LGBT News

The Washington Post reports: Under Hungary’s antigay “propaganda” law, bookstores were fined for selling LGBTQ+ themed tomes without sealed plastic wrappers and a museum director was fired for allowing minors into an exhibit with images of same-sex couples. But the autocratic government of Prime Minister Viktor Orban stopped short of targeting the community’s premier event: the annual Pride parade. Until …

Newsweek reports: Denmark and Finland have revised their travel guidance for transgender individuals planning to visit the United States. A new section has been added under Denmark’s visa rules for entry into the United States. It states that when applying for a U.S. visa, there are only two gender options available, male or female. Meanwhile in Finland, the advisory notes …

USA Today reports: Walt Disney shareholders overwhelmingly rejected a proposal calling for the entertainment giant to drop its participation in a benchmark index used to rank companies on how friendly their policies are to LGBTQ+ people. The investor proposal presented Thursday at Disney’s annual meeting by the National Center for Public Policy Research, which describes itself as a non-partisan independent …

Agence France-Presse reports: The EU’s commissioner for equality took aim Tuesday at a Hungarian bill aimed at banning Budapest’s annual pride march, asserting the “fundamental right” to peaceful assembly in the 27-nation bloc. The European Commission, 16 member states and the European Parliament have taken Budapest to court over a 2021 law banning the “promotion” of homosexuality to minors — …

The Texas Newsroom reports: According to internal agency documents provided to The Texas Newsroom, employees with the Department of Public Safety recorded each time a driver requested to change the sex listed on their license. The employee scanned and saved the driver’s information, the records show, and sent it to an internal email account created for collecting these data. It’s …

Politico reports: The Trump administration is slashing the State Department’s annual human rights report — cutting sections about the rights of women, the disabled, the LGBTQ+ community and more. The goal appears to be a far thinner report that meets the minimum standards required by the law, according to documents obtained by POLITICO, as well as a current and a …

Seattle’s Fox affiliate reports: Seattle police have identified three suspects in a hate crime outside an LGBTQ+ bar in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood. The suspects involved are 17, 19 and 24 years old, according to police. Detectives have referred hate crime charges to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. The incident happened on Feb. 19 at a bar in the …

The Associated Press reports: A new anti-LGBTQ+ law banning Pride events and allowing authorities to use facial recognition software to identify those attending the festivities was passed in Hungary on Tuesday, leading to a large demonstration on the streets of Budapest. Several thousand protesters chanting anti-government slogans gathered after the vote outside Hungary’s parliament. They later staged a blockade of …

The Associated Press reports: Hungary’s ruling coalition continued its crackdown on the country’s LBGTQ+ community on Monday, as members submitted a bill to parliament that would ban the popular Budapest Pride event and allow authorities to use facial recognition software to identify attendees. The bill is almost certain to pass, as the ruling coalition has a two-thirds majority in parliament. …

Via press release from the ACLU: Doctors from Harvard Medical School today challenged the removal of their articles from the Patient Safety Network (PSNet), a government-run website for doctors and medical researchers to share information about medical errors, misdiagnoses, and patient outcomes. The papers were removed as part of a takedown of information that the government contends promotes “gender ideology,” …

Boston’s NBC affiliate reports: City councilors in Boston voted 12-1 Wednesday to make Boston a sanctuary city for members of the LGBTQ+ community. Councilor-at-Large Julia Mejia and District 9 Councilor Liz Breadon called on Boston to adopt the measure supporting transgender people, pointing to what they see as harmful rhetoric coming from President Donald Trump and the White House. “Boston …

The Salt Lake Tribune reports: A bill that would ban pride flags from Utah schools and on government property throughout the state has passed both chambers of the Utah Legislature and now awaits approval or veto by the governor. The bill, HB77, is sponsored by Rep. Trevor Lee, R-Layton, and originally only applied to schools, but Lee released an expanded …

The Tallahassee Democrat reports: Less than half of young LGBTQ Floridians feel accepted in their communities, according to a new report released by The Trevor Project. The Trevor Project, a nonprofit that provides crisis support for LGBTQ young people, surveyed almost 1,000 young LGBTQ Floridians about their mental health, and 48% felt the community they live in was accepting of …

Austin’s NRP affiliate reports: A student LGBTQ+ organization is suing Texas A&M University over its newly adopted policy banning drag performances on its public campuses. The federal lawsuit was filed Tuesday on behalf of the Queer Empowerment Council, a coalition of student groups at Texas A&M University-College Station. The lawsuit aims to block the university from enforcing the policy, which the …

Altoona’s CBS affiliate reports: A Representative announced plans to introduce a bill that would charge someone with a third-degree felony if they take a minor to a drag show. The bill, authored by Rep. Robert Leadbeter (R – Columbia), looks to change how Pennsylvania law defines the phrase “tends to corrupt.” Leadbeter noted in his legislation that, “to avoid any …

The Middle East Eye reports: Draft legislation could see “biological sex” written into law in Turkey and the “promotion” of LGBTQ rights criminalised. The Turkish penal code would mandate that a “person who publicly encourages, praises or promotes attitudes and behaviours contrary to the biological sex at birth and public morality shall be sentenced to imprisonment of one year to …

The Washington Post reports: Hungary’s government said Thursday that it would ban a Pride march through central Budapest this summer, as Viktor Orban and his ruling Fidesz party escalate their long-standing push to enact anti-LGBTQ+ policies ahead of elections next year. “The country does not have to tolerate Pride marching through downtown Budapest,” Orban’s chief of staff, Gergely Gulyas, said …

The Washington Post reports: Openly transgender service members will be disqualified from serving in the U.S. military and will soon be removed from the ranks, according to a Pentagon memo that marks a significant shift from previous Defense Department policy that prohibited discrimination based on gender identity. The memo states that exceptions could be made for transgender service members who …

Bloomberg Government reports: A Department of Homeland Security unit eliminated policies prohibiting personnel from conducting intelligence activities based solely on a person’s gender identity or sexual orientation. The Office of Intelligence and Analysis posted an updated policy manual late last week that removes references to those characteristics in sections that set guardrails on gathering intelligence. The revisions follow President Donald …

The New York Times reports: The Supreme Court heard arguments on Wednesday over an employment discrimination suit filed by a straight woman who twice lost positions to gay workers. The court seemed likely to issue a brief and perhaps unanimous decision in favor of the woman, Marlean A. Ames. Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh said he envisioned “a really short opinion that …