LGBT News

NBC News reports: Florida’s official tourism website quietly removed a landing page for the state’s LGBTQ-friendly travel destinations sometime in the past four months. The website for the state’s tourism marketing corporation, VisitFlorida.com, had an “LGBTQ Travel” section that no longer exists, according to archived versions of the site viewable on the Internet Archive. The landing page previously featured blog …

Washington DC’s CBS affiliate reports: A fight outside of the Shack Shack near Dupont Circle over the weekend is being investigated as a suspected hate crime. According to a police report from the Metropolitan Police Department, Saturday night around 6 p.m., Christian Dingus reported to police that he was assaulted by multiple people. The police report states that the incident …

Gentle readers, today is Madonna’s 66th 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 …

Courthouse News reports: An Iowa man fired for posting a comment on his employer’s intranet site condemning the rainbow pride flag as an “abomination to God” was not illegally fired based on his religion, a federal appeals court said in a ruling Wednesday. Daniel Snyder was fired from Arconic Corp., an aluminum company with tens of thousands of employees worldwide, …

The Sarasota Herald-Tribune reports: Hundreds of New College of Florida library books, including many on LGBTQ+ topics and religious studies, are headed to a landfill. A dumpster in the parking lot of Jane Bancroft Cook Library on the campus of New College overflowed with books and collections from the now-defunct Gender and Diversity Center on Tuesday afternoon. Video captured in …

EuroNews reports: Bulgaria has passed a law banning LGBTQ+ “propaganda” in schools, in a new blow to human rights that advocacy groups and campaigners have widely condemned. The amendment to Bulgaria’s education law, voted through by parliament on Wednesday, bans the “propaganda, promotion, or incitement in any way, directly or indirectly, in the education system of ideas and views related …

MLB.com reports: Major League Baseball is mourning the loss of one of its own. Billy Bean, the league’s Senior Vice President of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, passed away at his home on Tuesday after an 11-month battle with acute myeloid leukemia. Bean, who was diagnosed last September, was 60 years old. “Our hearts are broken today as we mourn our …

The Illuminator reports: Just a day after a federal judge struck down an attempt by Alabama, Florida, Georgia and South Carolina to halt enforcement of the Biden administration’s final rule for Title IX, a federal appeals court granted the states’ request for an administrative injunction Wednesday — temporarily blocking the updated regulations from taking effect in those Southern states. The …

NBC News reports: A staffer at a Florida high school was suspended Tuesday after a county school board said she allowed her transgender daughter to play on a girls sports team in violation of state law. The School Board of Broward County voted 5-4 to suspend Jessica Norton from her job as a computer information specialist at Monarch High School …

NBC News reports: A federal judge in Alabama on Tuesday refused to block the Biden administration from enforcing new anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ students in four Republican-led states, breaking with six other judges who have said the rules are invalid. U.S. District Judge Annemarie Axon in Birmingham in a 122-page ruling, rejected various arguments that the four states led by …

The Catholic News Agency reports: A priest is suing the gay dating and “hookup” app Grindr after the company reportedly failed to protect his data, leading to his resignation from a top position at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). In July 2021, Monsignor Jeffrey Burrill resigned from his post as the general secretary of the USCCB ahead of …

The Michigan Advance reports: While Gov. Gretchen Whitmer fielded questions about speculation that she’ll be joining Kamala Harris as her vice presidential pick on the 2024 ballot, she signed Michigan’s $23.4B education budget into law Tuesday, as well as 39 other bills. Among the bills signed was HB 4718, which bans the “gay panic” or “trans panic” legal defense. The …

NBC News reports: John Deere said Wednesday it would cease lending its name to social events like LGBTQ Pride parades — the latest corporation to reassess its stance on hot-button social issues as the culture wars ignite ahead of the presidential election. In a statement posted on its X account, the nearly 200-year-old industrial and farming equipment manufacturer said it …

Mediaite reports: California Governor Gavin Newsom showed his willingness to hit back at political foes, which has long endeared him to Democrats. He used an old insult from Trump to mock billionaire Elon Musk. Musk announced Tuesday that he would be relocating the headquarters of SpaceX and X from California to Austin, Texas due to a new trans rights law …

The United Press reports: Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed legislation making California the first U.S. state to prohibit schools from outing students to their parents. The Democratic governor signed Assembly Bill 1955, better known as the SAFETY Act, Monday, according to a statement from his office, after the legislation passed through the state’s Congress last month. Under the bill, California …

Courthouse News reports: Seven GOP-dominated states filed a federal lawsuit in St. Louis against multiple Biden administration agencies Wednesday, in opposition to recent changes to the Affordable Care Act meant to protect transgender people from medical discrimination. Missouri, Utah, both Dakotas, Iowa, Idaho and Arkansas, joined by a conservative medical professional organization known as the American College of Pediatricians, filed …

Via press release from GLAAD: Pride Month 2024 has come to an end, bringing with it highs and lows. On the upside, dozens of small towns from Alaska to Alabama held inaugural Pride events this June. Tens of thousands of attendees flocked to these celebrations focused on uplifting their local LGBTQ community. On the downside, bigots and extremists continued their …

Reuters reports: Burkina Faso’s military junta said it has adopted the draft of an amended family code that criminalises homosexuality. The West African nation has been among just 22 out of 54 countries on the continent that allow same-sex relations, which are punishable by death or lengthy prison terms in some states. Burkina Faso has been under military rule since …

The Voice Of America reports: Mixed reactions are swirling in Cameroon since Brenda Biya, the daughter of President Paul Biya, declared she is a lesbian. While LGBTQ activists see her declaration as an opportunity to push for greater rights in a country where same-sex relations are outlawed, anti-gay groups say they want Brenda Biya prosecuted. Brenda Biya, the 26-year-old daughter …

Pittsburgh’s ABC affiliate reports: A Western Pennsylvania man is accused of murdering and dismembering a transgender teenager. DaShawn Watkins, 29, is facing murder charges in connection with the death of 14-year-old Pauly Likens. On June 25, the Sharon Police Department received a report that Likens had been missing since June 22, a news release from the Mercer County Coroner states. …