A Federal judge ruled in favor of a woman who was barraged with racist, sexist, and threatening messages after a known white supremacist used his neo-Nazi website to encourage his followers to harass her. Taylor Dumpson was awarded $700,000 against white supremacist Nazi Andrew Anglin who founded and publishes website the Daily Stormer, a neo-Nazi … More L4GG Win Ruling Against Nazi Publisher of Daily Stormer
Findings from the first representative sample of U.S. sexual minority adults estimating the prevalence of asexual identity. According to a recent study by the Williams Institute, the first in the US to examine the prevalence of asexuality among sexual minority adults, finds that an estimated 1.7% of sexual minority adults identify as asexual. The study also … More First Study on The Prevalence of Asexual Identity
Last Day for NLGJA Convention Advance Registration Rate – NLGJA Convention Event of the Week: Straight Money Talk with Suze Orman: NLGJA’s 2019 National Convention in New Orleans is coming up fast! Each week from now until the convention, NLGJA will be featuring one of the outstanding activities that will be offered throughout the Convention. Be sure … More Bringing STRAIGHT Money Talk by Suze Orman to GAY (LGBTQ) Journalist Convention
On Tuesday, The Washington Post reported that real estate developer and investor Stephen Ross is hosting a fundraising luncheon for Trump’s reelection campaign at his Southampton, New York, home on Friday. Ross is the founder and chairman of the real estate firm Related Companies, which is the financial force behind Hudson Yards, Equinox Fitness Clubs, … More SoulCycle, Equinox and Ross Statements exacerbate Call for Boycott
Donald Trump is 100% responsible for the El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio massacres which caused 29 brutal murders and over 40 injuries, in a 14 hour window, with shooting that totaled less than 6 minutes in El Paso (20 dead) and 30 seconds (9 dead) in Dayton: We can attribute the slaughter to the … More Blaming Trump for Domestic Terror Weekend Rampage
With special thanks to the featured asylum seekers and refugees Mari, Cheyenne, Junior and Subhi, for having the courage and fortitude to tell your stories before you had barely landed! Dear Friends, This week I had the great honor of accepting the OUTFEST Los Angeles 2019 juried Best Feature Documentary award for the Film UNSETTLED … More Tom Shepard’s UNSETTLED Wins Prestigious OUTFEST, Los Angeles Award
Businesses to open as delivery-only retailers with limited signage San Rafael, CA – Now that two applications have been approved, Marin County is a step closer to having its first legal delivery-only medicinal cannabis retail operations in its unincorporated areas. With the Medicinal Cannabis Delivery-Only Retailer (MCDORe, or “McDory”) licensing ordinance as its guideline, the … More Marin County Approves 2 Medicinal Cannabis Licenses
A young LGBTQI Ugandan has been brutally attacked and murdered in Gombe, Uganda. According to sources in Kampala Fahad Ssemugoma, 22, known as Legit’ Ferhd Kawere, described by some as gay and as transgender fell victim to violent mob violence at the hands of Boda Boda (motorcycle taxi) riders. There are many rumors spreading on social media … More Justice Sought for Young Brutally Murdered LGBTQI Ugandan
Ambrose Paul, a courageous human rights defender from Juba, in South Sudan has passed away in Nairobi, Kenya where he had been living as a refugee, seeking resettlement through UNHCR to escape the anti-LGBTQI persecution he had suffered in his homeland. Ambrose, a true leader, displayed the heroic resilience that it takes to exile and fight for one’s … More LGBTQI Refugee Dies in Kenya
Such a life never dies ….. much loved …. forever remembered….. Johnny – our legend- deep sadness prevails this day – even with profound and happy memories helming his magnificent legacy There will never be another Johnny Clegg Music, dance, language – The courageous cross pollination- a part of that which brought South Africa to its … More Deep Sadness Prevails this Day – Tribute to Johnny Clegg
The Center for Gender & Refugee Studies (CGRS) denounces the new interim final rule announced by the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security today, which will deny asylum to those seeking protection at our southern border if they do not first apply for asylum from a third country while en route to the United States. This new … More Denouncing Trump’s New Rule Shutting Down Access to Asylum
After postponing last month’s planned immigration sweep, the Trump Administration is now preparing to launch a series of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids across major U.S. cities including Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, and San Francisco. These raids, which are scheduled to commence on Sunday, will harm … More Planned Raids – Helping Immigrant Communities – What You Can Do
The U.S. House of Representatives has passed an Amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to Restore Honor to Service Members Discharged Due to Sexual Orientation The amendment would correct the military records of service members discharged solely due to their sexual orientation to reflect their honorable service and reinstate the benefits they earned. The amendment … More House Passes Amendment to Restore Honor to Service Members Discharged Due to Sexual Orientation
Every day brings more examples of the culture of impunity and dehumanizing cruelty that defines CBP (Customs and Border Protection) and our entire immigration enforcement system. Trump, who has called the reports about horrific conditions for migrants, asylum-seekers and children in government care a “hoax”, has encouraged and defended these practices. Little wonder that the … More Culture of Impunity & Dehumanizing Cruelty at CBP Starts at the Top
Dear POTUS You Have Violated My First Amendment Rights Unblock me Now! I sent this e-mail and published this letter via Twitter and Facebook today- addressed to Donald trump and putting him on notice that the Court has upheld my First Amendment Rights, that he is not above the law and that he had better … More My Letter to Trump to Abide Court Order – Unblock Me on Twitter
AN ODE(ious):To the 4th July AN ODE(ious):To the 4th July It is UNCONSCIONABLE to have war veterans living homeless on the street, many with PTSD unattended, while Trump rolls tanks down DC at a cost of many a million of dollars. Apparently the DC streets will have to be repaired afterwards as they are not … More UNCONSCIONABLE July 4th
More than 30 Transgender and Ally Organizations File Amicus Brief in Support of Worker Who Was Fired for Being Transgender Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund (TLDEF) today filed a “friend of the court” brief with 33 other signatories in support of Aimee Stephens in her case before the U.S. Supreme Court. In 2013, a Michigan funeral … More Over 30 Organizations File Amicus Brief in Support of Worker Who Was Fired for Being Transgender
I am posting this Article upon request by Dr. Buck Blodgett who lost his daughter to such violence: A recent survey finds that the US is ranked the 10th most dangerous country for women, and it’s the only western nation in that list. Activist and author Buck Blodgett has made it his life’s mission to end … More Is It Time To Treat Violence Against Women As A National Emergency?
A new book by Adam Romero, the Williams Institute’s Arnold D. Kassoy Scholar of Law and federal policy director, and Abbie Goldberg, a former Williams Institute visiting scholar and professor of psychology at Clark University, provides a comprehensive resource for navigating the new world of LGBTQ relationship dissolution. The right to marry means same-sex couples have gained … More Navigating the new landscape of LGBTQ divorce for Lawyers and Therapists
Legislative Solutions Exist to Ensure Fair Maps Today the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Rucho v. League of Women Voters of North Carolina that no fair test exists for courts to determine when partisan gerrymandering has gone too far. In its 5-4 decision on Thursday, the Supreme Court ruled that the federal government does not have the authority to block the … More Supreme Court Declines to Set Standard to Rein in Partisan Gerrymandering
Today, in a defeat for the Trump administration, the Supreme Court has ruled in Department of Commerce v. New York — a complicated decision — that a citizenship question cannot be added to the 2020 Census, in part because of the government’s explanation for why it included the question in the first place. NPR: The majority opinion, written … More Supreme Court Upholds Exclusion of Citizenship Question in 2020 Census
The US Secretary of State Pompeo released the 2018 Annual Report on International Religious Freedom. The report highlighted some of the successes for religious freedom of the past year, such as the release of Pastor Andrew Brunson from Turkey, and of Asia Bibi from Pakistan. But it also pointed to the increasing persecution of believers … More Trump Admin Report on Global Religious Freedom Smacks with Hypocrisy
As excitement mounts in San Francisco this week heading into the 49th San Francisco LGBT Pride Celebration Committee Parade and Festival, George Ridgely, Executive Director of the organization, will be saying goodbye. George’s last Pride celebration at the helm of the largest Pride festival in the world will hail five years of robust fiscal health … More George Ridgely Perfectly Pride
Please watch video through to the end… I was going through my archival footage of some speeches I have given in recent years and heading into San Francisco Pride weekend, could not resist posting this on my blog for there first time. (See link below) It was in 2014 that I was most honored to … More The Pink Triangle 2019 – What Good is ‘Never Again’ if we Continue to Ignore!
The Washington Post is reporting that Donald Trump has directed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to conduct a mass roundup of migrant families that have received deportation orders, an operation that is likely to begin with predawn raids in major U.S. cities on Sunday, according to three U.S. officials with knowledge of the plans. … More Trump Cruelty sets in as ICE prepares to Raid Families
I am so honored to be named for the Excellence in Blogging Award: Melanie Nathan for “LGBT Refugee Peaceful Protest Turns Violent at UNHCR Compound in Kenya,” www.oblogdee.blog and congratulations to all the award recipients with thanks for the important work. This is truly an honor, and most especially because it recognizes the subject matter which I … More I am Named for Excellence in Blogging Award as NLGJA Announces 2019 Excellence in Journalism Award Recipients
Hey, Lesbians and Feminists Let’s start with a much watch documentary: A Great Ride It is Pride month. This year San Francisco Pride’s theme is Generations of Resistance. In 2017 San Francisco Pride honored Sally Miller Gearhart with a long overdue Heritage of Pride, Pride Freedom Award. Now Sally shines in a new documentary directed … More Reclaiming Lesbian Space and Fighting Erasure with Sally Miller Gearhart
The Senate voted today to move forward with confirming Matthew Kacsmaryk to be a lifetime federal judge, despite strong protests from Democrats ― and one Republican ― over his record of opposition to LGBT rights and abortion rights. The Senate voted 52-44 on a procedural step to advance Kacsmaryk’s nomination to the U.S. District Court … More No Place for Kacsmaryk’s Bigotry on the Federal Bench
Nat Werth to attend World Pride as well as Victory Institute’s Candidate & Campaign Training LGBTQ Victory Fund today announced that Nat Werth – the Wisconsin high school valedictorian who was denied a valedictory speech because he is gay – will march with Victory Fund at World Pride in New York City. He will also … More Gay High Schooler Denied Valedictory Speech to Join Victory Fund at World Pride in NYC
Today the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in Virginia House of Delegates v. Bethune-Hill affirming the lower courts designation that the Virginia legislature lacks standing to appeal in its own right: SCOTUS dismissed the challenge to a lower court’s findings that some of Virginia’s legislative districts were racially gerrymandered, saying that House Republicans did not have legal standing to challenge the decision. … More Celebrating SCOTUS Decision Limiting Political Interest in Redistricting
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