LGBT News

The Guardian reports: For the past two years, book banning has been on the rise in schools and libraries across the US, mainly due to far-right pressure. Now the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) is trying to fight back. It recently launched the Banned Book Program, granting free nationwide access to books restricted in schools or libraries. It functions …

The Texas Tribune reports: Jamie Gonzales, a former program coordinator at the University of Houston’s LGBTQ Resource Center, hasn’t slept well ever since she heard that the center will be disbanded in accordance with Senate Bill 17, a law banning diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives at public higher education institutions. Although she knew the closure was coming after the bill …

“We’re having a lot of arguments in this country about transgender issues, and there are some — including the governor or this state — who believe that he should decide what can happen in your family, with your children and not. I don’t want him deciding what happens inside my family. “We have this group now, folks like Ron DeSantis …

The Denver Post reports: The Denver Catholic Archdiocese along with two of its parishes is suing the state alleging their First Amendment rights are violated because their desire to exclude LGBTQ parents, staff and kids from Archdiocesan preschools keeps them from participating in Colorado’s new universal preschool program. The program is intended to provide every child 15 hours per week …

Tulsa World reports: A Tulsa man pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court to attempting to burn down a Brookside business after it hosted an event with drag queens. Coby Dale Green, 24, will serve five years in prison after admitting he violated the law regarding the malicious use of explosive materials when he threw a Molotov cocktail into the business, …

Charlotte’s ABC affiliate reports: The North Carolina Legislature voted to successfully override six vetoes by Gov. Roy Cooper on Wednesday afternoon, putting the measures into law. One of those was Senate Bill 49, the Parents’ Bill of Rights. After the Senate voted to override, the House later overrode the veto of SB 49, enacting the Parents’ Bill of Rights into …

The New York Times reports: The county board meeting in Wausau, Wis., on Aug. 12, 2021, got contentious fast. Nobody disputes that. Acting on a tip from a reader, The Wausau Pilot & Review reported that during the meeting, the owner of a shredding and recycling company, Cory Tomczyk, called a 13-year-old boy a “fag.” Mr. Tomczyk, who is now …

From an interview with Time Magazine: I ask DeSantis about the rights of parents of trans children, who are being prevented by the state from accessing the medical care they may believe is in their kids’ best interest. “As a parent right now, I can’t take my six-year-old daughter and get her a tattoo, even if I want to do …

The New York Times reports: The 17-year-old charged with murder as a hate crime in the fatal stabbing last month of a gay Black dancer at a Brooklyn gas station pleaded not guilty at an arraignment on Friday. The teenager, Dmitriy Popov, entered the plea in State Supreme Court in Brooklyn, where he will be tried as an adult. He …

The Associated Press reports: Malaysia’s government said Thursday that all Swatch products that contain lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer elements — including watches, wrappers and boxes — were banned, warning that anyone found with one could be jailed for up to three years. The ban has been published in the Federal Gazette — which makes it official — as …

CBS News reports: A group of LGBTQ+ veterans who were kicked out of the military because of their sexual orientation filed a federal civil rights suit on Tuesday over the Defense Department’s failure to grant them honorable discharges or remove biased language specifying their sexuality from their service records following the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell” in 2010. The …

Reuters reports: Iraq’s official media regulator on Tuesday ordered all media and social media companies operating in the Arab state not to use the term “homosexuality” and instead to say “sexual deviance,” the regulator said. The Iraqi Communications and Media Commission (CMC) said in a statement that the use of the term “gender” was also banned. It prohibited all phone …

New York City’s Pix11 reports: As loved ones prepare to celebrate the life of O’Shae Sibley on Tuesday in his native Philadelphia, the attorney for the teen accused in his stabbing death is speaking out. Dmitriy Popov, 17, of Brooklyn, was arraigned on multiple charges, including murder and a hate crime. The Kings County district attorney is charging Popov as …

Reuters reports: Pope Francis said on Sunday that the Catholic Church is open to everyone, including the gay community, and that it has a duty to accompany them on a personal path of spirituality but within the framework of its rules. “The Church is open to everyone but there are laws that regulate life inside the church. According to the …

CNN reports: The 17-year-old suspected of fatally stabbing O’Shae Sibley has been charged with murder as a hate crime and criminal possession of a weapon, New York officials said Saturday. Sibley, a 28-year-old professional dancer, was stabbed to death at a Brooklyn gas station after dancing to a Beyoncé song last weekend. A friend of Sibley’s said the dancer was …

New York City’s NBC affiliate reports: The suspect in the deadly gas station stabbing of O’Shae Sibley is in police custody after turning himself in at a Brooklyn station house, a senior law enforcement official said. The suspect’s name has not yet been released by police. New York City Councilwoman Inna Vernikov said on Twitter that the man turned himself …

The Texas Tribune reports: LGBTQ+ Texans and advocates filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday to block a new state law that criminalizes some drag shows — and other performances — if they occur in front of children. The plaintiffs, represented by the ACLU of Texas, argue that SB 12 violates the First and 14th Amendments because the law “discriminates against the …

New York City’s NBC affiliate reports: A man dancing at a gas station in Brooklyn was stabbed to death after a dispute broke out between two groups Saturday night — and a 17-year-old is now being sought in connection to the shocking death of dancer O’Shea Sibley. Law enforcement sources have identified the suspect as a teen who remains at …

The New York Daily News reports: A professional dancer voguing at a Brooklyn gas station after a trip to the Jersey Shore with his friends was stabbed to death during a confrontation Saturday night with a group of Muslim men who said the victim’s impromptu performance offended their faith, witnesses and friends told the Daily News. O’Shae Sibley, 28, a …

The Messenger reports: There’s a new, unexpected name at the top of the Christian music charts. Drag queen Flamy Grant’s album Bible Belt Baby, released in October, is suddenly the No. 1 album on the iTunes Christian and Gospel chart. In addition, her song “Good Day” peaked at No. 1 alongside the album for a period. So, what’s going on? …