Category: From Washington Blade

Federal prosecutors have charged U.S. Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) with criminal violations of federal statues. Originally reported by CNN on Tuesday, the exact nature of the charges couldn’t immediately be learned but the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Justice Department’s public integrity prosecutors in New York and D.C. have been examining allegations of false […]

Last month, the office of Republican Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey temporarily removed its online form for members of the public to lodge “a complaint or concern about gender transition intervention” they may have “experienced or observed.” Bailey had just issued an emergency rule proscribing gender affirming care in the state for minors as well […]

The Justice Department on Wednesday filed a complaint challenging Tennessee’s Senate Bill 1, a recently enacted law that denies necessary medical care to youth based solely on who they are. The complaint alleges that SB 1’s ban on providing certain medically necessary care to transgender minors violates the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause. The department is also […]

A rainbow banner slung over his right shoulder proudly proclaimed the spry octogenarian a “Grand Marshal 2013” of the New York City LGBT Pride March, joining another vibrant octogenarian, Edith “Edie” Windsor, who was also a “Grand Marshal 2013” that bright sunny June day. Between the two of them, the honor was an acknowledgement of […]

President Joe Biden criticized elected Republican officials for the increasingly widespread practice of banning books from America’s schools and libraries in prepared remarks delivered from the White House on Monday. Addressing an audience gathered in the Rose Garden for the Council of Chief State School Officers’ Teachers of the Year event, the president said, “Empty […]

The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday passed the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act (HR 734), a bill that would prohibit transgender women and girls from competing on school sports teams consistent with their gender identity. Members voted 219-203 along party lines for passage of the bill, which was introduced by U.S. […]

LGBTQ and intersex Gambians continue to face persecution, even though President Adama Barrow ousted Yahya Jammeh in 2016 after 22 years in power. Jammeh during his rule enacted several laws that specifically targeted LGBTQ and intersex Gambians. The former president who is currently in exile in Equatorial Guinea introduced the Criminal Code (Amendment) Act 2014 […]

The National Assembly of Hungary last week approved legislation that included a provision for citizens to anonymously report on same-sex couples who are raising children. The wording of the provision specifies that Hungarians may report those who contest the “constitutionally recognized role of marriage and the family” and those who contest children’s rights “to an identity […]

By Sophie Nieto-Munoz  While other states pass bans on transgender health care, New Jersey will be a “safe haven” for those seeking gender-affirming care, Gov. Phil Murphy said Tuesday. Murphy signed an executive order Tuesday directing all state departments and agencies to protect those providing or receiving gender-affirming health care services. Under the order, state officials will […]

The world’s largest democracy is at the crossroad of monumental change.  India’s more than 2.5 million LGBTQ and intersex people are looking at the country’s Supreme Court with great hopes because it will hold another hearing on marriage equality on April 18. The five justices on March 13 heard the issue. The Supreme Court last […]

U.S. Rep. Maxwell Alejandro Frost (D-Fla.) during an exclusive interview with the Washington Blade on March 24 called for President Joe Biden to “speak out about” the wave of anti-LGBTQ legislation across the country. The congressman said the U.S. Departments of Justice and Education “should be heavily involved in investigating what’s going on in Florida […]

Transphobic British gender-critical activist Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull hastily abandoned her  “Let Women Speak” event-rally in Auckland after thousands gathered to noisily protest her presence on Friday (local time.) Keen-Minshull, also known as Posie Parker, quickly departed from the planned Speak Up For Women NZ event at Albert Park in Auckland without addressing those gathered after being […]

The State Department’s annual human rights report that was released on Monday details the prevalence of so-called conversion therapy and the treatment of intersex people around the world. The report notes LGBTQ and intersex rights groups in Kenya have “reported an increase in so-called conversion therapy and ‘corrective rape’ practices, including forced marriages, exorcisms, physical […]

The Maryland House of Delegates on Saturday approved a bill that would require the state’s Medicaid program to cover gender-affirming treatment for transgender people. House Bill 283, or the Trans Health Equity Act, passed by a 93-37 vote margin. The measure now goes before the Maryland Senate. “Proud that the MD House of Delegates passed the […]

A Christian school that chose to forfeit a girls’ basketball tournament game rather than play against a team with a transgender player has been banned from Vermont school sporting events, VTDigger reports. The Vermont Principals’ Association, which oversees school athletics in the state, said the Mid Vermont Christian School in Quechee will no longer be […]

Former Vice President Mike Pence made homophobic remarks about U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg at the annual Gridiron Club dinner in Washington, D.C. Saturday night, a source familiar with the matter told The Washington Blade. Per tradition, headliners from both parties deliver remarks meant to be humorous during the dinner. Pence represented the Republicans while […]

Across America, the conservative backlash escalates. Now they are systematically forcing towns and school districts to ban the Rainbow Flag, our global symbol of LGBTQ+ liberation and diversity. Since last summer, they’ve already claimed anti-queer victories in more than twenty towns and school districts across America by successfully prohibiting display of the Rainbow Flag on […]

In a letter sent Friday to Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a coalition of attorneys general from 15 states and D.C. notified the governor that it is their belief that he and his administration are violating the privacy and rights of university age transgender students. The letter’s lead signatory, New York Attorney General Letitia James, […]

A standing ovation greeted the WNBA’s Brittney Griner over the weekend when the basketball star and her wife, Cherelle, stunned the audience by walking out onto the stage at the NAACP Image Awards in Pasadena, Calif.  As Deadline reported, Queen Latifah was speaking about the resilience of Black people Saturday night, when she said, “We […]

A South Korean high court ruled this past week that partners in a same-sex relationship are eligible for national health insurance coverage overturning a ruling last year by a lower court that denied the benefits.  The Korea Herald reported the Seoul High Court’s ruling is the first that recognizes the status of a same-sex partner […]