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Equality Act Passes In The House By Vote Of 236-173

Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Equality Act, a critically important piece of federal legislation that would, for the first time, explicitly add sexual orientation and gender identity protections to existing civil rights laws.

Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Equality Act, a critically important piece of federal legislation that would, for the first time, explicitly add sexual orientation and gender identity protections to existing civil rights laws.

Today’s vote of 236-173 in the House included 8 Republicans joining 228 Democrats to vote in favor of the legislation.

If signed into law, the Equality Act would update the existing Civil Rights Act of 1964 by ushering in across-the-board protections for Americans regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. This includes protections in employment, housing, credit, education, and public accommodations would be guaranteed for LGBTQ Americans under this law.

Currently, LGBTQ Americans receive zero non-discrimination protections in 26 states.

Openly gay Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney had the honor of gaveling in the results of the vote.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi spoke movingly from the floor of the House in support of the legislation:

LGBTQ advocacy groups celebrated the news.

Sarah Kate Ellis, President and CEO of GLAAD:

“LGBTQ Americans are one step closer to being protected by federal law instead of living in a country where hard-working Americans in a majority of states can be fired from their jobs, denied housing opportunities, and turned away from other critical services – including access to health care – simply for being who they are. Fairness should never be a partisan political issue, and the Senate should pass this bill without delay.”

Chad Griffin, President of the Human Rights Campaign:

“Today’s historic vote is a major milestone for equality and sends a powerful and profound message to LGBTQ people, especially LGBTQ youth, that the U.S. House has their backs. No one’s rights should depend on which side of a state or city line they live on, and today we took a giant step forward in our journey toward full equality. This historic victory would not have been possible without the millions of LGBTQ people and our allies who organized, mobilized and turned out to elect a pro-equality majority in 2018. Now, we will take our fight to the U.S. Senate and turn up the pressure on Leader McConnell to allow a vote on this crucial legislation. And we won’t slow down in working to turn out the 10 million eligible LGBTQ voters and our millions more allies to elect a pro-equality president in 2020 who will sign the Equality Act into law.”

Brian K. Bond, Executive Director of PFLAG National:

“PFLAGers across the country thank Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI) for their leadership in introducing the Equality Act, and the many Representatives from across the country who today cast their historic votes in favor of equality, fairness, and safety. PFLAG families want for their LGBTQ+ loved ones the same things that all families want: job security, a home, a family, and unfettered access to healthcare and other crucial services. PFLAG families have been fighting for over four decades for these protections and equal rights as promised by the U.S. Constitution, and now they are ever closer to achieving that promise.”

Sam Brinton, Head of Advocacy & Government Affairs, The Trevor Project:

“LGBTQ youth deserve every equal right and protection as their peers, no matter where in this great nation they live. Today’s passage of the Equality Act is a monumental step toward bringing about those equal rights and protections. As we look toward the Senate and the eventual passage of landmark pieces of legislation like this, LGBTQ youth should know that the fight for their equality is moving swiftly forward toward a world where they will be free to be themselves.”

The House vote on The Equality Act comes at a time when the most anti-LGBTQ administration in recent memory has attacked LGBTQ people at every turn.

As historic as the moment is today, reality will – sadly – come crashing down as its certain Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R) will not let the legislation come to a vote in the US Senate.

Even the Equality Act were to get a vote and pass in the upper chamber, Donald Trump would veto the bill. A senior White House official recently told the Washington Blade that Trump opposes the bill. And his base of far-right evangelicals would scream bloody murder if he signed it into law.

Since taking office in January 2017, the Trump/Pence administration has unleashed more than 106 attacks against LGBTQ Americans in policy and rhetoric. A comprehensive list of those attacks can be found on GLAAD’s Trump Accountability Project (TAP) by going to www.glaad.org/trump.

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Today’s Trump Twitter Rant: Treasonous FBI & ‘Why Didn’t Anyone Warn Me About Michael Flynn?’

Wrapping up a busy week on Twitter, Donald Trump used his Friday morning rant to again pretend that the FBI "broke the law" by investigating possible collusion between his presidential campaign and Russian operatives.
Donald Trump

Wrapping up a busy week on Twitter, Donald Trump used his Friday morning rant to again pretend that the FBI “broke the law” by investigating possible collusion between his presidential campaign and Russian operatives.

Clearly watching Fox News, he quoted a Fox New poll (ha!): “New Fox Poll: 58% of people say that the FBI broke the law in investigating Donald J. Trump.”

And then, for good measure, tried to pretend that he was never warned about Michael Flynn.

From NBC News in May 2017:

Former President Obama warned President Donald Trump against hiring Mike Flynn as his national security adviser, three former Obama administration officials tell NBC News.

The warning, which has not been previously reported, came less than 48 hours after the November election when the two sat down for a 90-minute conversation in the Oval Office.

A senior Trump administration official acknowledged Monday that Obama raised the issue of Flynn, saying the former president made clear he was “not a fan of Michael Flynn.”

According to all three former officials, Obama warned Trump against hiring Flynn. The Obama administration fired Flynn in 2014 from his position as head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, largely because of mismanagement and temperament issues.

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Internet Sensation ‘Grumpy Cat’ Passes Away At 7

Internet sensation 'Grumpy Cat' has passed away at the age of 7.

Internet sensation ‘Grumpy Cat’ has passed away at the age of 7.

She died of complications from a urinary tract infection, according to her owners.

From USA Today:

Grumpy Cat, whose real name was Tardar Sauce, became an internet sensation after a photo of her trademark frowning face went viral on Reddit in 2012.

Since then, she became the subject of countless memes, a Honey Nut Cheerios commercial, book deals and even a Lifetime movie.

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Taiwan Parliament Approves Same-Sex Marriage

Taiwan celebrates marriage equality

In a groundbreaking vote, Taiwan became the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage on May 17th.

The decision comes two years after Taiwan passed the constitutional right for same-sex couples to marry reports BBC. The ruling comes just a week before the deadline to make a decision on May 24th.

Thousands gathered in Taipei anxiously awaiting the ruling.

Last November, 72% of the country voted against same-sex marriage in a referendum, but this did not interfere with the court’s decision for the vote.

Parliament voted between several bills that define same-sex marriage in different ways.

One bill proposed a “same-sex familial relationship,” with partners being called “same-sex family members.” The other bill aimed to call same-sex marriage a “same-sex union” with partners referred to as “domestic partners.”

The bill will officially recognize same-sex unions as marriages, just as they do with heterosexual couples, and define partners as spouses.

The bill will also allow same-sex couples to adopt each other’s biological children, but will not give the right to adopt non-biological children.

Same-sex marriages will begin being performed on May 24th. Over 200 couples have reportedly already registered to be married on that day.

Congratulations to Taiwan and all their LGBTQ+ citizens! May other Asian countries follow suit very soon!

(Source: Instinct)

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Gus Kenworthy Gives You Cut Abs & Bountiful Booty, So Donate To His AIDS/LifeCycle Campaign Already

Gus Kenworthy (via Instagram)

Out Olympian Gus Kenworthy is taking part in the AIDS/LifeCycle event, which takes place next month as rider bike from San Francisco to Los Angeles, 545 miles, to raise funds for the fight against HIV/AIDS.

I think Gus has a pretty good idea about what’s going to get his fans going, like these two pics taken in a biking singlet for his Instagram.

Whether you like his handsome face and striking abs, or his bountiful backside, enjoy the pics.

Then, click here and consider donating something – anything – to help.

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Trailer: The Gang Is Back Together For “BH90210”

The cast of BH90210

First teaser for the upcoming quasi-reboot of the hit 90s series, Beverly Hills 90210.

I write ‘quasi’ because there’s a twist to this revival. From the official synopsis:

Priestley, Garth, Ziering, Carteris, Green and Spelling will play heightened versions of themselves in a brand-new serialized drama – with a healthy dose of irreverence – that is inspired by their real lives and relationships.

Having gone their separate ways since the original series ended 19 years ago, Jason, Jennie, Ian, Gabrielle, Brian and Tori reunite when one of them suggests it’s time to get a “Beverly Hills, 90210” reboot up and running. But getting it going may make for an even more delicious soap than the reboot itself.

What will happen when first loves, old romances, friends and frenemies come back together, as this iconic cast – whom the whole world watched grow up together – attempts to continue from where they left off?

The gang is back together (sans recently deceased Luke Perry) and find the old TV theme song creeping back into their mornings.

The show returns to FOX on Wednesday, August 7.

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Report: Brazilian Crooks Received $62 Million In Funds Earmarked For Struggling US Farmers

The New York Daily News is reporting the Trump administration has forked over more than $62 million — taxpayer cash that was supposed to be earmarked for struggling American farmers — to a massive meatpacking company owned by a couple of corrupt Brazilian brothers.

The Trump administration has forked over more than $62 million — taxpayer cash that was supposed to be earmarked for struggling American farmers — to a massive meatpacking company owned by a couple of corrupt Brazilian brothers.

The Department of Agriculture cut a contract in January to purchase $22.3 million worth of pork from plants operated by JBS USA, a Colorado-based subsidiary of Brazil’s JBS SA, which ranks as the largest meatpacker in the world.

The bailout raised eyebrows from industry insiders at the time, as it was sourced from a $12 billion program meant for American farmers harmed by President Trump’s escalating trade war with China and other countries.

But previously undisclosed purchase reports obtained by the Daily News this week reveal the administration has since issued at least two more bailouts to JBS, even as Trump’s own Justice Department began investigating the meatpacker, whose owners are Joesley and Wesley Batista — two wealthy brothers who have confessed to bribing hundreds of top officials in Brazil.

Both brothers have spent time in jail over the sweeping corruption scandal.

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News Round-Up: May 15, 2019

(via Instagram)

Some news items you might have missed:

• InstaHunk Guoyang510 (above) is looking forward to summer, just like I am. Who’s with us???

• Rep. Daniel Lipinski (Ill.), the only House Democrat not to co-sponsor the Equality Act, has announced he will now vote for the legislation. The House is expected to vote on the bill this Friday. Maybe that threat of a primary challenge moved the needle?

• Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and beleaguered Attorney General William Barr bump into each other at an event. Barr jokes about handcuffs, Pelosi goes one better…

• A reader wrote in to Slate’s sex advice column, How To Do It, asking how to handle an office situation when folks realize their new coworker (currently married to a woman) used to do gay porn? I’m not sure what the problem is, but I was curious about the columnist’s response.

• US News ranked the 50 states according to several metrics including health care, education, economy, roads, bridges, internet and other infrastructure, its public safety, the fiscal stability of state government, and the opportunity it affords its residents. Click to see where your state lands on the list.

• Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), a member of Senate GOP leadership, said Wednesday that the chamber is unlikely to vote on any election security legislation, despite requests from a federal agency for more funding to improve election systems nationwide.

• Long-running animated series Family Guy hysterically went after Fox News host Sean Hannity. “High sodium Superman” was maybe my favorite description… LOL

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Out Music: Sons Of An Illustrious Father “Don’t Cha”

Sons of an Illustrious Father

Out actor Ezra Miller and his band, Sons of an Illustrious Father, were recently out at a sexy, queer party in Nashville while on tour. As the story goes, heterosexual folks started dropping by the shindig as it was the coolest thing in town that night.

Miller’s band mate, Lilah Larson, says the straight folks “were sort of uncomfortably ogling the frolicking queers — including us — in a way that belied their envy and lust.”

But when the Pussycat Dolls’ hit, “Don’t Cha,” came up in the music cue, the band realized they needed to cover the track, from their own perspective, as a way to “encapsulate this common experience.”

Wearing black leotards, dancing to a slowed, time-warped version of the song, the music video is an animal all unto its own.

At first, I didn’t know what to think.

I still don’t – but I watched.

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Eurovision Song Contest Audience Cheers Gay ‘Kiss Cam’ Lip Lock

Eurovision Song Contest audience roared for same-sex smooch (screen capture)

No matter where it happens, I get all excited when a ‘kiss cam’ zeroes in on a more-than-willing gay couple.

And such was the case during the first night of the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest currently taking place in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Trans singer and 1998 Eurovision Song Contest champ, Dana International, was performing an upbeat, bouncy version of Bruno Mars’ “Just The Way You Are.”

Throughout the song, the audience was treated to shots of couples going in for the smooch.

But it was a gay couple’s lip-lock that got the biggest and best reaction from the crowd.

Click the Twitter video below and enjoy.

If you’re quick, you can see another gay couple in smooch-mode at the very beginning of the segment.

The Eurovision Song Contest has long celebrated a message of acceptance.

Dana, who won the international competition 21 years ago for Israel, told the crowd, “Love has no religion, love has no race, love has no limits, love is love. We all deserve to be loved.”

The show’s host, Assi Azar, shared before Dana’s performance that her groundbreaking win back in 1998 and her ‘unbelievable life story’ helped him to come out. He credited the singer with helping “millions of people around the world” to feel comfortable with who they are.

However, a TV host from Belarus, Yavhen Perlin, wasn’t so enchanted by the kissy-goodness.

On the air, broadcasting back to his country, Perlin initially got excited about the kiss-cam. But when he saw the first couple was gay, he told his viewers, “Oh, my goodness – maybe we’d better not watch.”

Perlin felt more at ease with the next couple, who were heterosexual (“Ok, so far so good!”), but expressed more dismay when the camera found the following male couple (“Oh, come on!”).

According to the BBC, several journalists took to social media to denounce Perlin’s comments.

“I feel so embarrassed,” wrote Radio Liberty’s Ales Piletski on Facebook. “The good thing is these boorish jokes are not heard in other countries.”

And speaking of other countries, many on social media were thrilled that the same-sex kiss was broadcast live, which meant many countries that aren’t so LGBT-friendly – like Russia – got a healthy view of man-on-man make-out session.