Did you ever think you’d miss Scalia? Romney? McCain? George W Bush? Me neither. COURTING DISASTER Our crucible continues at the High Court, where the justices have just decided to hear a case that pits Catholic Social Services (CSS) against the city of Philadelphia’s gay rights policies. The Catholic group stands alone among Philly contractors…
Equality California endorses Mayor Pete Buttigieg for President. BY VICTOR MELAMED Equality California, the nation’s largest statewide LGBTQ civil rights organization, and its Nevada-based affiliate Silver State Equality announced their endorsement of Mayor Pete Buttigieg for President of the United States last month. The decision was reached unanimously by the groups’ joint presidential endorsement committee…
Jeanette Barrera decided to empty her personal savings and launch her own campaign. And she’s winning. BY TEHLERE SPELLING Long Beach City government routinely comes under fire for corruption. Current 2nd District City Councilwoman Jeannine Pearce has violated the city’s conflict-of-interest policy, had an embarrassing run-in with LBPD, and is now under state investigation. Yet she’s still serving…
“The world is falling apart, dear Readers! Unfortunately I used up my lifetime allocation of verbatim references to Yeats’ The Second Coming during Trump’s first year. Seriously. This works on the honor system. You simply cannot parrot lines from a single poem more than a hundred times. It’s a rule.” TO THE POLLS! One third…
THE FIGHT TO POSTHUMOUSLY PARDON GAY CIVIL RIGHTS LEADER BAYARD RUSTIN California lawmakers called on Gov. Gavin Newsom last month to posthumously pardon Bayard Rustin, a confidant of Martin Luther King Jr. who helped organize the March on Washington, for his conviction in the 1950s under a state law frequently used to target gay men,…
It’s time for the GLBT community and allies to make the case that hostility towards gays and transpeople is not a legitimate tenet of any faith. LOUNGING BY THE POOL WITH OUR LAPTOPS The new California law that is meant to protect contract workers from exploitation by companies like Uber is threatening freelance contributors to…
BY PAULO MURILLO LOS ANGELES JUSTIN WELLS, WESTWIND RECOVERY TREATMENT CENTER CEO, FOUND DEAD. RIP Justin Wells, the co-founder and CEO of Westwind Recovery Treatment Centers and Sober Livings in Los Angeles was found dead in his home last month by his husband Zack Ament, who is Chief Operating Officer at Westwind Recovery. No official…
You must check out the lesbian Renault ad, a Sapphic commercial masterpiece. But more importantly, have a lovely holiday month. Cheers. CLEAN UP ON AISLE ONE I’m starting to wonder what GOP lawmakers would do if Trump actually did shoot someone in cold blood on Fifth Avenue. Was it really Trump’s bullet that killed the…
Attorney General Joins Brief Defending Trans Students California Attorney General Xavier Becerra announced last month that the state is joining a coalition of 23 attorneys general in filing an amicus brief in support of the rights of transgender students in Grimm v. Gloucester County School Board, reported Sierra Sun Times. The case stems from a…
IMPEACH TRUMP BILLBOARD IN SAN FRANCISCO A billboard with the word “impeach” in all capital letters next to a picture of President Trump went up in the Fisherman’s Wharf area of San Francisco. The billboard, which was paid for by the Courage Campaign, was on display through Oct. 21. The billboard features a link to…
A straight Trump supporter accidentally spawned a gay meme. THE FACTS OF LIFE AND SILVER LININGS Proctor & Gamble subsidiary, Always, will change its packaging on feminine hygiene products to embrace those transmen and non-binary people who menstruate and might use their pads and tampons. This means they will remove the Venus female sign, the…
A rally in support of trans women forcibly removed from a DTLA bar after a straight couple attacked them. BY VICTOR MELAMED Several transgender women were aggressively and forcibly removed from a downtown Los Angeles bar-restaurant last month during DTLA Proud weekend—after they were attacked by a straight couple. The transgender group, along with several…
TRUMP ADMIN ASKS COURT TO LEGALIZE FIRING LGBTQ WORKERS Federal lawyers are asking the Supreme Court, for the first time, to explicitly limit the Civil Right Act’s protections to exclude LGBTQ people. The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court last month to declare that federal law allows private companies to fire workers based only on…
Now, a contractor basically need only wave a bible around in order to make those anti discrimination requirements vanish. TOUCHING ANECDOTE It’s not exactly LGBT news, but I wanted to pass along a truly heart-warming story about the bond formed between a little 4-year-old girl and some construction workers that will make you believe that we…
HOUSE PASSES PRIDE ACT PROVIDING TAX REFUNDS TO GAY COUPLES The Pride Act, approved last month by the House, which will now head to the Senate, would amend the Internal Revenue Code to remove gender-specific references to marriage and allow couples to amend their filing status to married filing jointly for tax returns outside of…
“Just get this guy out of office. And if it takes another seventy-something white guy to do it, fine. Biden’s not my top choice by any means, but I’m focused on the ultimate goal.” RELIGION BEING USED AS A FREE PASS TO DISCRIMINATE You know, of course, that the Supreme Court will start its next…
Democratic Presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg on the story of equality since Stonewall, the importance of allies and taking up the unfinished work of achieving true freedom and dignity for every American. BY VICTOR MELAMED The LGBTQ Victory Fund, a political action committee dedicated to increasing the number of openly LGBTQ public officials in the U.S.,…
