Official News Outlet for the Rainbow Round Table of the American Library Association
You may remember a few months ago when the South Carolina House cut funding from two universities in that state because they had the audacity to assign LGBT-related reading material to students. The South Carolina Senate has restored the cut funding, but the restoration has come with the provision that the schools must use the […]
Tyra Banks and Guy Rosenthal are producing a new docuseries for VH1 that will follow the lives of five trans people who live in Chicago. The focus of documentary will be on the subjects romantic lives and professional aspirations. The show is entitled TransAmerica and will also feature Carmen Carrera (of RuPaul’s Drag Race fame) in the role of […]
Last week, Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley signed into law the Fairness for All Marylanders Act which protects transgender people from discrimination in housing, public accommodation, and employment. The law goes into effect on October 1, 2014. There is a movement in some conservative circles to issue a recall of the law by placing it as […]
Tracy Dice Johnson, a former North Carolina National Guard member and Iraq War veteran, announced recently that she will be receiving survivor benefits from the death of her wife Army Staff Sergeant Donna R. Johnson in 2012. According to the American Military Partner’s Association, Dice Johnson is the first known same sex war widow. This marks […]
At around 2:30 PM EST on May 20th, Judge John Jones declared the state of Pennsylvania’s ban on same sex marriage unconstitutional. The law was defended by Governor Tom Corbett after the Pennsylvania Attorney General refused to defend the law citing his belief that it was unconstitutional. Court watchers strongly believe that Governor Corbett will […]
Last week was a great week for same sex marriage in the courts, but now many of those laws are enmeshed in challenges in the appellate system. By the time same sex marriage truly becomes the law of the land, everyone who has been following it will be masters in court structure and procedure. Arkansas: Arkansas’s […]
Last week, President Obama nominated Ted Osius to be the United States Ambassador to Vietnam. Osius would be the first openly-gay US ambassador to serve in an Asian country. Osius becomes the sixth gay ambassador named by Obama, joining ambassadors from OSCE, Australia, Spain, Denmark, and the Dominican Republic. Osius had previously come to the public’s attention […]
In this summer’s How To Train Your Dragon 2, the character of Gobber the Belch will come out. The gruff viking was responsible for training youngsters in the first film how to fight dragons. The character is voiced by Craig Ferguson. As Gobber watches a straight couple argue, he says “That’s why I never got married.” Ferguson […]
By Tess Goldwasser Steve has served on various GLBTRT committees, most recently the ad hoc committee on the organization of the Stonewall Book Awards committee. RT chair from 2001-2005, he said, “It was hard work and also rewarding. I learned a lot about professional organizations, collaboration, personal relationships, and building a group of volunteers into […]
Here are some of the best links from around the web this week. Austrian drag queen Conchita Wurst (played by Tom Neurwith) won the Eurovision Song Contest with 290 votes with the song “Rise Like a Phoenix.” Outrage from Russia and other eastern European governments was expressed, but the voters have spoken. In fact, people […]