Sunday Funday is Having the Best Day Ever, Considering the Circumstances

Happy Sunday Funday, muffin tops! (As in, the actual top of a muffin. My favorite part, as a note.) Welcome to your weekly grab bag of good gay news! Let’s get started, because I’m just finishing up this coffee in bed while tackling an unholy to-do list and I need both a distraction and a reminder that I have faith in humanity. Wheee!

Well Isn’t This Fucking Amazing

You know how A-Camper Extraordinaire Grace is on a mission to give everyone their Best Day Ever? I do, because the days we’ve spent together were mine. Also, here’s a video of Gaela’s! You’re gonna cry! I promise!

In the Name of the Law

+ Canada’s House of Commons just advanced legislation that would add protections from discrimination on the basis of gender identity and expression to the nation’s Human Rights Act. Also, sounds like they really do want you to move there. I recommend Nanaimo.

“It’s a very important and historic day to see the House of Commons finally pass Bill C-16, providing protections for transgender and gender diverse Canadians in all federal government services,” says Wells.

“Given some of the concern and rhetoric coming out of the United States these days post-election, this is another important sign and step forward for Canada’s leadership role in the world to unequivocally protect and support human rights for some of our most vulnerable citizens.”

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+ Minnesota’s ban on transition-related surgery has been ruled unconstitutional because oh my god, duh.

+ Planned Parenthood of New York City will begin offering hormone replacement therapy next month. B L E S S.

F*ck Pat McCrory

Pat McCrory, awful dude and once-Governor of North Carolina, is trying super hard not to admit he just lost his race for re-election. His opponent’s lead, after ten days, however, is only growing. HB2, Pat? More like HB who? 

Some sassy highlights from the scene:

The Human Rights Campaign and Equality North Carolina decried McCrory’s refusal to admit defeat. “Governor-elect Roy Cooper has won this election, and we’re all ready for him to restore the reputation of this great state,” said HRC President Chad Griffin in a press release. “North Carolina continues to suffer from the petty and dangerous leadership of Pat McCrory who refuses to admit defeat, despite now being down by more than 6,000 votes. It is time for Pat McCrory to accept he’s lost, stop wasting taxpayer time and money, and allow for the peaceful transition of power. To undermine the results of this election would be an affront to the will of the voters, and the Human Rights Campaign and our allies are prepared to fight any attempts by Pat McCrory to overturn the will of the people. No one likes a sore loser.”

“Pat McCrory is once again putting his personal politics above the best interests of the people of North Carolina,” said Equality NC executive director Chris Sgro in the same release. “He was wrong when he signed HB 2 into law despite opposition, and he is wrong now in refusing to acknowledge his defeat and concede. A lot of politicians lost difficult races in 2016, and Pat McCrory is the only one dragging his heels and being petulant. Roy Cooper is the clear victor — the voters of North Carolina have spoken.  Pat, you have the opportunity to do the right thing and let North Carolina finally move on.”

Light in the Darkness

The election isn’t over yet and neither is the eternal and everlasting goodness of humanity.

+ I know you already know but like, come on, once more with feeling.

+ Someone in Rachel’s home state of Virginia vandalized her historic Clinton/Kaine yard sign with anti-gay graffiti. And well, let me tell you, her neighbors just didn’t like that one bit. They fought back with gifts and signs of their own. Someone really should replace her historic Clinton/Kaine sign, though. That bitch should be president.

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“It felt like sort of this personal kindness, like they were saying specifically to us ‘We care about you,’” Rachel’s wife Emily said. “But then after a few days it started to feel like the community was saying we care about ourselves, we care about each other, this is how it’s going to be here.”

+ This Texas woman overheard a family discussing their “awful gay nephew” and bought them dinner to embarrass them. It was the ultimate power move, and I respect the fuck out of it.

Tiny Salamander Moment

These are precious. I still don’t want them near me, though.

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Carmen

Carmen spent six years at Autostraddle, ultimately serving as Straddleverse Director, Feminism Editor and Social Media Co-Director. She is now the Consulting Digital Editor at Ms. and writes regularly for DAME, the Women’s Media Center, the National Women’s History Museum and other prominent feminist platforms; her work has also been published in print and online by outlets like BuzzFeed, Bitch, Bust, CityLab, ElixHER, Feministing, Feminist Formations, GirlBoss, GrokNation, MEL, Mic and SIGNS, and she is a co-founder of Argot Magazine. You can find Carmen on Twitter, Instagram and Tumblr or in the drive-thru line at the nearest In-N-Out.

Carmen has written 919 articles for us.

14 Comments

  1. I live right down the road from Franklin co. A friend shared the article about Rachel and Emily, and I am so heartened by the community response, but so discouraged by how many giant Trump signs flank our roads out here. I think, in many ways, I can effect more change here than in a place where I felt less like an outlier, but lord, it’s been a hard week to get out of bed in the morning. Thanks for being a beacon of hope, Carmen!

  2. Thanks so much for sharing the article about Bill C-16! When I heard about it on Friday, it was the one positive bit of news in an otherwise terrible week. This has been years in the making now, this being the 2nd (maybe 3rd?) time this bill has been brought up in Parliament, and it’s really looking like it might actually happen this time. I really look forward to the day when all trans and GNC are protected across the country.

  4. I really cannot, cannot wait for McCrory to disappear from my state, go cry in his large house, and hopefully vacate North Carolina forever. This year was bad enough and having to worry about the re-election man who looked like he was taking an uncomfortable dump every time he talked about HB2 (on top of the local newspaper Independent Weekly enumerating all the other horrible things he did to our state) made the election that much worse.

  5. Canada expands human rights protections and gets a sexy, dreamy liberal as their leader. Canada, I’m so jealous.

  6. Married my girlfriend at city hall on Friday! We wanted to make these dark days a little brighter.

  7. Fittingly enough, I’m currently putting the finishing touches on my amphibian presentation for Biology class.

  9. i paid for the tip after a douchebag mom openly discussed not giving a tip cause she didn’t like the way the waitress looked. I saw what they left and I apologized to the waitress for their behaviour and gave her a tip to cover them and mine tab.

  10. The #boycotthamilton thing is so hilarious to me cuz, to quote king george iii,

    “what comes next?
    you’ve been freed
    do you know how hard it is to lead?
    you’re on your own
    awesome, wow!
    do you have a clue what happens now?
    oceans rise, empires fall
    it’s much harder when it’s on your call
    all alone
    across the sea
    when your people say they hate you
    don’t come crawling back to me!”

    And they weren’t even saying they hated Pence, they just wanted him to protect EVERYONE’S rights! like!!!

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