Pulse Nightclub Burglarized One Month After Orlando Shooting

On Wednesday, one month after 49 people were killed in the deadliest mass shooting in American history at Orlando’s Pulse nightclub, law enforcement officials handed the club back to its owner Barbara Poma. Hours later, sometime between late in the evening and the early hours of Thursday, somebody broke into the club according to a burglary report released by the Orlando City Police (OCP).

We can confirm Pulse had a break in last night. Details will be in the report. Once it is finalized we will release. pic.twitter.com/fcLWDhsyB7

— Orlando Police (@OrlandoPolice) July 14, 2016

Poma said in the report that when she drove by the club at approximately 9pm Wednesday everything seemed normal, and the “exterior fencing, including the vehicle gate appeared to be locked and undisturbed.” When she went back on Thursday morning, her husband Rosario Poma noticed that one of the exterior doors was unlocked and that somebody had forcibly removed a sheet of plywood that was used to secure it.

They called for a police response. Officer John Ostrom examined the scene and concluded that the “suspect(s) had used a prying tool to force the plywood away from the screws that held it to the metal door frame.” He also noted that “[another] plywood that was designed to secure [another] door had been pried loose, but was not totally removed from the doorway.”

Pulse does have an alarm system and interior security cameras, but they weren’t activated yet.

The OCP released the 911 call from the incident:

Pulse spokeswoman Sara Brady, spoke with The Orlando Sentinel and said that Barbara Poma and her husband Rosario are not yet sure about the future of the club. “They haven’t decided anything,” she said. “They just entered the building for the first time yesterday and didn’t know what the state of the building would be, then this happened.”

Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer called the incident “disturbing.”

Our community is still grieving. It’s disturbing that someone would try to bring additional pain to the victims. t.co/iQ3LAp8X60

— Mayor Buddy Dyer (@orlandomayor) July 14, 2016

The post Pulse Nightclub Burglarized One Month After Orlando Shooting appeared first on Towleroad.

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Katy Perry Drops New Power Ballad ‘Rise’ That Will Get You Revved Up for Rio – WATCH

Katy Perry surprised fans Thursday night with the release of her new song, “Rise.” Perry also announced that the track will be the official theme song of the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Perry released the song by way of dropping a music video for “Rise” which features goosebump-inducing footage from the 2012 Olympics. You’re going to want to add this one to your motivation playlists.

Via Just Jared:

“This is a song that’s been brewing inside me for years, that has finally come to the surface. I was inspired to finish it now, rather than save it for my next album, because now more than ever, there is a need for our world to unite,” Katy said in a statement. “I know that together we can rise above the fear – in our country, and around the world. I can’t think of a better example than the Olympic athletes, as they gather in Rio with their strength and fearlessness, to remind us how we ALL can come together, with the resolve to be the best we can be. I hope this song can inspire us to heal, unite, and rise together. I am honored that NBC Olympics has chosen to use it as an anthem before and during the Rio Games.”

Watch the video, below.

Perry also spoke with The Today Show about why she wrote the song, and shared the inspiration on Twitter.

ICYMI on @TodayShow, here’s why I wrote #RISE pic.twitter.com/cpjf25PRGb

— KATY PERRY (@katyperry) July 15, 2016

The post Katy Perry Drops New Power Ballad ‘Rise’ That Will Get You Revved Up for Rio – WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.

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Hillary Clinton Highlights Mike Pence’s Anti-LGBT Past in New Video – WATCH 

In a new video released on Instagram on Friday, Hillary Clinton takes aim at Trump’s running mate, Indiana Governor Mike Pence, and his history of opposing LGBT rights.

Pence was behind Indiana’s disastrous Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), which allowed business to discriminate against people under the guise of so-called ‘religious liberty.’ The bill caused a national firestorm and ended up costing the state $60 million.

“Think Donald Trump is divisive?” the video’s title cards ask before adding, “Meet his running mate, Mike Pence. As governor, Pence was willing to shut down Indiana’s economy to allow discrimination against LGBT people.”

Watch the video, below.

The post Hillary Clinton Highlights Mike Pence’s Anti-LGBT Past in New Video – WATCH  appeared first on Towleroad.

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Survey: One-Third of Transgender People Avoided Food or Water due to Restroom Discrimination

In the past year alone, nearly one-third of transgender people have avoided eating or drinking for fear of problems in gender-segregated restrooms, according to new results from the U.S. Trans Survey.

This disturbing finding was just one of several statistics driving home the devastating effects of restricted restroom access. Among nearly 30,000 transgender adults who participated in the 2015 survey, six in 10 avoided restrooms in the past year, a quarter had been told they were “using the wrong restroom,” and eight percent had developed a kidney or urinary tract infection due to avoiding public bathrooms.

North Carolina’s deplorable HB2, which became law earlier this spring, was one among more than 50 attempts by state lawmakers this year to write anti-transgender discrimination in law — many, like HB2, focused on restroom access. The survey findings make clear just how harmful these bills are — and how any attempts to claim they provide safety to people are misleading.  Twelve percent of transgender adults had been harassed, attacked or sexually assaulted in a restroom in the past year. In contrast, law enforcement officials and sexual violence experts say that ensuring access to gender-appropriate restrooms poses absolutely no risk to non-transgender people.

HRC has worked with advocates and community members in North Carolina to press for repeal of HB2. Last week it submitted an amicus brief, joined by 68 major companies, urging courts to block the law’s most discriminatory components. With transgender rights at the forefront of much political discussion, HRC has partnered with local and national groups to air a powerful TV ad during the Republican National Convention. The ad features a transgender woman told to use a men’s restroom at a restaurant, until two female bystanders usher her into the women’s room.

The National Center for Transgender Equality’s U.S. Trans Survey is the largest survey of transgender people ever conducted. In August and September 2015, tens of thousands of participants shared their experiences with discrimination and violence, along with information about their health, careers, school experiences, and other areas of life. The data will give researchers and advocates an unprecedented look at the challenges facing transgender people across the U.S.

The National Center for Transgender Equality expects that the full survey results will be released in late 2016.

To learn more about safety, health and justice for transgender people, visit www.hrc.org/transgender.

www.hrc.org/blog/survey-one-third-of-transgender-people-avoided-food-or-water-due-to-restroo?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Transgender Student’s Rights Case Goes to Supreme Court

Yesterday, Virginia’s Gloucester County School District filed an emergency appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court to stop transgender student Gavin Grimm from using the restroom that corresponds with his gender identity.

“Chief Justice Roberts can act on the school board’s request alone or ask the full court to consider it,” CBS News reported. “If he chooses the latter, the school board must convince five justices to be successful.”

Grimm’s discrimination claim against the Gloucester County School District alleged the district violated Title IX by denying him use of the boy’s restroom. In April, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in a 2-1 decision to instruct the federal district court to give deference to​ the Department of Education’s interpretation of Title IX of the Education Act of 1972 as protecting transgender students like Grimm from discrimination. Following th​at​ ruling, the Virginia school board appealed for a rehearing ​by the entire 15-judge panel.​  In May, the full panel refused to rehear the case.​

In June, a federal court ordered the Gloucester County School Board to allow Grimm full access to the restroom that corresponds with his gender identity, consistent with the ruling from the Fourth Circuit. “After nearly two years of humiliation and intense struggle, equality has finally prevailed,” Grimm told ABC News.

Should SCOTUS decide not to take the case, Grimm and all other transgender students in the Fourth Circuit (Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia) will be able to access bathrooms consistent with their gender identity in schools that accept federal funds.

www.hrc.org/blog/transgender-students-rights-case-goes-to-supreme-court?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

#AM_Equality Tip Sheet: July 15, 2016

WITH PENCE PICK, TRUMP DOUBLES DOWN ON ANTI-LGBTQ AGENDA: Today, presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has doubled down on his anti-LGBTQ agenda by choosing as his running mate Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, who has made virulent anti-LGBTQ activism a cornerstone of his political career. HRC President Chad Griffin responded to the news saying. “Mike Pence has never left any question about his animus toward LGBTQ people, from peddling a hateful and damaging ‘right to discriminate bill’ in Indiana last year, to his longstanding opposition to marriage equality — positions shared by Donald Trump.” Pence became a national disgrace in 2015, for his “license to discriminate” bill that could have allowed businesses to deny service to LGBTQ people — and subsequently defending the bill over an outcry from the business community and a majority of Hoosier voters. In a now notorious interview with ABC last year, Pence refused to answer eight separate times when asked whether businesses should be able to discriminate against LGBTQ people. More from HRC.

• Check out these articles demolishing Pence for his dreadful record on LGBTQ issues: Vox, Bustle, Mother Jones, The Daily Beast, Washington Blade, The New Civil Rights Movement
• For the first time in 16 years, the RNC will feature an openly-gay speaker. Too bad the party’s own platform doesn’t acknowledge his existence. More from The Huffington Post.

TRUMP ENDORSES GOP’S HIDEOUS ANTI-LGBTQ PLATFORM: Proving once again that he’s no friend to the LGBTQ community, Donald Trump has endorsed the GOP’s proposed 2016 platform, which is being described as the most anti-LGBTQ in the party’s history. In an interview with Fox News, Trump said, “I think what’s happening with the platform is very good.” A slew of anti-LGBTQ provisions have been approved, including a provision supporting anti-transgender discrimination, a provision calling for a Constitutional amendment undermining marriage equality, and another supporting the discredited and dangerous practice of so-called “conversion therapy.” More here.

#SAYHERNAME: ADVOCATES MOURN THE LOSS OF DEENIQUIA DODDS: Deeniquia Dodds, a transgender woman who was critically wounded in a shooting July 4 in  Washington, D.C.,  died yesterday after 10 days on life support. She was just 22. NBC4 Washington reports that Dodds was affectionately known as Dee Dee to those close to her. A vigil in her honor will be held Saturday at 6:30 p.m., and a memorial service is scheduled for the week of July 25. At least 13 transgender people have been murdered in the U.S. since the beginning of 2016. More than 90 percent of the victims are people of color, and more than three quarters are women. For more information on addressing anti-transgender violence, visit hrc.org/trans-violence. More from HRC.

EMMY NOMS TO SEVERAL LGBTQ SHOWS AND STARS: Yesterday, the Television Academy announced nominees for the 68th Emmy Awards, singling out several LGBTQ-themed shows and LGBTQ and allied actors, writers and directors. Two groundbreaking shows featuring transgender actors, writers and directors — Transparent and Her Story — were among those nominated. More from HRC.

MAJOR STUDY FINDS NO HIV TRANSMISSION BETWEEN PARTNERS WHEN ON TREATMENT: A recently-released study found no linked cases of HIV transmission between people living with HIV undergoing successful antiretroviral therapy (ART) and their HIV-negative partners. More from HRC and Towleroad.

• Speaking of health … A new study found that programs designed specifically the improve the health of lesbian and bisexual women helped participants significantly increase their physical activity and reduce their body weight. More here.

SENATE COMMITTEE HOLDS HEARING ON CAMPUS SAFETY: The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee this week held a hearing on campus safety issues including bullying, harassment, hazing, and violence, with a focus on the needs of LGBTQ students. More from HRC.

BIPARTISAN LGBTQ HATE CRIMES BILL INTRODUCED IN MICHIGAN SENATE: Legislation to add LGBTQ protections to Michigan’s hate crime bill was introduced on Wednesday with the support of at least two Republicans. More from WMUK.

TITLE IX EXEMPTIONS FORCE LGBTQ STUDENTS TO SUFFER IN SILENCE: Tristan Campbell, a former student at Oklahoma Baptist University, shares his personal story in a piece outlining how Title IX exemptions force LGBTQ students to suffer in silence. In December of last year, HRC released a report revealing 56 schools nationwide that have quietly sought a licence to discriminate. More here.

READING RAINBOW

In an op-ed for TIME, gay Republican James Richardson says he cannot support the GOP platform; A piece in The Guardian calls the Republican platform “extremist”; GOOD profiles the woman who founded a creative digital community for LGBTQ Muslims; The Advocate celebrates openly-LGBTQ congressional candidates; BuzzFeed visits a small Australian town with a big, loving acceptance of its LGBTQ community; The Huffington Post destroys the myth of the black community as “more homophobic”; and Coloradoan profiles Kris Barz, the illustrator of the ‘Out & About’ comic series.

Have news? Send us your news and tips at [email protected]. Click here to subscribe to A.M. Equality and follow @HRC for all the latest news. Thanks for reading!

www.hrc.org/blog/am-equality-tip-sheet-july-15-2016?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

The GLAAD Wrap: Ira Sachs' MoMA exhibit,'Supergirl' casts Maggie Sawyer, new music from Elton John and more!

www.glaad.org/blog/glaad-wrap-ira-sachs-moma-exhibitsupergirl-casts-maggie-sawyer-new-music-elton-john-and-more

LGBT History Classes Are Coming to California Schools

In a groundbreaking move, the California State Board of Education voted to comprehensively expand its LGBT curricula.

www.advocate.com/youth/2016/7/15/lgbt-history-classes-are-coming-california-schools