LGBT News

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports: Kansas lawmakers enacted Thursday a sweeping anti-transgender rights bill that could require transgender individuals to use public facilities in almost every facet of society that align with their sex assigned at birth, raising the likelihood of lawsuits and questions about how the measure will be enforced. Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed Senate Bill 180 earlier this month, …

The Associated Press reports: As several conservative states adopt legislation that prohibits school employees from teaching or discussing sexual orientation and gender identity in the classroom, Louisiana advanced its own “Don’t Say Gay” bill Wednesday. The anti-LGBTQ+ measure was narrowly approved by a Republican-controlled House committee and heads to the full House, where an emotionally charged debate over the culture …

The Tennessean reports: The Department of Justice on Wednesday intervened in a federal lawsuit against Tennessee over the state’s controversial ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors, asking the court to halt the law’s implementation before it takes effect on July 1. In March, Gov. Bill Lee [photo] signed into law SB 1/HB 1, which bans gender-affirming care for minors. …

PBS NewsHour reports: Transgender kids and adults in North Dakota won’t be able to access bathrooms, locker rooms or showers that match the gender they identify with in places like college dorms or jails, under a new law signed by Republican Gov. Doug Burgum. The American Civil Liberties Union has said that so far this year, more than 450 bills …

NPR reports: Republicans, who dominate the Montana House of Representatives, have voted Wednesday to formally punish Democratic Rep. Zooey Zephyr. Zephyr, who is transgender, has been blocked from speaking since last Tuesday when she told supporters of a bill to ban gender-affirming care for minors that she hoped they would see “blood on [their] hands.” There, she was alluding to …

The New York Times reports: Legislators in Montana are expected to vote Wednesday on whether to censure or discipline the state’s only transgender lawmaker, after an escalating standoff over her ability to speak in the House of Representatives led to heated protests and arrests on Monday and the abrupt cancellation of Tuesday’s session. The lawmaker, Representative Zooey Zephyr, shared a …

ABC News reports: Hundreds of drag performers and allies rallied in Florida Tuesday afternoon against recent legislation that organizers say is attacking the LGBTQ community. The rally drew advocates from across the state to Tallahassee for a march to the state Capitol, where speakers included state Sen. Shevrin Jones. “First of all, I want to acknowledge your existence,” Jones said …

CBS News reports: A battle is brewing in the town of North Brookfield over a Pride event and whether a drag show should be allowed as part of the celebration on the town common June 24. In a 2 to 1 vote last week, the Board of Selectmen reversed itself from a vote in March, saying the Pride celebration could …

The Texas Tribune reports: Most West Texas A&M faculty have lost confidence in university President Walter Wendler, according to the results of a campuswide vote that came weeks after he canceled a charity campus drag show. Faculty senate leaders announced the results of the weeklong no-confidence vote Tuesday evening. According to faculty senate president Ashley Pinkham, there were 179 votes …

The Independent reports: Kevin Bacon has gone viral with a video he made in protest of the drag bans. On Sunday, he posted a video of him and his wife, the actor Kyra Sedgwick, dancing to Taylor Swift’s song “Karma” and wearing t-shirts with the slogan “Drag is an art and drag is a right”. In the caption to the …

The Wall Street Journal reports: Anheuser-Busch InBev said it had placed on leave two executives who oversaw a Bud Light collaboration with a transgender activist. Alissa Heinerscheid, Bud Light’s vice president of marketing, had come under fire from some customers and media outlets over the company’s decision to send a personalized Bud Light can to transgender activist and influencer Dylan …

The Los Angeles Times reports: It was bad b— o’clock Friday night in Tennessee when Lizzo protested the state’s anti-drag-show legislation by inviting more than a dozen drag queens to participate in her concert there. During her Knoxville show at Thompson-Boling Arena, the “Special” artist danced onstage with a number of drag queens dressed in colorful, glittery costumes. Among the …

Bloomberg News reports: Hungary’s president rejected a bill that would enable citizens to report anonymously same-sex families to authorities, a rare rebuke from an otherwise loyal ally of Prime Minister Viktor Orban. The draft law approved by parliament earlier this month would allow people to report those who contest the “constitutionally recognized role of marriage and the family” and those …

Christopher Kane reports at the Washington Blade: The office of Missouri’s Republican Attorney General Andrew Bailey on Friday removed an online form, first made available in March, that was used to collect reports or complaints about gender transition interventions that Missourians have either experienced or observed. A spokesperson for Bailey, Madeline Sieren, told the Washington Blade the move was necessary …

Via email from LGBTQ youth advocate Carl Siciliano: Since stepping down as the Ali Forney Center’s Executive Director in 2020, I’ve been overseeing our efforts to support programs housing LGBTQ youth across the country and around the world. One group that I’ve worked especially closely with is the Warsaw House Foundation in Poland. They have recently begun to offer housing …

Reuters reports: Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni said he would sign some of the world’s harshest anti-LGBTQ legislation once provisions are added to “rehabilitate” gay people, vowing not to cede to international pressure. The United States, European Union and major corporations have condemned the bill. Museveni predicted Uganda would face sanctions once the legislation goes into effect, as it did in …

From Treasure Coast Pride’s Facebook page: As all of you know, the political climate that we are currently in has us all very concerned for our community. After multiple meetings with city officials, it is with a heavy heart that Pride Alliance of the Treasure Coast has to announce that this weekend’s Pridefest will now be a 21 and older …

CNN reports: The House voted on Thursday to pass a GOP-led bill that would ban transgender athletes from women’s and girls’ sports at federally funded schools and educational institutions. The bill is not expected to be taken up by the Democratic-controlled Senate and the White House has issued a veto threat. But the vote shows that Republicans are working to …

Reuters reports: The Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives is expected to vote Thursday on a bill that would ban transgender women and girls from competing in women’s and girls’ school sports, weighing in on an issue that has riled social conservatives. The Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2023 has no chance of passing the Democratic-controlled Senate, …

The Texas Tribune reports: In a major escalation of Republicans’ efforts to weaken the state’s bluer cities and counties, lawmakers in the Texas Legislature are advancing a pair of bills that would seize control of local regulations that could range from worker protections to water restrictions during droughts. A bill backed by Gov. Greg Abbott and business lobbying groups, House …