LGBT News

The Texas Tribune reports: West Texas A&M President Walter Wendler is drawing ire for canceling a student drag show, arguing that such performances degrade women and are “derisive, divisive and demoralizing misogyny.” Wendler said drag shows “stereotype women in cartoon-like extremes for the amusement of others and discriminate against womanhood” in a Monday letter. Wendler said the drag show was …

Michael Knowles, the viciously anti-LGBTQ host of a show on Ben Shapiro’s Daily Wire, last week earned a rebuke from the White House press secretary for his call for “eradicating transgenderism” during a speech at CPAC. Knowles attacks LGBTQ rights on almost every show, claiming, for example, that “there’s no such thing as gay marriage” and that transgender people are …

Lansing’s NBC affiliate reports: People within Michigan’s LGBTQ community will now be better protected against discrimination. Governor Gretchen Whitmer has signed the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act which expands basic protections for the LGBTQ community. It prohibits discrimination at places such as schools, offices, and housing, based on a person’s sexual orientation and gender identity. Read the full article. Whitmer just …

From the editorial board of the Miami Herald: They carried signs saying “Protect our children” and “Don’t legislate immorality.” Their leader said she spoke as a mother and a Christian, her “Save our children” campaign proclaiming to save Florida’s youth from the influence of gay people. It was 1977, and singer Anita Bryant, known for her Florida orange juice commercials, …

Newsweek reports: A Republican lawmaker in Florida has said he filed “in error” an amendment that would allow the flying of the Confederate flag. State Senator Jay Collins shared a statement to Twitter which strongly denied that the retired U.S. Army Green Beret was a “confederate sympathizer.” Collins had filed in the state senate an amendment, SB 668, that provided …

The Buffalo News reports: A federal appellate court Monday rejected the appeal of a fired account clerk who lost his job in 2018 for refusing to attend a mandatory workplace LGBTQ training session that he said conflicted with his religious beliefs. Raymond Zdunski sued seeking reinstatement, back pay and $10 million in damages, but a district court dismissed his lawsuit …

The Hill reports: The New Mexico legislature has passed legislation to modernize the state’s anti-discrimination law by adding explicit protections for LGBTQ people. The bill, officially titled the Human Rights Modernization Act, now heads to the governor’s desk for final approval. The proposed law, which New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) is expected to sign, establishes a broader slate …

The Insider reports: The DeSantis administration is revoking the Hyatt Regency Miami’s alcohol license after one of its facilities hosted “A Drag Queen Christmas” with minors present in the audience. The Department of Business Regulation filed a 17-page complaint Tuesday against the show’s venue, the James L. Knight Center, which is affiliated with Hyatt. The show required people under 18 …

Reuters reports: The ideological parent of India’s ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has backed the government position against recognising same-sex marriage, months after raising hopes with supportive comments on gay rights. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP government has opposed recognising same-sex marriage and urged the Supreme Court to reject challenges to the current legal framework lodged by LGBT …

Bridge Michigan reports: Lapeer County Prosecutor John Miller says he may file criminal charges against employees or officials of the Lapeer District Library if an LGBTQ-themed graphic novel isn’t removed from the shelves. Miller told Bridge Michigan on Monday the illustrations in the book “Gender Queer: A Memoir” could rise to the level of accosting, enticing or soliciting a child …

Via press release: Today, Councilmember Robert White reintroduced the Pride Plates Amendment Act of 2023 which creates a special purpose fund to support the work of the Office of LGBTQ Affairs (OLGBTQA) and directs the DC Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to offer a new line of Pride license plates, with fees from the new plates supporting the OLGBTQA fund. …

The Advocate reports: A Texas Republican lawmaker proposed a bill allowing everyday people to sue anybody who hosts or performs in drag where any child is in attendance. Critics say the measure will create a bounty-hunting culture that targets drag queens and transgender people. Houston-area state Rep. Steve Toth filed HB 4378 on Thursday. He seeks to define “a cause …

Orlando’s Fox affiliate reports: Identical Florida House and Senate bills, entitled “Protection of Children,” go after hotels and restaurants that allow children to attend what the bills call “an adult live performance.” While drag isn’t mentioned by name, the bills define the performances as depicting or simulating nudity, sexual conduct or excitement, or “the lewd exposure of prosthetic or imitation …

Anchorage’s NRP affiliate reports: An Anchorage Daily News and ProPublica investigation published last week revealed the attorney general directed the Alaska Commission for Human Rights to void equal protections for LGBTQ Alaskans in areas like housing and financing. On Wednesday, the state’s first-ever out, queer lawmakers sponsored a bill in the Alaska House to enshrine anti-discrimination protections in law. For …

From the Justice Department: A Michigan man was arrested and charged in a criminal complaint with illegally possessing firearms after having been committed to a mental institution and while being an unlawful user of a controlled substance, announced United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison. The man came to the attention of the FBI after he made numerous threats over YouTube …

Human Rights Watch reports: A bill introduced in Uganda’s Parliament criminalizing same-sex conduct and sexual and gender identity, if adopted, would violate multiple fundamental rights, Human Rights Watch said today. Among others, such a law would violate the rights to freedom of expression and association privacy, equality, and nondiscrimination. On March 9, 2023, Asuman Basalirwa, a member of parliament, introduced …

Orlando’s Fox affiliate reports: Orlando police detectives say acts of vandalism at two Orlando LGBTQ businesses earlier this year were not motivated by prejudice or hate. Martin Narvaez, 49, has been charged with felony criminal mischief and throwing a deadly missile after police said he confessed to damaging windows of the District Dive bar and adjacent Southern Craft cocktail lounge. …

“Hey, look over there! A classic distraction technique, distracting us away from the real issues that they were voted into office to focus on: jobs, healthcare, keeping our children safe from harm at their own school. “But we know that bullies are incompetent at solving real issues. They look for easy targets so they can give the impression of being …

The Hill reports: Lawmakers in Michigan have passed a bill to expand civil rights protections to the LGBTQ community, with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) expected to sign the measure into law when it reaches her desk. The vote in the Democratic-led state House on Wednesday, which passed the bill with a 64-45 margin, would codify protections from discrimination based on …

Washington DC’s WTOP News reports: A former Prince George’s County, Maryland, public school librarian arrested on vandalism and hate crime charges last year is now also charged with possessing child pornography. Charles Sutherland, 31, of Takoma Park, was arrested last June after police said he was caught on video spray painting the word “groomer” on entrances to public libraries in …