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- OUT LEADERSHIP'S STATE LGBTQ+ BUSINESS CLIMATE INDEX HAS MEASURED THE IMPACT OF STATE GOVERNMENT POLICIES AND PREVALENT ATTITUDES ON THE LGBTQ+ COMMUNITY, WEIGHING FACTORS SUCH AS SUPPORT FOR YOUNG PEOPLE AND FAMILIES, HEALTH ACCESS AND SAFETY, POLITICAL AND RELIGIOUS ATTITUDES, WORK ENVIRONMENT AND EMPLOYMENT AND NONDISCRIMINATION PROTECTIONS, AND SAYS THE TOP 5 MOST LGBTQ FRIENDLY STATES ARE NEW YORK, CONNECTICUT, MASSACHUSETTS, NEW JERSEY, AND VERMONT. - BLUE SPRING SCHOOL DISTRICT IN MISSOURI WAS ORDERED TO PAY TRANSGENDER FORMER STUDENT $4 MILLION AFTER BARRING HIM FROM MALE RESTROOM. HE'S BEEN FIGHTING THIS CASE FOR ALMOST A DECADE NOW, BUT HE WON. - AFFORDABLE HOUSING COMPLEX FOR LGBTQ+ SENIORS TO OPEN IN PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA. - TRANS WOMAN WINS MISS MARYLAND USA. - SEOUL MAYOR OH SE-HOON TOLD LGBTQ THEY COULDN'T CELEBRATE IN THE PLACE THEY USUALLY DO, BUT THAT DIDN'T STOP THE PARADE BECAUSE 150,000 PEOPLE SHOWED UP ANYWAY. - TORONTO, CANADA UNVEILS THE WORLD’S LONGEST RAINBOW IN CELEBRATION OF PRIDE. THE ART INSTALLATION IS 600 METERS (1968.5 FT) LONG. - DC MAYOR BOWSER LEADS LGBTQ PRIDE FLAG RAISING CEREMONY AT CITY HALL AND SAYS “ I’M PROUD THAT WE ARE THE GAYEST CITY IN THE WORLD“. - THE “SICK FREAK COOKIE BOX” SOLD BY THE ROCK CITY CAKE COMPANY OF CHARLESTON, WEST VIRGINIA FEATURES REAL-LIFE HATE MESSAGES THAT THE COMPANY RECEIVED AFTER SHARING SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS SUPPORTING THE LGBTQ+ COMMUNITY. THE BAKERY PRINTED OUT THE INDIVIDUAL MESSAGES ON EDIBLE PAPER AND THEN PLACED THEM ON TOP OF COOKIES. PART OF THE PROFITS FROM EACH $30 BOX OF COOKIES SOLD WILL BENEFIT LOCAL CHARITIES. - DUOLINGO, HAS DELETED REFERENCES IN RUSSIA TO WHAT MOSCOW CALLS "NON-TRADITIONAL SEXUAL RELATIONS" AFTER BEING WARNED BY RUSSIA'S COMMUNICATIONS REGULATOR ABOUT PUBLISHING LGBT CONTENT. RUSSIA LAST YEAR WIDENED RESTRICTIONS ON THE PROMOTION OF WHAT IT CALLS LGBT PROPAGANDA AMID A BROADER CRACKDOWN ON LGBT RIGHTS, WHICH PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN HAS SOUGHT TO PORTRAY AS EVIDENCE OF MORAL DECAY IN WESTERN COUNTRIES. RUSSIA HAS DESIGNATED THE "LGBT MOVEMENT" AS EXTREMIST AND THOSE SUPPORTING IT AS TERRORISTS. THE BAD:; - THE COLORADO GOP IS BEING CRITICIZED FOR AN INFLAMMATORY EMAIL WITH THE SUBJECT LINE "GOD HATES PRIDE" AND A VIDEO TITLED "GOD HATES FLAGS" THAT DEMONIZES PRIDE MONTH AND PORTRAYS THE LGBTQ COMMUNITY WITH LONGSTANDING FALSE TROPES. THE EMAIL, SENT BY THE GROUP ON MONDAY, SUGGESTS THAT THE LGBTQ COMMUNITY IS "GODLESS" AND AIMS TO "HARM OUR CHILDREN,"
MIMICKING CLAIMS ABOUT THE COMMUNITY THAT ADVOCATES HAVE CALLED DANGEROUS. AS CRITICISM BEGAN TO FLOOD IN, THE COLORADO GOP DOUBLED DOWN ON THEIR MESSAGE ON WEDNESDAY, POSTING ON X: "BURN ALL THE #PRIDE FLAGS THIS JUNE."; - FOR THE LAST SIX YEARS, OUT LEADERSHIP'S STATE LGBTQ+ BUSINESS CLIMATE INDEX HAS MEASURED THE IMPACT OF STATE GOVERNMENT POLICIES AND PREVALENT ATTITUDES ON THE LGBTQ+ COMMUNITY, WEIGHING FACTORS SUCH AS SUPPORT FOR YOUNG PEOPLE AND FAMILIES, HEALTH ACCESS AND SAFETY, POLITICAL AND RELIGIOUS ATTITUDES, WORK ENVIRONMENT AND EMPLOYMENT AND NONDISCRIMINATION PROTECTIONS. THE AVERAGE SCORE FOR THE UNITED STATES HAS FALLEN FOR THE THIRD YEAR IN A ROW. IN 2024'S REPORT, THE U.S. SCORED A 62.77 OUT OF 100. THE REPORT SAYS THE TOP 5 LEAST FRIENDLY LGBTQ STATES ARE ARKANSAS, LOUISIANA, SOUTH CAROLINA, OKLAHOMA, AND TENNESSEE. - WHITE NATIONALIST, ANTI-LGBTQ ACTIVITY ON THE RISE ACCORDING TO THE ANNUAL HATE REPORT BY THE SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER. THERE IS A 33% RISE IN ANTI-LGBTQ+ ORGANIZATIONS OVER THE PAST YEAR AND A 50% SURGE IN WHITE SUPREMACY HATE GROUPS. AMONG THE STATES LEADING IN NUMBERS OF ANTI-GOVERNMENT AND HATE GROUPS ARE CALIFORNIA, FLORIDA, TEXAS, PENNSYLVANIA, NEW YORK, VIRGINIA, GEORGIA, NORTH CAROLINA, WASHINGTON, AND OHIO. - UNDER UGANDA'S NEW ANTI-HOMOSEXUALITYACT, SAME-SEX INTERCOURSE IS PUNISHABLE BY LIFE IN PRISON, WHILE SO-CALLED AGGRAVATED HOMOSEXUALITY MAY LEAD TO A DEATH SENTENCE. - GAY BRITISH-MEXICAN MAN SAYS QATAR AUTHORITIES LURED HIM VIA DATING APP, PLANTED DRUGS AND SUBJECTED HIM TO UNFAIR TRIAL. HE HAS BEEN GIVEN A SUSPENDED SIX-MONTH JAIL SENTENCE, A FINE AMOUNTING TO ABOUT $2,700, AND A DEPORTATION ORDER BY A COURT IN THE ARAB NATION.
