FBI: 1 in 5 hate crimes targeted against LGBT people

By John Mack Freenan The FBI released the latest edition of the Hate Crime Statistics report this week. Among its other findings, they found that 20.8 percent of reported hate crimes were motivated by sexual orientation and .5 percent was motivated by gender identity. The 5,928 reported crimes were down from 6,573 in 2012. These statistics have […]

Air Force Secretary supports removing ban on trans people serving in military

By John Mack Freeman This week, Secretary of the United States Air Force Deborah Lee James expressed support for removing the military’s ban on trans soldiers serving openly. This makes her the first leader of one of the branches of the military to publicly support open trans service. She joins House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, […]

FDA panel refuses to even vote on removing gay blood ban

By John Mack Freeman This week, an FDA Panel responsible for advising the organization on blood product issues discussed changing the ban on blood donations from men that have had sex with men since the late 1970’s. However, the groups discussion did not lead to a vote. Via ABC News: “If I look at the […]

“Dragon Age: Inquisition” Writer Discusses Trans Character, Fan Feedback

By Ashley K. Lierman In a recent blog post, Patrick Weekes, a member of the writing team for the recent video game Dragon Age: Inquisition, discusses the process of creating that game’s trans character, Cremisius “Krem” Aclassi. Weekes mentions the feedback the developers had received from queer fans regarding previous offensive and stereotypical depictions of […]

“Fun Home” musical comes to Broadway

By Ashley R. Lierman The off-Broadway musical of Alison Bechdel’s graphic novel memoir enjoyed great success last year, and will arrive on Broadway this spring. Tickets can now be purchased for its upcoming run at the Circle in the Square Theatre, which will begin March 27, 2015. (via SheWired) Earlier this year, Bechdel was awarded […]

Fundraising update: Over halfway there

By John Mack Freeman Last week, we announced that this year’s fundraising committee had set a goal to raise $5,000 this year. Erin Berman raised $600 through selling baked goods to friends, family, and coworkers. Also, this week, Bill Cohen and Harrington Park Press donated $1,000 to GLBTRT. Add this to the $500 matching funds […]

Moment of aww: Parents print birth announcement correction 19 years later

By John Mack Freeman Brisbane parents Yolanda Bogert and Guy Kershaw put a retraction in the December 2nd The Courier Mail to correct the mistake in their child’s original birth announcement. The retraction can be seen above. Via The Daily Mail: ‘I needed to show my son I support him 100 per cent and wanted to let […]

Miami-Dade County bans trans discrimination

By John Mack Freeman This week, the Miami-Dade County Board of Commissioners voted 8-3 to ban discrimination based on gender identity in employment, housing, and public accommodation. The move came at the end of a long and contentious meeting that had over 130 people sign up to testify. Both supporters and opponents were vocal about their […]

This Week in Marriage: Louisiana, Ohio, Florida

By John Mack Freeman Florida-The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the state of Florida’s request for a stay on a ruling that approved same sex marriages in that state. Provided that the Supreme Court does not issue a ban at the state’s request, same sex marriages will begin in the Sunshine State on January […]