In the next few months, Target will be put them in the rest of its stores.

“We want to make sure we provide a welcoming environment for all of our guests,” Cornell said. “One that is safe, one that is comfortable.”

This morning on CNBC, Cornell said the company received “quite a bit of feedback” on the issue.

“We took a stance,” he said. “We’re going to continue to embrace our belief in diversity and inclusion, just how important that is to our company. But we’re also going to make sure our focus on safety is unwavering.”

Cornell compared the move to Target’s decision in the 1960s to start featuring black models in its ads:

“Back then, it wasn’t well received. We had a lot of tough feedback. But sitting here today, we know we made the right decision.”

Watch, below.

The post Target CEO Won’t Back Down on Transgender Bathroom Policy: ‘We Made The Right Decision’ – WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.

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Montreal Holds LGBT Kiss-In After Vicious Homophobic Attack: WATCH

Hundreds of people took part in a Montreal kiss-in on Monday evening to support a gay couple after they were the victims of a brutal attack last week.

The couple, who only wanted to be referred to by their first names Simon and Sebastien, were attacked on their way to a bar in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, Montreal.

According to Simon, their attackers said “are you faggots,” to which he replied “What? Are you homophobe? Why did you say that?”

Both men were then punched in the face repeatedly. They fled the scene but were followed by one of the attackers who kicked and punched Simon.

The Monday night kiss-in was organized by the LGBT Quebec Council and the Gai Ecoute support group to denounce homophobia.

Maryse Bezaire of Gai Ecoute said:

“Often people think that we are a progressive society, often people think there’s no more homophobia, but that’s not the case. It’s important to talk about it, it’s important to reaffirm the right of everyone to show affection in public without being afraid of being a target of homophobic slurs or violence.”

Gai Ecoute says it currently receives one to two calls a day reporting homophobic acts.

The couple has filed a police report but say they are more concerned with raising awareness and to let other victims of homophobia know they’re not alone.

Watch a report on the kiss-in below.

The post Montreal Holds LGBT Kiss-In After Vicious Homophobic Attack: WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.

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Senate Judiciary Democrats Receive Garland’s Questionnaire and Call for Republicans to #DoYourJob

Earlier today, Senate Judiciary Democrats received a completed questionnaire from Supreme Court Justice nominee Merrick Garland and urged Senate Republicans to review the questionnaire and hold hearings and a vote on Judge Garland’s nomination. The questionnaire is a standard part of the vetting process for judicial nominees, and Garland’s answers detail his employment history, all of the opinions he has written for the court and his pro bono work, among other information. Notably, Garland mentions in the questionnaire that that none of the opinions he has authored have been reversed—either by the D.C. Circuit court sitting en banc or the Supreme Court of the United States.

Despite President Obama nominating Merrick Garland nearly two months ago and Garland’s many qualifications, Senate Republicans are continuing their unprecedented obstruction of the U.S. Supreme Court nomination process. On the day of Justice Scalia’s death, Republican leadership announced that they would evade their duty and not hold hearings for President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee and have continued to stand by that pledge.

Just last month, the LGBT community marked the one-year anniversary of oral arguments in the historic Supreme Court marriage equality case Obergefell v. Hodges. Cases like Obergefell serve as a reminder of the impact decisions made by the Supreme Court can have on the daily lives of LGBT Americans and the importance of confirming a ninth Justice to the Supreme Court.

HRC is committed to ending the obstruction of the judicial confirmation process, and earlier this year, HRC joined dozens of progressive advocacy organizations around the country for the #DoYourJob National Day of Action to urge Senate Republicans to fulfill their constitutional obligation and hold confirmation hearings for Garland’s nomination to the Supreme Court. In addition, last week, HRC hosted a call for LGBT and allied organizations to provide an update on the status of Garland’s nomination, what’s at stake for the LGBT community and ways that groups can help advance the nomination. You can sign HRC’s petition calling on Senator Mitch McConnell to stop playing politics and to fulfill his constitutional obligation here.

www.hrc.org/blog/senate-judiciary-democrats-receive-garlands-questionnaire-and-call-for-repu?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

HRC Alabama on the Ground as Oxford Repeals Anti-Transgender Law

Post submited by HRC Alabama Organizer Tori Wolfe-Sisson

Last week, HRC was in the room when the Oxford, Alabama, City Council voted 3-2 to repeal a discriminatory new ordinance that would have prevented transgender residents and visitors from using public restroom facilities consistent with their gender identity.

The anti-transgender law was unprecedented in its establishment of criminal penalties for violations — including a $500 fine or 6 months in jail — and raised a myriad of privacy and legal concerns regarding how the law would have been enforced. 

Oxford’s ordinance enumerated criminal penalties, including the potential for jail time, for violations. It also applied to bathrooms and locker rooms citywide, including in private businesses, which went further than similar provision in North Carolina’s law, which applies to government buildings and schools. Both pieces of legislation, however, put transgender people at increased risk for violence and intimidation.

While Oxford could have faced the immense backlash North Carolina is seeing, council members did the right thing and repealed the ordinance.

A few days later, HRC joined the Oxford LGBT and allied community and organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union of Alabama, Southern Poverty Law Center, Southerners On New Ground and the Equality Calhoun Coalition to celebrate this immense victory. Over 150 people gathered to reflect on our shared responsibilities and to prepare for the road ahead.  

HRC Alabama is grateful that our transgender family and friends are safer here in Oxford and will continue to keep a watchful eye on anti-LGBT legislation throughout the state.

www.hrc.org/blog/hrc-alabama-on-the-ground-as-oxford-repeals-anti-transgender-law?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

HRC Mississippi Hosts Event Following Successful Rally

Post submitted by Harry Hawkins, Field Organizer HRC Mississippi

After the rally to repeal the discriminatory HB 1523 in Mississippi that drew hundreds of people from across the Magnolia State earlier this month, HRC Mississippi took time to celebrate the successful event and our community.

“Mississippi: Express Yourself” was an opportunity for volunteers and supporters to tell their stories, offer poems and sing songs of hope. It was a chance for all of us to see how equality and creativity can go hand in hand.

Prior to the event, hundreds of equality advocates joined HRC, NAACP, ACLU of Mississippi, Southern Poverty Law Center, Planned Parenthood and other rights organizations and leaders demanding repeal of HB 1523 on the steps of the State Capitol.

On April 5, 2016, Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant signed into law H.B. 1523, “The Religious Liberty Accommodations Act.” More than 75 major national corporations and businesses have spoken out against the horrific measure, that would allow individuals, religious organizations and private associations to use religion to discriminate against LGBT Mississippians in some of the most important aspects of their lives, including at work, at schools, and in their communities.

HRC thanks Soul Wired Cafe and the many people who participated and attended the event.

Hopefully, through events like this, we can expand and support our diverse, inclusive and loving community.

www.hrc.org/blog/hrc-mississippi-hosts-event-following-successful-rally?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Philly Mayor to Lesbian Teen Kicked Out of Prom: “I Love Your Suit”

“Keep being yourself,” Philadelphia’s mayor told a teenager who was kicked out of her high school prom for wearing a suit. 

www.advocate.com/youth/2016/5/11/philly-mayor-lesbian-teen-kicked-out-prom-i-love-your-suit

Red Carpet Fashion: RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 8 Los Angeles Finale

The finale for the eighth season of RuPaul’s Drag Race was filmed at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles on Tuesday night, and boy was it a spectacle. Not only did the event bring out some the fiercest drag queens, it also drew out dozens of Hollywood celebrities including Rumer Willis and Todrick Hall. And of course, the red carpet was lined with some of the most fabulous fashions you will see on any runway!

Enjoy all of the red carpet fashions below, captured by photographer Davide Laffe.

Acid Betty

Bob The Drag Queen & Thorgy Thor

Derrick Barry

Dax ExclamationPoint

Cynthia Lee Fontaine

Chi Chi DeVayne

Robbie Turner

Naomi Smalls

Naysha Lopez

Laila McQueen

Kim Chi

Detox

Delta Work

Carnie Asada & Daniel Franzese

Andrew Christian

Alaska Thunderfuck

Aggy Dune & Mrs. Kasha Davis

AB Soto

Violet Chachki

TS Madison, Ellis Miah & Audrey Napoleon

Trixie Mattel

Trinity K. Bonet

Todrick Hall

Tempest Dujour

Tatianna

Stacy Layne Matthews

Rumer Willis

Phoenix

Raja, Bianca Del Rio, Sharon Needles, Jinkx Monsoon, Bebe Zahara Benet & Tyra Sanchez

Ongina

Nicole Paige Brooks

Morgan McMichaels

Milan Christopher

Michelle Visage & Carson Kressley

Mariah Balenciaga

Manila Luzon

Madam LaQueer

Lucian Piane

Latrice Royale & Christopher Hamblin

Larry Edwards (aka Hot Chocolate)

Kennedy Davenport

Katya Zamolodchikova

Kandy Ho

Jiggly Caliente

Jade Jolie & Jade Sotomayor

India Ferrah

Honey Mahogany

The Haus of Edwards

Whose look did you love the most? Tell us in the comments below! And don’t forget to tune in to the final episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 8 on Monday, May 16 at 9/8c on Logo.

Related: Red Carpet Fashion: RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 8 New York Premiere

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Homophobic Judge Roy Moore Is No Match For Alabama Drag Queen Ambrosia Starling

Despite appearances, Alabama is still indeed a state, though at the rate things are going, it may just crumble away into the Gulf of Mexico at at any moment, and all that’ll be left behind is a triumphant drag queen named Ambrosia Starling. Who’d have guessed that Florida would still be standing while Alabama implodes?

First of all, there’s Governor Robert Bentley, who’s embroiled in a sex scandal so icky you may never want to talk to a heterosexual again. Then there’s the Speaker of the House, under investigation for corruption. And then there’s the state Supreme Court Justice, Roy Moore, whose downfall has been the most delicious of all.

You may remember Moore from his starring role in a stupid reality-show-esque fight a few years back concerning the Ten Commandments. He insisted on having a monument on state grounds, everyone freaked out, and he was kicked out of office. But then, because Alabama bizarrely allows members of the public to vote on Supreme Court justices, he was voted back in. Great job, Alabama! Your average citizen is DEFINITELY qualified to judge the merits of top legal minds.

Moore then promptly proceeded to go on an unconstitutional bender, ordering clerks to deny marriage licenses to same-sex couples even after the US Supreme Court ruled that they had to. It took a few months, but now once again, Moore has been temporarily removed from office, with the possibility that he’s gone for good. Or he might get stuck in a rubber room that prevents him from doing more harm. (You can catch up on all the juicy details and speculation on this week’s Defining Marriage podcast.)

So what’s Ambrosia Starling’s role in all thus? Well, she’s been one of the most vocal opponents of Moore from the start, holding various protests and rallies to draw attention to Moore’s misdeeds.

And it’s driving him absolutely bonkers.

When Moore was kicked out, he complained that regulators were “choosing to listen to people like Ambrosia Starling, a professed transvestite, and other gay, lesbian and bisexual individuals as well as organizations that support their agenda.”

Haha, “professed transvestite,” that’s one way of referring to a drag queen, okay.

When Moore called Starling insane, she happily agreed. “I’m crazy for democracy!” Yes girl. Go nuts. Get all of those jerks thrown out of office one by one, and turn Alabama into a drag paradise!

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Nick Jonas: Accusations of Gaybaiting Are ‘Really Quite Sad’

Nick Jonas is no stranger to courting his gay fans. But Jonas has consistently been accused of gaybaiting his queer audience, a fact which Jonas addresses in a new interview with OUT.

In his profile of Jonas, Chadwick Moore writes, 

As an album of R&B and pop, Nick Jonas received mostly positive reviews from critics, one of whom declared it as filling “the hole currently vacated by Justin Timberlake and Robin Thicke.” However, that same reviewer, echoing the sentiments of many, accused Jonas of taking “a page out of the James Franco playbook, courting the LGBT community, aggressively working both the gay press and New York City’s club circuit.”

The accusations of gay baiting and opportunism have left Jonas a bit wounded. “It’s not the majority, but a large handful have a negative opinion for whatever reason,” he says, “and I think it’s really quite sad.” Still, regardless of whether he’s playing footsie with the LGBT community, his work is starting to speak for itself.

RELATED: Nick Jonas Doesn’t Think He’s a Gay Icon

Jonas has perhaps gone out of his way to be LGBT-friendly, playing gay roles on the shows Kingdom and Scream Queens (well, let’s just say his character’s sexuality on Scream Queens is complicated). And Jonas says he has enjoyed playing those characters. Of the closeted MMA fighter he plays on Kingdom, Jonas says.

“It’s been a great character to play,” says Jonas, “one that I try to be respectful of and take myself out of. He’s on his own path.”

To prepare for the part, he spoke to some of his closest friends, some of whom were raised in conservative families, about their coming-out experiences. “It was a good way to research,” says Jonas, “to kind of build the character with some elements of real life.”

You can read the full interview with Jonas here.

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