The Queer Nebraska Youth Network

11/09/2016

The Human Rights Campaign is celebrating the defeat of the politician central to signing the loathed H.B. 2 in North Carolina.

11/09/2016

Hillary Clinton is a fighter, a leader, and one of the greatest allies we've ever seen. For her entire life, she has stood up for those who need someone to have their backs and made history by running on the most pro-equality platform in history. We thank you, Hillary Clinton, for standing with us and fighting for what's right and just. We're proud to have stood with you.

11/09/2016

To every LGBTQ person across this nation feeling stunned and disheartened, and questioning if they have a place in our country today, we say this:

10/31/2016

June 30, 2016 - Secretary of Defense Ash Carter announces that the Pentagon is lifting the ban on transgender people serving openly in the US military. The decision removes one of the last remaining barriers to LGBT participation in the armed forces.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/30/politics/transgender-ban-lifted-us-military/

The Pentagon said Thursday it was ending the ban on transgender people being able to serve openly in the U.S. military.

10/30/2016

May 17, 2016 - The Senate confirms Eric Fanning to be secretary of the Army, making him the first openly gay secretary of a US military branch. Fanning previously served as Defense Secretary Ash Carter's chief of staff, and also served as undersecretary of the Air Force and deputy undersecretary of the Navy.

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/first-openly-gay-army-secretary-confirmed-n575661

Fanning was confirmed late Tuesday as secretary of the Army — the first openly gay man to hold that branch's highest ranking civilian position.

10/29/2016

May 17, 2004 - The first legal same-sex marriage in the United States occurs in Massachusetts.

Marcia Kadish, 56, and Tanya McCloskey, 52, of Malden, Massachusetts, marry at Cambridge City Hall in Massachusetts, becoming the first legally married same-sex partners in the United States. Over the course of the day, 77 other same-sex couples tied the knot across the state, and hundreds more applied for marriage licenses. The day was characterized by much celebration and only a few of the expected protests materialized.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/06/26/looking-back-legalization-gay-marriage-mass/uhCeyrSeJtWty9tSUde1PI/story.html

Friday’s Supreme Court ruling finalizes a trend that began in Massachusetts in 2004, when the state became the first to marry gay couples.

10/28/2016

Matthew Wayne "Matt" Shepard (December 1, 1976 – October 12, 1998) was an American student at the University of Wyoming who was beaten, tortured, and left to die near Laramie, Wyoming on the night of October 6, 1998. He died six days later at Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins, Colorado, on October 12, from severe head injuries.

Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson were arrested shortly after the attack and charged with murder following Shepard's death. Significant media coverage was given to what role Shepard's sexual orientation played in the killing. During McKinney's pretrial and trial, testimony was given that the pair had pretended to be gay to gain Shepard's trust and rob him. McKinney's prosecutor argued the murder was premeditated and driven by greed, while McKinney's defense counsel argued that McKinney had only intended to rob Shepard, but had killed him in a rage when Shepard made a sexual advance. McKinney's girlfriend told police that he had been motivated by anti-gay sentiment, but later recanted her statement, saying that she had lied because she thought it would help him. Both McKinney and Henderson were convicted of the murder and each sentenced to two consecutive life sentences.

Shepard's murder brought national and international attention to hate crime legislation at the state and federal levels. In October 2009, the United States Congress passed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act (commonly the "Matthew Shepard Act" or "Shepard/Byrd Act" for short), and on October 28, 2009, President Barack Obama signed the legislation into law. Following her son's murder, Matthew's mother Judy Shepard became a prominent LGBT rights activist and established the Matthew Shepard Foundation. Shepard's death inspired notable films, novels, plays, songs, and other works.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/oct/26/the-truth-behind-americas-most-famous-gay-hate-murder-matthew-shepard

Matthew Shepard’s horrific death at the hands of redneck homophobes shocked America and changed its laws. Now a different truth is emerging, but does it matter? Julie Bindel reports

10/27/2016

April 26, 2000 - Vermont being comes the first state to legalize civil-unions between same-sex couples.

http://www.npr.org/2013/03/27/174651233/how-vermonts-civil-war-fueled-the-gay-marriage-movement

10/26/2016

Are We Ready For A Gay President? Well, We May Have Already Had One

"With the primaries for the November election in full force, we’ve seen human rights — including those of the LGBTQ community — take center stage. And after electing our first African-American President and experiencing the Supreme Court’s landmark legalization of gay marriage in 2015, it’s not far fetched to think that an LGBT president may be in the near future. But it might not be a first. That’s right — we may have already had a gay U.S. president: James Buchanan."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/are-we-ready-for-a-gay-president-well-we-may-have_us_5759e5bae4b052f656ef5ef1?utm_hp_ref=lgbt-history

If you ask most Americans, they would agree that we, as a society, are always becoming more progressive -- especially when it comes to tolerance of diffe...

10/25/2016

9 Pioneers Of The Gay Rights Movement You Need To Know (But Probably Don’t)

If you know even the slightest bit about q***r history, you’ve heard of gay activists like Harvey Milk and Larry Kramer. But there are scores of others who get less attention than they deserve. In honor of October’s le***an, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) history month, we present nine men in history you may not be as familiar with......

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/pioneers-gay-rights-movement_us_5627b7a7e4b02f6a900eec17?utm_hp_ref=lgbt-history

Shout out to these brave men who refused to stay silent.

10/24/2016

December 9, 2005 - "Brokeback Mountain" is released to limited audiences in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco. The major motion picture, directed by Ang Lee, focuses on a love story between two men that stretches over decades, and survives in a time and place in which the two men's feelings for each other were utterly taboo. The film stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger, and goes on to win several Golden Globe Awards and Academy Awards.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0388795/?ref_=ttawd_awd_tt

Directed by Ang Lee. With Jake Gyllenhaal, Heath Ledger, Michelle Williams, Randy Quaid. The story of a forbidden and secretive relationship between two cowboys, and their lives over the years.