LGBT News

Babs Wishes You Happy LGBT Pride Month

“The first time I ever sang for a paying audience was at a gay club, The Lion, in Greenwich Village. I was 18 years old and had never been in a nightclub before. The gay community supported me from the start, and I will always be grateful. Decades later, I remember sitting in a theater and watching Larry Kramer’s play, …

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Democrats Issue Pride Month Proclamation And Call On Trump To Pressure Other Nations To Protect LGBTs

One year ago today President Obama issued his final LGBT Pride Month proclamation. We’re not holding our breath for any recognition from the current White House, but the Democrats have come through. From DNC chairman Tom Perez:   “From Stonewall to the Supreme Court, our nation has made great strides in LGBTQ rights. LGBTQ Pride Month is an opportunity to …

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AUSTRALIA: Martina Navratilova Pens Open Letter To Sports Arena Named For Homophobe Margaret Court

This morning the Australian press published an open letter from Martina Navratilova to the arena named for fellow tennis legend and raging homophobe Margaret Court. From the Sydney Morning Herald: Dear Margaret Court Arena, Sporting venues named for athletes, or any place, really, named for whoever, are so named for one reason. That reason is their whole body of work. …

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FRANCE: Posthumous Wedding For Gay Cop Slain In Paris Terror Attack, Former President And Mayor Attend

France’s The Local reports: The partner of a gay policeman gunned down by a jihadist on Paris’s Champs-Elysees avenue in April has married him posthumously, according to reports on Wednesday. Former president Francois Hollande and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo attended the wedding on Tuesday of the late Xavier Jugele and Etienne Cardiles. Jugele, 37, was shot dead on April 20 …

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Seventh Circuit Court Of Appeals Issues Landmark Education Ruling That Title IX Protects Trans Students

Vox reports: A single student’s case has turned into a massive legal decision for all transgender Americans. On Tuesday, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Kenosha Unified School District in Wisconsin violated the rights of a trans student, Ash Whitaker [photo, with his mother], when it refused to let him use the boys’ bathroom. According to the …

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TEXAS: Governor To Decide On Calling Special Session After Legislature Adjourns Without Anti-LGBT Vote

Yesterday the Texas House devolved into literal shoving matches and death threats on the final day of the legislative session. The Texas Tribune reports on what might come next: While both chambers successfully passed a two-year $217 blllion budget — the only item the Legislature is required to pass — other controversial items, such as a “bathroom bill” to regulate …

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FRANCE: Putin Tells Macron He’s Working To Find “Complete Truth” On Chechnya’s Anti-LGBT Pogrom

The New York Times reports: France’s newly elected president, Emmanuel Macron, came out of his first meeting with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia on Monday with a message of stark challenge, promising French military reprisals for any use of chemical weapons by Russia’s allies in Syria and saying he would closely monitor the curtailing of civil rights for gay …

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THAILAND: Justice Ministry Agrees To Revive Marriage Bill Days After Ruling By Taiwan’s High Court

The Bangkok Post reports: The Ministry of Justice has vowed to take action in favour of a petition demanding a stalled bill on gay rights be enacted. The Constitutional Court of Taiwan ruled in favour of same-sex marriage on May 24 and now calls to follow suit in Thailand may be gaining strength. Pitikan Sithidej, director-general of the Rights and …

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RUSSIA: Trump-Loving Retail Mogul Places “No Entry For Faggots” Signs In Grocery Chain Windows

Reuters reports: A chain of Russian food stores run by a devoutly religious nationalist businessman has placed signs in its windows saying gay customers will be refused entry.  “No entry for faggots,” read a wooden plate at the entrance to one of German Sterligov’s shops in central Moscow. Sterligov, 50, became a millionaire by opening a mercantile exchange shortly before …

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Nevada Formally Recognizes Obergefell

The Associated Press reports: Gov. Brian Sandoval has signed into law a bill revising Nevada’s domestic-relations statutes to reflect the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2015 decision legalizing same-sex marriage. The bill signed Friday by Sandoval authorizes the marriage of two people, regardless of gender. The bill also revises Nevada state laws to give same-sex couples the same parental rights as couples …

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Joe Biden Officiates Wedding For Gay DNC Staffer

The New York Daily News reports: Joe Biden’s officiating duties have no limits. The former Vice President presided over the wedding of Henry Munoz, the Democratic National Committee Finance Chair, and husband Kyle Ferrari over the weekend. This marks at least the second gay wedding Biden has officiated: he also married Brian Mosteller, the Oval Office operations director for former …

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TEXAS: 14 Major Companies Issue Last Minute Letter To Governor Urging Stop To Anti-LGBT Legislation

The Dallas Morning News reports: The CEOs of 14 top companies, including Facebook, Apple, Microsoft and Amazon, have sent a letter to Gov. Greg Abbott urging him not to pass discriminatory legislation. “As large employers in the state, we are gravely concerned that any such legislation would deeply tarnish Texas’ reputation as open and friendly to businesses and families,” the …

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US Soccer Teams To Don Rainbow Jerseys For Pride

USA Today reports: The U.S. men’s and women’s national soccer teams plan to sport rainbow-themed numbers on their uniforms during June contests to support LGBT Pride Month as part of a collaborative initiative between U.S. Soccer and You Can Play— an organization dedicated to eradicating homophobia and transphobia through the sports world. The men’s team members will wear the rainbow …

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White House Omits Husband Of Luxembourg Prime Minister In Official Photo Caption, Lists Melania Twice

The Guardian reports: The Trump White House on Saturday omitted Gauthier Destenay, the husband of Luxembourg prime minister Xavier Bettel, from the caption to an official photograph of the spouses of Nato leaders, taken at this week’s summit in Brussels. Destenay, a Belgian architect, married Bettel in 2015, becoming the first same-sex spouse of a leader of a European Union …

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MIAMI: World OutGames Abruptly Canceled Amid Financial Turmoil As Athletes Begin Arriving [VIDEO]

The Miami Herald reports: The long-planned sporting and cultural event known as the World OutGames, a 10-day LGBTQ-themed meeting advertised as a spectacular gathering of athletes from around the world, unraveled Friday about 24 hours before the opening ceremonies. Most of the sports events, along with opening and closing ceremonies, were canceled at the very last minute amid a flurry …

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Electroshock And Beatings With Pipes: New Report Confirms Grim Details Of Chechen Torture Of Gay Men

Human Rights Watch today released a 26-page report detailing the gruesome torture of gay men at the hands of Chechen police. Radio Free Europe reports: “All of the victims suffered repeated beatings,” the report said. “Security officials kicked them with booted feet, beat them with polypropylene pipes and sticks, and made other inmates beat them” — mostly on the men’s …

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Chinese Company Acquires Grindr For $240M

The South China Morning Post reports: The world’s largest gay social media app is now owned by the Chinese, after a little-known Beijing tech company agreed to acquire full control of America’s Grindr for US$240 million, and fully engage in its daily operations. Beijing Kunlun Tech, a game developer owned by 38-year-old billionaire Zhou Yahui, said on Wednesday it planned …

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INDONESIA: Police In Most Populous Province Form Anti-LGBT Task Force As Crackdown Continues

Reuters reports: Police in Indonesia’s most populous province plan to deploy a taskforce to investigate lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) activity, a move likely to fuel concerns of a widening crackdown on the community in the Muslim-majority country. West Java police chief Anton Charliyan disclosed the plan on Tuesday as two gay men in the province of Aceh were …

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Taiwan’s Haters Have The Marriage Sadz [VIDEO]

The Shanghaiist reports: On Wednesday afternoon, cheers rang out in the streets of Taipei as Taiwan’s top constitutional court ruled in favor of same-sex marriage, but not everyone present was so overjoyed. The ruling has left anti-gay groups on the island in shock, with one prominent activist likening the decision to the September 11th terror attacks of 2001. Shih Chun-yu, …

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TEXAS: Senate To Reject “Bathroom Bill” Because It’s Not Cruel Enough, Special Session Vote Possible

The Dallas Morning News reports: The Texas Senate will reject the so-called bathroom bill passed in the House late Sunday and request a special committee to work out a compromise on the legislation. Sen. Larry Taylor, R-Friendswood, who authored the original bill, said he would not agree to the changes and would ask the two chambers appoint a conference committee …

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