LGBT in ME3
via YouTube Capture.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iXH-fwqyv4&feature=youtube_gdata
Daily Archives: December 3, 2014
Michael Sam on NFL Status: “I Don’t Think It Had To Do With Talent”
Michael Sam on NFL Status: “I Don’t Think It Had To Do With Talent”
A slightly distracted Michael Sam says his status as a football player is not based on his abilities on the field.
Annie Hollenbeck
www.advocate.com/sports/2014/12/03/michael-sam-nfl-status-i-don-t-think-it-had-do-talent
Transgender Protections Added to Toledo Hate Crime Laws After Brutal Assault On Transgender Woman
Transgender Protections Added to Toledo Hate Crime Laws After Brutal Assault On Transgender Woman
Toledo City Council voted 12-0 today to approve House Bill 300; a bill that expands upon Ohio’s current hate crime laws to include crimes committed against people because of their actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, or disabilities reports The Toledo Blade. The push for the new legislation comes a month after the brutal mid-day assault on notable Ohio transgender activist Candice Rose Milligan that left her with severe injuries including a broken jaw. Milligan, who still has her jaw wired shut from the attack, praised the council’s decision in a public address yesterday.
Toledo Councilman Jack Ford and three other council members are also credited for their adamant backing of the bill, which only received one hearing on the floor at the time of Milligan’s attack. Milligan faced her attacker, 20-year-old Christopher Temple, in court on Nov. 20. Temple is charged with robbery to inflict, attempt to inflict, or threaten serious physical harm on another. David Crafts, the executive director of Equality Toledo, praised Toledo police’s handling of the case thus far.
Said Craft:
“We know she was targeted based on her transgender status and her gender expression, and we have no question about that. We also know that Toledo Police have procedures they must follow in order to classify cases, and they are doing the best they can to make sure this is classified appropriately.”
Temple, and two other men, attacked Milligan in broad daylight in Toledo last month, hurling homophobic and transphobic slurs and epithets toward her before slamming her onto the ground. Toledo police are still searching for Temple’s two accomplices in the attack.
Anthony Costello
N.J. Trans Veterans Win Important Fight to Change Names on Military Records
N.J. Trans Veterans Win Important Fight to Change Names on Military Records
In a potentially game-changing move, the U.S. Army has allowed two transgender veterans to update their names on their discharge papers.
Mitch Kellaway
12 Gift Ideas For Spouses Who Don't Take Themselves Too Seriously
12 Gift Ideas For Spouses Who Don't Take Themselves Too Seriously
Nailing down the perfect holiday gift for your significant other can be tricky. Jewelry is pretty, but predictable and a tablet is practical, but feels impersonal.
We decided to come up with our own wish list tailored to couples who see romance a bit differently than the rest. Below are 13 awesome gifts for spouses with a sense of humor.
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Measuring Penile Blood Flow Is Now Forbidden For Nations Accepting Gay Asylum Seekers
Measuring Penile Blood Flow Is Now Forbidden For Nations Accepting Gay Asylum Seekers
When gay refugees seek asylum based on fear their lives are at danger due to antigay violence or persecution, they’re interviewed to asses the validity of their claim.
Until now, it hasn’t been unheard of for asylum seekers to be subjected to highly invasive, archaic tests, and more often than not, they’re asked inappropriate questions of a sexual nature.
But the EU’s top court has ruled that these refugees should not have to submit to undignified tests and questions.
The news comes after three men, including a Ugandan and one from a Muslim country, were denied asylum by a Dutch court after not sufficiently convincing officials they were actually gay.
The European Court of Justing (ECJ) ruled that asylum seekers must be treated with respect to human dignity.
Czech authorities were harshly criticized in 2011 for using a “phallometric test” to evaluate legitimacy. The test measures blood flow to the penis when a subject is shown sexually charged stimuli. The practice dates back to communist times, and some argue its validity.
Additionally, asylum seekers can no longer be asked probing questions about their sex lives. Authorities are allowed to ask questions about sexual orientation, but not sex acts themselves.
via BBC News
Dan Tracer
English 111 H LGBT Project
English 111 H LGBT Project
Florida Could Have Marriage Equality In January
Florida Could Have Marriage Equality In January
State officials can still appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court in hopes of extending a hold on a pro-equality ruling; otherwise, marriages begin January 6.
Sunnivie Brydum
www.advocate.com/politics/marriage-equality/2014/12/03/florida-could-have-marriage-equality-january
Focus on Uganda's LGBT Bill Is a Lesson in Our Hypocrisy
Focus on Uganda's LGBT Bill Is a Lesson in Our Hypocrisy
Surely everyone reading this is well aware of the issues surrounding the LGBT bill in Uganda. And as the world leapt to its feet, passionately denouncing this one bill in this one country, I waited for that same outrage to be directed at all the other places where this is happening in equal measure.
I’m still waiting.
If one followed the media frenzy, they’d be led to believe that Uganda is the only country with troubling legislation to this regard, when in fact, Uganda’s law falls perfectly in line with those of an array of other countries. Yet most cases are met with a silent impunity.
Uganda is a mere drop in the bucket. It’s a scapegoat.
The hypocrisy is alarming.
So why are we turning a blind eye to the vast majority of the places where this is happening? How do we decide who gets a free pass and which LGBT communities throughout the world do not, in fact, deserve our advocacy? I believe that if we, as a global community, are serious in our concern about the issue, then the concern must be distributed equally. Otherwise it’s a sham, a stunt for the cameras.
To put the issue in proper context, according to the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA), there are 78 countries with criminal laws against sexual activity by those who identify as LGBT. This includes nearly all of the Middle East, South Asia, Africa, the Indonesian Archipelago, and the Caribbean. These laws range from prison sentences, to corporal punishment, and to execution in some cases.
The list includes “friendly” countries that enjoy generous Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with the U.S. — many of which punish convicted LGBTs with anywhere between 7 years to life imprisonment. Those countries include: Malaysia, Kuwait, Kenya, Jamaica, St. Lucia, Barbados, and others.
Several beneficiaries of other high-profile trade agreements with the U.S. even uphold the death penalty for members of the LGBT community who are “caught in the act,” including: Qatar, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia.
Not only that, but the U.S. is also home to 13 states that are currently ignoring a 2003 Supreme Court decision that declared anti-sodomy laws to be unconstitutional. So we have some work to do on the home front as well.
It would be so much easier if the problem was limited to one place, but it’s not. We shouldn’t turn a blind eye to the many while condemning the few, there is no virtue in that. Let’s lay down our pitchforks and torches for a moment, take a breath, and consider the facts. This is a global issue and we need to recognize that reality and confront it in earnest.
We need to work with communities across the globe, including some key allies, to raise awareness and encourage progress. And if we have a zero tolerance policy for this, then our leaders and the media must apply pressure evenly, across the board.
Meanwhile, acting as though Uganda is the standalone offender is an absolute farce.
Pastor Envisions An AIDS-Free World By Christmas If We “Execute The Homos Like God Recommends”
Pastor Envisions An AIDS-Free World By Christmas If We “Execute The Homos Like God Recommends”
On the website of Pastor Steven Anderson’s church, the Faithful Word Baptist Church in Tempe, you’d find him boasting about the fact that he, “holds no college degree but has well over 140 chapters of the bible memorized word-for-word, including approximately half of the New Testament.”
And where has this blind rote memorization with absolutely zero cognitive thinking skills led him? Why, to the cure for AIDS of course!
Not only does Pastor Anderson hold the key to curing AIDS in the evolutionary disabled organ he calls his brain, but he thinks he could do away with the disease by Christmas.
He employed that handy Bible of his to discover the cure, which he shared with his congregation recently:
“I actually discovered the cure for AIDS,” he began, asking his parish to open their bibles toLeviticus 20:13.”Everybody’s talking about, ‘Let’s have an AIDS-free world by 2020.’ Look, we can have an AIDS-free world by Christmas,” he continued like a true snake oil salesman.
Then he got to the meat of the argument:
“Here’s what the bible says, Leviticus 20:13. ‘If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, it says, even both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them.”
And then the kicker:
“And that, my friend, is the cure for AIDS. It was right there in the Bible all along — and they’re out spending billions of dollars in research and testing. It’s curable — right there. Because if you executed the homos like God recommends, you wouldn’t have all this AIDS running rampant.”
Where to even start? All we can hope is that someone close to Pastor Dipshit finds it in their hearts to try and bring him a few inches back down closer to the real world.
That would be a Christmas miracle.
Watch the whole mess here:
Dan Tracer