Uncategorized

/ /

School that refused to play team with trans player is barred from tournaments

A Vermont religious school that withdrew its girls’ basketball team from a playoff game because a transgender student was playing on the opposing team won’t be able to participate in future tournaments, the Vermont Principals’ Association announced Monday. Mid Vermont Christian School, in White River Junction, forfeited the Feb. 21 game, saying that it believed that the transgender player “jeopardizes the fairness of the game and the safety of our players.” The executive council of the principals’ association, which is the governing body for Vermont school sports and activities for member schools, ruled that the school had violated policies and is […]

/ / /

Queer Youth Negatively Affected by Anti-LGBTQ+ Laws, Debates: Trevor Project Poll

,

Debates over LGBTQ+ rights are having a negative effect on the lives of young people in the community, according to a new poll. “An overwhelming majority of LGBTQ youth have been negatively impacted by recent debates and laws around anti-LGBTQ policies and that many have also experienced victimization as a result,” says a press release on the poll, conducted for the Trevor Project by Morning Consult between October 23 and November 2 and released this week. The poll included 716 LGBTQ+ youth ages 13–24 around the U.S. It assessed emotional responses to anti-LGBTQ+ policies as well as which other social issues often […]

/ / /

InterPride’s bad decision to abandon Taiwan

As many in the LGBTQ community in Washington, D.C. discovered recently, our city will now host WorldPride in 2025. Many of the initial reactions I saw from those in my immediate network were a mix of excitement and skepticism – does D.C. have the “gay infrastructure” to support hosting a global Pride event? According to InterPride, the U.S.-based non-profit organization that owns the licensing rights for WorldPride, the answer is yes.  However, what seemed to get lost in the conversation was why D.C. was newly awarded as the host for this event after publicly losing its bid to host WorldPride back in 2021 to Taiwan. In […]

Anti-Black, gay, Asian bias fuel California hate crime surge

Hate crimes driven by homophobia and racism resulted in a 33% surge in reported incidents in California last year, following a similar spike in hate-driven attacks the year prior and confirming what officials have been hearing anecdotally since the pandemic began, the state’s attorney general said Tuesday. Attorney General Rob Bonta said that crimes against Black people were again the most prevalent in 2021, climbing 13% from 2020 to 513 reported incidents. Hate crimes motivated by sexual orientation bias increased nearly 50% to 303 incidents while crimes against Asian Americans were up 178% to 247 incidents. “One hard truth in […]

/ /

Utah Legislature overrides governor’s veto of transgender sports ban bill

Utah state lawmakers on Friday overrode their Republican governor’s veto of a bill that would ban transgender students from playing girls’ sports, ensuring the controversial piece of legislation will go into effect. During a special session called specifically to consider a veto override, both Republican-controlled chambers of the state Legislature met the two-thirds threshold to revive the bill. The measure passed 21-8 in the Senate and 56-18 in the House. Ten Republicans in Utah’s state House and five in the state Senate who had previously voted against the bill changed their votes to support the bill during the override session. Both chambers voted […]

/ /

SoCo Pride Hosts Winter Lights Ice Skating Rink at Courthouse Square

Santa Rosa has put up a beautiful, temporary, synthetic ice skating rink in Courthouse Square, in the heart of Downtown Santa Rosa! Sonoma County Pride will be hosting the ice skating rink on 4 days in December, and will receive the proceeds of our sessions! We need volunteers for 4.5 hours shifts to perform tasks such as checking in ticket holders, monitoring the rink for safety, providing skate rentals to skaters, sharpening and sanitizing the skates, and HELPING SPREAD GOOD CHEER. What a great opportunity to help Sonoma County Pride and have a Beyond the Rainbow experience in Downtown Santa […]

/ / /

Lesbian couple shot and killed trying to aid pregnant daughter

What started as an ordinary Wednesday night in Norfolk, Virginia, turned to tragedy when a gunman shot five women, killing three and injuring two. Among the victims was a lesbian couple attempting to save their teenage daughter.  Nicole Lovewine, 45, and her partner, Detra Brown, 42, were enjoying an evening with friends after coming home from work when the shooting took place, reports The Virginian-Pilot. As they spoke with other adults, approximately a dozen children played nearby, some using a trampoline that Lovewine had bought after a nearby recreation center shut down. Then, at around 6 p.m., a car pulled up. […]

/ / /

‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ repeal serves as a guide for enacting equality legislation

Equality legislation is close to passing in Congress, but close isn’t good enough. “Close” won’t change anything for the LGBTQ Americans who face discrimination every day. Senate Democrats and Republicans must make a push to negotiate. With a reach on both sides to find common ground, we can move equality legislation from “close” to “done deal.” Some Democrats are waiting for the filibuster to end—despite clear evidence that they lack the votes to end it. Some Republicans are practicing a tried-and-true brand of obstructionism. To break this deadlock, we should look to the successful, bipartisan repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t […]

/ /

Nepal introduces third gender category in latest census

Nepal has introduced a third gender category in its census for the first time, a move the Himalayan nation’s LGBTQ community hopes will bring them greater rights. Officials from the Central Bureau of Statistics have been visiting homes across the country of 30 million people since Saturday, giving respondents the option of choosing “others” as their gender, alongside male and female. Nepal already has some of South Asia’s most progressive laws on homosexuality and transgender rights, with landmark reforms passed in 2007 prohibiting gender or sexual orientation discrimination. A third gender category for citizenship documents was introduced in 2013 and […]

/ / /

Non-binary person reports assault by Proud Boys near Portland

It was a typical day for Juniper Simonis. The freelance ecologist decided to break from work for lunch at about 3 p.m. to take their service dog, Wallace, to the local dog park and grab a bite to eat.   But a planned peaceful afternoon quickly turned ugly. Simonis says they survived a gang assault of about 30 perpetrators in Gresham, Ore., a suburb outside of Portland. The Oregon resident encountered the group for only minutes but suffered a concussion, sprained jaw, extensive car damage and verbal assaults, they said.  “They nearly killed me,” they said. Simonis said they turned […]

«‹ 2 3 4 5›»