LGBT News

Politico reports: The Trump administration is moving to scrap an Obama-era policy that protected LGBTQ patients from discrimination, alarming health experts who warn that the regulatory rollback could harm vulnerable people during a pandemic. The health department is close to finalizing its long-developing rewrite of Obamacare’s Section 1557 provision, which barred health care discrimination based on sex and gender identity. …

Courthouse News reports: An Italian lawyer who was sued after talking on the radio about his aversion to hiring gay people failed Thursday to secure relief from the EU’s highest court. “Homosexuals are abnormal, they have physical and genetic anomalies,” lawyer Carlo Taormina had said in a 2013 broadcast of the Italian shock jock radio program “La Zanzara.” Taormina went …

The New York Times reports: The Trump administration is considering cutting back on sharing intelligence with partner countries that criminalize homosexuality as part of a push by the acting director of national intelligence, Richard Grenell, to prod those nations to change their laws. The intelligence community should be pushing American values with the countries it works with, Mr. Grenell said …

Chicago’s ABC News affiliate reports: Chicago’s Pride Parade will be postponed for the first time in its 50-year history, organizers said Wednesday. The parade was originally scheduled for June 28. Organizers are still hoping to hold it this year. “We announce this postponement in hope that conditions will allow the parade to take place later this summer or early fall,” …

ABC New York reports: New York City has canceled all non-essential events in June, including the Puerto Rican Day Parade, the Pride March and the Salute to Israel Parade, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Monday. “It’s not a happy announcement, but it’s one we have to make. And look, a lot of these events will be postponed,” he said. …

CBS News reports: San Francisco Pride officials announced Tuesday they were cancelling the 2020 Pride Parade and the weekend Pride 50 celebration over concerns raised by the continuing coronavirus outbreak in the San Francisco Bay Area. The parade and weekend celebration of diversity and the LGBTQ community, originally scheduled to take place June 27-28, annually brings massive crowds to San …

The Washington Blade reports: Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam on Saturday signed a bill that adds sexual orientation and gender identity to the state’s nondiscrimination law. “This legislation sends a strong, clear message — Virginia is a place where all people are welcome to live, work, visit, and raise a family,” said Northam in a statement. “No longer will LGBTQ Virginians …

Via press release: Today, San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus (SFGMC) Artistic Director Dr. Timothy Seelig and Executive Director Chris Verdugo announced the launch of SFGMC TV, a free online platform showcasing exciting performances, dynamic interviews, singer spotlights, and more. SFGMC TV will allow supporters to stay connected with the Chorus during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and beyond by offering content …

The SFist reports: One of the founding members of the Daughters of Bilitis and one half of the first same-sex couple to be legally married in San Francisco in 2004, Phyllis Lyon, has passed away. She was 95, and reportedly died of natural causes early Thursday. Lyon and her wife Del Martin were famously the first couple to be granted …

YouTube star and national heartthrob Randy Rainbow is back today, but this time rather than endless barbs aimed at Glorious Leader and his army of bootlickers, Randy gives us a straightforward (heh) tribute to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. The song is set to the tune of “Sandy,” from the 1978 film version of Grease. Glorious and full of laughs.

NBC News reports: Amid what it’s calling an “urgent need for blood,” the FDA revised its blood donor guidelines on Thursday, significantly easing the restrictions on men who have sex with men. The new guidelines reduce the donation deferral period for sexually active gay and bisexual men from 12 months to three, meaning these otherwise healthy men will now have …

Via press release: Provincetown Bears is saddened to announce the suspension of Bear Week Provincetown 2020. Members of our board have watched the rampant developments of the coronavirus pandemic and we believe that it is not advisable for us to host the crowded parties this summer that are the hallmark of Bear Week. Although we are suspending the events scheduled …

Global News reports: The City of Toronto has cancelled events through June 30 amid the coronavirus pandemic, including the annual Pride Parade. Toronto Mayor John Tory made the announcement during an update on the city’s response to COVID-19 Tuesday afternoon. “Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the City of Toronto is cancelling all city-led major events, festivals, conferences, and cultural programs …

ABC News reports: A gay rights leader in Uganda says 20 members of the local LGBT community have been detained after police raided their shelter and accused them of violating coronavirus-related social distancing measures. “It is evident that they were arrested because of their homosexuality,” Frank Mugisha [photo] said Wednesday, expressing concern for their safety as “some of them are …

Courthouse News reports: Idaho Governor Brad Little Monday evening signed into law two bills that place new restrictions on transgender individuals in the state. The first of the two bills the Republican governor signed targets a transgender person’s ability to request a birth certificate change. Under the new law, transgender individuals will no longer be able to change their listed …

Coconuts Singapore reports: Members of Singapore’s LGBT community reacted with dismay today to word that gay sex remains a criminal offense after the high court dismissed three challenges to the antiquated law. The court’s reported ruling comes four months after the court heard arguments from attorneys representing three men: DJ Johnson Ong; a retired doctor named Roy Tan; and Bryan …

The Guardian reports: A teenager who lured a “gentle, kind-hearted” sales assistant to a remote beauty spot on a date and stabbed him to death has been locked up for a minimum of 24 years. Alex Davies, 18, was murdered in Parbold, Lancashire, by Brian Healless, also 18, after they agreed a rendezvous through the dating app Grindr. Healless, from …

Broadway.com reports: Terrence McNally, the celebrated playwright and librettist who penned an award-winning body of work ranging from drama to farce to musical comedy, died on March 24 at Sarasota Memorial Hospital in Sarasota, FL, according to publicist Matt Polk. The cause of death was complications due to coronavirus; McNally was a lung cancer survivor who lived with chronic obstructive …

YouTube star Randy Rainbow is back this weekend with a typically blistering take on Trump’s virus response, all set to the tune of Frank Loesser’s Adelaide’s Lament, from his enduring 1950 Tony-winning musical Guys And Dolls. The number was originated on stage by Vivian Blaine, who reprised the role in the 1955 film version. Of special interest is that Blaine …

Our friends at San Francisco Pride reached out with a statement after seeing my post about NYC Pride still being on for now. They write: As many of you are aware, last week the San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH) announced assertive recommendations for large gatherings to help reduce the spread of Coronavirus, or COVID-19, over the next two …