LGBT News

Back in January, I reported that an anti-LGBT Christian group has filed a ballot measure to gut Anchorage’s LGBT right ordinance, which was finally approved in 2014 after years of viciously fought battles. In that post I noted that two openly gay men, including longtime JMG participant Christopher Constant, are now running for the Anchorage Assembly (the city council). Alaska …

The Sydney Morning Herald reports: A court has allowed a four-year-old girl to be adopted by a same-sex couple despite her birth parents’ opposition on the basis of their Catholic faith. The girl was taken from her birth mother at four days old due to the mother’s long history of drug use and conviction for the manslaughter of her infant …

The Associated Press reports: Despite Republican assurances that North Carolina’s “bathroom bill” isn’t hurting the economy, the law limiting LGBT protections will cost the state more than $3.76 billion in lost business over a dozen years, according to an Associated Press analysis. Over the past year, North Carolina has suffered financial hits ranging from scuttled plans for a PayPal facility …

Orlando’s ABC affiliate reports: A lawsuit filed by the victims of the Pulse nightclub massacre and their families against the gunman’s wife and employer is in jeopardy of being dismissed in federal court. Federal Judge Kenneth A. Marra filed the order questioning if the federal court system had jurisdiction in the case, determining that as presented it did not. The …

NBC News reports: A clinic that was accused of pushing bogus “pray away the gay” therapy — and is owned by former Rep. Michele Bachmann’s husband — was cited by Minnesota health inspectors for failing to properly keep patient records. Inspectors going through the paperwork at the Counseling Care clinic in Lake Elmo found last month that “developmental condition” and …

The Chattanooga Times Free Press reports: The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga fired a reporter this week at WUTC, the National Public Radio affiliate, after local lawmakers complained about how she reported on the transgender bathroom bill. Jacqui Helbert, 32, reported and produced the story for WUTC, which followed a group of Cleveland High School students as they traveled to …

Holy cow. For once some good news out of Oklahoma: Twenty-five Oklahoma State Senators took a historic stand against anti-LGBTQ discrimination today. SB 694 and SB 197 were both called onto the senate floor for a vote. The former would have stripped employment and public accommodation protections form municipalities around the state, the later was a North Carolina “license to …

CBC Miami reports: Gay marriage has been a hot topic in and out of courtrooms for the past several years. Another issue is being fixed to help those who lost loved ones before the epic court ruling. Florida widows and widowers whose spouses died before the U.S. Supreme Court declared state bans on same-sex marriage unconstitutional can have the death …

Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch yesterday completed his third and final day of questions from the Senate. Today we’ll hear from several panels of “outside witnesses” who either support or oppose his confirmation. In his defense we’ll hear from former judicial colleagues, law clerks, and law school professors. Among those testifying in opposition will be the Human Rights Campaign, the …

The Bubble reports: Today marked the opening of the newly inaugurated Carlos Jaúregui subway station. Located on the corner of Avenida Santa Fe and Pueyrredón, the stop was previously referred to as the “Santa Fe” stop on the H line. Following a measure approved unanimously last year by the Buenos Aires City Legislature, the station was opened under its new …

The Tennessean reports: The bathroom bill, at least for this session, is dead in the Senate. Reintroduced by Sen. Mae Beavers [photo], the controversial bill, which would have required students in public schools to use the bathroom corresponding with the sex listed on their birth certificate, failed to receive a proper motion from the members the Senate Education Committee on …

Via press release from One Colorado: Today, a Colorado senate committee — for the third year in a row — killed a bill that would protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) young people by banning the dangerous and discredited practice of conversion therapy. One Colorado, the state’s leading advocacy organization for LGBTQ Coloradans and their families, released the …

The management at Out and Advocate magazines last night responded to false reports of their impending sale as a shakeup unfolds across LGBT print media. They write: The industry is making headlines as LGBT media companies prepare to gather in Orlando for an annual convention. Journalists from all over the country will arrive this week in Orlando for the eighth …

The Houston Chronicle reports: U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry, a former Texas governor and Texas A&M University Aggies Yell Leader, said Wednesday the election of the first openly gay president of the institution’s student body was “stolen” and that the student who had the most votes was disqualified through a process that “made a mockery of due process and transparency.” …

Yahoo News reports: The German government Wednesday approved plans to quash the convictions of 50,000 men sentenced for homosexuality under a Nazi-era law which remained in force after the war, and offer compensation. The measure marks a triumph for activists after a decades-long struggle to clear the names of gay men who lived with a criminal record under Article 175 …

The New York Times today published an op-ed by former GOP Sen. Alan Simpson which urges Trump to ignore the demands of anti-LGBT groups that he issue a “religious liberty” executive order which would legalize anti-LGBT discrimination nationwide. It begins: During Donald Trump’s campaign, he repeatedly cast himself as a supporter of L.G.B.T. rights. As president, however, he is being …

The Washington Post reports: The discussion of same-sex marriage was particularly pointed. When asked how his views on marriage have changed over the years, Gorsuch said he would not answer because it “would send a misleading signal to the American people.” Gorsuch was asked about same-sex marriage, which was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2015, and called it “absolutely …

The Texas Tribune reports: Texas A&M University’s first openly gay student body president is set to take office next month, marking a milestone for the largest public university in the state. Bobby Brooks, an economics junior at the flagship campus in College Station, was elected by A&M students as the university’s 74th student body president March 9. In an interview …

The Hollywood Reporter has the scoop: Power Rangers is breaking down a barrier no superhero movie has before. The Lionsgate reboot of the ’90s children’s TV show is the first big-budget superhero movie to feature an LGBT protagonist. During Power Rangers‘ second act, there’s a scene in which the titular heroes learn that the Yellow Ranger Trini (Becky G) is …

NBC News reports: Advocates are outraged that questions about LGBTQ seniors have suddenly been removed from an annual survey that determines services for elderly Americans. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) uses the National Survey of Older Americans Act Participants (NSOAAP) to decide how to allocate federal funding to groups that work with the elderly. For years, LGBTQ …