News

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A Woman Worth Knowing: Reflections on the Passing of Sally Gearhart

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This past July, the LGBTQ community lost one of its most stalwart and influential leaders: Sally Gearhart (1931–2021). A multifaceted, multitalented woman, Gearhart wore more hats in her lifetime than many of us could in several: she was a teacher, feminist, science-fiction writer, and political activist. She became the first open lesbian to obtain a tenure-track faculty position at the university level when she was hired in 1973 by San Francisco State University, where she established one of the first women’s and gender studies programs in the country. Among her contributions to the struggle for LGBTQ rights was her fight […]

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Police departments across U.S. are mandating LGBTQ training

Following a string of violence against Black trans women, LGBTQ activists in New York took to the streets in summer 2020 to draw attention to the deadly issue.  Jason Rosenberg and Marti Gould Cummings were among those who joined the June 2 demonstration in front of the iconic Stonewall Inn.  City officials set a curfew that night, and shortly after the 8 p.m. deadline, a number of the protesters — who were walking arm-in- arm — were arrested and violently attacked, according to Rosenberg, a member of the activist group AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power, or ACT UP. “I felt excessive and violent […]

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Columbia University researcher helps evacuate LGBTQ Afghans

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Some of the 50 human rights activists that a Columbia University researcher has helped evacuate from Afghanistan since the Taliban regained control of the country are LGBTQ. A press release the Washington Blade received notes Taylor Hirschberg — a researcher at the Columbia Mailman School of Public Health who is also a Hearst Foundation scholar — has worked with Belgian Sen. Orry Vandewauwer to help 50 Afghan “activists leave the country.” “The refugees included those who identify as LGBTQI+ or gender non-conforming and their families,” notes the press release. The Blade has seen the list of names of the more […]

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Taiwan court rules trans surgery requirement is unconstitutional in LGBT+ rights victory

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A Taiwan court has struck down a rule requiring trans people to have surgery in order to be legally recognised in their correct gender. Under a government rule, trans people in Taiwan have been forced to have their reproductive organs surgically removed in order to have their gender legally recognised. A plaintiff named only as Xiao E brought a case to the Taipei High Administrative Court arguing that the policy was unconstitutional. On Thursday (23 September), the court ruled in their favour. In its ruling, the court said the plaintiff had met all the requirements to have their gender legally recognised. It found […]

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Mexicans with HIV/AIDS struggle with treatment access

Roberto Navarro has been a dancer since he was 17. Jazz became his passion and he fell in love with classical dancing after he took many classes. And he began to teach four years later. “I’m so happy when I teach dancing to my girls because they bring me so much joy, I feel like I help my girls to become better women, without noticing I’m some kind of a therapist,” Navarro told the Washington Blade.  He discovered the discipline of dancing in heels in 2014, which made him connect and explore more with his sexuality. He did, however, suffer […]

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Hungary: Anti-LGBT Laws Protect Kids From Pedophiles

The Associated Press reports: In an interview Thursday with The Associated Press on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly’s meeting of world leaders, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said his country would not cede ground on policies that have caused the European Union to impose financial penalties and start legal proceedings against it over violations of the bloc’s values. Topping the list of contentious government policies: a controversial Hungarian law that the EU says violates the fundamental rights of LGBT people. That led the EU’s executive commission to delay billions in economic recovery funds earmarked for Hungary — a move Szijjarto […]

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Japan’s new prime minister could herald a ‘historic moment’ for LGBT+ rights

Japan is about to get a new prime minister – and two candidates in particular have the potential to transform LGBT+ rights, including same-sex marriage. After the current Japanese prime minister Yoshihide Suga decided to step down a year into his term, his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) is set to choose a successor on Wednesday (29 September). The election is a “historic moment” for Japan – not just because two of the four candidates are women, but also because two candidates support same-sex marriage. Alexander Dmitrenko is a co-founder and co-chair of Lawyers for LGBT & Allies Network (LLAN) and a counsel […]

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Germany elects first-ever trans MPs

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Germany will welcome its first-ever trans MPs to the Bundestag after a federal election that saw the centre-left SDP narrowly beat the centre-right CDU. According to preliminary results on Monday morning (27 September), the SPD and its chancellor candidate Olaf Scholz won 25.7 per cent of the vote. Germany’s Green Party had its best-ever result in a national poll, 14.8 per cent, and Scholz believes he has a mandate to for a coalition with the Greens and liberal politicians, which would bring to an end 16 years of centre-right rule. In another historic first, two transgender Green MPs were elected to the Bundestag – Tessa Ganserer and Nyke Slawik. […]

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As California’s eviction ban ends, some protections remain

With a statewide eviction moratorium ending Friday, officials in California are rushing to make sure tenants with unpaid rent know they can still stay in their homes after that date — but only if they have applied for assistance from the state. California is using billions of federal dollars to pay off up to 18 months of most people’s rent dating back to April 2020, the first full month of the state’s stay-at-home order because of the coronavirus. To qualify, people must earn 80% or less of their area’s median income and must have been affected by the pandemic — […]

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California’s universal voting by mail becomes permanent

California’s pandemic-inspired move toward mailing a ballot to every registered, active voter will become a permanent part of the state’s political landscape, an embrace of an extended and flexible voting process instead of the traditional focus on a single day of voting in person. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signature Monday on Assembly Bill 37 makes California the eighth state in the nation with a law on the books requiring every voter to be mailed a ballot. The new law is part of an evolution of voting in the state over the last two decades, an effort to provide voters more options for when and […]

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