Ariana Grande, Noah Galvin, Donald Trump, Provincetown Sharks, Mariah Carey: HOT LINKS

PREPARING TO LOSE. Donald Trump blames ‘Clinton Machine’ conspiracy for recent errors: “With fewer than 100 days until Election Day, the Republican presidential nominee’s campaign has posited a simple and nefarious explanation for recent damaging stories about intra-party turmoil over Trump’s feud with Gold Star parents, his deteriorating standing in national and swing-state polls, a positive U.S. jobs report in July, and his wife’s plagiarism: The “Clinton machine” is orchestrating them all.”

BUSH DYNASTY. Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush, son of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush urges GOP activists to vote Trump: “As the Texas GOP’s victory chairman, the eldest Bush son is tasked with ensuring Republican wins statewide in the 206 election. But his endorsement, no matter how reluctant, is striking given the bruising treatment his father received at Trump’s hands during the primary contest.”

LUXEMBOURG. Prime Minister Xavier Bettel visits Pulse Nightclub.

The world still stands with Orlando. Luxembourg Prime Minister @Xavier_Bettel visited today to offer condolences. pic.twitter.com/jgOg0crWK4

— Mayor Buddy Dyer (@orlandomayor) August 3, 2016

NORTHERN IRELAND. Gay men under 45 to be offered HPV vaccine: “The jab protects against the human papilloma virus (HPV), which has been linked to a range of cancers most commonly found in men who have sex with men. Michelle O’Neill said her department was investing £100,000 in the new vaccination programme after seeking advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation.”

NYC. Trans woman kicked out of gay bar Boots and Saddle for using the women’s bathroom: “The girl and her gay friend are yelling at me, saying ‘You shouldn’t be in there,’ and ‘Unless you have titties and a vagina, you should not be in there, you’re not trans,’” Steaphon told Mic.  “I feel like a lot of gay guys don’t want to hear it. They don’t know what makes someone trans.”

TELEVISION. Real O’Neals never at risk over Noah Galvin’s bad behavior: “That part of that story is not true. There wasn’t any threat to cut our order or anything like that,” Johnson said on the comedy showrunners panel at the Television Critic’s Association’s summer press tour in Beverly Hills Thursday. “ABC has been incredibly supportive.”

MARIAH’S WORLD. Coming soon to a TV near you.

PROVINCETOWN. Sharks feed off whale carcass near Ptown harbor: “Truro officials closed three beaches to swimming Friday on Cape Cod Bay because of unconfirmed reports of great white sharks near the shore, following a report on Thursday of two sharks feeding on a minke whale carcass 4 miles off Pamet Harbor. The minke carcass washed ashore overnight at Noons Landing, leading town officials to close that beach on Friday along with two nearby beaches, Cold Storage and Beach Point, Town Manager Rae Ann Palmer said. The ban on swimming at the three beaches was for one day only and done as a precaution, Palmer said.”

FENDER BENDER. In Great Falls, Virginia, a woman in a Benz backed up over a Ferrari.

MAC MILLER. Rapper gets on the remix of Ariana Grande’s “Into You”.

MONDAY MUSCLE. Moldovan Olympic wrestler Nicolai Ceban.

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Tonga Flag Bearer Pita Taufatofua Gets an Oil Body Rub on the ‘Today’ Show: WATCH

Pita Taufatofua, the Tonga flagbearer who broke the internet on Friday night when he entered the Rio 2016 stadium shirtless and covered in oil, joined Jenna Bush, Natalie Morales, Hoda Kotb, and Al Roker for an objectification session on the Today show Monday morning.

RELATED: Meet Pita Taufatofua, the Tonga Flagbearer Who Stole Rio’s Opening Ceremonies

Roker attempted to conduct a backstory interview but it appeared to be a bit difficult for the perplexed-looking Tongan taekwondo athlete because he was being fondled from every angle.

Watch:

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Colton Haynes Shakes His Butt to Support Team USA – WATCH

Colton Haynes got into the Olympic spirit on Friday night while watching the opening ceremony in Rio de Janeiro, shaking his butt for his followers on Snapchat.

Haynes wore a red polo, white Tommy Hilfiger pants and red, white and blue Top-Siders in support of Team USA, an outfit he first showed off on Snapchat with a still photo.

Haynes then put that outfit to work as he danced to music emanating from TV coverage of the Olympic opening ceremony.

Because superfans are a thing, one of Hayne’s die-hards created an extended version of the dance set to Christina Aguilera’s “Dirrty.” Haynes retweeted the remix which also includes slow-mo and some zoom-ins.

I’ve turned the vid of @ColtonLHaynes into 45 whole seconds now with background music, since ya all wanted that 😉 pic.twitter.com/zmDZAbeT4F

— S h e a n. (@XnaraArts) August 6, 2016

The following day, Haynes tweeted, “Finally able to be myself & am being rewarded for that & it feels so special. Never thought I’d be so fortunate. Pls believe in yourselves.”

Finally able to be myself & am being rewarded for that & it feels so special. Never thought I’d be so fortunate. Pls believe in yourselves.

— Colton Haynes (@ColtonLHaynes) August 7, 2016

Haynes officially came out in May of this year.

It seems that Haynes’ newfound freedom may have helped him unleash the dance.

[h/t Attitude]

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Rio 2016: Living Openly and Authentically as an LGBTQ Athlete

Post submitted with contributions from Katherine Burns

While there are a record number of out athletes competing in the Olympic Games this summer, LGBTQ athletes continue to face discrimination throughout a variety of sports.

An international survey by Out on the Fields of 9,500 lesbian, gay, bisexual and straight athletes from around the world found that 46 percent said they believe that LGB people are “not accepted at all” or only “accepted a little” in sporting culture.Survey results show that 84 percent of gay men and 82 percent of lesbians had been subjected to verbal slurs because of their sexual orientation.

According to Ken Reed, author of How We Can Save Sports: A Game Plan, homophobia is sadly too prevalent in sports culture.

“Coaches sometimes demand that LGBT athletes keep their identities hidden or try to encourage the athlete to work on changing their sexual orientation,” Reed noted in a piece for The Huffington Post. “Some teammates try to ostracize LGBT athletes through name-calling, rumor-spreading, or encouraging others to avoid contact with them…. The list goes on.”

Many professional athletes have spoken about experiencing homophobia in their sport.

“I always heard homophobic things in locker rooms, on soccer fields, you know, before training, after training,” Robbie Rogers, the first out Major League Soccer player, told CNN.  “Whether it was joking or whether it was malicious, I just heard so many different things that scarred me and made me think that there’s no chance I’m ever going to come out — ever — to anyone. So that’s probably why, again, I kept it in for so long. That’s why I didn’t tell anyone until I was 25.”

Rose Cossar, a gymnast who competed in the 2012 Olympic, told Out Sports: “I really didn’t want to tell anyone from the gymnastics world because I was worried it would affect my position on the team. My sport is very subjective. [My coach] would make comments about gay people. She was very convinced it was a choice they made. She would say it’s a curse and you can’t live a normal life.”

Despite common experiences of homophobia and transphobia, a recent study by the Center for American Progress found that sports fans overwhelmingly support LGBTQ-inclusion in athletics.  A majority of those surveyed said that their opinion of their favorite sports team would become more positive if the team expressed and demonstrated LGBTQ inclusive practices and positions.

While the International Olympic Committee recently changed its policy to allow transgender athletes to compete, there are no openly transgender athletes at the Olympics this year. Transgender athletes, however, face their own set of unique challenges.

Chris Mosier, a trans duathlete, was chosen for Team USA for the 2016 World Championship. “As soon as I made the team, I started asking, ‘Will I be able to play? What’s the policy going to be?’” Mosier told ESPN. While Mosier competed in the World Cup earlier this year, duathlon is not an Olympic sport.

Olympians Dutee Chand of India and Caster Semenya of South Africa were compelled to undergo gender testing because of high levels of naturally occurring testosterone. Chand successfully challenged this testing policy and the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that hormone testing was discriminatory and ineffective.

The out Olympians competing this year and in past Olympic Games show LGBTQ young people that it is their character, hard work and skills that will define them, not their sexual orientation. By living openly and proudly, these Olympians are role models to LGBTQ youth, showing that they are not limited because of who they are or who they love.

HRC commends these Olympians for not only making history, but for leading by example and living authentically. HRC hopes that their stories and successes will inspire others to live their trut

www.hrc.org/blog/rio-2016-living-openly-and-authentically-as-an-lgbtq-athlete?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

#AM_Equality Tip Sheet: August 8, 2016

TODAY: ALA JUSTICE ROY MOORE TO BE QUESTIONED FOR DEFYING FED MARRIAGE EQUALITY RULINGS: Today, disgraced, notoriously anti-LGBTQ Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore will be questioned by judicial prosecutors during an ethics hearing examining his consistent defiance of pro-marriage equality federal rulings. Moore was suspended from the bench in May because of his actions. Following the hearing, HRC Alabama and the Southern Poverty Law Center will hold a press conference on the steps of the Alabama Supreme Court. Last week, HRC Alabama unveiled a billboard in Montgomery that reads“#NoMoore: Dismiss Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore.” More on the case from the The Associated Press.

MARCO RUBIO, MASTER CONTORTIONIST: U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), who shamelessly cited the Orlando nightclub attack that left 49 LGBTQ people and allies dead as a reason for running for re-election, is struggling to defend his appearance this week at a conference hosted by the notoriously anti-LGBTQ Liberty Counsel. In a letter to The Tampa Bay Times, Rubio characterized the Thursday event as a “celebration of faith,” attempting to sidestep the ugly, dangerous anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and actions perpetrated by the Liberty Counsel. Said JoDee Winterhof, HRC’s senior vice president of policy and political affairs: “Marco Rubio is sharing a stage in Orlando with some of the nation’s most odious anti-equality activists, including people who support dangerous and harmful conversion therapy here at home and are working to export anti-LGBTQ hate abroad, including targeting people for criminal prosecution because of whom they love.”

• Listen up, Sen. Rubio: The Orlando Sentinel takes a strong stand, calling for a statewide ban on LGBTQ discrimination.

WILMINGTON (NC) STAR NEWS SKEWERS HB2: The Wilmington (NC) Star News Editorial Board is the latest to call for full repeal of the state’s discriminatory HB2 law, calling it “an unnecessary law.” Published yesterday, the editorial asserts that the law continues to damage North Carolina’s economy and reputation. Read the full piece here.

• NJ Gov. Chris Christie was called out by Garden State Equality for criticizing the NBA’s principled decision to move the 2017 All-Star game out of NC because of HB2.  “Sorry, Christie — it’s called doing what is right,” the LGBTQ rights group said.
• Following SCOTUS’s deeply disappointing decision in Gloucester County School Board v. Grimm, the federal judge hearing arguments on HB2 has asked lawyers on both sides how the Supreme Court’s order putting transgender rights on hold should be factored in their case. The Associated Press has more.

TEXAS LAWMAKERS PLOT ANTI-TRANS BILLS IN 2017 SESSION: Next year, the Texas State Legislature is expected to consider discriminatory HB2-style legislation that would bar transgender residents and visitors from using public restroom facilities consistent with their gender identity. Lt. Governor Dan Patrick has been bullying school districts over their policies protecting transgender students since the Obama Administration issued guidance supporting these students earlier this year. According to The Star-Telegram, State Rep. Matt Shaheen (R-Plano) is among those planning to propose shameful anti-trans measures.  

UGANDA PRIDE PARADE CANCELLED AFTER THREATS, VIOLENT POLICE RAID: Uganda’s annual Pride celebration scheduled for this past weekend was abruptly canceled by organizers following threats from a government minister. Advocates say Ethics Minister Simon Lokodo threatened to mobilize a mob to disrupt the Pride march scheduled for Saturday. Longtime Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni signed the country’s infamous Anti-Homosexuality Bill in 2014. Though subsequently invalidated, the law created a violent backlash against the LGBTQ community that persists to this day. Read more about LGBTQ rights in Uganda here.

• Ugandan LGBTQ advocates remain proud: Despite the most recent slate of violence targeting LGBTQ Ugandans, The Advocate reports on how the community continues to persevere.

GAYCATION PRESENTS ORLANDO: In an upcoming episode of her VICE TV show “Gaycation,” openly-LGBTQ actress Ellen Page heads to Orlando to learn more about the shooting at Pulse Nightclub that took the lives of 49 LGBTQ people and allies. The episode airing August 24 includes the stories of one survivor who managed to escape the club that night, and another who lost loved ones in the attack. More from Towleroad.

• The Associated Press reports that the fund for survivors and family members of the horrific shooting has raised $23 million.

MUST READ: MEET THE TRANSGENDER COACH WHO’S BREAKING DOWN BARRIERS: ICYMI, check out this inspiring Washington Post piece on Ava Benach, the transgender coach of the first all-girls baseball team in the Washington, DC, area. Benach hopes that coaching 8- to 12-year-old girls in a male-dominated sport, will help teach them that “limitations are in their head and that you shouldn’t let other people define you.” More here.

NINTH CIRCUIT DISMISSES CHALLENGE TO HI’S MARRIAGE EQUALITY LAW: Last week, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the dismissal of a case challenging Hawaii’s Marriage Equality Act. Marriage equality first came to Hawaii in 2013. More from KHON2.

READING RAINBOW

The Chicago Tribune explains why it still matters that LGBTQ athletes live openly; USA Today profiles Iowa’s first transgender high school athlete; Lorri L. Jean writes in The Advocate all the ways Trump could roll back LGBTQ rights; Pink News shares how thousands are calling for marriage equality in Northern Ireland; QZ breaks down how LGBTQ history is being made at the 2016 Olympics in Rio, and USA Today highlights signs of LGBTQ acceptance during the opening ceremony; Sam Wolfe writes in The Advocate an open letter to queer Mormon youth; Fusion examines efforts to turn Buenos Aires into the LGBTQ capital of the world; KCCI spotlights One Iowa’s 2nd annual LGBTQ Senior Summit; and The Advocate remembers the transgender and gender non-conforming advocates who stood up to police violence 50 years ago in the Compton Cafeteria Riot.

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

www.hrc.org/blog/am-equality-tip-sheet-august-8-2016?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Indonesia Could Soon Rule On Petition To Ban Gay Sex: VIDEO

Islamic activists in Indonesia are pushing for the country’s Constitutional Court to implement laws criminalizing gay sex. Under current laws, homosexual and heterosexual sex is illegal if it involves a minor.

Although Indonesia is in theory one of the more moderate Muslim states, in a 2013 global survey, 93 percent of Indonesians said that homosexuality should be outlawed. In 2014 we reported that in Aceh, one of the country’s most orthodox provinces, gay sex is punishable with 100 lashes.

Anti-gay rhetoric has increased in recent months: homosexuality is worse than nuclear war, LGBT people are mentally ill, gay emojis corrupt impressionable youth, homosexuality is part of an evil global agenda.

Indonesia considering whether to make #gay sex a crime after accepting judicial review petition from Islamic activists Family Love Alliance.

— Titsalina Futtbuck (@TitsalinaFutbuk) August 4, 2016

Now, according to Islamic activist group the Family Love Alliance (FLA), homosexuality is causing “moral degradation” in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation.

Rita Hendrawaty Soebagio, chairwoman of FLA, told Bangkok Post “We see the moral degradation that is happening. [Our actions] purely because of our love for our nation, we must do something while we have a chance.”

She added:

“The real reason is so that we have much clearer norms. We are not intending to criminalize those who have a deviant sexual orientation. That is not the point. They can be free to live but not show their lifestyle.”

FLA has filed a judicial review. The Constitutional Court has held five hearings, including one last week. These hearings included testimony from health experts claiming that gay sex can cause sexually transmitted diseases.

The next hearing is due later this month. It is expected that groups and individuals opposed to criminalizing gay sex will testify. However, it is not yet known when a ruling will be handed down.

Watch a report detailing attacks on the transgender community in Indonesia.

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We Can Still Hear the 'Screaming Queens' of the Compton's Cafeteria Riot

Though history has forgotten and dismissed the transgender women and drag queens who stood up to police violence 50 years ago in San Francisco, their brave response paved the way for our lives today.

www.advocate.com/transgender/2016/8/08/we-can-still-hear-screaming-queens-comptons-cafeteria-riot

An Open Letter to Queer Mormon Youth

Don’t despair — just take a deep breath and read this.

www.advocate.com/commentary/2016/8/08/open-letter-queer-mormon-youth