LGBTQ Nation

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Trans trailblazer Leigh Finke is facing a brutal, national attack campaign from the right

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“There were attacks from inside the House, including members on the floor using their time on the floor to attack me. There was the national hate group, Gays Against Groomers, that attacked me. And they’re sort of built on a national campaign against me… that never really slowed down,” Minnesota state Rep. Leigh Finke (D) tells LGBTQ Nation. Finke has been the target of a right-wing campaign that falsely accused her of supporting pedophilia. There is no evidence for this assertion. “I was targeted. I received death threats. I had regular meetings with the Sergeant at Arms and the state troopers […]

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Trump-appointed judge orders public high school to recognize anti-gay student group

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A federal judge appointed by former President Donald Trump has ordered an anti-LGBTQ+ student club in D.C. to be reinstated at a high school, ruling it violated members’ constitutional rights by barring the group from campus. The student club, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA), asserts homosexuality is immoral and opposes sexual activity outside of marriage. U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich of the District of Columbia issued the ruling earlier this month to reinstate the group at Jackson-Reed High School in Northwest Washington. The case followed complaints to school administrators in 2022 by an assistant coach at the school, who […]

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Transgender business program honored for helping people build economic power

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The San Francisco Board of Supervisors recognized a local trans nonprofit this week for its program supporting trans and nonbinary entrepreneurs. During its regular meeting at San Francisco City Hall on Wednesday, the board bestowed its Certificate of Honor to Transgender District in recognition of the group’s Entrepreneurship Accelerator Program, according to local LGBTQ+ outlet The Bay Area Reporter. Citing a 2021 Center for LGBTQ Economic Advancement & Research study, which found that only four percent of small businesses in the U.S. are owned by queer entrepreneurs, out Supervisor Rafael Mandelman applauded Transgender District for addressing the disparity “by providing valuable support to trans […]

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Over 25,000 LGBTQ+ people attend call for Kamala Harris as enthusiasm mounts

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Over 25,000 LGBTQ+ people attended the Human Rights Campaign’s “Out for Kamala Harris” virtual event last night. During the event, over 40 LGBTQ+ and allied actors, activists, government officials, and drag performers all shared their enthusiasm for presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris. Together, the attendees and featured guests helped raise over $300,000 for the Harris campaign, and 1,500 attendees signed up to help get out the vote for Harris.  The event, which was live-streamed via Zoom and YouTube, included queer actors George Takei, Raven Symoné, Sophia Bush, Wilson Cruz, Zachary Quinto, and Jonathan Del Arco; Democratic LGBTQ+ elected officials […]

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Tennessee put sex workers on sex offender registry for having HIV. They will be removed.

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The Tennessee government has agreed to scrub sex workers who were unjustly convicted of being sex offenders due to an HIV diagnosis from the sex offender registry following a settlement this past Monday. The lawsuit, OUTMemphis vs. Lee, concerns a Tennessee criminal statute regarding Aggravated Prostitution, which says that if any sex worker knows they are HIV-positive and has sex, they can be put on the state’s sex offender registry, regardless of whether the other party knew or if there’s proof of intent to transmit the infection. An additional lawsuit was filed by the U.S. Department of Justice earlier this year on the same issue. […]

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Life-saving HIV clinic unexpectedly closes its doors with little explanation

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Last Thursday, a long-running HIV clinic, Rainbow Health in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul Twin Cities area of Minnesota, abruptly closed its doors, laying off 85 employees and ending thousands of people’s access to LGBTQ+ focused HIV care. The union representing the employees, Service Employees International Union, said in a statement, “We are shocked, saddened and angered by this news, both as staff dedicated to Rainbow Health’s mission and even more so for our clients and community. We are left with many huge questions: How could this massive decision come with no warning? What happened to the funding that the organization has been receiving? […]

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Over 40 attacks on LGBTQ+ symbols occurred in 21 states during Pride month

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Attacks on rainbow flags, crosswalks, and other LGBTQ+ symbols occurred in over 40 cities nationwide during Pride Month, according to NBC News. Overall, the attacks occurred in 21 states; a majority occurred in blue states like California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Washington, but some also occurred in red states like Idaho, Montana, Texas, and West Virginia.  While most of the theft and vandalism of these symbols seem to have been carried out by “lone wolf” individuals rather than coordinated by extremist groups, many local police, news reports, officials, and victims stated that this year’s number of attacks increased from previous years. […]

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2024 had more anti-trans bills in legislation than any year before. But fewer passed into law.

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Transgender legislation trackers have universally noted that 2024 has seen the most radical increase in the total number of anti-LGBTQ+ bills. However, this year has also seen fewer anti-LGBTQ+ bills actually pass into law. The Trans Legislation Tracker reports that 617 anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been in consideration this year across 43 states, with 225 having failed and 348 active. However, only 44 total bills are reported to have been enacted into law. The American Civil Liberties Union reports similar data—they say that 517 bills have been introduced, 340 defeated, and 39 passed into law. Journalist Erin Reed’s legislation tracker reports 760 total bills in consideration, with […]

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This church has two giant red ribbons to let “the community know they were loved and accepted”

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If you’ve ever driven into Hollywood south on the 101 freeway, following signs for the Hollywood Bowl and Highland Avenue, then you were met with the sight on your right of the iconic Gothic bell tower at the Hollywood United Methodist Church. Dedicated in 1930, as Hollywood boomed and Los Angeles stretched west to the Pacific, the church has been “a sanctuary of hope” since the first congregants started to organize in 1909. That tradition famously took the form of two enormous red ribbons hung on the bell tower in the 1990s. “Our church has been proud supporters of our LGBTQIA+ […]

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Police conduct mass arrest of post-Pride partiers in Chicago

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Police declared a “mass arrest situation” in Chicago, Illinois on Sunday night following the city’s annual Pride parade. The arrests began at 1:23 a.m. in the Lakeview neighborhood of Chicago, with police ordering a mass arrest, but no other information was given. The Chicago police department has not announced how many people were arrested during or after the parade. CWB Chicago reported widespread fights and disruption throughout Boystown, home to one of the largest LGBTQ+ communities in the Midwest. The chaos continued into Monday morning, with videos of people clashing with the police being posted on the social media platform X […]

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