# lgbtq rights (blogs) — RSS Amplifier Recent posts from the 4 feeds in the RSS Amplifier directory that cover lgbtq rights. Page: Feed: --- ## [Queer Thing to Do in Houston, Aug 20-23](https://www.outsmartmagazine.com/2026/08/queer-thing-to-do-aug-20-23/) _2026-08-21 · OutSmart Staff · OutSmart Magazine_ From the Miss Gay Texas USofA Pageant to a Roaring Twenties Red Dinner and an under-the-sea benefit for LGBTQ+ youth, here's what's happening across queer Houston this weekend. ## [The Montrose Center’s Kindred Spirits Dance at the Ballroom at Bayou Place](https://www.outsmartmagazine.com/2026/08/the-montrose-centers-kindred-spirits-dance-at-the-ballroom-at-bayou-place/) _2026-08-19 · Dalton DeHart · OutSmart Magazine_ The Montrose Center’s Kindred Spirits Dance brought generations together for an evening celebrating community, music, and LGBTQ+ history. ## [Pride Houston 365 48th Annual Pride Parade 2026 – Pt. II](https://www.outsmartmagazine.com/2026/08/pride-houston-365-48th-annual-pride-parade-2026-pt-ii-2/) _2026-08-18 · Dalton DeHart · OutSmart Magazine_ Pride Houston 365 returned to downtown Houston on August 15 for its rescheduled 48th Annual Pride Parade, bringing nearly 90 contingents together for a nighttime celebration of LGBTQ visibility, community, and Pride. ## [I’m Not Hiding](https://stevenlachanceauthor.blog/2026/08/18/im-not-hiding/) _2026-08-18 · Steven LaChance - Bestselling Author, Television & Film Personality · Steven LaChance Blog_ I read something recently that said LGBTQ+ people are going to start going back into the closet. I’m not sure how that is even possible once that door has been opened. It is true that in some ways we come out every time we meet someone new or find ourselves in a new situation. I \[…\] ## [Pride Houston 365 48th Annual Pride Parade 2026 – Pt. I](https://www.outsmartmagazine.com/2026/08/pride-houston-365-48th-annual-pride-parade-2026-pt-i/) _2026-08-18 · Dalton DeHart · OutSmart Magazine_ Pride Houston 365 returned to downtown Houston on August 15 for its rescheduled 48th Annual Pride Parade, bringing nearly 90 contingents together for a nighttime celebration of LGBTQ visibility, community, and Pride. ## [The Texas Librarian Who Refused to Stay Quiet About Book Bans](https://www.outsmartmagazine.com/2026/08/amanda-hunt-new-braunfels-librarian-sb13-book-bans/) _2026-08-17 · Uncloseted Media · OutSmart Magazine_ Former New Braunfels ISD lead librarian Amanda Hunt says AI screening under SB13 stripped hundreds of LGBTQ and inclusive titles from shelves, and speaking out cost her a job she loved. ## [Benjamin Alire Sáenz, “Aristotle and Dante” Author, Dies at 71](https://www.outsmartmagazine.com/2026/08/benjamin-alire-saenz-dies-71-aristotle-dante/) _2026-08-17 · Newsroom · OutSmart Magazine_ Benjamin Alire Sáenz, the gay former priest whose novel "Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe" won Stonewall and Lambda honors and drew book bans, has died in El Paso at 71. ## [Professors Sue to Block Texas A&M’s Curriculum Restrictions](https://www.outsmartmagazine.com/2026/08/texas-am-professors-lawsuit-race-gender-sexuality-restrictions/) _2026-08-17 · Texas Tribune · OutSmart Magazine_ Four professors and the AAUP asked a federal judge in Houston to strike down Texas A&M's restrictions on teaching race, gender, and sexuality and to reinstate canceled courses, including an LGBTQ literature class. ## [HIV is not history. The new queer series 'Red Light Diaries' refuses to look away](https://www.out.com/voices/red-light-diaries-micheal-ighodaro-hiv) _2026-08-14 · Micheal Ighodaro · Out Magazine_ America has been here before. It knows what it looks like when HIV is ignored: gay men dying of AIDS while the government looked away, friends becoming caregivers, and people taking to the streets with ACT UP because silence was costing lives. That history should make today’s cuts to HIV services — and renewed attacks on queer lives — impossible to treat as anything other than a warning. The… ## [Queer Things to Do in Houston, August 13 – 19](https://www.outsmartmagazine.com/2026/08/queer-things-to-do-houston-august-13/) _2026-08-14 · Staff Reporters · OutSmart Magazine_ Houston Pride 365's rescheduled 48th annual celebration headlines a packed week, with Big Freedia downtown, MegaWOOF at Rich's, the Kindred Spirits Dance, and a sober Pride bar crawl through Montrose. ## [Screen Share With Real Control (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/h1hU2C3KktMw) _2026-08-14 · **Sponsored**_ Collaborative screen sharing with simultaneous remote control — open source, like Screenhero. ## [The Diana Foundation First Wednesday Happy Hour at Pearl Bar](https://www.outsmartmagazine.com/2026/08/the-diana-foundation-first-wednesday-happy-hour-at-pearl-bar/) _2026-08-11 · Dalton DeHart · OutSmart Magazine_ The Diana Foundation and OutSmart Magazine welcomed community members to Pearl Bar for their monthly First Wednesday Happy Hour, featuring The Garden Theatre as the evening’s special guest. Attendees enjoyed drink specials, complimentary appetizers, door prizes, and a live preview of Xanadu, the theater’s upcoming production at MATCH. Cast members performed selections from the musical, … ## [How being the 'fun gay uncle' prepared me for fatherhood](https://www.out.com/voices/fun-gay-uncle-fatherhood-adoption) _2026-08-11 · Stephen Walker · Out Magazine_ For years, I’ve happily embraced my role as the “fun uncle.” You know the type — the one who’s always up for an adventure, ready with a laugh and maybe just a little bit extra. I used to think that role was just about the fun, the gifts, and being the cool uncle. But as I’ve navigated the adoption process, I’ve realized it was actually the most rewarding training ground for becoming a father. My… ## [Houston LGBTQ+ Political Caucus 2026 General Election Endorsement Meeting](https://www.outsmartmagazine.com/2026/08/houston-lgbtq-political-caucus-opens-2026-endorsement-season/) _2026-08-11 · Dalton DeHart · OutSmart Magazine_ Members of the Houston LGBTQ+ Political Caucus gathered August 8 at Resurrection Metropolitan Community Church for the organization’s August 2026 General Election Endorsement Meeting, launching a key phase of its endorsement process ahead of the November election. ## [Quite Passive, Not Thinking](https://stevenlachanceauthor.blog/2026/08/11/quite-passive-not-thinking/) _2026-08-11 · Steven LaChance - Bestselling Author, Television & Film Personality · Steven LaChance Blog_ What do you suppose Christopher Isherwood meant when he wrote these words? “I am a camera with its shutter open, quite passive, recording, not thinking.” The beginning is easy enough to understand, and it is the part most often remembered. I am a camera. Isherwood was a writer observing the world around him, recording the \[…\] ## [Not the Home I Once Knew](https://stevenlachanceauthor.blog/2026/08/09/not-the-home-i-once-knew/) _2026-08-09 · Steven LaChance - Bestselling Author, Television & Film Personality · Steven LaChance Blog_ I have debated writing this, but I believe it is our responsibility as writers to record what we observe. This is not meant as a political statement. It is simply an observation from someone who now lives outside the United States and returns several times a year. I read an article today written by someone \[…\] ## [Democratic Socialism vs. Social Democracy](https://stevenlachanceauthor.blog/2026/08/07/democratic-socialism-vs-social-democracy/) _2026-08-07 · Steven LaChance - Bestselling Author, Television & Film Personality · Steven LaChance Blog_ You know I believe in research. You know I believe in not jumping to conclusions. And you know I believe that in order to understand our country, we need to educate ourselves about it. Right now, America is having an argument about socialism when much of what we’re actually arguing about is social democracy. And \[…\] ## [My mom's brain surgery erased my coming out. So I had to do it again](https://www.out.com/voices/coming-out-mom-brain-surgery) _2026-07-31 · Trey Toler · Out Magazine_ My mom was on a roll, cycling through names from my childhood the way she did when she was feeling good – checking in on people I hadn't thought about since graduation. I answered, filled in what I knew, and made up the rest. The usual. Then her questions drifted somewhere else. "Is she married now?" she asked about the last girl I'd dated by name, before I came out, four years prior. "She was… ## [Go Ask Alex: I came out as bi, and my friend called me a 'fake lesbian.' What now?](https://www.out.com/relationships/came-out-bisexual-lost-friend) _2026-07-31 · Alexander Cheves · Out Magazine_ Got a question that would scandalize your group chat? That’s what this column is for. Go Ask Alex is an anonymous space for queer readers to ask the questions they’re afraid to ask anyone else — about sex, love, life, and everything in between. It’s judgment-free and completely anonymous. Hey Alex, I recently turned 40. On the way to that milestone in life, I made a real effort to become more… ## [I survived the Berlin Pride terror attack. Don’t let the right weaponize our grief](https://www.out.com/voices/berlin-pride-attack-politics) _2026-07-29 · Alexander Cheves · Out Magazine_ Last Saturday burned hot and beautiful in Berlin. I woke up late and joined hundreds of thousands of people marching through the city for Christopher Street Day , our biggest Pride event. Several Pride events happened that weekend, but I went to the big one because my boyfriend worked a shift that day at a shop in Schöneberg, Berlin’s classic gayborhood , near the start of the parade route, and I… ## [Is 'House of the Dragon's Ser Gwayne Hightower gay?](https://www.out.com/gay-tv-shows/house-dragon-gwayne-hightower-gay) _2026-07-28 · Jade Delgado · Out Magazine_ Note : This post contains spoilers for HBO's House of the Dragon season 3, episode 6. House of the Dragon may have quietly added another queer character to Westeros. Or maybe fans are getting a little ahead of themselves. Season 3, episode 6, called "Faceless Man," has HOTD viewers debating whether Ser Gwayne Hightower (Freddie Fox), Alicent Hightower's (Olivia Cooke) younger brother, might be… ## [Point a Domain, Start a Pit (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/kzHuEeszbnWj) _2026-07-28 · **Sponsored**_ Point any domain to a blacked-out, poison-green coming-soon page with an email waitlist. ## [Go Ask Alex: I came out after retirement and lost all my work friends](https://www.out.com/voices/coming-out-after-retirement-advice) _2026-07-17 · Alexander Cheves · Out Magazine_ Here's a tough one.... I spent 35 years of my working life hiding my orientation as well as the fact that I've been in a 46-year relationship. Still am and as in love as the day I met him. In those 35 years, I remained with the same company selling medical equipment while becoming quite successful. After retirement, I decided to let my veil down, and to my shock and surprise, all my friends and… ## [A Dream Within a Dream](https://stevenlachanceauthor.blog/2026/07/15/a-dream-within-a-dream/) _2026-07-15 · Steven LaChance - Bestselling Author, Television & Film Personality · Steven LaChance Blog_ I’ve been reading a great deal lately about humanity’s place in the universe. The deeper I go, the more fascinated I become by one simple fact. Across thousands of years, civilizations that never knew one another often arrived at remarkably similar questions about reality itself. I’ve spent time in Sumerian texts, Buddhist teachings, Greek philosophy, \[…\] ## [Lindsey Graham may have lived deep in the closet. He made others suffer for it](https://www.out.com/voices/lindsey-graham-gay-rumors-death) _2026-07-14 · John Casey · Out Magazine_ This story originally appeared on The Advocate . Lindsey Graham’s body is still warm , and already the salacious stories are starting. That was never going to surprise anyone who has followed the rumors about his sexuality over the past two decades, through gossip sites, daytime talk shows, cable news, late-night jokes, and gay bars in D.C. I've experienced the latter, and I've heard some wild… ## [Straight Nonsense: 'Industry's Emmys snub is a crime](https://www.out.com/voices/straight-nonsense-emmys-industry-snub) _2026-07-10 · Moises Mendez II · Out Magazine_ In the column Straight Nonsense, columnist Moises Mendez II takes a queer eye to the insanity of straight culture. I’m never really surprised by the Emmy nominations . There are so few prestige shows that get recognized, and when the Television Academy really likes a show, they shower it with nods — take Hacks , for example, which came out of the list of nominees this year with 24 noms for its… ## [Go Ask Alex: How do I leave an abusive bf when I've no money or place to go?](https://www.out.com/voices/leaving-abusive-boyfriend-no-money) _2026-07-03 · Alexander Cheves · Out Magazine_ Got a question that would scandalize your group chat? That’s what this column is for. Go Ask Alex is an anonymous space for queer readers to ask the questions they’re afraid to ask anyone else — about sex, love, life, and everything in between. It’s judgment-free and completely anonymous. Dear Alex, I'm really scared. I just broke up with my boyfriend of almost eight years. He was my first real… ## [The Umbrella That Covers Us All](https://stevenlachanceauthor.blog/2026/07/01/the-umbrella-that-covers-us-all/) _2026-07-01 · Steven LaChance - Bestselling Author, Television & Film Personality · Steven LaChance Blog_ I’ve been thinking a lot about the word queer lately. I’m a gay man, and I’m also part of the queer community. To me, those two statements are not contradictory. One describes me specifically. The other describes the larger community I belong to. I understand why the word queer makes some people uncomfortable. It was \[…\] ## [What the Supreme Court Did Not Decide in West Virginia v. B.P.J.](https://www.nclrights.org/what-the-supreme-court-did-not-decide-in-west-virginia-v-b-p-j/) _2026-06-30 · Shannon Minter, Esq. · National Center for LGBTQ Rights_ Today’s narrow ruling leaves the door open for inclusive policies On June 30, 2026, the Supreme Court held in West Virginia v. B.P.J. (decided together with Little v. Hecox) that neither Title IX nor the Equal Protection Clause prevents states from barring transgender girls from girls’ sports. But the majority opinion, written by Justice Kavanaugh, \[…\] The post What the Supreme Court Did Not… ## [You Were Never Broken](https://stevenlachanceauthor.blog/2026/06/20/you-were-never-broken/) _2026-06-20 · Steven LaChance - Bestselling Author, Television & Film Personality · Steven LaChance Blog_ Can you imagine being a kid, going to church, doing your best to be good, and then hearing something that changes your world? The very thing you were born to be, they are saying, is unholy. That you are unholy. You go to school, so happy to make friends, and that’s when you’re called “fag” \[…\] ## [NCLR Has Two 2026 Grand Marshals!](https://www.nclrights.org/nclr-has-two-2026-grand-marshals/) _2026-06-12 · NCLR Staff · National Center for LGBTQ Rights_ This year, President Imani Rupert-Gordon will be honored at San Francisco Pride as one of six community grand marshals. Director of Racial and Economic Justice Initiatives TyrONE Hanley will be representing NCLR as a community grand marshal at San Diego Pride. From Imani: How does it feel to be chosen as a grand marshal? Serving \[…\] The post NCLR Has Two 2026 Grand Marshals! appeared first on… ## [The Fight Continues](https://stevenlachanceauthor.blog/2026/06/06/the-fight-continues/) _2026-06-06 · Steven LaChance - Bestselling Author, Television & Film Personality · Steven LaChance Blog_ Since January 2025, hundreds of anti-LGBTQ bills have been introduced across the United States, and dozens have already become law. This is the reality of where things stand right now. No one ever asked for special rights. All we ever asked for was to be treated equally. The overt hostility toward people like me and \[…\] ## [PixelRift — Platforming with Level Editor (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/vyRFYaFnU7E3) _2026-06-06 · **Sponsored**_ Includes a built-in level editor, campaign with elemental heroes, and boss encounters. ## [Paranormal Tightrope](https://stevenlachanceauthor.blog/2026/06/02/paranormal-tightrope/) _2026-06-02 · Steven LaChance - Bestselling Author, Television & Film Personality · Steven LaChance Blog_ I spend some time every day reading paranormal pages and following the conversations people are having. Like many of you, I enjoy seeing what people are experiencing, photographing, questioning, and discussing. There are a lot of thoughtful people in this community, and I appreciate that. Lately, though, I have noticed something that concerns me. For \[…\] ## [The Mourning After](https://stevenlachanceauthor.blog/2026/06/01/the-mourning-after/) _2026-06-01 · Steven LaChance - Bestselling Author, Television & Film Personality · Steven LaChance Blog_ Today is the first day of Pride Month, and I have complicated feelings about it. The truth is, I wish we did not need it. I wish we had reached the point where nobody cared who someone loved. I wish we had reached the point where a month dedicated to Pride was no longer necessary \[…\] ## [The Supreme Court Just Gutted 60 Year-Old Voting Rights Act Protections Against Discriminatory Gerrymandering](https://www.nclrights.org/the-supreme-court-just-gutted-60-year-old-voting-rights-act-protections-against-discriminatory-gerrymandering/) _2026-04-29 · Shannon Minter · National Center for LGBTQ Rights_ Lawmakers most likely to push anti-LGBTQ+ legislation — bans on healthcare, restrictions on transgender students, “Don’t Say Gay” laws, attacks on marriage equality — are often the same lawmakers elected from heavily gerrymandered districts that dilute Black and Hispanic votes Today, in a 6-3 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court dealt the most serious blow to \[…\] The post The Supreme Court Just Gutted… ## [Shannon Minter Named to TIME100](https://www.nclrights.org/shannon-minter-in-time100/) _2026-04-15 · Ricardo Martinez · National Center for LGBTQ Rights_ There are advocates who chase the spotlight, and those who simply do the work. Shannon Minter, one of the most consequential civil rights attorneys of our generation, is unambiguously the latter. This past year I watched Shannon, the legal director of the National Center for LGBTQ Rights, argue in Talbott v. USA, representing transgender service members in their \[…\] The post Shannon Minter Named… ## [The Federal Bureau of Prisons Is Running a Conversion Therapy Program. We Must Not Let It Stand.](https://www.nclrights.org/the-federal-bureau-of-prisons-is-running-a-conversion-therapy-program-we-must-not-let-it-stand/) _2026-03-17 · Shannon Minter · National Center for LGBTQ Rights_ On February 19, 2026, the Federal Bureau of Prisons issued a new policy on the “Management of Inmates with Gender Dysphoria.” The title sounds clinical. The reality is brutal: the federal government has now officially placed itself in the business of punishing transgender people for being who they are — by withdrawing their medical care, confiscating their \[…\] The post The Federal Bureau of… ## [The Supreme Court Is Deciding the Future of Conversion Therapy Protections. Here’s What You Need to Know.](https://www.nclrights.org/the-supreme-court-is-deciding-the-future-of-conversion-therapy-protections-heres-what-you-need-to-know/) _2026-03-03 · Shannon Minter, Esq. · National Center for LGBTQ Rights_ More than 30 years ago, the National Center for LGBTQ Rights (NCLR) began its fight to end conversion therapy — a dangerous practice that claims to be able to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity, causing devastating harm to LGBTQ+ youth and their families. In the decades since, that work has grown into NCLR’s Born Perfect, a national effort that has helped \[…\] The post The… ## [Why We’re Fighting a Dangerous Federal Rule That Would Cut Off Health Care for Transgender Youth](https://www.nclrights.org/why-were-fighting-a-dangerous-federal-rule-that-would-cut-off-health-care-for-transgender-youth/) _2026-02-21 · Shannon Minter · National Center for LGBTQ Rights_ By Shannon Minter, Legal Director at the National Center for LGBTQ Rights (NCLR) and Jennifer Levi, Senior Director of Transgender and Queer Rights at GLAD Law On February 17, 2026, NCLR joined GLAD Law and COLAGE in filing formal comments opposing a proposed federal rule that would devastate health care access for transgender young people across the country. \[…\] The post Why We’re Fighting a… ## [Black History Holds the Answers to Today’s Questions](https://www.nclrights.org/black-history-holds-the-answers-to-todays-questions/) _2026-02-13 · Imani Rupert-Gordon · National Center for LGBTQ Rights_ When I reflect on Black History Month, I think of the brilliant Black science fiction writer Octavia Butler. Her work masterfully tied together social justice and speculative futures. People often say she predicted the future. But what Butler really understood was power. She understood patterns. She understood what happens when fear, hierarchy, and oppression go unchecked. In 2000, in an interview… ## [Resistance. Resilience. Regrowth.](https://www.nclrights.org/resistance-resilience-regrowth/) _2025-08-28 · Chashah Johnson · National Center for LGBTQ Rights_ Nothing about living in a decaying capitalistic society is easy. We each experience the agony of this age in different ways. A select few will live extravagantly, their fortunes financed by the labor of the working class. Most will experience some degree of hardship. Those of us with intersecting marginalized identities will feel this pain \[…\] The post Resistance. Resilience. Regrowth. appeared… ## [SCOTUS, debriefed.](https://www.nclrights.org/scotus-debriefed/) _2025-07-22 · Chris Stoll · National Center for LGBTQ Rights_ The Supreme Court’s session ended in June with several major decisions that will impact NCLR’s work. Read on for a breakdown of the rulings related to LGBTQ rights. United States v. Skrmetti On June 18, the Supreme Court released its decision in United States v. Skrmetti, upholding Tennessee’s law banning transgender youth healthcare. The result is devastating \[…\] The post SCOTUS, debriefed.…