LGBTQ Nation

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These 3 out Latinx legislators in border states are tackling hot-button election-year issues

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During a huge reproductive rights protest she attended as a student, Marianna Anaya looked around and had an “epiphany.” As a young person, she thought that creating legislation around such a controversial issue should be simple: If everyone working on the issue would just look at what the data and research supported, then the legislative solution should be apparent. But, she told LGBTQ Nation, “I saw that best practice wasn’t always what got passed, which really led me into this curiosity for politics.” “We didn’t necessarily have to protest policy,” she remembers thinking, “if we were the people in charge of […]

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Missouri “experts” defending gender-affirming care ban exposed as quacks

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In the midst of an ongoing legal battle over Missouri’s ban on gender-affirming care, so-called expert witnesses in favor of the ban have had their credibility called into question, meaning their testimonies may either be thrown out or given little weight in the court’s decisions. John Michael Bailey, a fringe psychologist who promotes the debunked theory of autogynephilia, was called by Missouri’s Attorney General as an expert witness in support of the legislation, The Missouri Independent reports. Autogynephilia refers to the idea that trans women transition either due to the act of transitioning being a sexual fetish or to lure straight men […]

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Affordable housing project for queer seniors faces setback despite rising need

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A much-needed affordable housing project for LGBTQ+ seniors in San Francisco’s Castro District has hit a setback, as state agency funding was denied, even though the proposal was described as “a great project,” The Bay Area Reporter wrote. Mercy Housing California, a senior living facility for elderly LGBTQ+ people, had applied for nearly $39 million from the Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities (AHSC) Program, a joint initiative by California’s Department of Housing and Community Development and the Strategic Growth Council. The funds would have funded a 187-unit affordable housing development in the Castro, the city’s historically gay neighborhood. Amar Cid, deputy director […]

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Bathhouses once thrived in San Francisco. The city’s gay supervisors are fighting for their return.

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Two San Francisco city supervisors are trying to make it easier for new gay bathhouses to open in the city. Last week, Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, whose district includes the historically gay Castro neighborhood, introduced legislation that would repeal the San Francisco Police Department’s Article 26. According to local Fox affiliate KTVU, the section of the city’s police code puts the burden of permitting new bathhouses on the SFPD. “We’ve come a long way on the way to bring back gay bathhouses to San Francisco,” Mandelman, who is gay, told KTVU. “It’s encouraging that there are entrepreneurs who are actually trying to open […]

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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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