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Justice Neil Gorsuch angrily calls anti-discrimination training a “reeducation program”

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During heated arguments at the Supreme Court yesterday in the case of 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis – about a web designer who doesn’t want to make websites for same-sex couples – Justice Neil Gorsuch appeared angry and even suggested that a Colorado baker had been forced into a “reeducation training program” after he discriminated against a gay couple. The case is about a web designer named Lori Smith, who says that Colorado’s anti-discrimination law might make her make websites for same-sex couples even though she wants to make them only for opposite-sex couples. Her complaint, which cites the Bible as well […]

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Russian libraries remove LGBTQ+ books from their shelves after Putin signs harsh anti-LGBTQ+ law

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Russian libraries are removing LGBTQ+-themed books from their shelves after the country’s President Vladimir Putin signed a law yesterday expanding the prohibition on LGBTQ+ “propaganda.” The newly signed law effectively outlaws any public expression of LGBTQ+ life in Russia by banning “any action or the spreading of any information that is considered an attempt to promote homosexuality in public, online, or in films, books or advertising,” Reuters reported. Four Moscow libraries have already taken action in the wake of the new law, according to Russian media. The libraries reportedly received a list of authors whose books they needed to make completely unavailable on shelves and online. […]

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The upcoming generation makes this lesbian teacher feel hopeful for the future of LGBTQ+ equality

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Jere Chang’s talented and gifted students in Atlanta, Georgia are growing up in a world very different from the one she grew up in. When she was a student during the 1980s, she and her queer peers largely stayed closeted, trying to fit in to avoid being bullied or outed. There wasn’t much LGBTQ+ representation in the media. Instead, she constantly heard about how people like her were “abominations” who “live in sin.” She worried that her own family might disown her if she ever came out, and she never imagined she’d be able to live authentically as a lesbian. […]

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South Korean army ignores family’s urgent plea to recognise trans soldier’s death as ‘on-duty’

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The South Korean army has refused to recognise the death of a trans soldier as “on-duty” after protests. A committee made the decision during a Thursday (1 December) meeting, where they classified trans soldier Byun Hee-soo’s case as a “general death”. Byun, who is believed to be the first openly transgender soldier in South Korea, was found dead at her home in March 2021 after being discharged from the military a year prior. After her death, family members and LGBTQ+ activists called for the military to categorise her death as “on-duty”. But the nine-member panel opted to reject the category after finding […]

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Anti-LGBTQ org launches alert system to protest drag shows

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Texas Family Project — an anti-LGBTQ organization that wants to stop “the Left” from “indoctrinating kids,” “confusing children about changing their gender,” and “undermining parents’ ability to protect their children’s innocence” — has launched Defend Our Kids Texas, a website where people can report live drag queen performances. “Our mission is to expose attacks on our children’s innocence by uncovering and highlighting the left’s public displays of sexual degeneracy,” the website reads. The site’s lead face is Sara Gonzalez, a host for the conservative broadcast Blaze TV. Gonzales has called drag performers “pedophiles,” directed her social media followers to shut down drag performances […]

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Legislator behind Florida’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law is accused of Covid-relief fraud

The Florida legislator who sponsored legislation critics dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill was accused of illegally obtaining tens of thousands of dollars in Covid-relief funds, authorities said Wednesday. Joseph Harding, 35, was indicted on six counts of wire fraud, money laundering, making false statements and other crimes, the U.S. attorney’s office for Northern Florida said in a release. Harding, a Republican whose district is south of Gainesville, is accused of seeking Covid-relief loans from the Small Business Administration in 2020 for two companies, Vak Shack Inc. and Harding Farms, according to the indictment. The indictment alleges that in applications to the […]

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House passes bill to protect same-sex marriage, sending it to Biden’s desk

The House passed legislation Thursday that enshrines federal protections for marriages of same-sex and interracial couples. The vote of 258-169 sends the Respect for Marriage Act to President Joe Biden, who praised Congress for passing the bill and is expected to sign it into law. It comes after the Senate passed the same bill last week by a vote of 61-36. Democrats were unified in favor of the bill, while most Republicans in both chambers voted against it. Thirty-nine House Republicans supported the legislation Thursday and one voted present.  “Your love is your choice,” House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said on […]

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Trans woman forced to cut hair and ‘remove breast tissue’ by Qatari officials

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A trans woman in Qatar has described how she was forced to cut her hair and had her breast tissue “removed” after being arrested for who she is.  LGBTQ+ rights, or lack thereof, in Qatar have been in the spotlight since the country was announced as host of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.  While there has been global outrage over Qatar’s criminalisation of gay sex, punishable with jail time or the death penalty, little has been said about the fate of trans Qataris.  In Qatar, trans people can be arrested without charge for “violating public decency”, simply for being trans.  Speaking to […]

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Taliban publicly whips Afghan men accused of gay sex amid Sharia crackdown on LGBTQ life

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Islamic extremist Taliban officials in Afghanistan publicly whipped 12 people in a public soccer stadium, including individuals accused of gay sex. The whipping occurred as thousands watched in the eastern Logar province, BBC reported. The punished individuals were allegedly guilty of “moral crimes” including adultery, robbery, and gay sex, a Taliban official told the publication. Each person received between 21 and 39 lashes; 39 is the maximum number that Taliban authorities reportedly inflict upon convicts. Some of the individuals were jailed afterward. The incident was similar to a public flogging of 19 people that took place in the northern Afghan province of […]

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Colorado shooting prompts top drag queens to tour with armed guards and metal detectors

The deadly attack at an LGBTQ club in Colorado last month — where a shooter turned the venue’s “Drag Divas” night into a massacre — has made an already harrowing year for drag performers worse. Eight of the country’s top drag queens told NBC News that the current environment has subdued their larger-than-life personas, prompting four of them to increase security at their events in recent weeks. The Nov. 19 shooting at Colorado Springs’ sole LGBTQ nightclub, Club Q, left five people dead and 17 others shot and injured. The 22-year-old suspect is being held without bond on suspicion of murder and hate […]

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