LGBT Rights Archives | Smart Gay Life

Making a Legal Case for Bisexuality Bisexuality is widely misunderstood. Bisexuals are often dismissed or used as a punchline by the straight community and sidelined in conversations about LGBT rights and equality, often while experiencing many of the same struggles and setbacks as the rest of the queer community. And for some–like Ray Fuller, a […]

Meet Mr Gay China, A Breakthrough Title For the first time ever, the international Mr Gay World competition has named a contestant as “Mr Gay China.” 27-year-old Meng Fanyu emerged victorious after a month of events and performances, becoming the LGBTQ face for a nation still lagging in equal rights. While same-sex relationships were decriminalized […]

The “Screaming Queens” Riot 50 Years Later The Compton’s Cafeteria Riot of 1966 is rarely discussed as a major event in LGBT history. The Screaming Queens Riot marks a major moment for the history of transgender rights in America. The Stonewall Riots three years later gained national recognition for the gay community. However, it was […]

Trans Advocacy: You Need to Know Pooya Mohseni Pooya Mohseni, a trans actress originally from Iran and now living in New York City, says she didn’t set out to be involved in trans advocacy. When The Advocate ran a feature article about her, she says she “didn’t think it was going to be as big […]

The End of the Military Transgender Ban We’ve come a long way from “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”. On July 1st, Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced new guidelines and policies that end the military transgender ban in the United States Armed Forces. Many members of the trans community and military are celebrating this milestone. The end […]

5 Reasons to Make June 26th Equality Day On June 26th, the LGBT community marked the one-year anniversary of the Supreme Court decision that legalized marriage equality for same sex couples. In many cities, the June 26th equality day celebration coincided with annual Pride festivals and parades that brought the LGBT community together. Although progress […]

Ways You can Help Orlando Victims We here at Smart Gay Life are shocked and appalled at the shooting inside an Orlando gay club that left forty-nine members of the LGBT community dead this weekend. Under any circumstances, an attack on innocent people would be an atrocity. For the Orlando shooting to occur in the […]

Why the MSM Blood Ban is Destructive to All of Us Since 1983, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has enforced a ban on blood donations from men who have sex with men (MSM), effectively barring gay and bisexual men and trans women, who are also placed in the FDA’s MSM category, from participating in […]

The Democratic Party Candidates on LGBT Issues With primary season well underway, many members of the LGBT community are concerned–and rightly so–about the threat posed by anti-LGBT candidates and policies. With Donald Trump and Ted Cruz both threatening to roll back equality measures and LGBT rights across the country if elected, and anti-LGBT policy continuing […]

What 10 Famous People Say about Anti-LGBT Laws North Carolina and Mississippi’s anti-LGBT laws are disastrous, not only for those states’ LGBT communities (and transgender individuals in particular), but for residents across both states. It’s difficult to think of any other legislation that has brought such a swift and vehement reaction from so many corners. […]