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Thursday: Rally To Protest Four Anti-LGBT Violent Attacks This Month In NYC

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Queer Rising will hold a rally to protest and bring awareness to the four recent anti-LGBT violent attacks that have occurred over the past ten days. The rally will be held tomorrow, Thursday, May 16, outside Madison Square Garden at 7:00 PM EDT.

On Monday, Murray Lipp, who runs the hugely popular Gay Marriage USA Facebook page, penned an article in the Huffington Post detailing the attacks — noting they are “a sad reminder that homophobia is still alive and thriving in this city” — and calling for action:

On the afternoon of Sunday, May 5, a gay male couple in their 20s were walking arm-in-arm down Eighth Avenue between 34th Street and 35th Street, within the vicinity of Madison Square Garden, when they were subjected to a brutal anti-gay assault, presumably in the presence of numerous bystanders. The two men allege that they were called “faggots,” knocked to the ground and physically assaulted. Both men received treatment in the hospital. Their attackers, described as a group of up to eight men in their 20s, fled the scene and have not been apprehended as of this writing. (See their descriptions here.)

The second incident also occurred in Manhattan, around West 33rd Street and Ninth Avenue. In the early hours of Friday, May 10, two gay men (reported to be a couple) were subjected to an anti-gay assault. After being refused access to a billiards club, they were subsequently approached and attacked by a group of up to five men who allegedly hurled homophobic abuse and physically beat them. Both of the victims required hospital treatment. Only two of the alleged attackers have thus far been arrested.

Silence equals tolerance of the unacceptable. We must come together as a community to express a message of strength and defiance to those who would rather see us locked in closets forever. Regardless of sexual orientation, everyone should have the right to walk down the street without fear of being subjected to verbal abuse or physical assault. I call on LGBT leaders, organizations and allies in New York City to come together as one to rally against hate and in support of diversity.

Lipp acknowledges what many LGBT people in New York City (yes, NYC,) feel:

Although I don’t like to ever give in to fear, I must admit that there are times when I will not hold my partner’s hand in public for fear of being verbally or physically assaulted.

Lipp details yet another incident on his new blog:

Meanwhile, ABC Local News today reported on a third posible anti-gay attack in Manhattan. On the evening af May 8th, a gay man was leaving Pieces Bar and attempting to hail a cab when he was assaulted by two men who shouted anti-gay slurs. The victim was not injured in the incident. Pieces Bar is located within working distance of the Stonewall Inn, the birthplace of the American LGBT rights movement.

For details and directions to Thursday’s rally, visit the Queer Rising Facebook event page, which notes:

QUEER RISING — a grassroots organization created to demand full equality for all queer people through nonviolent direct action — invites ALL members of the LGBTQ community and our allies to STAND TOGETHER in a RALLIED RESPONSE to the DUAL HATE-CRIMES that occurred in Midtown NYC on May 5 (outside Madison Square Garden) and May 10 (outside the W.34th St PATH Station).

JOIN THE RALLY: On Thursday May 16, beginning at 7:00pm, Queer Rising and members of the public will rally outside Madison Square Garden (specifically the SW-corner of 7th Avenue and W.33rd Street), demanding attention be paid to the protection of all New Yorkers on MSG vicinity during games, and to denounce any violence against the LGBTQ community. At 8:15pm, a short-list of participating community leaders will speak.

JOIN THE MARCH: After the Rally, we will march through Chelsea, going south along 8th Avenue, ending at Horatio Street/Jackson Square Park.

WHAT TO BRING: Posters declaring your position on anti-violence, safety on the streets, or the Knicks and MSG’s responsibility to denounce anti-gay violence.

ATTENTION: At Madison Square Garden, we will be face-to-face with individuals who may share the same mind-set as the May 5th attackers. Therefore, it is IMPERATIVE that we DO NOT provoke anyone. We will simply be providing information (via flyers and posters) to Knicks fans, informing them of the incident and our demands for safety.

FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT:
Queer Rising’s Open-Group
www.facebook.com/groups/246156437582/

CONTACT: QueerRising@gmail.com

ENDORSED BY:
New York City Anti-Violence Project (AVP)
www.avp.org

Noting there have actually been four incidences of anti-LGBT violence in the past week, the NYC Anti-Violence Project has issued a community alert:

 

  NYC Anti-Violence Project issues Community Alert

http://www.scribd.com/embeds/141725583/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll

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‘On Day One’: Trump Vows to End Protections for LGBTQ Students

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Donald Trump says the day he enters the Oval Office for a second term he will end anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ+ students implemented by the Biden administration.

Serving up a scattershot series of complaints with the hosts from the Philadelphia-based right-wing talk radio show “Kayal and Company” on Friday, Trump compared LGBTQ+ protections to a “cuckoo’s nest.”

“A lot of things don’t make sense, having to do with what they’re doing, from the border to all of the men playing in women’s sports. I mean, the world is like a cuckoo’s nest right now with what they do,” Trump declared.

One of the hosts alleged President Joe Biden has engaged in “manipulation” of Title IX, the federal civil rights law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in schools that receive federal funding. She claimed parents now have to “pinch some pennies” to be able to afford private Christian schools for their children, to remove them from the enhancements that go into effect this summer.

“Many schools are grappling with what they’re going to do,” she said, “because as of August 1, as you know, because of Biden’s manipulation of Title IX, these kids, the school boards, have no choice, they’re meeting right now they, many of them perplexed, and they don’t know what to do, Mr. President, because they’re so upset over this that at August 1 a biological boy can change in a locker room.”

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Trump replied, “It’s crazy. Crazy.”

“We’re going to end it on day one,” Trump vowed. “We’re going to change it on day one. It’s going to be changed. We’re going to end it. That’s right.”

“The whole thing is crazy. Look, it’s like men playing in women’s sports. It’s like open borders for the world to come in. Send all their prisoners. We’ll take as many as you can give us. Send all their people from mental institutions.”

“We’ll get that changed. Tell your people not to worry about it. It’ll be signed on day one. It will be terminated,” Trump promised, vowing to end the LGBTQ+ protections which include protections for sexual orientation and gender identity.

On his first day in office, President Biden implemented “the most far-reaching of any federal protections yet” for LGBTQ+ people, according to NPR.

In an explainer on the new expanded rules, Ms. Magazine reports “The 2024 regulations prohibit discrimination not only on the basis of sex, but also on the basis of sex characteristics, pregnancy or related conditions, sexual orientation, and gender identity.”

According to GLAAD, which is tracking “the Biden administration’s executive orders, legislative support, speeches and nominations that affect LGBTQ people and rights,” President Biden has made 337 “moves” in 1206 days.

Listen to a short clip below or at this link.

READ MORE: Bannon Will Be ‘Going to Prison’ After Criminal Contempt Conviction Upheld, Experts Predict

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Ari Fleischer Offers Donald Trump Advice Attorney Says ‘Effectively’ Violates Gag Order

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A Fox News panel discussing the Trump New York criminal trial debated whether or not the indicted ex-president could attack the judge’s daughter, with former Bush 43 press secretary Ari Fleischer insisting he should, and claiming doing so would not violate the terms of the gag order.

“President Trump needs to stop calling the judge ‘conflicted.’ He needs to explain why he’s conflicted,” Fleischer said Friday to a panel that included former Trump press secretary Kayleigh McEnany. “Every day of the trial he goes in there, he says, ‘the judge is conflicted, conflicted bigger than I’ve ever seen anywhere in my life.’ He doesn’t explain how or why. He needs to say that the judge’s daughter works for a Democratic political consulting firm that does anti-Trump business. He needs to explain it. Otherwise, it’s just an assertion with no proof. And the President if he’s going to say it, back it up. Explain.”

“I think that’s a violation of the gag order, is it not?” a Fox panelist replied.

“No, he can criticize the judge,” McEnany responded.

READ MORE: Bannon Will Be ‘Going to Prison’ After Criminal Contempt Conviction Upheld, Experts Predict

“Not the judge but the family,” the panelist added.

“But when he says the judge is conflicted, you can still explain how and why, and I think comply with a gag,” Fleischer insisted.

The panelists then agreed Donald Trump has been “measured” in his remarks.

National security attorney Brad Moss weighed in on social media, posting the relevant portion of the gag order and writing that Fleischer “effectively recommends Trump violate the terms of the gag order.”

The gag order in part reads: “Defendant is directed to refrain from” … “Making or directing others to make public statements about (1) counsel in the case other than the District Attorney, (2) members of the court’s staff and the District Attorney’s staff, or (3) the family members of any counsel, staff member, the Court or the District Attorney, if those statements are made with the intent to materially interfere with, or to cause others to materially interfere with, counsel’s or staffs work in this criminal case, or with the knowledge that such interference is likely to result.”

Despite Trump’s repeated attacks, an ethics panel last year cleared Judge Juan Merchan of any issues surrounding his daughter’s work.

On Monday, Judge Merchan warned Trump he may throw him in jail if he violates the gag order again.

Watch below or at this link.

READ MORE: ‘Undisguised Corruption’: Critics Slam Trump for ‘Selling the White House’ to Big Oil

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Bannon Will Be ‘Going to Prison’ After Criminal Contempt Conviction Upheld, Experts Predict

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A federal appeals court panel of three judges has upheld the criminal contempt of Congress conviction of Steve Bannon, the far-right provocateur and former Trump chief strategist and senior White House advisor. Legal experts say he can appeal but ultimately he will he headed to prison.

Bannon had refused to comply with a subpoena lawfully-issued by the U.S. House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack.

“Bannon was sentenced to four months in jail in 2022 by U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols after a jury convicted him of two counts of contempt of Congress,” Politico reports Friday. “But Nichols, a Trump appointee, agreed to postpone the jail term while Bannon appealed the decision, agreeing that the complex mix of laws that govern executive privilege and testimonial immunity for White House aides could be overturned by higher courts.”

The appeals court panel includes judges appointed by President Barack Obama, Donald Trump, and Joe Biden, according to CNN’s Zachary Cohen.

In their ruling the judges wrote: “Public accounts indicated that Bannon had predicted on a January 5, 2021 podcast that ‘all hell [wa]s going to break loose’ the next day,” and noted, “In addition to the podcast prediction, Bannon had reportedly participated in discussions in late 2020 and early 2021 about efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.”

READ MORE: House Ethics Committee Extends Investigation Into ‘Ultra MAGA’ Congressman

Politico noted the “three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Bannon’s argument, saying the former aide and prominent podcaster had no legal rationale for his blanket refusal to appeal before the Jan. 6 committee — and that long-standing case law.”

Bannon is a peddler of conspiracy theories whose podcast “was crowned the top peddler of false, misleading and unsubstantiated statements among political podcasts,” according to The New York Times, citing a Brookings study.

“Bannon is unlikely to have to report to prison immediately,” NBC News reports.

Legal experts weighed in on the question of prison for Bannon.

READ MORE: ‘Undisguised Corruption’: Critics Slam Trump for ‘Selling the White House’ to Big Oil

“And now it’s time for Bannon to be given a date to report to the federal Bureau of Prisons to begin serving his sentence,” remarked MSNBC and NBC News legal analyst Glenn Kirschner, a former federal prosecutor.

“Bannon is effectively out of appeals,” observed professor of law and MSNBC legal analyst Joyce Vance, former U.S. Attorney. “He can delay a little bit longer, asking for the full court to review the decision en banc & asking SCOTUS to hear his case on cert, but neither one of those things will happen. Bannon is going to prison.”

Professor of law and former chief White House ethics lawyer Richard Painter remarked, “it’s slammer time.”

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