The Associated Press

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After 32 years as a progressive voice for LGBTQ Jews, Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum heads into retirement

Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum prepares for her last service at the Masonic Hall in New York on June 28.Andres Kudacki / AP For more than three decades, Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum has led the nation’s largest LGBTQ synagogue through the myriad ups and downs of the modern gay-rights movement — through the AIDS crisis, the murder of Matthew Shepard, the historic civil-rights advances that included marriage equality, and mostly recently the backlash against transgender rights. She is now stepping down from that role and shifting into retirement. The New York City synagogue that she led for 32 years — Congregation Beit Simchat […]

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Parties and protests mark the culmination of LGBTQ Pride Month in NYC, San Francisco and beyond

The monthlong celebration of LGBTQ Pride reaches its exuberant grand finale on Sunday, bringing rainbow-laden revelers to the streets for marquee parades in New York, Chicago, San Francisco and elsewhere across the globe. The wide-ranging festivities will function as both jubilant parties and political protests, as participants recognize the community’s gains while also calling attention to recent anti-LGBTQ laws, such as bans on transgender health care, passed by Republican-led states. This year, tensions over the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza are also seeping into the celebrations, exposing divisions within a community that is often aligned on political issues. In New York, 10 pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested at the Pride parade Sunday, […]

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A San Francisco store is shipping LGBTQ+ books to states where they are banned

 In an increasingly divisive political sphere, Becka Robbins focuses on what she knows best — books. Operating out of a tiny room in Fabulosa Books in San Francisco’s Castro District, one of the oldest gay neighborhoods in the United States, Robbins uses donations from customers to ship boxes of books across the country to groups that want them.  In an effort she calls “Books Not Bans,” she sends titles about queer history, sexuality, romance and more — many of which are increasingly hard to come by in the face of a rapidly growing movement by conservative advocacy groups and lawmakers […]

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Biden announces pardons for veterans convicted under military law prohibiting gay sex

President Joe Biden said Wednesday he will use clemency authority to pardon former service members who were convicted of crimes because of their sexual orientations or gender identities. Biden will issue a proclamation pardoning veterans who were convicted under a provision of the Uniform Code of Military Justice prohibiting gay sex, senior administration officials said on a call with reporters. Service members who meet certain eligibility requirements will be able to obtain certificates of pardon and apply to have their discharge characterizations changed within their branches, officials said. Biden said the action was aimed at “righting an historic wrong” for many former service members who […]

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Texas Rangers frustrate LGBTQ advocates as only MLB team without a Pride Night

Rafael McDonnell sometimes gets to address the staff of his beloved Texas Rangers on issues of diversity and inclusion through his role with the Resource Center, one of the leading LGBTQ organizations in the Dallas area. For several years, the Rangers have been the only Major League Baseball team without a Pride Night. When questioned about it, Texas has cited its work with the Resource Center, among other organizations. As Pride Month — the June celebration of LGBTQ culture and rights — comes and goes again without the Rangers participating, McDonnell tried to explain the connection between his group and the team he […]

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Arkansas Supreme Court reinstates rule eliminating ‘X’ option for sex on state IDs

The Arkansas Supreme Court on Monday reinstated an agency rule prohibiting residents from using “X” instead of male or female on state-issued driver’s licenses or identification cards. In a one-page order, justices stayed a lower-court ruling that had blocked the new rule that also made it more difficult for transgender people to change the sex listed on their IDs and licenses. The court did not elaborate for its reasons on staying the decision. The Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration said in March that it was rescinding a practice implemented in 2010 that officials say conflicted with state law and had not […]

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Biden’s Title IX rule blocked by judge in 6 additional states

A federal judge on Monday temporarily blocked the Biden administration’s new Title IX rule expanding protections for LGBTQ students in six additional states, dealing another setback for a policy that has been under legal attack by Republican attorneys general. U.S. District Judge Danny C. Reeves referred to the regulation as “arbitrary in the truest sense of the word” in granting a preliminary injunction blocking it in Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. His ruling comes days after a different federal judge temporarily blocked the new rule from taking effect in Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi and Montana. The ruling Monday in Kentucky was applauded […]

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Bill would rename NYC subway stop after Stonewall, a landmark in LGBTQ+ rights movement

A New York City subway station would be renamed to commemorate the Stonewall riots that galvanized the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement, under legislation approved by state lawmakers as they wrapped up their session this month. The state Legislature approved a bill Wednesday directing the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to change the name of the Christopher Street-Sheridan Square subway station in Greenwich Village to the Christopher Street-Stonewall National Monument Station. “This change will memorialize the history of the modern LGBTQ civil rights movement and inspire NY to demand justice and equality for all,” state Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal, a Manhattan Democrat who sponsored the proposal, […]

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Washington parental rights law criticized as a ‘forced outing’ measure is allowed to take effect

A new Washington state parental rights law derided by critics as a “forced outing” measure will be allowed to take effect this week after a court commissioner on Tuesday declined to issue an emergency order temporarily blocking it. The civil liberties groups, school district, youth services organizations and others who are challenging the law did not show that it would create the kind of imminent harm necessary to warrant blocking it until a trial court judge can consider the matter, King County Superior Court Commissioner Mark Hillman said. A hearing before the judge is scheduled for June 21. The law, known as […]

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The art of drag has become a target. With Pride Month nigh, performers are organizing to fight back

“Drag is joy, but it’s under attack. Our very existence, our self-expression, our art — all of it is being threatened. And we’ve had enough.” That’s the opening salvo of Qommittee, a group of drag performers banding together to protect and promote their art form, as it announced its formation ahead of June’s LGBTQ Pride Month. “We’ve always had to fight tooth and nail for our place in this world,” the group said in a news release Wednesday. “But now, we’re also battling a tidal wave of hate — doxxing, harassment, death threats, armed protests, bombings, and even shootings.” Qommittee […]

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