Yesterday In Minnesota...

NEW YORK CITY: Thousands Rally In Times Square Against Iran Nuclear Deal

The Jerusalem Post reports:

An estimated 10,000 people turned out at New York's landmark Times Square on Wednesday in protest over the Iran nuclear deal signed last week. They urged the US Congress to reject the agreement brokered in Vienna to rein in Tehran's atomic program. Speakers at Wednesday's rally included New York's former governor George Pataki, Jerusalem Post senior contributing editor Caroline Glick, former Manhattan district attorney Robert M. Morgenthau, former congressman Allen West and Steven Emerson, founder of the Investigative Project on Terrorism. Pataki addressed the crowd, saying that "this isn't a bad deal, it's a God-awful deal, it must be rejected. Congress must do its job and stand up for the American people, stand up for our safety and say 'no' to this Iranian deal." Claiming that "we know what the outcome of this deal will be," Glick said that "our responsibility as free men and women is to stand up and ensure the security and continuity and strength and morality of the United States of America."

Protesters Chant "Shame!" At Midtown Hotel Owned By Cruz Meeting Hosts

Happening NOW! #BoycottFIPOut
Posted by Boycott Fire Island Pines Establishments & Out NYC Hotel on Monday, 27 April 2015

Photos by Matt Rettenmund at Boy Culture.

TONIGHT: Activists To Protest At Hotel Owned By Hosts Of Cruz Meeting

Despite yesterday's apologies by Ian Reisner and Mati Weiderpass, activists are going forward with tonight's protest at their midtown hotel.

The call to protest was endorsed by the city’s LGBT Democratic clubs –– Brooklyn’s Lambda Independent Democrats, the Lesbian and Gay Democratic Club of Queens, the Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club, and the Stonewall Democratic Club of New York City –– as well as the direct action group Queer Nation. Demonstrators were expected to gather at Broadway and 46th Street at 5:45 p.m. for a marriage equality vigil and, at 7, march to the Out Hotel at 510 West 42nd Street to voice their anger over the Cruz fête.

The Facebook event page for the protest shows 250 attendees.

BRITAIN: Activists Protest Outside Dolce And Gabbana's Flagship London Store

BOSTON: LGBT Groups March For First Time In St. Patrick's Day Parade

Via the Boston Globe:

History marched through South Boston on Sunday as gay organizations took their place for the first time in the annual St. Patrick’s Day parade. Joining them in front of hundreds of thousands of green-clad revelers was Mayor Martin J. Walsh, the first Boston chief executive to walk the route in two decades. “I’m very excited,” Walsh said just before stepping off under a light, cold rain. “We can finally move beyond the issue of inclusiveness.”

Walsh, who tried unsuccessfully in 2014 to negotiate the inclusion of a gay rights group, announced last week that he would walk the snow-shortened route from the Broadway MBTA station to Pleasure Bay because organizers had invited OUTVETS, which includes lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender veterans.

The former mayor, Thomas M. Menino, had consistently boycotted the parade because its organizers from the South Boston Allied War Veterans, backed by a US Supreme Court ruling, refused to allow gay groups to participate. But on Sunday, politicians were a major, can’t-miss part of the festivities. Governor Charlie Baker and Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito were among them.

RELATED: Irish Queers will be staging their annual protest in New York City tomorrow despite the first time ever inclusion of a single LGBT group. Visit their Facebook event page.

PERU: Thousands Rally For Civil Unions

Thousands of Peruvians rallied in Lima's Plaza San Martin on Saturday following last week's rejection of a civil unions bill by the national legislature.

(Via Andres Duque)

TURKEY: Men March In Skirts In Solidarity Protest After Murder Of Young Woman

Via the Independent:

Turkish protesters have taken to the streets of Istanbul after men in Turkey and neighbouring Azerbaijan tweeted images of themselves in skirts as a protest against the death of a young female student. The brutal death of 20-year-old Ozgecan Aslan on 11 February provoked a widespread reaction on social media - which has unusually translated into physical action. Ms Aslan died after reportedly fending off a bus driving attempting to rape her. She was beaten and stabbed before being dumped in a riverbed, where her body was eventually discovered. Female Turkish social media users first tweeted out under the hashtag #sendeanlat – translated roughly as ‘tell your story’ – before men in neighbouring Azerbaijan began tweeting out images of themselves wearing skirts under the hashtag #ozgecanicinminietekgiy on Wednesday.

KANSAS: Hundreds Protest Brownback

Hundreds of Kansans protested against Gov. Sam Brownback today in a rally held at the state capitol building. From the Topeka Capitol-Journal:

Organizers in the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community arranged the protest on short notice after Gov. Sam Brownback announced Tuesday that he would rescind an executive order issue by former Gov. Kathleen Sebelius that prevented some state employees from being fired on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. Brownback framed the issue as an attempt to make sure all state employees had the same protections. Kansas law prohibits discrimination based on religion, race, gender and some other categories. To Tom Witt, executive director of Equality Kansas, removing the protection not only threatens some employees’ livelihoods, but insults them and their work for the state. “(Brownback) told every one of them that is L, G, B or T, ‘I don’t value you,’” he said. Witt urged the crowd to continue protesting and to support HB 2323, which would add sexual orientation and gender identity to the state’s anti-discrimination laws. The bill’s sponsor, Rep. John Carmichael, D-Wichita, spoke during the rally about how Kansas and the United States have expanded equality over time to women, racial minorities, immigrants and people with disabilities. “Our law still allows Kansans to be fired for who they love,” he said.

(Tipped by JMG reader Michael)

ALABAMA: Minister Arrested After Refusing To Leave County Office Until She Could Officiate Same-Sex Marriage

Via the Montgomery Advertiser:

An Autauga County woman was charged with misdemeanor disorderly conduct Tuesday morning after offering to perform a same sex marriage inside the probate judge's office. Anne Susan Diprizio, of the 300 block of Cambridge Street, is charged with disorderly conduct, said Dave Hill, chief deputy of the Autauga County Sheriff's Office. She was being processed in the Autauga Metro Jail after her arrest and was unavailable for comment. Courthouse records show she doesn't have an attorney. She was being held on a bond of $1,000, Hill said.

Deputies were called to the probate office, which is located one block from the courthouse, about 10:30 a.m. Probate Judge Al Booth asked for assistance, Hill said. "Judge Booth said there was a lady in the office who wouldn't leave when he asked her to leave," Hill said. Deputies asked Diprizio to leave several times, but she refused. Capt. Tom Allen told her she was either going to leave the office or be arrested, she got up from the chair she was sitting in and kneeled in the floor. Allen handcuffed her and led her across the street to the Autauga Metro Jail.

The couple that Diprizio offered to help did get their license. They say they will travel to another county to be married. There's video at the link.

VIDEO: Trans Activists Storm Stage At Task Force's Creating Change Convention

I reported on this early today and this afternoon the Task Force posted video. The audio cuts in and out early in the clip but returns after few minutes.

DENVER: Mayor Cancels Speech To Task Force After Trans Advocates Storm Stage

Denver Mayor Michael Hancock canceled his planned welcoming address at the Task Force's annual  Creating Change conference last night after a large group of transgender advocates stormed the stage in protest of the recent killing of a Latina teen by Denver police. Michelle Garcia reports at the Advocate:

Task Force deputy executive director Russell Roybal and Creating Change director Sue Hyde welcomed thousands of attendees at this year's conference in Denver Thursday evening, and both showed emotion as they remarked upon the death of queer Latina Jessie Hernandez. Last week, Hernandez was fatally shot by police fire in Denver in a car authorities report was stolen. After Hyde and Roybal introduced the evening's emcee, comedian Kate Clinton, a group of trans activists and allies, led by Bamby Salcedo, stormed the stage with dozens of handmade signs as the chant "Jessie Presente!" filled the ballroom. Shortly after the demonstration, an activist told The Advocate that Creating Change organizers were not told about the action, in case the trans activists would not be allowed into the ballroom of the Sheraton in downtown Denver. Not only did Salcedo demand better accountability on the part of police and the criminal justice system, she also called for LGBTQ organizations to include transgender people on their boards and staffs as decision makers. "If you serve us, you need to include us," Salcedo said to a crowd cheering and raising their fists in solidarity.

After the stage was cleared, Roybal announced that Hancock would not be making his speech. Learn more about the Hernandez shooting at this Feministing post. Follow Creating Change on Twitter at this hashtag.

ACT UP Pickets HRC's Gala In NYC

Last night ACT UP picketed outside the HRC's annual fundraising gala at Manhattan's Waldorf-Astoria, where tickets were $475. ACT UP's Facebook page explains the motivation for the protest:

HRC has created an LGBT equality index to score the Fortune 500 companies, but there's no mention of HIV and the thousands of LGBT people with HIV in the workplace. We demand that HRC include several criteria to evaluate companies on their treatment of employees living with HIV, as well as their contributions to organizations and causes relate to reducing the incidence of HIV among LGBT Americans, particularly among the young. For over 30 years, too many have been fired, harassed, outed and discriminated against at work for having HIV. Also at this gala, many of the corporations that HRC will honor actively work against the interests of middle-class and poor Americans, including people with HIV. ACT UP denounces this frequent practice of '"pinkwashing" whereby corporations with policies and practices that undermine the people's well-being are given positive publicity in exchange for maintaining LGBT-friendly (or just equal) workplaces. This is short-sighted and divisive. We demand that HRC develop other criteria that takes into account the impact of companies' policies on every American, not just LGBT Americans.

Many more photos from the protest can be seen here.

Sen. John McCain To Code Pink Protesters: "Get Out Of Here, You Low-Life Scum"

Via The Hill:

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) called protesters "low-life scum," after they interrupted a hearing by calling for former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger to be arrested for war crimes. Protesters from the group Code Pink chanted, "Arrest Henry Kissinger for war crimes!" and raised signs in the air as Kissinger entered the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing room. McCain, the chairman of the committee, at first asked, "Could someone find out where the Capitol Police is?" Kissinger sat calmly in his witness chair, as protesters and photographers gathered around. The protesters were objecting to Kissinger's past roles in the Nixon administration during the Vietnam War, the bombing of Cambodia and other issues. As the protesters were led out by police, McCain said, "I've been a member of this committee for many years, and I've never seen anything as disgraceful and outrageous and despicable as the last demonstration." Finally, McCain said, "Get out of here, you low-life scum."

Whoa.

Last Night In New York City

Time Lapse: NYC Civil Rights Protest March

Via Time Magazine:

Thousands of people took to the streets of New York City on Saturday to demonstrate against police violence in the wake of several deadly confrontations this year between officers and unarmed black citizens. This time-lapse video, made at the intersection of Sixth Avenue and 29th Street in Manhattan, shows demonstrators marching over a 90-minute period. Authorities estimated that more than 25,000 people marched in New York on Saturday, police told the New York Times, while thousands more held a similar protest in Washington, D.C.

Obama Reacts To Garner Decision

De Blasio Urges Calm As Protests Over Garner Decision Are Planned Citywide

From his press release:

“Today’s outcome is one that many in our city did not want. Yet New York City owns a proud and powerful tradition of expressing ourselves through non-violent protest. We trust that those unhappy with today’s grand jury decision will make their views known in the same peaceful, constructive way. We all agree that demonstrations and free speech are valuable contributions to debate, and that violence and disorder are not only wrong – but hurt the critically important goals we are trying to achieve together. The grand jury is but one part of the process. There will still be an NYPD internal investigation. And we know the US Attorney is continuing her investigation. Should the federal government choose to act, we stand ready to cooperate."

Protests will take place tonight in Times Square, Union Square, and other areas with more planned for tomorrow. De Blasio has elected to skip tonight's tree lighting ceremony at Rockefeller Center where the police presence has been "significantly strengthened."

UPDATE: A die-in is underway at Grand Central.

NEW YORK CITY: Protesters Chain Food Bin To Walmart Family Condo

Via Gothamist:

Walmart employs 1.4 million Americans, and pays roughly 800,000 of them less than $25,000/year. Because this is barely enough money to live, Walmart workers turn to public assistance, which costs taxpayers $6.2 billion annually. These part-time workers—many of whom are black or Latino and female—cannot feed themselves or their families, so employees hold food drives for their colleagues. To call attention to this cruel reality, a labor group chained a giant food bin to the awning of Alice Walton's $25 million Park Avenue condo. The company earned $16 billion in profit last year, much of it going to the Waltons, America's richest family (Alice is worth $38 billion herself). It is a terrific time to be a giant corporation. Walmart's workers are planning to strike on Black Friday in 1,600 different locations, demanding full-time, steady employment, and a living wage of $15.

Walmart responded to the stunt by telling the press that they pay a "competitive wage."

NEW YORK CITY: Protesters Swarm Times Square, Shut Down Bridges

Following last night's decision in Ferguson, thousands of protesters marched from Union Square to Times Square and shut down the Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Triborough bridges. The protests were largely nonviolent, however NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton was splashed with red paint as he observed the protest in Times Square. Police declined to report on the number of arrests, but it doesn't appear that there were very many. Local media reported that the police did not attempt to impede the marches.