Why We Should Always Call Attacks on LGBTQ People 'Human Rights Abuses'
Spencer Macnaughton | Uncloseted Media Weekly Newsletter
This week, I’m writing to you from the Human Rights Watch Council Summit in Toronto, a three-day gathering that brings together key supporters and advocates to discuss and learn about the most pressing human rights issues.
On Tuesday, I was honored to be invited by Mark Bonham to speak on an LGBTQ rights panel alongside Canadian Senator Kristopher Wells and Katherine Dudtschak, the President and CEO of HomeEquity Bank and the author of “Sincerely, Katherine: Life, Gender, Inclusivity, and Leadership for the Future.”
Later that evening, I sat next to Reverend Brent Hawkes, who performed the first same-sex marriages in Canada in 2001.
It was an honor to sit and listen to advocates from every continent speak about the global work Human Rights Watch does to push back against genocide, racism, children’s rights abuses and so much more.
It made me think about our community and how laws and policies that attempt to roll back our rights are so often characterized as religious freedom issues.
I think all of us—LGBTQ people and allies alike—need to reframe these attacks for what they are. If other minority groups were being put under the same microscope with the same vitriol and the same proposed policies in 2025, there wouldn’t be a debate about whether there’s merit to these ideas beyond the advancement of discrimination.
It’s time to drop the niceties, euphemisms and “both sides” arguments. As journalists, and as humans, let’s call out attacks of all marginalized groups for what they are: human rights abuses and nothing less.
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Ohio Republicans Introduce 'Natural Family Month' Bill, Excluding LGBTQ Families (NBC News)
State Rep. Josh Williams said the bill is intended to support families “most directly tied to the creation and raising of children.”
Russian Court Fines Apple for Violating ‘LGBT Propaganda' Law (Reuters)
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We won another award! We are so pleased to announce we are the winner of the Best Single Article for the coveted Neal Awards for our HIV prevention story. Thank you to Fierce Healthcare for working on the piece with us! See the full list of winners here.
Over the next week, be on the lookout for new Uncloseted reporting:
🆕 With WorldPride D.C. approaching, we’re kicking off our Pride coverage by diving into the past eight WorldPride events and what made them impactful, important, and—in certain cases—controversial.
🆕 On Tuesday, the rise of hookup apps like Grindr and Sniffies have revolutionized how gay men connect and hook up. But they're also fueling a Party and Play (PnP) culture that—for many gay men—results in crystal meth addiction. As meth use spreads rapidly across these platforms, are the apps—who are making millions of dollars of the backs of our community—doing enough to curb the problem? Through powerful stories from those living through the crisis, this investigation—produced in partnership with Queer Kentucky—reveals the darker side of gay hook up apps and asks whether the tech companies are complicit in an epidemic that’s destroying lives.
Thanks for reading! Feel free to email me with questions, complaints and story ideas!
Spencer Macnaughton, Editor-In-Chief — spencer@unclosetedmedia.com
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