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☆ Fact Check-Falsehoods about how monkeypox is transmitted resurface online
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Popular Instagram posts in mid-October have recirculated false claims that monkeypox can only be transmitted by sexual relations among men. It is transmitted through droplets and close contact with an infected person, as well as through contaminated objects. The peak of new U.S. monkeypox cases so far was registered during July and August of this year, according to the CDC. Monkeypox is not exclusively transmitted in sexual relations between men. The virus can be transmitted through close contact with an infected person, droplets, and contaminated objects.

☆ New York governor signs bill expanding assistance for LGBTQ seniors
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Zachary Schermele | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Access to physical and mental health care, free or discounted meal deliveries, caregivers and other forms of support are now easier for LGBTQ seniors in New York state to get. The legislation requires the state’s Office for the Aging to consider gender identity and expression, sexual orientation and HIV status when it calculates which seniors need the most help. “This legislation is an important step in addressing those inequities while helping ensure LGBTQ older New Yorkers receive the same respect and support as anyone else in the state,” Hochul, a Democrat, said in a statement Monday. To address the disparities,Massachusetts, California and a number of other states have enacted laws in recent years expanding their interpretations of those with the “greatest social need” to include LGBTQ seniors and elders living with HIV. Tax said SAGE, which runs LGBTQ senior centers in New York City, has long been fighting for the change in New York.

☆ A high school artist was chosen to paint a mural. Then came the outrage
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Rachel Abrahamson | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

A mural painted by a high school student came under fire when parents alleged it was promoting LGBTQ imagery and witchcraft. Earlier this year, a Grant, Michigan, high school sophomore won a contest “to brighten up” the middle school health center, according to a statement from Grant Public Schools (GPS). GPS says the student received approval to paint images of “smiling children” and as well as the message “Stay Healthy.”In the painting, there are three children. Courtesy Chandler MorrisTracey Hargreaves, who has two children in the Grant Public School system, came to the defense of the student artist. It’s not contagious.”The student artist left the meeting in tears, according to Hargreaves.

☆ The U.S. has never had a lesbian governor. These two women could change that.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( Matt Lavietes | Matt Lavietes Is A Reporter For Nbc Out. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

And in 2014 she broke barriers again, becoming the nation’s first out lesbian elected state attorney general. Nearly 3,000 miles west, Kotek became the country’s first out lesbian speaker of a state House of Representatives in 2013. This coming Election Day, these lesbian trailblazers could shatter glass ceilings once more, simultaneously becoming the first out lesbians ever elected governor in the United States. Kate Brown, who is bisexual and became the first openly LGBTQ person to be elected governor in 2015, and Colorado Gov. This past summer, some of those threats were pointedly directed at the LGBTQ community in Massachusetts’ state capital.

☆ With no monkeypox vaccine at home, frustrated Mexicans go abroad
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( Brendan O'Boyle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

MEXICO CITY, Oct 17 (Reuters) - As monkeypox continues to impact gay and bisexual men in dozens of countries around the world, at-risk Mexicans are going abroad for vaccines they say their government has not bothered to make available at home. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterHerbel, 38, said he wanted the vaccine because half of his friends currently have or have had monkeypox. Mexico City resident Juan David Zuluaga, 32, flew to Tijuana last week to get vaccinated across the U.S.-Mexico border in San Diego. Mexico's government has reported 2,147 confirmed cases of monkeypox since May, a number advocates in the gay community say far undercounts cases. "Those with visas and money will get vaccinated and those without will have to resign themselves to eventually getting monkeypox," Baruch said.

NewFest, New York’s premier LGBTQ film festival, returns for its 34th annual celebration of queer media. While there are many must-see films at this year’s festival, here are a five to add to your watch list. The film stars Emmy-nominated actor Jeremy Pope (“Hollywood”) as a young gay man who joins the Marines after a decade living on the streets. Previously, Bratton translated his experiences into documentaries about LGBTQ subjects, including 2019’s “Pier Kids,” about queer and transgender youths living at Manhattan’s Christopher Street Pier. The film’s stars include Flaherty, Wyatt Fenner, Joey Taranto and Kiyon Spencer.

☆ University of Florida students protest against Ben Sasse’s anti-LGBTQ past
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Zachary Schermele | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

Hundreds of University of Florida students held protests this week criticizing the anticipated appointment of Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., to lead the school. Sasse has said that as university president, he would do his best to represent the views of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer students. But for some, his candidacy has called to mind the university’s anti-LGBTQ history and the extent to which many of them feel it continues to sideline their needs and experiences, four LGBTQ students told NBC News. The university’s LGBTQ+ Affairs office, for example, has a high staff turnover rate, he said. He said a “silver lining” of the protests was that many LGBTQ students made their concerns more widely known.

☆ Minnesota candidate on coming out as queer midcampaign: 'I felt it was important'
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Julie Moreau | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

Moriarty, a candidate for Hennepin County attorney — whose jurisdiction includes Minneapolis — came out as queer on the campaign trail in January. “It could be a risky thing, coming out publicly during the campaign, but I felt it was important,” Moriarty told NBC News. She spent over three decades as a public defender in Hennepin County, and in 2014 she became the county’s first female chief public defender. “I had been talking about race and the policies of the current public attorney. I got accused of calling a justice partner a racist in public.”Moriarty wasn’t reappointed as chief public defender after that, she said.

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Monae said she uses both she/her and they/them pronouns. Jerrod CarmichaelJerrod Carmichael accepts Outstanding Writing for "Jerrod Carmichael: Rothaniel" at the 74th Primetime Emmys in Los Angeles, on Sept. 12, 2022. Charlee CorraCharlee Corra speaks at Human Rights Campaign dinner on March 12, 2022 in Los Angeles. Ellia GreenEllia Green, right, with his partner Vanessa Turnbull-Roberts and their daughter in Sydney, Australia, on Aug. 15, 2022. Blair came out publicly this year after serving as a consultant for Amazon Prime’s very queer TV reboot of the decades-old film.

☆ Madonna baffles the internet with 'I'm Gay' TikTok video
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-10 | by ( Zachary Schermele | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

A viral video of gay icon Madonna appearing to suggest that she is gay herself has taken the internet by storm. During an interview on Andy Cohen’s talk show “Watch What Happens Live!” Mizrahi suggested Bernhard and Madonna at one point had a sexual relationship. “The gay community has been incredibly supportive of me,” she told Ellen DeGeneres during a 2010 interview in which she sounded the alarm about a rise in suicides among gay teenagers. Madonna’s video resembles another recent TikTok from actress Shay Mitchell, who played a lesbian in the teen drama “Pretty Little Liars,” in which Mitchell seems to come out as bisexual. Representatives for Madonna did not immediately respond to NBC News’ request for comment.

☆ Madonna’s latest TikTok video has people talking
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-10 | by ( Lisa Respers France | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: 1 min

CNN —Did Madonna just come out? That’s the debate after she posted a video on her verified TikTok account. In it, the legendary singer holds a pair of what appear to be pink panties with writing on the video which states, “If I miss, I’m Gay.”Madonna then tosses the underwear towards a waste basket, misses and then gestures “Oh well.”The video comes on the heels of the 64-year-old singer being spotted locking lips with Dominican rapper and content creator Tokischa, 26. The pair are also pretty affectionate in the music video for “Hung Up on Tokischa,” which is a remix of Madonna’s 2005 single “Hung Up.”Madonna has long been viewed as an ally of the LGBTQ+ community. During an interview with The Advocate in 1991, Madonna said “I think everybody has a bisexual nature.”CNN has reached out to her representatives for comment.

☆ Pennsylvania school district created culture of anti-LGBTQ discrimination, complaint alleges
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-07 | by ( Zachary Schermele | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania filed a federal complaint Thursday alleging one of the largest school districts in the state has created a widespread culture of discrimination toward LGBTQ students, particularly those who are transgender and nonbinary. The lawyers interviewed dozens of LGBTQ students and their parents, as well as current and former teachers and staff. The bullying forced some of them to miss school, and in 2019, a former transgender student attempted suicide, according to the complaint. Serving more than 18,000 students, Central Bucks drew national attention in 2021 as debates over pandemic policies gave way to larger culture-war clashes in the community. Amid a surge in anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and policy in school boards across the country, Walczak said, the alleged circumstances at Central Bucks are not an isolated situation.

Workers sit outside of D.C. Health's first monkeypox vaccination clinic, which is administering the first Jynneos vaccine doses distributed in the U.S. capital, in Washington, U.S., June 28, 2022. REUTERS/Gavino GarayWASHINGTON, Sept 28 (Reuters) - At risk people nationwide will now be able to get Bavarian Nordic's (BAVA.CO) Jynneos monkeypox vaccine before being exposed to the disease, U.S. Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) Director Rochelle Walensky said on Wednesday. At risk individuals will now be eligible to receive the vaccine before exposure as the CDC shifts to a Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) strategy, Wallensky said. Monkeypox is transmitted through close contact with an infected person, such as via sexual activity, or with the skin blisters associated with the disease. People with jobs that put them at risk of exposure, such as healthcare workers, were already eligible for vaccination against monkeypox.

☆ A single dose of monkeypox vaccine provides some protection against infection, CDC says
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The data indicate that even a single dose of the vaccine provides some initial protection against infection as soon as two weeks after the shot, Walensky said. The Jynneos vaccine, manufactured by the Danish company Bavarian Nordic, is administered in two doses 28 days apart. Walensky said although the data on a single dose is promising, lab studies have demonstrated that the immune protection is highest two weeks after the second dose. "What we have right now is data on how well and how our vaccine is working after as single dose. What we don't yet have is what happens after a second dose and how durable that protection is," Walensky said.

☆ LGBTQ Italians on alert as right-wing alliance triumphs in election
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

BERLIN — The triumph of a right-wing alliance in Italy’s election has raised concern among LGBTQ advocates, who fear nationalist leader Giorgia Meloni could adopt anti-gay policies as prime minister and set back their efforts to boost equality. What is Meloni’s stance on LGBTQ rights? Days before the election, however, a senior member of her Brothers of Italy (FdI) group suggested same-sex parenting was not normal. Despite lagging most of its EU neighbors on LGBTQ rights, a 2020 study by the U.S.-based Pew Research Center found 75% of Italians think homosexuality should be accepted. In the northern city of Verona, Stefano Ambrosini, a gay 28-year-old PhD student, said he feared Meloni’s election triumph could lead to an increase in homophobic violence.

Summary Italy's LGBT community concerned by election resultFears government will only promote 'traditional' valuesRight promises not to roll back rightsROME, Sept 27 (Reuters) - The LGBT community has "very real fears" after a conservative bloc dominated by the far-right won Italy's general election, a leading gay rights campaigner told Reuters. "Unfortunately there are very real fears" about an erosion of civil rights under the new administration, Fabrizio Marrazzo of the Gay Party said. "The League and partly Brothers of Italy have in their manifestos things that are quite negative for our community, like stressing the importance of protecting only the traditional family," Marrazzo said. She presents herself as a defender of Christian values and an enemy of what she calls "gender ideology" and the "LGBT lobby". Leader of Brothers of Italy Giorgia Meloni speaks at the party's election night headquarters, in Rome, Italy September 26, 2022.

☆ Turkey: Anti-LGBTQ display reflects nation’s political shift
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

The Big Family Gathering march in the conservative heart of Istanbul attracted parents with children, nationalists, hard-line Islamists and conspiracy theorists. Turkey’s media watchdog gave the event the government’s blessing by including a promotional video that called LGBTQ people a “virus” in its list of public service announcements for broadcasters. “We need to make all our defense against this LGBT. We need to get rid of it,” said construction worker Mehmet Yalcin, 21, who attended the event wearing a black headband printed with Islam’s testimony of faith. “We are sick of and truly uncomfortable that our children are being encouraged and pulled to this.”Seeing images from the gathering terrified Willie Ray, the drag performer who is nonbinary, and Willie Ray’s mother, who was in tears after talking to her child.

☆ Why Bisexual Adults Report Higher Rates of Mental Distress
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The first step in fixing these disparities is understanding why they occur, experts said. Bisexual people experience discrimination from both in and beyond the queer community — creating what the psychologist Ethan Mereish called “a double closet.” This can discourage bisexual people from coming out, in part because they may worry they won’t find a welcoming community.

☆ In a political first, two gay candidates face off in congressional election
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( Julie Moreau | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +10 min

A historic number of LGBTQ candidates will appear on ballots across the country in November. It is one of 16 competitive races in which LGBTQ candidates appear, and which may decide control of the U.S. House, according to the LGBTQ Victory Fund. 'It was going to happen sooner of later'The odds of a faceoff between two gay candidates have gone up in recent years, because there’s been an increase in LGBTQ candidates at all levels of government. Santos is the only openly LGBTQ Republican running for Congress this fall, according to the LGBTQ Victory Fund. “The issue is not that both of us are gay,” Zimmerman said.

☆ 'Out of control' STD situation prompts call for changes
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

“It is imperative that we ... work to rebuild, innovate, and expand (STD) prevention in the U.S.,” said Dr. Leandro Mena of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in a speech Monday at a medical conference on sexually transmitted diseases. Last year the rate of syphilis cases reached its highest since 1991 and the total number of cases hit its highest since 1948. Annual congenital syphilis cases numbered only about 300 a decade ago; they surged to nearly 2,700 last year. But some experts say the government needs to provide more funding for STD work, not divert it. Mena, who last year became director of the CDC’s Division of STD Prevention, called for reducing stigma, broadening screening and treatment services, and supporting the development and accessibility of at-home testing.

The Citigroup Inc (Citi) logo is seen at the SIBOS banking and financial conference in Toronto, Ontario, Canada October 19, 2017. REUTERS/Chris HelgrenCompanies Citigroup Inc FollowNEW YORK, Sept 20 (Reuters) - Citigroup Inc introduced new diversity goals for gender, race and sexual orientation in its workforce for 2025, the bank said in a statement Tuesday. Citigroup became the first major Wall Street bank to appoint a woman, Jane Fraser, as its chief executive last year. Citigroup also expanded its worldwide hiring goals to include 3.5% of people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning in 2025 from the current 2.1%. And it further outlined aims for ethnic diversity in the U.K. and Brazil, and hiring college students from underrepresented communities.

☆ Organized groups fuel rapid rise in U.S. book-banning, report says
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-19 | by ( Daniel Trotta | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

There were 2,532 instances of individual book bans affecting 1,648 titles at 5,000 schools with 4 million students, according to the report. The research found 1,000 more book bans than were documented in the group's initial report released in April. PEN America said the rapid rise came as a growing number of groups have targeted books dealing with race or LGBTQ issues. The report identified at least 50 groups active in pushing for book bans, the vast majority of which have formed since 2021. More than 40% of the banned titles address lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer themes or have prominent queer characters.

☆ California enacts law to help LGBTQ military veterans
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-18 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

SAN FRANCISCO — A new law in California will help military service members who were discharged under “don’t ask, don’t tell” policies because of their sexual or gender identities to reestablish their eligibility for Veterans Affairs benefits, Gov. Gays and lesbians were banned in the military until the 1993 approval of “don’t ask, don’t tell,” which allowed them to serve only if they did not openly acknowledge their sexual orientation. The Department of Defense subsequently created a path for veterans who had been discharged under the policy to receive the full range of veterans’ benefits. “But many veterans sadly don’t know or can’t even access this important process,” Newsom said, adding that some veterans trying to reclaim benefits have had to hire expensive legal counsel and other assistance to navigate the process. “We’re taking steps to fix this.”The law will require the California Department of Veteran Affairs to establish the Veterans Discharge Upgrade Grant Program to help advise LGBTQ veterans who were discharged under “don’t ask, don’t tell” and to help those who qualify to update and correct their records and access veterans’ benefits.

☆ Queen Elizabeth II ruled through decades of change on gay rights, but her LGBTQ legacy is complicated
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-18 | by ( Jo Yurcaba | Jo Yurcaba Is A Reporter For Nbc Out. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

In 1952, when Queen Elizabeth II took the throne after the death of her father, same-sex sexual relations were criminalized in Britain. That support has led some to argue that she was a “quiet” supporter of LGBTQ rights, but to others she was just doing her job. Queen Elizabeth II waves to the crowd from the balcony of Buckingham Palace in London following her coronation, on June 3, 1953. Queen Elizabeth II gave both of the measures her royal assent and went on to continue to approve pro-LGBTQ policies. Queen Elizabeth II during a visit to HMS Queen Elizabeth at HM Naval Base, Portsmouth, ahead of the ship's maiden deployment, on May 22, 2021.

☆ Worries over stigma are driving a push to rename monkeypox, but the process is slow
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-15 | by ( Jen Christensen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

The naming of the species is the responsibility of WHO's International Committee on Taxonomy of VirusesScientists have been calling this virus "monkeypox" for 64 years. The current species known as "monkeypox virus" and the others would then be renamed to "orthopoxvirus 'something,' " he said in an email to CNN. Prior to more modern conventions about names, scientists would name a variant for the region where it emerged and was circulating. It cited "growing concern for the potentially devastating and stigmatizing effects that the messaging around the 'monkeypox' virus can have on these already vulnerable communities." "Stigma and discrimination can be as dangerous as any virus," Tedros said when he declared monkeypox a global health emergency in July.

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