Retired lesbian firefighter Lori Franchina was awarded $1.75 million in her second lawsuit against the city of Providence, Rhode Island, LGBTQ Nation noted. She sued the city after it denied her an accidental disability pension for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) she developed in response to years of homophobic bias she endured while working for the city’s fire department. Franchina worked for the department from 2002 until PTSD forced her into early retirement in 2013; she initially filed a gender discrimination and employment retaliation lawsuit against the city in 2012. Franchina said of Providence, “[This second legal decision] gives me my gainful income, it gives me the ability to not decide what bill I’m paying,” Franchina said. “I hope it helps somebody realize you can win.”
What has been called the most thorough study of Minnesota’s queer community in decades is underway, KSTP noted. The survey is part of the first major program by the state’s Council on LGBTQIA2S+ Minnesotans (MNQT), called the Community Needs Assessment, which MNQT calls a “critical initiative.” “It asks you about your health and wellness, your wellbeing, your access to housing, your access to health care, economic stability,” MNQT Executive Director Emma Watts said. The findings will help guide lawmakers, help direct funding and resources and give a voice to many.
Philly Black Pride will host its 26th annual Black Pride celebration April 24-27 during the Historic Penn Relay Carnival, per Philadelphia Gay News. The celebration highlights the organizations more than a quarter-century commitment to strengthening Philly’s community of queer people of color. There will be a queer artist showcase, yoga and healing sound baths, panel discussions, celebrity hosts, remarks from elected officials, a flag raising at City Hall, live shows and more—almost 20 events. Gilead Sciences, Philadelphia Department of Public Health, Philadelphia Gay News and Sway Philly are just a few of the entities supporting Philly Black Pride.
A new ordinance in Spokane, Washington would include Two-Spirit people in the city’s human-rights code, add to state shield protections, direct the Spokane Police Department to maintain an LGTBQIA2S+ liaison officer, and ensure city employees’ insurance covers gender-affirming and reproductive healthcare, RANGE Media noted. In February, one of Spokane City Council Member Paul Dillon’s constituents sent him an email asking for a policy that would support queer people in Spokane. A month later, at the Gender Freedom March in downtown Spokane, Dillon announced that the city council would take up a Shield Law ordinance, which echoes the standing Washington state law, to ensure no city resources are used to investigate or detain people who sought gender-affirming or reproductive healthcare.
A trial date was set for May 11, 2026 to resolve matters between Mazzoni Center—a Philadelphia-based LGBTQ+ health facility—and a funding company that is seeking almost $500,000 from the organization, per The Philadelphia Gay News. It’s been about six months since concerns about Mazzoni Center’s financial state made headlines when the organization was named in two lawsuits by funding companies, LCF Group and Fundkite, who sought a collective $1.3 million. On April 8, a request was made by LCF Group for a judge to decide the case in their favor without a full trial. The situation began when LCF entered into a “merchant cash advance” agreement with Mazzoni in September 2024 after former Mazzoni CEO Rachelle Tritinger signed contracts with the company and an additional funder, Fundkite, to cover payroll. However, Mazzoni claims Tritinger did not have the authority to enter into these agreements, which involved alarming interest rates.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative majority signaled support for the religious rights of parents in Maryland who want to remove their children from elementary school classes using storybooks with LGBTQ+ characters, per the AP. The court seemed likely to find that the Montgomery County school system could not require elementary school children to sit through lessons involving the books if parents objected on religious grounds. The county school board introduced the storybooks as part of an effort to better reflect the district’s diversity.
Republican lawmakers in the North Carolina General Assembly have recently introduced several anti-LGBTQ+ bills, according to WFAE. For example, the Parents Protection Act would permit adoptive and foster parents to decline recognition of a child’s preferred gender identity. Senate Bill 516, the Women’s Safety and Protection Act, would restrict transgender people from using public restrooms that don’t correspond to their biological sex. And House Bill 595, the Parental Rights for Curriculum and Books, is an extension of North Carolina’s so-called “don’t say gay” bill, Senate Bill 49, which bans discussion of gender identity and sexuality in kindergarten to fourth grade and forces schools to allow parents to review textbooks and educational materials; it also requires schools to contact parents about changes to their child’s name or pronouns.
GLAAD—along with a community advocacy coalition led by Lambda Legal, PrEP4All, Harvard Law’s Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation (CHLPI), and The Center for HIV Law and Policy (CHLP)—released statements following oral arguments in Kennedy v. Braidwood, which the U.S. Supreme Court is hearing. (The plaintiffs in this case are four individuals and two small businesses that originally brought the case based on religious objections to the requirement that insurers and group health plans provide coverage for PrEP.) GLAAD President & CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said that the “Supreme Court hearing in the Braidwood case is a pivotal moment for the health and rights of all Americans. This case, rooted in discriminatory objections to medical necessities like PrEP, can undermine efforts to end the HIV epidemic and also jeopardize access to essential services like cancer screenings and heart disease medications, disproportionately affecting LGBTQ people and communities of color. Religious exemptions should not be weaponized to erode healthcare protections and restrict medically necessary, life-saving preventative healthcare for every American.”
The City of West Hollywood is recognizing April 21-27 as Lesbian and Queer Women’s Visibility Week, per the WeHo Times. In part, the city planned to display the Lesbian Pride Flag in medians along Santa Monica Boulevard and West Hollywood City Hall; also, the globe lanterns above Santa Monica Boulevard will be lit in pink, orange and white to reflect shades of the Lesbian Pride Flag. On Sunday, April 27, the L-Project will host a Lesbian and Queer Women’s Visibility Week WeHo Mini Film Fest showcasing diverse stories and voices of lesbian and queer women as well as non-binary people; Black Rainbow Love and MANEKI: A Full Lesbian Short will be among the projects shown.
Lesbian Texas school administrator Tiffany Regan was confirmed as superintendent of a Houston-area school district—despite a smear campaign led by a local conservative pastor, LGBTQ Nation noted. The Deer Park Independent School District board of trustees announced Regan was their choice for the job in March and invited public comment before offering her the post; the next day, local Pastor Douglas Harris began a smear campaign directed at Regan’s sexuality, vowing to be the “tip of the spear” resisting her appointment. However, at the confirmation meeting, Deer Park United Methodist Church Pastor John Black commented that Jesus did not care one way or another about sexuality in general, and Regan’s in particular.
Judge John Nivison—assigned to the federal lawsuit against the Maine Department of Education—has recused himself from the case, WGME reported. In the suit, the U.S. Justice Department claims Maine is violating Title IX by allowing transgender student athletes to play in girls’ sports; Gov. Janet Mills and Attorney General Aaron Frey contend Maine is following state and federal law. Judge Stacey Neumann will now take over the case.
Grindr for Equality—Grindr’s social impact initiative—recently launched a new campaign characterizing condom and DoxyPEP tags within the app as well as a series of videos that promote safer-sex practices, Watermark Online noted. DoxyPEP (doxycycline post-exposure prophylaxis) is a prescribed pill that, if taken within 72 hours after sex, will create a barrier protecting the body against certain sexually transmitted infections. “By giving users the option to include this profile information, we’re shining a light on a vital STI prevention strategy and chipping away at the health care barriers that keep people in the dark,” according to Grindr for Equality. “Prevention shouldn’t be reserved for those ‘in the know’—it belongs in every bedroom, every conversation and every corner of our community.”
Former Wisconsin police sergeant Charles Cross Jr.—who was fired for misconduct—helped deport a gay Venezuelan asylum-seeker to one of the world’s toughest prisons, The Advocate noted, citing a USA Today investigation. Cross—who was fired from the Milwaukee Police Department after crashing his car into a home while intoxicated in 2012 and placed on a list of officers with credibility issues—now works for CoreCivic, a private prison contractor for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Cross signed a report accusing 23-year-old Andry José Hernández Romero of being a Tren de Aragua gang member, based only on crown tattoos above the words “Mom” and “Dad,” and now he’s in El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center, a.k.a. CECOT “These are tattoos that have a plausible explanation because he worked in the beauty pageant industry,” Hernández Romero’s attorney, Lindsay Toczylowski, told the program 60 Minutes. “The most plausible explanation is that his mom and dad are his king and queen.”
Gay conservative talk-show host John Reid secured the Republican nomination for the office of lieutenant governor in Virginia—becoming the first known openly gay person to be nominated for a statewide office in that state, per The Washington Blade. Reid secured the nomination after his only rival in the Republican primary, Fairfax County Supervisor Pat Herrity, dropped out of the race for health reasons. Current Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, a Black woman, captured the GOP nomination for governor without a Republican opponent. Reid—who lives in Richmond with his partner, Alonzo—will face one of six Democratic candidates for lieutenant governor who are competing in the June 17 Democratic primary.
Fort Lauderdale-based Stonewall National Museum, Archives & Library (SNMAL) will run the “55 Years of Pride” exhibit on June 1-Aug. 31, per a press release. Unique to this exhibit is its international component: “55 Years of Pride” will have an Italian version arranged by Scripta Manent Editor, publisher of LGBTQ+ photographic history Pride, that will run for an extended period of time.
“This year’s Pride is not a time for celebration, but one to organize and bring the spirit of Stonewall back to life,” stated Stonewall Museum’s President and CEO Robert Kesten. “During our ‘55 Years of Pride’ exhibit, attendees will be part of an around-the-world journey composed of archived footage, posters, and items from our archives, all detailing the personal stories of those who stood up for our community’s dignity and humanity.”
Dale Edwin Sanders—a lawyer who practiced law in D.C. and Northern Virginia for more than 40 years and who played a key role in providing legal services for people living with HIV/AIDS beginning in the early 1980s—died earlier this month at age 75, The Washington Blade noted. Sanders’ brother, Wade, said the cause of death was a heart attack shortly after Dale had back surgery. Amy Nelson, director of Legal Services for D.C.‘s Whitman-Walker Health, said Sanders became one of Whitman-Walker’s original volunteer pro bono attorneys in the 1980s; Sanders’ most recent case on behalf of Whitman-Walker took place in 2023 in support of a transgender woman in Virginia who faced discrimination from her employer and health insurer.
Illinois continues to treat the most out-of-state patients seeking abortions compared to every other state in the country, The Chicago Sun-Times noted. Illinois provided 23% of all abortions for people traveling across state lines for care in 2024—more than anywhere else in the U.S., according to the report from the Guttmacher Institute, a research and policy organization that supports abortion rights. Last year, 35,000 abortions were provided to out-of-state residents in Illinois, representing 39% of all abortions performed in the state.
The Wanda Alston Foundation—a D.C.-based organization that provides housing and support services for homeless queer youth—announced it has appointed longtime LGBTQ+-rights advocate Cesar Toledo as its new executive director, per The Washington Blade. Toledo will succeed June Crenshaw, who was executive director for the past nine years. Prior to working for the Harris For President Campaign, Toledo served (since April 2023) as deputy director for Democrats for Education Reform DC (DFER DC), a political group that helps to elect candidates for public office committed to quality education for all students, including minorities, people of color and LGBTQ+ youth; he has also been political director for the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund.
After running for one day last year, the Big Queer Food Fest (BQFF) is expanding into a week-long celebration of food and community, with tons of free and ticketed events on April 28 to May 4, Eater Boston noted. There will be course after course of tastings, dinners, parties and panels, all leading up to a grand tasting at downtown Boston food hall High Street Place. The event features chefs from both near and far along with drag performers (including RuPaul’s Drag Race favorite Jujubee), influencers and authors. BQFF co-founder Chad Hahne said “We built this festival to make space for queer voices in food—to honor the creativity, resilience and brilliance that too often go unseen. This year’s events aren’t just about great food; they’re about visibility, connection, and celebrating who we are.”
In NYC, a Staten Island man admitted to setting two rubber sex toys on fire, leading to a three-alarm blaze that engulfed at least two homes, NBC New York noted. Harry Torres, was arrested and charged with two counts of arson. He was also charged with reckless endangerment and criminal mischief, and was arrested on the scene, according to law enforcement sources.
Aidan Maese-Czeropski—a former aide for Maryland Democratic Senator Ben Cardin who went viral in December 2023 after a video of him reportedly having sex with another man in a U.S. Senate hearing room leaked—spoke out to Gay Sydney News, per Queerty. Maese-Czeropski (who has relocated to Sydney, Australia) said he “spent a little bit of time in the psych ward” and was diagnosed with PTSD after the video was seen by the public. “I don’t have any shame in that because when you go through something like that, it is just overwhelming and difficult to even comprehend,” he said, adding that he currently sees a therapist and takes medication. After losing his job at Cardin’s office, Maese-Czeropski said that he “could not get a job in Washington, D.C.” and “knew he needed to get out.” He also said, “I think no matter what, when you have something as salacious as sex in the Senate, it’s going to go viral, regardless of whether or not it’s gay or straight.”
The post NATIONAL Lesbian firefighter, Minn. survey, Philly Black Pride, Spokane appeared first on Windy City Times.