Scottish LGBTQ equality charity the Equality Network has welcomed the announcement that First Minister Nicola Sturgeon will make a statement of apology in the Scottish Parliament on Nov. 7 to individuals convicted in the past under Scotland’s historical discriminatory “homosexual offenses” laws. The apology coincides with the publication of a bill to give a pardon for such convictions.
info: equality-network.org.
“Veteran Tales — Serving Without Fear — Transitioning Out of Don’t Ask/Don’t Tell” is the title of Lambda Archives of San Diego’s next installment of their Out at the Archives series. On Nov. 2, the San Diego Veterans Museum at Balboa Park hosted this event in honor of Veterans Day.
info: lambdaarchives.org.
On Oct. 25 Kentucky Family Court Judge W. Mitchell Nance notified Gov. Matthew G. Bevin and the Commonwealth of Kentucky Judicial Conduct Commission of his resignation. In May, Lambda Legal, the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Kentucky, Kentucky’s Fairness Campaign and University of Louisville Law Professor Sam Marcosson filed a complaint against Judge Nance for violating Kentucky’s Code of Judicial Conduct by recusing himself from any adoption proceedings involving LGBTQ individuals.
info: aclu-ky.org.
GayRVA reported that a transgender woman was denied entry into Busch Gardens. The security guard at the popular theme park refused to allow the woman and her girlfriend, Bria Gibson, to enter the park on the basis that the woman was “wearing a costume.”
info: gayrva.com.
them senior editor Meredith Talusan and seven other members of the LGBTQ community, including model and musician Cory Wade, spent a day with the organization Narrative4 telling stories about their individual experiences with bullying, and how these experiences molded them into the people they are today. In a thoughtful story exchange, them invited queer people who have been bullied to face off with queer people who are former bullies themselves — provoking conversations about internalized hatred, the policing that happens within our own communities, and how we can all foster a more supportive environment for members of our queer family.
info: them.us/story/queer-bullying-stories.
On Nov. 1 STOMP Out Bullying asked youth around the world from every corner of the web to block out their bullies, erase negative messages and create a positive, safe digital place for youth everywhere.
info: stompoutbullying.org.
On Oct. 12 Faith in America met with top Mormon legislator, Sen. Orrin Hatch, and lead singer of Imagine Dragons, Dan Reynolds to discuss the staggering epidemic facing LGBTQ youth across the country. The meeting centered on statistics that LGB adolescents who are highly rejected by their families during adolescence are more than eight times as likely to attempt suicide in young adulthood. During the meeting, Sen. Hatch was asked if he thought being gay was a sin. The senator responded with, “No, I don’t. How could anything that God gives you be a sin — especially something you are born with. Mormons believe in a pre-mortal existence, so if you tell gay kids they are sinners, you are saying that God made someone a sinner before they were born and that is just not right.”
info: faithinamerica.org.
China software creator DaddyBear asserted that its DaddyBear knows American men better.
info: gaydaddybear.com.
“The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin” will be released on DVD on Dec. 5. The documentary explores the life of the namesake through his life.
info: wolfevideo.com.
Kristie Overstreet, a clinical sexologist and psychotherapist who specializes in transgender issues, has developed the first course to offer certification to doctors, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, nurses, physical therapists and other professionals who work with transgender patients from a dignity perspective. Available online and onsite, the three-hour Transgender Healthcare Dignity Model Training & Certification Program has been available to providers since September.
info: kristieoverstreet.com.
Openly gay artist Trey Pearson, formerly the frontman of the band Everyday Sunday, will release his debut solo pop album “Love Is Love” on Nov. 17. The seven-song album is Pearson’s first major work since departing the Christian music scene.
info: treypearson.com.
An eight-year-old boy was murdered by his mother and her boyfriend because they thought he was gay, LGBTQ Nation reported. The boy was forced to eat cat feces and kitty litter, spoiled food and when he got sick from eating it, his own vomit. He was also bound and forced into a box for extended periods, pepper sprayed, and beaten daily, as well as being shot with a BB gun.
info: lgbtqnation.com.
Three young researchers are one step closer to finding a cure for HIV/AIDS thanks to a grant from amfAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research. Daniela Monaco, Ph.D., at Emory University in Atlanta, Ga.; Gabriel Ozorowski, Ph.D., at The Scripps Research Institute in San Diego, Calif.; and Jonathan Richard, Ph.D., at the Université de Montréal, Centre de Recherche du CHUM in Montreal, Canada are recipients of the Mathilde Krim Fellowships Grants in Basic Biomedical Research, a fellowship program that supports young scientists seeking innovative solutions to HIV/AIDS.
info: amfar.org.
Masen Davis has been named as the new Freedom for All Americans as its leader.
info: freedomforallamericans.org.
StartOut announced the launch of the Global LGBTQ Entrepreneur Network, powered by Citi Ventures. The Global Network empowers the LGBTQ community by connecting entrepreneurs and their business partners, investors and mentors with each other, in a safe and secure environment.
info: startout.org.
According to USA Today on Oct. 21, Georgia state representative and physician Betty Price, , who is married to the former Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, discussed the possibility of placing HIV patients in quarantine to “curtail the spread” during a legislative committee meeting. Elton John condemned her comments, saying “Rep. Betty Price’s comments about people living with HIV are horrific, discriminatory and astonishingly ill-informed. As a doctor and elected official from a state where people are still contracting HIV at an alarming rate, Mrs. Price should know better than to demonize people and perpetuate myths that stigmatize people living with HIV.”
info: usatoday.com. ejaf.org.
Illinois and New Mexico students received LGBTQ innovation scholarships.
info: noglstp.org.
On Oct. 16 Florida lawmakers filed legislation that would update the state’s Civil Rights Act of 1992 to prohibit discrimination against LGBTQ individuals.
info: williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu.
The Human Rights Campaign Foundation, in partnership with the Equality Federation Institute, released its sixth annual “Municipal Equality Index,” a nationwide rating system of LGBTQ inclusion in municipal law, policy and services.
info: hrc.org.
New Hampshire Public Radio reported on Oct. 20 that the state lifted a ban on Medicaid coverage for gender reassignment surgery.
info: nhpr.org.
GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) honored The Hon. Eric H. Holder Jr., 82nd attorney general of the U.S., at its annual Spirit of Justice dinner on Oct. 27 in Boston, Mass.
info: glad.org.