Gay Men To That!!

If you're old enough to remember when the news of a "gay cancer" started circulating in the early 1980's, you may get a bit of PTSD from the latest news about Monkeypox spreading among clusters of gay men. It is always concerning that minority communities will be ostracized due to ignorance and fear.  From The New York Times: This weekend marks the end of Pride month, as cities across the country host events to celebrate the L.G.B.T.Q. community. It is also a fraught moment in public health: A global outbreak of monkeypox is causing concern, with many of the cases clustered around men who have sex with men. Experts are now trying to strike a delicate balance, warning people who may be at higher risk, without stigmatizing a community that has often been scapegoated for health scares in the past. The first thing is wondering how did this virus, that has been circulating in Africa for many years, end up being spread in gay communities? What likely happened in this case i...

File this one under "No Kidding"!! We all know the difficulties of being LGBTQ in an oppressive society. For me, knowing that I am not alone in my anxiety is kind of "soothing" for lack of a better word.  According to the Census Bureau:  Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) adults have consistently reported higher rates of symptoms of both anxiety and depression amid the coronavirus pandemic than non-LGBT adults, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. The results were the same regardless of the period in question: LGBT adults ages 18 and older reported roughly twice the rate of mental health challenges as non-LGBT adults (Figures 1a and 1b). Another interesting point in the study is the mental health of LGBT adults who are raising children. Throughout the time series, LGBT adults living in households with children were more likely than adults (regardless of LGBT status) in other types of households to report anxiety symptoms. Dealing with homophobia plus ...

It's official. The Supreme Court has overturned Roe v Wade.    No one was surprised by this because of the leaked draft but it still feels like a gut punch!  Additionally, in Justice Thomas' concurring opinion, he says that the court should revisit Marriage Equality. 

Unless you been under a rock, you must have noticed the many news stories about how conservative Republicans have been attacking the LGBTQ community. They have either proposed or passed hundreds of State bills, attempting to roll back Gay and Trans rights all over the Country. So has Charles Blow , in a scathing New York Times Editorial titled "The G.O.P. Tries to Build a Gay Ghetto" . From the article : This past weekend, the Republican Party in Texas voted on an outrageous platform that not only denies the results of the 2020 presidential election, but also rejects gay marriage and seeks to “protect” minors until they turn 17 against “predatory sexual behaviors,” such as drag queens reading stories aloud to children.   Drag queens are predators, trans women are a threat and gay marriage is a violation of the “natural order”: This is all part of the widening and re-energized attack by Republicans on L.G.B.T.Q. people and culture in the wake of the Supreme Court’s 2015 ruling...

After all the violence and carnage of the last 4 years, it's only logical to hold him accountable. Via ABC News: With his impeachment trial set to begin this week, a narrow majority of Americans say they support the Senate convicting former President Donald Trump and barring him from holding federal office again, according to a new ABC News/Ipsos poll released Sunday. Compared to public attitudes in the early days of his first impeachment trial, support for the Senate convicting Trump is higher now. In an ABC News/Washington Post poll published in late January 2020, when the first trial was ongoing but before senators had voted, 47% of Americans said the Senate should vote to remove Trump from office and 49% said he should not be removed. But in this latest poll, 56% of Americans say Trump should be convicted and barred from holding office again, and 43% say he should not be. The new poll was conducted by Ipsos in partnership with ABC News using Ipsos' KnowledgePanel. Read the ...

Via Out.com: President Joe Biden has signed a historic memorandum on the worldwide protection of LGBTQ+ rights. The Hill reported White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Biden would announce the memo later today from a State Department appearance. “It reflects his deep commitment to these issues both here in the United States and everywhere around the world,” Sullivan told reporters ahead of the announcement. “The United States will speak out and act on behalf of these rights as we go.” In the official announcement, Biden spoke of all of his State Department directives. He mentioned the memo itself briefly. "And to further repair our moral leadership, I'm also issuing a Presidential memo to agencies to reinvigorate our leadership on the LGBTQI issues, and do it internationally," he said to reporters. "You know, we'll ensure diplomacy and foreign assistance are working to promote the rights of those individuals included by combatting criminalizati...

Photo by: Laura Roberts/Laura Roberts/Invision/AP This is a pretty big deal, because he is the only openly gay artist signed to a major country label!!  Via CNN: T.J. Osborne, the lead vocalist of Brothers Osborne, the band he formed with his brother John Osborne, has publicly shared for the first time that he is gay. The "Stay a Little Longer," singer tells Time that while his close-knit Nashviile community knew for years, he is now ready to tell the world. "I'm very comfortable being gay," Osborne told the publication, adding, "I find myself being guarded for not wanting to talk about something that I personally don't have a problem with. That feels so strange." He added that he knows some fans will ask why he needed to come out, saying: "People will ask, 'Why does this even need to be talked about?' and personally, I agree with that.' But for me to show up at an awards show with a man would be jaw-dropping to people. It wouldn...