Tag: Indiana

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Over 14,000 Sign Petition Asking High School To Not Deadname Trans Student At Graduation

Wyatt Thomas of Fort Wayne, Indiana

A high school in Fort Wayne, Indiana, that planned to deadname a transgender student at his upcoming graduation ceremony has reversed course thanks to an online petition signed by over 14,000 supporters.

Brian Thomas, the student’s father, launched his Change.org petition after learning that the powers that be at Homestead High School in Fort Wayne planned to use the teen’s old name at commencement.

The petition, addressed to principal Park Ginder, asked that the teen’s chosen and preferred name, Wyatt, be read aloud at graduation as opposed to his deadname, which he hasn’t used in years.

“My transgender child is a senior this year and will graduate in early June,” Thomas wrote. “He has been going by his preferred name since the summer between his freshman and sophomore year. Teachers, pastors, managers, family and friends know him as a boy named Wyatt.

“But at graduation, because of an unwritten standard the school administration is unwilling to change, he will be called by his dead name. What is meant to be a celebration will instead be yet another moment of humiliation and embarrassment.”

“As Wyatt’s parents, we ask that our wishes be honored on behalf of our precious child. Call the name he will bear legally once the lengthy process of a name change is complete. Call him what his future university calls him. Call him what we and many others call him every day. Call him Wyatt.”

For many transgender people, undergoing a name change can be a powerful affirmation in transitioning their gender.

Each time it’s spoken, it gives trans folks tangible validation as they move closer to the gender they know themselves to be.

But changing names, whether on a day-by-day basis, on government-issued ID or legal documents can be a glacially-slow process in some areas.

The good news is this past Friday the school informed Thomas that Wyatt’s name will be read at graduation, and there are efforts underway to have his name on his diploma as well.

In an update on Change.org, Thomas wrote, “According to Dr. Ginder, he has been called Wyatt for three years, so why not at graduation?”

“This has been a matter of purposeful discussion and careful consideration on the part of the school, and a procedural decision has been made that benefits Wyatt,” the father added. “We are grateful the school took this request seriously and gave it the attention it deserves.”

“Thank you to all who signed this petition,” Thomas said in conclusion. “The impact of your support, encouraging words and positive vibes has been felt and received with astounded gratitude. On to graduation!”

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News Round-Up: February 20, 2019

(image via Instagram)

Some news items you might have missed:

• I might be a little obsessed with this handsome face. InstaHunk Steve_In_LA is pretty easy on the eyes as well 😉

• New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson has called for feds to ‘break the patent’ on Truvada, which is commonly prescribed as PrEP. Since the federal government helped fund the research for the drug, it has the right to break the patent and allow other companies to produce a generic version. PrEP has been shown to be 99% effective in protecting against HIV infection when used on a daily basis.

• The Republican-controlled Indiana Senate has voted to scrap all protected characteristics, including gender identity, race and sexual orientation, from a proposed hate crime bill. Indiana is one of only five states with no hate crime law in place.

• A lesbian couple in Indiana were refused service by their tax preparer, Nancy Fivecoate, because they were married. Fivecoate says she has gay clients, but she can’t work for gay married clients. What do taxes have to do with religious beliefs?

• 18-time Grand Slam winner Martina Navratilova has been removed from the advisory board of pro-LGBTQ sports organization Athlete Ally for her recent anti-transgender remarks. The tennis champ says its ‘cheating’ to let trans women compete in women’s sports.

• As he was recovering from a life-shaking breakup, out singer/songwriter Kisos penned (in real time) his upcoming EP, sweet nothings, featuring one track for each of the 5 stages of grief.

The lead single, “Happily Ever After,” is a bouncy electro-pop bop with the handsome artist deep in denial, using delusion as poisoned motivation to better himself and survive the pain of seeing his ex with someone new.

Hit the play button below and enjoy! “Happily Ever After” is available now – click here.

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Presidential Hopeful Pete Buttigieg On Whether America Is Ready For A Gay President

Appearing on The View today, presidential hopeful Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana, was asked the question everyone wants to know: Is America ready for its first gay president?
South Bend Mayor and presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg

Appearing on The View today, presidential hopeful Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana, was asked the question everyone wants to know: Is America ready for its first gay president?

Buttigieg’s answer was perfect.

“Well, there’s only one way to find out,” replied the 37-year-old mayor with a smile.

He continued:

“When I came out it was 2015, I was in the middle of a reelection campaign. I was ready – you know you’re ready when you’re ready? – and I wanted to have a personal life.

“It was not obvious that was going to be a safe thing to do – it was in Indiana, Mike Pence was the governor at the time – and I wound up getting reelected with 80% of the vote.

“So I think people will evaluate you for the job you’re doing.”

Buttigieg also says coming from a different generation isn’t a bad thing, and that he promised his father (who passed away this Sunday) he would make him proud.

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News Round-Up: August 7, 2018

(Fran Dullon via Instagram)

Some news items you might have missed:

• Spanish fitness model Fran Dullon is living this summer out LOUD. #woof

• Aryeh Cohen, a 44-year-old rabbi from St. Louis Park, a suburb of Minneapolis was arrested in a sex trafficking sting earlier this year after chatting and sharing explicit photos with someone claiming to be a 16-year-old boy on Grindr. He was apparently grooming the boy for sex.

• An Indiana judge has ordered a school district in Evansville, Ind., to allow a 17-year-old transgender student to use restrooms that align with his gender identity just days before the beginning of the school year.

• An anti-LGBT group is calling for a boycott of Britney Spears over her support for LGBTQ rights.

• Texas’s Hood County Clerk Katie Lang still won’t issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

• Charlotte Rae, who played the wise and wonderful “Mrs. Garrett” on the long-running sitcoms Diff’rent Strokes and The Facts of Life fame passed away at the age of 92. After a long career on the Great White Way, the two-time Tony Award nominee moved into successful longevity television.

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News Round-Up: July 22, 2018

UK fitness guy Dan Tai (above) worked out with a broken wrist this weekend. #slacker #woof #ThatFace - plus some other news stories
Dan Tai

 Some news items you might have missed:

• UK fitness guy Dan Tai (above) worked out with a broken wrist this weekend. #slacker #woof #ThatFace

• Cuba is currently in the process of re-writing its constitution, and the latest draft opens the door to same-sex marriage. Instead listing marriage as between husband and wife, the language presently only defines marriage as ‘between two individuals.’

• Step aside, Batman. The CW is currently developing a new addition to the DC super-hero universe of TV shows around the character of “Batwoman,” aka Kate Kane. Kane, a lesbian, would be DC’s first openly LGBT character on TV.

• Also in super-news, the CW’s Supergirl is making TV history having cast transgender activist and actress Nicole Maines to play TV’s first transgender superhero, Nia Nal (aka Dreamer), a character described as a soulful young transgender woman with a fierce drive to protect others.

• A gay couple in Indiana were turned away by an anti-gay florist when shopping for flowers for their wedding. Rita Harris of Avon Flowers was initially fine with the impending wedding date, but when she realized there wasn’t a bride, she suddenly had a vacation planned and wasn’t available. #liar

• New York Giants co-owner Steve Tisch will not punish his players for any displays of protest during the national anthem. Tisch added that Donald Trump’s interference in the issue shows “he has no understanding of why they take a knee or why they’re protesting.”

• Sexy out artist Billy Winn begins his new EP, Dreamland I, with “Seal It with a Kiss,” a smooth, electro-pop track written and produced by Billy and Johnie & Elliot of the production team OneVision, about an attraction that’s so strong, words are not needed to express it.

Check out the new music video “Seal It with a Kiss” below and head over to his Soundcloud to hear the full EP.

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Indiana GOP Reaffirms Commitment To “Man/Woman” Marriage

The Indiana Republican Party reaffirmed its commitment to "traditional" marriage and will continue to oppose marriage equality despite a 2015 Supreme Court ruling

Choosing to remain stuck in the Dark Ages, the Indiana Republican Party voted overwhelmingly to reaffirm its commitment to marriage being “between a man and a woman” despite the 2015 U.S. Supreme Court ruling which made marriage equality the law of the land.

According to NWI.com, Gov. Eric Holdcomb had proposed a revised party plank regarding families that expressed support for all adults raising children.

Instead the 1,494 GOP delegates attending the biennial convention in Evansville reaffirmed the opposite-sex marriage plank first adopted in 2014.

Proposed by Porter County Republican Chairman Michael Simpson, the new language would have declared: “We support traditional families with a mother and father, blended families, grandparents, guardians, single parents and all loving adults who successfully raise and nurture children to reach their full potential every day.”

Speaking to delegates from the floor of the convention, Simpson said a broader understanding of family “is the best platform for our party and the best way for us to grow.”

But Morgan County GOP chairman Daniel Elliott, pushing the issue to the forefront of the convention, told attendees that man-woman marriage “is an important part of who we are as Hoosier Republicans.”

“This language … recognizes the reality on the ground that most families are headed by married couples,” Elliot said.

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WILL & GRACE Creator Donates Copies Of Gay Bunny Book To Indiana School Libraries

Talk about a story with a “hoppy” ending!

Earlier this month, I reported that John Oliver, host of HBO’s Last Week Tonight, announced his team had written and published A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo, a children’s book spun from the news that Vice President Mike Pence’s family had penned and illustrated their own children’s book, Marlon Bundo’s: A Day in the Life of the Vice President.

Jill Twiss, a writer on Oliver’s Last Week Tonight show penned the charming book with illustrations by E.G. Keller.

Marlon Bundo is the actual pet rabbit of the Veep’s daughter and both books follow Marlon as he hops around D.C.

But in the Last Week Tonight tome, Marlon Bundo falls in love with another male rabbit named Wesley, which probably irked the Veep as he’s known for his notoriously anti-LGBT positions and policies.

The LWT book sold-out and became a #1 bestseller on Amazon.

But wait – there’s more!

This week, Max Mutchnick, one of the creators of Will & Grace, has purchased and donated a copy of A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo to every elementary school in the Pence’s home state of Indiana.

Along with the books, Mutchnik sent a letter which read, in part:

“I would like to donate this copy of A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo to your library. After hearing about the book, I brought it home and read it to my twin daughters. It’s a poignant story about how love and community can rise above intolerance.”

You can check out A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo on Amazon here. Maybe there’s a child in your life that could benefit from some good, wholesome storytelling 🙂

I was blown away by the new John Oliver children’s book, “A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo.” With Easter upon us, I wanted to not only support the brilliance of John Oliver, but also celebrate the Gayest Bunny of Them All: The Easter Bunny. So I decided to buy a copy of Oliver’s “Bundo” (written by Jill Twiss) for every public grammar school in Indiana. All 1,121 of them. Here’s why: Mike Pence has had an enormous platform in Indiana, and as it relates to gay people, he’s used it to spread a message of intolerance. By donating these books, I hope to counter those efforts and provide positive role models and a story of inclusion for children in Pence’s home state. If this book can help one boy or girl in Indiana love and accept who they are, I know both Marlon Bundos would be proud—even though one of them is on the downlow.
A post shared by Max Mutchnick (@maxmutchnick) on Mar 30, 2018 at 2:12pm PDT

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Indiana: Carrier A/C Plant Trump “Saved” To Layoff Over 700 Employees

President Trump

Back in December, President-elect Trump boasted as he toured the Carrier air conditioner plant in Indianapolis that he had “saved” more than 700 jobs at the plant.

It turns out the jobs weren’t quite “saved.”

From the New York Daily News:

Carrier was going to lay off 1,400 workers and open a new facility in Mexico where labor is cheaper.

Trump said that 1,100 jobs would stay in Indianapolis because of his actions.

As it turns out, Carrier did agree to employ at least 1,069 people at the Indianapolis plant for the next 10 years in exchange for the $7 million in incentives.

But the majority of the 1,069 positions are engineering and technical workers whose positions weren’t in jeopardy, CNBC said.

The manufacturers whose jobs were on the line in November are still at risk — and 730 of them will get the ax, CNBC reported.

Trump had also taken credit for getting a promise from United Technologies to invest $16 million into the Indianapolis plant.

But that money is actually going toward more automation — which will result in fewer jobs, CNBC noted.

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Donald Trump & Bernie Sanders Win Indiana Primaries, Cruz Drops Out

Republican White House hopeful Donald Trump cruised to an easy victory in the GOP Indiana primary last night, and in doing so saw his last real competitor, Sen. Ted Cruz, hit the skids and drop out of the race.

Sen. Bernie Sanders won the Democratic primary over former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, but that outcome does little to change the math in the Democratic race due to Clinton’s 280-285 delegate lead. Sanders would have to win 65% of all the remaining delegates to close that gap. And so far, nothing indicates a shift that seismic in the Dem race.

With Clinton and Trump looking more and more like the presumptive nominees for the presidential race, CNN reports Clinton leads 54% to 41%, a 13-point edge over the New York businessman, her largest lead since last July.

Clinton is also more trusted than Trump on many issues voters rank as critically important.

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News Round-Up: May 3, 2016

Some news stories you may have missed:

• Wicked, the Broadway musical blockbuster, crosses the $4 billion mark in world-wide box office.

• Donald Trump’s “working class” supporters are not so “blue collar’ when compared with Hillary or Bernie voters, who are much closer to the median household income of the average American.

• CNN’s Political Prediction Market now says Donald Trump is 96% likely to win today’s Indiana GOP primary.

• Sarah Palin asks “Who are we to disagree with 97% of scientists on climate change?” Jimmy Kimmel agrees – who ARE we to disagree with 97% of scientists on climate change.

•Anti-LGBT “Christians” descend on Target stores telling customers they need to “repent” for shopping at a store that let’s transgender folks use the rest room.

• A Texas mayor saw his anti-transgender ordinance go down in a unanimous vote.

• Netflix’s Sense8 will premiere Season 2 on Christmas Day.

• High school senior exposes himself in year book photo, gets charged with felony, but also an offer from Playgirl.