LGBT News

Following a 2010 ruling by Mexico’s Supreme Court, same-sex marriage is recognized in all 31 Mexican states, but currently only nine states have enacted laws that allow gay couples to marry locally without going to court. Last month President Enrique Nieto proposed a constitutional change to force the remaining states to comply. Yesterday he authored a Huffington Post column explaining …

Via the Associated Press: Florida taxpayers are going to pay nearly $500,000 for the state’s losing battle to keep intact a voter-approved ban on gay marriage. State officials have now reached settlements with two separate groups of attorneys representing same-sex couples that challenged the state’s ban. Attorney General Pam Bondi’s office reached a final settlement on Wednesday that brought the …

Tribune News Service reports: A growing number of Americans are having gay sex, or at least admitting to it. And that’s OK with more of us. “People over time are reporting more same-sex sexual experiences than ever before,” said Brooke Wells, a social psychologist at Widener University’s Center for Human Sexuality Studies. The behavioral trend, reflected in an annual survey …

Via press release from the US Navy: The Navy joins the nation in recognizing Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride month during the month of June. Established by Presidential Proclamation in 2000, LGBT Pride Month is held annually and recognizes the importance of diversity within our society as well as the many achievements of LGBT individuals. This year’s theme is …

From Israel National News: A Tel Aviv court on Wednesday struck down dozens of restraining orders Israeli police had issued against opponents of this Friday’s planned gay pride parade. The orders, which would have barred the individuals from approaching the route of the parade in Tel Aviv, were issued against dozens of haredi and national religious activists. Police had called …

From the Moscow Times: Kremlin-backed experts have described condoms as the main cause of Russia HIV epidemic, the Kommersant newspaper reported Tuesday. The report from the Russian Institute for Strategic Research (RISR) described the country’s HIV problem as part of information war against Russia. The institute’s deputy director Tatyana Guzenkova said that HIV and AIDS were used as part of …

Chris Johnson report at the Washington Blade: President Obama predicted on Wednesday courts will settle which public restroom transgender students should be able to use amid continuing controversy over the issue. Obama made the remarks in response to a question during a town hall on “PBS News Hour” with Gwen Ifill as part of a trip to Elkhart, Ind., in …

From GLAD: “This is an incredible moment. After years of brave and steadfast work by transgender people, family members, allies, businesses, faith leaders, and community organizations, we are inches from full equality for transgender people in our state. This bill will not only ensure fair and long overdue protections for transgender people, but enshrine in law a recognition of the …

From the Associated Press: The fight over bathroom rights for transgender students escalated in Texas on Tuesday as the state’s lieutenant governor urged schools to defy the Obama administration while parents of transgender children accused Republican leaders of stoking intolerance and making their kids targets for bullying. Few states are as publicly and persistently pushing back on transgender rights as …

NBC/Universal this afternoon posted a video in celebration of LGBT Pride Month. Narrated by out MSNBC anchor Thomas Roberts, the clip features a montage of activists and recent events in LGBT rights. Watch below.

The Massachusetts House is currently hearing debate on the transgender rights bill that passed in the state Senate last month. Watch live here. As noted in the post below this one, GOP Gov. Charlie Baker has promised to sign the bill should it reach his desk.

From the Boston Globe: After months of taking heat for ambiguity on a deeply controversial issue, Governor Charlie Baker said Tuesday he would sign a transgender public accommodations bill should it reach his desk. His declaration marked the beginning of the end of a bitter, years-long legislative battle over the rights of transgender people in Massachusetts. “We’ve certainly listened to …

Via press release from Democratic National Committee chair Debbie Wasserman Shultz: As we begin LGBT Pride Month, members of the LGBT Community and their allies have many victories to celebrate. Our nation has made enormous progress in recent years in the fight for equality – the result of courageous individuals and dedicated groups in every corner of our country standing …

Two weeks ago the New Hampshire Senate followed the state House in approving a ban on ex-gay torture. The Senate vote even came with the support of GOP Majority Leader Jeb Bradley. But that’s where the good news ends, for now. New Hampshire Public Radio reports: The House and Senate passed differing versions of a ban on conversion therapy earlier …

The Guardian reports: A vegan cafe in the centre of Tbilisi was shocked to find itself the subject of far-right ire after a group arrived and threw meat on patrons’ plates, leading to a public brawl. Customers said a group entered the cafe wearing sausages around their necks and carrying slabs of meat on skewers, before attacking customers and staff. …

Big news via the ACLU: The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit will not rehear the case of a Gloucester County transgender high school student suing his school board over discriminatory bathroom policies. The court today denied the Gloucester County School Board’s request for an en banc review of an April decision which held that Title IX …

The BBC reports: NHS England has reiterated it will not fund a “game-changer” drug treatment that can prevent HIV, angering HIV charities which had been campaigning to reverse the decision. The NHS is standing firm and says it has no responsibility to provide the treatment, known as Prep. It says the onus should fall on local authorities instead. Charities have …

Earlier today I reported the grim news that neo-Nazis are planning a “bloodbath” at next week’s Kiev Pride. But now comes something much more encouraging. JMG reader Matt Holland writes: This morning, on “Breakfast with 1+1”, a national Ukrainian morning show that reaches over 15 million people, Potomac Fever one of the small ensembles from the Gay Men’s Chorus of …

Just in from the White House: Since our founding, America has advanced on an unending path toward becoming a more perfect Union. This journey, led by forward-thinking individuals who have set their sights on reaching for a brighter tomorrow, has never been easy or smooth. The fight for dignity and equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people is …

Kyle Mantyla report at Right Wing Watch: At least week’s Watchmen on the Wall conference, Family Research Council president Tony Perkins presented Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant with the first ever “Samuel Adams Religious Freedom Award” for having signed a radical anti-LGBT bill into law earlier this year that will allow businesses to deny service to gay people. While introducing the …