The Associated Press reports: A top court in the eastern Caribbean island of Dominica has struck down colonial-era laws criminalizing gay sex. It’s the latest nation to repeal such laws in the socially conservative region, joining Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, St. Kitts and Nevis, and Antigua and Barbuda. While the laws stemmed from the British colonial period, they were strengthened in 1998, with punishment of up to 10 years in prison if found guilty. Courts in Jamaica and St. Vincent and the Grenadines have upheld such laws in recent years, with the rulings under appeal. Read the full ar ..read more

The Associated Press reports: Maine’s Democratic governor has signed a bill designed to protect providers of abortion and gender-affirming care from legal action brought by other states. Gov. Janet Mills signed the proposal after the Democratic-controlled Maine Legislature approved it earlier in the month. The state joins more than a dozen others that protect medical providers from out-of-state investigations about abortions. The proposal created a disagreement between Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey and attorneys general in several other states, including Tennessee. The out-of-state attor ..read more

The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports: Louisiana’s top education official advised school districts Monday not to change their policies to comply with new federal rules that extend civil rights protections to LGBTQ+ students, setting up a potential showdown with the Biden administration. The new rules, released Friday by the U.S. Department of Education, say discrimination against students based on sexual orientation and gender identity is prohibited under Title IX. The 1972 law bans sex-based discrimination in schools and colleges that receive federal funding. Schools must respond “promptly ..read more

Reuters reports: Gay dating app Grindr is facing a mass data protection lawsuit in London from hundreds of users who allegedly had their private information, including HIV status, shared with third parties without consent, a law firm said on Monday. Austen Hays, which said the lawsuit is being filed at London’s High Court, said thousands of Grindr users in the United Kingdom may have been affected. The firm alleges users’ highly sensitive information, including HIV status and the date of their latest HIV test, were provided to third parties for commercial purposes. A spokesperson for Grindr ..read more

Roll Call reports: The Biden administration on Friday finalized new rules designed to bolster legal protections at colleges and universities for LGBTQ+ and pregnant students and victims of sexual misconduct. The new rules do not address the politically contentious issue of transgender athletes competing on women’s sports teams, however. The rules released Friday update Title IX, the 1972 law that outlawed discrimination in education based on sex, to include protections for gay and transgender students. The expansion of Title IX protections to cover LGBTQ+ students was denounced by Republican ..read more

Today reports: Openly gay actor Maulik Pancholy was disinvited from speaking at a middle school anti-bullying assembly after concerns were raised about his political activism and what two school board members called his “lifestyle.” Pancholy’s scheduled appearance at Mountain View Middle School in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, was unanimously overturned by the district’s school board in a public meeting on April 15. “If you research this individual, he labels himself as an activist, he is proud of his lifestyle and I don’t think that should be imposed upon our students at any age,” board memb ..read more

The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports: About 100 people squeezed into City Council chambers Monday night (April 15) to express their views on BBH Pride Fest, which is scheduled for June 8 on the City Hall campus. Most of those who spoke were against the LGBTQ+ event and scolded Broadview Heights officials for allowing it on city property. “We are Broadview Heights,” resident Robert Kilo told council. “We are not Lakewood. We are not Cleveland.” “This city (Broadview Heights) was destined to be one that has family values that represent all of God’s people in truth, in righteousness and in order ..read more

The Christian Post reports: Parental rights activists nationwide held prayer rallies at each of the 50 state capitols and in Washington this weekend as part of an ongoing effort to turn individual states and the United States as a whole “back to God.” The Her Voice Movement is encouraging the formation of prayer hubs of two to 10 concerned women and mothers who “pray once a month to bring change to every sphere of culture” as “our nation is in a crisis.” The group’s website states that the nation is in crisis, saying that one in five youngsters in Generation Z self-identify as LGBT and that ..read more

Honolulu Civil Beat reports: The state Senate today easily approved House Bill 2802, which will ask voters in November to rescind a provision in the Hawaii Constitution that gives the Legislature the authority to limit marriage to opposite-sex couples. Article 1, Section 23 reserves to the Legislature the authority to define marriage, even as same-sex marriage has been federal law since 2015. A constitutional amendment to limit marriage to opposite-sex couples was approved by a majority of voters in 1998. Now, more than a quarter century later, voters will be asked whether to repeal that sec ..read more

The Louisiana Illuminator reports: The Louisiana House Committee on Education advanced House Bill 121 by Rep. Raymond Crews, R-Bossier City, which prohibits the use of transgender and nonbinary youth’s chosen names and pronouns in public K-12 schools without parental permission, along a party line 9-3 vote. House Bill 122 by Rep. Dodie Horton, R-Haugton, which limits discussion of gender and sexuality in public K-12 schools, also advanced on a 9-3 vote, with Rep. Barbara Freiberg, R-Baton Rouge, joining Democrats in opposing the bill. The Legislature approved both bills last year. Then-Gov ..read more