BREAKING THIS HOUR: ORBITZ RESPONDS TO MEDIA MATTERS' DROP FOX CAMPAIGN, AGREES TO REVIEW POLICY (via Courage Campaign/MMfA release) - After a three-week campaign by high-profile LGBT organizations urging Orbitz to examine numerous examples of rampant anti-LGBT bigotry on News Corp's Fox News Channel, the gay-friendly travel agency has agreed to review its advertising policy to ensure that it spends its ad dollars on networks that are consistent with its core corporate values of tolerance and non-discrimination. Read the original letter: http://bit.ly/kMv6K8 Learn more: www.DropFox.com
ORBITZ STATEMENT RELEASED MOMENTS AGO: "Orbitz has heard from the LGBT community about its concerns that its advertisements appear on programs which have objectionable content. ...In the coming weeks, Orbitz will conduct a review of programming on the full range of media we buy. We will also evaluate the best practices among other companies who share our core values to see what approaches they use when evaluating media placements."
EFFORTS INTENSIFY ON NEW YORK MARRIAGE (via Richard Socarides, Equality Matters) - “With only 12 days remaining before the scheduled adjournment of the New York State Legislature, efforts have intensified to get a deal as early as next week for a marriage equality bill. Even though gay marriage advocates appear six votes short of a majority in the New York State Senate (32 votes are needed) there is increasing optimism that a unique combination of factors may come together and produce a victory.” http://bit.ly/iL9u90
DISCUSSED ON THE PODCAST - The latest on the marriage battle in New York, plus EQM’s Carlos Maza on what the National Organization for Marriage is doing now. The weekly Equality Matters podcast is available for free download on iTunes: http://bit.ly/g1nqr2
WATCH THE STATEWIDE TELEVISION AD ON NY MARRIAGE EQUALITY (via Freedom to Marry) - http://bit.ly/lgxwVD
LONG ISLAND FIREFIGHTER SUPPORTS MARRIAGE EQUALITY (via HRC) - In an online video, 25-year volunteer firefighter, Mike Vissichelli of Long Island spoke out in favor of marriage equality, saying: “Loving gay and lesbian couples should be able to go to city hall and get a marriage license. ... Nothing says family like marriage.” http://bit.ly/kSSXl6
FOR THE LATEST ON NEW YORK FOLLOW EQUALITY MATTERS ON FACEBOOK/TWITTER - facebook.com/EqualityMatters and @EQMatters
2012 WATCH: LAST NIGHT RICK SANTORUM TOLD CNN HE WILL SUPPORT A FEDERAL CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO BAN SAME-SEX MARRIAGE (via Towleroad) - http://bit.ly/m0SYXf
PIERS MORGAN TO MITT ROMNEY (via Towleroad) - MORGAN: Do you personally think homosexuality is a sin? ROMNEY: Nice try, but I'm not going to get into -- MORGAN: That's a valid question, isn't it? ROMNEY: It's a valid question and my answer is nice try. http://bit.ly/l4TG1v
HAPPENING MONDAY - Attorneys for the American Foundation for Equal Rights (AFER) will be back in district court to address a motion by the Prop. 8 defense to throw out the historic decision that ruled Prop. 8 unconstitutional on the grounds that the judge should have recused himself because he is gay and in a long-term relationship. Legal experts, former judges, and news organizations across the nation have come down strongly against the Prop. 8 defense’s effort, calling it “absurd,” “slimy,” and “deeply offensive.” http://bit.ly/iuXQR4
BREAKING VIA THINKPROGRESS LGBT (via Igor Volsky) - “Target Chairman and CEO Gregg Steinhafel said the company will remain ‘neutral’ on a constitutional amendment in Minnesota that seeks to ban same-sex marriages. ‘Our position at this particular time is, we are going to be neutral on this particular issue,’ Steinhafel replied. He added, ‘When it comes to particularly sensitive issues, we’re going to continue to monitor and continue to assess.’ Target has long had a good reputation in the LGBT community, but came under criticism last summer after it was discovered that it gave $150,000 to support anti-gay Republican candidate Tom Emmer in Minnesota.”http://bit.ly/iTj2MM
CNN THREE-PART SPECIAL: “THE SISSY BOY EXPERIMENT” - Tonight Part III will air on AC 360 beginning at 10 p.m. ET. Part’s I and II aired earlier this week. The full story is available online: http://bit.ly/knsULI
THE BACKSTORY TO CNN’S SERIES BY CHRIS GEIDNER - http://bit.ly/iNS468
MITCH ALBOM AND THE FREAK OUT OVER “GENDERLESS” BABY (via Equality Matters) - “Mitch Albom is the best-selling author of Tuesdays with Morrie and The Five People You Meet In Heaven. Now, he’s also the author of an embarrassingly uninformed column in the Detroit Free Press, attacking a Canadian couple that recently decided to keep the sex of their 4-month old child, Storm, private. The parents, Kathy Witterick and David Strocker, recently chose to keep Storm’s sex private in order to protect the child from being inundated with societal messages about what a boy or girl should look, appear, and behave like.” http://bit.ly/mGuggl
MAJOR NEWS OUTLETS FUMBLE IN REPORTING CDC STUDY ON LGBT YOUTH (via Equality Matters) - “A new study by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has found that LGBT students are more likely to engage in unhealthy risk behaviors - including tobacco use, alcohol use, sexual risk behaviors, and suicide - than their heterosexual peers. According to a CDC official, the report pointed to the incredible impact that ‘stigma, discrimination, and victimization’ can have on the health of LGBT youth. … The overwhelming majority of major news outlets failed to highlight the reason why LGBT youth experienced such disproportionate health risks.” http://bit.ly/mtUSxy
NATIONAL AP STORY ON CDC STUDY - http://bit.ly/kW88jn
ANTI-LGBT VIOLENCE IN PUERTO RICO (via HRC) – “It has been reported that three LGBT Puerto Ricans have been found dead over the past several days and 18 LGBT Puerto Ricans have been murdered over the last year and a half. Yesterday, it was reported that Ramón ‘Moncho’ Salgado was found dead along the side of a highway; Karlota Gómez Sánchez, a transgender woman, was found shot to death at an intersection on Monday; and Alejandro Torres Torres was found stabbed to death earlier in the weekend.” http://bit.ly/mkroxm
19-YEAR-OLD WANTS TO CRIMINALIZE HOMOSEXUALITY (via Equality Matters) - “On Tuesday, WND posted some ‘exclusive commentary’ by Josh Craddock, a 19-year-old rising sophomore at King’s College in New York who isn’t too happy with the way things are going in the fight over LGBT equality. Craddock criticizes social conservative groups like Focus on the Family for refusing to advocate for the criminalization of homosexual behavior, arguing that the fight over same-sex marriage has been a ‘diversion’ away from the ‘real battle’ over the ‘morality of homosexuality itself.’ ” http://bit.ly/iBy6Bq
SMITHSONIAN EXHIBIT MARKS 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF AIDS (via The Washington Post) - “The display case at the National Museum of American History holds a section of the AIDS Memorial Quilt, a tactile reminder of the individual lives lost to the virus. … Bob Witeck, an activist and co-founder of a communications firm specializing in gay issues, said the Smithsonian observation is timely. ‘Right now 9/11 has to be explained to younger people — HIV and AIDS far more so.’ ” http://wapo.st/ihnW4i
30 YEARS OF ACTIVISM ON HIV/AIDS (via Brian Bond, The White House) - “As someone living with HIV, this is very personal for me. We stand on the shoulders of many that are now gone, and those who continue to fight today. The ‘Champions’ that we met with are living examples of both the progress and challenges we have faced over the past 30 years. We are making progress—the number of new infections has declined among infants born with HIV and injection drug users, but we are now seeing rising infections in gay and bisexual men. Re-engaging the public, particularly the LGBT community, in prevention education and fighting stigma is crucial.” http://bit.ly/mTYBtx
WHITE HOUSE TO HOST PRIDE CELEBRATION (via Washington Blade) - “The White House plans to host a reception on June 29 to commemorate the month as Pride, the Washington Blade has learned. Two sources who are familiar with the event, and agreed to speak on condition of anonymity, said invitees were told to come June 29. A White House official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said the celebration would take place before the month is out, but didn’t confirm the date and said further information isn’t yet available.” http://bit.ly/mI5ClM
LGBT PORTION OF WHITE HOUSE WEBSITE UPDATED (via Metro Weekly) - http://bit.ly/jtAqrP
FIRST EVER FEDERAL LGBT YOUTH SUMMIT HELD BY ADMINISTRATION (via HRC’s Ellen Kahn) - http://bit.ly/mecYAz
WHITE HOUSE “SIDESTEPS” DEPORTATION MORATORIUM (via Metro Weekly) - “Asked [Wednesday] to explain the difference between a 2009 moratorium on deporting certain widows and widowers of U.S. citizens and the White House's failure to take up advocates' request that a similar moratorium be issued to stop the deportation of the foreign same-sex partner of U.S. citizens, White House press secretary Jay Carney provided no direct answer -- only reiterating the president's support for comprehensive immigration reform and belief it can happen ‘in the future.’ ” http://bit.ly/iH9IP1
GATES URGED TO CERTIFY “DON’T ASK” REPEAL (via Washington Blade) - “Supporters of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ repeal are calling for imminent action to implement open service in the U.S. military before Defense Secretary Robert Gates leaves his position at the end of this month. Advocates of open service say delaying certification for repeal after Gates retires on June 30 could unnecessarily add to the time before ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ is off the books.” http://bit.ly/ksuV17
FRANK WRITES THE PRESIDENT ON REPEAL AMENDMENTS (via release) - “Congressman Barney Frank [on Monday] released a letter addressed to President Obama, requesting that he formally threaten to veto the Defense Authorization bill if it contains language that could undermine the repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.’ Frank was joined in his appeal to the President by Representatives Tammy Baldwin, Jared Polis and David Cicilline.” Read the letter: http://scr.bi/ly54Lr
DISCHARGED SERVICE MEMBER WROTE LETTER TO SECRETARY (via Metro Weekly) - “An Air Force spokesman told reporters that the April 29 discharge of an Airman under ‘Don't Ask, Don't Tell’ -- the first such discharge since heightened procedures for discharge were instituted in October 2010 -- was based on a statement from the Airman that he was gay.” http://bit.ly/m9cG2c
NOM PEDDLES ADOPTION BILL DISTORTIONS (via Equality Matters) - “The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) posted an article from LifeSiteNews warning about a new federal bill - the Every Child Deserves a Family Act (ECDFA) - that would ‘effectively ban US Christian adoption agencies.’ In reality, the bill would require entities that receive federal assistance or contract with an entity that receives federal assistance from denying service to people on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status.” http://bit.ly/lQcdnQ
VICTORY FUND TO HONOR COLLINS (via Washington Blade) - “The Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund has selected a Republican U.S. senator to honor with an award for her work last year in building GOP support for ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ repeal. The Victory Fund will award Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) with the 2011 Gay & Lesbian Leadership Award at the event, which will take place Oct. 5 in D.C.” http://bit.ly/m27lc0
KEEPING AN EYE ON THE STATES - The state of equality weekly round-up by Equality Matters: http://bit.ly/jviLL9
CA GAY CORRECTIONS OFFICER ALLOWED TO MARCH IN PRIDE PARADE (via Metro Weekly) - http://bit.ly/kEggZk
CIVIL UNIONS BEGIN IN CHICAGO (via Windy City Times) - http://bit.ly/jt2q4o
PORTLAND ADDS TRANS-INCLUSIVE HEALTH CARE (via ThinkProgress LGBT) - http://bit.ly/mzUE57
MAINE HOUSE REJECTS TRANSPHOBIC BILL (via ThinkProgress LGBT) - http://bit.ly/iA2JOR
44,000 ATTEND DETROIT MOTOR CITY PRIDE (via Between The Lines/PrideSource) - http://bit.ly/lsvJ2C
FORMER MARYLAND EQ LEADER HIRED AT PRIDE AT WORK (via Metro Weekly) - http://bit.ly/jQIOcO
##
No comments:
Post a Comment