Nick Duffy

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Trans People Suffering under the Coronavirus Lockdown with no Government Aid

Trans people in Pakistan are being deprived of support during the pandemic lockdown, according to alarming reports from the country. Regions across Pakistan have imposed a lockdown, with the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the country standing at 5,300. Pakistani outlet The News reported concerns about the lack of support for trans people – many of whom were living in extreme poverty even before the lockdown, and have been left to fend for themselves as NGOs who previously helped them have stopped working. Trans people ‘ignored as if we are not humans’. Shakila, a trans woman from Peshawar, told the newspaper: […]

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Stop Hooking-up for Casual Sex during Coronavirus Lockdown. Immediately

The UK’s national LGBT+ health adviser is urging people to stop hooking-up during the coronavirus lockdown – making clear that the only safe sex is with yourself or “someone within your household”. Dr Michael Brady, medical director at Terrence Higgins Trust, warned that hook-up culture could lead to the spread of coronavirus – which is not sexually transmitted, but can easily spread through close bodily contact. In a blog post, Dr Brady made clear that people should not be venturing outside for hook-ups during the lockdown. People need to stop having casual sex immediately, says LGBT+ health expert. He explained: “The […]

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Pride festivals Will Face Delays Due to Coronavirus

Pride festivals across Europe are facing the prospect of cancellation due to the threats posed by the coronavirus pandemic. Pride season, due to kick off in June, is likely to be impacted if measures are put in place to restrict large public gatherings amid the outbreak – which was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organisation on Wednesday. Organisers of Pride events across the continent joined an online meeting on Monday to discuss contingency plans for the coronavirus outbreak. Coronavirus disruption to Pride festivals is now ‘inevitable’. Kristine Garina, president of the European Pride Organisers Association, said that it is “inevitable” […]

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Gay Trump Official under Fire over Ties to Hungary’s Homophobic Government

Gay Trump official Richard Grenell has financial links to Hungary’s far-right, anti-LGBT+ government. The Trump-supporting official, who was named as Trump’s acting director of national intelligence last week, is facing questions over undeclared work carried out by his PR firm, Capitol Media Partners. The Washington Post reports that Grenell failed to register as a foreign agent in 2016 while advising the Magyar Foundation, which is “almost entirely” funded by Viktor Orban’s far-right government. According to tax records, Grenell paid himself $668,362 for his PR work in the two years to 2018, when he was named Trump’s ambassador to Germany. His work for […]

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Every Democratic Presidential Candidate Vows to Scrap Trump’s Ban on Trans People in the Military

The seven remaining Democratic presidential candidates have all said they would overturn Donald Trump’s ban on trans people in the military. Bernie Sanders, Pete Buttigieg, Elizabeth Warren, Mike Bloomberg, Joe Biden, Amy Klobuchar and Tom Steyer have all said they would reverse the policy imposed by Trump in 2017 to ban trans people from serving in the armed forces. Responding to a survey from the Human Rights Campaign, the candidates indicated that they would rescind the Trump policy and adopt new regulations allowing open service by all, qualified transgender people. Buttigieg said: “I will immediately repeal the ban on military service for trans Americans […]

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Every Single UK Venue Has now Dropped Hate Preacher Franklin Graham

Every single UK venue booked by anti-LGBT preacher Franklin Graham has now ditched his events, after an outcry from activists. The Trump-supporting preacher, who is known for praising Vladimir Putin’s anti-gay laws and blaming gay people for a “moral 9/11”, is set to visit the UK at the start of Pride Month in June as part of an evangelist tour. However, every single venue booked for the eight-date tour has now cancelled, after being made aware of his extreme anti-LGBT views. Last UK venue drops Franklin Graham The Utilita Arena in Newcastle was the final venue to announce it had axed the preacher, following […]

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Elizabeth Warren Would Ask a Nine-year-old Trans Kid to Help Pick her Education Secretary

Elizabeth Warren has vowed to get help from a nine-year-old transgender boy in picking her secretary of education. The Democratic presidential hopeful told supporters in Iowa that she would ask Jacob, a nine-year-old transgender boy who she met at an LGBT+ event, to vet her picks for the cabinet role. Elizabeth Warren: Trans kid will sign off on education secretary pick Speaking at an event in Cedar Rapids this week, she said: “For my secretary of education, number one it has to be someone who has taught in a public school. “Number two, a young trans person asked [me] about […]

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Two More UK Arenas Cancel Hate Preacher Franklin Graham’s Events

Two further venues have cancelled rallies by US hate preacher Franklin Graham, as a backlash grows to his planned UK tour. The Trump-supporting preacher, who is known for praising Vladimir Putin’s anti-gay laws and blaming gay people for a “moral 9/11”, is set to visit the UK at the start of Pride Month in June as part of an evangelist tour. Venues hosting the tour have faced complaints from LGBT+ activists – with a Liverpool conference venue dropping him on Monday. Following the pressure, two further venues have followed suit. Franklin Graham dropped by Sheffield and Glasgow venues Glasgow’s SEC Arena confirmed on Wednesday […]

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New Jersey becomes Only Ninth State to Ban ‘Gay Panic’ Defense

The governor of New Jersey has signed a bill to officially ban the archaic ‘gay panic’ and ‘trans panic’ defence in the state. The new law, signed by Democratic governor Phil Murphy on Tuesday, prevents criminal defendants from claiming that they were provoked to violence after discovering the victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity – an infamous legal defence used in several landmark cases to seek a lower sentence. Governor Murphy said in a release: “We will always stand with our LGBTQ+ community and promote full equality for all our residents. “Gay and trans panic defences are rooted in homophobia and abhorrent excuses […]

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San Antonio forced to Spend Defending Chick-fil-A amid Lawsuits, Republican attacks

A city has been forced to spend more than $300,000 defending itself from legal challenges over its decision to block a Chick-fil-A from opening in an airport. The city of San Antonio, Texas, has faced lawsuits and a federal investigation pushed by Republican officials over the March 2019 decision to block the chicken chain from opening an outlet in San Antonio International Airport over its links to anti-LGBT+ groups. The anti-LGBT+ San Antonio Family Association and the state’s attorney general Ken Paxton – who has separately fought to deny discrimination protections for transgender children – have both launched legal action against the city, forcing it to […]

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