LGBT News

The Boston Globe reports: Over Thanksgiving weekend, the first residents of the home in Worcester moved in: three gay men seeking asylum in the U.S. “I don’t even have the words,” said Alain Spyke, 26, who fled Jamaica after being continually harassed and threatened by a local gang for being gay. “To come into this country and have a safe …

VT Digger reports: Becca Balint, the president pro tempore of the Vermont Senate, is running for the state’s lone seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, she announced Monday morning. Balint joins Lt. Gov. Molly Gray in the Democratic primary to succeed U.S. Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., who is vacating his House seat to run for the U.S. Senate. No …

The Associated Press reports: A Vatican official has apologized to a leading Catholic LGBTQ advocacy group for having yanked a reference to it from the Vatican website, saying he realized the move caused pain and that the Catholic Church does indeed want to include gays and hear from them. The Vatican’s General Secretariat for the Synod of Bishops, which is …

Politico reports: For the first time since 2012, the New Jersey Legislature held a vote on gay marriage. In this case, just the Assembly Judiciary Committee. But it appears the bill, which writes the 2013 Superior Court decision legalizing gay marriage into law, is headed for a quick passage in the lame duck. The reason: With the right-leaning U.S. Supreme …

Michael Brown writes for the Christian Post: The reality is that this new bill actually prohibits Christians from practicing their faith when it comes to homosexuality and bisexuality and transgenderism. It also prohibits people who want to get help to pursue change, whatever their age, from pursuing that change — as long as it is change away from being gay …

Media Matters reports: The bestselling “LGBTQ+ Book” on Amazon is Johnny the Walrus — a hateful picture book by The Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh that compares the gender identities of trans youth to a young boy who imagines he is a walrus. Amazon mislabeled the book into its LGBTQ+ Books section and, as a result, is promoting harmful anti-trans views …

CTV News reports: Conversion therapy will soon be banned across Canada, after the Senate agreed to the expedited passage of Bill C-4 on Tuesday. After multiple attempts to pass legislation banning the harmful practice failed in recent years, the bill has now cleared both the House of Commons and Senate without changes, in just over a week. Once it receives …

The Texas Tribune reports: A San Antonio-area school district is reviewing the contents of more than 400 books that were flagged in a Republican lawmaker’s investigation into the titles that schools keep in their libraries. North East Independent School District, one of the largest districts in the state, is seemingly the first district to directly respond to state Rep. Matt …

Long Island’s News12 reports: A 74-year-old Bayport man accused of mailing threatening letters to members of the LGBTQ community on Long Island and in New York City is facing new charges. After facing a federal judge Monday, 74-year-old Robert Fehring surrendered himself to Suffolk police today. Fehring is accused of stealing almost two dozen pride flags back in July from …

The New York Times reports: Lawmakers in Chile on Tuesday legalized same-sex marriage, a landmark victory for gay rights activists that underscores how profoundly the country’s politics and society have shifted in the past decade. By overwhelming majorities in both chambers, lawmakers put the unions of same-sex couples on par with others, making Chile the 31st nation to allow gay …

Raleigh’s NBC News affiliate reports: A Durham brewery has launched a fundraiser for the LGBTQ community in response to comments made earlier this year by Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson. Ponysaurus Brewing Company has launched “The Lieutenant Governor Fund for the Fabulous.” Robinson, a Republican who’s likely to run for governor in three years, has come under fire for comments he’s …

From the Department of Justice: A criminal complaint was unsealed today in federal court in Central Islip charging Robert Fehring with mailing letters threatening to assault, shoot, and bomb LGBTQ+ affiliated individuals, organizations, and businesses. Fehring was arrested this morning and will make his initial appearance this afternoon before United States Magistrate Judge Steven I. Locke. “As alleged, the defendant’s …

Florida Politics reports: The Florida Department of Education has removed an anti-bullying portal from its website, including links to LGBTQ advocacy groups. The removal comes following changes to the DOE webpage for the Office of Safe Schools, created under the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act. According to the Florida Capital Star, DOE removed the anti-bullying page …

The CBC reports: The federal government’s updated bill to ban the practice of conversion therapy has been adopted unanimously by the House of Commons. MPs voted to fast track Bill C-4 on Wednesday afternoon. The Commons erupted in applause after the vote and several Liberal MPs walked across the floor to shake hands with and — in some cases — …

Euronews reports: Hungary’s parliament has approved the government’s plan to hold a national referendum on LGBT issues. The move is the latest step by the Hungarian authorities that critics say is intended to limit minority rights. The decision to call the referendum was approved with 129 votes in favour and none against. Opposition lawmakers abstained from voting on the resolution. …

From the state media outlet Russia Today: A Kiev bar, frequented by members of LGBT community, has been attacked by a group of masked assailants, believed to be neo-Nazis, who smashed the establishment’s windows and destroyed outdoor seating. The HvLv bar, located in the central part of Ukraine’s capital, was targeted late on Friday. The venue was set upon by …

Reuters reports: Botswana’s Court of Appeal on Monday upheld a 2019 ruling that decriminalised gay sex, a decision hailed by gay community as establishing the southern African country as a “true democracy”. Monday’s decision in effect struck off two sections of the penal code that had outlawed homosexuality. Before the 2019 High Court ruling, which was praised by international organisations …

Reuters reports: Russia is investigating Netflix after its public commissioner for protecting families accused the streaming company of violating Russian law on “gay propaganda”, the Vedomosti daily reported. The commissioner, Olga Baranets, complained to the Interior Ministry that Netflix was in breach of a 2013 law that bans disseminating “propaganda on non-traditional sexual relations” among Russians under the age of …

Issues In Higher Education reports: According to Dr. Joel Mittleman, an assistant professor of sociology at Notre Dame and author of the study, 52% of gay men in the U.S. have a bachelor’s degree, a total of 16 percentage points higher than the national average. Putting that number into a global perspective, Mittleman writes, “If America’s gay men were considered …

The Associated Press reports: A measure to legalize marriage and adoption by same-sex couples was approved by the lower house of Chile’s Congress on Tuesday, moving it close to final adoption. It had already passed the Senate. The bill approved 101-30 now awaits only final modifications related to the rights of same sex couples. President Sebastián Piñera has indicated he …