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74°
Tuesday, nov 5
Tag:
LGBTQ
Schools
PA School Board Member Asked To Resign After Lewd Remarks About VP Harris
A school board member in Montgomery County is being asked by some parents to resign after making disparaging remarks about Vice President Kamala Harris. Souderton Area School Board Member William Formica is accused of writing on social media that Kamala Harris performed a sex act in response to a question about the vice president's political accomplishments. Parents and teachers have criticized Formica’s post as sexist and misogynistic, and say the Republican has a history of making offensive comments, including around LGBTQ issues. A petition is circulating asking Formica to resign. …
News
Grindr Meetup Ends With Dismemberment Of PA 14-Year-Old: Affidavit
A 14-year-old transgender teenager from Western Pennsylvania met their alleged killer through the dating app Grindr, according to an affidavit of probable cause obtained by Daily Voice. Dashawn Dale Depree Watkins, 29 of Sharon, is in the Mercer County Prison after bloody clothes and surveillance videos linked him to the brutal dismembering of 14-year-old Pauly Likens, the Pennsylvania State Police explained in a press release and court documents. Likens was reported missing by "his" father (who does not acknowledge his son's transition to become a girl, the police explained in the affida…
Lifestyle
Coloring Books NOT Bomb Cancel Drag Queen Story Hour In Lancaster, Officials
An unmarked box of coloring books led the Lancaster Public Library to cancel a story hour scheduled for Saturday with a "professional drag entertainer" city officials told Daily Voice. Christopher Paul Paolini known by the stage name of Miss Amie Vanité had been facing pushback from the Lancaster County commissioners about the children's Drag Queen Story Hour scheduled at the library. A GoFundMe was launched to help the library after the commissioners threatened to pull public funding. View this post on Instagram …
Lifestyle
Drag Queen Story Hour Returns To Lancaster, County Commissioner NOT Happy
A Reading man who's a "professional drag entertainer" will be dressing up as a woman to read children's stories at the Lancaster Public Library — and a public official is speaking out against it. Christopher Paul Paolini has been dressing up as Miss Amie Vanité for professional events for over 20 years and began including children's story hours in 2018, according to social media and the library. Another Reading Pride 2022 Photo Dump!! 📸: Keeb Photography LLC Posted by Amie Vanité on Wednesday, July 20, 2022 Paolini has been a trustee at the West Read…
News
Beyonce Posts Tribute To Philadelphia Dancer Stabbed Dead
After Philadelphia native and dancer O'Shae Sibley was stabbed to death in New York City while dancing to Beyonce's music, the artist posted a tribute in his honor to her personal website. Sibley, a 28-year-old trained dancer who studied with the Philadelphia Dance Company, was killed while dancing and vogueing in what police are describing as a possible hate crime at a Brooklyn gas station, CBS News reports. In response, Beyonce's team updated her homepage to read "Rest In Power O'Shae Sibley." In a statement posted to Facebook, the Philadelphia Dance Company said Sibley had trained th…
Lifestyle
PA Cities Among 'Safest' For LGBTQ+ Pride, Study Says
When protests against LGBTQ+ are on the rise, community members (and allies) may want to look for not only the best place to celebrate during Pride month but also the safest place to live. Two Pennsylvania cities made LawnStarter's "2023's Most LGBTQ-Friendly Cities" list. The study ranked America's "200 biggest U.S. cities based on 20 indicators of an ideal LGBTQ city, such as anti-discrimination policies, the share of same-sex households, and LGBTQ support resources," the organization said. Affordability, LGBTQ-friendly healthcare access, and "Pride-readiness," were also factored i…
Police & Fire
Trans Twin Activist Mar'Quis 'MJ' Jackson Slain In Philadelphia
Mar'Quis Jackson, a Philadelphia-based LGBTQ activist, has died, authorities told Daily Voice. He was 33. Philly cops were called to a home on the 1800 block of Brunner Street in the Tioga-Nicetown section of the city's north side at 4:15 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 14. for reports of an unresponsive person with an injury to the face. The individual, later identified as Jackson, was declared dead at the scene due to blunt force trauma, police said. The matter is being investigated as a homicide. On a GoFundMe page meant to assist Jackson's family with funeral costs, loved ones wrote that J…
Police & Fire
ACLU Accuses Central Bucks School District Of Discriminating Against LGBTQ+ Students
The ACLU of Pennsylvania filed a complaint Thursday, Oct. 6 with the United States Department of Justice on behalf of seven students in Central Bucks School District who claim officials continuously discriminated against LGBTQ+ students, particularly transgender students. The redacted complaint is the result of a five-month investigation by ACLU-PA lawyers who interviewed dozens of students, family members, current and former teachers, other school staff, and community stakeholders, according to the organization. The school district promoted a toxic educational environment&nb…
Obituaries
Beloved Philly Drag Queen Valencia Prime Dies Mid-Performance At Popular Gay Bar
Members and allies of the LGBTQ community were coming together after a Philadelphia drag queen and transgender woman unexpectedly died mid-performance at a popular gay bar in the city. Valencia Prime, 25, was performing at Tabu Lounge and Sports bar on Monday, Sept. 12 when she suddenly collapsed onstage, bar owner Jeffrey Sotland told NBC News. Her cause of death was not immediately known. "Today we mourn the loss of a very bright and rising star in the performance community and a person who was always full of love and positivity," the business said in a statement shared on Facebook and…
News
PA Mennonites Vote To Allow Pastors To Marry LGBTQ Members
Pride Month kicked off with the announcement that members of the Mennonite Church USA gathered and voted to make some serious changes to the Church's stance on the LGBTQ community members, according to a release by the Church. The group voted on the "Resolution for Repentance and Transformation,” among several other changes at an annual conference held in Kansas, Missouri held May 27-30, according to the church's release on June 1. The resolution "calls the church to repent for harm done to LGBTQ people and calls for broader inclusion of LGBTQ people," church officials say. That inclusion …
News
PA School Tried Hiding Student's Gender Transition: Report
A Pennsylvania school tried hiding a student's preferred pronouns from their parents, FoxNews reports. In emails obtained by the outlet from Charles F. Patton Middle School staff, one counselor notes that the student identifies as non-binary and prefers to be addressed using they/them pronouns. "If you are emailing home, it may be best to use she/her when referring to [the student]," the counselor said in the email, along with an attachment of the American Psychological Association’s ‘A Guide to Supporting Trans and Gender Diverse Students,’ according to the outlet. No Left Turn in Educati…
Police & Fire
LGBTQ+ Resort Owner Arrested In Miami For Another Child Sex Assault — This One In NJ: Report
A 54-year-old co-owner of a "clothing optional" resort charged last month with sexually assaulting a child on his Pennsylvania campgrounds is in custody again for the same — this time for an incident that happened in New Jersey, the Pocono Record reports. Patrick Gremling was arrested in Miami on an out-of-of-state warrant accusing him of sexually assaulting the victim in Little Egg Harbor in 2012, the outlet says. The new charges against Gremling, of Jim Thorpe, were filed two weeks after he was arrested by Pennsylvania State Police for sexually assaulting the same child — then in mid…
Lifestyle
Supporters Of LGBTQ+ Rally Following Repeal Of Anti-Discrimination Ordinance In PA
The Pennsylvania LGBTQ+ community recently had a massive blow when a municipality repealed it's anti-discrimination ordinance, which was put in place to protect people from discrimination based on their sexual orientation, ethnicity or gender. Local leaders, residents, and allies rallied around the LGBTQ+ community in a show support following the repeal of the LGBTQ+ inclusive nondiscrimination ordinance by the Chambersburg borough council. The group of over 50 supporters wore rainbow face masks while attending the official kick-off to Chambersburg’s largest annual festival, the IceFe…
Police & Fire
Co-Owner Of 'Clothing Optional' Camping Resort In PA Accused Of Assaulting Child
The co-owner of a "clothing optional" camping resort in Pennsylvania has been accused of assaulting a child on the grounds in 2011, LehighValleyLive reports. Patrick Gremling, 54, of Jim Thorpe, was also charged with felony corruption of minors after the now 21-year-old victim told police of the alleged assault at the Woods Campground Resort in Towamensing Township, the news outlet says citing court papers. Open from May to October, the membership-only campsite is LGBTQ+ themed and "clothing optional," according to its website. Gremling was listed as a co-owner according to record…
News
Jersey Shore Wrestling Champ Arrested By FBI On Child Porn Charges
A New Jersey state wrestling champion and coach who made national headlines when he revealed that he’s gay was arrested by the FBI Wednesday on child porn charges, federal authorities said. Alec Donovan, 24, of Brick Township also used an app to “solicit and engage in conversations with minors, including requesting nude photographs from the minors and sending nude photographs to them,” Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. Donovan, who records show has coached at the Shorething Wrestling Club in Lakewood, “sent three videos containing images of child sexual abuse and received two vide…
Police & Fire
Pennsylvania's Carl Nassib Is First Active NFL Player To Publicly Come Out As Gay
West Chester, PA native and Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Carl Nassib became the first active NFL player to publicly come out as gay. Although several athletes have come out after retiring from the NFL, Nassib made history by opening up about his sexual orientation while still being an active player. The 28-year-old said in a video posted to Instagram Monday that he has been "meaning to do this for a while now but I finally feel comfortable enough to get it off my chest.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Carl Nassib (@carlnass…
News
New Jersey Adds Gender 'X' Option For Drivers Licenses
The New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission is adding an “X” gender option to drivers licenses and non-driver identification cards. Gender “X” will indicate a gender is unspecified, and it will be offered alongside the existing “M” (male) and “F” (female) gender options on licenses and IDs. This is offered not only to New Jersey residents who identify as non-binary, but for anyone who prefers that their gender not be specified on their license or ID. The MVC previously announced the ability to change the M/F gender designation on licenses and IDs in February 2020, following passage of the “B…
News
PA's Rachel Levine Poised To Become First Openly Transgender Federal Official
President-elect Joe Biden has chosen Pennsylvania Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine as his assistant secretary of health. This makes Levine poised to become the first openly transgender federal official confirmed by the U.S. Senate. "Dr. Levine has been a wise, calm, and dedicated partner during this pandemic and I couldn’t be prouder of the tireless work she’s done to serve Pennsylvanians," Gov. Tom Wolf said. "She will be missed, but I know she will be a tremendous leader at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services." Levine is a pediatrician having previously served as Pen…
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