Ambridge student organizes LGBTQ youth event, offers message of inclusion

Original Post: LINK
Written by: Rachel Wagoner, rwagoner@timesonline.com

AMBRIDGE — More than 60 students from across Beaver County were welcomed to Ambridge Area High School on Friday for an event connecting students to LGBTQ resources and to one another.

Dylan Irvin, a senior at Ambridge, organized the LGBTQ+ Youth Inclusion event as his senior project with the help of Karen Brecht, the school’s social worker, to empower students who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer to connect them with local resources they might not have known existed.

“I want this generation to grow up with help and resources when they need it,” Irvin said, “to be able to get questions answered, to have a safe zone.”

Irvin, who is now 18, came out as gay when he was 15. While his friends at school and his mother were supportive, Irvin said it was still hard to take that step.

He wished he’d had a way to connect with other LGBTQ kids who could relate to his experience and struggles with coming out.

The event began in the morning with a panel of speakers that included members of the LGBTQ community, allies, parents, and representatives from the local support agencies and organizations. The event was paid for through a grant from THRIVE of Southwest Pennsylvania, an LGBTQ support group.

The speakers talked about their varied experiences with coming out and the resources they could provide to students and their families.

Brecht said this group of students sometimes feels overlooked or believes they are not supported, and it can be difficult to know where to turn for help. The event sought to show LGBTQ students that they are welcome and cared for in Beaver County.

“These students matter,” Brecht said. “We should take any opportunity we can to lift up students that identify this way.”

According to federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey, students who identify as lesbian, gay or bisexual are at greater risk of being bullied, being threatened of feeling unsafe at school, and experiencing dating violence than their heterosexual peers.

Additionally, LGB students are also at greater risk for experiencing mental health issues like feeling persistent sad or hopeless feelings, seriously considering attempting suicide or attempting suicide as a result of social stigma, discrimination and other factors, the report showed.

Students had time to visit tables for the various available resources, did team-building activities and listened to a featured speaker Ted Hoover of the Persad Center, an LGBTQ human-resource center in Pittsburgh. Hoover talked about trailblazers of the LGBTQ human-rights movement and how the efforts paved the way for youth today.

Groups and agencies in attendance included PFLAG, the Women’s Center of Beaver County, PRISM, Western Pennsylvania Psychiatric Care, Family Services of Beaver County, Delta Foundation, Center for Victims, Youth Ambassadors Program, Beaver County Rehabilitation Center, Keystone Wellness Programs, Beaver County System of Care, Persad Center and Sewickley Library.

Liz DeJesus and Moira Myers of PFLAG, a national advocacy group in support of the LGBTQ community, spoke during the morning panel about its services offered locally, as well as their own experiences in the LGBTQ community.

DeJesus, of Enon Valley, talked about her experience as a mother who had a child come out. A parent goes through a range of emotions, especially because they know the difficulties and the discrimination their children could face.

“But we love our kids. We want to be there for them,” she said.

PFLAG is a nonprofit organization that aims to educate, advocate and support families and the LGBTQ community. The group has 400 chapters nationwide, including a Pittsburgh chapter that covers Beaver County, and offers a variety of support meetings for LGBTQ individuals, family members, friends and allies.

Myers said the support groups are anonymous and confidential. Myers, who is a transgender woman, talked about her experience coming out in her 30s and the risks LGBTQ people face when coming out, especially in Pennsylvania, where there are no laws prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

Myers, who graduated from New Brighton High School, said that when she was in high school in the ’90s, unlike today, information and resources were not easily accessible on the internet. Such information is readily available now, Myers said, and groups such as PFLAG are there to support students.

DeJesus said children are coming out at younger ages, often first to friends or others at school. That’s why it’s important for schools to be able to point them in the right direction of resources.

In addition to Ambridge Area, students from the New Brighton Area, Hopewell Area, Freedom Area and Beaver Area school districts attended Friday’s event. Irvin said he was amazed and surprised at the turnout, but was glad to reach those who needed it.

“I didn’t expect to touch so many kids’ lives here,” he said.

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DEPRESSION: WE DON’T NEED TO BE ASHAMED

Depression: We Don’t Need To Be Ashamed
Written by: Blurt Team | Original Post

Depression often comes with feelings of embarrassment and shame. Sometimes these feelings come from ourselves; sometimes they’re put on us by other people.

Unfortunately, some stigma surrounding mental illness remains. But we shouldn’t have to feel ashamed. Depression is an illness, not an embarrassing habit.

Depression - We Don't Need to be Ashamed 

We Are Not Alone

Depression affects more than 300 million people worldwide. We are definitely not alone in feeling the way we do. It’s nothing to feel embarrassed or ashamed about, it’s an illness that many people experience.

We Didn’t Choose It

Contrary to what we might tell ourselves, we didn’t choose to have depression. We didn’t wake up one morning and decide that being depressed would be a good idea.  Depression is an illness, not a lifestyle choice. If we’re unwell, it’s not our fault.

Everyone Has Something

Nobody is perfect, and nobody’s life is perfect. Every single person has something going on in their life that they’re unhappy with. Everyone has something in their life that they would rather people didn’t know about.

Depression might be something that we want to hide from others, but we don’t need to out of shame. Depression is not our fault, we didn’t cause it or do anything to deserve it. It’s an illness.

It’s Not Our Fault

Depression is not our fault. It affects people from all backgrounds and all walks of life. With help and support, once we feel able to, we can begin to do things to try and help our depression. But it’s not our fault we got depressed.

Out Best Is Good Enough

Often we feel shame because we feel like we ‘should’ be doing better. That we ‘should’ be trying harder, or that we ‘should’ be able to fix it. This can lead to us feeling ashamed about the fact that we’re not recovered.

We need to let go of those shoulds. We can only do the best that we can do right now. And our best is more than enough.

Have Self Compassion

We often speak to ourselves in a way that we would never speak to one of our friends. If a friend told us that they had depression, we would treat them with kindness. We wouldn’t tell them off or have a go at them for not feeling better. And we certainly wouldn’t try and make them feel bad about the fact that they are unwell.

However, we often treat ourselves differently. We are our own worst critics, and judge ourselves for being unwell. To get through, we need to practice self-compassion. We need to learn to be a friend to ourselves.

Getting Help Isn’t A Sign Of Weakness

Often, we view reaching out for help and support as a sign of weakness. We tell ourselves that we should be able to power on alone. We think that needing the help and support from others means that we’re not as strong as we should be.

In fact, knowing when to reach out for help, and then doing so, is incredibly strong. It’s so difficult to tell others that things aren’t great. Finding the words can feel impossible.

Needing medication, or therapy, for depression is nothing to be ashamed of. It’s no different from needing help for any other condition. We have an illness and illnesses require medical help.

We Should Be Proud, not ashamed

Living with depression is hard work. Every single day we get up and do our best to live our lives alongside an illness which is determined to drag us down.

Regardless of what our brains may tell us, we’re achieving so much simply by carrying on. We should be proud of ourselves, rather than being ashamed.

It’s Not All Bad

Depression can affect our lives in so many different ways. It can seep into every aspect of our life and cause us to feel completely hopeless and ashamed.

However, sometimes it can have surprising benefits. It could introduce us to people who understand who end up being our closest friends. It could steer our career in a direction we’ve never considered, or help us open up in our relationships. It teaches us about the importance of self-care, and helps us see how strong we truly are.

Depression is horrible and cruel and we wouldn’t wish it on anyone.  But by getting through it we grow, in resilience and resolve. And that’s something to be proud of.

We Are Not Broken

Depression can cause us to feel broken. The shame can swallow us whole and we want nothing more than to hide away from everyone and everything.

But we are not broken. We are not damaged. We are so much more than our than the stigma, than what our heads to say to us.

Yes, we have an an illness – but there is help for that illness. Recovery is possible. Truly: it’s possible. And in the meantime, we should be proud: of how hard we work to keep going, and of how far we’ve come.

We have depression and we are not ashamed.

Please help us to help others and share this post, you never know who might need it.

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LGBTQ Teen advocacy nonprofit finds permanent home

Originally posted: LINK
Written by: KENS5.com Staff

After utilizing space at a local church from time to time, Fiesta Youth now has its own office on the west side.

Fiesta Youth, a youth group for LGBTQ teens in San Antonio, now has a new home. 

Until now, the nonprofit – which holds weekly meetings for teenagers and offers support for families – has held its events inside a local church. But their new location will serve as a permanent office in an area of town where staff say they can do some good.   

"We needed a larger space and we also wanted to be in a different part of San Antonio," said Fiesta Youth Co-founder Darrell Parsons. "Now we're on the west side kind of with Woodlawn Pointe, and that's the kind of community we wanted to extend our services to."

The new location will officially start holding meetings, organizing events and offering services on April 2. 

VIDEO CLIP BELOW:

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QUEERY: Krista M. Mastel

Originally posted: Washington Blade
Written by: Joey DiGuglielmo

Krista M. Mastel (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Brave Trails is an American Camp Association-accredited summer leadership camp for LGBTQ youth ages 12-18 and ages 17-20 with a counselor-in-training program, the Unicorn Justice League. 

While Brave Trails includes activities typical of any summer camp like swimming, archery and hiking, the four key elements it focuses on are leadership, community building, self-realization and service. Campers are free to express themselves and explore their identity with support from all staff and without judgment though programs such as dance, theater, drag, cooking/nutrition, sports or arts and crafts. 

Organizers bring in workshop facilitators to present topics like LGBTQ history or share their coming out stories to serve as positive queer role models.  

Brave Trails provides space for campers to develop service projects they can implement in their communities and strives to foster an environment where campers can build lasting peer-to-peer connections. Brave Trails also hosts a weekend-long family camp in the spring. 

This summer will be Krista M. Mastel’s third summer volunteering with Brave Trails where she works as a cabin counselor and program lead. She volunteers for two weeks each summer in various areas. She will co-lead the Unicorn Justice League program this year. 

“Camps like Brave Trails are important because they provide a welcoming and supportive place for LGBTQ youth,” Mastel says. “We all know the statistics on health outcomes for LGBTQ youth so camp can provide a place for youth to explore their identity in a safe and healthy environment, surrounded by their peers and LGBTQ-identified and ally adult mentors. Our staff embody the “it gets better” slogan, serving as role models for our campers.”

For safety reasons, Brave Trails does not disclose its location. Mastel says it’s about a 90-minute drive northeast of the D.C. region. Sessions run June 26-July 9, July 13-19, July 24-Aug. 6 and Aug. 12-18. Full details at bravetrails.org. 

Mastel, a 35-year-old Columbus, Minn., native came to Washington 10 months ago for work in her field of public health. She’s single and lives in Rockville. She enjoys camping, hiking, snowshoeing, running and gardening in her free time. 

How long have you been out and who was the hardest person to tell? 

I’ve been coming out to someone in some way since I was 17. I wouldn’t say it was hard to tell anyone, just intimidating and it’s a constant process every time I meet someone new and as I become ever more comfortable in my identity.   

Who’s your LGBT hero? 

Marsha P. Johnson. Rest in power. 

What’s Washington’s best nightspot, past or present? 

Sorry DMV, I am obsessed with Suspended Brewing in Baltimore. 

Describe your dream wedding. 

Marriage is not for me. 

What non-LGBT issue are you most passionate about? 

I’d argue just about everything is an LGBTQ issue, including reproductive rights.

What historical outcome would you change? 

Every instance of biological or military colonial genocide. The loss of vibrant cultures and languages is an unfathomable tragedy of our species. 

What’s been the most memorable pop culture moment of your lifetime? 

A little obscure, but when Savage Garden’s self-titled album dropped, it changed my angsty teenage life. 

On what do you insist? 

Making memories. 

What was your last Facebook post or Tweet? 

I don’t really use either. Probably a check-in to some event.  

If your life were a book, what would the title be? 

You should probably read another book.

If science discovered a way to change sexual orientation, what would you do? 

Nothing. Encourage folks to let their orientation be what it is.

What do you believe in beyond the physical world? 

Nothing. This is it. 

What’s your advice for LGBT movement leaders? 

Resiliency is not a choice so practice self-care. 

What would you walk across hot coals for? 

My family.

What LGBT stereotype annoys you most? 

That we’re all artsy. I can’t draw/sing/act for my life!

What’s your favorite LGBT movie? 

“Frozen”  

What’s the most overrated social custom? 

Shaking hands. 

What trophy or prize do you most covet? 

My “awards” from Brave Trails — we paint wood rounds for our campers, the directors make them for staff and they feature a trait or strength others see in us.

What do you wish you’d known at 18? 

Experience the world, don’t rush it, make mistakes, learn and grow so that your 30s (and beyond) will be amazing. 

Why Washington? 

Work. That’s it.

Joey DiGuglielmo

Joey DiGuglielmo is the Features Editor for the Washington Blade.

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How ‘Real America’ Became Queer America

Link to article written by Smantha Allen

Community members celebrating the SCOTUS decision on marriage equality at an event hosted by Texas for Marriage at the Central Presbyterian Church in downtown Austin, Texas in 2015.

Photo Robert Daemmrich Photography Inc/Corbis, via Getty Images

This may seem like a strange time to feel optimistic about the future of L.G.B.T. rights in America. But as a queer transgender woman who has spent most of her adult life in red states, hopeful is exactly how I feel.

In July 2017 — the same month that President Trump announced on Twitter that he would ban transgender troops — I left on a six-week-long road trip across the red states. I wanted to understand what motivated L.G.B.T. people to stay in the heartland at a time when some progressives were still pondering escaping to Canada.

What I learned on the way from Utah to Georgia only reaffirmed what I have come to believe over the past decade: Attitudes toward L.G.B.T. people are changing rapidly in conservative states, and no one inside the Beltway can stop it. This country’s bright queer future is already here, hiding where too few of us care to travel.

From a bird’s-eye perspective, it may not seem that life has changed for L.G.B.T. Americans in so-called flyover country. State laws prohibiting discrimination against them remain elusive in red states — although Utah notably passed one in 2015. But in their absence, midsize cities have become pockets of L.G.B.T. acceptance.

In the West, cities including Boise, Idaho; Salt Lake City; Bozeman, Mont.; and Laramie, Wyo., have passed L.G.B.T.-inclusive nondiscrimination ordinances in the past decade. Below the Mason-Dixon line, the list of cities with such laws includes Atlanta and New Orleans; Birmingham, Ala.; and Jackson, Miss. L.G.B.T. Texans have had to fend off all manner of horrific state-level bills, but if they live in Austin, Dallas, Plano or Fort Worth, they have solid local laws on their side. And Midwestern hubs like St. Louis and Omaha likewise offer L.G.B.T. protections.

The Human Rights Campaign, a national L.G.B.T. advocacy organization, is downright cheerful about this trend at a time when queer optimism feels in short supply. In the its 2018 Municipal Equality Index, the group’s president, Chad Griffin, wrote that “while cynical politicians in Washington, D.C., attempt to roll back our hard-fought progress, many local leaders are championing equality in big cities and small towns from coast to coast.”

And this progress includes transgender people. According to the group’s data, over 180 cities and counties in states whose electoral votes went to Mr. Trump in 2016 now protect employees not just on the basis of sexual orientation but gender identity as well.

On my road trip through what is ostensibly Trump country, I met many L.G.B.T. people who saw no need to flee their conservative home states for the coastal safe havens of generations past, thanks to local progress.

In Utah, I made arts and crafts with transgender and gender-nonconforming teenagers, most of whom belong to Mormon families. Over coffee in the Rio Grande Valley, a nonbinary friend told me that the region’s L.G.B.T. people remain as hardy as the prickly pear cactuses of South Texas. And in an Indiana town where everyone knows everyone, a transgender woman in her 50s told me how much things have changed in her area since she first came out over the course of the 2000s.

“It’s so much better,” she said. “It’s so much freer. It needs to be reported.”

It is, of course, being reported — but news about positive L.G.B.T. developments in cities and states tends to garner a small fraction of the attention that stories about the Trump administration’s anti-L.G.B.T. plotting do. When the Department of Health and Human Services circulates an anti-transgender memo, social media is aflame for days; by comparison, when New Hampshire’s Republican governor signs a transgender nondiscrimination bill that passed with bipartisan support, we barely bat an eye.

When we focus too intently on the actions of the Trump-Pence administration, we miss the bigger — and better — picture: A majority of Americans — in all but six states — now support same-sex marriage. Most support transgender military service. Most oppose businesses’ turning away L.G.B.T. customers in the name of religion. Public opinion on L.G.B.T. people is finally turning a corner, not just on the coasts but between them as well.

That shift is thanks in large part to the increasing proportion of Americans who identify as L.G.B.T. themselves. According to Gallup polling data, 4.5 percent of American adults now identify as L.G.B.T., which is a full percentage point higher than in 2012. Millennials may not be more likely to be L.G.B.T., but their increased willingness to come out of the closet is driving the community’s numbers up.

Queer people, simply put, are everywhere. (We are most definitely in Dollywood, a theme park owned by Dolly Parton in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., and my favorite stop on my road trip, where I saw Bible Belters and lesbian couples peaceably ride roller coasters side-by-side.)

As more millennials move to the South and West — and as more Americans all over the country come out as L.G.B.T. — cities like Louisville, Ky.; Norfolk, Va.; New Orleans; and Salt Lake City are all seeing huge spikes in the percentage of their residents who identify as L.G.B.T., as data from the Williams Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles, shows. At the same time, between 1990 and 2014, that same statistic stayed relatively static for longstanding hubs of gay culture like San Francisco and Los Angeles — and it even fell in New York City.

America’s queer center of gravity is moving toward the middle. Before we know it, this country will have become L.G.B.T.-friendly not from the outside in but from the inside out.

There are plenty of reasons for L.G.B.T. Americans to feel despondent right now. But hope is just down the road.

Samantha Allen is the author, most recently, of “Real Queer America: LGBT Stories From Red States” and a senior reporter covering L.G.B.T. issues for The Daily Beast.

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A version of this article appears in print on March 14, 2019, on Page A27 of the New York edition with the headline: How ‘Real America’ Became Queer America. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe


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Transgender and Gun Rights Are Sticking Points for Violence Against Women Act

Link to article written by Emily Cochrame

Representatives Lisa Blunt Rochester, right, and Katie Porter last week on Capitol Hill after a news conference about the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act.

Photo: Sarah Silbiger/The New York Times

WASHINGTON — The House Judiciary Committee voted along party lines on Wednesday to approve a reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act after Democrats turned back Republican attempts to gut protections of transgender people and restrict some gun ownership.

The measure will soon head to the full House, but the partisan sparring, particularly over provisions that would require prisons to house transgender people based on the gender they identify with, will continue. That promises to make a once broadly bipartisan law, first passed in the years after the Anita Hill hearings in 1991, rancorous.

Protections for gay, bisexual and transgender people have been included in the Violence Against Women Act since the last reauthorization in 2013. The current proposal to reauthorize the act includes additional provisions that would require an expansion of those protections and require the Bureau of Prisons to consider the safety and protection of transgender prisoners when giving housing assignments.

Multiple amendments offered by Republicans on Wednesday, however, sought to eliminate the gender identity and sexual orientation language.

Representative Debbie Lesko, Republican of Arizona and a survivor of domestic violence, offered an amendment that would prohibit service providers from putting women and children in situations where they have “grounds to fear for a violation of privacy or for his or her safety.”

Ms. Lesko cited concern that the measure would be “forcing organizations to take in men in women’s shelters.”“If this is called the Violence Against Women Act, it is not fair that the government is forcing these organizations to take in biological males to be sleeping right next to biological women,” Ms. Lesko said. “I don’t think that’s fair to the women.”

A second amendment offered by Ms. Lesko and Representative Steve Chabot, Republican of Ohio, would have allowed faith-based organizations to bar transgender people from taking shelter because of disagreements with their faith. It also failed.

“Transgender women are not biological males; they are transgender women,” said Representative Jerrold Nadler, Democrat of New York and chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. “That’s simply a reality. I know there are people who deny that reality, but I think it is a reality.”

Other Democrats noted that transgender people, particularly minorities, suffer from some of the highest rates of violence and sexual assault, and that there has been no issue with transgender people having access to services and programs under the act.

“There is no evidence to suggest that placing transgender women in shelters poses any danger to anybody,” said Representative David Cicilline, Democrat of Rhode Island. “All it does is ensure that transgender people are safe.”

Representative Karen Bass, Democrat of California and a lead sponsor of the reauthorization, offered to visit shelters with Ms. Lesko in an effort, she said, to better understand the challenges facing transgender people, the transition process and how they are helped in shelters.

The topic was raised again by Representative Louie Gohmert, Republican of Texas, who objected to the “gender identity” language in the bill and unsuccessfully moved to remove it.

“I would humbly submit that it’s going to do more harm,” he said of the language.

“What we’re talking about is gender dysphoria,” Mr. Gohmert added.

Republicans also raised objections to provisions in the act that would bar people convicted of a violent misdemeanor or subject to a court order from owning firearms, and tried to undo a provision that gave tribal courts the ability to prosecute non-Native Americans who attack Native American women on tribal land. They also sought to add a provision that would ban organizations that perform abortions from receiving federal funding under the act. None of the amendments passed.

Mr. Nadler promised that one amendment — raised by Mr. Gohmert — offering protections for female survivors of gender mutilation would be included, but asked that its language be adjusted before a formal vote.

Reauthorization of the 1994 law had been in limbo since December when government funding lapsed, and it was not included in the bill that kept the government funded through the end of September. Republicans had argued for a straight extension of existing law through September, but Democrats wanted changes. Without agreement, the reauthorization lapsed.

The current measure, unveiled by House Democrats this month, would not only reauthorize grants and funding, but would expand protections and resources for survivors as well. The bill would also include protections for victims of stalking and protections for men and children.

One Republican, Representative Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, is a sponsor.

“Rather than working with us to find agreement on how to move this critical law forward, Democrats decided to rush to markup a bill that could actually endanger women,” said Representative Doug Collins of Georgia, the ranking Republican. “It politicizes and weaponizes a program and a law that, for years, was noncontroversial and bipartisan.”

A version of this article appears in print on March 14, 2019, on Page A17 of the New York edition with the headline: Anti-Violence Measure Stirs Friction On Panel. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe



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'We need to pass the Equality Act': Sen. Tammy Baldwin makes case for LGBTQ bill

Original Post: LINK
Written By Tim Fitzsimons

Democrats in Congress plan to reintroduce the Equality Act, a federal bill that would modify existing civil rights legislation to ban discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.

“In the majority of states, people in the LGBTQ community can be fired from a job perhaps because of their sexual orientation or gender identity and would have no recourse,” said Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., a sponsor of the bill and one of 10 openly LGBTQ members of Congress. “We want to live in a country that, you know, judges people based on their performance and their character, and so we need to pass the Equality Act at the federal level.”

Currently, less than half of U.S. states explicitly prohibit discrimination due to sexual orientation and gender identity. The Equality Act would apply across the United States by updating federal civil rights law to ban discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodations, jury service, education, federal programs and credit on the basis of “race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, or disability.”

The bill is expected to be reintroduced in both chambers of Congress on Wednesday. With Democrats now in control of the House of Representatives, Speaker Nancy Pelosi — who during the 2018 midterm elections said passage of the Equality Act would be a top priority for Democrats — is sure to bring it up for a floor vote. With the Senate firmly under Republican control, however, chances of the bill making it to a vote are uncertain.

In an exclusive interview with NBC News on Monday, Baldwin said if Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., were to give senators a chance to vote on the Equality Act, they would support the measure.

“If you just had an up or down vote, we would have sufficient votes in both houses,” Baldwin said. “I think what the House passage will tell us is that the 2020 elections are really important to create and vote for a pro-equality Senate and president.”

When asked if McConnell would bring the Equality Act up for a vote on the Senate floor after it is reintroduced, David Popp, McConnell’s press secretary, was equivocal: “If the Leader issues a statement on this I’ll be sure to forward it to you,” he wrote in an email.

In addition to strong Democratic support, the Equality Act has 161 corporate backers that represent $3.7 trillion in revenue and operations across all 50 states, CNBC reported.These companies — which include Apple, Google, Facebook, Wal-Mart and JPMorgan — represent a broad coalition of business and financial interests that in recent years has coalesced around robust LGBTQ nondiscrimination protections.

If the Equality Act reaches a full vote in either chamber of Congress, it will mark the first time the bill — which has been introduced in various forms since 1974 — has done so. A similar bill, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, or ENDA, passed the Senate in 2013. Four currently serving Republican senators voted in favor of that bill: Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and Patrick Toomey, R-Pa.

Baldwin said one of the challenges in advocating for the Equality Act is “educating people that full equality has not been won or achieved yet.” After the Supreme Court’s landmark 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges decision, which led to the legalization of same-sex marriage across the U.S., she said many Americans believed “we achieved everything” in terms of LGBTQ equality.

“Full equality has not been won,” Baldwin told NBC News. “We can't confuse progress for victory.”

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Letter asks Gov. Herbert to denounce 'anti-LGBTQ rhetoric' on GOP Rep's Facebook page

Originally posted by KJZZ.com
Written by Adam Forgie

A 19-year-old gay woman, who has already received an apology letter from Utah Governor Gary Herbert, is now asking Herbert, and Lieutenant Governor Spencer Cox to denounce statements made on Facebook by a Republican member of the Utah House of Representatives.

The Facebook posts regarding same-sex attraction from Rep. Karianne Lisonbee (R-Clearfield) are now deleted, but not before they were captured and shared on social media.

Lisonbee opposed the bill banning conversion therapy in Utah.

19-year-old Amelia Damarjian protested those opposed to the ban.

Now, Damarjian is asking Herbert and Cox to denounce Lisonbee's "homophobic statements" found on Lisonbee's Facebook page, which were captured in a tweet by Robert Gehrke:

Damarjian already received a letter of apology from Herbert, but she says she doesn't believe it's sincere.

She is asking Herbert and Cox to formally denounce Lisonbee's now-deleted statements.

The letter reads:

March 9 2019

Dear Governor Herbert and Lieutenant Governor Cox,

I would like to formally ask that you condemn pro-conversion therapy and anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric from Utah’s elected officials. Most importantly, the words from Representative Karen Lisonbee’s now deleted Facebook posts (see attached photos below).

To not condemn anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric, regardless of source, is quite simply a tacit approval of that rhetoric. There is no room for neutrality on this issue -- you either support the rights and humanity of LGBTQ+ Utahns, or you do not.

When those with power do not speak out against this type of discriminatory behavior, it implies that regardless of their personal stance on homophobia, they accept its existence enough to stay silent. Silence on homophobia from all of us, but especially those in high levels of governance, implies that these behaviors are not worth a response, and that the targeted individuals are not worthy of enough respect to defend.

One cannot be an ally of the LGBTQ+ community in their private life but not their public life.
There is no secretive way to support justice. An elected official bears the responsibility of not just personally demonstrating respect to the oppressed, but leading the way for our society by publicly calling for others to do likewise. If one is a friend of the community and cares for their needs, they will demand that others, most especially those holding public office, treat all people with respect.
One cannot be neutral on matters of human rights. In these circumstances, silence is complicity.

Sincerely,

Amelia Damarjian 
@PresidentAmelia
Isaac Reese @isaacslcreese


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These Men Are The First Same-Gender Salsa Duo On ‘World of Dance’

Originally posted by Out
Written by Tre'Vell Anderson

When season three of World of Dance premieres Tuesday night, a same-gender salsa duo named Jonathan y Jorge will be competing for the coveted million-dollar prize. It’s the first time a same-gender pairing has been on the dance competition show judged by Jennifer Lopez, Ne-Yo, and Derek Hough.

“We want to bring awareness to the same-gender dance community,” the pair told Out. “We want everyone to see that same-gender dancing can be just as strong and impactful as traditional dancing. We want people to see us and like or dislike us as dancers and not simply because we’re two men dancing together. We just wanna dance.”

Jonathan Troncoso and Jorge Valcarcel, who hail from Orlando, FL and Lima, Peru, are obviously talented having, in 2017 winning second place at a World Championship after just two weeks training together. And in 2018, they placed third overall at the World Salsa Summit in the same gender category. Ahead of their television debut, which we have an exclusive clip of below, the two discuss how they met, their partnership, and their go-to dance track.

How did you two first meet?

Troncoso: We met through dance at events that we were hired to teach or perform at individually. The one event that made us partner together was when we interacted at the Orlando Salsa Congress in 2017. Jorge was waiting to take a picture by one of the professional photographers on site and had been asking if anyone could lift him to take a picture. I was around and I was like, “Of Course!” — I love to do lifts and tricks. He wanted to go up into a lift we call “bird” which is pretty difficult to do, especially without really knowing the person that you’re going to be lifting and it worked beautifully. We just looked at each other and smiled. At that moment we knew we wanted to partner together.

Detail for me your dance experience. How long have you been doing it individually and what styles did you train in?

Troncoso: I started dancing late in life when I was 20 with a group at my college called Rukus. They were a dancehall, hip-hop crew that was pretty well known on campus. From there, my love for dance grew and I started to train in other styles, wanting to improve my technique. I trained in ballet, jazz, contemporary, and modern until I found salsa in 2012. I fell in love with it very quickly and started to train in it very deeply, seeking out some of the best in the industry to learn from. After years of training, I started my own dance company, Agapé Dance Company, which jump started my success in the Latin dance industry. We went on to eventually win our first championship title in 2016, which also made my love for competing grow! Fast forward to today, where I am now a four-time World Champion in multiple styles of Latin dance including the current World Champion in Professional Same Gender Salsa with Jorge.

Valcarcel: I started dancing from a very young age, learning the beautiful cultural dances of Peruvian people. I then went on to join gymnastics which made me have to stop training in our folkloric dances. While doing gymnastics, my coaches had me train in ballet, contemporary, and hip-hop. I trained and trained until gaining the respect of my peers and coaches and [am now] known as one of the best gymnasts in Lima. I started dancing salsa in 2011 getting into competition very quickly. Only dancing salsa for a short year, I went and competed with a team at a world championship, I placed fifth. I knew then that I would fall in love with this genre and this industry and decided to put my focus into it 100%. I am also a multi-world champion and currently the World Champion in Professional Male Salsa Solo.

What was the first time you two danced together like? What made you decide to keep doing it?

Troncoso: The first time we danced together was honestly great. Jorge is fast for a Same Gender follow which makes my job a little easier in leading him and he’s also a gymnast which really helps for tricks.

Valcarcel: Jonathan is strong and very grounded which really helps for spins and tricks and lifts. He’s also fast on his feet which helps for a lot of the tricky patterns he likes to do. We love dancing with each other.

Describe what the same gender competition scene is like? Is it all men dancing with other men, or are there women dancing with women?

Troncoso: The same gender competition scene is tough! Two men dancing together are capable of doing some incredibly powerful movements and spins simply because of their physical strength. Two women dancing together also has strength in its own way. They’re typically very clean and well put together with great lines and great feet. Both male and female same gender divisions exist in the Latin dance competition scene.

Is it more difficult dancing with another man, like from a technique standpoint?

Troncoso: In my opinion, it is a little more difficult to dance with another man. For one, men typically weigh more than women which makes it a little harder to spin and do certain tricks and lifts. Two, men tend to want to lead, especially if you’re taught to lead before you learn to follow, which then gives them the tendency of back-leading. It creates a bit of a back and forth battle between partners when dancing, making it harder to lead. Once you learn your partner’s lead or follow more, it’s makes it easier. Getting accustomed to each other is super important as it is with any partnership.

What are your go-to dance tracks?

Valcarcel: Go-to dance tracks? We’d have to say we love Chiquito Team Band’s music, so anything from them.

World of Dance premieres Tuesday at 9pm.

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