Official News Outlet for the Rainbow Round Table of the American Library Association
By John Mack Freeman In addition to the 50 states that are now the land of same-sex marriage, the US territories around the globe now offer same-sex marriage as well. The governor of the Virgin Islands Kenneth Mapp signed an executive order ordering the territory to follow the Obergefell decision. The courts have ruled in Puerto Rico […]
By John Mack Freeman After the Supreme Court’s Obergefell decision made same-sex marriage the law of the land, county clerks in several conservative districts have refused to acknowledge the right of same-sex couples to get married. Leaning on arguments that their religious freedom is being violated by having to serve same-sex couples equally, clerks in Texas, Kentucky, […]
By John Mack Freeman A new analysis of more than 100 studies related to LGBT well-being and happiness has been released this week. Some of the highlights include: 58 percent of LGBTQ adults have been the subject of slurs or jokes at some point in their lives 30 percent of LGBTQ adults have been attacked […]
By John Mack Freeman The Executive Committee of the Boy Scouts of America voted 17-0 to recommend to end the organization’s ban on gay and bisexual adult leaders of scout troops. Via Queerty: “This change allows Scouting’s members and parents to select local units, chartered to organizations with similar beliefs, that best meet the needs […]
By Tess Goldwasser What is your role in the GLBTRT? A regular member, and a reviewer for the review blog. What does the GLBTRT mean to you? Someone is looking out for our interests in a mostly hetero world. Are you involved in ALA in other ways? I am the NMRT liaison to the […]
By Tess Goldwasser This month I will be cycling off the RT news committee. For the past 2 years I’ve had the privilege to be assigned the task of compiling the blog’s GLBTRT member profiles. Many blog readers have told me this is their favorite part of the blog, and I am touched by […]
By John Mack Freeman Two places of importance in LGBT history have received new landmark statuses in the past two weeks. The Henry Gerber House in Chicago has become a national landmark per the Department of the Interior, and the Stonewall Inn in New York City has been made a city landmark. From the Department […]
By John Mack Freeman The word ‘cisgender” is one of 500 new words added to the Oxford English Dictionary this year. It has been defined as ” someone whose gender identity matches the gender they were assigned at birth.” A word has to be in common use for ten years before it is included in […]
By John Mack Freeman The legislature of Kyrgyzstan approved an anti-gay propaganda bill modeled off of Russia’s infamous law in a second reading of the law this week. 90 legislators voted in favor of the bill with only two opposing. The bill must be voted on at a third reading, projected for October, but it […]
By John Mack Freeman A jury in New Jersey has found that conversion therapy is fraud. After only three hours of deliberation, the jury returned $72,400 judgment against Jews Offering New Alternatives for Healing (JONAH) for deceptive marketing practices related to conversion therapy. Via Advocate.com: The lawsuit was filed by the SPLC on behalf of […]