Nico Lang

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On the frontline: Inside LGBTQ+ voters’ fight for rights in a divided America

Trans rights. The housing crisis. Voter suppression. Mental health. The LGBTQ+ community’s biggest concerns have dominated some candidates’ platforms and been weaponized by others. LGBTQ Nation engaged award-winning journalist and author Nico Lang to connect with queer folks across the country this election cycle and reveal how they’re mobilizing to ensure democracy and equality thrive in the future.  These tough conversations — from a mother forced to sleep in a van with her children after escaping Texas’s relentless legislative attacks on trans youth to a nonbinary Kansas resident facing challenges at the polls due to restrictive voter ID laws — project a nation divided. But Lang also discovered hope fueled […]

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The election could push LGBTQ+ mental health to the edge. Queer activists are fighting for a lifeline.

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Anti-trans legislation sweeping the country is proving deadly.  A recent study determined that such laws increased suicide attempts among transgender and nonbinary youth by as much as 72%. And that’s just one instance of how LGBTQ+ mental health is on the ballot this election.  Studies overwhelmingly show that queer people are disproportionately likely to experience depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation or to engage in self-harming behaviors, particularly LGBTQ+ youth. According to the Trevor Project, 41% of queer youth considered taking their own lives within the past year, and an estimated 60% say they were not able to access treatment to care for their […]

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Conversion therapy costs U.S. over $9 billion a year, study finds

Multiple recent studies have concluded that conversion therapy harms the mental health of those subjected to it, but a report published Monday is the first to quantify the economic cost of the discredited practice. Efforts to change LGBTQ people’s sexual orientation and gender identities cost the U.S. an estimated $9.23 billion each year, according to a peer-reviewed study in the journal JAMA Pediatrics. Casey Pick, a senior fellow for advocacy and government affairs for The Trevor Project, which conducted the research in partnership with the multinational clinical trial organization Cytel, said the estimate is “conservative.” “We knew that there was a […]

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Celebrate Pride Month by Honoring these Black LGBTQ Trailblazers

Black queer trailblazers have changed the course of history with their contributions to activism, culture and the arts, but many of these pioneers are still fighting for their place in the history books. While some, like James Baldwin and Audre Lorde, have garnered some level of acclaim, many of their stories remain under-researched and untold. When the LGBTQ community began to record its history with some level of consistency in the 20th century, most of the documented narratives were those of white and cisgender men. It took longer for women, people of color and gender-nonconforming individuals to get their due. […]

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Ex-cop gets $90,000 Settlement in HIV Employment Discrimination Suit

A former police officer will receive $90,000 in damages after filing a lawsuit claiming he was denied employment as a sheriff’s deputy in 2012 when his prospective employer learned he has HIV. The case, along with another lawsuit involving two HIV-positive members of the Air Force who claimed they were discharged because of their HIV status, has brought renewed attention to policies surrounding HIV employment discrimination. A lawsuit filed by Lambda Legal in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana said the former officer, Liam Pierce, was up for a job with the Iberia Parish Sheriff’s Office […]

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Supportive Adults Key to Reducing HIV among Trans Youth, Study Finds

Support from parents and other adults plays a key role in reducing rates of HIV among transgender youth, according to a study published this month in the journal Pediatrics. The study’s authors found that transgender and nonbinary youth often lack access to critical support systems to educate them about safer sex practices. The research team conducted three-day focus groups with 30 young people ages 13 to 24 and found that respondents widely lacked “affirmative and culturally competent” resources to understand their sexual health needs. These resources ranged from a lack of LGBTQ-inclusive sexual education courses to parents who did not affirm […]

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Gender-affirming IDs Linked to lower Suicidal Thoughts, Study Finds

A report published in the medical journal The Lancet has found that access to identity documents that align with an individual’s gender identity correlate with lower rates of suicidal thoughts. The research highlights the significance of such gender-congruent IDs, even as Idaho enacts a first-of-its-kind law preventing transgender people from updating their birth certificates. Those who had the ability to change their name and gender marker on birth certificates, driver’s licenses or other forms of identification were 25 percent less likely to experience psychological distress or consider taking their own lives. The research, led by Drexel University’s Dr. Ayden Scheim and […]

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Lawmakers Urge Trump Admin to Protect those with HIV amid Coronavirus Pandemic

Eleven Democratic senators called on the Trump administration Thursday to recognize the particular needs of people living with HIV as it responds to the global coronavirus outbreak. In a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar on Thursday, the senators warned that the coronavirus “poses a serious health risk” to the estimated 1.1 million people in the U.S. who are HIV positive. The letter, which was shared with NBC News, says that “this risk is heightened by barriers to health care access” exacerbated by the White House’s own policies. “Your agency’s actions to reduce health care discrimination protections […]

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Bill Requires Colleges to Update Trans Graduates’ Names on Diplomas

California appears poised to make it easier for transgender and nonbinary graduates of public colleges and universities to change the name on their diploma. Assemblyman David Chiu, a Democrat from San Francisco, introduced legislation last week that would require public colleges to update the names of former students to reflect their gender identity. He said the bill is intended to combat the “barriers” that trans and nonbinary people face “at school and in the workplace.” “LGBT rights are all of our civil rights,” he told NBC News. “It’s important for all policy makers, whether or not we are from the […]

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An Alabama Drag Show Was Shut Down on the 50th Anniversary of Stonewall

The LGBTQ community in Montgomery, Alabama, has been left with more questions than answers after a drag show was shut down by authorities Saturday night, during the 50th anniversary weekend of the historic Stonewall uprising. “We’ve been running for weeks trying to raise money for a gay club in Montgomery, because we don’t have one,” Victoria A. Jewelle, a local drag queen who serves as the show’s director, told NBC News. “We were trying to raise money for a new establishment so we can have a place to feel safe.” Officials with Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board canvassed a dozen […]

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