James Corden Opens Tony Awards by Recognizing Victims of Orlando ‘Atrocity’ – WATCH

The Tony Awards opened tonight with a message from host James Corden to the victims of the massacre in Orlando:

“You are not on your own right now. Your tragedy is our tragedy. Theatre is a place where every race, creed, sexuality, and gender is equal, is embraced, and is loved. Hate will never win.”

Tonys: James Corden Gives Somber Opening on Orlando Shooting t.co/vVdfltQoHb

— Hollywood Reporter (@THR) June 13, 2016

Additionally, weapons have been eliminated from performances from Hamilton in tonight’s show, according to The Hollywood Reporter:

Reports surfaced early Sunday afternoon that the cast of Hamilton, which is expected to dominate the awards with a record 16 nominations, will drop the use of prop muskets from the number being performed during the Tony telecast. Given that Lin-Manuel Miranda’s blockbuster musical climaxes with the fatal shooting of Alexander Hamilton by Aaron Burr in a duel, it was a given that the tragic resonance with the weekend’s gun violence would not go unnoted.

The Hamilton performance of two battle songs, “History Has Its Eyes on You” and “Yorktown (The World Turned Upside Down),” featuring nominated stars Miranda and Christopher Jackson, is scheduled near the end of the ceremony.

Veteran Broadway costumer William Ivey Long, a six-time Tony winner, designed special silver ribbons for the occasion to be worn by nominees and presenters in tribute to the Orlando victims.

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Open Thread: Yes, You Are A Target. How Will Orlando Change You?

We’re just back from the Orlando vigil here in Provincetown, which all of a sudden feels strangely like a potential target for this now amorphous ISIS/gay-panic terrorism that struck Orlando and was headed off at Los Angeles Pride. The creeping realism is that you are still a target. The threat is where you live, not somewhere else.

They act alone, in groups, and as extremist movements.
They target you individually, as couples, in groups and in LGBT spaces like Pulse.
Our clubs and bars — to add on President Obama’s remarks — helped generations raise awareness; find themselves; and find love for a night and forever.
The places you go to be with friends, to dance and to sing, to vacation, to live are risky.

So, let’s discuss what’s changed and what’s the same…
How are you doing?
Will you change any plans? Anything in your life?
How does this change LGBT Pride celebrations?
Will you be more or less visible in your neighborhood?
Are you more or less likely to gather with other LGBT people?
Will you think twice before kissing your partner in Miami, or anywhere?

Please, let’s keep it supportive, respectful, and polite. If all you’ve got is something nasty about another reader, move on to another post.

The post Open Thread: Yes, You Are A Target. How Will Orlando Change You? appeared first on Towleroad.

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Police Release Names and Ages of Seven Victims of Orlando Nightclub Shooting

The City of Orlando has released the names and ages of seven of the victims of last night’s attack which took the lives of 50 at the Pulse gay nightclub. A GoFundMe page has raised more than $800,000 so far for victims and families of the shooting.

They are:

Edward Sotomayor Jr., 34 years old (pictured)
Stanley Almodovar III, 23 years old
Luis Omar Ocasio-Capo, 20 years old
Juan Ramon Guerrero, 22 years old
Eric Ivan Ortiz-Rivera, 36 years old
Peter O. Gonzalez-Cruz, 22 years old
Luis S. Vielma, 22 years old

Names will be released here as families are notified.

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It Took Less Than 12 Hours For Trump To Blame Immigrants For Orlando Shooting

Donald Trump is already seizing the opportunity to push his Islamophobic rhetoric.

The post It Took Less Than 12 Hours For Trump To Blame Immigrants For Orlando Shooting appeared first on ThinkProgress.

thinkprogress.org/politics/2016/06/12/3787546/donald-trump-orlando-shooting/

The Other Topic Republicans Avoided In Response To The Orlando Shooting

Gun control wasn’t the only topic ignored.

The post The Other Topic Republicans Avoided In Response To The Orlando Shooting appeared first on ThinkProgress.

thinkprogress.org/politics/2016/06/12/3787520/pulse-shooting-orlando-republicans-lgbt-community/

This Is The Gun That Committed The Deadliest Shooting In U.S. History

“America’s gun of choice.”

The post This Is The Gun That Committed The Deadliest Shooting In U.S. History appeared first on ThinkProgress.

thinkprogress.org/justice/2016/06/12/3787485/ar-15-explained/

Watch: Civil Rights Leaders Respond to the Orlando Nightclub Tragedy

Today, HRC President HRC President Chad Griffin was joined by other civil rights leaders outside the Human Rights Campaign’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., to respond to the horrific massacre at a Florida LGBTQ nightclub.

“While today is a day of mourning in the wake of this tragedy, I say to LGBTQ people living in every corner in this country and around this globe: Continue to be bold, be loved, and be proud,” Griffin said.

“There are mothers and fathers, spouses and partners, siblings and friends who aren’t thinking about any of that. They’re simply wishing they had just one more moment to say I love you. During this, their darkest hour, we as a nation must be their strength. We must be their comfort. And we must promise that the memory of those they lost will never, ever fade,” Griffin said.

Griffin was joined by Mara Keisling, Executive Director, National Center for Transgender Equality; Janet Murguía; President and CEO, National Council of La Raza; Cornell Brooks, President, NAACP; Sharon Lettman-Hicks, Executive Director, National Black Justice Coalition; Judith Lichtman, of the National Partnership for Women & Families and the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights; Brenda Abdelall of Muslim Advocates; Jorge Amaro, of the National LGBTQ Task Force; and María Teresa Kumar, president and CEO of Voto Latino.

“We have had more than a dozen transgender people murdered so far this year. The hate, as Chad said, that is doing this, is the same hate that caused violence and death at the Sikh temple in Wisconsin and Mother Emanuel Church in Charleston,” Keisling said. “We need to get to the point where ll of us get together and say, ‘When they come for anyone, we will speak out … this is hate aimed at all of us. It is extremism aimed at all of us.”

“Make no mistake: When you violate, when you desecrate, when you assassinate the humanity of any of us, it is a civil rights issue at the top of the NAACP’s agenda,” Brooks said.

“We must condemn, and we must also come together. We stand in solidarity with the LGBTQ community to help reassure our fellow Americans that they need not worry about living their lives or fear being open about who they are,” Murguía said. “We are saddened, but we are also strengthened in that unity.”

Lettman-Hicks spoke about the personal impact that she was feeling, as a Floridian and Afro-Latina. The Orlando nightclub had been celebrating its Latin night before the gunfire erupted.

“This is pride month for the LGBT community,” Lettman-Hicks said. “A time to celebrate and rejoice about living our authentic lives. Hate will not win.”

“Today, we stand in solidarity with the LGBTQ community,” Abdelall said. “Your grief is our grief. Your outrage is our outrage. We are all one family together.”

Watch the full video below.

www.hrc.org/blog/watch-civil-rights-leaders-respond-to-the-orlando-nightclub-tragedy?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed