LGBT News

Feeling the heat from major local corporations, Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal today denounced the pending anti-LGBT “religious liberty” bill by citing scripture. From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Standing in the lobby of a government building after a ribbon-cutting ceremony, he laid out a lengthy condemnation of the measure from a Biblical perspective, first noting that he is a Southern Baptist who …

The Washington Blade reports: The South Dakota House of Representatives on Thursday failed to override the veto of a bill that would ban transgender students from using restrooms in public schools that are consistent with their gender identity. Supporters of House Bill 1008 needed two-thirds of lawmakers to vote in favor of overriding Republican Gov. Dennis Daugaard’s veto earlier this …

Reuters reports: The United States turned to cultural diplomacy on Tuesday to push gay rights at the United Nations by taking 15 U.N. ambassadors, including those from Russia, Gabon and Namibia, to see an award-winning lesbian musical on Broadway. Samantha Power, the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, said the “Fun Home” coming-of-age production “brings home the challenges that LGBTI …

HBO has issued a statement denouncing champion boxer Manny Pacquiao as they prepare to air his next bout. Via Outsports: “Next month Manny Pacquiao and Timothy Bradley Jr. are scheduled to meet in a Pay-Per-View bout,” HBO said in a statement. “We have an obligation to both fighters and, therefore, will proceed to produce and distribute that event. However, we …

 The Salt Lake Tribune reports: Rusty Andrade was prepared to lose. But it still felt like a punch to the gut Wednesday as he watched, from a seat on the Senate floor, lawmakers vote to kill a proposal to bolster Utah’s hate-crime laws. “It totally feels like a revictimization,” said Andrade, 35, whose 2014 beating by two men shouting gay …

Rejected by a vote of 27-7. Woo and hoo. The HRC reacts: “For one day at least, West Virginia is spared from legislation that would increase the likelihood of unacceptable discrimination and a flood of expensive legal challenges,” said HRC Legal Director Sarah Warbelow. “Unfortunately, despite today’s events, more work lies ahead. LGBT West Virginians still remain at risk for …

This is an interesting development. The New York Post reports: A killer who shot a man on a Manhattan street after hurling gay epithets has a longtime transsexual lover who insists the defendant is no bigot. Elliot Morales, acting as his own lawyer for the hate-crime slaying of gay stranger Mark Carson, called as his first witness a former flame …

Take that, Duggar family. The Associated Press reports: A state judge on Tuesday upheld a northwest Arkansas city’s ban on discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, ruling that it doesn’t conflict with a law aimed at blocking local protections for gays and lesbians. Washington County Circuit Judge Doug Martin ruled that the Fayetteville ordinance ratified by voters last …

Some promising news out of West Virginia last night: The state Senate has put the brakes on the controversial Religious Freedom Restoration bill (HB4012), making significant language changes that bill supporters say guts the measure. The Senate, on a 23-11 vote Tuesday evening, approved an amendment by Sens. Corey Palumbo (D-Kanawha) and Ron Stollings (D-Boone) that said the RFRA law could …

From the Philly Voice: Judge Roxanne Covington will hear a resentencing motion next week for Kathryn Knott, the Bucks County woman convicted of simple assault and related charges in the 2014 beating of a gay couple in Center City. Last month, Covington sentenced Knott last month to 5-to-10 months in prison and two years of probation for her role in …

He took the veto down to the literal last hour before it would become law. Dominic Holden reports at Buzzfeed: South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard heeded to pressure from LGBT advocates and businesses on Tuesday, announcing he vetoed a bill that would have banned transgender students from using school restrooms that correspond with their gender identity. South Dakota would have …

Via press release: The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced today that it has filed its first two sex discrimination cases based on sexual orientation. The federal agency’s Philadelphia District Office filed suit in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania against Scott Medical Health Center, and, in a separate suit, in U.S. District Court for the …

Stuff reports: West Australian Senator Joe Bullock has announced he is retiring from politics, citing an inability to support the Labor Party’s position requiring MPs to vote in favour of same-sex marriage. Calling it “homosexual marriage,” the 61-year-old right-wing Senator told Parliament on Tuesday night that he was “morally obliged” to quit, just two years after entering Parliament because he …

The Age reports: Social media giant Facebook has waded into the divisive same-sex marriage debate in an unprecedented partnership with Australian marriage equality advocates. From Tuesday, Facebook will give its 14 million Australian users the option of adding an Australian Marriage Equality banner to their profile pictures, in what AME hopes will demonstrate “the mainstream support” for the reform. The …

The man whose imprisonment for being gay helped lead to the decriminalization of homosexuality in Canada will be posthumously pardoned by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The CBC reports: Trudeau intends to posthumously pardon Everett George Klippert who, because he admitted to police in the 1960s that he was gay, was deemed a dangerous sexual offender and sent to prison. “The …

Indonesia’s crackdown on its LGBT population continues. Gay Star News reports: Indonesia has banned men from behaving effeminately or dressing in women’s clothing on TV. The Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI) issued a directive Tuesday (23 February) after receiving complaints from viewers. The directive specifically banned: Men wearing feminine fashion. Men wearing feminine make-up. Feminine body language exhibited by men, including, …

Last night was what some Eurovision fans call “Super Saturday” in which five more nations chose their entry for this year’s contest in Stockholm. Below are the winning performances from Finland, Norway, Moldova, Slovenia, and Hungary. I quite like Finland and Slovenia this year. The final video below is a ranking from one of Eurovision’s many rabid fanboys. As you …

Primarily thanks to residents of Bern and Zurich, today Switzerland’s voters very narrowly rejected a tax bill which contained a “Trojan horse” section which defined marriage as exclusively between a man and a woman. Swiss Info reports: What had seemed like a sure “Yes” in January became a close contest after an energetic “No” committee argued that the terms of …

From the New York Post: Manhattan jurors were shown a cellphone video Thursday of homophobic killer Elliot Morales confessing to his crime before trying to lick the sidewalk in front of cops. “I fucking shot him dead!” Morales shouts, cackling, as several NYPD officers restrain him face-first on the pavement. “Diagnosis dead, doctor!” he continues, laughing to the police. “They …

From the Daily Beast: Two months and two billion box office dollars later, Star Wars: The Force Awakens has reaped huge returns for Disney with its most progressive episode yet. Now that Daisy Ridley’s Rey and John Boyega’s Finn have given the Star Wars franchise its first female Jedi and black lead, respectively, does its fearless director J.J. Abrams see …