Yesterday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released 2013 sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) surveillance data, which reveal that STD rates continue to be unacceptably high in the United States — with disproportionate impact on men who have sex with men (MSM). In particular, the CDC found increasing rates of syphilis and co-infection of syphilis with HIV. “The rate of primary…
The first-ever report on the global use and public health impact of smokeless tobacco finds that more than 300 million people in at least 70 countries use these harmful products. The report, Smokeless Tobacco and Public Health: A Global Perspective, is being released today by the CDC and the National Cancer Institute at the National…
Today, HRC delivered a petition with over 18,000 signatures to the White House that calls on the Administration to take action against Gambian President Yahya Jammeh as he continues to round up, torture, and oppress LGBT Gambians. The petition, signed by HRC members around the United States, called for the U.S. government to restrict entry…
NEW YORK — The Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF) has announced more than $3.2 million in new grants, bringing the Foundation’s total grant disbursements for the calendar year 2014 to an impressive $6.857 million. These end-of-year grants represent EJAF’s continued commitment to helping all people infected with HIV and combating stigma in communities most threatened…
First District Councilmember Sherri Lightner was elected Tuesday as City Council president in a 6-1 re-vote after the Council was told the re-vote was necessary to “cure” violations of the Brown Act that alleged some councilmembers met secretly to oust Todd Gloria as Council president. The re-vote was held following the 7-2 vote on Dec….
The Florida Association of Court Clerks and Comptrollers asserted Tuesday that Washington County is the only place named in the federal lawsuit where a federal judge overturned a ban on same sex marriage. The association says clerks in all other counties aren’t bound by U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle’s ruling that the same sex marriage…
http://youtu.be/gga4LyHvz8I A surprise new twist has emerged in the controversy over an “ex-gay” group’s Virginia billboard which purportedly depicted a set of “identical twins,” reports The Huffington Post. The ad, which appeared recently beside I-95 in Richmond, depicts two men, one dressed in a suit and the other in a white T-shirt, and says: “Identical…
WASHINGTON – Next month Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal will host an event on the campus of Louisiana State University sponsored by the American Family Association (AFA) – an organization that has called for an “Underground Railroad” to take children from gay and lesbian parents and claims the Boy Scouts of America would be better off…
U.S. swimming champion Tom Luchsinger has come out as gay. In an open letter published on Outsports Luchsinger described himself as the “king of the double life”, saying “I have come to accept who I am”. Luchsinger writes: Winning my national title in June of 2013 changed my life. All of a sudden I was…
A new commercial by Tide features a same-sex couple arguing over their laundry and “past mistakes.” Tide, a Procter and Gamble (P&G) product, has only released the commercial in Canada. Earlier this year, P&G, a Fortune 500 company, came out in support of marriage equality. P&G also received a 100 on HRC’s 2015 Corporate Equality…
