Nick Duffy

LGBT advocates have demanded the release of documents detailing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s involvement in anti-LGBT policies – as Republicans seek to push ahead with his confirmation hearing. Trump has nominated the right-wing judge to replace centrist Anthony Kennedy, and campaigners fear he will demolish the court’s fragile majority on LGBT rights after several narrow 5-4 rulings. Public documents relating to nominees for the Supreme Court are typically released ahead of their confirmation battle to allow scrutiny of their records, however Republicans are attempting to rapidly push forward with Kavanaugh’s confirmation without the release of documents relating to his time as White […]

Anti-LGBT Republican Congressman Jason Lewis faces Democrat Angie Craig A Republican lawmaker who compared gay people to rapists will face a married lesbian Democrat in his re-election battle. Congressman Jason Lewis, who is currently seeking re-election in Minnesota’s closely fought second congressional district, had made the comments on his nationally syndicated radio programme The Jason Lewis Show. On the radio show Lewis had argued it did not violate the Constitution to legally prevent gay people from getting married, claiming a ruling in favour of equal marriage “would undo the entire state criminal code because we’re all treated unequally.”Lewis insisted: “When we pass a […]

Christine Hallquist (Christine for Vermont) A transgender woman has become the first trans person to win the nomination of a party for major political office. Christine Hallquist won a clear majority in the Democratic primary for the Governorship on Tuesday, besting three other candidates. The progressive candidate picked up  48.4 percent of the vote, more than double her nearest rival’s 22.1 percent.By winning the Democratic nomination, she will now face off against Republican incumbent Governor Phil Scott in November’s gubernatorial election. The primary result has been hailed as a victory by LGBT+ activists. Although Hallquist’s primary victory is a historic first, […]

The Trump White House has issued a directive giving federal contractors free range to discriminate against LGBT+ people. There is no federal law banning discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, but former President Barack Obama signed an executive order that required all federal contractors to abide by LGBT+ anti-discrimination principles. However, a broad new directive issued on Friday effectively guts the power to sanction any federal contractor that discriminated based on their religious beliefs. The document, issued by the Department of Labor, directly takes aim at the existing provisions that “prohibit federal contractors and subcontractors from discriminating on the […]

Joe Biden Joe Biden’s foundation has launched a major campaign aimed at stopping parents from rejecting their LGBT kids. Barack Obama’s former Vice President Joe Biden, a long-time supporter of LGBT rights, has made LGBT issues a core focus of the Biden Foundation, which was set up following his departure from the White House. Biden today launched a campaign to raise awareness of “the importance of family acceptance in the lives of LGBTQ young people,” putting significant resources towards campaigns bolstering acceptance by families.The “As You Are” campaign launch is backed by a number of high-profile figures including Cyndi Lauper and […]

A judge who blocked name changes for transgender teenager is facing a lawsuit. Judge Joseph Kirby, the Probate and Juvenile Court judge in Warren County, Ohio, is alleged to have denied legal name changes to at least three transgender teens. He denied 15-year old Elliott Whitaker a legal name change at Warren County Juvenile Court in June, telling the teen to come back when he is 18. State law does not require people to be 18 to secure a legal change of name, which is separate from legal gender recognition, but the judge ruled that the teen lacked the “maturity, knowledge and stability” […]