News :: National

CA insurance chief asks feds to lift gay and bi blood ban

CA insurance chief asks feds to lift gay and bi blood ban

  • by John Ferrannini
  • Jan 26, 2022

After Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara's letter, four LGBTQ advocacy groups expressed appreciation and reiterated their support for ending the blood ban.

LGBTQ Agenda: State orgs push for bipartisan LGBTQ civil rights legislation

LGBTQ Agenda: State orgs push for bipartisan LGBTQ civil rights legislation

  • by John Ferrannini
  • Jan 25, 2022

Nine state LGBTQ rights organizations announced a new coalition aimed at getting civil rights protections enshrined in federal law in a bipartisan fashion before the midterm elections.

Blood study seeks gay, bi men to challenge FDA ban

Blood study seeks gay, bi men to challenge FDA ban

  • by John Ferrannini
  • Jan 19, 2022

Brian Custer, Ph.D., of Vitalant said he hopes the study's results will guide the federal agency to consider changing questions about men who have sex with men specifically to questions about sexual health and safety across orientations.

Out in the Bay: Why everyone should care about Supreme Court abortion cases

Out in the Bay: Why everyone should care about Supreme Court abortion cases

  • by Eric Jansen
  • Jan 13, 2022

LGBTQ civil rights may indeed be threatened by abortion cases now before the conservative-heavy U.S. Supreme Court.

LGBTQ Agenda: South Carolina attorney general sued over sex offender registry law

LGBTQ Agenda: South Carolina attorney general sued over sex offender registry law

  • by John Ferrannini
  • Jan 11, 2022

South Carolina is the one of three states that requires people convicted of consensual gay sex prior to 2003 to register as sex offenders.

FDA OKs two pills for COVID

FDA OKs two pills for COVID

  • by Liz Highleyman
  • Dec 22, 2021

The federal Food and Drug Administration has granted emergency use authorization of two drugs for the treatment of COVID-19.

LGBTQ Agenda: Catholic diocese criticized for banning LGBTQs from sacraments

LGBTQ Agenda: Catholic diocese criticized for banning LGBTQs from sacraments

  • by John Ferrannini
  • Dec 21, 2021

Bishop John Francis Doerfler of the Catholic Diocese of Marquette, in Michigan, is receiving criticism from LGBTQ Catholics and their allies for seeking to bar them from the sacrament of Holy Communion.

Political Notes: San Diego-based website aims to educate voters

Political Notes: San Diego-based website aims to educate voters

  • by Matthew S. Bajko
  • Dec 20, 2021

Ahead of the 2022 midterm elections, a San Diego-based website is aiming to educate voters about their congressional representatives.

LGBTQ Agenda: Queerency launches holiday gift guide

LGBTQ Agenda: Queerency launches holiday gift guide

  • by John Ferrannini
  • Dec 14, 2021

A new LGBTQ media company is releasing its 2021 holiday gift guide December 15. Queerency CEO Travers Johnson said "we are wanting to show the diversity, depth, and breadth of queer innovation."

New York City opens first US supervised injection sites

New York City opens first US supervised injection sites

  • by Liz Highleyman
  • Dec 10, 2021

New York City has become the first U.S. city to open government sanctioned supervised injection facilities, as San Francisco officials continue the process of doing the same.

Actor Jussie Smollett found guilty of staging attack

Actor Jussie Smollett found guilty of staging attack

  • by Brody Levesque, Washington Blade
  • Dec 10, 2021

The jury in the case of actor Jussie Smollett reached a guilty verdict December 9 in his trial on five felony charges that he faked a hate crime and was responsible for orchestrating it in January 2019.

LGBTQ Agenda: Prospective lesbian foster parents' case can proceed in South Carolina

LGBTQ Agenda: Prospective lesbian foster parents' case can proceed in South Carolina

  • by John Ferrannini
  • Dec 7, 2021

For the first time, a federal district court ruled that the United States Supreme Court's ruling in Fulton v. Philadelphia does not grant adoption agencies a blanket license to discriminate against queer couples.

Argument in US Supreme Court abortion case concerns LGBTQ advocates

Argument in US Supreme Court abortion case concerns LGBTQ advocates

  • by Lisa Keen
  • Dec 2, 2021

The primary issue before the U.S. Supreme Court December 1 was abortion, but a swirl of other critical questions drew the justices' attention.

TV, film, and stage producer Scott Robbe dies

TV, film, and stage producer Scott Robbe dies

  • by by Jay Blotcher and Cynthia Laird
  • Dec 1, 2021

Veteran progressive activist and TV, film, and stage producer Scott Robbe died November 21, according to a statement by Paul Algiers, a longtime friend and the executor of Mr. Robbe's estate.