Category: Uncategorized

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Pennsylvania State Rep. Brian Sims Calls

Pennsylvania State Rep. Brian Sims gives an impassioned speech calling for statewide LGBT protections.

From Pennsylvania House Democrats:

Pa. state Rep. Brian Sims stands with Gov. Tom Wolf and other advocates to call on the legislature to pass equal protections for LGBT citizens.

In Pennsylvania, members of the LGBT community can still be denied employment, housing, and other basic rights afforded to others in the general population.

Sims is co-sponsoring the Pennsylvania Fairness Act, H.B. 1510, which would update Pennsylvania’s nondiscrimination law to ensure all residents have equal rights regardless of race, color, religion, ancestry, age, sex, national origin, disability and now, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression.

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Congressional Democrats Stage ‘Sit-In’ Demanding A Vote On Common Sense Gun Measures

From Huffington Post:

Congressional Democrats took over the House floor Wednesday in a ‘sit-in’ demonstration over Republican leaders’ refusal to hold a vote on gun legislation.

Their efforts to achieve this goal continued throughout the night, even after the Republican lawmakers snuck into the chamber at 2:30 a.m. and voted to adjourn the session until Jul. 5.”

C-SPAN broadcast the scene by using a Congressman’s Periscope feed after Congress was declared in recess. Majority Leader Paul Ryan called the move a “publicity stunt.”

Although Speaker of the House had the chamber cameras turned off, Democrats are broadcasting the ongoing sit-in via cellphone camera.

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Las Vegas Gets Major League Hockey!

Las Vegas sporting fans are on fire – and I don’t mean the heat – over the news that after years and years of trying, the City of Entertainment will soon become a “Major League” city as billionaire business man Bill Foley has been awarded a National Hockey League expansion franchise beginning with the 2017-18 season.

The 2017 season will celebrate 100 years of the National Hockey League. The expansion will bring the number of teams in the NHL to 31. This is the first expansion for the NHL since 1997.

From the Las Vegas Review Journal:

Foley will pay $500 million to join the league as its 31st team. The yet-to-be-named team, which collected more than 15,000 season-ticket deposits as part of its “Vegas Wants Hockey” campaign beginning Feb. 10, 2015, through May 2016, will play its home games at the 17,500-seat T-Mobile Arena.

Gavin Maloof, whose family owns 15 percent of the Las Vegas NHL team, said: “We’re so excited. This community deserves it. They’re going to enjoy what this team brings to the city, to the fans and especially the kids.”

With Foley at his side, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman announced the decision by the league’s Board of Governors to expand at a news conference at Encore. The vote, which was 30-0 in favor, followed the recommendation of the nine-member Executive Committee, which met June 7 in New York and advised expansion to Las Vegas.

Bettman said the addition of Las Vegas was based in part on the substance of Foley’s strong bid along with a first-rate facility and the season-ticket drive that by Wednesday afternoon had surpassed 15,000 deposits as a rush of sales poured in after the official announcement.

“The Las Vegas market was intriguing,” Bettman said. “The worldwide reputation it has was appealing and it’s a city that was ready for major league sports.

“But I can’t overstate the importance of the season-ticket drive which got everyone’s attention. It demonstrated there’s a community that is ready and willing to support the NHL.”

And you know what comes along with a hockey team? Sexy hockey player calendar!

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Jerry Falwell Jr. Poses With Donald Trump Next To Playboy Magazine Cover

Jerry Falwell Jr., president of the evangelical Liberty University, tweeted the image after a meeting of evangelical leaders and social conservatives with Trump in New York.

From The Hill:

Falwell faced mockery after social media users pointed out the framed 1990 Playboy Magazine cover hanging on the wall behind them.

He responded by calling those critical of him “hypocrites.”

Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), a vocal critic of Trump, also weighed in.

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Man Claims To Be Former Lover Of Orlando Nightclub Shooter

Another twist in the Orlando nightclub shooting that left 49 dead and 53 hospitalized: Univision has interviewed a man who claims he had a sexual relationship with the shooter, Omar Mateen, and that the massacre was motivated by personal revenge against the Latino LGBT community.

From Mediaite:

“The thing that makes me want to tell the truth is that he didn’t do it for terrorism. In my opinion he did it for revenge,” a man who asked to be referred to as “Miguel” told Univision Noticias anchor Maria Elena Salinas. Miguel appeared in the interview wearing a disguise.

Miguel described the killer, Omar Mateen, as having been wracked with self-loathing about his sexual orientation, resentment against gay Latinos, and an alcohol problem. He said that he and Mateen met on the gay dating app Grindr the year before and described the two-month-long relationship as one of “friends with benefits.” It ended in December, when Miguel moved away from Orlando. He said Mateen enjoyed being cuddled and described him as “affectionate” and “sweet.”

Following an assignation with two Puerto Rican men, one of them revealed to Mateen after the fact that he was HIV positive and Mateen became incensed, Miguel said. “He was terrified that he was infected,” Miguel said. “I asked him, ‘Did you do a test?’ Yes. He went to the pharmacy and did the test … it came out negative but it doesn’t come out right away. It takes four, five months.”

“‘I’m going to make them pay for what they did to me,’” Miguel recalled Mateen telling him.

“He adored Latinos, gay Latinos, with brown skin – but he felt rejected. He felt used by them – there were moments in the Pulse nightclub that made him feel really bad. Guys used him. That really affected him,” Miguel said. “I believe this crazy horrible thing he did – that was revenge.”

The FBI confirmed to Univision that they had met with Miguel, and Miguel claimed that he had been interviewed by agents in-person three times.

Apparently, the two men met 15-20 times over the two month period. More info at Univision.

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Protestors Confront Hate Leader Tony Perkins: “You’re Lies Are Killing Us”

(image via JoeMyGod)

Bravo Angela Peoples of GetEQUAL for calling out anti-LGBT activist Tony Perkins.

Perkins was one of several “faith leaders” who met with presidential candidate Donald Trump yesterday at a private meeting where, it seems, Trump tried making the case that he IS indeed ‘Christian’ enough to be the president of the United States.

Via Raw Story:

The advocacy group GetEQUAL took credit for the demonstration in a statement sent on Tuesday afternoon, identifying the protesters as the organization’s co-directors, Heather Cronk and Angela Peoples.

“The incisive hate-mongering of Donald Trump and right-wing religious ‘leaders’ is responsible not only for the massacre in Orlando, but also for the systemic violence that trans and queer people of color face everyday,” Peoples said in the statement. “That violence doesn’t just happen in the streets or at nightclubs — it happens in the legislative chambers where right wing politicians have passed over 250 bills restricting the rights of LGBTQ people and people of color.”

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Lynda “Wonder Woman” Carter Set To Join TV Cast of “Supergirl”

There’s a giddiness today in “comic book geekland” – and that includes me 🙂

As the television series Supergirl transfers from CBS to The CW for it’s sophomore season, we get the news that Lynda Carter, known for her iconic role as “Wonder Woman,” will be joining the series in a recurring role as President of the United States.

From TV Guide:

Earlier this year, executive producers Andrew Kreisberg and Greg Berlanti told TVGuide.com that they had approached Carter for the role earlier but scheduling made it impossible to include her in the first season.

“We’re going to do it, we’ll just do it next year,” Kreisberg said. The Season 1 finale also hinted at Carter’s turn when the president sent “her” thanks to Supergirl for saving the planet.

Carter is just the latest in a slew of casting additions to Supergirl’s sophomore effort. The show is also adding Teen Wolf alum Tyler Hoechlin as Superman. Carter adds another powerful female actress into the frame though while it still remains to be seen how large of a part Calista Flockhart’s Cat Grant will play in the new season. The CW and Warner Brothers had no comment on whether Flockhart would remain a series regular transition to a recurring character when TVGuide.com reached out earlier this month.

Carter’s first appearance will be in the third episode of season 2 – Supergirl premieres Monday, Oct. 10 at 8/7c on The CW.

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Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg On The 2nd Amendment

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the 2nd Amendment:

“The Second Amendment has a preamble about the need for a militia … Historically, the new government had no money to pay for an army, so they relied on the state militias,” she said. “The states required men to have certain weapons and they specified in the law what weapons these people had to keep in their home so that when they were called to do service as militiamen, they would have them. That was the entire purpose of the Second Amendment.”

Ginsburg said the disappearance of that purpose eliminates the function of the Second Amendment.

“It’s function is to enable the young nation to have people who will fight for it to have weapons that those soldiers will own,” she said. “I view the Second Amendment as rooted in the time totally allied to the need to support a militia. So … the Second Amendment is outdated in the sense that its function has become obsolete.”

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Orlando Son Pays Tribute To Mother Who Protected Him At Orlando Nightclub Shooting

ABC News reports on an emotional moment today when a son eulogized his mother who protected him from harm at the deadly Orlando nightclub shooting.

Brenda Lee Marquez-McCool was dancing with her son Isaiah Henderson at Pulse nightclub when shots rang out over the blaring music.

Instead of running away, she threw herself on her son, shielding him from shooter Omar Mateen. She saved her son’s life but lost her own.

At her funeral at the First United Methodist Church of Orlando today, Henderson, 21, broke down as he paid heartfelt tribute to his mother, almost unable to stand while he spoke.

“I never thought that her life would be ended right in front of my eyes,” he said, sobbing. “My mother accepted everyone with open arms. She loved everybody equally, no matter what.”

His brothers rushed to the pulpit to hold him up and console him.

“I haven’t stopped crying since,” Henderson said.

(h/t JMG)