Chelsea Manning supporters delivered more than 115,000 petition signatures to the Secretary of the Army Eric Fanning, calling for him to drop serious new charges Manning faces as a direct result of her attempt to take her own life on July 5, a press release stated. The 115,000 petition signatures came from petitions launched by grassroots activist groups supporting Chelsea: Fight for the Future, Demand Progress, RootsAction, Bill of Rights Defense Committee and Care2. The petitions call for the military to provide Chelsea with adequate and humane treatment for both her gender dysphoria and her suicide attempt.
Hillary Clinton said she didn't know the father of the Orlando, Florida, shooter was in the audience at her recent Kissimmee, Florida, rally, NPR reported. NBC affiliate WPTV identified one attendee ( who was sitting behind Clinton ) as Seddique Mateen, the father of Omar Mateen, who was killed in a shootout with police after carrying out the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. "This individual wasn't invited as a guest, and the campaign was unaware of his attendance until after the event," a Clinton campaign official said in an email exchange with NPR.
Speaking of rallies, Donald Trump had his own controversy to deal with, ABC News reported. Former U.S. Rep. Mark Foley, who resigned from Congress in 2006 in disgrace after sending sexually explicit messages to male teenage congressional pages, attended a rally for Donald Trump in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. After the rally, Foley ( currently a real-estate agent ) confirmed to MSNBC his support of Trump's presidential bid and said that the two have a longstanding relationship. According to campaign contribution records compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics, Trump gave at least $9,500 to Foley's political campaigns over 10 years.
LGBT-rights activists and faith leaders led a protest denouncing a gathering of evangelical pastors in Orlando, Florida, where U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump spoke, The Orlando Sentinel reported. "This conference and all of its speakers are fueling the fires of homegrown bigotry," said Carlos Guillermo Smith, of Equality Florida. "It's a bigotry that dehumanizes LGBT people and paves the way for discrimination and violence." Among those announced to speak at the "Rediscovering God in America Renewal Project" conference was Mat Staver, founder of Liberty Counsel, which the Southern Poverty Law Center considers an anti-LGBT extremist group.
The Human Rights Campaign ( HRC ) released a statement in response to media reports that Donald Trump will require immigrants to pass an "ideological test" that would include interviews about their feelings about LGBTQ equality. "What's craziest about this ignorant, incomprehensible plan is that Donald Trump and Mike Pence would fail their own test," said HRC President Chad Griffin. "Just last week, Donald Trump courted votes in Orlando from some of the nation's most notorious anti-LGBTQ activists, including people who have worked to export anti-LGBTQ hate abroad."
Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich will headline a Log Cabin Republicans event next month, On Top Magazine noted. According to its website, Log Cabin Republicans "is the nation's original and largest organization representing gay conservatives and allies who support fairness, freedom and equality for all Americans." Gingrich will be the headline speaker at the group's 2016 Spirit of Lincoln event taking place on Wed., Sept. 28, at the Grand Hyatt hotel in the District of Columbia.
A state judicial panel refused to dismiss an ethics complaint against Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore, saying that Moore will go to trial in September on accusations that he urged 68 probate judges to defy the federal courts on same-sex marriage, the Associated Press reported. The Alabama Court of the Judiciary, a state panel that disciplines judges, refused requests to either dismiss the complaint against Moore outright or go ahead and remove him from office.
The NBA took a stand for equality by deciding to pull next year's All-Star game out of North Carolina due to the state's anti-LGBT HB2, but New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie thinks it was an unnecessary move, according to NewNowNext.com . "It's grandstanding by the NBA. That's what they do," Christie said on a radio show. However, New Jersey advocacy group Garden State Equality is speaking out against the politician's opinion, with leader Christian Fuscarino saying, ""We deserve a better governor. Instead of bashing the NBA, he should be welcoming them to the Prudential Center in Newark."
Former Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer has endorsed Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu in the state's 1st Congressional District race, TriValleyCentral.com noted. The openly gay Babeu is seeking the Republican nomination for the district among five other candidates that include former Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett, Arizona House Speaker David Gowan, retired Air Force pilot Wendy Rogers, and businessmen Gary Kiehne and Shawn Redd. Babeu was running for Arizona's 4th Congressional District seat in 2012 but dropped his campaign after Jose Orozco, a Mexican national, said that Babeu's attorney threatened to deport him after their romantic relationship ended. Babeu denied the claim, and an attorney general's investigation found no evidence.
Texas and a dozen other states plan asked a U.S. judge in Fort Worth to halt Obama administration recommendations regarding bathroom access for transgender students, arguing they are unlawful "radical changes" being foisted on the nation, Reuters reported. In legal filings, the U.S. Justice Department said the policies are recommendations that do not have the force of law, and the plaintiffs, including 13 states led by Texas, have no standing to request an injunction to suspend them. The U.S. government's directive, issued in May, said public schools must allow transgender students to use bathrooms that correspond with their gender identity.
In California, the widower of a former KRON4 employee sued Young Broadcasting of San Francisco and the KRON/IBEW Local 45 Pension Plan for refusing to provide him with a spousal pension benefit even though the couple were registered domestic partners, according to a National Center for Lesbian Rights press release. Donald Lee Gardner was technical director for KRON4 for more than 30 years before retiring in 2009. After Gardner died, David Reed sought a spousal survivor benefit under KRON4's pension plan, which incorporates California law mandating that registered domestic partners have all of the same rights and responsibilities as those who are married. Even though the two were registered domestic partners and later married, the plan reportedly does not provide spousal benefits to Reed.
In Wisconsin, a 16-year-old transgender high school student—represented by Transgender Law Center and Relman, Dane & Colfax PLLC—filed a motion in federal court for a preliminary injunction ordering his school to cease its discriminatory treatment of him before he returns to school for his senior year, according to a Relman press release. The student is currently suing his school district after having been denied access to male-designated restrooms at his high school, subjected to daily surveillance and threatened with disciplinary action if he continued using the boys' restrooms. Students who feel they are facing harassment or discrimination can reach out to Transgender Law Center at TransgenderLawCenter.org/help.
In Los Angeles, the board of supervisors approved $3 million in funding to expand access to HIV medical care, Patch.com reported. Supervisor Sheila Kuehl recommended the expansion, saying nearly 60,000 people in Los Angeles County live with the virus that causes AIDS. The money will go to a program called Medical Care Coordination, which helps patients get to their doctor's appointments and stay on track, regularly taking medication that suppresses the virus.
HCPLive.com reported that the injection use of extended-release oxymorphone led to the rapid transmission of HIV in a small Indiana community, according to an investigation conducted by the Centers for Disease Control ( CDC ). The community, located in Scott County, had just five HIV infections reported between 2004 and 2013; however, between Nov. 18, 2014-Nov. 1, 2015, the investigators found 181 outbreak-related cases of HIV. Of those, 159 reported injecting the painkiller oxymorphone during the previous 12 months.
LGBTQ advocacy group Athlete Ally sent a letter to the commissioner of the Big 12 urging the conference to remove Brigham Young University ( BYU ) from consideration for membership because it says the school has discriminatory policies, the AP noted. BYU is owned and operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints; the school's honor code states that same-gender attraction is not an issue. Along with schools such as Central Florida, Cincinnati, Colorado State, Connecticut and Memphis, BYU is considered a strong expansion candidate for the Big 12.
At least two LGBT attorneys in metro Atlanta are among the dozens of lawyers and judges nominated for two seats on the Georgia Supreme Court, Project Q noted. Gary Alembik, a Fulton magistrate and family law attorney, and criminal defense attorney Christine Koehler are among the nearly 80 judges and lawyers nominated for two seats on the court that lawmakers added earlier this year, according to the Daily Report. The Judicial Nominating Commission will cull through the nominations and send to Gov. Nathan Deal a list of up to five recommendations for each seat.
The National LGBTQ Task Force issued a press release condemning the murder of Imam Maulama Akonjee and his assistant Thara Uddin in New York City. Rev. Rodney McKenzie, director of the Academy for the Task Force's Leadership and Action, said, "The Imam by all accounts was a popular figure who commanded respect from across the entire community. It's unclear at this stage what the motivation for these murders is. However, the atmosphere of islamophobia being drummed-up by some politicians and media pundits clearly helps create an atmosphere where violent crimes motivated by hate are more likely."
On Thursday, Aug. 18, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will deliver keynote remarks at Iowa's first-ever LGBT #RuralPride Summit, hosted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture ( USDA ), National Center for Lesbian Rights ( NCLR ), True Colors Fund and One Iowa, an NCLR press release stated. Part of a national series, this free event will feature panels and workshops to address unique challenges faced by LGBT Iowans, including economic advancement, family law and access to quality healthcare.
In Maine, the head of the Republican Party in York County apologized for writing an email containing degrading remarks about an openly gay state legislator that spurred some fellow Republicans to call for his resignation, The Portland Press Herald noted. Jim Booth, chairman of the York County Republican Committee, telephoned Rep. Justin Chenette, D-Saco, to apologize for an email in which he twice referred to Chenette as "Little Justine." Chenette, 25, said, "I told [Booth] I get frustrated too, but I don't call people names, we have to be the adults in the room. I told him I thought this might be a good learning moment, a time for some soul-searching in Maine.
An antique store owner in Hot Springs, Arkansas, has found himself in trouble for telling a lesbian couple to stop holding hands in the shop, LGBTQ Nation reported. According to Ashley Looper and Jessica Perkins, the couple had stopped in to look around Spa City Treasures when store owner Steve Salyers started to follow them around the shop watching their every move. "I'm a family person, so I want this to be a family store," he told KARK-TV. "It's like I wouldn't want to take my kids to a strip club or something. The store's social-media pages have been overwhelmed by criticism of Salyer's stalking and instructions to the couple.
RiseUpToHIV—a grassroots HIV awareness project that created the "No Shame About Being HIV+" campaign in 2013—has launched its new "My Positive Message" video campaign, a press release stated. The campaign is calling for one-minute personal messages of love, hope, strength and wisdom about people's experiences living with or affected by HIV in order to encourage, educate and empower others—with the goal of reaching 1 million combined video views by World AIDS Day on Dec. 1. People can message videos to Facebook.com/RiseUpToHIV, email them to mypozmsg@RiseUpToHiv.org or text them to 614-800-8660.
With back-to-school season upon us and more than 160,000 children missing school every day in the U.S. out of fear of being bullied, the personal-finance website WalletHub conducted an in-depth analysis of 2016's states with the biggest bullying problems, a press release stated. To identify the states where bullying is most pervasive, WalletHub's analysts compared 45 states and the District of Columbia across 17 key metrics, ranging from "bullying-incident rate" to "truancy costs for schools" to "percentage of high school students bullied online." The top five are Michigan, Louisiana, West Virginia, Montana and Arkansas; the ones with the least amount of bullying are Massachusetts, North Carolina, Vermont, District of Columbia and Rhode Island.
The American Military Partner Association ( AMPA ) will honor Aaron Belkin with the AMPA Distinguished Leadership Award at the inaugural AMPA West Coast Gala on Saturday, Sept. 17, according to a press release. At the event, the nation's LGBT service members, veterans, military spouses, and allies will celebrate the five-year anniversary of the end of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" as well as the recent end to the military's ban on open service by transgender people. Belkin is a scholar and advocate‹ who has served as founding director of the Palm Center since 1999‹; The Advocate has named the center one of the most effective ‹LGBT-rights organizations in the nation‹‹.
The Stud Bar—a 50-year-old gay bar in San Francisco's South of Market neighborhood threatened with closure because of a rent hike—will be sold to a collective that plans to run it as a co-op, KRON4.com noted. Michael McElhaney who has owned the bar for 25 years, announced last month that he planned to sell the bar after learning of a 300-percent rent hike.
Arianna Huffington says she is stepping down as editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post to focus on a new health startup, The L.A. Times noted. She founded the Huffington Post in 2005, and it grew to become one of the biggest online media players. It is currently owned by Verizon Communications Inc.
