Tag: discrimination

A new report has revealed the levels of physical and sexual violence that soldiers serving in the South Korean military face. South Korea enforces national service, and while homosexuality is legal in the country, it is against the Military Service Act. People convicted of breaching Article 92-6 of the Act, which criminalises “anal intercourse”, face up to two years in prison. And now a new report from Amnesty, titled South Korea: Serving in Silence: LGBTI People in South Korea’s Military, criticised...

(image via Depositphotos) A survey from the UK shows 48% of respondents say they would be uncomfortable kissing someone who is living with HIV, even though 97% of those diagnosed in the UK are virally supressed thanks to modern antiretroviral medications. The survey, commissioned by the Terrence Higgins Trust (THT) and executed by YouGov, found high levels of stigma still abound when it comes to HIV. Multiple studies have shown that people living with HIV and on effective treatment report viral levels...

(image via Depositphotos) A survey from the UK shows 48% of respondents say they would be uncomfortable kissing someone who is living with HIV, even though 97% of those diagnosed in the UK are virally supressed thanks to modern antiretroviral medications. The survey, commissioned by the Terrence Higgins Trust (THT) and executed by YouGov, found high levels of stigma still abound when it comes to HIV. Multiple studies have shown that people living with HIV and on effective treatment report viral levels...

Something missing? Seems that we are a community that takes away colors as easily as it can add.For the last couple of years, Canadian and other city pride organizations across the globe have been in the news for not allowing uniformed police officers, straight or LGBT, to march in their parades.  Some of the alternatives to not marching were “throw a polo on instead, but no uniforms” or “don’t have your own float, but put a police polo on...

(stock photo via Depositphotos)A new Reuters/Ipsos poll shows nearly half of all Americans erroneously believe that there are federal laws to protect LGBTQ people from discrimination. The survey of 2,237 adults in the U.S. indicates 45% of those polled believed the federal government has anti-discrimination laws in place for lesbian, gay, and bisexual people. Twenty-three percent knew there are no nationwide protections for LGB folks. The results were nearly evenly split when asked...

Madison’s Café in O’Fallon, Missouri (screen capture)A same-sex couple in Missouri were surprised when the restaurant they had booked for their wedding rehearsal dinner cancelled the reservation upon learning their sexual orientation. Kendall Brown and Mindy Rackley are getting married on June 15, and had planned on holding their rehearsal dinner on June 13 at Madison’s Café. Newsweek reports that the couple chose the restaurant because it had been Rackley’s father’s favorite place...

Florist Barronelle Stutzman (screen capture)The Washington State Supreme Court has upheld its 2017 ruling which found florist Barronelle Stutzman had violated the state’s anti-discrimination laws when she refused to sell wedding flowers to a gay couple in 2013. Stutzman’s legal team had appealed the original ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court, but last June the high court punted.  Instead of reviewing the case, SCOTUS vacated the Washington state Supreme Court ruling and ordered...

Nikko Briteramos (screen capture via Legal Lambda)In October 2017, personal trainer Nikko Briteramos was surprised to be turned away at a barber shop because of his HIV status. Briteramos had been a customer at King of Kuts barbershop in the Leimert Park area of Los Angeles several times before. But apparently, another barber in the establishment who knew Briteramos shared his HIV status with the owner. And so, on that visit, owner Ramsy...

Valedictorian Nat Werth had his graduation speech cut by his high school’s administration. Screenshot via YouTube video “Valedictorian says school banned commencement speech because he’s gay”Becoming a valedictorian is no easy feat – one must work hard to earn and maintain excellent grades. Nat Werth, a high schooler at Sheboygan Lutheran High School, in Sheboygan, Wisconsin achieved this status and was supposed to deliver his speech at graduation but the school’s administration decided that he couldn’t be trusted to...

A retired police officer was just awarded $1.8 million after it was determined by jury that the police chief discriminated against him for being in the military and because be believed the officer was gay. 50-year-old Kenneth Hagel worked as a Sea Girt police officer and was a member of the U.S. Navy Reserves in Lakehurst, New Jersey for more than 30 years, during which time he was deployed to Kuwait, Guam, and Spain. NJ.com reports: For the record: Hagel identifies as straight and...

All 25-year-old Matthew Furlong wanted to do was “follow in his father’s footsteps” and become a police officer. Two years ago, he applied to join the Cheshire Police Department during a diversity drive. The department was hoping to hire more LGBTQ officers. You know, because diversity is a good thing! There was just one teensy tiny problem. Furlong is not L, G, B, T, or Q. He’s straight. 100% hetero. No homo. Got that? Despite this, he applied for the job anyway and when...

A New Jersey charter was forced to cover up a pro-LGBTQ mural after a Catholic church became upset by the mural’s existence. Image via TheArtLeague.orgA student at the Bergen Arts and Science Charter School in Hackensack, New Jersey painted a pro-LGBTQ mural in the form of a rainbow heart to promote gay rights. Unfortunately, the Catholic church that owns the school was upset about having pro-LGBTQ artwork and demanded that it be covered up, according to NorthJersey.com As a resident...

(images via Pexels)Kenya’s High Court has upheld the African country’s laws which criminalize homosexual behavior. LGBTQ activists had argued the laws are discriminatory, lead to increased harassment of the LGBTQ community, and serve to discourage people from seeking HIV testing or treatment.  The plaintiffs involved in the case also said the laws violate the Kenyan Constitution which reads the “state shall not discriminate directly or indirectly against any person on any ground,” including...

LGBT people are typically depicted as city and coastal dwellers. And those who live in rural America are often characterized as people yearning to escape rural life for more acceptance in urban areas. But a new study from the Movement Advancement Project, a think tank that advocates for LGBT equality, shatters that stereotype. Between 2.9 million and 3.8 million LGBT people live in rural America, that's up to 5 percent of the rural population and up to 20 percent of the...