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For the First Time, the L.A. Pride Parade Will Air on Live TV

When the first Los Angeles Pride parade hit the streets of Hollywood in 1970, the world was experiencing a crisis of contradictions. When it came to gay identity, things were changing. The Stonewall Riots of the year before gave way to protests all across the country, led by people who were sick of being treated like second-class citizens. The Black Cat demonstration in L.A. in 1967, along with the Cooper Donut riot of 1959, laid the groundwork for a new generation of activist gays who weren’t content to be shoved around, targeted and violently harassed by the police. – Advertisement – […]

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At San Quentin, LGBTQ Prisoners and Once-biased Inmates Try to Heal Together

Ten years ago, Rafeal “Nephew” Bankston landed in solitary confinement in San Quentin State Prison for refusing a gay cellmate. “Where I grew up, we called it gay bashing,” he said. “We hated them, robbed them,” Bankston added matter-of-factly. On a Wednesday afternoon in April, he told that story to a classroom of 15 other inmates. About half of them were LGBTQ. Photos of LGBTQ icons — Janet Mock, Ellen Degeneres, James Baldwin — smiled down from a whiteboard at the front of the room. No one said a word. Lisa Strawn, 60, a transgender woman, was sitting next to […]

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Castro LGBTQ Cultural District Looks to Preserve San Francisco’s Iconic Gayborhood

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As property prices and rents continue to skyrocket in San Francisco, the need is a greater than ever to preserve the heritage of the city’s threatened queer spaces. One response has been the creation of six cultural districts, each defined by the City as “a geographic area or location within San Francisco that embodies a unique cultural heritage.” Achieving this designation qualifies the area for resources to sustain and promote its cultural assets. Two LGBTQ-related cultural districts have already been established: Compton’s Transgender Cultural District in the Tenderloin and the Leather and LGBTQ Cultural District in SoMa. An internationally recognized center of LGBTQ culture since […]

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Homeless Shelter for Trans Youths Opens in San Francisco

America’s ‘first’ homeless shelter for trans young people has opened in San Francisco. The three-bedroom house has room for six people between the ages of 18 to 24. It opened quietly nearly two months ago, according to reports from the San Francisco Chronicle. Five trans young people currently live in the refuge, which will allow its residents to stay for two years, offering them a safe haven from transphobia and abuse. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the shelter is the nation’s first long-term transitional living program specifically for homeless trans young people.  Christopher Rodriguez, a manager at the house, explained that trans youth have more complex […]

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Many Pro-LGBTQ Bills and Resolutions Introduced introduced in CA

In Equality California’s 20th anniversary year, the nation’s largest statewide LGBTQ civil rights organization has introduced its most aggressive, robust package of pro-equality legislation yet. The organization’s priorities include a number of first-in-the-nation bills and are primarily focused on supporting LGBTQ youth and families, increasing access to HIV prevention medication and protecting the civil rights of transgender and intersex Californians. Equality California is sponsoring the following 2019 bills and resolutions in the California Legislature and has experts available for comment or background briefings: Safe and Supportive Schools Act – AB 493 by Assemblymember Todd Gloria and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony […]

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GAY LA: When Lesbian Visibility Was an L.A. Specialty

In 2017, West Hollywood’s Plummer Park hosted an exhibit titled Lesbians to Watch Out For: ’90s Queer L.A. Activism. – Advertisement – On display were banners, pamphlets, radical texts and street flyers that told of a time gone by in Los Angeles: a time when the lesbian scene wasn’t just thriving but on the verge of creating major social change. Though it’s disheartening to think about how the city has changed in regard to holding and maintaining lesbian spaces, it’s something we shouldn’t allow ourselves to gloss over and forget. At least, not if we want the community to thrive. Before […]

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Intersex Rights Bill Tabled Until Next Year

A state bill designed to provide intersex individuals with informed consent for medical treatments regarding their sex characteristics has been pushed to a vote in 2020- Advertisement –  Last week, Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) announced that legislation to ensure intersex individuals—a term used often used by people born with variations in their sex characteristics, including genitalia—can provide informed consent before any medical treatments or interventions that could irreversibly affect their fertility or sexual function, will be pulled from the 2019 legislative session and pushed to 2020. After hearing testimony on the bill last Monday, the Committee decided to postpone […]

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May Events at The GLBT Historical Society Museum in SF

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Living History DiscussionTwo-Spirit Voices: Still Here, Still Queer Wednesday, May 17:00–9:00 p.m.The GLBT Historical Society Museum4127 18th St., San Francisco$5.00 | Free for membersFor 20 years, Bay Area American Indian Two Spirits has been committed to activism and service for the Two-Spirit community. This program offers a look at the history and activism of the organization over the past two decades. Founding members of BAAITS, including Randy Burns, who also founded Gay American Indians in 1975, will engage in a dialog with current board members and community leaders. BAAITS is the subject of the ongoing exhibition “Two-Spirit Voices: Returning to the Circle” at […]

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CA Legislature to Make PrEP More Accessible

HIV preventative medication could become more easily accessible thanks to Senate Bill 159 –  a piece of legislature that authorize pharmacists to provide pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) to patients without a prescription. – Advertisement – Last week, the bill who was authored by Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) and Assemblymember Todd Gloria’s (D-San Diego), passed out of the Senate Business and Professions Committee by a vote of 6-0. It will now head to the Senate Health Committee for a vote. The legislation also prohibits insurance companies from requiring patients to obtain prior authorization before using their insurance benefits to obtain […]

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EQCA Leads Delegation of LGBTQ Elected Officials, Activists to Tijuana to Meet with LGBTQ Asylum Seekers

A delegation of more than 30 LGBTQ elected officials, artists, athletes and activists traveled across the border Tuesday to shed light on the human face of the manufactured crisis at the border — in particular, the unique plight of LGBTQ asylum seekers in Tijuana [Photos]. More than 80 counties around the world treat same-sex sexual activity as a crime, and LGBTQ people face violence and persecution in many more. Still, refugees face significant and increasing obstacles to seeking asylum in the United States, including discrimination and violence on their journey, at the border and in U.S. immigration detention facilities. Hosted by Equality […]

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