LGBT News

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 …

Jack and George have been “sweethearts” for 55 years and they married in Texas after the Obergefell ruling. Another great story from AdWeek: Candy maker Necco is expanding the definition of “sweetheart” to celebrate the 150th anniversary of its heart-shaped confections stamped with messages of love and affection. A new campaign from Hill Holliday seeks to give the brand a …

AdWeek approves: New posters have gone up in Toronto District School Board schools, which include 76,000 middle school and high school students. Launched by LGBTQ advocacy group Toronto Pflag, the posters depict a rainbow that spells out the LGBTQ acronym: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Straight, Queer and 2-Spirited. When students use the flash on their camera phones to take a …

AFP reports: Conservative Portuguese President Anibal Cavaco Silva vetoed on Monday a bill giving adoption rights to gay couples in one of his last political moves before newly-elected Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa takes the office. The law allowing gay couples to adopt passed through parliament on December 18, and was one of socialist Prime Minister Antonio Costa’s campaign promises. “It …