Idaho Republicans Reject Gay Rights Measure
By Laura Zuckerman
Jan 29 (Reuters) – A bill granting job and housing protections for gay and transgender people in socially conservative Idaho was stalled by Republican lawmakers on Thursday after three days of emotionally charged hearings that drew more than 1,000 residents to the Capitol.
A Republican-led House of Representatives committee voted 13-4 along party lines to prevent legislation that would add “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” to Idaho’s nondiscrimination law from being voted on in the broader chamber.
In voicing opposition to the bill, unlikely to be taken up again this year, some Republican lawmakers referenced biblical passages while others contended the measure threatened to cement the division between gays and heterosexuals.
“If we pass the bill today as it is worded, it would create a barrier between you folks in favor of adding the words and the so-called straight community and it will be a giant step backwards, not forwards,” said Republican Representative Ken Andrus.
Gay rights advocates have sought for nine years to persuade the Republican-controlled legislature to take up the proposal, a so-called Add the Words campaign that culminated last year in the arrest of protesters blocking access to legislative chambers in the Capitol in Boise.
The Idaho Human Rights Act already bans discrimination in employment, housing and in places open to the public like retail stores on such attributes as race, sex, color and religion.
Representative John McCrostie, a Democrat, urged lawmakers on Thursday to vote in favor of the provision, saying that as a gay man he would likely be mistreated at certain restaurants in Idaho “if I walked in with my husband.”
More than 20 hours of emotional testimony delivered by gay and transgender people during hearings that began Monday included an account by a transgender teen who said she was called “it” by teachers and teased by classmates to the point she had contemplated suicide.
Republican lawmakers said they worried the measure would lead to lawsuits against those who refused services to gay and transgender people based on religious beliefs.
Ten Idaho cities have adopted nondiscrimination clauses similar to the one halted Thursday and a federal appeals court in October struck down a ban on gay matrimony in Idaho.
(Reporting by Laura Zuckerman in Salmon, Idaho; Editing by Eric M. Johnson and Eric Beech)
Daily Archives: January 29, 2015
Kentucky Bill Targets Transgender Students
Kentucky Bill Targets Transgender Students
A new bill introduced in the Kentucky General Assembly would restrict bathroom use for transgender students.
HRC.org
www.hrc.org/blog/entry/kentucky-bill-targets-transgender-students?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed
Pizza Condoms Are Officially A Thing
Pizza Condoms Are Officially A Thing
Just when we thought we’d seen it all, a new brand of pizza-inspired condoms have hit the market.
Russian designer Marina Malygina created a rubber for people who like sex and food equally. The condoms, which are called “Seriax,” come in a miniature-sized pizza box. Inside is a condom wrapped to look like a pepperoni pie.
Malygina says the idea came from an episode of Friends where Joey is asked the impossible question: If given one option, do you choose food or sex? The answer is obviously both.
Scroll down for other strange, cool, ridiculous, and absurd condoms…
Phosphorescent condoms
No more fumbling around in the shadows. Phosphorescent condoms glow in the dark and are appropriate in almost any situation.
Bacon condoms
For those who prefer a side of meat with their meat.
KISS “kondoms”
Because who wouldn’t want to be penetrated by the face of Gene Simmons?
Louis Vuitton condoms
These babies give whole new meaning to the term “label whore.”
“Fun Bumps” condoms
Typically when we think of bumps and genitalia, the word “fun” doesn’t exactly spring to mind. But, hey, to each his own, right?
Twilight condoms
For Vampire geeks and diehard Stephenie Meyer fans.
Condometric condoms
No more lying about how big you are on your Grindr profile. The “Condometric” comes with a ruler printed on the side to show precisely how well you measure up.
Gumby condoms
When childhood and adulthood collide.
Madonna condoms
These are obviously made exclusively for gay men.
Related stories:
WATCH: Everything You Wanted To Know About Condoms—And Then Some!
PHOTOS: Disney Princes Grab Their Crotches To Remind You To Play Safe
Which Lube Is Best For You? Astroglide’s Seven Ways To Go Around The Bases And Back Again
Graham Gremore
feedproxy.google.com/~r/queerty2/~3/RR2pci2A8KA/pizza-condoms-are-officially-a-thing-20150129
Ford Contractor Files 'Religious Discrimination' Complaint After Being Fired for Anti-Gay Remarks
Ford Contractor Files 'Religious Discrimination' Complaint After Being Fired for Anti-Gay Remarks
A Michigan man recently employed as a contractor for the Ford Motor Company has filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, saying he was fired because of his religious beliefs.
The firing came after Thomas Banks received a newsletter from Ford which discussed the company’s LGBT-inclusive policies as well as GLOBE, a support group for LGBT employees of the car maker.
Banks’s response to the newsletter, which he left as a comment in the feedback section, got him fired for violating Ford’s anti-harassment policies.
Wrote Banks in the comment:
“For this Ford Motor should be thoroughly ashamed. Endorsing and promoting sodomy is of benefit to no one. This topic is disruptive to the workplace and is an assault on Christians and morality, as well as antithetical to our design and our survival. Immoral sexual conduct should not be a topic for an automotive manufacturer to endorse or promote. And yes-this is historic-but not in a good way. Never in the history of mankind has a culture survived that promotes sodomy. Heterosexual behavior creates life- homosexual behavior leads to death.”
Ford has responded with a statement:
“We have not yet seen the complaint, however, we believe this matter ultimately is between the individual and their agency employer. Ford’s anti-harassment policy was created to foster a respectful, inclusive work environment for all, and we expect employees and agency personnel to act in accordance with this policy.”
As has RGBSI, which employed Banks as a contractor to Ford:
“RGBSI is an equal opportunity employer that supports an inclusive work environment and respects the rights of all individuals. We have no comment as to the particular facts of this case since this is a pending legal matter.”
Watch WXYZ Detroit’s report on the firing, AFTER THE JUMP…
Andy Towle
2014-06-GayPride-283w
Sally Kern Doesn't Hate Anyone, Says Sally Kern
Sally Kern Doesn't Hate Anyone, Says Sally Kern
Several pieces of legislation aim to roll back progress for LGBT Oklahomans, but one of the most prominent lawmakers behind the bills says they don’t not stem from hatred.
Michelle Garcia
www.advocate.com/oklahoma/2015/01/29/sally-kern-doesnt-hate-anyone-says-sally-kern
Vine Fame and Preferred Pronouns
Vine Fame and Preferred Pronouns
“What are your preferred pronouns?”
Spoiler alert: I don’t have a preference.
There is a generation gap on Vine. The majority of my followers are teens, and the one thing that brightens my day more than anything is the way they think about gender; they ask me, over and over again “what are your preferred pronouns?” They truly want me to be self-empowered, to tell them who I am.
For many reasons, adults tend to see my beard, and label me ‘man,’ or perhaps, ‘man-who-likes-to-dress-up-as-woman.’ It’s a fair designation, and I don’t really mind it (it’s hard to offend me). As long as it isn’t derogatory, I feel people should be free to call me whatever makes them comfortable. I end up telling the kids on Vine I have no preference for pronouns, because that answer proves a larger point: I don’t want anyone to feel bad for using the “wrong” pronoun. Personally, I find calling myself and thinking of myself as man a bit stodgy and old-fashioned. (There is a vogue now for using ‘they’ to replace ‘he’ and ‘she’, and that’s an excellent step toward the truth of the spectrum of human expression.) I’m glad to feel like I’m living outside of man and woman.
There is an excellent payoff to living as an outsider: you get a different perspective on how the inside works. You get to see that you can be anything. Everyone can be anything. My Vine follower’s “what’s your gender?”/”it’s whatever I say it is” mentality is new to me and amazing and freeing and exciting.
People ask me why I make videos. With all the hate and name-calling on Vine (or any internet platform), why bother?
#1: I love changing lives. I love helping outsider kids in every corner of this country and world feel less alone.
But, also #2: “Less alone” is a two way street. I connect through Vine. I learn from them.
Most of us who are over 20 grew up with strict rules, with ideas about the “right” way to be a man or woman. Kids don’t see it this way! At least not the kids I talk to… and that is truly amazing.
Reintroduction of the International Human Rights Defense Act in Congress
Reintroduction of the International Human Rights Defense Act in Congress
HRC applauds the reintroduction of the International Human Rights Defense Act in Congress.
HRC.org
Filipino Court Rejects U.S. Marine's Appeal of Murder Charge in Death of Transwoman
Filipino Court Rejects U.S. Marine's Appeal of Murder Charge in Death of Transwoman
A Filipino Department of Justice panel has rejected Marina Pfc. Joseph Scott Pemberton’s appeal in his case for the alleged murder of Jennifer Laude, a trans Filipino sex worker. Laude’s body was found last October not long after Pemberton was spotted leaving her hotel room.
In their appeal Pemberton’s attorneys argued that there was no way to way to directly connect Pemberton to Laude’s murder given the presented evidence.
“If direct evidence is insisted upon under all circumstances, the guilt of vicious felons who committed heinous crimes in secret or in secluded places will be hard, if not impossible, to prove,” the panel of attorneys said after rejecting Pemberton’s claim.
The panel further explained that a clear timeline has been established that placed Pemberton and a number of fellow marines at a bar with Laude. According to testimony given to the panel by another Marine late that night after leaving Laude’s hotel room Pemberton confessed that he thought he “killed a he/she.”
Pemberton can ask the Justice Department to reconsider its decision.
Charles Pulliam-Moore
LGBT Hate Crime in Norfolk
LGBT Hate Crime in Norfolk
For my Broadcast Journalism MA Dissertation I filmed, edited and presented this fifteen minute video discussing the topic of hate crime in Norfolk in relation to sexuality and transgender people….
www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzF8qdkgZvg&feature=youtube_gdata