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Marcha por la Igualdad y por una ley de identidad de género / Movilh 2015
Jeb Bush Says Christian Business Owners Can Refuse To Serve Gay Weddings
Jeb Bush Says Christian Business Owners Can Refuse To Serve Gay Weddings
Likely Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush said that Christian business owners should not have to provide services for gay weddings if it goes against their religious beliefs.
“Yes, absolutely, if it’s based on a religious belief,” he said when asked by the Christian Broadcasting Network in an interview Saturday if businesses should be able to decline services to same-sex weddings.
The former Florida governor justified his position by claiming that not providing a service does not count as discrimination if business owners feel that it violates their religious rights.
“A big country, a tolerant country, ought to be able to figure out the difference between discriminating someone because of their sexual orientation and not forcing someone to participate in a wedding that they find goes against their moral beliefs,” he said. “This should not be that complicated. Gosh, it is right now.”
The blurry distinction has become a controversial topic, as many wedding-related businesses around the country, like florists and bakeries, have turned down gay customers, citing religious freedom. The issue became politically charged in March, when Indiana Gov. Mike Pence (R) signed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act into law, which allows businesses to cite religious rights as a reason for refusing service. Many in the GOP presidential field, including Bush, defended the law. “Once the facts are established, people aren’t going to see this as discriminatory at all,” he said in March.
After widespread backlash, Pence was forced to sign a revised version of the law, which delineated that businesses could not discriminate against customers and clients on the basis of sexual orientation or identity. But gay rights advocates argued that the revised law did little to amend the original one, and that it still leaves much room for interpretation and opens the door for discrimination.
In Saturday’s interview, Bush also reiterated his opposition to marriage equality, saying that gay marriage is not a constitutional right and that “we need to be stalwart supporters of traditional marriage.” He did say last month that he would attend a gay wedding if asked.
— 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.
U.S. National Security Advisor Susan E. Rice Condemns Gambia’s President’s Anti-LGBT Threats
U.S. National Security Advisor Susan E. Rice Condemns Gambia’s President’s Anti-LGBT Threats
U.S. National Security Advisor Susan E. Rice released a strong statement condemning Jammeh’s “unconscionable” threats against LGBT Gambians.
HRC.org
Mad Men’s Bryan Batt Speculates On What Happened To Sal Romano
Mad Men’s Bryan Batt Speculates On What Happened To Sal Romano
I’ve thought about where Sal wound up. On Mad Men, what you think is going to happen doesn’t happen, but what does happen is wonderful in a sad way. It’s never really a happy ending. But I’d like to think that Sal had a happy ending, that he does realize who he is and moves on. Unfortunately he’d have to break little Kitty’s heart, but I think she had the clues by the end of the third season. I think his mother dies too. His Italian mother dies and it was an impetus to go, ‘You know what? I’m pretending for you, for all these other people. I’m going to be who I am.’ I imagine him walking through the West Village as Stonewall happens and getting swept up in it.”
— Bryan Batt writing in Esquire to close the book on his character, closeted art director Sal Romano, who was written out of Mad Men during the third season
Jeremy Kinser
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand Introduces Bill to End Anti-LGBT Discrimination in Adoption
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand Introduces Bill to End Anti-LGBT Discrimination in Adoption
U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) has announced plans to introduced legislation that aims to eliminate anti-LGBT bias in adoption.
NY1 reports the proposed “Every Child Deserves a Family Act” would “prohibit adoption organizations that receive federal funding from discriminating against adoptive or foster parents based on their sexual orientation, gender identity or marital status.”
The AP adds Louisiana, Mississippi, and Michigan prohibit gay couples from jointly adopting while four other states restrict same-sex couples from using the second-parent adoption process.
Kyler Geoffroy
2015-05-16_23-06-06_ILCE-6000_DSC05248
Prime Minister of Luxembourg Marries His Beau
Prime Minister of Luxembourg Marries His Beau
Xavier Bettel is the world’s only current head of government to be legally married to a same-sex spouse.
Thom Senzee
www.advocate.com/politics/marriage-equality/2015/05/17/prime-minister-luxembourg-marries-his-beau
Seton Hall University Priest Says He Was Fired For Gay Marriage Support
Seton Hall University Priest Says He Was Fired For Gay Marriage Support
A New Jersey priest was fired from his job at a Catholic university over a Facebook post supporting same-sex marriage, he claimed in a tweet.
“I’ve been fired from SHU for posting a pic on FB supporting LGBT “NO H8,”” Rev. Warren Hall, who until this week was the director of Seton Hall University’s campus ministry, tweeted on Friday. “I’m sorry it was met with this response. I’ll miss my work here.”
Hall has since deleted the tweet but a change.org petition to reinstate him captured a screenshot. He followed up with a second tweet later Friday.
Grateful for all the support. Dont be angry!! Turn this into an opportunity for open/reasonable discussion on LGBT issues on a Cath Campus.
— Warren Hall (@Warrmeister) May 15, 2015
Hall could not be immediately reached for comment.
The Archdiocese of Newark, which appoints Seton Hall’s director of campus ministry, denied that Hall was fired.
“His tenure is ending at the university as director of campus ministry and he is available for another assignment… I think people are misconstruing an awful lot,” Archdiocese spokesman Jim Goodness told The Huffington Post. “The church has long taught that every person is to be treated with dignity and respect.”
As the Washington Post noted, Derrick Gordon, the first openly gay Division I men’s basketball player, is considering transferring to Seton Hall. Gordon had been planning to visit the university this weekend, according to his brother.
Gordon didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from HuffPost.
— 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.
Federal Judge Again Tosses Gay Couple's Lawsuit Against Airline Over Sex Toy Taped To Luggage
Federal Judge Again Tosses Gay Couple's Lawsuit Against Airline Over Sex Toy Taped To Luggage
A federal judge has again thrown out a gay couple’s lawsuit against United Airlines alleging that a baggage handler removed a sex toy from their bag and taped it to the outside to humiliate them.
Last week we told you how the lawsuit from Christopher Bridgeman and Martin Borger was finally headed to trial four years after the incident. But after three days of testimony, U.S. District Judge Kenneth Hoyt granted summary judgment to the airline.
The Houston Chronicle reports:
Hoyt decided that the plaintiffs never proved their case, which remains a “whodunit,” the judge noted, because no one with TSA or United was revealed as the definite perpetrator in the mystery of the rifled and manipulated bag.
“If you have two operatives and you do not eliminate one of those operatives by clear and convincing evidence, then you cannot go to judgement. There’s nothing to submit to the jury – especially in light of the fact that you didn’t sue both of them,” Hoyt explained from the bench.
“You have not presented clear and convincing evidence that TSA did not handle these bags and cause the situation that occurred. … In fact we know TSA handled these bags. We know that they scan them and in many instances they go into bags.”
The couple’s attorney says he plans to appeal Hoyt’s decision. Hoyt initially threw out the case in 2012, only to have it reinstated by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
In case you’re wondering, United Airlines maintains a perfect score of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index.
John Wright
