Democratic Virginia Governor Ralph Northam has signed a bill banning medical professionals from practicing “conversion therapy” on minors, a major win for LGBTQ youth in the state. Virginia is the first state in the South, and the 20th in the country, to outlaw the practice. Conversion therapy, the practice of attempting to change someone’s gender […]
LGBTQ Youth Fight For Equality In Sex Ed In South Carolina Classrooms
A group of LGBTQ students is suing South Carolina’s Superintendent of Education to repeal a 32-year-old state law making it illegal for teachers to address LGBTQ relationships unless they also discuss STI’s. Represented by Lambda Legal and the National Center for Lesbian Rights, the students argue that the law discriminates against LGBTQ students and violates […]
British Political Party’s Divide Deepens Over Transgender Inclusion
Last week multiple senior members of Britain’s Labour party endorsed a “trans equality manifesto” that supports more inclusive party values and claimed that anyone with transphobic views should be thrown out of the party. Backlash from this controversial charter comes with a call to produce evidence for transphobia allegations. The two women in the center […]
High School Girls Suing to Prohibit Transgender Athletes from School Sports
On Wednesday, three female high school athletes filed a federal lawsuit to block the participation of transgender students in girls’ sports. Selina Soule, Chelsea Mitchell, and Alanna Smith all of whom attend different high schools in Connecticut are being backed by Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative nonprofit organization in their lawsuit against the athletic conference. […]
Switzerland Passes Amendment Banning Homophobia
On Sunday, Swiss voters participated in a referendum deciding whether they wanted to extend Switzerland’s racism statutes to sexual orientation, and 63.1 percent voted in favor of it. Previously, Switzerland did not have a law protecting the LGBTQ community, but this amendment is a big step in the right direction. Nearly two years ago lawmakers […]
Virginia Senate Passes Bill Banning LGBTQ+ Discrimination
Yesterday the Virginia Senate passed the “Virginia Values Act”, which adds sexual orientation and gender identity to the commonwealth’s anti-discrimination law, with a 30-9 vote. The Bill (SB 868 in Senate and HB 1663 in the House), makes sexual orientation and gender identity protected classes in regards to discrimination for things such as housing, employment, […]
U.S. Jobs Report Includes Data on Same-Sex Couples in Historic First
Today, the U.S. government has released their monthly jobs report of historical significance. This monthly report will be the first time which the Bureau of Labor Statistics will include same-sex couples in its count of workers within the U.S. economy, allow for greater LGBTQ+ representation in government statistics. This is not the only significant change […]
California Governor Pardons Gay Civil Rights Leader Bayard Rustin 67 Years After Arrest
Governor Gavin Newsom of California has posthumously pardoned Bayard Rustin, a civil rights leader convicted under anti-LGBTQ laws in 1953. Rustin worked closely with Martin Luther King Jr. and was the lead organizer of the 1963 March on Washington. Rustin was arrested for having consensual sex with a man in a parked car and convicted […]
Actor and Gay Icon Billy Porter Gives LGBTQ State of the Union
“Pose” star Billy Porter gave an LGBTQ state of the union hours before Donald Trump’s speech last night. Porter criticized the president ad highlighted the many issues that LGBTQ people are facing in the United States. Sponsored by Logo TV, Porter quickly called out the President as having “painted himself as a friend of the […]
Brooklyn State Park Honors Black Transgender Activist Marsha P. Johnson
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced plans to rename a Brooklyn state park after Marsha P. Johnson on Saturday in a speech at a Human Rights Campaign gala. Calling on New York’s progressive leadership, Cuomo made promises of support for LGBTQ issues. Marsha P. Johnson is a queer icon and pioneer. One of the leaders […]
Katie Sowers Paves the Way for Female NFL Coaches
Katie Sowers, an offensive assistant coach for the San Francisco 49ers, made history yesterday as the first female and openly LGBT coach in the Super Bowl. Sowers, 33, has worked long and hard to get to where she is. Off the field, she graduated from the University of Central Missouri after earning her Masters and […]
Anti-Trans Bill Dies in Iowa State House
A proposed bill that would have removed gender identity protections from the Iowa Civil Rights Act will not advance in the state legislature. Rep. Steven Holt, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, called the bill “dead” after deciding not to send it into subcommittee. Iowa law has prohibited discrimination based on gender identity since […]
New Abstinence Campaign from Bolsonaro Administration Promotes Teen Abstinence
Far-right Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro plans to roll out a new message: don’t have sex before marriage. Damares Alves, the minister of human rights, family, and women for President Bolsonaro said that young people in Brazil “by and large are having sex as a result of social pressure…You can go to a party and have […]
South Dakota Bill Restricting Medical Treatment for Transgender Youth Passes First Major Vote
In South Dakota, a bill which will ban doctors from providing puberty blockers and prevent them from performing other treatments related to gender expression in children under the age of 16, has passed in the House State Affairs Committee by an 8-5 vote. Three conservatives broke with their party to vote against this bill, which opposes […]
Idaho Legislator to Introduce Bill Banning Transgender Women from Women’s Sports
Idaho legislator Rep. Barbara Ehardt (R-Idaho Falls) says that she is planning on introducing legislation that would ban transgender individuals from competing on high school sports teams that do not correspond with their birth sex. While claiming that the legislation has “nothing to do” with anti-LGBT legislation, Ehardt is calling on the Idaho legislature to […]
Non-Binary Gender option now available on Massachusetts Driver’s Licenses
On Tuesday, the State Department of Transportation reported that the gender designation “X” became part of the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicle’s technology system upgrade, launched by Governor Charlie Baker’s office. The department added that the option is also available for new credential issuance, renewals and amendments of licenses and IDs. This change comes following […]
Virginia Women’s College Updates Transgender Student Policy
A private women’s college in Virginia announced Wednesday a new policy allowing students transitioning from female to male while at school to remain enrolled and earn their degree, marking an important change in student support. Under the new guidelines at Hollins University in Roanoke, enrolled students who transition from female to male will no longer […]
Transgender Cyclist Wins Cycling Championship, Gets Criticism from Competitors
Rachel McKinnon is dominating the women’s cycling field, yet is receiving backlash from her fellow competitors. This 37-year old Canadian woman won at the Masters Track World Cycling Championships in Manchester, England in the 35-39 age category 200-meter sprint. McKinnon is celebrating breaking a world record and her second consecutive world title. Her success was […]
Pete Buttigieg Releases Plan to Boost Women’s Economic, Social and Political Empowerment
Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg unveiled a 26-page agenda focused entirely on women’s rights Thursday, one of the most detailed plans focused on women so far in the Democratic primary. The Indiana mayor’s agenda promises to close the gender pay and wealth gaps by guaranteeing equal pay for equal work while also addressing the ways […]
LGBTQ+ Activist Killed in Uganda
Queer activist Brian Wasswa was killed in his home in Jinja, a city in Eastern Uganda. He had been working with the Human Rights Awareness and Promotion Forum (HRAPF), a legal aid organization that does outreach work for the LGBTQ+ community. His murder was followed by the Ugandan Minister of Ethics and Integrity announcing that […]
