state Washington: Last News

From left: Nikki Kuhnhausen, Jaylow McGlory, and Zoe SpearsMost transgender homicide victims in the U.S. are Black women, and most of them knew their killers, but the legal system has failed them in many ways and few of their cases result in murder convictions, according to a new analysis by Insider.The publication looked at 175 killings of trans and gender-nonconforming, nonbinary, and two-spirit people from 2017 through 2021.

(CNN) -- After thousands of customers in Pierce County, Washington, were affected Sunday when burglars vandalized three energy substations, power was then knocked out for even more homes after a suspect or suspects gained access to a fourth substation, vandalizing the equipment and causing a fire, according to an update from the Pierce County Sheriff's Department.The damaged equipment cut power to around 14,000 customers, police said, weeks after an attack in North Carolina left thousands in the dark for days amid federal warnings of extremist threats to electricity infrastructure.The Christmas Day vandalism near Tacoma marked more such incidents in the state, where two November attacks on Puget Sound Energy substations were investigated by the FBI.

Asian countries are struggling to match global progress on LGBTQ+ rights despite positive steps this year in Singapore and Vietnam, Washington’s first openly lesbian ambassador told Openly in an interview.

A U.S. Air Force tanker plane drew a giant penis pointing at a Russian military installation in Syria recently, but a military spokesperson said the pilots of the plane totally didn’t mean anything by their actions.The KC-135 was in an orbital flight path over the Mediterranean as it waited to refuel other planes when it made the suggestive flight path that was captured by the plane-tracking website Flightradar24. “At this time, we do not believe the crew acted inappropriately,” an Air Force spokesperson said in a statement to Military.com.

RICHLAND, Washington (KAPP) — By a 4-to-1 vote, the Richland School Board approved a contentious policy that instills certain restrictions on the way race, sexuality and culture are allowed to be discussed in the schools’ curriculum.During a school board meeting on the evening of Tuesday, Oct. 25, four of the five Richland School Board members agreed to Policy 2360, which is entitled ‘Race, Culture, and the Curriculum.’It’s a near-identical policy to one that was passed by the Kennewick School Board earlier this year. The following passage comes directly from the document shared during this meeting:The Board recognizes that students must learn factual U.S.

The minister of a church designated a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center recently told his followers he enjoyed using the word “f*gg*t,” but preferred using the word sodomite rather than homosexual because the latter was insufficiently negative in his opinion.Paster Aaron Thompson of the Sure Foundation Baptist Church in Vancouver, Washington, made the remarks in a sermon, excerpts of which were posted to Twitter by Hemant Mehta and reported by MetroWeekly.After saying “f*gg*t” three times within a single sentence in the clip, Thompson, who sports a classic bear physique, opined why he believed “sodomite” is the best description for gay men.“You can say homosexual, but it doesn’t have the negative connotation that it should have,” he said. “The negative connotation that it should have is that they’re a bunch of freaks and that God pronounces the death penalty upon them in Leviticus 20:13.

A private Christian university in Washington that admits to discriminating against LGBTQ+ job applicants is being sued by dozens of current and former students, faculty, and staff.Seattle Pacific University has been under investigation by the state since May after Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson received multiple complaints from students, staff, and faculty regarding the hiring policies at SPU. In June, the university responded to an inquiry from Ferguson by filing a suit in federal court requesting protection from the Washington state investigation due to its exemption as a religious institution.

A three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit unanimously affirmed that Washington state’s law protecting minors from conversion therapy is constitutional and may be enforced.

SEATTLE — A three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit unanimously affirmed that Washington state’s law protecting minors from conversion therapy is constitutional and may be enforced.

Washington state’s ban on ‘conversion therapy’ for children has been unanimously upheld by a federal appeals court.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Tuesday upheld Washington State’s ban on conversion therapy for minors.“In relying on the body of evidence before it as well as the medical recommendations of expert organizations, the Washington Legislature rationally acted by amending its regulatory scheme for licensed health care providers to add ‘[p]erforming conversion therapy on a patient under age eighteen’ to the list of unprofessional conduct for the health professions,” Judge Ronald M. Gould wrote.

A school system in Florida is apologizing after having prevented a transgender boy from playing on the boys’ soccer team.Florida has a law barring trans girls from competing on girls’ school sports teams, but it doesn’t have a similar ban on trans boys. However, a trans boy who moved to Jacksonville from Washington State last year was told he’d have to go to the girls’ team, even after he made it through several rounds of tryouts for the boys’ team, The Florida Times-Union reports.Now officials with the Duval County School District are apologizing to the student, identified only as Zach, and say he can go out for the boys’ team next year.“During tryout season, I reached out to the head coach for the boys’ varsity team, who also happens to be my history teacher,” Zach told the Times-Union.

Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff will host a virtual roundtable this afternoon when he will meet with LGBTQ+ high school students from across the country to learn how they feel about returning to school in the wake of widespread attacks on LGBTQ+ identity in classrooms.Young LGBTQ+ people have been the target of a coordinated right-wing attack for months to erase them and relegate them back into the closet.Today's meeting comes as Republican governors and legislatures have focused on banning subjects of conversation and books related to LGBTQ+ people and issues from schools and libraries around the country. Others have gone so far as to make gender-affirming medical health care access impossible with policies with which major medical associations disagree."The Second Gentleman felt compelled to hold a meeting with students following the passage of legislation in states that impacts the LGBTQ community, including the Don't Say Gay bill in Florida," a White House official tells The Advocate. The call will include trans and cis-gender youth from Florida, Washington, D.C., Connecticut, and California. Among these students are outspoken advocates of LGBTQ+ equality and inclusion, including some of those who led efforts against the Florida's "don't say gay" bill.The White House says the Second Gentleman is committed to ensuring students feel safe in schools.One of the young participants, Daniel, reacted to questions from The Advocate with excitement."I think it's important for young people to speak with political leaders, so they know exactly what we need and want from them at this time," Daniel, 17, said.

monkeypox, or MPV.With vaccine supplies limited, a Seattle man told a local TV station he and friends traveled to the Canadian province of British Columbia to receive the vaccine and found the process “seamless.”“King County [which includes Seattle] health was being very slow with the uptake of access to dosing and communicating in general,” Seattle gay man Justin Moore told broadcaster KING. “It became apparent to me that I was going to have to seek out other places to get it,” he added.So he and his friends went across the border, and it took about 15 minutes for them to get vaccinated against MPV, whose most recent outbreak has been concentrated in men who have sex with men.

Some members of the neo-nazi cult Patriot Front are finally facing charges for planning to storm an Idaho Pride event this June — but does their punishment fit the attempted crime?Idaho police pulled over a U-Haul en route to a Pride in the Park event after an anonymous tipster witnessed the Patriot Front members loading up inside.The caravan of 31 uniformed men armed with riot gear and smoke grenades inside were all zip-tied, unmasked, and arrested for conspiracy to riot.Though the men were all originally charged and held on just over $300 bail, only six will now be facing the charges in court.Related: Patriot Front member’s mom tells him to find new home after Pride arrestIn addition to only affecting a fraction of the planned rioters, the crime they’re charged with is only a misdemeanor. The charge carries a maximum sentence of a fine and five years in prison.While police intervening on behalf of the queer community is a nice surprise, the fact is that most of this violent militia gathered from across the country to target an LGBTQ+ event is being let off largely scot-free, with just a handful of them facing low-level sentencing.The planned descent on the Idaho Pride event was just one of many attacks on queer events this past June; while legislators railed hard against queer people as “groomers“, right-wing Proud Boys tried to break up Drag Queen Storytime events across the country.Related: White supremacists destroyed a Pride mural. The video they made got them arrested.Two of the aforementioned Patriot Front members were also recently arrested for defacing a mural dedicated to Pride in Olympia, Washington; they were taken in after their own recording of the event was discovered by police.In addition to these two,

Above: People pray on the steps of the Supreme Court as the case over school football coach Joseph Kennedy's public prayers is heard.  Photo by Win McNamee/Getty ImagesThe ruling on abortion rights, which overturned Roe v. Wade, isn’t the only concerning one to come out of the U.S.

Transgender icon ‘Mama Gloria’ Allen

Thirty-one members of the racist, neo-Nazi Patriot Front, including the group's founder, were arrested in the city after police stopped a U-Haul truck filled with the suspected would-be rioters. The members are being charged with conspiracy to riot — a misdemeanor offense.According to White, a tipster called authorities around 1:38 p.m.

A gay man running to be the first out person of color on the San Jose City Council and a gay married mother seeking to become the first female Sonoma County superintendent of schools are one step closer to being elected.Omar Torres placed first in his race for San Jose's 3rd council district seat on Tuesday's primary ballot. He received 40.66% of the vote, according to the unofficial returns Wednesday.Since he did not surpass the 50% threshold to clinch the seat outright, Torres will face off on the November general election ballot against the second-place finisher, Irene Smith.

Twenty-seven months after he set fire to a dumpster behind a Seattle gay bar, Kalvinn Garcia has pleaded guilty to one count of committing a federal hate crime. According to a news release issued May 26 by the United States Department of Justice, on February 24, 2020, Garcia, 25, of Sedro Woolley, Washington, set fire to the contents of a dumpster behind Queer/Bar, a popular club in Capitol Hill, Seattle's LGBTQ neighborhood.

Hagerstown, Md.Brayden prays and reads his Bible as a Christian. Friends of his family who teach and have kids at Grace Academy suggested the nondenominational Christian school in Washington County to Brayden and his parents, who decided to apply.Last week, Stratton and Dane, a disabled veteran and CEO of the LGBTQ+ veterans' advocacy group Modern Military Association of America, told Brayden that he wouldn't be able to attend school with his friends. Grace Academy rejected him because his parents are gay, they told him.Brayden tells The Advocate he's sad and doesn't understand why some religious people mistreat others. "My moms are gay, and that does not make me gay, but it doesn't matter because we are all normal," he says. The Advocate obtained a letter signed by Grace Academy upper school principal Mark H.

A 16-year drought of LGBTQ representation on the council of the Bay Area's largest city could come to an end this year. It is up to the voters in San Jose's 3rd council district to decide if the South Bay city will have its second out councilmember in its history.In 2000, Ken Yeager was elected as the first gay councilmember of California's third largest city.

A post shared by Zeb Saint One (@zebadiahsaint)Independent professional wrestler Zeb Saint recently came out. The Washington state-based wrestler will help diversify his hard-hitting sport.In a recent tweet, Saint wrote, “Self discovery update: I’m not straight.

Tuesday night Washington state’s Liberty Lake City Council voted 4-2 to not force the local public library to remove a popular, award-winning LGBTQ book, “Gender Queer,” from its shelves. It was the second loss for Erin Zasada, a local realtor, KREM reports.

BRODY LEVESQUE  |  Washington BladeCourtesy of National LGBT Media Association

Family Research Council President Tony Perkins preached at Westgate Chapel in Edmonds, Washington, Sunday. Following his sermon, Perkins sat down with Westgate’s senior pastor Alec Rowlands for a wide-ranging discussion on the issue of “The Church and Politics.”

An American political extremist accused by the Washington legislature of domestic terrorism is reportedly overseas with dozens of children from Ukraine.

A popular transgender porn star and OnlyFans performer has died at just 30 years old.

Janet Jackson put Justin Timberlake on blast in 2006, then catch up on the latest from Gay TikTok:Marlon Bundo passed away.♬ original sound – GAYGENDA MAGAZINEMichael Schecter was the last couple dancing.Megan Mitchell shared some gender nonconforming fits.Jozea drank Juice.The “gay earring” got decoded.Toddlers attended drag brunch.A gay hiking group conquered Washington state.♬ original sound – NetflixBryan and Chris finished the nursery.James got a new tattoo.And Dr. Eric Cervini talked Tallulah Bankhead.♬ original sound – Dr.

ABOVE: Somehow, splendid Katharine Ross is on her FIFTH husband in Sam Elliott, yet still has had time to be married to him for almost 37 years.

Rachele Sullivan, a leatherwoman who once served on the board of San Francisco-based Folsom Street Events, died January 17, according to the nonprofit that produces the Folsom Street Fair and other activities. She was 54.

Dallas Buyers Club and C.R.A.Z.Y. and first season of the LGBTQ-beloved TV series Big Little Lies, has died at age 58.Vallée, a straight ally, was found dead Sunday at his cabin near Quebec City, The New York Times reports.

Seattle Times reports. He later was flown to Florida for treatment, and his family announced that he died Friday.

Anderson Cooper used one of his 60 Minutes slots on the weekend to explore a tragic death that never should have happened.Sam Martinez was a student at Washington State University. In 2019, he died while pledging Alpha Tau Omega.According to his parents, Martinez had been trying to join the fraternity for the previous two months.

Nine years after telling a gay couple she could not prepare a flower arrangement for their wedding because of her religious beliefs, the owner of a flower shop in Washington state has agreed to pay $5,000 to settle the dispute and withdraw her long-shot bid to get the U.S. Supreme Court to rule in her favor.

Nine years after telling a gay couple she could not prepare a flower arrangement for their wedding because of her religious beliefs, the owner of a flower shop in Washington State has agreed to pay $5,000 to settle the dispute and withdraw her long-shot bid to get the U.S. Supreme Court to rule in her favor.

March 4, 1955 — September 8, 2021James "Jim" Edward Doherty Jr. of San Francisco passed away at his home on September 9, 2021, age 66.

Pictured: Helen Thornton (at right) and at left with her partner, Marge BrownSame-sex spouses who were ineligible for Social Security survivor’s benefits because of discriminatory marriage laws can now receive them, thanks to court decisions and the federal government’s withdrawal of its appeals of those rulings.The Social Security Administration and the Department of Justice announced Monday that they were ending the appeals. U.S.

guilty of second-degree murder and malicious harassment — a hate crime charge — for strangling Kuhnhausen, who was 17, to death and then burying her remains in a wooded area near Larch Mountain, in a remote part of northeast Clark County, in southern Washington.Kuhnhausen went missing on June 6, 2019 while crashing at a friend’s house. Six months later, on Dec.

convicted in August of second-degree murder and malicious harassment, the latter being a hate crime. Nineteen and a half years is the maximum sentence for second-degree murder, with a 12-month maximum sentence for malicious harassment to be served concurrently, The Columbian of Vancouver, Wash., reports.Kuhnhausen, 17, went missing in June 2019, and her remains were found the following December near Larch Mountain in Washington State.

The Columbian previously reported that Bogdanov had told police, after his arrest, that he first ran into Kuhnhausen in downtown Vancouver, and invited her to join him and his brothers at a bar. He gave her his coat because she was cold, and supplied her with vodka to drink, letting her keep the bottle.Kuhnhausen’s friends claimed she returned to the house where she had been staying, and proceeded to use a friend’s cellphone to access her Snapchat account, where she exchanged messages with Bogdanov, ostensibly because he had promised to get her a cellphone later that morning.

The Columbian reports. Bogdanov, a 27-year-old Vancouver man, will be sentenced September 9.

Canada Soccer reports. “The team is hoping to make history by getting back on the podium for a third consecutive time.”Professionally, Quinn plays for a U.S.

Supreme Court's decision Friday not to hear floral artist Barronelle Stutzman's case leaves freedom of religion and expression in an uncertain state. But one thing is perfectly clear: activists and their powerful legal and corporate allies were ready and able to take down a humble Christian grandmother simply for living her faith.Barronelle is a 76-year-old floral artist in Richland, Washington, whom I represent.

Only three justices were open to hearing the florist’s case but there needs to be a total of four the court to take it on.

remanded the case back to the Washington State Supreme Court for reconsideration, in case the decision might have been clouded by anti-religious bias. The high court had previously found, in a similar case, known as the Masterpiece Cakeshop case, that the Colorado Civil Rights Commission may have acted in a prejudicial manner against a Colorado baker who was found to have violated the state’s nondiscrimination law when he refused to provide a wedding cake for same-sex wedding.But in 2019, the Washington State Supreme Court stood by its earlier decision, finding, once again, that Stutzman had violated the law and finding no evidence of any animus toward religion in general nor towards Stutzman’s personal beliefs.

Supreme Court decided Friday that it would not hear the case of a florist who refused to provide her services for a same-sex couple's wedding. The decision not to hear the case leaves in place an earlier ruling that she violated state anti-discrimination laws.Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch said they would have reviewed the ruling, but four justices are needed for the court to hear a case.For more reporting from the Associated Press, see below.In 2018, the high court ordered Washington state courts to take a new look at the case involving florist Barronelle Stutzman and her Arlene's Flowers business.