Photo: Barack Obama. Credit: Christopher Dilts/Obama for America.
President Barack Obama welcomed participants of the 2014 Gay Games with a video statement Saturday, reaffirming his administration’s commitment to LGBT equality.
“I know that some of you have come from places where it requires courage, even defiance, to come out, sometimes at great personal risk,” Obama said during a video address delivered at the opening ceremony of the games in Cleveland. “You should know that the United States stands with you and for your human rights, just as our athletes stand with you on the field at these games. After all, the very idea of America is that no matter who you are, what you look like, where you come from, or who you love, you can make it if you try. That’s who we are, that’s who we should continually strive to be.”
The 2014 Gay Games in Cleveland and Akron, Ohio mark the 9th international gathering of LGBT athletes and run Aug. 9 through Aug. 16. The Gay Games have been held every four years since 1982.
This year the Republican Party of Cuyahoga County has also partnered with Log Cabin Republicans as official supporters of the Gay Games. Water bottles reading, “The Republican Party of Cuyahoga County welcomes you to the Gay Games in Cleveland! REFRESHING!” were distributed to guests at the games.
“Cuyahoga County Republicans are eager to expand the tent and reach non-traditional Republicans with a clear message of limited government and personal responsibility,” Cuyahoga County Republican Party Chairman Rob Frost said in a statement. “We are committed to engaging every single voter in the County no matter who they are or how they have voted in the past.”
The move marks the most prominent participation by a Republican Party affiliate with the Gay Games, according to Log Cabin Republicans. Cleveland is also slated to be the site of the 2016 Republican National Convention.
“Two years out from the 2016 RNC National Convention and all eyes are already on Cleveland,” said Gregory T. Angelo, executive director of Log Cabin Republicans, in a statement. “The level of engagement with the Gay Games displayed by the Republican Party of Cuyahoga County shows that Republicans in Ohio are serious about leaving no stone unturned in the push to broaden the appeal of the GOP. I commend Chairman Frost for his leadership, and Log Cabin Republicans of Ohio President Giesige for his tireless work that will send a message to the LGBT community in the Buckeye State and across the country: the GOP is open for business to everybody.”
A new study claims that nearly 11 million more people could become infected with HIV, and 3 million could die by the end of the decade, due to foreign aid cuts impacting funding for HIV prevention and treatment.
Published in The Lancet HIV, the study estimates the potential public health impact of proposed foreign aid cuts by the five donor countries that account for 90% of all international HIV funding.
Those countries are the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and the Netherlands.
The greatest impact of the cuts would be felt in sub-Saharan Africa and among vulnerable or marginalized populations at higher risk of HIV, including children, injection-drug users, sex workers, and men who have sex with men, reports Politico.
Grammy, Emmy, and Tony Award winner Cynthia Erivo has been announced as a headliner of the WorldPride 2025 Street Festival and Concert.
Erivo, a three-time Oscar nominee who portrayed Elphaba in 2024's blockbuster movie Wicked, and who will reprise the role later this year in Wicked Part 2, frequently uses her platform to uplift diverse voices, champion inclusivity, and promote equity and greater LGBTQ representation and visibility.
Last fall, she was honored at the Human Rights Campaign National Dinner, where she was presented with the organization's National Equality Award.
Germany's Foreign Office is issuing warnings to transgender and nonbinary citizens traveling to the United States.
The warning is due to a recent executive order from President Donald Trump declaring that only passports with male or female gender markers will be accepted as valid. The order erases transgender identity from law, refusing to acknowledge a person's gender identity if it differs from their assigned sex at birth.
Under Trump's order, the U.S. will only recognize two sexes: male and female, based on biological characteristics at birth as a matter of policy. It declares that gender cannot be changed through medical interventions.
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