There are moments in public life when a community must decide who it is—truly, unapologetically, without flinching. The release of Sacred Worth, Shared Freedom by the Lavender Interfaith Collective (LInC) is one of those moments. Sacred Worth, Shared Freedom is a bold, multi-faith statement and call to action affirming the inherent dignity of LGBTIQ+ people and urging communities, leaders, and institutions to defend human rights, expand democratic freedoms, and stand in courageous solidarity against all forms of anti-LGBTIQ+ violence and discrimination. It is not simply a statement; it is a line in the sand drawn by people of faith who refuse to let fear have the final word. I write as one of them.

For too long, religion has been used as a weapon against LGBTIQ+ people—especially transgender and nonbinary youth who are being targeted with a cruelty that should break every heart awake to the sacred. Many of us in faith leadership have watched this unfold with grief, anger, and a growing conviction that silence is no longer an option. Silence, after all, is not neutrality. Silence is complicity.

Sacred Worth, Shared Freedom rises from that conviction. It is rooted in the simple, ancient truth that every person carries an inherent dignity that no legislature, no pulpit, and no political agenda can erase. But it also names something deeper: our freedom is bound together. When one group is targeted, the whole community is diminished. When one group is protected, the whole community becomes more resilient.

This is not abstract theology. It is a lived reality. I have seen queer and trans youth walk into congregations unsure if they will be welcomed or wounded. I have watched parents tremble with fear for their children’s safety. I have listened to elders who survived earlier waves of hatred and now watch history trying to repeat itself. And I have witnessed the courage of communities who refuse to let that happen.

That courage is what Sacred Worth, Shared Freedom calls forth. It is a call to faith leaders to reclaim the moral center of our traditions—not the distorted versions used to justify exclusion, but the liberating core that insists every human being is beloved. It is a call to congregations to move beyond statements of welcome and into practices of protection, advocacy, and solidarity. And it is a call to the wider public to recognize that the struggle for LGBTIQ+ dignity is inseparable from the struggle for a healthy democracy.

Some will say faith leaders should stay out of public life. But history tells a different story. Faith communities have always shaped the moral imagination of this country. The question is never whether religion will influence public life—but how. Will we narrow the circle of belonging, or widen it? Will we bless fear, or bless courage that accompanies those who are marginalized?

Those who endorse Sacred Worth, Shared Freedom are choosing courage. We are choosing to stand with those whose lives are being legislated, debated, and threatened. We are choosing to say, with clarity and conviction, that LGBTIQ+ people are not problems to be solved but neighbors to be cherished. We are choosing to act.

And that is the heart of this moment: action. Not performative allyship. Not quite sympathy. Action that protects, uplifts, and transforms.

If you are a person of faith, a community leader, or simply someone who believes in human dignity, the invitation is clear. Read the statement. Share it. Sign it. Let it move you from conviction to courage, from belief to embodiment.

Because our shared worth and dignity are something human judgment cannot set aside, and our shared freedom is not a dream. It is a responsibility. And it is ours to claim—together.

Rev. Mike Schuenemeyer is the Coordinator of the Lavender Interfaith Collective and Co-Pastor of Northwest Community Church – United Church of Christ, Las Vegas, Nevada.

Opinion is dedicated to featuring a wide range of inspiring personal stories and impactful opinions from the LGBTQ+ community and its allies. Visit Advocate.com/submit to learn more about submission guidelines. We welcome your thoughts and feedback on any of our stories. Email us at voices@equalpride.com. Views expressed in Voices stories are those of the guest writers, columnists, and editors, and do not directly represent the views of The Advocate or our parent company, equalpride.

On Thursday, a Superior Court judge upheld the block of a referendum on transgender athletes from its November ballot, according to Maine Public.

The proposal, launched by Protect Girls' Sports in Maine, aimed to restrict transgender school athletes to compete only on teams that match their gender assigned at birth, or on co-ed teams. Further, it would enforce the use of separate “male” and “female” locker rooms, restrooms, and showers.

The campaign gained momentum in February, when the group submitted a petition with nearly 80,000 signatures to include the measure on the ballot. It was initially approved by Secretary of State Shenna Bellows; however, opponents quickly challenged the validity of many of the signatures.

In May, after reviewing the petition and holding a hearing that included both parties, Chief Deputy Secretary of State Katherine McBrien recommended that over 12,500 of the signatures be invalidated due to multiple issues — including forged signatures, petition circulators failing to file proper paperwork, duplicate signatures, and signatories not matching local voter registration records. Bellows agreed with McBrien's recommendation and blocked the measure from going to voters in November.

Maine Secretary of State, Shenna BellowsMaine.gov

Protect Girls' Sports appealed the decision in Maine's Superior Court, arguing that Bellows, a Democrat currently seeking a nomination for governor, exceeded her constitutional authority and denied petition signers their right of free speech. Then on Thursday of this week, in a 13-page ruling, Superior Court Justice Deborah Cashman denied the group's appeal and upheld Bellows' previous block of the initiative.

In response, the organization's committee released a statement saying it would continue to fight to get the measure on the ballot.

"[Protect Girls' Sports] is committed to continuing its efforts to allow the people of Maine to vote on the Protect Girls Sports legislation at the November general election," the group stated. "The committee remains confident in the challenges it raised to the Secretary’s decision and will seek review by the Maine Supreme Judicial Court."

Under current Maine law, students are allowed to compete on teams that align with their gender identity, not their sex assigned at birth, based on anti-discrimination protections in the state. But the policy has been the source of heated debate, with opponents arguing that allowing trans girls to play on female sports teams violates female athletes' civil rights due to gender-based biological differences that affect factors like strength and speed.

"The rules are in place to make sure that when a question goes on the ballot, voters can trust that it qualified fair and square," said David Farmer, campaign manager for the Campaign for Free and Fair Schools. "And in this case it did not. They took some shortcuts and got caught with their hand in the cookie jar."

The Department of Veterans Affairs has ordered health facilities nationwide to eliminate gender identity-based initiatives and strip the LGBTQ+ designation from a network of medical coordinators created to help LGBTQ+ veterans navigate care, according to an internal memorandum obtained by The Advocate.

The June 12 directive, signed by Veterans Health Administration Under Secretary for Health John J. Bartrum, the VA official who oversees the nation's largest integrated health care system, is the latest move by the Trump administration to remove references to LGBTQ+ and transgender identities from federal programs. It also raises new questions about the future of a specialized support network the VA created to address documented disparities affecting LGBTQ+ people who served their country and earned medical care at the agency.

Related: Inside the Veterans Affairs Department’s underground resistance to Trump’s care ban for transgender vets

Medical professionals at U.S.-based VA hospitals who reviewed the memorandum told The Advocate that staff members immediately began expressing concern. “People are worried this will mean loss of programming and services that are uniquely designed for LGBTQ+ veterans,” one provider at a VA medical center told The Advocate under the condition of anonymity to speak freely.

Employees are questioning whether programs such as PRIDE in All Who Served and CBT-PRISM could survive under the new guidance, the provider said.

PRIDE in All Who Served is a VA-developed, 10-week health education and support program for LGBTQ+ veterans that the department has recognized as a best practice. The VA has reported that participants experienced reductions in depression, anxiety, suicide risk, and identity-related stigma, along with increased social connectedness and engagement with care. CBT-PRISM is an affirmative mental health intervention that adapts cognitive behavioral therapy to address the effects of stigma, discrimination, and minority stress on LGBTQ+ veterans. Researchers have been working to expand the program throughout the Veterans Health Administration. Both programs were developed in response to disparities that the VA itself has repeatedly acknowledged affect LGBTQ+ veterans.

The June 12 memorandum directs Veterans Health Administration facilities to comply with President Donald Trump's executive orders targeting diversity, equity, and inclusion programs and federal recognition of transgender people. Among the changes outlined in the directive, LGBTQ+ Veteran Care Coordinators are to be redesignated simply as Care Coordinators.

Related: Transgender vets deserve access to gender-affirming care, Veterans Affairs providers say (exclusive)

"VHA must eliminate all DEI/DEIA programs, gender-identity based and gender-ideology based initiatives, and any activities, internal or external, that promote gender identity or gender ideology," the memorandum states.

The memo instructs facilities to review websites, communications, policies, training materials, SharePoint sites, meetings, events, and other resources for compliance. It further states that federal funds, facilities, staff time, training, promotional materials, and other government resources may not be used for activities that promote what the administration characterizes as "gender ideology" or "gender identity."

The memorandum states that all veterans will continue to be served and that programs explicitly authorized by Congress remain unaffected.

Yet as of Friday evening, the VA's own LGBTQ+ Health Program website continued to promote the very infrastructure that the directive targeted.

"There is an LGBTQ+ Veteran Care Coordinator (LGBTQ+ VCC) at every facility to help you get the care you need," the website states. It describes coordinators as resources who help create "a safe and respectful environment," educate staff, spread knowledge about LGBTQ+ veteran services, and build networks of allies and community partners.

For a decade, the Department of Veterans Affairs has maintained a nationwide network of LGBTQ+ Veteran Care Coordinators. The program was formally established in 2016 after the VA concluded that LGBTQ+ veterans often faced unique barriers to care, including stigma, discrimination, and elevated risks for certain health conditions.

Under VHA Directive 1340, issued in 2022 and still publicly available on the VA website on Friday evening, the department described the coordinators as playing "a critical role" in ensuring culturally competent, veteran-centered care. Every VA medical facility was required to appoint at least one coordinator, with dedicated administrative time based on facility size.

Related: Trump administration announces end to gender-affirming care for transgender veterans

The directive assigned coordinators responsibilities that extended far beyond patient navigation. They were tasked with advocating for LGBTQ+ veterans, identifying gaps in care, educating staff, building relationships with community organizations, conducting outreach, promoting affirming environments, and monitoring the needs of LGBTQ+ veterans in their regions. The policy specifically encouraged participation in Pride events, maintaining LGBTQ+ resource websites, creating outreach materials, and supporting LGBTQ+-focused programming.

The VA website also describes the mission of the LGBTQ+ Health Program as providing "national leadership through policy, education, advocacy, and innovative data-driven programs to promote LGBTQ+ Veteran health and well-being." Its vision, the department states, is to "build a VA that LGBTQ+ Veterans trust to provide affirming care and services to help them thrive."

In 2022, the VA wrote that LGBTQ+ veterans "expect to experience discrimination in VA medical facilities, which may impair their engagement in care" and that "additional efforts" were necessary to ensure equitable health care.

Friday's directive is the latest in a series of Trump administration actions reshaping VA policy for LGBTQ+ veterans. In March 2025, The Advocate reported that the VA had quietly rescinded VHA Directive 1341, a policy governing care for transgender and intersex veterans. After The Advocate reported the rescission, VA press secretary Peter Kasperowicz denied that any policy change had occurred and demanded a retraction. Days later, the department publicly confirmed the policy's removal.

Subsequent reporting by The Advocate documented restrictions on gender-affirming surgery referrals, reports that VA clinicians were quietly helping transgender veterans navigate new barriers to care, and concerns over LGBTQ+ visibility inside VA facilities, including reports that rainbow lanyards and other Pride-related items had been barred at a Virginia VA hospital.

The latest directive appears to extend that effort beyond transgender health care and into the broader infrastructure the VA created to support LGBTQ+ veterans.

Related: Veterans Affairs doctors banned from writing surgery referrals to private providers for trans vets

What remains unclear is whether the administration intends to preserve the functions of LGBTQ+ Veteran Care Coordinators while removing the LGBTQ+ designation, or whether the redesignation is the first step toward dismantling the program itself.

The Advocate reached out Friday evening to Kasperowicz, who now serves as the VA assistant secretary for public and intergovernmental affairs, to confirm the details of the memorandum and explain how LGBTQ+ veterans will continue to receive specialized support under the new policy. He did not respond to a request for comment.

The memorandum gives Veterans Integrated Service Networks, medical center directors, and program offices 14 days to certify compliance.

Watch the Veterans Health Administration-produced video below, which previously celebrated LGBTQ+ veterans and their service.

- YouTube www.youtube.com

Having spent half my life in the most liberal city in the U.S. and half my life in one of the most conservative, I’ve learned an important lesson: how Americans talk to each other is as important as what they say.

The San Francisco Bay Area afforded me an incredible college education and a successful 20-year career as a documentary filmmaker. Yet, as the country has grown more polarized, San Francisco’s history as a safe harbor for immigrants, queer people and other outsiders can sometimes feel like an echo chamber. Don’t get me wrong: finding my tribe as a young gay man and a filmmaker in California allowed me to finally say the quiet things out loud, something I could never do growing up in a town famous for its right-wing, anti-gay fundamentalism.

Yet, ten years ago, I left San Francisco and returned to my hometown of Colorado Springs. And nothing has quite been the same.

What I assumed would be a year spent caring for my father after his ALS diagnosis led to teaching documentary film classes and, ultimately, founding a tuition-free film academy, the Youth Documentary Academy, for young people in our region, much like the training academies I’d seen that exist mostly on the east and west coasts.

My father had always made the case for living in southern Colorado. A staunch Democrat, a leader in his teachers’ union and a historian of civil rights, he had no desire to move to a more progressive region where many more folks shared his values. He loved the Pikes Peak region, as had his parents and grandparents before him. Perhaps my dad enjoyed being an irritant to the establishment—a perpetual David-versus-Goliath figure—or perhaps he understood something I did not: that living in a place alongside people who don’t share your social and political perspectives isn’t always a bad thing. In fact, it can be quite an American thing.

In the last decade, we’ve witnessed an alarming breakdown in civic engagement. The borders between red and blue America have hardened; so have hearts and minds clamoring to be the loudest, if not meanest, voices in the room. The problem with this paradigm is that the “room” is often a silo – whether Fox News or MS NOW – where nightly pundits and anchors trot out fresh bait, effectively reinforcing our already established enemy lines. Then we wonder, each year, when our families get together for Thanksgiving, why it’s so hard to have a conversation.

I don’t have to squint hard to see an antidote: the very thing that helped me reconcile with my childhood home, might hold the key. Each summer in our academy, young people and their filmmaking mentors gather daily in a circle as they begin to learn how to transpose first-person storytelling into high impact filmmaking. A daughter of a first-generation immigrant family sits next to a boy whose fourth-generation family has lived in the area since the 1920s. A trans student sits next to a student whose family are active leaders in the evangelical New Life Church. Black and other BIPOC students sit among white and Asian students. Autistic and ADHD students remind their non-neurodivergent peers how they learn differently, while kids from retired Army families share how their dads’ PTSD impacted family life. Kids from civilian families lean in and listen. Talk about pluralism in America.

What these diverse young Americans have in common is a lived access point to a story that matters and a desire to understand each other and their differences more deeply. After all, what is documentary film if not an expansion of our capacity to listen and observe? Cameras and microphones amplify these impulses and force us to stop talking and listen more carefully. These skills are fundamental to becoming a good documentary filmmaker. Turns out, they are also critical for a healthy democracy.

Many of our current leaders could learn a lot from my students, and they can. Graduates of the Youth Documentary Academy now broadcast their films nationally on a public television series called “Our Time.” They regularly go into high schools and organize film festivals that open the door to courageous peer-to-peer conversations. At a time when attacks on public media are unprecedented, young people from the middle of the country—and in historically ultra-conservative zip codes—are driving discourse across red and blue states alike, asking viewers across the nation to stop, listen and be curious.

When I was the age of my students, I believed Story (with a capital S) didn’t exist in my hometown. It existed in more important places like New York and California. Now, I understand that everyone has a story to tell. When young people see themselves and their own lived experiences, or those of their families and communities, as access points to Story, we all benefit. And when adults become more skillful at listening to the young people in their lives, even when the topics are tough, we dare to smash the walls that divide us.

I continue to visit San Francisco often. When I meet someone there for the first time and tell them I am from Colorado Springs, the response is often, “I’m so sorry.” Or, “Gosh, that must be really hard.” On the contrary, I have come to realize what I’ve known all along: being home is good for me. And including my story in the Story of this complicated place matters.

As Americans face the upcoming midterm elections, many are predicting a blue wave. Like many others, I yearn for new and different leadership. But there is a cycle that must be broken, and I want to warn my compatriots in “blue” strongholds: stop treating places like my hometown as “fly-over” America. Fair to say that kind of dismissal of resources and focus is part of the problem and why we find ourselves in the climate we are experiencing now.

The more we can engage and listen closely to our neighbors with curiosity, especially those very different from ourselves, the less dismissive we become. And the more we choose to listen with care and respect to the young people in our lives, the better our chances of finding common ground become.

Tom Shepard, a Sundance award-winning documentary filmmaker, is the founding Executive Director of Youth Documentary Academy in Colorado Springs. He is the series Producer of “Our Time,” now broadcasting on PBS stations nationwide and streaming at PBS.org.

Opinion is dedicated to featuring a wide range of inspiring personal stories and impactful opinions from the LGBTQ+ community and its allies. Visit Advocate.com/submit to learn more about submission guidelines. We welcome your thoughts and feedback on any of our stories. Email us at voices@equalpride.com. Views expressed in Voices stories are those of the guest writers, columnists, and editors, and do not directly represent the views of The Advocate or our parent company, equalpride.

Republican Ken Paxton was quick to publicly denounce his fellow U.S. Senate candidate, Democrat James Talarico, for apparently changing his stance on gender-affirming care for transgender youth, according to the Austin American Statesman.

Paxton’s comments came after Talarico appeared on a podcast earlier this week and stated, “I oppose gender reassignment surgeries for minors.”

The comment seemed inconsistent with Talarico’s previous views on trans issues, like when he voted against legislation that banned “procedures and treatments for gender transitioning” for children in 2023.

“I think it's clear that this is not about science or medicine, and certainly not about keeping kids safe,” Talarico said at the time before voting “no” on the bill. “I think this is about discriminating against people who are transgender.”

Many see Talarico’s flip-flopping as a tactic to combat accusations from conservatives that he’s “too liberal” to represent Texas.

“This is just the latest example of Talarico masquerading as a moderate when the truth is he’s the most radical Democrat to ever run statewide in Texas history,” Paxton stated in a news release. “[Talarico] has proven he will lie time and time again because he knows his radical policies are extreme and completely out-of-touch with the people of Texas.”

Talarico's communications director, JT Ennis, responded to the accusation, stating Talarico had opposed the 2023 bill (SB 14) because it could also affect “Texas children suffering from rare genetic diseases that have nothing to do with being transgender. … It’s why he supported amendments to fix the bill while banning these surgeries — amendments that were ultimately shot down.”

This isn’t the first time Talarico has seemingly backtracked on views around gender. Before entering the race for the Senate, conservatives criticized him for stating that God was a supreme being of “no gender” and that scientists have said that there are as many six biological human sexes. After his campaign had begun, however, Talarico noted these comments were “cringey” and had “missed the mark.”

In response to these comments, Paxton even made up some derogatory nicknames for Talarico, including “Talafreako” and “six-gender Jimmy.”

The tactic of using transgender issues, especially around trans youth, has unfortunately often proven to be an effective tool for conservatives seeking office in far-right leaning states like Texas.

The race for the Texas Senate seat will be decided on November 3, 2026.

This story originally appeared on Them.

Pop superstar and Wicked actress Ariana Grande announced Friday the launch of a charity focused on funding small grassroots organizations that focus on “LGBTQ+ rights, civil rights, and reproductive justice.”

The singer shared the news of in an Instagram post writing, “It has been my privilege to be able to support these causes on my own over the years, and I’m grateful to now be able to expand that reach and amplify the life-saving work that these organizations do through The Brighter Days Ahead Foundation.”

Grande also directed followers to The Brighter Days Ahead Foundation’s own Instagram page, which contains further details about the charity’s mission. Under a post about the organization’s “Emergency Support Fund,” the foundation notes that recent grantees have included Humanity Crew, New York Cares, and Palestine Children’s Relief Fund, among other groups that ”meet urgent moments with aid and resources, providing rapid support and relief during times of collective need.”Among other causes, the Seen & Celebrated Fund will reportedly help “ensure LGBTQ+ voices are heard and shared” while the Protect & Defend Fund is meant to support “grassroots groups that advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, civil rights, and reproductive justice.”

The name of the organization appears to be a reference to Brighter Days Ahead, the 2025 sci-fi short Grande co-directed with Christian Breslauer as a companion piece to her 2024 album Eternal Sunshine.

The comments section of Grande’s announcement post was immediately flooded with support from fans and fellow celebrities alike, with West Side Story star Rachel Zegler offering a heart emoji and the Gender Liberation Movement thanking the singer for her support.

Grande is no stranger to supporting queer and trans rights. In 2022, she personally matched $1.5 million worth of donations to a fundraiser for organizations that support trans youth, helping raise a total of over $3 million.

Also in our thoughts are the survivors, as many of the hundreds touched by the then-deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history still seek solace, Jacob Ogles reports.

“There’s no handbook on how to survive after surviving,” Christopher Hansen, who crawled his way out of the crime scene to help others that night, tells Jacob.

But in the intervening decade since what remains the deadliest attack on mostly LGBTQ+ victims, many of those navigating pain and darkness in the aftermath of the shooting found their way along healing paths toward justice, reflection, and positive action.

The shooting drove Brandon Wolf, then a barista and theme park employee in Orlando, toward political advocacy. He attended Pulse with Drew Leinonen and Juan Guerrero, a couple who ultimately died together in the shooting.

"I promised my best friend that I would never stop fighting for a world that he would be proud of," Wolf says.

Fighting for a better world for our community, too, is U.S. Rep. Sarah McBride, as documented in "State of Firsts," now in theaters. The film arrives at a moment when McBride has become one of the most visible figures in America's battles over transgender rights — a reality that neither she nor the filmmakers could fully have anticipated when production began, Christopher Wiggins writes.

We'll for sure be checking it out, and hope to see you all back in your inboxes Monday. Have a great weekend, folks!

Trump administration confirms it’s restoring LGBTQ+ youth crisis line it eliminated last year

Why are San Francisco gay bars scanning patrons’ faces?

As attacks on trans Americans intensify, Sarah McBride’s story reaches theaters nationwide

Ten years after Pulse shooting, survivors continue turning unimaginable grief into action

'Sweet Magnolias' star Chris Medlin says Serenity is ready for a big gay wedding

Adult star Drake Von strangled his girlfriend until she 'blacked out,' police allege

New York Republican governor candidate faces questions over the antigay company he keeps

Hakeem Jeffries vows that House Democrats will stand with trans Americans ‘always and forever’

On Thursday, the Kennedy Center’s board of trustees made a sudden decision to appeal U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper’s order to remove Trump’s name from the Washington, D.C. cultural center’s exterior by Friday, June 12. Cooper said his reasoning for the ruling was that the name change did not go through the proper legal processes, stating that “Congress gave the center its name, and only Congress can change it.”

Then, with less than 36 hours until the deadline to remove Trump’s name, the center’s trustees sought a last-minute stay (a court order that pauses the original until an appeal is resolved), according to a report by The Washington Post. However, Cooper denied the request and moved forward with the order on Friday.

Related: Kennedy Center vice president steps down 12 days after appointment

Before the initial ruling, Kennedy Center’s executive director, Matt Floca, stated in a court filing that Trump’s name was now central to its fundraising efforts, and that removing it would cause “irreparable harm” and make maintaining the center “financially nonviable.” Floca added that the building’s current state included failing roof panels and water seeping into electrical vaults, and that staying open during construction would be “irresponsible.”

Late Thursday afternoon, the center’s Instagram account was still branded “The Trump Kennedy Center,” and the president’s name remained emblazoned across the building’s facade.

Shortly after the Cooper’s initial ruling, Trump lashed out at the judge and threatened to abandon any involvement with the Kennedy Center. He then took to social media to explain the rationale for the renovations and stated that he’d instructed the Commerce Department to arrange a “full and complete transfer” of the institution to Congress. This confused lawmakers and others because federal law mandates that the center be managed by its board of trustees.

Related: Canceled shows and record lows: How Trump is killing the Kennedy Center

In another perplexing twist, Trump then seemed to backtrack on this today when asked by the press how he wanted to be involved with the center. “The same way it is,” he replied. “I’m the chairman, so we’ll just keep it going.”

As of today, the center’s social media accounts have reverted to branding as “The Kennedy Center” without Trump’s name, and the Washington NBC affiliate WRC reported that crews were arriving to put up scaffolding to apparently remove it from the building’s exterior.

Thousands of viewers tuned in for a live stream of the name removal.

Watch the live stream below.

- YouTube www.youtube.com

The legal battle over President Donald Trump's transgender military ban is entering a new phase that could determine whether the challenge proceeds on behalf of a handful of plaintiffs or thousands of transgender service members nationwide.

Attorneys representing transgender troops asked a federal judge on Friday to certify a nationwide class in Talbott v. United States, a challenge to the administration's policy. The move would allow the lawsuit to proceed on behalf of all transgender people currently serving in the military and those seeking to enlist.

The Trump administration has recently resumed efforts to remove transgender people from military service, while courts continue grappling with how broad judicial relief can be after the Supreme Court sharply limited the use of nationwide injunctions last year.

For the plaintiffs, class certification offers a path toward protecting far more than the individuals whose names appear on the lawsuit. "This case is exceptionally well-suited for class certification," attorneys for the plaintiffs wrote in a filing Friday.

Related: Judge hints at federal class action, orders DOJ evidence in trans military ban case

The lawsuit challenges Executive Order 14183 and the implementing policy issued by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, which the administration says addresses military readiness and medical standards. Plaintiffs argue the policy is a categorical ban on transgender military service disguised as a medical regulation.

Judge Ana Reyes appeared sympathetic to that view when she issued a preliminary injunction earlier in the case, writing that the policy effectively bans transgender people from serving. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit later narrowed portions of that relief but recently allowed parts of Reyes's ruling to stand.

Now, the question before the court is whether the case should proceed as a challenge brought by a handful of named plaintiffs or as one brought on behalf of an entire class of people affected by the ban.

The Justice Department says it should not.

Government attorneys argue that certifying a nationwide class could interfere with parallel litigation in Washington state, where another group of transgender service members is challenging the same policy in Shilling v. United States. They also contend that the proposed class is too broad and too difficult to define because it relies on the plaintiffs' definition of transgender identity. The Trump administration does not recognize trans people as legitimate.

The government argues that class members have experienced different circumstances. Some plaintiffs, they claim, “voluntarily” retired or separated from military service, while others remain in uniform and face administrative separation proceedings. The so-called “voluntary” option to leave was forced on trans service members who have told The Advocate that they had no choice.

Those differences, the Justice Department says, mean the plaintiffs have not shown the kind of common injury required for class certification. The plaintiffs counter that the administration is describing individual circumstances while, they say, ignoring that every class member is affected by the same policy.

Related: Lawyers ask judge to certify case to protect all trans troops affected by Trump military ban

The reply brief explains that the military ban is a single government action applied uniformly across the armed forces. Whether a service member has already separated, is facing separation proceedings, or hopes to enlist in the future, plaintiffs argue, the legal question remains. Can the federal government exclude transgender people from military service simply because of who they are?

Their attorneys also accuse the government of attempting to relitigate an issue that both Reyes and the D.C. Circuit have already addressed. Throughout the litigation, administration lawyers have argued that the policy is based on gender dysphoria rather than transgender status itself. The plaintiffs respond that courts reviewing the policy have repeatedly concluded otherwise.

In Friday's filing, they pointed to previous rulings finding that the policy is "aimed squarely at transgender persons" and argued that the government's reliance on gender dysphoria diagnoses is simply a mechanism for excluding transgender people from service.

For decades, civil rights organizations often sought nationwide injunctions to block federal policies affecting large groups of people. But the Supreme Court's 2025 decision in Trump v. CASA significantly narrowed that avenue, prompting advocates to explore other ways of obtaining broad relief.

Class actions have emerged as one of the most promising alternatives.

Reyes has not yet ruled on the motion.

A Republican candidate seeking to govern one of the nation's most influential states is facing growing criticism from LGBTQ+ advocates and Democratic officials over his ties to politicians and activists who have opposed marriage equality, supported restrictions on LGBTQ+ visibility, and made remarks condemned as homophobic.

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, a close ally of President Donald Trump who is running for governor of New York, has increasingly drawn scrutiny over campaign appearances and political relationships with conservative figures whose views on LGBTQ+ rights have sparked controversy.

The criticism comes as LGBTQ+ rights remain a central flashpoint in American politics and as Republican candidates across the country continue to campaign on issues involving transgender rights, school policies, and public displays of LGBTQ+ identity.

Related: Kathy Hochul vetos financial protection bill introduced after murders of gay men

If elected, Blakeman would lead a state that helped shape the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement, legalized same-sex marriages years before the U.S. Supreme Court did, and recently expanded constitutional protections for LGBTQ+ people through a voter-approved Equal Rights Amendment in 2024.

Democrats argue that Blakeman's political alliances raise questions about how he would approach those issues as governor.

"'100% MAGA' Bruce Blakeman is proving why he's Donald Trump's pick for New York governor: he'd rather fan the flames of bigotry, hatred, and straight up homophobia than stand up to Trump and MAGA," Hochul campaign spokesperson Sarafina Chitika said in a statement to The Advocate. "Governor Kathy Hochul is fighting for the rights, freedoms, and dignity every New Yorker deserves, and she'll never back down to the far-right's attacks on LGBTQ+ New Yorkers."

Among the relationships drawing scrutiny is Blakeman's recent appearance with Tennessee Republican Rep. Andy Ogles, who sparked bipartisan backlash after posting that "homosexuality has no place in America." Ogles later deleted the post and blamed a staff member. He has also previously called for revisiting marriage equality after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

Critics have also highlighted Blakeman's campaign appearances alongside Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who signed the state's controversial "Don't Say Gay" law, and Florida Rep. Randy Fine, who played a key role in advancing that legislation and has backed efforts to prohibit Pride flags on government property.

In 2024, he signed an executive order barring women's and girls' sports teams that include transgender athletes from using Nassau County athletic facilities. The policy drew national attention when Caitlyn Jenner traveled to Long Island to stand alongside Blakeman and publicly endorse the measure.

The executive order was challenged in court and ultimately struck down, but county lawmakers later approved similar legislation.

In April, Blakeman appeared at a Manhattan Republican gala alongside Ogles, who was honored by the Metropolitan Republican Club. According to Politico, Ogles has said that "Muslims don't belong in American society" and has led efforts targeting New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, including calls to denaturalize and deport him. Blakeman's campaign declined to comment to Politico on Ogles' statements or their appearance together.

In a statement to The Advocate, Blakeman rejected criticism that he is aligned with efforts to roll back LGBTQ+ rights. "None of that is true," Blakeman said. "For years, New York law has recognized same-sex marriage, and as Governor I would do nothing to change that law."

Blakeman pointed to Jenner's support for his position on transgender athletes, saying she is "fully aware" of his views and came to Nassau County to endorse them publicly. "As Governor, my job is to protect people of every race, religion, ethnic group, and of all lifestyles and gender," Blakeman said. "That is an oath I hold sacred. I will never tolerate bullying of any child, including those who may be gay."

The Advocate reached out to Jenner for comment.

Related: Newly elected N.Y. State Sen. Erik Bottcher: state must be a bulwark against Trump

Democrats have pointed to Blakeman's embrace of the New York State Conservative Party, which historically opposed marriage equality and campaigned against New York's Equal Rights Amendment, as well as his ties to Long Island Loud Majority, a conservative activist group that has protested LGBTQ+-themed books and displays in schools and libraries. The Southern Poverty Law Center has designated the organization an anti-government extremist group, citing what it describes as anti-LGBTQ+ activity.

State Assemblymember Tony Simone said those associations should concern voters.

"Bruce Blakeman thinks he can hide behind far-right homophobes in his run for governor – but New Yorkers see through his extremist agenda," Simone said in a statement to The Advocate. "Blakeman's campaigning with politicians who want to reverse marriage equality, ban pride flags, and erase LGBTQ+ people from public life. New Yorkers deserve better than a governor who would hand the keys to our rights over to bigots."

State Sen. Erik Bottcher, who is gay, similarly highlighted the race as a test of New York's commitment to LGBTQ+ equality.

"Pride Month is a celebration of how far we've come, but it's also a reminder of what's at stake," Bottcher said in a statement to The Advocate. "Bruce Blakeman has repeatedly aligned himself with the same Trump-style extremism that attacks LGBTQ+ people, targets our youth, and seeks to roll back rights that generations fought to secure."

The use of facial-scanning technology at several San Francisco gay bars has angered many in the LGBTQ+ community. At locations often frequented by people who are not publicly out, the notion of tracking patrons' whereabouts in the very havens sought for privacy raises many alarms.

At least three gay bars in the Castro District have started using Patronscan Guard+, a technology intended to flag fake IDs, according to the San Francisco Gazetteer. But the experience of having a camera turned on every person entering the venues, often without warning, has left many outraged.

Hart Owen told the outlet that she considers the surveillance technology a serious risk to privacy. “It’s really not great to have lists of gay people,” they said.

Management at Mix, Badlands, and Toad Hall declined to speak to the Gazetteer about the issue, though bouncers pointed reporters to signage informing guests that the technology was being used.

Related: Could Minneapolis welcome bathhouses back for the first time since the late 1980s?

The Patronscan website offers insight into how the data can be used. The technology, according to the company, goes beyond simple document checks to validate identification and includes third-party checks. Those could flag people wanted by law enforcement or those appearing on sex offender registries. The company said it uses more than 8,500 forensic checks for every ID card scanned in bars, cross-referencing information to verify ages and names with listed addresses, “giving your front-of-house team real-time access to the patron intelligence they need.”

The site also addresses privacy concerns.

“We know this is one of the first questions operators ask, and we want to be clear: when a Third-Party Check runs, we use only the guest’s name and address to compare against publicly available information, such as confirming that an address exists and is valid,” the site reads. “No guest data is stored or sold as part of this feature.”

But the bouncer who spoke to the Gazetteer said guests' facial scans would be stored for up to 30 days and then deleted in most cases. However, if guests engage in problematic behavior, such as starting fights or stealing from the bar, the establishment may retain the information indefinitely to flag those patrons if they return after being barred from the venue.

The company said the technology is in use in more than 700 cities around the world. But it has already become the subject of litigation, including a class-action lawsuit in Illinois. Plaintiff Erica Normal sued Servall Biometrics, the company behind Patronscan, alleging it illegally collected and used facial recognition data without obtaining consent, in violation of state privacy laws, according to Legal Newsline.

Owen said the concern is especially concerning at bars that cater to an LGBTQ+ population.

“Why is this at a gay bar, of all places?” she told the Gazetteer.

This story originally appeared on Out.

Chris Medlin grew up in a small town in Tennessee, so when he says Serenity, the fictional South Carolina town Sweet Magnolias is set in, represents something real, he means it.

"I think Serenity represents what every town could and should be," Medlin tells Out. "What I think this show does really well is have all of these diverse perspectives, have all of these varying walks of life, and not having any of their stories be about that exact thing that makes them different. Whether it’s sexuality or race or relationship status, it’s just understood by the town, and, through them, the show."

That's a quiet kind of radical. Sweet Magnolias doesn't announce Isaac's queerness as the subject. It just lets him exist fully in a town that loves him. For Medlin, that's the whole point.

Chris Medlin as Isaac Downey on 'Sweet Magnolias.' Courtesy of Netflix

He's been playing Isaac since 2019, after a stint in Mean Girls on Broadway, for his first TV gig. Season five finds Isaac more grounded than we've ever seen him, stepping into a managerial role at Sullivan's, six months into his relationship with Michael, and more certain of his place in Serenity than he's ever been.

Isaac came to town looking for the parents who gave him away as teenagers. "He shows up to town very uncertain of who he is and where his place in the world should be, and he finds it quite quickly in Serenity," Medlin says. "I do think finding it so quickly and being welcomed so warmly is a little unnerving for Isaac, and it makes him anxious."

That anxiety shows up in full force as Isaac spirals trying to plan the perfect romantic anniversary dinner for Michael. "It's very internally motivated," he says. "Isaac has done most of his life on the outskirts, on the outside, and hasn't had that sense of family that he's found in Serenity. Now that he has it, he is sharing every single thought that passes through his brain."

The anniversary dinner becomes the container for all of it: the coffee recipes, the gesture, the question of whether six months is being honored the right way. He's not worried about the relationship. He's still figuring out who he is in a life that finally has room for him.

Medlin, who has a Broadway background the show has been gradually weaving into the character, got to sing in the scene. He finished filming early in the morning, went back to his trailer, and cried. "It just felt like a perfect melding of so many worlds that I've existed in, and a big moment of trust for me as a performer," he says.

Chris Medlin and Kyle Findley on 'Sweet Magnolias' season 5.Courtesy of Netflix

Isaac is not a character in the original Cheryl Woods book series, which created an opportunity for the line between actor and character to blur in the best way. The gardening plot line came from the plants covering his apartment. The musical moments came from his stage background.

"I do remember reading the first scripts for the audition and I was like, I know who this is, I know this life, I've walked this life, there's some nuance there," he says. "He's adopted. I am from a single mother household. He's an only child. I'm an only child. There's enough to pull from. As the show has gone on, the team was like, oh, you have musical ability, you dance. They've even sprinkled in the fact that I love plants. There's so many plants around my apartment."

There is one area where the gap between them is literal. Medlin is from the South. Isaac isn't. "He almost does need to be less southern than I am at times," Medlin says. "That's a weird thing. I'm around, I'd say half of our cast is southern at heart, and being around that makes me want to be more southern, and then I have to dial it back, because I'm like, right, you didn't grow up in Serenity, you don't get to do this. Pull back a little bit, lessen the twang."

Then there is the friendship with Eric, which is its own kind of argument the show is making. The two met when Isaac suspected Eric might be his biological father. That suspicion became mentorship, and mentorship became brotherhood. In season five, Eric hands Isaac the recipe he has never trusted to anyone, a passing of the torch that lands differently because Eric has a strained relationship with his own brother. Isaac steps into that space.

"It's really special and nuanced the way the story encapsulates a straight man and gay man's friendship, but also a close friendship and brotherhood between two men of color," Medlin says. "To highlight that in a town like Serenity is really special." Sweet Magnolias doesn't editorialize about what that friendship means. It just shows two men who chose each other.

When Isaac's sexuality was confirmed on screen, Medlin says it's been all love. What has moved him most isn't the general response. It's the specific ones. "A lot of older parents have been reaching out saying you represent so much of, or all of, my child," he says. "That's been so special. Between the queer storyline and the adopted multiracial storyline, both get a lot of very loud, vocal, welcomed support."

Dion Johnstone, Chris Medlin, and Justin Bruening on 'Sweet Magnolias'Courtesy of Netflix

He also hears from queer people who recognize something specific in Isaac's story, the particular experience of coming into meaningful romantic relationships later than straight peers. "A lot of what queer people experience is finding more meaningful romantic relationships later in life. You don't get to do that in high school, you get to do it in your early, mid twenties. That's when Isaac's actually getting to do this. He's hitting the six month mark with Michael. It's been all loving, it's been so supportive, honestly."

Going into a potential season six Medlin has a wishlist for Isaac. More of a social world, since Isaac at twenty-five is spending most of his time with people fifteen years older than him or ten years younger. When the idea of a middle tier of Serenity's social world came up, Medlin was immediately on board. "Isaac will lead it," he says. "I will take the burden of being the main middle magnolia."

And maybe, finally, a gay bar somewhere in Serenity. "I would love expanding the social world of Isaac," he says. "Isaac, Noreen, and Jeremy are the three main characters that represent the twenties, and so I would love a little more of a closer in age social circle. Right now Isaac is twenty-five in this season and he is spending all of his time with people fifteen or twenty years older than him, or he's at work with people ten years younger than him. Maybe there's a gay bar in town, maybe there's something like that that we haven't seen yet."

Then there is the bigger question. Is Serenity ready for a big gay wedding? "I do," he says without hesitating. "I think Serenity is the perfect small town to kind of represent a catalyst of change. I'm from a small town myself, in the South, in Tennessee, and I think Serenity represents a lot of progress and growth and different perspectives and things. I think it's a perfect place for a big gay wedding."

After all, Sweet Magnolias loves a wedding.

Sweet Magnolias season 5 is now streaming on Netflix.

This story originally appeared on Out.

Adult film star Drake Von has claimed that his arrest on domestic battery charges was a “publicity stunt,” but the police report detailing the incident paints a different picture.

Von’s arrest stemmed from an argument with his girlfriend that escalated into a physical altercation where he allegedly grabbed her by the throat and “slammed her on the ground” and strangled her “by applying pressure to her throat restricting her breathing” until she “could not breathe and she felt like she passed out,” according to a police report obtained by Out.

The 23-year-old GayVN Award winner, whose legal name is Dawson Bacon, was arrested in connection with this incident in Las Vegas on June 2 and now faces charges of first-degree domestic battery, domestic battery by strangulation, and felony coercion constituting domestic violence with threat or use of physical force.

On June 4, in an exclusive statement sent to Out just two days after his arrest, Von claimed that the incident “was all a publicity stunt” and that all charges against him "will be dropped and [the] case dismissed.”

In a taped interview with Detective D. Groberski, the unnamed victim told police that a verbal argument allegedly turned violent after she threw her Louis Vuitton “promise ring” out of the window of the car. She claims the disagreement continued after they returned home and when she called a friend to pick her up, Von took her cell phone and refused to return it before ordering her to “get onto her knees and apologize to him.”

The victim alleges that Von kicked her with his feet and then “forced her to the ground” and strangled her “with such force that she had difficulty breathing,” causing her to temporarily black out. When she came to, she “got to her feet and ran out of the residence,” where she waited for a friend to pick her up before calling the police, the report reads.

According to police, the victim had a bruise above her right eyebrow, a scratch on her hand, and redness on her neck that was “consistent with her allegations of being strangled.”

The SWAT team had to be called to Von’s apartment because an empty magazine from a fireman was seen on his coffee table when police entered his residence to arrest him. Von, who has a previous arrest for domestic battery, refused to speak to police and requested his attorney.

Days after drawing a standing ovation at the Equality PAC National Pride Gala in Washington, Delaware’s sole congresswoman, Sarah McBride, is preparing for another milestone. Friday is the nationwide theatrical release of the documentary State of Firsts, which captured her historic campaign to become the first out transgender member of Congress.

"I hope that people come away believing that there is still a space for grace in our politics," McBride told The Advocate in an interview.

The film arrives at a moment when McBride has become one of the most visible figures in America's battles over transgender rights — a reality that neither she nor the filmmakers could fully have anticipated when production began.

State of Firsts chronicles her rise to Congress and the difficult choices that came with becoming a political first. As the film opens in theaters nationwide on Friday, the message lands in a political environment that feels increasingly hostile to both grace and compromise.

Related: Sarah McBride gets last laugh after Nancy Mace’s devastating election loss: ‘Happy Pride, Nancy’

Congresswoman Sarah McBride made history in January 2025, when she became the first out transgender person sworn in as a member of Congress.Melissa Langer

The documentary, directed by Chase Joynt, follows McBride through her groundbreaking congressional campaign and concludes just as she arrives in Washington. It ends before many of the battles that would come to define her first months in office, including Republican efforts to target the transgender lawmaker and the broader escalation of anti-trans politics nationally.

Just three days before the film's release, McBride stood before hundreds of LGBTQ+ leaders, Democratic lawmakers, activists, and donors at the Equality PAC National Pride Gala and reflected on the political downfall of one of her most vocal antagonists and self-described "proud transphobe," South Carolina Republican Rep. Nancy Mace. The crowd erupted as McBride noted Mace's unsuccessful gubernatorial bid after years of making attacks on transgender people — and on McBride specifically — a centerpiece of her political identity.

It was a rare moment of public triumph for a lawmaker who has largely resisted invitations to engage in the sort of performative political combat that dominates social media and cable news.

That tension, between symbolism and governance, visibility and vulnerability, activism and electoral politics, sits at the center of State of Firsts.

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"Our film really does exist as a capsule," Joynt told The Advocate ahead of the release. "We stopped shooting after the inauguration and really left her on the doorstep, figuratively and otherwise, of the new job." He said he hopes audiences use the film as an opportunity to "re-engage with the urgency of this time" while gaining enough distance to reflect on how rapidly events have unfolded.

The documentary arrives as the right wing continues a sustained wave of attacks on transgender Americans from the Trump administration and Republican-led states. Federal agencies have rolled back recognition and protections for transgender people. Courts continue weighing challenges to anti-trans policies. Republican politicians routinely invoke transgender people in campaign messaging and legislative debates.

McBride said those developments only reinforce the importance of storytelling.

Related: ‘State of Firsts’ captures the history of Sarah McBride’s rise as the first transgender member of Congress

Congresswoman Sarah McBride opens an orientation packet alongside her chief of staff Roddy Flynn after she arrived on Capitol Hill after her historic election.Melissa Langer

"The events of this month, the events of this year, the events of this administration only reinforce the importance of all of us sharing our stories and deepening society's understanding of our humanity," she told The Advocate. "That we are multidimensional people who love and laugh, who hope and dream, who fear and cry, just like everyone else."

One of the reasons she agreed to participate in the documentary, she said, was to help people understand what it means to be a trailblazer.

"One of the reasons why I wanted to participate in this documentary was because I wanted people to understand the opportunities and challenges that come with being a first," McBride said. She described the film as an invitation into "the trade-offs, the joys, the nuances, the challenges, the heartbreak and the hope" that accompany such a role. Those trade-offs have become increasingly visible over the past year and a half.

In one scene, McBride is recognized while running errands in Delaware. Another captures the growing realization that ordinary interactions are becoming less ordinary.

"I'm grateful for it," she said of the attention she gets when people see her and decide to say hello.

Though she describes herself as an introvert who sometimes finds even routine public outings exhausting, she said the loss of anonymity has given her a clearer understanding of the gap between online outrage and real life.

"People come up to me, and I have real conversations with real people in the real world," McBride said. "I see that we aren't as divided as the algorithms make it seem."

Related: Sarah McBride explains how Democrats’ ‘big tent is bisexual’

Sarah McBride visits a campaign office during the 2024 election.Melissa Langer

Those interactions, she said, have convinced her that social media often distorts public opinion. "The bots are not reflective of my constituents or people across this country," she said.

That philosophy helps explain why McBride has often resisted pressure to engage in the kind of viral political confrontations that dominate online discourse. Looking back on her first year in Congress, she expressed no regrets about the choices she made during those early, highly scrutinized months.

"I have become even more convinced that, in those early days, I made the right decisions," she said. "I made the right decisions for my constituents, I made the right decisions for myself, and I made the right decisions for the LGBTQ community."

She pointed to what she called the "receipts" of her first term, including bipartisan legislative work and the failure of congressional Republicans to enact major anti-trans legislation. "My priority is not to go viral every week," she said. "My job is to make sure that all of my constituents, including my trans constituents, are defended, protected, and respected."

Joynt said the film was designed to explore those very tensions.

"The goal of the film was to stitch this moment by and through a trans POV," he said. "My hope is that the audience can, through that attachment, through that access, start to build more complicated and nuanced understandings about what it means to be a minoritized subject in this political moment."

The documentary repeatedly returns to questions of visibility, vulnerability, and political strategy. It even includes a moment when McBride asks for greater privacy from the camera crew, an exchange Joynt intentionally left in the film.

"The reason it is in the film is to make explicit to the audiences the negotiation that is ongoing between subject and filmmaker," he said. "We are constantly in a dialogue about how close we can get and how far we need to stay."

For Joynt, the story ultimately extends beyond McBride. "Anytime an administration is focusing on a very small minority group of people, we all have to collectively ask why," he said, arguing that attacks on transgender people often serve as distractions from larger political agendas.

Both the filmmaker and the subject hope audiences leave the theaters with something more than sympathy.

McBride said she hopes some viewers see the film and realize they can run for office themselves. Others, she hopes, will come away understanding that political change often requires strategies that may not immediately satisfy everyone watching from the outside.

Most of all, she hopes viewers leave with a renewed belief in the power of persuasion.

"I hope that there are people who watch this who find themselves driven to cynicism and hopelessness and anger by the algorithms," she said. "That people come away believing that there is still a space for grace in our politics."

Watch the trailer for State of Firsts below.

- YouTube www.youtube.com

Many of the hundreds touched by the then-deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history at Pulse, a gay Orlando nightclub, where an extremist gunman killed 49 people and left 58 others injured ten years ago Friday, still seek solace. Even survivors who left the Florida venue uninjured suffered emotional anguish and guilt, while loved ones of those who didn’t make it navigated immeasurable loss.

“There’s no handbook on how to survive after surviving,” says Christopher Hansen, who crawled his way out of the crime scene to help others. It was his first visit to the club since he was new in town.

But in the intervening decade since what remains the deadliest attack on mostly LGBTQ+ victims, many of those navigating pain and darkness in the aftermath of the shooting found their way along healing paths toward justice, reflection, and positive action. Survivors turned into national spokespeople for LGBTQ+ rights or advocates for survivors of other mass tragedies. Some found ways to help save their own lives.

These are a few people who suffered through the massacre and helped make a difference over the past 10 years.

Related: Orlando tears down ‘horrific’ Pulse sign. Survivor Brandon Wolf says it once meant safety

Life-saving organs

For Orlando Torres, a promoter who worked years in the Orlando LGBTQ+ nightclub scene, June 12, 2016, was a night at work that ended in upheaval. He helped launch Latin Night at Pulse, the event that drew a disproportionately Hispanic crowd to the club that evening, and ended up on the floor of a bathroom in Pulse playing dead during an hours-long standoff.

Today, he considers himself lucky in many ways, and not just for living through the tragedy. Locked away from much of the worst violence, he lost friends but did not watch them die.

“I can talk about it because I have no nightmares. I have no visuals,” he says. “I was in the four walls of a stall all night long.”

God gave me that path and let me stay on Earth. - Orlando Torres

Torres already enjoyed some notoriety in Orlando’s club scene before the shooting, so the sudden attention did not cripple him. He became a regular fixture in the media and among the survivor community. In the decade since, that attention has slowed, as has business in Orlando’s LGBTQ+ nightlife scene. Pulse never reopened, and economic changes brought new ownership and changing fortunes for legendary venues like Southern Nights.

Torres moved to Puerto Rico for a period in pursuit of a new life but later returned to Orlando, like so many others. Now 62, he makes a living in logistics. That includes transporting aerospace equipment and, especially relevant to his background, working with medical professionals to ship surgical supplies. He routinely gets calls to rush to airports and facilitate the transport of organs to hospitals for transplants, every time giving a stranger a new lease on life. He was introduced to transporting organs by a fellow Pulse survivor in the wake of the shooting

“God gave me that path and let me stay on Earth,” Torres says. “That took me on a path toward saving lives, so that is what I do.”

Related: Two Pulse survivors are now 'ex-gays' running a conversion therapy organization

Honoring through action

The Pulse shooting drove Brandon Wolf, then a barista and theme park employee in Orlando, toward political advocacy. He attended Pulse with Drew Leinonen and Juan Guerrero, a couple who ultimately died together in the shooting.

“It's hard to believe it's been 10 years,” Wolf says. “Ten years of missing faces at birthday parties, empty seats at dinner tables, and voicemails never returned. Six days after the shooting, at his funeral, I promised my best friend that I would never stop fighting for a world that he would be proud of. That promise has taken me in new directions, led me to new jobs, and made me ask myself every day what more I can do to give back to my community.”

In the immediate aftermath, Wolf and other friends established a nonprofit, The Dru Project, in Leinonen’s honor. The organization established scholarships for LGBTQ+ students. This year is its last.

So much has changed about who I am as a survivor. - Brandon Wolf

But that was only the start of his work to improve the future for queer youth. He has since worked as the national press secretary for the Human Rights Campaign and, more recently, returned to Florida to become the senior director of communications strategy for Equality Florida. Those roles made him a prominent national voice on television and at major speaking events in some of the most powerful rooms in the country as a constant representative of the LGBTQ+ community. He wrote a memoir titled A Place for Us and has spoken extensively about gun violence, Florida’s anti-transgender policies, and the need to create a more accepting future for young people.

He remains motivated by the loss of those killed at Pulse, the people who did not escape as he did.

“So much has changed about who I am as a survivor, who we are as a country, and the obstacles we're trying to overcome,” Wolf says. “But one thing has not changed: our responsibility to honor the memories of my best friends and 47 others not with hollow sympathies or empty words, but with action.”

Related: Orlando to honor victims, commune with survivors on 9th anniversary of Pulse shooting

Demanding accountability

Leinonen’s mother, Christine Leinonen, also became an unwitting face of the tragedy and a voice for the bereaved. After learning of the shooting at Pulse, she appeared at the scene demanding information and pleading on national television for news about Drew’s condition. It would take 33 hours before police informed her that her son had died in the club.

The loss of her only child devastated her, but the response to the shooting also made her angry. The former police officer has spent the last decade pursuing information, justice, and accountability. She recently co-authored a book with Jeffrey Badger, Control the False Narrative: Orlando Police Chief John Mina, the Department of Justice, and the Facts about the 2016 Pulse Nightclub Shooting, detailing what she argues were police response failures beginning with the first officers' hesitation to enter the club.

I just wanted to love my son and grieve my son, that's all I wanted to do. - Christine Leinonen

She began raising questions at a time when much of the community sought to rally around law enforcement after shooter Omar Mateen died following an hours-long standoff. But Leinonen wanted answers about why police had not neutralized the situation sooner. She particularly criticized the media attention sought by then-Orlando Police Chief John Mina, now Orange County sheriff.

“For John Mina to come to the media, and over and over again, just keep lying and telling these fabulous lies about police heroics, and how they went right in immediately and engaged the shooter and caused him to go to the back, never told the truth about any of it,” she said.

Similarly, Christine Leinonen became one of the first people to question the onePulse Foundation's plan to create a for-profit museum, a charity initially led by Pulse’s former owners that later dissolved amid accusations of mismanaging public dollars. Often, Leinonen’s quests for answers began as a lonely and singular mission, only later attracting others touched by the tragedy.

“I didn't even want to write this book. I didn't even want to do anything against a museum, and now I don't want to do this thing against the city with this mini museum they're doing,” Leinonen says. “I just wanted to love my son and grieve my son, that's all I wanted to do.”

But she has remained at the tip of the spear, giving voice to members of the survivor community who wanted to be heard. She continues to pressure the city over plans for a public site at the former Pulse location. She also worked closely with activist Zachary Blair to expose safety and code violations at the club before its closure, some of which may have cost lives.

Leinonen has remained a voice demanding better police responses to mass shootings. She also spoke out after the Uvalde school shooting, arguing that lessons from Pulse had not been applied years later.

Far from feeling estranged from other survivors, Leinonen acts as an advocate unafraid to demand justice even when doing so places her in the minority. A female pipefitter in a male-dominated field and a police officer before many women wore a badge, she is familiar with breaking ground. She admired the same spirit in her son, who founded the first Gay-Straight Alliance at his high school.

“I didn't mind when I was getting along, and I didn't mind when I wasn't getting along, so it's whatever made sense,” she said.

Related: Brandon Wolf won’t return to Orlando’s Pulse nightclub where he survived the murder of friends who never left

Reflections of resilience

Hansen had only recently moved to Orlando at the time of the shooting and stepped into Pulse for the first time on June 11, hours before the attack began. While his efforts to help care for the wounded earned media attention, he spent years struggling with survivor's guilt.

He still recalls being asked to speak at a mural unveiling and thinking, “Why am I not part of the 49? Why am I here? I was guilty of being alive.”

A few years later, however, he found a greater purpose. After returning to his hometown of Lone Oak, Arkansas, to be closer to family, he left behind most of his possessions, including some of the honors he received after the shooting. There, he helped organize a memorial project to light up a bridge in North Little Rock in honor of the victims. That effort evolved into the national Reflections of Resilience movement, which now illuminates structures across the country.

This year, the event includes the Big Dam Bridge, North America’s longest pedestrian bridge. Hansen has expanded the concept beyond honoring a single tragedy, with lanterns now lit in memory of all those impacted by hate, violence, and suicide.

“I was looking for love, community, and roots, and because of Pulse, now I have found the love,” he says. “I had to love myself to love others, but the brand of my rainbow is love and strength.”

I was guilty of being alive. - Christopher Hansen

Bridge lightings have now taken place nationwide, including in Orlando last year. Hansen organizes major Reflections events each year on June 11, the day before the Pulse anniversary, reaching back toward a world and a version of himself that existed before the life-changing event.

Hansen has also become involved with VictimsFirst, a mission dedicated to ensuring that charity money raised after mass-casualty events reaches victims. He has worked closely with Anita Busch, a journalist-turned-advocate and the organization's founder. That work has connected him with survivors of the 2017 Las Vegas shooting, the only mass shooting in U.S. history that claimed more lives than Pulse.

The work has helped Hansen and countless others heal. For Hansen, it provided a reason to keep going as he confronted depression and worked through his own haunting thoughts.

Hansen recently marked three years of sobriety from drugs and alcohol.

If you or someone you know needs mental health resources and support, please call, text, or chat with the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline or visit 988lifeline.org for 24/7 access to free and confidential services. Trans Lifeline, designed for transgender or gender-nonconforming people, can be reached at (877) 565-8860. The lifeline also provides resources to help with other crises, such as domestic violence situations. The Trevor Project Lifeline, for LGBTQ+ youth (ages 24 and younger), can be reached at (866) 488-7386. Users can also access chat services at TheTrevorProject.org/Help or text START to 678678.

As the Trump administration continues its unprecedented assault on LGBTQ+ rights, some of the nation's most prominent queer leaders and allies gathered Tuesday night in Washington, D.C., with a message that was equal parts warning, celebration, and call to action: don't give up.

Bob the Drag Queen hosted Equality PAC’s annual National Pride Gala, attended by members of Congress, activists, celebrities, and donors, packed a ballroom just blocks from the Capitol, where speakers repeatedly returned to a common refrain — that the current wave of anti-LGBTQ+ attacks, particularly those targeting transgender people, can be defeated through political organizing, visibility, and persistence.

The evening, which included a performance by singer Darlene Love and a speech by actress Lynda Carter, featured appearances by House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, Rep. Sarah McBride, former Assistant Secretary for Health Dr. Rachel Levine, and Equality PAC leaders. Actors Lisa Rinna and Harry Hamlin received the organization's Nancy Pelosi Equality Ally Award, while filmmaker Jacob Tierney, the creator of the popular TV show Heated Rivalry, was honored with its inaugural Game Changer Award.

Related: Chuck Schumer & Hakeem Jeffries commit to defending trans rights at star-studded Pride gala

Bob the Drag Queen hosted the Equality PAC National Pride Gala.Jon Fleming Photography

For much of the evening, speakers acknowledged the fear and uncertainty many LGBTQ+ Americans are experiencing as the Trump administration attempts to strip transgender people of federal civil rights protections, restrict health care access, and remove recognition of gender identity from federal policy.

Levine, the highest-ranking out transgender official ever to serve in the federal government, urged attendees not to allow those attacks to divide the broader LGBTQ community.

"As we celebrate Pride this year, [these are] very challenging times for our community, especially for vulnerable transgender youth [and] their families," Levine said. "We cannot allow our haters to divide us. We are always stronger together."

Levine argued that while opponents seek to restrict transgender people's access to health care, advocates must remain focused on expanding care and opportunity for everyone.

"The tide will change. The wheel will turn. This challenging moment will pass," she said.

McBride, the first out transgender person elected to Congress, received one of the night's longest ovations as she reflected on the barrage of anti-trans political advertising that dominated the 2024 election cycle.

Related: 'Welcome to our annual convening of the gay Mafia': Equality PAC celebrates 10 years

Dr. Rachel Levine addressed the Equality PAC National Pride Gala.Jon Fleming Photography

"Two hundred million dollars were spent in ads demonizing people like me, Dr. Levine, and many of you," McBride said. Yet despite predictions that Democrats would abandon LGBTQ people politically, she noted that "not a single anti-LGBTQ bill or major provision has become law in this country."

Rather than retreat, McBride urged LGBTQ+ advocates to continue engaging people beyond their own communities. She argued that the LGBTQ movement's greatest victories have come through persuasion rather than isolation.

"The answer to hate is not hate," McBride said. "Love invites people in. Joy grows our ranks."

Jeffries, who is poised to become Speaker of the House if Democrats win a majority in the November midterm election, used his remarks to confront what he called growing extremism directed at LGBTQ+ people.

"In this moment of great peril, let me be clear," Jeffries said. "House Democrats will always stand proudly with the LGBTQ+ community. Always and forever."

Related: Bianca Del Rio will emcee Equality PAC’s National Pride Gala during WorldPride D.C. (exclusive)

Nancy Pelosi speaking to the audience at the National Pride Gala hosted by Equality PAC.Jon Fleming Photography

He specifically included transgender Americans in that promise. "America cannot be the best version of herself until every single member of the LGBTQ+ community and every single transgender American is free from bigotry, hatred, and discrimination," Jeffries said.

The Democratic leader also honored the 49 people killed in the Pulse nightclub massacre as the nation approaches the 10th anniversary of the Orlando attack on Friday.

"We will always remember the 49," Jeffries said.

Pelosi, who has been one of Congress's most prominent LGBTQ rights champions for decades, drew some of the loudest applause of the night while recounting battles over hate crimes legislation and marriage equality.

She recalled pressure to remove transgender protections from what became the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act in order to secure passage.

"We won't pass it a hundred years if we take out trans," Pelosi said. "We're never bringing out a bill" that leaves transgender people behind.

Related: Equality PAC raises big bucks for 2024 House Democratic frontliners at debate day fundraiser

Actors Lisa Rinna and Harry Hamlin accept the Nancy Pelosi Allyship award.Jon Fleming Photography

Rinna and Hamlin accepted Equality PAC's Nancy Pelosi Allyship Award and spoke about their decades-long connections to the LGBTQ community.

"My best friends are gay and trans, and I love them," Rinna told attendees. "I feel it's important to be an ally because it's been proven over and over again throughout history that any and all efforts are always stronger with allies."

Hamlin reflected on starring in “Making Love”, the groundbreaking 1982 film centered on a gay relationship, despite warnings that it could end his career.

"It was a story that needed to be told," Hamlin said. More than four decades later, he added, strangers still approach him to say the film changed their lives.

Related: Inside the plan to double the number of LGBTQ+ members of Congress (exclusive)

Heated Rivalry creator Jacob Tierney spoke about storytelling as he acceted the Game Changer Award.Jon Fleming Photography

Tierney's recognition highlighted the power of storytelling at a moment when LGBTQ+ people, particularly transgender Americans, have become political targets.

In an interview with The Advocate at a reception before the gala, Tierney said the success of Heated Rivalry demonstrates that the political attacks dominating headlines do not necessarily reflect how most people feel about queer people.

"I think that we're being targeted because it's a good way for people to raise money off blaming us for things that have nothing to do with us," Tierney said. "I think that we're scapegoated a lot."

At the same time, he said, the overwhelmingly positive response to a series centered on a queer love story offers reason for optimism.

"Most people don't actually have any real negative feelings about queer people," Tierney told The Advocate. "When you present love, people want to watch it the same way they would if it was a great straight love story."

During his acceptance speech, Tierney noted that Heated Rivalry has attracted a largely straight audience and said its popularity proves that stories about queer people are ultimately stories about human connection.

Darlene Love performs at the 2026 Equality PAC National Pride Gala.Jon Fleming Photography

"A show about queer people getting to love each other out in the open, out in the sunshine, is something that actually inspires love in everybody," he told the crowd.

Asked what he would tell young LGBTQ+ people, especially transgender youth, struggling through the current political climate, Tierney offered perhaps the simplest message of the night.

“I would say particularly to trans kids, we love you guys, and please hang in there,” Tierney told The Advocate. “It'll get better. Find your people. Get out of the toxic places where you are.”

He added, “I know it's very tempting to tell young people to come out. I don't say that. I don't think that's the right thing to tell them. I tell them to find safety. Find a safe place, and that means waiting for university. I get it. It's not fun. Duck and cover until you have to, but go find safety and go find your people because we're out there and we will love you and we will embrace you and your lives matter.”

Audience Editor Edgar Ramirez back in your inbox on this Thursday, looking at making some travel plans to The First State to get in on the fun.

As conservative lawmakers across the country target transgender rights and revisit long-settled questions about LGBTQ+ equality, Christopher Wiggins has the latest on how Delaware has moved in the opposite direction: On Tuesday, Gov. Matt Meyer, a Democrat, signed legislation modernizing the state's parentage laws, expanding legal protections for children and families formed through assisted reproduction, surrogacy, donor conception, and other paths to parenthood commonly used by LGBTQ+ people.

And although LGBTQ+ advocates championed the legislation, supporters repeatedly stressed that its benefits extend far beyond queer families. So, a win-win for all.

The legislation was signed the same day Delaware's lone Rep. Sarah McBride attended the Equality PAC's National Pride Gala in Washington, D.C. (with Christopher giving us the scoop from the scene), and shortly after became more iconic on social media.

Happy Pride indeed, Nancy!

Keep on celebrating, folks, and I'll see you next time.

The internet has turned Rep. Nancy Mace's humiliating election loss into comedy gold

Delaware strengthens legal protections for LGBTQ+ families as other states move the opposite way

Doctors ask judge to halt Trump policy targeting trans people living with HIV

Republicans cannot stop generating images of James Talarico as a woman

Virginia school accused of failing to protect trans teen from planned attack

House Republicans accuse leaders of trans-inclusive school systems of ‘child abuse’

Opinion: The case for 'strategic visibility' this Pride

How a 'Conversion Therapy Dropout' found belonging after religious trauma

'Stop! That! Train!'s queens describe their characters and favorite moments filming

Rising anti-LGBTQ+ censorship efforts pull directly from the playbooks of modern authoritarian leaders

Maryland U.S. District Judge Julie Rubin, a Biden-era appointee, rejected a first-of-its-kind bid from transgender advocates that would establish a national order preventing Trump’s Justice Department from strong-arming hospital systems and service providers into giving away sensitive patient information about trans minors who receive gender-affirming care, per Reuters.

Rubin heard arguments Tuesday from families of transgender children and LGBTQ+ legal advocates seeking certification of a class action lawsuit against the DOJ that would have blocked the department from pressuring hospitals to share private medical records.

Related: Federal judge blocks FTC probes into trans medicine groups, citing ‘extensive evidence of animus’

Although she previously struck down the DOJ’s effort to obtain the records of trans minors from Washington, D.C.’s Children’s National Hospital in January 2026, according to GLAD Law, finding that the “subpoena lacks a legitimate purpose,” the judge denied certification of the novel class action lawsuit that would prevent similar efforts by the DOJ nationally. She did not issue an order from the bench but later made her final decision on the matter, Baltimore's NBC affiliate, WBAL, reported. According to Reuters, she was unable to make the “unprecedented” decision to certify the national lawsuit on Wednesday.

She did reaffirm her previous decision to quash the DOJ’s subpoena seeking the names of transgender patients from Children’s National Hospital and said the plaintiffs’ “arguments are well-taken,” Reuters reported. Rubin is among several judges who have blocked Trump’s DOJ from obtaining records related to transgender youth through subpoenas, including U.S. District Judge P. Casey PittsP. Casey Pitts in California and U.S. District Judge Mary McElroyMary McElroy in Rhode Island.

“Movants' request for class treatment is simply an ill fit for the matter before the court and the relief they seek,” Rubin wrote in her decision.

Related: Judge stops Kansas law restricting transgender youth health care

The proposed class action would have included 11 families of transgender minors backed by LGBTQ+ legal advocacy organizations. According to Reuters, they argued that without nationwide protections established through a class action, the DOJ could continue to subpoena hospitals and obtain sensitive records before judges had an opportunity to quash those requests. The effort followed DOJ subpoenas sent to more than 20 major medical systems, including NYU Langone Health, seeking information related to patients who received gender-affirming care as minors.

“This is pure intimidation,” Shannon Minter, legal director for the National Center for LGBTQ+ Rights, said at the hearing.”This administration has targeted this very small group of families, families with transgender kids. This administration does not like transgender people. They want to stop this health care, and they are abusing their power to literally try to intimidate and harass doctors and parents in order to further that political goal."

The Trump administration says it is working to restore specialized suicide prevention services for LGBTQ+ youth through the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by the end of the year, nearly a year after shutting them down. However, the implementation is being complicated byTrump administration’s exclusionary policies regarding transgender Americans. A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services confirmed the move.

In a statement to The Advocate, an HHS spokesperson said SAMHSA is "working with the 988 Network Administrator Vibrant Emotional Health to reactivate Press 3 operations by the end of the year." The spokesperson described the effort as part of Congress’s fiscal year 2026 directive to restore the services.

In a Tuesday correspondence to a bipartisan group of lawmakers obtained earlier by The Advocate, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration said on behalf of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. that it is evaluating how to restore the 988 Lifeline's specialized services for LGBTQ+ youth, commonly known as the "Press 3" option, following Congress’s direction in fiscal year 2026 funding legislation. The letter was addressed to Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, an Illinois Democrat, and copied to Reps. Sharice Davids of Kansas, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, and Seth Moulton of Massachusetts. Rep. Michael Lawler, a New York Republican, was also copied on the letter.

Related: California moves to restore a lifeline for LGBTQ+ youth that Trump eliminated

But the agency also said any restoration would need to comply with President Donald Trump's Executive Order 14168, which requires federal agencies to recognize only two sexes and rejects federal recognition of transgender identities.

"SAMHSA is currently assessing the most appropriate approach to implementing this congressional directive for the 'Press 3' option within the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, while ensuring compliance with Executive Order 14168," Christopher Carroll, SAMHSA's principal deputy assistant secretary for mental health and substance use, wrote.

He noted that the law specifically requires LGBTQ+ youth cultural competency training for counselors and the establishment of a system that routes LGBTQ+ youth to specialized providers. The announcement marks a notable reversal from the administration's position last year.

“Congress could not have been clearer: the Trump Administration must restore the 988 Lifeline’s ‘Press 3’ option, the specialized crisis services for LGBTQ+ youth. Yet in response to concerns I raised, the Administration acknowledged Congress directed the restoration of these lifesaving services but said it is still determining how to do so in compliance with President Trump’s executive order targeting so-called ‘gender ideology,'" Krishnamoorthi said in a statement responding to the SAMHSA letter. "Executive orders cannot override federal law, and Congress already settled this question: the Trump Administration must restore these services, including for transgender young people."

In June 2025, SAMHSA announced it would eliminate the LGBTQ+ youth specialized services, arguing it would "no longer silo" LGBTQ+ callers into a dedicated subnetwork and instead would serve all callers through the broader 988 system. The administration simultaneously proposed eliminating the program's dedicated $33.1 million funding stream while maintaining funding for the national suicide hotline.

The shutdown took effect July 17, 2025, ending the "Press 3" option and other pathways that connected LGBTQ+ young people directly with counselors trained to address the unique challenges LGBTQ+ youth often face during a mental health crisis.

The specialized services launched nationally in 2022 after Congress authorized LGBTQ+ youth support within the 988 system. The Trevor Project, the nation's largest suicide prevention organization focused on LGBTQ+ youth, piloted the program and says it handled more than half of all contacts routed through the specialized services while they were operational.

According to The Trevor Project, the services helped more than 1.5 million LGBTQ+ young people before they were shut down.

The closure drew sharp criticism from mental health experts, LGBTQ+ advocacy organizations, and lawmakers, who argued that specialized crisis intervention can be lifesaving for a population that faces disproportionately high rates of depression, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts.

The Trevor Project welcomed the possibility that the services could return but expressed concern about the administration's insistence that any restoration comply with Trump's executive order.

"We are grateful to see preliminary indication that the 988 Lifeline's LGBTQ+ youth specialized services may be reinstated after the program was abruptly shuttered last July,” Jaymes Black, CEO of The Trevor Project, said in a statement.

"However, we remain skeptical as the administration has now plainly said the lifeline must ensure compliance with President Trump's January 2025 anti-transgender executive order."

Related: Why a bipartisan group of lawmakers is demanding Trump save the LGBTQ+ 988 crisis lifeline

Black argued that the administration's treatment of transgender people is fundamentally at odds with the mission of the specialized services. "The point of the 988 Lifeline's specialized services is to provide tailored support to groups placed at highest risk for suicide in this country, including veterans and LGBTQ+ young people," they said. "The administration's executive order rejects these youth entirely; they cannot be supported if they are not included."

Black noted that transgender youth face some of the highest rates of suicide risk in the United States.

According to recent Trevor Project data, 36 percent of LGBTQ+ young people and 40 percent of transgender and nonbinary young people seriously considered suicide in the past year, and approximately 11 percent reported attempting suicide.

While the June 9 letter did not provide a timeline for restoring the services, HHS now says SAMHSA is working with Vibrant Emotional Health, which administers the national 988 network, to reactivate Press 3 operations by the end of 2026. The administration has not yet explained how those services would operate under Executive Order 14168 or whether transgender youth would be fully included within any restored program.

Vibrant Emotional Health, a nonprofit that administers the program, previously oversaw the LGBTQ+ youth specialized services subnetwork, coordinating providers, including The Trevor Project, to connect LGBTQ+ young people with counselors trained to address the unique challenges they may face during a mental health crisis.

"Regardless, the 988 Lifeline will continue to serve all callers, providing 24/7 access to skilled, caring, and culturally competent crisis counselors for individuals experiencing suicidal, substance use, or mental health crises," Carroll wrote.

"988 Lifeline gives all Americans an easy way to reach skilled, caring, culturally competent crisis counselors 24/7 for help with a mental health, suicide, or substance use crisis," the HHS spokesperson said.

Krishnamoorthi warned of political gamesmanship.

"This is not a political question," he said. "It is about making sure that when LGBTQ+ young people reach out for help in their darkest moment, they can connect with trained counselors who understand what they are going through and can provide the support they need.”

If you or someone you know needs mental health resources and support, please call, text, or chat with the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline or visit 988lifeline.org for 24/7 access to free and confidential services. Trans Lifeline, designed for transgender or gender-nonconforming people, can be reached at (877) 565-8860. The lifeline also provides resources to help with other crises, such as domestic violence situations. The Trevor Project Lifeline, for LGBTQ+ youth (ages 24 and younger), can be reached at (866) 488-7386. Users can also access chat services at TheTrevorProject.org/Help or text START to 678678.

On October 5, 2022, transgender high school student Tatiana Blount was the victim of a violent attack planned by fellow students that left her with serious and permanent injuries, according to a report from Norfolk, Virginia, ABC affiliate WVEC. Now, Blount is suing Lake Taylor High School in Norfolk for damages, attorneys’ fees, and court costs, claiming school authorities ignored her multiple requests for intervention and protection.

The suit alleges that school officials displayed “gross negligence” and their actions violated Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. (Gender dysphoria is considered a disability under the ADA.) It goes on to state that the officials knew she faced persistent bullying and harassment because of her gender identity; however, they failed to provide reasonable accommodations to help keep her safe, even after several requests by Blount and her mother to do so.

Blount began attending Lake Taylor High School in 2021, where she experienced severe bullying throughout her freshman year. The only action taken by school authorities at that time was having Blount expelled for the remainder of the school year for defending herself against a bully, she claims.

According to the suit, just before the start of her sophomore year, Blount's mother met with the school’s principal, Latesha Wade-Jenkins, to discuss concerns for her daughter’s safety and well-being on campus. Wade-Jenkins agreed to inform teachers of Blount’s preferred name and pronouns, but did not provide any additional safety accommodations. Throughout September and October of 2022, Blount and her mother reported multiple incidents of harassment to school officials. These incidents included groups of students making comments about her body, confronting her in the restroom, misgendering her, and, most disturbing of all, physically assaulting her on the school bus by pulling at her clothing to expose her bra and chest.

Despite the severity of the escalating bullying, the suit alleges that school officials ignored Blount’s mother’s requests to provide supervision for Tatiana during transitions between classes, lunch periods, and other unsupervised times when the bullying typically occurred. Blount’s mother claims she attended at least five meetings with school administrators about these concerns.

Related: Federal authorities are investigating attacks on transgender and Latino students in Virginia

The harassment reached a violent climax in October of 2022, when a group of students began sharing plans on social media to “jump” Blount. The suit goes on to state that when Blount’s mother provided screenshots of the threatening posts to the principal, her requests for additional safety precautions were again denied, and Wade-Jenkins suggested that Blount should just transfer to another school.

The attack was carried out on October 5, 2022, exactly as outlined in the students’ online threats, according to the lawsuit. During the violent assault, Blount was allegedly kicked repeatedly while on the ground and lost consciousness multiple times. The complaint also states that school officials did not call for emergency medical services after the attack.

Blount says she suffered multiple serious injuries from the assault, including traumatic brain injury, a concussion, and other injuries affecting her head, face, neck, chest, back, and legs. The lawsuit also claims the brain injuries resulted in permanent cognitive impairment.

In addition to the lasting physical damage she now lives with, Blount left traditional, in-person schooling due to the mental and emotional trauma caused by the ordeal.

Related: Three teens may be charged in assault on trans boy in Massachusetts

Ultimately, the lawsuit alleges Norfolk Public Schools “failed to provide reasonable accommodations that would have allowed Blount to safely access her education and protect her from disability-based harassment.”

“Not everybody is as accepting, but when you’re in a public school building, you should be accepting,” Stacie Walls, CEO of the LGBT Life Center, told the press after the suit was announced. “Over the years, trans people have been treated poorly in school. And part of it is, there just wasn’t policy.”

Walls added that it’s important to call out the negligence of the school officials, especially in a case so extreme and violent. “I want people to know that kids will be watching to see if adults are going to be held accountable for how they treat kids just like them.”

Rep. Nancy Mace is having a rough week, and the internet couldn’t be happier about the turn of events.

Mace’s humiliating defeat in South Carolina's Republican gubernatorial primary sparked a social media firestorm that is currently roasting the MAGA loyalist alive.

The congresswoman who built her entire political career on attempting to strip transgender people of their rights, not only lost her primary but did so in such spectacular fashion — she ended up in last place — that U.S. Rep. Sarah McBride, who became the focus of much of Mace’s anti-trans rhetoric over the years, was gifted the perfect opportunity to point out that Mace’s hateful tenure on Capitol Hill didn’t win her favor with the voters.

McBride managed to level Mace with humor at Equality PAC's National Pride Gala by dubbing her “Congress’s top bathroom sheriff,” and pointing out that Mace was in a “respectful fifth place” before finishing her speech with the perfect line: "So all I will say is happy Pride, Nancy.”

“Congress's top bathroom sheriff Nancy Mace is on the ballot, and while not all of the votes have been counted yet, she is in a respectful fifth place,” Sarah McBride just said. “I don't like punching down and I believe in the politics of grace. So all I will say is happy Pride, Nancy.”

[image or embed]

— Christopher Wiggins (@cwnewser.bsky.social) June 9, 2026 at 6:14 PM

After McBride became the first out trans member of Congress in January 2025, Mace began targeting the Delaware Democratic congresswoman in speeches, interviews, social media posts, and legislative fights over transgender rights. She frequently invoked McBride’s name in her fight to restrict transgender people’s access to bathrooms and other gendered spaces in federal buildings, and was even caught chasing a cis gender colleague she thought was McBride into a Capitol restroom.

The internet quickly picked up where McBride’s speech left off, making jokes about Mace barely cracking a double-digit percentage of the vote, quipping that Mace will need to pursue her love of bathroom inspections if she hopes to avoid unemployment, and pointing out that both she and notable transphobe Riley Gaines will both go down in history for placing 5th.

See the funniest reactions to Mace’s embarrassing defeat below.

Congressional Republicans harangued school superintendents from across the country for creating inclusive campus environments for transgender students.

The U.S. House Education and Workforce Committee subpoenaed leaders of some of America’s largest school districts and, on Wednesday, cast protections for trans youth as violations of parental rights and the civil rights of peers. In particular, Republicans aggressively questioned Dr. Macquline King, superintendent and CEO of Chicago Public Schools, and Dr. Maria Su, superintendent of the San Francisco Unified School District.

Michigan Rep. Tim Walberg asked Su to say at what age children should be “exposed to drag queen story hour,” following up by asking when they may be “prepared for” the experience of having someone in drag read them a book.

Related: Virginia Democrat who praised LGBTQ+ inclusion is now helping Republicans out trans kids

“We welcome all 49,000 students as they are. We support our students. We work really hard,” she replied. “We follow state and federal laws where we align our curriculum with state standards.”

Walberg then asked whether families with a religious objection can “opt out” of such an event, a right the district allows. “I still didn’t get the age requirement,” Walberg said.

Superintendents from both urban and suburban districts pushed back on characterizations of their curricula as problematic.

“Too often, the public narrative frames schools and parents as adversaries. That is not the reality I see in our community or in public education more broadly,” said Loudoun County Public Schools Superintendent Aaron Spence, who leads a district in Virginia.

“I am a parent and believe it is critical that schools respect and listen to our parents as we work alongside them to educate our students. The overwhelming majority of parents and educators want the same things for our children: for them to be safe, academically challenged, emotionally supported, and prepared to contribute positively to their communities after graduation.”

But Florida Rep. Randy Fine claimed during the hearing that transgender students were not disciplined the same as cisgender ones in the Virginia district. “Why did the girl pretending to be a boy, who filmed the boys in their restroom, why was there no discipline for that student?” asked Fine. “Why did the people complaining about the girl coming into the boy’s restroom but not the girl who was filming?”

Spence said that characterization was inaccurate but declined to discuss a specific incident. Fine, who has faced criticism from Muslim groups for anti-Muslim remarks, then suggested that only Christians who complained faced consequences, while a Muslim boy did not.

Related: These 8 Democrats voted for the Republican national ‘Don’t Say Trans’ bill passed by the House

Fox News has reported extensively on an incident in which two boys were suspended for sexually harassing a trans boy, whose parents objected to sharing a locker room with him.

Democrats on the committee defended schools with inclusive policies.

“Every student, especially our students of color, our transgender and gender expansive students, our immigrant students, and our students with disabilities, deserve a safe place to learn where they can grow and thrive,” said Virginia Rep. Bobby Scott, the committee’s ranking Democrat.

And Oregon Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, also a Democrat, said too many states are imposing policies that hurt and erase trans youth.

“There are several factors that are causing real risk, not just hyped up political perceived risk,” she said. “Where trans students go to the bathroom and books about queer people and accurate history are not on that list. In fact, multiple public health studies show zero evidence of correlation between transgender individuals using gender appropriate restrooms and an increase in sex sexual offenses.”

Still, Walberg told King he considered it “child abuse” to allow trans boys to sleep on overnight trips in the same rooms as those assigned male at birth.

“By first grade, Chicago Public Schools introduces students to the concept of ‘gender identity.’ Third-grade material then asks students to ‘Explain the difference between sex assigned at birth and gender identity.’ By fifth grade, CPS introduces students to puberty blockers,” he said. “The consequences of these policies are horrific.”

King said her district has an obligation to maintain a safe environment for a diverse population of 316,000 children in 77 communities.

“The only way to truly serve every student is to understand and embrace what makes each student and community unique,” she said. “By recognizing and responding to those differences, we create schools where every student feels seen, valued, and supported.”

This story originally appeared on Out.

What a difference an ocean makes!

After their divorce was finalized in April, media mogul David Geffen was spotted this week sailing in the Mediterranean with his one-time porn star turned go-go dancer ex-husband, David Armstrong.

TMZ and Page Six shot faraway, zoomed-in pics showing the former couple's unexpected reunion. The couple split in May after Geffen, 83, filed for divorce from Armstrong, 33, citing irreconcilable differences. The divorce papers, obtained by People, revealed they did not sign a prenup before marrying in March 2023.

It wasn't long after they parted that Amstrong, who sometimes goes by the name Donovan Michaels, asked a court for spousal support. He even accused the billionaire of grooming him, controlling him, and pressuring him to use drugs at parties aboard the 453-foot Rising Sun. Geffen fired back with a countersuit that Armstrong ran up hundreds of thousands of dollars on Geffen’s accounts for clothing and cosmetic procedures.

As their 23-month-long marriage wound down, Geffen accused his ex of spending a small fortune on male escorts. Both parties have denied each other’s claims. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the former couple finally reached a settlement on April 13 and a source revealed “they are definitely not getting back together.”

No exact amount has been reported, but Geffen supposedly paid Armstrong an amount ranging from $15 million to $30 million.

This story is developing...

As conservative lawmakers across the country target transgender rights and revisit long-settled questions about LGBTQ+ equality, Delaware moved in the opposite direction.

On Tuesday, Gov. Matt Meyer, a Democrat, signed legislation modernizing the state's parentage laws, expanding legal protections for children and families formed through assisted reproduction, surrogacy, donor conception, and other paths to parenthood commonly used by LGBTQ+ people.

The updated Delaware Parentage Act may lack the political flash of debates over bathrooms, sports, or marriage equality — but for many LGBTQ+ families, advocates say, few laws are more consequential.

The Advocate requested comment from Meyer's office, but did not receive a response.

Parentage determines who is legally recognized as a child's parent. It governs everything from custody rights and inheritance to health insurance coverage, medical decision-making, Social Security benefits, and access to a parent following a divorce. When those relationships are unclear under state law, children can be left vulnerable.

"Parentage is the legal relationship between a parent and their child," Meg York, chief legal and policy officer at COLAGE, told The Advocate ahead of the bill signing. "Sometimes people don't realize that they may be parenting, but they may not have parentage."

The legislation updates Delaware law to align with the 2017 Uniform Parentage Act, a model law designed to ensure children have legally recognized relationships with their parents regardless of marital status, biological connection, sexual orientation, or method of conception.

Supporters say the measure closes gaps that can emerge when children are born through fertility treatments, surrogacy arrangements, or donor conception — situations that have become increasingly common among both LGBTQ+ and heterosexual families.

"Today, we celebrate a victory for all children and families in Delaware," Jordan Wilson, executive director of COLAGE, said in a statement after the signing. "By modernizing its laws to better reflect and protect today's families, Delaware has set an example for states across the country."

York said many Americans rarely think about parentage because the legal relationship between parent and child is often taken for granted.

"When kids don't share a genetic connection with one or more of their parents, and sometimes even when they do, it can be challenging for them to make sure that they have access to parentage," York said. "It's really important to make sure that parentage is available to all kids and parents in all states so that kids can have that legal family security."

Among other changes, the law allows intended parents, under certain circumstances, to establish legal parentage through voluntary acknowledgments — creating a faster, more straightforward path to legal recognition for families formed through fertility care. It also updates Delaware's parentage framework to address situations that the existing law did not clearly contemplate.

York pointed to a recent Delaware case involving a couple pursuing assisted reproduction. After the husband died unexpectedly shortly before an embryo transfer, his widow later encountered difficulties securing legal recognition of his parentage when the child was born. The updated law is intended to prevent similar situations from leaving families in legal limbo.

"We're really closing that gap so that no family is going to have to experience the same hurdles, heartache, and tragedy," York said. The legislation also updates Delaware's surrogacy provisions. York said the measure does not newly authorize surrogacy, which was already legal in the state.

"What this bill does is really put in clear, identifiable guardrails and information in the surrogacy agreement so that everybody knows upfront what the arrangement is," she said. Although LGBTQ+ advocates championed the legislation, supporters repeatedly stressed that its benefits extend far beyond queer families.

That broader argument comes as debates over family recognition, reproductive technology, and LGBTQ+ rights have become increasingly politicized. "I think there is an extremist position that wants to redefine who families are," York said. "What this is about is whether the law protects real families as they exist."

Mark Purpura, a board member of Equality Delaware, said the measure reflects a straightforward principle. "Delaware is strongest when the law respects and protects all families," he said in a statement.

The nation's leading HIV medical organizations sued the Trump administration on Wednesday, accusing federal officials of jeopardizing care for transgender people living with HIV and undermining one of the most successful public health programs in American history.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, challenges new federal restrictions that bar recipients of Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program funding from using those funds for gender-affirming medical care. The plaintiffs — major HIV physician groups, healthcare providers, and medical associations — argue the administration is using an anti-trans policy agenda to fundamentally reshape a program that serves more than half of all people living with HIV in the United States.

Unlike many recent legal challenges brought by LGBTQ+ advocacy organizations, this lawsuit comes from HIV doctors and providers who argue the restrictions could damage a public health system that has helped achieve viral suppression rates above 90 percent among patients receiving care.

"The Ryan White Program is a success precisely because of the way it has been structured," Jose Abrigo, senior attorney and HIV Project director at Lambda Legal, said in a statement. "It has for three decades been a safe haven for people living with HIV, grounded in clinical judgment and comprehensive patient needs. These restrictions interfere with that framework and place transgender patients at risk of losing access to care."

Related: American Medical Association Strengthens Support for Gender-Affirming Care

Congress created the Ryan White Program in 1990 as the federal government's primary safety net program for low-income people. The program was born from the AIDS crisis, when LGBTQ+ communities — particularly gay men and transgender women — were disproportionately affected by a disease that was initially met with indifference from political leaders and public institutions. The complaint notes that the program was specifically designed to provide comprehensive care and address barriers that keep vulnerable patients from remaining in treatment.

According to the lawsuit, the administration's new policy stems from grant conditions issued by the Health Resources and Services Administration in March and Notices of Funding Opportunity released Sunday. Together, the policies prohibit Ryan White providers from using federal funds for gender-affirming medical care and, according to the complaint, require providers to comply with restrictions targeting what the administration calls "gender ideology."

The plaintiffs include the American Academy of HIV Medicine, the HIV Medicine Association, the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care, Boston physician Dr. Jennifer Brody, and Oregon nurse practitioner Christopher Fox. Together, the organizations represent tens of thousands of HIV clinicians and healthcare professionals nationwide.

The lawsuit argues the restrictions contradict years of federal guidance. In 2021, HRSA explicitly informed providers that Ryan White funds could support gender-affirming care and described such care as "an important strategy to effectively address the health and medical needs of transgender people with HIV." Federal health officials previously recognized that access to gender-affirming care helps transgender patients engage in HIV treatment, remain in care, and achieve viral suppression.

Related: Texas doctor accused of providing gender-affirming care to youth committed 'no legal violations'

The stakes are particularly high for transgender women, who experience some of the highest HIV rates in the country. The complaint cites federal data estimating that approximately 14 percent of transgender women in the United States are living with HIV, while studies in some major cities have found rates exceeding 40 percent. Black transgender women face especially severe disparities.

Plaintiffs filed both a complaint and a motion for preliminary injunction, asking the court to immediately block enforcement of the restrictions while the litigation proceeds. They allege violations of the Administrative Procedure Act, the Affordable Care Act, the First Amendment, and the Fifth Amendment's equal protection guarantee.

“ Policies that exclude already vulnerable communities from medically necessary care threaten progress toward ending the HIV epidemic,” said Dr. José M. Zúñiga, President and CEO of the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care.

This story originally appeared on Them.

Call James Talarico “Chaka Khan” because to Republicans, he seems to be every woman.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott shared an image on his Facebook page Wednesday depicting Talarico as New York representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to criticize the Democratic senate candidate’s bill for a Green New Deal for Texas. Abbott’s post comes in the same week that a MAGA-aligned PAC ran an ad featuring a deepfake of Talarico singing a parody version of “My Favorite Things” with lyrics about trans kids.

“Jimmy Talarico authored the Texas Climate Action Act - Texas’ Green New Deal. Thankfully, for Texans, this bill died in committee,” Abbott wrote. “No matter what Talarico says on the campaign trail, the truth is his record is much more aligned with AOC than the ideals of Texans.”

Two images accompanied Abbott’s post: a visual of the legislation that Talarico introduced as well as a face mashup of Talaricio and Ocasio-Cortez, who has long been a ragebait target for the right.

Talarico proposed the Texas Climate Action Act in 2021, per the Dallas Express. The bill sought to push Texas’s net greenhouse gas emissions to near zero by 2050; Republicans painted it as a death blow to the state’s oil and gas industries.

During his current bid for the U.S. Senate in Texas, criticisms for the 2021 climate change bill have resurfaced. Talarico is facing Texas attorney general Ken Paxton for the Senate seat currently occupied by John Cornyn, who lost the Republican primary to Paxton, while Abbott is currently in a race for governor against Democratic state representative Gina Hinojosa.

While wanting to paint Talarico as a negative for the oil and gas industry is one thing, the GOP’s continued emphasis on his masculinity is another. Aside from White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller calling Talarico the “first transgender Senate candidate,” several other GOPers have tried to paint the Texas Democrat as unmasculine and, therefore, somehow unfit for office.

Republicans have also described him as “Low-T Talarico,” “James Talafreako” and “Six-Gender Jimmy,” referencing his comments that there are more than two biological genders, per The Atlantic. Current polls show Paxton and Talarico, who are both vying for the same seat, in a dead heat, though many prognosticators have held out hope that Talarico could flip Texas blue.

Across the U.S., a campaign to seclude and suppress queer and trans lives from public visibility is continuing to spread. In public schools, libraries, universities, art galleries, museums, government websites, and national monuments, we are seeing art, books, terms, and symbols of LGBTQ+ identity disappear at a quickening pace.

We don’t need to wonder where this is coming from or where it’s going. Wielding state power against LGBTQ+ communities has been a hallmark of authoritarian regimes.

In Nazi Germany, LGBTQ+ culture and literature was purged as “un-German.” More recently in Putin’s Russia and Orban’s Hungary, officials have claimed children need “protection” from LGBTQ+ “propaganda,” rhetoric used to justify not only strict controls on LGBTQ+ topics in schools and universities, but also restrictions on museum exhibitions and across media, film, books and advertisements.

This didn't begin with Trump’s re-election, but the current administration is applying the playbook well, declaring in executive orders that “gender ideology” is “anti-American,” and that the government needs to protect children from what they claim is “indoctrination,” – including the basic fact that queer and trans people exist. In Congress, there is now not one, but three bills gaining traction that would implement anti-LGBTQ+ restrictions on certain federal education funds.

As with Florida’s 2022 “Don’t Say Gay” law that clearly echoes Russia’s 2013 law prohibiting showing “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations” to minors, this trio of Congressional bills (H.R. 2616, H.R. 8705, and H.R. 7661) each seeks to weaponize funding to prevent schools teaching about made-up terms, largely pulled from Trump executive orders: “gender ideology,” “transgenderism,” “divisive equity ideology,” and “sexually oriented material.” Censors often resort to vague language like this, but the intention behind it is clear: to exclude trans and queer representation in schools. All three bills have already made it past committee, and just last month, H.R. 2616, alarmingly, passed the House with a combination of votes from Republicans and several Democrats.

Authoritarians target public schools because they are a convenient site for advancing mass cultural change, a place where the government can have the most impact on what young people are allowed to learn and think. It’s an unsettling point, but if the goal is to enact an extreme agenda to enforce a homogenous national identity, schools are a good bet to mold minds.

Despite the Supreme Court’s adage that “no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion,” we have seen government officials use their offices to do just that, bypassing the First Amendment and passing laws and policies to exclude and erase LGBTQ+ identities from our institutions.

The work of remaking popular culture through official state repression cannot be accomplished overnight. That’s why the campaign to purge LGBTQ+ expression is continuing to evolve, from banning books to prohibiting music, from closing DEI offices to defunding research on LGBTQ+ public health, to dismantling gender studies as an academic field. Texas Tech university has recently moved to prohibit any teaching or student research projects that “center on” gender or sexuality whatsoever. And we are seeing public library funding threatened in more communities over books with trans or queer representation. The current FCC has taken up the cause too, recently announcing it was weighing adding viewer warnings to alert parents to any “transgender or nonbinary programming.”

These censorship tactics are moving from classrooms to campuses and from libraries to living rooms with increasing ease, because the ideologues behind this will not be satisfied until their project of suppression is complete.

This aggressive campaign has not yet led to what we’ve seen in other authoritarian regimes –a ban on pride celebrations, prohibition of LGBTQ+ people on primetime TV, government fines for retailers selling books like Heartstopper or websites streaming shows like Heated Rivalry. But anti-LGBTQ+ policy never ends at censorship alone. Though vetoed, Hungary passed a law in 2023 that would have allowed citizens to report same-sex families and trans-affirming parents; and Russia continues to arrest and prosecute people for so much as having a rainbow pride flag on display or publishing LGBTQ+ books. In Germany, where they burned books, they later burned people.

In the U.S. we are now in danger of repeating that pattern, as progress made for LGBTQ+ rights in the decades since the “Lavender Scare” of the 1950s and the height of the AIDS epidemic is being reversed. Already at the state level, prohibitions on gender-affirming care and a law revoking state IDs for trans people have been enacted, and a number of state lawmakers are campaigning to end marriage equality.

For the LGBTQ+ community, the message from these actions is clear: we are not supposed to live authentically nor be seen or heard in public life. With our educational and cultural institutions running full steam ahead with our erasure, we know that without serious intervention, things will not stop there.

Jonathan Friedman oversees PEN America's U.S. efforts to protect free expression, including the freedom to write, read, and learn. Madison Markham is program coordinator for PEN America's Freedom to Read program, which works to combat book bans and censorship in schools and libraries.

Opinion is dedicated to featuring a wide range of inspiring personal stories and impactful opinions from the LGBTQ+ community and its allies. Visit Advocate.com/submit to learn more about submission guidelines. We welcome your thoughts and feedback on any of our stories. Email us at voices@equalpride.com. Views expressed in Voices stories are those of the guest writers, columnists, and editors, and do not directly represent the views of The Advocate or our parent company, equalpride.