Louisiana State Bar Association Takes a Stand for LGBTQ Equality

Louisiana State Bar Association Takes a Stand for LGBTQ Equality

The Louisiana State Bar Association House of Delegates has passed a resolution affirming its support of LGBT equality and opposing anti-LGBT laws. The resolution was submitted at the association’s House of Delegates meeting on Thursday by Don Paul Landry, a House of Delegates member and chair of the Religion and Faith and Political committees of the HRC Louisiana Steering Committee.

“The resolution has two parts. The first section calls for the condemnation and repeal of anti-LGBT legal authority in this state. Whether or not these laws are enforceable is not the issue. Legal authority that makes one group of people second-class citizens and expresses moral disapproval of them is not an appropriate use of our laws or Constitution,” Landry said in his remarks to the bar.

“The second part of the resolution is support for laws that establish LGBT-equality in our state. Make no mistake, the laws of this state targeted LGBT people and made them second-class citizens. Only by correcting the law can we correct the problem caused by the law,” Landry said.

Landry also highlighted the detrimental psychological effect that such laws have on LGBT people – especially LGBT young people. He pointed out that even though marriage equality has brought great progress in some ways, it has sometimes led to more discrimination, as individuals who disclose their marital status on job applications and elsewhere can be singled out for negative consequences.

“We are lawyers, and what we do is to seek justice. This association has taken a stand that those on the margins must be treated fairly under the law and have equal access to the justice. In order for that to happen with the LGBT community, the laws themselves must be just,” Landry said.

HRC fights for LGBTQ equality in Louisiana alongside state and local groups and lawmakers. Find out more about what HRC is doing for LGBTQ equality in Louisiana and how you can get involved with the New Orleans community.

www.hrc.org/blog/louisiana-state-bar-association-takes-a-stand-for-lgbtq-equality?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

The GLAAD Wrap: Russell Tovey joins 'Quantico', Caitlyn Jenner's role on 'Transparent', Jesse Tyler Ferguson's Carpool Karaoke

The GLAAD Wrap: Russell Tovey joins 'Quantico', Caitlyn Jenner's role on 'Transparent', Jesse Tyler Ferguson's Carpool Karaoke

Photo Credit: HBO

Every week, The GLAAD Wrap brings you LGBT-related entertainment news highlights, fresh stuff to watch out for, and fun diversions to help you kick off the weekend.

1) The reboot of the 1976 super hero franchise Electra Woman & Dyna Girl came out on all major platforms this week, starring YouTubers Grace Helbig and Hannah Hart. The film focuses on how moving to the big city of Los Angeles affects these small town, amateur super heroes.

2) Out actor Russell Tovey is set to join ABC’s Quantico in their second season. His character, Harry Doyle, is gay and was specifically written for Tovey by out showrunner Joshua Safran. Tovey says Doyle “is just as likely to seduce your husband as he is to pick his pocket when it’s over.” Finally, Judith Light of Amazon’s Transparent revealed that Caitlyn Jenner will be starring as herself on the show’s third season, which is set to be released later this year.

3) A married lesbian couple has been added to TLC’s reality show, My Giant Life, a show centering around women who are over six feet and six inches tall. Katja Bavendam and her wife, Julie McGuire, want to start a family, and their journey to parenthood will unfold more as the season continues.

4) Out country singer Brandy Clark released her new album, Big Day in A Small Town, today. Additionally, Broadway singer, actor, and former Glee star Cheyenne Jackson released his album, Renaissance, last week.

5) Cynthia Nixon will star in the Manhattan Theater Club’s fourth revival of The Little Foxes. The play opens on April 19th at the Samuel J. Friedman Theater. Jesse Tyler Ferguson joined James Corden and several other Broadway stars for a special Tony edition of popular segment, “Carpool Karaoke.” He participated in renditions of songs from several popular musicals, including Hamilton and Rent.

6) The team behind short film, “Transgender, at War and in Love” has launched a kickstarter campaign for their new documentary TransMilitary. They want to create a feature film about the discrimination and transphobia in the United States military in order to reach a wider audience than their short did. Funds from the crowdfunding campaign will go to travel expenses, equipment, and editing. You can find out more about TransMilitary on their Kickstarter page and on their website.

June 9, 2016

www.glaad.org/blog/glaad-wrap-russell-tovey-joins-quantico-caitlyn-jenners-role-transparent-jesse-tyler-fergusons

Elizabeth Warren on Fire: Endorses Clinton, Destroys Trump, Considers VP Slot – WATCH

Elizabeth Warren on Fire: Endorses Clinton, Destroys Trump, Considers VP Slot – WATCH

Elizabeth Warren

Elizabeth Warren’s political star is shining fiercely at the moment and yesterday was a huge day for the Massachusetts senator as she endorsed Hillary Clinton on The Rachel Maddow Show following a gripping, captivating speech at the ACS convention (posted below) in which she destroyed Donald Trump.

But first, her endorsement:

“I’m ready. I am ready to get in this fight and work my heart out for Hillary Clinton to become President of the United States and to make sure that Donald Trump never gets any place closet to the White House.”

Why wait so long?

“I thought that the primary was really important and it was an opportunity for Democrats to get out there and show, this is what it means to be a Democrat. We got out there and pushed those issues forward and we made sure the American people saw the kind of thinking we have, the kind of energy we have, and what makes us very different from those guys on the other side.”

When asked about the threat of Trump, Warren begins:

“The Republicans underestimated Donald Trump and look where that got them. Donald Trump is a genuine threat to this country. He is a threat economically to this country, but he is a threat to who we are as a people. There is an ugly side to Donald Trump.”

Asks Maddow: “Do you have  a prescription for how this primary should end?”

“It’s clear now that we need to start thinking about all of us together…Hillary Clinton won. She won because she’s a fighter. She’s out there. She’s tough. And I think this is what we need. Look at who she is. Fror 25 years she has been taking the incomings. The right wing has thrown everything they possibly can at her. And what does she do? A lot of people would just hang up their spurs. They’d say, you know I’ve had enough of this. And she doesn’t. What she does is she gets back up and she gets back in the fight…You ought to be willing to throw a punch. There are a lot of things people say about Hillary Clinton, but nobody says she doesn’t know how to throw a punch.”

Maddow then highlight a few clips from Warren’s searing speech earlier in the evening at the American Constitution Society in which she eviscerated Donald Trump.

Watch:

Here’s a bit more:

Here’s the full speech to the American Constitution Society. And it’s a MUST WATCH.

Finally, Maddow asks if Clinton has talked to her or her people about being the running mate.

“No,” says Warren. No conversations have taken place about that.

When asked if conversations take place between Warren and the other political leaders on a personal level,  Warren really lit on fire.

Here’s the transcript:

I’ve talked to Bernie, I’ve talked to Hillary.

What gives it power is the power within the idea itself, and the fact that others care about it.

So, when you talk about Social Security, it’s not just enough to say, we’re looking at you, this really matters. It’s the fact that a million Americans think it matters. Oh, wait, it’s 2 million Americans think it matters. No, it’s 4 million Americans. It’s 6 million, wait, it’s 10 million, it’s 50 million Americans who care about this. That’s how we’re going to make change.

Here’s how I look at this. The Republicans had a real advantage over us for a long time. And the principal advantage they have had is they have concentrated money and concentrated power. And, boy, when it’s all concentrated, man, you can organize it, you can use it, you can get out there, you can run those negative ads, you can be effective, you can put money into campaigns.

What do we got on our side? Yes, we got some money, some. People put money in. But the reality is what we’ve got is we’ve got all the votes. We’ve got all the voices.

There are so many more people on our side. And I’m not just talking Democrats here. You talk about those core issues, about Social Security, about college, about raising the minimum wage, about reining in Wall Street.

You look at those core issues and somewhere between 60 percent and 75 percent of all of America, that’s Democrats, Republicans, independents, libertarians, vegetarians. They sign up and say, yes, I’m for that.

So, the question is then, Rachel — why hasn’t that happened? Why hasn’t it happened?

The answer is because Washington, this place where we are right now. It is the bubble. It’s the bubble that’s created by the money. It is the bubble that is created by the contributions, by the lobbyists, by every part of this tight little circle.

Our only chance to break out of that is that we got to say, against your concentrated money and power, we’re going to put up our voices and our votes and we’re going to be here. We’re going to be here in these elections. And we’re going to make sure that the people who run for office and get elected are the ones who are going to work for the American people. That’s what this is all about.

Watch:

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Woman Arrested In Connection With Explosion At Chicago-Area Target Store: VIDEO

Woman Arrested In Connection With Explosion At Chicago-Area Target Store: VIDEO

Transgender Target Bathroom Policy

Police in Evanston, Illinois have arrested a woman after a small bomb detonated in a Target restroom on Wednesday.

Damage was limited to a stall in the women’s restroom. No threats were reported before the incident.

WGN TV reported that a plastic bottle was used but no projectiles were inside it. Investigators are said to be gathering evidence including store security recordings.

RELATED: Watch This Bizarre Music Video Christians Have Launched Against Target’s Transgender Policy

It was thought the attack may have been related to Target’s controversial pro-transgender bathroom policy.

Target tells American Family Association – they don’t care about the boycott. t.co/xvqK4F7ACE Well, folks?

— toddstarnes (@toddstarnes) June 8, 2016

However, a press release notes that detectives “are not currently looking for any known additional suspects, and [at] this point there is no indication that the incident is related to any policies that the Target store has in place.”

No charges have as yet been filed against the 44-year-old suspect.

Last month, a bible-bearing woman stomped through a Target store warning people against “bowing to the homosexual perverted agenda.” Earlier in May, hate group the American Family Association (AFA) proved that concerns over dangers lurking in Target bathroom are true by sending men into the retailer’s women’s facilities to “test” the Target’s policy. 1.3 million people have signed an AFA petition saying they will boycott the store.

Watch a report on a protest outside a Chicago Target branch last weekend.

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