Category: Uncategorized

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Taiwan Votes ‘No’ On Amending Constitution To Allow Same-Sex Marriage

Taiwan Pride 2018 (image via Instagram)

Results from the LGBTQ referendums held on Nov. 24 in Taiwan are in, and by a disappointing lop-sided vote, the Civil Code will remain unchanged in terms of same-sex marriage, reports The Taipei News.

As a result, the legal recognition of same-sex committed relationships will have to take place through the passing of new legislation.

On Case 10, the people of Taiwan voted to maintain the definition of marriage in the Civil Code to be between a man and a woman by a lop-sided vote of 7,260,573 to 2,736,508.

Case 11, which asked whether the Ministry of Education should repeal LGBT inclusive portions of the Enforcement Rules for Gender Equality Education Act in elementary and middle schools, also saw a defeat for the LGBTQ community as the ‘yes’ votes totaled 6,709,178 to 3,227,902.

Case 12 asked if there should be a separate, unequal status for same-sex couples. Taiwanese voters were clear voting 6,056,036 in the affirmative to 3,854,161 dissenting votes.

Case 14 asked if voters wanted to change the Civil Code to offer same-sex marriage. Voters said no.

Case 15 asked if schools should teach all students about ‘gender equality, emotional education, sex education and same-sex education’. Voters said no.

Taiwan’s high court ruled in May 2017 that it was unconstitutional for same-sex couples to be banned from marriage, and gave the government two years to find a legislative solution. Due to disagreements within Taiwan’s parliament, legislation to legalize same-sex marriage stalled.

Taiwan’s parliament has remained deadlocked on a solution as the main point of contention is whether same-sex marriage should be legalized through changes to the Civil Code, or via entirely new legislation. The more conservative factions of Taiwan don’t favor amending the Civil Code.

Evan Wolfson, the founder of Freedom To Marry, which led to fight for marriage equality in the U.S. issued this statement:

“Tonight, we send our support to advocates and families in Taiwan who are hurting after a disappointing election result.

“Over the last year, anti-LGBT organizations—bankrolled and instigated by US-based groups like the National Organization for Marriage—spent millions on scare tactics and deceit, in an effort to spread lies about gay and lesbian people and harm families.

“While the results of the referenda are not what we hoped for, it is clear that the movement for marriage in Taiwan will not be deterred.

“Nothing about tonight’s votes undermines the landmark court ruling affirming that the freedom to marry is a right guaranteed by Taiwan’s Constitution. And nothing changes the clear mandate from the Court: That by May 2019, lawmakers must update the civil code to allow same-sex couples to marry.”

Last month, over 130,000 participants took part in Taiwan’s Pride Parade, the largest LGBTQ celebration in Asia.

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First Look At Disney’s Live-Action Remake Of “The Lion King”

(screen capture)

Disney has released the first trailer for the much-anticipated remake of The Lion King, and it’s pretty amazing.

Hit the play button below to return to Pride Rock, Simba’s birthplace, as the Elton John classic, “Circle of Life,” rings across the African plains.

Directed by Jon Favreau, the cast of the new film includes Beyoncé as Nala, Donald Glover as Simba, James Earl Jones (that voice!), reprising his role as Mufasa, Chiwetel Ejiofor as Scar, Alfre Woodard as Sarabi, John Oliver as Zazu, and Seth Rogen and Billy Eichner as Pumbaa and Timon.

You may recall Favreau directed the 2016 live-action remake of The Jungle Book, which won an Oscar for its visual effects and garnered almost $1 billion at the worldwide box office.

The Oscar winning soundtrack of the 1994 film, by Tim Rice and Elton John, sold over 10 million copies, scoring an Academy Award for “Can You Feel The Love Tonight.”

According to reports, Beyoncé is collaborating with John on updated versions of the classic songs for the upcoming remake.

The new film arrives in theaters July 19, 2019.

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Trump Administration Leap Frogs Over Appeals Courts, Asks SCOTUS To Rule On Trans Military Ban

The Trump administration has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to step in and review its long-intended ban on military service by transgender Americans.

The Trump administration has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to step in and review its long-intended ban on military service by transgender Americans.

According to The Washington Post, Solicitor General Noel J. Francisco has filed a request asking SCOTUS to bypass traditional legal processes and rule on the challenges to the ban which have held the proposed policy to be unconstitutional.

In July of 2017, Donald Trump surprised many, including members of his own administration, with an abrupt announcement proposing the ban on transgender service members.

At the time, Trump tweeted that he had consulted with his “Generals and military experts” before announcing the ban.

But in March of this year, more than 20 retired generals and admirals signed on to a letter opposing such a ban.

“The administration’s announcement on the treatment of transgender service members is a troubling move backward,” the 26 officers wrote in their statement via the Palm Center, which researches issues of gender and sexuality.

“There is simply no reason to single out brave transgender Americans who can meet military standards and deny them the ability to serve.”

Additionally, the American Psychiatric Association and the American Psychological Association both say claims by Secretary of Defense James Mattis indicating trans soldiers diagnosed with gender dysphoria cannot effectively serve in the military are false.

Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia granted an injunction that blocked implementation of the ban in October 2017.

This past August, she rebuffed a request by the Trump administration to lift the injunction after some of the proposed language had been amended.

Kollar-Kotelly was not convinced saying discharging trans soldiers and denying enlistment would most likely to be found discriminatory and unconstitutional.

Oral arguments are scheduled to be heard at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on December 10 regarding Kollar-Kotelly’s order that blocked the ban.

It’s highly unusual to approach the Supreme Court before exhausting the available appeals court processes.

“Trump’s lawyers fail to understand that the government is not entitled to play leapfrog whenever it loses in federal court,” says attorney Joshua Matz, who filed an amicus brief in the case. “If the department’s battery of ‘emergency’ petitions were granted, they would immediately overload the Supreme Court docket with politically fraught challenges to Trump administration policies.”

In addition to Kollar-Kotelly’s injunction, judges in three other states – California, Maryland and Washington – have also enjoined the bans implementation thanks to challenges filed in those states.

In related news, the Supreme Court is scheduled to consider whether to grant review to another case regarding protections for transgender Americans at the high court’s November 30 conference.

According to BloombergLaw.com, the issue in question in that case concerns whether trans discrimination in the workplace constitutes discrimination based on sex, which is illegal under the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Opponents say transgender status is not related to the issue of ‘sex.’

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Hate Crime: UK Teen Beaten & Left For Dead For Being Bisexual

(stock photo via Pexels)

A bisexual teen living in Nuneaton, a town in northern Warwickshire, England, was the target of a violent attack and was reportedly left for dead.

CoventryLive reports the attackers were charged in the attack and pleaded guilty to the assault, but received no jail time. Instead, they were given referral orders (a form of community service) and ordered to pay compensation.

The teen had been spending the day with friends when he was approached by one of the two attackers.

“What you hanging around with him for, you do know he’s bi,” said the first assailant.

The other then said, “Is this right?” as he launched into the violent beating.

When one of the victim’s friends said, “I can’t believe you hit him because he is gay,” one of the attackers replied, “I haven’t got a problem with gay people, but I have got a problem with greedy bis like him.”

The teen was allegedly knocked to the ground and the attackers began to kick him before dragging him into a wooded area.

As the beating continued, the teen says they threatened him if he told the police: “If you give our names to the police, we will find you and kill you.”

At home, he told his mother “three lads in balaclavas” had attacked him as the attackers had told him to say. But when he was taken to the hospital, all pretense fell away and he shared the truth of the beating.

Although the physical injuries of the attack began to heal, it is the psychological scars that continued to plague the boy.

His mother says he became a recluse, and she would sometimes find him “huddled with his hands over his head.” Eventually, the teen would refuse to leave his house out of fear.

Although people in the community rallied around him with support, the young boy says,“I just wish that the police and the court had done their jobs properly.”

“I feel let down, I feel like no-one did their jobs properly because, if they did, one of them would be in jail,” he told ConventryLive. “They attacked me because I am bisexual, what happened has changed my life, it has made me constantly look over my back.”

The after-effects of the attack were so severe, the family has moved from Nuneaton for fear the boy would run into his attackers.

HIs mother says that he has begun to recover some of his old self before the beating, but isn’t sure he’ll ever truly shake off the memory.

Having moved away, the family is coming forward now in an effort to highlight the injustice they feel they experienced.

“He just wants to stop any other kids going through what he has been through,” the mother shared with CoventryLive. “If they (the police) had said from day one it was not a hate crime, it wouldn’t have been so bad but all the way through we just kept being told that one of them might go to prison.”

For their part, the Warwickshire Police Force said through a spokesman, “We can confirm it was thoroughly investigated as a hate crime and charged as a hate aggravated crime.”

(h/t CoventryLive)

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Bermuda Legalizes Marriage Equality – Again

Winston Godwin and Greg DeRoche led the fight for marriage equality in Bermuda

In 2016, voters in Bermuda rejected marriage equality by a ratio of 2-1.

Then in May 2017, the Caribbean territory’s Supreme Court ruled in favor of a gay couple making same-sex marriage legal.

However, Bermuda’s governor then introduced the ‘Domestic Partnership Act’ in December 2017, which still swapped out same-sex marriage for domestic partnerships – clearly a downgrade.

The legal maneuver made Bermuda the first country to legalize and then revoke same-sex marriage laws in the world.

But things weren’t done yet.

The Supreme Court overruled the domestic partnership legislation in June, but the Bermudan government chose to file an appeal to reverse that reversal.

Are you still with me?

Today, the Court of Appeal issued its ruling upholding the Supreme Court’s June decision.

Yay!

But wait – there’s more!

In a last ditch effort, the Court of Final Appeal is now hearing arguments to consider whether to stay its decision for 21 days in order to give the government to time to file an appeal to the Privy Council in Britain.

The Judicial Committee of The Privy Council (JCPC) is the court of final appeal for the UK overseas territories and Crown dependencies.

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Donald Trump On Thanksgiving: I’m Most Thankful For Myself

Donald Trump was asked on Thanksgiving what he’s most thankful for and his answer?

His family and himself.

“This country is so much stronger now than when I took office you wouldn’t believe it,” he said. “I mean you see it, but so much stronger that people can’t even believe it.”

“When I see foreign leaders they say we cannot believe the difference in strength between the United States now, and the United States two years ago,” he continued. “It’s nice to know you’re fighting for something doing well, and that’s our country.”

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‘Sabrina’ Star Gavin Leatherwood Makes Some Sexy Magic In The Kitchen

Gavin Leatherwood of ‘Chilling Adventures of Sabrina’

How did I miss Sabrina star Gavin Leatherwood showing off his holiday cooking skills?

The oh-so-sexy actor, who plays warlock Nicholas Scratch on the highly-acclaimed Netflix series, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, shows he knows his way around a holiday meal as he wields a turkey baster, some explosive whipped cream and pounds some spuds with those meaty biceps.

The series, starring Kiernan Shipka in the title role, has received universal acclaim, with fans and critics loving its dark tone and inclusion of LGBTQ characters.

Watch “Basting a Turkey with Gavin Leatherwood” below.

Make sure you check out the series’ Christmas special premiering 14 December on Netflix.

(h/t Gay Times)

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Celebrating The First Same-Sex Kiss On The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

The cast of Broadway’s ‘The Prom’ on the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

While cooking our Thanksgiving Day celebration meal this morning, I had the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on the big TV, pausing each time a current Broadway show offered a performance for the folks at 34th Street and across the nation.

This year, television viewers were treated to numbers from My Fair Lady, Mean Girls and the most recent addition to the Great White Way, The Prom.

And so it was that I put the stove on simmer and poured a mimosa to watch “Build A Prom” from The Prom.

The show is about a group of Broadway actors who swoop into an Indiana town to save a young teen lesbian whose high school won’t let her bring a girl to her prom.

The show recently opened at the Longacre Theater on Broadway to rave reviews.

Upbeat, lively and full of energy, the musical number closes with two female leading characters, played by Caitlin Kinnunen and Isabelle McCalla, kissing.

We’re pretty sure this is the first same-sex kiss in the parade’s history.

Whoo-hoo!

“Broadway’s The Prom is grateful to Macy’s and NBC for their acceptance and inclusivity of a community and a story that is about acceptance, tolerance and love,” the show’s producers shared with EW. “These are some of the themes reflected in our musical comedy and we are very proud to be the very first LGBTQ kiss on the Thanksgiving Day Parade.”

Here’s the number:

Of course, the Twitterverse went insane (in good and bad ways) over the historic lip-lock.

Celebrated out director and playwright Tina Landau tweeted:

And there’s more…

And then, of course, we have the haters – but who cares? 🙂

Here’s wishing you all a fabulous Thanksgiving!