Today: Another Desperate Cry for Attention From Governor Bobby Jindal
Today, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal’s efforts to pass one of his top priorities, anti-LGBT HB 707, were dealt a major setback.
HRC.org
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NEWS: NYC Pride, Hilary Clinton, John Oliver's Fan Fiction, Secret Space Plane
NEWS: NYC Pride, Hilary Clinton, John Oliver's Fan Fiction, Secret Space Plane
Only portrait of William Shakespeare created during his lifetime shows the bard to be something of a hunk.
Check out the official Pride Guide to NYC Pride 2015 HERE.
Sen. Claire McCaskill was none too pleased with Sunday night’s Game of Thrones.
Chris Pratt covers GQ.
Apparently, the Cannes red carpet has a very strict dress code when it comes to shoes for women.
Bill Clinton and Barack Obama shared a delightful bit of repartee over Twitter yesterday.
Others meanwhile took a different tone towards the President’s arrival in the Twitter-sphere.
Godmother of performance art Marina Abramović has some bad blood with Jay Z.
The New Kids on the Block are looking ripped.
Some questions about what the Billboard Music Awards may, er, resemble. Allegedly.
The Mad Max sequel to be titled, The Wasteland, according to George Miller.
Taylor Lautner’s BBC series Cuckoo gets renewed for season 3.
The sisters Kardashian and Jenner show support for father Bruce after docu-series on his transition airs.
Hillary Clinton visits one of the first gay couples to get married in Iowa.
John Oliver has a fan-fiction script for Sex and the City 3.
Jackie Kennedy passed away 21 years ago today.
Beau Biden, son to Vice President Joe Biden, has been hospitalized with an undisclosed illness.
Help support marriage equality in Ireland by joining the Yes Campaign’s Thunderclap.
Los Angeles, CA has voted to up its minimum wage to $15 an hour.
The Air Force’s “Secret Space Plane” headed into space again later this week: “The Air Force space plane is actually called the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle. This is the fourth mission for the plane. It looks like a small space shuttle, but it doesn’t have a crew. It can stay in space for years at a time. The last mission ended in October 2014 after 674 days in orbit. The plane is controlled like a drone and lands like an airplane. The media nicknamed it the “secret space plane” because the Air Force won’t say much about what it does once it gets into space.”
Sean Mandell
After Louisiana Lawmakers Shelve, Gov. Bobby Jindal Promises to Resurrect 'Religious Freedom' Bill
After Louisiana Lawmakers Shelve, Gov. Bobby Jindal Promises to Resurrect 'Religious Freedom' Bill
A legislative committee tabled the antigay bill indefinitely, but Gov. Bobby Jindal says he’ll issue an executive order to accomplish its goals.
Trudy Ring
The Country's First Openly Bisexual Governor Bans Gay Conversion Therapy In Her State
The Country's First Openly Bisexual Governor Bans Gay Conversion Therapy In Her State
Oregon became the third state in the country to prohibit the practice of conversion therapy for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth when Gov. Kate Brown (D) signed the ban into law on Monday.
Brown, the nation’s first openly bisexual governor, was widely expected to authorize the bill, which prohibits mental health professionals and social workers from performing therapy that tries to change the sexual orientation of children. The American Psychological Association highly opposes gay conversion therapy, and the practice is widely condemned because it can lead to anxiety, depression, substance abuse and suicide among young LGBT people.
Earlier this month, Oregon’s state Senate voted 21-to-8 to pass the bill. The Oregon House also overwhelmingly passed the bill in March.
The bill did face some opposition among religious groups and parents, who argued that banning gay conversion therapy would infringe on religious freedom rights and parental choice, although the law only applies to state-licensed medical professionals.
Oregon joins California, New Jersey and Washington, D.C., which already have similar laws in the books. On the national level, President Barack Obama condemned gay conversion therapy in April, addressing a WhiteHouse.gov petition that called for a ban after Leelah Alcorn, a transgender teen, committed suicide. Alcorn, who identified as female, had posted online that religious therapists tried to tell her she was a boy.
According to the Human Rights Campaign, 18 states, including Oregon, have introduced legislation targeting conversion therapy in the past year. In April, the New York State Assembly overwhelmingly passed a bill banning gay conversion therapy, but the Republican-controlled state Senate is expected to vote against it. Bills in other states face similar political obstacles.
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Ruth Bader Ginsburg Officiates Same-Sex Wedding for Third Time
Ruth Bader Ginsburg Officiates Same-Sex Wedding for Third Time
Ginsburg has been a staunch and vocal about her support for marriage equality in the past.
HRC.org
New Kids Flashed Their Amazing Abs, Harry Styles Crotch-Grabbed Niall Horan, Adam Lambert Wants An Otter
New Kids Flashed Their Amazing Abs, Harry Styles Crotch-Grabbed Niall Horan, Adam Lambert Wants An Otter
Because you need to know: Every time Brandon Flowers shaves his face, he saves the excess hair in a Ziploc bag. You’re welcome.
While appearing on Watch What Happens Live, Adam Lambert revealed he’s not into bears so much, but loves him some otters.
Zac Efron‘s bestie, the equally stunning Max Joseph (see pics of them frolicking here), has directed him in We Are Your Friends, which appears to be a Saturday Night Fever-meets-The Social Network-esque take on the EDM scene.
Grabbing a handful of your buddy’s junk isn’t just the sport of super-friendly rugby players, Harry Styles pulled the maneuver on One D bandmate Niall Horan during the Billboard awards last weekend.
Not bad for a few old men! Hard work pays! #TheMainEvent A photo posted by DONNIE WAHLBERG (@donniewahlberg) on May 16, 2015 at 12:58pm PDT
Yep, New Kids on the Block still have the right stuff.
Some shirtless moments as well???? Streaming NOW #TheMainEvent live from Dallas!! #YahooLive: bit.ly/1DWOPZo
A photo posted by Jordan Knight (@jordanknightofficial) on May 14, 2015 at 11:31pm PDT
Jordan Knight (not pictured above with his bandmates) wants everyone to know he still has great body, too.
what a night ????????? A photo posted by Mecca “Crystal Mec” Kalani ???? (@meccandcheese) on May 17, 2015 at 6:27pm PDT
Cool kid Jaden Smith is so out of fucks to give that he wore a white batsuit and cape to his prom.
Hugh Jackman, Garett Hedlund and Rooney Mara headline the upcoming Pan, the latest tinkering of the Peter Pan story.
Cate Blanchett says she was misquoted during an interview which implied she’s had many lesbian relationships, but adds this welcome insight into questions about human sexuality: “In 2015, the answer shouldn’t matter.” The writer in question is Ramin Setoodeh, the gay man who set back equality a thousand years by writing that gay actors can’t believably play straight characters, so we’re Team Cate.
Jeremy Kinser
Bobby Jindal Defiant After Louisiana House Panel Kills Anti-Gay 'Religious Freedom' Bill
Bobby Jindal Defiant After Louisiana House Panel Kills Anti-Gay 'Religious Freedom' Bill
A Louisiana House Committee today voted down HB 707, an anti-gay ‘religious freedom bill’ favored by Republican Governor Bobby Jindal. In the wake of its defeat, Jindal remained defiant, vowing to enact key provisions of the bill through executive order.
More on the bill from WAFB:
HB 707, known as the “Marriage and Conscience Act,” is before the House Civil Law and Procedure Committee. The legislation would prohibit the state from denying any resident, nonprofit or business a license, benefits or tax deductions because of actions taken “in accordance with a religious belief or moral conviction” about marriage. Those in favor of the legislation say it protects religious freedoms, while those against insist it allows open season on discrimination.
A broad coalition was assembled today at a “packed House Committee room” where the House Committee on Civil Law and Procedure heard arguments from both advocates for and objectors to the proposed law. Leaders from the business, faith and LGBT communities spoke against the bill.
“We’re beginning to convince the world that Louisiana is one of the best places in the world to do business,” said Michael Heck, the president and CEO of Greater New Orleans, a regional business development alliance. “These gains are real but fragile. Companies think [HB 707] will make it harder to recruit workers to Louisiana.” Governor Jindal has previously been unswayed by leaders in the business community who have urged him to jettison the anti-gay bill if for no other reason than it’s bad for business.
Though HB 707 was defeated in committee by a vote of 10-2, Jindal told The Advocate that his office will issue an executive order pushing through the ‘meat’ of the bill, a move meant to, temporarily at least, make impotent the legislature which did not see eye to eye with Jindal’s anti-gay agenda. Said Jindal in a press release:
“We are disappointed by the committee’s action to return the Louisiana Marriage and Conscience Act to the calendar. We will be issuing an Executive Order shortly that will accomplish the intent of HB 707 to prevent the state from discriminating against persons or entities with deeply held religious beliefs that marriage is between one man and one woman.
“This Executive Order will prohibit the state from denying or revoking a tax exemption, tax deduction, contract, cooperative agreement, loan, professional license, certification, accreditation, or employment on the basis the person acts in accordance with a religious belief that marriage is between one man and one woman.”
Sean Mandell
all flags arounds
Conversion Therapy Is ‘Fraud,’ Say Pelosi and Dems
Conversion Therapy Is ‘Fraud,’ Say Pelosi and Dems
Two California Democrats have introduced a bill that would outlaw the use of so-called ex-gay or reparative therapy on LGBT people of all ages nationwide.
Sunnivie Brydum
www.advocate.com/ex-gay-therapy/2015/05/19/conversion-therapy-fraud-say-pelosi-and-dems
How Living With A Foster Family Landed This Lesbian In 'Ex-Gay' Conversion Therapy
How Living With A Foster Family Landed This Lesbian In 'Ex-Gay' Conversion Therapy
In an interview with HuffPost Live this week, FosterClub member Emily Brunelle recalled how living with foster parents in lieu of her biological family prompted her to end up in “reparative,” or “ex-gay,” therapy.
“I had some great foster parents, but the struggle had always been that I was in a religious family that was accepting of me for the most part, but I didn’t feel like I could ever safely come out as a lesbian,” Brunelle, who grew up in Casper, Wyoming, recalled. “It was very clear to me where they stood on that.”
Brunelle, whose biological mother identifies as transgender, said the experience “really left me in a place of wondering how do I be myself safely and get to love the person that I want to love, or the people that I want to love, and still have the family and support that I need to survive?”
FosterClub is an advocacy organization aimed at keeping young people in foster care “connected, educated, inspired and represented so they can realize their personal potential and contribute to a better life for their peers.”
— 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.
