National

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Kamala Harris’ Chief of Staff is an Out lesbian and Political Heavyweight Karine Jean-Pierre

Kamala Harris’ chief of staff has been named as Karine Jean-Pierre, a proud Black lesbian and political heavyweight. Jean-Pierre is a Haitian-American political campaigner, activist and lecturer who has worked on presidential campaigns for John Edwards, Martin O’Malley and former US president Barack Obama. The political powerhouse was announced as the chief of staff to the vice presidential candidate yesterday (August 11) just hours before it was announced that Harris was officially on the ticket. She becomes the first Black person to serve as chief of staff to a vice presidential candidate. Confirming the news on Twitter, Jean-Pierre said she was “incredibly proud” […]

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Grandfather Comes Out at 90; Says: ‘It’s Never Too Late to Come Out’

A grandfather who came out as gay at 90 has told other older people who are in the closet that it’s “never too late” to be their authentic selves. Kenneth Felts kept his sexuality hidden all his life, but that changed when memories of his first love flooded back as he sat down to write a memoir earlier this year. He went on to come out to his lesbian daughter before revealing his sexuality to the world. Now, he is urging other older LGBT+ people to consider coming out of the closet. “I know I’m in an unusual position and I […]

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Student Whistleblowers Expose the ‘Violent’ Homophobia, Racism Plaguing Schools

Iowa students are turning to Instagram to call out teachers and peers for the routine homophobia, racism, misogyny and sexual harassment they experience everyday at school. Submitting their stories anonymously via three Instagram accounts – dedicated to exposing anti-LGBT+ hate, racism and misogyny respectively – students have painted a damning picture of what it’s like to be a minority in the Iowa City community school district. Their accounts reveal racist and homophobic slurs being used with abandon, students being shunned for their sexuality and rampant anti-LGBT+ bullying going unchecked by school authorities. “Everyday I walk into school feeling like an […]

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Half of Queer Black Men Suffer Police Discrimination: Study

Queer Black American men suffer disproportionate levels of police discrimination, which in turn may contribute to increased risks of HIV, depression and anxiety, a study has found. Research by Rutgers University, published in Social Science & Medicine, asked over 1,100 queer Black men to self-report any incidents of police discrimination, arrests and incarceration. Between 2017 and 2018, some 43 per cent reported suffering discrimination at the hands of police and other law enforcement. The results reinforced the notion that injustice is systemic and cyclical, with prior incarceration linked to later police and law enforcement discrimination, which in turn was linked to […]

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John Lewis’ Motorcade Makes Symbolic Stop to Honor Decades of LGBTQ Advocacy

As the hearse carrying John Lewis’ body drove through Atlanta’s Midtown neighborhood on Wednesday, it made a lengthy and symbolic stop at a rainbow crosswalk as dozens of people gathered on the sidewalk to watch the procession pass. “It feels very appropriate that that stop was prolonged for John Lewis’ legacy,” Victoria Kirby York of the National LGBTQ Task Forcetold NBC News. “I believe his vocal leadership and support in championing LGBTQ equality — even prior to it becoming a cool thing for people to hop on the bandwagon for — was critical in being able to shift public opinion across the country.” […]

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Beloved Gay Doctor Dies from Coronavirus in his Husband’s Arms after Months of Battling the Pandemic

A gay Baltimore intensive care doctor passed away from coronavirus in his husband’s arms after months of battling the pandemic on the front line. According to the Baltimore Sun, Dr Joseph Costa, 56, was the chief of the critical care division at Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore, Maryland. As he was dying in the hospital he worked at on Saturday, 25 July, his husband of 28 years David Hart held him, while around 20 of Costa’s colleagues held a vigil. Hart said: “Those who cared for Joe were his best friends. A housekeeper who knelt by his bed and shook with […]

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Nigerian Refugee Creates N.Y.C.’s First Full-time Shelter for Asylum-seekers

Before Edafe Okporo founded New York City’s first and only shelter for asylum-seekers and refugees, he was wandering the streets of Elizabeth, New Jersey, a refugee with nowhere to go. Although he was homeless, Okporo was happy to be in the United States. “Everything just changed when I stepped my feet into this country,” said Okporo, 30, an LGBTQ activist who fled his homeland, Nigeria, in 2016, “because there is an opportunity to dream of a better future, to have a path here as a gay man.” Okporo grew up in Warri, a city in southern Nigeria. Not only was […]

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Republican Party Platform Condemned for Claim LGBT+ People ‘Recruit Children’

The Republican Party in North Dakota has been condemned by a raft of party officials after it published vile and offensive remarks about the LGBT+ community. In the party’s extended policy platform, they claimed that LGBT+ people “recruit children” and “prey” on women. The policy document refers to bills that would advance LGBT+ rights as “SOGI bills”, meaning “sexual orientation and gender identity” bills. It also argues that advancements in LGBT+ rights would impact adversely on the rights of straight and cisgender people – an argument queer people hear far too often — and goes on to make wildly offensive statements about the […]

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Police Chief to Retire over Remarks about Gay Deputy’s COVID Death

A South Florida police chief has announced his retirement months after an investigation into alleged remarks he made about the coronavirus death of an openly gay Broward Sheriff’s deputy. Davie Police Chief Dale Engle told town officials last week that he plans to retire on Sept. 3, the South Florida SunSentinel reported. He has been on paid leave for three months and will continue to be paid until he retires. Engle was accused of saying Broward Sheriff’s school resource officer Shannon Bennett died because of his lifestyle. On Monday night, Engle told the SunSentinel he didn’t make the remark. “I maintain my innocence,” he […]

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Young Conservatives University Group Accused of Racist Bake Sale, Mocking Pronouns and HIV

Students at the University of North Texas (UNT) are trying to get a “Young Conservatives” group banned from campus due to “racism, transphobia and homophobia”. The Young Conservatives of Texas is a state-wide organisation that has chapters in 20 universities. A petition calling for the group to be removed from campus has already received more than 2,600 signatures. Ryan Semegran, president of the university’s LGBT+ alliance organisation GLAD UNT, was one of the students who started the petition. Semegran told PinkNews that they want the Young Conservatives chapter removed from campus due to “blatant homophobia, transphobia, and racism” towards students. The petition links to a tweet posted by […]

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