LGBTQ

The Sherman school board also temporarily ended the superintendent oversight of its fine arts programs pending the results of the investigation.

After Max Hightower scored a role in the seminal American musical, administrators changed their policy on performers’ gender. After backlash, the school board directed the school to produce the original version “Oklahoma!” — not a youth version that cut Hightower’s solo.

Rights groups and lawyers in Nigeria say the West African nation's law enforcement authorities are using the country’s same-sex prohibition law to target the LGBTQ+ community while ignoring abuses against them.

Texas Supreme Court justices heard arguments Wednesday in the case of a Waco judge who refused to marry same-sex couples. It is unclear when the high court will issue a ruling.

The new clinic met resistance from a vocal group of parents who raised concerns the district was overstepping its authority in caring for students.

Home to the University of North Texas, organizers say Denton acts as a liberal enclave in the sprawling conservative suburbs in the Dallas-Fort Worth region.

Senate Bill 12 would have prohibited performers from dancing suggestively or wearing certain prosthetics in front of children. Critics sued the state, saying it violated the First Amendment.

Lawyers criticize a provision they say erodes the separation of powers between Texas’ executive branch and its courts. It’s been used repeatedly this year as Texans try to block new state laws from going into effect

U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk ruled that the student fundraiser featuring drag performers was not protected, raising the stakes for a battle over First Amendment rights and drag shows.

The guidance asks universities in the system to avoid using the acronym DEI on their websites and walk a fine line between organizing events that “support diversity in a general way” but don’t “promote preferential treatment of any particular group.”

U.S. District Judge David Hittner heard from LGBTQ+ groups, businesses and a drag performer in a hearing this week, who argued Senate Bill 12 violated their First Amendment rights.

Public colleges and universities statewide will need to comply with Senate Bill 17 in the coming months or lose state funding. The law requires public universities to close their diversity, equity, and inclusion offices. It also bans faculty diversity training and restricts the use of diversity statements.

LGBTQ+ groups and drag performers suing the state argued Monday that Senate Bill 12 violates constitutionally-protected rights. The new law is set to go into effect on Friday unless a federal judge blocks it.

The state attorney general’s office appealed a state district court injunction that said the new prohibitions deprive trans kids of “necessary, safe, and effective medical treatment.”

Some queer Texans may fear disclosing their sexual orientation or gender identity to neighbors or the government. The lack of accurate numbers makes it more difficult to provide appropriate health care, especially in rural areas.

The draft of the policy centers around four topics: parent authority, safeguarding biological females and males, and preferred pronouns.

West Texas residents are organizing over their love — or concern — for books. Meanwhile, from Lubbock to Midland and Odessa, librarians are trying to reaffirm libraries’ role as community hubs.

The announcement confronted students with the impact of a new law that will require all state-funded colleges and universities to close their diversity, equity and inclusion offices.

The university had asked the federal agency to dismiss sexual harassment complaints by LGBTQ+ students, arguing that the claims infringed on the school’s religious tenets.

State officials backing Senate Bill 12 have said they want to protect children from seeing sexually explicit performances. But new legal challenges say the law is so broad and vague that it criminalizes constitutionally protected expression.

Two Texas bookstores and three national bookseller associations file suit over House Bill 900, which requires private booksellers to rate books on appropriateness, and bans “sexually explicit” material from libraries.

Texas doctors fear a new era of government intrusion into medicine as lawmakers ban transition care for kids following prohibitions on abortion.

Senate Bill 14, which is set to take effect on Sept. 1, bans transition-related care for minors. Parents of transgender kids say it blocks their ability to support their children.

The Texas Department of Agriculture’s elected leader, Sid Miller, has fought protections for trans workers.

The families argue the new law, which goes into effect Sept. 1, violates their parental rights by stopping them from providing medical care for their children and discriminates against transgender teens.

From a block party in New York City to a movie screening outside of Denver, groups across the U.S. have found ways to merge Pride month and Juneteenth celebrations.

In the conservative High Plains city, LGBTQ leaders and activists say they feel unseen and unsupported by their elected officials.

According to a June 13 letter, all Texas A&M universities must provide details on a wide range of programs, trainings and presentations that touch on diversity, equity and inclusion efforts on campus, including faculty organizations and mission statements.

The U.S. Supreme Court paved the way for major civil rights victories for queer Americans in the 2003 decision that decriminalized homosexuality. But progress for LGBTQ+ people has been uneven.

Organizers across Texas are balancing a focus on security and a celebration of community after state lawmakers pushed scores of bills that threatened to upend the lives of LGBTQ+ Texans.

A 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel in New Orleans heard oral arguments Wednesday for an appeal to overturn a judge’s order that Llano County officials return to shelves books they had removed. It was not clear how or when the appellate panel would rule.

Texas joins over a dozen other states restricting transgender minors from accessing puberty blockers and hormone therapies. Opposing legal groups have vowed to sue to stop the new law from taking effect.

Originally pitched as an effort to restrict children from seeing certain drag shows, the House and Senate agreed on a version of the bill that could still ensnare LGBTQ performers.

The governor has said he would support legislation prohibiting transgender men from competing on men’s college sports teams and transgender women from joining women’s college athletic teams.

If the bill becomes law, book vendors would have to assign ratings to books based on depictions or references to sex.

The defections have sparked feelings of betrayal and promises of retribution, particularly as Republicans in the Legislature have presented a unified front.

For the third time, the Senate is pushing a proposal critics say will ignore the existence of LGBTQ people in every grade level. Two other bills that contained similar language missed key legislative deadlines.

Texas could become the second state in the country after Florida to ban diversity, equity and inclusion offices in higher education.

New guidelines issued by the Food and Drug Administration are expanding those who are now eligible to donate blood.

The bill no longer targets drag performers, but LGBTQ advocates say the legislation’s vague language could still be used to criminalize such shows.

If Senate Bill 14 becomes law, the ban would take effect on Sept. 1. This would also make Texas one of over a dozen states that restrict transition-related care for transgender minors.

Senate Bill 15 would allow people to sue colleges or universities they believe violate a prohibition on trans athletes’ sports participation.

Sarah Bonner has been an Illinois middle school teacher for 20 years, and she has always tried to offer her students a diverse collection of books.

Although the lower chamber backed the Senate’s action on gender-affirming care, it has been less accepting of school choice and attempts to rein in higher education.

Attorney General Ken Paxton previously announced an investigation into “potentially illegal” activity. Parents are scrambling to find transition-related care for their kids as the Legislature appears poised to ban it altogether.

Senate Bill 14 spurred protests that led to altercations with state police last week. A majority of Texas House members support the legislation, and the Senate has already passed a version of the bill.

In a landmark decision, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Texas’ law banning sodomy in 2003. It took almost 20 years for Democrats to get a bill to repeal the defunct ban on the House calendar.

Republicans were so busy policing drag artists and transgender Texans that they missed so-called “grooming behavior” by one of their own, LGBTQ advocates say.

A new version of Senate Bill 17 expected to be considered by the House’s Higher Education Committee on Monday would still ban DEI offices and prohibit required diversity training, but it would open the door for university boards of regents to approve such programs in certain circumstances.

On the same day the Texas Legislature is set to debate Senate Bill 14, a proposed ban on puberty blockers and hormone therapy for kids, the attorney general files a request to examine documents related to the use of puberty blockers and counseling for trans youth.

Texas state police detained and handcuffed people protesting legislation that would prohibit transgender kids from getting puberty blockers and hormone therapy. The House separately delayed a vote on Senate Bill 14 until later this week.

Ugandan lawmakers have passed a new version of an anti-gay bill to remove a clause which appeared to criminalize identifying as LGBTQ.

As Texas House members could soon vote to ban transition-related care for minors, many lives are in limbo, and trans kids like 16-year-old Randell are grappling with difficult decisions.

The vote of no-confidence came over Wendler’s handling of the drag show. Faculty said he’s also exhibited poor leadership with other issues.

The Senate advanced a bill that could create such high financial risks for doctors and health insurers that they’d stop providing or covering gender-affirming care — even for adults.

Other legislation this session has targeted school library books, which are optional reading materials, but House Bill 1804 might be the first to go after textbooks that teachers use for their lessons.

Faculty say the decision to take a vote on whether to condemn Wendler was the final straw in a host of issues with him.

With six weeks remaining in the legislative session, advocates implored Texans to join the “resistance” against fast-moving efforts to curb health care, drag queens, education, trans athletes and more.

Under the legislation, minors currently receiving certain gender-affirming care would have to taper off their treatments. A majority of Texas lawmakers in each chamber has supported previous versions of the legislation.

Spurred by a groundswell of far-right support, the Texas Senate has passed all of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s priority LGBTQ bills — and then some. What the House does next will impact queer Texans’ lives and could determine Speaker Phelan’s future.

Llano County commissioners had considered closing the three libraries in response to a ruling from a federal judge who ordered banned books returned to the shelves.

The Senate expanded the bill targeting drag queen story hours to target all public funding for libraries. The upper chamber also approved a bill limiting other drag performances kids can see.

The Senate approved Senate Bill 14, which would ban transition-related care for transgender kids. Republicans had previously voted to allow kids currently receiving such care to continue doing so.

Senate Bill 14 would now allow trans children who are already receiving some transition-related treatments to continue getting that care. The Senate gave initial approval to the reworked legislation Wednesday.

Opponents of the bill call it a “power play aimed at making the lives of transgender children as difficult as possible.”

As Nashville police identified the private Christian school shooter as 28-year-old Audrey Hale, who identifies as transgender, demonstrators were at the Texas State Capitol fighting against anti-trans bills being considered by state lawmakers.

Under oath, outspoken anti-gay activist Jared Woodfill said he was told in 2004 that Paul Pressler had sexually abused a minor. But Woodfill did not cut ties with the Southern Baptist leader — and said he had no knowledge of Pressler’s alleged behavior when another young man came forward about alleged sexual misconduct in 2016.

In 2021, a bill that would block transgender kids’ access to transition-related care passed the Senate but died in the Texas House. This year, a majority of House members back such a ban.

Some Republicans want to block transgender kids’ access to puberty blockers and hormone therapies. Here’s what medical experts and trans Texans say about transition-related care.

The lawsuit comes after protests each day this week, calling for university president Walter Wendler to reinstate the drag show and step down.

Proposed legislation from Sen. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, would criminalize explicit performances where children are present and strip libraries of state funding for hosting any event featuring performers in drag. Critics say the bill is discriminatory and unconstitutional.

Senate Bill 8 supporters say the legislation protects the rights of parents who don’t want their kids to learn about gender identity and sexual orientation. Critics say it could force schools to ignore the existence of LGBTQ people.

Students and First Amendment lawyers say President Walter Wendler’s portrayal of drag shows is off base and the cancellation violates free-speech rights.

Senate Bill 14 would ban doctors from providing kids with transition-related treatments that medical groups recommend for children with gender dysphoria.

Michigan Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed legislation Thursday that will permanently outlaw discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity in the state.

In the state’s final brief to appeal a September injunction that halted the investigation into Texas parents of transgender children, Paxton argued that individual families must provide evidence of harm from the actions of the Department of Family and Protective Services.

U.S. District Matthew Kacsmaryk was once deputy counsel for the the First Liberty Institute, the Plano-based conservative Christian law firm.

Gov. Tim Walz has signed an executive order protecting the rights of LGBTQ people from Minnesota and other states to seek and receive gender affirming health care.

The Texas Legislature has nine lawmakers who are openly LGBTQ, all Democrats. At the same time, some Republican lawmakers are pushing a slate of bills aimed at drag queens, transgender children and how sexuality is discussed in schools.

Texas lawmakers this year are debating whether to block transgender kids’ access to transition-related health care, classify businesses that host drag shows as sexually oriented establishments and limit public school lessons on sexuality and gender identity.

A lawmaker is accused of hypocrisy after it emerges that he once wore a dress. He says it wasn’t sexual.

Seventy-seven Texas House Republicans signed on as co-authors to state Rep. Valoree Swanson’s bill extending restrictions on transgender athletes to college sports. Gov. Greg Abbott has expressed support for the legislation, which is also a priority of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.

An Oklahoma woman has no parental rights over the son she raised for two years with her estranged wife, who has since started dating the former couple’s sperm donor, a judge ruled Monday.

Domestic violence has no boundaries or barriers. It can affect anyone, regardless of age, race, gender, or sexual orientation; but much of the domestic violence awareness movement focuses on solely heterosexual relationships. Members of the LGBTQ community say they do not feel seen or heard.

Are you in a dangerous relationship and need help? Do you know someone who needs help? In part of our effort to help people in the community, our team put together a list of groups in our area that can help victims of domestic violence.

Israel’s largest medical center and health care workers from hospitals around the country have spoken out against remarks by allies of Benjamin Netanyahu calling for a law to allow discrimination against LGBTQ people in hospitals and businesses.

A new report released from Equality Texas and GLAAD shows there is an increase on attacks against drag events.

Texas allows religious groups that are part of the state’s child welfare network to refuse to assist LGBTQ couples seeking to foster or adopt. That could put critical federal funding at risk.

North Carolina drag performers and LGBTQ community members fear for their safety after an attack on the electrical grid in Moore County left tens of thousands without power for several days.

A 28-year-old Houston man remains in custody pending trial on federal hate crime charges allegedly motivated by gender identity and sexual orientation, and authorities are seeking more possible victims, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced Thursday.

In the mostly conservative city of Colorado Springs, Club Q has long been a go-to spot for members of the LGBTQ community — a safe space where many felt they could just be themselves.

There are many reasons to criticize FIFA for the way they’ve handled the Men’s World Cup that is about to begin in Qatar, and at the top of that list is that they chose to have it in a nation with egregious human rights violations.

Several hundred people have joined an LGBTQ pride march in Montenegro that was held amid strong opposition from the influential Serbian Orthodox Church in the small conservative Balkan country.

Hundreds of people have gathered in Montenegro for a protest led by the Serbian Orthodox Church against holding an LGBTQ pride march this weekend.

A Drag Bingo night at a Katy Church stirred up controversy on Saturday evening.

Riot police clashed with soccer hooligans in Belgrade, where an international Pride march has been held despite threats from anti-gay groups and an official earlier ban in theconservative Balkan state.

Thousands of opponents of a pan-European LGBTQ event planned for this week in Belgrade marched through the Serbian capital on Sunday despite an announced ban of Europe’s largest annual gay gathering.

The Supreme Court has cleared the way for an LGBTQ group to gain official recognition from a Jewish university in New York, though that may not last.

Social media sensation JoJo Siwa will be honored by the LGBTQ education group GLSEN next month for her anti-bullying and advocacy efforts.

Pressure is mounting on a French government minister to quit over comments stigmatizing homosexuality and LGBTQ people.