GLAAD & Little Bee Books release new LGBTQ-inclusive children’s book, “Uncle Bobby’s Wedding”

www.glaad.org/blog/glaad-little-bee-books-release-new-lgbtq-inclusive-children%E2%80%99s-book-%E2%80%9Cuncle-bobby%E2%80%99s-wedding%E2%80%9D

Study: 1 in 3 Gay, Bi, and Trans Men Feel Unsafe in Home Lockdown

Many are forced to shelter in place with unsupportive families.

www.advocate.com/health/2020/5/13/study-1-3-gay-bi-and-trans-men-feel-unsafe-home-lockdown

Man who painted antigay graffiti on three churches sure hopes he doesn’t get deported back to Iran

Three LGBTQ-friendly churches in Saskatchewan, Canada were recently targeted with antigay graffiti. Spray painted on each of their front doors was the same hateful message: “The only hope for a sodomite is repentance.”

After vandalizing the buildings last weekend, 36-year-old Amir Bozorgmehr, who is originally from Iran, posted photos of his alleged handiwork to Facebook.

On Saturday, Bozorgmehr was arrested and charged with eight counts of mischief in connection with the vandalism done to the churches, as well as additional vandalism done to a LGBTQ pride mural on a local college campus.

Police say they considered adding hate crime charges, but ultimately decided against it.

“Section 319 of the Criminal Code refers to incitement of hatred,” police spokesperson Alyson Edwards explains, “however, our investigators did not feel the offenses fit into that category.”

It’s unclear how or when Bozorgmehr entered the country, but prosecutors say they are seeking to have him deported back to Iran.

“Immigration authorities have advised Public Prosecutions that enforcement processes have been completed for this individual and there is a removal order in place that can be enforced,” prosecutor Dan Dahl says.

Related: Vandal Fails Miserably At Writing Homophobic Slur On Gay Couple’s Car

There’s just one problem.

“Because there are no diplomatic relations with Iran, a passport at this time cannot be obtained, as this individual has no identification,” Dahl explains.

Meanwhile, a team of volunteers have already helped the churches clean off the graffiti.

“It just really shows us how much work needs to be done in terms of LGBT+ acceptance, especially in religion,” says Lia Storey-Gamble, a member of Grosvenor Park United Church, which earlier this year led an effort to get conversion therapy banned in the city.

“We are an activist church. We believe in working hard on these issues,” she continues. “This instance shows us how much more work needs to be done.”

“Our church is more accepting than ever. Our love is still strong and we’re ready to do that needed work.”

Related: Church responds to Pride flag vandalism by displaying hundreds more

www.queerty.com/man-painted-antigay-graffiti-three-churches-sure-hopes-doesnt-get-deported-back-iran-20200513?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29

Tina Fey, Eating Healthy, Jeffrey Epstein, Georgia, Nick Cordero Awakens, Oscars 2021, Hannah Gadsby: HOT LINKS

DEATH TOLL MODELS. 147,000 coronavirus deaths predicted by early August, according to new forecast: “As a tracker maintained by Johns Hopkins University suggested that at least 82,000 people in the US had already perished and more than 1.35m been infected, a new model predicted that total could almost double by the first week of August. The new prediction by the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IMHE), showed 147,000 mortalities being reached by August 4.”

FILTHY RICH. Jeffrey Epstein documentary comes to Netflix.

ARREST ME. Elon Musk reopens Tesla factory in California.

$115 MILLION Tina Fey gets emotional realizing how much money her Robin Hood benefit pulled in for New Yorkers affected by coronavirus.

‘END OF HER ROPE’ Ellen DeGeneres thought all the criticism was just sour grapes from a few haters.

NEW POLL. Trump trails Biden by 8 points in national poll: “The poll conducted on Monday and Tuesday showed that 41% of U.S. adults approved of Trump’s performance in office, which is down 4 points from a similar poll that ran in mid-April. Fifty-six percent disapprove of Trump, up by 5 points in the same span.”

BENEFITS? People eating healthier in lockdown: “As they deserted offices and cooked at home, shoppers cut purchases of microwaveable food in all the countries surveyed – Australia, Belgium, Chile, Uganda, the Netherlands, France, Austria, Greece, Canada, Brazil and Ireland.”

BRYAN ADAMS. “Apologies to any and all that took offence to my posting yesterday. No excuse, I just wanted to have a rant about the horrible animal cruelty in these wet-markets being the possible source of the virus, and promote veganism.”

View this post on Instagram

INTO THE FIRE. Title track from the same album. Apologies to any and all that took offence to my posting yesterday. No excuse, I just wanted to have a rant about the horrible animal cruelty in these wet-markets being the possible source of the virus, and promote veganism. I have love for all people and my thoughts are with everyone dealing with this pandemic around the world. Here’s the appropriately titled song that would have been performed tonight at the @royalalberthall . #bryanadamsintothefire #songsfromisolation #covid19 #banwetmarkets #govegan

A post shared by Bryan Adams (@bryanadams) on May 12, 2020 at 7:53am PDT

GEORGIA. Nightlife ban extended by governor: “The governor ordered bars, nightclubs and live performance venues to remain shuttered through the end of May, which he said will ‘enhance health outcomes’ and give owners more time to prepare to reopen.  And he renewed dozens of regulations covering an array of other businesses that were set to expire Wednesday, such as social-distancing requirements and limits on large gatherings.”

NICK CORDERO. Broadway star suffering from coronavirus awakens from coma.

View this post on Instagram

One of my favorite pictures of Nick from our honeymoon in Italy! We had some great news this morning. Nick is starting to follow commands and doing simple tracking!!!!! He is very weak so even just opening his eyes is a struggle, but it is happening. He is starting to wake up!! We are by no means out of the woods yet, there are still concerns with other things, but this news today on his mental status is a win!! #wakeupnick #youcandoit #coderocky

A post shared by AK! (@amandakloots) on May 11, 2020 at 1:54pm PDT

TWITTER. CEO Jack Dorsey says employees can work from home forever. “Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey emailed employees on Tuesday telling them that they’d be allowed to work from home permanently, even after the coronavirus pandemic lockdown passes. Some jobs that require physical presence, such as maintaining servers, will still require employees to come in.”

THE OSCARS. What’s going to happen in 2021?

COOKING COMPETITION OF THE DAY. Troye Sivan vs a professional chef.

TRAILER OF THE DAY. Hannah Gadsby: Douglas.

HUMP DAY HOTTIE. Mehcad Books.

View this post on Instagram

When this is all over I’m starting a gym called Banishing Buddha Bellies from BadAss Bitches and Bastards by a Brooks Brother in Brooklyn. Alliteration is important. #jaxbriggs #justakidfromaustin #banishyourselffromthekitchen #alliteration

A post shared by Mehcad (@mehcadbrooks) on May 2, 2020 at 3:17pm PDT

The post Tina Fey, Eating Healthy, Jeffrey Epstein, Georgia, Nick Cordero Awakens, Oscars 2021, Hannah Gadsby: HOT LINKS appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.

Tina Fey, Eating Healthy, Jeffrey Epstein, Georgia, Nick Cordero Awakens, Oscars 2021, Hannah Gadsby: HOT LINKS

HHS Rule Would Remove Sexual Orientation Data Collection from Federal Child Welfare Reporting System

The Human Rights Campaign responded to the Trump-Pence administration’s latest actions to undermine the rights and welfare of LGBTQ people. The final rule from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) would abandon data collection on the sexual orientation of youth in foster care and foster and adoptive parents and guardians in the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS).

The data from the AFCARS provides states, the Children’s Bureau, and foster care and adoption providers with valuable information to ensure safety and security to children in need of homes and families who will care for them.

“In the midst of a global pandemic, the Trump-Pence administration chose to target some of the most vulnerable youth in the foster care system,” said HRC Government Affairs Director David Stacy. “LGBTQ youth are overrepresented in foster care, and this attempt to erase them and important data on adoptive and foster parents undermines efforts to address the marginalization, harassment and discrimination that LGBTQ youth in foster care and families face. HHS should prioritize supporting foster youth and young people, many who aged out of foster care without a family — including LGBTQ youth — and are losing safe homes and employment during this public health crisis.”

In April 2020, HHS moved one step closer to finalizing a major change to the federal regulation implementing the civil rights provision, Section 1557, of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to remove explicit protections for LGBTQ people in health care programs and activities by excluding protections from discrimination based on sex stereotyping and gender identity.

Fear of discrimination causes many LGBTQ parents to turn away from foster and adoption agencies. In a recent study, 70 percent of LGBTQ people surveyed said they were concerned or unsure about their ability to find an agency that would welcome them as an LGBTQ applicant, with 78 percent fearing being turned away because of their LGBTQ identity. Fifty-six percent were worried that agency staff wouldn’t be LGBTQ competent.

HRC recently published a research brief outlining the particular health and economic risks faced by the LGBTQ community during the COVID-19 public health crisis. Many in the LGBTQ community are uniquely vulnerable, as they are more likely to work jobs in highly affected industries, often with more exposure and/or higher economic sensitivity to the COVID-19 crisis, are less likely to have health coverage and are more likely to smoke and have chronic illnesses like asthma. Read the full brief here.

HRC has published a report: “LGBTQ-Inclusive Data Collection: A Lifesaving Imperative,” revealing how the failure of state and federal officials to collect full and accurate data on sexual orientation and gender identity is causing harm to LGBTQ Americans, who remain largely invisible to the government entities entrusted with ensuring their health, safety and well-being. Currently, there are no state or federal laws requiring government and government-funded data collection efforts to include sexual orientation and gender identity data alongside other demographic data such as race, ethnicity and sex.

www.hrc.org/blog/hhs-rule-would-remove-sexual-orientation-data-collection-from-federal-child?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed