LGBTQ Nation

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Gay sperm donor sues Canada for its policies against gay & bi men

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A gay man is suing Canada’s federal government, alleging that its restrictions on gay and bisexual male sperm donation are unconstitutional. The man, identified only in the press as Aziz M., is suing Health Canada, the country’s national health department. He says the current policy is unconstitutional and renders him and other MSM as “second-class citizen[s].” Health Canada’s current policies prohibit men who have sex with men (MSM) from donating to a sperm bank unless they’ve abstained from sex for three months or are donating sperm to someone they personally know, CTV News reported. The policy refers to sperm from MSM donors […]

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Activists took over the Oklahoma Capitol to protest anti-trans legislation

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On Monday, activists gathered at the Oklahoma State Capitol building in Oklahoma City to protest two bills that would dramatically restrict access to gender-affirming care in the state. Around 150 protesters gathered outside the Capitol, according to OU Daily, before entering the building, chanting “trans lives matter” and holding signs that read “Save Trans Lives” and “Stop Healthcare Bans on Trans.” The protest took place the same day as the start of the legislative session and Gov. Kevin Stitt’s (R-OK) State of the State address. At issue were two bills introduced by Republican state senators: Senate Bill 129 would ban gender-affirming care […]

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Brave Afghans risk their lives to stage powerful LGBTQ+ protest ‘under the noses of the Taliban’

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LGBTQ+ activists have staged a defiant protest in Afghanistan to draw attention to the United States’ failure to offer protection from the Taliban. At a private residence on Wednesday (1 February) in the country’s capital Kabul, around a dozen Afghan people from the Behesht Collective, an LGBTQ+ group, congregated to show the world that their lives are still in jeopardy. Since the Taliban seized power in August 2021, reports have circulated of LGBTQ+ people being beaten, raped and even murdered in Afghanistan.  It’s a dire situation, but finding a route to safety isn’t always easy – numerous western governments have introduced policies making it harder for […]

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Russian festival changes name to avoid breaking anti-LGBTQ+ propaganda law

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The Rainbow Festival — an annual international theatre festival held in St. Petersburg, Russia — has changed its name to “The International Theater Festival” in order to avoid violating Russia’s recently-expanded law banning LGBTQ+ propaganda. The festival, held in May at the St. Petersburg Bryantsev Theatre for Young Spectators, has run since 2000 and has hosted young performance groups from the U.S. and Europe. Explaining the festival’s name change, the theater’s director, Svetlana Lavretsova, said, “When the law passed banning LGBT propaganda, we immediately started thinking, ‘We don’t want to look like we’re making LGBT propaganda.’ So we gathered our team […]

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Almost all older LGBTQ+ Americans got vaccinated for COVID

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A new study by the Williams Institute at UCLA finds older LGBTQ+ Americans were affected more negatively by the COVID-19 pandemic than their straight peers. Using data from the U.S. Census Household Pulse Survey, the report examined the demographics, health, and economic experiences of LGBTQ+ adults aged 50 and older during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study was led by Research Data Analyst Lauren J.A. Bouton, with Amanda M. Brush and Ilan H. Meyer, Distinguished Senior Scholar of Public Policy. Among the findings: LGBTQ Nation spoke with the study’s lead author to find out what the data reveals and how it can be used […]

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HOA wants gay couple to remove Pride flag after it was repeatedly vandalized

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A gay couple in Arizona says that their Pride flag has been repeatedly vandalized, and now their Homeowners Association wants them to remove it. Jared and Tim Deluca of Queen Creek, AZ, first posted a variation on the traditional Pride flag in December modeled after the American flag, with 50 stars and some of its 13 stripes cast in bright rainbow colors. It flew on a flagpole behind the married couple’s home in full view of a busy street. ADVERTISING The couple told CBS affiliate KTVK that they wanted to show people that it was ok to be themselves and encourage others […]

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George Santos is a liar & grifter. He’s the perfect example of a modern gay Republican

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Even by the relaxed standards of politicians, George Santos has a distant relationship with the truth. He can barely say “hello” without telling a lie, and hardly a day goes by without the media uncovering some new whopper that Santos used to inflate his image. But in one sense, Santos fits right at home in today’s Republican party. From the open grifting to the flirtation with the party’s most anti-LGBTQ elements, he’s the epitome of the depths to which gay Republicans have sunk. That’s not to suggest that every gay Republican is an inveterate liar who steals money meant to treat dying dogs. For […]

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Lesbian shop owners allegedly forced out of town by anti-LGBTQ+ harassment

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A lesbian couple has closed their shop in a small Florida town after allegedly enduring repeated harassment, including anti-LGBTQ+ comments from a town commissioner. Joy Drawdy says that she and her wife were initially welcomed by the community when this past June in Micanopy, Florida, they opened Restless Mommas, which sold clothes and crafts made by LGBTQ+ artists and people of color. But Drawdy told University of Florida student paper The Independent Florida Alligator that they quickly became uneasy. Soon after opening, they were informed by the shop’s landlord of a letter from the town commission demanding they remove a Pride flag […]

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Anti-LGBTQ extremism is no match for Minnesota’s first trans lawmaker

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Minnesota state Rep. Leigh Finke was sworn into office on January 3, representing the Democrat-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party. She joins 11 LGBTQ+ state legislators who won their elections in the midterms. Finke won against challenger Dave Thomas with a 25% margin. She then won the November general election with a whopping 81% of the vote against opponent Trace Johnson. She is the first out trans lawmaker elected to the Land of 10,000 Lakes, and she’s ready to fight back. Last year more than 300 anti-LGBTQ+ bills passed through state legislatures, and while only a handful made it into law, they have detrimental […]

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Testosterone shortage affecting trans men around the world

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Lingering supply chain issues related to the COVID pandemic are affecting stocks of testosterone available for trans men. Around the world, sporadic shortages of the hormone are creating anxiety among the trans population over the potential physical and psychological effects of missed doses. In Mexico, the shortage is having real-world consequences. “One day, I wrote to all my friends that there aren’t any hormones left at the pharmacy downtown,” Chiapas resident Chiu Palomeque told Global Press Journal. “I told them I would go and check another one and I was like ‘Phew! They have it here. Yes! Come and get it […]

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