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The Rev. Bill Farmer reached the point where he couldn’t stay in the United Methodist Church anymore — but the congregation he attended was staying.

Michael Hahn always wanted to stay in the UMC — but his congregation was leaving it.

Each has found new church homes, and they’re not alone.

The Rev. Bill Farmer, center, speaks to members of the congregation during service at the Grace Methodist Church on May 14 in Homosassa Springs, Fla. Many departing churches are joining the conservative Global Methodist Church, created last year, while others are going independent or joining other denominations.  

Chris O’Meara, Associated Press

Thousands of United Methodist congregations have been voting on whether to stay or quit one of the nation’s largest denominations amid intractable debates over theology and the role of LGBTQ people. There are sharp differences over recognizing same-sex marriage and ordaining LGBTQ clergy.

But the dividing line isn’t just running between congregations. It’s running right through the pews of individual churches, separating people who had long worshipped together.

Those who come up on the short end of a disaffiliation vote face the dilemma of whether stay or go.

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The splintering — often grievous and tense — has spurred new initiatives to provide havens for the unmoored. Some United Methodist regional conferences have begun designating “Lighthouse” congregations — ones that actively welcome people who wanted to stay United Methodist but whose former churches voted to leave. Other conferences use different names, such as “Beacon” or “Oasis,” but the idea is the same.

“The pain is real, and there is a lot of grief and a lot of heartache over the split in the United Methodist Church,” said the Rev. Lynda Ferguson, the great-grandchild of a circuit-riding Methodist pastor.

Her North Carolina church, First United Methodist Asheboro, became a Lighthouse congregation. That assures newcomers that it’s committed to staying United Methodist, so they won’t have to worry about another disaffiliation vote. More than 400 congregations have disaffiliated in North Carolina.

Ferguson said she can personally relate to those from departing congregations. Her childhood church — the one that shaped her faith and where at age 12 she felt the call to ministry — also voted to leave.

“Part of the Lighthouse mission is to let people know the United Methodist Church is still here and still welcoming,” said the Rev. Ed McKinney, pastor of Stokesdale United Methodist Church in Stokesdale, North Carolina, which also became a Lighthouse congregation.

Michael Hahn and his family are among a group of newcomers who have begun participating in Stokesdale after their previous congregations left the denomination.

Hahn, whose family has been Methodist for generations, said he couldn’t imagine leaving the denomination, which he values for blending faith and rationality.

Many of the departing churches are joining the conservative Global Methodist Church, created last year. Others are going independent or joining different denominations.

While the Global Methodist Church doesn’t have a program like the Lighthouse initiative, it has begun launching or adopting congregations that can become homes for those who want to leave the United Methodist Church but whose congregations are staying.

That was the case with the founders of Grace Methodist Church. They launched the church in January in Homosassa, Florida, after their previous congregation voted to stay in the UMC. The new church immediately affiliated with the Global Methodist Church. Farmer came out of retirement to serve as the church’s pastor.

The group’s previous congregation “was a good church,” Farmer said, and he wished it well. But “my struggle was with the United Methodist structure, what’s going on in the United States, particularly.”

The ongoing schism has been long in the making. The United Methodist Church — with about 6.5 million members in the United States and at least that many abroad — has long debated its bans on same-sex marriages and the ordination of openly LGBTQ clergy.

The denomination has repeatedly upheld the bans, largely through the voting strength of the growing, more conservative churches abroad. But conservatives chose to form a new denomination amid growing defiance of the bans in U.S. churches.

Members of the congregation sing during service at the Grace Methodist Church on May 14 in Homosassa Springs, Fla. Grace Methodist Church launched in January after their previous congregation voted to stay in the UMC.  

Chris O’Meara

More than 3,500 U.S. congregations have received their local conferences’ permission to disaffiliate from the UMC, according to United Methodist News Service. With conference season underway, disaffiliations are closing in on 4,000 and could rise even more by the end of the year, said the Rev. Jay Therrell, president of the Wesleyan Covenant Association, a conservative group advocating for departing congregations.

That’s a fraction of the United Methodists’ 30,000 U.S. churches, though several of the departing congregations are among the largest in their states.

In the Arkansas Conference, more than 100 churches — out of roughly 600 total — have received permission to disaffiliate. That leaves parts of the state with few or no remaining United Methodist congregations, said the Rev. Michael Roberts, director of the conference’s new Restart Initiative, which is hoping to enlist congregations to be Beacon churches. Such churches would invite self-described “exiles, refugees, nomads” to worship services, help them start home groups or develop other ways to keep them connected.

“We’re just really simply inviting churches to consider how they can provide this kind of hospitality,” Roberts said. “I love the word ‘hospitality’ because the word ‘hospital’ comes from that word. It is about providing healing.”

From Stonewall to today: 50+ years of modern LGBTQ+ history

From Stonewall to today: 50+ years of modern LGBTQ+ history

In the early hours of June 28, 1969, the New York Police Department unwittingly helped start the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement. At the time, clubs with gay or lesbian patrons weren’t allowed to serve alcohol, but the Stonewall Inn still served booze to their customers, which gave police cause to raid the bar. The clientele pushed back, and 13 people were arrested. LGBTQ+ people and their allies protested for days. Among the crowd was transgender activist Marsha P. Johnson, who later founded Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR), an organization that provided resources for LGBTQ+ youth and sex workers.

After the events at Stonewall—which the NYPD eventually apologized for in 2019—more and more people pushed for LGBTQ+ equality. Activists organized the first LGBTQ+ marches in the United States and around the world, giving rise to annual Pride parades. In 1973, the American Psychological Association no longer considered being gay or lesbian a mental illness, and the first openly lesbian politicians were elected in the following year. Currently, openly gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer candidates occupy political offices at most levels of government, including in the U.S. House of Representatives, Senate, and state governorships. 

There is still more to be done, but since Stonewall, the government has passed laws banning discrimination based on sexual orientation, and the Supreme Court declared same-sex marriage legal. More than two dozen countries have passed legislation giving marriage rights to everyone.

In the military, it took decades for gay, lesbian, and bisexual service members to win the right to enlist. And it wasn’t until 2011 that LGBTQ+ troops could openly serve in the United States armed forces. While the Obama administration repealed the ban on transgender troops in 2016, former President Donald Trump effectively reinstated it in 2019 (though the ban was overturned by the Biden administration in 2021).

To find out more about LGBTQ+ history, Stacker combed through news reports and used data from GLSEN to compile over 50 years of LGBTQ+ progress. Read on to see the evolution of this movement, from then to now.

You may also like: Looking back at 50 years of pride festivals

JOHANNES EISELE/AFP // Getty Images

1969: Stonewall Riots

Anger erupted after New York City police arrested 13 people during a raid at the Stonewall Inn, a bar and safe space for the LGBTQ+ community. Advocates protested for days, even though police took action—even turning fire hoses onto the crowd. Many say the event catalyzed the modern LGBTQ+ civil rights movement.

Drew Angerer // Getty Images

1969: Gay Liberation Front forms

The events of Stonewall led to the creation of the GLF, a group that organized the Christopher Street Liberation Day in New York in 1970—now considered the first Pride parade. It started with only a few hundred people, but by the time the group reached Central Park, thousands were marching for LGBTQ+ equality.

Evening Standard // Getty Images

1972: Sweden allows people to legally change gender

In 1972, Sweden became the first country to give people the right to legally change their gender on identifying documents. However, people needed to be over 18 years old, unmarried, and sterilized; the country didn’t remove the mandatory sterilization law until 2013. In some U.S. states, people still need to undergo gender-reassignment surgery to legally change their gender.

rbkomar // Shutterstock

1972: UK has first Pride parade

The United Kingdom held the country’s first LGBTQ+ Pride parade on July 1, 1972. Britain’s GLF organized the event, and about 700 people showed up to march. Their slogan was simple: “Gay is good.”

LSE Library // Flickr

1973: Homosexuality is no longer classified as a mental illness

Until the early ’70s, physicians could diagnose someone in a same-sex relationship as mentally ill. But in 1973, the American Psychiatric Association removed “homosexuality” from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (or the DSM-II).

US Department of Labor // Wikimedia Commons

1974: First openly lesbian officials elected

Kathy Kozachenko and Elaine Noble became the nation’s first openly lesbian or gay elected officials in 1974. Kozachenko won a seat on the Ann Arbor City Council in Michigan, while Noble held a position in the Massachusetts General Assembly.

Jiaqian AirplaneFan // Wikimedia Commons

1977: First openly gay man elected

Harvey Milk made history when he won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, becoming the first openly gay male politician elected in a major city. Before he was assassinated a year later, Milk helped pass city ordinances to prevent discrimination based on sexual orientation.

JIM WATSON/AFP // Getty Images

1978: The rainbow flag is created

In 1978, Harvey Milk’s friend Gilbert Baker brought his 30-by-60-foot rainbow flag to an LGBTQ+ rights rally in San Francisco. Afterward, it became an enduring symbol of pride for the LGBTQ+ community. According to The Washington Post, Baker sometimes referred to himself as “the Betsy Ross of gay liberation.” He died in 2017 at the age of 65.

Spencer Platt // Getty Images

1981: Norway enacts anti-discrimination laws

In 1981, Norway amended its laws to include protections for LGBTQ+ people. The legislation stated that business owners couldn’t discriminate against customers based on sexual orientation nor deny them access to public events. Hate speech was also prohibited.

Andrzej Wójtowicz // Wikimedia Commons

1981: Gay men affected with ‘rare cancer’

In 1981, the New York Times reported 41 gay men had been afflicted with a “rare cancer.” Doctors originally thought HIV/AIDS was a skin cancer known as Kaposi’s sarcoma. A year later, though, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) started calling the illness “acquired immune deficiency syndrome,” or AIDS.

felipe caparros // Shutterstock

1982: Wisconsin passes LGBTQ+ anti-discrimination law

In 1981, Rep. David Clarenbach (D-Wis.) brought forth a measure to protect LGBTQ+ people from employment discrimination in public and private sectors, making Wisconsin the first in the U.S. to pass a statewide law against such discrimination. The law also banned landlords from denying housing based on sexual orientation.

Pixabay

1983: BiPOL forms

BiPOL, the first bisexual political group, started in San Francisco in 1983. They helped put on the Bisexual Rights Rally a year later, which took place outside the Democratic National Convention.

AlisonW // Wikimedia Commons

1986: Bowers v. Hardwick

After Michael Hardwick failed to show up for a court summons for public drinking, a police officer went to his house. That’s when he and a male friend were arrested for having consensual sex, which was illegal between two people of the same gender. The case, Bowers v. Hardwick, went to the Supreme Court, which ruled in favor of the state. The Court didn’t strike down sodomy laws until 2003.

Pixabay

1986: New York passes anti-discrimination bill

After more than a decade of debate, New York City passed an anti-discrimination bill in 1986: Sexual orientation couldn’t be the basis of discrimination in employment, housing, or public accommodations.

Wangkun Jia // Shutterstock

1987: UK opens first HIV/AIDS clinic

The HIV/AIDS crisis continued into the late ’80s. In 1987, Princess Diana dispelled the myth that the disease could be transmitted by touch: without gloves, she shook the hand of an infected man at the opening of the United Kingdom’s first HIV/AIDS unit at the London Middlesex Hospital.

Rick // Wikimedia Commons

1987: Barney Frank comes out as gay

Although his straight allies and colleagues cautioned him against it, U.S. Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) revealed his sexual orientation in 1987, making him the second openly gay congressman. Rep. Gerry Studds (D-Mass.) reluctantly came out in 1983. Frank announced his retirement in 2011.

Tasos Katopodis // Getty Images

1987: ACT UP

The AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) helped change the way people thought about the disease. Their slogan was simple but effective: “Silence = death.” Many say that the group jump-started a movement that led to the creation of HIV/AIDS drugs.

You may also like: Defining historical moments from the year you were born

Elvert Barnes // Wikimedia Commons

1988: National Coming Out Day starts

A year after the second March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights, a group of activists founded National Coming Out Day (October 11), which aims to help LGBTQ+ people live openly.

Elvert Barnes // Wikimedia Commons

1989: Denmark legalizes same-sex unions

Demark recognized same-sex domestic partnerships in 1989, which extended the rights of marriage to gay and lesbians couples. In 2010, same-sex couples in the country could register for adoptions, and by 2012, they could legally get married.

KELD NAVNTOFT/AFP // Getty Images

1990: First Pride parade in South Africa

Activist Simon Nkoli helped start the Gay and Lesbian Organisation of the Witwatersrand. GLOW organized the first Pride parade in Johannesburg, South Africa, in 1990, where people also marched against apartheid. Some LGBTQ+ marchers were so scared of exposing themselves that they marched with bags over their faces. Only about 800 people gathered for the first parade; by 2018, that number swelled to 22,000.

Lois GoBe // Shutterstock

1994: ‘Don’t ask, don’t tell’ enacted

Then-President Bill Clinton signed “don’t ask, don’t tell” as a compromise with Republicans: gay and lesbian service members could join the military, but they could not tell anyone about their sexual orientation. Some officials—including Colin Powell, who was the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the time—voiced concerns about AIDS and whether gay and straight soldiers would have to live in the same quarters.

Mark Wilson // Getty Images

1995: Gay and lesbian workers can get government security clearance

Until 1995, someone who was gay or lesbian might not get a federal security clearance because government officials considered sexual orientation a security risk, the rationale being that gay and lesbian people who kept their lives secret could be subject to blackmail. Then-President Bill Clinton signed an executive order ending the regulation.

US Federal Government // Wikimedia Commons

1996: President Bill Clinton signs Defense of Marriage Act

In 1996, Clinton signed a law defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman. In 2013, he wrote an op-ed in The Washington Post asking the Supreme Court to overturn DOMA. In the piece, Clinton wrote he believed the law to be “incompatible with our constitution,” and the Court agreed with him.

JEWEL SAMAD/AFP // Getty Images

1996: High schooler starts Gay-Straight Alliance

After she started the Gay-Straight Alliance at her Utah high school, Kelli Peterson—a 17-year-old lesbian senior—made national news. The administration didn’t want to allow her LGBTQ+ group but the Equal Access Act meant the school couldn’t legally prevent them from meeting. Instead, Salt Lake City’s Board of Education banned all high school clubs. Students sued the school, and a federal judge ruled in their favor.

Denin Lawley // Unsplash

1997: Ellen DeGeneres comes out

Ellen DeGeneres told the world she was a lesbian on the cover of Time magazine. Then, her television character, Ellen Morgan, became the first openly LGBTQ+ lead in a sitcom. DeGeneres won an Emmy for writing the series, but her show was canceled a year later. In 2003, she started her long-running eponymous talk show and later received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from then-President Barack Obama.

SAUL LOEB/AFP // Getty Images

2000: Vermont recognizes same-sex unions

A 1997 lawsuit led Vermont to pass a bill guaranteeing same-sex partners the same legal rights as married people. The Vermont Supreme Court held that the state was unconstitutionally discriminating against gay and lesbian couples. In 2009, Vermont became the fourth state to legalize same-sex marriage.

Jordan Silverman // Getty Images

2000: Netherlands recognizes same-sex marriage

After changing one sentence in their legislation, gay and lesbian couples in the Netherlands were given the right to marry, divorce, and adopt. The Dutch country was the first in the world to legalize same-sex marriage.

ROBIN UTRECHT/AFP // Getty Images

2003: US legalizes consensual same-sex acts

The Supreme Court legalized all consensual sex acts between same-sex adults after the ruling in Lawrence v. Texas. “Their right to liberty under the Due Process Clause gives them the full right to engage in their conduct without intervention of the government,” wrote Justice Anthony M. Kennedy.

Alex Wong // Getty Images

2004: Massachusetts performs first same-sex marriage

On May 17, 2004, Marcia Kadish and Tanya McCloskey became the first same-sex couple to get married in the U.S. A year earlier, the Massachusetts Supreme Court had ruled that the ban on marriage for gay and lesbian couples was illegal. It took until 2008 for another state (Connecticut) to follow.

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Angela Jimenez // Getty Images

2009: Hate Crimes Prevention Act

Then-President Barack Obama enacted the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act to give the U.S. Department of Justice additional funding to investigate and prosecute hate crimes. This includes crimes committed based on a victim’s race, sexual orientation, or gender identity. Some activists, however, feel the law did not do enough to increase prosecution of crimes against LGBTQ+ people.

Chip Somodevilla // Getty Images

2010: Same-sex marriage legal in Iceland

After same-sex marriage became legal in Iceland, the country’s openly lesbian prime minister wed her long-time partner. Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir and Jónína Leósdóttir were previously in a civil union. That same year, same-sex marriage became legal in Portugal and Argentina.

OLIVIER MORIN/AFP // Getty Images

2011: ‘Don’t ask, don’t tell’ repealed

At 12:01 a.m. on September 20, 2011, “don’t ask, don’t tell” was no longer in effect. Then-President Barack Obama signed a law repealing the policy in December 2010. The decision allowed gay and lesbian troops to serve openly in the military.

Mark Wilson // Getty Images

2012: First openly LGBTQ+ senator

Wisconsin’s Tammy Baldwin became the first openly gay or lesbian senator in 2012. Before heading to the Senate, Baldwin served as one of only four openly gay members of the House at the time.

Scott Olson // Getty Images

2013: Supreme Court recognizes same-sex marriage

In a 5-4 ruling, the Supreme Court held that the Defense of Marriage Act—which stated that marriage could only be between a man and a woman—was unconstitutional. They also decided not to hear a case about Proposition 8, the California ballot measure that banned same-sex marriage. This paved the way for nationwide marriage equality, which would come two years later.

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Alex Wong // Getty Images

2014: Transgender students get federal protection

Under the Obama administration, the Department of Education extended Title IX coverage to transgender students. The civil rights law bans sex discrimination in schools or activities that are funded by the federal government. The Trump administration aimed to roll back trans protections and include only people who identify with the gender they were assigned at birth in the legislation.

JEWEL SAMAD/AFP // Getty Images

2014: First transgender person nominated for Emmy

Transgender actress Laverne Cox became the first openly trans person nominated for an Emmy when she received the nod for her role in “Orange Is the New Black.” She also appeared on the cover of Time the same year. Cox made history again in 2018 when she became the first openly trans person on the cover of Cosmopolitan magazine.

Jason Merritt // Getty Images

2016: Ban lifted on transgender troops

In June 2016, the military lifted the ban on transgender troops. That same month, the Obama administration dedicated the Stonewall Inn as a national monument, the first LGBTQ+ site added to the National Parks System.

Alex Wong // Getty Images

2017: First openly transgender state legislator elected

Virginia voters made history in 2017 when they elected transgender candidate Danica Roem to their state legislature. That same year, then-President Donald Trump announced that the military would no longer accept transgender troops because of “tremendous medical costs and disruption.”

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PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP // Getty Images

2018: ‘Rainbow wave’ in politics

Voters elected more than 150 LGBTQ+ politicians to office in 2018. Among the history-makers at the time were Jared Polis, the openly gay governor of Colorado; U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, a Native American lesbian representing Kansas; and Malcolm Kenyatta, the first gay Black man elected to the Pennsylvania legislature.

Whitney Curtis // Getty Images

2019: Taiwan passes same-sex marriage

Taiwan became the first Asian country to legalize same-sex marriage. Only a year before, lawmakers voted to deny the right to same-sex couples.

SAM YEH/AFP // Getty Images

2019: Transgender troops banned from military

Then-President Donald Trump’s restrictions on transgender people in the military went into effect on April 12, 2019. While the administration claimed there was no ban, transgender troops were required to serve as the gender they were assigned at birth under this regulation.

Alex Wong // Getty Images

2019: Mayor Pete runs for president

Democrat Pete Buttigieg is the second openly gay man to run for president of the United States. (In 2012, Fred Karger, a lesser-known Republican, became the first.) Buttigieg—who entered the Navy Reserves under “don’t ask, don’t tell”—dropped out of the Democratic primary in March 2020 and endorsed Joe Biden. In 2021, he became the first openly gay Cabinet member in U.S. history, serving as Secretary of Transportation in the Biden administration.

John Gress Media Inc // Shutterstock.

2019: Being transgender no longer a ‘disorder’

The World Health Organization no longer considers being transgender a mental illness. The WHO removed “gender identity disorder” from the International Classification of Diseases, which is a global manual for diagnosing mental illness. The update may help put an end to the practice of forcing transgender people to get surgery and forced sterilization in order to legally change their gender.

DEREK R. HENKLE/AFP // Getty Images

2020: NYC Pride March canceled by coronavirus

For the first time since its inception, the NYC Pride March was canceled out of an abundance of safety and due to social distancing guidelines amid the coronavirus pandemic. Other events around the globe were similarly canceled. But that hardly means Pride Month was called off—instead, virtual events have since become common during the month of June to celebrate the historic milestones of the LGBTQ+ movement and to observe the battles still being fought for equal rights today.

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Gotham // Getty Images

2021: Biden reverses Trump-era ban on transgender people in the military

Just five days after taking office, President Joe Biden signed an executive order that overturned the previous administration’s ban on transgender people in the military. Before the ban in 2017, it was estimated 2,450 service members were transgender, with about 0.1% of the total force seeking gender-related treatments. The Trump administration deemed gender-affirming care too expensive for the military to budget when in actuality it would only increase military spending by 0.04% to 0.13%.

Doug Mills-Pool // Getty Images

2021: Gender-affirming care for minors is blocked—then overturned

A law passed in Arkansas banned physicians in the state from providing gender-affirming health care to minors—even with parental consent. Trans children in the state were immediately unable to access trans-related health care, health care which has been proven to lower the risk of suicide among transgender youth. In July 2021, following a court case filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) spurred by protests and activists, the bill was overturned and gender-affirming care was once again accessible for minors.

Across the pond, in December 2020, the U.K.’s High Court ruled transgender children under the age of 16 could not consent to receive trans-affirming health care. Trans youth seeking medical treatment needed to consult a judge before receiving care. The National Health Service (NHS) appealed the decision and won in September 2021. Roughly 2,400 children a year in the U.K. seek gender-affirming health care through the NHS, making this overturned case paramount for a significant number of minors.

Alina Kruk // Shutterstock

2021: Switzerland and Japan make strides toward marriage equality

In September 2021, a two-thirds majority in Switzerland voted to legalize gay marriage in a referendum vote. This referendum also extended family rights for same-gender couples, allowing them to adopt children and permitting couples of two women to have children through sperm donation. The new ruling will be enforced in July 2022. Switzerland is one of the last Western European countries to legalize same-sex marriage.

In Japan, the country inched closer to marriage equality in a ruling which claimed to bar same-sex marriage was unconstitutional. Gay marriage is not yet legal in Japan, but this ruling will likely set a precedent for future legislation.

FABRICE COFFRINIAFP // Getty Images

2022: Hundreds of anti-LGBTQ+ bills introduced in US states

As of May 2022, over 300 anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been introduced in 36 states across the U.S. in 2022, some of which have become law in eight states. In Florida, one such measure—dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill by critics—prohibits elementary school teachers from educating students in grades K-3 about sexual orientation or gender identity. Another law in Alabama that criminalizes gender-affirming medical care for trans youth was partially blocked by a judge in May. A significant number of these bills specifically target transgender people.

Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

2022: First openly lesbian women elected governor

The U.S. has never had an openly lesbian woman hold the office of governor; however, during the November 2022 midterms, not one but two openly lesbian women won gubernatorial elections in their respective states.

Maura Healey of Massachusetts is both the first woman as well as the first openly lesbian woman to be elected governor in Massachusetts. Healey, who has been her state’s attorney general for the last eight years, defeated Republican candidate Geoff Diehl by a wide margin to secure her spot as the next governor of the New England state. 

Tina Kotek of Oregon was right behind Healey, becoming the second openly lesbian governor elected in the U.S. Kotek’s race against Republican Christine Drazan was extremely close; however, her win continues a decades-long democratic hold on the governorship. Kotek is also the first openly lesbian woman to hold the position of Speaker of the Oregon House.

Getty Images

2023: Gender-Affirming Care

Just halfway through the year, 2023 broke the record for the number of anti-trans bills introduced nationwide. More than 70 have passed, while hundreds more remain active. At the federal level, 23 pieces of legislation are being discussed. Many of these bills focus on health care—particularly banning gender-affirming care and criminalizing this type of health care for the medical professionals who provide it and the legal guardians who permit it. For example, a bill introduced in Oklahoma proposes felony charges for providing gender-affirming care to people under 26 years old. 

There have also been significant victories for gender-affirming care in 2023. In January, Colorado, which used to be dubbed the “Hate State,” passed legislation protecting gender-affirming medical care as essential health care, becoming the first state to do so. Colorado’s legal protections also apply to recipients of gender-affirming care from out of state, as well as medical providers both in and outside of Colorado. Four other states—Illinois, Maryland, New Mexico, and Minnesota—have passed similar legislation protecting transgender health care.

Justin Sullivan // Getty Images

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The post Some worshippers switching congregations amid United Methodist cut up over LGBTQ points appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

SAN FRANCISCO — While the cultural significance of San Francisco’s venerable Castro Theater is undisputed, heated debate rages on over a proposed renovation plan that would replace the theater’s seats.

The plan drew a violent reaction after it was revealed that the tenant was planning to remove the first floor seats. Opponents say it would mar the theatre’s history, while proponents say it would help revitalize the venue.

Joe Sangiardi moved to San Francisco with his husband four years ago to live together in the Castro District.

“We wanted to be part of a legacy that we can live into, that we can live our lives here and be a part of something much bigger than ourselves,” Sangirardi said.

Sangiardi says he loves the neighborhood, the sense of community, all the unique local shops and of course the iconic theatre.

“It’s the cornerstone of our community here in Castro,” Sangirardi said.

Rob Byrne also loves the theatre. He has been attending shows for over 35 years.

“We moved to the Bay Area in 1987 and I’ve been coming here since the day we moved here. It was an absolute Mecca for us,” said Byrne, who is a member of the Castro Theater Conservancy.

But while both Sangiardi and Byrne share a common love for the centuries-old venue, they differ dramatically when it comes to what they think is best for its future.

The Castro’s owners announced last year that they were working with local promoter Another Planet Entertainment (APE) to refurbish the venue and convert it into a mixed-use facility capable of hosting both films and concerts. The plan would require the permanent seating to be removed from the venue’s ground floor.

Sangiardi said when he found out about the plan he was excited.

“I mean, we’re talking about tens of thousands of people who come to the Castro all the time, not just to go to the theater, but to get drinks, shop or have dinner,” Sangirardi said.

But Byrne had the opposite reaction. He believes that this would essentially hollow out the theater and turn it into a concert hall rather than a mixed-use space.

“Converting this space into a single-use, live-music-only venue, with flat floors, no seating, and operating only a few days a month is simply a crime against the City of San Francisco,” Byrne said .

The two residents of the Castro district are not alone in their disagreement. The controversy has become so heated that the board of directors intervenes.

In April, the city’s Land Use and Transportation Committee voted to designate the Castro’s seats as part of its historic landmark.

If that decision stands, when put to a full vote by regulators in May, it will essentially halt APE’s plans.

Sangiardi says he’s concerned that APE could shut down their project altogether.

“To look at a massive investment in our community it’s such a vote of confidence in the future and I think it would really be a disservice to a lot of the work that people have done in our community if they tried to end this deal and stop this investment in our community,” Sangiardi said.

Byrne disagrees.

“APE is not the only organization that can fund a complete renovation and keep the place available and active and vibrant 365 days a year,” Byrne said.

Both residents say they will continue to rally support for their respective sides and lobby for city officials every day until that final vote.

The post Residents cut up on San Francisco Castro Theatre renovation plans appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

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SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — The Portland men’s tennis team earned a road split over the weekend of the West Coast Conference with Saturday’s 4-2 win over San Francisco at the Goldman Tennis Center. The Pilots move to 8-7 overall and 2-2 in league play while the Dons fall to 2-13 overall and 0-5 in league play.

Portland secured the colon with victories at No. 1 and No. 3. Sema Pankin and Eleftherios Neos defeated Nil Giraldez and Johan Garpered 6-3, and then Issa Yoshida and Cade Fernando secured it in a 6-4 win against Stevie Gould and Davide Cortimiglia in 3rd place.

The singles games were extremely close, but Pankin gave the Pilots a boost with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Giraldez at the top of the lineup. USF countered with a win in 2nd place before the last four games were all over three sets.

Nicolas Ocana made a comeback in 3rd with a 6-0, 6-1, 7-5 win over Gould. USF took their second point when Nikola Kuraica overtook Nikolas Tvedt in a three-setter for 4th. Portland’s Maxim Groysman then provided the winning point with a 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 loss to 5th-ranked Cortimiglia.

The final singles game between Issa Yoshida and Luka Kalenic was abandoned in the third set.

“Today was a little gut check,” said Portland coach Aaron Gross. “We didn’t play well yesterday or fight particularly well. We still didn’t play great today but we were very gritty. Sema is on the right track and had a solid win in 1st place. Our other two wins were lost in the first set and we were fighting back for wins. Ocana played so hard to come back from the 6-0 loss of the first game and Max managed the clincher again. Sometimes the most valuable and meaningful victories are the ones that you have to fight and fight your way to. Today’s victory was very hard fought and well deserved.”

Portland returns home next weekend to host the Loyola Marymount Lions on Thursday and the Pepperdine Waves on Saturday. Both games are scheduled for 10:00 a.m. with live coverage available on PortlandPilots.com.

Portland 4, San Francisco 2
San Francisco, California (Goldman Tennis Center)
April 1, 2023

singles
1. Defeated Sema Pankin (POR). Nile Giraldez (USF) 6-4, 6-2
2. Moritz Hoffmann (USF) defeated. Eleftherios Neos (POR) 6-2, 7-6
3. Nicolas Ocana (POR) defeated. Stevie Gould (USF) 0-6, 6-1, 7-5
4. Nikola Kuraica (USF) defeated. Nicholas Tvedt (POR) 6-4, 6-7, 6-2
5. Maxim Groysman (POR) defeated. Davide Cortimiglia (USF) 4-6, 6-1, 6-4
6. Luka Kalenic (USF) vs. Issa Yoshida (POR) 7-5, 6-7, 1-3, unfinished

double

1. Pankin/Neos (POR) def. Giredez-Johan Garpered (USF) 6-3
2. Kuraica/Hoffmann (USF) defeated. Ocana-Tvedt (POR) 6-2
3. Yoshida/Cade Fernando (POR) defeated. Gould/Cortimiglia (USF) 6-4

Game Notes:

Portland 8-7, 2-2 World Cup
San Francisco 2-13, 0-5 WCC
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Single (1,2,3,4,5)

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The post Portland Holds off San Francisco for Street Cut up appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

San Francisco’s board of directors has signaled that it stands ready to right past racial injustices — at least in spirit.

In a unanimous vote Tuesday, the 11 members accepted a draft plan with more than 100 redress recommendations for the city’s eligible black residents. Those proposals include a whopping $5 million one-time payment to each adult and a full payoff of personal debt — including credit cards, taxes, and student loans. Black residents could also earn at least $97,000 annually for 250 years and buy homes within the city limits for $1.

The board’s move was largely procedural – an intermediate step in a much longer process. It does not bind the city to any of the ideas put forward in the 60-page proposal by the San Francisco African American Reparations Advisory Committee, which was tasked in 2020 to “address the institutional, city-sanctioned harm inflicted on African American communities.” became .”

“We are not here today to say which recommendations we will support or advance. There is still work to be done,” said bill sponsor Shamann Walton before voting during the 7 1/2 hour meeting.

A final report with feedback from the Supervisory Board is due in June. The board is scheduled to meet again on this topic in September.

Nonetheless, the vote was met with fanfare from residents and the large cash payout made national headlines. But some longtime civil rights and reparations activists have criticized the board and the committee’s financial restitution figures, calling it political theater aimed at delaying significant change.

Some activists have criticized the plan as unrealistic

“This black community doesn’t need to be built on tricks and failures. Your hopes shouldn’t just be raised by words, words, words,” Rev. Amos Brown told NPR a day after the meeting.

Brown is not only senior pastor of Third Baptist San Francisco, the city’s oldest black church, but also president of the San Francisco NAACP. He said he has been “in the civil rights struggle for 68 years” and was taught by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Frustrated and angry, Brown noted that he had asked the board to reject the $5 million payment proposal before the meeting.

To be clear, Brown said he expects the cash refund to be part of any reparations package by the city, state and federal government. But first, he said, officials need to focus on the future and the best way forward toward equality and justice. For Brown, that means investing in housing, education, health care, economic empowerment, and cultural centers for San Francisco’s dwindling black community.

At its peak in the 1970s, African Americans made up about 13.5% of the city’s population. As of 2022, the number dropped to 5.7%. This makes it one of the largest cities in the country with one of the lowest percentages of black residents.

“Deliberate action should be taken to stop the bleeding of this black population if we’re going to have any blacks left to make amends with,” Brown said.

Brown also noted the city’s budget deficit. “You know there’s no money to pay for it,” Brown said. “So they just paid lip service. It is not fair. It’s not honest.”

By voting to accept the proposal without any indication of how they would fund it, politicians have both options, according to Brown.

“They offer low-hanging fruit that seems like a win, but you know you’re only going to win [lead to] more studies. And that’s a different game. Another delaying tactic. This frustrates people until things unravel and then self-destruct. We have to stop this. It’s time America paid up and acted with substance, with integrity and accountability,” Brown said.

During Tuesday’s meeting, one of the plan’s authors stated that “the committee has not been mandated to conduct a feasibility study. The task was to record the damage and determine the value.”

Others believe the proposals are an important first step towards justice

Andre Perry, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution who studies racial and structural inequality, has written about the government’s obligation to pay reparations. He contradicts the notion that San Francisco’s big ticket items are a red herring.

“This argument about whether or not this is a distraction doesn’t necessarily hold me because in so many cases I hear people say that very serious ideas about reparations are fantastic or foolhardy. So I don’t necessarily jump when I hear a big number more because people often make the same arguments about a very rigorous analysis,” Perry told NPR.

“The mere idea of ​​reparations is impossible for many.”

Perry has yet to read the details of San Francisco’s draft proposal. But he said more often than not, the experts who draft plans that involve large sums of money “recognize the scale of the discrimination and the collective economic impact that many different discriminatory policies have not only over the course of their lives, but also over the life of their family.” person can have. ”

Even if it seems all but impossible for a community to pay out that sum, having a record of that assessment is imperative, he added.

He acknowledges that Brown’s concerns stem from lessons learned from the failure of other federal and local efforts.

“In a place like San Francisco, you mostly have what is, and I’ll put that in quotes, a progressive city in an unquoted ‘progressive state.’ And so much of what can be presented can just soothe the fantasies of a progressive left as theater,” Perry said. “And that doesn’t do anyone any service.”

But black communities seeking justice cannot operate from a place of fear, he said.

Other groups of people have succeeded in creating compensation systems for egregious injustices. In the US, Native Americans have been given land and billions of dollars because they were forcibly evicted from their land. Japanese Americans imprisoned during World War II eventually received $1.5 billion in compensation. And the American government played a crucial role in ensuring that Jews received reparations for the Holocaust.

If San Francisco’s proposal goes ahead, it will take a first step, along with other cities, toward some form of local, state and federal redress, Perry said.

“Exclusive, discriminatory politics didn’t start in Washington. It started in the municipalities,” he explained. “Things like redlining started in Baltimore and eventually became codified by the federal government. But they started locally. Therefore, it is important that local governments also begin to develop their reparations policies, which are spreading all the way to Washington, DC.”

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

The post San Francisco will talk about reparation proposals — however even supporters are break up appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

My first time in San Francisco will never forget looking for a place to live.

My husband and I saw a dizzying number of places that day, unsure of which neighborhood to live in, and mostly dazed with sticker shock at each new place. But the jaw-dropping prices weren’t what stood out the most that day – it was one of the first places we saw in Noe Valley. As an old Victorian apartment, I was immediately delighted with the bay window and high ceilings. Then I opened a hall closet door, which I assumed.

There sat a lonely pink toilet – the only one in a confined space. My confused reaction was evident. The real estate agent who showed us around knew we weren’t from here and immediately said, “It’s a shared bathroom.”

More than five years later, I’ve seen tons of shared bathrooms at friends’ homes, and most are just like the first ones I saw – no sink, with the sink and shower in a separate room next door. The occasional “lucky few” huddled or wall-mounted a small sink in a corner, but that was likely an addition to the tiny space in later years, said Bonnie Spindler, a real estate agent and “Victorian specialist” of San Francisco.

When most houses were built in the Victorian era, there was no toilet in the house at all as most people would still have used an outhouse and / or chamber pots. Indoor plumbing was just becoming the norm, so Bay Area residents may have installed their sinks and tubs years before adding an indoor toilet. Once they were able to add the toilet, it might make more sense to convert a nearby closet into a toilet room than to build it into the existing bathroom.

More likely, however, this is due to the Victorian era’s new obsession with hygiene. “The idea was to separate where you clean yourself and where you have bowel movements,” said Spindler. “You would have thought it would be most unclean to empty yourself in the same room that you take a bath and shave in.”

A shared bathroom in North Beach.

Ben Ramirez

Spindler also said that most toilets at the time did not have something called a “backflow preventer”, which prevents wastewater from flowing back through the toilet and onto the floor. Thus all incidents would have been limited to the small area. She said that the Victorians are also responsible for the proliferation of tile in bathrooms and kitchens as it is an easy-to-clean material.

Rob Thomson, president of the San Francisco Victorian Alliance, said Victorian-era residents were avid adopters of new technology, and there was no bigger story in the home than indoor plumbing in the second half of the 19th century. “This residential trend was compounded by the advent of consistent municipal water and sewer systems – these were the fiber optic data networks of the 1870s,” he said.

Open, multi-purpose floor plans like those common today were unknown. “In the houses, the Victorian and Edwardian San Franciscans were very aware that they should separate the space for different uses and users: double rooms, separate stairs and entrances for servants, and formal dining rooms played one role in both architecture and society special role, “said Thomson.

Shared bathrooms are particularly common in San Francisco, but they can also be found anywhere from Europe to Australia.

The Victorian and Edwardian San Franciscans were very conscious of separating the space for different purposes. The shared bathroom is a good example of this.

Caroline Smith

Modern home design has its own version of the split bathtub in the form of a water closet, although these are usually included in a larger bathroom. Many San Francisco homeowners choose to convert shared bathrooms into one large bathroom during a renovation, Spindler said.

But more than a hundred years later, many homeowners and landlords with these old San Francisco homes have chosen to keep the shared bathroom simply because it is often more convenient for families or roommates.

I did and I loved it. Had 2 roommates so it was almost like having 2 bathrooms – one could use the toilet while another is showering or brushing teeth. I was really a great setup.

– Jeffrey Jones (@ JeffreyJones63) February 8, 2021

Multitasking is great, and I also like it a lot when the toilet and its aerosolizing properties aren’t near the sink and shower, toothbrushes and towels and – you get the picture.

– Eugene Archibald (@Dzhena) February 8, 2021

Loved it. Only 1 bathroom for 3 roommates, but rarely waited for “important business”. Used the sink when someone showered.

– Christine Herron (@christine) February 8, 2021

Loved it, was the perfect setup during the parties, we could keep a keg in the bathtub.

– Sammy the dead rat @ (@gmonie) February 8, 2021

Keeping a barrel in the tub is also a great perk for sharing bathrooms.

The post The bizarre story behind why there are such a lot of cut up loos in San Francisco properties appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.