News

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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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Groundbreaking trans journalist alleges bias in termination from South Dakota Public Broadcasting

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A transgender journalist is filing for wrongful termination after being fired from South Dakota Public Broadcasting, alleging the state-run media outlet treated them with bias. Stel Kline shared on Twitter April 18 that they had been let go from their position with SDPB News on the grounds they are “not objective” and “have a problem with authority.” But the reporter said their most recent job review didn’t include any areas for improvement. Kline suggested that the concerns about “objectivity” are directed at their efforts to defend against anti-transgender attacks lobbed against them on Twitter. “I was encouraged by the comms […]

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School bans on LGBTQ books “escalating dramatically” over last year

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About one-third of the 1,586 books banned from schools nationwide have LGBTQ themes and characters, according to a report from the free-speech organization PEN America. The bans have largely come from Republican politicians, conservative school boards and so-called “parents’ rights” groups that have opposed such content as “woke” “indoctrination” that’s “inappropriate” for school children. For their report, PEN America examined publicly noted book bans occurring from the start of July 2021 to the end of March 2022. During that time, school districts banned 379 LGBTQ titles, including 84 that deal with transgender topics and characters. Four of the most frequently banned […]

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Inter-American court rules in favor of lesbian religion teacher in Chile

The Inter-American Court of Human Rights on Wednesday ruled Chile is responsible for the discriminatory treatment of a teacher who was removed from her position in 2007 because she is a lesbian. Sandra Pavez Pavez had worked as a Catholic religion teacher since 1985 at Colegio Municipal Cardenal Antonio Samoré in San Bernardo, a city that is just south of the country’s capital of Santiago. The Chilean Catholic Church on July 25, 2007, revoked her certification that the Chilean Ministry of Education required to work as a religion teacher. The reason? Pavez came out as a lesbian after a rumor […]

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Maryland school board bans “gateway” rainbow flags

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The Carroll County Public Schools district has banned rainbow flags, saying they could be a “gateway for other flags” and that teachers were bullied into displaying them. A local chapter of PFLAG had donated small Pride flags to the district and staff members were told they could put them on their desks as a sign of support for LGBTQ students. Related: Lawmaker’s epic clapback to getting called a “groomer” goes viral But board members accused the administrators of “bullying” teachers into displaying the flags. Teachers were not required to display the flag. “Many teachers have reached out to me saying that they’ve […]

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Superior Court Rules Diverse Company Board Laws Unconstitutional

On the first of April, a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge ruled the law which requires California-based or headquartered corporations to have a minimum of one director from an underrepresented community is unconstitutional. The Los Angeles Blade reported that Judge Terry Green granted summary judgement to Judicial Watch, a Washington D.C. based conservative legal nonprofit founded by attorney Larry Klayman, led by Tom Fitton since 2003.  On behalf of three residents, Judicial Watch sued the state and alleged that the state expenditure of taxpayer funds to enforce the law was unconstitutional, according to the court filings. “This historic California court decision declared […]

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