“Gay” Agenda Has Morphed into Anti-Trump Activism
hagmannreport posted a photo:
As homosexual activists gathered in major cities across America for their “gay pride” parades June 11, it was clear that the annual homosexual spectacle had morphed into a massive, nationwide anti-Trump rally. NPR.org noted that at more than 50 homosexual marches in cities across the nation,…
Texas Governor Signs Bill Allowing Anti-LGBT Discrimination in Adoption
The legislation lets faith-based agencies turn away anyone offending the operator’s religious beliefs.
Lena Hall Rocks the Queer Film World With Her Affecting Lead Role in ‘Becks’
The woman who won the Tony for Hedwig is about to wow new fans as a lesbian musician.
Grabby musclemen and crying on fries: Performance artist Steven Schweickart keeps Pride peculiar
The LA-based visual/vocal artist lives for pop songs, surreal visuals, silent film clips, and general headf*ckery.
Lobbyist Disclosure Contradicts What Jeff Sessions Told the Senate Intel Committee Under Oath
Richard Burt, an American lobbyist for Russian interests, confirmed to The Guardian that he attended two dinners with Jeff Sessions at the height of the 2016 campaign, a disclosure that appears to contradict Sessions’ sworn testimony:
Sessions testified under oath on Tuesday that he did not believe he had any contacts with lobbyists working for Russian interests over the course of Trump’s campaign. But Richard Burt, a former ambassador to Germany during the Reagan administration, who has represented Russian interests in Washington, told the Guardian that he could confirm previous media reports that stated he had contacts with Sessions at the time.
And the meetings were not about nothing:
Burt, who previously served on the advisory board of Alfa Capital Partners, a private equity fund where Russia’s Alfa Bank was an investor and last year was lobbying on behalf of a pipeline company that is now controlled by Gazprom, Russia’s state-controlled energy conglomerate, first told Politico in October that he had been invited to two dinners that were hosted by Sessions last summer, at the height of the presidential campaign.
Sessions, a former senator for Alabama who was chairman of the Trump campaign’s national security committee, reportedly invited Burt so that he could discuss issues of national security and foreign policy.
The post Lobbyist Disclosure Contradicts What Jeff Sessions Told the Senate Intel Committee Under Oath appeared first on Towleroad.
Lobbyist Disclosure Contradicts What Jeff Sessions Told the Senate Intel Committee Under Oath
BREAKING: Discrimination Signed Into Law in Texas, Governor Abbott Signs HB 3859
HRC strongly condemned Texas Governor Greg Abbott for signing into law HB 3859 — a patently discriminatory bill which allows child welfare organizations, including adoption and foster care agencies, to turn away qualified Texans seeking to care for a child in need, including LGBTQ couples, interfaith couples, single parents, married couples in which one prospective parent has previously been divorced, or other parents to whom the agency has a religious objection. It will also allow taxpayer-funded agencies to refuse to provide services to children in care if the agency has a religious objection to that service; among other things, HB 3859 will forbid the state from canceling a state contract with an agency that subjected children in their care to dangerous practices such as so-called “conversion therapy.”
HB 3859 is one of more than thirty unconscionable anti-LGBTQ bills that were pursued during the regular session by extreme Texas lawmakers, who have been undertaking a systematic effort to roll back the rights of LGBTQ Texans, piece by piece. Now, Gov. Abbott has asked lawmakers to pass anti-LGBTQ legislation during a special session beginning July 18.
“After a legislative session full of attacks on LGBTQ Texans, today, Gov. Abbott has codified anti-LGBTQ discrimination into law by signing HB 3859,” said Marty Rouse, national field director for the Human Rights Campaign and a foster and adoptive parent. “This ‘Slate of Hate’ that the Texas legislature has made a priority harms LGBTQ Texans. This law will now prioritize discrimination over the best interests of children looking for a loving, stable home. That is unconscionable, and we implore Gov. Abbott not to further pursue any further forms of anti-LGBTQ discrimination.”
HB 3859 enshrines discrimination into Texas law by allowing discrimination in two directions: against prospective parents, and against children in their care. State contractors who provide child welfare services can discriminate against qualified same-sex couples seeking to care for a child in need — including LGBTQ couples, interfaith couples, single parents, married couples in which one prospective parent has previously been divorced, or other parents to whom the agency has a religious objection.
National child welfare organizations such as the Child Welfare League of America, the Donaldson Adoption Institute, North American Council on Adoptable Children and Voice for Adoption have condemned this bill in a letter to lawmakers. This law will most harm children in the system who are awaiting placement in qualified, loving homes and are instead forced to remain in care. Child welfare services should be guided by the overarching principle that guides all family law: all determinations should be in the “best interest of the child.” It isn’t in the best interest of a child to deny them a qualified, loving family simply because that family doesn’t share all of the tenets of the placing agency’s faith.
Unfortunately, this law will have a significant and tremendously harmful impact on children in care. HB 3859 allows the agencies tasked by the state with caring for these children to put discrimination over the best interests of the child – they are allowed to refuse to provide services that children in care may desperately need, or subject children to care that is contrary to a child’s best interest. For example, this will allow an agency responsible for caring for LGBTQ youth to refer that child to a provider of the abusive, discredited practice of so-called “conversion therapy,” if that was consistent with the agency’s religious beliefs, without the state being able to intervene, cancel the contract, or withdraw support in other ways.
Research consistently shows that LGBTQ youth are overrepresented in the foster care system, as many have been rejected by their families of origin because of their LGBTQ status, and are especially vulnerable to discrimination and mistreatment while in foster care. HB 3859 will only exacerbate the challenges faced by LGBTQ young people.
HRC has seven field organizers in four offices across Texas who work to mobilize opposition to any anti-LGBTQ legislation. HRC continues to work alongside Equality Texas, ACLU of Texas, Texas Freedom Network, the Transgender Education Network of Texas and others on the ground to battle against dangerous or harmful bills that attack the dignity of LGBTQ Texans. As a coalition, we will stand together; we will support and comfort one another; and we will continue to work together until we defeat every bill this session that discriminates against LGBTQ Texans.
www.hrc.org/blog/Texas-Gov-signed-HB-3859-into-law?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed
Tina Fey, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Groff, and more stand in solidarity at the Tony Awards
The Tony Awards have historically celebrated inclusivity and diversity, and Sunday night’s event was no exception. While honoring 2017’s finest Broadway shows at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, guests and nominees showed their support for all marginalized communities, who often must face discrimination, hatred, and violence in the current political and social climate. By wearing the ampersand (&) as a symbol of joining the Together movement, Tina Fey, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Groff, and Brian d’Arcy James made the decision to unite against the forces that try to divide us.
The Together movement, initiated by GLAAD, is a site for amplifying and uniting voices and identities that are often silenced in mainstream media or by the current administration. Because every single one of us embodies intersecting identities, the ampersand (&) represents unity and support for all communities that are under attack, including (but not limited to) Muslim, immigrant, and LGBTQ communities. Additionally, since this year’s Tony Awards occurred on the same day as meaningful equality marches drew crowds worodlwide, nominees and winners stood in solidarity with those marching by sporting the pin. Indeed, this is a critical time to come together for equality and resist intolerance.
Goddess @CynthiaEriVo arriving at the #Tonys red carpet. pic.twitter.com/2iEWiQZX88
— Wear Your Voice Mag (@WearYourVoice) June 11, 2017
Stage actress and Broadway icon Cynthia Erivo was seen wearing the ampersand on the belt of her gown on the red carpet at the Tony Awards. At the Tony’s, she performed “New York, New York” with Hamilton star Leslie Odom Jr. Erivo is a Tony Award winner herself, earning the 2016 Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical for her role in The Color Purple. She has supported the Together movement in the past, donning the symbol of togetherness at the GLAAD Media Awards in Los Angeles earlier this year, the night she performed a moving tribute to the lives claimed at the attack on Pulse in Orlando.
❤️ #LinManuelMiranda #LinManuel #LinMiranda #LinMan #LMM #HamiltonMusical #HamiltonBroadway #HamiltonBway #MaryPoppinsReturns #DuckTales #GizmoDuck #Alvie #JuanAlvarez #JuanAlvieAlvarez #HouseMD #Hamilton #YayHamlet #TheatreNerds #BroadwayNerds #Theatre #StageDoor #NYC #DoNoHarm #RubenMarcado #Musicals #SNL #SaturdayNightLive #TinaFey
A post shared by cinnalin212 (@cinnalin212) on
FOMO. #tinafey #mariskahargitay #tonys #tonyawards2017 #thetonys #meangirls #lawandorder
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Tina Fey supported GLAAD, the Together movement, and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) while presenting for Best Actor in a Musical.
Jonathan Groff supporting @GLAAD‘s Together Movement at the #TonyAwards2017: t.co/DPX3hTxP7P pic.twitter.com/o0yzprDW4L
— Jonathan Groff Daily (@dailyjgroff) June 11, 2017
Co hosts. #TonyAwards2017 pic.twitter.com/R34nwbU2um
— Brian d’Arcy James (@briandarcyjames) June 11, 2017
Jonathan Groff and Brian d’Arcy James were spotted wearing the ampersand pin while presenting at the event and on the red carpet. Both actors have played King George III in the groundbreaking, smash hit show, Hamilton.
Entertainment Weekly named both Groff and Erivo as among the best dressed in attendance at the Tony Awards. EW referred to Erivo’s dress as “showstopping” and said of Groff:
Jonathan Groff looked sharp in classic black, but it’s the subtle statement on his lapel that really makes this look a winner. The presenter accessorized his suit with an ampersand pin, the symbol of GLAAD’s Together Movement, which signifies solidarity with all communities suffering discrimination.
Additional signs of resistance and togetherness were witnessed at the Tony Awards, especially in many of the winner’s speeches. When accepting the award for Best Actor in a Musical, Dear Evan Hansen”s Ben Platt said, “To all young people watching at home, don’t waste any time trying to be like anybody but yourself, because the things that make you strange are the things that make you powerful.” Cynthia Nixon, who took home an award for her performance in “Lilian Hellman’s The Little Foxes” and is also an out bisexual actress, eloquently quoted writer Hellman, stating, “‘There are people who eat the earth and eat all the people on it, and other people who just stand around and watch them do it.’ My love, my gratitude and my undying respect go out to all the people in 2017 who are refusing to just stand and watch them do it. Thank you.”
The ampersand pin was first debuted at a solidarity rally in New York City earlier this year. The New Yorker took note, calling it the symbol that “best captured the spirit of the day, and the great diversity of the crowd and speakers.” Since then, the ampersand pin has been seen at the Academy Awards, the MTV Movie & TV Awards, the Independent Spirit Awards, and the GLAAD Media Awards. This representation of inclusive solidarity has caught the eyes of leading media outlets, including Seventeen, Vanity Fair, Entertainment Tonight, Broadway World, Marie Claire, and more that deemed the wearable statements an integral fashion staple.
GLAAD thanks everyone who shows up and stands up in solidarity with marginalized communities and people, and who calls for togetherness by wearing the “&” on platforms such as the Tony Awards and in their own personal lives. Together, #WeResist. Together, we persist. Together, we prevail.
www.glaad.org/blog/tina-fey-cynthia-erivo-jonathan-groff-and-more-stand-solidarity-tony-awards
15 Reasons Why This Gay Man Will Never Be Monogamous
www.advocate.com/sexy-beast/2017/6/15/15-reasons-why-gay-man-will-never-be-monogamous
Did ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ accidentally announce the winner of season 9 on Twitter? (SPOILERS)
Does this change who you think will win?
