Bermuda’s Legislature Has Given Final Approval to Rip Marriage Rights Away from Gay People

Bermuda’s Senate today approved a bill that will take marriage rights away from gay people, following the House’s approval earlier this week. All that remains is for the governor to sign it.

The AP reports:

Senators approved the Domestic Partnership Act by an 8-3 vote. The House of Assembly approved it 24-10 on Friday. It must now be signed by the governor before it becomes law in the Atlantic ocean territory.

A Supreme Court ruling in May made same-sex marriages legal in Bermuda amid opposition on the socially conservative island. The ruling Progressive Labor Party took up the matter after winning power in the July election.

The Supreme Court of Bermuda legalized same-sex marriage last May in a case brought by Toronto-based Bermudian and Canadian gay couple, Winston Godwin and Greg DeRoche (above), who  preferred to marry in Godwin’s home country Bermuda.

Seeing boycotts and protest on the horizon, Bermuda’s Tourism Authority issued a statement before the vote.

“Since last Friday’s vote, we have seen ample evidence of negative international headlines and growing social-media hostility towards Bermuda that we feel compelled to express our concern about what the negative consequences could be for tourism if the Domestic Partnership Bill passes the Senate this week. We believe the Bill poses an unnecessary threat to the success of our tourism industry.

“We urge you to vote no and appreciate the opportunity to lay out the reasons why. Importantly, we do not view domestic partnerships as a negative in isolation. In fact many jurisdictions permit domestic partnerships without adverse impacts on their economies.

“The circumstance in Bermuda is different — and troubling — in one important way: same-sex marriage is already the law of our island and to roll that back for what will be seen as a less equal union will cause us serious reputational damage. We are convinced it will result in lost tourism business for Bermuda.”

The post Bermuda’s Legislature Has Given Final Approval to Rip Marriage Rights Away from Gay People appeared first on Towleroad.

Bermuda’s Legislature Has Given Final Approval to Rip Marriage Rights Away from Gay People

Erste GroKo-Gespräche: Die Union sagt “Ja” – die SPD zögert

www.huffingtonpost.de/entry/groko-spd-union_de_5a3193a2e4b01bdd7659a58e

‘The Apprentice’: Michaela Wain Hits Out At Lord Sugar’s Advisor Claudine Collins Over ‘Personal’ Interview
Fired ‘Apprentice’ candidate Michaela Wain has hit out at Lord Sugar’s advisor Claudine Collins for bringing her personal life up during her interview.

Viewers of the BBC business-based reality show saw the contestant open up as the show hit its infamous interview round, but she has now claimed she tried to “break” her in scenes we didn’t see.

Speaking to HuffPost UK following her exit on Wednesday (13 December), Michaela revealed she actually stood up to Claudine over her interview style.

“Claudine was probing and probing, and banging on about my son and my upbringing, but I just shut it down and was like, ‘This has got nothing to do with business. If you’ve got business questions, crack on’,” she said.

“I felt like she was trying to break me, and unfortunately that wasn’t all seen in the episode because they can’t put everything in.”

She continued: “Karren Brady actually agreed with me and said I was right to shut it down and that it had nothing to do with business. It was a bit unfortunate how that came across.

“What does my upbringing have to do with my business plan?”

Michaela was fired by Lord Sugar alongside Elizabeth McKenna and Joanna Jarjue, after he and his advisors claimed she had too many other businesses to give her full attention to the one the proposed to launch with the tycoon.

However, Michaela admitted she is still annoyed about the decision, given how successful her other ventures are.

“It literally makes no sense that I already turn over £3million and they wouldn’t invest in me,” she said.

“If I went to a bank and all 18 of us lined up, I’m pretty certain I would have got the investment because I’ve got a proven track record. It’s not just the turnover that’s high, our profit margins are unreal.

“I would have been his safest option, but maybe [Lord Sugar] doesn’t like safe.”

She continued: “I do genuinely feel it was the wrong decision. They couldn’t find any flaws in my business plan and just banged on about me having other businesses, when in reality, I think there may be another reason.

“Maybe because I’m from the north?! I don’t think he’s ever invested in a northerner. Is that classed as northern-ist?!” she joked.

Despite starring 11 weeks exposure on one of the nation’s biggest shows, Michaela admitted she isn’t planning to do more reality TV like her brother Josh Ritchie, who has appeared on ‘Love Island’ and ‘Ex On The Beach’.

“It’s been loads of fun,” she said. “But ultimately I am a businesswoman and that is my main focus – to earn a load of money and become filthy rich.

“I don’t think I’d get that off reality TV.”

Sarah Lynn and James White will now battle it out to win a £250,000 investment from Lord Sugar in Sunday night’s final, airing at 9pm on BBC One.

www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/the-apprentice-michaela-interviews-claudine-collins_uk_5a315dbde4b07ff75affa0da

Sean Cody Star Sentenced to Life in Prison for ‘Brutal and Vicious’ Murder

David Enrique Meza, a.k.a. “Mario Romo,” stabbed his millionaire boyfriend to death in an apparent plot to inherit his estate.

www.advocate.com/crime/2017/12/13/sean-cody-star-sentenced-life-prison-brutal-and-vicious-murder

UK Lawmakers Urge Home Secretary to Ban Hate Preacher Franklin Graham: VIDEO

Lawmakers in England are working to ban hate preacher Franklin Graham from entering the country.

Graham – who receives an annual salary of $620,000 from Samaritan’s Purse – is booked to appear at the Lancashire Festival of Hope in Blackpool next September.

The festival – organised by the Billy Graham Evangelical Association, of which Franklin Graham is president and CEO – is supported by a number of Anglican clergy and churches in the Blackpool area.

RELATED: Franklin Graham Calls Stonewall Inn ‘a Monument to Sin’, Blasts Obama Plans to Recognize It

However, according to the Guardian, several MPs, including a government minister, have urged the home secretary Amber Rudd to refuse UK entry to Graham. A petition against him being granted a visa has gathered close to 7,000 signatures.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd : Stop Hate Speech Preacher Franklin Graham’s Visa to UK – Sign the Petition! t.co/a7SCEcSsGj via @Change

— lisa page (@babygracie68) December 12, 2017

Petition organizer Nina Parker, who is also pastor of Liberty church in Blackpool, said:

“As a Christian and as a leader of a church that particularly welcomes LGBT people, I’m horrified that other local churches are inviting someone with this record of hate speech.”

She added that Graham’s visit had triggered an “enormous amount of protest from Christians” and would be “extremely destructive” in northwest England.

The Guardian reports:

Paul Maynard, a minister at the Department of Transport and a Blackpool MP, has written to Amber Rudd urging caution over Graham’s visit to the UK.

Gordon Marsden, another Blackpool MP who has called on the home secretary to consider refusing Graham entry, said the evangelist may have broken UK legislation on hate speech.

“I think frankly the evidence is piling up that his visit to the UK … would not be a good thing and not probably in my view a very Christian thing.” Graham’s statements were “incompatible with what Jesus said in the Bible”, he told BBC Radio Lancashire.

Afzal Khan, the Labour MP for Manchester Gorton, said he planned to “make representation to the home secretary if it looks like he is intent on coming.”

In an open letter to the Bishop of Blackburn Blackpool, vicars Andrew Sage and Tracy Charnock wrote:

“We are so nervous about this proposed visit and the damage it will do. Our local Imam is already afraid to put his personal address and phone number on their website. We just wish that we could somehow make it clear that our opposition to Franklin Graham’s visit next year is not just a ‘spat’ between two different Christian groupings. We want to express our opposition as Christians, as citizens of the UK and more especially the North West and Blackpool.

“Despite the confusion, and despite the hurt we know it will cause to some of my Christian and indeed Anglican brothers and sisters in Blackpool, like Sajid Javid, we cannot stay silent in the face of such dangerous and outspoken prejudice. To be clear. We are NOT against the Mission, but we are opposed to Franklin Graham leading it.”

In a statement, Blackpool councillor Maria Kirkland said:

“The council’s position on these matters is robust and clear. We want to tackle discrimination, promote equality and increase respect and understanding between people regardless of their race, religion or sexual orientation or any such matter that can be subject to prejudice in our society.”

“If matters are brought to our attention that could constitute incitement to hatred, we will forward these to the relevant public authorities and should this be proved we will not hesitate to terminate this booking.”

A Billy Graham Evangelical Association spokesperson said the event “will be a positive and encouraging event with music and also a message from Franklin Graham about the hope that can be found through a relationship with Jesus Christ.”

Watch Graham explain his views on homosexuality below.

The post UK Lawmakers Urge Home Secretary to Ban Hate Preacher Franklin Graham: VIDEO appeared first on Towleroad.

UK Lawmakers Urge Home Secretary to Ban Hate Preacher Franklin Graham: VIDEO

BREAKING: Anti-LGBTQ Judicial Nominee Will Not Be Confirmed Following Months of Opposition from HRC

Today, HRC claimed victory as Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley announced that Jeff Mateer, a radical anti-LGBTQ judicial nominee, would not be confirmed for a seat on the federal bench. Since the day the Trump-Pence administration announced their intent to nominate Mateer to a lifetime judicial appointment, HRC worked diligently to expose his shameful anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and the danger his nomination posed to our judicial system.

“Jeff Mateer’s extreme rhetoric and hateful comments are disqualifying for any public official and should have prevented Donald Trump from nominating him to begin with,” said HRC President Chad Griffin. “We thank the Senators who expressed concern about this dangerous nominee and the many supporters who joined us to #StopJeffMateer. We will continue to fight back against the Trump-Pence administration’s attempt to appoint extremists across our judicial system and roll back our progress towards equality.”

Trump nominated Jeff Mateer to serve on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. In a 2015 speech titled “The Church and Homosexuality,” Mateer objected to a transgender student using a restroom consistent with her gender identity, saying “I mean it just really shows you how Satan’s plan is working and the destruction that’s going on.” He defended then-Indiana Governor Mike Pence’s ‘license-to-discriminate’ bill and objected to efforts to alter the legislation. Mateer fought against non-discrimination protections for the LGBTQ community in Plano and San Antonio, Texas, and he even supports the dangerous and debunked practice of so-called “conversion therapy.” Mateer also claimed that marriage equality will lead to bestiality.

HRC lead a robust campaign to #StopJeffMateer and expose his shameful history of attacking LGBTQ people:

• HRC joined a rally with parents of LGBTQ kids, Senators, civil rights organizations, and LGBTQ organizations at the U.S. Capitol
• HRC Calls on Trump to Withdraw Anti-LGBTQ Nominee Jeff Mateer
• Among Scores of Trump-Pence’s Anti-LGBTQ Nominees, HRC Spotlights Five Who Represent Greatest Threat
• HRC joined a letter with 35 LGBTQ organizations urging senators to oppose Mateer
• WATCH: Sarah McBride: Anti-LGBTQ Extremist Jeff Mateer Cannot Provide Equal Justice Under the Law
• WATCH: Mom’s Choice Words for Anti-LGBTQ Extremist Jeff Mateer

www.hrc.org/blog/breaking-anti-lgbtq-judicial-nominee-jeff-mateer-will-not-be-confirmed?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed