BTL Staff
March Against Sharia Event Draws Protests in Lansing
Photo courtesy of Matt Mencarini, Lansing State Journal About 100 people gathered in south Lansing Saturday morning, some to march against Sharia and others to oppose the march, according to a Lansing State Journal report. The two groups, separated [...]
Michigan Pride Returns to the Streets of Old Town in June
BY EVE KUCHARSKI This year's 28th annual Pride celebration in Lansing will return to the streets of Old Town June 16-17. The festival was originally held in June from 1990 until 2011. "There are so many Pride festivals in Michigan now, which is a [...]
Old Rape Kits Lead to Justice for LGBTQ Victims
BY BTL STAFF Two rape victims will get justice more than five years after crimes against them were committed. A 46-year-old Port Huron man, Anthony Thornton, was found guilty by Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Vonda Evans on June 2 of two counts of [...]
Positive Thoughts: From Darkness to Hope
By Desiree Guerrero Desiree Guerrero I don't exactly remember when I first heard the word "AIDS." I know it was at some point during my childhood in the mid-1980s, when the epidemic first hit the world with full force. I remember hearing about it [...]
Print Thrives in the Lesbian Community
BY EVE KUCHARSKI It arrives in an inconspicuous, magazine-sized envelope on your front doorstep, and the word "lesbian" isn't anywhere on the packaging. This is deliberate. Just a return address to a Lansing, Michigan P.O. Box for the Helen Diner [...]
Texas Governor Signs Anti-LGBT 'Religious Freedom' Adoption Bill
BY CHRIS JOHNSON, WASHINGTON BLADE Gov. Greg Abbott (R-Texas) has signed an anti-LGBT adoption bill. Photo by Gage Skidmore; courtesy Wikimedia Commons Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has signed into law legislation that would enable taxpayer-funded adoption [...]
Tillerson: I Haven't Raised Chechnya Anti-gay Abuses with Russia
BY CHRIS JOHNSON, WASHINGTON BLADE Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said he hasn't anti-gay violence in Chechnya with Russian leaders. Washington Blade photo by Michael Key Secretary of State Rex Tillerson admitted in congressional testimony he [...]
Rep. Maloney Introduces Data Collection Bill on Anti-LGBT Violence
BY CHRIS JOHNSON, WASHINGTON BLADE Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.) speaks at a press conference about the introduction of the LGBT Pride Act. Washington Blade photo by Michael Key Amid observances of the anniversary of the Pulse nightclub [...]
Transgender Woman Launches Facebook Site 'Faces for Equality'
BY CAROL TANIS Jamie Lynn Hemphill before and after her transition. Photo courtesy of Carol Tanis When Donald Trump won the presidency, Jamie Lynn Hemphill felt she had to do something. She wanted to put a face on transgender individuals with the [...]
ACLU Honors Katz and Dichtelmiller, Renames LGBT Project
BY JAN STEVENSON The ACLU of Michigan honored Nancy Katz and Margo Dichtelmiller on June 8 for their financial support of the LGBT Project by renaming the project after them. From left to right: Jay Kaplan, staff attorney of the Nancy Katz and Margo [...]