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NATIONAL North Carolina, 'Pride Heroes,' school news, gay publication folds, Iowa
Video below
The Campaign for Southern Equality (CSE) and Campus Pride released a report focused on the life, school, and health experiences of LGBTQ+ people in North Carolina. The report's release comes as the North Carolina General Assembly ...
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Lightfoot to teach at Harvard in the fall
Former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot is slated to teach at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, where she will lead a course tentatively titled "Health Policy and Leadership," The Chicago Sun-Times reported. The course ...
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WORLD Japanese bill, 'HRC Equidad CL,' center closes, UN expert, amFAR gala
LGBTQ+-rights activists criticized a new bill submitted to the Diet (Japan's national legislature) aimed at "promoting understanding" of equality issues as a "meaningless gesture," Japan Today noted. Japan's coalition government ...
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State Rep. Kelly Cassidy denounces violent acts stemming from political speech
--From a press release
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — State Rep. Kelly Cassidy, D-Chicago, along with members of the House Dobbs Working Group responded to increasing acts of violence and threats stemming from political attacks on reproductive rights and the LGBTQ community ...
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Illinois Healthcare Cultural Competency Coalition applauds passage of HB 2450
--From a press release
The Illinois Healthcare Cultural Competency Coalition applauds passage by the Illinois General Assembly of legislation that will ensure cultural competency is part of continuing medical education for a range of healthcare providers in Illinois. "We are ...
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Board of Commissioners unanimously passes Bodily Autonomy Ordinance Amendment with support of Equality Illinois, ACLU Illinois
--From a press release
Chicago, Ill. — May 25th 2023 — Today, the Cook County Board of Commissioners unanimously passed an amendment to the Human Rights Ordinance ensuring the protection of all individual's right to their own bodily autonomy. The ...
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TaskForce Chicago's ED talks organization, AIDS stigma and queerness
Among the many organizations helping Chicago youths is TaskForce Prevention & Community Services. The West Side-based organization helps hundreds of youths by being committed to addressing the HIV/STI-related needs of ...
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Louisiana Senate committee kills anti-trans bill aimed at minors
The Louisiana Senate Health & Welfare Committee has stopped an anti-trans bill aimed at minors, WBRZ News 2 in Baton Rouge has reported. Republican committee chairman Fred Mills joined Democrats on May 24 to kill Louisiana House Bill 648—a bill tha ...
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Louisiana Senate Health & Welfare Committee kills bans on gender affirming care, HRC responds
--From a press release
Baton Rouge, Louisiana — Today, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) civil rights organization, thanks members of the Louisiana Senate Health ...
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Dr. Petros Levounis takes office as American Psychiatric Association president
--From a press release
WASHINGTON, D.C., May 24, 2023 — Petros Levounis, M.D., M.A., an internationally renowned addiction expert and advocate of LBGTQ+ mental health, began his term as president of the American Psychiatric Association (APA) at the 2023 APA ...
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WORLD Spain, South Korea festival, Eurovision, marriage items, Sri Lanka
Spain became the latest country to join a U.S. initiative that seeks to promote LGBTQI+ rights around the world, The Washington Blade reported. "Promoting and protecting the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and ...
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Florida Gov. DeSantis signs four anti-LGBTQ bills into law; parents file for an Emergency Order to Block SB 254
--From press releases
(Miami, Florida - May 17) Today, on International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law four anti-LGBTQ+ bills at a signing ceremony at a private Christian school. The bills signed ...
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Missouri Attorney General issues order terminating anti-transgender rule
--From a Lambda Legal press release
Jefferson City, Mo. — Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey has issued an order terminating his anti-transgender emergency rule challenged in Southampton Community Healthcare v. Bailey, the lawsuit filed by Lambda Legal, ACLU of Missouri and Brya ...
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Texas House passes bill SB14 which would ban healthcare for transgender youth; GLAAD speaks
--From a GLAAD press release
(New York, NY - May 15, 2023) - Today members of the Texas House of Representatives passed SB14 banning life-saving healthcare for transgender youth. The bill now heads back to the Senate for final approval before ...
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Chicago House welcomes spring with 'Secret Garden' event
On May 7, Chicago House presented its annual spring fashion brunch, this year titled The Secret Garden, in the Winter Green Ballroom of the Harold Washington Library. The annual event, which some now regard as the ...
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Howard Brown responds to FDA's relaxation of blood-donation guidelines
Howard Brown Health has responded to The Food and Drug Administration (FDA)'s elimination of restrictions that had previously barred many blood donations by gay and bisexual men. The FDA said it will recommend a series of ...
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FDA changes 40-year blood donation guidelines to focus on behavior, not orientation or identity; GLAAD responds
--From a press release
(New York, NY - Thursday, May 11, 2023) GLAAD, the world's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) media advocacy organization, is responding to news that the FDA will allow more gay and bisexual men ...
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Vermont enacts most comprehensive transgender healthcare protections to date
--From a press release
May 10, 2023 (MONTPELIER) — Vermont Gov. Phil Scott signed into law two bills—HB 89 and SB 37—protecting access to essential healthcare for transgender people. The new laws come as at least 18 states have moved ...
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Howard Brown Health identifies Monkeypox (Mpox) resurgence
--From a press release
(Chicago, IL, May 5, 2023) — Howard Brown Health has identified a resurgence in cases of Monkeypox (Mpox) in the Chicago area. As of this morning, the agency has diagnosed seven new cases of mpox since ...
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NATIONAL Gun control, San Francisco, trans-rights bill, Portland police, Roxane Gay
Openly gay Colorado Gov. Jared Polis recently signed four gun-control measures into law, per the Colorado Newsline. The new laws raise the minimum age to buy a gun to 21, impose a three-day waiting period for ...
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Florida parents will ask federal court to block trans health ban passed by legislature
--From a press release
TALLAHASSEE— Seven Florida parents who are currently challenging state Boards of Medicine and Osteopathic Medicine rules banning established medical care for their children and other transgender adolescents will also ask ...
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VIEWPOINT Telling the world about my mental health disorders
Over the years, coming out as a lesbian hasn't been that hard for me—because I was always too busy hiding something else. Confessing queerness can be a breeze compared to revealing mental illness. But I decline ...
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SAVOR Omi Hopper takes it to the 'Next Level' on reality-competition show
Omi Hopper knows all about changing one's life. During the COVID pandemic, she decided (out of necessity) to create a social-media presence involving her cooking Puerto Rican dishes. Since then, Hopper (best known as @CookingConOmi) ha ...
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Families, doctors challenge Oklahoma's ban on health care for trans youth
--From a press release
OKLAHOMA CITY - Families, transgender adolescents, and their medical providers are challenging a new law criminalizing age-appropriate medical care for transgender adolescents signed by Governor Kevin Stitt yesterday. In a ...
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Rainbow Railroad seeks to resettle 50 LGBTQI+ people safely in the USA, including 20 in Chicago
Rainbow Railroad recently held an informational meeting at Center on Halsted to announce its partnership with U.S. State Department administered Welcome Corps sponsorship program. The organization has chosen the Chicago ...
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NATIONAL Pro-trans measures, Lambda Legal, Elizabeth Taylor event, drag items, 'The L Word'
While at least 12 states have passed legislation to limit or ban gender-affirming healthcare for young people, Colorado, Illinois, Maryland, New Mexico and Minnesota have passed bills designed to shield ...
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HRC celebrates Minnesota governor Tim Walz for signing statewide 'Conversion Therapy' ban into law
--From a press release
St. Paul, Minnesota — Today, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) — the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) civil rights organization — celebrated Governor Tim Walz for ...
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Sway's Kevin Hauswirth talks about forthcoming dispensary in Northalsted
On April 21, the Chicago Zoning Board of Appeals approved plans to open an LGBTQ+- and BIPOC-owned adult-use cannabis dispensary in Chicago's Northalsted neighborhood, at 3340 North Halsted St., in the former Town Hall Pub space. ...
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HHS Secretary on Missouri's emergency regulation restricting gender-affirming care: "crisis of their own manufacturing"
--From a press release
Statement from HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra on Missouri's Emergency Regulation Restricting Access to Gender-Affirming Care : "At a time when our communities are facing true threats to their health and well-being — in the form of ...
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Florida parents of trans teens seek emergency ruling regarding healthcare
Florida families challenging the state's ban on medically necessary healthcare for their transgender children filed a motion asking the court to halt the ban while their case proceeds, according to a joint press release from GLBTQ ...
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Why mifepristone battle matters to LGBTQs
The escalating clash over the availability of a certain FDA-approved medication to terminate an early-stage pregnancy has significant implications for many LGBTQ people. Over the years, various entities have tried to block the use of hormones ...
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One Roof Chicago LGBTQ+ centered intergenerational community in planning stages, announces new executive director
When One Roof Chicago (ORC) founder Pamela Calvert, a then-newcomer to Chicago, was researching senior living options for her wife and herself, both elder orphans with no close family ties in the area, she was looking ...
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HRC applauds Kansas Governor Laura Kelly for vetoing extremist attacks on transgender lives
--From a press release
Topeka, KS - Today, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) civil rights organization, commended Kansas Governor Laura Kelly for vetoing a total of four bills designe ...
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Conversion therapy doc sparks healing conversation in Hyde Park
On April 15, United Church of Hyde Park, 1448 E. 53rd St., hosted a showing of Pray Away, an Emmy-nominated 2021 documentary depicting the complex harms from conversion therapy. The event was hosted by United Church's ...
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City of Chicago, DCASE announce 2023 Millennium Park Summer Season
--From a press release
City of Chicago and DCASE Announce 2023 Millennium Park Summer Season April 13, 2023 Free Concerts, Films, Workouts and More at the Midwest's #1 Attraction DCASE Communications dcase@cityofchicago.org Download Photos ...
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CDC: Almost 90% of mpox-associated deaths involved Black men
A new report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stated that almost 90% of mpox-related deaths in the United States were among Black men, CNN noted. Moreover, nearly all of the victims ...
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Raoul among AGs filing Supreme Court brief to continue nationwide access to medication abortion
--From a press release
Chicago — Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, with 24 attorneys general, filed a brief supporting continued access to medication abortion and other essential health care for all Americans. In the brief filed in the United States ...
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HRC condemns Montana senate passage of dangerous health care bill, calls for Governor's veto
--From a press release
Helena, Montana — The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) - the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) civil rights organization - condemned the Montana Senate for passing HB ...
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National LGBTQ+ legal groups condemn Missouri action barring healthcare for transgender people
--From NCLR press release
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey has issued an Emergency Rule regarding the medical treatment of transgender people. Lambda Legal, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the National Center for Lesbian ...
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GLAAD responds to Missouri's curtailing essential healthcare for transgender people, outlines bills pending
--From a press release
(New York, NY - April 14, 2023) - GLAAD issued the following statement today in response to the emergency rule issued by Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey to ban health care for transgender people. The rule ...
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Missouri AG limits gender-affirming healthcare for minors and adults
On April 13, Republican Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey issued an emergency regulation claiming gender-affirming healthcare for transgender minors is already illegal ...
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National Mobilization for Reproductive Justice: 'Hands off abortion medications'
--From a press release
Today's decision in the Texas federal court challenge to the abortion pill invalidates FDA approval of the drug after 23 years of its safe use. This will dramatically alter abortion access across the country. If not ...
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Statement from Equality Illinois on Indiana's anti-ttrans healthcare ban
--From a press release
Statement from Equality Illinois Director of Communications Myles Brady Davis following the Indiana governor's approval on Wednesday of legislation targeting trans young people and their families: "Illinois is a pro-equality, pro-family island in a se ...
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Florida Senate passes extreme gender-affirming care ban
--From a press release
Tallahassee, Florida — Today, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) civil rights organization, condemns the Florida Senate for advancing Senate Bill ...
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Center on Halsted recruiting for full time bilingual health educator positions
--From a press release
CHICAGO — Center on Halsted is currently recruiting for three open positions in our HIV department. We are looking for Bilingual Health Educators. This is a full-time, on-site position with complete benefits package. The duties for ...
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Illinois attorney general joins others in calling for an end to anti-LGBTQ+ blood-donation policy
--From a press release
Chicago — Attorney General Kwame Raoul, as part of a coalition of 22 attorneys general, issued a letter to the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) today in support of a proposal that would end an outdated blood ...
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Illinois PrEP coverage safe for now, but ACA court decision has wide implications
Illinoisans accessing pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) should have no disruption to insurance coverage following a federal court ruling on March 30 striking down an Affordable Care Act (ACA) rule that PrEP be paid for by insurers without ...
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Texas judge strikes down ACA provision that affects 100 million people
On March 30, Judge Reed O'Connor of U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas struck down a key provision of the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) that requires insurers and employers to cover preventive ...
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NATIONAL Trans Health Equity Act, financial report, male model dies, book news
In Maryland, both chambers of the Maryland General Assembly passed The Trans Health Equity Act, which would require state Medicaid to cover gender-affirming care and procedures for transgender patients, The Baltimore Banner reported. The bill is ...
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Quigley, Torres, Sorensen lead letter to FDA on updated blood donation guidance
--From a press release
Washington, DC - Today, U.S. Representatives Mike Quigley (IL-05), Ritchie Torres (NY-15), and Eric Sorensen (IL-17) led 23 members in a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services and the Food and Drug Administration ...
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GLAD statement: Order by federal judge in Texas stands to increase HIV transmission
--From a press release
Today a federal judge in Texas issued an order in Braidwood v. Becerra blocking a requirement under the Affordable Care Act that all preventive healthcare services given an A or B rating by United States Preventive ...
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Kentucky legislators override governor's veto to push anti-trans youth bill
On March 29, Republican lawmakers in Kentucky overturned Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear's veto of a bill to ban transgender youths from gender-affirming healthcare and restrict which toilets they use in public schools, media outlets reported. Both ...
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Baldwin leads 22 colleagues in calling on FDA to end discriminatory blood donation policy
--From a press release
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) has headed up a group of 22 colleagues in sending a letter to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf expressing support for the agency's ...
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Iowa, Georgia ban medical treatment for trans minors
Two more states have enacted laws that prohibit medical treatment for transgender minors. On March 22, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed two bills into law that affect transgender minors in the state, NBC News reported. Senate ...
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Utah bans conversion therapy
On March 22, Republican Utah Gov. Spencer Cox signed a bill that bans licensed professionals from practicing conversion therapy—the discredited practice that attempts to turn LGBTQ+ people heterosexual—on minors, Q ...
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US Bishops' statement limits trans health care in Catholic health care facilities, DignityUSA responds
--From a DignityUSA press release
On March 20, 2023, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Doctrine released a policy statement on how Catholic medical institutions should treat transgender and nonbinary people. Entitled "Doctrinal Note on the Moral Limits to ...
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WORLD German bishops, trans woman's death, Hungary, human-rights event
Germany's Catholic bishops voted (38 to nine, with 11 abstentions) to adopt formal ceremonies for the blessing of same-sex relationships, defying the Vatican and testing church unity on what has become one of the most contentious ...
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NATIONAL Ritchie Torres, N.J. towns, Karine Jean-Pierre, Tennessee items
New York Congressman Ritchie Torres has talked about his own struggle with depression and the importance of mental health in the wake of U.S. Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.)'s recent hospitalization for clinical depression, The Washington Blade ...
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Arkansas governor signs anti-trans medical malpractice bill
Republican Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed into law a measure that makes it easier to sue providers of gender-affirming care for children, ABC News reported. This move, involving a law that will take effect this ...
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Study: Outcomes for children similar regardless of the LGBTQ+ identity of the children's parents
--From a press release
NEW YORK — This week a new report was released by BMJ Global Health examining outcomes between LGBTQ+ families and families headed by heterosexual couples. The report, a literature review and synthesis of dozens of academic ...
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NATIONAL Folx Health, gay mayor arrested, powerlifter's suit, Versace visit
Boston-based Folx Health—which provides primary healthcare services and gender-affirming healthcare to LGBTQIA people—made Fast Company's list of the world's 50 most innovative businesses. A few of the other healthcare companies ...
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Minn. governor signs order protecting gender-affirming healthcare
At a time when so many political officials seem to be backing anti-LGBTQ+ measures, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is doing just the opposite. On March 8, Walz signed an executive order protecting the rights of LGBTQ+ ...
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Study examines straight men and their sexual attraction to transgender women
--From a press release
An analysis of online Reddit conversations also revealed a paradox: the same men devalue both trans and cisgender women Some straight men said they sexually desire transgender women because of the women's supposed hyper-feminine traits. Brandon ...
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Billy Masters: Raunchier Uncoupled on the rebound with Showtime
"I never liked when she did this in concerts either. I don't like when females are overly sexualized in art. It degrades and objectivy's [sic] women in a way that's not healthy." —TJ Jackson on reports ...
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LGBTQ+ groups criticize Tenn. bill that bans access to medical care for trans youth
--From a press release
NASHVILLE — On March 2, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee signed into law HB1/SB1, a bill that prohibits transgender-related healthcare in Tennessee for people under the age of 18. The bill is set to take effect on ...
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Raoul, IDHR issue guidance on protections against bias related to pregnancy, reproductive health
--From a press release
Chicago — Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and the Illinois Department of Human Rights (IDHR) today released a guide on the state's protections against discrimination based on pregnancy, childbirth, and ...
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Tennessee to ban drag shows; governor asked about '77 drag photo
Tennessee will ban some drag performances as well as gender-affirming healthcare for trans minors after state House lawmakers sent both bills to Republican Gov. Bill Lee to sign, The Hill reported. Republican state Senate Majority Leader ...
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WORLD Prison HIV study, trans soldier injured, Bollywood, British LGBT Awards
In Zambia, a high uptake of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is possible in prison populations that have adequate resources and support from the criminal-justice health system, according to an AJMC (The American Journal of Managed Care) ...
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WORLD Japanese poll, Sydney Mardi Gras, mpox, rugby study, soccer player
Sixty-four percent of respondents to a Kyodo News poll believe same-sex marriage should be recognized in Japan, the media outlet noted. In the telephone survey, 88.4% also said recent remarks hostile to LGBTQ+ people by a ...
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Gov. Pritzker Proposes $5M cut to state HIV funding
--From a press release
Feb. 16, 2023—Speaking before a joint session of the Illinois General Assembly for the first time since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Governor JB Pritzker delivered his annual State of the State and Budget address ...
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Federal Bureau of Prisons provides bureau's first gender affirming surgery to Donna Langan
--From a press release
Carswell, TX - Transgender prisoner Donna Langan is ready to announce that she is gratefully recovering from the first gender confirming surgery (GCS) ever performed on a prisoner held in a US Federal Prison. Ms. Langan, ...
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Under Fire: New report outlines war against LGBTQs in the U.S.
--From a press release
Breadth, volume, speed and viciousness of anti-LGBTQ attacks create an unprecedented firestorm. In a groundbreaking report released today, the Movement Advancement Project (MAP) connects the dots on the varied ways ...
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Nothing to cure: putting an end to so-called "conversion therapies" for LGBTI people
--From a Council of Europe press release
Strasbourg, 16 Feb. 2023 — "So-called "conversion therapies" continue to take place across Europe despite the profound and long-lasting harmful effects that these practices have on LGBTI people", says Dunja ...
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WORLD Church of England, Japanese officials, Hong Kong ruling, drag kings
The Church of England has voted to bless same-sex marriages for the first time in its history; however, its ban on conducting ceremonies will stay in place, PinkNews reported. It was approved after a six-year consultation ...
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The NBJC commemorates National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, re-releases toolkit
--From a press release
WASHINGTON — For National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NBHAAD) today, February 7, the National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC) has re-released a toolkit that includes information about testing, treatment, and tips ...
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