LGBT News

Mic.com reports: North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory doubled down on his state’s transgender bathroom law in a new ad for his tough re-election bid, saying the law — which requires transgender students to use the restroom of their sex assigned at birth — protects everyone’s “privacy and safety.” There is no evidence to support the claim that transgender-inclusive restrooms are …

Orlando’s ABC affiliate reports: A man linked to social media posts threatening a Pulse-style attack against the LGBT community will not face a judge in federal court Tuesday. According to the FBI, Craig Jungwirth, 50, was arrested at his Orlando home Saturday for a violating bond conditions in an unrelated pending misdemeanor case. Jungwirth’s court appearance was canceled after he …

Via the Associated Press: After competing in pageants for generations in the closet or working behind the scenes, gays and lesbians finally get to see one of their own take one of pageantry’s biggest stages. Miss Missouri, Erin O’ Flaherty, will compete for the Miss America crown this weekend as the first openly lesbian contestant. “Behind the scenes, we’ve been …

Orlando’s NBC affiliate reports: On Wednesday, FBI agents identified the address of Jungwirth’s mother, and found Craig Jungwirth walking on the street in the area of Citrus Chase Drive in the Bay Hill area. FBI and Orlando Police detectives talked to Jungwirth, who refused to read the printed Facebook statements, and denied making the threats. He would not speak further, …

The Orlando Sentinel reports: A man linked to social media posts threatening a Pulse-style attack against the LGBT community in South Florida was arrested Saturday by the Florida Highway Patrol on an unrelated charge, officials said. A Broward County judge on Saturday held an emergency hearing to issue an arrest warrant for Craig Jungwirth, 50, for a violating bond conditions …

AL.com reports: Alabama’s process for punishing judges needs to be changed, the Alabama Republican Party’s executive committee says in a resolution aimed at what led to the suspension of Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore. The resolution asks that the executive, legislative and judicial branches of state government enact law for the election of all nine of the Judicial Inquiry Commission …

JMG reader Richard tips us that Fort Lauderdale City Commissioner Dean Trantalis just announced on his Facebook page that Craig Jungwirth, who is suspected of having made terrorist threats against Wilton Manors gay bars, has been apprehended in the Orlando area. See his message below. At this writing no further details are available. I’ll update this post shortly when more …

The suspect is a gay man with a lengthy criminal history who is very well known to the South Florida bear community, bar owners, and club promoters. Via Miami’s NBC affiliate: The Broward LGBT community is on edge after threats were made on social media. Some bars in Wilton Manors, like Rumors Bar and Grill, are stepping up security with …

Arizona Public Media reports: Former legislator Matt Heinz won the Democratic primary election in Arizona’s 2nd Congressional District Tuesday and will challenge incumbent Republican Martha McSally. With nearly half the votes counted, Heinz led Victoria Steele, another former legislator, 53 percent to 47 percent. In comments at a Democratic victory party, Heinz set the agenda for his campaign. “Martha McSally …

The Guardian reports: Labor and a group of Greens and independent MPs have separately given notice that they will introduce private members’ bills to legalise same-sex marriage. Greens MP Adam Bandt and independents Cathy McGowan and Andrew Wilkie gave notice on Tuesday of a cross-party marriage equality bill, in identical terms to one before the previous parliament. On Tuesday, as …

The New York Daily News reports: A Democrat waging a primary campaign in Queens vowed to fight to bar pictures of same-sex couples from appearing in school textbooks. S.J. Jung, who is challenging incumbent Sen. Toby Ann Stavisky in the Sept. 13 primary, made the remarks in March to a group made up primarily of Korean churches. At the same …

Chris Geidner reports at Buzzfeed: In a limited ruling on Friday afternoon, a federal judge barred the University of North Carolina from enforcing the “bathroom bill” provision of the state’s anti-LGBT HB 2 law against those transgender individuals who sued the state following the passage of the law. In the ruling U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Schroeder noted, “Ultimately, the …

The Daily Beast recaps: Ellen Page and Ian Daniel are at the home of an Orlando man named Eddie. It’s been five days since his friends Juan Guerrero and Christopher Andrew Leinonen were killed during a friend’s 21st birthday party at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, two of the 49 people killed during the worst incident of violence against LGBT people …

The Orlando Sentinel reports: Orlando Health and Florida Hospital will not bill survivors of the Pulse nightclub massacre for out-of-pocket medical expenses, officials announced Wednesday. Instead, the hospitals will write off an estimated $5.5 million or more in care. “The pulse shooting was a horrendous tragedy for the victims, their families and our entire community,” Orlando Health President and CEO …

Via press release from PFLAG Australia: Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays has stepped up its campaign against a marriage equality plebiscite with the release of a new advertisement. The ad highlights the fact politicians can ignore the result of a plebiscite, as well as the plebiscite’s $160 million price tag. PFLAG national spokesperson, Shelley Argent, said, “As parents, …

The Associated Press reports: A jury convicted a Georgia man on Wednesday for throwing boiled water on a same-sex couple sleeping in an apartment, leaving them with severe burns that required surgery. Jurors deliberated for about 90 minutes before finding Martin Blackwell guilty of eight counts of aggravated battery and two counts of aggravated assault in the attack on Anthony …

USA Today reports: For the governorship, Republican Gov. Pat McCrory is far behind Democratic Attorney General Roy Cooper. The incumbent trails Cooper, 52%-43%. Some of McCrory’s struggle could stem from the HB2 law that he signed. The HB2 law, also known as the “bathroom bill,” among other things requires users of public restrooms to use the bathroom of the gender …

North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory is seven points behind AG Roy Cooper in the latest poll, therefore we get this desperation move. Watch below. Via Raleigh’s NBC affiliate: Gov. Pat McCrory launched a pair of new campaign ads on Monday, one touting his record on education spending and the other slamming his Democratic rival on House Bill 2. The campaign …

Chris Geidner reports at Buzzfeed: Five states, led by Texas, and several nonprofit medical groups, all of which are religiously affiliated, filed a lawsuit on Tuesday challenging the Obama administration’s efforts to guarantee health care coverage to transgender people under the Affordable Care Act. “On pain of significant financial liability, the [Health and Human Services Department’s] Regulation forces doctors to …

The Associated Press reports: WikiLeaks’ global crusade to expose government secrets is causing collateral damage to the privacy of hundreds of innocent people, including survivors of sexual abuse, sick children and the mentally ill, The Associated Press has found. In the past year alone, the radical transparency group has published medical files belonging to scores of ordinary citizens while many …