Tag Archives: LGBTQ rights

The National Desk reports: Multiple former contestants of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” have launched the Drag PAC, a political action committee aimed at protecting LGBTQIA+ rights. The drag performers claimed in a video released Wednesday elected officials have attacked the LGBTQIA+ community with what they feel is “anti-drag” legislation. “I think everyone is a little disheartened with a lot of our …

The Christian Post reports: A nonpartisan national security think tank has filed a lawsuit in search of answers from the Biden administration about how taxpayers are supporting Jessica Stern, an LGBT activist who serves as the U.S. Special Envoy to Advance the Human Rights of “LGBTQI+ Persons.” The Center to Advance Security in America filed the lawsuit against the U.S. …

NBC News reports: The number of out LGBTQ people who have won elected office has increased nearly 200% since 2017, according to research published Wednesday and first reported on by NBC News. The LGBTQ+ Victory Institute, which works to increase queer and transgender representation in public service, found that there were 1,303 out LGBTQ elected officials as of May, a …

Gallup Polling reports: More than two in three Americans continue to believe that marriage between same-sex couples should be legal (69%), and nearly as many say gay or lesbian relations are morally acceptable (64%). Both readings have been consistently above the 50% mark since the early 2010s and above 60% since 2017. The latest 69% of Americans who support legal …

Courthouse News reports: A lawsuit filed by LGBTQ+ veterans who were discharged under rules that barred gay Americans from serving in the military cleared its first judicial hurdle Thursday when a federal judge denied a motion filed by the U.S. Department of Defense to dismiss the case. According to the federal complaint filed last year, 35,081 veterans were discharged or …

TIME Magazine reports: Namibia’s High Court declared the criminalization of sexual acts between men unconstitutional, a landmark ruling that contrasts with other recent attempts in Africa to curtail LGBTQ rights. The court’s finding stemmed from an application filed by Friedel Dausab, a gay Namibian man, who argued that the criminalization of homosexual relations and other sexual conduct that was deemed …

Austin’s NBC affiliate reports: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton blocked the Biden Administration’s Title IX rule protecting LGBTQ+ students from sex-based discrimination and harassment, Paxton’s office announced in a Tuesday release. The rule would have protected all students and employees from all sex discrimination, including restoring and strengthening full protection from sexual violence and other sex-based harassment. Paxton said in …

Reuters reports: Thailand’s Senate passed the final reading of a marriage equality law on Tuesday, paving the way for it to become the first country in Southeast Asia to recognise same-sex couples. The bill comes after more than two decades of effort from activists and politicians, after previous drafts did not reach parliament. With the support of nearly all lawmakers …

The Associated Press reports: A federal judge on Monday temporarily blocked the Biden administration’s new Title IX rule expanding protections for LGBTQ+ students in six additional states, dealing another setback for a policy that has been under legal attack by Republican attorneys general. U.S. District Judge Danny C. Reeves referred to the regulation as “arbitrary in the truest sense of …

ABC News reports: A military veteran who went on to serve as a firefighter and owned a local radio station revealed in his obituary that he was gay, a secret he said he held his entire life. Col. Edward Thomas Ryan died at age 85 on June 1, the first day of Pride Month, his niece Linda Sargent told “Good …

Deutsche Welle reports: The latest effort to restrict the rights of LGBTQ+ people in Georgia comes shortly after a “foreign agent” law was adopted in May despite weeks of unrest and pro-EU rallies. The Georgian parliament, where the ruling Georgian Dream party has a decisive majority, will start discussing the planned LGBTQ+ bill in the coming weeks. The final reading …

The Hill reports: Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) announced new legislation this week that would help combat abuse against elderly LGBTQ Americans by establishing a task force within the Department of Justice (DOJ) to focus on solutions for the issue. The legislation, dubbed the “Elder Pride Protection Act,” was developed with Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.). Both are members of the Congressional …

USA Today reports Each year for the last six, gay advocacy group Out Leadership has produced an index gauging the business climate for gay and transgender people state by state, mapping out where they can live and work with the least discrimination and hardship. Last year as anti-LGBTQ+ bills swarmed statehouses across the country, the average score for all 50 …

Tampa’s WMNF reports: Several Tampa Bay area cities have raised the LGBTQ Pride flags over city buildings this weekend. But that would have been illegal if a bill that died in this year’s Florida Legislature had instead become law. On Saturday morning the city of Gulfport in south Pinellas County raised the Pride flag over its public library. It came …

NBC News reports: President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign is launching an effort at the start of National Pride Month to try to shore up support from LGBTQ voters. The campaign plans to have a presence this month at more than 200 Pride events in 23 states, including all of the battleground states, and to launch a paid media blitz aimed …

Axios reports: The U.S. has not seen any negative effects on marriage, divorce or living arrangements among all couples since Massachusetts issued the first state-sanctioned, same-sex marriage licenses 20 years ago, a new analysis says. A review of nearly 100 studies examining the consequences of same-sex marriage on multiple measures of family formation and well-being found no harm to different-sex …

Time Out reports: To shed some light on the best and safest destinations for LGBTQ+ travellers, ILGA-Europe, an LGBTI organisation, has released its sixteenth annual Rainbow Map. The index involves comprehensive analysis into seven categories, and each country has been given an overall score based on each. Given it boasts the fantastic annual Europride celebrations, we’re hardly surprised it’s Malta, …

NBC News reports: The Human Rights Campaign, the largest LGBTQ rights group in the United States, is launching a $15 million commitment to help Democratic President Joe Biden defeat Republican Donald Trump in the 2024 election. The spending blitz, shared first with NBC News, will cover the six key battleground states of Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada. The …

The Guardian reports: A dark money group with ties to Trump’s inner circle dropped more than $90 million on ads described as vile, racist and transphobic in the second half of 2022 alone, new tax records obtained by Documented and the Guardian reveal. The staggering sum makes the newly created group, which is based out of the nerve center for …

Radio Liechtenstein reports: The state parliament has cleared the way for marriage for everyone in Liechtenstein. The second readings of various laws that needed to be adjusted were successfully carried out. This will allow Liechtenstein to marry same-sex couples like its neighboring countries. Read the full article. The snippet above is via Google Translate as the site is in German. …