Everybody’s Business

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These Tech Companies Continue to Donate to Anti-LGBTI Politicians

On Wednesday (10 July), a group of 30 LGBTI advocates sent a letter to dozens of tech companies, urging them to stop donating to anti-LGBTI politicians. These companies include Google, Microsoft, AT&T, Dell, T-Mobile, and Amazon. Tell me more According to Buzzfeed News, the group Zeros for Zeros analyzed the contribution data between 2010 and 2019 of the top-scoring companies on the Human Rights Campaign’s (HRC) Corporate Equality Index. It found that 49 corporate PACs gave a combined $5,837,331 [€5,171,495.84] to members of Congress who received a rating of zero on the HRC’s legislative scorecard. This includes Texas Rep. Ted Cruz. […]

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206 Companies Urge Supreme Court to Rule Title VII Covers LGBT Workers

A total of 206 companies have signed onto a legal brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to find Title VII of the Civil Rights Act bars discrimination against LGBT people in the workforce. The friend-of-the-court brief — organized by the Human Rights Campaign, Lambda Legal, Out & Equal, Out Leadership and Freedom for All Americans — is signed by the nation’s top businesses and argues anti-LGBT discrimination is a form of sex discrimination, thus illegal under the Title VII. Among the signers are food companies like Domino’s Pizza and Coca-Cola Company, tech companies like Facebook and Mozilla Corp., and defense […]

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Turkish Brewery Defiantly Celebrates Pride with Rainbow Bottles

Established in Istanbul in 1890, Bomonti is Turkey’s oldest modern brewery and produces one of the country’s most popular lagers. The rainbow-coloured bottle was unveiled in an Instagram post by the head of Bomonti’s branding agency, alongside the caption: “We did it!” It’s a bold move in a country which has been named the second-most restrictive on gay rights in Europe. Amnesty International previously told PinkNews in 2018 that Turkish LGBT+ people are “living in more fear than ever.” Although courts ruled in April that the two-year ban on Pride parades could technically be lifted, Amnesty reported in May that “appalling” violence had been used against students holding a Pride […]

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Amazon Removes Books by ‘Gay Cure’ Conversion Therapy Author

Amazon has removed books by a ‘gay cure’ conversion therapy author. Joseph Nicolosi penned a book that spread the dangerous and harmful practice of attempting to ‘cure’ a person’s sexual or gender identity. He was the co-founder of the National Association of Research & Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH) and a prominent leader in the ex-gay movement. His book, A Parent’s Guide To Preventing Homosexuality, is one of the most well known ‘conversion therapy’ books. But now, it has been removed from the UK and US versions of Amazon. Rojo Alan, from Peterborough, wrote to Amazon several times to get the book removed from listings. […]

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For Companies, LGBTQ-inclusive Ads Weren’t always Risk-free

As the U.S. — and many other parts of the world — celebrates the 50th anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall uprising, rainbow flags and LGBTQ-inclusive ad campaigns appear to be omnipresent, especially in big cities. The ubiquity of these Pride campaigns make it easy to forget that this was not always the case. While many point to corporate America’s embrace of LGBTQ inclusivity as a major sign of progress, others believe corporations are coopting the movement. Advertisements geared toward gay and lesbian consumers began to appear in earnest in the 1970s, inspired in part by the energy of the Stonewall […]

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Mastercard to Let Trans and Non-binary People Use Chosen Names on Cards

Mastercard has announced that it will allow trans and non-binary people to use their chosen names on plastic payment cards. The True Name card will apply to credit, debit and prepaid cards used by trans and non-binary people. The move is part of the bank’s initiative to support LGBTI rights. It aims to combat issues trans and non-binary individuals have experienced while using payment cards. Many have spoken about feelings of fear and anxiety when they hand over payment cards which carry their birth or dead names. Mastercard is not the first to implement changes designed to help trans or […]

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YouTube Reverses Decision, Starts Removing Supremacist Channels

In an about-face, YouTube announced it would start removing channels promoting extreme views. This included reversing a decision about right-wing commentator Steven Crowder. The video platform has recently received a slew of criticism for its handling of the Crowder situation. It all began when YouTube announced an investigation into Crowder after journalist Carlos Maza claimed Crowder was targeting him with racist and homophobic harassment. A few days later, YouTube said Crowder’s videos did not violate its harassment policies. All of that changed on Wednesday (5 June) with a new policy change from the company. YouTube bans extremism The company said in a blog post it would be banning video ‘alleging that a group is superior […]

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Texas Sues San Antonio Over Airport Chick-Fil-A Ban

The Statesman reports: Escalating the fight over Chick-fil-A’s religious rights, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued San Antonio on Monday as part of his investigation into the city’s decision to reject the chicken chain as an airport vendor. The lawsuit, filed in state district court in Travis County, seeks a court order requiring San Antonio to turn over emails and other internal communications in which council members and city employees discussed the Chick-fil-A contract with each other and outsiders. On Monday, Paxton repeated allegations that San Antonio politicians had engaged in religious discrimination, adding that Chick-fil-A’s leaders are “well-known for their […]

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YouTube Says Anti-gay Slur ‘Does Not Violate’ Harassment Rules

YouTube have insisted that a right-wing influencer who targeted a journalist for years with homophobia did not violate the website’s hate speech policies. Carlos Maza, a videographer for US news site Vox, publicly complained about the persistent abuse from a right-wing YouTuber, Steven Crowder. The Twitter thread went viral, prompting the Google-owned platform to review Maza’s claims. However, the company concluded that Crowder’s comments did not violate guidelines. What happened? In a winding Twitter thread posted last week (31 May), Maza sketched out a situation that has spanned years involving homophobic and racist epithets thrown in videos. This included when the host attacked […]

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New Bud Light Pride Bottle to Raise Funds for GLAAD

Bud Light has released a limited-edition rainbow coloured aluminium bottle to raise funds for GLAAD to celebrate World Pride. The bottles will be available in bars across the United States during the month of June, and Bud Light will donate $1 to GLAAD for each case sold up to $150,000. Bud Light debuted the bottles at the GLAAD Media Awards, which took place last weekend in New York City. The campaign marks the latest in a 20 year partnership between Bud Light and GLAAD. Bud Light is ‘for everyone to enjoy’ Andy Goeler, vice president of marketing for Bud Light, said the company has […]

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