IRELAND: GLAAD Has Got Your Back

GLAAD & GMHC Enlist Alan Cumming As Spokesman For FDA "Celibacy Challenge"

From the Celibacy Challenge site:

The FDA recently announced that gay and bisexual men may finally be allowed to donate blood after being banned for life since the ’80s—but only if they remain celibate for one year. So straight guys can have safe sex with woman after woman and still donate blood. But gay and bi men who have had safe sex for an entire year—even with a monogamous partner—would still be banned. Sounds like discrimination to us. Sign this petition to pressure the FDA to screen all prospective blood donors based on risk, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

You'll enjoy the clip.

GLAAD Unveils Media Awards Nominees

Via press release:

The GLAAD Media Awards recognize and honor media for their fair, accurate and inclusive representations of the LGBT community and the issues that affect their lives. The GLAAD Media Awards also fund GLAAD's work to amplify stories from the LGBT community and issues that build support for equality.

Among the nominees: Amazon Instant Video's smash hit Transparent; ABC's How to Get Away with Murder; HBO's Game of Thrones, Looking, and The Normal Heart; Academy Award nominee The Imitation Game and Golden Globe nominee Pride; Love is Strange, starring John Lithgow and Alfred Molina; Laverne Cox Presents: The T Word and True Trans with Laura Jane Grace, both documentaries about transgender people; Nickelodeon and The Disney Channel for Nick News with Linda Ellerbee and Good Luck Charlie respectively; To Russia with Love, Oprah Prime, and Outsports.com for interviews with out athletes; MSNBC's Melissa Harris-Perry; and Sam Smith for his critically acclaimed album In the Lonely Hour.

This year, GLAAD expanded the Outstanding Comedy Series and Drama Series categories from five nominees to a maximum of 10 nominees each. In 2005, GLAAD considered for nomination eight comedy series and 17 drama series with regular LGBT characters. This year, the pool of shows with regular LGBT characters considered for nomination included 52 comedy series and 83 drama series. With over 100 shows including LGBT characters as part of the cast, the number of shows worthy of nomination has also increased. Expanding the number of nominees in these two categories allows GLAAD to recognize more of these outstanding series.

The full list pf nominees is here.

Today: Transgender Day Of Remembrance

The clip below is from GLAAD:

As the video begins, Miasha Forbes recalls being told, "I should kill you right now, you f—ing man," as she recounts an instance when she was followed and her life was threatened in a parking lot, just for being who she is. She is one of three transgender women of color speaking in GLAAD's new video, made in honor of Transgender Day of Remember, to describe the threats and physical violence they've survived, as well as the nation's epidemic of violence against the transgender community, and what TDOR means to them.

Morning View - GLAAD's Spirit Day

Don't forget to wear purple today.

ABC Family Stars For GLAAD's Spirit Day

Tomorrow's the day to wear purple in support of GLAAD's Spirit Day against the bullying of LGBT youth.

The ABC Family stars will be joined by the network’s staff, who will also wear purple on Spirit Day in support of LGBT youth. Additionally, ABC Family and the network's series will ‘go purple’ on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for Spirit Day on October 16 as well as post graphics of iconic LGBT moments from their series. ABC Family is participating in this important campaign as a part of Disney/ABC Television Group’s overall “Choose Kindness” initiative during October’s National Bullying Prevention Month. Spirit Day, which will take place on October 16, inspires millions to wear purple or ‘go purple’ online in a united stand against bullying and to show their support for LGBT youth. Each year, Spirit Day draws the participation of celebrities, corporations, media outlets, sports leagues, schools, faith institutions, national landmarks, and individuals. Spirit Day is made possible by the generous support of its national partners PepsiCo and Wells Fargo, as well as official partners Comcast-NBCUniversal and Google, and supporting partner American Eagle Outfitters.

The Empire State Building is going purple as well.

NEW YORK CITY: Empire State Building To Go Purple In Support Of LGBT Youth

Next week Emmy-nominated actress Laverne Cox will throw the switch that will light the Empire State Building in purple to recognize GLAAD's annual anti-bullying Spirit Day. Via press release:

Spirit Day, which will take place on October 16, inspires millions to wear purple or “go purple” online in a united stand against bullying and to show their support for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth. Each year, Spirit Day draws the participation of celebrities, corporations, media outlets, sports leagues, schools, faith institutions, national landmarks, and individuals. Spirit Day is made possible by the generous support of its national partners PepsiCo and Wells Fargo, as well as official partners Comcast-NBCUniversal and Google, and supporting partner American Eagle Outfitters. “By recognizing National Bullying Prevention Month and lighting in purple for Spirit Day, the world’s most famous office building is supporting countless kids across the world,” said GLAAD President & CEO Sarah Kate Ellis. “At a time when eight in 10 LGBT youth are harassed at school, it’s critical that we let them know it’s okay to be who you are.”

As you may recall anti-gay activists have long fumed that the Empire State Building lights up every June to honor LGBT pride, but has passed on recognizing some religion-related events such as the 100th birthday of Mother Teresa. So this should be fun.

RELATED: GLAAD also encourages you to remember to wear purple to work on Spirit Day.

Brian Brown: I Am Now David And The Human Rights Campaign Is Goliath

"Right now I think folks who look at this issue and think that NOM or any of the groups out there supporting the traditional definition of marriage, that we’re the Goliath, and the pro-gay marriage Human Rights Campaign is the David — they’ve got the story in reverse. They are one organization among a whole platter of organizations like Freedom to Marry, GLAAD and all of these other groups that have almost unlimited access to the media and get their talking points across largely for free. But for us, it’s a lot more difficult and we’re up against a much bigger hurdle. I actually sort of relish that. It doesn’t matter to me whether it’s easier or harder or whether we have less money or more money. The real question is: are we standing up for the truth in marriage? And I’ve never had any question about that." - Hate group leader Brian Brown, speaking to NBC News. (Tipped by JMG reader David)

Christian Site: Satan Is Celebrating The LGBT Characters On Network Televison

"The prince of the power of the air is celebrating his success this week using media to promote the gay agenda and subtly indoctrinate a generation with the message it's OK to be gay. GLAAD officially announced that, 'moving forward, networks must feature significant transgender content in their original programming in order to receive a grade of 'Excellent' in its rankings.' It's not enough that 3.9 percent of prime-time broadcast scripted-series regulars will be LGBT characters, which is up from 3.3 percent last year. The stats go on and on from there, slicing and dicing LGBT coverage per network, by sex, by recurring and regular characters, and so on. Meanwhile, Christian personalities on prime-time television are largely missing or grossly mischaracterized. When Christian characters do make their way to mainstream television shows, they are usually portrayed as judgmental jerks who run around condemning everyone to hell." - Jennifer LeClaire, writing for Charisma.

GLAAD: Fox TV Leads New Season With Most LGBT Regular Characters

GLAAD has issued its annual report of the diversity of major network television. An excerpt:

FOX once again leads the way in terms of LGBT characters in broadcast television with 6.5% of primetime broadcast scripted regulars being lesbian, gay or bisexual; a significant increase from an already impressive 5.4% last year. The network features 10 LGBT characters among its 154 series regulars. ABC, which was tied for first with FOX last year is now in second place; 4.5% of primetime regular characters on the network are LGBT, or 9 out of 201 characters. NBC is jumping from last to third place. After a low last year (when only 1% of its primetime regular characters were LGBT), NBC has made significant efforts to rectify the lack and now boasts 3.8% LGBT regular characters; that represents seven of its 183 series regulars. CBS remains in fourth place but continues to make significant progress. The network is seeing an increase in the percentage of LGBT characters and is now at 3.2%, compared to 1.9% at the beginning of the last season. Six of CBS’ 186 primetime series regulars are LGBT. Sadly, in what is a tremendous step backwards, The CW has no regular LGBT characters out of 89 series regulars, despite 3% of its regular primetime characters being LGBT at the beginning of the last season.

Read the extensive report.

Perkins: The Left Fears My Hate Summit

"Pop Quiz: What annual event has the Left so worried that they are spending tens of thousands in advertising dollars to stop? You guessed it; the Values Voters Summit. In the Washington Post, leftwing groups including GLAAD, (known for its failed campaign to fire Duck Dynasty's Phil Robertson,) the anti-Christian Southern Poverty Law Center, and the George Soros-funded 'Faithful America,' signed onto a three-quarters page ad demanding that speakers 'not attend the Values Voter Summit.' The ad complains that I described homosexual activist Dan Savage's attacks on Christians as 'disgusting.' I believe most people would be hard pressed to disagree with my assertion. The Left is clearly discouraged by the effectiveness of the Values Voter Summit and is willing to fork over a lot of money to stifle speech they disagree with." - KKK-affiliated hate group leader Tony Perkins, via press release.

Symantec Drops LGBT Site Blocking

Web security giant Symantec has agreed to stop filtering LGBT-related sites. Via GLAAD:

GLAAD today announced that Symantec, the fourth largest software company in the world, has removed a feature that previously allowed people to block LGBT-related websites, including resources like GLAAD.org and The Trevor Project. GLAAD worked with Symantec to make the change, which affects millions of people and businesses across the world. “Making this change was not only the right thing to do, it was a good business decision,” said Fran Rosch, executive vice president, Norton Business Unit, Symantec. “Having a category in place that could be used to filter out all LGBT-oriented sites was inconsistent with Symantec’s values and the mission of our software. Inclusion is a key factor in our company’s culture and it’s important that our products meet that same standard. We’re taking a broader look at all of the categories in this database, and will be eliminating any others that are similarly outdated.”

RELATED: JMG is occasionally blocked as porn by some corporate and commercial filtering services. These blocks are usually dropped when readers notify the service or their system administrator.

MISSOURI: LGBT Groups Stand With Family Of Teen Killed By Cop

A coalition of 17 national LGBT and civil rights groups have issued a joint letter in support of the family of Missouri teenager Michael Brown, whose killing by a police officer has inflamed racial tensions and prompted a national outcry.

Among the groups signing the letter are the ACLU, HRC, GLAD, GLAAD, GMHC, NGLTF, PFLAG, and the Trevor Project.

GLAAD Issues World Cup PSA

Also available in English.

Meghan McCain Joins GLAAD Board

Via press release:

GLAAD today announced that Republican political commentator, author, and TV personality Meghan McCain; Executive Vice President, Commercial Services at Hilton Worldwide Jeff Diskin; Harvard Law School professor and venture capitalist with August Capital, David Hornik; and Managing Director at Opportunities for Women, Linda Riley will join the organization's National Board of Directors. As the daughter of U.S. Senator John McCain, Meghan McCain was propelled into the national spotlight at an early age, involved in everything from community events to national conventions. A powerful role model for young women and Republicans alike, she passionately discusses women’s issues, social issues, and marriage equality, among other LGBT issues. In 2013, McCain launched her genre-busting docu-talk series ‘Raising McCain’ on Pivot, Participant Media’s new television network aimed at the Millennial generation. Most recently, Meghan has signed on to co-host the late night news program 'TakePart Live' on Pivot—a nightly live show that decodes the news stories of the day with irreverence and insight, and points viewers to related actions.

The Tea People are going to go nuts.

LGBT Groups React To Oregon Ruling

Oregon United

"The importance of Judge McShane’s decision cannot be overemphasized,” said David Fidanque, executive director of the ACLU of Oregon. “Our federal Constitution does not allow any state – or its voters – to deny same sex couples equal protection under the law simply because of who they are and who they love. This type of discrimination is wrong and it’s also unconstitutional.” "Our clients Deanna Geiger & Janine Nelson and Bob Duehig and Bill Griesar are grateful the Attorney General, Governor, Ms. Woodward and Mr. Walruff carefully considered their position and so clearly articulated Oregon’s position that it values our relationships and commitments to each other and our families," said Lee Ann Easton, an attorney at Dorsay & Easton who, with co-counsel Lake Periguey, filed the Geiger case. "They are very pleased the District Court adopted their position along with the Rummell plaintiffs in his decision. With this advancement of civil rights, gay and lesbian Oregonians are now equal under the law.”

Freedom To Marry

"Today Judge McShane did the right thing for families, affirming that the denial of marriage to committed same-sex couples in Oregon is unconstitutional. In recognition of the strong support for marriage among Oregonians, no one with legal standing, including our state Attorney General, wanted to go down in history as defending discrimination. Across the country, the courts agree: same-sex couples and their families need the protections of marriage, and anti-marriage laws are indefensible. With over 70 marriage cases now making their way through the courts, today's decision in Oregon underscores that all of America is ready for the freedom to marry."

GLAAD

U.S. District Judge Michael McShane stated in his ruling, "Because Oregon’s marriage laws discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation, the laws violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution." "Love is in the air in Oregon," said GLAAD President and CEO, Sarah Kate Ellis. "This ruling is going to add stability to LGBT couples and families across the state and continue to advance LGBT equality across the country." Hearings were held on April 23, but here were no defendants in court to defend the marriage ban, because the state's Attorney General refused to defend the amendment, saying the ban serves no rational purpose.

National Gay & Lesbian Task Force

"We are delighted that Judge Michael McShane has finally brought a decade of uncertainty to a close with his ruling. Thousands of LGBTQ couples will be celebrating today across Oregon and around the nation. We are another step closer to marriage equality everywhere for everyone. This victory would not have been possible without the leadership of Oregon United for Marriage who are: Basic Rights Oregon, Human Rights Campaign, Freedom to Marry, ACLU of OR, ACLU National, SEIU of OR, American Unity Fund, Gill Action, and countless other Task Force Action Fund staff and volunteers."

Human Rights Campaign

“Today’s ruling from Judge McShane affirms what a majority of Oregonians already knew: discrimination has no place in our society, much less the state constitution. The plaintiffs and their tremendous attorneys Lake James Perriguey, Lea Ann Easton, Perkins Coie LLP, the ACLU of Oregon and the ACLU, should be incredibly proud of their historic victory. Thanks to their willingness to fight and the decades of work done by groups like Basic Rights Oregon and countless others, America is now one giant step closer to full equality nationwide.”

Activist Groups React To Mozilla News

Courage Campaign

“Across the country, the LGBT community and progressive activists are heartened by Mozilla’s decisive action to remove Mr. Eich as the CEO of their for-profit and nonprofit ventures. It is a testament to the power of online grassroots organizing. The decision to hold its CEO to the same high standards of inclusion and equality that the company advocates, Mozilla once again reaffirmed its credibility as a thoroughly progressive institution. Let this be a clear message to those at other progressive institutions around the country -- homophobia and bigotry are not progressive values, and will not be tolerated.”

CREDO

“We applaud Mozilla’s announcement and its strong stand for equal rights,” said Becky Bond, CREDO’s Political Director. “Mozilla is not just company, it’s a movement supported by tens of thousands of volunteers around the world. Mozilla is a non-profit organization fighting to keep the web open and free for all of us. They put people above profit, and fight for user choice and privacy. Mozilla’s mission is vitally important to every grassroots movement, including the work that we do here at CREDO.”

NOTE: There have been few public reactions to the Mozilla story by LGBT groups, who seem have largely left the issue to grassroots activists. GLAAD has issued a one sentence statement: "Mozilla’s strong statement in favor of equality today reflects where corporate America is: inclusive, safe, and welcoming to all."

GLAAD Head To Donohue: March With Me

"As a fellow Irish New Yorker, I'm hoping Bill will march with me at NYC Pride. I look forward to the day when I can march openly with Bill in the NYC St. Patrick's Day Parade, and not be turned away because of who I am." - GLAAD president Sarah Kate Ellis, inviting Catholic League blowhard Bill Donohue to march with her in the 2014 NYC Pride parade. Earlier today, the Catholic League was granted permission to participate.

LGBT Groups React To Arizona Veto

Human Rights Campaign

With today’s veto, Governor Brewer spared her state from institutional discrimination and economic catastrophe. Make no mistake, there is no better way to doom jobs in a state than by signing license-to-discriminate bills,” said Human Rights Campaign (HRC) President Chad Griffin. “The bipartisan outpouring of opposition to this bill is all the proof you need that this country isn't turning backwards. Governor Brewer did the right thing in stopping this assault on businesses and the LGBT community and we call on her and the legislature--and governors and legislators in other states--to resist any attempt to give license to discrimination.”

The Task Force

"We thank Governor Brewer for her decision to veto this outrageous measure -- a law that if enacted would be bad for Arizona people and the Arizona economy. In doing so, she has stopped a bill that both cynically uses religion as a smokescreen to justify discrimination and insults people of faith who feel that discrimination is morally wrong. This decision sends a clear message that extremism is totally unacceptable to people of all political persuasions."

GetEQUAL

"Governor Jan Brewer stood on the right of history today by vetoing SB 1062. It is clear that this bill would have hurt business, caused unnecessary controversy, and -- most importantly -- increased the suffering of LGBTQ people in Arizona. We are relieved that she has shown leadership and vetoed a bill that is bad for business and bad for the people of Arizona. However, we cannot forget the suffering that some of her other decisions have caused to immigrants, LGBTQ people and women. She signed SB 1070 into the law -- one of the most anti-immigrant laws in the country -- then signed an executive order denying driver's licenses for DREAM Act-eligible youth who received Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA). She has de-funded Planned Parenthood clinics and signed a bill prohibiting abortion after 18 weeks after conception. She has also backed a marriage equality ban in Arizona.

Truth Wins Out

"Gov. Jan Brewer avoided going down in history as ‘Jan Crow’ by wisely vetoing this wolf in sheep’s clothing," said Truth Wins Out's Executive Director Wayne Besen. "If this bill had become law, it would have been a disaster for Arizona's reputation and severely tarnished the governor's legacy. “This was a major defeat for what has become a concerted Hail Mary campaign to carve out special rights for religious conservatives so that they don’t have to play by the same rules as everyone else does,” said Evan Hurst, Truth Wins Out’s Associate Director. “In this new up-is-down world, anti-gay religious folks are ‘practicing their faith’ when they’re baking cakes or renting out hotel rooms to travelers. On the ground, these bills hurt real, live LGBT people.”

ACLU Of Arizona

“Discrimination has no place in Arizona, or anywhere else,” said Alessandra Soler, executive director of the ACLU of Arizona. “We’re grateful that the governor has stopped this disgraceful law from taking effect, and that Arizona will remain open for business to everyone.” The Arizona bill was passed last week following the defeat of similar bills in Maine, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Idaho. “We strongly support the right of every person to exercise their religious beliefs, but religious freedom doesn’t give any of us the right to harm others,” said Eunice Rho, advocacy and policy counsel with the American Civil Liberties Union. “The massive public opposition to this, as well as several other failed bills across the country, shows that Americans of all political persuasions and religions feel the same way.”

GLAAD

"Discrimination is not an American value, plain and simple," said GLAAD CEO and President Sarah Kate Ellis. "Governor Brewer today demonstrated that basic respect for LGBT people extends across party lines, and anti-LGBT bias isn't just bad politics, it's bad for business. As other states consider similar laws that aim only to make LGBT people's lives more difficult, legislators would do well to remember that anti-LGBT laws just won't be tolerated."

Lambda Legal

“Arizona's recent history has taught corporate and civic leaders that discrimination is terrible for business. This religion bill would have reversed the state's hard-won economic progress by declaring "open season" on LGBT people. Everyone in Arizona deserves respect and inclusion, including same-sex couples and their families, and people of all faiths and backgrounds. Governor Brewer did the right thing with today's veto. May it be a guiding signal for elected leaders across the country considering similar bills.”

New Chevy Ad Shows Gay Families, Will Be Aired Tonight During Sochi Opening

GLAAD cheers via press release:

Earlier this week we saw the first gay families included in a Super Bowl ad, and tonight we see the first gay families included in an Olympics Opening Ceremony. "Chevrolet has nailed it with ads that truly reflect the fabric of our nation, which today includes gay and lesbian families," said GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis. "Recent LGBT-inclusive ads like these not only raise the bar for the advertising industry, but also reflect the growing support and acceptance of LGBT people. It's about time my children were able to turn on the television and see families like their own represented in mainstream advertising." This first spot focuses on genuine moments between real families to show, per the ad's own narration that "while what it means to be a family hasn't changed, what a family looks like has." The second sixty-second spot takes a wider look at society through the lens of social media and includes both a gay couple and a nod to gay teen science prodigy, Jack Andraka.

Just fantastic. The sadz will be deafening!