LGBT News

Cynthia Laird reports at the Bay Area Reporter: San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera on Thursday announced he had filed suit against the Trump administration’s Department of Health and Human Services to invalidate a new federal rule that would allow health care staff to refuse to provide medical treatment to people, even in emergencies. If allowed to take effect, the …

The New York Times reports: “RuPaul’s Drag Race” and its behind-the-scenes spinoff, “Untucked,” are cultural touchstones that have launched catchphrases and minted stars. But neither series has ever lit up the ratings. Recent episodes of each series garnered only a few hundred thousand viewers and were the 285th and 359th most-viewed shows in the cable ratings for the week of …

The Washington Post reports: President Trump on Thursday announced new ‘conscience’ protections for health providers during a speech in front of faith leaders gathered for the National Day of Prayer. Ahead of the announcement, conservative groups who have raised what they perceive as religious liberty concerns have welcomed the rule, which was first proposed last year, while LGBT and other …

The Hill reports: The House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday approved legislation that would prohibit discrimination against LGBTQ people in employment and housing. The Equality Act was approved in a 22-10 party-line vote, setting the bill up for a potential floor vote. “The ability to have a job, to receive medical care or to rent a home should not depend on …

The Associated Press reports: Tennessee lawmakers on Tuesday spiked a proposal that would have allowed faith-based adoption agencies to refuse to place children with gay parents and other families because of their religious beliefs. The bill had been scheduled to be debated by the GOP-dominant Senate. However, at the last minute, the sponsor [Rep. Tim Rudd] quietly asked for the …

Britain’s Metro newspaper reports: Five of the 37 men beheaded by Saudi Arabia were gay, according to a confession heard by the Sharia law court. The country sparked outrage several days ago for the mass execution of the men, who were mainly minority Shia Muslims. Human rights groups have complained that confessions of terrorism and spying for Iran were obtained …

Just in via press release: Today, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) civil rights organization released a new video from HRC’s Americans for the Equality Act campaign featuring Olympian and figure skater Adam Rippon. As an openly gay athlete, Rippon calls on Congress to advance the Equality Act — bipartisan legislation …

Newsweek reports: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints considers same-sex marriage to be a “serious transgression” — and, until this spring, treated Mormons involved in these unions as apostates, subject to church disciplinary hearings that could result in their excommunication. So a commencement ceremony on Friday at Brigham Young University, the flagship academic institution of the Mormon Church, …

The Associated Press reports: The chairman of Poland’s conservative ruling party, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, has called the LGBT rights movement a foreign import that threatens the Polish nation. Kaczynski, a member of parliament who wields tremendous influence as leader of the Law and Justice party, also said during a lecture on patriotism that “everyone must accept Christianity” in Poland and questioning …

The Guardian reports: Brazil’s far-right president, the self-declared homophobe Jair Bolsonaro, has been accused of inciting hatred towards LGBT people after declaring the South American country should not become a “gay tourism paradise”. “If you want to come here and have sex with a woman, go for your life,” Bolsonaro reportedly told journalists in the capital, Brasília. “But we can’t …

The CBC reports: The Royal Canadian Mint has unveiled a commemorative loonie to mark what it called a key milestone for lesbian, gay, transgender, queer and two-spirited people, with the government saying the coin symbolized progress while highlighting the work that still needs to be done to advance equality. Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau was amongst a number of dignitaries …

The Tennessean reports: IKEA, Lyft, Hilton and Warby Parker and several other businesses operating in Tennessee are speaking out against legislation affecting LGBT individuals, arguing the proposed bills will make employee recruitment more difficult and harm the state’s business climate. These companies, which sent a signed letter to Lt. Gov. Randy McNally and House Speaker Glen Casada, join a growing …

The Tampa Bay Times reports: Jane Castor is Tampa’s next mayor, making history as the first openly gay mayor to gain office in Tampa Bay. The retired police chief crushed opponent David Straz with 73 percent of the vote, stretching a near-win in the primary seven weeks ago into a full-on rout Tuesday night. It was over before the first …

The Jerusalem Post reports: A homophobic Kuwaiti academic claimed on Scope TV that she invented a cure for homosexuality based on Islamic medicine. “I discovered therapeutic suppositories that curb the sexual urges of boys of the third gender as well as the fourth gender, which is butch lesbians. They have excessive sexual urges,” said the anti-gay and anti-lesbian researcher Dr. …

NBC News reports: A major faith-based foster care and adoption contractor for the state of Michigan said Monday it will place children in LGBTQ homes, reversing course following a recent legal settlement. Grand Rapids-based Bethany Christian Services is responsible for about 8 percent of Michigan’s more than 13,000 foster care and adoption cases involving children from troubled households. “We are …

The Hill reports: The Trump administration appears ready to roll back health care protections for transgender people, and advocates are gearing up for a fight. A proposed rule from the Department of Health and Human Services that’s expected in the coming days would make it easier for doctors, hospitals and insurance companies to deny care or coverage to transgender patients, …

Last week homocon former Rep. Aaron Schock lit up the internet after he was photographed with a crew of muscular gay men at California’s Coachella music festival. A video that surfaced a day later showed a shirtless Schock with his hand shoved down the front of one man’s pants as they made out.  Today JMG reader Wilson tips us that …

CNBC reports: The Supreme Court on Monday took up job discrimination cases that could for the first time resolve at a national level whether lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender workers can be fired based on their identity. The cases come as federal courts as well as independent agencies within the Trump administration remain divided over whether Title VII of the …

“Man, the word ‘fag’ is a really hateful word, isn’t it? Especially when it’s like one gay calling another gay guy that? Hoo! Have you ever been in the middle of one of them hate marriages? Hoo! It’s like, wait a minute, we’re not supposed to say that word. How come you’re saying that word? “What? Oh, I just can’t …

USA Today reports: Chick-fil-A has not been cleared for takeoff at the San Antonio International Airport. Nearly a month after the San Antonio City Council voted to ban the fast-food chain from opening a location in the airport, the council narrowly rejected a proposal to reconsider the March 21 decision, Councilman Greg Brockhouse said Thursday. At the March meeting, council …