LGBTQ

The Supreme Court has rejected a call to overturn its landmark decision that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. The justices on Monday turned away an appeal from a former Kentucky court clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples after the Supreme Court's 2015 ruling. Clerk Kim Davis had been trying to get the justices to overturn a lower-court order that she pay $360,000 in damages and attorney's fees. Justice Clarence Thomas has urged his colleagues to overturn the Supreme Court's marriage decision, much as they did in 2022 when the high court overturned the right to abortion.

After Florida bans rainbow crosswalks, a Fort Myers church paints its own tribute to Pulse victims.

Naples Pridefest faced multiple legal hurdles just to happen. Twenty-four hours prior to the gates opening the Circuit Court of Appeals forced the marquee event, the Drag Extravaganza, indoors.

The show will go on for Naples Pride’s annual Pridefest drag show this year, following a federal judge’s ruling that the City of Naples’ restrictions on the event partially violate the First Amendment.

Three days into his job, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier on Thursday announced a class-action lawsuit that alleges Target Corp. did not properly disclose to investors the risks of a 2023 LGBTQ Pride campaign that drew a consumer backlash and caused a drop in the retailer’s stock price.Uthmeier and private attorneys filed the 163-page lawsuit in federal court in Fort Myers on behalf of the State Board of Administration, which manages Florida’s massive pension fund and other investments. The lawsuit is one of at least three similar cases against Target in Florida.

William S. Burroughs' collaborations with painter and sculptor David Bradshaw are the subject of “Propagation” at the Bob Rauschenberg Gallery at Florida SouthWestern State College. The exhibition includes a series of 3D works that the two of them created using guns and dynamite.

Faith took a bold step forward at the Southwest Florida Pride Festival over the weekend. In attendance were young children, old couples, an HIV testing van and holy crosses. Three faith communities joined the celebration, supporting LGBTQ+ individuals in a way that some say is long overdue.

In this installment from the StoryCorps Mobile Tour visit to Fort Myers in Feb. 2024, long-time partners Kevin Kennedy and Glenn Sweigart share their stories of coming to terms with their sexuality, and learning to embrace and live their own truths.

The night of June 1, Cape Coral native Michael White was brutally assaulted at University Village not far from FGCU in south Lee County. While waiting outside for an Uber, White said that a group of people in a vehicle began shouting homophobic slurs at him. He ignored it, but the driver exited the car, and began the assault. White's injuries were significant — a broken nose, a brain bleed, and multiple facial fractures. The assailant has not yet been identified.

More than a dozen parents, teachers, and students along with Equality Florida have reached a settlement with the Florida Department of Education and school districts.The settlement will allow K-12 students to speak and write freely about sexual orientation and gender identity in class participation and schoolwork.It will also reinstate Gay-Straight Alliances throughout the state.