LGBTQ Nation

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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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Lesbian couple brutally beaten by men who were harassing them on one woman’s birthday

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A lesbian couple in Halifax, Canada was assaulted by a group of men who were shouting homophobic slurs at them. Emma MacLean and her girlfriend, Tori, were walking down the street celebrating one of their birthdays when a group of men made a rude comment at MacLean, CTV News reports. “A group of men walking in the other direction and they made a comment to me,” said Emma MacLean. “My girlfriend, Tori, said, ‘Hey that’s my girlfriend.’ This response led to the men making explicitly homophobic remarks at the two, taunting them both. “They continued walking and then Tori followed them to […]

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Most lesbian & gay parents face negative comments about their families

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A new report by the U.K. youth charity Just Like Us has found that many schools still don’t talk openly about diverse families, resulting in what the group describes as social stigma, discrimination, and poor wellbeing for the children and parents of LGBTQ+ families. The new research independently surveyed 1,012 LGBTQ+ parents across the U.K. and interviewed families about their experiences. More than half (56%) of lesbian and gay parents face negative comments about their families, while forty-two percent of their kids have experienced remarks about having LGBTQ+ parents, according to the research. “Every parent wants to send their child to school […]

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Russian trans politician forced to detransition or get sent to psychiatric hospital

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Yulia Alyoshina, a transgender Russian politician, announced last month that they were detransitioning. In an interview published on Thursday with Novaya Gazeta Baltiya, they revealed that they were forced to undergo this detransition due to threats of being sent to a psychiatric hospital. Alyoshina, who will be referred to with they/them pronouns as it is not currently clear what English pronouns they currently prefer, had sought help from the Russian Supreme Court asking whether they had a right to exist as a transgender person. The court responded by saying it “doesn’t make decisions.” “I made posts on my Telegram channel in May and June because […]

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Protestors threatened to ruin this Idaho county’s first Pride, but the community came together

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When Tom Wheeler set out to help organize Canyon County, Idaho’s first Pride event, he envisioned a small picnic in a park in Nampa, where he volunteers at an LGBTQ+ drop-in center. It would be a small event open to everyone.  But Canyon County’s first Pride was not small and had 700 feet of six-foot-tall metal fencing and a police barricade. The event drew a crowd of thousands of people and featured food trucks, drag entertainers, and a stage.  It was also highly controversial, the mayor of Nampa said that Pride events conflicted with her beliefs, and residents of Nampa […]

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The American Library Association’s lesbian president is on a mission to protect LGBTQ+ librarians

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Emily Drabinski wants more people to pay attention to libraries. A career librarian and educator, Drabinski ran for president of the American Library Association (ALA) last year to help advance this goal. And what a year it has been.  Amid record-high book bans and numerous attempts to defund or shut down libraries across the country, Drabinski has been fighting to enhance access to books and information. And with the majority of bans targeting books with LGBTQ+ themes and characters, for her this fight is personal. “This is a year when libraries and readers and books have been challenged in many […]

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Ukraine just held its first Pride event in years despite Russia’s continued invasion

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On Sunday, LGBTQ+ Ukrainian military servicemembers held their first Pride event in three years, directly in front of the capital of Kyiv, Ukraine. Organizers described the struggles they overcame to hold these celebrations — pushing against war, anti-LGBTQ protestors, and even the rain to hold the festivities. “For security reasons, this year the number of participants was limited, as we did not publicize the time and location of the promotion,” KyivPride wrote in a post on X. “KyivPride last applied such restrictions back in 2015. Despite the fact that an action against the March took place nearby, KyivPride passed without […]

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