(screen capture via CBS Mornings)
Report: Police Didn’t Try To Open Uvalde Classroom Door
Uvalde Elementary School (screen capture via WFAA)
Burger King’s Pride Whopper + More LGBTQ News
Some news stories you might have missed: • Inside Hook: Burger King Austria is celebrating Pride Month by introducing its new Pride Whopper, which features “same-sex” buns — two tops or two bottoms. #ThatsNotEvenFunny Here in the U.S. BK has a history of supporting LGBTQ causes even without a Pride Whopper. Continue reading “Burger King’s Pride Whopper + More LGBTQ News”
Teen In Custody After Threatening Mass Shooting At Florida Pride Event
(screen capture via WPBF)
4 Measures That Could Have Made A Difference In Mass Shootings
(photo: Maurício Mascaro/Pexels)
Congress Designates Pulse Nightclub A National Monument
Days before the fifth anniversary of the horrific Pulse nightclub shooting, the U.S. Senate unanimously approved designating the site of the former nightclub as a national memorial. The House version of the bill, HR 49, passed on a voice vote on May 12. From the Orlando Sentinel:
Forty-nine people were killed and dozens more injured in the June 12 LGBTQ+ nightclub shooting, which is among the deadliest mass shootings in American history.
A similar bill passed the U.S. House last year but stalled in the Senate. This year’s bill still has to be signed into law by President Joe Biden before the designation becomes official.
The national designation does not incorporate the memorial into the National Park system and it does not require the monument to receive federal funds.
The onePULSE Foundation, a nonprofit founded in the wake of the shooting, plans to build the National Pulse Memorial & Museum in Orlando over the next few years. Preliminary designs for the memorial and museum incorporate the remains of the club into a garden with a reflecting pool and 49 trees, with the open-air museum planned for construction a half-mile away.
Scott Bowman, a spokesman for onePULSE Foundation, issued a statement Wednesday that onePULSE was “thrilled” about the memorial’s national designation. “The unanimous consent is such welcome news as we are set to mark the five-year remembrance of the Pulse tragedy,” said Bowman. “This recognition from both the House and Senate means so much to the LGBTQ+ community.” https://www.instagram.com/p/CP7AK9MLhv4/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Trump Gives ‘Thumbs Up’ In Photo With Infant Orphaned In El Paso Shooting???
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| Donald and Melania Trump (Official White House Photo by Andrea Hanks) |
When none of the eight hospitalized shooting victims in El Paso, Texas, agreed to meet with Donald Trump during his visit, the White House asked that a tiny infant who had already been sent home be brought to the hospital for photo opp with the president and First Lady. Reporters were told they couldn’t trail the president during his visit at the hospital because the White House didn’t want the trip to be about photo opps. And then Trump and Melania posed for this photo – what in the hell is there a thumbs up for??? – and the photo was posted to the White House Flickr account. The First Lady tweeted the images as well. Baby Paul is the child of Jordan and Andre Anchondo who were among the 22 people killed in a mass shooting Saturday at a Walmart in El Paso. Doctors told reporters he appeared to “lack empathy,” while he was filmed bragging to medical staff – who have spent the week dealing with the aftermath of the massacre – about the size of a rally he had previously held there. https://twitter.com/briantylercohen/status/1159672574927753216
Continue reading “Trump Gives ‘Thumbs Up’ In Photo With Infant Orphaned In El Paso Shooting???”
Podcast: HIV Charity Scammed, Coke’s Hungarian Backlash, Spacey Returns, Univision New Gay TV Series
In this week’s podcast:
• An Ohio Republican lawmaker faced backlash after she blamed gays, video games, drag queens and more for recent mass shootings
• A New York City pastor is accused of scamming over $600,000 from two charities that help HIV+ drug addicts
• Coca-Cola faces backlash for same-sex ad campaign in Hungary
• Kevin Spacey resurfaces for an impromptu performance in Italy
* Univision is about to premiere its first Spanish language broadcast television series featuring a gay couple as the lead characters
All that and more in this episode of The Randy Report
Obama On Recent Shootings: “No Other Developed Nation Tolerates Levels Of Gun Violence That We Do”
President Obama issued a statement today regarding the twin mass shootings that occurred over the weekend.
After sharing condolences from his family for the victims of the attacks, Obama wrote, “No other nation on Earth comes close to experiencing the frequency of mass shootings that we see in the United State. No other developed nation tolerates the levels of gun violence that we do.”
He also called out those who say “tougher gun laws won’t stop all murders” because “the evidence shows that they can stop some killings.”
The former president also wrote of the accused El Paso shooter: “Troubled individuals who embrace racist ideologies and themselves obligated to act violently to preserve white supremacy.”
“We should soundly reject language coming of the mouths of any of our leaders that feeds a climate of fear and hatred or normalizes racists sentiments; leaders who demonize those who don’t look like us, or suggest that other people, including immigrants, threaten our way of life, or refer to other people as sub-human, or imply that America belongs to just one certain type of people,” said Obama in closing.
You can read the full statement below.
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) August 5, 2019
Mass Shootings: Trump Condemns “Racism, Bigotry And White Supremacy”
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| Donald Trump (screen capture) |
Donald Trump denounced white supremacy, racism and bigotry on Monday as he addressed the two mass shootings that occurred over the weekend.
From the New York Times:
“In one voice our nation must condemn racism, bigotry and white supremacy,” Mr. Trump said.
But Mr. Trump stopped well short of endorsing the kind of broad gun control measures that activists and Democrats have sought for years, instead falling back on time-honored Republican remedies, calling for stronger action to address mental illness, violence in the media and in video games.
He warned of “the perils of the internet and social media” with no acknowledgment of his use of those platforms to promote his brand of divisive politics.
It remained unclear whether Mr. Trump’s 10-minute remarks after one of the most violent weekends in recent American history could place him in a position to unify the nation when many Americans believe he is personally responsible for inflaming racial division. He took no responsibility for the atmosphere of division, nor did he recognize his own reluctance to warn of the rise of white nationalism until now.
The First Lady and I join all Americans in praying and grieving for the victims, their families, and the survivors. We will stand by their side FOREVER! pic.twitter.com/zOQLvAuXoh— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 5, 2019
TRUMP: “In one voice, our nation must condemn racism, bigotry, and white supremacy.” pic.twitter.com/BaJp6bhWjG— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 5, 2019
Today, I am also directing the Department of Justice to propose legislation ensuring that those who commit hate crimes and mass murders face the DEATH PENALTY – and that this capital punishment be delivered quickly, decisively, and without years of needless delay. pic.twitter.com/BDXdpelK7F— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 5, 2019
Trump, struggling with a bad case of what appears to be dry mouth, falsely claimed the Ohio mass shooting took place in Toledo. (It happened in Dayton.) pic.twitter.com/dzOcsIV5ox— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 5, 2019
Trump said, “may God bless the memory of those who perished in Toledo,” but the shooting happened in Dayton, Ohio.— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) August 5, 2019