WATCH: Janet Mock Gives Oprah 'Ah-Ha' Moments About Gender
Two powerful women. One must-see conversation.
Mitch Kellaway
Daily Archives: May 6, 2015
POLL: Most Texas Voters Back LGBT Protections, Oppose Discriminatory 'Religious Freedom' Laws
POLL: Most Texas Voters Back LGBT Protections, Oppose Discriminatory 'Religious Freedom' Laws
With more than 20 anti-LGBT bills pending in the Texas Legislature, a new poll confirms that Republican state lawmakers’ views on gay rights are way out of step with the voting public in the Lone Star State.
The poll found that 63 percent of Texas voters — including 52 percent of Republicans — support statewide LGBT protections. Meanwhile, 52 percent oppose anti-LGBT religious exemption laws.
From Texas Wins, which commissioned the poll:
“Texas lawmakers have filed a flurry of bills to enshrine discrimination against gay and transgender people under the guise of religious liberty. But it’s clear that Texans don’t support allowing people to use religion as a weapon to harm others,” said Christina Gorczynski, campaign director for Texas Wins. “No matter what questions we asked, a strong majority of Texans favored equality, regardless of political party.” …
“Our poll shows that while Texas voters value religious freedom, a majority oppose ‘religious exemption’ laws,” said Greg Strimple of G Squared Public Strategies, the pollster who conducted the statewide survey on behalf of Texas Wins. “Nearly 80 percent of voters believe that religious freedom does not give individuals license to hurt others.”
The poll’s release comes at a critical time, as the Texas legislative session has entered its final 30 days. Only a few of the record number of anti-LGBT bills have cleared committee, and the deadline for them to be heard by the full House is next week.
One of the bills that poses a threat is HB 3864, which would establish a license to discriminate for state-funded adoption and child welfare agencies. On Wednesday, the Human Rights Campaign issued a press release in which several major child advocacy groups slammed HB 3864:
In a letter to Texas lawmakers, the Donaldson Adoption Institute (DAI), Voice for Adoption (VFA), and North American Council on Adoptable Children (NACAC) blasted the legislation that would empower adoption agencies to discriminate against eligible parents and guardians. If passed, the discriminatory bill would deny countless children access to caring homes. It could also prevent eligible interfaith couples, same-sex couples, and couples where one individual was previously divorced, the opportunity to care for a child in need.
“We urge you to examine the research that demonstrates if we truly wish to act in good conscience towards children waiting for permanent families, we must not exclude qualified and eager prospective foster and adoptive parents,” the letter states. “Foster and adoptive parent applicants should be judged based on their qualifications, not their sexual orientation or gender identity. Enshrining discrimination into law, on the other hand, will undermine the safety and well-being of Texas’ children.”
“This is tantamount to taxpayer-funded discrimination, as many of the state’s private adoption agencies have large public contracts,” said Ellen Kahn, director of HRC’s Children, Youth and Families Program. “We call on Texas legislators to choose the best interests of the child over discrimination, and abandon this bill aimed at hurting Texans who wish to provide caring homes for children.”
On the bright side, a bill that would allow same-sex parents to have both names on the birth certificates of adopted children cleared committee Monday, thanks to support from two GOP lawmakers.
Baby steps.
View the full results of the Texas Wins poll, AFTER THE JUMP …
John Wright
Drag Race's Trixie Mattel: 'I Actually Thought I Would Win'
Drag Race's Trixie Mattel: 'I Actually Thought I Would Win'
The Advocate spoke with RuPaul’s Drag Race‘s Trixie Mattel after she sashayed away for the second time.
Daniel Reynolds
Gay Man Gets Apology From The Guy Who Bullied Him Twenty Years Ago In Junior High School
Gay Man Gets Apology From The Guy Who Bullied Him Twenty Years Ago In Junior High School
ChadMichael Morissette
It’s never too late to make amends or to forgive those who’ve wronged us, as demonstrated by a gay man in West Hollywood who received an apology from the bully who tormented him when they were both in junior high school. ChadMichael Morrisette, a successful Los Angeles-based brand consultant and visual designer, says he was very surprised to receive a message on Facebook earlier this week sent by the man (name withheld) who helped make his teen years miserable, that said he’d been inspired to apologize following a conversation he’d had with his young daughter who asked if he’d ever bullied anyone.
Morrisette posted the apology on his Facebook page today after a note that provided some background:
During junior high and high school I was bullied for being who I am. I was bullied for being gay. I was bullied for being little. I was bullied for every reason someone is bullied. It was awful. I couldn’t even walk to classes without an adult escort or friends with me.
Morrisette also offered thanks to his brother, whom he called his defender, and a teacher, described as his savior, before posting the apology below:
Morrisette revealed to Queerty that it took him a couple of days to process what he’d read and now he can’t stop crying over it. He also shared with Queerty the following private exchange between the two men.
Morrisette commented on his Facebook post that he didn’t remember the specific bully in question and now wondered how much of the pain he felt as a teenager he’d blocked out. Perhaps in a message to any young people struggling with bullying who might read his story, he added that it really does get better and better.
Jeremy Kinser
WATCH: Ben Carson Thinks President Can Ignore Courts on Marriage Equality
WATCH: Ben Carson Thinks President Can Ignore Courts on Marriage Equality
The retired surgeon running for president claims the chief executive doesn’t have to recognize judicial rulings — showing he lacks an understanding of the U.S. Constitution.
Dawn Ennis
The Mother's Day I Became a Gender Creative Kid's Champion
The Mother's Day I Became a Gender Creative Kid's Champion
When the holiday just for moms rolls around, I can’t help but think of my first one in 1990. Harry was just six weeks old. Their* dad and I tucked them into a red baby carriage and walked through the spectacular tulip gardens at Milwaukee’s Boerner Botanical Gardens. That trip became a tradition.
Harry started making tulip-themed Mother’s Day cards for me in kindergarten. They were in third grade when I received a handmade coupon book written in Spanish, redeemable for three kisses (besos), a hug (abrazo) and a cleaning of the parakeets’ cage (never mind).
The Mother’s Day Harry was 12, they handed me a plain business envelope with M❤M written on the front. I unfolded a single sheet of white paper to find a typed poem titled “The Joy of Having a Mother.” I was blown away.
“You wrote me a poem?!”
“Well, you wanted one,” they said.
Harry had begun writing a lot of poetry, and I’d asked at the beginning of the school year if they’d write one for me.
“That’s true,” I replied, “but I didn’t know you’d actually do it. And I certainly didn’t think it would be about me.” I sat down to read, my eyes lingering on each phrase.
“The Joy of Having a Mother
In life we only get one,
One who could never be outdone,
Somebody who is there forever and always throughout eternity,
Somebody not tainted throughout modernity,
They are there to help you, and to guide your direction,
One who will never face you with rejection,
Cherish this someone,
This heroine,
This champion,
Cherish this someone, for who they are,
Whether you are near or far,
Because they will love you, you not another,
And that is the joy of having a mother…“
I wiped a wet streak from my face. I’d never felt more important as a mother than in that moment. In a few lines my child had articulated our unbreakable bond and brought clarity to my role as their mom. But it felt a bit strange; I’d never thought of myself as a heroine or champion before. What I seemed to recall most were the times I thought I’d failed them.
I still felt guilty about not letting them be Wendy from Peter Pan for Halloween when they were two. And I wanted a double do-over for not having learned my lesson when they were four years old and I wouldn’t buy the Pink Power Ranger costume, only the blue one. I wish I’d known then what I know now. Harry didn’t care what anyone else thought; it was I who cared. I didn’t want anyone making fun of my child or judging me as a woman who was somehow making her kid gay.
I know we all make mistakes, feel guilty, or wish we’d done a thing or two differently. But here’s what Harry taught me: Unconditional love and support have no expiration date. We can demonstrate what it means to cherish our children at any moment in the present, even if our own mothers didn’t have the resources to do the same for us.
I was struck recently by something dancer Jerel Maddox said on a recent episode of The Prancing Elites Project. There’s a scene we learn that dance-crew member Adrian’s mom has never seen her son perform. She’s been to her other son’s basketball games and her daughter’s recitals, but never been there for Adrian. “There’s absolutely nothing like a mother’s love and a mother’s support,” Jerel says in a private on-camera moment. “If Adrian’s mom doesn’t come to the competition, it will emotionally tear him up.”
I think it’s a mother’s job to encourage her child to find their passion. We’re also in their lives to defend and protect our kids and give them a strong sense of belonging. They need that from us. It’s how they learn the importance of self-love and self-acceptance, the attributes that lead them to become happy, healthy and emotionally secure adults.
These days Harry is my hero. They are true to themselves and still don’t care what anyone else thinks. They trust themselves and believe in their worthiness. And while Harry may not make cards or write poems for me on Mother’s Day anymore, they fill my world with indescribable joy. And once in awhile, for no reason at all, they’ll surprise me with a colorful bouquet of tulips.
*Author’s Note: My now-25-year-old child, who identifies as genderqueer, tells me they have no preferred gender pronoun. I like to use “they” to identify them as a person first, with gender coming second. Sometimes I mess up and say “he,” or “she” when they’re performing as Amber Alert. When I apologize they’ll say, “Mom, I really don’t care what you call me.”
—
This piece first appeared on the Give a Damn Campaign and Julie’s personal blog, My Son Wears Heels. You can also find her on Facebook.
— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
Texas Committee Considers Legislation to Advance LGBT Equality
Texas Committee Considers Legislation to Advance LGBT Equality
Today the Texas House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence held a hearing on important legislation.
HRC.org
Shocking Footage Of Apparent Gay Bashing Captured In NYC’s Chelsea Neighborhood
Shocking Footage Of Apparent Gay Bashing Captured In NYC’s Chelsea Neighborhood
You’d never expect for this kind of thing to go down in the very gay-friendly (if not gay dominant) Chelsea neighborhood in New York City, but at 11:10 pm on Tuesday, May 6th, a gay couple was viciously attacked inside of Dallas BBQ.
Jonathan Snipes, 32, says that he and his boyfriend, Ethan York-Adams, 25, were targeted specifically because they’re gay.
They were bashed over the head with a wooden chair, thrown to the ground and repeatedly kicked by two men shouting anti-gay slurs.
Warning: graphic video:
A video posted by Awesomepeneur (@isaamsharef) on May 5, 2015 at 8:29pm PDT
DNAinfo reports that Snipes accidentally knocked over a drink, which led to the two attackers taking notice of the couple.
“A table near us audibly started making pretty gross comments about the two of us like, ‘White faggots, spilling drinks,’” Snipes said.
“I don’t let anyone talk to me like that. I went over there and asked, ‘What did you say about us?’” he added.
That’s when things suddenly escalated. One of the two men stood up and started to get physical.
“I may be a mouthy broad, but I wasn’t going to take it to that level,” Snipes said.
Snipes said the men threw them to the ground, saying “Take that, faggot” as they kicked them. One of Snipes’ teeth was knocked loose, his head was bruised, and cartilage in his ear snapped.
The two attackers fled the restaurant while the couple awaited medical attention. No arrests have been made.
“We want this to go viral,” the couple’s friend Sarah Meyers told DNAinfo. “We need to find him. My friend could have been killed.”
An NYPD spokesman said an investigation is ongoing, but that the incident was not currently being investigated as a hate crime by the department’s Hate Crime Task Force.
Um, and why not??
Here is more video from the attack:
Dan Tracer
Adele Dressed Up As George Michael For Her Birthday: PHOTO
Adele Dressed Up As George Michael For Her Birthday: PHOTO
British song-bird Adele today shared a snap from her birthday celebrations where she got to dress up as her hero, who is apparently none other than fellow pop icon George Michael. Adele posted the picture of herself on Twitter with the caption, “Thank you for the birthday wishes I had a wonderful time! I was my hero x #gottahavefaith.”
Check out the full photo-booth style pic, AFTER THE JUMP…
Sean Mandell
www.towleroad.com/2015/05/adele-dressed-up-as-george-michael-for-her-birthday-photo.html
"The Year We Thought About Love" Film Screening and Panel
