Top Stories

/ /

Biden invites thousands of LGBTQ+ individuals, singer Betty Who, to Pride Month celebration

 President Joe Biden has invited thousands of LGBTQ+ individuals to celebrate Pride Month in a high-profile show of support at a time when the community feels under attack like never before and the White House has little recourse to beat back a flood of state-level legislation against them. Biden is also announcing new initiatives to protect LGBTQ+ communities from attacks, help youth with mental health resources and homelessness and counter book bans, White House officials said. The White House was closely monitoring air quality due to hazardous smoke from Canadian wildfires to determine whether to proceed with plans for a Thursday night picnic featuring food, games, face […]

/ /

Catholic “Pride Mass” canceled after protestors bombard bishop with “hateful” messages

,

A Catholic “Pride Mass” at Duquesne University was canceled at the urging of the Pittsburgh diocese after being bombarded with messages from anti-LGBTQ+ protestors.  Planned by the organization Catholics for Change in our Church, the mass was meant to be promoted as a service held in solidarity with LGBTQ+ Catholics. But according to local news outlet WESA, all hell broke loose when a flyer referring to the event as a “Pride Mass” was obtained and published by the far-right Daily Signal. The flyer was reportedly put out by a parish member without approval from the organizers. Her rhetoric is getting more combative, saying trans women […]

/ /

Record 1,185 LGBTQ+ Elected Officials Now Serving in the United States, 13.6% Increase from 2022

LGBTQ+ Victory Institute released its 2023 Out for America Report, the only national census of out LGBTQ+ elected officials in the United States. With at least 1,185 out LGBTQ+ elected officials currently serving, there are more out LGBTQ+ people in office than ever before in U.S. history, including record LGBTQ+ representation in school boards and state legislatures. Despite significant increases over the past year, 36,232 more LGBTQ+ people must be elected to office in the U.S. to achieve equitable representation for the LGBTQ+ community. The full report is available here. Key findings: Mayor Annise Parker, President & CEO of LGBTQ+ Victory Institute, […]

/ /

Russia Moves to Ban Trans Health Care

,

Elected officials in Russia have proposed a new law that would ban transgender people from accessing gender affirming health services – including voluntary surgeries – while allowing operations on intersex children to be carried out without their consent. The bill also prohibits people from changing their name and gender marker on official documents. The bill essentially infringes on the rights of both transgender people and intersex children. Consenting transgender adults who seek medical interventions to affirm their gender identity will be barred from those services while children born with variations in their sex characteristics – also known as intersex children – will […]

/ /

Pride flags vandalized at Stonewall National Monument

A group of three men allegedly damaged multiple rainbow Pride flags on display at New York City’s Stonewall National Monument over the weekend, in what police are investigating as a possible hate crime. The New York City Police Department confirmed Monday that it is investigating the incident. It also tweeted surveillance footage of the three men walking near the monument, which is located in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village, and asked for the public’s assistance to identify them.  New York City Councilmember Erik Bottcher, who is gay and whose district includes Greenwich Village, also confirmed the vandalism, posting images of the broken […]

/ /

Toronto Blue Jays drop pitcher Anthony Bass after anti-LGBTQ+ Bud Light post

,

The Toronto Blue Jays baseball team have announced they are to drop pitcher Anthony Bass after an anti-LGBTQ+ post he made has caused widespread condemnation. The 35-year-old was dropped from the Canadian baseball team after three years following the pitcher sharing a video to his Instagram account in May encouraging viewers to boycott Bud Light. Bud Light boycotts became synonymous with right-wing anti-LGBTQ+ bigotry after the beer company organised a sponsorship deal with trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney. Bass’ post, which he later deleted and apologised for, encouraged Christians to boycott the brand, calling it an “evil” and “demonic” force being shoved […]

/ /

Out Sen. Tammy Baldwin says LGBTQ+ mental health data should be collected in federal surveys

,

While speaking at the Politico Health Care Summit, out Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) expressed the need for the federal government to collect more data about LGBTQ+ people, especially when it comes to mental health.  Federally funded surveys, she said, rarely provide questions on LGBTQ+ identities.  “I think it’s so important people are counted. It’s hard to claim with great reliability how much greater risk gay and lesbian, bisexual, transgender children and adults are at risk for suicide. It is really important that we get that data because it helps us make our arguments for greater resources and greater services.”  As The Hill reports, Baldwin […]

/ /

How Do You Fight Book Bans? GLAAD and EveryLibrary Offer a Guide

,

LGBTQ+ media advocacy organization GLAAD and EveryLibrary, a national group supporting campaigns against book bans, have announced a new resource to help communities work to defeat book bans and challenges, which predominantly target LGBTQ-inclusive titles and books about race and racism. Book Bans: A Guide for Community Response and Action,released Tuesday, is designed to help citizens “organize, create authentic messages, and work with media to ensure diverse local voices are heard against book bans and in support of LGBTQ people and all people of color,” says a GLAAD press release. 2022 saw the highest number of challenged books in school […]

/ /

Missouri governor signs anti-trans sports bill & gender-affirming care ban on the same day

,

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson (R) signed two anti-trans bills targeting kids into law on Wednesday, one banning gender-affirming care for trans youth and one banning trans women and girls from playing on women’s sports teams.  S.B. 49, the “Missouri Save Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act”, is set to take effect on August 28 and bans all gender-affirming treatments (including reversible puberty blockers) until August 2027. Any healthcare providers who violate the law risk losing their license. Some states that have passed gender-affirming care bans have required trans youth already receiving this care to wean themselves off their medications and detransition, but […]

«‹ 239 240 241 242›»