Funny or Die Is Training Bathroom Cops (Video)
Be prepared to show ID if you’d like to gain access to a “state-run pee pee and poo poo facility,” instructs a new video from Funny or Die.
www.advocate.com/comedy/2016/5/05/funny-or-die-training-bathroom-cops-video
Trans Folks Free to Pee at Starbucks, Saks, Barnes & Noble
Those looking to relieve themselves at trans-affirming facilities can add the coffee and book-selling giants as well as department stores Lord & Taylor and Saks Fifth Avenue.
www.advocate.com/business/2016/5/05/trans-folks-free-pee-starbucks-saks-barnes-noble
Meet 14K, The Godfather Of Black Gay L.A. Who Turned His Own Home Into A Lavish Nightclub
After the last black-owned gay club in Los Angeles, Catch One, closed its doors for good, a man who goes by the name of 14K took it upon himself to create a place for the club’s displaced patrons to come together.
“With the club closing and having a place of my own, I like to come together socially with my friends and have a happy place with no drama, where we can eat, drink, [and] have fun,” 14K tells the blog Broadly.
Related: Guys Share The Biggest Hurdles They Face Being Gay And Black
14K turned his own home into a social club and community center catered towards gay black men, though people from all walks of life are welcome. The only stipulation: BYOB. And his goal: To give younger generations an outlet to have fun and be themselves, but also to be a positive role model.
“I try to teach them to get up, make something of themselves, go to school, get a job, get what you want out of life, and be honest with people. Don’t be taken with people.”
14K painted the walls bright yellow then brought in over-the-top decor, including fur rugs, a miniature Eiffel tower, extensive collection of clown statues, and even a fountain.
Related: Forgotten 1967 Documentary About A Black Gay Hustler Is Hilarious And Heartbreaking
“Over time, I designed the [interior of the house],” he explains. “The couches—those were not bought like that. I designed them and had my upholstery man come, told him exactly what I want, and he did it. [There are diamonds in the couch] and in the pillows. I don’t like going to someone’s house and having the same stuff they have. I like to be different.”
Colton Haynes Opens Up Honestly About His Sexuality And His Health
It’s felt as if Colton Hayne has long been gently, but intentionally teasing us with all the coy photos posted to his very entertaining Instagram account and with that controversial message last January in response to a note posted on Tumblr, referencing provocative photos taken at the start of his career, that read: “When I found out Colton Haynes had a secret gay past, I got so excited even though i know it makes absolutely no difference in my life.” The 27-year-old actor, who has appeared in Arrow, The Grinder and Teen Wolf, cryptically replied, “Was it a secret? Let’s all enjoy life & have no regrets.” Many people, OK, just about everyone, took that to mean that Haynes was going the Jim Parsons-route and acknowledging that he’s gay without making a big public to-do about it. Now, however, he’s setting the record straight, so to speak, with a very revealing interview with EW, in which he confirms that he is not a heterosexual and that he’s concerned about his mental health, as he suffers from anxiety and an ulcer.
Addressing the hubbub over Haynes’ sexual orientation earlier this year, EW writes:
“It was a complete shock. I wasn’t ready to be back in the headlines,” Haynes, who is in fact gay but has never publicly addressed his sexuality (and, like many others on his path, took advice early in his career to subdue it). “I should have made a comment or a statement, but I just wasn’t ready. I didn’t feel like I owed anyone anything. I think in due time, everyone has to make those decisions when they’re ready, and I wasn’t yet. But I felt like I was letting people down by not coming forward with the rest of what I should have said.”
Related: Twelve Other Times Colton Haynes Has Been Absolutely Fabulous
“People want you to be that GQ image that you put out, but people don’t realize what it’s like to act 24 hours a day. I’d go home and I was still acting,” he added to EW. “People who are so judgmental about those who are gay or different don’t realize that acting 24 hours a day is the most exhausting thing in the world.”
The magazine also notes that Haynes took a brief break from his career due to concerns over his health:
“I asked to step away because I cared more about my mental and physical health than my career at the time,” the actor tells EW, opening up about his personal and professional life for the first time in quite some time. “I’ve had terminal anxiety my entire life. Physically ill, fainting. I’m 27 years old, and I have an ulcer. I had to step back.” Clinical anxiety and public pressure are a potent mix, but their effects may be worse for someone like Haynes – a gentle spirit in a threatening (or so he’s been told by many a casting director) build, someone who lost control of his own personal narrative somewhere along the way between Kansas and California.
Hang in there, sir. Things can only get better.
Colton Haynes Confirms He’s Gay — Officially.
Colton Haynes has once and for all quashed rumors about his sexuality, coming out as gay in a new interview in which he addresses that Tumblr post, and his struggle with anxiety.
Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Haynes says he never intended for his response to a question about his “secret gay past” to be a coming out.
But while social media has helped his career, it’s also gotten him into some trouble. Case in point: A Tumblr post in January sparked an Internet firestorm after a fan commented on Haynes’ “secret gay past,”regarding racy modeling photos Haynes took while underage. Without giving it much thought, Haynes offered a coy reply: “Was it a secret?” The comment was picked up by bloggers as his coming out – but it wasn’t. Not yet.
“It was a complete shock. I wasn’t ready to be back in the headlines,” says Haynes, who is in fact gay but has never publicly addressed his sexuality (and, like many others on his path, took advice early in his career to subdue it). “I should have made a comment or a statement, but I just wasn’t ready. I didn’t feel like I owed anyone anything. I think in due time, everyone has to make those decisions when they’re ready, and I wasn’t yet. But I felt like I was letting people down by not coming forward with the rest of what I should have said.” The headlines about Haynes turned vitriolic in the absence of an announcement, but he was in no place to make one: He had checked into rehab for anxiety and would be frequently back in the hospital over the next three months.
“People want you to be that GQ image that you put out, but people don’t realize what it’s like to act 24 hours a day. I’d go home and I was still acting,” he says gently. “People who are so judgmental about those who are gay or different don’t realize that acting 24 hours a day is the most exhausting thing in the world.” The truth is, Haynes has been out for most of his life – in high school, to his family and friends, to his cast members, to his Hollywood bosses (like Arrow creator Greg Berlanti, now one of his closest mentors). But as a green transplant in Hollywood in 2006, he wasn’t any more immune to the town’s well-chronicled discomfort with LGBT identity.
We here at Towleroad have covered Colton Haynes extensively over the years. I personally wrote about Hayne’s Tumblr post and I did take it as a confirmation from him that he was “out.”
However, events following his post showed that he was not ready to own than moniker, which is his right. Each individuals is on their own path towards embracing and understanding their sexual identity and must do so at their own pace. However, in my eyes, Haynes’ response on Tumblr had one strong message: “Colton Haynes Confirms He’s Gay In Coy Tumblr Post.” Which is the headline that was used in that post; a headline I stand by.
Congratulations to Haynes for opening up and sharing his struggles. He will no doubt help others fighting to love themselves and own who they are.
The post Colton Haynes Confirms He’s Gay — Officially. appeared first on Towleroad.
North Carolina Lawmakers Will Defy DOJ’s Monday Deadline to Repeal HB 2 – VIDEO
Republican leaders in North Carolina’s legislature say that will defy an order from the federal government requiring that HB 2 be overturned by Monday.
As we reported yesterday, the Department of Justice wrote to North Carolina yesterday declaring that HB 2 violated the Civil Rights Act and Title IX. The DOJ warned that if North Carolina did not comply with its order by Monday, the state risks losing hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding.
Earlier on Thursday, North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory expressed anger over the order and suggested he was ready and willing to defy the federal government (shocker). But now, the Republican Speaker of the State House has said flat out the order will be ignored.
The Charlotte Observer reports:
“We will take no action by Monday,” [House Speaker Tim] Moore told reporters Thursday. “That deadline will come and go. We don’t ever want to lose any money, but we’re not going to get bullied by the Obama administration to take action prior to Monday’s date. That’s not how this works.”
Moore said state leaders are still trying to determine their next steps. “Right now we’re talking with our attorneys to see what our options are,” he said. “We’re going to move at the speed that we’re going to move at to look at what our options are.”
White House press secretary Josh Earnest distanced Obama from the order in his press briefing Thursday afternoon. “These kinds of enforcement actions are made independent of any sort of political interference or direction from the White House,” Earnest said. “Those are decisions that are made entirely by attorneys at the Department of Justice.”
Democrats in the legislature said the Department of Justice order gives lawmakers plenty of time and should be addressed now.
“HB2 became law in less than 12 hours,” Rep. Cecil Brockman, a High Point Democrat, said in a tweet. “Five days should be more than enough time to decide how to clean up after it.”
“They [the federal government] can’t just – through an administrative action by the attorney general’s office – issue a decree that has the force and effect of law over this state,” he said. “That’s not how this works. What they would have to do is initiate litigation at that point.”
Senate leader Phil Berger said he doesn’t believe the DOJ has “the legal right” to block HB 2. According to The Charlotte Observer, “He says North Carolina residents should be frustrated’ by the order.”
Watch a press conference with Moore, below.
The post North Carolina Lawmakers Will Defy DOJ’s Monday Deadline to Repeal HB 2 – VIDEO appeared first on Towleroad.
Randy Rainbow Says ‘Byee’ to GOP Dropouts Ted Cruz and John Kasich – WATCH
The once unfathomable prospect of Biff Tannen Donald Trump becoming the Republican nominee for President of the United States sadly became a cold, hard, depressing reality when John Kasich dropped out of the race yesterday, just hours after Ted Cruz did the same.
To give Lyin’ Ted and (Digusting Eater?) John a proper send off, Randy Rainbow sang each of the boys a farewell song.
Now here’s hoping that Randy will be back in November to sing GOP dropout one last time. I say we get a gay men’s chorus to do back-up. And if the unthinkable happens…well, Randy can sing us a stirring rendition of “O Canada!”
Watch, below.
The post Randy Rainbow Says ‘Byee’ to GOP Dropouts Ted Cruz and John Kasich – WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.
Anti-LGBT Alliance Defending Freedom’s Newest Target: Transgender Youth
Yesterday, the notoriously anti-LGBT Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) filed a lawsuit against the Department of Education regarding a settlement the department’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) made with an Illinois school last year in favor of a transgender student.
In November, OCR ruled that Township High School broke non-discrimination laws after refusing to grant a student, who identifies as female and participates in girls’ sports, unrestricted access to the girls’ locker room. Several weeks later, Palatine District 211 board members reaffirmed their agreement with OCR, approving the use of the female locker room for the transgender student.
“ADF is arguing that the school district’s restroom policy and its locker room agreement with DOE violate the students’ constitutional privacy rights as well as the federal law known as Title IX,” the ADF explained. “ADF is also arguing that DOE’s action—redefining ‘sex’ to including ‘gender identity’ and telling schools that they must let males use the girls’ facilities, and vice versa—is illegal.”
Last month, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the Department of Education’s interpretation of Title IX of the Education Act of 1972 as protecting transgender students from discrimination, including allowing them to use restrooms consistent with their gender identity. The ruling came in the case of Gavin Grimm, a 16-year-old high school student and transgender teen, whose lawsuit against Virginia’s Gloucester County School District alleges the district violated Title IX by denying him use of the boy’s restroom.
ADF is one of the United States’ most dangerous organizations working to prevent equality for LGBT people across the globe. An enthusiastic leader in defending the unconscionable “right” to discriminate against LGBT people, ADF is a worldwide exporter of hate. With offices in many places around the world, ADF uses their global reach and budget of over 54 million dollars to promote discriminatory legislation, and foster anti-LGBT initiatives. ADF bills itself as an “alliance-building legal organization that advocates for the right of people to freely live out their faith”—unless of course that faith contradicts with their own anti-LGBT version.
HRC is committed to providing support for transgender youth and their families. Unfortunately, groups like the ADF are going out of their way to harm and directly target transgender youth. This in addition to the alarming onslaught of legislation nationwide targeting transgender people, and particularly children.
HRC Foundation’s guide, Schools In Transition: A Guide for Supporting Transgender Students in K-12 Schools, made in partnership with the National Center for Lesbian Rights, Gender Spectrum, the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Education Association, is a first-of-its-kind resource providing a blueprint for safe, supportive and inclusive school environments for transgender youth.
To learn more about the ADF, click here.
George Takei Blasts Marvel’s 'Cringeworthy' Casting of Tilda Swinton in Asian Role
The out actor finds it awfully strange that Doctor Strange has chosen a white actor for the role of The Ancient One.
For Morgan McMichaels, Life Is a Drag
One of the most beloved contestants of RuPaul’s Drag Race talks about what it takes to maintain a superstar drag persona, the gay community’s need for improvement on transgender issues, and her upcoming appearance at RuPaul’s DragCon 2016.
www.advocate.com/television/2016/5/05/morgan-mcmichaels-life-drag
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