National
National news in brief: October 7
Ann Coulter on Logo’s ‘A-List’ next season, StopSB48 nears a crucial deadline for signatures, Toby Keith favors marriage equality and DADT repeal and more
Ann Coulter to appear on Logo’s ‘A-List’
WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — Ann Coulter has confirmed that she joined GOProud Executive Director Jimmy LaSalvia in filming an episode of Logo’s “A List: Dallas” in West Hollywood.
The two were visiting “A List: Dallas” cast member and GOProud fundraiser, Taylor Garrett. Coulter is the honorary board chair of GOProud.
“We look forward to gay people everywhere getting a chance to hear about our organizations and hear from Ann Coulter – simply the smartest, funniest and most stylish woman in politics today,” LaSalvia remarked in a statement. “We thank Ann for agreeing to do this and for continuing her outspoken support for gay conservatives.”
Logo, an LGBT television network, released a statement saying, “while there are of course thousands of reasons to disagree with Coulter and her uber conservative politics, it is incredibly refreshing to see someone in her position, and of such noted stature for her far right opinions, willing to reaffirm her GLB (T might be going out on a limb) support.”
Deadline nears for opponents of Calif. history law
SACRAMENTO — StopSB48, the group challenging a California law mandating inclusion of LGBT history in the classroom, has collected 82 percent of the signatures needed to qualify their measure for the ballot.
The deadline for submitting the signatures to the state is Oct. 12, and most signature drives for ballot measures need to collect more than the minimum number of signatures needed to qualify, as many signatures are often unable to be verified. The campaign estimates it needs 750,000 signatures. So far the group has collected 415,000 of the 504,760 needed, according to gay journalist Rex Wockner.
In response to what it calls illegal signature gathering tactics, California LGBT advocates Courage Campaign have formally requested an investigation by the California attorney general’s office in Santa Ana and Oceanside City. According to the organization, signature gatherers are asking passersby if they would like to sign a petition to “protect children from child abduction.” California is one of only a few states that makes falsifying information while collecting petition signatures a misdemeanor.
Country star Toby Keith endorses marriage equality
OKLAHOMA CITY — Country singer Toby Keith, who has at times spoken out in favor of both Republican and Democratic causes, revealed that he supports marriage equality and last year’s repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
In the CMT Insider interview, Keith expressed opposition to denying marriage licenses to couples that want to marry, and said ballot measures “waste time and money.”
The star wrapped up his feelings about openly gay service members saying “Somebody’s sexual preference is, like, who cares?”
Chicago’s oldest LGBT publication folds
CHICAGO — Gay Chicago, which became Gay Chicago Magazine earlier this year after restructuring, ceased publication this week.
The publication has been in print since 1976, and was one of the oldest LGBT titles still in print in the country. The publication had been struggling for many years since the death of the long time publisher, Ralph Paul Gernhardt in 2006. Gernhardt’s children Craig and Christy had published the book since their father’s passing, according to the Windy City Times, the last remaining LGBT news publication in Chicago, after another LGBT publication, the Chicago Free Press, ceased publication last year.
Gay San Fran candidate features daughter in ad
SAN FRANCISCO — Gay city supervisor and candidate for San Francisco mayor, Bevan Dufty, cast his daughter Sidney in an ad touting the importance of the San Francisco public transit system.
The ad features the candidate and his daughter riding crowded trains, and dancing in the aisles of an empty MUNI car.
“Sidney thinks MUNI is magic,” Dufty narrates. “We go underground and come out someplace new. Just us. I want all of us to see it that way.”
Dufty is believed to be the first openly gay candidate in the country to feature his or her own children in a campaign ad, according to the Victory Fund.
National
Queen Jean is Tony’s first transgender winner
Designer/activist wins for work on ‘Cats: The Jellicle Ball’
It was a historic night at the 79th annual Tony Awards on Sunday as Queen Jean won the award for Best Costume Design of a Musical, making her the first out transgender person to win a Tony.
“This experience has been monumental. We are here for the legacy of queer people, trans people,” she said. “We are taking up space in ways we have to take up space. We have to shift the paradigm. So I just want to say, thank you all so much for this incredible honor. The world right now is deeply, deeply combating so many ailments, and we know as a society that when we come together, we can make real, permanent change.”
She won the award for her work on “Cats: The Jellicle Ball” and was also nominated for best costume design of a play for “Liberation.”
In addition to her stage work, Queen Jean is the founder of Black Trans Liberation, an organization that supports trans and gender-nonconforming people in New York City.
National
Madonna turns Times Square into massive dance floor
Pop icon celebrates Pride month with surprise performance
Pop icon Madonna celebrated Pride month with a pop-up performance in New York City’s Times Square on Thursday to the delight of 50,000 fans.
She performed for about 15 minutes high above street level, including several songs from her new album “Confessions II” due on July 3, along with a trio of songs from the first “Confessions on a Dance Floor.”
In addition to the brand new “Love Sensation,” she performed “I Feel So Free” and “Bring Your Love,” plus “Hung Up,” “Get Together” and “I Love New York.” She wished the crowd a happy Pride season; the event was shared with audiences through Grindr’s first-ever livestream.


National
Gallup finds LGBTQ support among Americans is dropping
Marriage equality support lowest since 2016
Gallup, one of the leading organizations in public opinion polling, has found that LGBTQ support among Americans is dropping.
The poll, whose data was collected using Gallup’s annual Values and Beliefs survey, was conducted in May and was published on Wednesday. The data was collected through telephone interviews from a sample of more than 1,000 adults living in all 50 states and D.C. using random digit dialing.
It highlights declining attitudes surrounding LGBTQ issues in multiple areas — from support for same-sex marriage to views on gender identity and the morality of one’s sexuality.
One of the most striking findings was that support for marriage equality fell six points from its 2022-2023 high.
The survey also found that 62 percent of Americans view gay and lesbian relations as morally acceptable, the lowest level since 2016 just after same-sex marriage was legalized nationwide by the U.S. Supreme Court.
One newer question on the poll found that the perceived morality of changing one’s gender has dropped eight points since 2021, indicating the American public is less supportive of transgender people.

The data attributes much of the decline to shifting Republican views alongside the party itself. Conservative leaders have pushed back against diversity, equity, and inclusion programs that were intended to foster greater acceptance of LGBTQ people and other historically disadvantaged groups.
President Donald Trump has been a guiding force behind waves of anti-LGBTQ sentiment, particularly when it comes to trans rights. The president has enacted multiple executive orders, including Executive Order 14168, “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government,” which mandates that gender be defined by one’s sex assigned at birth. He also signed Executive Order 14183, “Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness,” which barred qualified trans applicants from joining the military and led to the removal of trans service members already serving in the armed forces.
Additionally, he signed Executive Order 14201, “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” which prohibits trans female athletes from participating on women’s and girls’ sports teams.
In February, Gallup found that an estimated 9 percent of Americans identified as part of the LGBTQ community in some form.
The organization also found that 23 percent of adults under age 30 identify as LGBTQ, compared with 10 percent of those ages 30 to 49 and 3 percent or less among those ages 50 and older.
