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Connecticut Republicans Block Gay State Supreme Court Chief Justice Nominee

Connecticut’s state Senate voted Tuesday to reject Governor Daniel Malloy’s nominee for Chief Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court, and Senate Democrats say the rejection was due to Judge Andrew McDonald being openly gay.

From LGBTQ Nation:

There are 18 Republicans and 18 Democrats in the Connecticut Senate. One Democrat recused herself from the vote, citing a personal issue between her and McDonald, and one Democrat crossed party lines and voted with Republicans. All the Republicans voted against McDonald, so his nomination was rejected 19-16.

Democrats are now accusing Republicans of rejecting McDonald because he’s gay.

“I personally would not vote for anyone who voted against Justice McDonald,” Governor Malloy said at a press conference. “And I think anyone who has a gay friend, or child, or relative, should think twice about supporting anyone who voted against Justice McDonald.”

The governor wasn’t the only elected official who thought Republicans were being homophobic. State Senator Beth Bye, who is the only LGBT member of the state senate, said that Republicans’ opposition to McDonald was unprecedented.

“Forgive my skepticism that this has nothing to do with Justice McDonald being gay,” she said. “I am so sorry for my good friend, Andrew, that he has had to go through this very different and very unusual confirmation process.”

McDonald delivered a statement following the vote:

“Whenever I faced a challenging situation, or was disappointed about something that happened to me, she would always remind me, ‘Andrew, life is not about you. It’s about those who need you.’

To everyone I tried to help, and to everyone who tried to help me, I am sorry I failed in this endeavor.

And to the LGBT community, particularly its youth who I know have been closely watching this process, I want you to understand that every minority group in history has faced setbacks.

In the fullness of time, those setbacks usually end up becoming a source of strength, a reminder of why the community must continue to press for equality, and a framework that helps shape and develop the next steps of progress.”

The CT Mirror wrote that this could signal a Republican return to the “God, guns and gays” approach in the upcoming mid-term elections.

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Rejected 5 Years Ago, Drag Queen Wows Judges On “American Idol” Reboot

Ada Vox on American Idol

When Adam Sanders was 19-years-old he made the Top 50 of American Idol in Season 12.

Clearly, Top 50 means he was cut and had to head home.

But Sanders admits he “wasn’t ready.”

“After American Idol I started getting messages on social media every day, people attacked my weight, my sexuality…telling me that I was horrible, that I sucked, that I didn’t deserve to be here, that I shouldn’t be who I am. And I let it get to me in the wrong way. It killed me inside, almost as much as people telling me I should have killed myself.”

“I just kind of disappeared from the world for a while, and in doing that I kind of hurt myself even more. That’s really when I was at my worst, thinking maybe I shouldn’t be here. Maybe I’m not worth the fixing, maybe I’m not worth another try. But through all of the negativity I have managed to build myself up as a new person, as a stronger person. I have recreated myself in ways I could not have imagined.”

Sanders is a bit older and wiser now, and back for a second go-round on American Idol. And this time, he’s Ada Vox – ready to show the world who he is.

There’s a lot of story-telling in the clip below (because that’s what American Idol does…) but get to the where Vox wows the judges with a bit of “House of the Rising Sun.”

RuPaul’s Drag Race might not be the only place a queen can make a name for herself on TV, ok…?

Watch below.

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News Round-Up: March 27, 2018

Some news items you might have missed:

• Fitness models Rodiney Santiago and Matt Bishop (above) demonstrate exactly what kind of shirtless winter fun you can have on the slopes. The pic was taken at Big Bear in California where I usually ski, but I never seem to get scenery like this when I’m there 🙂

• The HIV Incidence and Prevalence Report from the CDC shows that one in seven people in the U.S. living with HIV did not know their status.

• Becoming the first municipality in Wisconsin to do so, the Milwaukee Common Council has voted to ban the abusive practice of so-called “conversion therapy” on LGBT youth by a vote of 12-2.

• Marvia Malik makes history as Pakistan’s first transgender news anchor.

• In the case of a gay couple who were attacked last year by a group of anti-gay teenagers in the Netherlands, the prosecutor has only asked for community service as punishment for the attackers who beat the couple with bolt cutters. One victim lost five teeth and has had multiple surgeries since the attack.

• The Advocate has curated a collection of pics from the recent Leather Pride Week in Los Angeles and the crowd was definitely photo-worthy.

• Can you believe 2018 commemorates 25 years in the music business for Toni Braxton? To celebrate the R&B/pop diva has released her new album, Sex & Cigarettes. Check out her latest music video from the album – “Long As I Live.” Talk about a voice that just feels good…

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Gus Kenworthy Talks Relationships And Commitment In New Gay Times Cover Story

Amid some sexy revealing photos for the new cover story for Gay Times Magazine, out Olympian shared his thoughts on the many, many different ways romantic relationships can work for couples.

People has the advance look:

“It’s important to remind people that there is no one way to have a relationship. Each and every relationship is special and unique and different and what works for one couple may not work for another, but it should be noted that gay relationships are just different than straight relationships.”

“Commitment and monogamy are not necessarily the same thing,” he says. “You can be completely devoted to someone, married even, and still be in a relationship that’s open.”

While Kenworthy says this may not be the best fit for “every gay couple,” “If there’s trust and respect — the two most important things in any relationship — then being open can be mutually beneficial for both people involved and can actually, in many ways, make for a stronger, more developed relationship.”

I’ve been with my husband for 23 years, and I totally agree with Gus. What matters in a relationship most is communication and commitment. The nuts and bolts of a relationship on a day to day level can look vastly different from couple to couple.

Kenworthy’s confident joy on embracing sexual identity should be an inspiration to LGBTs: “Being gay isn’t the only part of me, but it’s the best part of me and it’s one of my favourite parts of me.”

The 26-year-old Olympic silver medalist also shares that although he felt a lot of support during the Winter Games in PyeongChang, he was also aware of the homophobic comments swirling around the internet on Youtube, Twitter and Instagram.

“It takes my entire mental strength not to respond to all the comments. So many times there are things on YouTube, Instagram or Twitter going, ‘Why were you even at the Olympics? You got last f—— place. You’re a joke, you’re a f—–,’ ” he shared with Gay Times.

But it’s Gus’s response that gives you just another reason to love him.

“I got into the [freeskiing] finals, so that’s not coming last because you have to beat a lot of people to get there, and it’s the Olympics, the f—— pinnacle of sport that’s hard to make it into,” Kenworthy says. “They’re like, ‘I could have done better than that,’ and my thoughts are: ‘Cool, f—— do it then.’ ”

Boom!

You can click through the slideshow in Gus’s Instagram post below to see more of his Gay Times photo shoot.

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PPP Poll: Stormy Daniels Beats Trump In Hypothetical 2020 Matchup

Stormy Daniels

The results of the latest Public Policy Polling survey show Donald Trump losing to just about every opponent imaginable in 2020 including a certain porn star.

In hypothetical match ups for 2020:

• Trump trails former Vice President Joe Biden 56-39

• Trump trails Sen. Bernie Sanders 55-39

• Trump trails Sen. Elizabeth Warren 51-40

• Trump trails Sen. Cory Booker 49-39

• Trump trails Sen. Kamala Harris 43-39

• Trump trails Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand 42-40

It’s notable that Trump doesn’t break the 40% mark no matter who you poll him against.

Just for fun, PPP added two more names – porn star Stormy Daniels, and Daniels under her real name Stephanie Clifford.

“Stephanie Clifford” actually edged Trump by one point 42-41. Of course, most people don’t even know who “Stephanie Clifford” is.

When PPP used Clifford’s real name, she lost 10 points of her support trailing Trump 41-32.

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VP Mike Pence Behind Latest Anti-Trans Military Ban

Vice President Mike Pence (L) with Donald Trump

Last Friday, the White House issued its official plan to remove transgender service members from the U.S. military.

Attached to the plan was a “report” from the Defense Department as well as a memo signed by Defense Secretary James Mattis

It now appears the “report” actually came from anti-LGBT Vice President Mike Pence and anti-trans activists.

From LGBTQ Nation:

Multiple sources told Slate that Mike Pence “played a leading role in the creation of this report,” along with anti-transgender activists Ryan Anderson and Tony Perkins.

Anderson works at the right wing Heritage Foundation and recently wrote When Harry Became Sally, a book that claims that being transgender is a mental illness based on the narratives of “ex-transgender” people. Perkins works for the Family Research Council, an SPLC designated hate group.

Another source told Think Progress that the report was a product of a “working group” led by Pence that produced a report with different conclusions from Mattis’s committee report. The source said that Pence “overruled” Mattis’s report, but did not explain exactly what that meant.

Sources for Slate said that Mattis chose not to spend “political capital” fighting Pence on this issue.

Pence has long supported virulently anti-LGBT positions and policies from opposing same-sex marriage and gays in the military to supporting so-called “ex-gay therapy.”

Even though major medical organizations like the American Medical Association and the American Psychological Association affirm that transitioning is an effective treatment for gender dysphoria, the Pence report does not discuss either association’s positions.

Last week, a federal judge asked Donald Trump to provide a list of the “experts” Trump said he “consulted with” before issuing his haphazard policy change via Twitter last summer. Team Trump refused citing executive privilege.

The ban on transgender military members is currently being blocked via injunctions from four different federal courts.

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Gay Man Shot In Puerto Vallarta: The Media Is Still Not Listening To Us

Carl Blea and husband Marc Lange

Carl Blea, the Palm Springs real estate agent who was shot while holding hands with his husband in the late night hours in Puerto Vallarta, says he’s learned an important lesson.

Via The Desert Sun:

Blea regrets not being more careful walking through the streets at 2:30 a.m., mainly because he was holding hands with Lange. He said he will think twice before being physically affectionate towards his husband in another country.

“If anything, that’s the biggest lesson I learned,” Blea said. “You just never know who you may come across who may hate that.”

Blea told the Sun that although he received visits from the chief of police and a rep from the mayor while in the hospital, the media has continued to report the incident as a botched robbery rather than a hate crime.

“They’re really not listening to us,” he said of the media in Mexico.

Blea has repeatedly told the media that the shooter never spoke to them. Blea says the incident was a hate crime based on he and his husband being gay.

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Stormy Daniels Sues Trump Lawyer For Defamation

Stormy Daniels

(I was traveling most of yesterday and didn’t get this story up, my apologies)

The morning after 22 million Americans watched Stormy Daniels answer questions from Anderson Cooper about her 2006 sexual relationship with Donald Trump, her lawyer Michael Avenetti amended her current lawsuit against Donald Trump to include a charge of defamation against Trump’s attorney, Michael Cohen.

Via NPR:

Daniels says that Cohen defamed her when he put out a statement in February regarding the $130,000 payment he made to her just before the election, allegedly in exchange for her silence. In that statement to the media, Cohen said, “Just because something isn’t true doesn’t mean that it can’t cause you harm or damage.”

Daniels’ lawsuit argues:

“It was reasonably understood by those who read or heard the statement that Mr. Cohen’s defamatory statement was about Ms. Clifford. Both on its face, and because of the facts and circumstances known to persons who read or heard the statement, it was reasonably understood Mr. Cohen meant to convey that Ms. Clifford is a liar, someone who should not be trusted, and that her claims about her relationship with Mr. Trump is ‘something [that] isn’t true.’ “

The amended filing also alleges that the payment from Cohen violated federal election law because it was an in-kind campaign contribution to Trump that was never reported and that exceeded federal contribution limits — an issue that has also been raised by the organization Common Cause. Cohen has denied any such wrongdoing.

Ultimately, the more serious charge here in my opinion lies in Cohen legal jeopardy through the illegal campaign contribution.

According to the FEC, which is currently understaffed, it could take more than a year to determine if the payment to Daniels from Cohen was illegal or not.

NBC News is reporting that the FEC is still closing cases from the 2015-2016 campaign cycle.

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Linda Brown, Of Brown v. Board Of Education, Passes Away At 76

Linda Brown, became one of the most famous symbols of the 20th century civil rights movement when she was denied registration at the all-white school just a few blocks from her home in 1950, has passed away at the age of 76.

Her parents weren’t unhappy with the black school she attended, but were concerned for the long distance Linda had to travel. Over train tracks, a busy road and then a bus ride each day to get to school. And then, the winter would come.

Her father became angry when they were turned away, and thus began a series of events that would result in a historic ruling at the U.S. Supreme Court.

In the desegregation case Brown v. Board of Education, all nine white male justices would rule that “separate but equal” was not and never would be equal.

The 1954 ruling changes decades of educational practices, and still reverberates in schools today.

Even after the ruling, it took three years for black students to enroll in an Arkansas high school. And it was only with a contingent of federal guards that those nine students were able to walk onto the school campus.