Top Stories

/ /

FBI joins investigation of violent threats against St. Louis bars and a drag story hour

,

The FBI has joined the investigation of violent threats against three LGBTQ+ bars in the Grove neighborhood of St. Louis, and a fourth threat against a children’s play space in the city that was scheduled to host a drag queen story hour. NBC affiliate KMOV reported the addition of federal law enforcement to the probe. Saturday afternoon, around 4 pm, at least two gay bars in the Grove entertainment district in the city received calls from an individual threatening violence at the establishments. Three bars in the area, Prism STL, Just John, and Rehab, all received calls threatening violence that night. “The […]

/ /

Utah House Unanimously Passes Bill to Protect Youth from Conversion Therapy

In a historic vote, the Utah House of Representatives unanimously passed HB 228 – legislation that would prohibit therapists from subjecting youth to conversion therapy, a dangerous practice that seeks to change a young person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. The Utah Senate passed the bill earlier this month, which means it is now on its way to Utah Governor Spencer Cox, who has pledged to sign it. Today’s vote marks the first time that a state legislative body has voted unanimously in favor of a bill prohibiting conversion therapy for minors. In 2020, the Utah Division of Professional Licensing adopted a […]

/ /

Republican Attacks on LGBTQ Lives May Have Helped Elect Democrats

In December, President Biden signed the Respect for Marriage Act, which grants federal protections for same-sex and interracial couples if the Supreme Court strikes down its decisions requiring states to perform and recognize such marriages. While marriage equality is broadly popular, passage may well have been influenced by the fact that LGBTQ voters have become a powerful voting bloc for Democrats, who still control both the House and Senate. That control will shift in January, when Republicans take control of the House after a midterm election. But their control will be slight — and LGBTQ voters probably limited their success. LGBTQ voters have become a […]

/ /

What does an “activist elected official” forsee in the future for queer rights?

,

Park Cannon was first elected as a Georgia lawmaker in 2016 at only 24 years old. The youngest elected official in the state legislature, she demonstrated early on that she had an insatiable energy for fighting for equity and standing up for marginalized groups. Now 31, Cannon remains a vehement advocate for reproductive justice, voting rights, andequality. In a 2020 interview with LGBTQ Nation, Cannon described herself as an “activist elected official” who will settle for nothing less than sweeping change. Cannon was instrumental in passing 2019 legislation that created a three-year Georgia pilot program to provide PrEP to those at high risk […]

/ /

Trans men hit back at haters & share how gender-affirming care saved their lives

,

As anti-trans activists and right-wing politicians in the U.S., along with so-called “gender critical feminists” in the U.K., continue to stigmatize gender-affirming healthcare, trans men who have undergone phalloplasty are sharing their stories. PinkNews reports that a recent post from an anti-trans Twitter user seems to have sparked a wave of trans men posting about how the surgical procedure, which uses a skin graft to construct (or reconstruct in the case of cis men who have sustained serious injuries) a penis, has had a positive impact on their lives. In late January, a Twitter user who goes by “terftastic” posted photos of what appear […]

/ /

Gay sperm donor sues Canada for its policies against gay & bi men

,

A gay man is suing Canada’s federal government, alleging that its restrictions on gay and bisexual male sperm donation are unconstitutional. The man, identified only in the press as Aziz M., is suing Health Canada, the country’s national health department. He says the current policy is unconstitutional and renders him and other MSM as “second-class citizen[s].” Health Canada’s current policies prohibit men who have sex with men (MSM) from donating to a sperm bank unless they’ve abstained from sex for three months or are donating sperm to someone they personally know, CTV News reported. The policy refers to sperm from MSM donors […]

/ /

LGBTQ Victory Fund Endorses 26 More LGBTQ Candidates

LGBTQ Victory Fund, the only national organization dedicated to electing LGBTQ leaders to public office, endorsed 26 more out LGBTQ candidates running in 2023. Victory Fund has now endorsed 56 candidates running in the 2023 cycle. Mayor Annise Parker, President & CEO of LGBTQ Victory Fund, released the following statement: “For the LGBTQ community, there is no such thing as an ‘off’ year. With more than 100 anti-LGBTQ bills already introduced in 2023, there is more urgency than ever to elect pro-equality leaders to office. From school boards to city councils to state legislatures, we need LGBTQ voices in rooms of power […]

/ /

Activists took over the Oklahoma Capitol to protest anti-trans legislation

,

On Monday, activists gathered at the Oklahoma State Capitol building in Oklahoma City to protest two bills that would dramatically restrict access to gender-affirming care in the state. Around 150 protesters gathered outside the Capitol, according to OU Daily, before entering the building, chanting “trans lives matter” and holding signs that read “Save Trans Lives” and “Stop Healthcare Bans on Trans.” The protest took place the same day as the start of the legislative session and Gov. Kevin Stitt’s (R-OK) State of the State address. At issue were two bills introduced by Republican state senators: Senate Bill 129 would ban gender-affirming care […]

/ /

She is head of the largest LGBTQ+ organization & she knows our Achilles heel

Kelley Robinson was leading Planned Parenthood Action Fund’s political arm when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022. She was sitting in a room full of abortion providers at the time. Before they could internalize what the news meant for the future of reproductive rights, every staff member had to get on the phone and call pregnant women across the nation to tell them that the appointments they had planned that week, or that day, could not move forward. ADVERTISING Robinson knows what it’s like to show up and do the work no matter what, even when you’re holding back tears […]

/ /

DeSantis tries to revoke Orlando Philharmonic’s liquor license over drag show

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis filed a complaint against the Orlando Philharmonic Plaza Foundation alleging that the nonprofit group held a sexually explicit drag show in December in the presence of minors. The complaint, filed Friday through the Department of Business and Professional Regulation’s Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco and shared with NBC News, alleges the foundation violated Florida statutes on lewdness and maintaining a public nuisance and seeks to revoke its liquor license.  The complaint is at least the second that DeSantis’ administration has filed against a venue for hosting a drag performance in the presence of minors. In July, […]

«‹ 271 272 273 274›»