Gays and lesbians

Human rights activists show an altered image with colors symbolizing LGBT rights as they gathered outside the provincial court in Plock, Poland, Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2021. Three activists went on trial Wednesday at the court on charges of having offending religious sentiment by adding the LGBT rainbow symbol to posters of the revered icon, The Black Madonna and Baby Jesus, and publicly displaying the altered image on garbage bins and mobile toilets. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

Poland: 3 on trial over LGBT sign on posters of revered icon

Jan. 14, 2021 4:24 PM EST

PLOCK, Poland (AP) — Three human rights activists went on trial Wednesday in Poland for alleged desecration and offending religious sentiment by adding the LGBT rights movement's rainbow symbol to posters of a revered Roman Catholic icon and publicly displaying the altered image, including on garbage bins...

This combination of photos shows show writers and creators, from left, Greg Berlanti, Shonda Rhimes, Ryan Murphy and Lena Waithe who were named in a study about LGBTQ and gender inclusiveness on television. GLAAD is asking the industry to reach 20% representation of LGBTQ regularly seen characters on all three platforms by 2025, and to ensure that half of LGBTQ characters on every TV platform are people of color within the next two years. (AP Photo)

Study: Pandemic eats into LGBTQ representation on network TV

Jan. 14, 2021 12:01 PM EST

NEW YORK (AP) — LGBTQ and gender inclusiveness on television has retreated slightly this season due to delays and shutdowns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new study out Thursday by the advocacy group GLAAD. The percentage of regularly seen LGBTQ characters on streaming as well as...

FILE - In this May 12, 2016, file photo, gender free sign hangs outside a restroom at 21c Museum Hotel in Durham, N.C. A 3 1/2-year ban on local ordinances aimed at protecting LGBT rights in North Carolina expired Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2020, prompting gay rights groups to urge the passage of such measures.
Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper agreed to the moratorium in March 2017 in exchange for GOP lawmakers agreeing to do away with portions of a “Bathroom Bill” that Republicans had approved a year earlier.(AP Photo/Gerry Broome, File)

Moratorium over: N. Carolina towns advance LGBT protections

Jan. 12, 2021 4:06 PM EST

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The first North Carolina municipalities are acting to expand LGBT rights again a month since the expiration of a moratorium on nondiscrimination ordinances agreed to years ago as a compromise to do away with the state's “bathroom bill.” The governing board of...

Actress Javicia Leslie poses for a portrait, Monday, Jan. 4, 2021, in Glendale, Calif. Leslie will star as the caped crusader on CW’s “Batwoman,” which premieres its second season on Jan. 17, 2021. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

Q&A: Javicia Leslie takes on Batwoman role to empower others

Jan. 8, 2021 1:15 PM EST

LOS ANGELES (AP) — When Javicia Leslie moved to Los Angeles, she frequently rode down the popular Sunset Boulevard to view the row of erected TV and film billboards for inspiration. As an aspiring actor, she often parked underneath her favorite ones to study before an audition. For years, Leslie made this...

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson speaks in his office at the state Capitol in Little Rock, Ark. on Monday, Jan. 4, 2021. Hutchinson is advocating for a hate crimes bill in the upcoming legislative session, but the measure faces some obstacles. (AP Photo/Andrew DeMillo)

Effort in Arkansas to enact hate crimes law in jeopardy

Jan. 8, 2021 6:02 AM EST

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A push to finally enact a hate crimes law in Arkansas, a state with a history of white supremacists, appeared to have all the elements for success: a popular Republican governor who made it a priority, major corporations endorsing the idea and support from communities where hate...

Poland: Church cancels lease of liberal Catholic magazine

Jan. 5, 2021 11:13 AM EST

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — A liberal Roman Catholic magazine in Poland that recently criticized some high-ranking church officials says local church authorities in Krakow have terminated the publication's office lease after almost 76 years. The Tygodnik Powszechny (General Weekly) said on Facebook and on its...

FILE - In this Monday, Sept. 2019, file photo Nicholas Yatromanolakis general secretary of culture attends a ceremony in Athens. The center-right government in Greece has named the country's first openly gay minister in a cabinet reshuffle on Monday, Jan. 4, 2021. Yatromanolakis, 44, was named as the new deputy minister of culture after being promoted from the position of general secretary at the ministry. (Panayotis Tzamaros/In Time News via AP, File)

Greece names first openly gay minister

Jan. 4, 2021 11:20 AM EST

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — The center-right government in Greece named the country's first openly gay minister in a Cabinet reshuffle Monday. Nicholas Yatromanolakis, 44, was named as the new deputy minister of culture after being promoted from the position of general secretary at the ministry. The government...

Court: NC domestic violence order rule harms LGBT people

Dec. 31, 2020 5:37 PM EST

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Domestic violence protection orders issued by North Carolina judges to keep apart people in abusive or frightening dating relationships must be granted in same-sex cases as well, a divided state appeals court panel ruled Thursday. North Carolina appears to be the only state that...

FILE - In this Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2013 file photo, Rev. Joseph Lowery speaks at the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington where Martin Luther King Jr., spoke, at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington. Lowery, a veteran civil rights leader who helped King found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and fought against racial discrimination, died Friday, March 27, 2020, the family said. He was 98. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Religious leaders worldwide, across faiths who died in 2020

Dec. 31, 2020 2:24 PM EST

NEW YORK (AP) — The Catholic priest who for decades had been one of the Vatican’s top experts on the Latin language died on Christmas Day at a nursing home in Milwaukee. A United Methodist Church bishop in the West African nation of Sierra Leone died in a traffic accident in August as he was engaged...

Polish city funds LGBT shelter despite government hostility

Dec. 31, 2020 6:03 AM EST

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Authorities in the Polish city of Krakow have become the first to include financial support for an LGBT shelter in a country where the community has faced hostility from the government. The shelter offers temporary accommodation and psychological counseling for up to 12 homeless LGBT...

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