Local / Regional

ST. LOUIS, Mo. - Missouri Courage Scholarship (MCS) has announced the launch of its 2018 scholarship application for students who demonstrate courage in the face of adversity and are dedicated to LGBTQ equality and social justice. The scholarship is open...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - PROMO, Missouri’s statewide LGBT advocacy organization, is hosting its annual Equality Day tomorrow, February 20, at the Missouri State Capitol Building in Jefferson City. During the event, supporters of the LGBT community will meet with their elected...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - For the first time in Missouri, HB 2141 focused on banning so-called “conversion therapy”, has been filed by Rep. Tracy McCreery. The Youth Mental Health Preservation Act states “that state licensed professionals cannot engage in any...

Equality Illinois legislative agenda items will ban anti-LGBTQ panic defense, modernize birth certificate changes and build LGBTQ leadership. CHICAGO, Ill. — Three pro-LGBTQ equality laws that were legislative priorities for Equality Illinois go into effect with the new year. As of...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - The Missouri General Assembly's new legislative session will kick off at noon on Jan. 3, 2018 with LGBTQ advocates preparing for another year of strategic offense and strong defense. PROMO, Missouri's statewide LGBTQ advocacy organization, has...

Collaboration Includes Exchange Trip, Video Diaries, and Events in the U.S. and Russia ST. LOUIS, Mo. - Pride St. Louis announced today the acquisition of a grant funding a collaborative partnership between Pride St. Louis and the “Samara Regional LGBT Movement...

The Transgender Day of Remembrance, or TDOR, was founded as a memorial by trans activist Gwendolyn Ann Smith after the murder of Rita Hester, a Massachusetts transgender woman who was killed in 1998. The vigil commemorated all the Trans people...

WASHINGTON, DC - The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation, the educational arm of the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) civil rights organization, announced on Thursday a record number of the nation’s major companies and law...

Boards and Commissions Initiative will build LGBTQ policy and political power in the state CHICAGO, Ill. — Equality Illinois is launching a new initiative to build the policy and political power of LGBTQ Illinoisans by linking qualified lesbian, gay, bisexual,...

An open letter from PROMO Executive Director, Steph Perkins: In an historic decision on Tuesday, October 24, 2017, a Missouri Court of Appeals Western District three-judge panel (Karen King Mitchell, Presiding Judge, Gary D. Witt, Judge, Anthony Rex Gabbert, Judge) ruled...

Celebrates 50 Years of Advocacy “These faith leaders acted and spoke out fearlessly and sacrificed greatly in the midst of strong condemnation and persecution.” - Conference Coordinator, Mark Bowman. ST. LOUIS, Mo. - For the first and only time in history,...

ST. LOUIS, Mo. - Missouri Courage Scholarship (MCS) announced today the establishment of its first Board of Directors. "When we started our organization in 2015, it was funded and organized with a very grassroots approach," MCS said via press...

CHICAGO, Ill. - The Equality Illinois PAC is endorsing 32 incumbent legislators in its first round of endorsements as the state heads into the 2018 election cycle, the statewide LGBTQ political action committee announced Thursday. “Elections matter, now more than...

ST. LOUIS, MO – A report on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) equality in America’s cities by the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest LGBT civil rights organization, rated 506 cities across the nation, including eight cities in Missouri....

ST. LOUIS, Mo. - The region's most legendary Halloween street party returns Saturday, Oct. 28, 2017. Festivities kick off with fun daytime activities for the whole family at 11 a.m. Then, as the sun sets, the party continues with an...

Today, the Department of Justice (DOJ) issued guidance to administrative agencies and executive departments focusing on religious freedom and both bi-state LGBTQ advocacy organizations have weighed in and condemned the action. Via PROMO: This guidance is a license to discriminate against LGBT...

National Center for Lesbian Rights says, “What matters is the love and care a parent gives to her child, not biology” ST. LOUIS, Mo. — The National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR), on Tuesday, won an appeal on behalf of Kathleen...

CHICAGO, Ill. - LGBTQ and allied groups met with Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner this week to discuss challenges faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer Illinoisans that might find remedy in actions by the state. The issues discussed during...

ST. LOUIS, Mo. - The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and PROMO, Missouri’s Statewide LGBT advocacy organization, on Wednesday, expressed deep concern regarding the murder of Ally Lee Steinfeld. Both PROMO and ADL are urging the Prosecuting Attorney’s office to look into...

HOUSTON, Mo. - Four people have been charged in the brutal murder of Ally Lee Steinfield, 17, a Southwest Missouri transgender teen who was recently reported missing by family members. Andrew Vrba and Isis Schauer, both 18, and 24-year-old Briana Calderas...