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Protestors threatened to ruin this Idaho county’s first Pride, but the community came together

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When Tom Wheeler set out to help organize Canyon County, Idaho’s first Pride event, he envisioned a small picnic in a park in Nampa, where he volunteers at an LGBTQ+ drop-in center. It would be a small event open to everyone.  But Canyon County’s first Pride was not small and had 700 feet of six-foot-tall metal fencing and a police barricade. The event drew a crowd of thousands of people and featured food trucks, drag entertainers, and a stage.  It was also highly controversial, the mayor of Nampa said that Pride events conflicted with her beliefs, and residents of Nampa […]

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Biden announces pardons for veterans convicted under military law prohibiting gay sex

President Joe Biden said Wednesday he will use clemency authority to pardon former service members who were convicted of crimes because of their sexual orientations or gender identities. Biden will issue a proclamation pardoning veterans who were convicted under a provision of the Uniform Code of Military Justice prohibiting gay sex, senior administration officials said on a call with reporters. Service members who meet certain eligibility requirements will be able to obtain certificates of pardon and apply to have their discharge characterizations changed within their branches, officials said. Biden said the action was aimed at “righting an historic wrong” for many former service members who […]

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Supreme Court to weigh state restrictions on gender-affirming care for youths

The Supreme Court on Monday waded into the culture-war debate over gender-affirming care for transgender minors by agreeing to resolve challenges to a law in Tennessee that seeks to restrict it. The justices will hear a Biden administration appeal of a court ruling that upheld the measure. Oral arguments and a ruling are expected in the court’s next term, which starts in October and ends in June 2025. The case marks the first time the court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, will issue a ruling in the battle over transgender rights for teenagers, which has raged in both the […]

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Same-sex marriage support dips slightly but remains strong in the U.S.

Nearly 7 in 10 adults in the U.S. support same-sex marriage, but that support has dipped in recent years, particularly among Republicans, according to the latest polling data from Gallup. Support for same-sex marriage remains strong at 69%, though it is down slightly from the record high of 71% in 2022 and 2023. Republican support has decreased to below 50% in recent years: In 2022, 55% of Republicans said they believed same-sex marriage should be legal, while that support has fallen to 46% this year. Democratic support is at 83% this year, down from a record high of 87% in 2022, […]

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Texas Rangers frustrate LGBTQ advocates as only MLB team without a Pride Night

Rafael McDonnell sometimes gets to address the staff of his beloved Texas Rangers on issues of diversity and inclusion through his role with the Resource Center, one of the leading LGBTQ organizations in the Dallas area. For several years, the Rangers have been the only Major League Baseball team without a Pride Night. When questioned about it, Texas has cited its work with the Resource Center, among other organizations. As Pride Month — the June celebration of LGBTQ culture and rights — comes and goes again without the Rangers participating, McDonnell tried to explain the connection between his group and the team he […]

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Arkansas Supreme Court reinstates rule eliminating ‘X’ option for sex on state IDs

The Arkansas Supreme Court on Monday reinstated an agency rule prohibiting residents from using “X” instead of male or female on state-issued driver’s licenses or identification cards. In a one-page order, justices stayed a lower-court ruling that had blocked the new rule that also made it more difficult for transgender people to change the sex listed on their IDs and licenses. The court did not elaborate for its reasons on staying the decision. The Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration said in March that it was rescinding a practice implemented in 2010 that officials say conflicted with state law and had not […]

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Court Orders Guanajuato, Mexico to Recognize Trans Identities

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A federal court of first instance in Mexico recently ordered the Guanajuato State Congress to create a rights-respecting legal procedure so that transgender people can modify their identity documents to accurately reflect their gender identity. The ruling is a result of litigation initiated by Amicus DH, a Guanajuato-based LGBT rights organization that represents trans people pursuing legal recognition of their identity. Under the state’s current system, they must file a lawsuit (a juicio de amparo) to enjoin the state’s civil registry to modify their documents, which can be a lengthy and expensive legal process. The court’s ruling orders Guanajuato’s congress to create […]

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Treacherous Internet: Cyber-Criminalization of LGBT People

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When I was researching the digital targeting of LGBT people across the Middle East and North Africa region, I spoke to Yamen, a gay man from Jordan. He told me that he was extorted online by another man, who was threatening to post a compromising video of Yamen on social media, and that his biggest regret was going to the authorities to seek protection. Instead of prosecuting the extortionist, a Jordanian court sentenced Yamen to six months in prison for “promoting prostitution online,” based on the country’s 2015 cybercrime law. Yamen’s experience is not an isolated incident. In recent years, many […]

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Victory for Same-Sex Marriage in Thailand

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Thailand’s Senate voted 130-4 today to pass a same-sex marriage bill that the lower house had approved by an overwhelming majority in March. This makes Thailand the first country in Southeast Asia, and the second in Asia, to recognize same-sex relationships. The Marriage Equality Act makes important amendments to language in Thailand’s Civil and Commercial Code concerning spouses, in particular by changing “men and women” and “husband and wife” to “individuals” and “marriage partners.” Thirty-seven countries around the world currently recognize same-sex marriage in their national laws, with Liechtenstein being the most recent to pass new legislation this May. Taiwan became the first country in […]

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Transgender inmate killed in prison fight in Louisiana

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Yella Clark, 45, an incarcerated Black transgender person, was killed in a fight with other inmates at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, La., in April. Clark’s trans identity is just being widely reported now. Clark had been deadnamed and misgendered in local reports, notes a recent press release from the Human Rights Campaign. There isn’t conclusive information as to Clark’s pronoun use, so HRC used they/them pronouns. Clark had been diagnosed with gender dysphoria and was taking female hormones. Clark died April 2, shortly after prison officials broke up the fight between Clark and the other inmates, according to The Shreveport-Bossier City Advocate (no relation to this publication), a […]

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