Free Online”Aging Gayfully” SRJC begins January 22
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Brothers detained in Chechnya go on hunger strike
Salekh Magamadov and Ismail Isaev, gay brothers detained in Chechnya, have begun a hunger strike after a judge denied a request to move their case to another region. The brothers fled to Russia in June 2020 with the help of the Russian LGBT Network after they were tortured in Chechnya, the site of deadly so-called “gay purges”, for running an opposition Telegram channel. ragically, the two men were forcefully returned to Chechnya in February 2021 on terrorism-related charges that activists say are completely fabricated. Magamadov and Isaev face up to 15 years in prison if convicted. The Russian LGBT Network said in a […]
Help Marin’s Spahr Center assist Trans Youth
The Spahr Center is raising money to purchase chest binders for queer and trans youth in Marin County. On average, 60% of trans and nonbinary youth in Marin County experience bullying based on their gender presentation and/or gender identity. Now that youth program staff has been able safely return to providing services to young people in school and in person, we have seen an increased need for access to gender affirming supplies. In particular, many trans and nonbinary youth who lack family support have asked for help buying chest binders. The Youth Program team wants to provide support to these young people by expanding […]
CA minimum wage raises statewide and even higher in certain cities
California’s minimum wage is set to go up again in January, hitting a major milestone sought by labor advocates and activists. Beginning Jan. 1, 2022, California’s minimum wage will increase to $15 an hour for employers with 26 or more employees. For employers with 25 or fewer employees, the minimum wage rises to $14. With this latest increase, California now has the highest statewide minimum wage in the country. California’s minimum wage is now more than double the federal minimum wage, which is $7.25 an hour. Several cities in California have an even higher minimum wage than the statewide amount. […]
School’s Gay Straight Alliance wins legal battle after principal banned it from advertising
Members of an Indiana high school’s LGBT+ club have won their legal battle after they were banned from raising money and promoting meetings. A district judge issued a preliminary injunction in favour of the Pendleton Heights High School’s Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) on Wednesday (22 December) after the principal barred the group from advertising on campus and raising funds for the club. The lawsuit – filed by the ACLU of Indiana in September on behalf of the GSA – alleged the school violated the students’ First Amendment rights and equal protection rights. The high school’s principal claimed the GSA wasn’t an “official” club and banned […]
Thousands of LGBTQ+ Israelis received text messages to ‘repent’ or face ‘death’
The Jerusalem Post has reported that thousands of LGBTQ+ Israelisreceived text messages saying they “deserve severe punishment, death and deportation” and calling on them to “repent.” The Association for LGBTQ Equality in Israel confirmed the news Monday. “You are LGBT and an apostate. You deserve severe punishment, death and deportation from Israel,” the message read. “Come to Yeshiva Ohr Elhanan in order to repent. We would be glad if you undergo conversion to faith.” According to The Jerusalem Post, “The message included a phone number and a Telegram account to contact and stated that it was sent by Rabbi Chaim Aryeh Hadash, the rosh yeshiva […]
LGBTQ missing persons Facebook page highlights unsolved cases
A Colorado man launched a Facebook page to help solve cases involving LGBTQ people who are missing or have died but have yet to be officially identified. Lazarus Rise, who is transgender, started the Missing and Unidentified LGBT Individuals Facebook page in April 2020. He was inspired to do so after discovering a decades-old case of a missing woman who investigators originally thought was cisgender but later discovered she was transgender. The unidentified trans woman was found dead and was believed to have been killed in Clermont, Florida, in 1988. Investigators learned she was transgender after her body underwent DNA testing in 2015, […]
Thailand: Transgender People Denied Equal Rights
Transgender people in Thailand have no route to legal recognition of their gender identity, making them vulnerable to various forms of discrimination, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today with the Thai Transgender Alliance. The 60-page report, “‘People Can’t Be Fit Into Boxes’: Thailand’s Need for Legal Gender Recognition,”found that the absence of legal gender recognition, coupled with insufficient legal protections and pervasive social stigma, limits transgender people’s access to vital services, and exposes them to daily indignities. Thai transgender people said they were routinely denied access to education, health care, and employment. Thailand has a reputation as an international hub […]
Senegalese lawmakers draw up chilling new law for LGBT+ people and allies
Anti-LGBT+ lawmakers in Senegal are seeking to toughen the west African nation’s already horrific repression of queer citizens. A bloc of National Assembly members have drafted a bill that would lengthen potential jail terms for those convicted of same-sex acts. The penalty is already up to five years imprisonment for “acts against nature” – but lawmakers hope to stretch this out to a decade, they announced Monday (13 December). And in disturbing parallels to Ghana, lawmakers even hope to make simply advocating for LGBT+ a punishable offence, 76 Crimes reported. People who write, speak or finance any form of advocacy in favour of […]
Chile breathes sigh of relief as pro-LGBT+ president elected over far-right bigot
Gabriel Boric has won the Chile election, seeing off far-right anti-LGBT+ rival José Antonio Kast. At just 35 years old, Gabriel Boric was elected Chile’s youngest-ever president on Sunday (19 December). His far-right rival, Kast, conceded with 97 per cent of the vote counted, Boric having gained a 12 point lead with 55.8 per cent of the tallied votes. The left-wing former student leader won the presidency after a fraught election which the LGBT+ community feared could turn the clock back on equality. Same-sex marriage was finally legalised in Chile this month, and while Boric is committed to improving reproductive […]