Michael Lavers
All stories by Michael Lavers
Challenge to Trump’s Passport Gender Marker Ban Filed in Federal Court
Washington Blade, Courtesy of the National LGBT Media AssociationSeven transgender and nonbinary people on Feb. 7 filed a federal lawsuit against President Donald Trump’s executive order that bans the State Department from issuing passports with “X” [...]Read more about Challenge to Trump’s Passport Gender Marker Ban Filed in Federal Court
Under Trump, U.S. No Longer Stands for Human Rights, Decency
MEXICO CITY — Then-President Donald Trump on July 16, 2018, defended Russian President Vladimir Putin during a press conference that took place in Helsinki after they met. I watched it happen on live television while I was on assignment in Mexico [...]Read more about Under Trump, U.S. No Longer Stands for Human Rights, Decency
LGBTQ+ Groups in Israel Respond to War
LGBTQ+ rights groups in Israel have rallied to support to those who have been impacted by their country’s war against Hamas that began Saturday.
Seven HIV/AIDS Activists Arrested Inside Kevin McCarthy’s Office
U.S. Capitol Police on Monday arrested seven HIV/AIDS activists who refused to leave House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.)’s office in the Rayburn House Office Building.
Biden Issues Transgender Day of Visibility Proclamation
Michael Lavers | Washington Blade, Courtesy of the National LGBT Media AssociationPresident Joe Biden on Thursday issued a proclamation that recognizes the Transgender Day of Visibility, a day of awareness founded in 2009 by activist Rachel [...]Read more about Biden Issues Transgender Day of Visibility Proclamation
Rainbow Railroad to Participate in New US Refugee Resettlement Program
Courtesy of the National LGBT Media AssociationA group that works with LGBTQ+ and intersex refugees and asylum seekers will participate in a State Department program that will allow American citizens to help refugees resettle in the U.S.Secretary of [...]Read more about Rainbow Railroad to Participate in New US Refugee Resettlement Program
Safe, On Her Way Home': WNBA Star Brittney Griner Released From Russian Detention
Brody Levesque| Washington BladeCourtesy of the National LGBT Media AssociationRussian authorities have released WNBA star Brittney Griner.Griner was released in exchange for Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer who was serving a 25-year prison [...]Read more about Safe, On Her Way Home': WNBA Star Brittney Griner Released From Russian Detention
The Club Q Shooting: At Least Five Killed at LGBTQ+ Nightclub in Colorado, Suspect Identified and a Community Devastated
Courtesy of the National LGBT Media AssociationA gunman has killed at least five people at an LGBTQ+ nightclub in Colorado Springs, Colo.The New York Times reported the Colorado Springs Police Department received a call for an active shooting at Club [...]Read more about The Club Q Shooting: At Least Five Killed at LGBTQ+ Nightclub in Colorado, Suspect Identified and a Community Devastated
WNBA Star Brittney Griner Sentenced to Nine Years in Russian Prison
A Russian court on Thursday found WNBA star Brittney Griner guilty of charges that she smuggled drugs into the country.The court sentenced Griner to nine years in a Russian penal colony. Prosecutors had sought a 9 1/2-year prison sentence.Griner — a [...]Read more about WNBA Star Brittney Griner Sentenced to Nine Years in Russian Prison
Warlord Who Persecuted Gay Chechens Killed in Ukraine Fighting
One of the top warlords and close advisor to Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov was killed Saturday in the battle for Antonov Airport, also known as Hostomel Airport, an international cargo airport and testing facility northwest of the Ukrainian [...]Read more about Warlord Who Persecuted Gay Chechens Killed in Ukraine Fighting
An Incredible LGBTQ+ Victory: Trans Youth Gavin Grimm Wins Bathroom Case After SCOTUS Refuses Appeal
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear the case of a former high school student who challenged his Virginia school district's bathroom policy. Gavin Grimm was a sophomore at Gloucester County High School when he filed a federal lawsuit [...]Read more about An Incredible LGBTQ+ Victory: Trans Youth Gavin Grimm Wins Bathroom Case After SCOTUS Refuses Appeal
Tokyo Olympics Committee Silent on Japan lawmakers' Anti-LGBTQ+ Comments
The committee that is organizing the 2021 Summer Olympics in Tokyo has declined to say whether Japanese lawmakers' anti-LGBTQ comments violated the Olympic Charter's nondiscrimination clause. Mainichi, a Japanese newspaper, reported members of [...]Read more about Tokyo Olympics Committee Silent on Japan lawmakers' Anti-LGBTQ+ Comments
In-Person 2022 International AIDS Conference to Take Place in Montreal
The International AIDS Society has announced the 2022 International AIDS Conference will take place in-person in Montreal. The conference, which will also feature virtual events, is scheduled to take place from July 29 through Aug. 2, 2022. [...]Read more about In-Person 2022 International AIDS Conference to Take Place in Montreal
Biden Administration Announces Global LGBTQ+ Rights Priorities
State Department spokesperson Ned Price on May 14 said the decriminalization of consensual same-sex sexual relations is one of the five priorities for the Biden administration in its efforts to promote LGBTQ+ rights abroad. "The United States over [...]Read more about Biden Administration Announces Global LGBTQ+ Rights Priorities
Blinken Allows US Embassies to Once Again Fly Pride Flag
Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said he will once again allow U.S. diplomatic installations to fly the Pride flag. The New York Times and Foreign Policy reported they obtained a cable from Blinken that announced the policy. The Trump [...]Read more about Blinken Allows US Embassies to Once Again Fly Pride Flag
Va. House of Delegates Candidate Defends Anti-Transgender Comments
A Virginia House of Delegates candidate on Saturday said transgender servicemembers who undergo sex-reassignment surgery are "unfit for duty." "We have our vice president saying that veterans are not special citizens. They are." said Tim Cox during [...]Read more about Va. House of Delegates Candidate Defends Anti-Transgender Comments
Switzerland Expected to Hold Marriage Equality Referendum
A referendum on the extension of marriage rights to same-sex couples in Switzerland is likely to take place later this year. Lawmakers in the European country last December approved the "Marriage for All" bill. Mannschaft, a Swiss LGBTQ magazine, on [...]Read more about Switzerland Expected to Hold Marriage Equality Referendum
Putin Formally Bans Same-Sex Marriages in Russia
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday signed into law a series of constitutional amendments that, among other things, formally defines marriage as between a man and a woman in the country. The Associated Press reported upwards of 78 percent of [...]Read more about Putin Formally Bans Same-Sex Marriages in Russia
Controversial State Department Human Rights Commission Disbanded
Secretary of State Antony Blinken has announced the State Department has officially disbanded a controversial human rights advisory commission that LGBTQ+ activists sharply criticized. "One of the core principles of human rights is that they are [...]Read more about Controversial State Department Human Rights Commission Disbanded
Germany Now Allows Transgender, Intersex Police Officers to Serve Openly
Julia Monro, a spokesperson for the German Association for Trans Identity and Intersex People (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Transidentität und Intersexualität), in 2017 applied to become a police officer because she wanted to join the fight against [...]Read more about Germany Now Allows Transgender, Intersex Police Officers to Serve Openly
EU Sanctions 2 Chechnya Officials Over Anti-LGBTQ+ Crackdown
The European Union has sanctioned two Chechnya officials over their role in an anti-LGBTQ+ crackdown. The sanctions — published in the EU Official Journal on Monday — apply to Deputy Chechen Prime Minister Abuzaid Vismuradov and Aiub Kataev, an [...]Read more about EU Sanctions 2 Chechnya Officials Over Anti-LGBTQ+ Crackdown
Atlanta Shootings Leave LGBTQ AAPI Community Reeling
The shootings at three Atlanta-area spas and massage parlors on March 16 have left members of the LGBTQ Asian American and Pacific Islander community deeply shaken and angry. A gunman killed eight people when he opened fire at Young's Asian Massage [...]Read more about Atlanta Shootings Leave LGBTQ AAPI Community Reeling
Vatican Says Catholic Church Cannot Bless Same-Sex Unions
The Vatican on Monday said the Catholic Church cannot bless same-sex unions. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which defends Catholic teachings, in a two-page decree it published on its website said it cannot bless "sin." "It is not [...]Read more about Vatican Says Catholic Church Cannot Bless Same-Sex Unions
House Passes Equality Act
The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday approved a bill that would add sexual orientation and gender identity to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. "This long overdue legislation will provide millions of LGBTQ Americans explicit protections from [...]Read more about House Passes Equality Act
Brothers who Fled Chechnya Arrested, Returned to Homeland
The State Department has expressed concern over the fate of two brothers from Chechnya who were arrested in Russia and returned to their homeland from which they fled. "We are troubled by reports of two Chechen siblings in the LGBTQI+ community who [...]Read more about Brothers who Fled Chechnya Arrested, Returned to Homeland
Markey, Lowenthal to Reintroduce Bill Requiring US to Promote LGBTQ Rights Abroad
Two lawmakers on Wednesday announced they will reintroduce a bill that would require U.S. to promote LGBTQ rights abroad through its foreign policy. California Congressman Alan Lowenthal and U.S. Sen. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) made the announcement [...]Read more about Markey, Lowenthal to Reintroduce Bill Requiring US to Promote LGBTQ Rights Abroad
Carmen Vázquez, Longtime LGBTQ Activist, Dies at 72
Carmen Vázquez, a longtime LGBTQ activist, died on Wednesday from coronavirus complications. She was 72. A press release that the National LGBTQ Task Force and SAGE released on Thursday notes Vázquez was born in Puerto Rico and grew up in New York [...]Read more about Carmen Vázquez, Longtime LGBTQ Activist, Dies at 72
Biden Inauguration Attendees See Promise in New Day for LGBTQ Americans
From the vantage point of the U.S. Capitol, attendees at the inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th president of the United States saw tremendous potential in the new administration, including change for LGBTQ people after four years of Donald [...]Read more about Biden Inauguration Attendees See Promise in New Day for LGBTQ Americans
LGBTQ Groups Condemn Capitol siege, Back Trump Removal From Office
LGBTQ rights groups on Wednesday were quick to condemn the siege of the U.S. Capitol. "Today's violence is revolting and nothing short of insurrection, a coup instigated by Donald Trump and abetted by cowardly Republicans who have put party over [...]Read more about LGBTQ Groups Condemn Capitol siege, Back Trump Removal From Office
Trump Supporters Storm U.S. Capitol
Thousands of President Trump's supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday as lawmakers were beginning to certify the Electoral College results. The siege began shortly after President Trump spoke to his supporters who gathered on the Ellipse [...]Read more about Trump Supporters Storm U.S. Capitol
Prominent Transgender Activist in Colombia Dies
A prominent transgender activist in Colombia died on Saturday. Laura Weinstein, director of Fundación Grupo de Acción y Apoyo a Personas Trans (GAAT), a trans rights group based in the Colombian capital of Bogotá, passed away four days after she was [...]Read more about Prominent Transgender Activist in Colombia Dies
Bhutan Lawmakers Vote to Decriminalize Homosexuality
Lawmakers in Bhutan on Thursday voted to amend portions of the country's Penal Code that have been used to criminalize consensual same-sex sexual relations. An OutRight Action International press release says Articles 213 and 214 of the Bhutanese [...]Read more about Bhutan Lawmakers Vote to Decriminalize Homosexuality
Presidential Election Results Still Too Close to Call
The results of the presidential election as of Wednesday afternoon remained up in the air. The New York Times reports Joe Biden as of 11:30 a.m. was ahead of President Trump in the Electoral College by a 227-213 margin. The final vote counts in the [...]Read more about Presidential Election Results Still Too Close to Call
Gina Ortiz Jones Loses Texas Congressional Race
Gina Ortiz Jones on Tuesday lost to her Republican challenger in Texas' 23rd congressional district. The New York Times reported Republican Tony Gonzales defeated Jones, who was an Air Force intelligence officer during the second Iraq war, by a [...]Read more about Gina Ortiz Jones Loses Texas Congressional Race
Chris Pappas Wins Reelection in New Hampshire
Incumbent U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas (D-N.H.) on Tuesday won reelection. The Associated Press declared the gay Democrat the winner of his race against Republican Matt Mowers in New Hampshire's 1st congressional district at 12:40 a.m. on Wednesday. The [...]Read more about Chris Pappas Wins Reelection in New Hampshire
