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Tag: LGBTQ+

  • Oklahoma Governor Claims PBS Is Indoctrinating Children, Because Republicans Are Contractually Obligated to Say This S–t Now

    Oklahoma Governor Claims PBS Is Indoctrinating Children, Because Republicans Are Contractually Obligated to Say This S–t Now

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    Late last month, Oklahoma governor Kevin Stitt vetoed funding for his state’s public television network, despite the fact that the Oklahoma Educational Television Authority is the most watched Public Broadcasting Service in the country, with more than 650,000 viewers tuning into its programming every week. Why did Stitt pull the cash? You can probably hazard a guess.

    Speaking to Fox News Digital, Stitt, a Republican, said, “You know, the big, big question is why are we spending taxpayer dollars to prop up or compete with the private sector and run television stations? And then when you go through all of the programing that’s happening and the indoctrination and over-sexualization of our children, it’s just really problematic, and it doesn’t line up with Oklahoma values.” Among the content that Stitt apparently finds objectionable is a segment called “Let’s Learn,” which features a children’s book called The Hips on the Drag Queen Go Swish, Swish, Swish; a gay character in Work It Out Wombats!; LGBTQ+ characters on Clifford the Big Red Dog; and a same-sex wedding featured on Odd Squad. 

    There is, of course, no evidence whatsoever that these programs are trying to indoctrinate or harm children. (Rather, the programs are showing kids that it’s okay for people to be different.) But according to Stitt, the idea that it’s okay to be different is not a “value” all of his constituents subscribe to—and it’s apparently his job to defend those people. “Oklahoma taxpayers are going, ‘Hey, hang on, time out for just a second. That’s not my values,’” Stitt told Fox. “I’m just tired of using taxpayer dollars for some person’s agenda. I represent the taxpayers.”

    Incidentally, as KTUL pointed out after Stitt vetoed the funding bill, OETA airs more than just TV shows; tornado warnings and Amber Alerts are also among its services. But apparently Stitt is more concerned about protecting Oklahomans from seeing two gay people get married than warning them about catastrophic weather events.

    Stitt, of course, is just one of countless Republicans whose new pet cause is to protect children from the mere existence of LGBTQ+ people. After expanding its dystopian “Don’t Say Gay” law to all grades through 12th last month, the Florida state legislature passed a bill that would prevent teachers from using students’ correct pronouns, which Ron DeSantis is expected to sign. Meanwhile, numerous states are trying to ban drag shows, while others want to prevent drag queens from merely reading to children. Last week, Stitt made it a felony to provide gender-affirming care to minors. Harper Seldin, a staff attorney for the ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV Project, called the law “a dangerous attack on the rights of families and their transgender youth who call Oklahoma home,” adding: “Governor Stitt and the politicians targeting trans youth have ignored the voices of parents, medical providers, and transgender youth themselves, instead choosing to put their politics between doctors and their patients.”

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    Report: Jill Biden is trying to stop Biden from eating “like a child”

    He may be 80 but Joe Biden’s diet apparently skews (much) younger. Per Axios:

    There’s a delicious (surf and) turf battle inside the Biden White House—over the president’s plate. The food fight has pitted Joe Biden—who prefers carbs over greens—against First Lady Jill Biden, who has been pushing the commander in chief to eat more fish and veggies whether he likes them or not (he doesn’t). Why it matters: The internal tug-of-war over Joe Biden’s diet is just one of many public and private steps being taken by close aides and the first lady to keep the 80-year-old president healthy as he prepares to run for a second term.

    State of play: Some Biden aides have long noted that he eats “like a child,” with a food palette that skews beige. His favorite dishes include peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, BLTs, pizza, cookies, spaghetti with butter and red sauce, and ice cream that he occasionally makes into a full sundae, according to current and former Biden aides.

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    Bess Levin

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  • Talk Show Host Harvey Brownstone to Make US Debut by Holding Event at NYC’s Stonewall Inn on June 5

    Talk Show Host Harvey Brownstone to Make US Debut by Holding Event at NYC’s Stonewall Inn on June 5

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    NEW YORK, May 4, 2023 (Newswire.com)
    –
    Canadian author and talk show host Harvey Brownstone will be making his official debut in the US by holding an event on Monday, June 5 from 5-9 p.m. at New York City’s historic Stonewall Inn, the birthplace of LGBTQ Liberation, for an in-depth discussion about his life, careers, and his “Interviews” program.

    Just Who is Harvey Brownstone? 

    For the many residing south of Niagara’s Rainbow Bridge, the celebrity host with an audience of five million+ may not be immediately recognizable, but his legend and impact are unmistakable. The former Canadian judge — that nation’s first openly gay jurist — made history by marrying countless same-sex couples, earning a 2008 Proclamation by New York State Senator Tom Duane. Most notably, Brownstone officiated at the ceremony of Edie Windsor whose union triggered the Supreme Court litigation ushering in legal marriage for LGBTQ people across the U.S. 

    During his years on the bench, Brownstone also became a best-selling author with the groundbreaking “Tug of War: A Judge’s Verdict on Separation, Custody Battles and the Bitter Realities of Family Court,” leading to numerous appearances in media, but his lifelong desire to host celebrated actors and writers became a reality only following retirement from law. Since its debut in 2021, “Harvey Brownstone Interviews” has counted Louis Gossett Jr., Linda Evans, Sir Tim Rice, Robert Wagner, Louise Sorel, Ruta Lee, and even the elusive 93-year-old Mamie van Doren among his notable guests. The show is broadcast globally on Brownstone’s own YouTube channel as well as XPTV1 throughout the U.K., among other sources. Honoring the show, the Breakfast at Dominique’s fair trade, environmentally friendly coffee company will premiere its “Talk Show Blend,” suited to Brownstone’s specific taste. 

    Most recently, Grammy-nominated songwriter Harriet Schock (“Ain’t No Way to Treat a Lady”), moved by Brownstone’s “coming out” story, composed “I Am Yours,” a soon-to-be released single by vocalist Gary Lynn Floyd. The event at the Stonewall Inn, the birthplace of LGBTQ Liberation, will anchor Brownstone’s New York City debut with in-depth discussion about his life, careers, and his “Interviews” program. Floyd will fly in to perform “I Am Yours” among other selections, and award-winning mixologist Maria Gentile will be crafting her own version of the Harvey Wallbanger, and further favorite libations.    

    Event: Harvey Brownstone at the Stonewall Inn

    Date: Monday, June 5, 5-9 p.m.

    Address: 53 Christopher Street, New York, NY  https://thestonewallinnnyc.com

    Admission: Free

    More Info:

    Harvey Brownstone Interviews website: https://www.harveybrownstoneinterviews.com

    “Harvey Brownstone Interviews” YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaE5NJCAmpqkFvyJRpOpokw

    “Harvey Brownstone Interviews” XPTV1: https://xptv1.com

    “Harvey Brownstone Interviews” Spotify channel: https://open.spotify.com/show/5uGlhWQ3Z63di2kem431eB

    “Harvey Brownstone Interviews” Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/harvey-brownstone-interviews/id1555774578

    “Harvey Brownstone Interviews” Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5idXp6c3Byb3V0LmNvbS8xNzE5MTMxLnJzcw==

    Gary Lynn Floyd: https://garylynnfloyd.com

    Harriet Schock: https://harrietschock.com/#choices

    Breakfast at Dominique’s Hollywood Blends coffees: https://hollywoodblends.com

    Source: Harvey Brownstone, author & talk show host

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  • Demonstrators forcibly removed from Texas Capitol for protesting bill that would ban gender-affirming care for trans youth

    Demonstrators forcibly removed from Texas Capitol for protesting bill that would ban gender-affirming care for trans youth

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    Hundreds of demonstrators filed into the Texas Capitol in Austin on Tuesday to protest S.B. 14, a bill that would ban gender-affirming care for trans youth in the state. Some demonstrators were forcibly removed from the building by police, sparking outrage from LGBTQ+ rights groups.

    In video captured by CBS affiliate KEYE-TV’s Michael Adkison, Department of Public Service officers were seen corralling demonstrators and forcing them out of the building. The officers could be heard yelling “Move, let’s go!” at protestors, who were chanting “Trans rights” in support of LGBTQ+ youth.

    Some of the demonstrators refused to leave, prompting “heated scuffles” and leading to advocates being forced out of the building, KEYE reported. At one point, a group of counterprotesters got into shouting matches with LGBTQ+ rights supporters before leaving the premises, KEYE reported.

    “We are deeply disturbed by and closely monitoring what has happened at the Texas Capitol. We witnessed violence and arrests today against Texans, many of whom are queer and transgender and who would be harmed directly by this bill,” All In For Equality, a group comprised of the ACLU of Texas, Equality Texas and other advocacy groups, said in a statement.

    The Texas Freedom Network tweeted that prominent trans activist Sofia Sepulveda, the Community Advocacy and Engagement Manager at Equality Texas, has been banned from entering the Capitol building for a year after dropping a banner in the rotunda that read “let trans kids grow up.”

    “Loving families, community members, and advocates were here peacefully protesting an extremist ban on transgender healthcare that puts the lives of our youth at risk. None of them deserved criminalization or brutality,” the group wrote in another tweet.

    “LGBTQ+ people are here to stay — and we won’t let anyone roll back our rights,” wrote the Human Rights Campaign, adding that the bill represented “attempts to harm our community across the Lone Star State.”

    The bill, which has already passed the state Senate, was surprisingly sent back to committee in the House following the demonstrations, KEYE reported. A substitute bill was considered and approved by a 6-5 vote. It was not clear when that bill would be reintroduced.

    C Mandler


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    C Mandler is a social media producer and trending topics writer for CBS News, focusing on American politics and LGBTQ+ issues.

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  • Erdoğan finds a scapegoat in Turkey’s election: LGBTQ+ people

    Erdoğan finds a scapegoat in Turkey’s election: LGBTQ+ people

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    ISTANBUL — To President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Turkey’s LGBTQ+ community represents “deviant structures” and a “virus of heresy.”

    In the run-up to Sunday’s too-close-to-call election, he has ramped up his poisonous invective against homosexuality, as he seeks to shore up his conservative Islamist base. Almost every other speech from the campaign trail accuses the opposition of undermining family values and of being in the thrall of improbably powerful LGBTQ+ networks — sometimes with hints they are run by paymasters abroad.  

    “The AK Party has never been an LGBT supporter,” Erdoğan roared at a recent Istanbul rally, referring to his governing party. “We believe in the sanctity of the family. Family is sacred.”

    Adding a menacing note, he followed up with: “So are we ready to bury these LGBT supporters in the ballot box?”

    To some extent, the homophobic focus of the campaign is easily explicable. Increasingly deserted by his early supporters, Erdoğan is having to form coalition partnerships with more extreme Islamists in this year’s elections.

    But even so, his language smacks of a fixation, and an attempt to divert attention from the country’s most pressing ailments — including a snowballing cost of living crisis and scorching inflation.   

    Diversionary tactics

    Fulden Ergen, editor of Velvele.Net, an online debate platform for LGBTQ+ rights, said she was taken aback by the ubiquity of Erdoğan’s propaganda against the LGBTQ+ community in this year’s campaign.

    She reckoned the attacks were an attempt to mask how few answers to Turkey’s profound problems the AK Party now has.

    “I was not expecting them to be this devoid of policies and just talking about LGBTI,” she said. “The alliance does not have much to give people anymore,” she added, referring to the conservative coalition backing the president. “They don’t know how to deal with the economic crisis. They have no policies left, I see this campaign as a defeat.” 

    Though he may be running out of ideas, Erdoğan could still win. And that is now a serious concern to LGBTQ+ people.

    Life is already tough, and could get significantly worse. LGBTQ+ flags are banned, gatherings are arbitrarily blocked by the government and participants in pride parades are regularly attacked or detained by police. The fear is that their organizations could now be made illegal, and — in the worst case scenario — that laws to protect families could be extended to outlaw homosexuality itself.

    Activists say that if Erdoğan stays in power, violence could follow his hate speech.  

    An anti-LGBTQ+ rally in Istanbul in 2022 | Chris McGrath/Getty Images

    One of the dangers is that his government could use security laws to crack down on homosexual relations — casting them as part of a foreign conspiracy. The government is playing on perceptions that “people don’t believe LGBTI can be from Turkey,” Ergen said.  

    One of the biggest setbacks for women and LGBTQ+ people has been Turkey’s 2021 withdrawal from the — ironically named — Istanbul Convention, which is intended to prevent, prosecute and eliminate violence against women and promote gender equality. 

    Domestic violence is a severe problem that kills at least one woman every day in Turkey. According to data from the Monument Counter, a website that commemorates women who lost their lives to domestic violence, 824 women have been killed in just the past two years.

    Gender parity is another failing across the country’s political spectrum. According to the country’s Women’s Platform for Equality, a rights group that has been tracing the candidates on the various parties’ electoral lists, a mere 117 female deputies are set to be elected to Turkey’s 600-seat parliament. 

    ‘I have seen many Erdoğans in my life’

    Zeynep Esmeray Özadikti, who has been an activist for trans rights for 30 years, looks set to be an exception to that trend. She is a candidate for the Workers’ Party of Turkey and the first openly trans woman with a good chance of making it to parliament. 

    In a café in Kurtuluş, a neighborhood in Istanbul where there are significant numbers of trans voters, Esmeray told POLITICO that, if elected, she would fight for the rights of LGBTQ+ people against discrimination, hate crimes and violence. “I am getting very positive feedback from the streets,” she said. “If we can judge it by looking at the streets then I’ll definitely be getting into the parliament.”

    If Erdoğan stays in power, Esmeray believes he will take the country in a more religiously conservative direction, even aiming for Sharia law.

    Ergen, the Velvele.net editor, echoed Esmeray’s line of thought. She feared that Article 10 in Turkey’s constitution — a part of the national charter that gives some vague protection to gender equality — might be doctored, paving the way to the possible criminalization of homosexuality. 

    “This is my biggest fear,” she says. “If they win, they are going to do it.”

    Still, the fear of Erdoğan does not mean the LGBTQ+ community feels completely protected by the opposition, whose candidate Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu is leading in the polls ahead of Sunday’s first round vote.

    Ergen thinks the right-wing parties within the wide-ranging opposition alliance could also lobby to make life harder for LGBTQ+ groups. 

    Kılıçdaroğlu himself is fairly guarded in his LGBTQ+ remarks, knowing that the government could easily turn the subject against him.

    To Erdoğan, Turkey’s LGBTQ+ community represents “deviant structures” | Burak Kara/Getty Images

    He is, however, committed to a trajectory toward EU norms. When asked for his stance by POLITICO, he said: “We defend all human rights. It is our common duty to defend human rights. Democracy demands it. You cannot alienate people based on their beliefs, identities and lifestyles, you have to respect everyone.”

    Both Esmeray and Ergen believed the priority should be for Turkey to return the Istanbul Convention to reinforce some basic freedoms.

    And both reckoned Turkey’s population was ahead of its politicians.

    “I am more optimistic about people, not political parties,” said Ergen, who based her hopes on the breadth of civil society activities in Turkey.  

    Esmeray added: “I have seen many Erdoğans in my life. If he wins, we will continue fighting. If it comes to that, I will face him and tell him to kill me.”

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    POLITICO Staff

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  • Teen arrested in Atlanta in shooting of Black transgender performer Koko Da Doll

    Teen arrested in Atlanta in shooting of Black transgender performer Koko Da Doll

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    Atlanta Police arrested a 17-year-old on Thursday in connection with the murder of Black transgender woman Rasheed Williams, who was featured in the Sundance Film Festival documentary “Kokomo City” in January 2023.

    Williams, 35, who performed under the stage name Koko Da Doll, was found shot to death in southwest Atlanta on April 18, according to police. She “was not alert, conscious or breathing, and pronounced deceased on scene,” a statement from the Atlanta Police Department read. 

    Atlanta Police said homicide detectives were able to secure arrest warrants for murder, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm against 17-year-old Jermarcus Jernigan, who is being charged as an adult under Georgia law.

    “On April 26, 2023, Mr. Jernigan turned himself in at the Zone 1 Precinct,” a separate police statement said. The statement confirmed that Jernigan was transported to the Fulton County Jail and placed into custody without incident.

    While the police statement did not identify Williams, “Kokomo City” director D. Smith wrote on Instagram that the victim was Williams.

    “On Tuesday night, Rasheeda Williams was shot and killed in Atlanta. Rasheeda, aka Koko Da Doll, was the latest victim of violence against Black transgender women,” Smith wrote on Instagram. “I created Kokomo City because I wanted to show the fun, humanized, natural side of Black trans women. I wanted to create images that didn’t show the trauma or the statistics of murder of Transgender lives.”

    The Atlanta Police Department noted in its statement that it was “actively investigating three violent crimes involving transgender women this year.” 

    It added, “While these individual incidents are unrelated, we are very aware of the epidemic-level violence black and brown transgender women face in America.”

    The department told CBS News that it was not able to release further information about the incident at this time. 


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  • I’ve Been Dying To See 1 Thing On ‘Wheel Of Fortune’ For Years — And It Could Change Lives

    I’ve Been Dying To See 1 Thing On ‘Wheel Of Fortune’ For Years — And It Could Change Lives

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    “Wheel of Fortune” has always been a part of my life. I was introduced to the game show, which began airing in 1975, by my grandma, who watched it with a fervor she passed on to me like a fever when I was barely old enough to read. Now, nearly 40 years later, she’s gone, but if I’m near a TV at 7:30, I’m usually watching “Wheel of Fortune.”

    I’m not alone. Millions of people in the United States tune in to the “most successful syndicated program in the history of TV” each night for a hit of Pat Sajak’s amiable cornball comedy, to critique Vanna White’s latest sequined sartorial selection, and to see if they can guess the answers to the hangman-style puzzles before that night’s trio of convivial contestants do.

    In an increasingly insane and even dangerous-feeling world, it’s a safe choice — 30 minutes during which you can guarantee you won’t have to deal with anyone dying or losing their job or getting into a fistfight about abortion or the debt ceiling or which light beer to buy or boycott. Everyone is there to have a good time and maybe, if they’re lucky, win a life-changing amount of money, as Cody, a respiratory therapist from Tampa, Florida, who likes playing darts and bowling, did on April 19.

    Cody was the show’s big winner that Wednesday night when he made it to the bonus round and managed to solve the final puzzle — “BRIEF POWER OUTAGE” — in just a few seconds, scoring a Ford Escape and a grand total of $80,635 in cash and prizes. But even more exciting (at least for me) was watching his boyfriend, Jason, appear on screen. As the show’s theme song swelled and their bodies collided, I did what I always do whenever a gay contestant wins and their partner ambles onstage to celebrate: I yelled “Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!” at my TV.

    And then they … didn’t kiss.

    It’s definitely not the first time I’ve been let down by the absence of a gay kiss in a spot where a straight kiss almost certainly would have unceremoniously and nonchalantly happened.

    I’ve been searching for two men kissing on TV, in the movies, in books and magazines, in pop songs and just about anywhere else they could feasibly press their lips together, for as long as I can remember. An undeniably gay kid from birth (our neighborhood garbage man called me “queer” after I did a dance for him in our front yard in my Underoos when I was 5), I always knew that I wasn’t like the rest of the boys and, worse, I didn’t know if there was anyone else in the world who felt like I did.

    This was the ’80s — years before queer adoption was legal or marriage equality was realized or we hit the “transgender tipping point” — and mainstream LGBTQ+ representation wasn’t what it was today. It wasn’t really anything. There was no Sam Smith or Lil Nas X or Kim Petras. There was no “RuPaul’s Drag Race” or “Heartstopper” or “Pose.” There was no Sasha Colby or Elliot Page or (Jesus help us) Caitlyn Jenner. Queer people obviously existed (we’ve been here as long as humanity has existed) but I didn’t know any in my small Wisconsin town and didn’t see any in mainstream American media unless it was a news report about AIDS.

    Forced to find myself wherever and however I could by myself, I did the only thing I could: I dreamed. I wished. I pretended. I prayed. I got really good at looking for and inventing queer characters and subtexts in places they weren’t and normally would never be and I tried to conjure a universe in which my desires weren’t disordered or deviant or deadly — they were just like anyone else’s.

    If you grew up the same way I did, you know it’s almost impossible to be something you’ve never seen or are constantly being told is disgusting, sinful and literally lethal by everyone and everything around you. If you didn’t grow up the way I did, it’s almost impossible for you to comprehend what not seeing yourself reflected in the world around you does to you.

    By high school, I was spending study hall each afternoon brainstorming ways to kill myself when I got home, and it’s only my incredible family (including my grandma, who lived next door and always welcomed me in to watch “Wheel of Fortune” with a kiss and a cookie) and playing my Tori Amos albums on repeat that kept me here.

    Eventually I got out of Wisconsin and came out and found others like me. Things got better. I discovered I wasn’t alone, I wasn’t evil, and I learned about all of the queer people who came before me and fought to be who they were — often at great costs — so that I could be who I am. I got a job at Out, a gay magazine, and then joined HuffPost in 2011 to launch Queer Voices (originally Gay Voices), the first LGBTQ+ section at a mainstream news site.

    For close to a decade, my job was to help advance the LGBTQ+ movement and challenge the ways non-queer people thought (and still think about) queer people’s lives and love and desire. It was hard. It was exhausting. It was sometimes terrifying. I received hate mail in my inbox and at my home. The Westboro Baptist Church came to protest outside our office. (We held a counterprotest and handed out cupcakes.)

    But I’m happy to say that I saw this country change in ways I had only ever fantasized about. Marriage equality was legalized. “Don’t ask, don’t tell” was repealed. The Boy Scouts allowed openly gay troop leaders. Laverne Cox appeared on the cover of Time magazine and cisgender people began to learn more — and more accurately — about what it means to be transgender. Laws were passed to give LGBTQ+ people many of the same rights and protections as non-queer people. More and more queer people appeared in TV shows, movies, on the radio, and in Capitol buildings. New ways of thinking about relationships and families developed and thrived.

    The invisible became visible. The unthinkable became thinkable. The impossible felt possible.

    And still, we had only scratched the surface. Because although we had seen so much progress in such a short amount of time — the gay rights movement has been referred to as “the most successful social crusade in recent American history” and its strategies have even been co-opted by other social movements — an elemental and much too prevalent fear and loathing of queer people remained, especially in middle America.

    Even though we managed to achieve some unbelievable changes in society, changing people’s minds was a much more formidable task. People still detested us ― especially queer people who existed on the margins, couldn’t or refused to assimilate into mainstream culture, or were poor, not white, and/or not cisgender. People still killed us. And right-wing politicians and evangelical Christian leaders did whatever they could to ensure that people stayed afraid of us.

    On June 12, 2016, a gunman murdered 49 people at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida. Hours after the attack, the shooter’s father claimed his son might have been set off by seeing two gay men kiss in front of his family. I wrote a piece that morning titled, “It’s 2016 And Seeing Two Men Kissing Is Still A Stunning, Terrifying Sight,” which argued that despite how far we’ve come, “here we are: forced to face the fact that we are still misunderstood and hated for nothing more than who we are, who we love, who we fuck and how we live our lives. … We can pass all the laws we can to secure our equal rights and still, none of it matters when fundamentally we are still seen as less than, other than, sick, deviant, twisted, immoral and evil.”

    Seven years later, this not only remains true, but things have gotten much worse.

    Queer people have been (re)cast as pedophiles and “groomers,” often by influential elected officials. Trans people have been stripped of their rights in many parts of this country and could soon essentially be eradicated — unable to safely live as their true selves, much less access gender-affirming medical care. Drag has been vilified and made illegal. Books about queer history and lives have been banned. The very mention of queer people has been outlawed in Florida schools and other states are moving swiftly to pass similar laws. In fact, since the beginning of 2023, a record-breaking 469 anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been introduced into state legislatures. That’s at least twice as many as in all of 2022 and 10 times as many as in all of 2018. By the time you read this, there will probably be more.

    After all we’ve gained, I naively never thought we’d find ourselves here. I knew the battle was nowhere near over, but I believed we’d come too far for the pendulum to swing this far in the other direction. I was wrong. It has. Here we are. And now it’s time to find a way out of this mess.

    Part of the way forward will include time-tested strategies like voting, supporting pro-LGBTQ+ candidates and organizations, and direct action, including protests and walkouts. But, as I noted earlier, nothing will really ever change if we don’t address and overhaul how non-queer people feel about us — if we don’t vanquish their disgust and transform their panic and suspicion into the belief that we are just as deserving of living long, happy and fulfilling lives as they are.

    How do we do that? By coming out whenever and wherever it’s safe to do so. By telling our stories. And by revealing and presenting ourselves and our relationships and our families (chosen or otherwise) and our lives every chance we get — especially in places we aren’t normally seen or welcomed. Places like the average middle American living room.

    Which is why I so desperately want to see gay kisses on “Wheel of Fortune.” Those simple displays of affection would be seen by millions of people who may never be exposed to or confronted by queer love. People who want to deny us the ability to exist. Kids who may be looking for signs of queer life somewhere in the universe, as I spent my childhood doing, and who might feel a tiny — but potentially lifesaving and/or life-changing — jolt of hope if it unexpectedly flashes across their family’s TV screen.

    Perhaps gay kisses have happened on “Wheel of Fortune” in the past and I’ve just never seen them, but if so, they haven’t happened much. In fact, the show didn’t even feature its first queer couple until February of this year. In 2019, Harry Friedman, the show’s then-executive producer, claimed that having a gay couple on is “something that’s been discussed and like everything else that we do, we take very measured steps. And we have just not made that decision to do that yet.” Now that the show is finally ready to feature queer couples, I want to see them living and loving and rejoicing the same way straight couples do.

    I joked on Twitter last week that if I had won that car on “Wheel of Fortune” and my boyfriend came running onstage to celebrate, I would have stuck my tongue so far into his mouth it would have shot out the back of his head. But that doesn’t mean everyone is safe or able or wants to do the same.

    Moments like this, however brief, can still be scary and can still have traumatic consequences. I’m a fairly fit 44-year-old guy covered head-to-toe in tattoos and I still think twice before kissing my boyfriend in a restaurant or holding his hand while walking our dog in the park — even in New York City. But I push myself to do it whenever I can because I know that’s how things change — that taking the risk and dealing with the discomfort and the potential stares or comments (or worse) is worth it.

    I have no idea why Cody and his boyfriend didn’t kiss. Maybe they felt too much pressure. Maybe they felt uneasy. Maybe they just aren’t a kissy couple. Maybe they just didn’t. It doesn’t really matter — I don’t blame them. This isn’t about them. They shouldn’t have to play the hero. None of us should. And a kiss shouldn’t have to be political, but because gay kisses are still too scarce, they’re inherently dangerous, and daring, and filled with the kind of explosive radical potential that can make things happen. That can make things transmute. And that’s worth more than all of the money and prizes on that wheel.

    I’ve seen a lot of things happen over the years that I never thought would happen and they only happened because a lot of incredibly courageous (and pissed off and, yes, scared) people made them happen. We can do it too. We have to take chances and be brave, which really means being ourselves whenever we have the opportunity and especially when we have the attention of the non-queer world.

    So, we kiss. We loop our arms around each other’s waists and laugh as we walk through whatever neighborhood we find ourselves in. We search for and offer up signs to each other and everyone else that we exist. We let ourselves be seen living our extraordinary and ordinary lives — just like non-queer people let themselves be seen doing all the things they do without a second thought — and it slowly changes our culture. It dilutes the venom. It welcomes those who are curious about us to behold us in all of our queer magnificence and then get to know us.

    And to the ones who want to see us fail, it says that we’re either going to leave this place with everything you have or we’re going to die trying. But we aren’t going to stop. We aren’t going to disappear. You’re going to see us on the streets, out of the shadows, just like you, because we belong everywhere — just like you. And hopefully, one of these nights, you’re even going to see us kissing on “Wheel of Fortune.”

    Noah Michelson is the head of HuffPost Personal and the host of “D Is for Desire,” HuffPost’s love and sex podcast. He joined HuffPost in 2011 to launch and oversee the site’s first vertical dedicated to queer issues, Queer Voices, and went on to oversee all of HuffPost’s community sections before pivoting to create and run HuffPost Personal in 2018. He received his MFA in poetry from New York University and has served as a commentator for the BBC, MSNBC, Entertainment Tonight, Current TV, Fuse, Sirius XM and HuffPost Live.

    Do you have a compelling personal story you’d like to see published on HuffPost? Find out what we’re looking for here and send us a pitch.

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  • US Justice Dept sues Tennessee over transgender healthcare law

    US Justice Dept sues Tennessee over transgender healthcare law

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    The law, passed in the state’s Republican-led statehouse, prohibits youth from receiving gender-affirming care.

    The United States Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit challenging Tennessee’s new law banning transgender youth from receiving gender-affirming care, one of the several laws the state’s Republican-dominated legislature enacted this year aimed at LGBTQ+ people.

    The federal government is seeking to invalidate the statute because “no person should be denied access to necessary medical care just because of their transgender status”, Assistant US Attorney General Kristen Clarke said in a statement.

    The Justice Department said the law violates the US Constitution’s equal protection clause by discriminating on the basis of both sex and transgender status.

    “The right to consider your health and medically approved treatment options with your family and doctors is a right that everyone should have, including transgender children, who are especially vulnerable to serious risks of depression, anxiety and suicide,” Clarke added.

    The federal lawsuit comes after Clarke sent a letter to all state attorneys general last month warning them that federal law protects transgender youth against discrimination. The Justice Department also intervened last year in a lawsuit challenging a similar ban on transgender medical care for young people. That lawsuit is ongoing.

    Republican Governor Bill Lee signed off on prohibiting gender-affirming care for minors earlier this year.

    The Tennessee legislature has a Republican majority in both its upper and lower chambers [File: Mark Humphrey/AP Photo]

    The bill was the first proposal filed in this year’s legislative session. Republican leaders did so in response to video surfacing on social media last year of a Nashville doctor touting that gender-affirming procedures are “huge money makers” for hospitals.

    That hospital has since paused its transgender services for young people.

    Republican lawmakers also advanced legislation designed to severely limit where drag shows can take place, making Tennessee the first state to do so. A federal judge has temporarily blocked the statute from being implemented.

    Nationally, Republican legislators have proposed hundreds of laws aimed at transgender people, with at least 14 states restricting or banning gender-affirming care for minors.

    Under Tennessee’s law – set to take effect on July 1 – doctors will be prohibited from prescribing puberty blockers or hormones, or providing other gender-affirming care to anyone under 18. The law spells out a handful of exceptions, including allowing doctors to perform such medical services if the patient’s care begins before the law goes into effect. In those cases, care must end by March 31, 2024.

    Healthcare providers who violate the ban would be subject to regulatory discipline and could be sued by the state attorney general or private parties. Violations carry a $25,000 penalty.

    A spokesperson for the Tennessee Attorney General’s office did not immediately respond to requests from the Associated Press for comment.

    The Justice Department’s lawsuit is the second complaint challenging the new Tennessee law. Last week, three transgender children and their parents sued the state, claiming the law violates the equal protection clause in the 14th Amendment of the Constitution because it excludes treatment for gender dysphoria while allowing the same treatments to be used for other conditions.

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  • Lizzo brings drag queens on stage at her Knoxville show to protest law

    Lizzo brings drag queens on stage at her Knoxville show to protest law

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    Grammy-winning singer Lizzo protested a recent law restricting drag shows in Tennessee by bringing 20 drag queens out on stage during her Knoxville show on Friday. Among the queens present were RuPaul’s Drag Race stars Aquaria, Kandy Muse, Asia O’Hara and Vanessa Vanjie Mateo.

    “Thank you to these beautiful drag queens for showing their pride in Tennesee,” the singer wrote in a video caption of the concert that she posted to Instagram. 

    “Thank you so much for the platform for me and the drag race girls and especially for uplifting the queens on Tennessee,” commented Aquaria. 

    “Those ladies are all so strong and brave and I know tonight was definitely the best of a tricky situation for everyone. Thanks for shedding light for our friends who definitely need our hand these days,” Aquaria added.

    A Tennessee law banning “adult cabaret” in public or in front of minors was signed in February by Republican Gov. Bill Lee, but was blocked by a federal judge in April, just hours before it was set to go into effect. The judge sided with a Memphis-based LGBTQ+ theater company, who filed a federal lawsuit claiming that the proposed statute violated the First Amendment.

    Lizzo also posted video of her seemingly addressing the Tennessee drag ban to the Knoxville crowd at the Thompson-Boling Arena and responding to those who had called for a boycott.  

    “In light of recent and tragic events, I was told by people on the internet, ‘Cancel your shows in Tennessee. Don’t go to Tennessee,'” Lizzo said. “Their reason was valid, but why would I not come to the people who need to hear this message the most? The people who need to feel this release the most?” 

    “Why would I not create a safe space in Tennessee where we can celebrate drag entertainers and celebrate our differences?” Lizzo added, to overwhelming applause from her fans.

    While Tennessee was the first state to pass a law restricting drag shows, there are other states looking to follow suit. Earlier this month, the Florida Senate approved a similar bill, S.B. 1438. It has been sent to Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is expected to sign it into law.

    C Mandler


    1630512655666.jpg

    C Mandler is a social media producer and trending topics writer for CBS News, focusing on American politics and LGBTQ+ issues.

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  • Montana transgender Rep. Zooey Zephyr silenced by state House’s Republican speaker

    Montana transgender Rep. Zooey Zephyr silenced by state House’s Republican speaker

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    Helena, Mont. — Montana’s House speaker on Thursday refused to allow a transgender lawmaker to speak about bills on the House floor until she apologizes for saying lawmakers would have “blood on their hands” if they supported a bill to ban gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth, the lawmaker said.

    Rep. Zooey Zephyr, who was deliberately misgendered by a conservative group of lawmakers demanding her censure after Tuesday’s comments, said she would not apologize, creating a standoff between the first-term state lawmaker and Republican legislative leaders.

    Speaker Matt Regier refused to acknowledge Zephyr on Thursday when she wanted to comment on a bill seeking to put a binary definition of male and female into state code.

    “It is up to me to maintain decorum here on the House floor, to protect the dignity and integrity,” Regier said Thursday. “And any representative that I don’t feel can do that will not be recognized.”

    Regier said the decision came after “multiple discussions” with other lawmakers and that previously there had been similar problems.

    Democrats objected to Regier’s decision, but the House Rules committee and the House upheld his decision on party-line votes.

    “Hate-filled testimony has no place on the House floor,” Republican Rep. Caleb Hinkle, a member of the Montana Freedom Caucus that demanded the censure, said in a statement.


    Supreme Court declines to enforce West Virginia ban on transgender athletes

    01:28

    Zephyr said she stands by what she said about the consequences of banning essential medical care for transgender youth.

    “When there are bills targeting the LGBTQ community, I stand up to defend my community,” Zephyr said. “And I choose my words with clarity and precision and I spoke to the real harms that these bills bring.”

    zooey-zephyr.jpg
    A screengrab from the Montana Public Affairs Network’s live broadcast of an April 18, 2023 debate on the state House floor shows Rep. Zooey Zephyr addressing fellow lawmakers about a bill that would ban youth gender affirming medical care.

    MPAN


    Regier also declined to recognize Zephyr Thursday when she rang in to speak about another bill, which was unrelated to LGBTQ+ issues and seeks to reimburse hotels that provide shelter to victims of human trafficking.

    “The speaker is refusing to allow me to participate in debate until I retract or apologize for my statements made during floor debate,” Zephyr said.

    The issue came to a head Tuesday when Zephyr, the first transgender woman to hold a position in the Montana legislature, referenced the floor session’s opening prayer when she told lawmakers if they supported the bill, “I hope the next time there’s an invocation when you bow your heads in prayer, you see the blood on your hands.”

    She had made a similar comment when the bill was debated in the House the first time.

    House Majority Leader Sue Vinton rebuked Zephyr on Tuesday, calling her comments inappropriate, disrespectful and uncalled for.

    Later, the Montana Freedom Caucus issued its censure demand in a letter that called for a “commitment to civil discourse” in the same sentence in which it deliberately misgendered Zephyr. The caucus also misgendered Zephyr in a Tweet while posting the letter online.

    “It is disheartening that the Montana Freedom Caucus would stoop so low as to misgender me in their letter, further demonstrating their disregard for the dignity and humanity of transgender individuals,” Zephyr said in a statement Wednesday.

    Zephyr also spoke emotionally and directly to transgender Montanans in February in opposing a bill to ban minors from attending drag shows.

    “I have one request for you: Please stay alive,” Zephyr said then, assuring them she and others would keep fighting and challenge the bills in court.

    The legislature has also passed a bill stating a student misgendering or deadnaming a fellow student is not illegal discrimination, unless it rises to the level of bullying.

    At the end of Thursday’s House session, Democratic Rep. Marilyn Marler asked that the House majority allow Zephyr to speak on the floor going forward.

    “This body is denying the representative … the chance to do her job,” Marler said.

    Majority Leader Vinton, before moving for adjournment, said: “I will let the body know that the representative … has every opportunity to rectify the situation.”

    The House meets again Friday afternoon.

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  • Florida expands ban on teaching students about sexual orientation, gender identity

    Florida expands ban on teaching students about sexual orientation, gender identity

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    Florida expands ban on teaching students about sexual orientation, gender identity – CBS News


    Watch CBS News



    Florida is expanding its restrictions against teaching students about sexual orientation and gender identity to include high school students. CBS News anchors Lana Zak and Errol Barnett spoke with CBS News Miami’s Najahe Sherman about what this means for the LGBTQ+ community in Florida.

    Be the first to know

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  • Harmoniously Launches Platform With Sponsorship of Queering Psychedelics 2 Conference

    Harmoniously Launches Platform With Sponsorship of Queering Psychedelics 2 Conference

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    SAN FRANCISCO, April 19, 2023 (Newswire.com)
    –
    Harmoniously.com, an innovative technology platform providing individual and community-focused psychedelic services, is proud to announce its sponsorship of Chacruna Institute’s Queering Psychedelics 2 Conference in San Francisco on April 22-23 at the Brava Theater. This two-day conference is part of Chacruna’s Women, Gender Diversity, and Sexual Minorities speaker series. It highlights the voices of queer visionaries within the psychedelic community and examines the history of psychedelics from queer and non-binary perspectives.

    “We are excited to be involved with this important event that centers around creating a more inclusive society,” said Harmoniously CEO, Sean Carr. “At Harmoniously, we understand the power of psychedelics for personal growth and mental wellness, and we are committed to supporting initiatives that further this mission.”

    The conference will feature a variety of interactive workshops led by leading scientists, researchers, and advocates from the psychedelic community. Participants will have the opportunity to learn about topics such as gender identity, sexual orientation, trauma healing, intersectional justice, and more. The event is open to anyone interested in exploring these topics or learning more about psychedelic medicines in general.

    Harmoniously will be providing conference attendees with a code for one free year of access to Harmoniously.com’s Community Wellness Membership, which connects individuals with coaches, therapists, and community experts for guidance and integration of their psychedelic journeys through an online group and community-based experience. 

    “Our mission is to make mental wellness accessible for everyone,” said Carr. “By sponsoring Queering Psychedelics 2 Conference, we are helping create an inclusive environment where all people can benefit from the therapeutic potential of psychedelics.”

    Join us at Queering Psychedelics 2 Conference as we explore how psychedelics can help create a better future for LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.

    ABOUT COMPANY

    Harmoniously Integrative Wellness, PBC is dedicated to revolutionizing mental wellness with evidence-based psychedelic medicines. We are passionate about providing individuals with access to care providers who possess the knowledge and qualifications required to guide journeys of healing safely. Our unique value proposition lies in our comprehensive integrative approach, which combines ancient wisdom and modern science, making us the only platform that offers a personalized experience utilizing multiple modalities for mind, body, and spiritual health. 

    ABOUT CHARITY PARTNER

    The Chacruna Institute for Psychedelic Plant Medicines, an organization founded by Brazilian anthropologist Dr. Bia Labate and American psychologist Dr. Clancy Cavnar, produces high-quality research on plant medicines and psychedelics, and helps propagate academic knowledge in more accessible formats. We educate the public and create cultural understanding and legitimacy regarding these substances so that they may cease to be stigmatized and outlawed. Chacruna also promotes a bridge between the world of plant medicines and the emergent field of psychedelic science, between “traditional ceremonial use” and clinical and therapeutic settings, bringing the knowledge and perspectives of the social sciences to health care professionals and practitioners of psychedelic-assisted therapy. 

    Source: Harmoniously Integrative Wellness, PBC

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  • Fox News’ Pete Hegseth Owns Up To Bud Light Boycott Gone Wrong

    Fox News’ Pete Hegseth Owns Up To Bud Light Boycott Gone Wrong

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    Hegseth and his right-wing channel have gone all in on a takedown of Budweiser because it partnered with Mulvaney, a transgender actor who documented her transition on TikTok. In a social media post for Bud Light, Mulvaney promoted the beer during March Madness and poked fun at her lack of sports knowledge. She then showed off a can Bud Light made with her face on it.

    But a conservative uproar generated a Bud boycott and financial consequences for the beer brand. Hegseth, filling in on “Jesse Watters Primetime,” told viewers he was pleased to see the results for himself at a New York Yankees game with colleague Will Cain over the weekend.

    “There was nothing more satisfying than seeing fridges full of untouched Bud Light, normally the best seller,” Hegseth said. “We all drank a local IPA beer instead. So did most everybody else.”

    But then he got hit by reality with the force of an Aaron Judge home run.

    “Now I was gonna make a big deal about this, proud of our stand we took, until ‘Primetime’ producers told me the local beer we were drinking is actually owned by — Anheuser-Busch,” Hegseth said, referring to the Bud Light parent company. “No wonder I feel a little funny today.”

    Hegseth conceded that “we have lost this battle but we can win the war against Big Busch.”

    The company has attempted to ameliorate ale-raising reactionaries with a bland apology and a commercial drowning in hackneyed patriotism. But it looks like Fox News and others will continue foaming at the mouth over a beer company’s small attempt to be more inclusive.

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  • San Francisco

    San Francisco

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    Renowned San Francisco drag performer Heklina was found dead Monday in London, England, where she was performing in a touring show, CBS Bay Area reported.

    The death of Heklina — also known as actor Stefan Grygelko — was first reported in social media posts by fellow drag artist and performing partner Peaches Christ (aka Joshua Grannell), with whom Heklina was touring in “Mommie Queerest,” a musical parody of the 1981 Joan Crawford biopic “Mommie Dearest.” 

    “I am living in a real-life nightmare so forgive me if I don’t have all the answers just now,” read the message Grannell posted on both the Peaches Christ Facebook page and his page under his name. “This morning, in London, England I went to collect my dear friend Heklina, who is costarring with me in a Mommie Queerest show here, and found her dead. I do not know the cause of death yet. I know this is shocking news and I am beyond stunned, but I wanted to let folks know what has happened.”

    2019 Clusterfest - Bill Graham Stage - Day 1
    Heklina performing onstage at the Roast Battle at the 2019 Clusterfest on June 21, 2019 in San Francisco.

    Jeff Kravitz / FilmMagic for Clusterfest


    The Soho Theatre in London, where the production of “Mommie Queerest” was being staged, told CBS News it was, “in shock and incredibly saddened with the news of Heklina’s passing. Our thoughts are with Peaches and the Mommie Queerest company, Heklina’s family, friends and their wider community at this time.”

    No details regarding the cause of death were immediately released by authorities.  

    San Francisco lawmaker Matt Haney also tweeted about the death of Heklina, calling her “a drag legend, brilliant performer and trailblazing community icon.”

    “My condolences and love goes out to all of Heklina’s friends, family, and loved ones, and the entire LGBTQ and drag communities,” he added.  

    State Sen. Scott Wiener released a statement after the news came out, saying he was “absolutely devastated.”

    “Heklina was an icon in the truest sense — funny, caring, outrageous, and brave. I first saw Heklina perform when I was a young gay man in the 1990s, new to San Francisco. Over the years, I got to know her and helped her find a space for Oasis. I’ve rarely worked with someone as fierce, creative, and dedicated,” Wiener said. “Heklina created events and community spaces that spun glitter and giant wigs and raucous jokes into a feeling of home. She was fiercely outspoken and always stood up for her friends and community. She was the soul of San Francisco, and it’s hard to imagine the city without her.”

    “Heklina was also a staunch defender of drag — which is under extreme attack right now — and created opportunities for young drag queens to find their space,” he added. “While we grieve, we must honor her memory by remembering the joy she brought us and the importance of the art form to which she dedicated her life.”

    In addition to performing with Peaches Christ in a variety of stage productions, as well as appearing as Dorothy Zbornak in the San Francisco drag production of “The Golden Girls” — which would regularly hold sold-out runs of its annual holiday show — Heklina was best known as one of the co-founders of the long-running drag show “Trannyshack” that started at San Francisco’s Stud club in the mid-1990s. 

    More recently, Heklina was part of the group of owners that relaunched the nightclub and theater the Oasis in San Francisco’s SoMa District that had its grand reopening in 2014. She would also appear regularly as host and emcee for a variety of community events.

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  • Protests Erupt As Florida Advances Expansion To ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Law

    Protests Erupt As Florida Advances Expansion To ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Law

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    Protests erupted inside and near Florida’s Capitol building Friday as lawmakers in the state’s House of Representatives voted to pass an expansion to what critics commonly refer to as the “Don’t Say Gay” law.

    The proposed legislation would build on the 2022 Parental Rights in Education Act, which bans discussions of gender identity and sexuality from kindergarten through third grade at public schools. Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and other Florida conservatives have argued that teaching such topics in public schools is a form of “indoctrination,” and that these should instead be taught by parents at home.

    The new bill, HB 1069, would place further limits on discussions of sex education, sexual orientation and gender identity in K-12 public schools, and would have them teach that “sex is determined by biology and reproductive function at birth.” It would also restrict the way that teachers in these schools can use students’ preferred pronouns.

    As lawmakers debated the bill Friday, over 100 LGBTQ+ students and allies marched toward the state Capitol. Many flooded into the halls outside the House chamber, with others protesting around the building and in areas near the Capitol grounds.

    The protesters outside the House chamber stood in a large circle, chanting “this is what democracy looks like” and “hey hey, ho ho, Ron DeSantis has got to go.” The crowd started booing upon hearing news of the bill’s passage.

    Many Florida Democrats opposed the proposal, saying it was tantamount to sex discrimination, Politico reports.

    “This bill does nothing but tell certain parts of our community in Florida that they don’t exist,” said state Rep. Ashley Gantt (D), according to Politico.

    Two GOP lawmakers voted against the proposal. But in Florida’s Republican-majority legislative chamber, the bill still passed 77-35. The vote took place on Transgender Day of Visibility, observed annually on March 31.

    HB 1069 is among 10 Florida bills targeting LGBTQ+ rights that have advanced in the current legislative session, as well as hundreds more nationwide. These include similar expansions to the Parental Rights in Education Act, such as SB 1320 and HB 1223, introduced by GOP lawmakers in Florida.

    The Senate version of HB 1069 still awaits one final committee hearing before the proposal can head to the floor for a final vote.

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  • Texas Republican Falls For The Old Filthy Fake Name Prank In Hearing

    Texas Republican Falls For The Old Filthy Fake Name Prank In Hearing

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    Texas state Rep. Jeff Leach (R) has become the latest lawmaker to fall victim to the fake name prank.

    After a third-grade teacher spoke out against an anti-trans bill to the Texas House Committee on Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence on Wednesday, Leach called on other constituents whose names had been registered to comment.

    “Is there a Connie Lingus here?” he asked, as people giggled around the room.

    “What about Anita Dickenmee? Or Holden, Holden Middick?” he added.

    “OK. Are any three of those people here?” Leach asked, appearing to know full well that they most definitely weren’t in attendance.

    “All right,” he added. “You got your moment. I hope you enjoy it.”

    Leach took the gag in good spirits, telling Mediaite he looked forward “to meeting Connie, Holden and Anita one day soon.”

    As did members of a Virginia school board in 2021, when Phil McCracken, Eileen Dover, Wayne Kuhr, Suk Mahdik, Ophelia McCaulk and Don Kedick all featured.

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  • LGBTQ+ Social Media Platform Calls Out to Investors

    LGBTQ+ Social Media Platform Calls Out to Investors

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    ATLANTA, March 29, 2023 (Newswire.com)
    –
    MollyTommy, the world’s preferred safe and inclusive social media platform, is in the process of beginning to pitch its first round of funding in exchange for equity. The funds will be utilized primarily for the development of an app, and secondarily for targeted marketing spends to aggressively ramp up and expand its reach to both members and allies of the LGBTQ+ community.

    Over 80% of MollyTommy’s monthly online visitors are new to the site, and analytics show the new visitors are creating profiles, growing the online platform’s memberships month after month. MollyTommy’s recent launch into Europe also helped fuel the growth in both personal and business accounts. It’s unprecedented to see such growth on a desktop-only social media platform.

    “For far too long, the LGBTQ+ community has been underground, silent out of fear, and an intricate web of tribal knowledge and community. We are innovating and seeking to establish an entire ecosystem to pull the underground above ground. First steps are with the establishment of our safe and inclusive social media platform. Our website is incredible in lieu of the limited resources we have.” – Sophia Hayden, MollyTommy Board Member

    MollyTommy has positioned itself to be a top social media platform but needs to secure critical funding for app development. MollyTommy has begun talks with investors who are not only interested in changing the world for the ~780 million LGBTQ+ people around the world forever, but also opening up access to one of the most unique – and largely untapped – demographic cohorts of consumer spending power globally. It is estimated that the LGBTQ+ community has access to over $1.4 TRILLION in spending power. 

    MollyTommy’s vision is innovative, disruptive, world-changing, and calling out to investors to be part of something big. Their founders and team refuse to fail and will succeed. For those interested in scheduling a pitch call with the Co-Founders and board, or know of any potential investors who would have interest, please reach out to the media contact below. Help MollyTommy help the community (which needs them now more than ever) and create a better, more inclusive world for future generations. 

    MollyTommy is a free social media platform where LGBTQ+ communities, their friends, families and businesses can unite with a sense of purpose and use their voices to engage with each other in a safe environment.

    To join, visit mollytommy.com.

    Source: MollyTommy

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  • Wisconsin School Won’t Allow Students To Perform Miley Cyrus And Dolly Parton’s Song

    Wisconsin School Won’t Allow Students To Perform Miley Cyrus And Dolly Parton’s Song

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    MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Administrators at a Wisconsin elementary school stopped a first-grade class from performing a Miley Cyrus and Dolly Parton duet promoting LGBTQ acceptance because the song “could be perceived as controversial.”

    Students at Heyer Elementary School in Waukesha had prepared a rendition of “Rainbowland” for their spring concert, but school officials struck the song from the lineup last week. Parents in the district say the decision was made because the song encourages LGBTQ acceptance and references rainbows.

    Superintendent James Sebert, who did not immediately return a call on Monday, confirmed to Fox6 that administrators had removed “Rainbowland” from the first-grade concert because it might not be “appropriate for the age and maturity level of the students.” He also cited a school board policy against raising controversial issues in classrooms.

    Sebert has previously prohibited rainbows and pride flags from being displayed in Waukesha classrooms and suspended the school district’s equity and diversity work in 2021.

    “Let’s all dig down deep inside, brush the judgment and fear aside,” the song from Cyrus’ 2017 album “Younger Now” goes. “Living in a Rainbowland, where you and I go hand in hand. Oh, I’d be lying if I said this was fine, all the hurt and the hate going on here.”

    Dolly Parton (left) and Miley Cyrus performing at the 2019 Grammy Awards.

    Kevin Winter via Getty Images

    First-grade teacher Melissa Tempel said she chose the song because its message seemed universal and sweet. The class concert’s theme was “The World” and included other songs such as “Here Comes the Sun,” by The Beatles and “What a Wonderful World,” by Louis Armstrong.

    “My students were just devastated. They really liked this song and we had already begun singing it,” Tempel said Monday.

    Administrators also initially banned the song “Rainbow Connection” from The Muppets but later reversed that decision, according to Tempel.

    Parents have been angered by the song’s removal, Tempel said. But she was more concerned about what the ban and other district policies against expressing LGBTQ support meant for students.

    “These confusing messages about rainbows are ultimately creating a culture that seems unsafe towards queer people,” she said.

    Spokespersons for Parton and Cyrus did not immediately respond to emails on Monday asking the artists’ thoughts on the ban.

    Wisconsin school boards races, including in Waukesha, have become increasingly partisan in recent years. Republicans saw big gains across the state’s school board races in 2022 and have used the positions to challenge policies from rules about transgender kids to COVID-19 restrictions.

    Harm Venhuizen is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow Venhuizen on Twitter.

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  • UN rights chief urges Uganda’s president to block “deeply troubling” anti-LGBTQ bill

    UN rights chief urges Uganda’s president to block “deeply troubling” anti-LGBTQ bill

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    The United Nations rights chief on Wednesday urged Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni to block an anti-LGBTQ bill passed this week that prescribes harsh penalties, including death and life imprisonment.

    “The passing of this discriminatory bill — probably among the worst of its kind in the world — is a deeply troubling development,” Volker Turk, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, said in a statement.

    Uganda’s legislature passed the bill late Tuesday in a protracted plenary session during which last-minute changes were made to the legislation that originally included penalties of up to 10 years in jail for homosexual offenses.

    In the version approved by lawmakers, the offense of “aggravated homosexuality” now carries the death penalty. Aggravated homosexuality applies in cases of sex relations involving those infected with HIV, as well as minors.

    According to the bill, a suspect convicted of “attempted aggravated homosexuality” can be jailed for 14 years, and the offense of “attempted homosexuality” is punishable by up to 10 years.

    In Washington., National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said if the law were enacted, the U.S. would “have to take a look” at imposing economic sanctions on Uganda. He noted that this would be “really unfortunate” since most U.S. aid is in the form of health assistance, especially anti-AIDS assistance.

    The bill was introduced last month by an opposition lawmaker who said his goal was to punish “promotion, recruitment and funding” related to LGBTQ activities in this East African country where homosexuals are widely disparaged.

    The offense of “homosexuality” is punishable by life imprisonment, the same punishment prescribed in a colonial-era penal code criminalizing sex acts “against the order of nature.”

    The bill now goes to Museveni, who can veto or sign it into law. He suggested in a recent speech that he supports the legislation, accusing unnamed Western nations of “trying to impose their practices on other people.”

    “If signed into law by the president, it will render lesbian, gay and bisexual people in Uganda criminals simply for existing, for being who they are,” Turk, the U.N. rights chief, said in the statement. “It could provide carte blanche for the systematic violation of nearly all of their human rights and serve to incite people against each other.”

    White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Wednesday the United States had “grave concerns” about the bill, adding that it would hamper tourism and economic investment, and “damage Uganda’s reputation.”

    Jean-Pierre added: “No one should be attacked, imprisoned, or killed simply because of who they are, or who they love.”

    Anti-gay sentiment in Uganda has grown in recent weeks amid alleged reports of sodomy in boarding schools, including a prestigious one for boys where a parent accused a teacher of abusing her son. Authorities are investigating that case.

    The recent decision of the Church of England to bless civil marriages of same-sex couples also has inflamed many, including some who see homosexuality as imported from abroad.

    Uganda’s LGBTQ community in recent years has faced growing pressure from civilian authorities who wanted a tough new law punishing same-sex activities.

    The Ugandan agency overseeing the work of nongovernmental organizations last year stopped the operations of Sexual Minorities Uganda, the most prominent LGBTQ organization in the country, accusing it of failing to register legally. But the group’s leader said his organization had been rejected by the registrar as undesirable.

    Homosexuality is criminalized in more than 30 of Africa’s 54 countries.

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  • Nebraska Lawmaker 3 Weeks Into Filibuster Over Trans Bill

    Nebraska Lawmaker 3 Weeks Into Filibuster Over Trans Bill

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    LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — It was a mundane, unanimously supported bill on liquor taxation that saw state Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh take to the mic on the Nebraska Legislature floor last week. She offered her support, then spent the next three days discussing everything but the bill, including her favorite Girl Scout cookies, Omaha’s best doughnuts and the plot of the animated movie “Madagascar.”

    She also spent that time railing against an unrelated bill that would outlaw gender-affirming therapies for those 18 and younger. It was the advancement of that bill out of committee that led Cavanaugh to promise three weeks ago to filibuster every bill that comes before the Legislature this year — even the ones she supports.

    “If this Legislature collectively decides that legislating hate against children is our priority, then I am going to make it painful — painful for everyone,” the Omaha married mother of three said. “I will burn the session to the ground over this bill.”

    True to her word, Cavanaugh has slowed the business of passing laws to a crawl by introducing amendment after amendment to every bill that makes it to the state Senate floor and taking up all eight debate hours allowed by the rules — even during the week she was suffering from strep throat. Wednesday marks the halfway point of this year’s 90-day session, and not a single bill will have passed thanks to Cavanaugh’s relentless filibustering.

    Clerk of the Legislature Brandon Metzler said a delay like this has happened only a couple of times in the past 10 years.

    “But what is really uncommon is the lack of bills that have advanced,” Metzler said. “Usually, we’re a lot further along the line than we’re seeing now.”

    State Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh prepares to speak before the Nebraska Legislature Monday, March 13, 2023, at the Nebraska State Capital in Lincoln, Neb. Cavanaugh is in her third week of an effort to filibuster every bill that comes before the Legislature this session — even the ones she supports. The effort is a protest against conservatives’ advancement of a bill that would outlaw gender-affirming therapies for those 18 and younger. Cavanaugh has declared she will “burn the session to the ground” in an effort to stymie the bill.

    In fact, only 26 bills have advanced from the first of three rounds of debate required to pass a bill in Nebraska. There would normally be two to three times that number by mid-March, Metzler said. In the last three weeks since Cavanaugh began her bill blockade, only three bills have advanced.

    The Nebraska bill and another that would ban trans people from using bathrooms and locker rooms or playing on sports teams that don’t align with the gender listed on their birth certificates are among roughly 150 bills targeting transgender people that have been introduced in state legislatures this year. Bans on gender-affirming care for minors have already been enacted this year in some Republican-led states, including South Dakota and Utah, and Republican governors in Tennessee and Mississippi are expected to sign similar bans into law. And Arkansas and Alabama have bans that were temporarily blocked by federal judges.

    Cavanaugh’s effort has drawn the gratitude of the LGBTQ community, said Abbi Swatsworth, executive director of LGBTQ advocacy group OutNebraska. The organization has been encouraging members and others to inundate state lawmakers with calls and emails to support Cavanaugh’s effort and oppose bills targeting transgender people.

    “We really see it as a heroic effort,” Swatsworth said of the filibuster. “It is extremely meaningful when an ally does more than pay lip service to allyship. She really is leading this charge.”

    Both Cavanaugh and the conservative Omaha lawmaker who introduced the trans bill, state Sen. Kathleen Kauth, said they’re seeking to protect children. Cavanaugh cited a 2021 survey by the Trevor Project, a nonprofit focused on suicide prevention efforts among LGBTQ youth, that found that 58% of transgender and nonbinary youth in Nebraska seriously considered suicide in the previous year, and more than 1 in 5 reported that they had attempted it.

    “This is a bill that attacks trans children,” Cavanaugh said. “It is legislating hate. It is legislating meanness. The children of Nebraska deserve to have somebody stand up and fight for them.”

    Kauth said she’s trying to protect children from undertaking gender-affirming treatments that they might later regret as adults. She has characterized treatments such as hormone therapy and gender reassignment surgery as medically unproven and potentially dangerous in the long term — although the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Psychiatric Association all support gender-affirming care for youths.

    Cavanaugh and other lawmakers who support her filibuster effort “don’t want to acknowledge the support I have for this bill,” Kauth said.

    “We should be allowed to debate this,” she said. “What this is doing is taking the ball and going home.”

    Nebraska’s unique single-chamber Legislature is officially nonpartisan, but it is dominated by members who are registered Republicans. Although bills can win approval with a simple majority in the 49-seat body, it takes 33 votes to overcome a filibuster. The Legislature is currently made up of 32 registered Republicans and 17 registered Democrats, but the slim margin means that the defection of a single Democrat could allow Republicans to pass whatever laws they want.

    Democrats have had some success in using filibusters, which burn valuable time from the session, delay votes on other issues and force lawmakers to work longer days. Last year, conservative lawmakers were unable to overcome Democratic filibusters to pass an abortion ban or a law that would have allowed people to carry concealed guns without a permit.

    Cavanaugh said she has taken a page from the playbook of Ernie Chambers — a left-leaning former legislator from Omaha who was the longest-serving lawmaker in state history. He mastered the use of the filibuster to try to tank bills he opposed and force support for bills he backed.

    “But I’m not aware of anyone carrying out a filibuster to this extent,” Cavanaugh said. “I know it’s frustrating. It’s frustrating for me. But there is a way to put an end to — just put a stop to this hateful bill.”

    Chambers praised Cavanaugh’s “perseverance, gumption and stamina to fight as hard as she can using the rules” to stand up for the marginalized, adding, “I would be right there fighting with her if I were still there.”

    Speaker John Arch has taken steps to try to speed the process, such as sometimes scheduling the Legislature to work through lunch to tick off another hour on the debate clock. And he noted that the Legislature will soon be moving to all-day debate once committee hearings on bills come to an end later this month.

    But even with frustration growing over the hobbled process, the Republican speaker defended Cavanaugh’s use of the filibuster.

    “The rules allow her to do this, and those rules are there to protect the voice of the minority,” Arch said. “We may find that we’re passing fewer bills, but the bills we do pass will be bigger bills we care about.”

    Chambers said this is a sign that Cavanaugh’s efforts are working. Typically, the speaker will step in and seek to postpone the bill causing the delay to allow more pressing legislation such as tax cuts or budget items to move forward.

    “I think you’re going to start to see some of that happen,” Chambers said. “I think if (Cavanaugh) has the physical stamina, she can do it. I don’t think she shoots blanks.”

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  • Tennessee Lt. Gov. Randy McNally apologizes for commenting on suggestive Instagram photos

    Tennessee Lt. Gov. Randy McNally apologizes for commenting on suggestive Instagram photos

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    Tennessee’s Republican Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally has apologized for routine comments he left on the suggestive Instagram posts of a 20-year-old gay man and other members of the LGBTQ+ community.

    “I have long been active on social media. I have made a point to engage with people not only in posts, but in comments and messages as well. My comments to Franklin [sic] McClure and others, which have recently drawn so much attention, are no different,” said McNally in a statement to CBS News.  

    The comments ranged from heart and fire emojis to text-based messages, like ones telling McClure, “You can turn a rainy day into rainbows and sunshine!” and “Love it,” on photos in which McClure appeared scantily clad.

    “While I see now that I should have been more careful about how my comments and activity would be perceived, my intent was always engagement and encouragement,” McNally said in his statement. “I apologize for any embarrassment my postings have caused my family, friends and colleagues. For this reason, I will be pausing my social media activity in order to reflect and receive more guidance on the use of social media.”

    McNally’s comments, first reported by the Tennessee Holler, were viewable on McClure’s profile last Thursday night. As of Monday, McNally’s comments to McClure appear to have been deleted, and the lieutenant governor’s account had been switched to private. Though McNally as of Monday was still following McClure on the platform, McClure was not following him back.

    In addition to his comments on McClure’s photos, McNally also engaged with “half-naked photos of men, pictures of drag artists, and selfies of trans women” from his verified Instagram account, according to Nashville CBS affiliate WTVF-TV.

    Condemnation of the apparent difference between McNally’s comments and his political track record was swift on social media, and “Saturday Night Live” even parodied McNally on its Weekend Update segment over the weekend.

    Molly Kearney as Lt. Gov. Randy McNally
    Molly Kearney as Lt. Gov. Randy McNally and anchor Colin Jost during Weekend Update on Saturday, March 11, 2023.

    NBC via Getty Images


    “While I have made some mistakes in my use of social media, the characterization of me and my record as somehow ‘anti-gay’ is inaccurate. On a personal level, nothing could be further from the truth,” McNally’s statement continued.

    “I believe every person has value and deserves respect regardless of their orientation,” said the 79-year-old, adding that while he was raised in a time when homosexuality was condemned, he now has gay friends and a gay relative who have furthered his understanding.

    Lieutenant Governor Social Media
    Tennessee Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, R-Oak Ridge, presides over the Tennessee Senate on the first day of the legislative session, Jan. 12, 2021, in Nashville, Tenn.

    Mark Humphrey / AP


    During the current legislative session, McNally — who serves as speaker of the state Senate — has overseen a chamber of a state legislature that has banned gender-affirming care for transgender youth and restricted the performance of drag shows in bills that were signed into law by Gov. Bill Lee earlier this month, despite threats from civil rights organizations that have vowed to sue the state in response.

    “I have worked hard to try and understand this community better, and at the same time not compromise trying to protect children and my own values. I notably came down from the Speaker’s podium to speak against a bill that would have curtailed gay adoption. I have also supported legislation that would protect children and keep obscenity out of the public sphere. And I support traditional marriage. There is no contradiction here,” McNally added.

    “While I realize it may not happen immediately, I am hopeful this examination of my social media activity will conclude and we can soon all get back to ensuring Tennessee remains the best state in the union to live, work and raise a family,” he concluded.

    C Mandler


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    C Mandler is a social media producer and trending topics writer for CBS News, focusing on American politics and LGBTQ+ issues.

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