National

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Trump-appointed Judges Overturn Conversion Therapy Ban in Florida

Donald Trump-appointed judges reverved a vital ban on therapists offering conversion therapy – a denounced and debunked pseudosicenfitic practise – Friday (November 20), branding the ban “unconstititional”. Also called reparative therapy, medical organisations across the world have widely rejected the treatment as traumatising and psychologically scarring, especially to minors. In fact, the American Academy of Paediatrics warned against it as early as 1993. They said it reinforced anxiety and shame. But in a tightly divided court in Florida, the 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals sided with two therapists who sought to argue that bans in the city of Boca Raton and […]

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Out Magazine Celebrates the Annual OUT100 Issue with Symposium and Virtual Ceremony

Pride Media’s Out magazine is thrilled to release the 2020 Out100 presented by Lexus. The list remains the largest annual portfolio recognizing members of the LGBTQ+ for their ground-breaking, ripple-inducing, and culture-shifting impact nationwide. The coveted and anticipated Out100 issue features four covers including trailblazing actor Wilson Cruz, activist and BLM organizer Janaya Khan, actor and director Joe Mantello, and artist and icon Janelle Monáe. This year’s honorees make up one of the most diverse lists in Out magazine’s history, spanning several generations and a multitude of intersections from 18-year-old rap sensation Kidd Kenn and 99-year old trans WWII U.S. Navy fighter pilot Robina Asti to MSNBC journalist Rachel Maddow, who in a year of political […]

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GLAAD Survey: 81% Of LGBTQs Voted For Joe Biden

Just in via press release: GLAAD, the world’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) media advocacy organization, released the findings of its 2020 Post-election Poll of LGBTQ registered voters, including a phenomenol turnout of the LGBTQ vote, a surge of first-time LGBTQ voters, an overwhelming vote for President-elect Joe Biden, with votes motivated by three top issues urgently demanding a more robust response from our nation’s leaders: COVID-19, healthcare and racial justice. The poll, conducted November 9-14 with 800 LGBTQ respondents by Pathfinder Opinion Research, found that 93% of respondents who reported being LGBTQ registered voters said they […]

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Karine Jean-Pierre Tipped to be First Black and LGBT+ White House Press Secretary

Karine Jean-Pierre could become the first out lesbian and first Black woman to be named White House press secretary. The political heavyweight served as Kamala Harris’ chief of staff during the Biden-Harris campaign, and has now been tipped for a permanent role in the new administration. NBC’s White House correspondent Geoff Bennett tweeted Wednesday (18 November) that Jean-Pierre has “emerged as a top candidate” for press secretary, citing multiple sources. Symone Sanders, TV pundit and a senior advisor to the campaign “has also been discussed” for the role, he added. “No final decisions have been made, officials stress, as the […]

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Do Anti-gay Attack Ads Work? It’s Complicated.

LGBTQ candidates once again made history in terms of the overall number elected to Congress and state legislatures across the country. However, many of them had to contend with homophobic and transphobic attack ads this election cycle. “There is little doubt that millions of dollars in homophobic and transphobic attacks ads devastated our candidates in key swing districts during the final weeks of their campaigns,” said Annise Parker, president of the LGBTQ Victory Fund, which trains and advocates for queer candidates at all levels of government. “Bigoted politicians and operatives who thrive in the politics of hate were able to […]

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Anti-transgender Hate Crimes Soared 20 Percent in 2019

Bias attacks based on gender identity rose significantly in 2019, according to a new FBI report on hate crimes. Released this week, the annual Uniform Crime Report indicates that, last year, 227 hate-crime incidents were motivated by gender-identity bias. That’s up 20 percent from 2018, when 189 such incidents were reported. Drilling into the data, there were 175 victims of anti-transgender bias and 52 victims of anti-gender-nonconforming bias reported last year, compared to 160 victims of anti-trans bias and 29 victims of anti-gender-nonconforming bias the year prior. Related NBC OUT ‘Everybody knew Rita’: Decades later, still no answers in slaying of Black […]

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Nearly 1 in 10 Transgender Americans Use Nonprescription Hormones, Study Finds

Nearly 1 in 10 transgender Americans are turning to nonprescription sources for gender-affirming hormones — including friends, relatives and internet pharmacies — according to a new study. While the Affordable Care Act has extended health care to millions, many trans people are still uninsured or are denied coverage for transition-related care, including hormones and gender-affirming surgery. According to the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund, only 24 states explicitly require private insurance companies to cover gender-affirming treatment. And nine states, according to the fund, have explicit exclusions for trans-related coverage under Medicaid. On Thursday, two West Virginia men denied hormone replacement therapy filed suit in […]

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For the LGBTQ Community, Family Brings Extra Benefits and Costs

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John Auten-Schneider and David Auten-Schneider came out about their finances about two years after they started dating. The conversation started while they were looking to buy land in Winter Park, Colorado, to build a weekend home. As they planned, they realized they couldn’t afford to buy land, purchase an existing home or even rent there. Together, they had more than $50,000 in debt, even though they had more than 15 years of combined experience in financial services at the time. “It kicked off a conversation of, ‘Why do we know so much and are doing so little?’” John said. The […]

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Gay Man Expected to Break Ground and Become Maine’s House Speaker

Gay Rep. Ryan Fecteau is set to become speaker of the Maine House of Representatives. Democrats nominated Fecteau as speaker Thursday, and because they hold a majority in the House, he is “all but assured” of election to the position when the House votes in December, the Portland Press Herald reports. He will be the first out member of the LGBTQ+ community to be Maine speaker and one of about two dozen to have held such leadership positions nationwide. Also, at age 28, he will be the youngest speaker of the House in Maine history. “The speaker controls the flow of action […]

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Alito Blasts LGBTQ Rights In Federalist Society Speech

Politico reports: Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito delivered an unusually inflammatory public speech Thursday night, starkly warning about the threats he contends religious believers face from advocates for gay and abortion rights, as well as public officials responding to the coronavirus pandemic. Speaking to a virtual conference of conservative lawyers, the George W. Bush appointee made no direct comment on the recent election, the political crisis relating to President Donald Trump’s refusal to acknowledge his defeat or litigation on the issue pending at the Supreme Court. However, Alito didn’t hold back on other controversial subjects, even suggesting that the pressure Christians […]

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