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NC Disgrace May09

NC Disgrace

North Carolina voters approved a disgraceful constitutional amendment on Tuesday, defining marriage as a union exclusive to man and woman. Amendment 1 effectively eliminates not only same-sex marriage, but also denies any form of legal recognition for same-sex couples. At a celebration on...

Rock The Flag For IDAHO 50 May03

Rock The Flag For IDAHO 50

May 17th is International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO), and companies around the world will be flying the rainbow flag in recognition. Developed by Homotopia, a Liverpool, England based arts and social justice organization, IDAHO 50 hopes to “create a high-impact stand against homophobia and transphobia.” Homotopia, the queer arts and culture festival, which normally runs November 1-30 in Liverpool, will play a significant role this year for IDAHO’s chosen theme of education. Artistic director of Homotopia, Gary Everett said: “‘IDAHO 50′ is very much a part of Liverpool’s DNA,...

Seminary Equality Apr20

Seminary Equality

In a win for the LGBT community, the Schechter Rabbinical Seminary, which is affiliated with the Conservative Jewish seminary in Israel, has said that it will allow gay and lesbian students to study to become rabbis. This decision will bring the seminary up to par with its U.S. branch, which...

The Day Of Silence Apr19

The Day Of Silence

The Day of Silence approaches quickly, coming this year on the 20th of this month. The Day of Silence, if you’re unfamiliar, is a day long vow of silence by students to protest the harassment of LGBT students. The harassment, of course, can comes out in spades when people dare to speak...

Thera-gay! Apr16

Thera-gay!

Mayor of London Boris Johnson has stepped in to prohibit a controversial Christian advertising campaign from running on the side of London buses. The ads, booked on behalf of two conservative Anglican groups, suggested that therapy can help convert homosexuals to heterosexuality. The proposed...

Pray Away The Gay! Apr14

Pray Away The Gay!

Once again Marcus Bachmann, husband to Rep. Michelle Bachmann, finds himself in a little bit of hot water for “reparative therapy,” aka attempting to pray away the gay. In the past, the operators of the Bachmann & Associates clinics have sworn that their agenda is not to...

EU-Nite For Equality Apr12

EU-Nite For Equality

The EU has, once again, positioned itself as a champion of gay rights after issuing an ultimatum to potential member countries demanding that they show progress in the area or face rejection. With the likes of Turkey, Serbia, Montenegro, and Kosovo hopeful of achieving membership within the...

EA Games vs. The Dark Side Apr11

EA Games vs. The Dark Side

The Florida-based conservative group, Family Research Council (FRC), is targeting EA games for the proposed inclusion of LGBT content in its media. The recent surge of complaints is largely a response to EA’s “Star Wars: The Old Republic” and the potential ability for players to select same-sex romance options in the game. Framed as an issue of child protection, this new campaign against homosexuality it part of a larger political debate. The Florida Family Association (FFA) has asserted that EA’s stance means “children and teens, who choose non-social agenda characters, would be forced to deal with lesbian,...

Fighting Injustice Apr11

Fighting Injustice

The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) is the first non-LGBT civil rights group to support an executive order that would bar federal contractors from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. MALDEF made the announcement recently with a letter from its president, Thomas Saenz, calling on President Obama to take administration action on the matter. Saenz points out in his letter that the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) has stalled in Congress for years. “MALDEF believes the time is now right to promote workplace fairness for LGBT individuals by taking strong executive...

Phoenix Drafts Anti-Discrimination Laws Apr09

Phoenix Drafts Anti-Discrimination Laws

Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton is attempting to revamp the city’s outdated human-rights protection laws by drafting an ordinance to outlaw discrimination against the LGBT community. The gap in the current anti-discrimination laws was brought to light in February after a lesbian couple was told they had no “grounds for a lawsuit” against the manager of District American Kitchen & Wine Bar who had them removed from the premises after customers “saw them kiss.” Currently, LGBT citizens in Phoenix are unable to file complaints with the Equal Opportunity Department for things such as housing, public accommodations,...

Protecting LGBT Apr06

Protecting LGBT

Africa – In an open letter to President Macky Sall, Senegal’s new leader, Human Rights Watch (HRW) both congratulated his election and called on the Senegalese government to put a stop to “arbitrary arrests,” stop police violence, and better the lives and treatment of...

One Step Closer Apr04

One Step Closer

LGBT Issues- Ohio inched closer to marriage equality on Tuesday when Mike DeWine, Ohio Attorney General, approved a petition for an amendment that would “redefine marriage in Ohio as ‘a union of two consenting adults, regardless of gender.’” The state’s 2004 constitutional amendment currently restricts marriage as being between “one man and one woman.” In order to put the amendment on the ballot, the Freedom to Marry Coalition (FTMC) must now gather “385,253 valid signatures of registered Ohio voters.” Something the coalition’s co-founder Ian James hopes to do by November 2013...

Rainbow Sudan Apr02

Rainbow Sudan

LGBT Issues – Sudan, North Africa is a place where homosexuality is illegal and punishable by death. However, a new online LGBT magazine, Rainbow Sudan, is offering an outlet and hope to the LGBT community by giving them a way to read about and discuss their situations. “Sudanese...

Zero Tolerance Mar31

Zero Tolerance

LGBT Issues – Chile – Following the murder of Daniel Zamudio, who was beaten and tortured by a group of neo-Nazis because of his sexual orientation, the UN is urging Chile to pass stricter hate crime laws. In addition to calling for new anti-discrimination laws in the South American country, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Rupert Colville, has said that “Chilean lawmakers should make violence based on sexual orientation or gender identity ‘an aggravating factor’ in prosecutions.” Although Chile passed an anti-discrimination law in November of 2011 that included “measures against...

Cold Turkey Mar28

Cold Turkey

LGBT Issues – The Turkish military defines homosexuality as an illness thanks to a definition found in a 1968 text from the American Psychological Association. However, since gay men are barred from military service – yet it is mandatory for all Turkish males over the age of 20 to...

OneGeorgeFox Mar28

OneGeorgeFox

LGBT Issues – Religious colleges and universities aren’t exactly known for welcoming LGBTQ students with open arms, but one alumni group is looking to change all that in hopes that one day LGBTQ students at George Fox University (GFU) in Oregon can speak and act...

Nobel Putz Prize Mar21

Nobel Putz Prize

LGBT Issues – The recent Nobel Peace Prize winner and current president of Liberia, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, has asserted her support for a law that prohibits homosexuality. She made comments defending the legislation in a joint interview with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who...

Alice Nkom’s Work Mar20

Alice Nkom’s Work

LGBT Issues – As part of a series profiling female advocates for LGBT equality and safety, GLAAD helped shed light on the impact that lawyer Alice Nkom of Cameroon has made toward LGBT rights in a country with an aggressive distrust of homosexuals. Nkom has been working as a “vocal...

I Scream, You Scream! Mar17

I Scream, You Scream!

LGBT Issues – Vermont-based company Ben & Jerry’s has whipped up a new frozen confection with a conscience. Their new limited-edition flavor, “Apple-y Ever After,” shows the American company’s support of same-sex marriage in the U.K. A gay rights...

Russia’s Laws Mar16

Russia’s Laws

LGBT Issues – A new law was signed in St. Petersburg, Russia which officially prevents spreading “propaganda of homosexuality to minors.” It is the fourth region in Russia which has passed such a law which was protested by the gay community locally and outside of embassies...

LikeMe Lighthouse Mar15

LikeMe Lighthouse

LGBT Issues – Country musician Chely Wright has established through her advocacy organization, LikeMe, a new community center for the Kansas City LGBT community. Named the LikeMe Lighthouse, the center has been built to provide educational resources and social opportunities, as well as...

Adding Amendments Mar13

Adding Amendments

LGBT Issues – House Bill 1434, which seeks to “define” marriage as being between one man and one woman is scheduled to be voted on today by a Pennsylvania house committee. If passed, the bill will also prohibit other legal unions that can be treated as marriage such as...

Listing the Hate Mar10

Listing the Hate

LGBT Issues – The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) released a list of 11 new hate groups aimed at the gay or LGBT community, which is a staggering rise of 59 percent last year. SPLC indicated that the total number of groups that achieved “hate-group” status reached 1,018,...

Takei Educates Trump Mar07

Takei Educates Trump

LGBT Issues – Despite being voted off “Celebrity Apprentice” by the show’s main attraction Donald Trump, openly gay Star Trek Veteran George Takei proved he is not at all a sore loser. In fact, Takkei who came out publicly within the last few years, hopes to change...

Count ‘Em Mar05

Count ‘Em

LGBT Issues – In the midst of a debate on whether or not to make gay sex illegal once again, India’s Supreme Court requested a census on the number of homosexuals in the country. Even further, the court has also requested that the government provide the number of gay people living...

Big Banks vs. Uganda? Mar02

Big Banks vs. Uganda?

LGBT Issues – With a history of supporting LGBT rights, both Citibank and Barclays, who are heavily invested in Uganda, are being called upon to condemn the “Kill the Gays” anti-homosexuality bill in the country. Colin Burton of Washington D.C has created a petition asking...

The Pink Brick Mar02

The Pink Brick

LGBT Issues – The Pink Brick exhibition, which charts the history of the UK LGBT equality movement, is being displayed in the Victoria Gallery and Museum in Liverpool. The exhibit, which uses photographs, official records, and personal accounts from students and staff at the University...

You’re Fired! Mar01

You’re Fired!

LGBT Issues – Al Fischer, a popular music teacher at St. Ann Catholic School in St. Louis County, has allegedly been fired after an official overheard him talking about his upcoming wedding to his male partner of 20 years. According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the school had...

Was it Always This Way? Feb28

Was it Always This Way?

LGBT Issues – The highly anticipated advertising campaign for JC Penny that features Ellen DeGeneres was launched during the Academy Awards broadcast, proving once again that there are some organizations and corporations in the world who value equal rights and will not back down in the face of threats. The advertising campaign landed at the center of controversy after One Million Moms demanded that the retail giant drop Ellen as a spokesperson and launched a boycott campaign. However, JC Penny refused to back down and backed Ellen all the way. “We share the same fundamental values as Ellen. [...] At J. C. Penney, we...

NOH8 On The Hill Feb27

NOH8 On The Hill

LGBT Issues – With all of the negative political campaign rhetoric floating around lately in regards to LGBT rights, it’s often easy to overlook the fact that some politicians actually believe in equal rights for everyone. Earlier this month, ten members of congress stood up for...