FreeState Justice is excited to partner with the Pride Center of Maryland to bring pro-bono legal resources to LGBTQIA+ communities across the state. These clinics will focus on helping Marylanders with name and gender marker changes on all official documents and a chance for clients to ask our team of pro bono attorneys for legal advice. There will be monthly clinics for the next three months, with a special one at Pride in the Park in June. These clinics will be at 2601 North Howard Street, Baltimore, and are entirely free of cost. Whether you are in need of these […]
Angels in America’s Michael Kevin Darnall on Overcoming Fear and Avoiding Apathy
If you regularly attend live theatre in Washington, DC, there’s a good chance you’ve seen Michael Kevin Darnall perform onstage. Frequently spotted at the Hub Theatre and Spooky Action Theatre, Darnall recently made his Arena Stage debut in Tony Kushner’s epic play, Angels in America Part One: Millennium Approaches, which recently ended it’s run on the Fichandler Stage on April 23. Top image: Michael Kevin Darnall as Louis in Angels in America, Part One: Millenium Approaches. Photo by Margot Schulman. Darnall, who plays the role of Louis Ironson, spoke with Baltimore OUTLoud to share his thoughts on Arena Stage, the AIDS epidemic, […]
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 […]
Mother suing school and those who bullied son over suicide
York County, Pennsylvania – A mother in Pennsylvania is suing her town’s school district and six students over bullying she says led to her 15-year-old son’s suicide. Zachary Kirchner took his own life in the basement of his family home in southeastern York County, Pennsylvania in April 2021. He had told classmates he wanted to kill himself. His death followed years of harassment by students and neglect by school administrators in the Red Lion School District, according to the lawsuit filed by Kirchner’s mom, Hope Amspacher. “Student defendants relentlessly harassed, belittled, and broke down decedent by telling him to ‘Kill […]