Chris Johnson
Trump Brings up Global Initiative to Decriminalize Homosexuality at UN
In a surprise move, President Trump included in his speech before the United Nations on Tuesday his administration's global initiative to decriminalize homosexuality in the more than 70 countries where it remains illegal. "My administration is [...]
2020 Hopefuls Gather for LGBT Forum, but Biden has Tense Moment
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Democratic presidential hopefuls came together Friday night at an LGBT candidate forum to lay out their vision for LGBT rights, but the evening yielded to a tense moment when Joseph Biden was defensive on stage about blemishes [...]
Trump Admin to Supreme Court: It's OK to Fire Workers for Being Gay
With the U.S. Supreme Court poised to issue a major ruling on whether firing workers for being gay, lesbian and bisexual is legal under federal civil rights law, the Trump administration has weighed in with its view: Fire away. In a 34-page [...]
STUNNER: Log Cabin Endorses Trump for Re-Election
In a turnabout from 2016, the National Log Cabin Republicans have endorsed Trump for re-election, asserting he "met his commitments" to LGBT people. Robert Kabel and Jill Holman — who both are gay and serve as chair and vice chair of Log Cabin, [...]
Lawmakers, Medical Experts Speak Out Against Anti-trans Health Proposal
A coalition of 125 House Democrats and the American Medical Association submitted but two of the hundreds of thousands of comments to the Trump administration in opposition to a proposed rule that would exclude transgender people from [...]
Military Reports No Discharges Under Trans Ban — but Advocates Have Doubts
More than two years after President Trump tweeted he'd ban transgender people from the U.S. military "in any capacity," the military services say the policy hasn't resulted in denials of service for otherwise qualified individuals — a claim [...]
A Mixed Bag for Buttigieg in Democratic Debate
Pete Buttigieg has won praise for his eloquence and debate skills over the course of his 2020 presidential run, but his performance Tuesday night during the second Democratic debate included missteps and proved a mixed bag at best. The debate in [...]
Trump Administration: HIV Status Used to Justify family Separation at Border
As President Trump continues to praise his administration's plan to beat the HIV epidemic by 2030, a top Trump administration official says an immigrant's HIV status is enough to justify family separation at the border. Brian Hastings, chief of [...]
HHS Says 'Conscience Rule' Won't Impair HIV Work — but Others Disagree
A top health official within the Department of Health & Human Services insists a "conscience rule" recently instituted by the Trump administration will have no impact on its HIV work, although LGBT groups are disputing that assessment. Assistant [...]
Mehlman Leads GOP Brief Urging Supreme Court to Rule for LGBT Protections
Ken Mehlman, the former George W. Bush operative and Republican National Committee chair who came out as gay in 2010, is leading LGBT-supportive Republicans in urging conservative justices on the U.S. Supreme Court to rule in favor of LGBT workplace [...]
Supreme Court Sets Oct. 8 to Hear Whether Workers Can be Fired for Being LGBT
The U.S. Supreme Court has designated Oct. 8 as the date when it will hear arguments on whether Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 applies to cases of anti-LGBT discrimination, setting up a showdown for when LGBT rights in all areas of life [...]
Harris Shines in Debate, but Racial Issues Haunt Buttigieg, Biden
Kamala Harris pulled off an impressive performance Thursday night during the Democratic presidential candidates debate as racial issues haunted Pete Buttigieg and Joseph Biden. When the smoke cleared after the debate concluded in Miami, Harris came [...]