Category: From Philadelphia Gay News

While GOP-led state legislatures are advancing a record number of anti-LGBTQ bills in 2023, the Pennsylvania Assembly’s LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus seeks to make significant pro-LGBTQ changes to state law. With two new bills, state lawmakers hope to formally codify marriage equality as well as expand anti-discrimination protections for the LGBTQ community. The intent by several […]

The Central Bucks School District has been a hotbed of controversy for the last couple of years, in part because conservative administrators, members of its board, and people from the community keep trying to ban an increasing number of books they find objectionable. Last year, administrators put forward five books to be reviewed for possible […]

In the continued fight for trans lives, trans equality and trans visibility, organizers in Philadelphia and around Pennsylvania are holding events for International Trans Day of Visibility on March 31.  Philly Trans March (PTM) will host Rise for Trans Lives: a TDOV demonstration at City Hall on March 31 at 6 p.m. PTM and participants […]

Eight Philadelphia mayoral candidates let their city know that they are not participating in the national war on drag performers. Drag queens Brittany Lynn and VinChelle brought drag performers from around the city together for a PGN photo op with the mayoral candidates at City Hall. Other performers in the March 21 photoshoot included Dominique […]

Celena Morrison called it “affirming” to have the City of Philadelphia put forth guidelines to support transgender city employees. Morrison, who has served as executive director for the Office of LGBT Affairs since 2020, is the first openly trans person to lead a government office. “I always say it is great when you have the […]

Community Assistance Friends Enterprise (CAFE) is filling a gap in the business landscape that can be difficult to navigate for minority business owners. Founded by executive director Rebecca Emerson in 2020, CAFE provides free legal and business consulting to all who need it, but centers entrepreneurs and small business owners who are women, LGBTQ+, people […]

In continued conversations about inequities in healthcare for Black and Brown, queer and trans people living with HIV, the organizers of Black and Latinx Community Control (BLCC) will hold their fourth annual symposium on Feb. 11, just a few days after National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. This year the series of conversations will be held […]

The story of George Santos has evolved more in the past month since it first exploded on the pages of the New York Times, more than anyone — including Santos himself — could have imagined. The 34-year-old made history as the first openly gay Republican candidate elected to the House and has fast become the […]

Many queer people are, unfortunately, familiar with the idea of having to hide part of their identity in certain spaces. This may be especially true for people with intersecting marginalized identities, like Black, Brown and mixed race queer people. LGBTQ+ people are often forced to conform to a world that is based on revealing part […]

Part one of a three-part series. At 69, Aviva Rosen says she is getting old.  “That 70 milestone is just months away, and leaving my 60s and heading into my 70s feels like a real sea-change,” Rosen said. “I’m not sure I’m ready. I’m not ready to retire and I’m not ready to not-retire. Money […]

The rumor started swift and unrelenting Saturday night when domestic terrorists shot out two electrical substations in Moore County, North Carolina, some 90 miles outside Charlotte. Had the power outage been fueled by white nationalists determined to stop a drag show in the area? Moore County Sheriff Ronnie Fields has said a motive for the […]

“Violence against trans people, especially our trans siblings of color, continues to be an epidemic in this country and we must all do our part to end it,” Office of LGBT Affairs Executive Director Celena Morrison said at a Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office (DAO) press conference held at Mazzoni Center. The conference was prompted by […]

Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR), which takes place annually on Nov. 20 is a time when the community unites to remember and honor those who lost their lives to transphobic violence. Each individual or community might celebrate TDOR differently, through social events, vigils, information sessions, speakouts, or a combination. “Too often, community is left out […]

When it comes to providing care and resources for people who experience domestic violence or intimate partner violence (IPV), the unique needs of the LGBTQ community sometimes get overlooked. Collaboration between organizations is one way to ensure that the right services get to the people who have experienced IPV. Nhakia Outland, founder and executive director […]

The midterm elections might have been better than expected for the Democratic party in Pennsylvania, but activists are cautioning the LGBTQ community from getting complacent and encouraging a continued effort for equality. While incoming Pa. Gov. Josh Shapiro and U.S. Sen. John Fetterman support equality and bodily autonomy, other lawmakers in Pennsylvania and across the […]

By Marley Parish With Election Day only one week away, Pennsylvania voters planning to cast their ballot by mail or absentee should return them by hand to make sure it arrives on time, the state’s top election official reminded on Tuesday. County election offices must receive mail-in and absentee ballots by 8 p.m. on Nov. […]