News

/ /

Biden recognizes the 10th anniversary of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ repeal

President Joe Biden on Monday recognized the 10-year anniversary of the end of “don’t ask, don’t tell,” a policy that forced gay, lesbian and bisexual military service members to hide their sexuality.  Then-President Bill Clinton signed the policy into law in 1993 as a compromise to end the existing ban on gay people serving. In total, over the 17 years the policy was in effect, an estimated 13,000 service members were discharged, according to data the military provided to The Associated Press. In December 2010, then-President Barack Obama signed a repeal bill, but it didn’t take effect until Sept. 20, 2011. “Ten years ago today, […]

/ /

Nazis March Through Madrid’s Gayborhood

Reuters reports: The Madrid prosecutor’s office opened an investigation on Monday after a crowd of about 200 people sporting Nazi paraphernalia marched in the Spanish capital’s gay-friendly neighbourhood of Chueca on Saturday shouting offensive anti-LGBT slogans. The protesters shouted “Out of our neighbourhood” and “Get out of Madrid” prefaced by derogatory words for gay people, the prosecutor’s office said in a statement. Homophobic hate crimes have been in the headlines in Spain since a man was beaten to death in July over his sexual orientation. The government said this month it would create specialised groups within the Interior Ministry and the […]

/ /

Bills restricting abortion rights, trans rights are ‘inextricably linked,’ advocates say

The Supreme Court allowed a Texas law to go into effect this month that bans abortions after six weeks of gestation.    In the recent legislative session, Texas lawmakers introduced a slew of bills that sought to limit transgender people’s bathroom access and prohibit changes to birth certificates. Many of the bills take aim at young trans people’s access to health care and participation in high school sports. Similar bills have been introduced in at least 19 other states. Though seemingly unrelated, some LGBTQ rights advocates and abortion rights advocates see parallels. How Texas’ anti-abortion law is having long-term impacts on women SEPT. […]

/

Art Trails Open Studios Happening this and Next Weekend

Sonoma County Art Trails Open Studios are happening today and tomorrow (Sept. 18-19) and next weekend (Sept. 25-26). All around the county, 121 artists – painters, sculptors, ceramicists, glass artists, jewelry makers and more – are awaiting your visit.  Plan your Art Trails itinerary today with our Collectors Guide or get a sense of which studios you’d like to visit by checking out the Sonoma County Art Trails Online Gallery.You can also visit the Art Trails Preview Exhibit at Sebastopol Center for the Arts, 282 High St., where you can see one piece from every Art Trails artist all in one place.So grab a […]

/ /

Germany compensates 249 persecuted over homosexuality law

German authorities have compensated nearly 250 people who were prosecuted or investigated under a Nazi-era law criminalizing homosexuality that continued to be enforced enthusiastically after World War II. The Federal Office of Justice said Monday that, up to the end of August, 317 people had applied for compensation and it had been paid out in 249 cases. So far, it has paid out nearly 860,000 euros (just over $1 million). Fourteen applications are still being processed, 18 were rejected and 36 were withdrawn, the office said. The deadline for applications is July 21 next year. German lawmakers in 2017 approved […]

/ /

Big rise in anti-gay attacks unsettle U.K. advocates

In the early hours of Friday, June 11, three men were assaulted and subjected to homophobic abuse near a pub in Liverpool, England, by a group of teenagers, one of whom had a knife, according to police.  “Due to the abhorrent verbal abuse the victims were subjected to, we’re treating this as a hate crime,” Detective Inspector Chris Hawitt said in a statement at the time, calling the attack “despicable” and saying the Merseyside Police would not “tolerate people being targeted in this manner because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.” A few weeks after the incident, the Merseyside Police released […]

/

California recall: What exit polls tell us about the state’s LGBTQ voters

Like the state at large, an overwhelming majority of California’s LGBTQ voters voted “no” to a Republican-led effort to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, and remove him from office, according to an NBC News Exit Poll of early and Election Day voters. The poll found that 7 percent of California recall voters identify as LGBTQ. Of those voters, 83 percent voted “no” to the recall and 17 percent voted “yes.”  With about 70 percent of the projected vote counted, 63.9 percent of all Californians voted against recalling Newsom, and 36.1 percent voted in favor.  Newsom has long been seen as an […]

/ /

Ugandan government claims queer people fleeing are fake ‘economic gays’

,

The Ugandan government has made the absurd, offensive claim that some LGBT+ asylum seekers fleeing the country are merely faking their sexuality to live in Western nations. Homosexuality is illegal and punishable by life imprisonment in Uganda, which has some of the strictest anti-LGBT+ laws in the world. Most queer Ugandans survive by staying under the radar, and many who manage to escape fear death if they return. Yet foreign minister general Jeje Odongo cast doubt on the legitimacy of queer asylum claims by pointing out that many male gay asylum seekers have wives and children. “These Ugandans who went out on […]

/

MS-13’s Stronghold On MacArthur Park And Transphobia

MS-13, a vicious street gang, continues its stronghold on MacArthur Park making it unsafe for many who visit but specifically transgender individuals.  After a transgender woman was brutally attacked in MacArthur Park on October 2020, which marked the second time in weeks that a transgender woman had been stabbed nearly to death in the Los Angeles park by members of MS-13, a street gang that considers the park the heart of its territory. Mara Salvatrucha, commonly known as MS-13, is an international criminal gang that originated in Los Angeles, California, in the 1970s and 1980s. Originally, the gang was set […]

«‹ 290 291 292 293›»