North America
Poll: 53% of LGBT people are not out at work
A poll by a leading US human rights group has found that over half of LGBT people are still in the closet at work. The poll by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) found that 53% of LGBT employees are not out at work. A quarter also said they continue to hear offensive comments such as… Read more »
Gay Arab-Americans find room of their own in NYC
New York (AP) – With a loud hiccup and a hand over her mouth in coy embarrassment, Madame Tayoush mimics Lebanese diva Sabah in her performance of the sultry classic “Atshana” – or “I’m Thirsty” – as Arab-Americans hoot and cheer. The burst of a trumpet vibrato sends her into a dramatic swoon, basking under… Read more »
Queer New World: Radically Creating And Existing Together
This is the twenty-fifth and final installment in an ongoing series that explores drag culture and the nightlife scene in Brooklyn, N.Y. Over the past several years, following the large-scale exodus of artists across the East River and into northern Brooklyn, those engaged in drag culture in this outer borough have created a new, queer… Read more »
Cab Drivers Refuse to Drive Cabs With Gay Games Ads Because Allah
Nearly 20 cab drivers at Cleveland’s Hopkins International Airport are refusing to drive cars displaying ads for the upcoming Gay Games, citing religious objections. But this time it’s not fundamentalist Christians doing the complaining: most of the protesting drivers are Muslims. The Plain Dealer reports: Hopkins released a statement saying that two of the three… Read more »
Gay Bishop Gene Robinson Leads White House Easter Prayer
Gene Robinson received quite a surprise this Monday, April 14, when President Barack Obama unexpectedly tapped the former first openly gay Episcopal bishop to lead the closing prayer at the White House Easter celebration. UPI reports that 150 Christian leaders were in attendance at the Fifth Annual Easter Prayer Breakfast, which marks the beginning of… Read more »
When People with HIV Became Suicide Bombers
Maybe we should blame the criminal prosecutions of people with HIV on the mythical legend of Gaetan Dugas, also known by his slanderous nickname, Patient Zero. Dugas was a gay flight attendant from Canada who, according to Randy Shilts’ 1987 book And the Band Played On, was among the first people with HIV in the… Read more »
Putting Prisons on the LGBT Agenda
“[T]here’s a big chunk of [today’s] prison population that is involved in nonviolent crimes. And it is having a disabling effect on communities. You have entire populations that are rendered incapable of getting a legitimate job because of a prison record. And it gobbles up a huge amount of resources.” –Barack Obama “When one in… Read more »
US cuts funding to tourism, religious council
Kampala – The US government has continued to cut aid to Uganda with the tourism sector and the Inter-Religious Council of Uganda becoming the latest to experience cuts because of the anti-gays law. At least $6.4 million (about Shs16 billion) intended for Inter-Religious Council of Uganda (IRCU) to fight HIV has been diverted to other… Read more »
US suspends some aid to Uganda over anti-gay law
The United States has suspended some of its aid to Uganda’s ministry of health as a response to President Yoweri Museveni’s decision to sign anti-gay legislation. Following the recent decision of several countries and the World Bank to halt aid donations destined for the Ugandan Government, the US has now cut a portion of its… Read more »
Arizona Governor Jan Brewer vetoes ‘turn away the gays’ bill
Says SB 1062 ‘has the potential to create more problems that it purports to solve … It could divide Arizona in ways we cannot even imagine’ Arizona Governor Jan Brewer ended days of suspense by announcing she has vetoed the state’s controversial ‘turn away the gays’ law. Brewer said at an evening press conference Wednesday… Read more »
Big rise in US support for gay marriage
Numbers of Americans supporting the idea have highly increased over the past decade, after it became possible for gay and lesbian couples to have a legal marriage Support for gay marriage has shot up in the US with over half of Americans now in favor. A survey by the non-partisan Public Religion Research Institute released… Read more »
UK celebs, Russian gay activists honored by GLAAD
US gay media advocacy organization announce they will be honoring an international LGBTI rights activist for the first time Three British celebs, two Russian activists and an Indian actor are among the nominees in an inaugural international honor awarded by GLAAD. The US media advocacy organization announced they will be giving out an award later… Read more »
Edie Windsor goes to The White House, visits with President Obama in The Oval Office
DOMA plaintiff was among those invited to State Dinner for President of France President Barack Obama was flying in Air Force One last June when he placed a call to Edie Windsor to congratulate her on making history. It was the day that because of Windsor’s landmark lawsuit, the US Supreme Court gutted the anti-gay… Read more »
Michelle Obama congratulates gay college football player Michael Sam for coming out ahead of NFL draft
US First Lady calls Sam ‘an inspiration to all of us’ in Twitter message and adds: ‘We couldn’t be prouder of your courage both on and off the field’ US First Lady Michelle Obama took to Twitter today to publicly congratulate University of Missouri football star Michael Sam for coming out publicly as a gay… Read more »
Boy Scouts Policy Allowing Gay Youth Takes Effect January 1
A new policy allowing openly gay youth in the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) takes effect January 1. Brad Haddock, a BSA national executive board member who chairs the policy implementation committee, told the AP that he hopes implementation will be a non-event. “My hope is there will be the same effect this Jan. 1… Read more »
World’s first lesbian head of government to headline WorldPride summit
LGBTI rights leaders from around the world to speak at event as part of Toronto’s WorldPride celebrations in 2014 The event, organized as part of the WorldPride celebrations, which next year are in Toronto, Canada, will see presenters from 60 countries. International LGBTI activists will debate human rights around the world at the event from… Read more »
New Mexico: 17th State To Legalize Gay Marriage
A New Mexico Supreme Court ruling handed down Thursday joins the state with 16 others and the District of Columbia in allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry. The court in October heard arguments in a case that sought to clarify whether gay couples are allowed to marry in the state. The case has its… Read more »
Google online data expert estimates 1 in 20 American men are gay
A study of Americans’ online habits by economist and Google data analyst Seth Stephens-Davidowitz estimates that five percent of American men are predominantly same-sex attracted but also that more than 1-in-5 are still in the closet New York Times contributor and Google big-data analyst Seth Stephens-Davidowitz says internet data suggests one in twenty American men… Read more »
Cameroon LGBT activist granted asylum in US after receiving death threats for taking part in film
A Cameroonian LGBT activist has been reunited with her family in San Francisco after receiving death threats for appearing in a documentary on LGBT rights. The film documents how the LGBT community in Cameroon is forced to remain at the margins of society. The activist in the film, known only as Gertrude, has been granted… Read more »
Hawaii makes history with first gay marriages taking place at midnight
Dozens of gay and lesbian couples exchanged vows in the middle of the night to celebrate Hawaii becaming the 16th state to allow same-sex marriages As Hawaii’s new gay marriage law came into effect Monday (2 December), couples rushed to tie the knot at midnight. Same-sex couples in Hawaii are now able to register for… Read more »
8th US Native American tribe allows same-sex couples to wed
The Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe have become the 8th federally recognized Native American tribal grouping to allow same-sex couples to marry, wedding Arnold and Matthew Dahl-Wooley on their reservation Friday afternoon 8 US federally recognized Native American tribes now allow same-sex marriage, with the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe marrying their first same-sex couples… Read more »
Illinois Gay Marriage Bill Passes As State Poised To Become 15th To Legalize Same Sex Marriage
Springfield — The Illinois General Assembly passed a bill legalizing same sex marriage Tuesday, putting the Land of Lincoln on course to be the 15th state to legalize same sex marriage. The House of Representatives narrowly passed the bill 61-54-2 shortly after 4 p.m. Tuesday and the state senate concurred a little more than an… Read more »
Illinois Becomes 15th State To Legalize Gay Marriage
Illinois on Tuesday became the 15th state to legalize gay marriage. The marriage bill approved stalled out twice – in the Senate in late 2012 and in the House in May – before finding sufficient support to clear both the House and the Senate in one day. With one vote to spare (61-54) the House… Read more »
Justice presides over gay wedding ceremony at U.S. Supreme Court
Washington (Reuters) – Four months after the U.S.Supreme Court issued two major rulings on gay marriage, retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor on Tuesday presided over a same-sex wedding ceremony at the court building. Court spokeswoman Kathleen Arberg confirmed that O’Connor, appointed to the court by Republican President Ronald Reagan in 1981, oversaw the… Read more »
New Jersey Supreme Court Won’t Delay Start Of Gay Marriage
The New Jersey Supreme Court on Friday unanimously denied a request to delay a lower court’s ruling legalizing gay marriage in New Jersey on Monday. “The state has advanced a number of arguments, but none of them overcome this reality: Same-sex couples who cannot marry are not treated equally under the law today,” the court… Read more »
U.S. Olympic Committee Adds Sexual Orientation To Charter
The U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) board on Thursday voted in favor of adding sexual orientation to its non-discrimination policy. The move comes as Russia prepares to host the Winter Olympics in Sochi. Over the summer, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed laws which prohibit gay and lesbian couples from adopting Russian-born children and the public promotion… Read more »
Senate confirms Todd M. Hughes as first openly gay federal appeals judge
The Senate voted 98 to 0 on Tuesday to confirm the appointment of a Justice Department lawyer as the nation’s first openly gay judge on a federal appeals court. Todd M. Hughes, who has served as deputy director of the commercial litigation branch of Justice’s Civil Division since 2007, will join the U.S. Court of… Read more »
6th US Native American tribal nation allows same-sex marriage
Washington state’s Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation council has voted to legalize same-sex marriages on their lands, becoming only the 6th US Native American tribal nation to do so The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation has become only the 6th US Native American tribal nation to allow same-sex marriage on their territories. On… Read more »
Chelsea Manning, Formerly Bradley, Comes Out Transgender
Wikileaks source Army Pfc. Chelsea Manning, formerly Bradley Manning, on Thursday came out transgender. Manning made her announcement a day after he was sentenced to 35 years in prison. Manning’s lawyer, David Coombs, read a statement on NBC’s Today show. “As I transition into this next phase of my life, I want everyone to know… Read more »
US WikiLeaks soldier comes out as trans: ‘My name is Chelsea Manning’
Wikileaks soldier who was sentenced to 35 years in prison will live the remainder of her life as a woman The US WikiLeaks soldier sentenced to jail for 35 years has come out as transgender and will live the rest of her life as a woman. ‘I am Chelsea Manning,’ the 25-year-old revealed today (22… Read more »
Chris Christie Signs Bill Banning ‘Ex-Gay’ Therapy To Minors
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie on Monday signed a bill banning “ex-gay” therapy to minors, making New Jersey the second state after California to prohibit so-called conversion therapy that attempts to turn gay teens straight. Christie, a Republican, waited until the last possible moment to sign the legislation. The bill would have become law within… Read more »
Gay Ambassador to Australia Marries in D.C.
John Berry, U.S. ambassador to Australia, married his partner of 17 years, Curtis Yee, on Saturday. John Berry, the newly confirmed U.S. Ambassador to Australia, married his longtime partner in Washington, D.C., Saturday, reports the Washington Blade. Berry and his partner, Curtis Yee, have been together for 17 years, and married in a ceremony at… Read more »
Gay Russian man seeks refugee status in Vancouver
Maxim Zhuravlev says stay at Vancouver homeless shelter safer than life in Russia A gay refugee claimant living in Vancouver says he fled to Canada from his native Russia to escape being persecuted for his sexual orientation. Maxim Zhuravlev is staying at a homeless shelter in downtown Vancouver, but says the conditions are far safer… Read more »
US: Minnesota and Rhode Island legalise same-sex marriage
Minnesota and Rhode Island have become the 12th and 13th US states to recognise same-sex marriage after recently passing laws permitting weddings to begin from midnight on Wednesday. The law for Minnesota came into effect yesterday allowing weddings to begin just after midnight, and 42 couples were expected to be married at Minneapolis City Hall… Read more »
Gay marriages resume in California after five-year hiatus
Same-sex couples – some in shorts and jeans, some in their work clothes – rushed to be wed in California on Friday after a court abruptly ended the state’s five-year ban on gay marriage in the wake of landmark rulings at the Supreme Court. San Francisco (Reuters) – On a balcony overlooking the grand staircase… Read more »
Gay Americans who want to marry are now better off than Europeans
30% of US citizens now live in a place where gay marriage is legal, compared to 23% of Europeans The average gay or lesbian American is now more likely to live in a place where they can marry than a European. The death of Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage in California and was struck… Read more »
Video: Montreal a human rights ‘hot spot’
Montreal – There are no gays in Yemen. That’s the Middle Eastern republic’s official position on homosexuality. But in the event that a person is caught committing a homosexual act in one of Yemen’s southeastern provinces, two kinds of punishment are meted out: flogging and death. In the face of the country’s profoundly homophobic… Read more »
Obama Nominates Two Openly Gay Ambassadors
President Barack Obama on Friday nominated two openly gay ambassadors. Obama named James Costos to be ambassador to Spain and Rufus Gifford to be ambassador to Denmark. The nominations come less than a week after the president named Daniel Baer, who is also gay, to be ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in… Read more »
US Secretary of State releases video in honor of Gay Pride Month
Secretary of State John Kerry declares US foreign policies include gay rights and equality The face of US foreign policy honored June as LGBT Pride Month and asserted a commitment to gay rights around the world. Secretary of State John Kerry released a video on the State Department website. He connected gay pride celebrations to… Read more »
US: High School ‘cutest couple’ finds internet fame and inspire other teens to come out
A gay high school couple who were voted “cutest” in their yearbook, became an internet sensation, finding a huge wave of support, and saying they had received messages saying they had inspired people to come out. Carmel High School students Bradley Taylor and Dylan Meehan, attended their senior prom on Monday, and said they were… Read more »
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