LGBT News

Raw Story reports: Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) on Monday got pushback from some of his followers after he condemned a newly passed law in Uganda that makes homosexuality a crime that is punishable by death. Writing on Twitter, Cruz, who has long been an opponent of LGBTQ rights in the United States, argued that executing people simply for being gay …

The Texas Tribune reports: The Texas Legislature gave final approval Sunday to a bill that will criminalize performers that put on sexually explicit shows in front of children as well as any businesses that host them. Originally designed as legislation to restrict minors from attending certain drag shows, lawmakers agreed on bill language that removed direct reference to drag performers …

Bloomberg News reports: Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni signed into law legislation with harsher penalties for LGBTQ people, including death and life-imprisonment sentences. The president “has assented” to the bill, which now becomes law, his office announced in a post on its Twitter account. Parliament had approved an earlier version of the bill in March, but Museveni returned it to lawmakers …

Bloomberg News reports: Prime Minister Rishi Sunak should apologize for the UK’s treatment of gay and trans veterans, according to a government-commissioned review that details a “culture of homophobia” that pervaded the British military for decades. The study — slated for publication in the first half of June and seen by Bloomberg — details accounts of electric-shock conversion therapy, intrusive …

The Des Moines Register reports: Gov. Kim Reynolds has signed a sweeping education law that orders the removal from schools of books that contain sex acts and restricts teaching about LGBTQ topics. Iowa Republican lawmakers combined several of their top priorities for education into the wide-ranging Senate File 496, which Reynolds signed in a private event on Friday. The law …

Ad Age reports: The North Face does not plan to bow to boycott pressure it is facing in the wake of an LGBTQ+ campaign. After the outdoors brand released its new Pride month collection this week, and included a video featuring drag queen Pattie Gonia, some consumers complained on social media. But The North Face responded with a message of …

Via press release from the FDA: A single mistake can prove fatal. We continue to receive reports of people dying or being severely injured after consuming poppers that resemble, and often mistaken for, popular energy shots. Drinking or inhaling poppers seriously jeopardizes your health. Health care providers are reporting increases in deaths and hospitalizations related to intentional ingestion or inhalation …

Just in via press release: Recent pushback against businesses such as Anheuser-Busch and Target, blatantly organized by extremist groups, serves as a wake up call for all businesses that support the LGBTQ+ community. We’ve seen this extremist playbook of attacks before. Their goal is clear: to prevent LGBTQ+ inclusion and representation, silence our allies and make our community invisible. These …

From the Justice Department: The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announces that Sharon Robinson, age 40, of New York, has been arrested and charged by indictment with making multiple threatening calls to LGBTQ businesses in Denver and Glendale. According to allegations in the indictment, the defendant called at least four businesses catering to the LGBTQ community …

The Associated Press reports: Montana has become the first state to specifically ban people dressed in drag from reading books to children at public schools and libraries, part of a host of legislation aimed at the rights the LGBTQ+ community in Montana and other states. That makes Montana’s law the first to specifically ban drag reading events, said Sasha Buchert, …

The Associated Press reports: The largest LGBTQ rights organization in the U.S. joined other civil rights organizations Tuesday in issuing a travel advisory for Florida, warning that newly passed laws and policies may pose risks to minorities, immigrants and gay travelers. The Human Rights Campaign joined the NAACP, the League of United Latin American Citizens, the Florida Immigrant Coalition and …

The Texas Tribune reports: The Texas Senate has once again advanced legislation that would severely limit classroom lessons, teacher guidance and school programming about sexual orientation and gender identity through 12th grade in Texas schools. The upper chamber voted 19-12 Monday to preliminarily approve House Bill 890 after the Senate education committee added the proposed restrictions to the legislation. This …

From the Facebook page of the Orlando Hamburger Mary’s: After many days of consideration, Mike Rogier and I have made the decision to file a lawsuit against our Governor for his signing of Senate Bill 1438 – Protection of Children. This bill has nothing to do with children, and everything to do with the continued oppression of the LGBTQ+ community. …

First, a reminder about the last few days: The Los Angeles Dodgers are facing mounting criticism over its decision to withdraw an invitation it extended to a group called The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence to participate in the team’s annual LGBTQ+ Pride Night. Ahead of its June 16 Pride Night, the organization decided the nonprofit it intended to honor would …

Orlando’s NBC affiliate reports: In 2022, the first official Pride event was held in St. Cloud, Florida, according to organizers Kristina Bozanich and Brenda Torres. Now they worry it could be the last. They had planned​ a second St. Cloud Pride event for June 10. Bozanich says they adjusted the event to only allow those 18 years and older to …

Los Angeles’s ABC affiliate reports: The mayor of Anaheim has invited the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence to Angels Pride Night following the Dodgers disinviting the group to their own pride night, causing controversy. The Los Angeles LGBT center and LA Pride have pulled out of the Dodgers Pride Night scheduled for June 16 after the team disinvited the Sisters of …

Austin’s CBS affiliate reports: LGBTQ advocacy groups and some members of the community are saying the Texas Senate is attempting to covertly add “don’t say gay” language to House Bill 890. During a Senate Committee on Education meeting this week, Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Texas, amended HB 890, which relates to parental rights and the responsibilities of public schools. The changes …

The Associated Press reports: Do No Harm, a nonprofit that launched last year to oppose diversity initiatives in medicine, has evolved into a significant leader in statehouses seeking to ban gender-affirming care for transgender youths, producing model legislation that an Associated Press analysis found has been used in at least three states, including Florida. The nonprofit, not widely known outside …

The Texas Tribune reports: The Texas House gave initial approval to a bill restricting children from seeing sexually explicit performances on Friday. Senate Bill 12 was originally designed to restrict kids from attending drag shows, but its most recent version seeks to criminalize any live performance that the bill defines as sexual. It defines a sexually explicit performance as one …

The South Florida Gay News reports: In the week since Wilton Manors’ city commission voted unanimously to amend the permit for the Stonewall Pride Parade & Street Festival, people on both sides of the issue on whether or not to comply with drag laws have lashed out. The amendment ensures event producers follow all laws, including ones passed since the …