LGBT News

Florida Bill Would Classify Calling Someone Anti-LGBTQ, Racist, Or Sexist As “Constituting Defamation Per Se”

The New Republic reports: A Florida Republican lawmaker has introduced a bill that would make it defamation to accuse someone of racism, sexism, homophobia, or transphobia, a measure that would deal a devastating blow to freedom of speech in the Sunshine State. The bill would make it much easier for someone to sue another person for defamation. The measure states …

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Tennessee Bill Would Ban Pride Flags In Public Schools

Nashville’s ABC affiliate reports: Republican State Rep. Gino Bulso (R-Brentwood) has filed a bill to ban all flags in schools that aren’t the official Tennessee or United States flag. Bulso said he drafted the bill after hearing concerns from constituents about pride flags being displayed in schools. Bulso said the country used to have a “very strong consensus” on what …

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Dolly Parton Gifts Guitar To Texas Drag Queen/Activist

The Messenger reports: Dolly Parton paid a debt of gratitude to a fellow big-haired, blonde icon doing important political work in the state of Texas. The country music legend sent a custom guitar to drag performer Brigitte Bandit, who has been a fierce advocate for the rights of drag queens and queer youth in her home state. “Never did I …

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GOP Opposes Protections For LGBTQ Foster Children

The Hill reports: A new rule requiring child welfare agencies to place LGBTQ children in “environments free of hostility, mistreatment, or abuse” based on the child’s sexual orientation, gender identity or expression is drawing opposition from Republicans. Studies have shown that LGBTQ young people are overrepresented in the child welfare system. Roughly 30 percent of foster youth identify as LGBTQ, …

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Happy New Year, JMG Community!

Another action-packed year has come and gone for this here website thingy, which in a few months will mark its 20th anniversary. Which just seems…impossible. The last 12 months haven’t been exactly great for our movement as we saw an unprecedented number of anti-LGBTQ bills, many of which were spawned by the same hate groups that have antagonized us for …

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Burundi President Calls For Publicly Stoning Gays

Agence France-Presse reports: Burundi’s President Evariste Ndayishimiye launched a virulent anti-gay tirade on Friday, saying same-sex couples should be publicly stoned. He also lashed out at Western countries that press other nations to allow gay rights or risk losing aid. Homosexuality in Burundi, a conservative Christian country in East Africa, has been criminalised since 2009 with prison terms of up …

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Federal Judge Blocks Iowa’s “Don’t Say Gay” Law

The Associated Press reports: A federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked key parts of an Iowa law that bans some books from school libraries and forbids teachers from raising LGBTQ+ issues. Judge Stephen Locher’s preliminary injunction halts enforcement of the law, which was set to take effect Jan. 1 but already had resulted in the removal of hundreds of books …

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GOP Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine Vetoes Anti-Trans Bill

The Columbus Dispatch reports: Gov. Mike DeWine on Friday struck down legislation that would have banned transgender girls from female sports and restricted the medical care of transgender minors. House Bill 68, which cleared the House and Senate earlier this month, would have prevented doctors from prescribing hormones, puberty blockers or gender reassignment surgery before patients turn 18. It also …

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Priests Rip Pope On Blessing Gay Couples: Endorsing “Sinful Behavior & Moral Evil Must Always Be Avoided”

The Confraterity of Catholic Clergy writes: Sinful behavior and disordered inclinations can never be blessed or condoned. Even the appearance of endorsement of any moral evil must be avoided at all cost lest one infer that the one giving the ‘blessing’ is also a formal cooperator in evil, which is always forbidden. The distinction that individuals can be blessed without …

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Greek Govt Vows To Legalize Same-Sex Marriage

The Associated Press reports: Greece’s center-right government said Thursday it would fulfill a commitment to legalize same-sex marriage, sidestepping staunch opposition from the country’s influential Orthodox Church. The legislation would be brought to parliament during the house’s current term, which ends in 2027. The statement comes after the Church’s governing Holy Synod issued a 1,500-word opinion late Wednesday, expressing strong …

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WA Hospital Sues Texas AG Over Trans Patient Records

The Texas Tribune reports: Seattle Children’s Hospital has sued the Texas Office of the Attorney General to block the release of patient information after the agency sent the Washington-based health care system an investigative subpoena demanding any patient records of Texas residents who have received transition-related care. The hospital system filed a petition in the Travis County District Court on …

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Thai Lawmakers Approve Marriage Bill In 369-10 Vote

Reuters reports: Thai lawmakers on Thursday overwhelmingly passed four draft bills on same-sex marriage in their first reading, moving the country closer towards its legalisation in a country with one of Asia’s most open and visible LGBT communities. All but 10 lawmakers present in parliament’s lower house voted to approve the draft legislation, paving the way to the formation of …

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Canadian Court Rules “Groomer” To Be Defamatory

The Canadian LGBTQ rights group Egale writes: On December 14, 2023, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice decided in Rainbow Alliance Dryden et al. v. Webster to allow a defamation suit by a drag performer and a 2SLGBTQI community organization against an individual who publicly called them “groomers” to continue to trial. In doing so, the court ruled that there …

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St. Louis Police Accused Of Falsely Charging Gay Bar Owner With Assault After Police SUV Crashes Into Bar

The Riverfront Times reports: A south St. Louis bar owner is now facing charges stemming from an incident that began when police crashed an SUV through the front wall of his business. The incident happened in the city’s Carondelet neighborhood around 12:30 a.m. today, when a police SUV traveling northbound on South Broadway swerved across multiple lanes of traffic and …

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Fox Priest Rages That Pope Has “Placed Priests Who Uphold Doctrine On Sodomy In A Terrible Position”

The New York Times reports: Pope Francis announced on Monday that he would allow priests to bless same-sex couples, a shift that angered some conservatives but was celebrated by those who said that the decision was a substantial step in moving the church toward greater acceptance of L.G.B.T.Q. Catholics. “I will never confer a blessing upon two men or two …

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Pope Francis Approves Blessings For Same-Sex Couples

The Associated Press reports: Pope Francis has formally approved allowing priests to bless same-sex couples, with a new document explaining a radical change in Vatican policy by insisting that people seeking God’s love and mercy shouldn’t be subject to “an exhaustive moral analysis” to receive it. The document from the Vatican’s doctrine office, released Monday, elaborates on a letter Francis …

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VIRAL VIDEO: Gay Student Roasts Mom For Threeways

USA Today reports: As the Sarasota County School Board convened for the final time this year on Tuesday, Bridget Ziegler entered the board chambers facing a rift largely driven by agenda item No. 1: a colleague’s resolution calling for her resignation. Zander Moricz, who was the class president at Pine View School in Osprey and now attends Harvard, said Bridget …

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Missouri Republicans File Over 20 Anti-LGBTQ Bills

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports: Missouri Republican lawmakers have pre-filed more than 20 bills aimed at restricting LGBTQ rights ahead of the 2024 legislative session, which begins next month. One target for lawmakers appears to be removing the expiration date from the gender-affirming care ban and a grandfather clause that allowed minors to continue hormone therapy or puberty blockers if …

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Massachusetts Sues Nazi Group For Harassing LGBTQs

The Hill reports: Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell [photo] filed a harassment and civil rights lawsuit against a white nationalist organization Friday, alleging the group consistently discriminated against LGBTQ people and immigrants. Campbell said the Nationalist Social Club, a self-described neo-Nazi group, repeatedly attempted to harass and shut down events hosted by LGBTQ organizations and targeted immigrants who recently arrived …

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Bomb Threat Shuts Down Maryland Drag Brunch

Washington DC’s NBC affiliate reports: A popular restaurant and bar in Takoma Park, Maryland, received bomb threats on Saturday morning over a drag brunch and story time event. The restaurant, Motorkat, bills itself as “a safe space for people of all orientations and backgrounds. Motorkat was forced to cancel the drag brunch to keep its patrons safe, the restaurant said …

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