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News Round-Up: June 10, 2019

InstaHunk Joel Green's recipe for a successful Monday: "Dream. Plan. Do."
InstaHunk Joel Green 

Some news items you might have missed:

• InstaHunk Joel Green (above) shares his recipe for a successful Monday: “Dream. Plan. Do.”

• Donald Trump’s entire family tagged along on his recent state visit to the UK, and along the way sons Don Jr. and Eric went on an Irish pub crawl where they offered free rounds of drinks for the house but didn’t pony up when it was time to pay the bill.

• A gay bar manager in Dallas was fired for refusing to serve a transgender customer and her friends.

• I know, I know – no one wants to see a hunky, kilted Scot proposing to his boyfriend in the middle of a Pride parade, but if you did, hit the play button below:

• New York Magazine has rounded up a ‘who’s who’ list of prominent drag queens, given them the photo shoot treatment and attempted to rank them.

• Scientists at the University of Toronto say being left-handed is one of three factors that could indicate a man is gay. Having an older brother is the second and having gay family members is the third.

• Taron Egerton, star of the musical biopic Rocketman, joined Elton John onstage for a duet of the pop star’s classic tune, “Your Song,” wearing a Pride t-shirt. #swoon

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News Round-Up: December 24, 2018

Some news items you might have missed:

• Here’s hoping Santa shows up looking half as hot as this ‘Santa Daddy.’ He sure isn’t your parents’ calendar Santa… 😉

• The Stonewall Inn announced that Madonna has been named a Stonewall Ambassador for the upcoming 50th anniversary Stonewall celebrations in June 2019.

• Don’t miss the 41st Annual Kennedy Center Honors set to air Wednesday at 8 p.m Eastern on CBS. Cyndi Lauper is scheduled to sing a tribute honoring Cher; Kelly Clarkson performs in honor of country superstar Reba McEntire; plus honors for Philip Glass, Wayne Shorter and the creators of Hamilton (Lin-Manuel Miranda, Thomas Kail, Andy Blankenbuehler and Alex Lacamoire).

• A new poll shows former Vice President Joe Biden would beat Donald Trump by 6 points – 42% to 36% – in a hypothetical head-to-head run for the presidency in 2020.

• The Advocate has compiled a list of the Top 10 Homophobes and Transphobes of 2018.

• The ‘Old Gays’ at Into were sat down and asked to identify several modern famous gays.

A few of the queer celebs the gentlemen nail immediately (Gus Kenworthy and Troye Sivan are clearly popular in the elder gay set), but others were met with big ole question marks (“These are people I’ve never heard of;” “I just don’t watch current television”).

Watch below. Pretty cute.

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Switzerland: Homophobia & Transphobia Now Punishable By Up To 3 Years In Prison

By a vote of 118-60, the National Council of Switzerland has amended its penal code to make homophobia and transphobia as illegal as racism.
Switzerland makes LGBTQ discrimination illegal

 By a vote of 118-60, the National Council of Switzerland has amended its penal code to make homophobia and transphobia as illegal as racism.

Under the new ordinance, anyone who is found guilty of discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity will face up to three years in prison.

The move to change the penal code was lead by National Councillor Mathias Reynard.

Upon passage of the new law, Reynard tweeted his celebration writing, “Victory! By 118 against 60 and 5 abstentions, the National Council accepts my parliamentary initiative against homophobia and Transphobia!

“A great success for human rights! Final response in December to the Council of States,” he added along with an LGBT Pride emoji and LGBT hashtag.

Gay Times Magazine reports Reynard told the press following the vote, “Homophobia is not an opinion. It’s a crime. One in five homosexuals attempted suicide, half before the age of 20. This victory sends a strong signal. I have already received hundreds of reactions.”

While Switzerland has allowed civil partnerships since 2007, the country is woefully behind the times in terms of most civil rights for LGBTQ people. There are no legal accommodations for same-sex couples when it comes to adoption, taxes, welfare or fertility.

Following this recent win, Reynard says that he plans on introducing marriage equality to Switzerland.

(h/t Gay Times Magazine)

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Today Is International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia & Biphobia

From the Human Rights Campaign:

Today HRC recognizes the 13th annual International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia (IDAHOT) with the launch of a video series highlighting global innovators in the fight for LGBTQ equality.

In addition, the organization is shining a spotlight on the need for continued U.S. engagement on protecting the human rights of LGBTQ individuals around the world, especially in the ongoing crisis occurring in Chechnya.

“While the global LGBTQ community is filled with innovative advocates advancing equality around the world, we are still combatting horrendous violence in the U.S. and beyond — as we have seen most recently with the detention, torture and murder of gay men in Chechnya,” said HRC Global Director Ty Cobb. “It is disturbing that the White House is trying to build a wall around our country as LGBTQ people and others are trying to find refuge from extreme violence and persecution in places like Syria and Chechnya. Equally disturbing is the violence transgender women of color are experiencing in the United States. We call on world leaders to do more — not less — to protect the human rights of all people around the world. If we turn a blind eye when human rights are violated, we all the suffer consequences of living in a world of violence and instability.”

IDAHOT celebrates the anniversary of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) resolution to declassify same-sex attraction as a mental disorder. The move followed a similar decision by the American Psychiatric Association in 1973. The WHO’s monumental change created a shift in how many LGBTQ people were treated. In 2004, LGBTQ activists gathered for the first time to mark this date with rallies in support of equality. The anniversary is now marked by celebrations, governmental proclamations, and renewed efforts to end the discrimination and violence that LGBTQ people throughout the world still face.

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Stacey Dash: Transgender Folks Can Go Pee “In The Bushes”

One-time B-list actress and current Fox News contributor Stacey Dash is out promoting her upcoming memoir, and in an interview with ET she said transgender folks can “go in the bushes” rather than use a public bathroom.

Seriously.

From Raw Story:

“It’s tyranny by the minority,” she told Entertainment Tonight. “Why do I have to suffer because you can’t decide what you wanna be that day?” Dash said.

“OK, then go in the bushes,” she continued. “I don’t know what to tell you, but I’m not gonna put my child’s life at risk because you want to change a law. So that you can be comfortable with your beliefs — which means I have to change my beliefs and my rights? No.”

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Fired Rochester radio hosts apologize for 12 minute on-air transphobic rant

Former Rochester, NY radio hosts Kimberly and Beck have issued an apology for their transphobic rant against transgender people during an on-air segment about city employees healthcare benefits that ended with being fired from their morning radio show on station 98.9

Said Kimberly and Beck in a statement (via All Access):

We are very sorry for the hurt and pain we have caused anyone, especially those in the Transgender community and their friends and families. What we said and the manner in which we handled ourselves was wrong; we take full responsibility and we deeply apologize to any and all that we offended.

Our attempt was to discuss a controversial healthcare issue; however our lack of sensitivity and understanding of the Transgender people and their plight created 12 minutes of radio we that wish we could take back.

We fully understand ENTERCOM’s position and their decision to dismiss us. It is their right and we accept their decision and our responsibility in it.

ENTERCOM has been and will continue to be a strong advocate for the LGBT community and we are proud to have been helpful in ENTERCOM’s efforts over our 13 years with the company.

It is our hope that this situation can be a time of learning and understanding about the Transgender community and not a time for additional anger and insensitivity. This is a community of individuals who struggle painfully to be themselves and find the support and comfort they deserve. We believe that this can be a chance for all of us to stop the ignorance and find our humanity.”

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Rochester radio hosts fired for 12 minute transphobic rant on-air

Yesterday I posted about a radio morning show team in Rochester, New York, that went on a 12 minute transphobic rant after reading the news that the city would begin to offer healthcare benefits to transgender people.

The comments between the two radio personalities were extremely vicious and ill-informed. The hosts have now been fired:

“This morning Entercom fired Kimberly and Beck effective immediately,” Entercom Rochester vice president and general manager Sue Munn said in a prepared statement.

“Their hateful comments against the transgender community do not represent our station or our company. We deeply apologize to the transgender community, the community of Rochester, and anyone else who was offended by their comments.

“We are proud of our past work on behalf of the local LGBT community and we remain committed to that partnership.”

You can listen to the radio hosts comments below:

(via GLAAD)

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Texas substitute teacher told not to return to school when discovered she’s transgender

Laura Jane Klug, a substitute teacher at the Lumberton Independent School District in Lumberton, Texas, was told not to return to her classes after parents complained about the fact that she is transgender, 12 News reports.

One father, Roger Beard, had this to say, “There’s some things that we can accept in society that children are not going to accept the same way that we do…It’s a very big distraction…I really don’t want them teaching, especially this age group. They can do many things in life but if it affects our little children and their ability to learn and grow naturally I think there’s an issue with that.”

Klug released a statement: “I have always conducted myself in a professional manner and would never discuss my gender identity in school.”

Watch the 12 News report below: