News

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Indian court calls for sweeping reforms to respect LGBTQ rights

A court in India ordered state and federal officials on Monday to draw up plans for sweeping reforms to respect LGBTQ rights, in a ruling that went far beyond the narrow terms of a case brought by a lesbian couple who said they had been harassed by police. Judge Anand Venkatesh of the Madras High Court ruled in favor of the couple, who had complained that police had subjected them to harassing questioning after their parents filed a missing persons report. But the judge also used the opportunity to issue a broad ruling that called for the elimination of what […]

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Pride 2021: Big cities ‘playing the safe card’ with small gatherings, virtual events

Holly Duchmann, who lives in Lafayette, Louisiana, plans to attend a Pride celebration for the first time this year.  “In the years before the pandemic, while I was out to my friends, I was still really scared to go to Pride,” Duchmann, 27, said. “Because I’m bisexual, I kind of pass as straight a lot, and so that kind of created anxiety with me for years, making me feel like I didn’t really belong in the LGBT community.” She felt more accepted after finding queer community through her roller derby team, and in 2020, she was looking forward to going […]

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Namibia on track to finally decriminalise gay sex

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Namibia is on pace to decriminalise homosexuality by the end of the year as ministers pave a long-sought path to scrapping its decades-old anal sex ban. The government’s Law Reform and Development Commission, a law reform agency, recommended in reports published Monday (17 May) that the country’s sodomy laws be overturned. Justice minister Yvonne Dausa confirmed to the Windhoek Observer, a local newspaper, that she will be submitting draft proposals to the cabinet to do just that in two weeks time – with a potential for the ban to be binned by the end of the year. As the committee reports […]

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‘More than a handout’: N.Y.C. to launch largest work program for LGBTQ youth

This summer, New York City will launch the nation’s largest and most comprehensive workforce development program for at-risk LGBTQ youth. NYC Unity Works, a $2.6 million initiative that will reach 90 participants over the next four years, is targeted at young adults ages 16 to 24 who are homeless or at risk of experiencing homelessness. Along with job training, it will provide educational opportunities, mental health services, paid internships and job placement, all with the goal of establishing long-term employment and a secure financial future.  The program is an offshoot of the NYC Unity Project, a citywide effort to help […]

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Before Stonewall, Cherry Grove: How a beach town became a gay ‘safe haven’

In the summer of 1953, Audrey Hartmann was 23 years old and on vacation with friends. She was staying in Ocean Bay Park, a small beach town on Fire Island, 60 miles from New York City. She’d heard whispers about a place down the beach called Cherry Grove. A few miles away, it was said to be a welcoming community of gay people. She’d heard there were lesbians there.  Hartmann walked down, and what she saw is on display at a new exhibit at the New-York Historical Society, as well as chronicled in the 1993 book “Cherry Grove, Fire Island: Sixty Years […]

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LGBT hate crime bill polarizes Italy

 A proposed law that would criminalize violence and hate speech against LGBT people in Italy has thrown together an unlikely alliance of opponents. Some feminists and lesbian associations have joined the Catholic church and the political right in opposing a bill that would add gay, transgender people and the disabled to the categories protected by a law punishing religion and race-based hate crimes. Conflict over the proposed legislation has become an ideological battle at the heart of the culture wars in Italy, pitting freedom of expression against protection of those at risk of discrimination and victimization. Catholic leaders say the […]

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2021 Pride Announces “Thrive With Pride” Theme

LA Pride has announced its 2021 pride theme this year called “Thrive With Pride”.  Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the infamous Los Angeles Pride parade in West Hollywood was cancelled, which would have been its 50th anniversary, and in its place a protest march was held on June 14th for All Black Lives Matter.  Christopher Street West (CSW), producer of the annual LA Pride, announced the All Black Lives Matter protest march on its website.  “Out of recognition and respect to the years of work and action of Black LGBTQ+ leadership and community organizers, Christopher Street West and […]

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School bans Pride flags because they’re a ‘political statement’

A high school in Indiana has ordered teachers to remove Pride flags from their classrooms to “maintain viewpoint neutrality”, and students have slammed the decision. The principal of Pendleton Heights High School, Connie Rickert, ordered three teachers to remove Pride flags from their classrooms, local newspaper The Herald Bulletin reported. “Teachers are legally obligated to maintain viewpoint neutrality during their official duties to ensure all students can focus on learning and we can maintain educational activities and school operations,” she stated. “Our counselors are trained to respond to any student who desires support.” Despite outrage from students, other senior staff also issued statements about […]

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Stonewall Inn’s virtual concert to include Billy Eichner, Nancy Pelosi and Amy Poehler

New York’s Stonewall Inn will kick off LGBTQ Pride Month with a star-studded streaming concert on June 1 to benefit The Stonewall Inn Gives Back Safe Spaces Initiatives. Presenters and performers for the event, produced by Tom D’Angora, Michael D’Angora and Victoria Varela, include Billy Eichner, Chelsea Clinton, Margaret Cho, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Julianne Moore, Fran Drescher, Lea DeLaria, Alexandra Billings, Beto O’Rourke, Amy Poehler, Randy Rainbow, Jordin Sparks, Lance Bass, Sophia Bush, Jackie Cox, Sasha Velour, Debra Messing, Laith Ashley, Omar Sharif Jr., Rita Wilson, André De Shields and more. The Safe Spaces Initiative will identify and designate entertainment venues, food and beverage locations, stores, businesses, and other public venues, as safe spaces for LGBTQ members of the community. “The Stonewall Inn is one of the original safe […]

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Pressure mounts for Pride organisers to ban police from marching

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Pride organisers in Melbourne, Australia, have been called to ban uniformed police officers from an annual parade because the force “pose a risk” to LGBT+ attendees. Midsumma Pride, run by the decades-old arts and culture organisation Midsumma Festival, is facing fierce calls from two top state and local advocacy groups to ban cops from its annual parade on 23 May. For almost two decades, the authorities have taken part in Midsumma Pride, with a contingent from the Victoria Police and Sheriff’s Office Of Victoria set to march in the emergency services wave this year. But the Victorian Pride Lobby and the Sydney-based […]

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