Category: GLBT News

By John Mack Freeman In a seeming reversal from public discussions in previous weeks, the FDA has decided to change their policy on blood donations for men who have sex with men. The current ban is a lifetime deferment, but this change will make it permissible for men who have not had sex with men […]

By John Mack Freeman In a somewhat unexpected move, the International Olympic Committee unanimously approved a set of recommendations for making the Olympic Games better. Among these recommendations was a proposal to add sexual orientation to Principle Six. It was added to the section reading “”The enjoyment of the rights and freedoms set forth in […]

By John Mack Freeman The Salvation Army doesn’t only want to be known for its bell ringing this holiday season. It also wants you to know that it has a great record on LGBT rights. The only problem with that claim are inconvenient things like facts and history. A quick search reveals a few quick, […]

By John Mack Freeman Quitman High School in Arkansas banned a homecoming speech by a 15-year-old homecoming court member because she had planned to discuss being a lesbian during her speech. Despite the student agreeing to revise her speech, the school banned all of the speeches this year. Via Advocate.com: After the rehearsal, she and […]

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 […]

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, […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

By John Mack Freeman This week, a Republican-led committee in the House of Representatives rejected a proposed amendment that would have added the Employment Nondiscrimination Act to a defense bill that was under consideration. With this rejection, it is unlikely that the bill will pass this term. Further, Congressional watchers doubt that the bill will […]