Openly gay, College Park Mayor Patrick Wojahn was a progressive Democrat rising star – with over two decades of support for environmental causes, marriage equality, and civil rights – before he resigned upon his arrest on March 2nd, 2023, facing charges for collecting and reposting allegedly illegal sexually-explicit images of boys he’d found on the internet. Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Aisah Braveboy crafted indictments that threatened the former mayor with 360 years in prison. Wojahn has been locked up in the county jail since his arrest. Usually defendants caught simply possessing and sharing illegal internet images – most of […]
Black lesbian files federal wrongful termination suit
Pottsville, Pennsylvania – A Pottsville African-American lesbian filed a wrongful termination lawsuit in federal court last month, claiming she was fired from her job as a nursing assistant after using female pronouns to refer to her life partner during a workplace conversation. “Jane Doe” filed suit in the Middle District of Pennsylvania against Saber Healthcare Group on September 28th. She’s seeking in excess of $150,000 in damages. The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Robert D. Mariani, based in Scranton. A jury trial has been requested. In September 2022, Doe, 25, began working for Saber as a certified […]
Carl Nassib, first out active NFL player, is eager to help
Tampa Bay, Florida – Carl Nassib is the first openly gay active NFL player. In 2021, as a defensive end for the Las Vegas Raiders, he made headlines by coming out after five seasons in the pros. Nassib was born in West Chester, Pennsylvania, to a family of football enthusiasts. His father played at the University of Delaware. His older brother played in the NFL. Nassib excelled in high school sports, lettering in football, basketball, and track and field. His love of athletics and exceptional success fueled his dream of one day playing professional sports. At Penn State University he […]
Lesbian bar target of arsonist
San Diego, California – Gossip Grill, a queer women’s bar in San Diego, was targeted by an arsonist at about 12:30 a.m. Friday, October 20th,, according to a post on social media. By about 1:45 that afternoon, according to NBC 7, police had a suspect in custody. NBC 7 reports that police found the suspect, 38-year-old Ryan Habrel, near the scene Friday afternoon and arrested him on charges of arson to a commercial structure and the use of an accelerant. Police said the investigation is ongoing but that there is no indication so far that the fire was a hate […]
Sunset Soirée: LGBTQ+ Pride Launch Event to Benefit FreeState Justice
Come kick off the Pride season with FreeState Justice at the Sunset Soirée, a night of dinner and dancing on Friday, May 12th, from 6:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. at the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore. The Sunset Soirée will be hosted at the museum’s Jim Rouse Visionary Center on the third floor and consists of two events: a dinner and cocktail hour at 6:00 p.m., and a soirée starting at 8:00 p.m. Purchase of a dinner ticket comes with access to the soirée; however, soirée tickets can be purchased separately. The night is sure to be an amazing […]
Uganda’s horrible anti-gay law will devastate HIV care
Kampala, Uganda – Amy Fallon writes in Global Health that the new anti-gay bill in Uganda, labeled as “among the worst in the world” by the United Nations would “devastate” the HIV response in the east African country, activists warn. The Anti-Homosexuality Act, which was passed by the nation’s Parliament on March 21st, prescribes life imprisonment for homosexual acts and the death penalty for “aggravated offences” such as those involving minors or people with disabilities. The bill also includes a duty to report same-sex acts and imposes up to six months in prison for the failure to do so. Activists […]
US Right Wing activists support Uganda’s ‘Kill the Gays’ bill
San Francisco – Greg Owen writes in LGBTQ Nation that a remarkable collection of well-known U.S. conservatives are openly supporting Uganda’s latest “Kill the Gays” law, claiming LGBTQ+ rights in Africa are just another form of “neo-colonialism.” Media Matters reports the Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh mocked those condemning the draconian legislation passed by Uganda’s Assembly in March as “cultural colonialists” whining over “protecting so-called LGBTQ rights” and claimed opponents of the bill “don’t think that Uganda has any particular right to govern itself and have its own culture and its own way of life.” (See also: Matt Walsh: Transphobe of […]
North Dakota wages war on LGBTQ+ communities
Bismarck – Emily Chudy writes for PinkNews that North Dakota legislators have been widely criticized for passing a record-setting ten anti-LGBTQ+ bills in one day. The state senate passed all ten bills on April 3rd, with eight now headed to the desk of North Dakota’s Republican governor Doug Burgum, where they will either be signed into law or vetoed. Two have been returned to the state’s House of Representatives after having amendments added. The raft of horrifying legislation includes bans on trans students joining sports teams that match their gender identity, sweeping bans on gender-affirming healthcare for young people, and […]
Church holding drag event firebombed, but little damage
Chesterland, Ohio – Chanetlle Billson reports for PinkNews that police were called at around 1:00 p.m. on March 25 to a report of arson at the Community Church of Chesterland, where a Drag Queen Story Time event was due to take place. Officers found a crude, home-made Molotov cocktail bomb had hit the church, resulting in damage, along with minor scorching to the exterior. A sign had also been vandalized. The attack came as the church planned to hold the drag event, hosted by marketing and communications company The Fairmount Group. President and chief executive of The Fairmount Group, Mallory […]
Russia arrests couple for violating gay propaganda law
Kazan, Russia – Daniel Villarreal reports in LGBTQ Nation that on March 5th, authorities in the southwestern city of Kazan approached 21-year-old Chinese national Haoyang Xu after he and his partner, 23-year-old Russian native Gela Gogishvili, had finished visiting a museum with friends, Newsweek reported. Authorities asked Xu for his passport and student visa. He didn’t have them on him. After accompanying the couple to retrieve the documents, officers took them to the Yapeyeva police station and informed them that they had broken the propaganda law. The officers allegedly forbade the couple from speaking to lawyers and tried to make […]