New Free LGBTQ+ Timeline Class Starts August 19
News
Gay Democrat Threatened with ‘Public Execution’ by ‘Homophobic, Antisemitic’ Trolls over LGBT+ Rights Bill
Democratic lawmaker Scott Wiener has been threatened with “public execution” by far-right conspiracy theorists after trying to fix a disparity in California’s sexual offence laws. One of California’s most prominent LGBT+ officials, the state senator has faced a torrent of threats after putting forward a bill to fix a loophole that leads to discrimination against LGBT+ teens. Under current state law it is a crime to have sex with someone under the age of 18, but judges have a discretionary power to keep teenagers off the sex offenders’ register for having sex with people of a similar age, such as a 17-year-old […]
Trans Asylum Seeker Returned to El Salvador Murdered in Guatemala
A trans asylum seeker has been violently murdered in Guatemala, after fleeing gang-related persecution in El Salvador. The 27-year-old, who has not been named to protect her family, died last weekend. The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said that her violent death “highlights the need for effective protection to be granted to people forced to flee their countries, including members of the LGBT+ community”. UNHCR added that the woman had fled gender-based violence and persecution by gangs in her native El Salvador and applied for asylum in Guatemala in 2018. “We express our deep condolences to the family and loved ones of […]
Grandfather Comes Out at 90; Says: ‘It’s Never Too Late to Come Out’
A grandfather who came out as gay at 90 has told other older people who are in the closet that it’s “never too late” to be their authentic selves. Kenneth Felts kept his sexuality hidden all his life, but that changed when memories of his first love flooded back as he sat down to write a memoir earlier this year. He went on to come out to his lesbian daughter before revealing his sexuality to the world. Now, he is urging other older LGBT+ people to consider coming out of the closet. “I know I’m in an unusual position and I […]
Three People in Sonoma County Detained by ICE, Advocates Say
Three people in Sonoma County were detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement this week, according to the North Bay Organizing Project, which runs a 24-hour emergency hotline for undocumented immigrants caught up in apprehension operations. Susan Shaw, director of the local advocacy nonprofit, said ICE detained one person Tuesday and two people on Thursday. When someone alerts the group’s hotline, it dispatches observers to where federal agents are detaining someone and notifies local immigration attorneys. ICE could not be reached to confirm its operations in Sonoma County. Shaw said it’s unclear whether the apprehensions are part of a coordinated crackdown […]
Black LGBTQ Americans Face ‘Harsher Consequences’ of Virus-hit Economy
Black LGBTQ Americans are disproportionately affected by the economic downturn fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new report. An online survey of 10,000 people across the U.S., conducted from April to July by LGBTQ advocacy group Human Rights Campaign and PSB Insights, found that Black LGBTQ respondents fared worse than both the Black population and the LGBTQ population along every economic indicator measured. “The data make clear what we have long known: that those living at the intersections of multiply marginalized identities face harsher consequences of the pandemic.” ALPHONSO DAVID, HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN “We know Black people are dying from COVID-19 at […]
Polish LGBTQ People Leaving as Post-vote Mood Grows Hostile
When a right-wing populist party won the right to govern Poland five years ago, Piotr Grabarczyk feared “bad things” might happen to gay men like him and other LGBTQ people. He sometimes considered leaving the country, but waited. Friends and a job bound Grabarczyk to Warsaw, the relatively liberal capital city. He trusted that Poland’s membership in the European Union would protect his community. Yet his dwindling faith finally fell away as President Andrzej Duda campaigned for reelection on an anti-LGBTQ platform — and won. Duda, who repeatedly described the LGBTQ rights movement as a dangerous “ideology,” was sworn into […]
Sexual Violence Against Men, Boys, and Transgender Women Happening Now during Syrian Conflict
Since the Syrian conflict began in March 2011, men and boys and transgender women have been subjected to rape and other forms of sexual violence by the Syrian government and non-state armed groups, including the extremist armed group Islamic State (also known as ISIS). Heterosexual men and boys are vulnerable to sexual violence in Syria, but men who are gay or bisexual—or perceived to be—and transgender women are particularly at risk. While women and girls are disproportionately targeted by conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV), men and boys are also impacted. However, existing services within gender-based violence (GBV) and child protection are […]
Student Whistleblowers Expose the ‘Violent’ Homophobia, Racism Plaguing Schools
Iowa students are turning to Instagram to call out teachers and peers for the routine homophobia, racism, misogyny and sexual harassment they experience everyday at school. Submitting their stories anonymously via three Instagram accounts – dedicated to exposing anti-LGBT+ hate, racism and misogyny respectively – students have painted a damning picture of what it’s like to be a minority in the Iowa City community school district. Their accounts reveal racist and homophobic slurs being used with abandon, students being shunned for their sexuality and rampant anti-LGBT+ bullying going unchecked by school authorities. “Everyday I walk into school feeling like an […]