LGBTQI History: A Sonoma County Timeline 1947-2000. Wednesdays 1:30-3pm. Online via Zoom. Next Wed., 12/14 join us for a semester review and a discussion about Lesbian Voters Action Caucus. Please contact me to enroll and get a Zoom invite: cdungan@santarosa.edu
The South Korean army has refused to recognise the death of a trans soldier as “on-duty” after protests. A committee made the decision during a Thursday (1 December) meeting, where they classified trans soldier Byun Hee-soo’s case as a “general death”. Byun, who is believed to be the first openly transgender soldier in South Korea, was found dead at her home in March 2021 after being discharged from the military a year prior. After her death, family members and LGBTQ+ activists called for the military to categorise her death as “on-duty”. But the nine-member panel opted to reject the category after finding […]
Texas Family Project — an anti-LGBTQ organization that wants to stop “the Left” from “indoctrinating kids,” “confusing children about changing their gender,” and “undermining parents’ ability to protect their children’s innocence” — has launched Defend Our Kids Texas, a website where people can report live drag queen performances. “Our mission is to expose attacks on our children’s innocence by uncovering and highlighting the left’s public displays of sexual degeneracy,” the website reads. The site’s lead face is Sara Gonzalez, a host for the conservative broadcast Blaze TV. Gonzales has called drag performers “pedophiles,” directed her social media followers to shut down drag performances […]
The Florida legislator who sponsored legislation critics dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill was accused of illegally obtaining tens of thousands of dollars in Covid-relief funds, authorities said Wednesday. Joseph Harding, 35, was indicted on six counts of wire fraud, money laundering, making false statements and other crimes, the U.S. attorney’s office for Northern Florida said in a release. Harding, a Republican whose district is south of Gainesville, is accused of seeking Covid-relief loans from the Small Business Administration in 2020 for two companies, Vak Shack Inc. and Harding Farms, according to the indictment. The indictment alleges that in applications to the […]
Nightlife patrons at the Abbey Food and Bar in West Hollywood had a gun scare after West Hollywood Sheriffs stormed the popular bar in search of an alleged armed man inside. Deputies from the West Hollywood Station launched an investigation after a security guard called alleging a man had a gun. Deputies evacuated The Abbey and swarmed the club but did not find him. Authorities said surveillance video captured images of the suspect in the bar with the weapon. “We do have our EPT team, which is our entertainment policing team — they’re always doing patrol checks at all the […]
The House passed legislation Thursday that enshrines federal protections for marriages of same-sex and interracial couples. The vote of 258-169 sends the Respect for Marriage Act to President Joe Biden, who praised Congress for passing the bill and is expected to sign it into law. It comes after the Senate passed the same bill last week by a vote of 61-36. Democrats were unified in favor of the bill, while most Republicans in both chambers voted against it. Thirty-nine House Republicans supported the legislation Thursday and one voted present. “Your love is your choice,” House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said on […]
Join the Sonoma County Library for in-person and virtual eventsthroughout the month of December, from crafting classes to Zero Waste workshops. All events are free and you don’t need a library card to attend; registration is required for select events. See some of our December events below! Kids & FamiliesJoin us for December’s Seeds & Reads program and create a wildflower seed bomb! For grades K-6. Available at six library locations: Healdsburg, Northwest Santa Rosa, Petaluma, Rohnert-Park Cotati, Sebastopol, and Windsor.Light up the holidays with our Maker Studio: Light Up Cards! Learn how to make a greeting card using LEDs, wires, and coin-cell batteries. Tinker with […]
A trans woman in Qatar has described how she was forced to cut her hair and had her breast tissue “removed” after being arrested for who she is. LGBTQ+ rights, or lack thereof, in Qatar have been in the spotlight since the country was announced as host of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. While there has been global outrage over Qatar’s criminalisation of gay sex, punishable with jail time or the death penalty, little has been said about the fate of trans Qataris. In Qatar, trans people can be arrested without charge for “violating public decency”, simply for being trans. Speaking to […]
Islamic extremist Taliban officials in Afghanistan publicly whipped 12 people in a public soccer stadium, including individuals accused of gay sex. The whipping occurred as thousands watched in the eastern Logar province, BBC reported. The punished individuals were allegedly guilty of “moral crimes” including adultery, robbery, and gay sex, a Taliban official told the publication. Each person received between 21 and 39 lashes; 39 is the maximum number that Taliban authorities reportedly inflict upon convicts. Some of the individuals were jailed afterward. The incident was similar to a public flogging of 19 people that took place in the northern Afghan province of […]
The deadly attack at an LGBTQ club in Colorado last month — where a shooter turned the venue’s “Drag Divas” night into a massacre — has made an already harrowing year for drag performers worse. Eight of the country’s top drag queens told NBC News that the current environment has subdued their larger-than-life personas, prompting four of them to increase security at their events in recent weeks. The Nov. 19 shooting at Colorado Springs’ sole LGBTQ nightclub, Club Q, left five people dead and 17 others shot and injured. The 22-year-old suspect is being held without bond on suspicion of murder and hate […]
