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Former New Mexico Student Says She Was Shunned For Anti-Gay View
Former New Mexico Student Says She Was Shunned For Anti-Gay View
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A former University of New Mexico student can proceed with a free speech lawsuit against the school alleging she was ostracized by her professors for making anti-gay remarks in paper, a federal judge has ruled.
Chief U.S. District Judge M. Christina Armijo denied the university’s request to have Monica Pompeo’s lawsuit dismissed, the Albuquerque Journal reported in Thursday’s editions.
Pompeo claims the university acted improperly when she was kicked out of a class in 2012 for describing lesbianism as perverse in a critique of a lesbian romance film.
Pompeo was enrolled in a course called “Images of (Wo)men: From Icons to Iconoclasts” and critiqued a 1985 lesbian drama, “Desert Hearts.” After grading the critiques, Pompeo’s professor told her to pick up her paper and “ponder the responses” the professor gave her.
Those written responses included a comment that the critique was “inflammatory and offensive,” the newspaper reported. The professor also blasted Pompeo’s view that a lesbian character in the film had a “perverse attraction to the same sex” and a “barren womb.”
The lawsuit alleges the teacher violated her own syllabus, which called for “open minds” to examine “representations of a plethora of genders and sexualities.” Instead, Pompeo says, she was accused of resorting to “hate speech,” and the professor refused to grade her paper.
Pompeo alleges the professor also made it clear that it would be in Pompeo’s best interests not to return to the class.
The professor, Caroline Hinkley, did not respond to requests for an interview.
The lawsuit also alleges Pompeo later met with a supervisor at the university and was told the use of “barren” was inappropriate and offensive.
Chief U.S. District Judge M. Christina Armijo’s Sept. 29 order found Pompeo’s claims were enough to make a plausible case that the university violated her First Amendment rights.
Armijo’s ruling questioned whether a “university can have a legitimate pedagogical interest in inviting students to engage in `incendiary’ and provocative speech on a topic and then punishing a student because he or she did just that.”
“Simply because Plaintiff expressed views about homosexuality that some people may deem offensive does not derive her views of First Amendment protection,” the judge wrote.
Pompeo’s attorney told the Journal she looks forward to litigating the case in court.
“This has been pending for a long time,” attorney Louren Oliveros said. “A university should be a place where freedom of expression is invited and where robust debate is welcomed. We’re very much looking forward to having this case go to trial.”
Australia journalist apologizes for comparing gays to pedophiles
Australia journalist apologizes for comparing gays to pedophiles
Mia Freedman said neither gay people nor pedophiles can change who they are attracted to
darrenw
www.gaystarnews.com/article/australia-journalist-apologizes-comparing-gays-pedophiles171014
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Missouri Coalition Pushes State to National Leadership on LGBT Health
Missouri Coalition Pushes State to National Leadership on LGBT Health
Missouri might not top many LGBT people’s lists of great places to live, but after today you might want to rethink the charms of the Show Me State. For the last year a local coalition has been pushing adoption of LGBT-welcoming policies at hospitals. In this week’s release of HRC’s Healthcare Equality Index, Missouri zoomed from 37th in the country to sixth in the number of local LGBT leader hospitals.
We don’t see policy changes this quickly very often, especially when they require many companies to adopt new policies. What’s the secret to this unlikely success? A few years ago Missouri Foundation for Health funded a partnership with the local Equality Federation partner, PROMO, and SAGE Metro St. Louis. My project, LGBT HealthLink, was also brought on board to provide them with technical assistance. With funding and staff and policy expertise all in place, the Missouri team got down to business to see what they could change to affect LGBT health disparities in their state.
If you just look at the situation today, you’d think they immediately stumbled on the equivalent of oil and a match for policy change, but, like many good projects, they started slowly. First they mapped the policy environment; then they tried a few different strategies for change. One of the things they identified was a big gap: While most hospitals were required to have LGBT-nondiscrimination policies by the agency that accredits them, they could find little evidence of those policies by searching. And if we can’t find them, then patients couldn’t either.
For a while the PROMO staff played nice with the hospitals, trying to build relations and seeing how to move the changes gradually. Some hospitals did respond, but the work was crawling forward. Eventually, we switched to a different tactic, blanketing many hospitals with letters pointing out that these policies were required. Then, of course, the PROMO staff person, Andrew Shaughnessey, was there following up with multiple phone calls offering to help them with policy resources. The new strategy, which we’ve taken to calling the “terrier approach,” worked. Eventually even the hospitals that said they weren’t interested started to call Andrew back. And if they needed LGBT-cultural-competency training as part of the new policy changes, Sherrill Wayland from SAGE was ready to step in to set up in-person trainings at a moment’s notice.
The upshot of all of this work was that, while in 2013 seven hospitals had LGBT-nondiscrimination policies in place, now 31 do. While seven hospitals protected LGBT status in employment, now 30 do. While two had achieved Healthcare Equality Index leader status in 2013, now 19 have. Today several of those hospitals are putting out their own press releases lauding their LGBT-welcoming policies. It’s a far cry from 2013, and that means much better access to health for thousands of LGBT people in Missouri.
What I want to see now is this amazing level of success replicated. I’ve worked in policy change for a very long time, and trust me, a model to change policies this fast comes extremely rarely. While they had a funder in Missouri giving them the time to experiment with different strategies, any other community center or equality organization in another state can take advantage of that work and just do what worked for them. Nicely, the PROMO team has documented their steps really clearly in the LGBT HealthLink blog. See the first post about it here.
Kudos to everyone in Missouri. From the amazing staff team at PROMO and at SAGE to Missouri Foundation for Health, who cared enough to invest, and the many hospital systems who jumped on board, this is an amazing job by all, and it’ll really affect the health of the LGBT communities in your state.
Now who else wants to do it for their states?
Teen Internet Sensation Brendan Jordan Among Celebs Fighting Back Against Bullying
Teen Internet Sensation Brendan Jordan Among Celebs Fighting Back Against Bullying
If you have a Facebook account you’re probably aware of Brendan Jordan. The out 15-year-old was definitely ready for his close-up when stole focus from a Las Vegas reporter and showed the camera he had all the right moves. Here it is if you missed it last week or just want to watch it for the 45th time.
To commemorate National Spirit Day, an initiative that millions of queer people and straight allies participate in each year to help end anti-LGBT bullying, Brendan recorded this message for all of his new fans.
Carregando
(My voice sounds so gay) HELLO EVERYONE! Remember to wear purple for today’s #SpiritDay to support Anti-Bullying. So let’s all Take A Stand Against Bullying and support the #LGBT community together! ???? Visualizar no Instagram
Scroll down to see a random array of celebs who posted messages of their own.
Tara Reid
Chargement
I support no more bullying it’s hurtful and wrong! #spiritday #gopurple Afficher sur Instagram
Sean Maher
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Taking a stand against bullying. #spiritday @caspervandien @mannyaroyo @glaad View on Instagram
Laverne Cox
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By @christinajpacelli “A vision in purple! @lavernecox lights the Empire State Building purple for this important day, #spiritday. Wearing a @renttherunway @nhakhanh dress, and @mcldesign @jennifermillerjewelry and @lele_sadoughi jewelry. #TWord @GLAAD #lavernecox” via @PhotoRepost_app #livemytruth
Demi Lovato
Let’s show LGBT youth we’ve got their backs. Stand up against bullying for #spiritday! t.co/DIdb3ah3Pt ???????????? pic.twitter.com/gBgMQqqHip
— Demi Lovato (@ddlovato) October 16, 2014
Sean Hayes
#HazyMillsProductions is purple 2day for #SpiritDay 2 stand up against bullying & 2 show our support for LGBT youth. pic.twitter.com/GtjMNVy29T
— Sean Hayes (@theseanhayes) October 16, 2014
Bob Harper
Wearing purple today to stand up against bullying & support LGBT youth #spiritday Join us at t.co/WZ73TkIMNo pic.twitter.com/bmmcYa32Gb
— Bob Harper (@MyTrainerBob) October 16, 2014
Alaska Thunderfuck
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Today is #spiritday and so today, we wear purple. I’ll admit, I’ve been known to wear purple on occasion. Today we stand together to empower LGBT youth. Wear purple and have some spirit.
Jeremy Kinser
LA LGBT Center PPT
LA LGBT Center PPT
All-staff meeting presentation about Vanguard Awards for Development Department.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KiKKUM-PYg&feature=youtube_gdata
By tmsentertainment_dc via @RepostWhiz app: SATURDAY | WE ARE SHUTTING THE CITY DOWN!!!! SATURDAY AT TATTOOBAR *HOSTED BY… THIS FLY…SEXY…DOPE… PREVIOUSLY SEEN ON *BADgirlsCLUB SEASON12 ☆BLU☆ {@BLU1X}!!! THE HOTTEST #LGBT EVENT DURING HOMECOMING WE
WATCH: Brian Brown Admits 'Of Course We Would Go to Russia'
WATCH: Brian Brown Admits 'Of Course We Would Go to Russia'
Want to know how to make Brian Brown squirm? Ask him about what he’s been up to in Putin’s Russia.
Sunnivie Brydum
Megan Mullally Explains How 'Will & Grace' Avoided Politicizing Its Gay Message
Megan Mullally Explains How 'Will & Grace' Avoided Politicizing Its Gay Message
Eight years after ending its iconic run on NBC, “Will & Grace” is still regarded as an essential cultural game-changer for the representation of gay characters on television — just ask Joe Biden. The secret behind that success, according to Megan Mullally, is that the show’s progressive stance on sexuality “slipped in under the radar.”
Mullally, who played the millionaire alcoholic Karen Walker on “Will & Grace,” looked back on the series during a conversation with HuffPost Live’s Ricky Camilleri about her Broadway show “It’s Only a Play.”
Few shows had featured prominent gay characters before “Will & Grace,” Mullally said, and when they did — like when Ellen DeGeneres’ character came out in her eponymous sitcom’s famous “Puppy Episode” — politics often got in the way of acceptance.
“Because [Ellen’s] show was already established and she had established her character as sort of this blonde, blue-eyed girl-next-door, when she came out, then the next episode just couldn’t be, like, crazy adventures at the bowling alley,” she said. “They had to keep addressing the subject of her being gay, so it became slightly politicized.”
“Will & Grace” did experience its share of criticism, including the idea that it presented stereotypes of homosexuality rather than a nuanced portrayal. Mullally responded that “you can’t please all the people all the time,” and the show’s writers also kept negative responses in mind as they wrote.
“The gay-bashing was kind of built in to the scripts, so that if you’re so inclined, your work was done for you,” Mullally said.
Watch Mullally discuss “Will & Grace” in the video above, and click here for the full HuffPost Live conversation.
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