Category Archives: MISC

HRC Endorses Pro-Equality Candidate Dan McCready for United States Congress (NC-09)

HRC Endorses Pro-Equality Candidate Dan McCready for United States Congress (NC-09)

Today, HRC announces its endorsement of Dan McCready in his bid to represent North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District. A special election to fill the vacant seat will be held on Tuesday, September 10.

“Dan McCready will fight for everyday North Carolinians and work for an America that values fairness, justice and equality,” said Senior Vice President of Policy and Political Affairs JoDee Winterhof. “We proudly endorse his candidacy to represent North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District, and look forward to working with him in the United States Congress.”

“In my platoon in the Marine Corps, we came from all over this country. But we never cared about where you came from, who your parents were or the color of your skin. We never cared about who you loved. We didn’t even care about your political party,” said Dan McCready. “That’s the spirit that’s missing in Washington right now. I am proud to be endorsed by HRC and look forward to continuing the fight for every North Carolinian.”

A Marine Corps veteran and small business owner, Dan McCready has helped to build dozens of solar farms throughout North Carolina that employed 700 North Carolinians with good-paying jobs. McCready has played a key role in North Carolina ranking number two nationally for solar power and positioning the state to support over 30,000 clean energy jobs. He is a graduate of the Harvard Business School and a former employee at McKinsey & Company.

McCready’s opponent, Dan Bishop, was the lead sponsor for North Carolina’s discriminatory HB2 legislation, which barred people in the state from using bathrooms, locker rooms and other public facilities that align with their gender identity. The passage of HB2 resulted in an estimated $3.76 billion in lost business in North Carolina, including withdrawals from PayPal, Deutsche Bank and CoStar to expand their businesses to the state, the NCAA’s decision to move their championship events, as well as the NBA re-locating their All-Star Game away from the Charlotte.  

Bishop opposes expanding Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, which could provide coverage for up to 600,000 low-income North Carolinians. Additionally, Bishop was an investor in Gab, a social media site that serves as a forum for white supremacists, neo-Nazis and far right extremists.

Paid for by Human Rights Campaign PAC (www.hrc.org) and authorized by McCready for Congress

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Kellyanne Conway’s Husband: A 2020 Challenge to Trump by Justin Amash Would Be ‘Supreme Act of Patriotism’

Kellyanne Conway’s Husband: A 2020 Challenge to Trump by Justin Amash Would Be ‘Supreme Act of Patriotism’

Kellyanne Conway’s husband George tweeted on Tuesday that a challenge to Trump by Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI) would be a “supreme act of patriotism.”

This would be a supreme act of patriotism by Rep. Amash. t.co/QevYInuUGA

— George Conway (@gtconway3d) May 21, 2019

The Hill reported on Tuesday that the Michigan Republican, who said earlier this week that Trump “committed impeachable offenses,” is being courted by Libertarians to challenge the president in 2020: ‘In interviews this year, Amash has toyed with the idea of abandoning the Republican Party to run for president as a Libertarian. That could have major implications for Amash’s home state of Michigan, which Trump carried by fewer than 11,000 votes in 2016. There’s a full-scale effort underway to convince Amash to take the plunge.’

Said Nicholas Sarwark, the chairman of the Libertarian National Committee: “There are a lot of Libertarian Party members actively encouraging Rep. Amash to switch parties and seek the Libertarian nomination. This is probably the most organized recruitment effort I’ve seen going back to 2012 when people were trying to recruit [former Texas Rep.] Ron Paul.”

The post Kellyanne Conway’s Husband: A 2020 Challenge to Trump by Justin Amash Would Be ‘Supreme Act of Patriotism’ appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.


Kellyanne Conway’s Husband: A 2020 Challenge to Trump by Justin Amash Would Be ‘Supreme Act of Patriotism’

Pete Buttigieg, 23 and Me, Billy Porter, Leslie Jones, Impeachment, Whitney Hologram, Tyler the Creator: HOT LINKS

Pete Buttigieg, 23 and Me, Billy Porter, Leslie Jones, Impeachment, Whitney Hologram, Tyler the Creator: HOT LINKS

IS HE WHAT WE FOUGHT FOR?Buttigieg does OUT: “When I started my career in office, it might’ve seemed like it was impossible to be out and elected, at least where I lived. And now it is possible. Seeing how quickly that could change and realizing that I could be a part of changing it is something I’m very conscious of.”

THE PRESSURE. Pelosi getting more pressure from Dems to move forward with impeachment hearings. AOC: “You know, I trust the Speaker is taking a measured approach to ensure that we’re moving everyone forward and, you know, being a Speaker is hard, holding this party together is a difficult task, but I personally think so. I think we have to move forward.”

Pressure grows on Pelosi as more Dems say it’s time to begin impeachment inquiry. Schiff, who has been skeptical, says “case gets stronger” the more WH stonewalls. Castro, head of CHC, on impeachment: “I think that’s what it’s come to.” AOC: “We can’t be scared of elections.” pic.twitter.com/JrX5R7cSFh

— Manu Raju (@mkraju) May 21, 2019

HAND THEM OVER. Federal judge orders Trump accounting firm to hand over financial records to Congress. “In a 41-page opinionJudge Amit Mehta of the DC District Court dealt a significant blow to the White House as he rejected Trump’s attempt to block the committee’s subpoena, asserting that Congress is well within its authority to investigate the President.”

HELL NO. Whitney Houston’s estate wants her to tour again … as a hologram.

CHINA. Anti-U.S. trade war song goes viral. ‘Perhaps nothing captures the growing anti-U.S. sentiment in China better than a song about the trade war that is going viral in Beijing: “If the perpetrator wants to fight, we will beat him out of his wits.” This privately-produced song has more than 100,000 views on WeChat and is just one of many signs of brewing anti-American sentiment on Chinese social media as trade talks falter.’

LZ GRANDERSON. Democrats, America is ready for a gay president: ‘It makes sense that the millionaires in these spaces would hedge their bets based on the most pragmatic of questions: Can this person win? After all, a person doesn’t get to be a one percenter by making a habit of investing in companies they don’t believe will turn a profit.But I couldn’t ignore the irony of hearing so many blue-state-living/rainbow-flag-adjacent /”love-is-love” liberals in one room dismiss Pete Buttigieg’s bid for the White House largely because he’s gay, even from those within the LGBTQ community.’

SPICE GIRL. Mel B. goes temporarily blind from herpes.

WOMEN IN ALABAMA. SNL’s Leslie Jones has your back.

CHAMPION AWARD. Billy Porter and the cast of Pose accept GLSEN’s award. “The GLSEN Respect Awards were introduced in 2004 by GLSEN, the leading education organization working to create safe and inclusive K-12 schools for LGBTQ youth.”

HERITAGE TRAVEL. 23andMe teams up with AirBNB: “23andMe customers will soon be able to click through to their ancestral populations to find Airbnb Homes and Experiences located in their ancestral countries, and Airbnb now has dedicated pages that correspond with 23andMe’s genetic populations.”

VELVET. Adam Lambert opens up about his new album: “I believe in the music so much, I feel like I’ve followed my instincts and my intuition more than I ever have.”

IGOR. Tyler the Creator’s masterful ode to heartbreak: ‘ake your hoodie off, why you hide your face from me?” and “You invited me to breakfast, why the f**k your ex here?” are lyrics on par with such iconic kiss-off albums as Liz Phair’s Exil’

TRAILER OF THE DAY. Toy Story 4.

TRAILER 2 OF THE DAY. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

TOO HOT FOR TUESDAY. Thiago Felix.

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5 minutes I promise…30min later Quem nunca?

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The post Pete Buttigieg, 23 and Me, Billy Porter, Leslie Jones, Impeachment, Whitney Hologram, Tyler the Creator: HOT LINKS appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.


Pete Buttigieg, 23 and Me, Billy Porter, Leslie Jones, Impeachment, Whitney Hologram, Tyler the Creator: HOT LINKS

Maine Legislature Passes Bill to Protect LGBTQ Youth From Dangerous “Conversion Therapy”

Maine Legislature Passes Bill to Protect LGBTQ Youth From Dangerous “Conversion Therapy”

Today, HRC celebrated the final passage of L.D. 1025 through the Maine legislature. The bill passed the House and Senate earlier this month and cleared its last procedural vote through the Senate today. L.D. 1025 would protect LGBTQ youth from the dangerous and debunked practice of so-called “conversion therapy.” The bipartisan measure now heads to Governor Janet Mills’ desk. If enacted, Maine would become the 17th state in the U.S. to protect youth from this egregious practice. Colorado recently passed a similar bill through its legislature, which will soon move to the governor’s desk.

“All children deserve to live authentically and free from the serious harms of so-called ‘conversion therapy,’” said Xavier Persad, senior legislative counsel at the Human Rights Campaign. “We thank the Maine State Legislature, EqualityMaine and Rep. Ryan Fecteau for their leadership in taking these crucial steps to enact protections for Maine’s LGBTQ youth against this dangerous practice. We look forward to Governor Mills signing these protections into law and Maine joining the growing number of jurisdictions with similar protections.”

There is no credible evidence that conversion therapy can change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity or expression. To the contrary, research has clearly shown that these practices pose devastating health risks for LGBTQ young people resulting in depression, decreased self-esteem, substance abuse, homelessness, and suicidal behavior. The harmful practice is condemned by every major medical and mental health organization, including the American Psychiatric Association, American Psychological Association, and American Medical Association.

California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico all have laws or regulations protecting youth from this harmful practice.. A growing number of municipalities have also enacted similar protections, including at least fifty cities and counties in Arizona, Florida, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Wisconsin.

According to a recent report by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law, an estimated 20,000 LGBTQ minors in states without protections will be subjected to conversion therapy by a licensed healthcare professional if state officials fail to act. Last year, national organizations representing millions of licensed medical and mental health care professionals, educators, and child welfare advocates declared their support for legislative protections against conversion therapy.

HRC has partnered with the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR), GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD), EqualityMaine and local advocates in support of these vital protections. More information on the lies and dangers of efforts to change sexual orientation or gender identity can be found here.

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