LGBTQ Nation

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LGBTQ+ youth center vandalized with paint & slurs three nights in a row

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An LGBTQ+ youth center in Spokane, Washington was vandalized three nights in a row last week, after already experiencing vandalism of its Pride mural a month ago.  On Thursday night, the sign for the Odyssey Youth Movement (OYM), located in the South Perry neighborhood, was covered in paint, as was the nearby rainbow crosswalk. The following evening, the windows and doors were covered in anti-LGBTQ+ hate speech. And finally, on Saturday night, a black pick-up truck left rubber tire treads across the rainbow crosswalk.  This isn’t the first time that 4-H has faced trouble over LGBTQ+ issues. “We’re all saddened […]

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Polish opposition leader “marries” partner in beautiful protest for marriage equality

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Polish opposition leader Robert Biedroń symbolically wed his partner, Krysztof Śmiszek, during a theatrical performance to protest the country’s lack of marriage equality. The two men, politicians from The Left (Lewica) party, have been together for 23 years. Poland is considered the worst country in Europe for LGBTQ+ rights. The video features some of Poland’s biggest and most visible LGBTQ politicians, celebrities and activists. “I performed hundreds of weddings as mayor of Słupsk, but this is the first time I’ve stood on the other side,” Biedroń said during the ceremony. “It’s a beautiful feeling that needs to be shared. That’s why […]

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These 5 statistics show the changing face of the Hispanic LGBTQ+ experience

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While numerous studies have shown the challenges facing LGBTQ+ Americans and the support they receive from allies and the community, several recent studies illustrate just how different life looks for queer Hispanic and Latinx Americans in particular. It turns out that nearly 20% of young adult Hispanics identify as LGBTQ+, that a majority of Christian Hispanics support LGBTQ+ anti-discrimination laws, and that over two-thirds of LGBTQ+ Hispanics feel supported by their social circles. As such, these stats provide stunning insights and hope for even greater acceptance of LGBTQ+ Hispanics, both in their own communities and in society at large. Nearly […]

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U.S. drops to “C” grade on global LGBTQ+ rights scorecard

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The United States has scored a middling “C-level” rating in lesbian, gay, and bisexual human rights in a study of queer rights across the globe from 2011 to 2020. The 2020 “C” score for the U.S. represents a decline from its higher “B” score in 2016, ranking the U.S. 31 out of 204 world countries overall. The U.S. has also scored a consistent “F” on trans rights throughout the study’s span. These scores come from the Franklin & Marshall Global Barometers Report, an annual study that measures LGBTQ+ rights in 204 world territories and countries on five different dimensions: anti-LGBTQ+ laws, […]

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Meta has allowed anti-LGBTQ+ group Gays Against Groomers to freely spread misinformation & hate

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Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and Threads, has allowed an anti-LGBTQ+ group to spread hate speech and misinformation about LGBTQ+ people on its platforms in violation of the company’s policies for over a year, according to a new report from Media Matters for America. The report, published by the media watchdog organization on Tuesday, details dozens of instances in which Gays Against Groomers used its Facebook, Instagram, and Threads accounts to post anti-LGBTQ+ content, including false claims that trans people are mentally ill and that LGBTQ+ people embrace pedophilia, as well as misinformation about gender-affirming care and the false “groomer” […]

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Here’s how Amsterdam has almost eradicated HIV transmission

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Amsterdam, the capital city of the Netherlands seems well on its way to accomplishing its goal of zero HIV transmissions by 2026. Only nine cases of HIV were reported in Amsterdam last year, thanks to heavy investment in pre-exposure prophylactics (PrEP), a drug protocol that prevents HIV transmission, and other HIV-prevention efforts. While scientists have announced that a half dozen people may have been cured of HIV worldwide, the process is painful and expensive. It generally requires a bone marrow transplant after a cancer diagnosis. Dutch health authorities have found a way to circumvent the curing process that prioritizes prevention […]

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Students in Iowa are organizing to circumvent state’s anti-LGBTQ laws

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Students around the nation are pushing back on Republican attacks on LGBTQ+ rights. They’ve stood up for teachers and coaches, walked out en masse, and this week, a Missouri university reopened a student resource center after students protested. But high schoolers in Iowa are taking a different approach to defy the state’s laws. They’ve heckled the state’s anti-LGBTQ+ governor, and instead of relying on teachers and faculty for support, they’re providing it themselves. State law bans healthcare professionals from providing any medical treatment that attempts “to alter the appearance of, or affirm the minor’s perception of” a gender other than the minor was assigned […]

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Lesbian says she was passed over for Starbucks promotion because she’s “gay” & “looks like a boy”

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Just months after coffee colossus Starbucks was accused of erasing Pride from store locations across the country, the company is being sued by a lesbian and gender non-conforming employee who claims she was passed over for promotion because she is “gay” and “looks like a boy.” Jahmelia “Jay” Peters is suing Starbucks, claiming the company denied her a promotion at a White Plains, New York store despite previous experience in the role due to her sexuality, gender identity, and gender expression.  One store manager allegedly threw out Pride decorations rather than display them. The store manager promoted a woman he […]

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Fake HIV medication “kingpin” pled guilty. He could be going to prison for years.

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The second of two Florida men identified as the “kingpins” in a massive scheme to supply counterfeit HIV medication to U.S. pharmacies, suppliers, and patients has pleaded guilty. Armando Herrera pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to introduce adulterated and misbranded drugs into interstate commerce, the Department of Justice announced earlier this week. The scheme was to find discarded HIV pill bottles, fill them with fake meds, and reseal them before selling them to unsuspecting victims. According to the DOJ, Herrera and his co-conspirator, Lazaro Roberto Hernandez, set up companies in Florida, Texas, Washington, and California, which they used to primarily […]

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3 anti-LGBTQ+ groups are behind 86% of all book bans across the U.S.

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Approximately 86% of all book bans across the nation have occurred in school districts with a local chapter of one of three anti-LGBTQ+ groups: Moms for Liberty, Citizens Defending Freedom (CDF), and Parents’ Rights in Education, according to a new report from the free speech organization PEN America.  According to their report, the groups have used a variety of tactics, including the promotion of state laws and rhetoric against so-called “sexually explicit,” “harmful,” and “age-inappropriate” “porn in schools”; the taking over school boards; the enlisting of parents to threaten public pressure or civic penalties against school boards, educators, and librarians; and […]

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