News

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Texas child welfare workers quit over governor’s transgender directive

An increasing number of child welfare workers in Texas are quitting because of a directive from Gov. Greg Abbott that requires them to investigate child abuse claims against parents suspected of providing gender-affirming care to their transgender children. Morgan Davis, a transgender man, put in his two-week notice with the Child Protective Services office in Travis County this month because he “couldn’t morally continue” his job after investigating the family of a trans teen, he told KXAN-TV, an NBC affiliate in Austin. Davis is reportedly not alone. More than a half dozen Child Protective Services employees in the state told The Texas […]

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Overview of over 300 anti-LGBTQ+ bills in 2022

In May 2021, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) officially announced the worst year for anti-LGBTQ+ legislation in recent history. At the time, state lawmakers introduced over 250 bills – from anti-Trans sports legislation to religious refusal measures – in statehouses across the country, 17 of which were enacted into law.  Now, LGBTQ+ rights in states seem to be taking even more of a hit. According to HRC, over 300 anti-LGBTQ+ bills have surfaced in 36 Legislatures. As the legislation increases – 41 such measures were introduced in 2018 – so does the number of bills passed and enshrined into state law, though LGBTQ+ […]

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Russian courts liquidate and dissolve life-saving LGBT+ rights charity

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An LGBT+ charity in Russia that has provided support to the community for more than a decade has been formally dissolved by the courts. Charitable Foundation Sphere was formally dissolved by Kuibyshev District Court judge Tatiana Kuzovkina on Thursday (21 April) after the Russian ministry for justice argued that they were carrying out “political activities”. The ministry claimed one of CF Sphere’s goals is to change Russian legislation, which is not a permissible charitable goal under federal law. A representative for the ministry claimed that Sphere “carried out political activities using foreign property, which does not correspond to the statutory goals”. The […]

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Non-binary lesbian ‘raped and murdered by six men’

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In a grisly attack that has appalled Kenya, a non-binary lesbian reportedly was raped and murdered by six men in their home. Sheila Lumumba, a 25-year-old hospitality worker, was found dead in their home in Karatina, a town in Nyeri County, earlier this week, LGBT+ groups and activists and BBC Africa reported. K24TV said that it is understood that the gang also broke Lumumba’s leg during the incident, according to an autopsy report. They were discovered four days after the attack by colleagues from FK Resort and Spa. Karatina police have not yet determined a motive behind the killing. Their alleged killing has touched off intense outrage and […]

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Equality California Endorses 17 Pro-Equality Champions Across California

Equality California, the nation’s largest statewide LGBTQ+ civil rights organization, announced endorsements of seventeen pro-equality candidates Friday, including eight openly LGBTQ+ candidates for local office and nine pro-equality allies running for the California Legislature and U.S. House of Representatives. “Just 67 days out from California’s June 7 primary election, we are proud to endorse these 17 pro-equality champions, including eight openly LGBTQ+ leaders,” said Equality California Executive Director Tony Hoang. “Equality California is committed to building the bench of out LGBTQ+ officials across our state and electing pro-equality allies who will fight alongside our community in Sacramento and Washington, DC. We […]

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Majority of Americans oppose using vile ‘groomer’ slur for LGBT-inclusive teachers and parents

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The majority of US voters oppose using the slur “groomer” to describe LGBT-inclusive teachers and parents, a new poll has revealed. The Data for Progress poll surveyed 1,155 likely voters and asked them about the spread of anti-LGBT+ legislation across the US. While the dangerous and ignorant conflation of homosexuality and LGBT+ identities with paedophilia goes back decades, there has been a recent surge in Republicans and religious conservatives using “grooming” language to describe LGBT-inclusive education, or just queer folk in general. The Data for Progress poll noted: “Some groups have been describing teachers and parents who oppose banning discussion about sexual orientation or […]

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Try Something New This Spring at SoCo Libraries

Looking for fun, free things to do over Spring Break? We’ve got you covered, with everything from video games to Regional Parks Discovery Packs—all free, all the time. There’s something for everyone at the Sonoma County Library, and springtime is a great time to try new things or reconnect to what you love.  Visit a branch near you and get inspired, or check out our roundup of free online events and library resources below to get started right now!  Free Online Resources Learn a new language. Choose from over 70 languages like Spanish, Japanese, or Italian with Mango Languages! This cutting edge language-learning tool is free for all library card-holders […]

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LGBTQ leader is key in blocking Kansas ban on trans athletes

As state lawmakers moved to ban transgender kids from girls’ sports, Kansas’ most visible LGBTQ-rights lobbyist recently said during an interview in a Statehouse corridor that conservatives don’t mind if kindergartners “have their genitals inspected.”  The politically needling comment was bold enough to make Tom Witt’s point, and loud enough for a lobbyist supporter of the ban to hear as she walked by. It was also classic Witt: Boisterous. Engaged. And well-targeted. Witt is a key reason Kansas is unlikely to join a growing number of states this year with a ban, despite Republican supermajorities in its Legislature. With lawmakers […]

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SF GLBT Historical Society Offers a Virtual Tour of the Lyon-Martin House

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“A bronze sidewalk plaque just doesn’t cut it,” said architectural historian Shayne Watson when we spoke to her last year about the Lyon-Martin House, the San Francisco home inhabited for over five decades by Phyllis Lyon (1924–2020) and Del Martin (1921–2028). In 1955, Lyon and Martin co-founded the first lesbian civil and political rights organization in the United States, the Daughters of Bilitis (DOB), much of whose activities they oversaw from their house in San Francisco’s Noe Valley neighborhood. Watson continued, “Just as Americans claim Independence Hall as a birthplace of American democracy, queer people throughout the world can claim the Lyon-Martin House […]

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Popular South Africa musician compares LGBTQ relationships to bestiality

A popular Afrikaans musician and actor in South Africa has disputed claims that he is homophobic after he compared same-sex relationships to bestiality. Steve Hofmeyr in recent days has received a lot of backlash from various civic organizations after he posted a video on Facebook. “Where my generation learned to talk to mice, ducks and dogs, our children will be taught how to have sex with mice ducks and dogs. Those relationships with animals are part of that + at the end of the LGBTQI+,” he said in a part of the video that was translated into English. The South African […]

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