Monday, May 6

Month: September 2022

Gay Marriage Bill Gets Stuck in US Senate
16Sep By Sara BanksNo Comments
Politics

Gay Marriage Bill Gets Stuck in US Senate

The U.S. Senate postponed yesterday's vote on legislation that would codify same-sex marriage after negotiators were unable to secure enough republican support for the bill. A vote on the bill will take place after the Nov. 8 congressional elections. The news comes as a disappointment to those who hoped that the Biden administration would be able to protect marriage equality through legislative action. This as Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas spoke on dismantling the same-sex marriage protections that have been established by the court, after the same was done to abortion rights. The decision to postpone the bill indicates that democratic lawmakers are optimistic as to their chances to win big this November and secure enough democratic representation in the senate to pass the bill. ...
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Supreme Court Rules That Yeshiva University Must Recognize Gay Student Group
15Sep By Ernesto FernandezNo Comments
Education

Supreme Court Rules That Yeshiva University Must Recognize Gay Student Group

The Supreme Court denied the Jewish university’s emergency request to block lower court orders requiring it to recognize a gay student group. Yesterday's Supreme Court decision does however allow for the university to continue pushing the issue in lower courts. The university has argued that recognizing the club violates its religious freedom. A New York court had previously ordered the university to recognize the club in order to comply with the states anti-discrimination laws. This led the university to take the matter to the Supreme Court. The ruling was made by a divided court as the university’s emergency request was denied by a 5-4 vote.  The decision is significant as some feared that the Supreme Court’s conservative majority would use the opportunity to set a major prec...
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Report: Hate Crimes Targeting LGBTQ People on the Rise in NYC
14Sep By Sara BanksNo Comments
US

Report: Hate Crimes Targeting LGBTQ People on the Rise in NYC

Community leaders and activists in New York have reported a 46% rise in violent crimes against LGBTQ people in the city. LGBTQ rights activists are now urging authorities to take action as reports of violent homophobic attacks against members of the community are increasing. In testimonies obtained by El Diario NY, members of the LGBTQ community speak of the verbal and physical harassment they’ve experienced while walking the streets of New York. Gay and transgender victims tell stories of being beaten bloody on their way home from work while their attackers utter homophobic slurs. A young man was even threatened with a knife after being beaten and robbed on 8th ave, in Brooklyn. He expressed being disappointed that only one person stepped in and tried to help him rid himself of the at...
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DOJ Sues Property Management Company After Complaint By Gay Tenant
13Sep By Ernesto FernandezNo Comments
US

DOJ Sues Property Management Company After Complaint By Gay Tenant

The Justice Department is accusing a rental property owner and his managers of harassing a tenant for being gay in Wisconsin. A lawsuit was recently filed alleging that the tenant was mistreated for several reasons, one of them being his sexuality and another his disability.  A suit that was filed on September 9, accuses the property owner of harassing a gay, disabled tenant and then physically attacking him when the harassment was reported. The owner supposedly harassed the tenant verbally and via text while he lived at his property in 2020 & 2021. Once the owner found out that the tenant had reported the harassment he allegedly hit him in the groin and threatened him with eviction.  Once the tenant had vacated the property, he reported everything to the Department of Hous...
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Norwegian Study: Lesbian Marriages Most Likely to End in Divorce
11Sep By Ernesto FernandezNo Comments
Relationships

Norwegian Study: Lesbian Marriages Most Likely to End in Divorce

A study that examined same-sex marriages in Norway found that lesbian couples are twice as likely to divorce in the first five years of marriage compared to heterosexual couples. Male same-sex couples however, are only 8% more likely to divorce than straight couples within the same time period. The study found that almost 60% of Norway’s 1993 lesbian marriages ended in divorce. Divorce rates in Norway are higher among married lesbian couples that live in the countryside compared to those living in urban areas. Male same-sex couples that live outside of the city are also more like to divorce than those that don't. Researches analyzed 5,187 same-sex marriages between 1993 and 2018 .The study titled “Same-sex Marriage Over 26 Years: Marriage and Divorce Trends in Rural and Urban Norway...
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Border Patrol Deactivates Twitter Account After Liking Homophobic Slurs
11Sep By Sara BanksNo Comments
US

Border Patrol Deactivates Twitter Account After Liking Homophobic Slurs

U.S. Border Patrol has deactivated the agency’s Twitter account for the Western Texas region after it liked homophobic slurs directed at Pete Buttigieg and retweeted posts that criticized President Joe Biden’s immigration policy. In a statement, CPB officials said that the discrepancies will be investigated by the agency's Office of Professional Responsibility and that this must not happen again. The agency “has become aware of unauthorized and inappropriate content” that was posted on the @CBPWestTexas Twitter account, Customs and Border Protection officer Chris Magnus tweeted late Saturday. The official CBP West Texas Twitter account  retweeted statements by former Trump lackey, Steven Miller, early Saturday morning. In his tweets, Steven Miller critiqued President Biden's im...
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1 Man Killed & 1 Injured Outside of Gay Bar in Long Beach
11Sep By Sara BanksNo Comments
US

1 Man Killed & 1 Injured Outside of Gay Bar in Long Beach

Two men were stabbed outside of Long Beach bar the Mineshaft last Friday night. One of the men died at a local hospital from the injuries and the other is still recovering according to authorities. Police has revealed that the two men were stabbed in the upper body outside of the Mineshaft bar on the 1700 block of East Broadway. The suspect had fled when police arrived on the scene and the victims were transported to a local hospital shortly after by fire personnel.  Police have stated that the two men were trying to get a third man to move along from in front of the Mineshaft, a historic bar in the gay center of Long Beach. A heated argument was followed by the third man stabbing the two victims at around 11.45 p.m.  The attacker fled the scene before authorities arrived and has ye...
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Supreme Court Temporarily Sides With University Wanting to Ban LGBT Clubs
10Sep By Ernesto FernandezNo Comments
Education

Supreme Court Temporarily Sides With University Wanting to Ban LGBT Clubs

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor has granted Yeshiva University’s request to block a LGBT student group at the university, for now. This after the university claimed that forcing it to recognize the club would violate its religious values. Sotomayor’s ruling temporarily blocks a lower-court decision that ordered the university to recognize the club in order to comply with New York City’s antidiscrimination policies. Sotomayor’s ruling hints at the Supreme Court considering Yeshiva University’s request and potentially deciding to allow them to make the ban permanent in the future. Blocking any future attempts to make LGBT clubs official at the university. Yeshiva University’s Pride Alliance along with several students sued the university last year over its refusal to recogn...
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Syracuse Adoption Agency Allowed to Deny Services to Gay & Unmarried Couples
9Sep By Sara BanksNo Comments
US

Syracuse Adoption Agency Allowed to Deny Services to Gay & Unmarried Couples

A New York federal judge ruled that the state can’t force a Christian family services agency to provide adoption services to gay or unmarried couples. This after a Christian agency in Syracuse claimed that they couldn’t provide adoption services to same-sex or unmarried couples because of their religious beliefs. The agency filed the suit against the state Office of Children and Family Services in 2018 after being to told to review its  “discriminatory and impermissible” policies or shut down.  A Tuesday ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Mae A. D’Agostino referenced free speech protections when declaring that the agency can’t be forced to provide services to gay or unmarried couples. The state Office of Children and Family Services issues a statement in response to th...
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Texas Judge Rules That Denying Gay Men HIV Preventive Care Is Religious Freedom
8Sep By Sara BanksNo Comments
Health

Texas Judge Rules That Denying Gay Men HIV Preventive Care Is Religious Freedom

The Affordable Care Act’s process for determining what kinds of preventive care insurers should cover has been found unconstitutional by a federal judge in Texas. The decision means insurance policies no longer must cover pre-exposure prophylaxis also known as PrEP, a drug that has been proven to prevent the transmission of the HIV virus. Judge Reed O’Connor of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas' ruling puts other preventive care services such as cancer screenings and alcohol abuse counseling in jeopardy as well.  The ruling says that the Preventive Services Task Force, a group of volunteer experts that recommends which preventive care services should be covered by law, is unconstitutional. This because the group of experts isn’t appointed by the pre...
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