Tag: #lgbtrights

DA Craig Northcott said that he won’t prosecute LGBT domestic violence cases because he doesn’t recognize same-sex marriages. Screenshot via NBC video “Northcott: ‘I don’t recognize’ same-sex unions ‘as marriage’ Craig Northcott, a District Attorney for Coffee County, Tennessee, refuses to persecute LGBT domestic violence cases because he doesn’t believe that same-sex marriages are valid despite being federal law, according to NBC. Because of his comments during a 2018 video, many people are urging for his resignation as I presume, they...

The main square in the city center of Bialystok, Poland, at dawn. / Image via Wikimedia (@Slowacki) As Instinct reported yesterday, a wave of violence struck Bialystok, Poland’s first Pride celebrations over last weekend. Thousands converged on the city, northeast Poland’s largest, including both rainbow-clad Pride revelers and anti-gay protesters, many of whom were tied to various far-right political organizations and to the fringes of the ruling Law and Justice Party. These aggressively anti-gay crowds, shouting obscenities and physically threatening marchers,...

Washington, D.C., National Mall during 2017 Pride. / Image via Andy Carr As the Washington Blade reported yesterday, Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and District Police Chief Peter Newsham have urged the LGBTQ community to “join all District residents in responding to a special appeal … for city residents to inform police of people they know who have illegal guns.” This is just the latest in a series of overtures to gay Washingtonians by Bowser as well as another case...

Mike Pompeo recently announced a new government commission that will decide what constitutes a human right. Image via BBC. Secretary of State Pompeo has a commission in the making that will reevaluate what “human rights” means, potentially harming marginalized groups such as LGBTQ people, according to The New Yorker. On Monday after announcing the formation of the commission, named the Commission on Unalienable Rights, Pompeo explained that the group will be responsible for reviewing “the role of human rights in American...

Two pride flags were burned in front of Harlem’s Alibi Lounge on the eve of Pride Month, May 31, 2019. Image via Pix 11. A second fire at Harlem’s Alibi Lounge started with a burning rainbow flag early Monday morning led to considerable publicity, an NYPD investigation and, The Daily Beast’s Tim Teeman reported earlier this evening, an arrested suspect.  The Daily Beast reports that NYPD has arrested Tyresse Singleton, 20, of Manhattan, who “is charged with two counts each of criminal...

Thousands of parade-goers fill Sixth Avenue near Chelsea during 2019’s World Pride celebrations in New York City / Image via Andy Carr For the second time in the last two months, New York Police are investigating a suspected arson at Alibi Lounge as a possible hate crime. As USA Today reported earlier this morning, a “rainbow flag was set on fire at the entrance to gay bar” in the early morning hours between 12:20 a.m. and 12:45 a.m. A little...

Tampa Bay Rays players have a conference at the pitcher’s mound mid-game. The Rays currently have a 51-39 record, putting them second in the AL East, fourth in the AL overall. / Image Credit: Mariamichelle As reported last week, more than 200 major US-based companies signed a brief in support of extending workplace non-discrimination protections to LGBT Americans. That US Supreme Court case, Altitude Express v. Zarda, will be heard October 8, and involves three combined plaintiffs alleging workplace discrimination based...

Illinois Governor Jay Pritzker recently signed an executive order that focuses on making schools safer for transgender students. Image by Jose M. Osorio via Chicago Tribune. On June 30th, Governor Pritzker of Illinois signed an executive order that is designed to minimize discrimination, bullying, and harassment, of transgender students, according to Think Progress.  As per the order, a twenty-five person task force called the Affirming and Inclusive Schools Task Force, a group made up of parents, students, teachers, medical professionals, and...

Photo by rawpixel.com from PexelsAre you out at work?  Do you feel safe being out at work and not worried about being fired for LGBT?Any mention of Pride? Can you talk about Pride? Out Leadership rated all 50 states on their safe and empowering living environments by examining each state’s legislative policies and social attitudes. The major categories and subcategories used by Out Leadership for consideration were: Legal and Nondiscrimination Protections How difficult is it...

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...

Donald Trump clearly didn’t mean what was implied when he held the pride flag (upside-down) in support of LGBTQ rights. Image by Steven Crowley via The New York Times.We’ve all read about the damage that the Trump administration has done to LGBTQ people, whether directly or indirectly, from the transgender military ban to nominating an anti-gay candidate for a lifetime position as a judge, Trump has shown that he is not a friend of LGBTQ people. To make matters...

Same-sex marriage is long-overdue in Hong Kong, but the members of the city’s government refuse to change their mind. Image via Yahoo NewsEven though the majority of people in Hong Kong are in support of same-sex marriage, the city’s government continues to support the ban on marriage equality because some believe that heterosexual marriages will lose meaning if gay people are allowed to marry, according to Straits Times.  However, the people of Hong Kong are fighting back against this ban....

Trump and Mike Pence have proposed a revision to a section in the ACA that, if it goes through, will remove protections for LGBTQ people. Image by Doug Mills from the New York Times.I really wish I didn’t have to write about this but I suppose it’s best to bring attention to it. It’s no secret that Trump and his administration has not been kind to LGBTQ people and he and Mike Pence have to the potential to make...

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...