GLAAD refutes Trump’s roadmap to implement his discriminatory transgender military ban

GLAAD refutes Trump’s roadmap to implement his discriminatory transgender military ban

NEW YORK – GLAAD, the world’s LGBTQ media advocacy organization, today expressed outrage over the Trump Administration’s latest announcement regarding their ongoing efforts to ban transgender soldiers from openly serving in any capacity within the United States armed forces. The fact that this memorandum was dumped late in a Friday night news cycle shows the flimsiness of the argument at the heart of this blatant excuse for discrimination. 

“President Trump has made a continuous effort to attack LGBTQ people and erase us from the fabric of our country, and the proposed transgender military ban is perhaps his cruelest and most egregious campaign,” said Sarah Kate Ellis, President and CEO of GLAAD. “The majority of Americans support transgender military inclusion which has been proceeding seamlessly since it was first implemented, so we are left to assume that the Trump Administration’s intention here is solely to stoke the fires of bias and hatred in this nation.”   

In four different challenges, federal courts have blocked Trump’s ban on open transgender military service from going into effect, declaring it likely to be unconstitutional. President Trump and Secretary of Defense Mattis’ efforts to modify the implementation of this discriminatory policy does not make it any less unconstitutional.  

Purging skilled and qualified military personnel runs counter to the support of the majority of Americans in all fifty states who believe transgender people should be allowed to openly serve in the U.S. military. Even Secretary of Defense Mattis has been on record supporting open transgender service and personally lobbied against Rep. Hartzler’s July 2017 amendment which would have barred healthcare access to transgender military personnel. 

According to the National Center for Transgender Equality, there are currently over 15,000 transgender Americans currently serving in the United States armed forces. This proposed ban is part of a pattern of hateful and targeted erasure of the transgender community that the Trump Administration has carried out, which includes rescinding guidance on how our nation’s schools should treat transgender students equally under Title IX, and most recently, arguing that discriminating against homeless transgender women is somehow justified because they could make others “not comfortable.” 

 

March 23, 2018
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www.glaad.org/blog/glaad-refutes-trumps-roadmap-implement-his-discriminatory-transgender-military-ban

Todrick Hall and RuPaul Make Every Club Kid’s Unicorn Dreams Come True in ‘Dem Beats’ – WATCH

Todrick Hall and RuPaul Make Every Club Kid’s Unicorn Dreams Come True in ‘Dem Beats’ – WATCH
todrick hall dem beats

todrick hall dem beats

Todrick Hall unleashed a banging club track today and it features throngs of barely clad dancers, neon, glitter, spotlights, and RuPaul in a fierce and fiery rap role.

Todrick is also embarking on an international tour shortly.

Watch:

The post Todrick Hall and RuPaul Make Every Club Kid’s Unicorn Dreams Come True in ‘Dem Beats’ – WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.


Todrick Hall and RuPaul Make Every Club Kid’s Unicorn Dreams Come True in ‘Dem Beats’ – WATCH

The GLAAD Wrap: ‘Will & Grace’ renewed, Viceland announces ‘My House,’ Dora Milaje spinoff, and more!

The GLAAD Wrap: ‘Will & Grace’ renewed, Viceland announces ‘My House,’ Dora Milaje spinoff, and more!

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Photo Credit: NBC

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

1) Hearts Beat Loud is set to have a limited release on June 8. The film follows a father, Frank, whose interest in music in the modern age allows him to get famous through the Spotify community. The film also centers on the relationship between Frank and his daughter Sam, who is a gay woman of color. Due to her father’s newfound fame, Sam must decide whether to go off to college on her own, or to stay and contribute to his success. Watch GLAAD’s interview with the cast at this year’s Sundance Film Festival below!

2) Duck Butter, a film that centers on the 24-hour relationship between two 20-something women, will have its theatrical release on April 27 with digital following on May 1. Written by Alia Shawkat and directed by Miguel Artega, the story captures the immediate feeling of connection between two people. Watch a trailer for the movie below.

3) Congrats to trans advocate, model, and actress Andreja Pejic who has just been cast in the sequel to The Girl With a Dragon Tattoo, titled The Girl in the Spider’s Web. Directed by Fede Alvarez, the film is set to be released on October 19, 2018. This will be Pejic’s first role in a major film.

4) Viceland this week announced their new series My House which will premiere on April 25 and follow six members of the New York City queer ballroom scene, Precious Ebony, Tati 007, Alex Mugler, Jelani Mizrahi, Lolita Balenciaga and Relish Milan, as well as looking into the larger scene as a whole. Elegance Bratton co-created and executive produced the series, and Sean Johnson as the showrunner.

5) Nahnatchka Khan, the out showrunner of ABC’s hit Fresh Off the Boat, will make her feature film directorial debut with an as-yet-untitled romcom for Netflix. The film will follow childhood sweethearts Marcus and Sasha who haven’t spoken in 15 years before running into each other as adults in San Francisco and find they still have sparks. Khan also just received a pilot order for her reboot of The Great American Hero on ABC. Her update to the 1980’s series follows Meera, a 30-year-old woman who loves partying but hasn’t yet found a driving purpose much to her traditional family’s distress. Everything changes when she is given a super suit and charged with protecting the planet.

6) Matt Ryan, who plays the bisexual detective John Constantine, has just been promoted to series regular for a possible season four of DC’s Legends of Tomorrow. Ryan originally played the detective for one season on the NBC show, Constantine, which erased his bi identity. While DC’s Legends of Tomorrow has yet to be officially renewed for their fourth season, Ryan will also voice Constantine in the animated CW Seed digital series Constantine: City of Demons premiering this weekend. Check out a trailer for DC’s Legends of Tomorrow below, which also features bisexual superhero Sara Lance.

7) Will & Grace has been already been renewed for its third season before the first season has even finished airing! The cast and crew revealed this news at Paleyfest on March 17. They also revealed that season two has now increased from the originally promised 13 episodes to 18 episodes, bringing the revival to 52 episodes between the three seasons currently announced. The finale for the current season is set to air on April 5. While you wait for that, check out this episode highlight below!

8) The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences has announced the nominees for the 45th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards. Some of the LGBTQ-inclusive nominees include Eastsiders, Undocumented and Unafraid: Forbidden, Bean, Venice: the Series, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and The Bold and the Beautiful. The ceremony will take place on Sunday, April 29, and will be hosted by Mario Lopez and Sheryl Underwood. To check out the rest of the nominees, click here.

9) Demi Lovato, who identifies as fluid, has paired with Q-Tip to cover out icon Elton John’s popular hit “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart.” The song is set to be included on the star-studded Elton John tribute album, Revamp, which is set to be released on April 6 and will also include covers by out singers Lady Gaga and Sam Smith. A country music Elton tribute album, Restoration, will hit stores the same day. Check out the music video for the “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” cover below which is set at a vogue ball!

10) The wonderful women of the Dora Milaje are getting their own new comic book arc! Wakanda Forever: Amazing Spider-Man #1 takes Okoye, Ayo, and Aneka to New York in order stop a national security threat, and along the way they meet up with Spider-Man. The women are also set to eventually team up with the X-Men as well as the Avengers in the other episodes of the three issue series. Ayo and Aneka are the stars of the GLAAD Media Award-nominated spinoff, Black Panther: World of Wakanda, which specifically focused on their relationship, falling in love, and how that impacted their duties to Wakanda and the throne. The first Wakanda Forever issue launches June 27.

11) As the Sun Rises, a film currently seeking funding, centers on Andy, a man who’s married to a woman but has known he was gay since he was young. Andy meets Sam, an openly gay man, and their love affair begins. Drama ensues, and Andy must try to untangle the events of his life. To learn more about this film click here, and watch the Indiegogo video below!

March 23, 2018

www.glaad.org/blog/glaad-wrap-will-grace-renewed-viceland-announces-my-house-dora-milaje-spinoff-and-more