From Stonewall to SCOTUS
Greetings, friends, and welcome to All My Gay News!
Since I last wrote in June, I have been busy reporting on all sorts of LGBTQ news for NBC Out. Some of the big news events were:
The fiftieth anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall Uprising (see NBC’s four-part documentary here)
Historic oral arguments Supreme Court over whether LGBTQ people are protected by civil rights law, which I attended and reported on here.
The U.S. government argued that it owns the patent for HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, in a historic lawsuit. I dive into how activists pushed the government to make the bit Truvada move.
As promised, below is a semi-frequent update with some of my favorite reports from the past few months.
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Best,
Tim Fitzsimons
Politics
Drag queen sashays into Trump impeachment hearings
You may have seen her wig. Drag Queen Pissi Myles made an unexpected, and quite noticeable, appearance at Trump’s impeachment hearings.
Central figures in Supreme Court LGBTQ discrimination cases speak out
Gerald Bostock, Melissa Zarda and the ACLU’s Chase Strangio reflect on their historic day in court. For Bostock and the other plaintiffs, Tuesday’s oral arguments at the Supreme Court were the culmination of yearslong journeys.
Discrimination, bullying, HIV: Candidates address LGBTQ issues at presidential forum
The CNN LGBTQ town hall featured wide agreement among candidates on passing the Equality Act, ending the transgender military ban and expanding LGBTQ health care.
Trump administration's new human rights commission alarms LGBTQ advocates
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the re-examination of human rights is warranted because “some claims have come into tension with one another, provoking questions and clashes about which rights are entitled to gain respect."
After officiating gay wedding, Republican congressman gets 'no confidence' vote from local GOP
The vote comes just two days after another GOP committee failed to censure Rep. Denver Riggleman, R-Va., who said he was “happy to officiate” the wedding.
Gay lawmaker says his congressional run against alleged 'homophobe' is personal
New York City Councilman Ritchie Torres is running for Congress against Ruben Diaz Sr., a fellow councilman with a history of anti-gay remarks.
Meet the New Yorker who hopes to be America's first black gay congressman
If Mondaire Jones wins, southern New York's congressional delegation could be transformed into a progressive bloc represented by young people of color.
Activism
Stonewall police records shed new light on 1969 uprising
So many details from the early morning hours of June 28, 1969 — the start of the Stonewall uprising — are lost to history. But arrest records from the New York Police Department obtained by NBC News shed new light on what happened that night.
Historian unearths evidence of one of America's earliest gay rights activists
Rev. Carl Schlegel, a German immigrant, spoke on behalf of people attracted to the same sex in the early 1900s.
Fired lesbian guidance counselor sues Indianapolis archdiocese
Shelly Fitzgerald is at least the third gay former employee of an Indianapolis Catholic school to sue the city's archdiocese this year.
Third Indiana Catholic school employee fired in growing scandal over LGBTQ staff
Unlike the others fired from Indianapolis-area Catholic schools, Kelley Fisher is straight and only expressed support for her fired colleagues.
'Erosion in acceptance' of LGBTQ people among young Americans, survey finds
Young Americans ages 18-34 are increasingly uncomfortable around LGBTQ people in personal situations, like learning a family member, doctor, or child’s teacher is LGBTQ.
Russian LGBTQ activist is killed after being listed on gay-hunting website
A Russian LGBTQ activist, Yelena Grigoryeva, was fatally stabbed in St. Petersburg after her name was listed on a website that encourages people to “hunt” LGBTQ activists, inspired by the torture-themed film "Saw."
Health
U.S. sues Gilead, claiming it owns HIV PrEP patent
I dive into how the activist effort called PrEP4All pushed the Trump administration to assert patent ownership over Gilead Science’s flagship HIV prevention drug Truvada. In a new lawsuit, the U.S. government claims it controls all relevant patents for the drug and the HIV prevention therapy.
Tennessee teen's suicide highlights dangers of anti-LGBTQ bullying
Channing Smith's death by suicide after being cyberbullied highlights the decade-old movement to stop bullying online, where it flourishes.
When it comes to conversion therapy, age isn't just a number
Unlike the 18 states that ban gay conversion therapy for minors, NYC’s prohibits the practice for all people, including adults. That is a problem.
Anti-LGBTQ activism and policy
A viral fake news story linked trans health care to 'thousands' of deaths
Hormone blockers used by some transgender people have multiple uses, including treating prostate cancer in terminally ill patients. (This story earned me a direct shout out from Ben Shapiro’s transphobic content farm the Daily Wire — see if you can spot the circular logic.)
GOP lawmakers in three states want to ban trans health care for minors
The proposals come on the heels of a controversy in Texas spawned by a custody battle between parents who disagree on whether their child is transgender.
Tennessee Republican: A 'queer' running for president is as 'ugly' as it gets
County Commissioner Warren Hurst made homophobic comments about Pete Buttigieg and claimed white men in American “have very few rights.”
GOP official says fixation with 'homosexual activities' harming U.S. moral core
Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill, a Republican U.S. Senate hopeful, blamed the media — and soccer star Megan Rapinoe — for helping fuel the fixation.
Michigan ACLU files complaint after GOP candidate cancels drag show
A British drag troupe featuring performers with Down syndrome was set to perform at an art space owned by Republican congressional candidate Jim Meijer. In a letter explaining his decision last month, Meijer said that, “like children,” adults with Down syndrome deserve protection. He also said he feared the event would be “exploitative” and even questioned whether they could give “full and informed consent.”
LGBTQ workers not covered by Civil Rights Act, GOP officials say
Republican lawmakers and attorneys general submitted briefs to the Supreme Court arguing gay and trans workers aren't protected by federal civil rights law. (Just a week earlier, Trump insisted that LGBTQ people “like the job I’m doing.”
Labor Dept. proposes expanding 'religious exemption' in hiring
Critics say the proposal would let companies with a “self-identified religious purpose” discriminate based on race, ethnicity, gender and sexual orientation.
'We're a totally peaceful racist group,' says 'Straight Pride' organizer to a California city council
Don Grundmann was facing activist calls to cancel his planned “Straight Pride” event in Modesto, California, when he made the apparent slip-up. That event was opposed by the organizer’s gay son, who spoke to me in an interview, and Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ayanna Pressley helped raise bail for those arrested while protesting the Boston event.
Community voices
Deadlifting brides' wedding picture goes viral
A photo of the nuptials of Brooklyn weightlifting enthusiasts Zeena Hernandez and Lisa Yang won fans across social media.
Integration or revolution? LGBTQ activists split over what Pride is all about
NYC's dueling pride marches are the product of an old conflict in the LGBTQ community: whether pride is about societal integration or revolutionary change.
In Boston, the first trans hockey team takes the ice
An all-transgender hockey team played a historic scrimmage in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in a matchup that blended pro and amateur players.
Philadelphia suicide throws 'transamory' into the spotlight
Activists say the bullying of Maurice Willoughby before his death highlights the risks faced by trans people — and those who love them.