In the News

LGBTQ People Left out of California’s Focus on Tracking Coronavirus

May 20, 2020

LGBTQ People Left out of California’s Focus on Tracking Coronavirus - (SF Chronicle - May 20)

Lonnie Haley was hospitalized for four days in early April after he woke up one morning barely able to breathe. He was diagnosed with COVID-19, and his partner and his roommate also tested positive for the coronavirus.

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Advocates Blast CA Gov Newsom for Lack of COVID LGBT Data

May 13, 2020

Advocates Blast CA Gov Newsom for Lack of COVID LGBT Data (Bay Area Reporter - May 14)

Advocates are blasting California Governor Gavin Newsom and state public health officials for not gathering data about the impact of the novel coronavirus outbreak on the Golden State's LGBT community.

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Wiener Bill Would Mandate SOGI Data for COVID-19 in California

May 6, 2020

Wiener Bill Would Mandate SOGI Data for COVID-19 in California (Bay Area Reporter - May 6)

Gay state Senator Scott Wiener introduced legislation May 5 requiring that the state of California collect the sexual orientation and gender identity data of novel coronavirus patients.

If it becomes law, Senate Bill 932 would track how many LGBT people are being infected, hospitalized and placed in intensive care, as well as how many have recovered versus died.

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Wiener, Polis to Hold Virtual Town Hall Thursday

April 28, 2020

Wiener, Polis to Hold Virtual Town Hall Thursday - (Bay Area Reporter - Apr 28)

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Out Politicians to Hold a Virtual Town Hall on Pandemic's LGBTQ Impact

April 28, 2020

Out Politicians to Hold a Virtual Town Hall on Pandemic's LGBTQ Impact - (The Advocate - Apr 28)

Out elected officials from around the nation will take part Thursday in a National LGTBQ Town Hall focusing on the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the community.

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‘You Can’t Move and You Can’t Stay’: Top Democrats Say COVID Renter Protections Won’t Work

April 2, 2020

‘You Can’t Move and You Can’t Stay’: Top Democrats Say COVID Renter Protections Won’t Work - (Sacramento Bee - April 2)

Two top Democrats in the California Legislature say Gov. Gavin Newsom’s executive order temporarily protecting tenants who can’t afford rent because of COVID-19 doesn’t stop landlords from initiating eviction proceedings and could allow a wave of evictions once the order ends on May 31.

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SF Moves to Oppose Blood Ban; Wiener Plans Drive

April 1, 2020

SF Moves to Oppose Blood Ban; Wiener Plans Drive - (Bay Area Report - Mar 31)

Gay District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman introduced a resolution to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors March 31 calling upon the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to lift its ban on men who have had sex with men in the past year from giving blood amid a projected blood supply shortage due to the novel coronavirus outbreak.

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'I Try Not to Let it Keep Me Up': Bay Area Residents Concerned about Paying Rent on April 1 Despite Statewide Moratorium

March 28, 2020

'I Try Not to Let it Keep Me Up': Bay Area Residents Concerned about Paying Rent on April 1 Despite Statewide Moratorium - (ABC 7 - Mar 28)

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Opinion: The Coronavirus And HIV: Different Pandemics With The Same Lessons

March 27, 2020

Opinion: The Coronavirus And HIV: Different Pandemics With The Same Lessons - (Buzzfeed News - Mar 27)

For many of us who’ve been on the front lines of the HIV pandemic for decades, the emergence and explosion of the novel coronavirus has been scary in a very particular kind of way.

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Wiener Calls for End of Gay Blood Ban Amid Coronavirus-era Shortages

March 24, 2020

Wiener Calls for End of Gay Blood Ban Amid Coronavirus-era Shortages - (Bay Area Reporter - Mar 24)

Citing worries of shortages in the nation's blood supply as American life comes to a standstill in response to the novel coronavirus, gay state Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) is calling for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to lift its ban on men who have had sex with men in the past year from giving blood.

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