LGBT History

Alabama GOP Bill Would Fire Board Of State Archives For Hosting Brief 2023 Lecture On State LGBTQ History

The Birmingham News reports: History in Alabama is under attack again. A handful of state lawmakers are on a mission to erase it, to cancel those who would mention it and punish those who would protect it. No less than a revered state institution is on the line — the Alabama Department of Archives and History — and the stories …

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Membership: A Memory For World AIDS Day

ABOVE: At the 1985 Xmas party described below: Me, Michael, and Barney. Originally posted May 2004. Reposted for World AIDS Day. Membership Michael didn’t look good. We were at his annual Christmas luau party. Tons and tons of people in the house and the backyard. Standing in his kitchen, wearing a grass skirt and a ridiculous Santa hat covered in …

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Orlando To Purchase Pulse Nightclub For Memorial

Orlando’s NBC affiliate reports: Pulse nightclub, where 49 people were killed in 2016, has been sold. WESH 2 has confirmed with multiple sources that the city of Orlando is purchasing the property from owners Barbara and Rosario Poma and Mike Panaggio. The deal was struck about two weeks ago and will go before the Orlando City Council on Monday for …

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Biden Marks 25 Years Since Matthew Shepard’s Murder

Via press release from the White House: Twenty-five years ago today, Matthew Shepard lost his life to a brutal act of hate and violence that shocked our nation and the world. The week prior, Matthew had been viciously attacked in a horrific anti-gay hate crime and left to die – simply for being himself. Matthew’s tragic and senseless murder shook …

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UK Official: Being LGBTQ Is Not Grounds For Asylum

EuroNews reports: Suella Braverman questioned the United Nations Refugee Convention in a speech in Washington, arguing that “simply being gay, or a woman” should not be by itself grounds for international protection. The British government has made the fight against illegal immigration a priority. With a general election due next year, which the opposition party Labour is widely tipped to …

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JMG Short Story: Ricky Loved Madonna

Gentle readers, today is Madonna’s 65th birthday. Below is a short story that first appeared on JMG on this day in 2006, a date which, as you’ll see, plays a role in the story. Ricky Loved Madonna Twenty years ago today, August 16th 1986, I was a few months into a new job with AMC Theatres, a position that I …

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Newsom Threatens School District Over Harvey Milk

Los Angeles’ ABC affiliate reports: Earlier this year, the Temecula Valley Unified School District rejected textbooks and curriculum materials for an elementary school program because it included references to slain gay-rights activist Harvey Milk. The school board president even referred to the LGBTQ icon as a “pedophile,” drawing outrage from Newsom and other leaders across the state as well as …

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Watching The Defectives: My Annual Pride Rant

Gentle readers, I’m rerunning my annual Pride rant for the nineteenth year. I wrote this post in 2005 a couple of days after attending Pride in NYC. In the following years I’ve reposted it in advance of the NYC Pride March. If you’re in town, I encourage you to attend. Love each other. Watching The Defectives Last Sunday at 12:30pm, …

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Biden Issues Proclamation Marking 1950s “Lavender Scare,” Which Cost LGBTQ Federal Workers Their Jobs

Via press release from the White House: Our Nation has made tremendous progress in advancing the cause of equality for LGBTQI+ Americans. To keep building on that progress, we must reflect honestly on the darkest chapters of our story and on how far we have come. Seventy years ago, as the Cold War set in, President Eisenhower signed an Executive …

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British Drag Legend Lily Savage Dies At 67 [VIDEO]

The Guardian reports: Paul O’Grady, the beloved TV presenter and comedian who broke on to the scene with his drag act persona Lily Savage, has died at the age of 67. His husband, Andre Portasio, confirmed in a statement that O’Grady died “unexpectedly but peacefully” on Tuesday evening. Days ago, O’Grady had finished a stint playing Miss Hannigan in the …

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World’s Oldest Working Drag Queen Dies At Age 92

The Associated Press reports: Walter Cole, better known as the iconic drag queen who performed for decades as Darcelle XV and a fearless advocate for Portland’s LGBTQ+ community, has died of natural causes in Portland, Oregon. He was 92. Darcelle, who died Thursday, was crowned the world’s oldest working drag performer in 2016 by the Guinness Book of World Records …

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HISTORY: Australian PM Marches In Sydney Mardi Gras

The Guardian reports: Amid the rainbow tulle, sequins and sparkles of Sydney’s 45th Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade emerged the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, in a simple open-necked shirt and jeans. Albanese is the first sitting prime minister to join the parade, which celebrates and continues to push for equality for the LGBTQIA+ community. The parade, under the theme …

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Gay Rights Advocate/Former Wisconsin Gov Dies At 86

The Associated Press reports: Tony Earl, a Democrat who served one term as Wisconsin’s governor in the 1980s and later bemoaned the increasing partisanship in politics, has died. He was 86. Earl, a champion of gay rights and a staunch environmentalist, died on Thursday “peacefully surrounded by family,” his daughter Julia Earl texted The Associated Press. Earl had been hospitalized …

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Germany Commemorates LGBTQ Holocaust Victims

CNN International reports: The German parliament for the first time on Friday focused its annual Holocaust memorial commemorations on people persecuted and killed over their sexual or gender identity during World War II. Campaigners in Germany have worked for decades to establish an official ceremony to commemorate the LGBTQ victims persecuted under the Nazi regime. “Today’s hour of remembrances focuses …

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WH Lit In Pride Colors After Biden Signs Marriage Bill

The Hill reports: The Biden administration lit up the south portico of the White House in rainbow colors on Tuesday evening after the president signed the Respect for Marriage Act into law earlier in the day. President Biden signed the legislation, which provides federal protections for same-sex marriage, during a celebratory event on the South Lawn with more than 2,000 …

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Historic NYC Gay Bar Julius’ Granted Landmark Status

New York City’s ABC affiliate reports: New York City’s Landmarks Preservation Commission voted on Tuesday to designate Julius’ Bar in the Village as an individual landmark. In the 1960s, the state liquor authority did not allow people to be served alcohol if they were openly gay. “In 1966, we had something called the sip-in,” Julius’ Bar manager Nick Gabriellini said. …

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Membership: A Memory For World AIDS Day

ABOVE: At the 1985 Xmas party described below: Me, Michael, and Barney. Originally posted May 2004. Reposted for World AIDS Day. Membership Michael didn’t look good. We were at his annual Christmas luau party. Tons and tons of people in the house and the backyard. Standing in his kitchen, wearing a grass skirt and a ridiculous Santa hat covered in …

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US Census Report: 1.2 Million Same-Sex Households

Changing America reports: The number of same-sex households in the U.S. surpassed 1 million for the first time, according to new census data. There were about 1.2 million same-sex households in 2021, the U.S. Census Bureau reported. About 710,000 of those households were married, while 500,000 were unmarried. The percent of same-sex households included in the American household population as …

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Queer Big Apple Corps To Perform In Macy’s Parade

The New York Daily News reports: Fans lining Sixth Ave. on Thursday for a glimpse of Santa and the new Stuart the Minion balloon will also get treated to some Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade history. Performing alongside appearances by Ziggy Marley, Joss Stone, Kirk Franklin and Dionne Warwick will be the Queer Big Apple Corps Marching Band, the first queer …

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JMG Short Story: Ricky Loved Madonna

Gentle readers, today is Madonna’s 64th birthday. Below is a short story that first appeared on JMG on this day in 2006, a date which, as you’ll see, plays a role in the story. Ricky Loved Madonna Twenty years ago today, August 16th 1986, I was a few months into a new job with AMC Theatres, a position that I …

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