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Human Rights Campaign hands Starbucks inclusion award despite anti-LGBTQ+ accusations

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The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) has come under fire for endorsing Starbucks, despite the coffee chain’s alleged anti-union and anti-LGBTQ+ actions over the past year. As part of its 2023-2024 Corporate Equality Index report, the human rights group listed Starbucks Corporation among several other companies to gain a perfect score of 100 for its LGBTQ+ rights protections. The HRC wrote that the score was given to companies that it believed “took concrete steps to establish and implement comprehensive policies, benefits and practices that ensure greater equity for LGBTQ+ workers”. But the decision has been met with widespread criticism from LGBTQ+ […]

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Jordan cracks down on LGBTQ+ activists with kidnappings, forced outings & online threats

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In Jordan, one of the few countries in the Middle East where same-sex relations do not incur a criminal penalty, the government has initiated a crackdown on LGBTQ+ activists in a coordinated campaign of intimidation. According to a report released by Human Rights Watch on Tuesday, interviews with 13 prominent LGBTQ+ activists in the country reveal tactics of intimidation and abuse forcing activists to cease their advocacy work or flee the country altogether. Russia’s Supreme Court declared all LGBTQ+ supporters as “extremists.” Now a Russian company is tracking queer-friendly businesses. In the past, Jordan has promoted itself as a modernizing influence among […]

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U.S. restricts visas for Ugandan and Zimbabwean officials, citing repression

 The United States on Monday expanded a visa restriction policy on Ugandan officials to include those it believes are responsible for undermining democracy and repressing marginalized groups in Uganda, while also announcing a new visa restriction policy for officials in Zimbabwe. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the visa restrictions and mentioned, among others, the marginalization of groups like the LGBTQ community in Uganda and civil society advocates in Zimbabwe. Blinken’s statements did not name any official. Uganda’s anti-LGBTQ law, considered one of the harshest in the world, was enacted in May and carries the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality,” an […]

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New Pennsylvania County School Board President Gets Sworn In On Stack Of Frequently Banned LGBTQ Books

The Bucks County Courier Times reports: While most of the newly sworn in members to the Central Bucks school board chose to swear their oaths on a bible, incumbent Karen Smith brought a stack of books to Monday’s meeting. Smith stood out at the Dec. 4 reorganization meeting as she took her oath of office with her hand placed on top of six frequently banned and challenged books. Smith, who would be named president of the board, and the other Democrats on the board have long cried foul as the former GOP-majority forged ahead with controversial library policy that critics said was […]

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Africa’s rich LGBTQ+ history has long been suppressed & activists are taking a stand

In a world that is becoming increasingly aware of the importance of embracing diversity and acknowledging the stories of marginalized communities, Nigeria stands as a complex backdrop. Despite a long history of anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment and legislation, the country has seen the emergence of organizations like Obodo Nigeria, which is dedicated to celebrating and conserving Africa’s queer history. “We are an organization that uses art and technology as a medium for advocacy for LGBTQ+ rights in Nigeria,” Matthew Blaise, founder of Obodo Nigeria tells LGBTQ Nation. Nigeria, like several other African nations, has been caught in the grip of anti-LGBTQ+ hostility. The […]

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Meet the 13-year-old West Virginian suing to join her school’s track team

Becky Pepper-Jackson, 13, a transgender teen at the center of a legal battle over transgender participation in West Virginia sports, after a hearing in Richmond, Va., on Friday. Shuran Huang for NBC News Becky Pepper-Jackson, 13, sat in a courtroom Friday morning while lawyers argued over a law in her home state of West Virginia that would ban her from running on the girls’ cross-country and track teams at her middle school.  The hearing in front of the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals was the most recent update in her more than two-year legal battle, which began in May 2021, when […]

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LGBTQ+ Young People with Disabilities Have Higher Risk of Mental Health Struggles

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A recent study released by The Trevor Project sheds light on the mental healthstruggles faced by LGBTQ+ young people with disabilities.  The comprehensive report, based on The Trevor Project’s 2023 National Survey on the Mental Health of LGBTQ+ Young People, presents alarming statistics and underscores the need for targeted mental health support for this vulnerable group. According to the findings, nearly one-third of LGBTQ+ young people identify as having a disability. These disabilities range from ADHD and learning disorders to physical and autoimmune conditions, with many respondents reporting multiple diagnoses. The data reveals that LGBTQ+ young people with disabilities experience significantly higher rates of depression, anxiety, and […]

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LGBTQ+ Victory Fund Endorses 23 More Candidates for 2023 and 2024

LGBTQ+ Victory Fund, the only national organization dedicated to electing LGBTQ+ leaders to public office, endorsed 23 more out LGBTQ+ candidates. Victory Fund has now endorsed 260 candidates running in the 2023 cycle and 43 candidates running in the 2024 cycle. 2023 General Candidates Damian Pardo (he/him)  Miami City Commission, District 2, FL  General: 11/7/2023  Jenna Yeakle (she/her)  Duluth City Council, At-Large, MN  General: 11/7/2023  Heather Rodenborg (she/her)  Delaware City School Board, OH  General: 11/7/2023  Jess Branas (she/her)  Upper Darby Town Council, District 2, PA  General: 11/7/2023  Khalilah Karim (she/her)  Durham City Council, At-Large, NC  General: 11/7/2023  2023 Unopposed Candidates  Andrea Ditillo (she/her)  Churchill […]

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How did testosterone become so criminalized?

Throughout the late 80s, 90s, and early 2000s, Americans became obsessed with anabolic steroid doping – i.e., hormonally altering one’s body to win sports competitions. In 1988, American Olympic sprinter Ben Johnson lost his gold medal from the Seoul Olympics due to doping with anabolic steroids. This was considered a national embarrassment, and after a series of hearings, the Anabolic Steroids Control Act of 1990 was passed as part of the Crime Control Act.  Twenty-seven steroids, including testosterone, were classified as Schedule III drugs and subject to imprisonment and fines for possession and distribution. Then-senator Joe Biden was invested in this issue, […]

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Tennessee’s penalties for HIV-positive people are discriminatory, DOJ says

Tennessee’s decades-old aggravated prostitution statute violates the Americans with Disabilities Act, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Friday after an investigation, warning that the state could face a lawsuit if officials don’t immediately cease enforcement. Tennessee is the only state in the United States that imposes a lifetime registration as a “violent sex offender” if convicted of engaging in sex work while living with HIV, regardless of whether the person knew they could transmit the disease. LGBTQ and civil rights advocates have long criticized the measure as discriminatory, making it almost impossible to find housing and employment due to the […]

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