Articles by compassq

HEALTH

Support for transgender youth begins in small town America.

August 26, 2017 compassq Comments Off on Support for transgender youth begins in small town America.

Terri and Jaimie are moms who live in Grass Lake, Michigan. When you live in a town as small as Grass Lake, everybody knows your name. It’s what makes towns like Grass Lake the kind of place you’d want to raise a family. Grass Lake is also more diverse than anyone thought. Terri and Jaimie are both moms to young transgender kids. What makes Grass Lake exceptional is that its school board recently decided to allow transgender children to use the bathrooms matching their gender identity. What always strikes me about school board meetings like the one recently held in Grass Lake is the passion of the community – and how our goals are the same. We all want our children to grow up […]

5 THINGS TO KNOW

Respect for India’s LGBT community.

August 26, 2017 compassq Comments Off on Respect for India’s LGBT community.

India’s Supreme Court ruled Thursday that people have a fundamental right to privacy, curtailing the Indian government’s efforts to implement the world’s biggest biometric database. But the court also recognized, for the first time, that sexual orientation is an essential part of privacy and dignity, paving the way for LGBT equality in India and beyond.

A & E

The lost flock of the Catholic Church.

August 26, 2017 compassq Comments Off on The lost flock of the Catholic Church.

After a gunman killed 49 people and wounded dozens of others at Pulse nightclub in Orlando last year, Rev. James Martin heard many of his fellow Catholic clergy members offer condolences. But what struck him most was what he didn’t hear. What was missing from many of their messages, Martin says, was any acknowledgment that most of the victims were LGBT people. “That to me was really revealing, and that showed me that even in death LGBT Catholics were invisible to the institutional church,” he tells The Advocate.

HEALTH

LGBT community has a safe home in Ventura.

August 26, 2017 compassq Comments Off on LGBT community has a safe home in Ventura.

In a quiet Ventura business park, the Diversity Collective’s new Community Resource Center had its door wide open, ready for guests to drop in. Inside the lobby, Joseph Summers was quick to greet visitors to the recently opened facility run by the Diversity Collective Ventura County, a group dedicated to providing resources and support to the county’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community.

5 THINGS TO KNOW

Spreading love in anti-LGBT countries.

August 26, 2017 compassq Comments Off on Spreading love in anti-LGBT countries.

This summer, Frank van Dalen celebrated Pride in Kiev, Ukraine. He did so alongside several thousand police officers in combat gear, marching down side-streets between water cannons positioned to protect drag queens from violent right-wing nationalists. “The level of protection is something that most Americans would wonder about,” recalled van Dalen, vice president of operations at the international Pride organization Interpride. “Police are marching along with Pride participants, forming a line on both sides of the parade. It’s as if you’re cocooned.”

A & E

Aspen hosting a summer LGBT festival, “Aspen Summer Holiday.”

August 25, 2017 compassq Comments Off on Aspen hosting a summer LGBT festival, “Aspen Summer Holiday.”

Scores of colorful characters are swapping the slopes for floats and apres ski for “poolside tea” as an LGBTQ-aimed summer event debuts in Aspen. In partnership with the Aspen Chamber Resort Association and National LGBTQ Task Force, Men’s Vows, an online magazine catered to weddings between men, is hosting the three-day “Aspen Summer Holiday,” which kicked off Thursday.