Tag Archives: LGBT youth

CNN reports: Oklahoma’s state House of Representatives has advanced a bill that would ban so-called “conversion therapy,” a widely rejected practice that seeks to change the sexuality of LGBTQ individuals, for minors. The “Youth Mental Health Protection Act” moved past committee with bipartisan support and will soon move to the full legislature for a vote. Efforts to ban conversion therapy …

Cleveland.com reports: A new bill in the Ohio House would ban conversion therapy — programs intended to end same-sex attraction and make a gay person straight. The conversion therapy bill is sponsored by Rep. Mary Lightbody, a Columbus-area Democrat. “Human beings are complex, and each individual is unique,” Lightbody said in a statement. “As children grow, we all learn about …

NBC News reports: Two of the largest banks in the U.S. say they will stop donating millions of dollars to Florida’s private school voucher program after a newspaper investigation found that some of the program’s beneficiaries discriminate against LGBTQ students. In a statement to NBC News and CNBC on Wednesday evening, Wells Fargo confirmed that it would no longer participate. …

Louisville’s NBC News affiliate reports: A lawsuit has been filed after a Kentucky high school student was expelled from her Christian school after images appeared on social media showing her celebrating her 15th birthday while smiling next to a rainbow cake. The suit, filed Thursday, contends that Whitefield Academy expelled the teen due to her perceived sexuality. School administrators said …

Just in via email from Carl Siciliano: To my many friends in the JoeMyGod Community, I’m announcing today that after 18 years as the Executive Director of the Ali Forney Center, I will be stepping down from that role at the end of February. I want to send a special message of thanks and gratitude to you. For more than …

The Independent reports: LGBT+ conversion therapy could soon be banned across Canada after Justin Trudeau made this one of the priorities for his new government. In a letter to the country’s justice secretary on Friday, the prime minister stated that banning the controversial practice of attempting to forcibly change people’s gender or sexuality must be a “top priority”. He said …

From Joe: Beloved readers, on this Thanksgiving Day, as on every other day of the year, uncountable LGBT kids are living on the streets, turned out by the very people who are supposed to love them. As we do every Thanksgiving, today we turn JMG over to Ali Forney Center founder Carl Siciliano. Please click and read his message below…. …

The Salt Lake Tribune reports: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and LGBTQ advocates have coalesced around a proposed ban on “conversion therapy” for minors. Gov. Gary Herbert on Tuesday evening announced that groups involved in the emotional debate have finally agreed on language that would prohibit the discredited practice. The proposed professional licensing rule for therapists and …

Variety reports: The United Nations will award Cyndi Lauper with the first High Note Global Prize award for her promotion of human rights and impacting work to prevent and end homelessness for LGBTQ youth, the organization announced today. On U.N. Human Rights Day — which is December 10 — the High Note Global Prize will be presented to Lauper by …

From the American Medical Association: AMA supports state and federal bans on conversion therapy The AMA will develop model state legislation and advocate for federal legislation to ban so-called reparative or conversion therapy for sexual orientation or gender identity. The support for legislative bans strengthens AMA’s long-standing opposition to this unscientific practice. The AMA heard testimony, including first-hand accounts, regarding …

People Magazine reports: No charges will be filed in the death of a Tennessee teen who took his own life shortly after sexually explicit messages he’d exchanged with another boy when he was 15 were leaked on social media, leaving his distraught family is fighting for stronger laws. Channing Smith, 16, of Manchester, was horrified when he learned that teens …

Deutsche Welle reports: German Health Minister Jens Spahn unveiled a draft law on Monday that largely bans “conversion therapy” for LGBT+ people. The practice will be completely banned for all youths under the age of 18, the newspapers of the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND) reported, citing a copy of the draft law. The law stops short of a complete ban, however, …

CNN reports: A Georgia school district has reversed its transgender-friendly bathroom policy after board members, staff and students were threatened, the school board said in a news release. Pickens County School Board changed its policy this week, citing “death threats, student harassment and vandalism of school property” in the news release. The policy had allowed transgender students to use restrooms …

Just in from Equality Florida: Today, a federal trial court departed from numerous Florida and national rulings by striking down Tampa’s protections against conversion therapy for minors. Plaintiffs and the extremist, far-right Liberty Counsel brought the Vazzo v. City of Tampa lawsuit seeking to subject minors to the widely discredited and dangerous practice of conversion therapy. “This is a harmful …

The Washington Post reports: Channing Smith’s final Instagram post was a terse message to his followers. “I’m gonna get off social media for awhile,” the 16-year-old from Manchester, Tenn., wrote last week. “I really hate how I can’t trust anyone because those I did were so fake. Bye.” Hours later, Channing was dead, his older brother, Joshua Smith, wrote on …

The New York Daily News reports: A high school in Bakersfield, Calif., is investigating an alleged incident of harassment against students who participated in a meeting of an LGBTQ club. According to multiple social media posts, students from Frontier High School were confronted and bullied at the first meeting of the Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) in the school year. After …

The Asbury Park Press reports: Barnegat Mayor Alfonso Cirulli launched a campaign Tuesday to fight a New Jersey law that brings an LGBT curriculum into schools and urged residents to join his fight. During the Tuesday morning meeting of the Township Committee, Cirulli, a 60-year-old former assistant principal, said it was his duty to protect residents and called the LGBT …

Charlotte’s ABC News affiliate reports: On Friday, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper signed into law Executive Order No. 97, which directs the N.C. Dept. of Health and Human Services to ensure no state tax money is used for conversion therapy for LGBTQ children. The order prohibits any medical or mental health provider receiving state or federal funds allocated to the …

People Magazine reports: Mario Lopez is facing backlash over comments he made in a recent interview that suggested it was “dangerous” for parents to label their kids transgender. In a statement to PEOPLE on Wednesday, Lopez apologized for his remarks. “The comments I made were ignorant and insensitive, and I now have a deeper understanding of how hurtful they were,” …

Newsweek reports: Mario Lopez is being criticized for claiming it’s “dangerous” for parents to support children who identify as transgender. The 45-year-old television personality made his comments in June during an appearance on The Candace Owens Show, a video series on the PragerU YouTube channel, but they sparked blowback on social media this week. Owens compared a child expressing a …