VAWA: GOP representatives team up for LGBT, tribal and undocumented immigrant inclusion

Republican Congress members Judy Biggert and Robert Dold, both from Illinois, met with anti-violence advocates July 31, to call for bipartisan support of an LGBT-inclusive reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act. In May, the House of Representatives passed a version of the VAWA reauthorization bill that cut protections and programs for same-sex couples, indigenous … Continue reading »

Chicago Disability Pride Parade, intercommunity support and body liberation

Chicagoans with disabilities and their allies gathered downtown for the ninth annual Disability Pride Parade on Saturday, July 21. The parade kicked off at Harold Washington Library and culminated in a festival on Daley Plaza with food, entertainment and information booths. The parade was lead by grand marshal Linda E. Miller, domestic violence services program coordinator … Continue reading »

“What’s The T?” empowers queer youth, sparks discussion in Boystown

What’s The T? is the latest  production of About Face Youth Theatre, an offshoot of the queer theater company aimed at engaging young people to tell their stories and create community through the stage. Every two years the youth ensemble selects a new topic to tackle, drawing on their own stories and interviewing community members … Continue reading »

Action Alert: Urge CeCe McDonald’s judge to sentence her to house arrest

CeCe McDonald is set to be sentenced June 4, after pleading guilty to second-degree manslaughter for killing her attacker Dean Schmitz during a racist and transphobic altercation. The judge will likely apply time served and “good time” to her sentence, so McDonald will likely serve an additional 20 months in prison, not an additional 41 months. … Continue reading »

Illinois anti-bullying legislation postponed after Senate votes it down

The Illinois Senate rejected legislation aimed at strengthening anti-bullying presentations last week, amid conservative outcry over LGBT protections. Lesbian State Rep. Kelly Cassidy introduced Illinois House Bill 5290 to bolster the state’s anti-bullying code, including cyberbullying, by creating model policies for schools to implement in 2013. The House approved the measure in March, but it … Continue reading »

Updates on the CeCe McDonald case

There has been no public outcry by HRC. (Seriously, how can an organization bill itself as the Human Rights Campaign and not address McDonald’s case at all?) The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force signed on to a list of 35 organizations supporting McDonald, but I can only find their support listed on other websites with nothing directly from the Task Force. And it’s because McDonald’s case and so many others involve gender-variant people of color and the white gay establishment can’t be bothered to care. These cases may somehow tarnish the whitewashed, assimiliationist gay crusade for equality, especially marriage equality, and they just can’t have that. Continue reading »

The queer community has issues — like racism, ableism, transphobia and misogyny. Let’s face them together.

I — like so many other people, especially white people — was socialized into believing there are no systems of oppression, especially racism. For a long time I was under the impression all that stuff ended a long time ago, and I never really thought about it or talked about. And on the rare occasion … Continue reading »

Ohio school pays $20,000 in “Jesus Is Not a Homophobe” T-shirt lawsuit

A Cincinnati federal court yesterday ruled in favor of a gay student who sued Waynesville High School for prohibiting him from wearing a “Jesus Is Not A Homophobe” T-shirt. For the April 2011 Day of Silence, Maverick Couch wore the shirt to school, but Waynesville High School Principal Randy Gebhardt ordered him to turn the shirt inside out. When … Continue reading »