BY PAULO MURILLO
WEST HOLLYWOOD
PRISM COMICS BRINGS FIRST QUEER COMIC CONVENTION TO WEHO
Prism Comics and the City of West Hollywood hosted the first ever Q Con, a queer comic convention for LGBT comic book fans last month at Fiesta Hall’s Plummer Park.
Prism Comics is a nonprofit organization championing LGBTQ+ visibility, diversity, and inclusion in comics, graphic novels, and popular media. Q Con offered a roomful of booths featuring LGBTQ artwork, accessories, and apparel. There was plenty of cosplay, meet and greets, photo ops, raffles and a cosplay contest offered gift baskets and custom-made trophies.
SAN DIEGO
SD PRIDE TO ALLOW UNIFORMED OFFICERS IN PARADE
Pride officials in San Diego will allow law enforcement officers to march in uniform at its in-person parade in July. San Diego Pride initially banned the presence of uniformed law enforcement in 2020. Organizers are still encouraging law enforcement officers not to march in their uniforms, but they are not requiring them to wear their civilian clothes. San Diego Mayor and other community leaders said they would skip the parade if the ban were put into effect. It is not yet clear if the compromise will stand at future San Diego Pride parades.
LOS ANGELES
FIVE PROBABLE AND CONFIRMED CASES OF MONKEYPOX
Los Angeles County of Public Health lists five probable and confirmed cases of Monkeypox in Los Angeles County. That’s five out of the 25 in the United States as of June 16, 2022. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that anyone can get the virus. Currently, most cases have been among persons self-identifying as gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM), but not exclusively. Anyone who has been in close contact with someone who has it is at risk.
Symptoms of monkeypox include: fever, headache, muscle aches, backache, swollen lymph nodes and chills and exhaustion.
PALM SPRINGS
MAYOR TAKES PART IN WHITE HOUSE PRIDE MONTH CELEBRATION
Palm Springs Mayor Lisa Middleton was in attendance last month for the Pride Month celebration at the White House, reported KESQ.com.
Middleton is the first openly trans person in California to serve as mayor and the third transgender person to serve in any American city.
During the event, President Biden issued an executive order to stymie discriminatory legislative attacks on the LGBTQ community by Republican-controlled states, declaring before a signing ceremony packed with activists, “pride is back at the White House.”
The order seeks to discourage “conversion therapy”—a discredited practice that aims to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity—while also promoting gender-affirming surgery and expanding foster care protections for gay and transgender parents and children.
LONG BEACH
HATE CRIMES DECLINE IN LONG BEACH ACCORDING TO REPORT
Newly released data shows hate crimes declined last year in Long Beach despite surges in other California cities. Long Beach police recorded 12 hate crimes in 2021, mostly targeted at LGBTQ and Black people, according to figures from the department. That’s down from 18 in 2020 and 23 in 2019. When compared to other cities with populations between 150,000 and 499,000, Long Beach was one of only three nationwide that saw a decline in hate crimes reported to their police agencies. in neighboring Los Angeles, hate crimes surged more than 70% in 2021.
