LGBTQ Victory Fund-endorsed candidate Erick Russell won the Democratic primary election for Connecticut state treasurer, according to an organizational press release. With this victory, he is on track to become the first out Black LGBTQ+ person ever elected to statewide office in U.S. history. According to LGBTQ Victory Institute's Out for America Map, the only national database of out LGBTQ elected officials, there are currently just six out LGBTQ statewide officials in the country—none of whom are Black.
The New York State Department of Labor and the Division of Human Rights will conduct a study to determine the employment rate for transgender New Yorkers as part a new law intended to pinpoint gender identity-based workforce disparities, Gay City News reported. The agencies are embarking on the research initiative as a result of legislation led by state Sen. Kevin Parker and Assemblymember Amy Paulin. The bill passed both houses and Gov. Kathy Hochul signed it into law on Aug. 10.
A gay male couple told the Washington Blade they were assaulted by a group of young men on June 17, at least of one of whom shouted the word "faggots," while the couple was holding hands while walking home. One of the two men suffered a broken jaw and fractured thumb when two or three of the attackers punched and kicked him in the head and face after knocking him to the ground, according to a D.C. police report that lists the incident as a suspected anti-gay hate crime. The incident took place about six weeks before another gay male couple was attacked and punched in the head and face by a group of young males appearing in their late teens as at least one of them shouted "monkeypox faggots."
Palm Springs Pride organizers announced the 2022 theme of "Say Gay" as a challenge to fight extremism at the ballot box this November, according to a press release. A traditional slate of in-person Pride events is scheduled for the 36th annual LGBTQ celebration on Nov. 4-6. The Pride parade and festival featuring multiple stages of live entertainment and an exhibitor marketplace will return to downtown Palm Springs. Pride Week, presented by the City of Palm Springs, is the largest annual event in Palm Springs. The website is www.pspride.org .
A new grant will allow East Tennessee State University to expand clinical services to provide support for individuals with HIV in the region, according to a school press release. The Ryan White HIV Center of Excellence (COE) has received Ryan White Part B funding from the Tennessee Department of Health for more than 20 years. The COE will now be able to expand its services thanks to the award of Ryan White Part C funds. The Ryan White (Part C) Early Intervention Services grant awards $975,159 over three years and will allow the COE to establish a new clinical site in Sullivan County in conjunction with the division of Infectious Diseases at Quillen College of Medicine.
Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-New York), amid the ongoing monkeypox affecting gay and bisexual men, has introduced legislation in the U.S. House seeking to make testing free to the public, according to The Washington Blade. Maloney—one of seven openly gay members of Congress and chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee—said in a statement the measure, called the No Cost for Monkeypox Testing Act, would testing amid the monkeypox outbreak would be accessible to all. The legislation would require private health insurers as well as Medicare and Medicaid to cover the costs of monkeypox testing at no expense to the patients, either through deductibles, co-payments and co-insurance.
The Tyler Clementi Foundation will honor actor/activist George Takei as its eighth annual Upstander Legacy Celebration on Oct. 20 at NYC's Rumi event space, a media release noted. The foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization working to end online and offline bullying, harassment and humiliation. Clementi, a gay man, died by suicide at age 18 after becoming a target of cyberbullying.
Research that analyzed social media posts found that hateful references to LGBTQ+ people surged online after Florida passed the so-called "Don't Say Gay" law, according to a Tampa Bay Times item. References to pedophiles and "grooming" rose by more than 400 percent in the month after the measure was approved, according to a report released by the Human Rights Campaign and the Center for Countering Digital Hate, a nonprofit group that tracks online extremism.
Leia Genis, a trans cyclist competing in USA Cycling events since June, was stripped of a silver medal for not meeting the latest requirements for transgender athlete participation in the sport, according to LGBTQ Nation. Genis was competing in the women's elite individual pursuit at the USA Cycling Elite Track National Championships in Pennsylvania, where she won a silver medal after placing second behind cisgender cyclist Bethany Matsick; however, the next day, Genis had to relinquish her medal.
Prism Health North Texas, an LGBTQ+-focused health facility and community center, is set to host its first-ever Texas Trans Pride event on Sept. 30 at Station 4 in Dallas in the city's historic Oak Lawn neighborhood, NBC Dallas-Fort Worth noted. The event is promised to be a celebration of transgender identity and an opportunity for transgender and gender non-conforming persons to come out and express themselves as they see fit, organizer Shalissa said.
Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is suing the state to cover his legal bills, according to Politico. The lawsuit, filed by Cuomo's attorney Rita Glavin, argues that state Attorney General Letitia James made a mistake in her April decision denying Cuomo's request for state representation or taxpayer-funded private legal counsel in the case—one of several sexual harassment allegations that led to his resignation a year ago.
Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyoming, tweeted actor Kevin Costner's endorsement of her, noting "real men put country over party," USA Today noted. Cheney—in the spotlight for her position on the House Jan. 6 committee investigating the Capitol attack, and her criticism of former President Donald Trump—tweeted a photo of Costner in a T-shirt that read "I'M FOR LIZ CHENEY." Cheney (whose father if former Vice President Dick Cheney and whose sister is lesbian activist Mary Cheney) faces Harriet Hageman, a Trump-endorsed lawyer, in the Aug. 16 primary in Wyoming.
The venue where renowned author Salman Rushdie—whose controversial work, such as The Satanic Verses, has triggered death threats—was stabbed on Aug. 12 had rejected previous recommendations to toughen security measures, CNN reported. Rushdie, 75, was stabbed at least twice on stage at the Chautauqua Institution before he was slated to give a lecture. Rushdie's agent said the writer was stabbed in the liver and will likely lose an eye. It's unclear whether the recommended measures would have prevented the attack.
