HRC Mourns Loss of LGBT Leader
HRC mourns the loss of Gloria Casarez, an LGBT leader who was Philadelphia’s first director of the Mayor’s Office of LGBT Affairs.
HRC.org
www.hrc.org/blog/entry/hrc-mourns-loss-of-lgbt-leader?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed
Schoolteacher Who Referred To Student As “Fag Number One” Quickly Fired
A photography teacher at a school in Helsingborg, Sweden has learned the hard way why you shouldn’t hurl antigay slurs at students.
The teacher, whose name has not been released, was asked to take photos of the new classes earlier this month. While setting up a shot, he allegedly shouted at one of the students, “Fag number one! Stand over here!”
The photo shoot was abruptly stopped, and the school’s principal was summoned. Meanwhile, the upset student went off to phone his parents.
“When I found out what the photographer said, I felt that this required immediate action,” the principal told media. “He did not respect our values and offended a student. As an adult, you must think about what you say to students.”
The teacher was escorted out of the school and asked to return later that afternoon once the students had gone home for the day. Upon returning, both the principal and the photography company’s CEO were waiting for him.
“He apologized to me but it did not help,” the CEO said. “I decided he must be let go immediately… We can only apologize to the student involved. The matter is now settled.”
Related stories:
Idiot Teacher Suspended For Posting “I’m Gay” Sign To Teen’s Back
High School Teacher Admits To Hypnotizing Student, Pulling Down His Pants, And Molesting Him
Teacher Suspended For Giving Gay Student LGBT Films “Latter Days” and “Trick”
Graham Gremore
Towleroad Guide to the Tube #1634
RACHEL MADDOW: Her angry punk songs to get you through the midterms.
ARION I: Meet the world’s fastest bike, which promises speeds up to 90 mph.
GHOSTBUSTERS 3: Ellen, Melissa McCarthy, and Lena Dunham for the win.
WATCH: Recording artist Scotty Dynamo has a sexy halloween party mix.
For more recent Guides to the Tube, click HERE.
Kyler Geoffroy
www.towleroad.com/2014/10/towleroad-guide-to-the-tube-1634.html
LGBT Event
BREAKING: Wyo. Won't Appeal Marriage Equality
Same-sex couples can begin marrying Tuesday morning.
Sunnivie Brydum
www.advocate.com/politics/marriage-equality/2014/10/20/breaking-wyo-wont-appeal-marriage-equality
Dear Straight Couples: Just Get Married Already
If you’re a straight couple who is in love, you have my blessing. Go get hitched, you crazy kids.
Don’t get me wrong; I have an immense appreciation for our allies. When Macklemore sang “Same Love” while Queen Latifah married 33 couples on live television, I honestly cried a little bit.
But when celebrity couples make empty promises to the LGBTQ community as some sort of publicity stunt, the gesture is meaningless if not insulting. I guess I could give Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie props for waiting a full eight years before breaking their promise to not get married until everyone can. I mean Dax Shepard and Kristen Bell only waited two years and used the DOMA ruling as a loophole. Now Lena Dunham has jumped on the bandwagon and I have to call bullshit.
If the self-proclaimed voice of my generation wants to make a promise like that, I just hope she intends to keep it. Otherwise, don’t bother. There are plenty of other gestures that would speak just as loudly.
I mean, not even LGBTQ people are waiting to tie the knot until same-sex marriage is legal nationwide. Whenever a new state makes this inevitable change, it’s met with celebration. Most couples aren’t as fortunate to be able to delay marriage in the name of social protest. For them, the legalization of marriage is not just about equality, but also the security that they want to be able to offer their loved ones.
Having grown up and come out of the closet in Jackson, Mississippi, I’ve known a number of gay and lesbian couples that take whatever opportunity they can to make their love legal. They travel to other states just to be able to say, “I do.”
But that’s still not enough. I recently met an older couple who has to file mountains of paperwork to accomplish what a simple marriage would do, all so one woman who works for the state can pass her benefits on to the very sick woman she loves.
If you’re in love and have the legal right to get married, don’t waste that. I understand it’s a gesture well intended but not everyone is so fortunate to squander their rights.
If you want to show your support, get married in a state where it’s legal. Show the other states what hosting Brad and Angelina’s marriage can do for their economy and tourism.
Better yet, use your money and connections to fight where it matters most. Sponsor a bill in a state that’s still behind the times. Who knows? Maybe the Dax and Kristen Act will be responsible for marriage equality in Mississippi.
I don’t think lawmakers will say, “Well, if legalizing same-sex marriage will allow Lena Dunham to marry her boyfriend with a clean conscience, we should do it!”
I will always be grateful for allies, no matter if they’re huge celebrities or small town citizens. But making some lavish, yet empty promise does nothing but tarnish your word. If you want to show you care, actually do something. Otherwise, I hope your marital vows last longer than the ones you’ve made to the LGBTQ community.
Moral Mondays and Momentum for LGBT Equality in Alabama
The recent Supreme Court decision greatly affected the lives of many LGBT families around the country.
HRC.org
Obama Goes On The Record To Say That Denying Same-Sex Marriage Is Unconstitutional
President Obama didn’t publicly support marriage equality until May of 2012, but his views today sound more like those of a lifelong champion of gay rights.
In an interview with The New Yorker about his judicial legacy, Obama said:
“Ultimately, I think the Equal Protection Clause does guarantee same-sex marriage in all fifty states. But, as you know, courts have always been strategic. There have been times where the stars were aligned and the Court, like a thunderbolt, issues a ruling like Brown v. Board of Education, but that’s pretty rare. And, given the direction of society, for the Court to have allowed the process to play out the way it has may make the shift less controversial and more lasting.”
Given the president’s background as a constitutional law professor, and the fact that he’s the president and all, it’s pretty amazing to hear such strong language on an issue that’s taken so much work to advance.
He was also asked what the “best” Supreme Court decision during his tenure has been, and he answered:
“In some ways, the decision that was just handed down to not do anything about what states are doing on same-sex marriage may end up being as consequential—from my perspective, a positive sense—as anything that’s been done. Because I think it really signals that although the Court was not quite ready—it didn’t have sufficient votes to follow Loving v. Virginia (the 1967 decision that states could no longer ban interracial marriage) and go ahead and indicate an equal-protection right across the board—it was a consequential and powerful signal of the changes that have taken place in society and that the law is having to catch up.”
At what point will same-sex marriage opponents realize they’re not going to come off so great in the history books?
Dan Tracer
Windsor Lawyer Files Lawsuit Challenging Mississippi's Gay Marriage Ban
Roberta Kaplan, who served as lead counsel in the landmark United States v. Windsor decision last year, has filed a federal challenge to Mississippi’s ban on same-sex marriage on behalf of two gay couples.
Said Kaplan:
“As the lawyers who represented Edie Windsor, we are so honored to be able to file this case today on behalf of Rebecca Bickett, Andrea Sanders, Jocelyn Pritchett, Carla Webb, and the Campaign for Southern Equality. The Supreme Court took a gigantic step forward last year in Windsor, and since then, dozens of courts around the country have followed suit so that today, gay people in thirty-two states have the right to marry. It is now time to take the next big step by making sure that gay families in Mississippi are accorded these same protections. The Supreme Court has made it clear that no matter where a gay person lives —whether it is in Maine, Minnesota, or Mississippi—our Constitution requires that they be treated with the same dignity and respect under the law as everyone else.”
Mississippi remains one of only a handful of states that has not yet had it’s gay marriage ban overturned by either a federal or circuit court.
Read the lawsuit below:
Kyler Geoffroy
