LGBTQ news and entertainment
Some news stories you might have missed: • Presidential Debate: Tonight is the first (and possibly only) Harris v Trump presidential debate beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT. Joe Jervis lists several outlets to watch at the link. Continue reading “Presidential Debate Tonight + New Music From Micah McLaurin + More News”
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Some news items you might have missed:
• Model Nick Sandell spent time at the beach; I was stuck in my office watching the sun go by. By the time I got done with work, the dang clouds had rolled in 🙁
• Andy Warhol’s iconic Interview Magazine has shuttered. Employees were told today at an “all-hands meeting” that the magazine had folded.
• A proposal to include discussions on the topics of transgender, sexual orientation and sexual identity in Fort Worth, Texas, public schools has found it’s protesters.
• As other states are trying to limit LGBTs ability to adopt or foster homeless children, Connecticut is actively trying to recruit members of the community to participate in adoption/fostering.
• Pope Francis told a gay man that God made him exactly as he is, and that God loves him just as he is.
• GLAAD and Bonnier Publishing USA have teamed up to release a children’s book series featuring LGBT stories (see below).
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.
Connecticut is set to ban so-called “ex-gay” therapy after the state Senate unanimously approved legislation today. Having passed by an overwhelming margin last week in the state House, the bill now heads to the Governor’s desk for his signature.
Via press release from Connecticut Equality:
The Connecticut Senate voted unanimously today to pass HB 6695, AAC The Protection of Youth from Conversion Therapy 36-0, with bipartisan support. Sponsored by Senator Beth Bye and Representative Jeff Currey, the bill has 100 co-sponsors and was approved in the House by an overwhelming margin last week.
“We are delighted with today’s vote, and grateful that the Senate, with strong support on both sides of the aisle, moved so quickly to protect Connecticut youth from the devastating consequences of so-called conversion therapy,” said Jennifer L. Levi, Transgender Rights Project Director for GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD). “This legislation will make Connecticut a safer and more welcoming place for LGBTQ youth.”
State and national medical, mental health, and child welfare organizations all oppose the practice of conversion therapy, a practice which seeks to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. Extensive professional literature shows the practice to be both ineffective in changing sexual orientation or gender identity and harmful to youth. Young people who have been subjected to conversion therapy are at increased risk of depression, suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts, and illegal drug use.
Under the bill’s provisions, any licensed health professional who practices conversion therapy would be subject to discipline by the Department of Public Health up to and including the loss of their professional license.
Connecticut joins California, Illinois, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont and Washington DC in banning the torturous practice.
First, San Francisco’s mayor issued a ban on city-funded travel to the state of Indiana over the recently passed (and highly controversial) “license to discriminate” legislation SB101.
Then, Seattle’s mayor followed suit.
Today, the governor of Connecticut has now issued his own executive order banning state-funded travel to the Hoosier state.
Malloy’s communications director, Mark Bergman, followed up with tweets pointing out that Connecticut’s religious freedom laws only pertain to religious institutions – not private organizations.
And, unlike other states Connecticut doesn’t permit discrimination on sexual orientation in any private establishment or institution.
Connecticut lawmakers passed a bill today that will raise the state’s minimum wage to $10.10 by 2017.
The bill passed in the House 87-54 and in the Senate 21-14.
Gov. Malloy has supported the legislation and has said he will sign the bill into law.
This means that Connecticut will have the highest minimum wage rate in the country.
President Obama has asked Congress to raise the national minimum wage to the same figure.
(source)
From a new poll by Public Policy Polling:
• 55% of Connecticut voters support gay marriage being legal in their state to 33% who disapprove of it
• Voters under 30 – 68% support it to 18% opposed
• 70% say that gay marriage’s legalization has not had any impact on their lives while 16% say it’s had a positive effect and 14% a negative one
• Even among voters who oppose gay marriage, 69% grant that it hasn’t actually had any adverse impact on them
Rep. Chris Murphy (D-CT) sent a letter to Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus Wednesday, asking him to uphold an April decision allowing same-sex ceremonies to be held at naval facilities. Connecticut is home the Naval Subase New London.
“Since 2008, same-sex couples in Connecticut have had the legal right to marry. I find it disgraceful that citizens of our state serving in the armed forces aren’t afforded that same basic right,” Murphy said.
“It should go without saying that government policy should not prohibit the religious or civil official of their choice to perform the marriage — that should be left up to the couple and the official,” Murphy wrote in his letter to Mabus. “When the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy has been eliminated, neither the Navy nor Marine Corps will be able to discharge a service member for marrying someone of the same sex. With our state’s proud Naval and Marine Corps tradition, I anticipate that some number of same-sex couples will want to marry in Navy chapels by Naval chaplains.”
The Navy issued the initial decision after Congress passed a law repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”, but since suspended the guidance sent to naval bases after receiving a letter from a group of House Republicans, according to Murphy.
The Pentagon has stated it may be mid-summer before the DADT policy is eliminated.
Murphy has been a long-time supporter of the efforts to repeal DADT.
(via thinkprogress.org)