Critics Call International Olympic Committee’s Anti-Discrimination Efforts ‘Fluff’

LGBT and human rights advocates have called the International Olympic Committee’s attempt to amend it’s Charter to include protections based on sexual orientation “fluff” as the committee continues to award hosting rights to countries with poor civil rights for LGBT people reports the Washington Blade.

Outsports.com co-founder Cyd Zeigler said the IOC’s attempt to include Principle 6, which guarantees sexual orientation protections in host cities, essentially means nothing as the committee continues to accept bids and choose host cities with poor LGBT civil rights records:

“These policies are a bunch of fluff. What matters is the cities they choose to be the hosts and the discriminatory countries that are allowed to participate. The Olympics just selected a country not just with huge LGBT issues, but human rights violations that are massive…

“They almost picked a country that’s even worse.”

The city in question, Beijing, won hosting rights for the 2022 Winter Olympics in a narrow 44-40 vote margin, beating Almaty, Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan introduced a bill similar to Russia’s banning the promotion of “gay propaganda” toward minors earlier this year; the measure was ultimately struck down but a lawmaker intends on reintroducing the measure.

Although a better choice than Kazakhstan, Beijing is known for its own numerous human rights violations, especially when they hosted the 2008 Summer Olympics where they dislocated thousands of residents to build Olympic venues including the now iconic Beijing National Stadium, also known as the “bird’s nest.”

Activists are outraged that the two cities were even allowed to submit hosting bids and the fact that both cities made it to the final round of voting. IOC spokesman Mark Adams assured that Principle 6 of the Olympic Charter will apply in the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing:

“The IOC is clear that sport is a human right and should be available to all regardless of race, sex or sexual orientation as stated in the Olympic Charter. The games themselves should be open to all, free of discrimination, and that applies to spectators, officials, media and, of course, athletes. This has been upheld at all editions of the Olympic games.”

The IOC has expelled nations in the past from competing in the Olympics based on civil rights violations. The IOC expelled the African state of Rhodesia from the IOC on Aug. 23, 1972 for its racist policies however, the current IOC appears to not hold countries with anti-gay laws to the same standards.

1972: Africa – Rhodesia was expelled by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for its racist policies. #history

— Today In History (@Yesterday_Today) August 23, 2015

The post Critics Call International Olympic Committee’s Anti-Discrimination Efforts ‘Fluff’ appeared first on Towleroad.

Anthony Costello

Critics Call International Olympic Committee’s Anti-Discrimination Efforts ‘Fluff’

Jerusalem Stabber Charged With Murder of Shira Banki

The ultra-orthodox Jewish assailant stabbed six at Jerusalem’s Gay Pride, killing a 16-year-old girl.

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James McDonald

www.advocate.com/world/2015/08/24/jerusalem-stabber-charged-murder-shira-banki

NOM Funneled Millions To Fight Maine Marriage Equality, But Had Only One Big Donor From The State

The National Organization for Marriage’s campaign to overturn the marriage equality law in Maine had just one major donor from the state, according to newly released campaign finance documents released by court order. 

In 2009, NOM funneled more than $2 million to the group Stand for Marriage Maine, which led the ballot fight to stop same-sex marriage in the state. That contribution amounted to one-third of Stand for Marriage Maine’s donations, but NOM refused to make its donors public.

In May 2014, the Maine Ethics Commission ruled that NOM had violated campaign finance law and ordered the conservative group to pay a $50,250 penalty and release its donors. Although NOM paid the penalty, it continued to resist disclosure. 

The organization, however, officially lost that fight on Aug. 4, when the Maine Supreme Judicial Court ordered it to hand over its donors, resulting in Monday’s filing.

As the Portland Press Herald notes, of the seven donors who gave more than $100 to NOM, only one was actually from the state of Maine: Richard Kurtz, who, along with his wife, has also donated to Gov. Paul LePage (R) and the Maine Republican Party.

NOM’s biggest donor was Sean Fieler, a New York hedge fund executive who gave $1.25 million. Fieler has spent more than $4.6 million on state and federal political campaigns and super PACs since 2010, and millions more on anti-marriage equality groups. He and his wife have also started funding anti-transgender rights efforts across the country.

Opponents of Maine’s marriage equality law launched their campaign to stop it the day after the governor signed it. The ballot measure ended up passing, 53 to 47 percent, and the law never went into effect.

In June, the Supreme Court ruled that state bans on marriage equality are unconstitutional. 

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On HBO’s Last Week Tonight: GOP Candidates Duck on the Equality Act

Polling shows that Americans will oppose candidates who are against Equality Act protections.
HRC.org

www.hrc.org/blog/entry/john-oliver-takes-stand-against-lgbt-discrimination?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Yes, The Foo Fighters Rickrolled Westboro Baptist. And Yes, It Was Amazing.

The Westboro Baptist Church is famous for disrupting people’s lives with their offensive signs and horrible demeanor.

So what’s the best way to combat all the hate?

Related: Westboro Baptist Church Vowed To Picket Panic At The Disco’s Show; The Band’s Response Is Perfect

Well, probably just by ignoring them altogether and starving their putrid fire of the oxygen it needs to stay lit.

But sometimes a well-publicized slap in the face is so much more satisfying, and today that comes via this video of the Foo Fighters Rickrolling a Westboro protest.

The already-amazing incident is made even better knowing that the hate group was there in Kansas City, Missouri to protest the Foo Fighters’ show.

Related: Gay YouTuber Phones Westboro Church’s Shirley Phelps. It Doesn’t Go Well.

So imagine how the Westboro bunch must have felt when crowds around them cheered as Dave Grohl and co. pulled up in a pickup blasting Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up.”

Bonus points for the speedo:

h/t: Spin

Dan Tracer

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Thousands Rally in Kentucky for Antigay Clerks

Thousands of people gathered at the Kentucky state capitol in support of three clerks who refuse to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

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Bil Browning

www.advocate.com/marriage-equality/2015/08/24/thousands-rally-kentucky-antigay-clerks

When A Newborn's Sex Is In Question, Why Do Doctors Get To Decide?

Pam Crawford first saw M.C. nine years ago, on an adoption website for kids with special needs. The photo showed a toddler in a chair, curly black hair pulled tight into pigtails, staring at the camera with a dead-serious expression. A short bio noted that the 18-month-old didn’t like getting her fingers sticky and that she needed a family to help realize her full potential.

While many of the other kids on the site had visible health problems, Pam was unclear what this baby’s special needs could be. “Here was just this perfect little girl,” Pam said recently.

— 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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Trans activist fears for her safety after false claims she tried to ban drag fun run

A trans activist has been left fearing for her safety after being accused of trying to block a fund-raising event for sick children.

Steph Holmes, who founded and runs the Chrysalis Trans Support Network in the north-west of England, believes the organization may have suffered lasting damage because of the claims.

On Saturday afternoon, the Telegraph reported Chrysalis had asked police to investigate a ‘Dames on the Run’ race, in which men were invited to run dressed as women to raise funds for Derian House children’s hospice.

The center in Lancashire, north-west England, helps children with life-shortening illness and their families, providing everything from respite care to bereavement support.

The story was taken up a few hours later by other publications, including the Mirror, which focused almost exclusively on Chrysalis organizer, Steph Holmes and said she thought the cross-dressing fun run was a hate crime.

Holmes told GSN before the story broke that neither she nor Chrysalis had raised this matter with the police.

She did not believe the proposed race was a hate crime. Instead she thought it was just insensitive and wanted to ask Derian House to do a different race theme.

It seems a Facebook conversation about the run, including Chrysalis members, was leaked to the press. And an individual who holds no formal position in Chrysalis referred the run to Lancashire Police.

But it is Holmes who has taken the blame.

She told GSN: ‘The response, as you can imagine, has been hostile in the extreme, and has left me feeling very down.’

One commenter wrote: ‘a trans charity that can’t distinguish between drag and trans really has no point having a voice at all’. Another added: ‘I suppose all we can do is to appeal to the board of Chrysalis to remove Steph Holmes.’ Yet another suggested that ‘the only people guilty of a hate crime’ were Chrysalis.

Holmes said: ‘I try to let such comments wash over me, but it is still distressing to hear such things, and hurtful that people think I am capable of taking this position.’

She is worried about the impact on Chrysalis.

‘Chrysalis is a trans support group, mostly funded out of my own pension, that runs events in Blackpool Preston and Blackburn. We offer a safe place for people to socialize, as well as help with coming out: not just transition, but all the paperwork involved as well.’

She advocates for trans people with family doctors, gender clinics, employment tribunals and local branches of the National Health Service. She provides presentations to schools, colleges and local businesses.

She added: ‘Over the years, we have helped hundreds of people. So I am very concerned that the claim that Chrysalis would have anything to do with banning a fun run will damage our reputation and result in fewer people getting support because some partner organizations seek to distance themselves.

‘That in turn could be very bad for the trans people concerned.’

A shaken Holmes had been planning to fly the Chrysalis banner at Manchester Pride – one of the UK’s biggest LGBTI events – this weekend. She is now considering if it would be safer for her not to do so.

The story was picked up and, it appears, first published by the Lancashire Evening Post (LEP).

The LEP is a syndication partner to the Ross Parry news agency, who provided the copy to national press, including the Telegraph and Mirror.

According to Ross Parry: ‘The LEP copy contained a full statement from Chrysalis which was extremely critical of the event.’

With the exception of Gay Star News, none of the media that ran with this story spoke directly to Holmes before doing so.

After speaking with Holmes and GSN correspondent, Jane Fae, the Mirror took the unusual step of taking their story down late on Sunday afternoon.

Jennie Kermode, chair of Trans Media Watch, commented: ‘This story has unfolded like a game of whispers when it should have been fact checked at every stage.’

Meanwhile, the fall-out is also damaging a completely unrelated trans charity.

Some people have confused Chrysalis with a transgender-support charity in Southampton, southern England. Their only crime – they happen to have the same name.

Hostile remarks naming and linking to that group have appeared on comment pages. And TV’s Channel Five’s Wright Stuff incorrectly displayed the banner of the Southampton Group and its registered charity number.

The post Trans activist fears for her safety after false claims she tried to ban drag fun run appeared first on Gay Star News.

Jane Fae

www.gaystarnews.com/article/trans-activist-fears-for-her-safety-after-false-claims-she-tried-to-ban-drag-fun-run/

Straight White Man Says He’s The Victim Of A Hate Crime, Angry That Police Disagree

Tim Querengesser was peacefully minding his own business, meditating in his local park, when he says a rock “the size of an apple” went flying past his head.

“When it landed with a crack, a woman near me in the park screamed,” he writes in a new op-ed published in Toronto’s Metro News.  “A girl, no older than three, playing about 10 feet from where the rock came to rest, just stared, confused.”

Related: Gay Man Left Paralyzed After Being Brutally Stabbed In Possible Hate Crime

Querengesser turned around to see who had thrown the rock. That’s when he saw the man he had been talking to not five minutes earlier.

“I had never met this guy,” Querengesser claims. “I was sitting on a park bench when he approached.”

“You know, you fags can’t take over this park,” the man allegedly said.

Querengesser is upset because, as he puts it, “a man had targeted me, believing I was gay. Had the big, heavy rock connected, my brain would have been damaged.”

Related: NY Gay Man Killed In Fifth Hate Crime This Month

Graham Gremore

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Australian PM Tony Abbott Is ‘Very Happy’ to Say ‘It’s OK to Be Gay,’ Just Don’t Ask Him for Marriage

Australia’s prime minister Tony Abbott says he’s “very happy” to say “it’s OK to be gay” but is still standing firm in his opposition to same-sex marriage.

“I think it’s absolutely clear that there are two different issues here,” Abbot explained in an interview with Australian radio station 2UE. “One is the rights and dignity of people regardless of their sexuality and the other is whether we want to move down the track of same-sex marriage and I think they’re two different issues.”

Earlier this month, Abbott shut down proponents of a parliamentary vote on gay marriage in a closed door meeting of the liberal party coalition. Abbott has said a public referendum on the issue may be held after the next election.

The Guardian adds:

When asked on Monday whether he would support the people’s decision if they voted to support same-sex marriage, Abbott said: “Obviously I’ll accept it wholeheartedly because that’s what you do in a democracy. When the people speak on something which has been rightly and properly entrusted to them you respect the decision.”

The post Australian PM Tony Abbott Is ‘Very Happy’ to Say ‘It’s OK to Be Gay,’ Just Don’t Ask Him for Marriage appeared first on Towleroad.

Kyler Geoffroy

Australian PM Tony Abbott Is ‘Very Happy’ to Say ‘It’s OK to Be Gay,’ Just Don’t Ask Him for Marriage