Terrence McNally Foundation Launches To Support Emerging Playwrights, LGBTQ+ Causes

Hit LGBTQ+ romance drama Heartstopper’s second season has finished filming, Netflix confirmed on 2 December.

Cross-party MPs called on the government to finally ban ‘conversion therapy’ for all nearly five years after it first pledged to do so.

Jessica Watkins, a transgender woman, was one of five Oath Keeper members convicted for their participation in the January 6 Insurrection that attempted to derail certifying the 2020 presidential election, the Department of Justice announced Tuesday.Watkins and the other Oath Keepers were found guilty following an eight-week-long trial and three days of jury deliberations.The Oath Keepers are a far-right group with many members associated with militias and with former military or law enforcement backgrounds, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.Elmer Steward Rhodes, the founder and leader of the Oath Keepers, and Kelly Meggs, leader of the group’s Florida chapter, were both found guilty of sedition.Watkins, 40, was found guilty of conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of an official proceeding, interfering with law enforcement officers during a civil disorder, and conspiracy to prevent an officer from discharging duties. Kenneth Harrelson and Thomas Caldwell were convicted on related felony charges.“As this case shows, breaking the law in an attempt to undermine the functioning of American democracy will not be tolerated” FBI Director Christopher Wray said.  “The FBI will always uphold the rights of all citizens who peacefully engage in First Amendment protected activities, but we and our partners will continue to hold accountable those who engaged in illegal acts regarding the January 6, 2021, siege on the U.S. Capitol.”The group, including Watkins, had been planning to block the lawful transfer of presidential power, according to the DOJ.

The owner of Club Q, an LGBTQ+ nightclub that suffered a mass shooting in late November, has spoken out his plans for the venue’s future.

RICH LOPEZ | Staff writerrich@dallasvoice.com It may be the most wonderful time of the year for some,

Thomas James

Nic Grzecka, right, co-owner of Club Q, hugs a supporter after a 25-foot historic pride flag was unfurled to cover the exterior of City Hall to mark the weekend mass shooting at the gay nightclub on Nov. 19. (David Zalubowski/Associated Press)

Choreographer Evor Wright works with the cast of Uptown Players’ ‘Head Over Heels’ based on music by ‘80s band The Go-Go’s. (Courtesy photo).

Members of the Supreme Court sit for a new group portrait following the addition of Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson at the Supreme Court building in October. Justices are, bottom row, from left, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Justice Clarence Thomas, Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts, Justice Samuel Alito, Justice Elena Kagan, top row, from left, Justice Amy Coney Barrett, Justice Neil Gorsuch, Justice Brett Kavanaugh, and Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Have an event coming up? Email your information to Managing Editor Tammye Nash at nash@dallasvoice.com or Senior Staff Writer David Taffet at taffet@dallasvoice.com by Wednesday at 5 p.m. for that week’s issue.

Michael Lummus, born June 19, 1969, to David Nolan Lummus and Karen Sue Price Lummus, passed away in September at his home. A celebration of his life will be held Saturday, Dec. 10, beginning at 3 p.m. at Ol South Pancake House, 225 E. Renfro St. in Burleson.

Hola!! Welcome back to my Woof column, and guess what: Holiday season is here! Many of us have been waiting for this time of the year, for a lot of different reasons. Our furry loved ones will be enjoying these holidays with us, but remember to make sure the holidays are as safe for them as possible.

As Elon Musk continues his rapid dismantling of Twitter — laying off thousands of employees, scaring advertisers away, possibly violating FTC rules and bringing the company to the verge of bankruptcy — many people, especially LGBTQ people, are shifting to other social media platforms. I am one of them. I actually abandoned Twitter years ago when

Dua Lipa criticised the Qatari government about human rights violations after rumours she would perform at the World Cup opening ceremony.

SHAUGHNA Phillips has opened up about her pregnancy struggles as she prepares to welcome her first child. The Love Island star, 28, shocked fans earlier this year when she revealed her pregnancy with partner Billy. And it hasn't been an easy journey for Shaughna, who has been suffering from anxiety and extreme heartburn.

Troye Sivan has collaborated with PNAU on the euphoric dance number You Know What I Need.

Meet Khana, a retriever/Labrador/terrier/pit bull mix who weighs 60 pounds and is covered with short black fur (and a few white patches here and there). Khana is a shy doggie, and it takes a moment or two for her to get comfortable with new people, which is part of the reason she has been at the shelter for a bit more than two years now. Once comfy, she is a very good girl and appreciative of love and attention. Khana seems to do very well with other dogs, and she’s willing to meet kids too. Khana is available on a foster-to-adopt program to make sure it’s a great fit all around.

When Arturo Blazquez started studying theology three years ago, he approached it as a hobby, because he couldn’t conceive that he would be allowed to work in Germany’s Catholic Church as an openly gay man living with his husband in Berlin.

Sir Elton John will perform his last ever UK live show at the 2023 Glastonbury Festival, organisers announced.

Disney’s returning CEO Bob Iger has expressed the importance of LGBTQ+ stories after the company’s high profile ‘Don’t Say Gay’ controversy. 

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You can get your freak on every Monday at JR.’s when Cassie Nova hosts her weekly Freak Show. But next Monday, Dec. 5, you can get your freak on for a cause when Cassie hosts her annual Freakmas Onesie Party to raise money that will help make sure each and every student in the Sam Houston Elementary School’s Secret Santa Program has a very merry Christmas. On top of a fabulously freaky drag show starring a roster of your favorite performers, there will be tons of fabulous prizes you can win, either by auction or raffle. So drag out your best onesie and drag your butt to JR.’s, 3923 Cedar Springs Road. The show starts at 9 p.m.

Hunter Schafer will star in the upcoming Hunger Games prequel.

America’s new Dr. Ruth, Glenn Beck is weighing in on procreation, marriage, and children.

In the Knives Out sequel, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery which premiered last week, we discover that Daniel Craig's character, detective Benoit Blanc, is queer, and according to Craig, “it’s all good.”The revelation of Craig’s Benoit character came onstage at the London Film Festival, one of the few secrets associated with the film that was made public prior to the film’s opening. At the time, Craig said he was fine with the character being gay but would not disclose who plays Benoit’s partner in the film. But the director of the film, Rian Johnson, did say, "There’s nobody in the world I can imagine in bringing me more joy for Benoit Blanc to be with." Spoiler alert: Blanc’s partner is played by Hugh Grant.In a recent Deadline feature, Craig decline to reveal the actor's identity, but he expanded on the importance of Blanc’s sexuality.

Maitreyi Ramakrishnan has revealed that she’s not very big on labels when it comes to dating.

In a massive win for LGBTQ+ rights, the Food and Drug Administration has revealed plans to ease blood donation restrictions for queer men.

A powerful gesture for World AIDS Day.Cheddar Gorgeous became a global superstar after appearing as a cast member on the recently-completed fourth season of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK. She ultimately finished the season in second place.During her run in the drag competition, Gorgeous wore an iconic outfit inspired by the ACT UP movement for the “Tickled Pink” runway category.

New York State Assemblymember Jessica González-Rojas announced Thursday, World AIDS Day, that she will introduce a bill to decriminalize the sexual activity of people living with sexually transmitted infections.The bill would repeal New York State Public Health Law 2307, a 76-year-old law that makes it a misdemeanor for any person with a known STI to have sexual intercourse with another. The bill would also expunge any prior convictions.

A Japanese court has upheld its ruling banning same-sex marriage while calling for more LGBTQ+ protections.

Spoilers ahead for The L Word: Generation Q season three. 

(CNN) -- Every year, as the days grow colder and Christmas draws nearer, "Love Actually" quickly becomes a festive favorite on people's television screens.But nearly 20 years on from the release of the 2003 romantic comedy, the movie has faced scrutiny over its story lines and lack of diversity."There were things you'd change but thank god society is changing. So my film is bound, in some moments, to feel, you know, out of date," the movie's writer and director Richard Curtis said earlier this week.He was speaking to Diane Sawyer as part of a documentary on ABC News titled: "The Laughter & Secrets of Love Actually: 20 Years Later.""Love Actually" features interweaving story lines, following several romantic relationships.

A recent court ruling in Japan has delivered mixed results on the issue of marriage equality.A Tokyo District Court on Wednesday upheld the country’s ban on marriage equality, but also ruled the lack of legal protections for same-sex partners and their families infringed on their human rights. Japan is currently the only state among the G7 nations that does not recognize marriage equality.“This is actually a fairly positive ruling,” Nobuhito Sawasaki, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, told Reuters.

Ribbon cutting at La Maison. (David Taffet/Dallas Voice)

“AIDS is God’s punishment!” proclaims the choir in the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical A Strange Loop, in a scene where the protagonist — a young queer Black man — argues with his parents in a heartbreaking dialogue in which they conflate HIV with being gay. This show paints a poignant picture of the current state of HIV: that there is a lot of work that remains to be done to eradicate HIV and stigma, particularly in communities of color.This brilliant show illustrates that HIV today is mainly affecting queer communities of color, and because of stigma and discrimination, we are not talking about it enough, and we need this topic to be highlighted everywhere in mainstream media and entertainment.Currently, HIV is most devastatingly impacting queer black and Latinx communities, straight cisgender black women, transgender women of color, and sex workers.

Club Q in Colorado Springs, the site of a deadly mass shooting November 19, will reopen at some point, its co-owner says.“We will be rebuilding in some sense or form,” Nic Grzecka told NPR. “This community has expressed wholeheartedly their need for the space that we’ve provided for 20 years.”Five people were killed and more than 20 injured in the shooting at the LGBTQ+ nightclub.

There are only some mild spoilers ahead, I've gotta get you to watch it somehow, LOL. He continued, saying, "For us, it was then about this interesting world where nuns are trained to fight and be kick-ass martial artists and weapons experts."Fans are currently rallying to ensure Warrior Nun gets a Season 3 at Netflix.

On World AIDS Day, President Joe Biden and his administration are celebrating the advances made in fighting the disease and highlighting their efforts for further progress toward ending the epidemic at home and abroad.Among other things, the State Department has announced a new five-year strategy to guide PEPFAR, the President’s Emergency Program for AIDS Relief, a global program that has been in place since 2003.“We are at a pivotal moment in the global AIDS response,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken wrote in a document on the PEPFAR strategy, “Fulfilling America’s Promise to End the HIV/AIDS Pandemic by 2030.” “We are closer than ever to reaching the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of ending the global AIDS pandemic as a public health threat by 2030. That goal is within reach thanks in part to nearly 20 years of unwavering bipartisan U.S.

In the 1960s, a sociologist, Harold Garfinkel, and a surgeon, Robert Stoller, led a clinic for the study of gender at the University of California, Los Angeles. The clinic performed some of the first gender confirmation surgeries that were available to intersex or transgender people in the United States, and as part of the team’s medical research, Garfinkel interviewed the patients. The documentary “Framing Agnes” uses these patient interviews to reflect upon the history of transgender people.

Police in Minnesota arrested a man after he allegedly pulled a gun and made threatening remarks at a historic gay bar this week.Conell Walter Harris, 31, was taken into custody at the 19 Bar in Minneapolis late Monday evening and charged with unlawful possession of a firearm and making threats of violence.In a charging document posted online, authorities allege Harris “entered the bar and was ‘acting strangely,’” and later “became upset” after an employee asked to see his ID.When a different employee asked Harris to leave, he allegedly pulled out a gun, held it in his hand, and said “I ain’t going nowhere.”Harris allegedly “squared up” with the employee, and when a patron stepped between the two to “deescalate the situation,” he allegedly threatened them saying “what watch the f*ck you’re saying” and “I’m going to f*ck you up.”As he left the bar, Harris allegedly said “I’ll f*cking kill your d*ke *ss” to a bartender.Harris returned to the bar a short time later and played pool. Police arrived and “immediately saw several people pointing at a male later identified” as Harris.

About 37 fire rescue units responded to a fire on the corner of Turtle Creek Boulevard and Fairmount Street last night (Nov. 30). The former condo complex was being demolished to make way for a “luxury” apartment tower. There are no reports of any injuries. The main concern was the fire spreading to neighboring properties.

Willow’s queer romance storyline received “no pushback” from Disney, according to the show’s producer.

At 2:00 PM ET on Wednesday the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security published its latest terrorism threat report, and for the first time LGBTQI+ people were listed as “targets of potential violence,” which DHS warned could be “lethal.”  Barely hours later, MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace shared the news with Chasten Buttigieg, who was so stunned for several seconds he was speechless.

To commemorate World AIDS Day on December 1, GLAAD released their 2022 State of HIV Stigma Study, which included some encouraging findings. This four-page study, which has been tracking HIV stigma annually since 2020, focused on Americans’ attitudes and knowledge of HIV.Findings from the study showed around 87 percent of adults agree there is still stigma around HIV.

The U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps — part of the Department of Health and Human Services — announced Thursday, on World AIDS Day, that it is changing its policies to allow future applicants living with HIV and chronic hepatitis B to join.In its announcement, the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps said that those living with HIV or chronic hepatitis B had previously been found to be medically disqualified.

Waiting for that holiday spirit to kick in? Well, look no further than the new single by Edmund Bagnell, an immensely talented violinist and vocalist who’s performed with Broadway legends such as Patti LuPone, Kristin Chenoweth, and Audra McDonald — and has even performed at the Vatican. “Wrapped Up in Your Love” with music and lyrics by Edmund, is an original holiday song “inspired by the classics but with a contemporary feel.” He says he wanted to write a Christmas love song that made him smile.“I love the holidays!” declares Edmund. “It’s my favorite time of year. I love the traditions, the food, and especially the music.