News

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EQCA: Anti-LGBTQ Statements by Fresno School Board President ‘Ill Informed’

Brooke Ashjian Equality California have responded to statements made last week by Fresno Unified School Board of Trustees President Brook Ashjian in which he suggested that a law requiring schools to include information about LGBTQ people in middle and high school health classes might “sway” students to become LGBTQ themselves. Aug. 4, the Fresno Bee quoted Ashjian as saying “My biggest fear in teaching this – which we’re going to do it because it’s the law – but you have kids who are extremely moldable at this stage, and if you start telling them that LGBT is OK and that […]

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World’s First Chicken Nugget Tasting Room Opens in Sebastopol

Sebastopol’s Hip Chicks, whose organic chicken fingers are now sold in more than 5,000 stores, have opened The Kitchen, a chicken nugget tasting room and lunch counter featuring “flights” of their original, ketchup and maple chicken fingers, fried buttermilk chicken sandos, a chicken meatball sub, turkey burger, egg sandwich with sweet potato hash, apple cider corn dogs and local beer and wine selections. Chef/owner Jennifer Johnson, a Chez Panisse alum founded the company with her wife, Serafina Palandech, to provide healthy, sustainable and most-importantly family-friendly foods, starting with their nuggets, and expanding to other products like breakfast sausage, meatballs and […]

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LGBTQ Americans Report More Financial Struggles and Anxiety Over Money than Other Americans

LGBTQ Middle Americans are more likely to worry about the direction of the country, feel less financially secure, and struggle more with personal financial issues than other Americans, according to research by Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. (MassMutual). “Nearly half (47 percent) of Middle-income earners who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning  (LGBTQ) say they feel less than financially secure and many often struggle with financial emergencies,” said Wonhong Lee, head of diverse markets with MassMutual. “Overall, LGBTQ individuals tend to worry more about finances and are impacted more negatively by their finances than other Middle Americans. For […]

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Chechen Gays Are Accused of Terrorism So They Cannot Flee Country

The authorities of Chechnya have found a new way of persecuting Chechen homosexuals following they cannot leave Russia. Gay men are charged with terrorism and are wanted as supporters of the Islamic State (an organization banned on the territory of the Russian Federation). Chechen security forces visit homosexuals’ relatives and demand to write statements about the departure of their children to Syria, employees of two human rights organizations told Kavkaz.Realii edition. “The policy of the Chechen law enforcement agencies is such: it is easier for them to immediately state that the person was recruited and he left for Syria. Most […]

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Supervisor Sues Christian University Over Alleged Cover-up of Anti-gay Violence

Azusa Pacific University (“APU”), a Christian university in Southern California, is being sued by an employee who allegedly suffered severe and unlawful retaliation after complaining about anti-gay violence and harassment. Mahesh Pradhan, a chef and supervisor at APU, alleges that he was subjected to repeated physical violence and verbal abuse by other APU employees who perceived him as gay.  Mr. Pradhan alleges that he was physically assaulted in a restroom, had a large wooden paddle repeatedly thrust between his buttocks, and was called faggot and other derogatory terms. According to Pradhan’s attorney, Arthur Kim, APU refused to take disciplinary action […]

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San Diego Equal Pay Ordinance Approved Unanimously

An ordinance by San Diego Councilmember Chris Ward (District Three) establishing Equal Pay standards for city contractors was approved Monday on a unanimous 9-0 vote. “For San Diego to fulfill its responsibility as a place where anyone has a fair chance to work hard and succeed, we have to use our legal and economic power to ensure that nobody is at a disadvantage because of their gender or ethnicity,” said Councilmember Ward. “Today San Diego became the largest city in the country to pass an Equal Pay Ordinance, building on San Diego’s long-standing commitment to equal opportunity, and establishing the […]

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Inaugural LGBTIQ Benefit Unites Wine Country

   On Saturday, September 23rd OutRight Action International (OutRight) will launch the inaugural Crush Out, bringing together the wine country’s LGBTIQ community and allies for the first time to support equality on a global, national, and local scale. The benefit hosted by the historic Trione Vineyards & Winery will support the work of OutRight, the National LGBTQ Task Force as well as Positive Images, which serves youth in Sonoma County.    “Our community is most adversely affected by discrimination and violence globally, but with the current administration’s hateful agenda, we are looking at setbacks nationally as well,” states Executive Director […]

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Lambda Legal Blasts Trump; DOJ Over Plans to Undermine Affirmative Action Policies

Lambda Legal CEO Rachel B. Tiven blasted the Trump administration and Attorney General Jeff Sessions over new reports revealing plans to undermine and attack affirmative action policies. A report from The New York Times this week affirmed the effort will dedicate resources from the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division toward investigating and suing universities over affirmative action admissions policies deemed to discriminate against white applicants. The effort continues adding to a laundry list of civil rights offenses by the Trump administration, the most recent of which came last week when the administration levied a series of assaults on LGBT rights and […]

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Voters Say 68 – 27% Let Transgender People Serve, Quinnipiac Poll Finds

American voters say 68 – 27 percent, including 55 – 39 percent among voters in military households, that transgender people should be allowed to serve in the military, according to a Quinnipiac University national poll released today. Republicans opposed transgender service 60 – 32 percent, but every other party, gender, education, age or racial group supports transgender service by margins of 22 percentage points or higher, the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University Poll finds. By an 89 – 8 percent margin, American voters say it should be illegal for an employer to discriminate against an employee based on sexual orientation. More […]

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Oakland Opens First LGBTQ Community Center

There are an estimated 27 LGBTQ community centers in the state of California and until just recently, Oakland was the only major city in the state without an LGBTQ community center. Founders Jeff Myers and Joe Hawkins sat in the future multi-purpose room of the new LGBTQ community center, a space they share with other startups, filled with hope and pride. “For the first time in history, Oakland will have an official LGBTQ community space that serves the diversity of our community regardless of age, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status, but focused on the most vulnerable among us.” Hawkins said. Myers, […]

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