Memphis gay newspaper closes
Advocate. com reports the only LGBT newspaper in Memphis, Tenn., has ceased publication.
Publishers of the Memphis Triangle Journal cited decreasing ad revenue and declining use of print media as the reasons for closing the publication, which operated since 1990.
Out & About Newspaper and InsideOut, both based in Nashville, remain as the state’s only two LGBT publications.
Officials from the Memphis Gay and Lesbian Community Center, where volunteers produced the Memphis Triangle Journal, will continue to provide information online.
Utah U. protects gays from discrimination
The Salt Lake Tribune reports LGBT students now will be protected from discrimination at Southern Utah University.
The school’s board of trustees unanimously voted Dec. 4 to amend its antidiscrimination policy to include protection for those with an alternative sexual orientation.
Brigham Young University is now the only institution of higher education in the state without such a policy.
Trans teen: McDonald’s won’t hire me
365gay.com reports that a teenager claims McDonald’s refused to hire her because she is transgender.
Zikerria Bellamy, 17, filed the complaint with the Florida Commission on Human Relations after an Orlando McDonald’s restaurant allegedly refused to interview her.
Bellamy applied online for a management position with the McDonald’s restaurant on July 10 and, on July 28, after learning of her transgender status, one of the managers left her a voicemail that included a gay slur, according to Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund.
While no Florida law offers protection against discrimination based on gender identity, administrative agencies have ruled that transgender individuals are protected by the state’s human-rights act prohibitions on sex and disability discrimination.
A McDonald’s spokesperson said the employee who left the voice message was fired, adding McDonald’s “has a zero-tolerance policy prohibiting discrimination or harassment in the restaurant.”
— Larry Nichols