Josh Milton

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Latina woman named as 41st trans person tragically killed in the US this year

A “deeply loved” Latina woman was tragically killed in Seattle, Washington, making her the 41st trans person murdered in the US this year. Zoella Rose Martinez, a 20-year-old known by her friends as Zo Zo or Zoey, was shot in a nature area north of Maple Valley in late August. At around 8.45pm on 31 August, Martinez met Jacaree Rashad Hardy, 24, a man whom she believed had stolen $1,000 from her bank account. She agreed to meet Hardy in a parking lot at the Belmondo Reach Natural Area, King’s County prosecutors said according to The Seattle Times. Martinez had alerted […]

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Ambitious, mesmerising’ young woman is 40th trans person violently killed in 2021

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In yet another frightening attack, an “ambitious, mesmerising” Black woman was brutally slain in Florida, making her the 40th trans person murdered in the US this year. Royal Poetical Starz, 26, was fatally shot in Miami Gardens, a city in the north-central Miami-Dade County, on the afternoon of 2 October. According to local law enforcement, the shooting took place between Northwest 18th Avenue and 183rd Street at approximately 12:51pm. The shooter sped off in a getaway vehicle, police added whole both misgendering and deadnaming the victim, only to crash into a tree mere blocks away from the scene. The killer fled on […]

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Gay Iranian rape survivor unable to report brutal attack due to cruel laws

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A gay Iranian rape survivor has explained why regressive laws – and the threat of being outed – stopped him from reporting his attacker. Saeed, a 20-year-old based in the southwestern city of Ahvaz, Khuzestan, gave a harrowing account of what it means to be gay in Iran today to the IranWire. To be gay in Iran, Saeed said, is to exist quietly. Sexual activity between two people of the same sex is illegal and punishable by death, prison, lashings and fines – such penalties mean queer rape survivors like Saeed must remain silent, or else. Saeed met his rapist at a […]

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Homophobic chants grind Mexico football match to a halt

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Homophobic chants ground a football match in Mexico to a halt as players were forced off the pitch. Players left the field for some 10 minutes in the Concacaf Champions League semi-final second leg in Mexico City which saw Cruz Azul fair against Monterrey. At around the 64-minute mark in Azteca Stadium, the match was frozen as Cruz Azul fans began hurling homophobic insults from the stands. Cruz Azul was trailing Monterry 4-1 at the time. They had also resorted to similar homophobic language earlier in the match that forced referees to issue a stern warning. The supporters shouted the “goalkeeper […]

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Two men knock gay man unconscious in violent hate crime in San Diego

A gay man was knocked unconscious and left with severe spinal injuries in ahate crime that has left him deeply shaken and requiring surgery. Two men reportedly targeted Gersson Saavedra in Barrio Logan, an artistic neighbourhood of San Diego, California, on 12 September. He told NBC’s San Diego affiliate that he was strolling along the pier by Cesar Chavez park at around 9:30pm when his night spent with friends slipped into violence. “When we were leaving the event I fell behind my friends, Martin and Sunny,” Saavedra recalled. “My friend said that these two guys asked me for a lighter,” he said, adding that […]

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US Justice Department to review life-saving policies for trans inmates

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The US Department of Justice is to review Trump-era policies on housing trans inmates in federal prisons. After the Donald Trump administration, like it sought to across housing, health and education, rolled back trans rights when it comes to the prison system, the Biden administration might just change that. The federal Bureau of Prisons, the agency that cares for incarcerated Americans, saw its policies pulled into the spotlight when the leader of an anti-government militia, who is trans, was sentenced to 52 years for helming the 2017 bombing of a Minnesota mosque. Emily Hari, sentenced Monday (13 September), will now see which of the 122 federal […]

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UEFA banned rainbow adverts at Euro 2020 venues in Russia and Azerbaijan, Volkswagen claims

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Volkswagen has claimed that UEFA blocked the company from using rainbow-coloured banners on advertising boards at the Euro 2020 quarter-finals in Russia and Azerbaijan. The auto-maker, a years-long sponsor of the football competition, alleged that the governing body voiced “concerns with regard to the legal framework at the venues in Russia and Azerbaijan”. UEFA had approved pitch-side rainbow advertising from a raft of companies for all eight of the round of 16 matches in the Euro 2020 tournament. But Volkswagen officials told The Athletic that UEFA blocked them from extending its rainbow-hued LED advertising boards to St Petersburg and Baku, a decision […]

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Viktor Orbán absurdly claims Hungary’s cruel anti-LGBT+ law ‘is not about homosexuality’

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Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán has claimed that his cruel law banning the “promotion” of LGBT+ lives to minors is “not about homosexuality”. In June, Orbán and his ruling party passed legislation restricting the portrayal of LGBT+ people on media, school materials and advertisements aimed at minors. It was quickly compared to Russia’s “gay propaganda bill” and Britain’s Section 28. But faced with backlash from EU leaders, Orbán simply sidestepped their concerns with an astonishing claim at a European Council summit last week. “It’s not about homosexuality,” he said, according to the Independent. “It’s about the kids and the parents. “I am defending the rights […]

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More gay and bi men allowed to donate blood as rules finally changed in UK

The British government on Monday (14 June) eased blood donation rules for gay, bisexual and queer men – yet activists warn harmful restrictions remain. Blood donation rules in England, Scotland and Wales have long screened out donors if they are a man who has had oral or anal sex with another man. This is because male donors were asked to disclose whether they have had sex with another man during checks. But coming into effect on World Blood Donor Day and following recommendations from a health committee, British blood services will now assess donor eligibility on a person-by-person basis instead […]

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Parents of ‘scared’ 13-year-old trans girl sue Florida over transphobic sports ban

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The parents of a 13-year-old girl have launched a federal lawsuit to challenge Florida’s reviled ban on trans girls taking part in school sports. Mounted by the Human Rights Campaign, one of the largest LGBT+ advocacy groups in the US, the lawsuit argues that the ban violates both the constitution and existing federal anti-discrimination law. It was filed on behalf of Daisy, an avid football player aged 13, and her parents. Under Florida’s anti-trans sports law, she will be forced to play either on the boys’ team or quit the sport altogether. “Playing sports makes me feel like I fit in,” Daisy […]

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