Tag: Iowa

A man won $1.5 million dollars in a discrimination suit against the former governor of Iowa. A jury found that former state official Chris Godfrey was illegally discriminated against by then-Governor Terry Branstad (R) for being gay. “This is a win for me and it’s a win for the entire gay community in Iowa,” Godfrey said after the verdict. “It shows that we have sexual orientation in the Civil Rights Act in Iowa for a reason and nobody, not even Terry...

Chris Godfrey / Screenshot via NBCWhoTV13 The former workers compensation commissioner has won $1.5 million after he was discriminated at the workplace. Chris Godfrey won the discrimination lawsuit against the state of Iowa and former Governor Terry Branstad, who’s now the U.S. ambassador to China, though not without its headaches. The lawsuit was first filed in 2012 after Godfrey says Branstad reduced his pay for being openly gay. In 2011, Branstad re-took office after losing it to Chet Culver. He then asked...

An Iowa judge has refused to dismiss charges against anti-LGBTQ Christian Paul Dorr for his burning of four LGBTQ children’s library books during a 27-minute October 2018 Facebook video rant. Dorr — the founder of Rescue the Perishing, a group “contending against moral evil to advance the Kingdom of Christ” — had criminal charges filed against him by the Orange City Public Library in December 2018 after he checked out four LGBTQ-inclusive kids books and set them aflame on Facebook...

Conservative blogger (circled) posed racially-charged question at Buttigieg campaign event (screen capture) Speaking to voters in Iowa during an Independence Day event, South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg clapped back at an attendee for making a racially-charged comment about black Americans. Due to the recent police shooting of an African American man in his hometown, Mayor Pete has encountered questions and scrutiny on matters related to race on the campaign trail. “Mayor Pete, there has been some controversy in South Bend between the...

A month after partying with drag queens at the Des Moines, Iowa gay bar Blazing Saddles, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand returned to the bar to serve drinks as part of the city’s Pride weekend celebration. She also went shopping for Pride gear with Pete Buttigieg’s husband, Chasten. The Hill reports that Gillibrand answered questions while slinging cocktails at the bar on Friday. When one person asked for her favorite drink, she just handed him hers. He later remarked that it was straight...

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand serves drinks at Des Moines gay bar (image via campaign)New York Senator and Democratic presidential hopeful Kirsten Gillibrand dropped by local gay bar The Blazing Saddle in Des Moines, Iowa, to help celebrate the city’s Pride weekend. According to The Hill, Gillibrand stepped behind the bar to offer libations to the patrons as the capital city kicked off Pride Month celebrations. Twitter-users posted photos and video of the White House...

South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg gave an girl some advice for dealing with bullies. At a campaign stop in Iowa City, Buttigieg drew questions from a fishbowl and he pulled one from 11-year-old Rebecca Johann: “Do you have any advice about bullying?” He started by saying that it’s important to talk about it. “So I think you’re leading the way on that – thank you for raising the question,” he said. He went on to talk about his experiences. “I had experiences with bullying...

Over 300 people in Orange City, Iowa have signed a petition calling for a local library to get rid of any books with LGBTQ themes. A Board of Trustees for the public library met on Tuesday and heard the arguments of Reverand Sacha Walicord of Grace Reformed Presbyterian Church. Walicord led the argument in front of a crow of over 100 people that the library was “pushing an agenda”. The reverend called for the books to either be banned or labelled and...

A Representative from the US state of Iowa has claimed that it is not possible to say anything about gays without it being a gay slur. Republican Ralph Watts made the comments at an event in Urbandale at the weekend. Watts was asked by a constituent about his former Democratic challenger Bryce Smith, and why he had referred to him as “red rider”. He claimed he didn’t know it was a slur, saying: “Anything you say anymore about a gay is a...

“You always hear about these kinds of things, but you never think they’ll happen to you or those you love and care for.” That’s Randy Lee Webster, Minister of Faith and Worship at First Presbyterian Church of Burlington, Iowa, writing about his reactions after allegedly finding a hateful note pinned beneath the windshield of his car. The note, which he shared on his Facebook page, reads: “So, father homo — How does it feel to have Trump as your president? At least he’s got...