News

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A Queer Quinquagenary: 50 Years of Change at the Bay Area Reporter

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A half century is a long time in the history of the modern LGBTQ rights movement, encompassing more change than could have been imagined in the early 1970s. Nowhere is this better reflected than in the archives of the Bay Area Reporter (BAR), “America’s longest continuously published and highest-circulation LGBTQ newspaper,” which is celebrating its 50th anniversary with special coverage, events and a new online exhibition with the GLBT Historical Society. The exhibition, “Stories of Our Movement: The BAR at 50” is made possible by generous support of the Bob Ross Foudation, and will debut on the society’s website on […]

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Hundreds protest as brazen homophobes sworn into Israeli parliament

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Hundreds demonstrated in Jerusalem on Tuesday (6 April), protesting the swearing in of a group of viciously anti-LGBT+ Knesset members. The protest was held outside parliament as all 120 members of the Knesset, Israel’s national legislature, were sworn in following last month’s elections, according to AFP. Among them were six members of the far-right Religious Zionism alliance, which includes the parties Noam and Otzma Yehudit, and the Religious Zionist Party (National Union–Tkuma). Bezalel Smotrich, leader of the Religious Zionist Party and self-described “proud homophobe”, helped to organise the 2006 anti-LGBT+ “beast parade”when World Pride came to Jerusalem. The “beast parade” saw right-wing activists trace […]

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Sodomy laws that labeled gay people sex offenders challenged in court

Nearly 20 years after the Supreme Court struck down laws criminalizing consensual same-sex activity, the legacy of sodomy bans is still felt across the United States. In 1993, then-18-year-old Randall Menges was charged under Idaho’s “crimes against nature” law for having sex with two 16-year-old males. All three worked and lived at Pratt Ranch, a cattle ranch in Gem County that doubled as a live-in foster program for troubled teenagers. Menges was convicted despite police reports indicating the activity was consensual, and the age of consent in Idaho when a defendant is 18 is 16 years old. After serving seven years in […]

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TN bill seeking to ban books ‘normalizing or supporting’ LGBT+ people inches closer to reality

A bill that would ban books that promote “LGBT issues and lifestyles” in public schools in Tennessee is inching closer to becoming law. HB 800 would prohibit public schools in Tennessee from using books or teaching materials that “promote, normalise, support or address controversial issues” – like LGBT+ issues or lifestyles or gender identity – are “inappropriate”. The bill said the promotion of “LGBT issues and lifestyles” should face the same restrictions “placed on the teaching of religion in public schools”. It added that educational materials that promote LGBT+ issues and lifestyles in public schools offends a “significant portion of students’ […]

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Celebrate Jose Sarria with SF GLBT Historical Society

Joe Castel Discusses José SarriaQueer Culture Club Thursday, April 87:00–7:30 p.m. PDTOnline programFree | $5 suggested donation GLBT Historical Society Executive Director Terry Beswick will interview director, producer, screenwriter and playwright Joe Castel, whose body of work explores Latinx and LGBTQ history and identity. Castel will also discuss his newest documentary, Nelly Queen: The Life and Times of José Sarria (2020), which will be screened immediately following the interview (see the separate event listing). This is the April installment of “Queer Culture Club,” our monthly series each second Thursday that focuses on LGBTQ people who are defining the queer culture of yesterday, today […]

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U.S. Pride organizers debate in-person vs. virtual events for 2021

Like LGBTQ Pride organizations in several of the nation’s largest cities, D.C.’s Capital Pride Alliance is planning to hold several virtual Pride events during the traditional Pride month of June and is considering at least one in-person event for October — a smaller Pride parade. Also like other cities, the traditional June Capital Pride Parade and Festival, which have attracted more than 250,000 participants and spectators in past years, have been cancelled this year following last year’s cancellation, according to Capital Pride Executive Director Ryan Bos. Bos said a “reimagined” parade called Paint the Town With Pride is being planned […]

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Nebraska Supreme Court allows same-sex couple to adopt

The Nebraska Supreme Court has ruled that a lesbian couple can legally adopt a 3-year-old child who has lived with them since birth, overturning a lower court’s decision rejecting their petition. In July 2020, Dixon County Judge Douglas Luebe said that he had no jurisdiction to grant an adoption to the couple — identified by the American Civil Liberties Union of Nebraska as K.H. and M.V., who asked to keep their names anonymous — because they were listed in their petition as “wife and wife,” according to the Nebraska Supreme Court. In his order, Luebe referred to a version of Black’s Law […]

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Country of Georgia gives trans woman legal recognition for the first time

The deeply conservative country of Georgia has legally recognised a trans woman’s gender identity for the first time ever. On 25 March the Ministry of Justice of Georgia granted a trans woman’s request to change her legal gender status to female. Her birth certificate was also reissued by the authorities, setting a huge precedent for the country. The historic milestone was first reported by Open Democracy and the Georgian women’s rights group WISG, which said the woman had submitted a medical certificate confirming she had undergone gender-affirming surgery. WISG noted that, despite this groundbreaking case, Georgia still lacks adequate legislation for transgender people. Trans […]

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Montana passes religious freedom bill that will block healthcare for queer people

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The Montana legislature advanced a bill Wednesday (31 March) that would give the all-clear for entities to discriminate against LGBT+ people on the basis of “religious freedom”. The Montana Religious Freedom Restoration Act, otherwise known as Senate Bill 215, is on track to head to the desk of Republican governor Greg Gianforte– and he’s already signalled his intent to sign it. The bill, dubbed “dangerous” by activists, would enable service providers to deny queer residents certain goods and aid, from ordering a cake at a bakery to accessing PrEP. Supporters say this would increase legal protections for religious expression. “The free exercise […]

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Sonoma County launches effort to vaccinate the housebound

The County of Sonoma has arranged to provide COVID-19 vaccinations to adults 16 years and older who are homebound for a variety of medical reasons and have difficulty getting to a clinic. The County is working with Fox Home Health, which has established a mobile vaccine clinic for those who are homebound. The County Department of Health Services is working to prioritize homebound individuals in collaboration with service providers, including in-home supportive services, hospice, North Bay Regional Center, Council on Aging and the Adult & Aging Division of Human Services. The community can participate by reaching out to people they […]

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