Fogbow

pipistrelle wrote: ↑Sat Apr 10, 2021 7:12 pm Seen on FB:0C9026A7-5A07-4D6A-BC58-7B783EFFEAA4.jpeg

Secretary of State Antony Blinken has issued a blanket authorization for U.S. diplomatic outposts around the world to fly the Pride flag on the same flagpole as the U.S. flag at their embassy or consulate showcasing support for LGBTQ rights. The directive marks a departure from how the Trump administration handled the matter while the State Department was run by former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

In a confidential cable reviewed by Foreign Policy and sent to diplomatic posts around the world, Blinken gave authority for diplomats to fly the Pride flag before May 17, which marks the international day against homophobia, transphobia, and biphobia, as well as June, which in the United States and many other countries is Pride month.

The cable contained a hedge, though, saying the authorization is not a requirement and chiefs of mission who run each embassy or consulate can choose whether to fly the Pride flag or showcase other symbols connoting support for LGBTQ rights based on what is “appropriate in light of local conditions.”

Flying the Pride flag at U.S. embassies became a point of contention during the Trump era, when, under Pompeo, the State Department blocked embassies’ requests to fly the flag on the same flagpole as the U.S. banner. Diplomats were told they could display Pride symbols elsewhere in embassies.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. will protect gay and transgender people against sex discrimination in health care, the Biden administration announced Monday, reversing a Trump-era policy that sought to narrow the scope of legal rights in sensitive situations involving medical care.

The action by the Department of Health and Human Services affirms that federal laws forbidding sex discrimination in health care also protect gay and transgender people. The Trump administration had defined “sex” to mean gender assigned at birth, thereby excluding transgender people from the law's umbrella of protection.

“Fear of discrimination can lead individuals to forgo care, which can have serious negative health consequences," said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. “Everyone — including LGBTQ people — should be able to access health care, free from discrimination or interference, period.”

It marked the latest step by President Joe Biden to advance the rights of gay and transgender people across society, from military service, to housing, to employment opportunities.

Becerra said in a statement the policy shift will bring HHS into line with a landmark 6-3 Supreme Court decision last year in a workplace discrimination case, which established that federal laws against sex discrimination on the job also protect gay and transgender people.

Despite that ruling, the Trump administration proceeded to try to narrow the legal protections against health care discrimination, issuing rules that narrowly defined “sex” as biological gender. A federal judge had blocked those rules from taking effect, although Trump administration officials argued that as a legal matter health care discrimination was a separate issue from the employment case the Supreme Court decided.

CNN)Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed a so-called controversial bathroom bill into law Friday, according to the state General Assembly website, prompting criticism from those who say the bill is discriminatory toward transgender individuals.

The Tennessee Accommodations for All Children Act -- also known as House Bill 1233 -- requires public schools to make "reasonable accommodation" for a person who cannot or will not use a restroom or changing facility designated for their sex in a public school building or at a school-sponsored activity.

The bill defines a person's sex as "a person's immutable biological sex as determined by anatomy and genetics existing at the time of birth." It defines "reasonable accommodation" as having access to a "single-occupancy restroom or changing facility" or "use of an employee restroom or changing facility."

"A reasonable accommodation does not include access to a restroom or changing facility that is designated for use by members of the opposite sex while persons of the opposite sex are present or could be present," the bill reads.

The Human Rights Campaign, an LGBTQ advocacy group, issued a statement following the governor's signing of the bill saying the law will "deny transgender students access to the bathroom and locker rooms consistent with their gender identity."

HRC said the bill further discriminates against trans students and opens public schools up to legal consequences if a student believes they have "shared a sex-segregated space" with a transgender student.

This bill is squarely in defiance of federal law and flagrantly discriminatory," the statement read.

"The state of Tennessee is quickly becoming a national leader for anti-LGBTQ legislation, as lawmakers would rather discriminate against LGBTQ youth than focus on real problems facing Tennesseans," HRC President Alphonso David said in the statement.

neonzx wrote: ↑Mon May 17, 2021 12:27 pm Tennessee is on a roll.... how long before they force adult transmales to use women's restroom?

25 minutes ago
Billy Porter reveals he is HIV-positive
Billy Porter is breaking his silence. Appearing on the new cover of The Hollywood Reporter, the 51-year-old “Pose” star reveals his HIV-positive diagnosis 14 years ago. The actor explains that publicly revealing he is HIV-positive is part of his journey toward feeling even freer as a human being, saying, “I’m the healthiest I’ve been in my entire life. So it’s time to let all that go and tell a different story. There’s no more stigma — let’s be done with that. It’s time. I’ve been living it and being in the shame of it for long enough.”

Billy Porter Breaks a 14-Year Silence: “This Is What HIV-Positive Looks Like Now”
For the first time since being diagnosed more than a decade ago, the 'Pose' star opens up about the shame that compelled him to hide his condition from his castmates, collaborators and even his mother, and the responsibility that now has him speaking out: "The truth is the healing."
BY BILLY PORTER, AS TOLD TO LACEY ROSE
MAY 19, 2021

Billy Porter takes a long deep breath.

“I have to start in 2007,” he says, having settled in across the table.

He’s here, at Little Owl in the West Village, to get something off his chest — something that’s been shrouded in secrecy so long, he can barely remember life before.

“In June of that year,” he continues, a ball of nerves, even if the performer in him refuses to let on, “I was diagnosed HIV-positive.”

In the 14 years since, the Emmy-winning star of Pose has told next to no one, fearing marginalization and retaliation in an industry that hasn’t always been kind to him. Instead, the 51-year-old, who has cultivated a fervent fan base in recent years on the basis of his talent and authenticity, says he’s been using Pray Tell, his HIV-positive character on the FX series, as his proxy. “I was able to say everything that I wanted to say through a surrogate,” he reveals, acknowledging that nobody involved with the show had any idea he was drawing from his own life.

Now, as the Peabody Award-winning series, a ball-scene drama set against the backdrop of the AIDS crisis, concludes its third and final season, Porter is preparing for what’s next. There’s a memoir, over which he’s agonized and blown deadlines, set for later this year; a Netflix documentary about his life, which will keep him in business with Pose co-creator Ryan Murphy; a 2021 take on Cinderella, in which he’ll play the fairy godmother; a directorial debut; a host of new music; and much, much more.

But the Broadway-trained actor, who is an Oscar shy of an EGOT, isn’t interested in entering the next phase of his life and career with the shame that’s trailed him for more than a decade. So, with Murphy by his side for support, and a cadre of documentary cameras hovering above, Porter tells his story. An edited version follows.

AUSTIN. Texas — After debating the meaning of God's love, the Texas Senate voted along party lines to give final approval Tuesday to a bill that would ban gender-affirming medical care for transgender Texans who are 17 and younger.

The 18-13 vote sent Senate Bill 1311 to the House, which has one week to vote on the measure, and it came one day after the Senate gave initial approval to the bill, also with all Republicans in favor and all Democrats opposed.

Sen. Beverly Powell, D-Burleson, opened Tuesday's debate by noting that religion played a role in the previous day's discussion of SB 1311.

"I'm concerned, and I don't want to let this go without saying, that transgender people will hear this argument and will conclude there is no place for them in the church, or worse that God doesn't love them exactly as they are," she said.

Kate520 wrote: ↑Wed May 19, 2021 1:47 pm In my younger days I would have killed for a waistline like that.

AndyinPA wrote: ↑Wed May 19, 2021 5:54 pm https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/pol ... 161989001/

"I'm concerned, and I don't want to let this go without saying, that transgender people will hear this argument and will conclude there is no place for them in the church, or worse that God doesn't love them exactly as they are," she said.

Denver PrideFest won’t allow police to participate this year
Denver police officers have marched in previous parades

Police will not be allowed to participate in the 2021 Denver PrideFest parade or as exhibitors, the Center on Colfax confirmed Tuesday.

This is in line with other cities around the country not allowing uniformed officers at their celebrations. New York City Pride banned police from all events until 2025.

The Center, who hosts PrideFest, released the following statement regarding their decision:

“The Center was founded 45 years ago in response to police violence and harassment of the LGBTQ community. The entire history of the LGBTQ civil rights movement is rooted in a history of opposing police harassment and violence aimed at our community. There are numerous examples of police violence going back beyond the famous Stonewall Riots of 1969. For all these decades, The Center has worked to address these issues and improve the relationship between the LGBTQ community and the police and we have made great strides. However, we cannot in good conscience, as an organization that speaks up for justice, look the other way when it comes to police violence aimed at the Black community–a history of violence that goes back even further in American history. While we value our relationships with law enforcement and want to continue to build a safer community for all Coloradans, we feel we must take a stand. We have decided not to allow police participation in the 2021 virtual pride parade or to allow law enforcement agencies to participate as exhibitors. We hope to facilitate future conversations about how we can reform policing in our community that will involve all members of our community and support new and just ways of keeping our communities safe.”

The Left is tearing down mainstream values — brick by brick! Lego, the latest company to pander to the woke, just decided to test the waters with a rainbow set of “LGBTQIA+” figures. “Everyone is awesome!” the iconic toy company tweeted with a picture of the pack, which also boasts a transgender-flag colored spectrum.

And if you’ve always wanted your kids to get an early education on cross-dressers, creator Matthew Ashton says you’re in luck. Although the characters are supposed to be non-conformist, the purple figure is meant as “a clear nod to all the fabulous drag queens out there.”

If Lego wants to trot down this same controversial path, they’ll learn pretty quickly that American parents aren’t interested in their building blocks of indoctrination.

Most U.S. consumers are wide awake, thanks to the cancel culture, and they’re not about to let a major decision by Lego corrupt a playful tradition that they loved as children themselves.

If Lego wants to turn its back on thousands of years of science, morality, common sense, and public opinion, that’s their choice. But they need to know that there’s a price for their extremism.

AndyinPA wrote: ↑Sat May 22, 2021 12:30 am Uh, Legos is a Danish company. I'm pretty sure they've been for equality for a long time.

neonzx wrote: ↑Fri May 21, 2021 11:43 pm Legos are probably one of the most popular toys over the decades. Now attacked, again.

https:// twitter.com/LEGO_Group/status/1395303326879735811

Email release from Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council.

If Lego wants to turn its back on thousands of years of science, morality, common sense, and public opinion, that’s their choice. But they need to know that there’s a price for their extremism.