Ted Cruz and Mike Huckabee to Visit Kim Davis in Jail

U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (TX) and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee will travel to Kentucky today to meet with jailed Rowan County clerk Kim Davis. As you’ll recall, Davis was jailed by federal judge David Bunning for failing to offer marriage licenses to same-sex couples despite the order from the U.S. Supreme Court in June.

As The New York Times reports, the two Republican presidential hopefuls will be holding separate events protesting Davis’ imprisonment rather than holding a joint rally:

Mr. Cruz […] will fly down early and then take questions from the press around 1 p.m. Mr. Huckabee’s event will start around 2:30, and feature Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council and Mathew D. Staver of Liberty Counsel.

Both candidates have been among the most vociferous in supporting Ms. Davis. Mr. Cruz released a statement after her arrest that called on “every believer, every constitutionalist, every lover of liberty to stand with Kim Davis.”

Via The Washington Post:

“It is important to Sen. Cruz for Kim Davis to know that he supports her and will do everything in his power to ensure her situation is resolved and that no other Americans who strive to live out their faith fall victim to religious persecution by the government,” Cruz spokeswoman Catherine Frazier said in a statement.

Every Believer, every Constitutionalist, every lover of liberty should stand w/ Kim Davis: t.co/zyBRG91OXG t.co/0DGG9gZyQE

— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) September 6, 2015

Exercising #ReligiousLiberty should never be a crime in America –> t.co/fYxFEng5gH #ImWithKim #KimDavis pic.twitter.com/TzEB2TYjUW

— Gov. Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) September 3, 2015

In an email sent Monday, Huckabee called on his supporters to follow his lead and ‘stand with Kim.’ Huckabee wrote,

There comes a time when you must take a stand for your faith and this is one of those times. Let’s make sure Kim knows she is not alone. We must always defend our religious liberty and never surrender to judicial tyranny.

Huckabee also penned an op-ed for Fox News in which he argued that Davis’ “right to religious liberty” has been violated. He writes,

Today, I ask on behalf of Kim: “Under what law is she authorized to issue homosexual couples a marriage license?” Can you site the specific right in the Constitution? Is there a statute, passed by Congress that actually says that the five unelected lawyers in the majority of the court’s opinion were right to throw out the very definition of marriage and make up one on their own?

Huckabee goes on to call Kim Davis’ “stand for religious liberty” a “pivotal moment in our nation’s history”:

“Will we continue to pretend as though the Supreme Court is the “Supreme Branch” with the authority and ability to make laws? It most certainly is not. The Supreme Court is one of three co-equal branches of government under our Constitution. It is no more the “Supreme Branch” than it is the “Supreme Being” with the authority to redefine the laws of nature or of nature’s God!

He concludes:

“I refuse to sit silently as our Constitution is torched and the courts violate our fundamental rights. We did not fight a revolution against the tyranny of one unelected monarch so we could surrender our freedoms and abandon our Constitution to the tyranny of five unaccountable, unelected lawyers.

This shredding of the most fundamental civil rights of our citizens cannot stand. I will fight for, and protect, the religious liberty of every American. This will go down as a seminal moment in American history if we do not free Kim Davis now and make sure this never happens again.”

The post Ted Cruz and Mike Huckabee to Visit Kim Davis in Jail appeared first on Towleroad.

Sean Mandell

Ted Cruz and Mike Huckabee to Visit Kim Davis in Jail

Arson Suspected in Fire That Destroyed New York Church's Rainbow Bench

The pastor of the church says congregants and neighbors are pitching in to restore the bench that symbolized their house of worship’s mission to be inclusive.

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Dawn Ennis

www.advocate.com/religion/2015/09/08/arson-suspected-fire-destroyed-new-york-churchs-rainbow-bench

Let Go of the Fig Leaf
In general, I don’t spend much time thinking about the sanctity of the public restroom. Mostly, I rate bathrooms according to their cleanliness; whether there is urine on the toilet seat or skid marks in the bowls or how I can get in and out without touching anything. But, as I read the news about South Dakota State Legislator Roger Hunt calling for “genital inspections” to keep our playing fields and locker rooms penis and vagina specific, or about high school students Lila Perry at Hillsboro High School in Missouri and Gavin Grimm in Gloucester, Virginia under siege for wanting to use the school bathroom appropriate for their gender identity, why are there people who care so deeply about the place specifically designated for urination, defecation and, hopefully, hand washing.

Just as some of the most heinous “bathroom bills” denying trans people appropriate bathroom access seemed to be abating, Mr. Hunt comes along, proclaims that” we here in South Dakota aren’t like people on the West or East Coasts” and offers legislation that calls for genital inspections of transgender athletes. This on the heels of the South Dakota High School Athletic Association making sports trans inclusive.

I wonder if that includes anyone “suspected” of being transgender. Will that give coaches, school officials and athletic directors carte blanche to examine the genitals of anyone they think might be transgender? I continue to ask why people like Mr. Hunt could possibly care? Is he concerned a boy might claim to be transgender so that he can dominate girl’s field hockey and thus upset the delicate competitive balance of high school sports in South Dakota?

In Missouri, are people fearful Lila will lay down on the bathroom floor and peer under the stall divider to watch other girls relieve themselves (I can’t help but be reminded about former Idaho Senator Larry Craig’s “wide stance” when I think about bathroom etiquette.) Or that Gavin is “gaying up” the boy’s room and his mere presence threatens the other guys.

Historically, school officials, wrestling with behavioral issues inside bathrooms has generally been about smoking or bullying or too much gossip time. I assume controlling those kinds of behaviors is why the hall pass was invented.

Let’s cut to the chase. Those people who are fearful about transgender folks using the bathroom that aligns with their gender identity are worried we are perverts, peeping Toms or molesters. Perhaps they think the simple fact of just being trans is perverted. First “the gays” get to marry, and now this. We may have to share our schools and our wedding vows, we may be losing our right to discriminate, but by God we must keep our bathrooms holy. “I don’t want that transgender person hearing me pee or watching me buy a sanitary napkin from the machine on the wall.”

I promise neither Lila nor Gavin (as an aside I happen to know him-he is a great guy; warm, smart and intent upon being successful in life) have any interest in spying or peeping. They just want to go to the bathroom in a safe place among their gender peers. I would say the same thing about every single trans person I know.

Are public and school restrooms sacred spaces? As a transgender person, am I somehow defiling an inviolate law that has been handed down for generations when I use the restroom designated with a stick figure skirt?

If one more time I see the phrase “change is hard” as an excuse for intolerance, I may be forced hurl in a public bathroom. Change is not hard. Being mindful about acceptance and being intentionally loving does require self-discipline. It may be surprising when Lila or Gavin come into the bathroom. It may be upsetting when a trans girl plays on the field hockey team and scores the winning goal. But you know, maybe it is time to prioritize acceptance and unconditional love over winning a game or keeping our school bathrooms and locker rooms the way they have always been.

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

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Critics call The Danish Girl a ‘game changer’ for trans visibility

It has yet to hit cinema screens, but trans drama The Danish Girl is already being called a point of change for the transgender community.

Celebrating its world premiere as part of Venice Film Festival, director Tom Hooper’s latest film has been praised in the international press.

On the night, The Danish Girl reportedly received a ten-minute standing ovation, while critics are already awarding Eddie Redmayne his second Oscar – or at least highlighting him as a hot contestant for one.

But it’s not all focusing on the actors’ performance; while the Daily Mail calls The Danish Girl ‘emotionally undercharged’ and the Independent described it as ‘very careful not to startle or offend its audience’, other voices have made themselves heard.

Den of Geek’s Chiara Spagnoli Gabardi called it ‘an important portrait of gender identity’ paying tribute to not just ‘an amazing person but also to the courageous people nowadays who are taking that journey’.

Moviepilot, Germany’s biggest web service for film news and recommendations, took it a step further: in the website’s review, the author – going by the name of Rocky Balbea – called The Danish Girl ‘important for everyone’.

‘The Danish Girl is for transgender issues what Brokeback Mountain was for the topic of homosexuality,’ she writes.

‘A cinematic turning point, a game changer, an arrival in the cinematic and socio-politic mainstream.’

The Danish Girl will hit US theatres on 27 November; in the UK, it will be released on 1 January 2016.

The post Critics call The Danish Girl a ‘game changer’ for trans visibility appeared first on Gay Star News.

Stefanie Gerdes

www.gaystarnews.com/article/critics-call-the-danish-girl-a-game-changer-for-trans-visibility/

40 Years Since Leonard Matlovich’s Time Magazine Cover

Forty years ago today, Air Force Sergeant Leonard Matlovich appeared on the cover of Time magazine, marking a turning point for LGBT Americans in the military.
HRC.org

www.hrc.org/blog/entry/40-years-since-leonard-matlovichs-time-magazine-cover?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Heartbreaking New Documentary Recounts Largest Gay Mass Murder In U.S. History

While the gays take to the streets of New Orleans this weekend in celebration of Southern Decadence, a new documentary about a darker chapter of the city’s gay history is currently making its rounds on indy film fest circuit.

Related: Memorializing The Victims Of Horrific Firebombing At New Orleans’ Upstairs Lounge: “You Know This Was A Gay Bar”

Upstairs Inferno recounts the story of a 1973 arsonist attack on the Up Stairs Lounge, a popular gay bar once located in the French Quarter of New Orleans. The fire killed more than 30 people and remains the largest gay mass murder in U.S. history. The devastation was compounded by the homophobic response by the general public, local government and religious leaders, who refused to acknowledge the tragedy. As a result, no one was ever charged with the crime and families were left the grieve their loved ones in silence.

To this day the case remains unsolved.

Check out the trailer for Upstairs Inferno below.

UPSTAIRS INFERNO – Teaser Trailer [HD] from Camina Entertainment on Vimeo.

Graham Gremore

feedproxy.google.com/~r/queerty2/~3/gIX2j4OtiGc/heartbreaking-new-documentary-recounts-largest-gay-mass-murder-in-u-s-history-20150908

Anti-Gay Protestors Picket Judge Who Jailed Kim Davis: VIDEO

Supporters of Rowan County, Kentucky clerk Kim Davis protested outside the home of federal judge David Bunning in protest of Bunning’s decision to jail Davis on charges of contempt. Bunning found Davis in contempt after she refused to provide marriage licenses to same-sex couples, a clear violation of the law in the wake of the Supreme Court’s ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges.

Federal Marshals were called to Bunning’s home to ensure Bunning’s safety. The protestors, which numbered at most at 30 according to WCPO 9 News, demanded that Bunning, not Davis, should be jailed for allegedly denying Davis her due process.

One protestor outside Bunning’s home argued Davis was “unlawfully put in jail”, adding, “Show us the law or free Kim Davis.”

Another protestor, Rev. Flip Benjamin said, “We are holding Judge Bunning in contempt of almighty God”, clearly referencing the charges of contempt Davis faces.

Protestors held up signs that read, “Don’t make a civil right a moral wrong”, “Free Kim Davis”, while another declared Davis a Kentucky and Christian hero.

Supreme Court justices were accused of treason on another sign.

As WCPO notes, Judge Bunning’s ruling against Davis also ordered that her supporters are not allowed to set up a Go Fund Me account to pay for her legal fees.

Watch a news report and see the bigots on parade, below:

The post Anti-Gay Protestors Picket Judge Who Jailed Kim Davis: VIDEO appeared first on Towleroad.

Sean Mandell

Anti-Gay Protestors Picket Judge Who Jailed Kim Davis: VIDEO

NHS not treating trans patients equally, say top doctors

Leading doctors have warned the NHS is not treating trans patients equally, following an inquiry

by the Commons Women and Equalities committee launched in July.

Dr John Dean, chair of NHS England’s Clinical Reference Group for Specialised Gender Identity Services told MPs this morning: ‘Trans people are people and must be treated like people and want to be able to access the healthcare in parts of the NHS just like other people.’

Claiming doctors are ‘hampered by a lack of knowledge’ on trans issues, he explained: ‘Overall people working in the service try to be empathic, they are certainly sympathetic, but they lack a great deal of background knowledge about gender incongruence and dysphoria. It is something which is not covered in any detail in medical training.’

He said using the incorrect gender pronoun when addressing a patient, ‘Can cause deep offense’, adding awareness of trans issues should be ‘a fundamental part of NHS training.’

Chief Executive of West London Mental Health NHS Trust Steve Shrubb added: ‘Transgender individuals really do suffer stigma. I don’t believe there is equality. Whether it’s through lack of knowledge or people’s own views I think service users tell me it can feel as if they are not being treated equally.’

For more information on the first evidence session of transgender equality inquiry, click here. To watch the discussion, click here.

The wider inquiry is considering how far and in what ways trans people still have ‘yet to achieve full equality; and how the outstanding issues can most effectively be addressed.’

Committee Chair Maria Miller has commented: ‘Many trans people still face discrimination and unfair treatment in their work, schools, healthcare and other important services. Transphobia and hate crimes are a cruel reminder that we still have a great deal to do to achieve true equality for everyone.’

She added: ‘I hope that trans people will feel able to share their experiences with our inquiry, so that the committee can make recommendations for improving people’s lives.’

The post NHS not treating trans patients equally, say top doctors appeared first on Gay Star News.

Jamie Tabberer

www.gaystarnews.com/article/nhs-not-treating-trans-patients-equally-say-top-doctors/

Op-ed: The Black Gay Trans Man at Minneapolis City Hall

Philippe Cunningham was told he could never get into politics. Now, he’s the right-hand man for one of the most powerful women in Minnesota.

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Phillipe Cunningham

www.advocate.com/commentary/2015/09/08/op-ed-black-gay-trans-man-minneapolis-city-hall

Rapper Travis Scott apologizes for yelling anti-gay slurs at concert

Travis Scott has apologized for yelling anti-gay slurs at a concert in March.

Scott, 23, faced a backlash on social media last week after footage emerged of the 3500 rapper’s gig at House of Blues in Houston, Texas.

Displeased with the crowd’s lack of energy, he shouted: ‘I ain’t cool with none of you faggots who just sitting here looking like a bunch of queers.’

Time to get this homophobe Travis Scott outta here yall @TMZ @PerezHilton @youngthug pic.twitter.com/xZAfZuVvZM

— KU®T SN❄️W (@HDKG) September 7, 2015

The video could not have could at a worse time for Scott, whose debut album, Rodeo, dropped on Friday (4 September).

On Monday, the rapper took to Twitter to apologize to the LGBTI community, saying his words were taken out of context:

AT MY SHOWS I GET A LIL TURNT UP. SORRY FOR THAT BUT NEVER WILL I EVER DISRESPECT THAT COMMUNITY.

— TRAVIS SCOTT (@trvisXX) September 7, 2015

THANKS BEING SAID MY APOLOGIES TO ANYONE THATS OFFENDED. MY WORDS WERENT OUT OF BAD MEANING AND IN NO DISRESPECT.

— TRAVIS SCOTT (@trvisXX) September 7, 2015

I DONT WANT U TO THINK OF ME AS A SPAZZ. THOUGH WHEN I GET EXCITED I TEND TO SAY THE FIRST THING ON MY MIND OUT LOUD. — TRAVIS SCOTT (@trvisXX) September 7, 2015

IVE BEEN WORKING ON THAT AS A PERSON TAKES TIME BUT WE ALL AINT PERFECT.

— TRAVIS SCOTT (@trvisXX) September 7, 2015

The post Rapper Travis Scott apologizes for yelling anti-gay slurs at concert appeared first on Gay Star News.

Darren Wee

www.gaystarnews.com/article/rapper-travis-scott-apologizes-for-yelling-anti-gay-slurs-at-concert/