• InstaHunk Bernardo Belmar (above) reminds us why winter living is luscious on the left coast.
• Speaking of the left coast, California lawmakers have proposed legislation that would declare so-called “conversion therapy” an “unlawful practice” and fraud.
• In March of 2017, WikiLeaks tweeted it never had direct contact with long-time Trump friend/adviser Roger Stone. The Atlantic has obtained private Twitter messages between the two showing the denial was a lie.
• Donald Trump son-in-law and presidential adviser Jared Kushner has had his security clearance downgraded.
• Trans actress Laverne Cox dropped her first single “Beat for the Gods” this week, and the music video gives glory to voguing, drag and club dance with some Fosse references thrown in for good measure.
Today, on National Coming Out Day, the LGBT community celebrates the single most powerful action you can take to make LGBT equality a reality. And that is to come out as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender.
Every step forward we’ve seen in the past several years is directly related to the increased visibility our community has when we proudly step up and out as who we are. People who know someone who is openly gay are more likely to support equal rights for LGBTs.
Coming out inspires friends, family, and allies of the LGBT community to stand up for what is right, even in the face of discrimination, bigotry, and violence.
And on the most personal level, coming out improves our mental health, self-esteem, success, and happiness.
Even if the first step you can take today is to come out to yourself, please know millions support your courage to live life authentically.
One of the most powerful moments I’ve experienced writing The Randy Report was when a regular reader reached out to me to come out on National Coming Out Day. I was honored that they trusted me to share the beginning of their journey.
Here’s hoping a lot of folks begin their own journey today.
Be brave. Be proud. Be you.
Check out Laverne Cox and Wilson Cruz sharing their coming out experiences below, along with social media messages from several Randy Report favorites.
It’s #NationalComingOutDay! Come out as gay. Come out as trans. Come out as supporting equality. We need your voices now.
• Thanks to Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, the spire of One World Trade Center and the Kosciuszko Bridge to be lit with the colors of the transgender flag for Trans Day of Action today, June 23rd. The same landmarks will be illuminated in the colors of the Pride flag on Saturday and Sunday for NYC Pride celebrations.
• Also for NYC Pride – New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio declared June 22nd officially “Laverne Cox Day” as the actress made an appearance at his official residence, Gracie Mansion.
Said Cox, “Can you believe that a black transgender woman from Mobile, Alabama, raised by a single mother has a day in New York City named after her?”
In all she does, she enlightens and uplifts. I was honored to proclaim Thursday, June 22nd, 2017 Laverne Cox Day in New York City. pic.twitter.com/u0ZGhLKyLQ
• July 1st was the date that qualified transgender people were supposed to be able to enlist in the U.S. Armed Forces, but military heads are asking for a six month delay.
• Speaking of lights for Pride, the Trump International Hotel & Tower in Chicago was lit up in rainbow colors, apparently in celebration of Chicago Pride this weekend. But the lights only lasted one night, and when asked the hotel responded with, “We’ve been told not to say anything until the PR person puts out a statement.” Of course, as we all know, President Trump ended the tradition of recognizing Pride Month after eight straight years of proclamations from President Obama.
Openly trans actress and activist Laverne Cox’ CBS series Doubt may have been cancelled after only two weeks, but she’s already on to her next leading TV gig.
Cox has been cast as co-lead in new ABC pilot, The Trustee, a female buddy police series.
[Cox] will play Amanda Jones, a larger-than-life ex-con finishing out her prison sentence doing menial tasks for the police department. Co-lead Meaghan Rath plays her counterpart, Eliza Radley, a driven but stubborn detective who finds unlikely help from Amanda.
Cox and Rath are joined by Michael Cudlitz of “The Walking Dead,” who will play Captain Timothy Waits, a wry and sardonic police captain who has learned to appreciate Eliza’s unorthodox policing methods.
As regular Randy Report readers know, Cox is the first transgender actress of color to star in a network television series. She has been honored with an Emmy nomination for her work on Netflix’ Orange Is the New Black, and a Daytime Emmy as producer of The T Word.
Shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court decided to vacate the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling on trans high school student Gavin Grimm’s case, and then kick it back for reconsideration at the 4th, actress/trans activist Laverne Cox shared a powerful essay with InStyle about her views on the current state of the rights of transgender folks.
Just a bit from the personal essay:
Over 30 percent of trans people report not eating or drinking so they can avoid going to public bathrooms. Sixty-percent of us have avoided using a public restroom out of fear of being harassed or assaulted. Even when I’m in liberal cities like LA or New York, I would rather not use public bathrooms. But if you leave your house, you have no choice.
But don’t be fooled: These bathroom laws aren’t really about bathrooms. When the current administration rescinded the guidelines for how transgender students should be treated in schools, they made it all about bathrooms. But the Obama-era guidelines also included pronoun and name preferences for these young people as well. These are important components of how trans kids should be treated in school, but all that is lost when we sensationalize this issue. It’s not about bathrooms. It’s about the humanity of trans people, about us having the right to exist in a public space.
Transgender actress Laverne Cox absolutely rocked her appearance tonight on MSNBC’s Hardball.
We already knew she is an outstanding advocate for the trans community, and her calm, collected and reasoned appearance here underlines that.
I’d break it down for you, but to be honest, it really just needs to be seen.
Bravo, Laverne!
p.s. note how Travis Weber, representing the ironically named Center for Religious Liberty, never – never – answers Matthews’ question about which bathroom Laverne should use. #coward
Out transgender actress Laverne Cox, of Netflix’s Orange Is The New Black and the upcoming Doubt on CBS, had the LGBT moment of the Grammy Awards last night when she used her time center stage to bring attention to transgender high school student Gavin Grimm and his fight for equal rights that is headed to the Supreme Court.
Before introducing Lady Gaga and Metallica, Cox told the audience, “Please Google Gavin Grimm. He’s going to the Supreme Court in March. #StandWithGavin.”
Grimm is the 17-year-old student whose fight for the right to use a bathroom that matches his gender identity at his local Virginia school district has garnered headlines in the national LGBT press.
Gavin is a 17-year-old boy. But because he is transgender, his school board passed a policy barring him from sharing facilities with the rest of his peers. Rather than use the boys’ restroom that all other boys use, Gavin is forced into a converted utility closet or another, separate, stigmatized space every time he needs to use the restroom during the day.
Gavin’s case will go before the U.S. Supreme Court on March 28th.
According to the Washington Post, Grimm had no idea Cox was going to bring up his case:
Grimm, now 17 and a high school senior, said Sunday night that he had no idea Cox was going to mention his name and was not watching the Grammys. But his mother Deirdre was in another room, and Grimm found out only when she “started shrieking.”
“I was just so thrilled because I love her. She’s just a beautiful person inside and out,” Grimm said. “I was really touched and thrilled and honored that that was the first thing out of her mouth.”
Grimm, once painfully shy, has become the unlikely standard-bearer for transgender student rights.
“At this point, that’s the role I occupy and I want to make sure I’m using that platform for positive,” Grimm said. “I definitely didn’t set out at the beginning wanting to or expecting to shouted on the Grammys.”
