Tim Fitzsimons

/ /

Raiders defensive end Carl Nassib becomes first active NFL player to come out as gay

Carl Nassib, a defensive end for the Las Vegas Raiders, has come out as gay in a historic first. Nassib, 28, on Monday said he made the announcement to increase visibility, and in doing so, made history as the first openly gay active player in the NFL. The athlete, speaking from his home in West Chester, Pennsylvania, said he finally felt comfortable enough to “get it off my chest.” “I actually hope that one day videos like this and the whole coming out process are just not necessary, but until then, I am going to do my best and do my part […]

/ /

Gay Mayor Confronts ‘Homophobic’ Sex Scandal Ahead of Primary

Alex Morse, the 31-year-old mayor of Holyoke, Massachusetts, and the Democratic primary candidate for the state’s 1st Congressional District, has had a busy few weeks since Aug. 7, when a local college newspaper published an article titled “College Democrats allege inappropriate behavior between Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse and college students.” The allegations — that the young, gay mayor had used his position of power to sexually proposition vulnerable college students — spread quickly through his western Massachusetts district, leading one member of Holyoke’s city council to call for his resignation. But less than a week later, The Intercept published explosive reports alleging […]

/ /

Fleeing Violence, Trapped in Mexico: Gay Man Seeks Asylum but Remains in Limbo

In late July, for the fourth time in 10 months, Daniel Fernandez prepared for what he hoped would be his first asylum hearing. The Venezuelan native gathered items old and new: his asylum application, his Migrant Protection Protocols paperwork, hand sanitizer and a mask. “They still haven’t said anything official about the hearings,” Fernandez, 30, said a few days before his July 27 date in U.S. immigration court — an appointment he received after three postponements. Then, later that week, he tapped out a sad-face emoji on WhatsApp: “They canceled the hearings. No start date.” Related NBC OUT They fled […]

/ /

Kamala Harris Brings Pro-LGBTQ Record to Biden Ticket

When former Vice President Joe Biden announced the historic selection of Sen. Kamala Harris of California as his running mate, he added a candidate to the ticket with a pro-LGBTQ political record that goes back to 2004. “It’s clear the Biden-Harris ticket marks our nation’s most pro-equality ticket in history,” Alphonso David, president of the Human Rights Campaign, the country’s largest LGBTQ rights group, said in a statement. Harris first ran for elected office as San Francisco district attorney in 2004 when LGBTQ rights were firmly established in local law — but still highly contentious nationally. After winning that election, she established a […]

/ /

Transgender Teens File Class-action Suit over Arizona Surgery Ban

Two transgender teens sued Arizona’s Medicaid agency Thursday, alleging their civil rights are being violated by the state health insurance program’s ban on gender-affirming surgeries. The suit, filed Thursday in an Arizona federal courthouse, seeks to establish a class action on behalf of the teens — known only as John Doe, 15, and D.H., 17, and other transgender Arizonan Medicaid recipients under age 21 who seek chest reconstruction as treatment for a diagnosis of gender dysphoria. The complaint estimates there are at least 100 Arizonans who would be affected by the suit. The suit defines the class as “individuals who […]

/ /

Transgender Man Files Discrimination Suit after Maryland Hospital Cancels Hysterectomy

A transgender man is suing the University of Maryland Medical System in federal court, claiming his rights were violated when his gender-affirming surgery was canceled by one of the hospital system’s subsidiaries. Jesse Hammons was scheduled to have a hysterectomy in January at the University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center in Towson. The procedure, routinely performed on cisgender women at the same hospital, was deemed medically necessary for Hammons, who had been diagnosed with gender dysphoria. However, about a week before the scheduled surgery date, the center canceled the procedure because it “conflicted with the hospital’s Catholic religious beliefs,” according […]

/ /

Transgender Facebook Content Dominated by Right-wing Sources, Study Finds

Anti-transgender Facebook content shared by right-wing news sources generated more engagement than content from pro-transgender or neutral sources combined, according to a Media Matters for America study of 225 viral social media posts. That means the majority of Facebook interactions with those viral posts — over 43 million of 66 million shares, comments and reactions over the span of a year — were on items posted by anti-trans websites like LifeSiteNews, Daily Wire and Daily Caller, according to the report. “Facebook users are getting a totally biased and factually inaccurate understanding of the multitude of issues that impact trans people,” said Brennan Suen, […]

/ /

LGBTQ Political Representation jumped 21 Percent in Past Year, Data Shows

At least 843 LGBTQ people currently serve in elected offices across the United States, constituting a 21 percent increase since June 2019, according to the LGBTQ Victory Institute’s “Out for America 2020” census of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer elected officials. Particularly pronounced increases were seen in the number of LGBTQ mayors, with a 35 percent year-over-year jump; the number of bisexual and queer-identified people, with increases of 53 percent and 71 percent, respectively; and the number of transgender women serving in elected office, with a 40 percent year-over-year rise. “In a world where our civil rights are under […]

/ /

40% of LGBTQ Youth ‘Seriously Considered’ Suicide in Past Year, Survey Finds

Two in 5 LGBTQ youth in the United States have “seriously considered” suicide in the past year, a sobering survey released Wednesday said, showing what one expert called the “devastating mental health consequences” of society’s failure to create a safer and more affirming environment for America’s queer youth. The 2020 National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health by The Trevor Project, an LGBTQ youth crisis intervention and suicide prevention organization, paints a stark picture of pervasive mental distress among America’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer youth, with a majority reporting symptoms consistent with generalized anxiety disorder and major depressive disorder. Related […]

/

Black Transgender Woman Shot Dead in Dallas

A 22-year-old Black transgender woman was fatally shot in Dallas on Tuesday, according to police. Local transgender advocates said the victim was named Merci Mack but was “deadnamed” in police and media reports. Deadnaming is when a trans person’s birth name, not their preferred name, is used. The Dallas Police Department said it had been “unable to confirm an alternate name for the victim.” “Our detectives, as with all murders, are working diligently to find the perpetrator to this horrible crime,” Sgt. Warren C. Mitchell told NBC News in an email. “We continue to ask the community for their assistance.” Mack’s killing […]

1 2 3 4›»