Washington, D.C. – Dan Tracer writes for Queerty that the Supreme Court heard oral arguments Wednesday in the most consequential abortion case in decades, and noted beer lover, Justice Brett Kavanaugh, suggested landmark LGBTQ rights cases could support overturning federal abortion rights. Yes, it’s come to this. Conservative justices, Kavanaugh among them, appear willing to uphold the Mississippi law before the court that would ban abortions in the state after 15 weeks of pregnancy, and possibly overturn Roe v. Wade. The liberal justices expressed serious concern that reversing the 1973 Roe ruling would be too political for the court. Kavanaugh […]
Scott Robbe, activist, movie, TV & stage producer has died
Hartford, WI – Veteran progressive activist and TV-film-stage producer Scott Robbe died on Sunday, Nov. 21, according to a statement by Paul Algiers, a longtime friend and the executor of Scott Robbe’s estate. Robbe was in hospice care at the home of his sister, Angela, in Hartford, Wisc. He was 66. Robbe died of complications from Myelodysplastic Anemia, a blood cancer he had battled for more than a year. Robbe was a prominent member in the founding of two direct-action groups in New York City: ACT UP and Queer Nation. Robbe was a member of an ACT UP undercover team, […]
Biden nominates 2nd out woman to federal appeals court
Washington, D.C. – Juwan J. Holmes writes for LGBTQ Nation that just weeks after the first LGBTQ woman was confirmed to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, Biden is sending another out woman to join the same bench. The White House announced this week that Biden is nominating Alison Nathan, currently a district judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, to a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals of the Second Circuit. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) recommended her, as he did when she was nominated to her current judgeship by President Barack Obama […]
Rehoboth Beach gets new Gay bar
Rehoboth Beach, DE – David Hudson reports for Queerty that a beloved gay bar and restaurant in Arlington, Virginia has just expanded its operations into Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. Freddie’s Beach Bar, owned by Freddie Lutz, first opened in Arlington in 2001. It’s that area’s only LGBTQ hangout. The business has just launched its second venue, with Freddie’s Beach Bar finally finding itself a true beachside location a block from the Rehoboth Beach boardwalk. The second site is located at 3 South First Street, the premises formerly occupied by The Pond Bar and Grill. Freddie’s Beach Bar in Arlington is known […]
Gay men have highest rate of bachelor degrees
South Bend, IN – Gay men have the highest rate of bachelor’s degrees among all demographic groups in the US, according to a new study from Notre Dame University. Women, regardless of sexual orientation, have long outnumbered men in educational attainment, getting more bachelor’s degrees by about a 3:2 ratio. The new study suggests that those numbers may vary according to sexual orientation. The study, titled “Intersecting the Academic Gender Gap: The Education of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual America,” found that Gay men earn significantly more degrees than straight men, while the overall number of Lesbian women earning degrees is […]
President issues statement on Trans Day of Remembrance
Washington, D.C. – Juwan J. Holmes reports for LGBTQ Nation that President Joe Biden issued a statement on November 20 in recognition of Transgender Day of Remembrance. The President called for the passing of the Equality Act and condemned “un-American” anti-trans legislation adopted across the country, many banning trans youth from sports, receiving gender-affirming healthcare, or using facilities in public. For the first time in history, the White House is hosting a vigil in recognition of trans and gender-diverse people lost to violence, with Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff leading the ceremony. The White House has also released a report explaining […]
Threats lead to library canceling Rainbow Story Time
Denton, TX – The Denton Public Library canceled Rainbow StoryTime that had been planned for Transgender Day of Remembrance “due to safety concerns for staff and patrons.” According to a press release, inaccurate information about the event and its content had spread. “We have received a number of disrespectful and hostile complaints based on this inaccurate information and, unfortunately, a number of these have caused us to have concern for the safety of event participants as well as city staff,” the library said in its statement. The statement said that the Rainbow StoryTime event was not going to discuss “gender […]
Many state & local government LGBTQ workers face bias
Los Angeles, CA – Over 600,000 LGBTQ employees are currently employed nationwide by state and local governments. One in five LGBTQ employees has worked in state or local government at some point in their careers, including nine percent who have worked solely in state and local government jobs. A new report by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law finds more than one in four (28 percent) of LGBTQ state and local government employees have experienced discrimination or harassment at work. This includes being fired, not hired, or harassed because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Using survey […]
Philly Gay Bar Association keeps up the fight for 35 years
Philadelphia, PA – The import and impact of lawyers — like those working under the rubric of the Philadelphia LGBTQ Bar Association — is integral in the continuing fight for LGBTQ equity. This has never been more apparent nor more critical than now. In the past decade, monumental legal cases have challenged and changed discriminatory policies and laws affecting LGBTQ people at all levels of society. Among them have been landmark U.S. Supreme Court cases on same-sex marriage — United States v. Windsor in 2013, Obergefell v. Hodges in 2015, and Bostock v. Clayton County, the 2020 anti-discrimination case in […]
Trans murders may reach new high in 2021
Washington, D.C. – In 2020 the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) recorded 44 known deaths of Transgender and gender-nonconforming people — which was greater than any year since the HRC first began tracking these rates in 2013 — but this year might break that record. With two months left in the year, violent murders of Transgender people are expected to reach an all-time high. The most recently reported HRC murder of a Transgender person was 39-year-old Rikkey Outumuro, who was shot in Centralia this past October. Outumuro is at least the 44th known violent killing of a Transgender or gender-nonconforming person […]