federal protection vs. state rights
The Playing Field Is Not Level for Trans H.S. & College Females
It seems ironic that transgender celebrities like Elliot Page, Caitlyn Jenner, Laverne Cox, to name a few, are becoming more visible in our society while high school and college female transgenders are becoming invisible on the field because their state is banning them from participating on teams in which they feel they belong. According to…
Insurrection Against LGBT Housing At Bucknell College
Last Thursday, May 13, 2012, twenty male students, ex-fraternity seniors at Bucknell College, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, tried to storm into Tower House, a Fran’s House affinity for LGBTQ students. Formerly, a Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity that was closed in 2019 due to underage drinking, the residence is now gender-neutral housing. The rowdy students, chanting “let us…
Biden Administration Restores Obama’s Transgender Health Protections
Trump’s Policy of Limited Health Care Is Reversed. It’s a Victory for Transgender Rights! Last Monday, May 10, 2021, The Biden Administration reiterated that it had “the back of the LGBT population.” Rescinding the Trump-era policy that sought to narrow the legal rights involving medical care of LGBT people, The Biden Administration is planning on…
What is Lesbian Visibility Week?
Since 2008, women who love women or lesbians have celebrated Lesbian Visibility Week in April all over the world. Its aim is not only to show solidarity with all LGBTQI women in their community. Sponsored by DIVA Media, Europe’s largest LGBTQI group, it’s the only media group that engages, supports, and unites LGBTQI women and…
A Gay Man’s Guide to Life: Guest Post by Britt East
I usually write about issues that straight parents face when their children come out, largely because of parental pre-conceived expectations for their children. But I thought it would be enlightening to hear from author Britt East, a gay grown man, about his journey coming out to his Southern non-accepting family in the 80’s but also…
“Actions Speak Louder Than Words”: GLSEN’S Day of Silence
Yearly, the Gay Straight Education Network hosts a Day of Silence for 10,000 schools across the country and world. The purpose is to spread awareness about the effects of bullying and harassment of LGBTQ students, including those with disabilities and racial minorities. This year, The Day of Silence will be April 23, 2021. History of…
They Keep Coming: 82 Anti-Transgender Bills Introduced in 2021 State Legislative Sessions
Tracking Anti-Transgender Legislation The Human Rights Campaign has been tracking anti-transgender legislation across state legislatures for decades. Some of the recent transgender filed include South Carolina HB 4047 (an anti-transgender medical care ban), Texas SB 1311 (an anti-transgender medical care ban) and Michigan SB 218 (an anti-transgender sports ban). According to Alphonso David, Human Rights…
Transgender Day of Visibility March 31, 2021: Need It More Than Ever!
On his first day in office, President Joe Biden signed an executive order that stated “children should be able to learn without worrying about whether they will be denied access to the restroom, the locker room or school sports.” This order was aimed at fighting discrimination based on gender identity and sexual identity. Erasing Trans…
BiHealth Important All Year Round!
March is Bisexual Health Awareness Month. In its eighth year, it was founded by the Bisexual Resource Center. Its purpose is to “raise awareness about bisexual and community’s social, economic, and health disparities, advocate for resources, and inspire actions to improve bi+ people’s well-being.” Why #BHAM Is Needed In a recent Gallup poll, over HALF…
“Love and Marriage, love and marriage go together like a horse and carriage,” But Shouldn’t Be Blessed If You’re Gay, according to His Holiness Pope Francis.
In the third grade, during “Show and Tell” at The North Street Elementary School, I decided to serenade, or bore the class with my rendition of Frank Sinatra’s hit “Love and marriage, love and marriage go together like a horse and carriage. This I tell ya’, brother, you can’t have one without the other…” A…
One in Six Adults in Generation Z (18 to 23) Consider Themselves LGBT
According to a recent Gallup report, an estimated 5.6% of Generation X (born 1981-1996) in the United States identify as LGBT. This report was based on more than 15,000 phone interviews conducted through 2020 and reflected a jump of nearly 25% since 2017, the last year the survey compared findings. The findings of Gallup: 6%…
Please Don’t Let The Equality Act Be Buried in the Legislative Graveyard
A bipartisan majority in the U.S. House of Representatives just voted, 224-206, to pass the Equality Act. Known as H.R.5 and sponsored by Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI.) who has introduced versions of this bill since 2015 in each Congress sessions, the Equality Act is sweeping legislation that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, sexual…
When LGBTQ Kids Feel Rejected At Home
Rob Todaro, Press Secretary of the world’s largest suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ youth, The Trevor Project, reported alarming statistics from a recent Morning Consult Survey. One-third of LGBTQ young Americans felt they couldn’t be themselves at home with their parents for fear of rejection or worse being “kicked out” of the…
Planes, Trains, and Automobile Remake by Pete Buttigieg
On February 2, 2021, Pete Buttigieg was confirmed, by a vote of 86 to 13, as the Secretary of Transportation. The youngest Senate member at age thirty-nine, he has the distinction of being the first out LGBTQ official cabinet member to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate to a cabinet position. Since 2008, Buttigieg has…
Biden Signs Away Trump’s Ban on Transgender Troops
On his first day in office, forty-sixth President Joseph Biden, Jr. directed all agencies to address any policies in place that discriminated against individuals on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity (a person’s innate, deeply-felt psychological identification as a man, woman or some other gender), including housing, education, employment and health care. As…