The Advocate

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Feds Seek Input on National PrEP Coverage

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The federal government is seeking public input concerning whether its Medicare department should cover HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis and PrEP medication nationwide, including a new injectable drug that has been developed. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is considering whether it will cover HIV prevention pre-exposure prophylaxis drugs (PrEP) such as Apretude, a prescription injectable given every two months to individuals at risk of contracting HIV. As part of the analysis, CMS seeks comments from the public, particularly those that include scientific evidence. As of 2020, Medicare coverage for PrEP varies by state or county, but the average cost of […]

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Gay Rep. Garcia Vows to Check Boebert & Greene on Oversight Committee

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Republicans now in control of the House of Representatives and progressive lawmakers fear the GOP will use their slim majority to engage in frivolous investigations into the Biden administration.   With his appointment to the powerful House Oversight and Reform Committee, California’sgay Democratic Rep. Robert Garcia says he will act as a safeguard against such moves by Republicans. The committee works to oversee the “efficiency, effectiveness, and accountability of the federal government and all its agencies,” according to its website.  The Democrat announced his appointment to the committee on Twitter yesterday while noting a certain excitement about his opportunity to be a thorn in the […]

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Flipping the Script on Stories of Black Trans Women

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It can often feel like joy and optimism went on sabbatical around 2015 and have yet to reappear. Counter that despair with the Black Trans Femmes in the Arts, a young organization building community and mobilizing resources for underrepresented artists. Since its founding in 2019 by Jordyn Jay, the grassroots organization has raised over a million dollars to support Black trans artists. Members of the collective have appeared on HBO Max’s Legendary, staged exhibitions at Los Angeles’s Armand Hammer Museum, and performed on Broadway. Jay says their organization is necessary because disparities of funding and safe spaces, and the general inaccessibility of […]

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Grindr Users Warned After Men Were Drugged, Robbed During Hookups

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Police officials in London have warned people who use Grindr of an alarming string of robberies associated with the hookup app. Between December 31 and January 9, four men were drugged and robbed by two men who Metropolitan Police officials say they met on Grindr. The victims reported agreeing to meet up with individuals from the app but that they became unconscious during the encounter and woke up realizing they had been robbed of their belongings, according to a Metropolitan Police statement. The drugs did not cause lasting damage to the victims, but the suspects were able to flee the country, police officials said. Now […]

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Florida Medical Boards Tighten Ban on Gender-Affirming Care for Minors

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Transgender youth in Florida will no longer be able to access gender-affirming treatment — even during clinical trials. The Florida Boards of Medicine and Osteopathic Medicine adopted new rules on Friday banning hormone replacement therapy and puberty blockers for minors. Also, at a joint meeting of the boards, the Board of Osteopathic Medicine unanimously voided an exception that made it possible for young people to receive medical treatment when enrolled in studies conducted by state universities. This exception resulted from a contentious meeting last year when the two boards voted to have separate standards for different providers when providing gender-affirming medical treatment […]

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Pauli Murray Will Be First Black Queer Person on U.S. Currency

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Pauli Murray, nonbinary Black activist, lawyer, priest, and poet, will be featured on a quarter in the next round of the U.S. Mint’s American Women Quarters Program, making Murray the first Black queer person to appear on U.S. currency. Murray’s quarter will be issued in 2024. Others in the 2024 group are Patsy Takemoto Mink, the first woman of color to serve in Congress; Dr. Mary Edwards Walker, a Civil War–era surgeon, women’s rights advocate, and abolitionist; Zitkala-Ša, a writer, composer, educator, and activist for Native Americans’ rights; and Celia Cruz, the Cuban-American singer known as the Queen of Salsa. […]

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Gay Man Robbed, Beaten Beyond Recognition in San Francisco

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In an assault outside a popular San Francisco leather bar early Sunday morning, a gay man sustained severe internal and external injuries and suffered a heart attack. As Barry Miles left the popular Folsom Street venue, Powerhouse, on the night of February 4, two men attacked him and stole his wallet. On Instagram, he shared stunning photos showing his bloodied, bruised, battered, and swollen face, making it hard for him to be recognized. “My face hit the sidewalk,” he wrote on Instagram. “[A]lso a front tooth was knocked out, and [I have] a small fracture in my neck.” He added, “I’m pretty […]

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Charles Silverstein, an Author of The Joy of Gay Sex, Dies at 87

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Dr. Charles Silverstein died this week at the age of 87. Best known for making the presentation before the American Psychiatric Association in 1973 that led to the removal of homosexuality from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual’s list of mental illnesses, Silverstein was also a co-author of the landmark book The Joy of Gay Sex. More than simply a sex manual with graphic drawings — though there was plenty of that — The Joy of Gay Sex, first published in 1977, was a first-of-its-kind guidebook for every aspect of the gay experience. “The first time I had sex with a guy was a big […]

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Transgender Women Killed in Georgia, North Carolina

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Two more violent deaths of transgender Americans have been reported, one in December and one in January. Destiny Howard, 23, was found shot to death in Macon, Ga., December 9, according to the Human Rights Campaign. She was also known as Destin Howard or Destin Cheves, Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents reports. Her body was found in the parking lot of a software business, notes TV station WMGT, which misgendered her. “It is heartbreaking to learn of yet another young Black trans woman whose life was taken by gun violence,” Tori Cooper, director of community engagement for HRC’s Transgender Justice Initiative, said in a press release. “Destiny’s life mattered, […]

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Gay Jewish Student’s Alleged Neo-Nazi Murderer Faces Judge

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It has been five long years of seeking justice since gay University of Pennsylvania student Blaze Bernstein was murdered. His family hopes a judge will move the case against the teen’s accused killer forward. The suspect is scheduled to appear for a pre-trial hearing in a California court Friday, according to the news site Forward. Samuel Woodward, now 25, is accused of killing 19-year-old sophomore Blaze Bernstein in 2018 because he was gay, prosecutors say. Bernstein was also Jewish. Several delays in the Orange County Superior Court trial have resulted from Woodward changing his legal representation multiple times and the original prosecutor being appointed as […]

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