Sign Of The Day
States Ranked Best (And Worst) For LGBTQs
Move.org, a great resource website for all things moving, has done a deep dive into several important factors LGBTQ folks should consider when moving to a new state to start a family and they’ve ranked all 50 states from best to worst.
Issues like hate crime legislation, same-sex adoption laws, anti-discrimination laws, LGBTQ population density and more were all taken into account
Move.org utilized data from HRC Foundation, the Movement and Advancement Project, and the Williams Institute at UCLA.
“We decided to consider the safety of LGBTQ individuals first and foremost, so we ranked whether the state had hate crime laws in place, whether or not conversion therapy was allowed for minors, and whether anti-discrimination laws were set,” wrote the researchers.
So, which state is best for starting a family?
California came out on top thanks to the Golden State’s comprehensive hate crime laws that cover both sexual orientation and gender identity, broad anti-discrimination laws, plus so-called ‘conversion therapy’ is banned for minors.
Additionally, the LGBTQ population density is pretty high at 4.9% meaning almost 1.5 million gays live there.
The rest of the top five are:
2. Illinois
3. Hawaii
4. Connecticut
5. Maryland
Jumping to the other end of the spectrum, West Virginia ranked last in terms of LGBTQ criteria.
The Mountain State offers no protections in terms of anti-discrimination or hate crime laws. There’s no law protecting minors from conversion therapy. Although, the state does allow same-sex couple to adopt.
The remaining bottom five are:
49. Virginia
48. Wisconsin
47. South Dakota
46. North Dakota
This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t move to these states. It’s important to note that every state has a few cities that are good landing spots for LGBTQ+ families.
Click over to Move.org for a complete list of all 50 states.
Handle Your Fireworks With Care Or You’ll Need This Guy
John Cena ‘Diversity, Not Division, Is What Makes America Great’
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| John Cena |
Happy birthday, America! You look good for 242-years-old.
I know, I know – there are definitely tensions across this land we love. And it can cause some wear and tear on us as Americans.
A new poll from Gallup shows patriotism in the U.S. has dropped to a new low in the 18 years the polling organization has been tracking the question “How proud are you to be an American?”
And another recent poll indicates 55% of Americans feel our president has “emboldened” racists.
But I’m going to throwback to a terrific PSA made by hunky John Cena celebrating America.
In this powerful message, via the Ad Council, Cena celebrates the birth of the United States and what makes us great.
Delivering a body slam to the bigots in America who look to dividing us as a way of expressing their pride, Cena points out that diversity is our core, is our strength.
Just a sample of Cena’s message in the video:
Patriotism. It inspires passionate debate, and it’s worn like a badge of honor for good reason: because it means love and devotion for ones country. Love.
But what really makes up this country of ours? What is it we love? It’s the people.
Almost half the country belongs to minority groups: People who are lesbian, African-American, and bi- and trans-gender, and Native American, and proud of it.
After all, what’s more American than freedom to celebrate the things that make us us?
This year, patriotism shouldn’t just be about pride of country. It should be about love — love beyond age, disability, sexuality, race, religion, and any other labels.
Because the second any of us judge people based on those labels, we’re not really being patriotic, are we?
Because love has no labels.
As Cena walks and talks, the video is timed so he passes all kinds of folks – gay, straight, older, younger. All the gorgeous shapes, colors, sizes and flavors that make this the United States.
This is what patriotism really means. It’s diversity, not division, that makes us strong.
So go out and get your American pride on today. Because, as the woofy Mr. Cena says, “Love has no labels.”
Check out the video below.
New York Daily News: ‘The Clown Who Plays King’
From the editorial board of the New York Daily News:
On the occasion of the 242nd birthday of the United States of America, again recall the words of our foundational creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
Enter the current occupant of the White House, who devotes this nation’s potent energies to barricading the borders, to separating refuge-seeking mothers from children, to ordering parents to leave the country with or without their kids now that a court has ordered their reunion.
The Declaration of Independence spoke to such arbitrary cruelty, against an arrogant monarch who “has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither…”
The President who plays king won’t conquer the bedrock values this nation was founded on.
Happy, Happy Birthday Betty Buckley
It’s the 3rd of July and I have to give a ‘Happy birthday’ shoutout to my dear, beautiful friend (and Tony Award winner), the luminous Betty Buckley.
Easily one of the most compelling artists of any medium I’ve encountered, she is powerful, demure, complex, sophisticated, and earthy at the same time. In many ways, deliciously impossible to define.
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| With Betty Buckley and hubby Michael after another triumphant performance |
In 1992, Betty was (as she recounts) a replacement for the legendary Stephen Sondheim celebration at Carnegie Hall singing “Our Time/Children Will Listen” with the Harlem Boys Choir.
Since she had little time to learn the arrangement, as the story goes, she worried she would be the evening’s disappointment.
It is no surprise that she was THE highlight of the evening.
I interviewed Betty some years ago, and by a wonderful twist of fate, we’ve become good friends.
Over the past few years I’ve seen Betty in Las Vegas, Los Angeles, NYC and London reveling in her limitless talent.
In any case, please enjoy her heart-stopping performance of “Children Will Listen” below and join me in celebrating another trip around the sun by my dear Betty Buckley.
The performance is particularly moving to me. I began my performing career in the acclaimed Texas Boys Choir in Fort Worth, Texas, where both Betty and I hail from.
Also, “Children Will Listen” is a song was fortunate to perform many times as “Jack” in Into The Woods.
Betty’s gentle grace coupled with effortless power is a joy. Trust and believe, I’ve enjoyed this clip many, many times 🙂
One last thing – Betty will be starring in the upcoming national tour of the Tony Award winning revival of Hello, Dolly! this fall.
Do. Not. Miss. It.
News Round-Up: July 3, 2018
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| (image via Instagram) |
Some news stories you might have missed:
• Chippendales’ Okewa (above) celebrates his 30th trip around the sun today. I’d say ‘woof’ but we can settle for a ‘meow’ given the pic 🙂
• A 19-year-old man has been charged with a hate crime after he allegedly beat up and trapped a 50-year-old gay man in a basement apartment.
• The vice mayor of a small California town is facing recall after penning an op-ed sarcastically calling for a ‘Straight Pride’ month.
• In an interview with Andrew Denton on the Australian talk show Interview, actor Guy Pearce was asked his thoughts on working with Kevin Spacey. The actor replied: “Yeah … yeah. Tough one to talk about at the moment. Amazing actor; incredible actor. Mmm. Slightly difficult time with Kevin. He’s a handsy guy.”
• After appearing in the 2003 film School of Rock with Jack Black, then-child actor Brian Falduto was severely bullied for playing a character perceived to be gay.
• The rising cost of PrEP is keeping it out of reach for many.
• Mexico’s newly-elected president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, name checked LGBTs in his victory speech.
Tina Turner’s Eldest Son Dead Of Self-Inflicted Gun Shot Wound
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| (photo: Philip Spittle) |
TMZ is reporting music superstar Tina Turner’s eldest son, Craig Raymond Turner, has committed suicide.
Cause of death is reported to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound at his home in Studio City, California.
Law enforcement uthorities arrived at his place shortly after noon on Tuesday where was pronounced dead at the scene.
Los Angeles County coroner’s office assistant chief Ed Winter confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that Turner’s death was reported as a suicide and that he had a gunshot wound. An autopsy is pending.
Craig was born when Tina was only 18-years-old, prior to her relationship and subsequent marriage to Ike Turner, Ike adopted him after they wed. Craig’s biological father was a saxophonist named Raymond Hill.
Craig worked in the real estate business in the San Fernando Valley area prior to his death. He was 59 years old.
Tina, now 78-years-old living in Switzerland, was scheduled to travel to France this week to attend Paris Fashion Week events.
Starbucks Expands Transgender Employees’ Healthcare Coverage
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| (image via Flickr/Yukiko Matsuoka) |
Since 2012, employee healthcare plans for coffee company Starbucks has covered gender reassignment surgery for its transgender employees.
But now, the coffee giant has announced expanded coverage for trans employees including breast augmentation, breast reduction, facial feminization and hair transplants.
In exploring new options for trans employees, the coffee purveyor consulted with the World Professional Association for Transgender Health. Starbucks was the first company in the world to ask WPATH to help translate their recommended standards of care into a medical benefits policy, said Jamison Green, the immediate past president of WPATH, who worked with the company on the benefits package.
“Starbucks was not afraid to ask all the right questions and demand that people get the best possible care,” said Green. “We produced a list of the most crucial benefits and those that are deemed problematic to insurance companies, such as facial feminization and electrolysis.”
Many of the new procedures now available to Starbucks employees were considered ‘cosmetic’ by most insurance companies and therefore not covered. But for trans people, these are essential to trans people in their journey to be who they are.
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| Tate Buhrmester, 15 year employee of Starbucks, manages a store in Austin, Texas. |
A 2014 report from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and the Williams Institute found that 41 percent of the 6,500 transgender adults who responded to the National Transgender Discrimination Survey had attempted suicide at some point, compared to the 4.6 percent of the overall population.
One reason for the high percentage of suicide attempts may be “due to distress related to barriers to obtaining transition-related health care, such as a lack of insurance coverage, inability to afford those procedures, or lack of access to providers,” the report authors wrote.
With suicide rates much higher for transgender people compared to the general population (4.6% versus 41%), having access to these procedures can literally be life-saving.
Plus, trans people can often have trouble finding trans-friendly healthcare providers. To address those barriers, Starbucks has advocates trained to work with trans employees to help them navigate the healthcare systems, find the proper providers and help in making sure claims are covered.
New Web Series “West 40s”
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| The cast of new series ‘West 40s’ |
A new web series, West 40s, plans to explore the lives of five gay men who live in New York City’s Hells Kitchen as they begin to approach middle age.
Creators Mark Sam Rosenthal and Brian Sloan describe the new series thusly: “In their 30s, they’d meet strangers on the Hell’s Kitchen sidewalk and have sex in less time than it took to climb the four flights up to their apartments. But now past 40 they’re all wondering what they want for the long haul – and questioning whether they can still make it up those stairs!”
The show stars Dalton Blaine, Dan Domingues, Jeff Hiller, Matthew Montelongo, John-Andrew Morrison, and Rosenthal.
The first full episode will be available in mid-July but you can check out the short teaser below.