LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Oct. 1, Point Honors Los Angeles brought 400 guests to the storied ballroom of the Beverly Hilton Hotel for a celebrity-filled gala evening in support of Point Foundation (Point), the nation’s largest scholarship-granting organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) students of merit. Nearly half a million dollars was…
Forbidden: trailer from Pony Pictures on Vimeo. Forbidden: Undocumented & Queer in Rural America, Moises Serrano’s story of advocacy for justice and equality in the Deep South as an undocumented gay man was honored by The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) Saturday at The Charlotte Film Festival. The Social Justice Award, presented in partnership with…
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Earlier today, the U.S. Supreme Court denied a rehearing petition in the United States v. Texas immigration case around Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents, or DAPA, and expanded Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA+. Advocacy groups have been quick to criticize the decision. Tom Jawetz, vice…
LOS ANGELES — For its November/December cover story, Plus magazine sat down with artist and former Skin Wars contestant Michael Mejia for an exclusive interview in which he opens up for the first time about being HIV-positive. Mejia, who made it to the top four on Skin Wars, has an impressive clientele, including celebrities Jason…
In July 1994, during the Second Session of the 103rd Congress, Sen. Barbara Boxer and seven other United States senators came to my aid. North Carolina Republican Sen. Jesse Helms, informed of my first-of-its-kind position as a gay employment counselor for the federal government, pushed through the Senate an amendment to an appropriations bill that…
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – California Gov. Jerry Brown Friday signed Senate Bill (SB) 1146, authored by Sen. Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens) and sponsored by Equality California. The bill requires private universities receiving public funds to publicly disclose if they discriminate against students with respect to gender identity, gender expression, or sexual orientation. Senate Bill 1146 requires…
The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Friday announced it was moving championship games out of North Carolina due to the state’s anti-LGBTQ HB2 law. Eight of the CIAA’s 12 member schools are based in North Carolina. The CIAA announcement states: “The CIAA’s transition, beginning with the relocation of 8 championships, is the first step in demonstrating…
A coordinated effort by the San Diego Community College District (SDCCD) and the San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) has resulted in a fourfold jump in the number of high school students concurrently enrolled in college courses this fall. A total of 2,128 students are taking courses through City, Mesa, and Miramar colleges this year…
WASHINGTON – The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation has joined with the Treatment Action Group (TAG) and the Fair Pricing Coalition (FPC) in launching #FairDrugPricesNow, a public education and outreach campaign to mobilize LGBTQ people and their allies to address the alarming rise of prescription drug prices in the United States. The campaign launches as…
NEW YORK – In response to hateful anti-LGBTI attacks by American “faith leaders” at the recent World Congress of Families in Kenya, American Jewish World Service (AJWS), 250+ faith leaders and dozens of faith-based organizations have condemned American extremists who export hatred of LGBTI people to developing countries. To punish LGBTI people for who they are and…
