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 […]
Queer Jewish Arts Festival on the Road in Baltimore
In honor of Pride month this June, the Gordon Center for Performing Arts invites the community to join for a series of programs on the road, in the gallery, and at the Gordon. The festival celebrates multiple facets of our identities – including gender, race, religion, and class – through the arts. Sponsored by the Grandchildren of Harvey M. & Lyn P. Meyerhoff Philanthropic Fund, the festival will highlight local, national, and international artists who are making art with queer and Jewish content and examine the complexity of how we present ourselves and move throughout life. “This year, we have […]
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, […]
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 […]
A Joyful Noise at DC’s Ford’s Theatre
Shout Sister Shout! tells the story of rock ’n’ roll’s Black godmother by Chuck Duncan Anyone familiar with music history, particularly the advent of the rock era, is sure to know that Elvis Presley is the King of Rock and Roll. What a lot of people don’t know is that Elvis’s musical style was not initially his own – it was something he honed into his own, as did many others of the time, such as Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash. Their style of music grew out of the blues, jazz, and gospel of Black musicians that white audiences […]
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 […]
Minor-league baseball player comes out
Chicago – Although scant attention was paid to the announcement by American press, the UK LGBTQ website Gay Times recently reported a story about a team member of the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers, a White Sox-owned Single A Team player who recently announced he’s gay. “This may be my most personal thing I ever share, and it’s that I’m proudly and happily part of the LGBTQ+ community,” Anderson Comas posted to his Instagram account on February 19th. The Kannapolis Cannon Ballers are owned by the Chicago White Sox and identified as a Single A Team, which is more or less a […]