National

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Fringe political leader defends lynching, calling violence against LGBTQ+ Pride ‘acceptable’

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A Florida fringe political leader praised lynching and called violence “acceptable” to stop LGBTQ+ Pride events during a Naples City Council meeting earlier this month, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. The remarks, made by Cody Davis, chair of the Jeffersonian Party, have sparked concern and renewed fears of escalating anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric as Naples Pride continues to face opposition. Davis commented on January 13 during a public debate over Naples Pride’s permit application for its June festival. Referring to Pride as “the homosexual event,” Davis said, “The consensus of Americans for centuries was that lynching, when done correctly, is both completely lawful and appropriate.” He added that “lawful violence is acceptable” […]

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Idaho Republicans’ resolution to repeal marriage equality is ‘foreshadowing’ for the U.S.

LGBTQ+ groups in Idaho have a warning for the rest of the nation — you could be next. Republican legislators in the state introduced a resolution earlier this month urging the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Obergefell v. Hodges, the 2015 decision that established national marriage equality. The measure, House Joint Memorial 1, claims the Supreme Court overstepped its authority by requiring states to recognize same-sex marriages, and calls for a return to the so-called “natural definition” of marriage as being between one man and one woman. While the resolution is nonbinding — meaning it carries no legal weight — “it is harmful nonetheless because it is a […]

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Donald Trump freezes Civil Rights division’s work fighting discrimination

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The Trump administration has told the Civil Rights division at the Justice Department to stop pursuing any new indictments, cases, or settlements related to civil rights violations, effectively shutting down the division just days into Trump’s second term. A letter to the acting head of the division obtained by The Washington Postorders her to ensure that civil rights attorneys do not file “any new complaints, motions to intervene, agreed-upon remands, amicus briefs, or statements of interest.” The order and a separate memo sent to Kathleen Wolfe, acting supervisor of the Civil Rights division, freezes action on new cases and directs her […]

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STUDY: 266,000 Young LGBTQs Have Fled Red States

The Bay Area Reporter reports: A new report estimates that roughly 266,000 LGBTQ+ young people and their families have uprooted their lives and left a state because of anti-LGBTQ politics or laws. It is also detailing in stark relief the positive outcomes on the health and wellbeing of LGBTQ youth that state lawmakers can have when enacting policy. The eight-page research brief being released Wednesday by LGBTQ youth advocacy nonprofit The Trevor Project and the Movement Advancement Project used data sets from both organizations to draw its conclusions. It is the first time the two groups have utilized their data in such […]

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Virginia lawmakers pass marriage equality, abortion & voting protections

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Virginia is poised to take a historic step toward enshrining marriage equality in its state Constitution, as the House of Delegates approved a measure to repeal the state’s ban on same-sex marriage on Tuesday. While marriage equality is federally protected under the 2015 Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges and the 2022 Respect for Marriage Act signed by President Joe Biden, the move addresses concerns about potential threats to LGBTQ+ rights, given the U.S Supreme Court’s increasingly conservative stance. The amendment would strike down the outdated language in Virginia’s Constitution that prohibits same-sex marriage. The language was added in 2006, during a time of widespread opposition to LGBTQ+ rights […]

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Delaware’s Congresswoman Sarah Mcbride Named Democratic Whip

Congresswoman Sarah McBride (DE-AL) announced that she was named a House Democratic Deputy Whip for Policy, a role focused on strategic, long-term planning and coordination on policy priorities across the House Democratic Caucus. This position is appointed by Democratic Whip Katherine Clark, the number two Democrat in the House of Representatives. “My number one priority in Congress is helping to lower costs facing Delawareans and American families,” said Congresswoman McBride. “We can do this by guaranteeing paid family and medical leave, lowering the cost of childcare and restoring the child tax credit. I look forward to working alongside my Democratic […]

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LGBTQ+ mental health crisis center says calls have surged with Donald Trump’s inauguration

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As President Donald Trump delivered his second inaugural address on Monday, LGBTQ+ youth across the nation turned to crisis hotlines in record numbers, according to the Rainbow Youth Project USA Foundation. The nonprofit group reported over 1,400 calls to its national hotline by early afternoon—a significant surge that coincided with Trump’s speech and the anti-LGBTQ+ policies he outlined. In his half-hour-long inaugural address, Trump targeted transgender and nonbinary Americans, declaring, “As of today, it will henceforth be the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders: male and female.” The announcement is part of a broader agenda to eliminate federal recognition of gender identity, ban […]

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State Department to suspend passport applications seeking sex-marker changes

Secretary of State Marco Rubio directed the State Department on Wednesday to suspend all passport applications seeking to change a sex marker and all applications requesting an “X” sex marker, according to a memo reviewed by NBC News.  The memo references an executive order issued by President Trump hours after his inauguration, declaring that the U.S. government will recognize only two sexes, male and female, and that “these sexes are not changeable and are grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality.”  “The executive order specifies government-issued identification documents shall refer to an individual’s immutable biological classification as either male or female,” Rubio’s […]

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Donald Trump has begun eroding federal LGBTQ+ protections through executive orders

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President Donald Trump’s return to the White House marked an immediate and sweeping rollback of Biden-era policies, targeting LGBTQ+ protections, environmental commitments, and federal workforce initiatives. The actions, signed throughout the day and capped by a theatrical ceremony at Washington, D.C.’s Capital One Arena Monday evening where he signed nine orders, set a combative tone for Trump’s second term. Trump first signed a rescission of 78 executive orders and actions from the Biden administration. These included protections for LGBTQ+ Americans, diversity and equity programs, climate measures, and pandemic-related policies. Among Trump’s most damaging measures was the rescission of former President Joe Biden’s Executive Order 14075, which had advanced protections for LGBTQ+ […]

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LGBTQ+ activists revive Stonewall Democrats after it shut down over a decade ago

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Facing a financial deficit and a shortage of dues owed by local chapters, the National Stonewall Democratic Federation, founded by retired out Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) in 1998 to unite Stonewall Democratic clubs across the U.S., closed the doors at its Washington office in 2013 to go on an indefinite “hiatus.” They never reopened. Now, in the face of an openly anti-LGBTQ+ second Trump administration, the group has been revived under a new banner, the National Federation of Stonewall Democrats. “The challenges facing LGBTQ+ Americans today underscore the need for a bold and unapologetically progressive action, especially given the uncertainty we face with the incoming Trump […]

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