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video, the 21-year-old shooting guard for the Minnesota Timberwolves is seen rolling down a car window and making comments about a group of shirtless men, some of whom appear to be wearing harnesses.The men are seen embracing each other and talking in a close circle. As he rolls down the window, Edwards calls the men “queer-ass n****s” while another person inside the car laughs in the background.The video sparked criticism of the NBA star, who was the first overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft, on social media, with some users accusing him of homophobia.

prohibiting Medicaid from covering gender-affirming health care treatments, even if a patient’s primary medical provider declares that such care is medically necessary.The plaintiffs in the lawsuit include August Dekker, a 28-year-old transgender man and Medicaid recipient who receives hormone therapy to treat his gender dysphoria; and Brit Rothstein, a 20-year-old transgender man and Medicaid recipient who receives hormone therapy and is scheduled to obtain top surgery to treat his gender dysphoria — a procedure that Medicaid had pre-authorized.Other plaintiffs include a 12-year-old trans boy and 12-year old trans girl, both of whom are receiving puberty blockers at the recommendation of their doctors, which were covered by Medicaid until Florida adopted its new rule.The revised rule, which went into effect on Aug. 21, was approved by the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration, which oversees Florida’s Medicaid program.

WBBH in an interview that he had tried to intervene and explain the situation to security. But they were allegedly unmoved.“This is a woman, a trans woman, and you need to understand what that is.

Heerak Christian Kim, who sought the Republican Party nomination for Virginia’s 8th Congressional District, made the outlandish claim in a video posted to Twitter on August 29. “Many Christians believe that COVID-19 is punishment by God against #America because of legal protection of homosexuality which the Holy Bible requires that nations illegalize (sic) by national, state, local laws,” Kim wrote on Twitter.In the attached video — filmed from the Las Vegas Strip —  Kim talked about enjoying Las Vegas before abruptly pivoting to discuss how COVID-19 continues to hospitalize and kill people.“COVID hasn’t gone away,” he said. “I assure you, there are people dying from COVID every day, right now, even people who are fully COVID vaccinated, even for people who are double boosted.

Reuters.Under the law, which applies equally to all licensed therapists, practitioners who subject minors to the therapy, which purports to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity, can be fined, disciplined, or risk having their license to practice suspended or revoked. But Brian Tingley, a therapist who lives in Tacoma and practices in Fircrest, Washington, said the ban amounted to censorship, seeking to silence him from engaging in “talk therapy” to help clients with “unwanted same-sex attraction” overcome their attractions and help them to live lives consistent with their moral values and religious beliefs.

2015 U.S. Transgender Survey, more than two-thirds, or 68%, of transgender respondents reported that none of their forms of identification matched their chosen name or correct gender marker.

Kurios: Cabinet of Curiosities bring exotic whimsy to classic circus acts.Master jugglers, amazing contortionists, and silent comedians command the stage while intrepid balancers, pole dancers, and trapeze artists vault and soar above it.The impressive Kurios acrobatics and production value deliver on the caliber of talent and artistry the audience expects from Cirque du Soleil.Beyond what’s expected, the live performers, musicians, and one indefatigable singer are joined by a menagerie of quirky robots, doo-hickeys, and assorted mechanical (and puppeted) “curiosities” purportedly born from the mind of mad inventor, the Seeker.He frames this steampunk fantasia, issuing forth inventions from his Cabinet of Curiosities between the feats of derring-do.

Dear Evan Hansen entered a world pre-too many things to mention, at a moment of unimaginable innocence compared to the here and now.The musical, with a book by Steven Levenson, and music and lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, had its world premiere at D.C.’s Arena Stage in 2015 and enjoyed a moment practically to itself at the forefront of a nuanced conversation about teens and depression, guns, suicide, and the pervasive influence of social media.The lore is long surrounding Michael Greif’s original production — perhaps most fervently among those who missed it — and the early revelation of seeing Ben Platt perform the title role.That was before Pasek and Paul had cemented their golden rep as the Oscar-winning lyricists of La La Land‘s “City of Stars,” and composers of original songs like “This Is Me” for Hugh Jackman’s blockbuster hit The Greatest Showman.That was before director Greif took Evan Hansen to Broadway and the show earned six Tonys, including Best Musical and Best Actor for Platt.Eras and movements have come and gone since the show helped frame new ways of considering a host of hot-button issues — chiefly teenage mental health — and before shocking real-world events, from Parkland to presidential politics, kept reshaping the conversation at a grueling and violent pace.Dear Evan Hansen now comes back around for a second time with the touring production of Greif’s Broadway staging, three years after its first stop at the Kennedy Center.It long ago shed its original cachet as the edgiest pop culture phenom around about disaffected teens. In fact, years of audience-pleasing commercial success might have smoothed some of the show’s formerly sharp edges.

ruling issued on August 30, U.S. District Court Judge Benjamin Beaton granted a request from Chelsey Nelson for an injunction to block the city from enforcing the law, which prohibits discrimination against LGBTQ people in employment, housing, and public accommodations.Nelson initially sued in 2019, arguing that the Fairness Ordinance violated her First Amendment rights on the grounds that the city might be able to force her to photograph same-sex weddings or “otherwise express messages inconsistent with Nelson’s beliefs.” She also sought to be able to advertise on her website that she only photographs opposite-sex ceremonies.As several other artistic professionals or wedding-related businesses have claimed in other cases, Nelson claimed she would have served clients, including LGBTQ people, “regardless of their backgrounds” so long as the work was not marriage-related.

2020 study from the Williams Institute, an LGBTQ think tank at the UCLA School of Law, found that lesbians, gays, and bisexuals subjected to conversion therapy are twice as likely to attempt suicide as those who never underwent it. A similar peer-reviewed study, published in the American Journal of Public Health, found that LGBTQ youth subjected to conversion therapy were more than twice as likely to report having attempted suicide and more than two-and-a-half times as likely to report multiple suicide attempts over the past year.But the South Florida bans were soon challenged by two marriage and family therapists in Palm Beach County, who claimed that the bans on conversion therapy discriminated against the therapists’ right to engage in and provide counseling consistent with their clients’ religious beliefs, and their clients’ right to seek treatment to deal with “unwanted same-sex attraction” or gender dysphoria, based on their religious beliefs opposing homosexuality.A federal judge initially ruled against the therapists, but on appeal, a three-judge panel of the 11th U.S.

Gender Queer — as “obscene,” a designation which would have made it illegal to sell or lend the books in the commonwealth.Circuit Judge Pamela Baskervill rejected the petitions, ruling that the state law being used to challenge the books is unconstitutional on its face because it violates the First Amendment and the Constitution of Virginia, infringing on free speech rights as well as the right to due process for booksellers and publishers, who are not required to be informed of when a book they are selling or distributing has been designated “obscene.”Baskervill also vacated a lower court determination of probable cause for obscenity, finding the lawsuit didn’t present facts that could support a finding that the books are obscene, even as defined under Virginia law. As a result, she dismissed the case.The original petition sought to challenge Gender Queer, Kobabe’s autobiographical story about coming to terms with their sexuality and gender identity, and A Court of Mist and Fury, adult fantasy romance novel, by Sarah J.

Despite the fact that homophobic and generally anti-LGBTQ attitudes are constantly intensify across the United States, more and more LGBTQ people are winning elected offices.According to the LGBTQ Victory Institute’s “Out for America” 2022 study, there are 1,043 publicly LGBTQ elected officials in the United States. The organization, which is dedicated to promoting LGBTQ representation in government, notes that this is a significant milestone: the first time in history that over 1,000 LGBTQ people have been serving in elective office simultaneously.

UPI.Guidelines set forth by the ministry declare that education needs to be strengthened so that medical providers have the correct information about “lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people,” and that LGBTQ people should be treated equally in medical settings. The guidelines reiterate that LGBTQ identity cannot be treated as a disease, instructing health workers not to “interfere nor force treatment” on LGBTQ patients, and recommending that mental health services for LGBTQ people should be provided by people “who have the knowledge of sexual identity.”The announcement is seen as a “huge paradigm shift” in a nation where same-sex unions were banned until 2013 and where transgender identity was criminalized until 2015, and where the government-run media had, two decades ago, declared homosexuality to be a “social evil” comparable to prostitution, gambling, and drug use. Already, some LGBTQ advocates are hoping the declaration will make it easier to lobby for marriage rights or legal recognition for same-sex couples.“We cannot overstate how big a fix this announcement is,” Kyle Knight, an LGBTQ researcher at Human Rights Watch, told the English newspaper The Guardian.

Love the One You’re With, which he wrote and produced, and this summer’s B-Boy Blues, the long-awaited film adaptation of James Earl Hardy’s seminal 1994 Black gay romance novel.McCormick, part of the original cast of the B-Boy Blues stage play, executive produced the film, along with Hardy, who co-wrote the script with the film’s director, Jussie Smollett. The storm of controversy surrounding Smollett, of course, has cast a long shadow over the film, which premiered on BET+ in June.

Not Speaking in Metaphor, described as “part-punk, part-heartbreak, part-dance mix — inspired by unexpected breakups, depression cycles, and a few questionable decisions.”Also on the bill is Boy Meets Pearl, a “carousel punk quartet” led by multi-instrumentalists Christian Crowley and Sea Griffin, the latter of whom you may also know as the wildly imaginative drag act Lucretia Blozia. (Crowley and Griffin also occasionally perform in The Diane Scream Show, billed as “the DMV’s only Diane Rehm-themed Talking Heads tribute band.”)Styled as a kind of nontraditional carnival funhouse act, Boy Meets Pearl performs rather eccentrically themed original songs — exploring, among other things, “time rifts, conjoined twins, tiger sharks, and the meaning of life” — with truly eccentric instrumentation, including “accordion, glockenspiel, autoharp, Chapman stick, trumpet, baritone saxophone, cajon, cello, and violin.”For this special evening event, the café and bookstore, which normally closes daily at 2:30 p.m., will be open for business.Saturday, Aug.

Boston Children’s Hospital recently released a statement referencing “hostile internet activity, phone calls, and harassing emails including threats of violence” to staff and clinicians in response to public criticism of its Gender Multispeciality Services (GeMS) Program.The August 16 statement references an article and “online attention.” Though it does not clearly name the sources of this commentary, there are a few avenues with which the online chatter took shape.Just a few days prior, a conservative site called The Post Millennial published a headline about the hospital’s trans care.

Us Helping Us will hold a monkeypox vaccine clinic at their 3636 Georgia Avenue NW location in Washington D.C.

WPLG. “I was just thinking, ‘Stay calm,’ because we have a lot of people in there, and this is our community, so I want to keep everybody safe.”Shakespeare said the man also claimed to have guns in his car.But Darrell Darling, a former Marine, overheard the conversation and stepped in to help.“He was agitated at somebody in the bar, looking to pick a fight,” Darling said.

The Hill.The new method of administering the Jynneos smallpox vaccine allows health officials to administer more doses to more people to avoid straining the already limited supply of vaccine. By administering the vaccine intradermally, versus subcutaneously, health officials can vaccinate five times as many people.The administration approved the change in vaccine delivery earlier this month, but jurisdictions are still transitioning to the new method, with some saying they need more guidance from the federal government before proceeding.

UK Black Pride 2022 broke records last week, becoming the largest Black Pride celebration in the world. The all-day event, held on Sunday, August 14, hosted over 25,000 people and showcased around 50 performers.Phyll Opoku-Gyimah, who is known as Lady Phyll, one of the event’s co-founders and its current executive director, announced onstage that the Federation of Black Pride had officially recognized the event as the largest Black Pride event in the world.Certainly, the event has grown since 2005, this year moving to the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford after outgrowing other venues.

executive order barring conversion therapy, which attempts to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity, for people of all ages.Taking unilateral action after the failure of the Republican-led legislature to even consider bills seeking to ban conversion therapy for minors, Wolf has directed state agencies to discourage the practice and instead promote evidence-based practices for supporting LGBTQ individuals who may be struggling with their sexual orientation or gender identity.The order also directs the state’s Department of Human Services, Insurance Department, and other agencies to ensure state funds, programs, and contracts are not being used to subject minors to conversion therapy, refer people to therapists who engage in the practice, or provide reimbursement for the therapy. It also directs agencies to investigate any reports of claims that have been paid for conversion therapy through the state’s Medicaid program, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, or private insurance.The order ensures training for child welfare staff to support LGBTQ youth and their families, and sets the stage for licensing boards to discipline health professionals who violate ethical or professional standards by providing the therapy.

The former Mr. Gay World has been served with a gag order over statements he’s made about the competition.Pageant organizers have slapped former Mr. Gay World winner Louw Breytenbach with a public gag order after he made statements regarding his short tenure as titleholder.The situation began in 2021 when Breytenbach, a former Mr.

A federal court has ruled that in refusing to provide healthcare benefits for the husband of a gay employee, Catholic Relief Services has broken federal anti-discrimination laws. For secular jobs, the Baltimore-based humanitarian organization must offer coverage to the spouses of gay employees, U.S.

current vaccination criteria.The change in eligibility criteria comes as the number of confirmed monkeypox cases continues to tick up across the country, surpassing 11,000 cases in the United States.There are currently 321 cases of monkeypox in the District, which represents the highest number of cases per capita of any state-level jurisdiction in the country.Under the new eligibility criteria, vaccines are not solely limited to District residents, but will now be available to individuals, aged 18 or over, who work in the District, students enrolled at District universities and colleges, and people affiliated with DC Health Programs who receive health care services in the District.Those recommended for vaccination include all people, regardless of sexual orientation or gender, who have had multiple sexual partners in the past two week, including communities considered at high risk of contracting the monkeypox virus.Those at-risk communities include gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men, transgender men and women, commercial sex workers, and staff at establishments where sexual activity occurs.The expansion of eligibility is interesting, in that nearby jurisdictions like Maryland and Virginia only offer vaccines to residents of those states, despite having larger populations and fewer confirmed cases of monkeypox infection.Additionally, the expansion of vaccinations to all people, regardless of sexual orientation, represents a change from the most at-risk populations, such as men who have sex with men, who comprise more than 98% of all confirmed cases in the current outbreak.Newly eligible individuals will be able to pre-register under the new criteria through the District’s registration portal

Pediatrics, researchers found that the percentage of adolescents identifying as transgender actually declined between 2017 and 2019. That finding challenges the claim, often repeated by skeptics of gender identity, that the number of people identifying as transgender is climbing due to broader societal acceptance, the influence of social media, and peer pressure.The findings were based on data collected from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey, a biennial national survey distributed to high school students asking them about the environment they face at school, their mental well-being, and their health habits, including drug or alcohol use. Although the CDC survey does not require states to record students’ gender identity, questions about sexual orientation have been administered since 2015, and 16 states opted to include questions asking students about their gender identity in 2017 and 2019.

surpassed 10,000, with many localities complaining about a lack of or inability to access testing, preventative measures like vaccines, and treatments for those already infected.The increase in cases also confirms the need for expansive testing — which Maloney’s bill seeks to make easier to access — as well as contract tracing, to allow people to quarantine themselves for the appropriate length of time and avoid infecting others. “It is critical that we eliminate cost as a barrier to testing for monkeypox to ensure we can identify cases and prevent further spread,” Maloney said in a statement.

caused the organization’s shelter and transitional housing programs to shut down.Superior Court Judge Danya Dayson, who presided over Thursday’s hearing, heard motions from the office of D.C.

WGBH.For obvious reasons, it wouldn’t be long before the confrontation between the pro- and anti-LGBTQ demonstrators escalated to a point where police intervention was needed. Hood, along with two counter-protesters who identify as “anti-fascists,” was arrested on disturbing the peace charges, handcuffed, and transported to the Boston Police Department’s West Roxbury precinct.Hours after the protest, residents stood outside Loring Greenough House to show support for their LGBTQ neighbors. “We’re out here making sure that people hear us,” a woman named Nicole told WGBH, noting that “rage” brought her to the counter-protest. Another counter-protester, Courtney Ignace, noted that there has been an increase in right-wing extremist groups holding demonstrations.

Werq the World, in which, as the press release puts it, “an experiment gone wrong sends audiences spiraling through time with no way of returning to 2022!The queens will whisk fans on a magical journey through iconic periods of history in hopes of returning them safely home.”If not a safe return, would it be too much to ask for a happy ending from the queens participating in this Official RuPaul’s Drag Race World Tour? We’re talking repeat offenders Kameron Michaels, Rosé, Vanjie, Jaida Essence Hall, plus perennial host Asia O’Hara, and fresh blood from Season 14 finalists Angeria Paris Van Micheals, Daya Betty, and Jorgeous.All told, the coterie of queens will be entertaining fans in over 50 cities across North America this summer on behalf of Voss Events, World of Wonder, and VH1.“This is the biggest, most spectacular drag show on earth,” says Brandon Voss, the show’s lead producer, in a press release. “Audiences will be in awe as their favorite queens from past seasons and the newest stars of Season 14 come together on some incredible numbers. The music, sets, fashion, choreography, and lighting in the 2022 production are the largest to date and like nothing fans of drag have ever seen before.”The tour stops in D.C.

The Washington Post and Metro Weekly that Corado had exercised tight control over the organization’s finances, refusing to allow anyone else to access Casa Ruby’s accounts and claimed she has failed to pay employees operating the nonprofit’s non-housing programs for the past few months.Racine’s office claims Casa Ruby received more than $9.6 million in grants from the District of Columbia since 2016, with much of that money intended for programs to help homeless LGBTQ youth, LGBTQ asylum seekers, transgender individuals, and LGBTQ survivors of violence. Those grants, coupled with charitable donations from the public, were the primary source of income for Casa Ruby.The Attorney General’s office claims, among other allegations, that Corado allegedly withdrew tens of thousands of dollars from the organization’s M&T Bank account throughout 2021, using over $60,000 in funds to pay bills for a charge card she controlled.

Sultan Shakir, who is currently serving as president and executive officer of Philadelphia’s Mazzoni Center, a health care advocacy organization and service provider for the LGBTQ community.“Erin Whelan is a compassionate and strong leader who I am confident is the right person to lead SMYAL,” Rob Cogorno, the chair of SMYAL’s Board of Directors, said in a statement.

WBBH. “It’s going to keep some of them in the closet when they really should be coming out.”Sharon McGill, a member of the district’s equity committee, said the forms were put in place to protect children and teachers from running afoul of Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law, which prohibits discussions of LGBTQ content in primary grades and requires that such topics be “age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate” in older grades.“There are laws now in the state that teachers can’t call a student a name if it’s not their correct name,” McGill said, referring to the law.The ACLU of Florida expressed concerns about the proposed parental notification form.  “With HB 1557 in effect, the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law has already begun to stigmatize LGBTQ+ people, isolate LGBTQ+ kids, and make teachers fearful of providing a welcoming and inclusive classroom,” the ACLU of Florida said in a statement.

pleaded guilty to the charge, but insisted she had never intended to break Russian law, and that the vape cartridges were in her luggage due to an oversight while packing in a hurry.The judge also fined Griner 1 million rubles, or about $16,300, as part of her sentence. According to The New York Times, Griner’s lawyers had asked the court to take into account Griner’s personality and the role she has played in the development of Russian basketball playing for EMMC Ekaterinburg in the WNBA off-season, asking for a “milder” penalty.Addressing the court, Griner talked about her upbringing in Houston and the values her parents instilled in her, including to “take ownership for your responsibilities.”“That’s why I pleaded guilty to my charges; I understand everything that has been said against me in the charges against me, but I had no intent to break Russian law,” she said.

WBBH. “It’s going to keep some of them in the closet when they really should be coming out.”Sharon McGill, a member of the district’s equity committee, said the forms were put in place to protect children and teachers from running afoul of Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law, which prohibits discussions of LGBTQ content in primary grades and requires that such topics be “age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate” in older grades.“There are laws now in the state that teachers can’t call a student a name if it’s not their correct name,” McGill said, referring to the law.The ACLU of Florida expressed concerns about the proposed parental notification form.  “With HB 1557 in effect, the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law has already begun to stigmatize LGBTQ+ people, isolate LGBTQ+ kids, and make teachers fearful of providing a welcoming and inclusive classroom,” the ACLU of Florida said in a statement.

Werq the World, in which, as the press release puts it, “an experiment gone wrong sends audiences spiraling through time with no way of returning to 2022!The queens will whisk fans on a magical journey through iconic periods of history in hopes of returning them safely home.”If not a safe return, would it be too much to ask for a happy ending from the queens participating in this Official RuPaul’s Drag Race World Tour? We’re talking repeat offenders Kameron Michaels, Rosé, Vanjie, Jaida Essence Hall, plus perennial host Asia O’Hara, and fresh blood from Season 14 finalists Angeria Paris Van Micheals, Daya Betty, and Jorgeous.All told, the coterie of queens will be entertaining fans in over 50 cities across North America this summer on behalf of Voss Events, World of Wonder, and VH1.“This is the biggest, most spectacular drag show on earth,” says Brandon Voss, the show’s lead producer, in a press release. “Audiences will be in awe as their favorite queens from past seasons and the newest stars of Season 14 come together on some incredible numbers. The music, sets, fashion, choreography, and lighting in the 2022 production are the largest to date and like nothing fans of drag have ever seen before.”The tour stops in D.C.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream has its moments — just not quite enough of them.It couldn’t have been easy moving from the intimate surrounds of the currently-indisposed Folger Theatre to the hanger-sized expanse of the National Building Museum, but it’s not just the unwieldly space that saps the production of the vision it needs to fly.The first problem is, undoubtedly, the choice to mike the actors. It may seem essential considering the acoustics of the place, but the sound quality is poor enough to lose some of the articulation, and the yells and whistles are downright jarring.Not only is the language dulled, but even the witty updates — surely a feature of an accessible production like this — can also be hard to catch.