Top Stories
Lesbian combat veteran Cait Conley unseats Republican Mike Lawler in New York U.S. House race
New York voters have elected Cait Conley to Congress, sending a lesbian Army combat veteran who served under “don’t ask, don’t tell” to Washington and flipping a Republican-held House seat. Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Lawler conceded to Conley late Tuesday in New York’s 17th Congressional District, ending his bid for a third term in one of the country’s closely watched House contests. Conley accepted his concession and delivered a victory speech that night. Stay up to date with the latest in LGBTQ+ news with The Advocate’s email newsletter, in your inbox five days a week. Lawler acknowledged that outstanding ballots in Westchester County would leave him […]
Democrat Ousts Anti-LGBTQ Kansas Attorney General
The New York Times reports: Kris W. Kobach, Kansas’ Republican attorney general, helped to make claims of widespread illegal voting a potent political issue years before President Trump became the party’s leader. But Mr. Kobach was denied another term by voters, The Associated Press reported. The result demonstrated both how Kansas and Mr. Kobach’s own trajectory have shifted since he crashed onto the national political landscape more than 20 years ago. Chris Mann, a Democrat who has worked as a police officer and prosecutor, defeated Mr. Kobach, marking the first time in 20 years that Kansans have elected a Democrat as attorney […]
LGBTQ Voters Find New Hope as Red States Turn Blue
Lifelong Kansan Lucas Ryan, 29, says he has watched in horror as his home state has grown increasingly hostile toward gay and transgender residents over the past decade. “It’s been terrible for my mental health; it’s been brutal,” Ryan, who is pansexual, told Uncloseted Media. In the four most recent legislative sessions, Kansas lawmakers proposed 41 anti-LGBTQ state bills and passed seven into law, according to an American Civil Liberties Union tally. Earlier this year, Republicans overrode a veto by Kansas’ Democratic governor in order to pass into law a measure invalidating driver’s licenses that do not reflect a person’s sex […]
Local News
Help Keep Sonoma County Farmworkers Warm During this Cold Season
The Peace & Justice Center is collecting warm clothing and work essentials for immigrant laborers and farmworkers through Indivisible Sonoma County’s BOOST program. Drop off donations Monday–Friday, 1–4 p.m. Indivisible Sonoma County’s new BOOST program provides practical support for people in our community affected by harmful federal policies. Each quarter, BOOST will focus on a different community need. For October and November, BOOST is collecting warm clothing and work essentials for immigrant laborers and farmworkers. In December, the program will support the Volunteer Center’s Secret Santa program. Items needed For men For women Clean, gently used jackets and sweatshirts are […]
Arts & Entertainment
Gradina Balkan Music Ensemble at Occidental Center for the Arts. Gradina Saturday November 14
Saturday November 14 @ 7 pm: Gradina Balkan Music Ensemble at Occidental Center for the Arts. Gradina is a Balkan music ensemble based in California’s North Bay area. We celebrate the seasons and their festivals through song and dance, bringing Old World rituals to new light and new generations to revel in the staying power of gratitude for life on Earth.We sing both a cappella and with instrumental accompaniment. We lean toward traditional songs and arrangements. We present “sit-down” concerts for choral listening as well as dance concerts, and we are also available to teach most of the dances we present. […]
Historians straightwashed a 1600s poet. A new book captures the true legacy of “the Welsh Sappho.”
When the Welsh government in 2021 embarked on what Deputy Minister of Social Partnership Hannah Blythyn described as a project to make Wales “the most LGBTQ+ friendly nation in Europe,” Welsh scholar Norena Shopland was commissioned to help train librarians, museum staff, and archivists on the inclusion of LGBTQ+ history. In 2022, Shopland served as founding researcher in an inspiring and beautifully done countrywide effort to write a local LGBTQ+ open-access online history for each of the twenty-two counties of Wales, providing, she wrote, “a means by which local people, allies and events can be celebrated instead of replicating mainstream narratives and […]
State News
Scott Wiener elected San Francisco’s first out gay member of Congress as Pelosi-backed rival concedes
California state Sen. Scott Wiener is poised to become the first out gay person to represent San Francisco in Congress after his Democratic rival, city Supervisor Connie Chan, conceded Wednesday evening in the race to succeed former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Wiener led Chan 55.46 percent to 44.54 percent in Wednesday’s returns for California’s 11th Congressional District, according to Decision Desk HQ. Chan said she expected the margin to narrow as more ballots were counted, but her campaign’s review of the outstanding vote persuaded her to concede. Major news outlets had not yet called the race when she did. Stay up to date with the latest in LGBTQ+ […]
Who Can Vote in California
You must register before you can vote in California. You are eligible to vote in California if you meet all of the following requirements: You cannot register to vote in California if: Voter Registration Requirements To register to vote: If you don’t provide any of these numbers or the state can’t match the number you provide to official records, you will have to show an accepted form of ID the first time you vote. You can use any unexpired photo ID or a non-photo document with your name and address. Common examples include: Same Day Registration California allows voter registration […]
