In Massachusetts, The First Congregational Church of Natick and Christ Lutheran Church Natick were subjected to vandalism as their pro-LGBTQ+ flags were replaced with the so-called “Christian flag” and a banner reading “Jesus is King,” The Patch noted. Also, anonymous letters were also left behind at the churches that focused “on a narrow interpretation of a few verses of scripture,” according to Rev. Cindy Worthington-Berry of the First Congregational Church. The act hasn’t dissuaded church leaders from centering their inclusive message; however, it has prompted others in the community to come out in support for the churches and condemnation for the people who committed the act. In a letter signed by the Town of Natick, Natick Public Schools and a collection of local organizations, the group called the removal of the flags a “calculated act of hate.”
Authorities are investigating “hate crime-related vandalism” targeting the LGBTQ+ community in the Hillcrest neighborhood of San Diego, NBC San Diego noted. The San Diego Police Department’s LGBTQ+ liaisons were contacted by local business owners to report the vandalism—which included a swastika and an anti-LGBTQ+ slur spray-painted on a trash can and a wall in the area of Fifth and Robinson avenues. This development came after news emerged that Hillcrest is one step closer to having an LGBTQ Cultural District.
In California, a coalition of elected officials and local leaders criticized a recent racial/homophobic hate crime that occurred at a Culver City school, the Westside Current reported. The Culver City Unified School District and the Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations addressed the crimes and galvanized support to stand up to hate as the new school year approaches. Officials say that two suspects—believed to be minors not associated with El Marino Language School—trespassed onto campus and tagged racial and homophobic words. “This is what happens when elected officials at every single level of government together with everyday neighbors with our teachers, our students, our faith-based organizations and community partners to tackle the very pressing issue of hate at our schools,” Culver City Unified School District Vice President Triston Ezidore said. “It has no place in our community and it has no place in our society.”
In Utah, authorities are investigating ongoing incidents of theft and vandalism at the Logan Pride center and homes of members, per Gephardt Daily. “We had our flags cut again Friday night, and we do have video,” Board President Dorothy Wallis said. “It is unnerving to have people cut flags, especially when we had people inside our building enjoying time with each other.” The incidents have been occurring periodically, in clusters, for several months now “throughout the community,” Wallis added. “The police response has been comforting. They note to us that they are tired of the hatred and vandalism, and they are taking this seriously.”
In Milwaukee, a ceremony marked Wisconsin’s first-ever LGBTQ+ historic landmark—and it also honors Black transgender woman Josie Carter, Spectrum News noted. On Aug. 5, 1961, four servicemen violently entered the Black Nite and started fighting with the patrons. Carter stepped up and defended the tavern at a time when drag queens were not publicly accepted. Michael Takach, the chair of the Wisconsin LGBTQ History Project, said what happened at the Black Nite represented a turning point for Milwaukee’s LGBTQ+ community in standing up to hatred. Carter, a Milwaukee native, died in 2014 at the age of 76.
LGBTQ+ people, families and allies can get ready for the 2024 election with PFLAG, per a press release. Leveraging a proactive positive message of hope and optimism through the theme “Love Votes,” the 2024 PFLAG Votes campaign will engage LGBTQ+ affirming people throughout the U.S. to register, get educated about the issues, and mobilize. Through Election Day on Nov. 5, LGBTQ+ people and allies can take the pledge to be a PFLAG voter. The campaign is launching with video messages from famous advocates such as Ilana Glazer, Lisa Ann Walter and Big Freedia, among others. PFLAG CEO Brian K. Bond said, “PFLAG families will be leading with love right to the polls this fall, because regardless of where you live, the color of your skin, or who you love, the stakes of this election have never been higher.”
The fraud trial against out gay former U.S. Rep. George Santos is slated to start Sept. 9—and a federal judge ruled that jurors will have their identities kept secret from the public, according to PBS. However, potential jurors won’t be required to fill out a written survey gauging their opinions of Santos when they arrive for jury selection. Santos has pleaded not guilty to several financial crimes, including lying to Congress about his wealth, collecting unemployment benefits while actually working, and using campaign contributions to pay for personal expenses such as designer clothing.
More than a dozen members of Congress are fighting to require health insurance companies to provide the STI prevention medication doxy PEP without any extra costs for patients, Gay City News reported. Doxy PEP—an antibiotic taken within 72 hours of sex to prevent STIs such as chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis—has been emerging as a tool in the fight against STIs. Calif. Congressmembers Barbara Lee and Robert Garcia, who is gay, penned a letter signed by 16 lawmakers, including out lawmakers Mark Pocan of Wisconsin and Becca Balint of Vermont, urging the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force to issue an A-grade rating recommendation for the use of doxy PEP among the most affected populations.
In Texas, 20-year-old trans woman Dylan Gurley was killed, according to them, citing the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Authorities found Gurley with “traumatic injuries” in a home in Denton. The Tarrant County medical examiner’s office listed Gurley’s official cause of death as “blunt and sharp force injuries with strangulation,” according to the Star-Telegram, suggesting that she may have been beaten and cut as well as strangled. According to the Human Rights Campaign, Gurley’s death is at least the 23rd violent killing of a transgender or gender expansive person in 2024 that the organization has identified. Her sister has since created a GoFundMe to raise money for a memorial that Dylan would have “wanted and deserved.”
The Georgia state Senate has formed a committee that will issue findings and recommendations on the issue of transgender girls competing on girls’ sports teams in school, The Georgia Voice reported. State Sen. Greg Dolezal was appointed chair of the Georgia Senate Special Committee on the Protection of Women’s Sports. The panel—which includes seven Republicans and two Democrats, Sen. Freddie Powell Sims and Sen. Sheikh Rahman—will have until Dec. 15 to make legislative recommendations regarding the allowance of transgender girls on athletic teams that align with their gender identity. Interestingly, only one of the nine committee members is a woman.
Minor transgender or nonbinary Iowa residents will soon have more help obtaining gender-affirming care out of state, according to Bleeding Heartland. In partnership with the LGBTQ+ advocacy group One Iowa, the North Carolina-based Campaign for Southern Equality is expanding its Trans Youth Emergency Project to Iowa. Republican lawmakers and Gov. Kim Reynolds banned gender-affirming care (such as puberty blockers, hormone treatments and surgery) for Iowa minors last year. A news release explained that the Trans Youth Emergency Project provides “1-on-1 custom patient navigation services and supports families of transgender youth with emergency grants of $500, renewable every six months, to help them travel out of state for care.”
The 11th Annual Lesbians Who Tech Summit will take place Sept. 17-19 in New York City, per a press release. Newly announced speakers include Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman, sports icon/equality champion Billie Jean King and Rayze CEO/former NFL player Carl Nassib. They join a large group of other speakers such as Black Lives Matter co-creator/Black Futures Lab principal Alicia Garza; journalist Kara Swisher; JLL Chief Technology Officer Yao Morin, PhD; iconic former WNBA player Sue Bird; marketing executive/author/entrepreneur Bozoma Saint John; and Microsoft President Deb Cupp.
Former Republican North Dakota Sen. Ray Holmberg pleaded guilty to traveling to Prague, Czech Republic, to have commercial sex with minor boys, according to a Department of Justice press release. Holmberg, 80, of Grand Forks, took more than a dozen trips to Prague between 2011 and 2021 to engage in commercial sex acts with minor boys. During some of these trips, Holmberg—who has been married to the former Kerry Louise Hackett—used the alias “Sean Evans” while staying at a brothel where young boys provided commercial sexual services. He also used the same alias to communicate with friends about the trips. Holmberg resigned in 2022 after a report revealed the lawmaker exchanged text messages with Nicholas James Morgan-Derosier—a man jailed on child-pornography charges, per The New York Post.
The brother of an antigay, right-wing extremist Republican candidate for Missouri secretary of state was fired from his job as an aide to a New Jersey mayor after it was revealed that he donated money to his sister’s campaign, per The Advocate. Former Olympic athlete Jonathan Gomez-Noriega worked as an aide to Democratic Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop and also served on the city’s LGBTQ+ Task Force. His sister, Valentina Gomez, is known for her aggressive and derogatory campaign ads and social media posts, some of which have used anti-LGBTQ+ slurs. Gomez-Noriega resigned from that Task Force, issuing a statement online saying that while he did not support his sister’s remarks, “different beliefs shouldn’t divide us. Later, Fulop fired him after his sister posted a video online that included a recording of a conversation between Gomez-Noriega and Fulop in which the mayor told Gomez-Noriega, “If it’s not clear where you stand, then you’re not with me. You’re with her, and you can’t work with me.”
In an anti-LGBTQ+ move, the Christian Family Coalition Florida is backing Miami Lakes Mayor Manny Cid for the position as Miami-Dade County’s top executive official—and he accepted the endorsement, according to Florida Politics. The Miami-based group is backing Cid’s bid to unseat incumbent Democratic county Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, citing, among other things, Cid’s record while leading Miami Lakes; support for prayer before government meetings and displaying “In God We Trust” at County Hall; and his opposition to flying the Pride flag and defunding the police.
In the upcoming series NBC medical drama Brilliant Minds, out actor Zachary Quinto (Heroes; American Horror Story) will portray Dr. Oliver Wolf—who happens to be openly gay and who also suffers from prosopagnosia, which impairs his ability to recognize familiar faces, according to Queerty. Additionally, Wolf is based on a real person: the late, influential Dr. Oliver Sacks, whose work and research influenced how the medical world understands and treats neurological disorders. Sacks was celibate for about 35 years, and only came forward about his sexuality in his 2015 autobiography On The Move: A Life, published just a few months prior to his passing.
Trans woman Ellenor Zinski, an IT specialist at Liberty University, said she was fired from the school one month after informing the institution of her gender identity, according to WSET. On July 29, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Virginia filed, accusing the school of firing Zinski in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which protects employees from facing discrimination in the workplace based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin. The ACLU claims Liberty “made it clear” that she was fired for being trans. Among other things, Zinski is seeking an award of compensatory and punitive damages in the amount of $300,000, plus back-pay damages, with pre-judgment interest at the prevailing rate.
One Institute announced the panel conversation, screening and party lineup for the second annual Circa: Queer Histories Festival—the country’s only LGBTQ+ History Month event, per a press release. Circa will take place during LGBTQ+ History Month on Oct. 1–31 and will consist of 67 programs, including 31 film screenings, performances and panel conversations. The newly announced lineup of panel conversations includes Lambda Award-winning writer Frederico Erebia, who will host celebrated historical fiction novelists Rasheed Newson, Bushra Rehman and Jeffrey Dale Lofton for a discussion on writing coming-of-age stories with unapologetic and resilient queer protagonists. Meanwhile, NBC Out Editorial Director Brooke Sopelsa and panelists will explore the transformation of sapphic spaces from the 1920s to the 2020s.
Actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Seinfeld; Veep) will host an Aug. 21 panel during the Democratic National Convention in Chicago with the Democratic Governors Association to spotlight the country’s female governors, CNN noted. The actress is a longtime Democratic supporter and has spoken out publicly on women’s issues throughout her career. The panel will feature the country’s eight Democratic women governors: Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs, Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, Maine Gov. Janet Mills, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek.
Nearly three years after opening a newer, larger space in the Crown Heights area of NYC, the Brooklyn Community Pride Center has closed its Bed-Stuy location, per Gay City News. The announcement came less than a year after the organization hired new Executive Director Kenrick Ross, who previously led the National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance and had more than 15 years of experience in non-profit and social impact work. The organization initially moved into the Bed-Stuy location in 2017.
The LezVolley Tournament—a favorite annual event in NYC’s Cherry Grove/Fire Island since 2011—was abruptly canceled Aug. 10 due to a controversy about a transgender player wanting to participate in the game, according to Fire Island & Great South Bay News. The outlet had a correspondent on the scene who said that one team refused to play with another during one of the tournament games. Referees eventually decided in the opposing team’s favor, and organizers canceled the remainder of the tournament shortly after. This matter comes out on the heels of Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman’s push to ban trans female athletes from playing on female teams for girls and women at Nassau County-owned facilities.
City of Hope—one of the largest cancer research and treatment organizations in the country—announced that its Spirit of Life Gala will include a headlining performance by Sir Elton John, Variety noted. Taking place on Oct. 22, at the historic Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall in downtown Los Angeles, the 51st annual affair will bestow AEG Presents chair/CEO Jay Marciano with City of Hope’s Spirit of Life Award to recognize his philanthropy. John said, “Jay is more than a colleague; he is a dear friend. It is my pleasure to lend my support to him as he receives the Spirit of Life honor, especially given City of Hope’s dignity-giving supportive care for people who face cancer, along with its unmatched research for other life-threatening illnesses.”
In Oregon, Spectrum—Eugene’s only dedicated LGBTQ+ nightclub—closed after six years of business, OPB noted. Owner Helen Shepard said, “I wanted the space to feel not just like a place to meet people to go home with, but a place to create and build community—a place to talk about politics, a place for nonprofits to have board meetings.” Shepard said the bar isn’t closing down because of financial issues; instead, they said they want to put their time and effort elsewhere.
Virginia Pridefest is back and ready to celebrate as the largest LGBTQ festival in the state, according to 12 on Your Side. The festival will be at 12-8 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 14, at the Bon Secours Training Center in Richmond; headliners are slated to include Crystal Waters, Robin S, and Tank and the Bangas, among other national and local performers. The festival will include a full day of performances, a vendor market with more than 130 vendors and the Allianz Youth Pride Pavilion, which will feature family-friendly activities.
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