Iranian LGBTQ+ activist released after receiving death sentence

London – Amelia Hansford reports for Pink News that Elham Choubdar, one of two women sentenced to death on charges of “promoting homosexuality”, has been released from custody in Iran. The LGBTQ+ activist was released on Monday, March 13th after her bail of one billion rial (approximately £19,500) was paid. She was arrested in 2021 alongside Sareh Sedighi-Hamadani on charges of “corruption on Earth” for “promoting homosexuality” and “depravity”. They were also charged with “promoting Christianity” and of “communicating with the media opposing the Islamic Republic”. It was reported by Amnesty International in January that Iran had overturned the death […]

In Remembrance: Carl Patrick ‘Charles’ Hughes

Carl Patrick “Charles” Hughes, a founding member of the Baltimore Gay Alliance and Gay Community Center of Baltimore, died March 7th in his Charles Village home of 53 years. He was 78 and had been diagnosed with an inoperable aneurysm after suffering a heart attack in October. The aneurysm was the likely cause of his death. Cover image: Charles (right) and Scott Emmons at gay pride in New York in the 1970s Charles, also known as Buster, was born in Palm Beach, Florida, but lived most of his life in Baltimore City. He was the son of Joseph Hughes, a […]

Growing Attacks On Transgender Medical Care

Bills to ban best-practice medical care for transgender people are growing in number, growing in scope, and growing more extreme, according to a report released today by the Movement Advancement Project (MAP), entitled “Bans on Medical Care for Transgender People.” The report looks at the sweeping attempts to ban and restrict medical care for not only transgender youth – but also transgender adults. Just last week, Missouri became the first state to effectively ban medically necessary care for both youth and adults. MAP analyzed the more than 250 bills introduced in recent years that attack access to medical care for […]

West Texas A&M prez sued for canceling drag show

Dallas – The student chapter of Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) and two of the group’s student leaders have filed suit against West Texas A&M University President Walter Wendler after Wendler announced earlier this week he was cancelling a student-organized drag show that would have benefitted the Trevor Project. Wendler issued a letter declaring there is “no such thing” as a “harmless drag show,” comparing drag to blackface and claiming drag “denigrates” women. Drag shows, he claimed, “stereotype women in cartoon-like extremes for the amusement of others and discriminate against womanhood.” In a press release announcing the lawsuit, […]

United trans flight attendant featured in ad commits suicide

Denver, Colorado – Greg Owen writes in LGBTQ Nation that a popular and well-known trans flight attendant was found dead at her home on Monday, March 20th, by Denver Police after posting a suicide note to social media. On Monday morning at 2:28 am, Kayleigh Scott posted to Facebook and Instagram: “As I take my final breaths and exit this living earth, I would like to apologize to everyone I let down. I am so sorry I could not be better.” Shortly after Scott posted the note, friends on social media alerted authorities. The police conducted a wellness check but […]

Right-wing Catholic group tracks priest using gay dating apps

Denver, Colorado – Emily Chudy writes for Pink News that a Catholic group in Colorado has reportedly spent millions to identify gay priests who use hook-up and dating apps. The conservative, not-for-profit group, Catholic Laity and Clergy for Renewal (CLCR), are said to have spent at least $4 million to find priests who used gay dating apps, and shared the data with bishops across America, the Washington Post reported. The data spans from 2018 until 2021, and was taken from numerous apps, including Grindr, Scruff, Growlr, Jack’d and OkCupid. The Washington Post reported that it was “not clear” what kind […]

Children of same-sex couples fare as well or better

London – The Guardian reports that the children of same-sex couples fare just as well, if not better, than those of heterosexual couples, research has shown. While data on so-called “sexual minority families” is limited, the UK’s Office for National Statistics recorded 212,000 same-sex families in the UK in 2019, a 40% rise since 2015. The number of same-sex parents rose from 4,000 in 2010 to 12,000 in 2013. A new study backs up previous research, concluding that a child’s development has little to do with their parents’ sexual orientation or gender identity. “Contrary to many concerns, our review found […]

Protest over 32 anti-LGBTQ Commonwealth nations

London – Forty, mostly African, LGBT+ protesters shouted “Stop Commonwealth homophobia” as King Charles and Commonwealth leaders arrived at Westminster Abbey March 13th for the annual Commonwealth Day service. They were demanding the repeal of anti-LGBT+ laws and “protection, not persecution.” Thirty-two out of 56 Commonwealth member states criminalize same-sex relations, in defiance of the “toothless” Commonwealth Charter. Seven have life imprisonment. The protest coincided with Uganda’s legislators proposing a vicious new Anti-Homosexuality Bill. It is one of the most repressive laws in the world. Today’s protest was supported by Out & Proud African LGBTI, African Equality Foundation and the […]

Uganda Parliament passes gay death penalty bill

Kampala, Uganda – Alex Bollinger reports for LGBTQ Nation that Uganda is moving to pass a bill allowing the death penalty for being gay and making even identifying as LGBTQ+ a crime, and the White House has come out against the bill. “We have grave concerns with the passage of the Anti-Homosexuality Act – AHA – by the Parliament of Uganda yesterday and increasing violence targeting LGBTQI+ persons,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. “If the AHA is signed into law and enacted, it would impinge upon universal human rights, jeopardize progress in the fight against HIV/AIDS, deter tourism […]

Trans Health Equity Act Passes Maryland Senate

Governor Moore says he’ll sign The Trans Health Equity Act has passed in the Maryland Senate and was heading to governor Wes Moore, who has said he will sign the bill. “We should not be asking any Marylander to validate their humanity. We should not be asking any Marylander to try to justify their humanness,” Moore told the LGBTQ+ Caucus on March 21st. The legislation would expand Maryland Medicaid benefits to cover gender-affirming procedures. “This is monumental progress for such an important bill,” FreesState Justice said in a statement. “We are proud to be part of the coalition of advocates […]