Anya Crittenton

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NBC Cancels Will & Grace after One Final Season

NBC announced on Thursday (25 July) the upcoming season of Will & Grace is the last. Will & Grace, which ushered in visibility for LGBTI people (primarily gay men), premiered in 1998. It lasted for eight seasons, before NBC brought it back for a revival in 2017. David Kohan and Max Mutchnik created the series. It follows best friends Will Truman (Eric McCormack), a gay lawyer, and Grace Adler (Debra Messing), an interior designer. Rounding out their quarter is Jack McFarland (Sean Hayes), a gay actor, and Karen Walker (Megan Mullaly), a self-centered socialite. Over the course of its many seasons, the […]

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13 Philadelphia Cops Fired for Homophobic, Racist Messages

The Philadelphia Police Department are set to fire 13 officers for offensive social media posts, which included homophobic and racist sentiments. This discipline was the result of research done by by the Plain View Project. They published thousands of Facebook posts from jurisdictions around the country, including Philadelphia, in June. Following the publication of these posts, the Philadelphia Police Department launched an internal investigations. Overall, the department removed 72 officers from street duty. They gave 13 a 30-day suspension with the intent to formally dismiss them. Four other officers received a 30-day suspension, three received no other formal discipline, and the rest received varying consequences from formal reprimands […]

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Most LGBTI Americans Welcome Police at Pride Parades

A new survey reveals most LGBTI Americans are welcoming of police and other groups, such as corporations, at annual Pride parades. BuzzFeed News and Whitman Insight Strategies conducted the survey from 5-10 June, speaking to 801 LGBTI people in the US. Most of the respondents identified as bisexual (46%). Gay and lesbian respondents were next, at 29 and 17%, respectively. Finally, 7% of respondents identified as transgender and nonbinary, respectively. The survey asked a broad range of questions, including ones about Pride, gay icons, and the Pride flag. Pride parades should be inclusive and open Police at pride has become a controversial and heated debate in […]

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Anti-LGBTI Figure Yapped to Lead Trump’s Commission on Religious Freedom

Tony Perkins, a vitriolic anti-LGBTI and Islamophobic figure, has been tapped to lead the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). Perkins, who is also the president of the far-right Christian lobbying organization the Family Research Council, was initially named chair of the Commission last year. With this new appointment, he will oversee the mission of the USCIRF for at least a year. Created by the International Religious Freedom Act in 1998, the USCIRF ‘uses international standards to monitor religious freedom violations globally, and makes policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and Congress’. The President and Congressionals leaders from both parties appoint commissioners. […]

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Senate Confirms Anti-LGBTI Judge in the Middle of Pride Month

In the middle of Pride month and on the eve of the 50th anniversary of Stonewall, the United States Senate confirmed a new judge — another anti-LGBTI Trump appointee. Matthew Kacsmaryk achieved his lifetime appointment to the federal bench in the Northern District of Texas with a 52-46 vote. The vote happened along party lines. Only one Republican, Sen. Susan Collins (ME), voted against Kacsmaryk. She cited his ‘extreme statements’ on LGBTI and reproductive rights, stating they ‘reflect poorly on Mr. Kacsmaryk’s temperament and suggest an inability to respect precedent and to apply the law fairly and impartially’. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-NY) […]

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Chanel Scurlock, a Black Trans Woman, was Murdered in North Carolina

In the early hours of 6 June, North Carolina authorities found the body of Chanel Scurlock, a black transgender woman, in Lumberton. They found Scurlock’s body in a field near Old Town Road in the city. She was shot to death and her car was missing. Robeson County Sheriff Burnis Wilkins told local news outlet The Robesonianinvestigators have ‘great leads’ into her death. ‘Robeson County sheriff’s detectives are currently working diligently to bring closure to a grieving family,’ Wilkins added. ‘This cowardly act has to be addressed and a person or persons will be held accountable and brought to justice.’ The Robesonian and other outlets, however, […]

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YouTube Reverses Decision, Starts Removing Supremacist Channels

In an about-face, YouTube announced it would start removing channels promoting extreme views. This included reversing a decision about right-wing commentator Steven Crowder. The video platform has recently received a slew of criticism for its handling of the Crowder situation. It all began when YouTube announced an investigation into Crowder after journalist Carlos Maza claimed Crowder was targeting him with racist and homophobic harassment. A few days later, YouTube said Crowder’s videos did not violate its harassment policies. All of that changed on Wednesday (5 June) with a new policy change from the company. YouTube bans extremism The company said in a blog post it would be banning video ‘alleging that a group is superior […]

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Trump Administration to US Embassies: ‘You Can’t Fly Rainbow Flags’

The Trump administration, in another move against the LGBTI community, is rejecting US embassies’ request to fly rainbow flags for Pride month. This comes only days after Donald Trump acknowledged Pride Month for the first time ever in his presidency. Three American diplomats confirmed the reports from the embassies to NBC News. They said requests from Israel, Germany, Brazil and Latvia have all been denied request to fly rainbow flags outside their buildings. While the embassies are allowed to display the rainbow flag elsewhere, including inside the buildings, they are not allowed to fly it on the main flagpole. According to NBC’s reporting, Brian Bulatao, the State Department’s undersecretary for […]

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Trump Administration Restricts HIV Testing and Research with New Policy

On Wednesday (5 June), the Trump Administration implemented a new policy ending research done by government scientists using fetal tissue. This severely limits research done on HIV. According to the Washington Post, the Administration also canceled a university’s multi-million dollar laboratory contract. The university used fetal tissue in testing new HIV treatments. ‘Promoting the dignity of human life from conception to natural death is one of the very top priorities of President Trump’s administration,’ the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said in a statement. The tissue used in such research comes from elective abortions. Many scientists and researchers say there are no other alternative approaches […]

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Democrats Are Hoping to Ban the Gay and Trans Panic Defense – Again

Two Democrats, Sen. Edward Markey (D-MA) and Rep. Joe Kennedy III (D-MA)introduced the Gay and Trans Panic Defense Prohibition Act of 2019 on Wednesday (5 June). This is the politician’s second attempt at banning the use of gay and transgender panic defenses in the court system. They introduced the same bill last year, but it never received a vote in the Senate or House. Consequently, it never had a chance to become law. Markey and Kennedy are trying again with the same bill to amend title 18 of the United States Code. In a tweet, Markey wrote: ‘So-called “gay and trans panic” defenses can excuse […]

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