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Senate Democrats Introduce Resolution Apologizing For Mistreatment Of LGBTQ Civil Servants, Servicemembers

Via press release from Sen. Tim Kaine: Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), a member of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees, and Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) led the introduction of a Senate resolution that acknowledges and apologizes for the mistreatment of and discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) individuals who have served our nation in the uniformed services, as civil servants, or in the Foreign Service. “LGBT civil servants, foreign service officers and servicemembers have made countless sacrifices and contributions to our country and national security. Despite this, our government has subjected them to decades of harassment, […]

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Paxton Blocks Title IX Protections For LGBTQ Students

Austin’s NBC affiliate reports: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton blocked the Biden Administration’s Title IX rule protecting LGBTQ+ students from sex-based discrimination and harassment, Paxton’s office announced in a Tuesday release. The rule would have protected all students and employees from all sex discrimination, including restoring and strengthening full protection from sexual violence and other sex-based harassment. Paxton said in the release he won a “major” victory against the Biden Administration’s Department of Education’s attempt to rewrite Title IX to force Texas schools to adopt radical “transgender” policies in violation of state and federal law. Read the full article.  Trump-appointed federal judges […]

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The American Library Association’s lesbian president is on a mission to protect LGBTQ+ librarians

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Emily Drabinski wants more people to pay attention to libraries. A career librarian and educator, Drabinski ran for president of the American Library Association (ALA) last year to help advance this goal. And what a year it has been.  Amid record-high book bans and numerous attempts to defund or shut down libraries across the country, Drabinski has been fighting to enhance access to books and information. And with the majority of bans targeting books with LGBTQ+ themes and characters, for her this fight is personal. “This is a year when libraries and readers and books have been challenged in many […]

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Ukraine just held its first Pride event in years despite Russia’s continued invasion

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On Sunday, LGBTQ+ Ukrainian military servicemembers held their first Pride event in three years, directly in front of the capital of Kyiv, Ukraine. Organizers described the struggles they overcame to hold these celebrations — pushing against war, anti-LGBTQ protestors, and even the rain to hold the festivities. “For security reasons, this year the number of participants was limited, as we did not publicize the time and location of the promotion,” KyivPride wrote in a post on X. “KyivPride last applied such restrictions back in 2015. Despite the fact that an action against the March took place nearby, KyivPride passed without […]

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LGBTQ migrants face ‘triple vulnerability’ as a group in Mexico aims to help them

Dayling Ramírez says that each day that passes is a challenge to overcome because, despite having survived the persecution of the Mara Salvatrucha gang and the abuses in an immigration station in Mexico, Ramírez hasn’t yet fully integrated into the country’s society. “We trans people have a hard time getting hired, it’s horrible. Here you survive if you are a stylist or if you are a prostitute, otherwise not. They don’t give you work,” said Ramírez, a 36-year-old Honduran trans woman who lives in Mexico City. Mexico has become one of the largest migratory corridors in the world. In fiscal […]

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Veteran comes out as gay in his obituary: ‘Now that my secret is known, I’ll forever rest in peace’

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After a lifetime of secrecy, a decorated veteran came out as gay in his obituary. Col. Edward Thomas Ryan, who is said to have lived most of his life in Rennselaer, New York, was a brother, uncle, retired firefighter and Army veteran. He also was gay, the late Ryan wrote in his own obituary. The obituary, published by the Albany Times Union on June 8, 2024, ended with a message written by Ryan himself. “I must tell you one more thing. I was Gay all my life: thru grade school, thru High School, thru College, thru Life,” he revealed, adding that […]

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LGBTQ students reflect on first school year under North Carolina’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law

 Last August, shortly before Milo, 16, started his high school junior year, North Carolina enacted a law that would restrict how gender identity and sexual orientation are taught and addressed in public schools.  For the transgender teen, that meant that in this past school year, his Latin teacher no longer asked students for their preferred names and pronouns. “It would have been more dangerous to do that than to not,” said Milo, who asked that his last name not be published because of safety concerns. Conservative lawmakers who pushed for the law — the first section of which is titled […]

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Florida just got its first LGBTQ+ Latino state senator

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LGBTQ+ advocate Carlos Guillermo Smith just became the first out Latino to join the Florida state Senate. “My heart is full of gratitude for this community who has entrusted me with the responsibility of serving as their state senator,” Smith said. The Orlando Democrat filed for an open seat last year. When Florida’s qualification deadline for state candidates passed at noon on June 14, he remained the only candidate filed for Florida Senate District 17. That means he will take office on Nov. 6 following this year’s general election. “I love the Orlando community, and promise to defend our values, to put people over politics, […]

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Several injured after ‘possible’ chemical agent released during Baltimore Pride event

Several people were injured after a “possible chemical agent” was released during the Baltimore Pride parade Saturday evening, according to the Baltimore Police Department. Police said that a little after 8:30 p.m., attendees informed officers stationed at the parade that a chemical agent — potentially mace, hair spray or something else — was released into the crowd. Police confirmed it was not released by law enforcement. Fireworks were also set off at the event, which police said caused a large crowd to flee, injuring several people. Police did not specify whether all the injuries were caused by the stampede or […]

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Biden’s Title IX rule blocked by judge in 6 additional states

A federal judge on Monday temporarily blocked the Biden administration’s new Title IX rule expanding protections for LGBTQ students in six additional states, dealing another setback for a policy that has been under legal attack by Republican attorneys general. U.S. District Judge Danny C. Reeves referred to the regulation as “arbitrary in the truest sense of the word” in granting a preliminary injunction blocking it in Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. His ruling comes days after a different federal judge temporarily blocked the new rule from taking effect in Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi and Montana. The ruling Monday in Kentucky was applauded […]

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