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Military Veterans Sue to Reclassify Sexuality-Based Discharge Records

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Military veterans from the LGBTQ+ community have sued the Department of Defense for denying them honorable discharges and listing their sexual orientation on their service records. Plaintiffs are seeking honorable discharges in a class action lawsuit filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, which would give them access to benefits such as healthcare services, academic tuition aid, and loan resources reserved for veterans who are in good standing when they leave the military, NBC News reports.  Moreover, the plaintiffs are requesting that their discharge documents be amended to remove references to their sexuality. They claim the government […]

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Idaho’s Teacher of the Year flees state after being attacked for LGBTQ+ allyship

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Idaho’s 2023 Teacher of the Year has fled the state after facing vicious attacks from right-wing parents. Fourth-grade teacher Karen Lauritzen told the Boston Globe it has been one of the worst years ever in her two-decade-long career. After being honored as Teacher of the Year, conservatives began attacking Lauritzen for her previous social media posts supporting LGBTQ+ people. The conservative Idaho Tribune called Lauritzen a “left-wing activist” who “follows drag queens on social media, promotes LGBT events, promotes transgenderism, Black Lives Matter, and is active in local politics, promoting liberal ideology.” The article also blasted her for liking posts on social and emotional learning […]

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Lesbian officer awarded $2.6 million after decades of discrimination

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A former Ohio Highway Patrol (OHP) officer who faced decades of misogynistic and homophobic discrimination has been awarded more than $2.6 million in damages. Former trooper Stacey Arnold Yerkes was awarded the sum by a six-person federal jury who found that, from 1994 to 2018, she had been harassed, put under undue scrutiny by her supervisors, and disciplined in a way that was not consistent with the treatment her heterosexual, male colleagues received. The jury found that award-winning officer Yerkes, who served the patrol for 25 years and is a lesbian, was discriminated against because of her gender and sexual orientation. The […]

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A generation full of fighters: Young progressives are rising up to defend LGBTQ+ equality

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Run for Something, the progressive political organization dedicated to recruiting and supporting young candidates running for office down ballot, was founded in the ashes of Hillary Clinton’s losing presidential bid on the day Donald Trump was inaugurated. Clinton campaign veteran Amanda Litman and political operative Ross Morales Rocketto have been helping turn progressive under-40 candidates into winners ever since. According to National Press Secretary Juan Ramiro Sarimiento, about twenty-five percent of the group’s endorsed candidates for this election cycle are LGBTQ+, reflecting a level of diversity among Gen Z and Millennials not found in older generations. Sarimiento, who is queer […]

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Court blocks Idaho law restricting trans students’ restroom use

A federal judge temporarily blocked an Idaho law requiring public school students to use the restroom corresponding to their assigned sex at birth, in a lawsuit brought by the family of a transgender middle school student. U.S. District Judge David Nye said his temporary restraining order Thursday did not weigh on the merits of the case, but said that preserving the status quo until he could fully consider it was “the most fitting approach at the current juncture.” “The court’s ruling will be a relief for transgender students in Idaho, who are entitled to basic dignity, safety, and respect at school,” Peter […]

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More states expect schools to keep trans girls off sports teams as classes resume

As children across the U.S. head back to classes and practices for fall sports, four more states are expecting their K-12 schools to keep transgender girls off their girls teams. Kansas, North Dakota and Wyoming had new laws in place restricting transgender athletes before classes resumed, and a Missouri law takes effect at the end of this month, bringing the number of states with restrictions to 23. North Carolina could enact a ban later this month, and Ohio could follow in the fall. A few laws, including ones in Arizona and West Virginia, are on hold because of federal lawsuits. This year’s new restrictions […]

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Equality Texas & GLAAD Respond to School District Removing Protections for LGBTQI+ Students

Equality Texas, the largest nonprofit in Texas focused on securing full equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people, and GLAAD, the world’s largest LGBTQ media advocacy organization, are responding to proposals passed by the Carroll Independent School District (ISD) in Southlake, Texas, removing established protections for LGBTQ students. Carroll ISD joins other school districts in North Texas, including Keller, Frisco and Grapevine-Colleyville ISD, in targeting transgender students by restricting bathroom access and pronoun use that aligns with a student’s gender identity. The approved measures in Carroll ISD were passed on July 25 and are set to go into effect for the […]

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Escalating Violence Aimed at LGBTQ Community

A succession of horrible killings of LGBTQ people underscores the real and deadly threats against LGBTQ people in the United States. Anti-LGBTQ hate is on the rise, and these deadly incidents across the country cannot be separated from the escalation in despicable rhetoric and intimidation from far right groups in person and online, and from anti-equality politicians. On July 29, O’Shae Sibley was stabbed to death at a gas station in Brooklyn. O’Shae, who is well-known in the  ballroom community, were coming back from a birthday celebration before ending up at the gas station where the alleged assailant reportedly made homophobic slurs […]

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LGBTQ+ Victory Fund Endorses 19 More Candidates, Including Joe Vogel for Congress

LGBTQ+ Victory Fund, the only national organization dedicated to electing LGBTQ+ leaders to public office, endorsed 19 more out LGBTQ+ candidates. Victory Fund has now endorsed 171 candidates running in the 2023 cycle and 24 candidates running in the 2024 cycle.   2023 General Candidate Endorsements  Anula Courtis (she/her)  Woodstock Town Board, At-Large, NY  General: 11/7/2023  Brenda Gadd (she/her)  Metro Nashville Council, District 24, TN  General: 8/3/2023  Elizabeth Greninger (she/her)  SeaTac City Council, Position 3, WA  Primary: 8/1/2023  General: 11/7/2023  Clay Hale (he/him)  San Jose-Evergreen Community College District Board, Position 7, CA  General: 11/7/2023  Bryce Kaw-uh (he/him)  Manchester City Council, Ward 1, NH  Primary: 9/19/2023  General: […]

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Anti-LGBT Rhetoric Undermines Rights in Lebanon

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Anti-gay remarks made on Saturday by a Hezbollah leader in Lebanon who has recently called for anti-gay violence sparked panic and terror among lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people. Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah in Lebanon, described same-sex relations as a “sexual perversion,” and warned that gay people’s existence is a “threat to society.” Days before, on July 22, Nasrallah explicitly incited violence against gay and lesbian people. He called for them to be killed, urged people to use derogatory terms to describe gay people and to “collectively face this phenomenon [homosexuality], by all means necessary, without any limits.” LGBT people, who already face heightened […]

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