LGBT News

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 …

From Pat Robertson’s CBN News: With midterm elections quickly approaching, House Democrats are making promises to the LGBTQ community. Officials say they will prioritize anti-discrimination legislation that would establish widespread equal rights protections for LGBTQ individuals. Minority leader Nancy Pelosi said she would introduce the “Equality Act” as one of her first orders of business. Pelosi spokesman Drew Hammill told …

Expats.cz reports: The lower house of the Czech Parliament is set to debate the legalization of same-sex marriage. On Wednesday, October 31, marriage equality is for the first time in history guaranteed to be on the agenda of the 20th meeting of the Chamber of Deputies. The opening of this debate item will take place as part of the Chamber …

The Moscow Times reports: State Duma deputy and notorious anti-gay crusader Vitaly Milonov reportedly attempted to shut down Russia’s only LGBT film festival on its opening night. The St. Petersburg-based Fontanka news website reported that the deputy, accompanied by six men, physically blocked the entrance to the “Side by Side” film festival. In footage posted online, the lawmaker is heard …

CBS Los Angeles reports: During do-or-die World Series Game 5 at Dodger Stadium, fans unfurled a large banner reading “Trans People Deserve To Live.” The statement was emblazoned on the Transgender Pride Flag, colored blue, pink and white. The website Into reports the protest was planned by members of the TransLatin@ Coalition, a Los Angeles-based activist organization that advocates for …