Love Is All That Bryan Adams Needs, But He’s Not Finding It In Mississippi

For Mississippi residents excited for Bryan Adams’ concert Thursday, it will not be the best day of their lives.

The post Love Is All That Bryan Adams Needs, But He’s Not Finding It In Mississippi appeared first on ThinkProgress.

thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2016/04/11/3768182/bryan-adams-cancels-mississippi-concert/

OPM Revises FMLA Regulations Definition of Spouse to Include Same-Sex Couples

Last week, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) issued a final rule revising the definition of spouse in its regulations on the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to include same-sex couples.

Under the FMLA, employers are required to give eligible employees up to 12 weeks of consecutive, or in some circumstances intermittent, unpaid sick leave. FMLA was designed to help employees balance their work and family responsibilities by allowing them to take reasonable unpaid leave for certain family and medical reasons.

In February of 2015, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued a final regulation on the definition of spouse under Title I of FMLA, which covered non-federal employees and certain federal employees not covered under Title II. DOL’s final regulation did not apply to Title II of FMLA, which covered most federal employees, as OPM administers regulations for Title II of FMLA.

OPM’s revised definition of spouse under Title II of FMLA, replaced unconstitutional language from the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), allowing federal employees with same-sex spouses to use FMLA leave in the same manner as federal employees with opposite-sex spouses. Both DOL’s and OPM’s final rules reflect the Supreme Court ruling in United States v. Windsor, which ruled that Section 3 of DOMA was unconstitutional.

HRC has long supported expanding FMLA to include same-sex couples and applauds OPM’s important rule change.

www.hrc.org/blog/opm-revises-fmla-regulations-definition-of-spouse-to-include-same-sex-coupl?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

HRC Alabama Hosts Connect Event in Birmingham

By HRC Alabama Field Organizer Tori Wolfe-Sisson 

Last month, HRC volunteers and supporters gathered for Birmingham’s first official HRC Alabama Connect event. 

We met and mingled at Rojo, a restaurant in Alabama that has signed HRC’s Equality Is Our Business Pledge and is a great supporter of LGBTQ Alabamians. Over 40 people attended this meeting, talking to new people and HRC staff while eating a delicious meal. Eva Walton, HRC Alabama’s Senior Manager, delivered brief remarks to remind folks that the work that we do is both personal and political. 

As members of the LGBTQ community we understand first hand the ways we can be harmed by policies that seek to deny us rights and liberties. We see clearly the impact discrimination has in our schools, workplaces, places of worship and even in our families. As we do this work each and every day, we are trying to make our state and communities more welcoming and accepting.

As we laughed and spent time with each other, we recommitted to the work ahead. We received hugs full of understanding and empowerment, as well as business cards from folks who are ready to set their feet in motion to help make Alabama a more inclusive and welcoming place for all.

To learn more about HRC’s work in Alabama, click here.

www.hrc.org/blog/hrc-alabama-hosts-connect-event-in-birmingham?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Must-See LGBT TV 4/10-16: 'Orphan Black,' 'Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,' 'The Mindy Project' return and more!

www.glaad.org/blog/must-see-lgbt-tv-410-16-orphan-black-unbreakable-kimmy-schmidt-mindy-project-return-and-more

National Youth HIV & AIDS Awareness Day: The Realities of Our Lives

This post originally appeared on The California Endowment. Post submitted by Thomas Davis & Noël Gordon Jr.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention caused a media firestorm when it announced that Black men who have sex with men in the United States now have a 50 percent chance of being diagnosed with HIV in their lifetime. 

But for us, this is not some abstract statistic. It is the reality of our lives. And it is not the whole story either. Often lost in mainstream coverage of HIV are the ways stigma and discrimination put young people like us at increased risk for HIV – while also limiting our ability to get tested or seek treatment.

How can we take steps to reduce the spread of HIV if our schools failed to offer comprehensive sex education? How could we be expected to take advantage of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis – the once-daily pill regimen that can prevent HIV – if there were no providers in our communities willing to prescribe it? How could we be expected to adhere to our medication and reach an undetectable viral load if we were constantly worried about where were going to put our heads at night? Or, what food we were going to eat? These are the questions young people are grappling with as we continue to make-up more than 25 percent of all new HIV transmissions in the U.S. These are the questions that demand answers.

But rather than scaring young people into submission with reminders of how terrible things used to be, we should be empowering them to make smarter, healthier choices. Young people don’t need to be shielded from the truth about HIV and AIDS. What we need is love, compassion, and mentorship from the people around us. What we need are laws and policies that affirm all of who we are. Only then will an “AIDS-free generation” ever truly be in sight.

So whether you’re a young person living with HIV – as one of us is – or not, we all have choices to make about our role in fighting this epidemic. It does not have to be grand and loud – although there’s certainly nothing wrong with a little flair every now and then – but each of us has a responsibility to work first on ourselves and then in support of others.

We’re both often asked why we’re so vocal about the lives we lead. But what other choice do we have?

Noël Gordon Jr is an openly gay, Black man who is vocal about his experience using – and advocating for – PrEP. He currently serves as Senior Program Specialist for HIV Prevention & Health Equity at HRC. Thomas Davis is an openly gay, Black man and youth advocate for other people living with HIV. Thomas is also a Health Education Specialist for the Los Angeles LGBT Centers in California. 

HRC is committed to working with our allies, partners, members, and supporters to end the HIV epidemic and the stigma surrounding HIV. Click here to learn more and join the conversation about National Youth HIV & AIDS Awareness Day using the hashtags #BeInTheKnow and #NYHAAD.

www.hrc.org/blog/national-youth-hiv-aids-awareness-day-the-realities-of-our-lives?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed