Connecticut has launched a new statewide LGBTQ+ group, Equality Connecticut, to advance the rights of LGBTQ+ individuals throughout the state. The organization is working towards a larger presence in the State Capital to pass more laws protecting the LGBTQ+ community. The Equality Federation, made up of 44 states and their respective LGBTQ+ organizations, welcomes Equality Connecticut. The organization will be led by Matt Blinstrubas, who is an advocate for the LGBTQ+ community in Connecticut and has worked with many health and social justice initiatives. Blinstrubas worked with the Hartford Gay and Lesbian Health Collective and is now a consultant for…
Author: Segen Kidane-Assefa
A North Dakota house bill banning drag performances has advanced to the Senate, and the Human Rights Campaign is speaking up. House Bill 1133 is an anti-LGBTQ+ bill restricting drag performances in the state of North Dakota. The new bill would classify drag performances as adult-oriented entertainment that cannot be done on public property, or in places where people under the age of 18 are present. Human Rights Campaign Legal Director Sarah Warbelow released a statement following the vote, condemning all anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, and calling it a “coordinated push led by national anti-LGBT+ groups.” In 2022, a record-breaking 315 anti-LGBTQ+…
The 2023 Grammy award winners included a number of notable LGBTQ+ artists. From Sam Smith and Kim Petras to Steve Lacy, Brandi Carlile, and Wet Leg, the Grammys celebrated diversity and highlighted the contributions of the LGBTQ+ community to music and pop culture. Sam Smith and Kim Petras won the award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, with Petras becoming the first transgender winner. LGBTQ+ artists and allies also won in a variety of categories. Many tracks from Beyonce’s latest album, Renaissance, (and the album itself) won several awards, including Best Electronica/Dance Album and Best Traditional R&B Performance for “Plastic Off the…
New York Times contributors and LGBTQ groups are demanding that the paper change how they cover Trans Issues. In a letter signed by over 300 New York Times contributors, with a number of them identifying as trans and nonbinary, they stated: “the Times has in recent years treated gender diversity with an eerily familiar mix of pseudoscience and euphemistic, charged language,” and that recent reporting has omitted some source’s associations with anti-trans groups. In a separate letter, the Times was asked to take action to improve their coverage of the transgender community. The letter was signed by LGBTQ+ and civil…