LGBT News

Via press release from the State Department: The United States government is deeply concerned over escalating attacks and legislative actions by the Government of Tanzania that violate civil liberties and human rights, creating an atmosphere of violence, intimidation, and discrimination. We are troubled by the continued arrests and harassment of marginalized persons, including lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, and …

Just in from San Francisco’s Sister Roma: The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence recognize individuals who exemplify the Order’s commitments to Activism, community service, and the advancement of human rights with our highest honor: Sainthood. Stormy Daniels’ bravery in sharing her story and speaking truth to power earned her the respect and admiration of the Sisters. We surprised her last night …

The Indianapolis Journal reports: Democrat J.D. Ford pulled off a big upset Tuesday, unseating state Sen. Mike Delph, a Republican who has served the district since 2005. Ford is thought to be Indiana’s first openly gay state lawmaker. “Ladies and gentleman, we just made history and no one can take that from us,” Ford said. It was a rematch for …

The Daily Iowan reports: After Tuesday’s victory in the race for the District 37 state Senate seat, Democratic candidate Zach Wahls becomes one of the youngest faces in that body at 26. At his election night watch party at Big Grove Brewery, Wahls said he was pleased with voter turnout, particularly from young people. “We smashed voter turnout from 2014,” …

The Kansas City Star reports: Kansas voters made history Tuesday when they selected Sharice Davids to be their next congresswoman. Davids, a member of the Ho-Chunk Nation, will be the first Native American woman to serve in Congress — a distinction she shared with New Mexico’s Deb Haaland, who also won Tuesday — and the first openly LGBT person to …

New Hampshire’s WBUR reports: Democrat Chris Pappas will become New Hampshire’s first openly gay member of Congress after defeating Republican Eddie Edwards in the 1st Congressional District. While both candidates said they want to bring integrity and decency to Washington, Pappas argued only he had the experience to back that up. In addition to running a family restaurant, he is …

Chris Johnson reports at the Washington Blade: A lesbian candidate running for a U.S. House seat in Minnesota has unseated an anti-LGBT lawmaker from the U.S. House, making her poised to become the first openly gay mother in Congress. At a around 8:15 local time, major media outlets declared Angie Craig, a business executive who’s also mother, the winner in …

Via press release from the ACLU: “By winning the first statewide popular vote on transgender rights, Massachusetts voters reaffirmed our Commonwealth as a place that fiercely defends our basic values of dignity and respect for everyone. When Massachusetts leads on equality, the nation watches – and often, it follows. Tonight, we sent a message not just to transgender people and …

Via press release from GLAAD: Global icon Barbra Streisand just released a message for LGBTQ people and allies to vote tomorrow, November 6, during the midterm election. The pre-recorded call from Streisand is being made to GLAAD members and supporters across the nation. “Hi, this is Barbra Streisand. Tuesday is a critical election for LGBTQ people and all marginalized communities. …

The Associated Press reports: The European Union has recalled its ambassador to Tanzania, citing “the deterioration of the human rights and rule of law situation” in the East African country where one regional official last week called for the outing and arrests of homosexuals. A statement emailed to The Associated Press Monday said the EU will be conducting a broad …

Viral YouTube star Randy Rainbow is back today with his own take on a “get out the vote” message, this time riffing on What Is This Feeling? from Wicked. Special appearances by Hair Furor and Sarah Huckleberry Sanders. As always, no spoilers, just watch and enjoy.

The Boston Globe reports: If the word Masshole is good enough for the dictionary, it’s surely good enough for a political ad. But this still appears to be a first. A local group is using the colloquialism in an attempt to persuade Massachusetts residents to vote yes on Question 3, the referendum on the state’s transgender anti-discrimination law. “We’re Massholes, …

The Hill reports: The State Department is warning U.S. citizens in Tanzania of a crackdown against gay people in the East African country. The State Department said in a notice on its website that citizens should “employ sound security practices” and review their “internet footprint and social media profiles.” “Remove or protect images and language that may run afoul of …

CNN reports: “Bohemian Rhapsody” is the champion of the box office this weekend. The Queen biopic took the No. 1 spot with an estimated $50 million haul in North America and $141.7 million globally. That’s a great opening for the music biopic genre, and great news for 20th Century Fox, which spent $52 million to make it. The story about …

Wayne Besen reports at Truth Wins Out: Norman Goldwasser, by day, is an Orthodox Jewish therapist at Horizon Psychological Services who compares homosexuality to Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and misleads clients by claiming that their sexual orientation can be changed with his special brand of quack therapy, which is rejected by every respected medical and mental health association. By night, an …

The Guardian reports: A Tanzanian official said he has received thousands of messages after ordering the public to report the name of any person suspected of being gay. Paul Makonda, regional commissioner for Dar es Salaam, made the request on Monday, pledging that a special team would “get their hands on them” next week. By Tuesday, he said he had …

From the site Business For Trans Equality: We, the undersigned businesses, stand with the millions of people in America who identify as transgender, gender non-binary, or intersex, and call for all such people to be treated with the respect and dignity everyone deserves. We oppose any administrative and legislative efforts to erase transgender protections through reinterpretation of existing laws and …

The Des Moines Register reports: Hundreds of books have been donated to the northwest Iowa library where a man checked out — and then burned — several LGBTQ children’s books. The Orange City Public Library said Wednesday it has received more than 200 books since religious activist Paul Dorr engaged in a book burning Oct. 19. Together, several GoFundMe pages …

Politico reports: U.S. diplomats may soon be prohibited from using the phrases “sexual and reproductive health” and “comprehensive sexuality education” under a proposal being floated to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, four people familiar with the issue said. The proposal is being pushed by a handful of conservative political appointees at the State Department and other agencies, including Mari Stull, …

Agence France-Presse reports: The governor of Tanzania’s economic capital Dar es Salaam on Monday launched an anti-gay crackdown, threatening to arrest people suspected of being homosexuals. “I have information about the presence of many homosexuals in our province,” Paul Makonda told reporters on Monday, calling on citizens to begin reporting homosexuals for round-ups to begin next week. “Give me their …