Methodists meeting in Scottsdale, Arizona, elected the United Methodist Church's first openly lesbian bishop, On Top Magazine reported. Delegates at the Western Jurisdictional Conference elected the Rev. Karen Oliveto, senior pastor at Glide Memorial Church in San Francisco, on the 17th ballot, the church said. The Western Jurisdiction includes Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. Oliveto is married to Robin Ridenour, who is also involved in the church.
An organization that opposes Massachusetts' new transgender anti-discrimination law says it will attempt to repeal that measure on the 2018 state ballot, the Associated Press reported. The Massachusetts Family Institute said in a statement that it has filed a petition with the secretary of state and plans to begin gathering signatures. By law, the group has less than three months to collect signatures from at least 32,375 registered voters to place a question seeking repeal of the law before Massachusetts voters on the 2018 ballot.
Activist/writer Dan Savage had some harsh words for the Log Cabin Republicans, The New Civil Rights Movement noted. In an editorial, Savage was highly critical of the group, calling its efforts to promote acceptance of the LGBT community from within the Republican Party an "Utter Failure," and "most ineffectual political advocacy org this side of NAMBLA." The official GOP platform contains several anti-LGBT planks, including full-throated opposition to marriage equality, support for "ex-gay" conversion therapy for children and support for anti-trans bathroom policies.
A protester has confronted U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio ( R-Fla. ) during a visit to Orlando, saying, "You have blood on your hands," PinkNews noted. David Thomas Moranwho was one of 10 people arrested at a recent protest that lasted 49 hours in honor of the 49 people killed in the Orlando Pulse mass shootingalso said to Rubio, "I don't feel like you're doing anything to support the queer Latinx community that has been so devastated by this, the LGBTQ+ community. ... Why are you talking to transphobes and homophobes?" Rubio responded, in part, "Homophobia means you're scared of people. I'm not scared of people. Quite frankly, I respect all people. We probably have a disagreement on the definition of marriage."
The Human Rights Campaign ( HRC ) released a new microsite blasting Donald Trump and Mike Pence for their anti-equality records, according to a press release. Launching on the day Trump accepted his party's presidential nomination at the Republican National Convention, HRC will promote the site via social media to its 3.35 million followers. The microsite is at HRC.org/dumptrump.
The Human Rights Campaign ( HRC ) announced Chelsea Clinton was slated to speak at a luncheon at the Democratic National Convention on Wed., July 27. Co-hosted by the Gay & Lesbian Victory Institute, the event will honor pro-equality elected officials and record number of openly LGBTQ delegates. HRC President Chad Griffin and Victory Institute President Aisha Moodie-Mills were also scheduled to talk.
Among those who spoke on the first night of this year's Democratic National Convention was former NBA player Jason Collins, who came out as gay in his final season with the league, NewNowNext noted. He praised the Clinton family as supporters of both the LGBT community and him personally. Collins was preceded by his twin brother, Jarron, who also played for the NBA before retiring in 2014.
Facebook has decided to include LGBTQs in the annual statistical report of its workforce diversity, Gay Star News noted. In the data released earlier this month, Facebook reports that of the 61 percent of its workforce who responded, 7 percent of those surveyed identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or asexual. In addition, Facebook's workforce is 67 percent men and 33 percent women; racially, 52 percent of employees are white, 38 percent are Asian, while only 4 percent are Hispanic, and 2 percent are Black.
LGBT spending power in the United States is estimated to be worth $917 billion, according to the latest annual analysis by LGBT marketing firm Witeck Communications, Gay Star News noted. Witeck's founder/president, Bob Witeck, has been monitoring the spending power of the LGBT market in the country over the past two decades. The new figure is drawn from 2015 statistics, and represents a rise from $884 billion in 2014.
U.S. District Judge Martin C. Carlson has granted permission for a Pennsylvania woman with HIV to pursue an antibias lawsuit anonymously, the Philadelphia Gay News reported. "Bonnie Jones," 40, claims she was denied access to a therapeutic swimming pool at OSS Orthopaedic Hospital in York because she's HIV-positive. The named defendants are the hospital, Drayer Physical Therapy Institute and Timothy Burch.
A principal at a Florida school for students with learning disabilities has been suspended after he posted anti-gay comments on Facebook, On Top Magazine noted. Steve Kenney, the principal at Center Academy in Pinellas Park, responded to a photo on Facebook of Outsports co-founder Cyd Zeigler kissing his partner with "sick" and two Bible passages, including one from Leviticus 20:13 that calls for gay men to be put to death. According to The Advocate, Center Academy suspended Kenney for two weeks without pay, and ordered him to attend diversity training and professional counseling.
A Utah prosecutor said he can't file anything tougher than misdemeanor assault charges against two Wyoming men accused of attacking two gay Salt Lake City men because the state's hate-crimes law is too broadly written and needs to be strengthened to include LGBT protections, according to the Associated Press. The two men who prosecutors say were attacked, Rusty Andrade and his friend Maxwell Christen, spent time at Utah's Capitol earlier this year advocating for lawmakers to pass a new hate-crimes law.
A five-year study aimed at developing a cure for HIV is about to get underway in Philadelphia, South Florida Gay News noted. The National Institutes of Health announced that a collaborative team led by the Wistar Institute and University of Pennsylvania will be one of six grantees funded through the Martin Delaney Collaboratory: Toward an HIV-1 Cure. The Philadelphia team will receive $23 million over the next five years for a combination immunotherapy study.
Controversial Fox News contributor and sometime actress Stacey Dash ( Clueless ) told Entertainment Tonight that Lady Gaga is a hypocrite and that her fellow conservative, Caitlyn Jenner, and transgender women in general, should stay out of women's bathrooms, LGBTQ Nation reported. "It's tyranny by the minority. Why do I have to suffer because you can't decide what you wanna be that day?" said Dash to ET's Nischelle Turner. And she saved her most biting comments for feminists, who she said have emasculated men.
BiNet USA launched a new campaign at last week's Comic-Con that's focused on bi+ people and their families and loved ones sharing their stories, a press release stated. The stories will be collected as part of a program aimed at raising awareness of the discrimination bi+ people face, as well as the journeys of those who love and support them. The BiNet USA Bi Stories project launched in conjunction with a Comic-Con panel, "Bisexuality and Beyond: New Frontiers in Popular Culture," sponsored by the BiNet Bi Stories Project and Prism Comics. Visit BiNetUSA.org/BiStories.
National PTA adopted a resolution during its 2016 Annual Convention & Expo in Orlando, Fla., on the Recognition of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer/Questioning ( LGBTQ ) Individuals as a Protected Class, a press release stated. The resolution calls for federal policies that specifically protect LGBTQ youth and local practices that create and maintain safe, affirming and inclusive learning environments for all students. Laura Bay, president of National PTA, said, "National PTA delegates have taken a stand to push for policies and protections for LGBTQ youth to make sure they have positive school experiences."
The Human Rights Campaign ( HRC ) Foundation released a first-of-its-kind web video exclusively featuring fathers of transgender children describing their experiences, a press release stated. The video also highlights the fear and hurt their families face due to anti-transgender prejudice and policies. The fathers highlighted in video include JR Ford of Washington, D.C.; Joe Ghartey of New York; Wayne Maines of Maine, whose family's story was also featured in a recent best-selling book Becoming Nicole; and Keith Thomas, of North Carolina. The video is at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rl7RLbt_OOE&feature=youtu.be.
On July 14, the Senate passed HR 3700the Housing Opportunities Through Modernization Act ( HOTMA ), which includes the modernization of the Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS ( HOPWA ) formulaan AIDS Foundation of Chicago press release stated. The bill ensures that the HOPWA formula reflects the current HIV epidemic by no longer basing funding on the number of cumulative AIDS cases since the epidemic began. The modernized HOPWA does not include those who have died of AIDS-related illnesses, but moves forward for those currently living with HIV.
The National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce announced that singer-songwriter Melissa Etheridge will perform at the 2016 International Business & Leadership Conference in Palm Springs, California, on Aug. 23-26, a press release noted. The event will attract more than 1,000 entrepreneurs, corporate decision-makers, affiliate chamber leaders and government officials from across the country and around the world. See NGLCC.org .
Twitter has removed Milo Yiannopoulos, the gay tech editor of conservative site Breitbart, from its platform, CNNMoney noted. Yiannopoulos wrote a scathing review of Ghostbusters, which co-stars Leslie Jones, who received a deluge of hate messages that coincided with the review. However, Yiannopoulos told CNNMoney that he's "not responsible for what strangers on the internet post."
GLAAD will honor Salesforce Chairman & CEO Marc Benioff at GLAAD Gala San Francisco at City View at Metreon on Sept. 8, a press release stated. Benioff will receive the Ric Weiland Award, which honors innovators who advance LGBT equality and acceptance through tech and new media. A pioneer of cloud computing, Benioff founded Salesforce in 1999.
The Journal of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndromes ( JAIDS ) has released a supplement on transgender people and HIV prevention. Among other things, the study reviews recent epidemiologic data, the pharmacology of HIV prophylactic agents in individuals who may be using exogenous hormones, and several recent multicomponent interventions designed to address the experiences of transgender people. See http://journals.lww.com/jaids/Fulltext/2016/08151/Transgender_People_and_HIV_Prevention___What_We.1.aspx.
At the urging of the National Center on Sexual Exploitation ( NCOSE ), Hilton Worldwide and Hospitality Ventures Management Group ( HVMG ) have cancelled their arrangement to host the TEXXXAS pornography expo originally scheduled for Aug. 17—20 in Houston, a press release stated. NCOSE Executive Director Dawn Hawkins said, in part, "This event had the potential to facilitate an increased demand for prostitution, and sex trafficking, in the local area. ... I urge all other hotel chains to refuse to host this TEXXXAS expo in favor of community and guest safety."
Business apparently boomed for male escorts in Cleveland, where the Republican National Convention took place, NewNowNext stated, citing a New York Post item. The Post reported gay prostitutes are in high demand with closeted GOP delegates and dignitaries. One gigolo who charges $250 an hour said he made about $800 per day, while another claimed to have made at least $1,600.
The WNBA has withdrawn its fines for teams and players who showed support of citizens and police involved in recent shootings by wearing black warm-up shirts before games, ESPN reported. WNBA President Lisa Borders stated that the league was rescinding penalties given to several teams and their players for wearing the shirts during pre-game protests, which began after shootings in Minnesota and Louisiana.
Merrick Garland now holds the dubious distinction of passing Louis Brandeis as the Supreme Court nominee with the longest wait for a Senate hearing, NBC News reported. And while Brandeis' saga ended with his 1916 confirmation Garland's prospects remain, at best, unclear. Republicans who control the Senatecurrently on summer breakstill refuse to grant Garland a hearing, saying it should be up to President Obama's successor to pick a replacement for Justice Antonin Scalia, who died in February.