Tag: LGBTQ+

President Joe Biden has invited thousands of LGBTQ+ individuals to celebrate Pride Month in a high-profile show of support at a time when the community feels under attack like never before and the White House has little recourse to beat back a flood state-level legislation against them.

The Human Rights Campaign declared a state of emergency for LGBTQ+ people in the U.S. on Tuesday and released a guidebook pointing to laws it deems discriminatory in each state, along with “know your rights” information and resources to help people relocate to states with stronger LGBTQ+ protections.

The wife of California Attorney General Rob Bonta was leading in early returns Tuesday night as she sought his old San Francisco Bay Area legislative seat in a special election against a fellow Democrat. After polls closed, Mia Bonta had just over 55% of the vote, compared to about 45% for her opponent, Janani Ramachandran, with about 46,000 votes counted.

LGBTQ adults embrace vaccines A new survey by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation illuminates the state of COVID-19 vaccinations among LGBTQ individuals, filling in gaps where states’ and the nation’s lack of data collection had left them somewhat invisible. The LGBTQ+ data is “first-of-its-kind,” writes Adam Barnes in The Hill, and shows broad vaccine uptake by the community. As of the May-June study period, 92% of the U.S. respondents had received at least one COVID-19 shot, compared to 73% of American adults as of August 20. (Because the survey was distributed via LGBTQ events and media, and the organizers accepted replies from anyone who cared to participate without controlling other demographics, they note their findings are probably not fully representative of the entire LGBTQ+ community.) The high uptake in the LGBTQ community might be due to a greater prevalence of liberal attitudes and disproportionate residency in urban regions and Democrat-dominated states, suggested David Paisley, senior director of research for study partner Community Marketing & Insights. Black, Native American, Alaskan Native, Middle Eastern and North African respondents had the lowest vaccination rates at 85%. The survey also found that half of participants said the pandemic impacted their mental health, and more than half felt socially isolated, compounding existing mental health challenges in the LGBTQ+ community. The pandemic has also impacted LGBTQ youth, cutting off access to counseling and communities and sometimes forcing teens to cloister with family members that don’t support their identities or sexuality.

Want to change your thinking? Change your life? Tried churches that are more religious than spiritual. Try the Center for Spiritual Living in Hemet. “We teach spiritual practices that will change your life,” so says Senior Minister Reverend Rhonda Tretsven. The law of attraction, meditation, self-awareness, tuning in to your intuitions just to name a few. She goes on, “Learn to really love, accept, and forgive through God’s love - not judgment, if you are a good person. That includes couples living together, members of the LGBT and 4-20 community, parents, etc. YES! You are welcome. Of course, folks living a ‘traditional’ lifestyle are welcome also. Please know, wherever you are on your spiritual path, you are welcome here.”