LGBT News

The Hill reports: Texas has become the latest in a growing number of states to pass legislation that LGBTQ rights groups say targets drag shows, banning “sexually oriented performances” that take place in the presence of minors. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) quietly signed the state’s Senate Bill 12 into law June 18. His office did not immediately respond to …

The Insider reports: Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of Twitter, has amped up his anti-transgender campaign and has rejected the use of specific terms on the platform that are important to transgender people. Musk has a tendency to make announcements about Twitter’s policies based on personal whims, but it’s unclear whether this is an official policy that will be upheld. …

From the Justice Department: A Kansas man has been indicted for making online threats to commit acts of violence at an upcoming Nashville Pride event, announced United States Attorney Henry C. Leventis. An indictment unsealed this morning charges Joshua Hensley, aka Josh Echo, 25, of Hoisington, Kansas, with two counts of transmitting an interstate threat related to the upcoming Nashville …

Greta Van Fleet frontman Josh Kizska writes on Instagram: Where I’ve settled a home in Tennessee, legislators are proposing bills that threaten the freedom of love. It’s imperative that I speak my truth for not only myself, but in hopes to change hearts, minds, and laws in Tennessee and beyond. These issues are especially close to my heart as I’ve …

Reuters reports: Austrian security services said on Sunday they had thwarted a planned attack on Saturday’s pride parade in the capital. Three suspects between the ages of 14 and 20 were arrested on suspicion of planning to attack the parade in Vienna, which was held to celebrate LGBTQ+ rights and attracted around 300,000 people, officials said. “Through the successful and …

NewJersey.com reports: Tensions in the Westwood Regional School District came to a boil Thursday, at a chaotic board meeting where LGBTQ+ students and opposing activists traded catcalls and accusations and local police were called in to keep the peace. Hundreds of people packed the high school auditorium during the meeting, which came after the K-12 district’s interim superintendent abruptly resigned …

Gallup Polling reports: Last year, a record-high 71% of U.S. adults said gay or lesbian relations are morally acceptable. The figure has fallen back this year to 64%, returning to a level last seen in 2019. Still, Americans are far more likely to consider same-sex relations as morally acceptable than in the past, including 38% in 2002 and 54% in …

Axios reports: In a new bid to steady his rattled company, Anheuser-Busch U.S. CEO Brendan Whitworth vowed to protect the jobs of employees and those of independent wholesalers. Axios has learned that Whitworth plans to go on the road around the U.S. this summer to listen to consumers, in connection with Budweiser’s MLB sponsorship. The company’s summer ad campaign, which …

Quartz reports: Modelo Especial, a Mexican beer, is now officially America’s favorite. The beverage, marketed by Constellation Brands, was the top-selling beer for May, with 8.6% of all beer sales in the US, overtaking the long-time market leader Bud Light, an Anheuser-Busch (AB InBev) brand. But if anti-LGBTQ activists think they were successful in making their point, they may be …

The Desk reports: The news director of a Michigan NBC affiliate ordered her reporters to ease up on coverage of LGBT-focused stories during Pride Month, saying the news pieces were upsetting some of the station’s conservative viewers. The memo, penned by WOOD-TV (Channel 8) Assistant News Director Amy Fox, followed several reports that focused on a celebration hosted in the …

More Fox News lies: Republican Sen. Roger Marshall introduced a bill on Wednesday, Flag Day, aimed at preventing government buildings from flying any flag other than the American flag. The bill, known as the One Flag for All Act, will make it illegal to fly, drape or display any flag other than the American flag on federal buildings or properties, …

The Detroit Free Press reports: After three hours of public comment and months of intense debate, the Hamtramck City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to ban LGBTQ+ Pride flags from being displayed on all city properties. Introduced by Mayor Pro Tem Mohammed Hassan, the resolution also prohibited the display and flying of flags with racist and political views. Hassan and …

The Associated Press reports: The suspect in a mass shooting at a Colorado Springs gay nightclub is expected to strike a plea deal to state murder and hate charges that would ensure at least a life sentence for the attack that killed five people and wounded 17, several survivors told The Associated Press. Word of a possible legal resolution of …

From the Justice Department: A Montana man was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris to 18 years in prison followed by five years of supervised release for shooting into a residence and attempting to shoot others with the intent of ridding a town of LGBTQI+ residents. John Russell Howald, of Basin, was convicted by a federal jury …

The New Republic reports: Starbucks has banned Pride decorations in its stores halfway through Pride Month, the company’s workers union claimed Tuesday, in a stunning cave to far-right anti-LGBTQ fury. There has been a wave of ultra-conservative pushback against companies that express support for equal rights. It started when Bud Light did a campaign with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney in …

Castanet reports: Two Kelowna moms are speaking out after their 9-year-old daughter was verbally assaulted at a track and field event on Thursday at Kelowna’s Apple Bowl. The mothers, who choose not to identify their daughter, say she was competing in a shot-put event when a grandfather of one of the other participants started yelling at her. “She went to …

Chicago’s ABC affiliate reports: Governor JB Pritzker signed historic legislation Monday that would ban libraries from banning books. The law is the first of its kind in the nation, and would cut off funding to any libraries that remove books currently on the shelf. The law was pushed by Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, who is also the state’s librarian, …

The Associated Press reports: Republican delegates in North Carolina voted Saturday at their annual convention to censure Thom Tillis, the state’s senior U.S. senator, for backing LGBTQ+ rights, immigration and gun violence policies. Several delegates in Greensboro criticized Tillis, who has held his seat in the Senate since 2015, for his work last year on the Respect For Marriage Act, …

Published this week to Cracker Barrel’s website: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging at Cracker Barrel We have a responsibility to live up to our mission of Pleasing People each day, ensuring that every member of our team and every guest feels at home, feels cared for like family, and feels like they belong. Also guiding our way is the sense …

The Los Angeles Times reports: Los Angeles school board President Jackie Goldberg pulled out an oversized children’s book titled “The Great Big Book of Families” and turned a public meeting into story time, her own not-so-subtle statement to critics of LGBTQ+ education. “In real life, families come in all sorts of shapes and sizes,” she read, as the text by …