Senate Republicans Refuse to Commit to Making Basic Rights, Including Interracial and Same-Sex Marriage, the Law

Michelle Collins has married her fiancé Mike Davidson after 10 years of dating. The former EastEnders actress, 60, who portrayed Cindy Beale in the hit BBC One soap from 1988 until 1998, and 38 year old Mike tied the knot in a low-key ceremony in London on Wednesday 10 August.

Liz Truss’ leadership campaign has hinted that she plans to U-turn on banning so-called ‘conversion therapy’ should she become Prime Minister, openDemocracy reported.

It’s A Sin actor Callum Scott Howells will join West End show Cabaret in a resurrection of the classic musical.

Lauren Boebert made a similar “joke” about pronouns (“My pronoun is ‘patriot’,” tweeted the Colorado Rep. in 2021), Greene decided to flog the same pun.The tweet has had almost 30k likes and over 10k responses at the time of writing.

Sam Smith has opened up about their journey to achieving joy after announcing that they identify as non-binary. The Dancing With a Stranger singer adopted the pronouns they/them in 2019 and explained they always had a ‘little bit of a war going within my body and my mind’. Since then, Sam, 30, has embraced their queer identity through their music and fashion sense, which they said has helped their mental health. However, getting used to their newfound sense of freedom has been a work-in-progress as Sam has said in a new interview: ‘I think joy for me, and for a lot of queer people, is quite a dangerous place. ‘We’re all masters of pain, and I think it’s actually a very courageous act to step into the queer joy of it all.’ In 2019, Merriam-Webster made the groundbreaking move of introducing the word ‘they’ as a singular gender-neutral pronoun for those who identify as non-binary into its dictionary. Reacting to the development, Sam told Billboard magazine: ‘I can speak on behalf of all of my queer friends and say that recognition like that, and just people talking and understanding us like that, is just the best feeling in the world. ‘Because there’s nothing bad happening here, it’s all love. No one’s taking anything from anyone; people are just trying to live in their own skin on this earth.’ Last year, the Promises singer unveiled a brand new tattoo to represent their non-binary identity.

GEMMA Collins revealed that she's back on a drip after pushing herself too hard in the heat. The former Towie star, 41, was on a wellbeing drip after exhausting herself in the garden. Gemma was seen pottering around her garden as the sun rose on Wednesday morning, as she revealed her garden full of fruits and vegetables.

In a history-making vote Tuesday, Vermont Democrats chose Becca Balint as their nominee for the state’s only seat in the U.S. House of Representatives — and Balint, a lesbian, would be the first woman and first out member of the LGBTQ+ community to represent the state in that body.Balint prevailed over Lt. Gov.

Professional baseball player Solomon Bates came out as gay in a post to Instagram on Tuesday.The 25-year-old pitcher, who had played for the Richmond Flying Squirrels of the San Francisco Giants Double-A minor league team before his recent release, said he made the announcement to show that gay men have a place in the sport. Bates also confirmed to Cyd Ziegler of Outsports he had been out to his teammates since 2019.“I'm still going to open up doors for gay athletes like me.

A school board in Virginia is considering a policy that would require transgender students to make a written request, approved by their parents, to use the restrooms and changing rooms consistent with their gender identity — and many parents and LGBTQ+ rights supporters are enraged.The policy, which was written by the anti-LGBTQ+ group Alliance Defending Freedom, was introduced Tuesday at the Hanover County School Board meeting, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reports.The county is in the Richmond metropolitan area. It's the same school district that apologized last week after revealing a logo that many likened to a swastika.“The policy suggests that the written request may contain several personal documents related to the student including their disciplinary or criminal records, as well as signed statements from the student’s doctor or therapist ‘verifying that the student has been diagnosed with gender dysphoria and/or that the student consistently and authentically expresses a binary gender identity,’” the Times-Dispatch reports.

EastEnders star Michelle Collins, 60, has married her toy-boy other half Mike Davidson, 38, as her former co-star Adam Woodyatt watched.The actress, who played Cindy Beale in the BBC soap, tied the knot with Mike, who is 22 years her junior, at Islington Town Hall on Wednesday (August 10).Among attendees was her soap ex Adam Woodyatt, who played the iconic role of Ian Beale in the soap.READ MORE: EastEnders' Maisie Smith parades curves in barely-there cut-out dress in sizzling picMichelle and her new husband both wore white for their special day, with the blonde beauty opting for a jumpsuit with an elegant train, and a flower crown instead of a veil.She also had a matching white jacket with pearls running from the cuffs up to the shoulders.Meanwhile, Mike wore a white jacket over a black V-neck t-shirt and smart black trousers.The happy couple was pictured exiting the London building as well-wishers showered them in confetti and filmed on their phones.Michelle and Mike could be seen enjoying a glass of fizz after making things official, before they shared a kiss in front of photographers.In classic wedding style, they left the venue in a white convertible which had its soft-top roof down.While Michelle and Mike were dressed the part, her former co-star Adam Woodyatt opted for a more casual approach in a striped shirt and blue trousers.Lord Michael Cashman, who played Colin Russell on EastEnders more than 35 years ago, was also there – although he is better known nowadays for his political career.The former Labour MEP was on the BBC soap for three years in the 1980s and his character was known for sharing the first gay kiss in a British soap.Meanwhile, Michelle and Adam's characters were married on EastEnders, although

The Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) has officially banned Transgender women from competing in the female category of contact rugby in the country. The news comes less than 48 hours after the governing body confirmed that its Gender Participation Policy was under review, and less than two weeks after the English RFU voted in favour […]

A gay couple were reportedly verbally and physically assaulted by a group of teenagers in the Shaw area of Washington D.C. on 7 August.

Love Island contestant Jacques O'Neill was forced to leave the villa by producers for alleged misogynistic behaviour and impersonating deaf contestant Tasha Ghouri.Claims began to circulate on social media regarding the way in which Jacques removed himself from the villa prematurely as he was "struggling" with his mental health while the programme was on air in July.But since the show came to end – which saw Ekin-Su Culculoglu and Davide Sanclimenti crowned as this year's winners – someone who claimed to have met someone who works on Love Island said that Jacques was "removed" from the show - a decision he allegedly wasn't happy with.READ MORE: Love Island's Faye Winter warns there's 'no way to prepare' for aftermath of ITV2 showDaily Star contacted ITV regarding the rumour however they have denied the claims are true, saying the statement released at the time of Jacques' exit was the truth.Jacques made an unexpected exit from the reality show after he lost his temper at returning bombshell Adam Collard who appeared to have an interest in his partner Paige Thorne.Speaking about his decision to depart the show last month, Jacques, 23, told The Sun: "I thought if I don’t get myself out things could go horribly wrong and I could get physical."At home you can remove yourself from situations, but in there you had to deal with every situation, and in that moment I took my microphone off, and walked straight through the front doors because I just wanted to get out of that place."Producers tried coming to me, they were like, ‘Jacques, are you OK? I was saying, 'I don’t want to speak to you or anyone.

darts ace has made history by becoming the first transgender player to qualify for a World Championship.Victoria Monaghan, who has transitioned to female in recent years, won the New Zealand Women Open Women’s title last month to book her place at next year’s WDF World Championship at the legendary Lakeside venue in Frimley Green. While the PDC World Championship at the Alexandra Palace is an integrated event, the WDF equivalent has separate men’s and women’s sections.As a man, Monaghan played competitively and was a nationally-ranked player before giving up the sport for a spell in 2018.

Knock-knock. Who's bare? (GIF via GIPHY)

EASTENDERS star Michelle Collins has married her toy boy fiance - and has been spotted looking INCREDIBLE in her wedding jumpsuit. The actress - who is best known for playing Cindy Beale on the BBC soap - could be seen cuddling up to her husband Mike Davidson. Michelle, 60, and toy boy Mike, 38, were married in London today - in front of an audience of celebrity friends, including Adam Woodyatt.

A post shared by Solomon Bates (@solomonbates) Solomon Bates, a Minor League Baseball player, has revealed publicly that he is gay.Bates, 25, played within the San Francisco Giants system. His latest team was the Richmond Flying Squirrels. His most recent game was last Friday.

Dating app Hinge has recently launched a new feature to help queer users overcome the barriers they may encounter when approaching dating and relationships. The new feature, called NFAQ (Not-So-Frequently-Asked-Questions), aims at providing answers and advice to LGBTQ+ people who might be encountering difficulties when looking for partners online. The NFAQ feature debuted on Hinge […]

said that the Supreme Court should reconsider opinions protecting same-sex relationships, marriage equality, and access to contraceptives. He also said that they "have the duty to 'correct the error' established in the precedents."On July 20, 2022, Marco Rubio confirmed that he wouldn't vote to codify same-sex marriage. "I don't know why we're doing that bill; there's no threat to its status in America," he told the Insider. "But I know plenty of gay people in Florida that are pissed off about gas prices." He also went on to say that it is a "stupid waste of our time on a non-issue."There is no Constitutional "right" for two men or two women to marry one another; the founders would have died laughing. There is no moral "right" to government approval for whatever sexual relationships you form. That doesn't mean a legal bar to such activity. https://t.co/ea773HWOsOThe senator from Texas made this comment when questioning nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson during her confirmation hearing on March 22, 2022. He said that it is an example of policy-making by the court and that the court added a "new right that is not in the Constitution." "When the Supreme Court decides that something that is not even in the Constitution is a fundamental right and no state can pass any law that conflicts with the Supreme Court’s edict, particularly in an area where people have sincerely held religious beliefs, doesn’t that necessarily create a conflict between what people may believe as a matter of their religious doctrine or faith and what the federal government says is the law of the land?" Cornyn asked.I’m also voting NO on another pointless Democrat fear mongering bill.

The parents of four have loudly supported their daughter Zaya coming out as trans. Union spoke to Buzzfeed, saying, “It’s important for us to live and love out loud,” she said. “We didn’t exactly understand why [supporting Zaya’s trans identity] was a thing because it’s like, we love all our kids out loud.

TikTok is the addicting rabbit hole we’ve all fallen into at one point or another. Over the past couple of years, we’ve all seen its incredible power to connect communities and grow creators extremely fast. These seven LGBTQ+ TikTok creators have done both. They’ve harnessed the power of their uniquely made content and built their […]

There is still hope that Democrats can convince ten Republican senators to join them in codifying marriage equality, even though two Republicans once considered amenable to voting for it have come out against it.Four Republicans have so far said they will support the measure: sponsors Susan Collins of Maine and Ohio’s Rob Portman; Sen. Thom Tillis from North Carolina, who said he's a probable vote; and Sen.

CNN while getting on an elevator, but Baldwin overheard him. “You probably would have loved to be on the elevator to see the exchange after,” Baldwin told the network Thursday.“I said that ‘the recent Supreme Court decision eroded a constitutional right to privacy. There’s a whole bunch of cases that have been decided based on a constitutional right to privacy that are in jeopardy,’ which he disagrees with.

first announced his support for marriage equality in 2013. He made his support for the Respect for Marriage Act clear by agreeing to cosponsor it in the Senate, Cleveland’s ABC affiliate reports.The House passed the bill Tuesday by a margin of 267 to 157, with 47 Republicans joining all Democrats in voting for it. It is designed to maintain marriage equality even if the Supreme Court overturns the Obergefell v.

don’t say gay” law, after initially approving it several months ago.Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the controversial legislation into law earlier this year, and it went into effect earlier this month.The Miami-Dade School Board voted to reverse its approval of Comprehensive Health Skills textbooks, which are used for middle and high school health classes.

He told Punchbowl News reporter Christian Hall yesterday that the bill addressed a “non-issue” and there was no need to take steps to protect same-sex marriage.“I don’t know why we’re doing that bill, there’s no threat to its status in America.“But I know plenty of gay people in Florida that are pissed off about gas prices,” he added.CNN’s Manu Raju also asked him about it. Republican Rubio told him the legislation was a “stupid waste of time.”Marco Rubio told me that he is a NO on House’s same-sex marriage bill, calling it a “stupid waste of time”— Manu Raju (@mkraju) July 20, 2022The House vote came about after the Supreme Court decided last month to overturn Roe v Wade, sending the issue of abortion back to individual states.

WASHINGTON — It began for Democrats as a messaging vote, an election-year political maneuver to show voters that they were doing everything possible to protect marriage equality in the face of new threats from a conservative Supreme Court — and a move to force Republicans to put their opposition on the record. But when the House called its vote this week on the Respect for Marriage Act, which would codify federal protections for same-sex couples that were put in place in a 2015 ruling, 47 Republicans voted “yes.” That raised the possibility that there could be a narrow bipartisan path for the legislation to move ahead in the Senate and make its way to President Biden’s desk to be signed into law.

Senate Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer vowed to put the same-sex marriage protection bill to a full floor vote quickly, after it passed the House Tuesday by a strong 267-157 margin, including 49 Republican votes. While there aren’t currently enough votes in the Senate to pass the bill, at first glance it’s looking like it may become possible. The legislation, which does not make same-sex marriage the law of the land, protects existing marriages at the federal and state level.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg sparred with a Republican after he asked whether the Cabinet had considered removing president Joe Biden via the 25th Amendment, which allows the vice president and senior officials to strip the president of office if the president cannot fulfill their duties. House Transportation Committee members heard from Buttigieg on Tuesday about several infrastructure topics, but the hearing took a turn when Texas Rep.

U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) last week attempted to appear supportive of LGBTQ people, but on Tuesday he joined 157 Republicans in voting against protecting existing same-sex marriages should the Supreme Court overturn its own 2015 Obergefell ruling.

Roe v. Wade, and with it, longstanding legal precedent.Titled the “Respect for Marriage Act,” the bill would require states to recognize legally valid same-sex and interracial marriages, and prohibit discrimination “based on the sex, race, ethnicity or national origin of the individuals in the marriage.” Couples who believe they’ve been discriminated against because of their LGBTQ identity would be allowed to pursue legal action.The number of House Republicans who defected from the Republican Party’s official position, which opposes legal recognition of same-sex relationships, was much larger than expected by most political observers, reflecting shifting attitudes on the issue of same-sex nuptials, even among Republicans — a majority of whom support same-sex marriage, according to polling.Many of the Republicans who voted in favor of the measure tended to be younger, newer members of Congress, hailing from suburbs or exurbs of large cities, though there were exceptions.For instance, all four members of the Utah congressional delegation voted in favor of codifying same-sex marriage.

The House of Representatives voted Tuesday to pass the Respect of Marriage Act, which seeks to codify same-sex marriage rights into law. The final tally of 267 – 147 included 47 Republican representatives joining the majority-led Democratic effort.The bill is a direct response to the Supreme Court’s dismantling of Roe vs.

Respect for Marriage Act passed by a vote of 267 to 157, with 47 Republicans joining all Democrats in supporting it, The Washington Post repors. Whether it will pass the Senate remains uncertain, though, and a vote has not been scheduled in that chamber.Supporters of the legislation intend it as a safeguard if the Supreme Court overturns its 2015 ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, which established marriage equality nationwide.

The U.S. House approved on Tuesday with significant bipartisan support the Respect for Marriage Act, signaling support for ensuring marriage rights for same-sex couples amid fears basic rights are at threat in the aftermath of the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade.

Most Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives voted against the Democrats’ Respect for Marriage Act, a bill that protects current same-sex marriages and partially codifies same-sex marriage into law, but does not make the right to marry for same-sex couples the law of the land.

From left: U.S. Sens. Dianne Feinstein, Tammy Baldwin, and Susan CollinsMembers of the U.S.

Related: Hillary Clinton sums up Clarence Thomas in three wordsLast month, Cruz welcomed the reversal of Roe v. Wade, calling it a, “massive victory for life.”In his talk with Wheeler, however, Cruz went on to say he was unsure whether the Supreme Court would reverse same-sex marriage.Cruz said he agreed with the notion that Roe v.

has issued a temporary block against President Joe Biden, stopping the administration from from enforcing LGBTQ civil rights protections in employment and education the President had put into place upon taking office. That order comes in response to a lawsuit filed by 20 right wing state attorneys general.Judge Charles E.

Obergefell v. Hodges, the 2015 Supreme Court decision that established states cannot deny same-sex couples the right to marry.Cruz long criticized the ruling, and in 2015 went so far as to say that states should ignore it. But the specter of marriage equality disappearing rose fresh after the shock ruling from a more conservative court overruling the 1973 Roe v.

ABOVE: Dan's my neighbor. If I lean out my window, I can see his butt. Any window.

U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) delivered an argument against the right to abortion by strongly suggesting same-sex couples only form families by adopting children from lesbian women who have been raped, and said he “worries” if LGBTQ organizations become “pro-abortion” that “fewer same-sex couples” would be able to form families.

U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist (D-FL) is calling on President Joe Biden to appoint a Monkeypox Czar to heighten the administration’s response to the “outbreak that is primarily impacting gay and bisexual men.”Congressman Crist, who is running for his former job of governor of Florida, is calling the outbreak an LGBTQ rights issue.

An Oregon baker who refused to bake a wedding cake for a lesbian couple almost ten years ago has received a reduction in financial penalties.Following an appeals court ruling, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported Tuesday that Aaron Klein has been ordered to pay $30,000 instead of the $135,000 fine initially levied.Laurel and Rachel Bowman-Cryer filed a complaint in 2013 against Melissa and Aaron Klein, the owners of Sweet Cakes by Melissa. The bakery refused to make the couple a wedding cake, the couple said.Oregon’s Court of Appeals twice upheld a ruling that the bakery discriminated against the couple, the Associated Press reports. The court ruled in January that the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries did not exhibit religious neutrality when issuing the fine and remanded the case to the civil rights division.In the 2018 Supreme Court Masterpiece Cakeshop case, in which the Supreme Court sided narrowly with a Colorado baker who refused service to a same-sex couple on religious grounds and had also been fined, the court wiped out the damages.

With the Supreme Court overturning on Roe v. Wade last month, the architect of the Texas abortion law has already aimed at marriage equality, and his next target could leave Texans without access to lifesaving preventive care.Jonathan Mitchell, the former solicitor general who helped write Senate Bill 8, the restrictive abortion law, opened a private law firm in Texas in 2018 to go after decades of the High Court's rulings, according to The Dallas Morning News.Since the beginning of his career, Mitchell has been vocal about his desire to dismantle decades of decisions he believes depart from the Constitution’s language or recognize constitutional rights that do not have a textual foundation.

A young woman claims that a small Florida Christian university in West Palm Beach withdrew her offer of admission because she is gay. Now, after a public backlash, the school denies the student’s claims, but she says she has receipts that call the school’s denial into question.A video posted by Gianna Palmo last Thursday to her TikTok account, where she has just more than 5,000 followers, caught the attention of users. In the video, she claims that a school to which she had been accepted, Palm Beach Atlantic University, rescinded her admission when administrators discovered she was gay.“how is this allowed in 2022??!! anywayss attack PALM BEACH ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY,” she wrote in the video description.

ABOVE: When Polaroids look this good, you're set on that shoot turning out.

It’s been two weeks since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, but a sea of sadness still bleeds through the nation.The Advocate sat down with the CEO and president of GLAAD, Sarah Kate Ellis, to discuss a post-Roe v.

Last month, a transgender woman filed a lawsuit against the El Paso County Sheriff's Office in Colorado for conducting a "humiliating" cross-gender visual body cavity search on her. The suit, filed in the United States District Court for Colorado, claims the sheriff and the jail staff mistreat transgender inmates.The plaintiff, Juniper McGinn, alleges she was arrested and jailed for participating in a Black Lives Matter protest following George Floyd's death on June 2, 2020. As she was being arrested, McGinn requested a woman conduct the body cavity search, but deputies told her that a woman could only examine the top half of her body while a male was responsible for the rest, the lawsuit claims.During McGinn's visual body cavity search and shower, she says five deputies watched the process and laughed at her. "There was no basis to have five deputies watching Ms.