Arkansas Court Strikes Blow Against Same-Sex Parents
The state Supreme Court made it harder for same-sex couples to be listed on the birth certificates of their children.
www.advocate.com/families/2016/12/08/arkansas-court-strikes-blow-against-same-sex-parents
りぃな: そのCM、辞めませんか？ 多様性が叫ばれる時代に必要なもの
「こんなクレームが増えるから、面白いことがやりづらくなった」とかの問題ではない。
もっと見る: Japan-d4life, ＬＧＢＴ, マクドナルド, 同性愛, 多様性, コマーシャル, ダイバーシティ, Japan News
www.huffingtonpost.jp/riina/commercial-diversity_b_13481772.html
An Oscars First: Actress Kelly Mantle Can Be Nominated In Two Gender Categories
Kelly Mantle, the former Ru Paul’s Drag Race contestant who is being considered for a Best Supporting acting trophy for next year’s Academy Awards is making history even before her potential nomination: the Oscars will allow one person to be eligible for both best supporting actor as well as best supporting actress.
The inclusionary move is believed to be the first of its kind for the Oscar race, reported NewNowNext.
Mantle is widely considered a lock for her role in the indie film Confessions of a Womanizer. Miguel Ali wrote and directed the film and pushed for Mantle to be considered under both categories.
Mantle shared the news on her Facebook page.
“To the best of my knowledge, this is the first time in Oscar history that a person will be considered for an acting Oscar in both gender categories,” Ali wrote on Facebook. “I firmly believe that our androgynous/transgendered acting community is the most untapped resource in Hollywood. We need to bring them more attention, and by doing so, we will create more empathy for our androgynous/transgendered brothers and sisters.”
Drag Race fans will recall Mantle was sent home in the very first episode of season 6.
Watch the scene with Mantle that was submitted for Oscar consideration, below:
John Glenn, Candace Cameron Bure, Terry McAuliffe’s Chicken, Pantone, Giraffes, Uganda: HOT LINKS
RIP. Astronaut and US Senator John Glenn passes away at 95: “In just five hours on Feb. 20, 1962, Mr. Glenn joined a select roster of Americans whose feats have seized the country’s imagination and come to embody a moment in its history, figures like Lewis and Clark, the Wright brothers and Charles Lindbergh.”
IT’S THE ECONOMY, STUPID. Trump’s tweeting not only leads to death threats, it threatens American jobs.
BYE, GURL. Candace Cameron Bure is leaving The View.
TAKEI’S TAKE. George Takei on whether Donald Trump is evil: “‘I think Mr. Trump is uninformed,’ the 79-year old responded. He said after the election he was in a state of shock. ‘For a good number of days, I could not see things with an even balance.’”
WTF. VA Gov. and longtime Clinton confidante Terry McAuliffe says his chicken named Hillary died right before the election: “I hate to say this, one chicken died. About a month before the election, Hillary died.”
ANIMAL ADORBS. Remember this guy who wandered into a San Diego restaurant?
This is no common restaurant visitor! Saturday on #SeaRescueTV. @LittonWeekend @MattGutmanABC @SeaWorld pic.twitter.com/sau5RZU453
— SeaRescue (@SeaRescueTV) December 8, 2016
GET OUTTA MY WAY. Kylie Minogue reiterates that she and Joshua Sasse won’t get married until gay couples in Australia can: “Hopefully we won’t have to wait too long.”
SAVE THE GIRAFFES. Giraffes are in danger of going extinct! “Because the giraffe population has shrunk nearly 40 percent in just 30 years, scientists put it on the official watch list of threatened and endangered species worldwide, calling it “vulnerable.” That’s two steps up the danger ladder from its previous designation of being a species of least concern. In 1985, there were between 151,000 and 163,000 giraffes but in 2015 the number was down to 97,562, according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).”
COLOR OF THE YEAR. Pantone names it color for 2017, Greenery, says choice is influenced by political and social landscape.
CHINA. Famous Hong Kong democracy activist distances himself from homophobic dad: “But Wong senior, a known adversary of Hong Kong’s LGBT community, says the multicolored statues were “disgusting” and could “hurt the feelings” of the bank’s customers. He claims to have collected about 1,800 signatures for an online petition asking the company to remove the statues, withdraw a policy granting benefits to same-sex partners of employees and withhold open support for LGBT causes.”
DEFIANCE. Uganda to get queer film festival: “This December, several hundred film fans from around the world are expected to gather in Kampala, Uganda. There will be no red carpet, no palm trees, and no billboards, just a series of text messages directing the guests to a series of otherwise undisclosed locations. Welcome to the Queer Kampala International Film Festival, the only gay film festival organized in a country where homosexuality is illegal.”
GREAT BRITAIN. House of Lords extends pardons for gross indecency to Northern Ireland: “Until Wednesday, the region was excluded from legislation that posthumously pardons men convicted of sexual offences that are no longer illegal and allows the living to apply to have convictions overturned.”
THURSDAY THIRST. Adam Davenport.
The post John Glenn, Candace Cameron Bure, Terry McAuliffe’s Chicken, Pantone, Giraffes, Uganda: HOT LINKS appeared first on Towleroad.
John Glenn, Candace Cameron Bure, Terry McAuliffe’s Chicken, Pantone, Giraffes, Uganda: HOT LINKS
National Center for Transgender Equality Releases 2015 Transgender Survey
Today, the National Center for Transgender Equality released the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey (USTS), a groundbreaking, new report on the experiences of transgender people in the United States. The report’s sobering results, which found that transgender people continue to face widespread discrimination throughout daily life, underscore the urgency of the fight for trans equality.
Among its various findings, 30 percent of respondents who had a job reported being fired, denied a promotion or experiencing some other form of mistreatment in the workplace due to their gender identity. Within health care, one third of transgender people surveyed stated that they had at least one negative experience related to being transgender when seeing a health care provider and 23 percent reported that they had avoided going to a health care provider within the last year due to fears of being mistreated.
While the USTS was conducted prior to this year’s national debate around anti-transgender bills like HB2 in North Carolina and the hostile environment it created, the report still found that more than half of respondents avoided using a public restroom in the past year because they were afraid of mistreatment or confrontation due to their transgender identity.
The USTS included 27,715 respondents from all fifty states, the District of Columbia, several U.S. territories, and overseas military bases, making it the largest survey of transgender people ever. The USTS serves a follow up to the 2008-2009 National Transgender Discrimination Survey, which was conducted by the National Center for Transgender Equality and the National LGBTQ Task Force.
Nearly unchanged from the results of the previous survey was the 40 percent of respondents who stated that they had attempted suicide at some point in their lives, compared to 41 percent in the 2008-2009 study. The USTS did find that the rate of attempted suicide dropped dramatically – from 54 percent to 37 percent – depending whether the transgender person had family support. While still an alarmingly high figure, the drop demonstrates the significant impact that family support can have on the safety and well-being of transgender people. In fact, the report found significantly lower rates of across several negative outcomes for transgender individuals with supportive families, including lower rates of homelessness and serious psychological distress.
To read more about the US Transgender Survey, visit ustranssurvey.org. And to learn more about HRC’s work around transgender equality, visit www.hrc.org/transgender.
Trump's Labor Secretary Nominee No Friend to Workers
Andy Puzder, who heads the parent company of Carl’s Jr., is a critic of business regulations and opposes a major increase in the minimum wage.
www.advocate.com/politics/2016/12/08/trumps-labor-secretary-nominee-no-friend-workers
LGBTQ People Far More Likely To Suffer From Mental Health Issues, Study Claims
Those looking for good news in the last few weeks of 2016 may want to set their alarm clocks to snooze for another twenty-three days.
A sweeping new study by the National Alliance on Mental Illness indicates that people who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender are three times as likely to suffer from certain mental health conditions like depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Related: Aaron Carter Opens Up About His Problems With Drug Addiction And Depression
Here’s a chart provided by Mentalhelp breaking down the data:
While collecting data, researchers conducted interviews with members of the community, but these real-life testimonials add little in the way of cheer to these sobering statistics.
“I think coming out to myself and to (select) others really helped,” says “Andrew,” a 54-year-old bisexual cisgender man. “It was like a weight lifted off me — keeping all those contradictions bottled up must have been a tremendous source of stress itself.”
Related: Colby Melvin Goes Live To Discuss Battle With Suicidal Depression
“It was rare to make it to the end of the hallway of people without hearing at least three homophobic or transphobic slurs,” says Jessica, a pansexual transgender woman, age 22. “A classmate of mine came out of the closet as gay and was harassed regularly to the point of dropping out of high school.”
“Since coming out as trans, I have lost nearly every friend I have ever had, most of my family no longer speaks to me,” says Laura, a 35-year-old transgender woman.
One of the most surprising takeaways from the study is the fact that young people still face the highest risk for developing psychological problems, which goes against the notion of younger generations being more tolerant than those who have come before.
Related: STUDY: Gay Men Rank Their Top Health Concerns
Their increased risk of depression directly connects to whether or not the youth is being bullied, the CDC reveals.
As for substance abuse, there are significantly higher rates of binge drinking and heavy drinking than those of heterosexual people (19.2% verses 12.1%).
Several respondents made a point of directly correlating their drug and alcohol intake to coping “with the distress of living in an unwelcoming society.”
“I have used substances in the past to try to deaden the pain,” says Chris, a 57-year-old who identifies as a gender-nonconforming bisexual. “Sometimes this has been a direct action after suffering as a gender minority and being treated as if I do not have value.”
If there’s an inkling of hope in any of this, its in the data gathered to glean the quality of life and overall sense of emotional support in the LGBTQ community. Generally, LGBTQ people said they were overly satisfied and had a decent support network in their lives.
Related: What’s Behind The Enduring Allure Of Crystal Meth For Gay Men?
Thirty-six percent of participants claimed they were “very satisfied with their lives,” which is still slightly lower than straight individuals (48%).
“Connecting with other trans people has been the single most important factor in reducing my isolation,” says David, a 27-year-old bisexual transgender man. “Other trans people are able to relate to me in ways that my health care providers and family members (who are all cisgender at this time) don’t.”
If you’re reading this thinking “I’m one of those statistics,” here’s a good resource to get in touch with people near you who can help guide you to help.
Hillary Clinton Warns of ‘Malicious Epidemic of Fake News’ – WATCH
In a speech given at a farewell event for Senator Harry Reid in Washington, DC, Hillary Clinton made a rarer post-election appearance in which she underscored the danger fake news poses to our country.
“This is not exactly the speech at the Capitol I hoped to be giving after the election,” Clinton said. She added, “After a few weeks of taking selfies in the woods, I thought it would be a good idea to come out.”
CLINTON: “After a few weeks of taking selfies in the woods, I thought it would be a good idea to come out…” pic.twitter.com/tKZT99EYkC
— Steve Kopack (@SteveKopack) December 8, 2016
Turning serious, she said,
“Let me just mention one threat in particular that should concern all Americans… the epidemic of malicious fake news and false propaganda that flooded social media over the past year. It’s now clear that so-called ‘fake news’ can have real world consequences. This isn’t about politics or partisanship. Lives are at risk. Lives of ordinary people just trying to go about their days, to do their jobs, contribute to their communities.”
Clinton was seemingly referencing Pizzagate which recently led to a North Carolina man firing a gun in a DC pizza shop that right-wing conspiracy theorists claimed was being used as part of a child sex-ring run by Clinton and John Podesta.
Watch Clinton’s remarks, below.
Hillary Clinton: “Let me just mention one threat in particular that should concern all Americans… the epidemic of malicious fake news” pic.twitter.com/f4ESmm4QZf
— CBS News (@CBSNews) December 8, 2016
The post Hillary Clinton Warns of ‘Malicious Epidemic of Fake News’ – WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.
Hillary Clinton Warns of ‘Malicious Epidemic of Fake News’ – WATCH
HRC Blasts Attempt to Undermine Parental Rights for Same-Sex Couples in Arkansas
Today, HRC expressed deep concern after the Arkansas Supreme Court reversed a lower court’s decision directing the Arkansas Department of Health to list both same-sex parents on their child’s birth certificate, the same process that applies to different-sex couples. This major ruling tries to limit the scope of last year’s landmark marriage equality decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in Obergefell v. Hodges — despite the fact that the high court specifically listed birth certificates as one of the governmental rights, benefits and responsibilities that marital status confers.
“It is clear that including both married spouses’ names — regardless of whether they are same-sex or opposite sex — on a child’s birth certificate is exactly the kind of benefit of marriage that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled should be extended to same-sex couples,” said Kate Oakley, senior legislative counsel for the Human Rights Campaign. “This disappointing ruling from the Arkansas Supreme Court is a clear violation of equal protection for married, same-sex couples, as affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court in Obergefell, and it is a deliberate attempt to undermine the rights of couples who have been guaranteed equality under the law when it comes to marriage.”
The ruling could place burdens on same-sex couples that opposite-sex couples would not experience, including forcing same-sex couples to enter into legal proceedings to assert parental rights. Under Arkansas law, a different-sex couple married at the time of a child’s birth are presumed parents, and listed as such on the birth certificate — even in cases where artificial insemination has been used and agreed to by both parents. Additionally, a different-sex couple married after the birth of their child can both be listed as legal parents on the birth certificate if the husband attests he is the parent.
Today’s ruling does not clarify whether a same-sex parent married to the biological mother at the time of the child’s birth has a right to be listed on the birth certificate. It would also require same-sex couples married after the birth of a child to seek a court order to have the non-biological parent’s rights recognized.
Following the marriage equality ruling, Arkansas, along with several other states, passed a so-called “Religious Freedom Restoration Act,” which aimed to undermine equality for LGBTQ people in the state. Today’s ruling from the Arkansas Supreme Court continues to take aim at rights guaranteed to married, same-sex couples under the law.
The attorney representing the same-sex couples in the case has not yet decided whether to appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court, which would be the next step if she elects to challenge today’s decision.
In 2014, HRC launched Project One America, an initiative geared towards advancing social, institutional and legal equality in Arkansas, Alabama and Mississippi. HRC Arkansas continues to work to advance equality for LGBTQ Arkansans who have no state level protections in housing, workplace, or public accommodations. Through HRC Arkansas, we are working toward a future of fairness every day — changing hearts, minds and laws toward achieving full equality.
