Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed a bill outlawing the so-called gay and trans panic defense, which allows criminal defense attorneys to use a victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity as a defense argument, NBC News reported. The legislation states that an individual’s “actual or perceived sex, gender identity, gender expression, or sexual orientation” is not admissible in a criminal trial to “demonstrate reasonable provocation,” “show that an act was committed in a heat of passion” or “support a defense of reduced mental capacity.” Michigan is now the 20th state to prohibit this type of defense, according to the Movement Advancement Project. The best-known example of the “gay panic defense” was perhaps the eventually unsuccessful attempt to use it in the murder trial of Aaron McKinney, one of the two men accused of fatally beating 21-year-old gay student Matthew Shepard in Wyoming in 1998.
As the City of San Antonio works to document the cultural landscape of North Main Avenue—known as the “gay strip”—community members want the city to honor all of its history, including what’s been censored, according to the San Antonio Report. The city first announced it would seek cultural heritage designation for the gay strip last year. San Antonio Gender Association Vice President Emry Ramstack has said, “In today’s climate, there’s the constant fear of censorship from the trans community. There is that component of sexuality, but a lot of it is just gender. I would hope that nothing gets super-censored, but I know with the LGBT community there’s, like, kink that could be censored.” District 1 Councilwoman Sukh Kaur and District 2 Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez (who’s openly gay) asked the city to recognize the gay strip as a cultural heritage district.
Following Republican New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu’s signing of several anti-LGBTQ+ bills, GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) and the ACLU of New Hampshire, in a press release, denounced the move “discriminatory and harmful.” One of the bills, HB 1205, will prohibit transgender girls in grades five through 12 from playing on girls’ sports teams and require all girls to show a birth certificate—or “other evidence”—to prove their eligibility. ACLU of New Hampshire Executive Director Devon Chaffee said, “These unconstitutional bills—now signed into law—are cynical attacks on some of the most vulnerable youth in our state and will have devastating impacts on transgender and LGBTQ+ students who already face discrimination and isolation just for being their authentic selves.”
San Diego’s oldest gay bar, The Hole (originally called The 19th Hole), has turned 100 years old, per KPBS. Karen Sherman, who’s owned the spot since 2000, said, “1924 is as far back as we could find any records of its existence. It was started by some Navy wives who were avid golfers and just wanted a place of their own to hang out … but they didn’t legitimately have it until 1933 when it was the end of Prohibition, so it was a bit of a speakeasy during that period of time.” Gay Barchives founder Art Smith said that The Hole is like a lot of gay bars across the country that were established near military installations. He also said that The Hole is at least the third oldest gay bar in the country—and may be the oldest.
In Louisville, Trey Edward Anderson is facing a felony charge after police say he threatened to blow up a bar and kill everyone inside because of his disdain for LGBTQ+ people, racial groups and the homeless, WHAS11 reported. Anderson is charged with terroristic threatening after he posted videos to social media targeting The Whirling Tiger. He pled not guilty; a judge ordered him to stay off social media and barred him from having contact with the bar and its employees. The bar closed for the weekend, but has since reopened.
Woody’s Milwaukee owner Alan Kettering told The Washington Blade that many of his LGBTQ+ patrons were deliberately avoiding getting close to the perimeter around Fiserv Forum, which recently hosted the Republican National Convention (RNC). Asked if any RNC attendees made their way to Woody’s, Kettering said there was one man who made a bit of a scene, adding, “He claimed he was a representative of some sort” from Massachusetts, possibly a Republican delegate. Asked to share his thoughts about the upcoming election, Kettering conveyed his concerns about Project 2025—the Heritage Foundation’s governing blueprint for a second Trump administration.
And in other bar-related news, the Barracks—on the border of Palm Springs and Cathedral City, in California—announced it is closing and moving to Phoenix, per The Palm Springs Tribune. In part, owner Scott Murchison posted that “the City of Cathedral City decreased our occupancy dramatically and placed us in the position of requiring us to invest in excess of $100,000 in upgrades to the extremely old building that we currently occupy.” The Barracks, which has been in Cathedral City for more than three decades, will close at the end of business on Sunday, Aug. 4, with a post adding, “The state of California is revoking our license to serve alcohol as of Aug. 5, 2024.”
The Virginia Department of Historic Resources said five new historical markers will be put up in the state—including one that is the first to focus on the history of the LGBTQ+ community, per DC News Now. The LGBTQ+ marker, sponsored by Arlington County Historic Preservation Program, acknowledges the contributions of Dr. Lilli Vincenz—a journalist, filmmaker, and psychotherapist who participated in the first gay-rights protest at the White House, in 1965, and who co-founded the Washington Blade newspaper, in 1969. Vincenz died in 2023 at age 85.
In Oregon, the Grifols Talecris Plasma Donation Center is facing a class-action lawsuit after an openly gay man claimed the Eugene donation facility banned him from making a donation due to his sexuality, KOIN reported. John Cavanaugh claimed that the center barred him from donating plasma after he answered “yes” on a questionnaire that asked whether he has ever had sexual contact with another man. The ACLU of Oregon’s lawsuit says Grifols made a “blanket ban” on Cavanaugh that discriminated against gay and bisexual men.
Throughout Pride Month, it has become increasingly common for corporations to adorn their websites in rainbow flags to supposedly show their support for LGBTQ+ rights—but some of those companies still steer big money to groups and politicians who oppose LGBTQ+ rights, Tennessee Lookout noted. For example, Delta Air Lines sponsored multiple Pride events in California, New York and D.C.; however, the airline’s PAC donated more than $300,000 to Republican candidates, including $8,500 to anti-LGBTQ+ U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and $5,000 to U.S Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.). Another big sponsor for Pride events across the country is MasterCard, whose PAC also steered more than $100,000 to Republican candidates in 2024, including $10,000 to Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) and $4,000 to Jim Jordan (R-Ohio).
The LGBTQ Center Long Beach, a nonprofit serving the city’s queer community, officially has a new executive director, per the Press-Telegram. Ellie Perez, who has been the center’s interim executive director for the past 11 months, is now the permanent leader, according to a press release.The center’s board of directors began the search for a new executive director six months ago. Perez stated, “Leading the LGBTQ Center of Long Beach is a profound honor. My life experiences have instilled a deep commitment to service and advocacy. This Center is the first line of defense for many in our community seeking STI/HIV Testing, queer-focused legal services, mental health resources, and access to the community. I look forward to building upon our current offering of services and making our LGBTQ Center more inclusive for all members of our diverse community.”
Ford Foundation President Darren Walker will step down by the end of 2025, per Gay City News. A former corporate attorney and chief operating officer of the Harlem-based Abyssinian Development Corporation, Walker—a gay, Black man—oversaw major investments in advocating for gender equity and disability rights, interrogating the impact of new technologies, and leveraging the foundation’s own assets for impact. Former President Barack Obama told The New York Times, which first reported Walker’s resignation, that Walker has “devoted his career to social justice, human rights, and reducing inequality around the world—and he’s inspired countless organizations and individuals to do the same.”
Infamous former Kentucky clerk Kim Davis is appealing a verdict that found her liable for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, per WKU Public Radio. Davis was ordered to pay more than $360,000 to the plaintiffs and their attorneys. Her attorney argued the judgment in Ermold v. Davis was not supported by evidence; however, a federal judge disagreed, ruling that David Ermold and David Moore provided sufficient evidence of emotional distress. Davis drew international attention when she was briefly jailed in 2015 over her refusal to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples, based on her religious belief that marriage is meant to be only for heterosexual couples.
In California, voters officially ousted two Sunol Glen Unified School District board members, culminating a recall effort sparked by their push to ban Pride flags from being flown on local campuses last year, per The Mercury News. Results certified by Alameda County showed the recall was narrowly decided, with 52% of voters supporting the ouster of board president Ryan Jergensen and trustee Linda Hurley. In September, Jergesen and Hurley—the majority of the three-member board—put forth a rule change that would have allowed Sunol Glen School to display only “flags required by law,” which are the state of California and U.S. flags. Although the resolution didn’t specifically mention Pride flags, the resolution came just months after school officials flew the flag on school property. An effort to recall the two stated, “Trustees Jergensen and Hurley have lost the trust of the greater Sunol Glen community by shutting down civil discourse and demonstrating repeatedly that their priority is not the success and well being of our school, its students and our town.”
The founder of a D.C. LGBTQ+ nonprofit pled guilty to funneling at least $150,000 in COVID-19 relief funds into her personal bank account in El Salvador, WTOP reported. As part of a plea agreement, Ruby Corado—who headed Casa Ruby—pled guilty in U.S. District Court to a wire fraud charge that stemmed from accusations she stole the emergency relief funds for personal use. Corado faces up to 20 years in prison; she’s set to be sentenced on Jan. 10, 2025. Casa Ruby shut down in July 2022 amid financial turmoil.
Elon Musk said his transgender daughter is “dead” because she was killed by “the woke mind virus,” Yahoo! News noted. Talking with right-wing firebrand Jordan Peterson for The Daily Wire, Musk also said, “So-called gender-affirming care is a terrible euphemism, that’s for sure. It’s child mutilation and sterilization under the guise of gender-affirming care.” Musk’s daughter, 20—one of six he had with first wife Justine Wilson—legally changed her gender to female and name to Vivian Jenna Wilson in 2022, dropping Musk’s last name and saying in court filings she “no longer wishes to be related” to Musk “in any way.”
The Rocky Mountain Regional Rodeo—the longest-running gay event of its kind in the United States—took place in Denver July 13-14, KSJD noted. The Colorado Gay Rodeo Association (CGRA) organizes the rodeo, but the event itself doesn’t include the word “gay”—which is an intentional move. CGRA’S Jordan Roberts said, “The gentleman and women who started this organization ran into a lot of trouble. They couldn’t find a rodeo space that would accept them, just arenas and spaces. You have to remember this was also at the height of the AIDS epidemic, so there was a lot of tragedy and homophobia associated with the gay community.”
Former New York congressman George Santos told gay Republicans attending the Republican National Convention (RNC) that they should come out and be open about their sexuality, according to PinkNews. Santos uploaded a video to X about a satirical post calling the RNC, which took place in Milwaukee, “Grindr’s Super Bowl”— referring to the popular gay dating and hook-up app. Santos met his husband through Grindr, he said in the video. “We’ve been together six years, going on seven, married for almost three.”
In Pennsylvania, the nonprofit GLO Harrisburg was slated to cut the ribbon on its LGBTQ+ resource center’s new location in Strawberry Square on July 24, per The Burg News. The new resource center will provide educational, behavioral, mental health and medical services like virtual therapy sessions. Also, GLO focuses on providing HIV/STI care.
NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists announced the recipients of its 2024 Excellence in Journalism Awards and recognized exemplary work produced in 2023, a press release noted. Steven Romo was named Journalist of the Year while H.L. Comeriato received the Sarah Pettit Memorial Award for the LGBTQ+ Journalist of the Year. PBS NewsHour won for excellence in transgender coverage for “Trans in America,” for PBS; Charlotte Clymer took the Excellence in Blogging Award for “To the Man on the Northeast Regional,” in Charlotte’s Web Thoughts; and NBC News’ Jo Yurcaba won three awards—for excellence in political coverage, profile writing and news writing (non-daily). The full list of awardees is here.
Bourbon & Belonging released the official event calendar for Kentucky’s Queer Bourbon Week, set for Oct. 2-6, per The Lane Report. The inaugural Bourbon & Belonging, presented by Queer Kentucky, will feature events in eight official sponsor destinations across Kentucky, including Bardstown, Bullitt County, Frankfort, Lexington, Louisville, Northern Kentucky, Paducah and Winchester. There will be everything from a bourbon-and-burlesque show to a disco-themed party to multi-course dinners.
The CW has hired former Cincinnati Reds broadcaster/Fox MLB and NFL play-by-play voice Thom Brennaman four years after he lost his jobs for using an anti-gay slur on the air, The New York Post noted, citing The Athletic. During the first game of a Reds/Royals doubleheader on Aug. 19, 2020, Brennaman, working for Fox Sports Ohio, was caught on a hot mic saying, “One of the f-g capitals of the world.” The next day, Fox dismissed him from his national NFL job, and he later resigned from his Reds post after he was suspended.
For the second time in just nearly as many weeks, a hate group stationed itself in downtown Nashville and passed out antisemitic and anti-LGBTQ+ flyers , News Channel 5 Nashville noted. The group kept passing out flyers that labeled Jewish people as pedophiles and screaming that those who are LGBTQ needed to “get the f—k home.” Also, members stood alongside a Nazi flag and a sign that read “Let’s Go Brandon,” a phrase directed against President Joe Biden. They identified themselves as the Goyim Defense League, and which the Southern Poverty Law Center has defined as a hate group.
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