LGBT News

A Vatican priest working in the office of the Holy See was fired today immediately after he came out. Via Reuters: Monsignor Krzystof Charamsa was removed from his position at the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican’s doctrinal arm where he had worked since 2003, a statement said. Charamsa, 43, and a Polish theologian, announced he was …

According to a report published today by the New York Times, Vatican observers expect US Papal Nuncio Carlo Vigano to be removed at the “first respectable opportunity” for his “grave misstep” in secretly orchestrating the Pope’s meeting with Kim Davis. They write: Archbishop Viganò is turning 75 in January, the age at which bishops must submit a formal request to …

The Liberty Counsel’s terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day just got MUCH WORSE. CNN exclusively reports: The day before Pope Francis met anti-gay county clerk Kim Davis in Washington last week, he held a private meeting with a longtime friend from Argentina who has been in a same-sex relationship for 19 years. Yayo Grassi, an openly gay man, brought his …

UPDATE: I’ve reached out to the Human Rights Campaign and they dispute the below-linked New York Times story. According to HRC spokesman Brandon Lorenz, Hillary Clinton “remains the morning speaker” on Saturday. Hillary Clinton was scheduled to address Human Rights Campaign staffers and supporters on Saturday in advance of their annual gala in Washington DC, but the HRC gig has …

Last night CNN host Don Lemon asked Donald Trump point-blank if he is a homophobe. Trump, in standard fashion, dodged the question, saying “I’m a very nice person” before launching into litany of all the people who love him – the Tea Party, evangelicals, etc.  In recent weeks Trump has pandered to the religious right as more fundamentalists question his …

According to a just-revealed 2011 email, then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was furious that her department had proposed replacing “mother” and “father” with gender-neutral terms on US passports. Via the Huffington Post: “Who made the decision that State will not use the terms ‘mother and father’ and instead substitute ‘parent one and two’?” Clinton wrote in an email to staff …

Marriage equality champion Jim Obergefell has penned an open letter to Kim Davis. Via the ACLU, here’s the full text of his letter: “As you may know, when you fall in love with someone, you hand your heart and soul over to them. Anyone who has committed to sharing their life with another human and forming a family unit knows …

The New York Times reports: Everyone who has H.I.V. should immediately be put on antiretroviral triple therapy and everyone at risk of becoming infected should be offered protective doses of similar drugs, the World Health Organization said on Wednesday as it issued new H.I.V. treatment and prevention guidelines. The guidelines increase by nine million the number of people who should …

Via the Times Of Israel: Iranian soccer fans were left reeling earlier this week after eight members of the women’s national team were found to be men, the Al-Arabiya website reported on Monday. Mojtabi Sharifi, described as an official connected to the Iranian soccer league, said that the footballers “have been playing with Iran’s female team without completing sex change …

The Associated Press reports: The Nebraska attorney general’s office is objecting to a new effort by a civil liberties group to have both same-sex spouses listed as parents on their children’s birth certificates. State attorneys argued in a news release Tuesday that plaintiffs in the case are adding statements from couples who were not part of their original lawsuit and …

Big news this morning out of Anchorage. The Alaska Dispatch News reports: In a 9-2 vote, the Anchorage Assembly late Tuesday night made it illegal in the city to discriminate over sexual orientation or gender identity. The new local civil rights ordinance, the first of its kind in Alaska, will take effect as soon as it is signed by Assembly …

The Gates Foundation has donated nearly $6M to a promising HIV vaccine study underway at Florida Atlantic University. Via University Press: The vaccine, created by Scripps Research Institute professor Michael Farzan, has showed consistently effective results after being tested on lab animals. The grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will help fund his research for the next four …

Bill Donohue is going to have Catholic kittens! Via the Irish Queers: We are happy and relieved to announce that, after 25 years of struggle, we have won! The NYC St. Patrick’s Day parade has dropped its bigoted ban: an Irish LGBTQ contingent will finally march with its own banner in the parade next March 17th. From the beginning, our …

I’ve got my one purple shirt ready. Clip recap: “Bullying creates real despair and desperation. It can take a lot of years to shake it off. And some kids don’t make it that far. Layer on top of that someone trying to figure out their sexuality, and the fact that teachers and family might actually be part of the bullying, …

Russian police are investigating whether Apple’s so-called “gay emojis” violate the national ban on gay propaganda. Billboard reports: The “administrative case” under controversial laws that prohibit the propagation of homosexual (termed “non-traditional”) relationships to minors, carry fines of between $12,000 and $15,000 if an offender is convicted. The case, brought by police in Russia’s Kirov region 600 miles northeast of …

The International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission has changed their name. Michael Lavers reports at the Washington Blade: The organization — known by the acronym IGLHRC — will formally announce during its annual gala in Manhattan that it has changed its name to OutRight Action International. The group will also unveil its new logo, website and tagline that reads …

Vox reports: Robert Mugabe, the 91-year-old leader of Zimbabwe, deviated slightly from his prepared remarks, during his Monday evening address to the United Nations General Assembly, to do something that he does frequently: slur against homosexuality. “We are not gays,” he shouted. And it’s worse than it sounds. Mugabe made the comment in the course of a point about “double-standards,” …

Russian president Vladimir Putin sat down with 60 Minutes in advance of his address today before the United Nations General Assembly. According to Putin, Russia treats its LGBT citizens very well. Via CBS News: “The problem of sexual minorities in Russia had been deliberately exaggerated from the outside for political reasons, I believe, without any good basis,” he tells Charlie …

After withering reviews and widespread criticism of the lead character, Stonewall bombed at the box office this weekend, earning a meager $871 per screen in a small opening at 129 theaters. The Los Angeles Times reports: The low turnout for “Stonewall” does not come as a surprise to some. Backlash over the film, which dramatizes the 1969 gay-rights riots at …

Last night the Democratic National Committee held its annual LGBT gala at Manhattan’s Gotham Hall, where President Obama warmly embraced SCOTUS champion Jim Obergefell. Over 500 donors attended the event, paying from $1200 to the Federal Election Commission maximum of $33,400 per ticket. CNN reports on Obama’s remarks to the crowd: “One of their leading candidates argued that going to …