LGBTQ Nation

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The U.K. is finally restoring honor to veterans harmed by its anti-LGBTQ+ military ban

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The United Kingdom has announced its plans to build a memorial for LGBTQ+ veterans who were persecuted and discharged under the country’s ban on queer military members, which remained in place from 1967 to 2000. The bronze memorial will resemble a crumpled sheet of paper and contain phrases from LGBTQ+ people affected by the ban. The announcement of the monument follows a government pledge to give £70,000 ($85,159) to military members harmed by the ban. The memorial — whose design was chosen from 38 submissions and five finalists — will be constructed at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire, a […]

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Meta employees speak out against new anti-LGBTQ+ & anti-DEI policies

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New policies from tech giant Meta are enabling bigots to claim that LGBTQ+ people have a “mental illness.” Concurrently, the company announced on Friday that it is ending its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) commitments, sparking backlash from queer employees. The first set of policy changes came on Tuesday, after CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that the company would be removing content moderators and fact-checkers and loosening restrictions on their hate speech policies. Meta’s new guidelines state, “We do allow allegations of mental illness or abnormality when based on gender or sexual orientation, given political and religious discourse about transgenderism and homosexuality and common non-serious […]

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Life for LGBTQ+ Russians is getting more & more dangerous

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Anti-LGBTQ+ persecution has intensified in Russia since the government strengthened its anti-LGBTQ+ propaganda law and  outlawed the so-called “international LGBT movement.” Russian President Vladimir Putin has instituted successively broader anti-LGBTQ+ “propaganda laws” since 2013, and raids and arrests at LGBTQ+ clubs have become commonplace across the country.  In October, for example, Police in Moscow raided two gay clubs, detaining over 50 people. Photos and video from the raids was posted on pro-Russia Telegram channels MSK1 and SHOT on October 12 showing masked police storming into downtown Moscow club Central Station, forcing shouting at patrons and forcing them to lie on the ground. One clip shows officers searching people, […]

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America’s first gay rights group formed a century ago this year & you’ve probably never heard of it

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One hundred years ago, queerness was illegal in just about every way in the U.S. There were laws against cross-dressing and sodomy, being trans or queer was classified as a mental illness, and it was legal to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. At the same time, there was a thriving underground subculture of balls, drag shows, and salons.  During the Harlem Renaissance and blues craze, queer people were open in their own circles, but organizing politically for equality was not in the collective consciousness. The community centers, groups, and newsletters that would become the foundation […]

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10 arrested for writing gay erotica in China as part of nationwide crackdown

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Government officials in China are cracking down on erotic fiction writers and their online distribution networks, according to multiple news reports and social media posts, with dozens of writers reportedly arrested in one province and facing years in prison. Many of the writers specialize in danmei, a style depicting gay romance and sex similar to Japanese manga.   In December, Chinese news site Shuiping Jiyuan reported police had detained more than 50 writers in Anhui province, west of Shanghai, since June. Sentences have ranged up to four and a half years in prison. At least 10 people have been sentenced for posting gay-themed erotica […]

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Gay Rep. Mark Takano to head the Congressional Equality Caucus

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Out Rep. Mark Takano (D-CA) will chair the Congressional Equality Caucus (CEC), the group of Congressmembers that advances LGBTQ+ equality. Out Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI) was the previous CEC chair. “Over the next several years, we will see a constant barrage of attacks on the rights and dignity of the queer community — especially against our transgender siblings — by the Trump administration and the Republican majorities in both the House and Senate,” Takano said in a statement.  “As Chair of the Equality Caucus, I will lead our coalition of openly-LGBTQI+ members and our allies in the fight to both […]

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House Republicans reveal their top legislative priority: Attacking transgender rights

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Earlier this week, Republicans in the United States House of Representatives released their new rules package, which will allow anti-trans legislation to be fast-tracked. Listed under section 5, the anti-trans provision is listed as one of several bills that will be considered and debated within the House during the upcoming session, to be voted on “as read”; that is, no amendments that could slow down the voting process. No bill number is given, but the description of the bill in the rules package reads, “The bill to amend the Education Amendments of 1972 to provide that for purposes of determining compliance […]

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The newest LGBTQ+ members of Congress are fired up & ready to serve

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The 119th Congress officially began on January 3 and included among the new members are three history-making LGBTQ+ legislators: Rep. Sarah McBride (D-DE), Rep. Emily Randall (D-WA), and Rep. Julie Johnson (D-TX).  McBride, the first out transgender member of Congress, received a slew of support from the Democratic Party and national LGBTQ+ rights organizations. A major part of her platform was protecting transgender rights in the United States. At only 34, McBride has already worked for the Human Rights Campaign and interned in the Obama-Biden White House. She was the first trans person to speak at the Democratic National Convention […]

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Ohio Senate passes “shameful” bill that would force schools to out LGBTQ+ kids to their parents

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The Ohio Senate and House have now both passed a bill that would forcibly out LGBTQ+ students to their parents and also allow parents to opt their child out of “sexuality content” at school.  House Bill 8 defines sexuality content as “any oral or written instruction, presentation, image, or description of sexual concepts or gender ideology provided in a classroom setting,” with exceptions granted for STI and abuse discussion, as well as “incidental references” to sexual concepts or “gender ideology.” There is also a total ban on “sexuality content” in grades three and below, with all other grades facing a requirement […]

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Cops beat gay couple in their homes as Belarus seeks to mimic Russia’s anti-LGBTQ+ laws

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This fall, security forces in Belarus — the former Soviet republic and staging ground for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine — raided the home of a gay couple in the Belarusian capital of Minsk and brutally beat them, according to reporting by the Associated Press. The university students said the officers were transparent that the assault was inspired by similar treatment of the LGBTQ+ community in Russia. “They slammed our heads against the door frame, threatened to report us to the university, and said that this was just the beginning,” said Andrei, 20, who asked to be identified only […]

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