Deleting all Mention of LGBT, Climate Change from Whitehouse.gov

Seal of the president of the united states

By Thomas Maxheimer TechCrunch, The Washington Post, and The Advocate, among other news outlets, report that moments after being inaugurated, the LGBT, climate change, and other sections of the Whitehouse.gov website disappeared.  Many felt this could be a sign of hostility toward the LGBT community, especially given the history of gay opposition of VP Mike […]

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LGBTQIA Legislative News Roundup

three old volumes of the law reference book "american record" tinted purple

By Jeremy Selvidge On Friday, Donald Trump was sworn in as the forty-fifth president of the United States. As a candidate, Trump pledged to sign the “First Amendment Freedom Act,” a bill originally introduced in 2015 that would allow discrimination based on the “moral conviction that marriage is… the union of one man and one […]

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Governor Cuomo adds transgender protections in New York through executive action

By John Mack Freeman Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York said that he will use executive action to provide protections for transgender people in speech given last week. Via New York Times: The governor, addressing the crowd at the Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel, said he would direct the State Division of Human Rights […]

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France to change ban on gay men giving blood

By John Mack Freeman France is changing its ban on blood donations by men who have sex with men (MSM). Previously, France had a lifetime ban in place for all MSM. Now, France has changed its rules to come in line with recent changes by many other Western countries, allowing blood donation by MSM as long […]

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Houston equal rights law defeated by wide margin

By John Mack Freeman The Houston Equal Rights Ordinance (widely referred to as HERO) was rejected by a referendum vote, with nearly 61 percent of voters rejecting the measure. Via Wall Street Journal: Known as the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance, or HERO, the measure would have banned discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, race […]

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Ukraine to lose EU travel agreement by reject GLBT rights law

By John Mack Freeman The Ukraine may lose an agreement with the European Union that would allow its citizens visa-free travel within member nations because of the Ukraine’s rejection of a law that would have banned GLBT discrimination. This is widely seen as yet another battleground over the Ukraine’s divided population that has one faction […]

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Watch: Seth Meyers Takes On Defeat of Houston Equal Rights Ordinance

By Ashley R. Lierman In a recent segment on Late Night with Seth Meyers, the host explained the recent defeat of the broad-based Houston Equal Rights Ordinance, or HERO. The measure would have included legal protections from discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity as well as race, gender, and other characteristics. In his […]

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Proposed Russian law to ban coming out

By John Mack Freeman A new proposed law would make coming out by LGBT people a crime. Via Advocate.com: The new bill is being drafted as an amendment to Russia’s infamous ban on “propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations,” which currently imposes fines and censure for any person or agency making pro-LGBT statements in any venue […]

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UN chief insists GLBT rights still important despite recent UN moves

By John Mack Freeman UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon insisted that he was still devoted to GLBT rights and equality even after stripping out any mention of equality or GLBT rights from the UN’s new development goals. Via PinkNews: The final text pledges to ensure that “human rights and fundamental freedoms are enjoyed by all, […]

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Watch: John Oliver explains the need for the Equality Act

By John Mack Freeman John Oliver spent a major chunk of his show Last Week Tonight two weeks ago explaining the importance of the Equality Act that is pending before Congress. I apologize that we are just now getting around to sharing the link. Watch it below (some NSFW language).

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