LGBT News

ABC News reports: The ashes of Matthew Shepard were interred at the National Cathedral in Washington Friday, giving him a “home that is safe” 20 years after his brutal murder, his father said. “To the National Cathedral, I cannot thank you enough … for leading the way and showing acceptance and inclusiveness for any and all who enter these grounds,” …

The Guardian reports: LGBT characters are at an all-time high on television, according to new findings. The annual Where We Are On TV report has found that 8.8% of regular characters expected to appear in the next year on US network television are LGBT, up from 6.4% the previous year, with 50% of them people of color. There was also …

From Caitlyn Jenner’s op-ed for the Washington Post: I believed I could work within the party and the Trump administration to shift the minds of those who most needed shifting. I made many trips to Washington to lobby and educate members of Congress, other Washington policymakers and powerful influencers. These meetings were generally positive and almost always led to encouraging …

Bloomberg Law reports: The Justice Department today told the U.S. Supreme Court that businesses can discriminate against workers based on their gender identity without violating federal law. Solicitor General Noel Francisco told the high court that a civil rights law banning sex discrimination on the job doesn’t cover transgender bias. That approach already has created a rift within the Trump …

CNN Money reports: Four years ago, Tim Cook became the first CEO of a major company to come out as gay. He says he’s happy about that distinction — and his decision. “I’m very proud of it,” the Apple CEO told Christiane Amanpour on Wednesday in an exclusive interview for her program on CNN International and PBS. Being gay is …

The Malay Mail reports: Opposition leader Ahmad Zahid Hamidi expressed concerns about efforts needed to stem lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) activities in the country, saying a recent earthquake in Indonesia was caused by such behaviour. Speaking at the Dewan Rakyat today during Question Time, Ahmad Zahid said he was worried that Malaysia might similarly incur the wrath of …

Teen Vogue reports: In a bizarre and objectively hypocritical turn of events, Trump’s official website is still selling a pro-LGBTQ T-shirt in its online store. The “Trump Pride Tee” is a basic white crewneck shirt emblazoned with watercolor stripes of the colors of the rainbow, over which the words “LGBTQ for TRUMP” are printed. “Show your pride and your support …

From the Hollywood Reporter: Rosie O’Donnell is engaged. A representative for the 56-year-old star confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter the news of her engagement to police officer and girlfriend of a year, Elizabeth Rooney. The former View co-host revealed that a wedding date has not been set and may not be anytime in the near future, saying “this is a …

I don’t often post these kinds of press releases in full, but reminders of all these past and ongoing actions are worth your attention. From the Democratic National Committee:  This weekend, the New York Times reported that the Trump administration has developed a proposal that would legally define gender as based solely on a person’s genitalia at birth, a significant …

Via press release: The Trump administration is reportedly working to dramatically roll-back protections for transgender students and narrow the definitions of sex and gender that courts have increasingly used to provide protections for LGBTQ people. This is an attack on the very lives and existence of transgender people. It is painful, it is hateful, and it will not go unchallenged. …

The New York Times reports: The Trump administration is considering narrowly defining gender as a biological, immutable condition determined by genitalia at birth, the most drastic move yet in a government-wide effort to roll back recognition and protections of transgender people under federal civil rights law. A series of decisions by the Obama administration loosened the legal concept of gender …

From the crowdfunding site Funding Morality: Chicago priest Father Paul John Kalchik is being persecuted by his bishop Cardinal Blase Cupich and was forced into hiding on September 21st after Cardinal Cupich threatened to have him committed to a psychiatric treatment center. Kalchik’s offense? Burning a banner that had been unused for close to a dozen years that depicted a …

WWD reports: Behind Pride Media are the stepbrothers Adam Levin and Maxx Abramowitz, the founders and operators of Oreva Capital, which last September acquired Out and The Advocate, along with related brands and intellectual property. They are also, respectively, the chief executive officer and lead investor of High Times magazine parent High Times Holdings. However, a new owner that not …

Chris Johnson reports at the Washington Blade: With expectations of a “blue” wave in the congressional mid-terms and good chances Democrats will retake control of the U.S. House, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has signaled that comprehensive LGBT non-discrimination legislation will be a top priority if she becomes speaker. Speaking at an event Tuesday at the John F. Kennedy …

The Asian Review reports: Thailand may have a reputation for acceptance when it comes to the transgender females that perform in the capital’s extravagant cabaret shows, but the country’s legal system, like many in Southeast Asia, has traditionally been less accommodating to the LGBT community. This appears to be changing, however, as the junta aims to prepare a bill that …

The Associated Press reports: Kanye West handed Uganda’s president a pair of his autographed sneakers on Monday during a visit to the East African nation in which the rapper is said to be recording music in a tent. The 74-year-old President Yoweri Museveni said he and West held “fruitful discussions” about promoting tourism and arts. He also gave West and …

Randy Rainbow is back today with a typically hilarious riff on Melania Trump’s idiotic #BeBest campaign, setting his lampooning to Howard Ashman and Alan Mencken’s Oscar-nominated Be Our Guest, which was performed by Jerry Orbach and Angela Lansbury in Disney’s 1991 film, Beauty And The Beast. No spoilers, just watch. 

The Associated Press reports: Polish police used tear gas and a water cannon Saturday against right-wing extremists who were trying to block the first equality parade in the city of Lublin in eastern Poland. More than 1,000 lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights activists with rainbow-colored flags and banners gathered Saturday in Lublin for the parade, while around 300 right-wing …

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports: Stacey Abrams emerged from her SUV on a busy Midtown Atlanta street corner on Sunday with a declaration to make to the throngs of voters attending the Atlanta Pride Parade, the annual celebration of LGBT rights in the heart of the city. “We’re here because we stand together, because we know that allies do not run …

Politico reports: Twenty Democratic senators on Thursday urged Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to reverse course on the “unnecessarily cruel” decision to end an Obama-era policy that granted visas to the same-sex partners of LGBTQ diplomats whose unions are not recognized by their home countries. In July, the U.S. mission to the United Nations informed foreign delegations that beginning Oct. …