Faggot used in 2.4 million tweets

Since July 5, 2012 “faggot” and variations of this word have been tweeted
over 2.4 million times on Twitter. This number was announced today with the unveiling of a new website called nohomophobes.com by the University of Alberta’s Institute for Sexual Minority Studies and Services (iSMSS).

The website, designed to serve as a “social mirror,” captures the homophobic language that exists in
Twittersphere and counts tweets that use the terms: “Faggot” (2.4 million), “So Gay” (800,000 tweets), “NoHomo” (800,000 tweets) and “Dyke” (300,000 tweets).

Witness the live tweets here: www.nohomophobes.com

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Cowboys.com Launching Website Targeting Cowboys, Gays & Straights

Baltimore, Maryland based Cowboys.com Group LLC is launching a western theme based website to take advantage of the fastest growing segment in online dating. The website www.Cowboys.com will be the new home for gay & straight dating people looking to find themselves a cowboy. “We are extremely excited to have decided on a direction for this property. Gay dating is a primary target for this website however, we will also serve the needs of straight daters as well,” said Darren Cleveland, President/CEO of City Advertising whom is part of the owners group.

“In understanding the traffic base, tens of thousands of visitors per month come to the website looking for a variety of things, dating is one of the most sought after searches. To finally be able to serve these visitors needs is a great opportunity,” Mr. Cleveland went onto say.
"As many states continue to pass gay marriage laws with the support of President Barack Obama, Cowboys.com will be well positioned to take advantage of the continued growth in the gay dating sector. "

Cowboys.com was acquired by a group of investors in October of 2007 after the Dallas Cowboys failed to complete their proposed acquisition of the domain name. Since acquiring the domain name, the group has worked together to form a plan and the direction is finally taking shape. Google and Facebook both show growing trends in this niche segment and with the recent consolidation in the online dating industry, there is tremendous opportunity to grow this portal. Visit www.Cowboys.com for more information.


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Courage Campaign Responds To Chick-Fil-A Halting Funding For Anti-LGBT Organizations

The Courage Campaign, a leading LGBT rights organization, put out the following statement on reports that Chick-fil-A will stop giving money to anti-gay organizations.

Rick Jacobs, founder and chair of the Courage Campaign:

"If reports are accurate, this news is a big victory for all the people who stood up for equality and against hate. From politics to business to culture as a nation we are seeing a historic shift towards equality for all. While large majorities of Americans believe in equality, a few continue to discriminate against millions of Americans and stand in the way of progress. If true, today's move by Chick-fil-A is a big step in the right direction. Discrimination and hate have no place in this country."

Oops! Maybe not. Just received an update from HRC today, Sept 20, 2012

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Transgender-Awareness Ad Launched in D.C.

The office of Human Rights in the District of Columbia has recently launched a groundbreaking ad campaign geared towards Transgender Awareness.

According to Elliot Imse, Policy & Public Affairs Officer for the agency, Mayor Vincent C. Gray initiated the campaign after he held numerous meetings with Transgender advocates in the city. ''We know that an ad campaign is not the cure-all or the panacea, but it is a step in the right direction,'' Gray told the audience at the campaign’s launch party.

Working along side with Alston Marketing Group, the first government-funded campaign is focused on the betterment of the Transgender community. There are 5 variations in the campaign, 2 transgender women, 2 transgender men and one who identifies as genderqueer.

Although the campaign is D.C-based, Imse reveals that they are receiving a lot of national media attention as well and they are hoping to spread the word even further via social media.

Beginning in October, the ads will run in over 200 bus shelters for the next few months.

You can find out more by visiting the site for the agency, on facebook and also to spread the word by using their hash tag: #TransRespect

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Marriage for Gay Couples Could Come to California in Matter of Weeks

Supreme Court to decide fate of Prop 8 case shortly; denial of hearing would mean return of marriage equality in California

In a matter of weeks, the U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether or not to hear the Perry case – the suit challenging California’s ban on marriage for gay and lesbian couples known as Prop 8.  If the court decides not to hear the case, the appeals court ruling will stand striking down Prop 8 as unconstitutional, and the state will begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples again.  The court will also consider whether to review a number of cases challenging the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which bars the federal government from recognizing married same-sex couples, even in states that legally recognize their union.  These milestones, along with the four states deciding marriage-related issues on the ballot in November makes these next few weeks critical to the future of marriage equality in this country.

On Wednesday, September 18, 2012 at 1:30pm ET, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) will hold a national phone press briefing on the status of the marriage cases in front of the Supreme Court and the marriage equality landscape across the country.  For more information on the various cases, states and federal issues, view our new infographic at: http://www.hrc.org/blog/entry/2012-the-year-of-marriage



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NCTE CONDEMNS SENSATIONALIST TRANS SEGMENT ON ANDERSON LIVE

 Today, Anderson Live will featured an exclusive interview with a person who claims an anti-baldness drug made them transgender. In response to the show's decision to air the segment, National Center for Transgender Equality Executive Director Mara Keisling said:

"All of us here at the National Center for Transgender Equality are surprised, saddened and disappointed that a respected show like Anderson Live would give credence to this type of sensationalism and misinformation. This segment is just another case of sensationalizing an already marginalized population plain and simple."

The segment, as described on the Anderson Live website, says "Mandi, who was born male, speaks out for the first time, claiming that a hair loss treatment caused him to become transgender. Mandi is joined by her ex-wife, Michelle, who opens up about how Mandi's identity transformation has affected their son."

Keisling added, "In the past, Anderson Cooper and his team have earned a great deal of respect from trans people for their coverage of our issues. Tomorrow, they'll throw all of that away. Worst of all, they seem set on misinforming the public about the causality of trans identity."

Anderson Cooper's other show, AC360 on CNN, airs a segment called "Keeping Them Honest," in which he addresses hypocrisy among public figures and elected officials on, among other things, critical lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues. NCTE urges transgender advocates and allies to keep Anderson Cooper honest about how this segment does real harm to real trans people.

"Anderson Cooper knows better than this. Anderson's team is better than this," said Keisling.

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BARNEY FRANK'S STATEMENT ABOUT THE LOG CABIN REPUBLICANS

Congressman Barney Frank today released the following statement as a follow-up to his recent comments during the Democratic National Convention about the Log Cabin Republicans.

I am not surprised that members of the Log Cabin Republicans are offended by my comparing them to Uncle Tom.  They are no more offended than I am by their campaigning in the name of LGBT rights to elect the candidate and party who diametrically oppose our rights against a President who has forcefully and effectively supported our rights.

That is the first reason for my admittedly very harsh criticism.  This election is clearly one in which there is an extremely stark contrast between the two parties on LGBT rights.  The Democratic President and platform fully embrace all of the legal issues we are seeking to resolve in favor of equality.  The Republican candidate for President and the platform on which he runs vehemently oppose us in all cases.  On the face of this, for a group of largely LGBT people to work for our strong opponent against our greatest ally is a betrayal of any supposed commitment to our legal equality.

But my use of “Uncle Tom” was based not simply on this awful fact that they have chosen to be actively on the wrong side of an election that will have an enormous impact on our right to equality, both in fact and in the public perception of the popularity of that cause.  If the Log Cabin Republicans – or their even more outlandish cousins, the oddly-named GOProud –were honestly to acknowledge that they let their own economic interests, or their opposition to strong environmental policies, or their belief that we need to be spending far more on the military or some other reason ahead of any commitment to LGBT equality, and on that ground have decided to prefer the anti-LGBT candidate to the supportive one, I would disagree with the values expressed, but would have no complaint about their logic.

The damaging aspect of the Log Cabin argument, to repeat the most important point, is that they may mislead people who do not share their view that tax cuts for the wealthy are more important than LGBT rights into thinking that they are somehow helping the latter by supporting Mitt Romney and his Rick Santorum platform.

It is a good thing for Republicans to try to influence other Republicans to be supportive of LGBT rights.  The problem is when they pretend to be successful when they haven’t been, and urge people to join them in rewarding the Republicans when they have in fact continued their anti-LGBT stance.  I have been hearing the Log Cabin Republicans proclaim for years that they were improving the view of that party towards our legal equality.  In fact, over the past 20 years, things have gotten worse, not better.  Most recently, on DOMA, when the House Republicans offered an amendment to reaffirm it, they voted 98% in favor of it, while Democrats voted more than 90% against the amendment.  And it is not surprising that they have not been successful.  Giving strong political support to people who are maintaining their anti-LGBT stance is hardly an effective strategy for getting them to change it.

The argument Mr. Cooper and the others in the Log Cabin Republicans have put forward in their defense is that they have succeeded in getting the Republicans to reduce the extent to which they denounce us, and, in Mr. Cooper’s phrase, the fact that Paul Ryan is “willing to engage” with gay Republicans.  That is where Uncle Tom comes to mind.  They are urging people to vote for the anti-LGBT candidate over the most supportive LGBT candidate and platform imaginable because the “antis” are calling us fewer names and are willing to talk to some of us.  It is this willingness to acquiesce in a subordinate status as long as the masters are kinder in tone, although in substance, that emulates Uncle Tom.

I note Mr. Cooper points to a couple of Republicans as reasons for supporting that party and helping advance its anti-LGBT crusade.  As to Representative Ryan, in addition to his “willingness to engage with them,” Mr. Cooper cites his vote for the Employment Nondiscrimination Act.  In fact, Paul Ryan has an overwhelmingly anti-LGBT voting record, including opposition to the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” and a transgender-inclusive hate crimes bill, and support for a constitutional amendment not just to ban future same-sex marriages but to dissolve existing ones.  It is true that on one occasion he voted for ENDA, but he did so only after voting minutes before for a Republican procedural maneuver – a motion to recommit the bill – which falsely invoked the specter that passage of ENDA would compel same-sex marriage and which, if it had passed, would have killed the bill.  In other words, Paul Ryan has always voted against us, except for one occasion when he voted for us only after first trying to make the bill he theoretically supported inoperative.

Mr. Cooper also cites Susan Collins.  She was very good on the question of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”  But the argument that supporting Susan Collins advances LGBT rights ignores the fact that Senator Collins has twice defeated Democrats who were far more supportive of our issues than she was.  And an example of that is the current referendum in the state of Maine on marriage.  We have a very good chance of winning in Maine, and winning a referendum is important both for the substantive rights of the people in Maine and for the political point that it demonstrates.  Unlike the two Democratic Representatives from Maine, Chellie Pingree and Mike Michaud, Susan Collins has been stubbornly silent.  That is, in a state where marriage is on the ballot, and in a year in which she is not up for reelection, Senator Collins is withholding her support from us, unlike any Democrat who would have run against her.  And remember, these are the best that the Log Cabin Republicans can cite.

Some have complained that in comparing the Log Cabin Republicans to Uncle Tom, I was ignoring the fact that they are nice.  I accept the fact that many of them are nice – so was Uncle Tom – but in both cases, they’ve been nice to the wrong people.
 
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HRC Releases New Infographic Detailing Upcoming Turning Points in Fight for Marriage Equality

 It’s been a historic year for marriage equality, and the final few months of 2012 present key turning points – across the states, in the courts, and via the presidential election.

In the final months of the year, the LGBT community will face some of the biggest turning points yet in the fight to secure marriage equality. Check out HRC's  new infographic charting these critical next few months: http://www.hrc.org/blog/entry/2012-the-year-of-marriage.

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Gay Wellness Start-Up Wins $10k in National Entrepreneurship Competition

 CapsulePen, a new kind of pill case shaped like a pen and the brainchild of Joseph Cote (serial
entrepreneur and former founder of Dance.com), prevailed over 15 other start-ups to win the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce’s Roll The Dice entrepreneurship competition during the closing session of the sold-out annual conference in Chicago, IL on August 10th.

Representatives from Google,  Moey Inc.,  and the NGLCC sat as judges for the competition and CapsulePen’s 15 minute presentation received a standing ovation from the capacity crowd. As the only LGBT entrepreneurship competition in the world, the achievement is recognized as a milestone second-to-none within the LGBT business movement. Prize money was provided by Allstate, Ernst & Young, and the NGLCC.


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