LGBTQ Nation

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Angry mob throws knife at LGBTQ+ students in high school parade

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Police in Marion, Iowa are investigating an assault on queer students marching in their high school’s homecoming parade this week. According to witnesses, a group of about 10 students shouted slurs at the LGBTQ+ kids as they marched behind a banner for Linn-Marr Spectrum, the high school’s gay-straight alliance (GSA). The group began throwing objects at the GSA marchers, including an open box cutter. The kids marched on despite the assault. “They chose to make a statement and say: ‘We’re here, we’re to be valued, and we’re not going anywhere,’” said Corey Jacobson, president of Cedar Rapids Pride. The school […]

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GOP state officials are so mad that doctors support trans healthcare that they’re intimidating them

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Earlier this week, 20 Republican attorneys general banded together to send a letter to the leadership of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the national professional association for pediatricians, accusing them of breaking the law for supporting age-appropriate and life-saving gender-affirming care for trans youth.  The letter accuses the organization of violating consumer legal protections for allegedly deceiving the public on the reversibility of puberty blockers while also seeking detailed information on their internal evidence assessments and communications. The letter was sent by Idaho Attorney General Raul Labrador.  According to journalist Erin Reed, this letter holds no legal weight, and as such, the […]

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HRC blames anti-LGBTQ+ politicians for national rise in hate crimes

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Anti-LGBTQ+ hate crimes have been on the rise in the past year, standing in stark contrast to the overall downward trend of violent crime, according to the FBI’s most recent annual crime reports. The Human Rights Campaign says that anti-LGBTQ+ politicians are contributing to the violence. In 2023, over 2,402 incidents of sexual orientation-based hate crimes were reported within the past year, a figure that is 500 higher than the amount reported in 2022. In 2023, there were 401 reported gender identity-based hate crimes, with 146 targeting someone who was gender non-conforming.  These figures stand in contrast to the overall trend […]

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Despite new protections, LGBTQ+ people face massive discrmination in the workplace

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LGBTQ+ people are more likely to experience discrimination at work in spite of laws against it, according to reporting from The 19th. A study released by the Williams Institute last year shows that 17% of LGBTQ+ adults received harassment and discrimination on the job within the past year of reporting. 47% have experienced it at some point in their lives. “You would hope things have gotten better,” said Brad Sears, the founding executive director of the Williams Institute and a co-author of the report Many report having to stay in the closet at work out of fear of reprisal for their identities. Almost […]

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YouTube suspended a queer Nigerian film distributor’s channel. Now they’re fighting back.

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A Nigerian distributor of independent gay romance films is fighting to get its YouTube channel back. Earlier this month, Omeleme TV launched an online petition aimed at getting YouTube to reinstate its original account after the streaming platform removed its channel, claiming Omeleme TV had violated its policy “on spam, deceptive practices and scams.” But in its petition, Omeleme TV argued it has never violated YouTube’s policies and has “always complied with their rules and regulations accordingly.” An Omeleme TV spokesperson, who wished to remain anonymous, told The Washington Blade that YouTube has not indicated “the main issue” that resulted in its deplatforming. In its […]

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Taiwan will now recognize same-sex marriages of Taiwanese-Chinese couples

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Taiwan officials have announced same-sex marriages between citizens of Taiwan and China will now be recognized in the breakaway republic. Taiwan was the first Asian country to recognize same-sex marriages in 2019. The move means that cross-strait same-sex couples can get married and their unions will be recognized in Taiwan. But like most things in the fraught relationship between the two countries, it’s complicated. Like their cross-strait straight peers, gay couples will have to get married in a third country that recognizes both China and Taiwan and where there’s also marriage equality. Once back in the island nation, they’ll then […]

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Ron DeSantis bans Florida’s sex ed classes from mentioning anatomy & contraceptives

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The Florida Department of Education (FLDOE) has ordered local school districts to submit their sex education plans to the state for approval. The FLDOE has also said the classes must promote abstinence and cannot include discussion of contraception or pictures of reproductive health organs. The sex-ed takeover removes local discretion when it comes to district sex education classes and materials. For some time, Florida law has mandated that sex-ed lessons emphasize the “benefits of sexual abstinence as the expected standard and the consequences of teenage pregnancy” for grades 6 through 12. But now the state has removed any local control […]

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Trump campaign launches ad attacking Kamala Harris for supporting trans people’s health care

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A new political ad from former President Donald Trump delves deep into transphobia, highlighting Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris’ support of providing lifesaving care to transgender inmates (something required by federal law) and showing pictures of her next to a drag queen, a trans woman, and a nonbinary person. “Kamala is for they/them,” the 30-second ad says. “President Trump is for you.” The ad primarily accuses Harris of supporting “taxpayer-funded sex-changes for prisoners and illegal aliens” — a crude restatement of her 2019 ACLU questionnaire answer that all federal prisoners, including trans immigrants detained by border agents, deserve medically necessary […]

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Book bans have increased nearly 200%. Florida and Iowa are partly to blame

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Over 10,000 books have been banned across the entire United States over the past school year. The trend has seen a particularly strong increase in states with a strong Republican presence, according to the free-speech nonprofit PEN America.  This is a major increase compared to the 2022-2023 year, which saw a total of 3,362 books banned across the country. Florida and Iowa are leading in the total number of bans, with over 8,000 recorded between the two states. This number is largely due to the increasingly strict laws on book bans.  The banned books include Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie; the […]

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They provided lethal heroin to a trans icon. Now they’ll pay the price.

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The two men who provided the narcotics that caused the death of trailblazing trans activist and actress Cecilia Gentili have both pleaded guilty to distributing the drugs. Gentili, 52, died in her Brooklyn apartment from fentanyl-laced heroin that authorities say she received from the men, Michael Kuilan, 44, and Antonio Venti, 52. Prosecutors said Gentili was found dead in her bedroom in February from the combined effects of controlled substances including fentanyl, xylazine (a vetrinary sedative), cocaine and heroin. The heroin, laced with fentanyl, was provided by Kuilan and Venti. On Monday, Kuilan on Monday pleaded guilty to possession and […]

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