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Google Finally Removes Harmful ‘Ex-Gay’ App From Play Store

Internet power player Google has finally removed from its Google Play store an app that promoted so-called ‘conversion therapy’ to LGBTQ youth.

Internet power player Google has finally removed from its Google Play store an app from Living Hope Ministries that promoted so-called ‘conversion therapy’ to LGBTQ youth.

After a months-long campaign by Wayne Besen at Truth Wins Out to stop the spread of the app, plus a petition signed by 142,000 people at Change.org, and the Human Rights Campaign withholding its Corporate Equality Index score from the company, Google announced the app had been pulled.

“After consulting with outside advocacy groups, reviewing our policies, and making sure we had a thorough understanding of the app and its relation to conversion therapy, we’ve decided to remove it from the Play Store, consistent with other app stores,” Google said in a statement.

“We are delighted that Google finally backed down and deleted a dangerous app that targeted LGBTQ youth with toxic messages of guilt and shame,” said Truth Wins Out Executive Director Wayne Besen. “It is still unfathomable why Google stubbornly defended the indefensible for months, when the hateful and destructive content in this app should have been self-evident. We hope this sends a powerful message that ‘pray away the gay’ products are unacceptable and have no place in a decent and civilized society.”

HRC’s President Chad Griffin also released a statement:

“We applaud Google for making the right decision to pull this app from their online store. So-called conversion therapy is a debunked practice that’s tantamount to child abuse and is proven to have dangerous consequences for its victims. Google and other platforms that have pulled this app are taking an important step to protect LGBTQ youth.”

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HRC Suspends Google’s Perfect Corporate Equality Index Score Over ‘Ex-Gay’ App

The Human Rights Campaign is withholding Google’s score and endorsement per its annual Corporate Equality Index. The internet giant has previously enjoyed a perfect 100 on the HRC’s annual rating index. But you can chalk up the loss of the endorsement to the company’s refusal to remove an app from its Google Play store that targets LGBTQ youth with the harmful and dangerous practice of so-called ‘conversion therapy.’

The Human Rights Campaign is withholding Google’s score and endorsement per its annual Corporate Equality Index.

The internet giant has previously enjoyed a perfect 100 on the HRC’s annual rating index.

But you can chalk up the loss of the endorsement to the company’s refusal to remove an app from its Google Play store that targets LGBTQ youth with the harmful and dangerous practice of so-called ‘conversion therapy.’

Wayne Besen, Executive Director of Truth Wins Out, pointed up the app in the press several weeks ago. After the app’s hateful content was revealed, Apple, Amazon and Microsoft quickly removed the app from their app stores.

The app was designed by Living Hope Ministries, a Texas-based group which purports to serve people ‘struggling with a conflict between faith and sexuality.’

But Google has refused to follow suit, despite a petition with over 141,000 signatures calling for the apps removal.

In a statement, the HRC said, “We have been urging Google to remove this app because it is life-threatening to LGBTQ youth and also very clearly violates the company’s own standards.”

This is only the third time in the history of the HRC’s Corporate Equality Index that a rating has been withheld.

In 2017, the HRC suspended Walmart’s perfect score after reports the retailer hadn’t protected transgender employees from discrimination.

Walmart was given a perfect 100 this year in the CEI.

In 2015, Saks Inc. found its rating withheld when it was discovered the company was involved in a legal dispute with a trans employee.

The CEI rates companies and top law firms on criteria in four categories:

• Non-discrimination policies
• Employment benefits
• Supporting an inclusive culture and corporate social responsibility including public commitment to LGBTQ equality
• Responsible citizenship

The full report is available online at www.hrc.org/cei.

This year, a record 570 companies received a score of 100.

Many companies use their high score to attract employees who are looking to work in a diverse and supportive environment.

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Colton Haynes Shares Dark Details Of His Struggle With Addiction

In startlingly candid detail, actor Colton Haynes shares how his struggles with drug and alcohol addiction, paralyzing anxiety, the death of his mother and the end of his marriage led him to some very dark places.
Colton Haynes covers Attitude Magazine’s 25th Anniversary issue

In startlingly candid detail, actor Colton Haynes shares how his struggles with drug and alcohol addiction, paralyzing anxiety, the death of his mother and the end of his marriage led him to some very dark places. In the cover story for Attitude Magazine’s 25th Anniversary issue, the Teen Wolf/Arrow star opens up about his dangerous downward spiral that led him to recovery. “In 10 years, there were maybe 25 days I didn’t drink,” he tells Attitude. “I remember when I started, it was a couple glasses of wine, and it regressed into really dark times. I used to blame it on my anxiety or depression issues, but really the root of all my problems was the alcohol and drugs.” Haynes points to his public coming out in 2016 as the catalyst that pushed his personal issues to the edge. “I came out and, in a way, my downward spiral started,” he admits. “I felt extremely free but at the same time the amount of attention I was getting was making me spin out of control.” “I got married and that didn’t work out,” Haynes continues. “That was extremely public and heart-breaking, and right when that was going on, my mom died.” The passing of his mother was apparently the last straw – “My brain broke.” The American Horror Story alum shares that when he showed up for his first day of work on a ‘massive comedy for a studio,’ he was abruptly fired that day. “They said I looked as if I had ‘dead in my eyes’, and I did,” Haynes admits. “I got so heavily involved with drugs and alcohol to mask the amount of pain I was feeling that I couldn’t even make some decisions for myself.” “I was drowning in my own sh*t.” It was during those dark days that Haynes would experience two seizures, but wouldn’t remember them until he found sobriety. But that would be a rocky road to travel. The journey to recovery included multiple hospital admissions for alcohol and drug abuse. It wasn’t until after a 7-day bender in a Los Angeles hotel room that he was committed via a 5150 psychiatric hold for three days. When he was found in the hotel room, he admits to having major bruises all over his body, loss of partial sight in his left eye, and serious kidney issues. Haynes saw the incident as a “rude awakening” as he hit rock bottom. “I was ready to stop running from my own problems,” said Haynes. He entered a four-month treatment program, and says he has been sober for six months now. “Once I went to treatment, I found this amazing amount of true love for myself, and started figuring out who I am without those vices, and recognizing the people in my life who lifted me up instead of tearing me down.” Like many who struggle with addiction, Haynes now realizes he’s “always going to be in recovery.” The TV super hero is sharing his story now because, “There are so many people struggling out there, but not a lot of them talk about it.” With sobriety comes clarity, and with clarity comes a new perspective. “Life is much more beautiful than I could have imagined,” he says. “It’s just a different life now. It’s the best gift I’ve ever been given.” Check out Haynes’s full cover story/interview in the May 2019 issue of Attitude Magazine.

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US House Approves Resolution Denouncing Trump Transgender Military Ban

By a vote of 238-185, the U.S. House approved a non-binding resolution Thursday morning rebuking Donald Trump’s plan to ban transgender military service members.

By a vote of 238-185, the U.S. House approved a non-binding resolution Thursday morning rebuking Donald Trump’s plan to ban transgender military service members.

Introduced by Rep. Joseph Kennedy III (D-Mass), the measure was supported by the entire Democratic caucus and was joined by five Republicans after a one-hour debate, according to the Washington Post.

Calling the misguided policy “targeted discrimination,” Kennedy said the message being sent by the House vote was to tell trans people “that they cannot be banned from military service because of who they are.”

House Resolution 124 begins with the simple statement, “Expressing opposition to banning service in the Armed Forces by openly transgender individuals.”

The resolution notes that trans service members “have served openly since 2016, bravely defending our Nation with distinction while preserving unit cohesion and contributing to military readiness,” and that thousands of trans Americans are actively serving in every branch of the Armed Forces and Reserves.

HR 124 also underscores the public testimony of all five military Chiefs of Staff who say the existing policy “has had no adverse effect on military readiness.”

The resolution comes as the Pentagon prepares to begin enforcing the trans ban on April 12 after the last of four injunctions blocking the policy from being implemented was lifted last week by a three-judge panel in the D.C. circuit.

The policy will prohibit people who have undergone gender transition from enlisting.

Current trans military service members will be required to serve as their biological gender unless they have begun gender transition before the new policy begins on April 12.

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Trump Demands FBI & DOJ Look Into Dismissal Of Smollett Charges

Donald Trump tweeted this morning that the FBI and Department of Justice will look into the sudden dismissal of charges for filing a false police report against Empire star Jussie Smollett.
Donald Trump

Donald Trump tweeted this morning that the FBI and Department of Justice will look into the sudden dismissal of charges for filing a false police report against Empire star Jussie Smollett.

The Trumpster’s tiny thumbs typed out, “FBI & DOJ to review the outrageous Jussie Smollett case in Chicago. It is an embarrassment to our Nation!”

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Governor Of Puerto Rico Bans Ex-Gay Therapy

Governor Ricardo Rosselló of Puerto Rico issued an executive order on Wednesday banning the harmful practice of conversion therapy on LGBTQ minors.

From The New York Times:

The decision came after Puerto Rico’s House of Representatives refused to vote on a bill that would have prohibited conversion therapy, a discredited practice that proponents claim can change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. The measure passed the Senate this month.

“I firmly believe that the idea that there are people in our society who need treatment because of their gender identity or whom they love is not only absurd, it is harmful to so many children and young adults who deserve to be treated with dignity and respect,” said Gov. Rosselló in a statement last week announcing his plans.

Puerto Rico, with 3.2 million citizens, is an unincorporated territory of the United States.

Currently, sixteen states, Washington DC, and dozens of cities and counties have also banned so-called conversion therapy.

As I’ve reported many times on The Randy Report, so-called ‘conversion therapy’ or ‘ex-gay therapy’ has been denounced by practically every major medical organization including the American Medical Association, the American Psychiatric Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics.

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Ed. Sec. Betsy DeVos Doesn’t Know If LGBTQ Students Should Be Discriminated Against

Betsy DeVos and Rep. Mark Pocan

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos continues to be a simply hideous person.

There are many, many reasons, but here’s just a few via the Human Rights Campaign:

Within days of taking office, she revoked the Obama-era guidance on protections for transgender students under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.

In 2017, she withdrewTitle IX guidance on addressing sexual harassment in schools (including sexual violence) which affects LGBTQ kids disproportionately.

As chair of the Federal Commission on School Safety, she recommended rescinding nondiscriminatory school discipline guidanceprotecting students of color.

The list goes on and on.

This week, while answering questions about the Trump administration’s education budget, she was unable to give a straight answer to a question on whether or not she feels it’s okay for LGBTQ students to be discriminated against.

This isn’t really hard, you know…

Following up a question on school suspensions, openly gay Rep. Mark Pocan asked her, “Do you think it’s alright for a school to discriminate based on someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity?”

DeVos’ word-salad of an answer went like this:

“Um, we have laws that cover discriminatory efforts, and, um, our office for civil rights has continued to be very diligent in investigating any allegation of, um, discrimination and will continue to do so,” she stammered.

“So is that a yes or is that a no?,” asked Pocan. “I’m trying to get a yes or no, I guess, on that.”

Pocan also touched on DeVos’ continued support for charter schools even though 25% of her beloved charter schools are failing.

Insert more word salad here…

When Pocan asked about proposed cuts to the tune of $17.6 million from the Special Olympics(which gives people with intellectual challenges the opportunity to compete in athletic contests), DeVos was flummoxed yet again.

Pocan inquired how many students those cuts would affect.

“We had to make some difficult decisions with this budget,” the secretary sputtered.

“How many kids?”

“I don’t know the number of kids…”

“Two hundred and seventy-two thousand – no problem, I’ll answer it for you,” said Pocan.

After running down more and more cuts to education for challenged students (including his two nephews with autism), the congressman kept trying to get an answer as to why so many programs for these students are being cut.

You got it – more word salad.

Devos would deflect, Pocan would readdress the question and topic at hand.

Credit the congressman for being tenacious.

Pocan wrapped up with a question as to how, when cutting 12% across the board from education budgets she could justify a 15% INCREASE for ‘executive salary appropriations?’

In the end, the super-wealthy DeVos weaved, dodged and changed subjects until Pocan’s time ran out.

Hideous.

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Poll: Majority Of Americans Do NOT Feel Trump Exonerated By Mueller Report

Donald Trump

A new CNN poll conducted by SSRS (March 25-26) found a majority of Americans do not believe Donald Trump and his campaign associates have been exonerated of collusion by the Special Counsel’s report per Attorney General William Barr.

When asked the question “Do You Think The Report Exonerates Trump of Collusion?,” 56% say no while 43% answered yes.

Broken down by political affiliation, Republicans believe their guy (77% vs. 23%) and Democrats do not (80% vs. 19%).

But when it comes to all-important Independent voters, a majority (56% vs. 41%) do not feel Trump has been exonerated.

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White Supremacist Pleads Guilty To 29 Federal Hate Crimes

James Fields, Jr. has pleaded guilty to 29 federal hate crime charges for his car attack on a crowd of people on Aug. 12, 2017 in Charlottesville.
James A. Fields Jr. (mugshot)

James A. Fields Jr., who drove his car into a crowd of people killing Heather Heyer during a rally for white nationalists in Charlottesville, Virginia, has pleaded guilty to 29 federal hate crime charges.

Fields originally pleaded not guilty, but changed his plea Wednesday. Those crimes carried the possibility of the death penalty.

From CBS19News:

James Fields, Jr. has pleaded guilty to 29 federal hate crime charges for his car attack on a crowd of people on Aug. 12, 2017 in Charlottesville.

The attack killed Heather Heyer and injured many other people. As a result of the plea, the death penalty was taken off the table.

The courtroom was filled with several people who had been injured in the car attack and Susan Bro, the mother of Heather Heyer. Fields had to answer questions about his competence, and he said he was making the decision of his own free will. He did not express any remorse.

The plea deal had to be approved by U.S. Attorney General William Barr, and prosecutors obtained that approval.

Fields was convicted of first-degree murder and several counts of malicious wounding during his state trial in December. He already faces a life sentence plus 419 years for that conviction.