LGBT News

The Georgia Recorder reports: A controversial bill dubbed Georgia’s version of “Don’t Say Gay” moved forward in a Senate committee Tuesday after three years of work and multiple failures to move, largely over Republican opposition to the inclusion of private schools. The bill passed committee on a 6-3 party line vote during a committee meeting in which proponents were given …

Columbus’s CBS affiliate reports: Columbus police are looking into a hate crime that happened last week near The Ohio State University’s campus last Thursday. Two men were caught on camera saying homophobic slurs and vandalizing a pride flag in front of a home in the Weinland Park area of Columbus. “It was shocking but not surprising,” Sarah, who lives at …

The Associated Press reports: An LGBTQ rights activist in Poland said Tuesday that he believes it’s a “new beginning” in Poland after a host on state television apologized on air for the homophobic propaganda aired by state media in recent years. “It took me by surprise,” said Bart Staszewski, one of two activists invited on air Sunday evening when the …

Tampa’s Fox affiliate reports: A Clearwater man was arrested after police say he intentionally did burnouts in his truck through an LGBTQ Pride crosswalk in South Florida. According to the Delray Beach Police Department, Dylan Brewer, 19, of Clearwater, was arrested and charged with felony criminal mischief over $1,000 and reckless driving. On the night of Sunday, Feb. 4, witnesses …

The Daily Beast reports: About a decade before Moms for Liberty co-founder Bridget Ziegler championed Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law, she was a Sarasota socialite who partied with a coterie of gay friends. “From the very get-go, we hit it off,” Nishit Patel said. “Of course the gay guy is going to gravitate toward the gorgeous blonde.” Patel is just …

The Associated Press reports: Thousands of protesters gathered in central Athens on Sunday to oppose legislation that would legalize same-sex marriage in Greece. Greece’s conservative government is sponsoring the bill but it will require votes from center and left opposition parties to be approved. However, even some center-left lawmakers have gone on record as opposing the bill. Organizers of Sunday’s …

Washington DC’s NBC affiliate reports: Two soldiers assigned to the U.S. Army’s elite Old Guard were arrested and charged with stealing pride flags from a home in Arlington, Virginia, and neighbors have rallied to support the targeted couple. Beginning in September, a couple had their pride flags stolen at least five times from their home, which is just around the …

The Associated Press reports: Kansas’ attorney general is telling public schools they’re required to tell parents their children are transgender or non-binary even if they’re not out at home, though Kansas is not among the states with a law that explicitly says to do that. Kobach maintains that failing to disclose when a child is socially transitioning or identifying as …

NBC News reports: A Utah state school board member is facing widespread condemnation and calls to resign after she shared a post on social media that appeared to suggest a 16-year-old girl on her school’s basketball team is transgender. Natalie Cline, a member of the Utah State Board of Education, posted earlier this week on Facebook a flier for a …

Oklahoma City’s NPR affiliate reports: A ban of LGBTQ Pride flags on state property is advancing in the Oklahoma legislature. The bill – called the “Patriotism not Pride Act” – would bar state agencies from displaying gay Pride flags on their grounds, and would also prohibit state resources from being used to endorse Pride activities through flyers or even on …

The Washington Post reports: A Tennessee city must pay $500,000 as part of a settlement with the American Civil Liberties Union and other groups over an ordinance designed to ban drag performances from taking place on public property, attorneys announced Wednesday. Last year, the Tennessee Equality Project — a nonprofit that advocates for LGBTQ+ rights — filed a federal lawsuit …

The Des Moines Register reports: Gov. Kim Reynolds’ new attempt to enforce conservative values in Iowa, introducing a bill that would define the words “sex,” “man” and “woman” in state law, has raised the hackles of civil rights and LGBTQ groups. It sounds simple, but the bill would have wide-ranging implications, including requiring changes to the way Iowa collects public …

Via press release from Penguin Random House: Carl Siciliano met Ali Forney—a Black nonbinary teenager overflowing with life—in 1994 while working at a daytime center for homeless youth in New York City. Nineteen years old and driven from home, Forney was the heart of the community, known for infectious laughter, fierce loyalty to friends, and an unshakeable faith in their …

The Holland Sentinel reports: A formal complaint has reportedly been filed after a West Michigan wedding venue sparked controversy for its anti-LGBTQ marriage policy. The venue, the Old Wooden Barn, was hand-built in 1905. It was converted into a wedding venue over the past decade. The business, owned by Mitch and Kelli VanOverloop, states its marriage policy clearly online. “Because …

USA Today reports: Iowans waved rainbow pride flags and erupted in cheers in the Iowa Capitol hallway Wednesday afternoon as lawmakers announced they were killing a bill that would have removed gender identity protections from the state’s civil rights law. All three members of an Iowa House subcommittee that considered the controversial legislation said they would not advance it to …

The Daily Beast reports: A Russian court has sent a girl to jail for wearing rainbow-colored earrings shaped like frogs, according to multiple local reports. The press service for the Sormovsky District Court in the Nizhny Novgorod region confirmed to RBC News that the girl has been jailed for five days on charges of publicly displaying “the symbol of an …

Deadline reports: Laurence Fox has lost his libel case after calling two people including a former Drag Race contestant “paedophiles” on social media. The actor-turned-politician, who was fired by GB News late last year for highly misogynistic remarks, heard his comments labeled “harmful, defamatory and baseless” by a High Court judge this afternoon in London, according to the BBC. Fox …

The Tallahassee Democrat reports: Transgender Floridians can no longer change the listed gender on their driver licenses. The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles announced the change in a memo late last week sent to county tax collectors, where state residents can get licenses. “Permitting an individual to alter his or her license to reflect an internal sense …

Seattle’s The Stranger reports: Marching into a gay bar to issue citations feels a bit vintage in 2024. Nevertheless, over the weekend, the Joint Enforcement Team (JET), which is a coalition of Seattle Police, Fire, the state Liquor and Cannabis Board (LCB), and others, entered two gay bars, The Cuff Complex and The Seattle Eagle, and started looking around. And …

Decaturish reports: The Decatur Fire Department confirmed on Jan. 26 that a fire at a gender clinic inside a historic building was intentionally set. As first reported by Decaturish, records show that fire investigators were probing whether an arsonist targeted a gender-affirming medical clinic at the historic Blair Building on Oct. 30, 2023. The city denied our request for police …