38 Cities Earn Perfect Score on HRC’s 2014 Municipal Equality Index
The MEI examines the laws, policies, and services of municipalities and rates them on the basis of their inclusivity of LGBT people who live and work there.
HRC.org
Louis Tomlinson’s Twitter Feud With Journalist Escalates Following “Gay Apple Shirt” Incident
Don’t try and put One Direction’s Louis Tomlinson in a box. Following his bandmate Harry’s almost-sort-of revelation that gender isn’t an important factor when evaluating a partner, the U.K. newspaper The Independent published an article about Tomlinson and his perceived support for Apple CEO Tim Cook.
Because, you know, he was wearing a shirt with the apple logo on it. The author, Jen Selby, called it a “statement.”
But Louis saw it differently, and wasn’t too pleased with the article. He took it as being called gay by The Independent, though the article never speculates his sexuality, only his support for Tim Cook.
And it prompted the following Tweets from camp Tomlinson:
Which of course prompted the following response from camp Selby:
Dan Tracer
New South Wales Gay Couples' Marriages Performed Abroad Now Recognized
Same-sex couples in New South Wales, Australia have a new option when it comes to marriage; they are now allowed to marry in other countries and have their marital status recognized by Australian state’s government (The New South Wales Registry of Births, Death and Marriages).
New South Wales Legislative Assembly member and marriage equality advocate Alex Greenwich (pictured) was instrumental in pushing this change through by introducing the Relationships Register Amendment, and rallying government support for it. Said Greenwich:
This change acknowledges that a growing number of NSW citizens must travel overseas to marry the person they love, while waiting for the Federal Government to legislate for marriage equality…The NSW Relationship Register will now ensure same-sex marriages conducted overseas will receive a level of protection and recognition in NSW, and I thank the Attorney-General for working with me towards this outcome.
Greenwich points to the Australian national government as the reason this legislation had to go through the New South Wales state government: “The inaction of federal governments, past and present, on marriage equality remains an embarrassing blight on our nation’s reputation for fairness, freedom and equality.”
Jake Folsom
www.towleroad.com/2014/11/new-south-wales-gay-couples-now-allowed-to-marry-abroad-2.html
Steve Ashkinazy talks about LGBT Homeless Youth and Covenant House
Steve Ashkinazy, Clinical Director of The Hetrick Martin Institute speaks about LGBT Homeless Youth (1n 1989), together with a representative from Covenant House, on a Community Board 2 Cable…
The Five Dating Don'ts for the Single Gay
Here are a few guidelines that every smart gay man should keep in mind to stay on top of his game and out of a dead-end relationship.
Tyler Curry
www.advocate.com/health/love-and-sex/2014/11/12/five-dating-don%E2%80%99ts-single-gay
Bizarro Election 2014: When Homophobes Backed Gay-Equality Supporters and Vice Versa
In 2014 hedge-fund billionaire Paul Singer backed some of the most anti-gay politicians — and defeated others committed to full LGBT equality — by pouring millions into super PACS and the Republican Governor’s Association.
He helped anti-gay, personhood-amendment-backing Joni Ernst win a U.S. Senate seat in Iowa. He aided the kooky anti-gay extremist Paul LePage (who’s obsessed with sodomy and Vaseline and once said President Obama “hates white people”) in winning reelection as governor of Maine, sinking the near win of U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud (D-Maine), who would have become the first openly gay man elected as a governor in the United States. Singer helped defeat Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, who signed a gay-marriage bill into law. And he backed Shelley Moore Capito in West Virginia, Cory Gardner in Colorado and other anti-gay right-wingers who helped the GOP take the Senate. They will no doubt join Ted Cruz as he further stokes anti-gay sentiments (he’s pushing another marriage amendment) and rails about how “religious liberties” are under assault by gays while he seeks a possible presidential run.
But Paul Singer considers himself pro-gay. He’s characterized as such in puffy media stories (which mention none of his support of anti-gay candidates) that conveniently dovetailed with the GOP leadership’s desire to make the party seem more inclusive. “GOP super PAC plans gay-rights push this fall,” ran the headline in USA Today. The Washington Post headline read, “Meet the billionaire hedge fund manager quietly shaping the GOP gay marriage debate.” In these stories Singer is portrayed as elusive (only answering questions by email for the Washington Post), but the reporters get the scoop to tell us how he created a PAC that would be backing the very few GOP candidates who already support gay marriage. Singer’s PAC got behind Carl DeMaio, the openly gay GOP congressional candidate now infamous for allegedly masturbating in front of more than one staffer (and was reviled in the gay community in San Diego, having not spoken out against Prop 8 in years past), and openly gay GOPer Richard Tisei in Massachusetts.
Both were of course running in districts in very blue states where Democrats held the seat, and these gay candidates would both help expand the GOP majority and put some gay face on a not-so-gay-friendly Republican Party. Their first vote would be for the majority leader John Boehner, who won’t let a vote happen on any legislation to protect LGBT people. Both of them thankfully lost.
But in the bizarro election of 2014, the viciously anti-gay National Organization for Marriage (NOM) actually supported DeMaio’s and Tisei’s progressive, gay-friendly Democratic opponents. The group even took credit on its website for helping defeat the two gay GOPers. In the Massachusetts race, NOM endorsed Seth Moulton, a progressive Democrat and former Marine who was mentored by the late, openly gay Harvard chaplain Peter Gomes and was a candidate who proudly stated that his brother is gay and deserves full equality. (Moulton had beaten long-time Democratic incumbent John Tierney in the Democratic primary; for the record, he vehemently rejected NOM’s endorsement, as he should have.) And NOM’s Brian Brown robocalled voters in San Diego urging them to vote for pro-gay U.S. Rep. Scott Peters (D-California) over DeMaio.
This seemed bonkers (and was pretty desperate), but NOM and other radical-right groups like the Family Research Council (FRC) have their priorities. They want to show the GOP that they will help defeat any Republican candidate who veers from the evangelical right’s agenda on gay marriage, abortion and a number of other issues. Conversely, NOM and FRC heralded the election of Ernst and Gardner, and, according to exit polling, despite the fact that the GOP concealed the extremism of these two and others for the general election, religious conservatives did turn out to vote for them, secure in the understanding that they will deliver for them.
Paul Singer is showing where his priorities lie too. In Mark Solomon’s fast-paced and informative new history of the marriage-equality movement, Winning Marriage: The Inside Story of How Same-Sex Couples Took on the Politicians and Pundits — and Won, Singer is described as being moved by looking through his gay son’s wedding album, and in 2011 he put his heart into helping pass marriage equality in New York, where his influence and money helped convince four Republicans in the New York State Senate to join all but one of the Democrats in passing the bill that Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed. Singer has given millions to groups like the Human Rights Campaign and Freedom to Marry, the group for which Solomon is National Campaign Director.
But here he is helping the corporate-friendly GOP take control of the U.S. Senate even if that means electing social conservatives who will try to halt further rights for LGBT people and attempt to strip those gained. In this wave election, more Republicans were elected to state legislatures than at any time since the 1920s, something that will have a dramatic effect on state legislation and on congressional redistricting for a long time to come.
Already we’re seeing bills like the proposed constitutional amendment introduced in Texas that would allow businesses to discriminate against LGBT people based on their owners’ religious beliefs. Again, don’t think Ted Cruz, joined by Ernst, Gardner and others, won’t push such bills at the federal level, while we can forget about any pro-gay legislation getting a vote. In the bizarro election of 2014, where anti-gay NOM backed pro-gay candidates, pro-gay Paul Singer helped create this new reality.
Biy George has 'serious throat issues' so Culture Club's UK and US tours are off
‘To say I’m devastated barely touches how I feel’
gregh
High School Teacher Who Performed “Cup Checks” And Talked Anal Sex With Male Students Convicted
“I am dedicated to meeting the needs of each and every student,” read Lee Riddle’s teacher profile on Widefield High School’s web site, but his evaluation of a good education went above and beyond expectations, laws, and common decency.
Stories of sexual misconduct flooded in from male students, and the picture they paint does not look good for Teach.
There are multiple accounts of Riddle performing “cup checks” on teenagers to evaluate if their “dicks were big or small.”
One passage from the court affidavit reads: “Mr. Riddle explained and pointed out a ‘White boy’ and said that his penis was small. He pointed out another boy (who was black) and stated, ‘He was a horse.’”
Another story details the time Riddle grabbed a male student’s nipple in the middle of class, made additional “inappropriate sexual comments” and called the boy “Cutie.”
And it just. Keeps. Going.
Two male students were having a discussion about shoe sizes when Riddle allegedly butted into the conversation and declared, “I am twelve inches.” Then he asked them if they were bisexual.
One of the boys who said he’d gone through the “cup check” routine also alleged Riddle had brought up gay sex in conversation on multiple occasions, and recalled Riddle “telling him that it hurts the first time but it gets better and that the guy on the bottom receives while the guy on top gives.” He added that “Mr. Riddle has touched the inside of his upper thigh and has rubbed the top of his shoulders while in class.”
Then there’s the student who claims Riddle showed him a picture on his cell phone of “a naked male bending over showing his anus.”
And what did a jury have to say about Riddle’s highly shameful teaching methods? Of the eighteen counts of “sex assault on a child by a person in a position of trust” that Riddle was charged with, he was convicted of five offenses.
The judge in the case added, “Riddle lacks understanding of the seriousness of his crimes. Although the children were not physically injured…the emotional damage he caused them at a time when they’re exploring their own sexuality is likely severe.”
Dan Tracer
Three Arizona Cities Receive Perfect Scores In Human Rights Campaign LGBT Civil Rights Index
A report from the Human Rights Campaign’s annual Municipal Equality Index indicates that the Arizona cities of Phoenix, Tempe and Tucson received perfect scores of a 100 on a scale of 0-100 reports One Community. HRC’s index scores 353 municipalities from all 50 states on how they treat their lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender residents, specifically in regards to what cities promote inclusiveness and provide equal rights for LGBT residents and workers. The three cities also were among 23 others designated “All Stars,” for excelling on matters of equality without relying on state law.
In 2013 Tempe received a score of 72, however the city unanimously approved Proposition 475 this year that bans workplace discrimination against LGBT workers. Additionally the city also passed an ordinance earlier this year in February that bans LGBT discrimination in housing, employment and accommodations at restaurants and hotels, but includes exceptions for religious organizations and social clubs. The cities of Tucson, Phoenix and Flagstaff have similar ordinances in place as well.
However, some local Arizona politicians fear an uphill battle is looming after state Republicans, including new Gov. Doug Ducey, saw big wins in the recent election. Tempe councilman Kolby Granville, a major proponent of gay rights, expressed the state legislature may further stall LGBT civil rights protections.
Said Granville:
“When you look at the makeup of our state Legislature, particularly given this election last Tuesday, the politics are not there for state change as it relates to employment discrimination, as it relates to equal treatment and as it relates to health benefits,”
“If the cities can muster the votes they should move forward and let the state catch up.”
Arizona’s total score average is 68 out of a 100 points, which is above the national average of 59. the city of Peoria received the lowest score with a total of 33 points. With the legalization of gay marriage in Arizona, the overall score of the state should rise in the future should marriage remain unchallenged. The full report, along with a FAQ page on why certain cities are chosen for the survey, is available on the HRC website.
Anthony Costello
www.towleroad.com/2014/11/arizona-cities-receive-perfect-scores-in-a-gay-civil-rights-report.html
DOE Pride 2014: The Business Case for LGBT Equality
Live performance of my original rap, The Business Case for LGBT Equality at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Pride Month Celebration.
