Free Republic

The nonprofit group Men Having Babies has held its annual conference in the Miami area since 2018.An organization that helps gay men become fathers through surrogacy is rethinking its future in Florida after receiving a flood of anti-LGBTQ hate. Back in 2017, the international nonprofit Men Having Babies (MHB) chose the Fort Lauderdale area to host one of its eight international gay parenting conferences. The group has since held six of its annual conferences in the state. But while gearing up for its annual Florida Surrogacy Conference & Expo, scheduled for October 4–5 at the Pride Center at Equality Park...

An Italian man has simultaneously tested positive for monkeypox, HIV and COVID-19 after returning home from a holiday, according to a paper published in the Journal of Infection. The 36-year-old reported having intercourse with men without a condom during a five-day Spanish holiday from June 16 to 20. Nine days after his trip, he developed a fever, sore throat, fatigue and headache before testing positive for COVID-19 on July 2.

Gay men get HIV at higher rates than any other group in the United States, and there are many reasons for this. Biological factors dramatically increase a gay man's vulnerability to infection. Social, cultural, and economic factors—such as stigma, racism, homophobia, and high rates of poverty—further compound the risk. Regardless of the causes, securing access to testing, prevention, and PrEP to lower HIV transmission in this high-risk group remains a pressing issue. There are numerous free or low-cost confidential testing and treatment sites offered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services via their online testing locator.

Lone Tree boy, 9, asks Pete Buttigieg how he can tell the world he is gay too by: Joe St. George DENVER (KDVR) — Presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg rallied more than 4,000 supporters at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Aurora Saturday night. While Buttigieg landed familiar attacks on Bernie Sanders and Michael Bloomberg, it was a question asked by a 9-year-old Lone Tree boy that stole the show. Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold read the question of 9 year old Zachary Ro: “Would you help me tell the world I am gay too?” “It won’t always be easy but...

One of the 229 people diagnosed with mpox in Ireland during the recent outbreak had 75 different sexual partners in the 21 days before they developed symptoms of the disease, a new study has revealed. The review of cases also found that 96.5 per cent of confirmed infections had been sexually transmitted. All but three of the infected patients were men, and 98.6 per cent identified as gay, bisexual or men who have sex with men (gbMSM). The youngest patient was 16 and the oldest was 68, and more than one in four (28.3 per cent) were HIV positive, according...

A tiny baby girl died after being left in the back of a hot car just two months after her adoptive parents took her home as a newborn. Diana Sofia De Los Santos was found unresponsive in the SUV outside her parents' home in Santee, San Diego, about 12.20am on June 13. She had been left in the car for several hours in 63F weather when a family member found her and called 911. The baby girl was rushed to hospital but did not survive. San Diego County Sheriff's Office detectives are investigating how Diana was forgotten in the car...

The Biden administration has hired a former Interior Department communications director with a colorful past of attacking police and supporting the anti-Israel movement. “After more than three years at Interior working for Secretary Deb Haaland, Cherry started last week as an associate communications director at the White House,” Politico reported this week.

In recent years, the NFL has made a concerted effort to show its unwavering support of the LGBTQ community. And don't expect that to stop anytime soon. It started in April 2017 when the NFL hosted an LGBTQ Pride discussion panel at its New York City headquarters. That event marked the official launch of the league's LGBTQ employee affinity group, NFL Pride. About 150 people — including commissioner Roger Goodell — sat and listened as openly gay former professional athletes discussed steps the league could take to be more inclusive for the gay community. In an exclusive interview with Outsports...

Alan Cumming has declared that the 2003 X-Men movie X2 is 'the gayest film that I've ever done.' The Scottish actor and television personality followed up by adding, 'And that's me saying that,' during the conversation to promote his reality competition series The Traitors. 'It's got a queer director, lots of queer actors in it,' he said while making his case to Entertainment Weekly. 'I love the fact that something so mainstream and so in the comic book world is so queer.' He went on to explain, 'I think, in a way, those sorts of films really help people understand...

A new letter obtained from transgender killer Audrey Hale revealed that prior to killing three adults and three nine-year-olds at the Covenant Christian School in Nashville, Tennessee, she wrote about her “imaginary penis” and how she would “kill” to get puberty blockers. Back in March of 2023, Audrey Hale shot and killed three individuals before being shot down by law enforcement. Now, just over a year later, four dozen pages of Hale’s writings have been obtained. Those writings include notes of her delusional sense of identity and mental confusion, which led to her attack on the school. The Tennessee Star...

With the arrival of a new, highly contagious fungal infection in NYC, health experts are sharing what you need to know to keep yourself safe. An unidentified NYC man in his 30s was diagnosed with the first US-reported case of Trichophyton mentagrophytes type VII, a rare, sexually transmitted form of ringworm. Details of his infection were shared Wednesday in the journal JAMA Dermatology. “The first thing to note is that we do not have evidence this infection is endemic in the US or even widespread in the US,” Dr. Avrom S. Caplan, who led the study of the man’s case,...

During Pride Month, we celebrate the extraordinary courage and contributions of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex (LGBTQI+) community. We reflect on the progress we have made so far in pursuit of equality, justice, and inclusion. We recommit ourselves to do more to support LGBTQI+ rights at home and around the world. To the entire LGBTQI+ community — and especially transgender children — please know that your President and my entire Administration have your back. We see you for who you are: made in the image of God and deserving of dignity, respect, and support. America is the...

On Thursday, a gay couple filed a class action lawsuit against New York City because the city’s health insurance plan does not cover in vitro fertilization (IVF) for male couples. According to NBC News, the lawsuit comes as part of a “yearslong effort” by the gay couple to get the Big Apple to amend its health benefits. In the lawsuit, the couple alleges that the current policies in place are discriminatory. The gay couple spearheading the lawsuit reportedly plans to utilize IVF and surrogacy to have kids (via NBC News):Corey Briskin and Nicholas Maggipinto said they have been talking about...

The United Methodist Church General Conference has advanced a measure meant to allow different regions of the global denomination to determine their own standards on LGBT issues.At the Thursday plenary session of the General Conference, delegates voted 586-164 in favor of a petition for an amendment to the UMC’s constitution allowing for regionalization. The petition will now be sent to the annual conferences for possible ratification.The amendment will need to gain at least two-thirds support from the annual conference clergy and lay voters to be added to the UMC constitution, reports UM News.>At present, the UMC Book of Discipline, the...

Grindr, the world's biggest dating app for the LGBT community, is being sued for allegedly sharing personal information such as people's HIV status with third parties. According to the claim, lodged at the High Court in London, "covert tracking technology" was deployed, and highly sensitive information was illegally shared with advertisers. Law firm Austen Hays says there are more than 650 claimants and "thousands" of UK users were affected. Grindr says it will "respond vigorously" to the claim.

Mpox cases have been elevated since October, with an average of roughly 200 monthly cases detected per month, spurring efforts to avoid a summer surge like what was seen in 2022. Recent numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showed a startling difference between the first quarter of 2023 and 2024, with the first three months of this year seeing nearly double the rate of cases seen the same time last year.

J.K. Rowling won a significant victory over Scotland’s new speech restrictions after daring the police to arrest her over comments criticising transgender ideology, as Police Scotland said they would not take criminal actions against the Harry Potter author after activists reported her statements to law enforcement. Successfully calling the bluff of the leftist government of First Minister Humza Yousaf, J.K. Rowling struck a stinging blow against the oppressive Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act, after she goaded the police to arrest her as the bill came into law on Monday for insisting that transgender “women” are in reality still...

New York Governor Kathy Hochul (D) issued a proclamation Saturday declaring March 31, Easter Sunday, to be Transgender Visibility Day and ordered state landmarks including One World Trade Center in New York City and Niagara Falls to be illuminated in the colors of the transgender flag.

“On Transgender Day of Visibility, we honor the extraordinary courage and contributions of transgender Americans and reaffirm our nation’s commitment to forming a more perfect union — where all people are created equal and treated equally throughout their lives,” Biden wrote in the declaration.

On Wednesday, Thailand’s House of Representatives voted 400-10 in favor of same-sex “marriage.” Only 10 lawmakers voted against the bill. Two abstained and three didn’t vote. The country’s Senate “rarely rejects any legislation that passes the lower house,” the Associated Press noted. Once it passes the Senate, it then must be approved by the majority-Buddhist country’s king. In addition to redefining marriage, the bill “extends all rights and protections contained in the Civil and Commercial Code to LGBTI+ persons,” the pro-LGBT group “Fortify Rights” said in a press release. The group’s lobbying to add the “gender-neutral language of ‘parent’ addition...