The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights released a statement publicly urging Donald Trump to reconsider his July 26 transgender military ban announcement, which stated that transgender individuals would not be allowed to serve “in any capacity in the U.S. Military.” The National Center for Lesbian Rights, together with GLBTQ Legal Advocates and Defenders, filed a federal lawsuit challenging Trump’s attempt to reinstate a transgender military ban. The American Military Partner Association President Ashley Broadway-Mack also responded to comments made by Trump, saying “President Trump’s shameful comments are an absolute insult to our nation’s armed forces and a slap in the face to the thousands of transgender service members who are willing to risk their lives every day for this country. Their selfless service and sacrifice for this nation is no ‘complicated issue.’ Military leadership and the far majority of Americans support all of our nation’s heroes, and President Trump should start doing the same.”
info: nclrights.org.
The Gay Christian Network has announced that registration is open for its 2018 conference in Denver, Colo. from Jan. 18-21, 2018. Early bird prices are effective through Sept. 30. Keynote speakers are Rev. Nadia Bolz-Weber, Rev. Dr. Yvette A. Flunder, Rev. Asher O’Callaghan and Julie Rodgers.
info: gaychristian.net.
A new survey conducted online by Harris Poll on behalf of the American Osteopathic Association finds that 53 percent of American adults would support their teenage child’s request to transition to another gender.
info: osteopathic.org.
The Black AIDS Institute will induct individuals and organizations that have made contributions to the fight against HIV/AIDS in Black America at their 16th Annual Heroes in the Struggle Awards Presentation & Reception to be held on Sept. 16 in Los Angeles, Calif. The 2017 inductees include Taraji P. Henson, Laverne Cox, Vanessa Williams, Alfre Woodard, Gina Belafonte, and Gina Brown. The 2017 Corporate Hero is North Carolina’s Novant Health.
info: blackaids.org. heroesinthestruggle.org.
More LGBTQ individuals have been killed so far in 2017 than in the entirety of 2016, Jezebel reported.
info: jezebel.com.
Nyle DiMarco, a hearing impaired, sexually-fluid model and actor, is teaching the world how to use American Sign Language to stand up against Donald Trump by signing the phrase “Impeach Trump.”
info: queerty.com.
The “Tom of Finland” film will make its U.S. premiere and will be shown in New York, N.Y. on Oct. 13 and in Los Angeles, Calif. on Oct. 20 with a national release in major cities to follow.
info: tof.fi/en.
Atlanta, Ga.’s Raddish volunteer group is now cooking vegan meals for homeless LGBTQ youth.
info: thegavoice.com.
The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights issued four official statements regarding civil rights issues. Those are: Statement on Charlottesville, Va. (by unanimous vote); condemning the announced military ban on transgender individuals (by majority vote); raising concern about reversal of the Department of Justice’s position in key voting rights cases (by majority vote); and disapproving the Department of Justice’s civil asset forfeiture policy (by unanimous vote). The American Military Partner Association praised the action.
info: usccr.gov. militarypartners.org.
Salon explored what it meant to be an LGBTQ individual and a Zionist in America today.
info: salon.com.
Atari announced a partnership with industry pioneer, LGBT Media Inc., the company behind LGBTQutie, a popular, one-of-a-kind app designed for the LGBTQ community. As part of this partnership, LBGT Media Inc. will acquire Atari’s Pridefest, one of the first LGBTQ-themed social games to empower players to design and launch their very own personalized Pride parade, connect with friends and more.
info: atari.com.
GLAAD is searching for applicants for its Campus Ambassador Program for the 2017-2018 year. Deadline is Sept. 8.
info: refinery29.com. glaad.org.
The National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce and the US Business Leadership Network shared that The Billion Dollar Roundtable voted to expand their criteria of diverse businesses counted toward a corporation’s billion dollar supply chain spend on diverse-owned businesses to include: certified LGBT Business Enterprises, Disability-Owned Business Enterprises, Service-Disabled Veteran Disability-Owned Business Enterprises and Veteran-Disability Owned Business Enterprises.
info: nglcc.org. usbln.org.
The Emmy Award-Winning Logo Documentary Films and the American Civil Liberties Union announced a partnership to promote the broadcast premiere of “Forbidden: Undocumented & Queer in Rural America.” The documentary, which follows Moises Serrano, an undocumented immigrant and gay man born in Mexico and raised in North Carolina, fighting for the American dream, will premiere on Sept. 1.
info: logotv.com. aclu.org.
The Human Rights Campaign said that Donald Trump’s appointment of Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback would promote discrimination, not religious freedom.
info: hrc.org.
The Trevor Project thanked the Mormon Church for their support of the LoveLOUD festival concert and for calling for a community of inclusion. The organizations also applauded the defeat of “dangerous” anti-transgender bathroom bills in Texas.
info: thetrevorproject.org.
Judith Dominguez and her wife Patricia Martinez, a Los Angeles County lesbian couple, is taking legal action against Colorado-based Cherry Creek Mortgage Company and its health insurance administrator, UnitedHealth Group, for refusal to provide them spousal health insurance coverage on an equal basis to heterosexual employees. They argue the employer’s conduct violates federal laws prohibiting discrimination based on sex including Title VII and the Affordable Care Act.
info: hadsellstormer.com.
NBC News reported that 16 LGBTQ Latin American refugees from Central America formed a caravan while seeking asylum in the U.S.
info: nbcnews.com.
The National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce announced that its 2017 International Business & Leadership Conference was a record-breaking event with over 1,200 in attendance. The organization will hold other events during the remainder of the year: the 2nd Annual Global LGBTQI Business Week from Nov. 13-17 and the 2017 NGLCC National Dinner on Nov. 17, both being held in Washington, D.C. Additionally, the chamber awarded 15 grants to local affiliates.
info: nglcc.org.
New digital lifestyle magazine INTO launched on Aug. 15 and was created for and by global millennials. The original premium content publication aims to enhance the world’s awareness of LGBTQ lives and issues through the distribution of high-quality news, information and entertainment not found elsewhere, it said. The effort is being backed by Grindr.
info: intomore.com.
Faith in America announced plans to engage and inform members of the Southern Baptist Convention at their annual Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission’s Parenting National Conference, to recognize and discuss the real harm they are causing to young LGBTQ people by spreading outdated biblical interpretations about “homosexuality.”
info: faithinamerica.org.
The Williams Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles released a report that found evidence of ongoing discrimination against LGBTQ workers in Indiana and Nebraska. Indiana netted 133,000 incidents and Nebraska netted 34,800 incidents.
info: williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu.
Representatives from San Francisco, Calif.’s GLBT Historical Society, the University of Southern California’s ONE Institute, The Stonewall National Museum & Archives and the University of California, Los Angeles’ Legacy Special Collection will be showcasing rarely seen historic art and artifacts from their archives as part of the programming agenda for the Pride of the Ocean’s 2018 Saving History Cruise. The cruise will debut with the world premiere of the film, “We Started with an Old Shoebox,” a world tour of LGBTQ archives and historians saving LGBTQ history. Each cabin sold on the cruise will result in a direct monetary contribution to benefit the four archival institutions on board. The cruise will be held in late winter.
info: prideoftheocean.com.
For the first time in its history, the National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators has taken a stance on an issue directly related to correcting chronic injustices committed against Latinos and many other Americans. The caucus approved a resolution calling for stronger protections against workplace and service discrimination against the LGBTQ community. “Defending our LGBTQ brothers and sisters from discrimination — in the workplace and in the military — is a moral duty for us as state legislators. [We have] taken a bold stance on this matter, which is the civil rights issue of our time, and I could not be prouder to stand with them as we move forward to enact policies that protect everyone from being mistreated for the mere fact of whom they love and not for any harm they have committed towards others,” said Arizona Rep. César Chávez, who sponsored the resolution.
info: nhcsl.org.
NLGJA – The Association of LGBTQ Journalists announced the recipients of its Excellence in Journalism Awards and recognized “exemplary” work produced in 2016. The highest individual awards, NLGJA Journalist of the Year and Sarah Pettit Memorial Award for the LGBTQ Journalist of the Year, are awarded to Katie Barnes and Erik Hall, respectively. A complete list is available online. The Excellence in Radio Award went to North Carolina Public Radio WUNC’s Jeff Tiberii, Jess Clark, Elizabeth Baier, Dave DeWitt and Brent Wolfe for “HB2 Coverage.” The association has also announced that its 2018 National Convention will be held Sept. 6-9 in Palm Springs, Calif.
info: nlgja.org.
“Elizabeth Blue,” a film about schizophrenia, opens on Sept. 30 in theatres. The story was written and directed by filmmaker Vincent Sabella and is based loosely on his life. The film is co-produced by Sabella’s husband, Joe Dain, who struggled with Sabella’s psychiatrist to find the right combination of medication for Sabella, which took nearly a year.
info: ko-pr.com.
The National Coalition for LGBT Health has announced that United Healthcare has reversed their recently introduced policies regarding PrEP, removing barriers to accessing Truvada for HIV prevention.
info: healthlgbt.org.
Unhinged Homo Productions has announced the launch of OneGayGuy, a new podcast series for the global LGBTQ community and its allies. The company launched OneGayGuy as an alternative avenue to information on important current events, social issues, political issues and mental health and wellness.
info: thesunshineclubpodcast.libsyn.com.
Lawyers from the National Center for Lesbian Rights and GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders filed a federal lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia challenging Donald Trump’s directive to reinstate a ban on transgender people serving in the military. The suit, Doe v. Trump, was filed on behalf of five transgender service members with nearly 60 years of combined military service.
info: glad.org. nclrights.org.
The Justice Department has been ordered to release 1950’s-era “gay purge” documents.
info: lgbtqnation.com.
Equality Florida announced that Former State Rep. Joe Saunders was rejoining the organization’s staff as its new senior political director. In this role Saunders will be charged with leading the organization’s civic engagement programs, pro-LGBTQ mobilization efforts, and electoral programs. After nearly a ten-year tenure serving as Equality Florida’s field director, Saunders ran for and won an east Orlando seat in the Florida House of Representatives, making history in 2012 when he, along with David Richardson of Miami Beach, became the first openly gay Floridians elected to the legislature.
info: equalityflorida.org.
The College Fix reported that as LGBTQ activism grows on U.S. campuses, there are critical questions arising about the definition of transgender which have remained unanswered.
info: thecollegefix.com.
NMAC’s 21st Annual U.S. Conference on AIDS, “Our Family Reunion,” will be held from Sept. 7-10 in Washington, D.C. The conference brings together community leaders and HIV advocates to learn the latest information and build skills to provide effective HIV prevention and treatment services. The conference will run Sept. 7-10.
info: nmac.org.
Equitas Health has announced it will launch a statewide LGBTQ lifestyle publication this fall called Prizm. The publication and accompanying digital news service will focus on current events, health, arts and culture, fashion, politics, news, travel and entertainment and will serve as a resource for the LGBTQ community. The launch of the publication comes after Outlook Ohio Magazine ceased production and left a void in the market for LGBTQ-focused news and community resources.
info: equitashealth.com.
Equality California announced the launch of a new logo and visual identity for the organization, as well as the adoption of a refined mission statement and tagline. The tagline, “Until the work is done,” emphasizes the reality that the LGBTQ community “still lacks basic civil rights protections in most states and at the federal level, that our community is under attack from opponents in communities across the country and around the world, and that Equality California remains dedicated to achieving full lived equality and social justice for all LGBTQ people, wherever they live.”
info: eqca.org.
During its summer press tour, the Television Critics Association found that diversity was a “hot button issue” in TV programs and advertising. GLAAD held a panel discussion for the critics and shared that its most recent study saw 20 percent of Americans who were 18-34 identified as LGBTQ.
info: campaignlive.com.
OutRVA, Richmond, Va.’s LGBTQ tourism campaign, announced a lineup of events and offerings to celebrate LGBTQ Pride this fall. Included are VA Pridefest on Brown’s Island; LGBTQ Pride Package at Quirk Hotel; Tropic Like It’s Hot; and Richmond Triangle Players 25th Anniversary season.
info: visitrichmond.com. richmondisout.com.
The Child and Family Law Quarterly has published an article on “Collaborative Co-Parenting and Heteronormativity: Recognising the Interests of Gay Fathers.”
info: jordanpublishing.co.uk.
WAMU shared a list of LGBTQ landmarks in Washington, D.C. The U.S. Department of Interior granted $50,000 to the city in order for it to identify them and part of the Obama administration’s initiatives.
info: wamu.org.
Randy Gamel-Medler, an Oklahoma gay man, filed a federal equal protection lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma against nine defendants from Blaine County, Okla., including Mayor of Hitchcock Rick Edsall, Sheriff of Blaine County Tony Almaguer and Undersheriff of Blaine County David Robertson. The lawsuit also includes state law claims for assault, battery, destruction of real and personal property and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The complaint details months of police and government inaction in response to racist and homophobic threats and harassment.
info: freedomoklahoma.org.
MSMGF has offered its aspirations to the High Level Political Forum at the United Nations that it include in its toolkit for activists concerned about the HIV and human rights of key populations and LGBTQ individuals: Increase consultation with and meaningful engagement of LGBTQ and key population communities; promote collection of data on sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and sex characteristics; and focus advocacy on criminalization, violence, stigma and discrimination.
info: msmgf.org.
The United Methodist Church has appointed a transgender individual to a deaconship.
info: washingtonpost.com.
A Kickstarter campaign has been created to fund the publishing of a children’s book, “The Boy with the Rainbow Heart,” about “love and acceptance for all people — no matter what color a child’s heart may shine.”
info: kck.st/2wktbpZ.
OUT Magazine reported that KA Designs has created a shirt that uses a swastika in a rainbow motif utilizing the words “Peace,” “Zen” and “Love” underneath. The company’s intention was to use the symbol “to reclaim the symbol to represent the LGBTQ community,” OUT said. The company’s owners shared that they enjoyed the symbol because of its shape and looks and wanted to share “its opposite values of love, peace and freedom” with the objective of expressing “the victory of love and humanity against hatred and Nazism in general.” The Anti-Defamation Commission in Australia was outraged over this usage, and according to a report in Pink News, the commission said “it cannot be rebranded as a symbol of peace. … [the company’s] selfish attitude shows a staggering lack of concern for the feelings of those who survived the Holocaust and those who lost relatives to the monstrous deeds of the Third Reich.” The shirt was marketed through Teespring’s website which removed them from their offerings.
info: out.com.
Slate reported that there is not enough knowledge about LGBTQ health and that a new study might change that.
info: slate.com.
New Ways Ministry’s editor, Francis DeBarnardo, wrote a commentary about Pope Francis’s blessing of a gay couple on the baptism of their adopted children.
info: newwaysministryblog.wordpress.com.
A SAGE study said that LGBTQ seniors are more likely to be childless, single and live alone, Forbes reported.
info: forbes.com.