Try Not To Cry As YouTube Celebrates SCOTUS Same-Sex Marriage Decision and Pride Month
June 26, 2015 became a historic date in the United States and the rest of the world, as the country’s Supreme Court decided, after decades of fighting over LGBT rights, that all couples no matter their gender and sexual orientation could marry in all 50 states of the Union, and YouTube is celebrating this amazing civil rights feat with the viral video #ProudToLove.
Celebrating both the decision and Gay Pride Month, the viral video #ProudToLove shows YouTubers everywhere coming out to their loved ones and speaking about their sexual orientation, then receiving a world of support.
The viral video #ProudToLove is only one demonstration of support for the recent SCOTUS decision, including websites like 9gag and Twitter changing their profile pictures to rainbow versions.
Watch the tearjerker viral video #ProudToLove below!
Celebrating Marriage Equality and LGBT Pride Month
~~Published on Jun 26, 2015~~
MUSIC: Until The Shadows — from Random Forest by Echelon Effect
Over the last 10 years, everyone from moms to presidents have uploaded videos in support of LGBT awareness, to stand up against bullying and discrimination, and to say together, as a community, that marriage equality matters.
That’s why we are so excited by the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to recognize the constitutional right of all couples to marry. In recognition of Pride Month, and of this historic decision, we want to celebrate the many individuals and communities that have helped inspire change
Use Viral Video to Demand that USDA Enforces Animal Welfare Act
Nosey the elephant and Lolita the orca, longtime symbols of the cruelty of animals in entertainment, have also also become symbols of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) failure to enforce the federal Animal Welfare Act (AWA).
After years of protests, petitions and lawsuits, activists nationwide are now using a viral video to demand that the USDA liberate Lolita and Nosey on the grounds that the harsh conditions of their captivity violate the AWA.
*NOSEY*
Nosey, a 30-year old elephant who was captured in Zimbabwe when she was two, has been held captive by the Liebel Family Circus since 1988. In spite of her crippling arthritis and chronic skin disease, Nosey is forced to give rides to paying customers at flea markets and fairs across the country.
Advocates claim that the circus owner, Tom Liebel, and his employees have beaten Nosey into submission with bullhooks, a sledge hammer and shovels and that the USDA has cited Liebel nearly 200 times for violations.
In spite of the violations, abundant evidence of abuse and a veterinary report stating that Nosey is “suffering, permanently disabled and crippled,” the USDA has refused to revoke Liebel’s license to exhibit Nosey and use her for rides.
*LOLITA*
Lolita, an orca who was captured off the coast of Washington in 1970, has been held captive in the nation’s smallest whale tank for 45 years. Until 1980, she had an orca companion, Hugo, who reportedly committed suicide by pounding his head against the side of the tank.
For the past 35 years, she has been alone, unable to interact with members of her own species or engage in any natural behaviors, such as hunting, diving and swimming in the open water. Her tank is just 20 feet deep.
Lolita’s captivity at the Miami Seaquarium is not just cruel; it is illegal. Palace Entertainment is violating the AWA in three ways: Lolita’s tank doesn’t meet minimum size requirements; she has no shade to protect her from the sun; and she does not have a killer whale companion.
~~GALLERY~~
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In February 2015, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) designated Lolita as endangered because she was taken from the protected Southern Resident Killer Whale population. This historic decision has provided legal ammunition to the groups that have sued the USDA for renewing Palace’s license in spite of its AWA violations.
If the court rules in favor of the advocacy groups, then Lolita could be released to the Puget Sound where she would be rehabilitated in a coastal sanctuary and, if possible, released to her pod. Lolita’s mother, 86, is reported to be alive.
Your Turn Robin Jewell, the producer of the historic Miracle March for Lolita in January, created a video with advocates around the country asking the USDA to enforce the Animal Welfare Act.
Please hold the USDA accountable for its failure to protect Lolita and Nosey by helping to make this video go viral.
We have a department within our Government that is in entrusted with the well being and protection of the animals that are owned and exploited for money.
The USDA is that Department, it is a flawed system. Even though hundreds and thousands of violations cross their desk, they refuse to act and to protect these animals.
Lolita has been in an illegal regulated tank alone since 1980, her tank the smallest in Northern America and yet USDA’s answer is to rubber stamp the tank when it comes up and to let Lolita suffer.
Nosey the Elephant who lives in abuse and torture every day, whose medical illnesses have left her hurting and in pain to walk, ignoring their own doctor assessments and hundreds of violations the USDA refuses to save her.
We pay the USDA to do a job and we must demand that they ACT NOW and do the job they are paid to do.
Robin Jewell
It Is What It Is 