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High court punts on Lambda case of Oregon baker refusing cake to lesbian couple
Video below
On June 17, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to decide if an Oregon baker can refuse on religious grounds to design a cake for a same-sex wedding—a question it sidestepped last year, USA Today noted. The ...
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Debate has Warren separate from Biden, Sanders, Buttigieg and Biden
After a random draw in New York City with party and candidate officials in attendance, the June 26-27 Democratic presidential candidate debates will have U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren ( one of the current top contenders ) ...
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Nursing student writes the book on trans healthcare
A nursing student who graduated this year from Resurrection University wrote a manual on healthcare delivery for transgender and gender non-conforming persons during her undergraduate clinical work. Naomi Blumenthal, a Chicago native, had been involved with ...
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Court lets Trump anti-trans ban stand, and orders new review
On June 14, the The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals allowed President Trump's ban on transgender members of the military to stand—setting aside a ruling by U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman, who is one of ...
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GLAAD holding special Pride auction
In honor of Pride Month and the 50th anniversary of Stonewall, eBay for Charity—alongside celebrity supporters including Sarah Jessica Parker, Jameela Jamil, Andy Cohen and more—is celebrating the LGBTQ community with a special Pride Month charity ...
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COMEDY Hannah Gadsby pops into Chicago
The Australian, lesbian comic Hannah Gadsby became popular with American audiences thanks to the trail blazing Netflix special Nanette. The show was her tenth and thanks to the hit special she won a Peabody Award. Gadsby ...
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HRC releases sex discrimination report
WASHINGTON — Today, the Human Rights Campaign ( HRC ), the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer ( LGBTQ ) civil rights organization, published its "Inclusive Interpretations of Sex Discrimination Law," a report that ...
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Pride Fund on the three year anniversary of Pulse shooting
WASHINGTON, DC/ ORLANDO, FL, JUNE 12, 2019 — The three-year anniversary of the Pulse shooting in Orlando is June 12. That tragedy inspired the founding of the Pride Fund to End Gun Violence, the only national ...
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Iran defends killing of gay people
The United States accused Iran of violating fundamental human rights after Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif endorsed the execution of gay people, Deutsche Welle reported. Zarif defended his country's policies at a joint press conference ...
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Death at Rikers Island: Her name is Layleen Polanco
WASHINGTON—Last week, we lost another member of the Black Trans Community. Layleen Polanco, a 27-year old Black trans woman, was found dead in her cell at Rikers Island, where she had been serving time for an ...
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New report reviews laws, policies affecting LGBTs in U.S. territories
( Boulder, CO ) June 11, 2019—Progress towards full equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender ( LGBT ) people in the United States has ebbed and flowed, resulting in an often-confusing patchwork of legal protections. ...
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SHOWBIZ Celine Dion, GLAAD concert, Marlon Wayans, telenovela plot
On June 8, international superstar Celine Dion took the final bow of her 16-year Las Vegas residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace, a press release noted. In March 2003, Celine Dion forever premiered her first ...
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NATIONAL Riot thwarted, Stacey Abrams, LGBTQ deaths
Police thwarted a plan by a neo-Nazi group to spark "Charlottesville 2.0" at the Detroit LGBTQ event known as Motor City Pride, The Detroit News reported. Craig said the white supremacists had hoped to spark a ...
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Trevor Project survey shows link between suicide, conversion therapy
The Trevor Project released a new survey showing that 57 percent of young people who experienced conversion therapy attempted suicide in the last year. The National Survey on LGBTQ Youth: Mental Health 2019 is consistent with ...
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'Hadestown' rules Tony Awards
Hadestown ( a take on an ancient Greek myth ) dominated the 73rd annual Tony Awards—winning eight categories ( out of 14 nominations ) on June 9 at Radio City Music Hall, including Best Musical and ...
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Panic ensues at DC Pride parade (UPDATE)
A mistaken belief that someone had fired a gun set off a wave of panic at a Pride parade in Washington, D.C., on June 8 according to the Washington Blade. Authorities said some of the people ...
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Latest WorldPride additions include Janet Mock, Madonna
NYC Pride—the official host of WorldPride 2019 | Stonewall 50—announced the three keynote speakers scheduled to lead a dialogue during the Human Rights Conference on June 24-25 ( and who all happen to be transgender ): ...
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'U.S. v. Windsor' airing June 10
The World Channel is set to helm the broadcast debut of this multiple award-winning documentary To A More Perfect Union: U.S. V. Windsor on Monday, June 10, at 7 p.m. The film chronicles octogenarian Edie Windsor ...
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On 50th anniversary of Stonewall, NYPD apologizes for actions
Five decades after the historic Stonewall riots that many said launched the LGBT-rights movement, the New York Police Department ( NYPD ) apologized to the community for its role in the violence. "The actions taken by ...
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Billy Masters
"My Administration has launched a global campaign to decriminalize homosexuality and invite all nations to join us in this effort!"—The tail end of Donald Trump's Pride Month proclamation. It's not so much a proclamation as a ...
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Smollett not coming back to 'Empire'
Embattled actor Jussie Smollett will not be returning to the Fox show Empire for its sixth and final season, USA Today reported. Show co-creator Lee Daniels took to Twitter June 4 to refute a Variety report ...
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NBJC on Murder of Chynal Lindsey, "We Are Still Fighting For Our Lives"
WASHINGTON — Recently, Chynal Lindsey, 26, a Black transgender woman from Dallas, Texas was killed. Gender violence continues to disproportionately impact Black women and girls, including Black trans women and girls. In response to the tragic ...
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Panic-defense bills introduced in Congress
On June 5, Sen. Edward Markey (D-Massachusetts) and Congressman Joe Kennedy III (D-Massachusetts) introduced bills (the Gay and Trans Panic Defense Prohibition Act) in the United States' Senate and House of Representatives, respectively, that would ban ...
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Lambda Literary Award winners honored
Lambda Literary Award winners were celebrated at a star-studded ceremony last night in New York City at the NYU Skirball Center for the Performing Arts. Once again, the winners of this year's Lambda Literary Awards demonstrate ...
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Planned Parenthood Celebrates Resilience of LGBTQ Communities
New York, NY — This June, Planned Parenthood proudly celebrates the resilience and strength of LGBTQ communities by joining efforts to stand up, push forward, and organize for change. As we continue to fight back against ...
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NATIONAL Conversion therapy, honoring trans pioneers, case against ex-guv
Colorado banned gay conversion therapy as openly gay Gov. Jared Polis signed a bill one day before the start of LGBT Pride Month, ABC News reported. Polis actually signed two bills dealing with LGBT rights: the ...
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SHOWBIZ Jane Fonda, Lee Daniels, Lady Gaga, 'The Babadook'
Jane Fonda said she suffered a nervous breakdown during the first season of Grace and Frankie because she felt "triggered" by her character's plotline of being abandoned by her husband for another man, Page Six noted, ...
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Trump acknowledges Pride Month amid much backlash
For the first time during his term of office, President Donald Trump recognized LGBTQ Pride Month—but many criticized the move, for several reasons. "As we celebrate LGBT Pride Month and recognize the outstanding contributions LGBT people ...
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New York monument to honor trans activists Johnson and Rivera
New York — Today, Mayor de Blasio and First Lady Chirlane McCray announced that the next She Built NYC monument will honor pioneering transgender activists Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera, key leaders in the Stonewall ...
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Supreme Court backs trans restroom access, rules on abortion
On May 28, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on cases related to transgender restroom access and abortion. The court declined to hear the Pennsylvania case Doe v. Boyertown Area School District, allowing school districts to continue ...
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NATIONAL Murder suspect, intersex passport, GLSEN awards
In Tennessee, officials have made an arrest in the murder of Daniel Shields last July, NewsChannel5.com reported. Gerry Weatherby was charged with first-degree murder and especially aggravated kidnapping for the homicide of Shields, a bartender at ...
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SHOWBIZ Cirque du Soleil, 'Downton Abbey' film, Mathew V, Whitney Houston
The producer of Cirque du Soleil and Dan Lin's Rideback have made a deal to develop feature films based on the stories and characters from the catalog of the iconic global live-entertainment franchise, Deadline noted. The ...
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MOMBIAN Trans/gender-creative children star in new picture books
Three new children's books each offer different approaches as they highlight different aspects of gender identity and expression. When Aiden Became a Brother, written by Kyle Lukoff and illustrated by Kaylani Juanita ( Lee & Low ...
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Trump-Pence admin targets LGBTQ non-discrimination healthcare protections
From press releases
From Human Rights Campaign: WASHINGTON— Today, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) — the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) civil rights organization — responded to the Trump-Pence administration's latest attempt to undermine the ...
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HHS expected to propose rolling back non-discrimination protections for more than 1.5 million transgender people
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office for Civil Rights ( OCR ) is expected to announce tomorrow or soon after a proposed regulation that attempts to roll back existing federal protections prohibiting discrimination ...
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Studio Responsibility Index (SRI) maps quantity, quality, diversity of LGBTQs in films
Los Angeles, CA, May 23, 2019 — GLAAD, the world's largest LGBTQ media advocacy organization, today released its seventh annual Studio Responsibility Index ( SRI ), a report that maps the quantity, quality, and diversity of ...
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Eddie Izzard works Wunderbar in Chicago
Eddie Izzard has built a career on simply being his authentic self in life, comedy and politics. His West End debut came in 1993 with a show called Live at the Ambassadors, then much later followed ...
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TRAVEL Portland: Something for everyone
First things first: Portland isn't nearly as granola as I thought it might be. Before visiting the Western city for the first time, I was told/warned ( by various individuals ) that Portland is, among other ...
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Rights organizations slam federal LGBT healthcare rollbacks
Numerous LGBT- and progressive-rights organizations came out against a Trump administration proposal to change the Affordable Care Act ( ACA ) such that anti-discrimination protections for LGBT persons would be rolled back. The change to the ...
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Queer actor plays gay character in teen comedy 'Booksmart'
Most students take their finals in classrooms. Austin Crute took his in a life-size clamshell. The queer actor was preparing to graduate from NYU while filming his first movie Booksmart, which follows two best friends ( ...
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SHOWBIZ Matt Bomer, Megan Rapinoe, Tom Ford, MTV Awards, EBTG
Out actor Matt Bomer stars in the movie Papi Chulo, out June 7, a press release noted. The plot focuses on a newly single, gay TV weatherman ( Bomer ) who is put on leave following ...
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SUMMER THEATER FEATURE Turn up the heat: Summertime LGBTQ theater
We all know that a high percentage of LGBTQ folks are theatergoers, and not just the opera-and-musical-theater queens. ( May they live long and prosper. ) There are opera-and-musical-theater kings as well. Whatever/whomever you are, we ...
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MOMBIAN Princess, maiden fall in love in new children's book
A maiden falls in love with a princess at a multiracial royal court in a delightful new children's book that adds to the growing number of LGBTQ fairy tales. Maiden & Princess—by Daniel Haack and Isabel ...
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New national report details police's transgender policies
A newly released report documents the troubled relationship between transgender Americans and the police departments charged with protecting them. "Failing to Protect and Serve: Police Department Policies Towards Transgender People" newly released by the National Center ...
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NATIONAL Military items, trans murders, Southern trans report
Sgt. 1st Class Janina Simmons became the first female African-American soldier to complete the U.S. Army Ranger School course in April, Ebony.com reported. According to LGBTQ Nation, Simmons proposed to her longtime girlfriend after her completion ...
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Lambda Legal sues HHS for failure to disclose documents on LGBTQs
NEW YORK ( May 22, 2019 ) — Lambda Legal today filed a federal lawsuit to compel the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services ( HHS ) to release information about their communications with outside ...
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Female CEOs say abortion is a right in full-page open letter in New York Times
NEW YORK — In a new full-page open letter running in today's edition of The New York Times, the CEOs and co-founders of Clary Collection, Cora, Dame, Fur, LOOM, Sustain Natural and THINX Inc, are speaking ...
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NBJC on transgender deaths, "How Can We Celebrate Pride If We Keep Dying?"
WASHINGTON — This past weekend, Muhlaysia Booker, a young Black Transgender woman, was found murdered in Dallas, Texas. In April of this year, she was filmed being horribly beaten in public. Another Black Trans woman, Tamika ...
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Billy Masters
"Yes, I admit I was stalking Lou Pearlman into the bathroom!"—Ashley Parker Angel on how he met Pearlman and got cast on "Making the Band". He also was cast in Lou's private shower videos, but we'll ...
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BOOK REVIEW Gender Identity: Beyond Pronouns and Bathrooms
by Maria Cook $22.95; Nomad Press; 128 pages What exactly is gender? How does one determine pronouns, for themselves and others? And why, exactly, is the bathroom debate such a big deal? Nomad Press is an ...
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Pete Buttigieg and homelessness: Advocate on slow South Bend response
Presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg cites the revitalization of South Bend, Indiana, which he largely stewarded, as a prime reason he should be elected president. But one organization head serving persons experiencing homelessness in South Bend maintains ...
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Author documents straight women on front lines of AIDS crisis
A new book by Chicago author Victoria Noe pays tribute to dozens of unsung heroes of the AIDS/HIV crisis, chronicling myriad contributions from straight women who, since the early '80s, have intervened in numerous capacities to ...
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House passes Equality Act
The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Equality Act 236-173 in a May 17 vote. The legislation, which is H.R. 5 and was introduced by U.S. Reps. David Cicilline ( D-RI ) and Brian Fitzpatrick ( ...
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Chelsea Manning back in jail
On May 16, U.S. District Court Judge Anthony Trenga ordered Chelsea Manning back to jail after the transgender former U.S. Army intelligence analyst again refused to cooperate with a grand jury investigating a release of documents ...
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Trump opposes Equality Act
HRC videos below
A senior Trump administration official told exclusively to the Washington Blade that the president opposes the bill. "The Trump administration absolutely opposes discrimination of any kind and supports the equal treatment of all; however, this bill ...
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Majority of Public Favors Same-Sex Marriage, Divisions Persist
WASHINGTON, D.C. ( May 14, 2019 ) — After years of generally steady increases, opinions about same-sex marriage are mostly unchanged since 2017. Today, a majority of Americans ( 61% ) favor allowing gays and lesbians ...
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Lavender Scare tells of government's hunt for LGBTQs in the federal workforce on PBS
ARLINGTON, VA — Narrated by Glenn Close and featuring the voices of Cynthia Nixon, Zachary Quinto, T. R. Knight and David Hyde Pierce, The Lavender Scare tells the little-known story of an unrelenting campaign by the ...
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SHOWBIZ Robin Roberts, 'Wicked Fun,' Fox shows, rock band Thunderpussy
Good Morning America anchor Robin Roberts is receiving a special honor at the 2019 NBA Awards, Extra reported. Roberts will be honored with the Sager Strong Award—given to a trailblazer who exemplifies courage, faith, compassion and ...
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NATIONAL: Twin sons' dilemma, Center Global, risky Buttigieg comment
The Hill reported that the State Department continued an ongoing fight to require one of a gay couple's twin sons to undergo a DNA test to prove his citizenship, according to Immigration Equality, a nonprofit that ...
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Laquan McDonald doc '16 Shots' out June 14
Showtime Documentary Films announced it will premiere the new documentary 16 Shots, from Oscar-nominated director Richard Rowley ( Dirty Wars ), on Friday, June 14, at 8 p.m. CT. According to a press release, the feature ...
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Actress Doris Day dies at 97
Iconic actress and longtime animal-rights activist Doris Day has died at 97, media outlets reported. USA Today noted that Day became a touchstone of pop culture, referred to in many TV shows and movies ( because ...
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New study on gun violence against LGBTs highlights need for research
A new report from the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law examines gun violence against LGBT people, including suicides, homicides, and other forms of gun violence. Researchers conclude that gun violence is a significant concern ...
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AMPA, OutServe-SLDN combine to form Modern Military Association of America
WASHINGTON — Tonight, the nation's two leading lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer ( LGBTQ ) military non-profits — the American Military Partner Association ( AMPA ) and OutServe-SLDN — announced they are combining forces by ...
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StoryCorps launches project with LGBTQ elders for new YouTube documentary
StoryCorps, the groundbreaking effort to document the American story, which has given 500,000 Americans across all 50 states the chance to record conversations about their lives and preserve them for future generations, is preparing to launch ...
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Billy Masters
"There's a whole lot of sins that will keep you out of the kingdom of God. Here's just a sample: Sexually immoral can't get in; idolaters can't get in; adulterers can't get in. Men who practice ...
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HRC celebrates area corporate index honorees
Human Rights Campaign ( HRC ) officials and local volunteers and supporters gathered at the downtown Chicago law offices of Baker McKenzie to pay tribute to area firms that earned perfect scores on the organization's corporate ...
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No 'shortest way' to the White House for Pete Buttigieg
The last paragraph of Pete Buttigieg's autobiography, The Shortest Way Home, could almost serve as a summary of The Wizard of Oz: The protagonist rushed to "escape the hometown that had shaped me," then "slowly and ...
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SHOWBIZ 'Pose,' Julia Roberts, Jonas Brothers, Madonna
Season two of the groundbreaking FX drama Pose will debut Tuesday, June 11, a press release touted. Pose is a drama spotlighting the legends, icons and ferocious house mothers of New York's underground ball culture, a ...
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LGBTQ military and veteran to hold D.C. gala
WASHINGTON — This Saturday, May 11, 2019, the American Military Partner Association ( AMPA ) — the nation's largest organization of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer ( LGBTQ ) military families — will hold the ...
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NATIONAL Dustin Lance Black, presidential candidates, Equality Act advances
Oscar-winning screenwriter/activist Dustin Lance Black said the U.S. is moving backward on LGBT rights, citing the Trump administration's military transgender ban, which went into effect last month, The Hill reported. Black called on advocates and lawmakers ...
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MOVIES Non-binary actor Asia Kate Dillon talks 'John Wick 3,' 'Billions'
Asia Kate Dillon is known for the role of Taylor Mason on the Showtime series Billions, earning a Critics' Choice Television Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. When submitting for an Emmy ...
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MOVIES Wing man Ralph Fiennes on his Nureyev biopic 'The White Crow'
Ralph Fiennes didn't need a magic spell to bring gay ballet icon Rudolf Nureyev back to life. Instead, the actor/director relied on the talents of Ukrainian dancer-turned-actor Oleg Ivenko in dramatizing a pivotal chapter in Nureyev's ...
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Trump religious conscience rule draws fire
LGBT advocates and service providers resoundingly condemned a so-called "religious conscience rule" that was announced by the Trump administration May 2 in its finalized form. That new rule privileges the religious scruples of healthcare providers that ...
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Regulation would allows medical providers to deny care to LGBTQs, groups respond
From press releases
From The Human Rights Campaign: WASHINGTON — The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has announced a final version of a regulation that would allow medical providers to cite their personal beliefs in refusing ...
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Pose, series focusing on ball culture, begins season June 11
Pose is a drama spotlighting the legends, icons and ferocious house mothers of New York's underground ball culture, a movement that first gained notice in the late 1980s. Making television history, Pose features the largest cast ...
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