LGBT News

The Associated Press reports: Do No Harm, a nonprofit that launched last year to oppose diversity initiatives in medicine, has evolved into a significant leader in statehouses seeking to ban gender-affirming care for transgender youths, producing model legislation that an Associated Press analysis found has been used in at least three states, including Florida. The nonprofit, not widely known outside …

The Texas Tribune reports: The Texas House gave initial approval to a bill restricting children from seeing sexually explicit performances on Friday. Senate Bill 12 was originally designed to restrict kids from attending drag shows, but its most recent version seeks to criminalize any live performance that the bill defines as sexual. It defines a sexually explicit performance as one …

The South Florida Gay News reports: In the week since Wilton Manors’ city commission voted unanimously to amend the permit for the Stonewall Pride Parade & Street Festival, people on both sides of the issue on whether or not to comply with drag laws have lashed out. The amendment ensures event producers follow all laws, including ones passed since the …

Fox News reports: Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, on Thursday called for Republicans to drop support for a must-pass military funding bill after his office obtained an Air Force memo declaring June to be LGBTQ+ Pride Month. The May 3 memo, shared with Fox News, approves observance of Pride Month in June and empowers installation commanders to “plan and conduct appropriate …

ClickOrlando reports: Orlando police said they’re investigating and confirming a homophobic threat that was posted on a digital traffic sign in Lake Nona that read “Kill all gays.” Police say the threat was posted on a sign at Lake Nona Blvd. and Nemours Pkwy. around 3:45 a.m. on Wednesday and that the sign appeared to have been tampered with. News …

The Associated Press reports: Organizers of the Paris Olympics, who gave rainbow colors to their logo Wednesday to mark the international day against homophobia, transphobia and biphobia, aren’t limiting themselves to promises of inclusive Games next year. They say they also intend to seize on the Olympic spotlight to push a broader message that LGBTQ rights need to progress outside …

Tampa’s NBC affiliate reports: A pride event in downtown Tampa was cancelled after a bill concerning “adult live performances” was signed into law Wednesday. On Thursday, Tampa Pride President Carrie West confirmed that the organization will not host its Pride on the River event this year. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed HB-1438, titled “Protection of Children,” into law in Tampa on …

Via press release from the Los Angeles LGBT Center: We are deeply disappointed that the Dodgers, an organizational partner that has made significant strides towards dismantling anti-LGBTQ+ bias in sports and long-standing supporter of our mission, has decided to revoke their invitation to honor the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence at their upcoming Pride Night. Buckling to pressure from out-of-state, right-wing …

ABC News reports: Threats of violence against the LGBTQIA+ community are on the rise and intensifying, according to a new briefing by the Department of Homeland Security. The DHS document, distributed to government and law enforcement agencies on May 11, said that domestic violence extremists and people who commit hate crimes have increased threats of violence against the LGBTQIA+ community …

From the May 4th press release from LA Pride: LA Pride is thrilled to be partnering with the Los Angeles Dodgers for the 10th annual LGBTQ+ Pride Night at Dodger Stadium, presented by Blue Shield of California, on Friday, June 16. LA Pride fans will enjoy a host of extras, both before and after the 7:10 p.m. matchup against the …

The Texas Tribune reports: Republican state leaders’ broadest effort to prevent Democratic-run cities and counties from enacting progressive policies — which could drastically limit local government’s ability to make rules on areas like labor rights, drought restrictions and even noise complaints — is one step closer to becoming law. By a 18-13 vote mostly along party lines, the Texas Senate …

The Washington Examiner reports: A group of 22 Republican senators called on the Biden administration on Monday to withdraw recently proposed rule changes to Title IX that could prevent states from enforcing bans on transgender athletes competing in sports that don’t correspond to their biological sex at birth. The Education Department’s proposed rule would allow schools to ban transgender students …

Bloomberg News reports: A prominent LGBTQ+ center in China is closing down after 15 years, another sign of the tightening of space for sexual orientation-focused organizations under President Xi Jinping. In a statement on its WeChat account on Monday, the Beijing LGBT Center said it was terminating its operations effective immediately, saying only that the closing was due to a …

The Fayetteville Observer reports: House Bill 673, “Clarify Regulations on Adult Entertainment,” would prohibit “adult live entertainment” on private property in the presence of anyone under age 18 and not allow it at all on public property. “Adult live entertainment” is defined as “a performance featuring topless dancers, exotic dancers, strippers, or male or female impersonators who provide entertainment that …

South Florida Gay News reports: Drag queens and other performers who work up and down Wilton Drive, filed into the city commission chamber at Wilton Manors City Hall. They, along with other citizens, stood up and spoke out, urging commissioners to stand with them against the tyranny of Tallahassee. In the end, the panel sympathized, empathized, and voted against them. …

The New York Times reports: President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey was facing the greatest political challenge of his career after millions voted on Sunday in pivotal elections that could reshape the country’s domestic and foreign policies. The presidential and parliamentary elections took place three months after devastating earthquakes killed more than 50,000 people in southern Turkey, and were in …

The Hill reports: Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) introduced a resolution Friday that would formally recognize and celebrate diverse family units across the nation. The introduction of the resolution, which Garcia’s office said is a “direct response” to comments made during a House hearing last month by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) that suggested non-biological mothers are not actual mothers, comes …

The Texas Tribune reports: A promising Democratic push to repeal Texas’ defunct ban on gay sex has fizzled after the lower chamber ran out of time to consider House Bill 2055 on Thursday. In June 2003, the landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Lawrence v. Texas struck down the state’s criminalization of gay sex. Sessions after sessions since then, Texas …

The Orlando Weekly reports: Yasmin Flasterstein and Dandelion Hill had just one stop left on their way to a “transgender joy” event hosted by the Orlando group they co-founded, Peer Support Space. They walked into Publix at Colonialtown with the intention of picking out a cake and grabbing some flowers. But when the two asked the bakery associate to write, …

Click2Houston reports: Denied. For the owner of a local lesbian bar, that’s the word that keeps playing over and over in her head. This, after she said an insurance underwriter denied coverage to her business, in part, because it hosts drag shows. Julie Mabry, owner of Pearl Bar, has insurance but decided to switch agents and shop around for a …