Features

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Notre Dame Cites Pope Leo In Pride Month Message

“In keeping with Notre Dame’s Spirit of Inclusion and in light of Pope Leo XIV’s call for a Church that ‘strives to be close’ to our LGBTQ brothers and sisters, we embrace our LGBTQ students, faculty, staff, and alumni.  “Let us continue to work together to ensure that every person in this community experiences a true sense of belonging.  “The University of Notre Dame strives for a spirit of inclusion among the members of this community for distinct reasons articulated in our Christian tradition. We prize the uniqueness of all persons as God’s creatures.  “We welcome all people… precisely because […]

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Trans woman found dead near Houston bayou identified as Persia Amarra Conway

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The transgender woman whose body was discovered near Brays Bayou in Houston last Monday (25 May) has been identified as 33-year-old Persia Amarra Conway. Conway’s identity was first confirmed by Blaque Out magazine on Friday (29 May), citing social media posts from her family.  In a Facebook post shared on Friday morning, her mother, Michelle P. Simmons, described Conway as “kind-hearted,” “funny,” and “headstrong like her mama,” while mourning what she described as the loss of her daughter at the hands of “a monster.” “Persia was not just my daughter. She was a light. She was a force. She was […]

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Mamdani Marks Pride Month With Pro-Trans Campaign

Yahoo News reports: To kick off Pride Month, Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the New York City Commission on Human Rights announced the launch of a public awareness campaign dedicated to the safety of transgender and gender-nonconforming people. In partnership with the newly established Office of LGBTQIA+ Affairs as well as the Department of Mental Health and Hygiene, the “Trans Rights Are Human Rights” campaign will highlight existing protections for trans and gender-nonconforming New Yorkers covered by the city’s Human Rights Law. Throughout June, informational graphics and banners designed by artist Dez Stavracos will be displayed on public transit, paper advertisements, and […]

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Appeals Court Upholds Block On Booting Trans Troops

Scripps News Group reports: A federal appeals court on Monday largely upheld a lower court ruling blocking the Trump administration from removing transgender service members from the military, while allowing the administration to continue enforcing its policy against new recruits. The lawsuit was filed by a group of transgender active-duty service members and prospective recruits challenging an executive order signed by President Donald Trump and a subsequent Pentagon policy issued by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The court found that the plaintiffs are likely to succeed on their claim that the policy violates equal protection guarantees under the Constitution. The ruling is […]

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These queer seniors organized for visibility & connection

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or Chicagoan David Zak, a longtime LGBTQ+ activist and veteran of community and arts programming in the Windy City, “visibility itself can be a form of activism, especially when it gives voice to people or experiences that haven’t always been represented.” Take, for instance, the trolley ride that his social club, Chicago PrimeTimers, takes every year in the city’s Pride Parade. “I think there’s something especially moving for people about seeing older LGBTQ+ adults proudly participating in Pride,” Zak tells LGBTQ Nation of the annual ride. “Sometimes, younger people along the route will stop cheering and suddenly become emotional when they realize […]

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Vermont passes landmark bill protecting trans prisoners’ rights

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Vermont lawmakers have passed a sweeping, first-of-its-kind bill expanding protections for transgender people in prison, marking one of the strongest state-level responses yet to the Trump administration’s escalating prison policies targeting trans people. The legislation, titled H.550, which was passed yesterday (21 May), acknowledges that trans incarcerated people face heightened risks of abuse, harassment and sexual violence, and requires prison staff to respect inmates’ gender identities and undergo gender-responsive training, as reported by Transitics via Substack. The bill also allows incarcerated trans people to request transfers to facilities that align with their gender identity, with reviews conducted alongside medical and mental health professionals experienced […]

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63 years ago, the Quakers stood up for gay dignity & they’re still fighting for our LGBTQ+ rights

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Quakers, like most Protestant denominations, hold differing views of homosexuality within their ranks. But no other mainstream Protestant religion has embraced LGBTQ+ identity like the Quakers, known officially as the Religious Society of Friends. The clearest example is a text promulgated over seven years in meetings by a group of Quaker writers, psychiatrists, psychologists, and teachers, assembled to consider issues surrounding homosexuality. Published in 1963, “Towards a Quaker View of Sex” asserted, “An act which expresses true affection between two individuals and gives pleasure to them both, does not seem to us to be sinful by reason alone of the fact that […]

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Trans students made to use outdoor porta-potties as new bill signed in South Carolina

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Trans students may be forced to use outdoor porta-potties if no single-occupancy toilets are available (Image: Getty Images) South Carolina governor Henry McMaster has signed House Bill 4756, a “privacy” law that allows schools to treat outdoor porta-potties as an acceptable single-occupancy toilet option for trans students if no indoor single-user bathroom is available. The Campaign for Southern Equality warned in an Instagram post that the measure could make going to the toilet “difficult and even dangerous” for trans and non-binary young people. The bill, titled the South Carolina Student Physical Privacy Act, requires multi-person bathrooms, locker rooms, and changing facilities […]

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Queer Sikhs are challenging bigotry by mixing their identities, faith, & cultural traditions

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Followers of the Sikh religion believe in a genderless, eternal, omnipresent God who views all humans as equal; the religion also emphasizes the importance of helping vulnerable people in need, and its central holy religious text, the Guru Granth Sahib, contains no anti-LGBTQ+ scriptures. However, the religion also originates from India — a country with few LGBTQ+ legal protections where 59% of people consider homosexuality “morally unacceptable” — many LGBTQ+ Sikhs, who are part of the estimated 25 million Sikhs worldwide, say they still struggle to find a place in their religious communities.  Gurleen Kaur, a 30-year-old queer Sikh Kaur told Queerbeat that she never felt that […]

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Trump’s FCC is eyeing warnings for trans TV content. Rights groups are pushing back

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For decades, LGBTQ+ Americans fought to be visible on television screens that either erased them entirely or treated them as punchlines, predators, or cautionary tales. Now, a coalition of more than 40 civil rights, free expression, and LGBTQ+ advocacy groups says the federal government is flirting with reviving that history in a new form. This time, the government wants to put warning labels on shows that include transgender and nonbinary people. In a joint filing submitted Friday to the Federal Communications Commission, organizations including GLAAD, Human Rights Campaign, PEN America, PFLAG National, Lambda Legal, and others, warned that a recent FCC inquiry into television ratings could pave the way for government-backed stigmatization […]

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