San Ramon Man arrested for hate crime after video captures racist rant at In-N-Out

 

San Ramon Man arrested for hate crime after video captures racist rant at In-N-Out
Dec 26, 2022

Read the original article here: https://abc7news.com/san-ramon-racist-rant-hate-crime-arine-kim-investigation/12617084/

A man who was caught on video spewing racist and homophobic remarks to a woman and her friend at a San Ramon In-N-Out on Christmas Eve has been arrested, according to police.

Danville on Christmas morning was the last place and time Abigail Halili and her siblings expected to have an abrasive encounter.

"We heard a guy parked in his car yelling from his window saying keep walking you need to get away from that store, 'you've been the people vandalizing and robbing theses shops,'" said Halili.

The taunts quickly turned racial and included an obscene hand gesture.

Thanks to social media the Halili family quickly learned they weren't the only Asian Americans in the East Bay to be targeted by these racist rants.

You can hear a man off camera say "...you guys filming yourself eating? You're weird homosexuals."

San Ramon Police ABC7 News the suspect seen in Halili's video is the man they arrested Monday afternoon, linked to a racist and homophobic tirade at an In-N-Out in San Ramon on Christmas Eve.

President Biden set to sign Respect for Marriage Act

Following the Senate passage of the Respect for Marriage Act, the House passed the legislation on December 8 and now it heads to the desk of President Biden to be enshrined into law.

The law would ensure federal protections for marriages of same-sex and interracial couples. 

With the Respect for Marriage Act, the Federal government will recognize marriages that were validly performed and guarantee full benefits “regardless of the couple’s sex, race, ethnicity, or national origin.” 

It also requires states to recognize legal marriages performed in other states. It would not, however, require states to issue marriage licenses contrary to state law.

The legislation is overwhelmingly supported by public support for legal same-sex marriage, which hit a new high of 71% in June, according to Galllup tracking polls.

“Love is now the law,” Cuba Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage

This article originally appears in HuffPost https://www.huffpost.com/entry/cuba-same-sex-marriage-vote_n_6331ece2e4b00f7fcb55598b

HAVANA (AP) — Cubans have approved a sweeping “family law” code that would allow same-sex couples to marry and adopt as well as redefining rights for children and grandparents, officials said Monday, though opposition in the national referendum was unusually strong on the Communist Party-governed island.

The measure — which contains more than 400 articles — was approved by 66.9% to 33.1%, the president of the National Electoral Council, Alina Balseiro Gutiérrez, told official news media, though returns from a few places remained to be counted.

The reforms had met unusually strong open resistance from the growing evangelical movement in Cuba — and many other Cubans — despite an extensive government campaign in favor of the measure, including thousands of informative meetings across the country and extensive media coverage backing it.

Cuban elections — in which no party other than the Communist is allowed — routinely produce victory margins of more than 90% — as did a referendum on a major constitutional reform in 2019.

The code would allow surrogate pregnancies, broader rights for grandparents in regard to grandchildren, protection of the elderly and measures against gender violence.

President Miguel Díaz-Canel, who has promoted the law acknowledged questions about the measure as he voted on Sunday.

Original article is here.

Beautiful Mural in San Francisco

 

Seen on the streets of San Francisco, August 2022

Rise in LBGTQ Hate After Florida Passed ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Law

Read the original article by Eesha Pendharkar on Education Week here.

Digital hate directed at the LGBTQ+ community—often from Republican lawmakers or their spokespeople—increased sharply after Florida passed its controversial “Don’t Say Gay” law, according to a new report.

"The sharp spike in hateful rhetoric against gay, lesbian, transgender, and nonbinary people was centered on the false accusation that LGBTQ+ people “groom” children, researchers from the Center for Countering Digital Hate found."

The law, formally titled Parental Rights in Education, was signed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on March 28. It bans lessons on sexual orientation or gender identity for students in kindergarten through 3rd grades.

In all, the research indicates that a right-wing narrative casting schools as sites of gender indoctrination is now having a broader impact on LGBTQ people and youth.

On Facebook, researchers identified 59 ads that promote the “grooming” narrative that were purchased between March and August and were viewed a total of more than 2.1 million times.

In the month following passage of the law, the volume of tweets engaging in “grooming” discourse increased by 406 percent, the report found. The 500 most-viewed tweets that advance the “grooming” narrative were viewed at least 72 million times.

Florida's “Don’t Say Gay” law prevents school from anti-bullying measures.

Students in a Florida school district can no longer access a training video aimed at helping prevent anti-LGBTQ bullying thanks to the state’s recently enacted “Don’t Say Gay” law.

Read the original article at LGBTQ Nation.

Duval County Public Schools removed the 12-minute video, which had been used in the district’s All In for Safe Schools program, from YouTube according to an investigation by WJCT Public Media’s Jacksonville Today.

Duval Schools District spokesperson Tracy Pierce confirmed that the video had “been removed for legal review to ensure the content complies with recent state legislation.”

According to Gay Straight Alliance faculty sponsor Scott Sowell, the video was created for students with the input of Duval LGBTQ students with funding from a federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention grant.

House passes bill codifying same-sex marriage right, with some Republicans joining Democrats

Source: ABC News

The House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a bill to codify the right to same-sex and interracial marriage in the wake of the Supreme Court's reversal of Roe v. Wade -- with one justice writing that the right to same-sex marriage should also be reversed.

The final vote was 267-157, with 47 Republicans joining every Democrat in the majority.

Notable among those conservatives was Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming -- in a break from her past stance on the issue, which famously put her at odds with her parents and sister, who is gay. In 2021, Cheney reversed her opinion and said, "I was wrong." (By contrast, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, of California, voted no on the legislation Tuesday.)

Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., kicked off debate on the bill -- The Respect For Marriage Act -- which would prevent state discrimination related to marriage based on "sex, race, ethnicity, or national origin." It would also repeal the Defense of Marriage Act, which was found to be unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.

The legislation, Nadler said, "would reaffirm that marriage equality is and must remain the law of the land."

Hyde Park (Boston) Senior House vandalized with anti-gay hate and threats

Hyde Park Senior House vandalized with anti-gay hate and Threats

From Gretchen Van Ness:

Last night cowards vandalized The Pryde, spray painting threats to kill us & burn down our building. Join the Hyde Park community TODAY 7/10 at 4PM to stand against hate & for a welcoming, inclusive & diverse Boston.

STOP GAY HATE!

Out Texas rugby player shares inspiring story as IRL bans trans women - LGBTQ Nation

 “You’re putting so much more pressure on yourself because you can’t just be yourself.”

By John Russell Sunday, June 26, 2022 

Original Article: LGBTQ NATION

Texas rugby player Knute O’Donnell is sharing his story of self-acceptance and coming out this Pride month. In a short documentary for Texas-based broadcaster and streaming platform FloSports, the 29-year-old, who plays for Austin rugby club the Austin Blacks, describes dealing with crippling anxiety and self-hatred that led him to suicidal ideation.

“I was putting things into my body, I was just hoping that I wasn’t gonna wake up anymore.”

When he finally got help, O’Donnell says his sexuality was a major topic of discussion with his therapist.

“Why do I have so much…self-hate?” he recalls thinking. “The reality is, you’re putting so much more pressure on yourself because you can’t just be yourself.”

O’Donnell further describes what it was like revisiting this painful time in a new essay for OutSports. “You forget how much trauma you bury until you go to therapy, and certain interview questions in the video reignited those traumas,” he writes. “It was important to go back through these events no matter how difficult. It reminded me how far I have come and ultimately made me feel like a burden was lifted.”

O’Donnell says his biggest fear was losing friends when he came out. And initially, his best friend advised him against telling their other friends.

“I did lose a couple friends, but not as many as I originally thought,” he says in the doc.

His family and Austin Blacks teammates were a different story.

“When I told my rugby teammates in Texas the news, they immediately embraced me, and it made all my relationships stronger,” he writes. “All my teammates are straight, and we play a very macho sport in a top division of rugby here in the U.S., so the fear of not being accepted or ridiculed was constantly present.”

The team instead accompanied O’Donnell to Austin’s Pride celebrations in 2018 and 2019.

But as O’Donnell tells his inspiring story of gay acceptance, the world of sports continues to grapple with trans inclusion. This week, the International Rugby League announced a temporary ban on trans women from women’s matches as it conducts research and finalizes its inclusion policy.

Read the original article here: https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2022/06/texas-rugby-player-shares-inspiring-story-irl-bans-trans-women/ 

Alison Steinberg of OAN Goes on GAY HATE RANT

 

Alison Steinberg, allegedly a contributor at the shaky One America Network, goes on a hateful rant against the Pride flag in Huntington Beach, California. 

"Guess what I came home to be greeted with," she says, "This fucking bullshit. What the hell is that? Huntington Beach is the home of good old fashioned hardworking American people. The people that worked all through the Covid lockout. That's right Huntington Beach never shut down through any of the Covid nonesense fuckery. And now we're peddling this garbage. What the hell is this?"

She ends by blurting "Whoever is in charge of this city should be fired." (This blog has not checked, but the people who are in charge are likely elected officials, it is uncertain if Ms. Steinberg understands how elections work.)

In our opinion, not only did Ms. Steinberg embarrass the good people of Huntington Beach, she completely embarrassed herself. 

This is exactly the type of gay hate that needs to stopping. 

Harvey Milk Exhibition - SFO Museum

 

Harvey Milk (1930-1978) made history in 1977 when he became the first openly-gay individual elected to office in the state of California. He would serve just eleven months on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors before his assassination on November 27, 1978.

Harvey Milk "The Mayor of Castro Street"

South Carolina County Council rescinds Pride month designation 3 weeks after it was approved

HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (CNN) — Three weeks after the Horry County, South Carolina, Council voted to designate June as Pride Month, the council voted unanimously to rescind the resolution that proclaimed support and acceptance of the LGTBQ+ community.

The resolution passed unanimously as part of the county's consensus agenda on May 17. Councilman Johnny Vaught told CNN in an email, "No one on council caught it because the resolution just said 'pride month.'"

Vaught said the council began to receive backlash from the community after it passed the resolution.

"Councilmen got many emails expressing dismay that council would vote for an LGBTQIA month in such a conservative county. We brought the resolution back up at the next meeting and it was unanimously voted down. Councilmen voted the way their constituents demanded. End of story," Vaught said.

Danny Hardee, the councilman who motioned to reconsider the resolution, said members initially missed the proposal due to a "perfect storm" of events going on, such as working on the budget and upcoming elections.

"I can assure you I will spend more time on the consent agenda than I have in the past," said Hardee, who felt somebody on the council would have probably picked up on the resolution during "normal times."

"I personally don't think that councils should be doing any kind of thing like that. It doesn't matter whether it's gay months or Confederate months or Juneteenth or whatever; that's not my job to set aside those dates. Those are state and federal holidays," Hardee told CNN.

Hardee added that while he disagreed with the Pride Month resolution, he did not intend to offend or hurt anyone's feelings.

Pat Hartley, clerk to the county council, said Grand Strand PRIDE, a local LGBTQ+ advocacy group, sent an email requesting for the resolution to be placed on the May agenda, which she said was just "par for the course."

Items such as proclamations and resolutions are usually considered noncontroversial and only require the council to vote once according to Hartley. The council chairman, Johnny Gardner, has the sole authority to remove items before approving the agenda, she added.

CNN attempted to contact Gardner for a comment, but he had not responded.

Following the vote to rescind, Grand Strand PRIDE released a statement on Twitter expressing their disappointment.

"Grand Strand PRIDE is disheartened by the action of the Horry County Council at their meeting last night quietly rescinding their resolution designating the month of June as PRIDE month in Horry County. This news dampens our spirits but we resolve to make progress by continuing our advocacy work to make all of Horry County inclusive, diverse and equal for all."

Horry County encompasses the cities of Conway and Myrtle Beach.