News Round-Up: April 1, 2021

Some news items you might have missed: • Boy Culture: Out actor Richard Chamberlain (above) turned 87 this week. Click over to BC for more photos of the eternally handsome star. • The Gaily Grind: The Nebraska Supreme Court has reversed a ruling by a judge who denied a lesbian couple’s petition to adopt a child because he said a dictionary defined a “wife” as having a husband. • Instinct Magazine: Did you know it’s the 20th anniversary of the first legal same-sex wedding and marriage? Twenty years ago, Dutch couple Gert Kasteel and Dolf Pasker became the first same-sex couple to get legally married in the Netherlands and the world.

Dutch couples mark 20th anniversary of world’s first same-sex marriages https://t.co/S7trlMk2Nx pic.twitter.com/Cd7z8ofyN5

— Reuters (@Reuters) April 1, 2021

• CNN: The ongoing Phase 3 clinical trial of Pfizer/BioNTech’s coronavirus vaccine confirms its protection remains high for at least six months after the second dose and likely lasts even longer. The vaccine also appears to be fully effective against the B.1.351 variant currently circulating in South Africa and beyond. • RawStory: Supporters of Donald Trump are furious that his vice president, Mike Pence, might try to run for president in 2024. Trump fans are still angry about Pence refusing to fight the 2020 election with the Electoral College certification. • NBC News: Every Republican in Congress voted against President Biden’s COVID stimulus package, that’s not stopping them from trumpeting popular aspects of the bill to their constituents as if they’d actually done something. • AP: The Montana legislature has approved a bill that would allow discrimination against LGBTQ people based on their ‘religious beliefs.’ Lawmakers rejected an amendment that would make it clear the law couldn’t be used to justify discrimination. The legislation now heads to the governor’s desk who has indicated he will sign it into law.

BREAKING: The Montana Legislature just passed a bill that grants a license to discriminate against LGBTQ people, people of faith, and women under the guise of religious freedom.

— Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) April 1, 2021