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Man arrested under Russia’s ‘international LGBT extremism’ law dies in custody

The director of a Russian travel agency arrested last month on charges of international LGBT extremism died yesterday while in custody in Moscow, OVD-Info reports. Andrei Kotov, 48, was found dead around 4 a.m. on Sunday at the Vodnik pretrial detention center, where he was awaiting trial on charges of supporting an international LGBT extremist terrorist movement. Leisan Mannapova, Kotov’s lawyer, confirmed her client died by suicide. His body was discovered in his cell covered in blood, and “cuts were found” on his body, an internal source told RIA Novosti. Kotov ran Men Travel, a travel agency reportedly catering to gay men. He had recently […]

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Ohio changes election forms to protect transgender political candidates

Ohio’s Secretary of State Frank LaRose has changed the state’s candidate declaration forms to help prevent a repeat of earlier this year when a trans candidate was disqualified after failing to list her deadname. Vanessa Joy, a transgender woman, was disqualified from running as a Democrat to represent House District 50 in Stark County in January after she failed to include on her signature petition forms any names she legally used within the prior five years. While Joy was upset about the forced outing of her deadname, she was more upset that she was not informed of the requirement at the time she […]

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President Jimmy Carter dead at 100 — here’s his history as an LGBTQ+ ally

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Former President Jimmy Carter, the 39th U.S. president, will be remembered as a staunch LGBTQ+ ally, although it took him time to evolve on some issues. The former president and Nobel Peace Prize winner died on Sunday after over a year in hospice care. He is the longest-lived U.S. president. He passed away at his home in Plains, Ga. — the same house he and his wife, Rosalynn, who died last year, spent the majority of their lives, according to the Carter Center. “Our founder, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, passed away this afternoon in Plains, Georgia,” the center wrote on X, formerly […]

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Equality Wrapped: Key Takeaways from LGBTQ-Related Policy in 2024

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As this unprecedented year of change comes to an end, we at MAP are taking a look back at the laws and policies that directly impact the experiences of LGBTQ people across the country. Below, we offer an overview of the major trends and biggest shifts from the past 12 months. High Level Points of Interest MAP’s real-time tracking shows that anti-LGBTQ laws were enacted in at least 18 states this year, but it also highlights numerous wins, including the fact that 92% of anti-LGBTQ bills introduced this year have not become law, according to the ACLU, as of December 10, 2024. […]

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IGLTA Foundation Releases New Report on LGBTQ+ Workplace Challenges in Tourism within Asia

The IGLTA Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the International LGBTQ+ Travel Association (IGLTA), today released a report titled “Addressing LGBTQ+ Workplace Challenges in Tourism within Asia.” The report focuses on practical ways tourism businesses can create more inclusive work environments for their employees. This report is the direct result of the Leadership Think Tank that brought together professionals in the Asian tourism industry during the 2024 IGLTA Global Convention in Osaka, Japan.  “Creating welcoming workplaces for LGBTQ+ staff isn’t just the right thing to do, it also improves the overall travel experience for everyone,” said John Tanzella (he/him), IGLTA President/CEO. “This Think Tank […]

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BOYCOTT: Ford Donates Fleet And $1M To Trump’s Inauguration

USA Today reports: Another American-based big-leaguer is kicking in cash to incoming President-elect Donald Trump’s January inaugural fund. Ford Motor Company, headquartered in Dearborn, Mich., will donate $1 million as well as a fleet of vehicles for the festivities, a spokesperson confirmed to USA TODAY Monday. Earlier this month, Ford CEO Jim Farley told reporters his leadership team is carefully watching for policy changes in Washington but isn’t panicked about Trump returns to the presidency. Read the full article.

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These countries all scored major wins for LGBTQ+ rights in 2024

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A number of countries took steps to advance the rights of LGBTQ+ people this year. From enacting bans on so-called conversion therapy to introducing reforms that facilitate easier changes to gender markers, here are some of the countries that did the right thing in 2024. Honduras In November, the Central American nation struck down a ban on LGBTQ+ blood donations, meaning men who have sex with men are now able to give blood.  Germany  Germany’s parliament passed the Self-Determination Act, making it easier for trans and non-binary people aged 14 and older to legally change their first name and gender by making […]

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Out ER nurse Molly Cook explains how she won 4 elections in just one year

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State Sen. Molly Cook, 33, a sixth-generation Texan and former ER nurse, starts a new term in January after multiple campaigns in a single year that would have left a less energetic candidate exhausted on a beach on South Padre Island. Not so for Cook, who has only upped her game with every electoral challenge. A savvy internet presence — substitute “Hi, guys” with “Hey, y’all” and you get Cook’s polished, Texas-styled YouTube video intros — the millennial lawmaker is all about the organizing, online and off. “I’m ready to go all gas, no brakes,” Cook enthuses in a clip introducing her […]

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Courthouse that issued country’s first gay marriage license becomes National Historic Landmark

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U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland announced this week that the Boulder County Courthouse in Colorado has been designated a National Historic Landmark for being the site of the first issuing of a same-sex marriage license in the United States.  On March 26, 1975, Boulder County Clerk Clela Rorex issued the license after confirming with the assistant district attorney that state law did not ban marriage between two people of the same sex.  “This act of courage ignited a nationwide conversation about marriage equality and cemented the courthouse’s role as a symbol of hope and progress for the LGBTQ+ community,” […]

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120 anti-trans bills have already been filed across the United States before 2025 has even started

After a record-breaking year for anti-trans legislation, 2025 is shaping up to be even more challenging for transgender and queer people across the United States. A legislative tracker maintained by Erin In The Morning and other volunteers has found that nearly 120 anti-trans and anti-LGBTQ+ bills have already been filed in states nationwide ahead of the 2025 legislative season. This far surpasses the 80 bills filed by this time in 2023, signaling another historic wave of legal attacks on the ability of transgender people to move, live, and exist freely as themselves in public. The bulk of the bills so far come from Texas […]

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