LGBTQ
Vulnerable to monkeypox in Louisiana, they struggle to get vaccine, care
It took New Orleans resident Jared Zeringue three days of incessant calling to find a dose of the monkeypox vaccine in Louisiana. First, he contacted New Orleans health care offices listed on the Louisiana Department of Health’s website as vaccine providers but couldn’t find anyone willing to give it to him. Then he called the […]
Louisiana’s GOP delegation lacks Choco Taco conviction
There’s a lot being made of the untimely demise of the Choco Taco, which its manufacturer announced this week would be discontinued. Its impending absence has motivated its fans to appeal – somehow, some way – to keep it off the ice cream novelty extinction list. Those supporters include U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Connecticut, who […]
Livingston library board member’s ‘inappropriate’ book list draws vocal opposition
LIVINGSTON – The public notice read “book content,” nothing more. Spurred by word of mouth and social media, dozens of people piled into a small room in a Livingston Parish library Tuesday night to fight back against a public official concerned about LGBTQ content for young readers. Erin Sandefur, a member of the Livingston Parish […]
Louisiana has just over 1,000 doses of monkeypox vaccine
Louisiana has 1,049 doses of the monkeypox vaccine on hand to help combat a viral outbreak that is accelerating nationwide and has already made its way to southeast Louisiana. Each person treated with the monkeypox vaccine must receive two doses of the medication, meaning Louisiana’s current number of doses is sufficient to care for just […]
Drag queen tweet stirs controversy for Louisiana Department of Health
The Louisiana Department of Health faces backlash over a social media post that included a picture of a local drag queen at a health awareness event in Alexandria as part of LGBTQ Pride Month. The controversy began June 24 when LDH tweeted photos of a “family-friendly Pride event” at the Alexandria Convention Center with a […]
Right-wing think tank with Louisiana ties is a church in eyes of IRS
The Family Research Council’s multimillion-dollar headquarters sit on G Street in Washington, D.C., just steps from the U.S. Capitol and the White House, a spot ideally situated for its work as a right-wing policy think tank and political pressure group. From its perch at the heart of the nation’s capital, the FRC has pushed for […]
LGBTQ community in Louisiana wants more support than they had growing up
For Steven Knight, growing up Black, queer and Christian in Shreveport meant facing resistance toward who he was from conflicting parts of his community. His church told him gay people are going to go to hell. Black culture told him “being gay is a white thing,” he said. The media’s representation of masculinity in his […]
After Supreme Court overturned Roe, LGBTQ advocates worry about what’s next
SALEM, Oregon – The U.S. Supreme Court’s Friday ruling overturning Roe v. Wade doesn’t immediately affect access to reproductive health care in Oregon, but LGBTQ rights advocates fear other rights may now be in jeopardy. Abortion is protected as a right under the state Constitution, and codified in state law. The same goes for access to […]
LGBTQ community concerned with Louisiana Legislature’s focus on restrictions
Attendees and participants at the New Orleans Pride Parade expressed concerns that restrictions on the LGBTQ community are a growing focus of the Louisiana Legislature
Louisiana governor opts not to veto transgender athlete ban
Gov. John Bel Edwards chose not to block a new law banning transgender athletes from participating in women and girls sports competitions in Louisiana, although he successfully vetoed a similar measure last year. “That bill was going to become law regardless of what I did,” Edwards said Monday at a press conference. “Acknowledging that reality […]
Author kills Louisiana’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill
For now, Louisiana teachers will still be allowed to discuss sexual orientation and gender identity in K-12 classrooms. Rep. Dodie Horton, R-Haughton, author of what’s been labeled Louisiana’s “Don’t Say Gay” legislation, told the Illuminator she has voluntarily shelved her bill for this legislative session. Her bill would have made it illegal for schools to […]
Leaked Supreme Court abortion draft raises fears for future of gay marriage, LGBTQ rights
Standing at the top of Clingmans Dome in the Great Smoky Mountains, Mario Oranday waited until his partner, Andrew Baumgarten, surveyed the endless tree-lined hills before kneeling down and reaching for the ring he had been carefully carrying. He had asked a nearby couple to film his proposal, and Baumgarten’s resounding “Yes” was forever captured […]