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.
New York
Two teens shot steps from Stonewall Inn after NYC Pride parade
One of the victims remains in critical condition

On Sunday night, following the annual NYC Pride March, two girls were shot in Sheridan Square, feet away from the historic Stonewall Inn.
According to an NYPD report, the two girls, aged 16 and 17, were shot around 10:15 p.m. as Pride festivities began to wind down. The 16-year-old was struck in the head and, according to police sources, is said to be in critical condition, while the 17-year-old was said to be in stable condition.
The Washington Blade confirmed with the NYPD the details from the police reports and learned no arrests had been made as of noon Monday.
The shooting took place in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan, mere feet away from the most famous gay bar in the city — if not the world — the Stonewall Inn. Earlier that day, hundreds of thousands of people marched down Christopher Street to celebrate 55 years of LGBTQ people standing up for their rights.
In June 1969, after police raided the Stonewall Inn, members of the LGBTQ community pushed back, sparking what became known as the Stonewall riots. Over the course of two days, LGBTQ New Yorkers protested the discriminatory policing of queer spaces across the city and mobilized to speak out — and throw bottles if need be — at officers attempting to suppress their existence.
The following year, LGBTQ people returned to the Stonewall Inn and marched through the same streets where queer New Yorkers had been arrested, marking the first “Gay Pride March” in history and declaring that LGBTQ people were not going anywhere.
New York State Assemblywoman Deborah Glick, whose district includes Greenwich Village, took to social media to comment on the shooting.
“After decades of peaceful Pride celebrations — this year gun fire and two people shot near the Stonewall Inn is a reminder that gun violence is everywhere,” the lesbian lawmaker said on X. “Guns are a problem despite the NRA BS.”
New York
Zohran Mamdani participates in NYC Pride parade
Mayoral candidate has detailed LGBTQ rights platform

Zohran Mamdani, the candidate for mayor of New York City who pulled a surprise victory in the primary contest last week, walked in the city’s Pride parade on Sunday.
The Democratic Socialist and New York State Assembly member published photos on social media with New York Attorney General Letitia James, telling followers it was “a joy to march in NYC Pride with the people’s champ” and to “see so many friends on this gorgeous day.”
“Happy Pride NYC,” he wrote, adding a rainbow emoji.
Mamdani’s platform includes a detailed plan for LGBTQ people who “across the United States are facing an increasingly hostile political environment.”
His campaign website explains: “New York City must be a refuge for LGBTQIA+ people, but private institutions in our own city have already started capitulating to Trump’s assault on trans rights.
“Meanwhile, the cost of living crisis confronting working class people across the city hits the LGBTQIA+ community particularly hard, with higher rates of unemployment and homelessness than the rest of the city.”
“The Mamdani administration will protect LGBTQIA+ New Yorkers by expanding and protecting gender-affirming care citywide, making NYC an LGBTQIA+ sanctuary city, and creating the Office of LGBTQIA+ Affairs.”
U.S. Supreme Court
Supreme Court upholds ACA rule that makes PrEP, other preventative care free
Liberal justices joined three conservatives in majority opinion

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday upheld a portion of the Affordable Care Act requiring private health insurers to cover the cost of preventative care including PrEP, which significantly reduces the risk of transmitting HIV.
Conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh authored the majority opinion in the case, Kennedy v. Braidwood Management. He was joined by two conservatives, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett, along with the three liberal justices, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown-Jackson.
The court’s decision rejected the plaintiffs’ challenge to the Affordable Care Act’s reliance on the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force to “unilaterally” determine which types of care and services must be covered by payors without cost-sharing.
An independent all-volunteer panel of nationally recognized experts in prevention and primary care, the 16 task force members are selected by the secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to serve four-year terms.
They are responsible for evaluating the efficacy of counseling, screenings for diseases like cancer and diabetes, and preventative medicines — like Truvada for PrEP, drugs to reduce heart disease and strokes, and eye ointment for newborns to prevent infections.
Parties bringing the challenge objected especially to the mandatory coverage of PrEP, with some arguing the drugs would “encourage and facilitate homosexual behavior” against their religious beliefs.
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District of Columbia5 days ago
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