LGBTQ Nation

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New progressive chair says Dems don’t have to abandon trans folks to reconnect with working class

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The newly elected chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus said a combination of factors led to electoral losses for the party in November’s election, not least of which was being “seen as preachy” and “disconnected.” Rep. Greg Casar of Texas, 35, is replacing outgoing chair Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), who is term-limited in the post. The Texas native and son of immigrants from Mexico was a labor organizer and Austin City Council member before winning a second term in the House last month. Casar called Democrats’ losses in the election “avoidable.” “The progressive movement needs to change,” he told NBC News in […]

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Out ER nurse Molly Cook explains how she won 4 elections in just one year

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State Sen. Molly Cook, 33, a sixth-generation Texan and former ER nurse, starts a new term in January after multiple campaigns in a single year that would have left a less energetic candidate exhausted on a beach on South Padre Island. Not so for Cook, who has only upped her game with every electoral challenge. A savvy internet presence — substitute “Hi, guys” with “Hey, y’all” and you get Cook’s polished, Texas-styled YouTube video intros — the millennial lawmaker is all about the organizing, online and off. “I’m ready to go all gas, no brakes,” Cook enthuses in a clip introducing her […]

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Courthouse that issued country’s first gay marriage license becomes National Historic Landmark

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U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland announced this week that the Boulder County Courthouse in Colorado has been designated a National Historic Landmark for being the site of the first issuing of a same-sex marriage license in the United States.  On March 26, 1975, Boulder County Clerk Clela Rorex issued the license after confirming with the assistant district attorney that state law did not ban marriage between two people of the same sex.  “This act of courage ignited a nationwide conversation about marriage equality and cemented the courthouse’s role as a symbol of hope and progress for the LGBTQ+ community,” […]

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LGBTQ+ parents are rushing to safeguard their parental rights before Donald Trump is president

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LGBTQ+ parents are reportedly scrambling to secure their parental rights before Donald Trump takes the oath of office. Attorney Meghan Alexander told Advocate she usually receives about three calls a week from LGBTQ+ parents seeking second-parent adoptions. The week Trump won, she fielded 26 calls. Since then, they have just kept coming.  Project 2025, which is believed to be the blueprint for the Trump administration, essentially calls to eliminate LGBTQ+ rights and states, “Only heterosexual, two-parent families are safe for children.”  “The advice is the same as it’s been for the last couple of decades, which is to do a second-parent adoption,” Alexander […]

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Trans inmates are being forced to cut their hair short & undergo breast exam’s in Florida

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The ACLU of Florida is suing the state’s Department of Corrections over a new anti-transgender policy that will restrict trans prisoners’ access to gender-affirming medical care as well as their ability to express their gender identity. According to a report from The Marshall Project and the Tampa Bay Times, a federal judge in Tallahassee held a preliminary hearing in the case on December 9. The ACLU of Florida has asked the judge to block enforcement of the policy, calling it an unconstitutional ban on gender-affirming care. A ruling is expected in the weeks ahead. Under the new policy, Florida prisons will […]

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This trans woman was forced into electroshock therapy. She just won a settlement.

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A 28-year-old trans woman in China has won her lawsuit against the hospital and doctor that subjected her to three months of traumatic and painful electroshock conversion therapy treatments, the Guardian reports. The woman, a performance artist who goes by the name Ling’er, said she hoped the victory would help others in the LGBTQ+ community protect their rights.  “In China, the situation for transgender people is not very optimistic,” she said. “There’s a lack of protection for this group.” Ling’er asserted in her suit that the enforced conversion therapy treatments had violated her personal rights. Her victory came with a small award […]

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Experts detail what LGBTQ+ healthcare may look like under Donald Trump’s new administration

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With President-elect Donald Trump just under two months away from taking office and a slew of troubling cabinet appointments making headlines — including anti-vax crank Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for Health & Human Services (HHS) Secretary — LGBTQ+ Americans are understandably concerned about what a second Trump administration will mean for our rights and healthcare. In a recent interview with the Washington Blade, Human Rights Campaign (HRC) director of HIV and health equity Torrian Baskerville acknowledged the fears many LGBTQ+ people, particularly those who are Black, trans, and/or living with HIV, are experiencing around healthcare in light of both Trump’s rhetoric […]

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High Court rules in favor of men tortured for alleged homosexuality in victory for LGBTQ+ Ugandans

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Last week, the Ugandan High Court of the Civil Division awarded $40,000 (the equivalent of 150 million Ugandan shillings) to 20 men who were tortured by police after their 2020 arrests for alleged homosexuality. “They assert that on the morning of the said date their residence was invaded by a mob, among which were the respondents, that subjected them to all manner of torture because they were practicing homosexuality,” Justice Douglas Singiza reportedly stated.  “The alleged actions of torture include beating, hitting, burning using a hot piece of firewood, undressing, tying, biding, conducting an anal examination, and inflicting other forms of […]

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Another trans military ban would cost the United States billions of dollars

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Donald Trump is planning to implement a total ban on transgender service members and recruits on “Day One,” according to Defense Department insiders, which will have massive costs that affect both military preparedness and the DoD’s bottom line. A total trans ban will cost the Pentagon at least $18 billion, according to Emily “Hawking” Shilling, president of SPARTA, a leading trans military advocacy organization. The group estimates 73% of the 15,000 transgender service members in the U.S. military are senior enlisted personnel with 12 to 21 years of experience. The total operational investment in them is up to $176,000 per year per […]

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Donald Trump will reportedly ban trans people from the military on day one

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Donald Trump is reportedly planning to reinstate his trans military ban through executive order on his first day in office. Reports say the president-elect will not only bar trans people from joining but also that he plans to medically discharge the 15,000 trans personnel who are currently serving. If carried out this way, the ban will be significantly harsher than the first time he banned trans people from the military in 2017, when trans people already serving were allowed to remain in their positions. Because the military is already experiencing recruitment issues, experts are worried the policy will significantly impair […]

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