Quickies: RIP Prince, More Anti-LGBT State Law Fallout, Patrick Stewart in Drag

A special note to my readers: I’ve been writing Queereka’s Quickies for two years now, never once missing an update. Recently I’ve becoming very busy with work and school, so I’m taking a break from writing for Queereka. Thank you all for reading and sharing my posts! We’ll be putting out the call for writers soon, so you can look forward to new voices and new insights in the near future. ~Jac

• Legendary Queer Icon Prince Has Died – He was “not a woman… not a man,” but he wanted to be “your girlfriend.” Vox talks gender theory in the main link. Go here for more on Prince’s social justice work, raising money for environmental causes and inner city community initiatives.
• UK Warns LGBT Tourists About Visiting the USA – “Laws vary from state to state. When you are physically present in a state, even temporarily, you are subject to that state’s laws. You must carry a passport showing that you have leave to enter or remain with you at all times… LGBT travelers may be affected by legislation passed recently in the states of North Carolina and Mississippi.”
• “Openly Gay, British CEO” Relocates Business After Bathroom Bill Threat – Uphold CEO Anthony Watson is moving his company to Los Angeles in response to an anti-LGBT bill introduced to the South Carolina state legislature.
• “Westboro’s Protest Of A School’s Gender-Neutral Restroom Turns Violent” – [Warning: Autoplay] “On Tuesday, members of the Westboro Baptist Church staged a protest across the street from the Santee Education Complex in response to the school’s recent installation of a gender-neutral restroom for students.”
• “In Rare Moment of Lucidity, Donald Trump Supports Trans Bathroom Access” – “North Carolina, what they are going through with all of the business that’s leaving and all of the strife—and that’s on both sides. You leave it the way it is. There have been very few complaints the way it is. People go, they use the bathroom that they feel is appropriate, there has been so little trouble. And the problem with what happened in North Carolina is the strife and the economic punishment that they’re taking.”
• “Transgender Bathroom Bill Fails in Tennessee Legislature” – At least for now. “A transgender bathroom bill in the Tennessee legislature failed Monday after the House sponsor said she was withdrawing the legislation while waiting to see how legal challenges play out in other states that have passed similar measures.”
• Even NASCAR Opposes Anti-Trans Bathroom Laws – NASCAR fans aren’t exactly known for their liberal politics, but referring to NC’s HB2, NASCAR Chairman Brian France told the AP, ‘We take the position that any discrimination, unintended or not, we do not like that and we are working behind the scenes, and we are not a political institution.’”
• Obama: Daughters Helped Changed Mind on Marriage Equality – “‘People I loved who were in monogamous same-sex relationships explained to me what I should have understood earlier,’ the president said, ‘Which is it was not simply about legal rights but about a sense of stigma.’”
• Patrick Steward Does Drag – And it is fabulous! He’s promoting his new show “Blunt Talk.”

Featured image: Prince via CNN