LGBT News

From Pierre’s NBC affiliate: A legislative panel has approved a bill that would bar the government from taking actions such as revoking the tax exempt status of an organization because of religious beliefs about marriage or sex. The House State Affairs committee approved the measure Wednesday. It heads to the full House. Republican Rep. Scott Craig says a person or …

Washington state GOP Rep. Graham Hunt has been pushing a bill that would allow businesses to restrict restroom use to people whose “genitalia match the sign on the door” – as one right wing site put it. Last night he resigned under “stolen valor” accusations. The Seattle Times reports: State Rep. Graham Hunt has resigned over accusations he exaggerated his …

Whoa. You’ll definitely want to watch this. Buzzfeed reports: Greens senator Robert Simms has ripped into former prime minister Tony Abbott for speaking to an ultra-conservative anti-gay group in the U.S. last week. “It advocates for the criminalisation of homosexuality and the abolition of anti-discrimination laws that protect the rights of LGBTI people,” he said. “It is a lunatic fringe …

It was hoped that the fake LGB (no T) rights bill that advanced last week in an Indiana Senate committee would be amended and corrected today before the full chamber. Instead it wasn’t heard at all and is now dead for the legislative session. Hate groups are doing a victory dance. From the Indianapolis Star: Senate President Pro Tem David …

Huge news out of India this morning. Video below. The BBC reports: India’s Supreme Court has agreed to revisit a previous judgement that upheld a law criminalising gay sex. Three senior judges said the 2013 ruling would be re-examined by a larger bench of judges, in a move that has been welcomed by activists. The judges said that the issue …

Karen Ocamb reports at Frontiers: AIDS ain’t over, and neither is the effort to find money and fame by charlatans promising a cure. Friday night, controversial libertarian Bill Maher gave a primetime spot on his HBO show Real Time with Bill Maher to an Australian doctor who claims he successfully treated HIV-positive actor Charlie Sheen through an alternative therapy. Maher …

Anti-LGBT groups and the Catholic Church have organized a massive rally taking place in Rome today against the civil unions bill under consideration in Parliament. The day began with Anonymous hacking the website of the group organizing the protest, replacing their banner with a “Love Is Love” message. The Guardian reports: Tens of thousands of people have gathered in Rome …

San Diego’s ABC affiliate reports: For the first time, the military spouse of the year nominee at Naval Base Coronado is gay. “I was the kid who didn’t want to be gay,” Brian Alvarado said. “I was scared.” But, there was no denying it. He met his husband, Matthew Alvarado, online two years ago. Matthew has been an active duty …

Last year the DNC created the LGBT Advisory Board to elevate “grassroots LGBT Democratic voices.” Today they announced that former Houston Mayor Annise Parker and longtime New York City HIV/AIDS activist Rev. José M. Román have accepted positions as the board’s co-chairs. Annise Parker:  “The LGBT community has made huge strides the past 7 years under Democratic leadership, but with …

Michigan Live reports: The proposal to add civil rights for LGBT people to Michigan’s constitution will no longer aim for the 2016 ballots, its organizer announced during a taping of public television show Off The Record Friday morning. “We are suspending our 2016 campaign, but I can assure you this is not the end of Fair Michigan,” said organizer Dana …

What a lovely track. NPR raves: The perfect music video makes me fall in love with a song by breathing life into its story. Here is a perfect music video. The band is Parlour Tricks, a band in love with radio pop, something I don’t always embrace, but that’s where the video worked it’s magic. I madly love the story …

The Sydney Morning Herald reports: Parliamentary support for same-sex marriage reform appears to have reached critical mass and for the first time could pass in both houses, placing renewed pressure on Malcolm Turnbull to grant a free vote, rather than spend millions of dollars organising a non-binding public plebiscite. Mr. Turnbull has promised conservative colleagues he will honour the plebiscite …

In a YouGov poll issued today, more than two-thirds of German voters and a majority of those belonging to Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party say they support same-sex marriage. Via Germany’s edition of The Local: With 68 percent in favour, support has grown by around 3 percent on this issue since YouGov last conducted the poll less than 12 months ago. …

Via the Associated Press: Nebraska’s defunct same-sex marriage ban could once again go before voters under a measure that seeks to remove it from the state constitution. Sen. Burke Harr of Omaha told a legislative committee Wednesday that his proposed amendment would ensure the constitution stays consistent with the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling that allowed same-sex marriage. Voters approved the …

Reuters reports: The former chief executive of the male escort website Rentboy.com was indicted on Wednesday on a charge of promoting prostitution, in a case that has outraged gay and civil rights activists. The three-count indictment against Jeffrey Hurant, 51, by a federal grand jury in Brooklyn, New York, added money laundering charges not previously filed against the company founder …

Brad Kutner of GayRVA, Virginia’s LGBT newspaper, was tipped this weekend about a state lawmaker spotted cruising on Grindr. Rather than publicly outing him for his anti-LGBT voting record, Kutner has published a lengthy open letter to him. A small excerpt: I know you’re obviously not out at work here at the General Assembly, but I have to ask why …

As I noted in an update to this morning’s post on Indiana’s LGBT rights battle, Lambda Legal fiercely opposes the allegedly pro-gay bills to be debated right now in before a state Senate committee. Also opposing the bills is right wing martyr Baronelle Stutzman, who is there courtesy of the Alliance Defending Freedom. Watch at this link. UPDATE: The Oregon …

IMPORTANT UPDATE FROM LAMBDA LEGAL BELOW. Great news from Freedom Indiana: The Senate Rules Committee just decided to not advance SB66, the “Super RFRA” bill! That means this heinous bill is almost certainly dead for this legislative session — and it’s because of your hard work! It’s certainly a relief that Hoosiers will be spared a second RFRA-fueled tragedy. But …

The Florida Senate Judiciary Committee is just beginning its hearing on a comprehensive LGBT anti-discrimination bill. The chamber appears to be packed with supporters and our enemies. Watch at this link. Equality Florida has the details: The committee will hear The Florida Competitive Workforce Act (SB 120) which would prohibit discrimination against LGBT people in employment, housing and public accommodations. …

From the New York Daily News: Ten gay and lesbian state and city Democratic elected officials on Tuesday are set to formally endorse Hillary Clinton for president, the Daily News has learned. Among those backing Clinton are state Sen. Brad Hoylman, a Manhattan Democrat and the state’s only openly gay senator, as well as Assembly members Deborah Glick (D-Manhattan), Daniel …