Posts

Posted on

13 Democrats Have ‘Double Qualified’ To Participate In First Presidential Debates

The list of Democratic contenders for the 2020 presidential nomination keeps growing as we approach the first debates of the primary season on June 26 and June 27 in Miami.

Qualifying candidates will be split into two fields of 10 appearing on back-to-back nights.

The Democratic National Committee set rules this year that only 20 candidates will be allowed to participate in the first debates. In order to qualify, a candidate must either have more than 65,000 individual donors to their campaign OR garner at least 1% in three or more designated polls.

According to Politico, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee secured a spot on the Democratic presidential debate stage after collecting the 65,000th individual donor of his campaign this week.

Candidates who reach both thresholds will get priority over those who only meet one. It’s highly unlikely that more than 20 Democrats will meet both the polling and the fundraising criteria.

Inslee is the thirteenth person to “double qualify,” joining Joe Biden, Cory Booker, Pete Buttigieg, Julián Castro, Tulsi Gabbard, Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar, Beto O’Rourke, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Marianne Williamson and Andrew Yang.

Nineteen candidates have met at least one threshold.

No word yet on whether the Republicans will hold any primary debates between Donald Trump and any challengers.

Posted on

Woman’s Will Orders Healthy Dog To Be Put Down Upon Owner’s Passing

File this under “Selfish bs of the day.”

A woman decreed in her will that upon her death her dog was to be killed, cremated and put in her coffin for burial.

From NBC News:

A healthy dog was put to death in Virginia at the behest of its owner, who made the request in her will. The owner of Emma, a Shih Tzu mix, died March 8. Her dog was held at the Chesterfield Animal Shelter before it was picked up March 22 and then euthanized. Heartbroken animal shelter officials said they had no choice but to turn over Emma to the estate executor, even knowing what was going to happen to her.

“We did suggest they could sign the dog over on numerous occasions, because it’s a dog we could easily find a home for and re-home,” Chesterfield Animal Services manager Carrie Jones told WWBT. “Ultimately, they came back in on March 22 and redeemed the dog.” Emma’s owner, Anita Cullop-Thompson, 67, wanted to be interred with her pet, Morrissett Funeral and Cremation Service owner Larry Spiaggi told NBC News.

Posted on

Pentatonix Covers “Waving Through A Window” From DEAR EVAN HANSEN

Grammy Award winning vocal group Pentatonix serves up their take on "Waving Through a Window" from the hit Broadway musical Dear Evan Hansen.

Grammy Award winning vocal group Pentatonix serves up their take on “Waving Through a Window” from the hit Broadway musical Dear Evan Hansen.

The multi-platinum selling group has dipped its toes in the Broadway catalogue a few times.

Band member Kirsten Maldonado joined the Broadway cast of Kinky Boots last year alongside Scissor Sister frontman Jake Shears. The fab five also recorded a track for the concept album of Finding Neverland, and they also dropped by the Wicked 15th anniversary special on NBC.

The song has been covered by several pop stars since Dear Evan Hansen’s debut, including Katy Perry and Rachel Tucker.

Posted on

Out Music: Billy Porter & Matt Zarley Cover 90s Anthem “You Gotta Be”

Billy Porter

Billy Porter (Golden Globe nod – FX’s Pose, Tony Award winner Kinky Boots) has teamed up with two-time Out Music Award winner Matt Zarley to record their take on the empowering 1995 Des’ree hit, “You Gotta Be.”

All of the proceeds from the single will benefit the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Youth Center.

Close friends for more than 30 years, the two artists had been looking to collaborate on a music project and found the message that “love will save the day” particularly resonant in these challenging times.

Matt Zarley and Billy Porter

You gotta be bad, you gotta be bold
You gotta be wiser, you gotta be hard
You gotta be tough, you gotta be stronger
You gotta be cool, you gotta be calm
You gotta stay together
All I know, all I know, love will save the day

Matt Zarley

“Billy and I are both passionate about all LGBT causes, particularly ones that involve our next generations,” said Zarley, who also produced the track as well as directed and edited the video.

“We wanted to help raise awareness for this invaluable organization and the work they do,” It’s incredibly important and is helping save the lives of the youngest and most vulnerable members of our community.”

A postscript to the music video shares the sobering fact that there are roughly 1.7 million homeless youth on the streets of the United States, and a disproportionate 40% identify as LGBT. In Los Angeles alone, there are roughly 3,500 LGBT youth living on the streets.

And speaking of ‘community,’ that’s exactly what’s front and center in the music video for “You Gotta Be.”

Zarley and Porter are joined by dozens of friends grooving, twirling, lip-syncing for their lives in solo and same-sex couplings.

After ruling the red carpet during this past awards season, Porter is currently shooting Season 2 of the acclaimed FX series Poseset to return to the airwaves June 11.

Zarley’s latest project is an album titled The Estrogen Sessions,which pays tribute to some of pop music’s most prolific female artists (Dolly Parton, Celine Dion, Sara Bareilles, Whitney Houston) featuring the songs they made famous. “I Will Always Love You,” “That’s The Way It Is,” “Gravity,” and “I Look To You” are just a few of the tunes featured on the set.

Check out “You Gotta Be”with Billy Porter and Matt Zarley below.

Posted on

Brazil’s High Court Rules Anti-Discrimination Laws Must Include LGBTQ People

President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil (image via Flickr/Agência Brasil Fotografias – CC License)

Brazil’s highest court has found the exclusion of sexual orientation and gender identity from the country’s anti-discrimination laws to be unconstitutional.

Six judges on the 11-member Supreme Federal Court voted in favor of the ruling Thursday. While the other five members have not yet voted on the issue, the majority secured the court’s decision. A ruling will be issued once the remaining judges register their votes on June 5.

The ruling comes as attacks on LGBTQ people have seen a sharp increase since the election of virulently anti-gay President Jair Bolsonaro.

During the presidential election last year, Bolsonaro campaigned on a platform that was proudly homophobic. At the same time, reports of crimes against LGBTQs tripled.

Bolsonaro, whose record as a lawmaker includes a long history of anti-LGBTQ votes, promised to erase pro-LGBTQ and pro-women movements during the campaign.

He has famously declared he would prefer to have a dead son than a gay son.

And the new president has also downplayed “gay tourism” in his country.

“If you want to come here and have sex with a woman, go for your life,” he told Crusoe Magazine in April. He added that Brazil “cannot be a country for gay tourism because we have families here.”

Although same-sex marriage was legalized in 2013, local news site Rio On Watch reports Brazil is the “LGBT murder capital” of the world. In 2016, 331 LGBTQ murders were recorded which equaled one LGBT-related killing every 25 hours.

The Rio Times reports that in 2018 that Brazil had the highest number of transgender people murdered in the world.

Since 2001, anti-LGBTQ discrimination bills have been proposed in the country’s Congress, but have never been brought to a vote by lawmakers.

Brazil’s Senate is currently debating legislation would punish hate crimes based on sexual orientation or gender identity with a five year prison sentence, but a carve-out for religious beliefs is being considered for the slow-moving bill.

The inability of lawmakers to take meaningful action on the issue was, in part, what prompted Judge Luiz Fox to cast the sixth and deciding vote on Thursday.

“Parliament doesn’t act,” said Fox during the hearing, according to The Washington Post. “This is no guarantee the bill will pass, and even if it does, it can be vetoed and homophobia will continue. The judiciary must act in defense of minorities against violence by the majority.”

While several states in Brazil have laws in place to protect against LGBTQ discrimination, the new ruling by the Supreme Federal Court will be the first federal law to make LGBTQ discrimination a crime nationwide.

Posted on

Kenya: High Court Rules Anti-Gay Laws Not Discriminatory

Flag of Kenya

Kenya’s High Court has upheld the African country’s laws which criminalize homosexual behavior.

LGBTQ activists had argued the laws are discriminatory, lead to increased harassment of the LGBTQ community, and serve to discourage people from seeking HIV testing or treatment.

The plaintiffs involved in the case also said the laws violate the Kenyan Constitution which reads the “state shall not discriminate directly or indirectly against any person on any ground,” including sex.

The three-judge panel, however, ruled the British colonial-era laws are not discriminatory and told the packed courtroom of activists in Nairobi the petitioners had failed to provide “credible evidence” that the laws infringed their rights, reports Quartz.com.

The three laws in question, Sections 162 (a) and (c), 163 and 165 of the nation’s penal code, make it a felony to have “carnal knowledge of any person against the order of nature” or to commit “gross indecency.” The punishment for these crimes range from five to twenty-one years in prison.

The “carnal knowledge” offense is generally used to relate to oral and anal intercourse. While the law could apply to people of any gender, it’s primarily used to persecute gay men.

The “gross indecency” section pertains specifically to sexual acts between men.

Of the more than 70 countries that outlaw homosexuality, nearly half are located in Africa.

A report in 2014 found the government of Kenya prosecuted 595 cases of homosexualitybetween 2010 and 2014.

A report from the Kenyan government shows 534 people were arrested for same-sex relationships between 2013 and 2017.

Today’s ruling comes as other countries, like Indiaand Trinidad and Tobago, have recently decriminalized homosexuality.

Posted on

Coming Out At 40, GOP County Commissioner Says “I Get To Be Myself”

A Republican county commissioner in Utah came out as gay to his constituents via social media video on Wednesday.

A Republican county commissioner in Utah came out as gay to his constituents via social media video on Wednesday.

“There’s no easy way to say this, I might as well just jump up and say it — I’m gay,” said Nathan Ivie in the video. “That’s my reality, and that’s what I need to talk to you about today.”

Ivie, a 40-year-old horse trainer, says he shared his first kiss with a boy when he was 9, survived a suicide attempt at 22, and has spent most of his life trying to come to terms with who he is.

“I diligently devoted myself to trying to cure myself, to heal myself,” said the soft-spoken LDS church member. “And doing all of the things that society and my faith-based institutions had taught me to do to cure myself — going on missions, getting married, etc., etc.”

He also shared that while he’s amicably separated from his wife of 13 years, he still considers her his best friend. And the couple are committed to raising their two children together.

In an interview, Ivie told local newspaper The Herald Extra his coming out was the result of a few factors.

First, he wants “the 22-year-old version of himself” out there to know things will be ok.

“Obviously we have a problem in our community, especially in the LGBT community, of suicide,” he shared. “As someone who’s been there and pulled the trigger once: don’t.”

He also says that seeing two men holding hands on a river trail in Boise deeply affected him.

“It was just two regular human beings who loved each other who were walking holding hands as an intimate, caring couple, and that image really stuck with me for whatever reason,” he told the Herald Extra. “And that was probably one of the first times in my life I went, ‘Maybe I’m not screwed up. Maybe I’m not broken.’”

And last year, he found himself threatening to pull county funding for Provo’s Freedom Festival if LGBTQ groups weren’t allowed to participate in the annual 4th of July parade.

One of those groups was Encircle, a Provo nonprofit which works to prevent suicide among LGBTQ youth.

Ivie told the Herald Extrait was a difficult balancing act during that time advocating for Encircle and the other LGBTQ groups not to use the words, “Because I know.”

Openly gay former state Sen. Jim Dabakis took to Twitter to call Ivie an “ally.” Dabakis also sent a message to the county commissioner, “Welcome to an honest life, Nathan.”

Mayor Jackie Biskupski, Salt Lake City’s first openly gay mayor, also tweeted her support:

The first-term county commissioner, elected in 2016 in a staunchly conservative county, says that reaction to his announcement has been positive and that his coming out does not affect his view on conservative politics.

“The Democratic Party should not have a monopoly on tolerance,” said Ivie. “I hope this illustrates that you can be gay and Republican. You can believe in limited government and personal liberties.”

Ivie does have one piece of advice for young LGBTQs who may be struggling with who they are.

“One of my favorite reminders is that a flower doesn’t need to be reminded it’s a flower, it just blooms,” he said. “Just bloom. Just be who you are and don’t fear that. Discover it, let it happen.”

Posted on

Mayor Pete Has ‘A Lot To Repent For’ But Not His Marriage

Mayor Pete Buttigieg

Mayor Pete Buttigieg was asked by the Washington Post’s Jonathan Capehart during a Q&A at New York City’s 92nd Street Y Wednesday evening about criticism leveled at the openly gay mayor by Vice President Mike Pence and evangelist Franklin Graham.

Buttigieg has been very open about his personal faith as an Episcopalian, as well as the hypocrisy he sees in religion-based attacks.

In April, for example, Graham posted a tweet that described Buttigieg’s sexuality as “sin, something to be repentant of, not something to be flaunted, praised or politicized.”

“I guess I would say that we all have a lot to repent for,” replied Buttigieg in a pensive tone. “I have a lot to repent for when it comes to my marriage.”

From there, the 37-year-old mayor ticked off a few personal faults of his own before landing on his answer.

“Moments when I have not been as caring as I should be; moments when I’ve been selfish; moments when I’ve said a harsh word that I wish I could take back,” listed Mayor Pete.

“But one thing that I absolutely should not be repentant for, in the context of my marriage, is the fact that I’m in love with my husband,” he added.

And the crowd goes wild!!!

Watch the moment below.

In April, Buttigieg addressed Pence’s ‘morality’ issues with homosexuality head-on while speaking at the LGBTQ Victory Fund brunch.

Sharing the ways that being married to his husband, Chasten, has made him a better man, the mayor added, “And yes, Mr. Vice President, it has moved me closer to God.”

“That’s the thing I wish the Mike Pences of the world would understand: That if you have a problem with who I am, your quarrel is not with me,” Buttigieg said. “Your quarrel, sir, is with my creator.”

And during an appearance on ELLEN, Buttigieg said of the Vice President, “I’m not critical of his faith. I’m critical of bad policies.”

“I don’t have a problem with religion, I’m religious, too,” he added. “I have a problem with religion being used as a justification to harm people and especially in the LGBTQ community.”