Emma Powys Maurice

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After 36 Years, a Transgender Veteran Granted Discharge Upgrade

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The US airforce has finally granted an honourable discharge to a trans veteran whose life was marred by mental illness, homelessness, unemployment and drug use. In 1984 Kelly Katherine Roser’s exemplary military career was upended by a one-time positive drug test for marijuana, which she used as a form of self-medication for the distress of her gender dysphoria. For years she battled with the shame of her discharge, until now. At 59 years old, Roser has finally received the full honours she earned. “Soldiers don’t fight for the flag or the Constitution – they fight for other soldiers. When you […]

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Trump Covering up Anti-gay Torture and Persecution in Human Rights Reports

The Trump administration’s efforts to erase LGBT+ issues from its annual assessments on global human rights have been laid bare in a damning new report. The shocking research by the Asylum Research Centre (ARC) identifies multiple, serious omissions of human rights issues — including torture, reproductive rights and homophobic persecution — in the US state department’s country reports.00:00/08:04× These annual reports have been compiled by the US since 1976 and had long been viewed as a “gold standard” of objective information about the state of human rights around the world. In the UK they are used by the Home Officeto inform decisions about […]

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Almost Every LGBT+ Student Faces Anti-LGBT Abuse from Classmates

The hard-won progress on LGBT+ rights in schools could be at stake as a new report finds homophobic and transphobic language is ubiquitous in educational establishments. The new study by GLSEN, a national LGBT+ education advocacy group, found that just under 99 per cent of LGBT+ students in the US have heard offensive remarks about their sexuality or gender identity.× Comments such as “that’s so gay” are still regularly thrown around playgrounds and campus cafeterias, which almost 92 per cent of queer students said made them feel “distressed”. Almost 97 per cent of respondents stated that they had heard the […]

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Pompeo ‘Appalled’ Staff with Speech to Anti-LGBT+ Group that Backs Conversion Therapy

Mike Pompeo has defended his decision to address an overtly anti-LGBT+ group which reportedly led to an internal protest among “appalled” state department employees. On October 3, the secretary of state delivered a keynote speech at a fundraising gala for the Florida Family Policy Council, an extreme anti-LGBT+ Christian organisation that advocates for conversion therapy and the repeal of same-sex marriage.× Concerns were first raised by members of Pompeo’s advance team, who flagged the group to their supervisors after they discovered anti-gay flyers when scoping out the site of the event, the Miami Herald reported. Several other state department employees also raised complaints after learning […]

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Kamala Harris Warns Amy Coney Barrett will Put Equal Marriage in Jeopardy

Kamala Harris spoke against Amy Coney Barrett’s controversial Supreme Court nomination Monday (October 12), delivering a stark warning about Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s legacy of equality being irrevocably “undone” The Democratic vice presidential nominee gave a measured yet impassioned speech on the opening day of hearings on Coney Barrett’s nomination.× Appearing in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee remotely from her office, viewers were reminded of Harris’ reputation as a tenacious former prosecutor as she began by rebuking the committee for even holding the “reckless” hearing in the first place. “This hearing should have been postponed,” she said, noting that it had brought together “more than […]

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Egyptian Police are Using Grindr to Hunt and Imprison Queer People

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Fake dating profiles are being used by security forces in Egypt to entrap LGBT+ people and subject them to horrifying abuses in prison, a new report has found. According to Human Rights Watch, the government in Egypt is specifically targeting the LGBT+ community using social media and apps such as Grindr to “clean the streets” of queer people.× The watchdog group accused police personnel and officers of Egypt’s National Security Agency of routinely picking up individuals off the streets and detaining them in inhuman conditions, often after illegally searching their phones. Prosecutors use this content to justify prolonged detentions as they […]

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Mother Threatens to Sue after Teacher ‘Bullied’ her Lesbian Daughter for Holding her Girlfriend’s Hand

A mother is threatening to sue an Indiana school district, claiming that her gay daughter was singled out by staff and subjected to “humiliating” homophobic bullying. Melissa Hart has filed a formal complaint against the administration of Charlestown High School, alleging “discrimination, failing to protect a student from bullying and violation of students rights.”× She claims her 17-year-old daughter faced multiple instances of homophobic discrimination and bullying at the hands of a teacher and an administrator. Speaking to the News and Tribune, Hart listed multiple occasions where the teacher “humiliated” the teen in front of other students by making “inappropriate and derogatory comments” related […]

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Gay Man and Straight Woman Can Form ‘Conjugal Relationship’, Canadian Court Decides

A gay man and his straight, female friend can be in a “conjugal relationship” that is legally recognised by Canadian courts thanks to a groundbreaking new ruling. The decision, which involves a gay refugee to Canada and a straight woman he met at university overseas, expands the legal definition of what a loving couple can look like.× The two close friends, identified as AP and AM, had unprotected sex on a trip and the woman became pregnant. When the baby was born they decided to commit to each other and raise their child as a family unit, in spite of their sexualities. […]

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LGB More Likely to Get Migraines than Straight People

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Lesbian, gay and bisexual people are significantly more likely to get migraines than straight people, and scientists believe the stress of bigotry could be one reason why. A survey of 10,000 Americans aged 31-42 by San Francisco’s University of California found that almost a third of LGB people experienced migraines, a figure 58 per cent higher than in heterosexual participants. And although the researchers were unable to pinpoint the exact reason behind the painful and disabling headaches, we can only assume that the constant strain of dealing with cis straight nonsense is a contributing factor. “There might be a higher rate of migraines […]

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Hundreds of Thousands Demand the EU Intervene in Poland’s LGBT-free Zones

More than 340,000 people have signed a petition demanding the EU fight back against the rising homophobic hate in Poland’s “LGBT-free” zones. The petition was launched by the global equality movement All Out and delivered to EU commissioner for equality, Helena Dalli, on Tuesday (September 22).× It urges her to denounce the discriminatory policies and pass legislation on hate crimes to protect the Polish LGBT+ community. “LGBT+ people in Poland are under attack,” it reads, describing the spread of “LGBT-free zones” and aggressive “nationalist hooligans and far-right groups” at Pride. “We call on you to condemn these acts of violence and discrimination and […]

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