#AM_Equality Tipsheet: February 3, 2020

HRC MARKS BLACK HISTORY MONTH AND CELEBRATES BLACK LGBTQ LEADERS: “Black LGBTQ people were key leaders in the civil rights movement, and Black leaders have been at the forefront of the struggle for LGBTQ equality from the very start,” said HRC President Alphonso David (@AlphonsoDavid). “At this juncture in our ongoing struggle to realize America’s promise of equality and justice for all, we know that our work is not complete until the most marginalized within our LGBTQ community have achieved equality.” More from HRC. 

For #BlackHistoryMonth, @HRC is lifting up the history of Black leadership within the LGBTQ community and highlighting a new generation of Black leaders who are fighting violence, discrimination and injustice to build a brighter, more inclusive and healthier future for all. pic.twitter.com/e1tSYhbzXR

— Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) February 2, 2020

HRC TO HONOR ACTOR AND PLAYWRIGHT LIV HEWSON (@livhewson) AT 2020 AUSTIN GALA DINNER: “As an actor and playwright, Liv has been an outspoken advocate on uplifting and including LGBTQ voices and narratives. Through their versatile representation as a non-binary person on and off the screen, they are moving LGBTQ visibility forward like never before,” said HRC President Alphonso David. More from HRC. 

BETSY DEVOS & DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FORCE OUT EMPLOYEE WHO RAISED CONCERNS OVER ANTI-LGBTQ ACTIONS: The employee had raised serious concerns over the department expediting complaints against trans students participating in sports. “It is unconscionable that DeVos and her top officials are seeking to expedite bias driven and legally specious complaints against the inclusion and welfare of trans students,” said HRC President Alphonso David. “It is imperative this behavior be held accountable and that no student, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, be attacked or feel unwelcome in their school.” Read more from HuffPost. 

MUST-WATCH MONDAY — SOUTH DAKOTA MUST REJECT ANTI-TRANSGENDER BILL: The bill would bar transgender youth and their parents from making decisions about their medical care, and allow the state to arrest and imprison doctors providing care for trans and gender non-conforming youth. Watch here. 

• On Friday, HRC released a new survey showing that a majority of South Dakota voters do not support anti-transgender legislation: See the full results here. 

Medical decisions should be made with doctors and families, not hateful politicians.

Extreme South Dakota Rep. Fred Deutsch and his cronies are peddling bogus, harmful claims about trans people. #SDLeg #HB1057 pic.twitter.com/gcnJe4gR56

— Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) January 31, 2020

UTAH’S ACTION TO PROTECT LGBTQ YOUTH FROM SO-CALLED “CONVERSION THERAPY” COULD PAVE WAY FOR SIMILAR STATES TO DO SAME: More from Vox. 

CHAMPIONS AND TRAILBLAZERS SHINE FOR EQUALITY AT 2020 HRC NEW YORK GALA: At this year’s gala, the honorees included Naomi Campbell (@NaomiCampbell), Kristin Chenoweth (@KChenoweth), Jeremy O. Harris (@jeremyoharris) and Matthew Lopez. More from HRC and Instinct Magazine.

• Gov. Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) announced at the HRC gala that a state park in Brooklyn will be named after trailblazing LGBTQ icon and Black trans activist Marsha P. Johnson. “My goal has been to make New York State the leading champion in the nation for the LGBTQ community, to be the state that ended discrimination, bias, tolerance, and jugmentalism against members of the LGBTQ community,” said Cuomo. More from LGBTQ Nation, New York Daily News and NBC. 

I love you, New York. So good to be home for my first Greater New York Gala as @HRC President & to share the stage with so many champions & trailblazers, including @NaomiCampbell, @KChenoweth, Matthew Lopez, @jeremyoharris, @NYGovCuomo, @SenSchumer & more. pic.twitter.com/Z4M44J7Ygp

— Alphonso David (@AlphonsoDavid) February 2, 2020

ATLANTA RELEASES REPORT ON LGBTQ INCLUSION IN THE CITY: More from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. 

GET CULTURED – Entertainment, arts and sports news!

BILLY PORTER (@theebillyporter) TO GUEST STAR IN UPCOMING EPISODE OF SESAME STREET: More from Out Magazine. 

DEMI LOVATO OPENS UP ABOUT COMING OUT TO HER PARENTS AS BISEXUAL: More from Seventeen. 

KATIE SOWERS (@KatieSowers), LIL NAS X (@LilNasX) AND DRAG QUEENS — SUPER BOWL 2020 MAKES HISTORY WITH LGBTQ VISIBILITY: Super Bowl 2020 shone with historic LGBTQ inclusion and visibility, including Katie Sowers’ trailblazing role as the first woman and openly LGBTQ coach in the game’s history. More from Washington Blade and Outsports.  

GLOBAL EQUALITY NEWS

AGENCY REJECTS SAME-SEX COUPLE’S FOSTER CARE APPLICATION, DEFYING CROATIAN COURT RULING: Read more from Total Croatia News. 

“IT WAS A SYMBOL THAT I FINALLY KNEW WHO I WAS”: Transgender people talk about how coffee shops have become affirming spaces for names and identities. More from BBC. 

READING RAINBOW – Bookmark now to read on your lunch break!

Melissa A. Fabello (@fyeahmfabello) writes for SELF on what identifying as bisexual means to her

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

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24-year-old charged over “vicious” murder of man he met on dating app

A 24-year-old has been charged with the murder of an older man he met via a dating app in New York City last week.

Alex Scott is originally from Tulsa, Oklahoma. He relocated to the New York area in 2018. Last week, he met up with Kenneth Savinski, 64, after talking on an unnamed dating app.

CCTV footage shows the two men walking together last Wednesday to Savinski’s small East 83rd Street apartment on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.

“We see the two of them on surveillance video, walking arm in arm,” Assistant District Attorney Shira Arnow said in court at Scott’s arraingement on Saturday.

“The victim thought this would be a romantic liaison. The defendant thought this would be an opportunity to rob and attack.”

Related: This gay man was murdered in cold blood by a gang of homophobes, two of his killers remain at large

Arnow said Scott murdered and then mutilated Savinski in a, “vicious, ferocious, crime scene attack.”

The older man’s blood-covered body was found in his apartment by a friend at around 5.20pm Wednesday afternoon. Police say his throat had been slit. He was struck several times with a sharp object and also had a deep gash on his forehead.

CCTV footage again revealed Scott leaving the apartment two hours after going in with Savinski.

“Two hours after we see him go into the victim’s apartment, he leaves,” Arnow said. “On surveillance video … we see him wearing the victim’s jacket, counting cash.

“Over the next day, he used the victim’s credit cards to buy himself food, to buy new clothing and cab rides.”

On Friday night, Scott “walked into the Midtown North Precinct with Savinski’s credit cards and ID on him and says he doesn’t remember the past few days, but he thinks he may have killed someone,” said Arnow.

Related: Gruesome details emerge in cannibal killer’s cold-blooded slaughter of young gay man

Neighbors recall Savinski as a friendly man who attended a local church almost daily. He “was one of the kindest, sweetest gentlemen – just a good guy,” Charles Franck, 66, told the New York Post.

Scott was held without bail.

www.queerty.com/24-year-old-charged-vicious-murder-man-met-dating-app-20200203?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29