Harley-Davidson announced yesterday that it is ending its diversity and other progressive initiatives at the company, joining the leagues of John Deere and Tractor Supply Co. The company has been under attack from conservative Twitter activist Robby Starbuck, who led a campaign against Harley-Davidson. Related A Texas town killed off its diversity committee after Proud Boys marched against it But was the diversity committee a sham all along? We are saddened by the negativity on social media over the last few weeks, designed to divide the Harley-Davidson community,the company wrote in a statement posted on X. It noted that we have not operated a DEI function since April 2024, and we do not have a DEI function today. We do not have hiring quotas and we no longer have supplier diversity spend goals. Stay connected to your community Connect with the issues and events that impact your community at home and beyond by subscribing to our newsletter. Subscribe to our Newsletter today Harley Davidson said it would review all sponsorships and outside organizations the company affiliates with, and the company will have all sponsorships approved by the company or Harley Davidson Foundation. It also said it will no longer involve itself with the Human Rights Campaign.Starbuck started posting about the company almost a month ago, on July 23rd. Its time to expose Harley Davidson, Starbuck said, declaring that the company has gone totally woke.He said that some of these totally woke actions include sponsoring a boot camp for LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs, donating to United Way, and making efforts to increase diversity in its workforce.We believe having both a broad employee and customer base is good for business and that ultimately everybody should experience the joy of riding a Harley-Davidson, the company said in its Monday statement. We remain committed to listening to all members of our community as we continue on our journey together as the most desirable motorcycle brand in the world. Starbuck posted on X that it was Another win for our movement. I couldnt do this without all of you.Decisions to cut Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives send a clear signal to employees that their employers simply dont care about equality in the workplace, HRC said in a statement. Harley-Davidsons choice to back away from the Corporate Equality Index is an impulsive decision fueled by fringe right-wing actors and MAGA extremists who believe they can bully their way into dismantling initiatives that help everyone thrive in the workplace. With nearly 30% of Gen Z identifying as LGBTQ+ and the community wielding $1.4 trillion in spending power, retreating from these principles undermines both consumer trust and employee success.In late June, Tractor Supply Co. also was the subject of a Starbuck campaign and announced that they would end Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI) programs, stop sponsoring Pride events, and withdraw from carbon emission goals.Just a couple of weeks later, John Deere said it would no longer participate in social or cultural awareness parades and remove all socially motivated messages from its training materials and workplace policies after Starbuck took aim at the company.

Out Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg accused Fox News host Lawrence Jones of cherrypicking data to say that Democrats are not doing enough to protect Black people from violent crime. Buttigieg then flattened the claim with a seven-word response that turned the tables on Jones and his Republican talking point.During the contentious interview, which occurred the morning after the first night of the Democratic National Convention, Jones said, So lets talk about the record of the Biden-Harris administration. When you look at crime, violent crime across 66 major cities is up almost 10% at 9.6%. Is that a record that you can run on? Related Out gay Congress members, AOC, Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton speak at Democratic convention Donald Trump would sell this country for $1 if it meant lining his own pockets, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said. Buttigieg replied, I often wonder, you know, whether viewers of this network are aware that violent crime went up under Donald Trump. I think that deserves more coverage so we can ask ourselves why, and some of that has to do with policy. Your LGBTQ+ guide to Election 2024 Stay ahead of the 2024 Election with our newsletter that covers candidates, issues, and perspectives that matter. Subscribe to our Newsletter today Those seven wordsviolent crime went up under Donald Trumpdeserve some unpacking.While violent crimes defined by the FBI as homicide, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault dropped for the first three years of Trumps presidency. However, in 2020, the violent crime rate spiked to 385.2 per 100,000 people higher than any previous year under Trump largely due to social and economic unrest during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, WRAL reported.As for Bidens record, while voters have increasingly expressed concern about violent crime since 2021, a May 2024report from the journalism research organization The Poynter Institute found that violent crime is near a record 50-year low, writing, The FBIs violent crime rate for 2022, the last year officially available, was 370 per 100,000 population. Since 1972, only two years have had a lower violent crime rate: 2014 and 2019. Buttigieg continued, Some of [the rise in crime under Trump] has to do with the message we send when you have Donald Trump, an unrepentant convicted criminal, running against a prosecutor like Kamala Harris, we have an opportunity to send a message about whether were serious on law and order in this country, or whether its a talking point, whether its just something people try to use as a political theme for partisan gain. Jones, who is Black, responded that he himself has reported on crime often and isnt using it for partisan gain, adding, The people who are being killed in places all over the country, they look like me they dont look like you and theyre upset with the Democratic Party not taking it seriously. [Democrats] sent the calvary in for you guys [during the convention], for your protection, but the people of Chicago dont see that on a day-to-day basis. What are you guys going to do to stop the bloodshed in our community?Buttigieg said that, during his time as mayor of South Bend, Indiana, The toughest part of the job was dealing with gun violence, and the most heartbreaking part of the job was comforting, or trying to comfort, mothers who just wanted their child back. The big question, I think, for politics, for policy, for media, is who is going to help them versus who is going to use them? The question is, what are you going to actually do when you come into office to actually confront gun violence?Buttigieg then said that 90% of Americans, including more than 80% of Republicans, agree with doing universal background checks, But Donald Trump says no, Buttigieg said. The Republican Party says no.Jones interjected, There were over 20 people shot last week, five people shot over the weekend.Buttigeig said, Then why would we elect leaders who wont do anything about gun violence? Jones said, Its the Democrats that run the city. Name the Republicans in charge. Tell me: one Republican in charge of Chicago, name them.Listen to me, Buttigieg said, because not only did we have those levels of crime under Democratic and Republican leaders, right? But if you want to try to cherry pick this for partisan purposes, you want to play that game? Lets talk.Jones said he wasnt asking for partisan purposes, adding, I told you, Mr. Mayor, [the victims] look like me, not you.Buttigieg continued, So is the case in Boston, where there is a much lower murder rate and also a Democratic mayor. We can talk about how the murder rate in Mississippi is double what it is in Illinois. Now I can go around saying that the murder rate in Mississippi is double what it is in Illinois, because Mississippi has a Republican governor and Illinois has a Democratic governor. But you and I both know it just doesnt work. that way. JONES: Over 20 people shot last weekBUTTIGIEG: Then why would we elect leaders who won't do anything about gun violence?J: Name one R in charge in ChicagoB: Want to play that game? We could talk about the murder rate in Mississippi being double what it is in Illinois pic.twitter.com/Xo7Tt4EXTm Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 20, 2024Elsewhere in the interview, Jones asked about President Joe Bidens mental fitness to continue serving as president. He asked Buttigieg when Democrats realized that Biden was unfit to run for re-election. Biden dropped out on July 21, following his lackluster June 27 debate performance against Trump.Jones noted The New York Times reports alleging that the 81-year-old presidents Cabinet meetings are scripted with pre-determined questions and bullet-point responses to accommodate him and that former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) reportedly had to take over the 2023 debt ceiling negotiations with congressional Republicans. Jones also noted an Axios report claiming that Biden is only available for work between the hours of 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each weekday.Thats funny, Buttigieg replied. Sometimes I feel like conservative media and the Republican Party still think theyre running against Joe Biden. I think, in any job, but especially the presidency, you want to be judged by your results people want to nitpick the show flow of a Cabinet meeting.We have had a country that, when he inherited it, was in a condition where you couldnt even approach the Capitol because of the violent assaults on the Capitol by Trump supporters, Buttigieg added, referencing the January 6, 2021 riots. He then mentioned Bidens accomplishments in restoring the countrys economy and infrastructure.I just want to know, when did you guys know that the president was unfit to be on the ticket? Jones asked.Buttigieg began replying, The president is not unfit to beJones asked, So why is he not the nominee right now? Buttigieg replied, Because he did something that Donald Trump cannot comprehend. He put his ego aside.When Jones restated his initial questions about the news reports on Bidens work, Buttigieg replied, Thats the point. You can go over whether [Biden] slips up and says one name when he wants to say another name, or you can look at what hes actually accomplished as president. It turns out hes really good at being president of the United States.

Following the World Health Organizations declaration that Mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, is now a global health emergency, one country is dismissing the warning as no big deal.Russia says its absolutely sure that Mpox is not something we need to be afraid of because the gays required to spread it dont exist in the country. Related Mpox outbreak declared a global health emergency in Africa The new outbreak has resulted in hundreds of deaths. Considering the specifics of how Mpox is spread, I am absolutely sure that in Russia, with its traditional values, this disease, which is an epidemic disease, is not something we need to be afraid of, said Anna Popova, the head of Rospotrebnadzor, the Russian consumer protection watchdog in a video published on Telegram and translated by Politico. Global perspectives delivered right to your inbox Our newsletter bridges borders to bring you LGBTQ+ news from around the world. Subscribe to our Newsletter today For Russia this does not present a danger, she said, adding with unscientific certainty, Were not expecting it to spread. It wont happen.With her reference to traditional values, Popova was not so subtly implying that her countrys active purge of LGBTQ+ people would protect Russia from the dangers of a disease most commonly spread among men who have sex with men.The alert declaring Mpox a clear and present danger to the international community was issued on Wednesday, following data that showed the disease has taken off in Africa, at least doubling infection rates over the last three years.The outbreak has killed more than 500 people this year, with more than 17,000 suspected cases across Central and East Africa.The Mpox variant affecting people primarily in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, and Kenya Clade I is more contagious and deadlier than the one affecting Western nations in an outbreak in 2022. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) says there are no known cases of Clade I Mpox in the U.S. so far.The risk to the general public in the United States from Clade I Mpox circulating in the DRC is very low, HHS said in a statement, adding they are well-prepared to detect and manage any potential cases.Russian President Vladimir Putin began his program of erasing LGBTQ+ identity in the country in 2013 with a gay propaganda law prohibiting the distribution of propaganda of non-traditional relationshipsamong minors. That law was expanded to all age groups in 2022, while the countrys Supreme Court, at Putins behest, declared the so-called International LGBT movement a terrorist organization the following year.Popova claimed that there have been three cases of Mpox reported in Russia, all of which she said were detected and contained. Precisely who was affected by the disease and how it was contracted and spread among the Russians was left unsaid.The Russians assertion that the country would be immune from the disease because of traditional values was a reminder of how other authoritarian and theocratic regimes have claimed that gay people dont exist in service of a political agenda.In 2007, Irans President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad famously claimed in a question and answer session following a speech at New Yorks Columbia University: In Iran we dont have homosexuals like in your country.

A Georgia anti-trans discrimination ruling from May has been voided by an appeals court, half of whose judges were appointed by former President Donald Trump.The ruling concerns a transgender deputy who was denied equal medical care when the Houston County (Georgia) Sheriffs Office refused to cover her gender-affirming care under their health insurance policy. This comes after the county spent $1.2 million dollars in legal fees to avoid paying for the deputys $10,000 surgery. Related A county spent $1.2 million in legal fees to deny a trans employee health care. They just lost. It has been deeply painful to have the county fight tooth and nail, redirecting valuable resources toward denying me basic health care. Represented by the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund (TLDEF), Sgt. Anna Lange began her lawsuit back in 2019 after her employer denied her gender-affirming care even though she had worked for the Sheriffs Office since 2006. Stay connected to your community Connect with the issues and events that impact your community at home and beyond by subscribing to our newsletter. Subscribe to our Newsletter today In 2022, a federal judge of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia ruled that Lange had been illegally discriminated against, citing the 2020 Supreme Court case Bostock v. Clayton County, where the Court found that anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination is a form of discrimination on the basis of sex prohibited by Title VII.While a three-judge panel on the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in her favor in May, the full court ordered that the decision be heard again, vacating the prior ruling, after Houston County appealed. The date for the next ruling remains to be heard.Lange was awarded $60,000 in the 2022 case. This new decision will affect transgender individuals in Florida, Georgia, and Alabama.Six out of the 12 judges were appointed by Donald Trump, making it one of the most conservative appeals courts in the nation.Because transgender persons are the only (insurance) plan participants who qualify for gender-affirming surgery, the (countys) plan denies health care coverage based on transgender status, the panel said in its decision in May.Houston County deprived Lange of a benefit or privilege of her employment by reason of her nonconforming traits, thereby unlawfully punishing her for her gender nonconformity.

Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris said that her political opponent, former President Donald Trump, and his conservative allies are out of their minds for planning to empower extremists, eliminate social programs and ban abortion nationwide. Harris ended the fourth and final night of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) by highlighting Trumps continued criminal and autocratic ambitions and by providing an overview of her own political agenda, including her continued support of Israels right to defend itself while also voicing support for the Palestinian rights to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination.Lesbian Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) were among the many who spoke during before Harris. Their speeches are summarized with direct quotes below. Related Pete Buttigieg, Oprah Winfrey & Tim Walz destroy Trump & Vance during DNCs third night Four LGBTQ+ speakers graced the stage, with one of them telling the Supreme Court, You can pry this wedding band from my cold, dead, gay hand! Your LGBTQ+ guide to Election 2024 Stay ahead of the 2024 Election with our newsletter that covers candidates, issues, and perspectives that matter. Subscribe to our Newsletter today Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala HarrisJasper Colt-USA TODAY via IMAGN Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during the final day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: Jasper Colt-USA TODAY via IMAGN At the outset, Harris mentioned how her mother immigrated from India to the U.S. at age 19 and how her mother met her Jamaican father at a civil rights rally. They divorced when Harris was an elementary schooler, leaving her mother and sister to move into a working class neighborhood in the flatlands of San Franciscos East Bay.My mother, she worked long hours, and like many working parents, she leaned on a trusted circle to help raise us, Harris said. None of them family by blood, and all of them family by love. [My mother] taught us to never complain about injustice, but do something about it, Harris said. She also taught us, never do anything half assed. And that is a direct quote.Harris aspired to become a lawyer early into her life, she said, after her mother told her the role that lawyers played in the Civil Rights movement. And in high school, when Harris best friend Wanda admitted that she was being sexually abused by her own stepfather, Harris decided she to became a prosecutor, to protect people like Wanda.I believe everyone has a right to safety, to dignity and to justice for a simple reason: In our system of justice, a harm against any one of us is a harm against all of us, Harris said. I would often explain this to console survivors of crime, to remind them, no one should be made to fight alone. We are all in this together. And every day in the courtroom, I stood proudly before a judge, and I said five words: Kamala Harris for the people.' Addressing viewers of different political views, Harris pledged to be a president for all Americans, adding, You can always trust me to put country above party and self, to hold sacred Americas fundamental principles: from the rule of law to free and fair elections to the peaceful transfer of power. I will be a president who unites us around our highest aspirations, a president who leads and listens, who is realistic, practical, and has common sense.In many ways, Donald Trump is an unserious man, she continued. But the consequences of putting Donald Trump back in the White House are extremely serious. She then mentioned his attempt to throw away your votes and send an armed mob to the Capitol, where they assaulted law enforcement officers while he fanned the flames. She noted that Trump has since been found guilty of fraud and liable of committing sexual abuse.Just imagine Donald Trump with no guardrails and how he would use the immense powers of the presidency of the United States, not to improve your life, not to strengthen our national security, but to serve the only client he has ever had: himself, she said. Consider what he intends to do if we give him power again, she continued, listing his explicit intentions to set free the Capitol rioters who attacked police officers; to jail journalists, political opponents and anyone he sees as the enemy; to use the military against U.S. citizens; andper Project 2025to eliminate the Affordable Care Act; cut Social Security and Medicare benefits; end preschool care programs for children; and ban abortion nationwide. He has even pledged to appoint a national anti-abortion coordinator who would force states to report womens miscarriages and abortions, Harris said.Simply put, she continued, they are out of their minds.Harris then outlined some of her policy goals. She promised to sign a bill to restore reproductive freedom nationwide, to create a fairer opportunity economy where everyone has the chance to compete and a chance to succeed; to end the housing shortage; stem gun violence; reduce everyday living costs; combat climate change; protect voting rights; reform our broken immigration system; create an earned pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants; secure the U.S. borders; strengthen domestic and international security; stand with Ukraine and NATO against Russias continued invasion; beat China at the AI and space races; and secure Israel while ending the Gaza conflict so the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination. I will not cozy up to tyrants and dictators, like [North Koreas Leader] Kim Jong Un, who are rooting for Trump, because they know he is easy to manipulate with flattery and favors, she said. They know Trump wont hold autocrats accountable because he wants to be an autocrat himself.Referencing Trump and his running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), Harris said, Our opponents in this race are out there every day, denigrating America, talking about how terrible everything is. Well, my mother had another lesson she used to teach: Never let anyone tell you who you are. You show them who you are.Let us show each other and the world who we are and what we stand for: freedom, opportunity, compassion, dignity, fairness and endless possibilities. We are the heirs to the greatest democracy in the history of the world. So lets get out there, she concluded. Lets fight for it. Lets get out there. Lets vote for it, and together, let us write the next great chapter in the most extraordinary story ever told. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D)Jasper Colt / USA TODAY NETWORK via IMAGN Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer speaks during the final day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center.Donald Trump called me that woman from Michigan as an insult, Whitmer began. Gesturing as if to knock a bug off of her shoulder, she added, Being a woman from Michigan is a badge of honor.At 29, I joined the sandwich generation, sandwiched between working and raising my newborn and caring for my mom, who was dying from brain cancer, she said. It was hard, but not extraordinary: Its life. Those nights reminded me who I was fighting for: people just trying to make it. Kamala Harris knows who shes fighting for too.Donald Trump doesnt know you at all, she continued. You think he understands that when your car breaks down, you cant get to work. No, his first word was probably chauffeur. You think hes ever had to take items out of the cart before checking out? Hell, you think hes ever been to a grocery store? Thats what the chauffeur is for. But Kamala Harris, she gets us. She sees us. She is us. We dont know what the next four years will bring. But, she said, one day, when youre just trying to get everyone out the door, a news alert goes off. Something happened. Something hit the fan. Youll ask, Is my family going to be okay? And then youll ask, Who the hell is in charge? What if its him? What if its that man from Mar-a-Lago?Why wouldnt we choose the leader whos tough, tested and a total badass? she asked, concluding, I know who I want as our Commander-in-Chief America. Lets choose Kamala Harris.Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)Jasper Colt-USA TODAY via IMAGN Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., speaks during the final day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: Jasper Colt-USA TODAY via IMAGN Kamala Harris cant be bought and she cant be bossed around, Warren said at the start of her speech.While Donald was scamming students at Trump University and trying to make money off people losing their homes, she continued, Kamala Harris stepped up. She enforced the law, she fought the giant banks, and she delivered billions of dollars of help for families, and that is the difference between a criminal and a prosecutor.Donald Trump, the felon, has no plans to lower costs for families, she said. He doesnt know how, and basically he doesnt really care. When did he ever fill up a gas tank or worry about a grocery bill? The only bills he worries about are from his criminal defense lawyers.And there it is, Warren added. Groceries, gas, housing, healthcare, taxes, abortion. Do you trust Donald Trump and JD Vance to look out for your family? Shoot, I wouldnt trust them to move my couch. When it comes to our families and our futures, Kamala Harris is someone we can trust. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI)Jasper Colt / USA TODAY NETWORK via IMAGN Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisc., speaks during the final day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center.My mother was a teenager when I was born, and she struggled with addiction, the lesbian senator said. I never met my father, but I had two incredible grandparents who stepped in and raised me. and as they grew older, it was my privilege to be there for them.So when I work to protect Medicare and Social Security, I do it with a personal knowledge of what those big programs meant in small but deeply meaningful ways, she said, noting that Trump has mentioned making cuts to both programs.Well, Kamala Harris is not going to let that happen, and Tim Walz is not going to let that happen, Baldwin said. We are not going to let that happen. We Democrats, we honor our elders and ask the wealthiest to pay their fair share.

On February 26, 2015, the California Attorney Generals Office stamped received on a cover letter from Huntington Beach attorney Matt McLaughlin, acknowledging receipt of a proposed initiative for the November ballot that would authorize the mass murder of gays and lesbians in the state.McLaughlin called his proposal the Sodomite Suppression Act. Related Donald Trump vs. Kamala Harris on LGBTQ+ rights: A side-by-side comparison LGBTQ+ rights are a crucial issue in the 2024 election. Heres where Donald Trump and Kamala Harris stand on key queer issues. Kamala Harris was the state attorney general. Dive deeper every day Join our newsletter for thought-provoking commentary that goes beyond the surface of LGBTQ+ issues Subscribe to our Newsletter today Harris had just won reelection overwhelmingly in November, and three weeks before McLaughlins measure landed in her inbox, she had declared her intention to seek the U.S. Senate seat occupied by Barbara Boxer, who announced her retirement that January.Now Harris was confronted with a hateful proposal she had no choice but to deal with: under California state law, the attorney general has zero discretion to disregard a properly proposed initiative filing, no matter how intentionally provocative, discriminatory, or felonious. The Sodomite Suppression Act was all three.And prophetic, too.What came to be known as the Shoot the Gays initiative detailed several steps to eliminate the gay and lesbian population of California based on McLaughlins interpretation of Scripture. The abominable crime against nature known as buggery, called also sodomy, is a monstrous evil that Almighty God, giver of freedom and liberty, commands us to suppress on pain of our utter destruction even as he overthrew Sodom and Gomorrha [sic], McLaughlin wrote.Seeing that it is better that offenders should die rather than that all of us should be killed by Gods just wrath against us for the folly of tolerating-wickedness in our midst, the People of California wisely command, in the fear of God, that any person who willingly touches another person of the same gender for purposes of sexual gratification be put to death by bullets to the head or by any other convenient method.The proposed measure would outlaw sodomistic propaganda directly or indirectly by any means to any person under the age of majority. Violators would be fined and/or imprisoned up to 10 years, and/or expelled from the boundaries of the state of California for up to life. And, McLaughlin added, No person shall serve in any public office, nor serve in public employment, nor enjoy any public benefit, who is a sodomite or who espouses sodomistic propaganda or who belongs to any group that does.As word got out about the outrageous proposal, LGBTQ+ advocates demanded Harris abdicate her responsibilities and ignore the proposal, but state law, in place since Progressives instituted the direct democracy provision in 1911, explicitly required the attorney general to fulfill her ministerial duty to issue a title and summary of the hateful proposal.Harris wasnt having it. It is my sworn duty to uphold the California and United States Constitutions and to protect the rights of all Californians, Harris said as a deadline for action loomed. This proposal not only threatens public safety, it is patently unconstitutional, utterly reprehensible, and has no place in a civil society.For the first time, a California attorney general sought relief from her sworn obligation and petitioned the states highest court to dismiss it.If the court does not grant this relief, she said, my office will be forced to issue a title and summary for a proposal that seeks to legalize discrimination and vigilantism. There was little-to-no chance McLaughlin would collect the 365,880 signatures of registered voters required to make the ballot, and even less that Californians would approve it or that it would survive the inevitable court challenges if it did pass.But the same electorate had defied predictions before: on the night Barack Obama was elected the first Black president of the United States, California voters outlawed same-sex marriage in the state.And some of McLaughlins ideas have gained currency since he first proposed them. In Texas, lawmakers have sanctioned vigilantism in pursuit of parents of trans children seeking gender-affirming care, and among hundreds of anti-LGBTQ+ proposals circulating in red states are provisions outlawing LGBTQ+ propaganda directed at minors, based on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis hateful Dont Say Gay legislation.In Russia, the same language that McLaughlin proposed was signed into law by authoritarian Russian President Vladimir Putin in a series of laws and proclamations seeking to erase LGBTQ+ identity altogether in the country.And in Uganda, the Kill the Gays law (Anti-Homosexuality Act) has essentially adopted all of McLaughlins proposals in draconian legislation outlawing homosexuality, with death the ultimate penalty for aggravated homosexuality.However outrageous, McLaughlins hateful ballot initiative was sadly prophetic. In California, though, Harris used the law and her prosecutors skill to make certain the Sodomite Suppression Act wouldnt survive receipt by her office.Judge Raymond Cadei of Californias Superior Court agreed with Harris that McLaughlins measure was unconstitutional; forcing the attorney general to further the proposal would be inappropriate, waste public resources, generate unnecessary divisions among the public and tend to mislead the electorate, the judge ruled.Said Harris of the decision: This proposed act is the product of bigotry, seeks to promote violence, is patently unconstitutional and has no place in a civil society.I applaud the courts decision to block its title and summary. My office will continue to fight for the rights of all Californians to live free from hatred and intolerance. Following the ruling, out California assembly speaker Toni Atkins said, The court has brought an appropriate end to this disturbing episode.LGBT Californians shouldnt be threatened and our initiative process shouldnt be hijacked, she added. Lets hope its the last time our system is abused to promote the political equivalent of toxic waste.The very same week that the court ruled for Harris, Donald Trump declared his candidacy for president of the United States. Nine years later, Harris has another opportunity to stop an attempted hijacking and to take out the trash.

A federal judge overturned the Pentagons ban on asymptomatic HIV-positive people enlisting in the military on Tuesday, ruling it as discriminatory.Modern science has transformed the treatment of HIV, U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema of the Eastern District of Virginia wrote in her ruling. Asymptomatic HIV-positive service members with undetectable viral loads who maintain treatment are capable of performing all of their military duties, including worldwide deployment. Related Judge shuts down Trump administrations attempt to stop HIV discrimination lawsuit Two cadets with HIV were discharged from the military. Donald Trump cant stop them from suing. The ruling summarizes the science on HIV, emphasizing that risks of transmission are minimal with proper treatment and care, something that the military can provide.She then summarizes the federal healthcare plans for those with HIV, including Army regulations, before detailing the plaintiffs two individuals who tested positive for HIV and who wanted to enlist in the military but who were rejected because of their serostatus, one individual who got HIV while serving in the military and who says her career aspirations are now limited, and an organization representing others with HIV, the Minority Veterans of America. Two of the three individuals who sued are LGBTQ+. Stay connected to your community Connect with the issues and events that impact your community at home and beyond by subscribing to our newsletter. Subscribe to our Newsletter today After discussing the legislative history of the plaintiffs and their continued battle to enlist in the military, Brinkema detailed the arguments of plaintiffs and defendants. This boiled down to an argument of what the science says. According to Brinkema, the plaintiffs were able to demonstrate that there is minimal risk of transmission and that there are minimal financial risks to the military as a result of treating those with HIV.The three plaintiffs comprised a variety of different backgrounds in both their identities and in their approach to joining the military. One was enlisted in the National Guard before trying to join the military, while another had already been in the military and was only trying to reenlist.This comes after former President Donald Trump sought to ban those with HIV from serving in the military, something that was met with immense pushback. Eventually, judges ruled that such a ban was unconstitutional and struck it down. And, in 2022, Judge Brinkema ruled against the Pentagons policy to ban people living with HIV from serving abroad or serving in leadership positions. However, the military still banned people who were HIV-positive from enlisting.This is a victory not only for me but for other people living with HIV who want to serve, Isaiah Wilkins, one of the plaintiffs who is gay, said in a statement. As Ive said before, giving up on my dream to serve my country was never an option. I am eager to apply to enlist in the Armywithout the threat of a crippling discriminatory policy.

If youve been anywhere near social media in recent weeks, youre probably already well aware of Jools Lebron and her very demure, very mindful moment.The Chicago-based trans TikToker sparked a viral trend earlier this month with a video showcasing her on-the-job style. Related He transitioned at 57 & now hes sharing his story with the world He never heard of trans people when he was growing up, but he decided its never too late to live authentically. You see how I do mymakeupfor work? Very demure. Very mindful, Lebron explains in the August 5 clip. I dont look like a clown when I go to work. I dont do too much, Im very mindful at work. See how I look very presentable? The way I came to the interview is the way I go to the job. Never Miss a Beat Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights. Subscribe to our Newsletter today @joolieannie #fyp #demure original sound Jools Lebron Very demure, very mindful caught on like wildfire, with seemingly everyone on social media including celebrities like Jennifer Lopez, Gillian Anderson, Penn Badgley, Olivia Rodrigo, Lindsay Lohan, and Jamie Lee Curtis picking up on the trend. Lebrons video has received 36 million views since August 5 and shes amassed nearly two million followers on TikTok.On Monday night, she made her national television debut on Jimmy Kimmel Live. In his opening monologue, guest host RuPaul said that hed spent the weekend watching Lebrons video and had to invite her onto the show.Apparently the trauma that comes from working a retail job gets enough to you that you start saying demure on the internet, Lebron, who until recently worked as a cashier at a very cutesy, very demure grocery store in Illinois, said of the inspiration behind the post.I feel like demure is like a mindset, she said of her newly minted catchphrase. I used to be crazy and out of control, and then I found some demurity and along with that came success. That success has been life-changing, as Lebron described in an August 14 post.Maybe you should make the videos, she advised her fans, Because one day, I was playing cashier and making videos on my break, and now Im flying across country to host events, and Im gonna be able to finance the rest of my transition.I finally said it without crying, she added. @joolieannie #fyp #demure original sound Jools Lebron In addition to the viral fame and her appearance on Kimmel, Lebron has already collaborated with brands like Verizon, Synergy Kombucha, and Lyft, according to Tubefilter. And in recent weeks, shes made appearances in New York, Las Vegas, and L.A.Everyone keeps asking me, like, how I feel about whats going on, Lebron said in a tearful August 17 post. And I feel so overwhelmed.But, she added, Im living my f***ing dream, b***h!

Ashley Brundage, 44, a DEI educator and former bank executive, moved one step closer on Tuesday to becoming the first elected transgender lawmaker from Florida despite a smear campaign perpetuated by the states governor, Ron DeSantis.Brundage, running for a state House seat from the Tampa area, swamped her opposition with more than 81 percent of the vote in Florida House District 65s Democratic primary. Related Ron DeSantis gave Ashley Brundage, a trans Democrat, an award. Now shes challenging GOP power. DeSantis said he never would have given her the award if he knew she was trans. Now shes running to be the first trans woman in the state legislature. Shell face incumbent Republican Florida state Rep. Karen Gonzalez Pittman in November. Your LGBTQ+ guide to Election 2024 Stay ahead of the 2024 Election with our newsletter that covers candidates, issues, and perspectives that matter. Subscribe to our Newsletter today I am incredibly honored and humbled to announce that weve won the Democratic primary election with a resounding victory over 80% for Florida State House District 65! Brundage posted on X. I am incredibly honored and humbled to announce that weve won the Democratic primary election with a resounding victory over 80% for Florida State House District 65!#politics #florida #leadership #empowerment #ashleybrundage @BrundageForFL pic.twitter.com/kSQT2Fqha7 Ashley T Brundage (@ashleytbrundage) August 21, 2024Brundage joins two other winning LGBTQ+ candidates in Florida, former state representative Joe Saunders and climate advocate Nate Douglas, in trying to erase Republicans super majority in the state legislature in November.A fourth LGBTQ+ candidate, former Obama staffer Chad Klitzman, did not fare as well, losing his primary in heavily Democratic Broward County to a pro-LGBTQ+ rights candidate, Barbara Sharief.Brundages opponent in the general election is a former teacher in the Tampa area who voted in favor of Dont Say Gay legislation and book bans in school libraries. Brundage is the award-winning author of Empowering Differences: Leveraging Your Differences to Impact Change.Brundage says Pittman only helped to scare away people from wanting to come to Florida with the draconian laws shes helped to pass.Those include Gov. DeSantis signature Dont Say Gay legislation, which Brundage described in an interview with LGBTQ Nation as absolutely ridiculous.DeSantis antipathy for Brundage extends back, incongruously, to an award for which he congratulated her. In 2022, Brundage was given a Spirit of the Community award by the Florida Commission on the Status of Women for bringing in tens of millions of dollars to the Tampa area with an international economic empowerment conference. Brundage received a letter of congratulations from DeSantis, who, it turns out, didnt know Brundage was trans.But news organizations did, and Brundage says DeSantis dodged everybodys request for comment on it. No comment. No comment. No comment. I announced my candidacy, of course, and talked about the letter. And then he finally responded to theDaily Mailin the U.K. And he told them that he would have never given me the award if he had known that I was a transgender woman.Like his hateful Dont Say Gay laws, Brundage called DeSantis disavowal ridiculous. I still brought in a $12.5 million conference, selling out two entire hotels and a convention center for the city of Tampa, Brundage says. I still did that. I still created a scholarship foundation for youth, and I still mentored children and women in my community through financial literacy educational programs for free.So none of that has changed, but because he knows my political affiliation, all of a sudden, he wants to say that he wouldnt have given me that award. And thats exactly whats wrong with our political world right now. Partisan politics get in the way of actually accomplishing things that are good for our economy.Brundage and Pittman face off on November 5.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was inducted to the LGBTQ+ Political Hall of Fame on Tuesday at the Democratic National Convention during the LGBTQ+ Victory Institutes Victory at the DNC event.Buttigieg is the first openly gay Cabinet secretary and was recognized not only for his public service but also for his accomplishments in LGBTQ+ representation in government and advocacy for the queer community. Related Pete Buttigieg dismantles Fox hosts claim about violent crime in just 7 words A Fox News host implied that Democrats dont care about Black victims of violent crime. Buttigieg pushed back hard. The ceremony took place at the Wit Hotels rooftop in Chicago. Stay connected to your community Connect with the issues and events that impact your community at home and beyond by subscribing to our newsletter. Subscribe to our Newsletter today At the ceremony, Buttigieg said to the cheering audience, Thank you so much. Thank you for humbling me with this honor, according to The Chicago Tribune.He thanked other prominent LGBTQ+ politicians in the audience, saying, Thank you, [former Chicago Mayor] Lori Lightfoot, for your leadership of Chicago and for welcoming us to this town. Thank you [former Houston Mayor and current CEO and president of the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund] Annise Parker I dont even know where to begin it would take me an hour. Lets just say that Annise Parker has been a pillar of leadership for the LGBTQ+ community, for the community of mayors, for the American people.With his induction into the Hall of Fame, he joins the ranks of celebrated LGBTQ+ politicians such as Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California. Everything that Ive had a chance to do, not just in politics but in life, is possible because of the committed activism of people like the people in this room and people who came before us, Buttigieg said. It wasnt that long ago you couldnt be a geographer in the federal government if you were gay. Think about how much has changed in one short lifetime. Buttigieg reflected on his experience as mayor of South Bend in Mike Pences Indiana and his current role as a father and husband. Just so you know what wake-up is like for us, it used to be we woke up to an alarm clock. Now we wake up to a three-year-old who will disappear downstairs and reemerge exactly one minute later with a tambourine in his hand, he shared.Buttigieg didnt just celebrate his own accomplishments or the accomplishments of those who came before him, he also discussed the onslaught of anti-LGBTQ+ laws that are sweeping the nation. Just because we have gained some ground does not mean well ever get comfortable with the gains that have been made or the work that lies in front of us. In his own speech at the Democratic National Convention, Buttigieg doubled down on that message, saying, The existence of my family is just one example of something that was literally impossible as recently as 25 years ago, when an anxious teenager growing up in Indiana, I wondered if he would ever find belonging in this world.The hard work that it took so that Buttigieg was able to grow up from that anxious teenager to one of the most visible queer politicians with a family of his own is not lost on him. This kind of life went from impossible to possible, from possible to real, from real to almost ordinary in less than half a lifetime, he said. It was brought about through idealism and courage, through organizing and persuasion and storytelling and yes, through politics, therightkind of politics, the kind of politics that can make an impossible dream into an everyday reality.

Sphen, of Magic and Sphen, a pair of gay gentoo penguins known around the world for their love story, tragically passed away earlier this month. To mourn his beloved partner, Magic led their penguin community in a tribute song.Sphen died just before his 12th birthday, the Sydney Life Aquarium said. In a statement, the aquariums general manager, Richard Dilly, said, The loss of Sphen is heartbreaking to the penguin colony, the team, and everyone who has been inspired or positively impacted by Sphen and Magics story. Related Oscar Wildes The Picture of Dorian Gray will soon get a modern Netflix adaptation with a twist Out producer Greg Berlanti and husband Robbie Rogers will serve as executive producers on the series based on Oscar Wildes novel. Magic was taken to see Sphens body so the penguin could understand his partner wouldnt return, said Dilly. Never Miss a Beat Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights. Subscribe to our Newsletter today When he saw his partners body, Dilly said that Magic began singing. He immediately started singing, which was beautifully reciprocated by the colony.In 2018, the whole world learned about Sphen and Magics love story when Sphen gave Magic a stone that zookeepers said was equivalent to proposing in the love language of penguins.The two penguins began to make a nest together out of pebbles and were given a real egg from a pair of penguins that had two eggs.[They] are constantly seen waddling around and going for swims together in the Penguin Expedition, the aquarium said in a statement when they gave the couple the egg.Sphen and Magic became co-parents to two chicks, Lara in 2018 and Clancy in 2020.It was a beautiful example of co-parenting as a same-sex couple, Vincent Savolainen, a professor of organismic biology at Imperial College London, told NBC News.The pair captured hearts around the world and became famous throughout their long partnership, which lasted nearly six years half a lifetime for a penguin.The couples fame was noted in a statement released by the Sydney Life Aquarium about Sphens death, which read that Sphen and Magic inspired a Mardi Gras float, have been included in the NSW education syllabus, and even featured in the Netflix series Atypical. Countless books speak of their love story, even documentaries on same-sex animal couples have featured Sphen and Magic.The two shared a bond unlike most other penguin couples they could even be found together outside of the breeding season, which is unique for gentoo penguins.Sphen and Magic are more than just a beautiful love story their impact around the world as a symbol of equality is immeasurable.

On Tuesday, the Biden-Harris administration announced $1.4 billion in funding as part of the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program to assist low-income people with HIV obtain life-saving medications.The program, funded through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), ensures that individuals with HIV receive essential meds, quality HIV healthcare, and associated support services. Related A new HIV-prevention injection just succesfully completed its clinical trials The twice a year shot had 100% efficacy, but a few hurdles remain before it becomes publicly available. According to HHS Assistant Secretary Andrea Palm, the funding supports and advances the Biden-Harris Administrations National HIV/AIDS Strategy. Stay connected to your community Connect with the issues and events that impact your community at home and beyond by subscribing to our newsletter. Subscribe to our Newsletter today The Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program is the cornerstone of this nations response to the HIV epidemic. Over half of people with diagnosed HIV in the United States more than half a million people receive services through the Program each year, Palm said.This funding makes it possible for people with HIV to access life-saving medication and treatment that are proven to improve health outcomes, reduce HIV transmission, and save lives. We are incredibly proud of the Departments leadership of the federal effort to end the HIV epidemic in the United States and advance the Biden-Harris Administrations National HIV/AIDS Strategy.Palm made the award announcement at the opening plenary session of HRSAs 2024 National Ryan White Conference on HIV Care & Treatment in Washington, D.C. More than 6,500 people are attending, including grant recipients, partner organizations, and healthcare and service delivery providers. When we talk about affordable medications, one of our top priorities at the Health Resources and Services Administration is making sure that everyone we care for who is living with HIV gets theantiretroviral therapy they need to live a long and healthy life, said HRSA Administrator Carole Johnson.We know what works and we know how to reach the communities that need these drugs we just need to make sure they are affordable.HRSA-supported AIDS Drug Assistance Programs pay for HIV medication, co-pays and co-insurance for HIV medication, and premiums for health insurance that covers HIV medication, with the goal of reaching viral suppression.In 2022, 89.6 percent of Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program clients receiving medical care were virally suppressed, compared to 69.5 percent in 2010.Without insurance or supporting programs, HIV medication could cost an individual more than $40,000 per year.HRSA supports HIV care and medication in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and six U.S. Pacific territories to more than 560,000 people with HIV who have low incomes.

According to Advocates for Trans Equalitys 2022 US Trans Survey, trans people are more likely to vote compared to the general American population.The findings in this report really underscore that trans votes count, said Dr. Ankit Rastogi, Director of Research at Advocates for Trans Equality, in a statement. Yet we have to jump through hurdles to vote. Trans people deserve to participate fully in our democracy, and that means removing barriers to give us equal access to the ballot and make sure we are treated with respect at the polls. Related These queer voters arent all in for Harris. Heres why. LGBTQ+ voters who arent ready to dance the Harris Walzmay be hard to come by, but their perspectives prove the queer community isnt a monolith. 82% of voting-age respondents were eligible to vote, compared to 73% of the general American population. Additionally, 75% of voting-age respondents voted in the 2020 presidential election, whereas only 67% of the general population did. Your LGBTQ+ guide to Election 2024 Stay ahead of the 2024 Election with our newsletter that covers candidates, issues, and perspectives that matter. Subscribe to our Newsletter today However, while trans people are more likely to vote and to be registered to vote, theyre also more likely to face difficulties and barriers in the process. 11% of respondents didnt meet registration deadlines, and 10% had no clue on how to even register. 5% did not have an ID, 3% had a name that didnt match their license or Social Security card, 2% were worried about being harassed by officials, and 1% said they were affected by their states voter identification laws.These difficulties come in light of growing efforts to legally remove recognition of trans people. Florida, Tennessee, and Kansas all have banned trans people from changing the gender markers on their IDs, and many other states put barriers in place such as requiring a doctors notes and surgeries.Other reasons respondents werent registered include not being interested in electoral politics (24%) and believing their vote wouldnt matter (19%).According to the survey, the top [electoral] priorities were: violence against transgender people (46%), racial justice (38%), coverage for trans-related health care (34%), poverty/income (28%), housing and homelessness (27%), youth access to trans-related health care (23%), lack of health providers who know how to serve transgender people (13%), discrimination by health providers (11%), changing name and gender on identity documents and records (11%), and employment (10%).The survey was conducted online in late 2022, covering both English and Spanish speakers aged 16 or above. The findings are weighted for the sample size of relevant participants. The methodology emphasizes that this sample does have some biases that might make it not entirely applicable to the entire American transgender population at large.Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen, Executive Director of Advocates for Trans Equality, said in a statement, When it comes to elections, the trans community is powerful, and we persevere to make our voices heard and our votes count. Lets keep showing up, keep telling our stories, and keep advocating for trans equality. Together, we can safeguard and improve the lives of trans folks across the country.

The literary narrative is a place where theory takes place, authorBarbara Christianasserted. I would add that science-fiction provides the occasion to stretch the possibilities, to transcend the constitutive bounds and constraints by providing a context in which theory can function unencumbered.I often think of the figure of Superman, that immigrant from a distant planet who came to Earth with powers far beyond those of moral humans. Related Actor Matt Bomer lost the role of Superman after he was outted as gay That was a time in the industry when something like that could still really be weaponized against you. Superman can be interpreted as a Jewish man passing as an Anglo Gentile on a number of levels. Two young Jewish high school friends from Cleveland, Ohio created the comic strip. Though Jerome Siegel (1914 1996) and Joseph Shuster (1914 1992) fashioned their superhero in 1934one year after Adolf Hitlers ascendancy to power in Germanythey would wait four long years until a comic book publisher, D.C. Comics would pick up the strip and introduce their super-powered man to the public. Dive deeper every day Join our newsletter for thought-provoking commentary that goes beyond the surface of LGBTQ+ issues Subscribe to our Newsletter today Siegel wrote the text, and Shuster illustrated their creation. Both science-fiction fanatics, Siegel and Shuster graduated from Glenville High School in 1934, at a time in world history of extreme moral crisis, a time that signaled the beginning of the end of European Jewry as they had known it.Siegel and Shuster took the name Superman from Nietzsches ber Mensch, which Adolf Hitler had distorted for his own purposes in his ultimate rise to power. The S embroidered on the chest of Supermans garment also stood for Siegel and Shusterthe Jews behind their brainchild.Superman (born Kal-El), is a Kryptonian immigrant from the planet Krypton. Just before his doomed planet exploded into fragments, the scientist Jor-El (Elis the Hebrew equivalent for God) and his wife Lara placed their infant son into an experimental rocket-ship and launched it toward Earth, as Mosess kin launched their child down the River Nile for his protection as their world was crashing around them.Both Kal-El and Moses would eventually become forces of righteousness in their new lands. As a fierce storm loomed darkly above the horizon (read impending Holocaust of the Jewish populations of Europe), his eventual Earthly adoptive parentsJonathan and Martha Kent of Smallville, Kansas, the middle of middle Americawere preparing to close up their house when they witnessed an object shoot from the sky and falling into a nearby field.(Quite a number of European Jewish parents sent their children on theKinderstransportsor to the countryside in hiding to live with Gentile farmers and trades people in hopes of saving their childrens lives during the impending storm of persecution).As he was rocketed from his native planet, a glowing green substance, Kryptonite, attached itself to Kal-Els space craft. This potentially deadly substance would plague the would-be Superman throughout his days living in his newfound land. The green material was a metaphor not only for antisemitism, but also the destructive power of atomic energy, especially if Germany had first harnessed its potential. The Kents adopted young Clarkan immigrant suffering from diasporic displacement. They warned their new son to conceal his superpowers (read as his Jewishness) from everyone to prevent others from becoming suspicious and frightened.As many politicians heeded the U.S. Ambassador to England, Joseph P. Kennedys, warning not to actively campaign on behalf of European Jewry and to involve the U.S. in World War II, the early creators of Superman did not write overt anti-Nazi stories, and very few stories of World War II itself.There is an irony to this: Clark Kent, serving as a reporter for the newspaper,The Daily Planet, in Metropolis was effectively inhibited from reporting on areas of greatest concern during those horrific times. Some of the covers of the Superman comics, however, are very explicitly connected to the war. One cover (Superman #17) in fact, showed Superman firmly positioned on the Earth lifting Hitler and Emperor Hirohito by the scuff of their necks and shaking them both as if to shake some sense into them.And inSuperman #23, we witness a visibly enraged Superman as seen through the periscope of a German U-Boat, swimming in angry determination toward the submarine after it had apparently sunk an ally vessel.Here the previous U-Boat imagethe metaphor of Jews in hidingis literally turned on itself. Superman, as an undisguised Jew, is about to obliterate the power that compels his compatriots to go into hiding.Shutterstock AI generated image of Superman and Superwoman, reimagined as more racially diverse Was it mere coincidence that this Jew in disguise worked for a man named PerryWhiteat a time in the history of Europe and the United States when Judaism was most profoundly (re)inscribed as a racialized other, not only in Europe, but in the United States as well?Clarks performance as the mild mannered, bespectacled, slightly slouching Gentile with slicked-back hair passes on a number of levels. Beneath this rather clumsy, non-athletic, geek, awaits the Jewish super Nazi hunter. There is, though, a contradiction here. While he attempts to pass as Gentile, we can read this, as well, as a parodic reinscription of stereotypical constructions of the Jewish male: the gender variant, feminized, docile male. In his expression(s), he is reinscribing and redeploying the ideology of the gender binary framea feminized Clark Kent, and a hyper-masculinizedSuperman. This in itself could be considered as parody redeployed.Superman, the Man of Steel could more authentically be called the MenschofShtetl(Mensch:a good person of integrity and honor;Shtetl:communities, primarily in Eastern Europe, inhabited largely by Jews)the ultimate alien, the pale stranger from a distant planet who was more likely from the Russian Pale of Settlement: that expanse of territory set aside in Tsarist Russia for the social, religious, political, and economic containment of Jews. This was the same birth home of most of the Jewish movie moguls who created the Hollywood film industry.Superman was the champion of the oppressed. He practiced a central Talmudic injunction ofTikkun Olam: the transformation, healing, and repairing of the world so that it becomes a more just, peaceful, and perfect place. He also observed the notion ofTzedekah(righteousness)a strong philanthropic imperative to take care of the Jewish community, and in so doing, calling as little attention to oneself as possiblehence Clark Kents modest self-effacing ways.Though there were, indeed, numerous instances of Jews standing up and fighting back against their oppressors, the stereotype of the meek Jews marching off docilely to their execution is a reiterative discourse in the long history of antisemitic constructions.Superman offered a competing, potentially subversive, contraction to this narrative. As the announcer alerted his radio listeners when Superman first hit the airwaves in 1940:Faster than a speeding bullet [read as faster and more potent than oppressive laws]. More powerful than a locomotive [read as more powerful than the reiterative antisemitic normalizing discourses]. Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound [read as able to subvert and transcend linguistic fictions]. Look? Up in the sky [to that not-so-distant future of our freedom and liberation]. Its a bird. Its a plane. Its Superman?Lex (Latin for law) Luthor was an early evil enemy in the Superman strip as Martin Luther was to Jews. Hitler stated that the works of Martin Luther had a profound effect on his understanding of Jews as evil, as inferior, and as race polluters. Luthers words had a profound impact on Hitlers solution to the Jewish question. Luthers 1526 pamphlet entitled On the Jews and Their Lies has been referred to as the first work of modern antisemitism. In it, he argued that, Beloved Christians, apart from Satan himself, you possess no more deadly, poisonous, and dreadful enemy than a real Jew.He went on to recommend that their synagogues should be set on fire, and Jewish prayer books should be destroyed, and rabbis forbidden to preach. The homes of Jews should likewise be smashed and destroyed and their residents put under one roof or in a stable like gypsies, to teach them they are not master in our land.For the creators of Superman, to vanquish Lex Luthor is to defeat the lawthe antisemitic worldwide normas reiterated and redeployed by Martin Luther, the law that affected and influenced Adolf Hitler in his rise to power, the law that transformed Jews into a racialized Other. Related DC Comics supercharges its LGBTQ+ storytelling in a world where conservatives are banning books From son of Superman gay heartthrob Jon Kent to the gender expansive Circuit Breaker, DC Comics is going warp speed on LGBTQ+ visibility. As the movie moguls projected their vision of Americaor at least of Americas potentialthe Jewish creators of Superman did likewise. Superman was a symbol for the American way. According to Comic Book researcher,Wallace Harrington:Im sure that on some warm summer night in 1941, there must have been a couple of kids sitting on a hill overlooking a small town in Kansas who stared at the stars and dreamed, If Superman were real, hed show those Nazis what for. They would have dreamed, like every other kid who tucked a bath towel into their t-shirts and pretended to fly around the room, that Superman was real. And that if he somehow appeared and stood before them, right then, he would most definitely do the right thing because he was Superman. For he could change the course of mighty rivers and bend steel bars in his bare hands and then, as now, Superman was a symbol of truth, justice, and the American way. During the growing tensions during the Cold War and as the anti-Communist U.S. investigations consumed the nationled by Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy and his grand inquisitors on the House Un-American Activities Committeethe creators of Superman released a poster in which Superman, surrounded by teachers and students stated:And remember boys and girls, your schoollike our countryis made up of Americans ofmanydifferent races, religions, and national origins, so, if you hear anybody talk against a schoolmate or anyone else because of [their] religion, race, or national origindont wait: tell them that kind of talk is un-American.Supermans words are as relevant today as they were during World War II and throughout the Cold War, especially for anyone who continues to demonize and dehumanize immigrants of all nations. If the Israeli government had imagined the Jewish tradition ofTikkun Olamemphasized by Supermans young creators, and, along with the leaders of Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis had engaged in proportional responses and continual good-willed negotiations rather than merely vengeance and death, maybe, just maybe, we might come to a day where a unified, democratic, and equitable nation brings Jews, Palestinians, and all others together as family, friends, and trusted neighbors.We can erase the Kryptonite of hatred of division.

Transparent actress Alexandra Billings has suggested that transgender performers shouldnt feel obligated to take on trans roles in films and TV shows.I dont care if you have to pay rent, or you dont, she told PinkNews recently. Dont spend a second doing anything that doesnt bring you joy. Ever. Related Why Euphoria actress Hunter Schafer avoids talking about being trans in interviews She says she doesnt want to play any more trans roles. According to the U.K. LGBTQ+ outlet, Billings was responding to Euphoria star Hunter Schafers comments earlier this year about turning down trans roles. Never Miss a Beat Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights. Subscribe to our Newsletter today In an April GQ cover story, the 25-year-old Schafer explained that she has worked so hard to get to where I am, past these really hard points in my transition, and now I just want to be a girl and finally move on. On the heels of her success playing trans teen Jules in HBOs Euphoria, Schafer said shes been offered tons of trans roles. And I just dont want to do it, she said. I dont want to talk about it.I know for a fact that Im one of the most famous trans people in media right now, and I do feel a sense of responsibility, and maybe a little bit of guilt, for not being more of a spokesperson, the Cuckoo star explained. But ultimately, I really do believe that not making it the centerpiece to what Im doing will allow me to get further.I think getting further and doing awesome s**t, in the interest of the movement, will be way more helpful than talking about it all the time, she added.According to PinkNews, Billings, who most recently starred in the Canadian indie drama Queen Tut, was recently asked whether trans representation in media had advanced to the point where out trans actors should turn down trans roles. I dont know about should but if theres something in you, in your personal journey and artistic journey, that says, I dont think this is a great idea, dont do it, Billings said.If its not filling you up and Im talking about service work, helping somebody across the street, buying a stranger lunch anonymously, having a McRib (the McRib is coming back in November) whatever this thing is, feel your spirit filling up with joy, she explained, If thats not happening, stop.

Here are this weeks most popular positive stories, with some fun social media posts tossed in too. Like seeing uplifting content like this?Sign up for our Good News email.What an amazingDemocratic National Conventionthis week!Did you check outthe inspiring speeches? The vibes are giving off serious hope and optimism its a real breath of fresh air.And a lot of our good news this week isnt political. Thats great, because while its important to stay up on the election, we all need variety and other kinds of joy in our lives too, eh? Its definitely not your grandfathers church Never Miss a Beat Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights. Subscribe to our Newsletter today View this post on Instagram A post shared by Isis Vermouth (@isisvermouth) Tim Walz helped a gay student start a high school GSA. Gwen Walz helped the student come out.While working as a teacher and coach, Tim Walz also served as a sponsor for his high schools Gay-Straight Alliance. His wife, who was also a teacher there, also helped inspire and protect young queer teens.And talking about inspiring young people, remember when young gay rapper Lil Nas Xhelped his bisexual brother come out? And for additional support, here aresome queer affirmations for calming anxiety & growing self-confidence and also,20 exceptional LGBTQ+ childrens books your kids should read immediately. Ron DeSantis gave Ashley Brundage, a trans Democrat, an award. Now shes challenging GOP power.Shes running to be the first trans woman in the state legislatureyou go, Ashley!These moms just won a big court victory thatll bring their family even closer togetherI feel like we can breathe for the first time in a year and a half, one of the women said. Just grooving with the chicks View this post on Instagram A post shared by hey im Smac (@smacmccreanor) A small towns LGBTQ+ community pulled together when their local bar really needed themThe incredible, true story of a drag bar in Steamboat Springs, Colorado and the dedicated folks who stood up for it.Over 1,000 trans people show up for historic Trans Folks for Harris callThis included a whos who of prominent trans people, including Kim Coco Iwamoto and Sarah McBride. Gay flamingo couple surprises caretakers by hatching a chick at zooLove wins at Paignton Zoo! Curtis and Arthur, a gay flamingo couple, have hatched an adorable chick. These amazing women fight it out in skirts and blouses! View this post on Instagram A post shared by Romii (@romibadapaaps)Trans girl appeared in court in soccer uniform, won the right to play & headed straight to practiceTrans student-athletes are standing up for their right to play with their friends and classmates 15-year-old Parker Tirrell is an inspiration in this regard. China awards visitation rights to gay mom in historic firstIts the only time Chinese courts have been confronted with a same-sex custody dispute. Two Democrats are fighting to make sexual health medication free for those who need it mostThey want doxy PEP to be treated the same as PrEP, reducing barriers for low income individuals.Joe Biden is getting very friendly with voters very very friendly View this post on Instagram A post shared by Marleen Twin Shaffer (@miss_mo_wet) From our sibling sites:OUTSPORTS:Stephanie Wheeler is part of the heart and soul of USA Womens Wheelchair BasketballGAYCITIES:Why LGBTQ+ travelers are flocking to these South Pacific islandsQUEERTY:15 famous LGBTQ+ Virgos: Born into the sign of perfectionismINTOMORE:Twinks for Kamala goes viral after this duos appearance at the DNC

Florida has removed the LGBTQ+ section from its state tourism website, according to NBC News reports.The site no longer has the states LGBTQ+-friendly travel destinations listed, which it did as recently as four months ago. An archived version of the website on the Internet Archive shows that the website featured an LGBTQ+ page on April 19, but now, it is nowhere to be found. Related A Texas town killed off its diversity committee after Proud Boys marched against it But was the diversity committee a sham all along? The state that has become synonymous with anti-LGBTQ+ discriminationthanks to the infamous so-called Dont Say Gay bills, book bans, and anti-trans laws signed by the blatantly bigoted Gov. Ron DeSantis (R)once said SUNSHINE FOR ALL and had blog posts and videos related to the states gay-friendly beaches, Pride events, and LGBTQ+ road trip ideas. Never Miss a Beat Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights. Subscribe to our Newsletter today Theres a sense of freedom to Floridas beaches, the warm weather and the myriad activitiesa draw for people of all orientations, but especially appealing to a gay community looking for a sense of belonging and acceptance. Whether youre a couple seeking a romantic getaway or a modern family searching for kid-friendly fun, here are some LGBTQ-friendly destinations for you, throughout the Sunshine State, the website once read.Now, when users go to the website, it links to a Things to Do in Florida page that doesnt mention LGBTQ+ people.Visit Florida, a nonprofit created as a public-private partnership by the Florida Legislature in 1996, operates the page. LGBTQ Nation reached out for comment and this article will be updated accordingly if they respond.The suppression of LGBTQ+ culture and issues is nothing new in Florida. Last week,a Florida college made the newsfor throwing away what looked like hundreds of library books into the garbage, most of which belonged to its now-defunct Gender and Diversity Program.In May, DeSantis sued the Biden administration for the right to deny trans people gender-affirming care. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued regulations clarifying that Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Actwhich bans discrimination on the basis of sexand also extends to include protections against anti-trans discrimination. That same month, DeSantis signed a law that stops minors from accessing gender-affirming healthcare like puberty blockers and hormone replacement therapy (HRT).A mother in Broward County was suspended from her job with the school district because her trans daughter played on a school volleyball team. Jessica Norton worked as an information specialist and JV volleyball coach at a different school in the same district. The state of Florida fined the school $16,500 for Nortons daughters participation. The NAACP issued a travel advisory for the entire state last year, writing that Under its current Governor, the State of Florida has engaged in an all-out attack on Black Americans, accurate Black history, voting rights, members of the LGBTQ+ community, immigrants, womens reproductive rights, and free speech, while simultaneously embracing a culture of fear, bullying, and intimidation by public officials.

Trans people in Texas can no longer amend the gender markers on their drivers licenses to align with their gender identity, the Texas Tribune reports.According to an internal email from the Department of Public Safety, even if a trans person presents the state with a certified court order or an amended birth certificate, the gender marker on their drivers license cannot be altered unless the state made a clerical error. Related Judge overturns militarys ban on HIV-positive enlistees in historic victory People living with HIV were banned from enlisting in the military until now. Sheri Gipson, the chief of the Driver License Division at the Texas Department of Public Safety, confirmed the change to the KUT News on Wednesday. Stay connected to your community Connect with the issues and events that impact your community at home and beyond by subscribing to our newsletter. Subscribe to our Newsletter today On Wednesday, a Department of Public Safety spokesperson said, The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) has recently raised concerns regarding the validity of court orders being issued which purport to order state agencies to change the sex of individuals in government records, including driver licenses and birth certificates.Neither DPS nor other government agencies are parties to the proceedings that result in the issuance of these court orders, and the lack of legislative authority and evidentiary standards for the courts to issue these orders has resulted in the need for a comprehensive legal review by DPS and the OAG.Therefore, DPS has stopped accepting these court orders as a basis to change sex identification in department records, including driver licenses.The policy change means that vulnerable Texans are at an increased risk of harassment or discrimination in a wide range of environments: from applying for a job to going to the airport. It is expected to impact around 93,000 people. Brad Pritchett, the interim chief executive of LGBTQ+ advocacy group Equality Texas, said that just like people who change their names after marriage want their correct name on their license, trans Texans want their drivers license to reflect their gender. We use our IDs to navigate all areas of life: driving, voting, employment. Having an ID that reflects who you are is a basic form of dignity that many take for granted.Texans will now be subject to involuntary surveillance for simply trying to update a government document, said Pritchett in another statement. There is no clear reason why this information would be useful to the DPS nor is there a legitimate reason to deny gender marker updates on drivers licenses.Ian Pittman is an Austin attorney who works with transgender Texans, and in the wake of the change, he has started advising his clients not to submit court orders to the state for fear they may be targeted.Texas has already passed a gender-affirming care ban for minors, and Pittman worries that it could be expanded to transgender adults in Texas. He said that the change will put people on a list that could interfere with their health care.

For the first time in over a decade, the Democratic National Convention (DNC) did not feature a single trans speaker. Additionally, the event has been called out for failing to feature discussions of trans people.This came to light when Harvard CyberLaw Clinic instructor and trans activist Alejandra Caraballo posted on X: This was the first DNC since 2012 to not feature a trans person speaking. Were not going back doesnt apply to the trans community. Related From the DNC floor, Kamala Harris is ready to stand up against bullies. Heres how. In an LGBTQ Nation exclusive, senior spokesperson for the Harris-Walz campaign Kevin Munoz offers perspective on what to expect from the Democratic ticket. This was the first DNC since 2012 to not feature a trans person speaking. "We're not going back" doesn't apply to the trans community. Alejandra Caraballo (@Esqueer_) August 23, 2024 Stay connected to your community Connect with the issues and events that impact your community at home and beyond by subscribing to our newsletter. Subscribe to our Newsletter today The two prior DNC events were held in 2016 and 2020. In 2016, Sarah McBride, who at the time was national press secretary with the Human Rights Campaign and not yet a state lawmaker, spoke at the convention. In 2020, then-Virginia state Delegate Danica Roem (D) spoke.McBride was the first out trans primary speaker at a DNC event, and both DNCs had talked in detail about trans issues. However, almost none of the speakers at the DNC this year discussed transgender rights issues. There were only two direct mentions of trans people at a main speaking event: Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign, and Sen. Corey Booker (D-NJ) both mentioned trans issues in passing. However, the DNC this year featured the largest number of LGBTQ+ delegates ever. Delegates are the individuals selected to represent their state or territory in order to officially nominate the presidential candidate. Over 800 delegates out of the total 4,700 were members of the LGBTQ+ community. Of that number, only around 50 were trans, according to the Harris-Walz National LGBTQ+ Engagement Director Sam Alleman. This was reportedly the largest number of trans delegates in history, in spite of making up just 1% of total delegates.Among those delegates were Congressional candidate Sarah McBride, Maine LGBTQ+ advocate Gia Drew, drag queen John Hellman (also known as Belle Pepper), and Dr. Joeigh Perella, a New Jersey county official.Another update: more than 50 trans and non-binary delegates were elected to nominate Kamala Harris the most ever sent to a DNCC! Sam Alleman (he/him) (@SamAlleman) August 19, 2024Perella also had a brief speaking role during the New Jersey delegate roll call, however this was not a main speaking role and her speech lasted less than a minute. She spoke about making New Jersey and America as a whole a safe place for LGBTQ+ individuals.The Democratic platform this year states the partys commitment to transgender rights and desire to oppose restrictions on transgender healthcare.The Republican National Convention (RNC), on the other hand, openly attacked trans people in multiple speeches, including those by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R). Additionally, Eric Trump made remarks disparaging trans people, and former President Donald Trump (R) made an offhand attack on trans people.Republicans have pushed transgender-related culture wars in the country, resulting in an influx of anti-trans bills introduced across the United States. Many of these bills have been targeting gender-affirming care for minors, with some states instituting bans on the practice. This has led thousands of trans people to flee their home states for other states that present themselves as trans-friendly.A representative from the DNC sent LGBTQ Nation a statement via email:The 2024 Democratic National Convention has been one of the most inclusive in history. We had more than 50 trans and non-binary folks elected as delegates. This has been part of a very intentional effort started in 2022 to increase trans participation and access at the DNC.The DNC started the trans advisory committee to create a working group of members from the community to build out engagements and provide input on how we authentically include trans voices in our work. The DNC rewrote and passed its bylaws creating to be gender neutral and inclusive of trans and non-binary folks. The DNC required all state parties provide a pathway for non-binary delegates to participate in the Convention without declaring a gender they dont identify with. Our stance on trans rights and freedoms was made very clear in the DNC platform.Trans issues have been elevated on two nights of the mainstage programming. A primary convention theme, Fighting for Freedom is also squarely inclusive of trans rights and trans people. Most importantly, Kamala Harris and Tim Walz have been an unabashed champion for trans folks their entire careers. As President and Vice President they will continue to fight for the freedoms of trans folks when we win in November.We are proud to be the party of LGBTQ+ inclusivity and rights, including trans people. We are proud to be the party that will send the first trans federal elected to congress in Sarah McBride, and will continue to fight for trans folks to have a seat at the table.While we fight for the freedoms of trans folksas our platform and speakers have made clearTrump and RNC have made clear they will trample trans rights if elected.

A flight attendant in Australia has won his bid to be reinstated after he was sacked over claims that he was hungover, a drink of prosecco at a Virgin Australia Christmas party, and a Grindr hook-up.Anything less, according to a commissioner who arbitrated the case, would be harsh. Related Flight attendant goes viral with his lip-sync safety announcement With tens of thousands of likes and over a half million views, the lip-syncing safety specialist is winning over frequent fliers with his unique style. The Australian hostie, Dylan Macnish, filed an unfair dismissal claim against Virgin Australia with the countrys Fair Work Commission after his dismissal last year over the incidents. Global perspectives delivered right to your inbox Our newsletter bridges borders to bring you LGBTQ+ news from around the world. Subscribe to our Newsletter today In September, a colleague ratted the young man out, alleging he had come to work hungover, an allegation he denied in a meeting with his boss. Months later, Macnish was sacked after he was witnessed drinking a glass of prosecco at a Virgin Christmas party before a flight.The drink, however, was imbibed seven-and-a-half hours before the red-eye shift, which was only scheduled after the party concluded and at the companys request.Knowing the cut-off rule for alcohol consumption is eight hours, Macnish sought permission for the shift with superiors and breathalyzed himself.Mr. Macnish was not in the situation of someone who was rostered on to work, had too many drinks at the Virgin Christmas Party, and then proceeded to turn up to work, Commissioner Pearl Lim wrote in her judgment.But there was more.Virgin cited a second incident as reason for Macnishs dismissal: a Grindr hook-up he initiated at a Virgin hotel ahead of a flight that he had rescheduled.Macnish told the commission that the night before, he had been on a flight when a passenger required medical attention; the incident included the ill individual urinating on Macnish while another crew member searched for an oxygen mask. Macnish sought a later flight because he was stressed out following the medical emergency and couldnt sleep. In order to relax, Macnish got on Grindr and found a hook-up, whom he invited to the hotel.He met with an individual outside his hotel, and they went up to Mr. Macnishs hotel room, the commissioner wrote in her finding. They had sex and Mr. Macnish fell asleep shortly after.Virgin, however, believed Macnish pushed his flight because he had been out late and was intoxicated and cruising for sex. They investigated, requesting CCTV footage of Macnishs hotel hallway and his hotel room swipe card record.Following the Christmas party incident a few weeks later, Virgin fired him. The Fair Work commissioner found Virgin Airways approach to Macnishs case mystifying.In her judgment, Commissioner Lin wrote that the airline conceded that if a straight, married man were to have sex with his wife after accessing fatigue, then it would probably not be any of Virgins business to comment on it.They also acknowledged, she wrote, that it is common practice for Virgin employees who are on layovers or who are working in other cities away from their home base to use dating apps when they are staying in Virgin-provided accommodation. There is nothing wrong with using dating apps for casual sex, Lin found. What happens between informed and consenting adults is their own business, unless it breaches a lawful and reasonable workplace policy.Macnish was ordered to be reinstated to work within 21 days. He made no claims for backpay and none was ordered.

This articlefirst appeared on Mother Jones. It has been republished with the publications permission.If you did a word cloud diagramof the Democratic convention in Chicago, the two big words that appear would be freedom and joy. Less prominent, if it showed up at all, would be progressive. Yet the Democrats spent four long nights deploying the attractive concepts of freedom and joy to sell a progressive agenda to voters. Moreover, with the ticket of Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, the Ds have bolstered this pitch by marrying coastal liberalism with prairie progressivism. This union offers a powerful punch to the partys core message: Government ought to be proactively deployed to address the problems and challenges Americans face.When Vice President Harris two weeks ago chose Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to be her campaign partner, there was much obvious commentary that he provided from-the-heartland balance to her California lineage and that his white-guy-dad-plaid-coach persona complemented her Black-Indian-Jamaican-woman identity. What drew less attention was how Walzs selection reinforced the ideology and values message of the ticket. He and Harris are both progressive-minded politicians, but they hail from culturally different strains of liberalism. Related Kamala Harris says Trump & GOP are out of their minds in closing DNC speech Donald Trump is an unserious man, she said, but the consequences of putting Donald Trump back in the White House are extremely serious. Your LGBTQ+ guide to Election 2024 Stay ahead of the 2024 Election with our newsletter that covers candidates, issues, and perspectives that matter. Subscribe to our Newsletter today Harris, more or less, represents what many folks these days think of as a liberal. Shes from the Bay Area. Shes a person of color. She talks about helping marginalized communities and seeking economic justice. She crusades for abortion rights and LGBTQ rights. Her days as a prosecutor have causedsome conflict with the left. But in general she fits the familiar modea Big City Lib, a Blue State Lib. Theres a reason why Donald Trump and JD Vance believe they can score points by falsely branding her a crazy communist. Not a real American, in their view.Walz is not an easy-to-attack caricature. Nebraska-born, hes a hunter and a former National Guard noncommissioned officer. He ice fishes. He wears flannel shirts. He could be in a truck commercial. And, yes, he coached high school footballand middle-school track and basketballin a very red district, where he won his first election to Congress in 2006.Yet as governor, Walz has assembled an impressive progressive record. He signed into law a measure that made abortion a fundamental right and guaranteed access to contraception, fertility treatments, sterilization, and other reproductive health care. Having been an advocate of gay rights as a high school teacher, he signed an executive order protecting access to gender-affirming care and a Trans Refuge bill that banned the enforcement of arrest warrants and extradition requests for those who traveled to Minnesota for such care. He okayed a package of gun safety measures. He approved a law implementing paid family and medical leave. He legalized recreational marijuana.Theres more: He backed drivers licenses for undocumented immigrants. (Advocates, including business leaders, said it would lead to safer roads and a better state economy.) He restored voting rights for former felons. He expanded access to health insurance, took steps to reduce the cost of prescription drugs, imposed stricter regulations on pollutants, and promoted electric vehicles. He signed a measure to provide free breakfast and lunch to all public school children. This is a list that these days might be equated with Blue State politicians. Yet Walz represents a long tradition of prairie progressivism.Long before the nations political map ossified into Blue and Red territory, there was a vibrant history of Democratic and Republican progressivism in the Midwest. The National Grange, founded after the Civil War, lobbied for progressive measures to aid farmers and others. William Jennings Bryan of Nebraska thrice ran for president as a fiery populist Democrat assailing corporate power. (He later became an anti-evolution crank.) Robert La Follette, a progressive and populist Republican, served as governor of Wisconsin and then a senator. He ran for president in 1924 to break up the private monopoly system over the political and economic life of the American peopleand proposed a host of what now would be called liberal initiatives: pro-union laws, civil liberties protections, a prohibition on child labor, government ownership of railroads and electric utilities, and easy credit for farmers (He won 16.6 percent of the popular vote as a third-party candidate.)Later in the 20th century, the Midwest produced a roster of progressive Democratic senators, including Frank Church (Idaho), Birch Bayh (Indiana), John Culver (Iowa), George McGovern (South Dakota), and Gaylord Nelson (Wisconsin), the founder of Earth Day. (This batch were wiped out during the 1980 election that landed Ronald Reagan in the White House) And todays Minnesota Democratic Party is officially known as the DemocraticFarmerLabor Party(or DFL) and is the result of the 1944 merger between the states Democrats and the Minnesota Farmer-Labor Party, a left-wing party that had tried to fuse the interests of rural farmers and urban laborers. The late Sen. Paul Wellstone, first elected in 1990, was a perfect symbol of the DFL. (A training camp established in Wellstones name after he died in a plane crash in 2002helped Walz launchhis first congressional campaign.)Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via IMAGN Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speaks during a campaign rally with Vice President Kamala Harris at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale on Aug. 9, 2024. Walz, now the leader of the DFL in Minnesota, is fully in sync with this legacy of prairie progressivism, which does overlap significantly with Big City liberalism. The difference may be in how key values and ideas are presented. For a long time, Democratic politicians have tiptoed around the issue of abortion, even when fully supporting reproductive rights. As Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.)toldmy colleague Abby Vesoulis this week, For many years, people wouldnt even say the word abortion out loud. Thats clearly changing, with this Democratic convention full of explicit references to the procedure and citing the right to an abortion as a bedrock element of freedom. And Walz has embraced abortion rights with talk about as plain as it can be. As he put it in his acceptance speech in Chicago, In Minnesota, we respect our neighbors and the personal choices they make. And even if we wouldnt make those same choices for ourselves, weve got a golden rule:Mind your own damn business. And that includes IVF and fertility treatments. This is taking a supposed heartland valuerespecting neighborsand applying it to a contentious issue.Walz is unapologetic about his liberalism in a football-coach sort of way. He knows that right-wingers have attacked his school meal program as they do with many progressive proposals, deriding it as expensive big government spending. Heres how he non-defensively defended it during that address at the convention: And we made sure that every kid in our state gets breakfast and lunch every day. So while other states were banning books from their schools, we were banishing hunger from ours. In your face. No apologies. For yearsdecadesRepublicans have tried to stake a monopoly claim on the idea of freedom. (CueLee Greenwood.) But Walz, grabbing the main theme of the convention by itswell, you know, perfectly executed a jiu-jitsu move:Freedom. When Republicans use the word freedom, they mean that the government should be free to invade your doctors office. Corporations free to pollute your air and water. And banksfree to take advantage of customers. But when we Democrats talk about freedom, we mean the freedom to make a better life for yourself and the people that you love. Freedom to make your own health care decisions. And yeah, your kids freedom to go to school without worrying about being shot dead in the hall.As far as I can tell, there are no major policy differences between this veep candidate and the woman who picked him. (On the GOP side, JD Vance, a few years ago, was a Never-Trumper who compared his future running-mate to Hitler and whosaidsome Trump backers were racists who voted for Trump for racist reasons.) And their publicly stated values are the same. Toward the end of his speech, Walz expressed his goals. Well build a country where workers come first, health care and housing are human rights, and the government stays the hell out of your bedroom.Thats how we make America a place where no child is left hungry. Where no community is left behind. Where nobody gets told they dont belong. Thats how were going to fight.Any Blue State lib could say the same.Vice presidential picks often expand the reach of a ticket in terms of geography, experience, or ideology. Barrack Obama, who had only two years of service in the US Senate when he ran president, tapped Joe Biden, the veteran legislator. Trump, a wild-card candidate, recruited Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, a well-known Republican who some (foolishly) thought could be a reassuring figure. With Walz, Harris has amplifiedanddiversified her messageand that of the Democratic Party.When Harris delivered her big speech on Thursday night, she eloquently and fiercely reiterated her progressive stances on reproductive freedom, LGBTQ rights, gun safety, affordable housing, expanded health care access, climate change, taxes, and other matters, as she slammed Trump for being both deeply unserious and dangerous. There was nothing surprising in these policy statements. But one of the big accomplishments of the conventionwhich hit the mark on so many frontswas to expand and bolster the progressive vision of the Democratic Party. With the Harris-Walz ticket, the Democrats have achieved both a synergy and a unity of purpose. In what will be a helluva fight over the next 10 weeks, this will afford them a clearer shot in the battle for joy and freedom.

A trans woman from Australia won a lawsuit against a trans-exclusionary radical feminist (TERF)-run social app known as Giggle For Girls after she was banned from the app for being a trans woman. The app has been ordered to pay her $10,000 Australian (about $6,800 U.S.), plus legal fees.I have found that Ms Tickles claim of direct gender identity discrimination fails, but that her claim of indirect gender identity discrimination succeeds, writes Justice Robert James Bromwich of the Federal Court of Australia in a summary judgment. I will also order the respondents to pay Ms Tickle compensation in the sum of $10,000 and to pay her costs, with a cap in respect of costs to do with the constitutional validity and statutory construction issues. Related This new dating app will use facial recognition technology to exclude trans women The founder of the app is an anti-trans activist who keeps getting kicked off other apps for her anti-trans comments. The lawsuit concerned Roxanne Tickle, a trans woman who was a user of Giggle in 2021 before being banned. The app had marketed itself as being made only for women and was created by CEO Sall Grover, who has been a prominent self-described TERF activist. Global perspectives delivered right to your inbox Our newsletter bridges borders to bring you LGBTQ+ news from around the world. Subscribe to our Newsletter today Giggle used facial recognition via KairosAI gender detection software to screen out those they deemed men. Tickle had been let through Giggles facial recognition algorithm and was deemed a woman by the app and used the app for seven months. It was only in September or early October last year that she noticed she was banned from the app.It was later revealed that Grover had manually banned Tickle from the app because she was deemed insufficiently female. Judge Bromwich ruled that, while Tickle did not receive direct discrimination because of her gender identity, she did receive indirect discrimination due to her sex because she did not look sufficiently female.The same evidence did, however, support the conclusion that indirect gender identity discrimination did take place. The indirect discrimination case has succeeded because Ms Tickle was excluded from the use of the Giggle App because she did not look sufficiently female, according to the respondents, said Bromwich. This finding applies only to the act of excluding Ms Tickle from the Giggle App. It does not apply to her not being readmitted due to the lack of evidence to explain this, or even to establish that any positive decision was made not to allow her readmission to the Giggle App.Tickle had reportedly received a great deal of harassment along with threats as a result of controversy from the app, leading her to become suicidal. She initially sought $200,000 in damages, owing to the misgendering as well.During the court battle, Grover reportedly laughed at an offensive caricature of Tickle that was brought up. This was used as further evidence against Grover that she was discriminating against her, and she was formally reprimanded for the misconduct. She also openly told the court she would not gender Tickle correctly.Grover said on social media of the court battle: Unfortunately, we got the judgement we anticipated. The fight for womens rights continues. #TickleVGiggleUnfortunately, we got the judgement we anticipated.The fight for womens rights continues. #TickleVGiggle Sall Grover (@salltweets) August 22, 2024 Tickle said in a statement outside court, Im pleased by the outcome of my case and I hope it is healing for trans and gender diverse people. The ruling shows that all women are protected from discrimination.I brought my case to show trans people that you can be brave and you can stand up for yourself. I can now get on with the rest of my life and have a coffee down the road with my friends, play hockey with my team and put this horribleness behind me.

Gay Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has revealed the biggest scandal to hit the Republican Party in the 2024 election, and its not the 34 criminal convictions of former President Donald Trump, the classified governments he took from the White House, or the childless cat ladies comments that have continually haunted Trumps running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH).Speaking inside Chicagos Sheraton Grand Hotel last Thursday during the Democratic National Convention (DNC), Buttigieg said, Most people say elections arent really about policy anymore, but if you think about it This is an extraordinary thing, that the biggest scandal to hit the Republican Party in the 2024 election, the one thats the most damaging, the one theyre actually most afraid of, the one thats gotten them doing damage control, isnt a criminal cover-upalthough they got one of those too. It isnt a sex scandal, although and he reportedly trailed off, according to Jezebel, alluding to Trumps illegal hush money payments to cover up his alleged extramarital affair with adult video performer Stormy Daniels. Related JD Vances foreword to Project 2025 founders book says Democrats are wolves who must be killed He also suggests that liberals have poisoned Americas soil. He then revealed the scandal, saying, Its that they wrote down their own policies, and everybody saw what theyre planning to do in this country, and its wildly unpopular. That is the thing that they might not recover from. Your LGBTQ+ guide to Election 2024 Stay ahead of the 2024 Election with our newsletter that covers candidates, issues, and perspectives that matter. Subscribe to our Newsletter today Buttigieg was referring to Project 2025, the Heritage Foundations Christian Nationalist blueprint for a second Trump presidency. He added, I actually think were still under-reacting to Project 2025.The 900-page blueprint includes plans to ban abortion nationwide and to require doctors to report abortions and miscarriages to the federal government. It calls for removing LGBTQ+ anti-discrimination protections and for the federal government to promote a biblically based definition of marriage (i.e., only between a man and a woman) and to reinstate the Trump-era ban on transgender military members. It calls for the firing of numerous nonpartisan government employees, the jailing of journalists and activists, and the dismantling of the National Weather Service, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Department of Education, and other federal agencies, as well as all government-funded diversity, equity, and inclusion (or DEI) initiatives. It all calls for a mass deportation of undocumented immigrants.Democrats repeatedly mentioned Project 2025 during DNC speeches, with out gay Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) and others even showing a large bound copy of the blueprint onstage during their speeches. While a recent YouGov survey found that Democratic voters are more likely than Republicans or independents to have heard of Project 2025, a majority of all Americans who have heard of it are very or somewhat against it. Trump has repeatedly said that he doesnt know anything about the blueprint, but at least 140 people who worked in his administration had a hand in its creation, writing 25 of its 30 chapters. Hundreds of Trumps stated goals for a second term match the blueprint. Trump has a close relationship with its lead architect, Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts, and Trumps running mate wrote a violent foreword to Roberts book praising his ideas and calling for the murder of Democrats and liberals.Donald Trump and JD Vance their Project 2025 will make things much, much harder for people who are just trying to live their lives, Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz said during his DNC speech. They spent a lot of time pretending they know nothing about this, but look, I coached high school football long enough to know and trust me on this: When somebody takes the time to draw up a playbook, theyre going to use it.

The Democratic convention was, by any measure, a huge success. The party faithful were bursting with energy when it was over, which will translate into help getting out the vote. Fundraising went through the roof; the campaign raised $82 million last week, with the single best hour for fundraising the hour immediately after Vice President Kamala Harris finished her acceptance speech. And the television ratings far outstripped the GOP conventions, much to the annoyance of Nielsen-obsessed Donald Trump.From the pundits perspective, what made the convention such a hit was that Democrats used their weeklong jamboree to aim for the political middle. That effort started with the campaigns decision to embrace weird as the description of MAGA. But the convention amplified that message a thousandfold. Democrats were suddenly the party of freedom and patriotism. In her acceptance speech, Harris promised the U.S. military would be the most lethal fight force in the world, language typically associated with Republican hawks. Related A Biden official at the DNC explains the secret ways Democrats fight for equality Matt Hill, a gay former White House official at the Democratic National Convention, explains the ways Democrats will keep advancing LGBTQ+ rights. As much as Democrats were ecstatic during the convention, Harris speech made it clear that she wasnt there to cater to the base. She was aiming for the relatively small number of swing voters that she needs to win. And nowhere was the focus on that group sharper than when it came to the silence on trans issues. Dive deeper every day Join our newsletter for thought-provoking commentary that goes beyond the surface of LGBTQ+ issues Subscribe to our Newsletter today Unlike the past two Democratic conventions, this years convention did not feature a trans speaker. Thats shocking, considering how much the right has made the trans community a focus of attack in the past four years. The Republican National Convention made attacking trans people a theme, with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) getting applause for declaring, There are only two genders.In their effort to tack to the center, Democrats were a lot more subdued than in the past. Yes, lesbian Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel wowed the convention by telling the Supreme Court, You can pry this wedding band from my cold, dead, gay hand! But a lot of rhetoric in support of trans rights was a little less straightforward. For example, Michelle Obama talked about demonizing our children for being who they are. If you are sufficiently tuned in, youll know what shes talking about. If not, well Melissa Michelson, a professor of political science at Californias Menlo College who studies LGBTQ+ politics, said the DNCs avoidance of mentioning trans rights was part of a wider strategy to seek out independent voters.Avoiding trans issues was seemingly a conscious strategy by the Democrats. If you look at who was featured in the prime-time slots, its middle-of-the-road people, Michelson told NBC News. Its people who are going to appeal to that chunk of swing voters in the Sunbelt, in the Rustbelt, those swing states, and transgender rights are not a high-priority issue for those voters and not the way theyre going to decide their vote.Instead, Democratic leaders apparently believe that those voters are motivated by appearing a lot less woke and a lot more centrist. Harris has been able to benefit from this because of the bizarre circumstances of her ascent. Typically, in a primary, candidates have to appeal to the base and then try to move to the center for the general election. Harris didnt have to do that. So shes a blank slate for most people, who barely (if at all) remember her failed presidential campaign four years ago. Harris has gotten an assist from Trump in this regard. Because Trump has been so rattled that hes not running against Joe Biden anymore, he has wasted critical time he could have used to attack Harris on substance, instead complaining about her laugh, mispronouncing her name, and declaring shes not Black. In his ineptitude, Trump has found the perfect sidekick in his vice presidential nominee, J.D. Vance, who cant even order doughnuts without embarrassing himself. The big question is whether the Democrats leeriness about talking about trans issues will translate into timidity in policy. On the surface at least, the answer would appear to be no. Harris isnt exactly shy when it comes to going out on a limb for LGBTQ+ issues; when California briefly issued marriage licenses for same-sex couples twenty years ago, Harris, then San Franciscos district attorney, performed some of the marriages. Even more specifically, she was advocating for victims of anti-trans violence back then, at a time when such an approach was groundbreaking. The Democrats platform has pledged to address anti-trans hatred and protect trans rights. Theres no reason to think that is a false promise. But it wouldnt have hurt any to have had a trans speaker at the convention as well. There were plenty of slots outside of prime time where the simple nod would have been acknowledgment enough. Its more than a little worrisome that in their effort to capture the center of the electorate, Democrats are willing to toss aside the trans community the very type of people that Harris was once at the forefront of protecting.

Chick-fil-A, the fast food chain known as much for the conservative Christianity of its founder that has guided the companys corporate culture as it is for its fried chicken sandwiches, is reportedly preparing to launch a family-friendly streaming platform before the end of the year.Deadline first reported last week that the company is moving aggressively into the entertainment space. According to the outlet, Chick-fil-A intends to launch a streaming platform later this year with a slate of original programming and is also in talks to license existing content. Related Conservatives are now calling for a boycott of Chick-fil-A for going woke Conservatives have loved Chick-fil-A ever since it opposed LGBTQ+ equality. But now theyre freaking out. Among the major production companies that Chick-fil-A has reportedly been working with to develop original shows are Glassman Media, which produces the NBC gameshow The Wall, and Sugar23, founded by Michael Sugar, an executive producer on Netflixs 13 Reasons Why, Cinemaxs The Knick, and the Academy Award-winning film Spotlight. The focus, according toDeadline, will be on unscripted series, with Glassman Media reportedly working on a family-friendly game show. However, the outlet reports that there is also talk of developing scripted and animated shows. Stay connected to your community Connect with the issues and events that impact your community at home and beyond by subscribing to our newsletter. Subscribe to our Newsletter today Chick-fil-As stated Corporate Purpose is To glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us and to have a positive influence on all who come into contact with Chick-fil-A. The company has long been a favorite of conservatives and evangelical Christians, in part for its refusal to operate on Sundays. It has also come under fire over the past decade for its donations to extreme anti-LGBTQ+ organizations.After reports first emerged in late 2011 of the Chick-fil-A Foundations millions of dollars in donations to anti-LGBTQ+ groups that promote, among other things, so-called conversion therapy, then-company president Dan Cathy said in 2012 that the company was guilty as charged.We are very much supportive of the family the biblical definition of the family unit, Cathy said at the time. We intend to stay the course, he added. We know that it might not be popular with everyone, but thank the Lord, we live in a country where we can share our values and operate on biblical principles. Following public backlash, the company said it would stop funding organizations with political agendas. But tax documents released in 2019 showed that the Chick-fil-A Foundation had, in fact, continued to donate to anti-LGBTQ+ organizations around $1.8 million in 2017 alone. The company once again promised to do better, but a 2021 report found that Cathy had continued to use his companys profits, albeit as a private citizen, to fund hate groups that lobbied for anti-transgender legislation across the country and campaigned to stop the Equality Act from becoming law.It remains unclear what Chick-fil-As streaming content may ultimately look like, but as one X user speculated: chick fil a [sic] can only be starting a streaming platform for religious propaganda.chick fil a can only be starting a streaming platform for religious propaganda. theyre gonna get 7th heaven reruns day ONE donut (@speckops) August 22, 2024

A former high-ranking state Republican official who has been indicted in an alleged conspiracy to steal the 2020 election used an anti-gay slur to describe a gay Democratic lawmaker. Meshawn Maddock used to be the head of the Michigan Republican Party until shortly after she was charged in connection to a scheme to make Michigans votes go to Donald Trump in 2020 instead of President Joe Biden, who won the state. Now she is now using slurs on social media. Related MAGA candidate releases video calling LGBTQ+ people fa***ts She also ranted about chicks with d**ks. She was responding to a post on X from Michigan state Rep. Jason Morgan (D), who is an out gay lawmaker and the vice chair of the states Democratic Party. Morgan posted a picture of the Michigan congressional delegation at the DNC last Friday, where they were smiling and holding American flags. Your LGBTQ+ guide to Election 2024 Stay ahead of the 2024 Election with our newsletter that covers candidates, issues, and perspectives that matter. Subscribe to our Newsletter today F*gs and hags, Maddock responded. X responded by reducing the visibility of her post due to a potential violation of the platforms Hateful Conduct policy. However, the post has not been deleted by the platform.Screenshot/X Morgan responded by calling her out in a thread. As a proud gay man who loves his husband, these hateful taunts dont undermine my Pride, but to countlessLGBTQyoung people across the USA, hateful rhetoric can lead to depression and suicide, he wrote. He then shared a picture from his wedding.On behalf of those LGBTQ Kids, I have one message for bullies like Meshawn & Donald Trump: #WereNotGoingBack to an America where hate and division win. The choice is clear: We Choose Freedom from Hate. We choose @KamalaHarris, for the people. pic.twitter.com/3vMAVIoLMb Jason Morgan (@JasonMorganMI) August 24, 2024 Maddock has a history of attacking LGBTQ+ politicians with homophobic taunts. In 2022, when she still had her position with the state party, she called Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg a weak little girl when she heard that he and his husband, Chasten Buttigieg, were buying property in Michigan.If she wants to talk about little girls, Chasten and I are raising a little girl and a little boy. And we are raising them to have better values than the chairwoman,Buttigieg responded when asked about her comments. The rest is politics. Last year, Maddock was indicted along with 15 other Trump supporters in a plot to help Trump get elected: falsify a certificate that said that Trump actually won the state of Michigan, send it to Congress, and hope that Trump would get Michigans electoral votes.The fake certificate said that the 16 electoral voters had met in the Michigan Capitol that day, even though it was actually closed on December 14, 2020. Bidens electoral voters actually convened in the state capitol building.Phone records allegedly show Maddock texting with the coconspirators about their plot and how to keep it a secret. She faced eight felony counts in the original indictment. She has pled not guilty, and in February 2023, she chose not to run for another term as chair of the state party.

The dance floor always felt comfortable to me, at a wedding or a club, acting as an invitation to lose myself to the beat and move my body however it was meant to. Little did I know that reigniting this passion after the height of the COVID-19 pandemic would be integral in better understanding my identity and building my now-plentiful LGBTQ+ community in the City of Angels.My COVID-19 experience also came with a move 1,000 miles from Denver to Los Angeles in September 2020, where I essentially hit the reset button on my community with my first full year as an Angelino spent mostly in my own company during the shutdowns and shelter-in-place orders. Related Trans people are magic. They should inspire us all to live more authentically. People have been taught to fear the very things that have the potential to set them free. In January 2021, I came out as nonbinary. At the same time, I was in the process of redefining what the queer label I had latched onto for years meant for me namely that my sexuality was more in line with being bi/pansexual. Dive deeper every day Join our newsletter for thought-provoking commentary that goes beyond the surface of LGBTQ+ issues Subscribe to our Newsletter today Exploring these personal elements and how they informed my reality and life as a whole was challenging due to the solitary nature of my life. At this point I was still primarily alone in my apartment and, while I had community support online, it didnt feel sufficient to fully traverse this new world of exploration.In late 2021 and early 2022, I jumped on the opportunity to share space with other LGBTQ+ folks as vaccines were introduced and a few parties opened their doors again, mostly recurring queer events at clubs around LA that centered alternative electronic musicians. Id made a couple local friends online through Instagram and TikTok acting as a bit of a lifeboat to explore these queer-run parties and lineups.These spaces were electrifying. They brought crowds that felt fully uninhibited in the realm of expression. Every part of the community was represented, and no one seemed unafraid to be fully themselves. While I was initially only brave enough to traverse them among friends, dancing with other LGBTQ+ folks felt like a necessity in my life after breaking the seal. In 2023, I resolved to go out alone more often to meet that need rather than depending on friends to help make me feel more brave. Gradually, I remembered my likable, extroverted nature among strangers, perhaps hit with a pandemic regression leaving me more reluctant to socialize than I had been before.During my debut solo dance event the first week of January, I made it a goal to simply start a conversation with others there. As I first began traversing dance spaces on my own, pushing past the discomfort to socialize was my main priority I trusted my gut instincts and approached people whose style or demeanor felt comforting. I latched onto Who are you here to see? or a compliment on an outfit. Sure enough, it was enough to get folks talking, even to make friends for the night and connect on Instagram to link up again.It became clear that so many around me were similarly eager for connection and reluctant to make the leap. I knew I wasnt going to be able to build community or fully explore my newly realized identity with my fellow queers if I didnt put in the effort to practice being a human out in the world again. Almost every time I talked to someone brand new, they were immediately friendly and receptive. Whether we hung out the whole night after chatting or just left it at the conversation, I was regularly met with a warmth that quelled my previous insecurities. I cant begin to explain how much my community has blossomed since the start of 2023 with this goal in mind. Being confident enough to push past the initial discomfort and traverse new spaces alone instilled a renewed sense of self-assurance alongside a steadily expanding group of friends.I gradually found and regularly attended parties fostering a wide array of folks from the community myriad identities and backgrounds while still sharing that warmth of being a fellow LGBTQ+ person. This felt like the expansive community I always craved when I envisioned life in LA, all-encompassing rather than one subset: gay and sapphic folks alike, all races, ages, and a wide array of gender expression that felt truly safe as a newly out nonbinary person.These were some of the first spaces where I was introducing myself as a nonbinary person, and these more expansive LGBTQ+ crowds have always provided a greater sense of safety and affirmation than some other queer (and obviously non-queer) spaces Ive traversed since. Getting that immediate assurance among my community, especially in those early days, surely gave me more confidence to embrace my identity and expression unapologetically, alongside the simple act of dance itself.The dance floor has allowed me so much self-exploration during this transformative period, to move in friendly or more intimate manners with folks of all genders, to experiment with my fashion and gender expression, and to fully own previously latent elements of myself as the music moves me on the dance floor.Though I was out and proud through my teens and 20s, I leaned into my proximity to masculinityperhaps as a lifeboat, with a perception of safety or palatability overshadowing my true self. Since I was a kid, I havent fully identified with either binary gender, though I always felt more aligned with femininity even though I rarely expressed it. Dancing truly allowed me to relish in softness, sensuality, femininity as I shake my hips, expressively move my hands and arms, working my own stationary runway to the beat. Simultaneously, dance has offered me avenues to forge space, to feel dominant and assertive, to own those elements of myself that might be coded as more masculine, right alongside everything else I am.Its hard to explain how losing yourself to a good DJ set or live electronic performance can be therapeutic or cathartic. Ive left many of these spaces feeling more compassion for and better understanding my authentic self. Trusting my body and its expression as I move has offered me a broader capacity for self love, ushering in gentleness to continue exploring and actualizing my identity and place in the world.The understanding that I can take up space on the dance floor, embrace the collective energy of those around me and neednt worry about how I might look or how Im being perceived allowed me more freedom to adopt the same mentality as I moved through the rest of my life ushered in an immense amount of freedom in living and exploring my full self. During a Pride-themed, queer-run techno rave this past June, alongside a good dozen-plus of these new friends under one warehouse roof, one candidly praised my genuine energy on the dance floor, disregarding the perceptions of others while also giving those around me permission to do the same. A few weeks later, a stranger told me I had a giving energy on the dance floor as we proceeded to follow either on Instagram out on the smoking patio. These instances always act as a reminder that Im doing something right despite lingering insecurity.In trusting that I can build community by simply being myself and seeing, in action, that I will find my people without putting on a mask or attempting to make myself smaller to be what I perceive others want from me its allowed me to better bring those same principles into my everyday life.This ultimately led to a wide range of expression in my everyday life: embracing more skirts, crops, softer color palettes, certain hairstyles as my hair grew out though it also left room for the more masculine coded pieces of my expression that I might have been more quick to shove aside when I first came out for fear of being misunderstood. Over time, I simply became less afraid of being understood or that everyone saw me as nonbinary, given the truth I knew for myself and the affirmation I found in those who truly mattered. Dance has made me feel so much more grounded in my gender, my queer identity, and my sense of self. Its an essential human experience that has historically brought LGBTQ+ folks together and grants permission, if only for a few hours, to focus solely on the warmth around me and the beat in my ears, in turn quieting the often overbearing noise life may berate us with.Its changed the way I carry myself and offered a bit more trust in navigating my sense of self, the way I explore change and growth, as my old and new experiences continue to shape my life and personhood.Im in the midst of a tumultuous career shift and, like many Americans, find myself at odds with the current state of the economy, inflation, and the myriad powers working against the LGBTQ+ community. Knowing I have a family to return to in these spaces and that I can always make time to let those worries fade offers a certain solace and renewal.I have an unending gratitude for the music that carried me through my confused teen and young adult years and the freedom of moving my body to it as the catalyst that shaped my new life and community, now bustling with chosen family and warmth both on and off the dance floor. I cant wait to see where it takes me next.

Jack Daniels has joined a growing number of brands that have cut their commitments to diversity, after conservative influencer Robby Starbuck threatened to make the company his next target. Last week, it was Harley Davidson, and before them it was Tractor Supply Co. and John Deere. Starbucks method of rallying his online followers to deluge companies social media with complaints about their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and donations to social justice organizations has proven effective. Related Harley-Davidson caves to right-wingers & drops affiliation with LGBTQ+ organization Its the third big corporation to drop its diversity initiatives after being targeted by one online activist. Jack Daniels, the whiskey company, is the latest. On August 21, Starbuck posted on X (formerly known as Twitter) Big news: The next company we were set to expose was Jack Daniels, but that the company had ended several initiatives and partnerships. Stay connected to your community Connect with the issues and events that impact your community at home and beyond by subscribing to our newsletter. Subscribe to our Newsletter today Starbuck said, They must have been tipped off by us going through employee LinkedIn pages and that the company had just preemptively announced changes to DEI programs. Starbuck had obtained an email from Brown Forman (Jack Daniels parent company) saying that the world has evolved since launching a DEI campaign in 2019.The company said that since January, it had been evolving the current program to a strategic framework, which includes ending its partnership with the Human Rights Campaign and its Corporate Equality Index (CEI), which tracks how large employers treat their LGBTQ+ employees through various policies.However, Brown Forman claimed that the changes would result in a workplace where everyone is welcomed, respected, and able to bring their best self to work.The email concluded: We know it will not be easy to navigate the road ahead but please know our deep belief in, and respect for, each of you remains constant. We are continually inspired by your passion for our brands, your dedication to our business and, most importantly, your care for each other. Eric Bloem, the Human Rights Campaign Foundations vice president of programs and corporate advocacy, condemned the move in a statement, saying that Robby Starbuck is so radical the Tennessee Republican party kicked him off the ballot. Companies should not be cowering to a random guy with zero business experience who is a political bully and election denier.These short-sighted decisions also have long-term consequences. Hastily abandoning efforts that ensure fair, safe, and inclusive work environments for LGBTQ+ people based on manufactured outrage from MAGA bullies is bad business and leaves their employees and millions of LGBTQ+ allied customers behind, he continued. Bloem also pointed out that the shift leaves a large portion of Jack Daniels customer base excluded: With nearly 30% of Gen Z identifying as LGBTQ+ and the community wielding US$1.4 trillion in spending power, retreating from these principles undermines both consumer trust and employee success.Big news: The next company we were set to expose was @JackDaniels_US.They must have been tipped off by us going through employee LinkedIn pages.They just preemptively announced that theyll be making these changes: Ending participation in the @HRCs Corporate Equality pic.twitter.com/0O1DkkIKrO Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) August 22, 2024

North Carolinas anti-LGBTQ+ Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson (R)who is running for governor and considers LGBTQ+ people as filthy demons who mentally rape childrenis doing poorly in polling, running 14 points behind his Democratic opponent, North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein.AHigh Point University/SurveyUSApoll released on August 22 showed 48% of voters supporting Stein and just 34% supporting Robinson. Additionally, 18% of respondents said they were undecided, and the polls margin of error was +/-4%. Related Anti-LGBTQ+ governor candidate flees reporters by hiding in an elevator North Carolina Lt. Gov. really doesnt want to talk about his recent suggestion for people to kill leftists. Former President Donald TrumpendorsedRobinson, calling him Martin Luther King on steroids. However, Robinson has said he considers King to be aninferior pastor and a communist who wanted tosubvert capitalism and free choice. Your LGBTQ+ guide to Election 2024 Stay ahead of the 2024 Election with our newsletter that covers candidates, issues, and perspectives that matter. Subscribe to our Newsletter today Robinsons unpopularity in the poll may be related to his extremist views, which include racism, anti-semitism, anti-abortion stances, and anti-LGBTQ+ hostility.Robinson has previously referred to African Americans as muddle headed negroes, apes, and monkey, all of which are regarded as racial slurs. I am TIRED of blacks and mexicans running around shouting about being proud of their race, he wrote on social media, later adding, Note to liberals; Ill accept Gay Pride when you accept White Pride.He has said that the COVID-19 pandemic was a globalist conspiracy to defeat then-President Trump. Robinson also referred to survivors of the 2018 Parkland High School mass shooting as angry, know-it-all CHILDREN; spoiled little bastards; and media prosti-tots for supporting gun reforms. He believes school shootings are Gods punishment for abortions, like the one he paid for his then-girlfriend and now-wife to get in 1989.Robinson has referred to abortion as murder and genocide and said that abortions arent about protecting the lives of mothers but rather about killing the child because you werent responsible to keep your skirt down. In a July 2021 speech, he didnt care if someone was 24 hours pregnant or 24 weeks pregnant, saying, If you kill that youngun. It is murder. You got blood on your hands.In a recent political ad, Robinson said he supported a 12-week abortion ban with common sense exceptions for rape and incest. OhWhen Im governor, mothers in need will be supported, Robinson said in the ad, seated alongside his wife, Yolanda Robinson. #NCGov: R nominee Mark Robinson is up on TV with this spot Robinson, holding hands with wife Yolanda, to camera: "Thirty years ago, my wife and I made a very difficult decision: we had an abortion" pic.twitter.com/jJ6dIsZbwp Medium Buying (@MediumBuying) August 2, 2024Previous to the ad, which was released on August 2, Robinson said he supported a heartbeat bill allowing abortions until the sixth week of pregnancy, a time before most people even realize that theyre pregnant. He has also said, If I was the governor and had a willing legislature, we could pass a bill saying you cant have an abortion in North Carolina for any reason.Steins campaign released a statement on the same day that Robinson released his ad, saying that Robinson is running from his record and misleading voters on his abortion views. If North Carolinians want to know where Mark Robinson stands on abortion, they should listen to every other comment hes made on the issue before today, the statement said.Republicans worry that their support for restrictions on abortion access could bring more pro-choice Democratic voters to the polls in the 2024 general elections. Since the overturning ofRoe v. Wade, voters in seven states have supported ballot measures strengthening abortion access, even in conservative states like Kansas, Kentucky, and Ohio. Similar measures will be on the November ballots in Colorado, Florida, Maryland, and South Dakota, all of which could help bring out Democratic voters to oppose former President Donald Trump and other Republican candidates. Robinson is also infamous for his anti-LGBTQ+ commentsAmongRobinsons many anti-LGBTQ+ statements, he has called homosexuality an abominable sin, referred to lesbian celebrity Ellen DeGeneres as a top ranking demon proudly serving in Satans army, and has called former First Lady Michelle Obama a man, repeating a transphobic misogynoir conspiracy theory. He hasalso calledthe trans equality movement demonic and full of the spirit of Antichrist.In March 2023, Robinsondeclaredthat God created him to battle against LGBTQ+ rights and added, Makes me sick every time I see it a church that flies that Rainbow flag, which is a direct spit in the face of God almighty. In 2021, Robinsoncompared LGBTQ+ peopleto cow dung.In 2021, Robinsoncreated an education task forceto investigate and pull LGBTQ+ literature from public schools, as well as report instances of LGBTQ+ inclusion in schools.Inan October 24, 2019 Facebook postagainst gender-affirming care for minors, Robinson wrote that trans children are being mentally raped by their parents and other supportive adults. In 2017, hewrote on Facebook, You CAN NOT love God and support the homosexual agenda.Robinson has said that trans peopleshould defecate on public street corners outsiderather than using bathrooms matching their gender identity.ABC News reportedthat Robinson failed to file federal income taxes for a period of five years.

After five years, the National Trans Visibility March returned to Washington, D.C., on Saturday, featuring hundreds of trans people gathering together and marching.We stand tall because that is power; the ability to influence the people that say that they were un-influential, the ability to speak life into people who have had their very existence crushed by the folks that were supposed to nurture and honor them, said Hope Giselle, president of the Visibility March, Related Donald Trump is so mad about Trans Day of Visibility that he wants a Christian Visibility Day He called Joe Bidens support for trans rights such total disrespect to Christians. The march featured over 400 attendees and included Rev. Carmarion D. Anderson-Harvey, Howard Universitys first trans student president Jay Jones, activist Ollie Henry, Executive Director of DC and MD Safe Haven Iya Dammons, Trans Mayland founder Lee Blinder, Louis Shackelford of HIV Vaccine Trials Network, and HRC President Kelley Robinson. Stay connected to your community Connect with the issues and events that impact your community at home and beyond by subscribing to our newsletter. Subscribe to our Newsletter today You cant get to equality where Black trans women are being killed in the streets. You cant get to equality where our trans and non-binary kids are under attack, Robinson said. Yall, none of us is free until all of us are free, she continued. She was presented with a Torch Award for individuals whose work has impacted the lives of Transgender, Gender Non-Conforming and Non Binary (TGNCNB) communities across the nation.The crowd shouted Trans Power and held signs saying Trans rights are human rights, Protect our trans siblings, and Trans Lives Matter as they marched from the HRC headquarters at 1 P.M, eventually going on 17th Street, N.W. before heading on P Street, N.W., toward Dupont Circle. They eventually circled back to the HRC headquarters.Jordan Alexander, who was elected king at the Black Trans Advocacy Coalitions Pageant in May, said, This march makes sure that people like us see people like us. A lot of the time we dont see positive images of ourselves. Theres a lot of talk about how we kind of go at each other, and so this is just a great time for us to come together as family and to show people that we can unite when its time,Attendees celebrated the event on social media as well.National Trans visibility day, DC. The march aims to bring attention to the relevance of trans individuals in society and in politics. National Trans visibility day, DC. The march aims to bring attention to the relevance of trans individuals in society and in politics. #nationaltransgenderdayofvisibility pic.twitter.com/cz79vL81hg Mazzini (@ferran55799) August 25, 2024National Trans Visibility March Washington DC. Great seeing Retired LtCol. Elijah Nichols. Love you and the work your[sic] doing.National Trans Visibility March Washington DC. Great seeing Retired LtCol. Elijah Nichols. Love you and the work your doing. pic.twitter.com/gIWfqCitWT Tiffany Williams (@realtalktiffany) August 26, 2024National Trans Visibility March Washington DC pic.twitter.com/AlJKwR6Xly Tiffany Williams (@realtalktiffany) August 26, 2024National Trans Visibility March Washington DC pic.twitter.com/soiRFRrH8C Tiffany Williams (@realtalktiffany) August 26, 2024 My first time in public as a trans woman, marching in Capital Pride with a party that stands unconditionally for both my rights and the rights of Palestinians. My first time in public as a trans woman, marching in Capital Pride with a party that stands unconditionally for both my rights and the rights of Palestinians. pic.twitter.com/KY3oDNwE4e Rosa (@austzw) August 25, 2024Spent my afternoon marching through the streets of DC in support of the trans community at the National Trans Visibility March ! Hey hey ho ho! Transphobia has got to go! Spent my afternoon marching through the streets of DC in support of the trans community at the National Trans Visibility March ! Hey hey ho ho! Transphobia has got to go! pic.twitter.com/HZglf0LryW Justin Stewart (@ProducerStewart) August 24, 2024

Dave Williams, a former state representative who was elected to lead the Colorado Republican Party last year, has been voted out by his party members for attacking fellow Republicans and posting homophobic statements. Williams was voted out on Saturday, two months after dozens of state Republican Party members signed a petition to hold the vote. Michael J. Allen, a Republican district attorney in Colorado Springs, told the told the New York Times that about 88% of the 182 or so eligible members voted for the motion at the Saturday meeting to remove him. Related Ron DeSantis smeared this trans candidate. She just won her primary. Ashley Brundage could be the states first out trans lawmaker. There has been an open revolt to his leadership of the party across the state, Allen also said, adding, It has been an accumulation of things at the expense of party unity and real electoral progress. Stay connected to your community Connect with the issues and events that impact your community at home and beyond by subscribing to our newsletter. Subscribe to our Newsletter today Williams has called LGBTQ+ people evil and woke creeps, He also wrote that all Pride flags should be burned, saying, We make no apologies for saying God hates Pride or Pride flags, as its an agenda that harms children and undermines parental authority.Williams emails have also referred to LGBTQ+ Americans as barbaric, creeps, degenerates, godless, groomers, predators, radicals, and reprobates.He lost his primary to a more moderate candidate in an upset that other Republicans said was due to Williams extremist views and causing divisions within the party. Williams was previously criticized by Valdamar Archuleta, president of LGBTQ+ conservative group Log Cabin Republicans of Colorado. Archuleta said that Williams was alienating a large group of people within the party. Not just LGBT people, but our friends, our allies, our families. This was a massive mistake. We need to work on unifying the party and growing the party, not isolating people with divisive messages like this. God Hates Flags The @cologops mass email for Pride Month attacks godless groomers who want to harm our children. #copolitics pic.twitter.com/Bach2NaxIc Kyle Clark (@KyleClark) June 3, 2024In true modern day GOP fashion, Williams has said that the election was a sham and that a real meeting will be held next Saturday, and the results that follow will be the only ones we respect, according to the The Times. Like Williams, former President Donald Trump claimed that his defeat during the 2020 presidential election was rigged. He and other GOP candidates have since begun claiming that any election outcomes they dont like are the result of corruption and vote rigging and are, thus, invalid.

An English teacher at a Wisconsin public school is suing his former school district after he refused to use two trans students personal pronouns and his contract wasnt renewed.Teacher Jordan Cernek says being forced to use the trans students personal pronouns violated his religious beliefs. Related 18 GOP AGs are trying to help a Christian teacher fired for refusing to respect trans students The teacher said his religion forbids him from using the correct names and pronouns of trans students. Cernek filed his lawsuit against the Argyle School District last month, alleging that the district violated his First Amendment right to freedom of religion. The devout Christian also alleges the school district violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that protects employees from religious discrimination. Stay connected to your community Connect with the issues and events that impact your community at home and beyond by subscribing to our newsletter. Subscribe to our Newsletter today The district notified Cernek in August 2023 that his contract for the 2023-2024 school year would not be renewed.The district policy would force me to go against my conviction and commitment to God, Cernek said in a statement. I did everything within my power to accommodate the needs of my students without compromising my faith.The far-right conservative law firm Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty represents Cernek in the suit. The firm is litigating several other cases in the state targeting transgender student policies: the group represents a Moms for Liberty activist being sued for defamation in one, and is working with Trump administration hack Stephen Millers America First Legal on another. Cerneks attorney Nathalie Burmeister argued school districts have an obligation under federal law to respect employees religious beliefs.Burmeister works at the Wisconsin Institute for Liberty and Law, a conservative legal advocacy group that has filed multiple lawsuits to roll back protections for queer students, one in support of a Moms for Liberty member, and the right of child therapists to voice anti-LGBTQ+ views.This lawsuit emphasizes the importance of the districts understanding of its duties under federal law and accommodating the religious beliefs that are protected explicitly under these laws, she said.Cernek was hired in August 2021. In a staff meeting a year later, the district announced a policy requiring teachers and administrators to use transgender students personal names and pronouns reflecting their gender identities. According to the lawsuit, Cernek attended the meeting and voiced his objections based on his religious beliefs.Two of Cerneks students, both transgender, asked staff to refer to them using their personal names. Cernak informed administrator Mike Beranek that he wouldnt, but was initially granted an accommodation whereby he would avoid calling the students by any name, instead just nodding or pointing to them.For a time, Cernek offered to call one of the trans students by their last name, referring to it as a good middle ground. The student agreed, but the students father, who also taught at the school, objected. In a letter to Cernek a few months later, administrator Beranek detailed his expectations and found that Cernek was not meeting them.Students and their families have reported several concerns. There have been reports that you have continued to use the wrong names for transgender students, he wrote, adding, It is now clear that their earlier agreed-to accommodation is not going to work.In response, Cernek replied, Each person is born a male or a female. There is no deviation from this reality. Cernek said he wasnt misgendering students because the name I call each student is legally and objectively his or her own name from birth. Therefore, I would argue that I am calling students by theirrightnames.Cernek is seeking a jury trial.A 2023 national survey by the Trevor Project found that trans and nonbinary young people called by their personal pronouns reported lower rates of attempted suicide.Abigail Swetz, executive director of Fair Wisconsin, told Wisconsin Public Radio that the most important job adults can do for children is to affirm their self-worth.The data is clear; using pronouns that affirm a childs gender identity is a life-saving action, and that makes it the only moral choice, Swetz said.

After facing a bomb threat for hosting a drag brunch, an Austin, Texas-based brewery unveiled their Big Gay Beer last week, with all proceeds going towards an organization of veterans advocating LGBTQ+ equality.In response to the bomb threat we received at Junes Legendary Drag Brunch with Las Ofrendas that forced us to have to cancel the event, our staff got together and decided to brew the Biggest Gayest beer we could possibly imagine to show our continued commitment to being a safe place for queer people and all good, kind and loving individuals in our city, the Brewtorium Brewery and Kitchen wrote in a Facebook post. Related Over 40 attacks on LGBTQ+ symbols occurred in 21 states during Pride month Were resilient, one Pride group member said of the attacks. No matter what the cost is, were not going to back down. And so was born Big Gay Beer: a super strong hazy Double IPA fruited to the max with Pink Guava, Orange and Mango. Its a thick one with bright notes of Tropical Fruit, Candied Orange Peel & Ruby Red Grapefruit. Never Miss a Beat Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights. Subscribe to our Newsletter today All proceeds go to Veterans for Equality, an organization dedicated to giving marginalized groups protections from veterans at events. Theyve worked with Brewtorium for their own events following the drag brunch bomb threat.The bomb threat happened on June 9, which was announced on Facebook after the brewery closed in response. The person sending the explosive threat had explicitly named drag queens as the reason, referring to them as scum.Nothing suspicious was found inside the building, with authorities indicating that it was clear. However, the threat still left a lasting impact on the local community.For the safety of everyone in the building, we felt our best option was to close for the day, said the Brewtorium in the June 9 Facebook post. It breaks our hearts that this kind of thing still exists.Nevertheless, the brewery gave a shout out to its partners who have supported the company during this crisis. We want to give a special shout out to our Legendary Drag Brunch partners Las Ofrendas, Frida Friday ATX, Kelly Kline , DJ Kick It without whom these joyful events would not be possible, the brewery wrote.The threat comes at a time where drag performers across the country face an increasing risk of hate crimes as a result of bigotry against their work. Hate crimes have been steadily increasing in the United States over the past several years, alongside anti-drag and anti-LGBTQ+ bills being introduced in many states, some of which have become law.One such hate crime concerned a gay man, Joshua Ybarra, who was beaten in Austin by a group of fraternity boys who were allegedly shouting slurs at him. Attorneys for the aggressors in this case argue that the attack did happen, but that there were no slurs shouted. However, Ybarra as well as some witnesses argue that the slurs were shouted and that it was motivated as a hate crime.Dag performers across the country have been working to band together to protest these sorts of attacks. The Colorado-based Qommittee is one such organization that aims to provide a cohesive network of drag performers in direct protest of these types of actions.

Jason Rapert, the Christian Nationalist that Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) appointed to her states library board late last year, is now complaining that his fellow board members should be tarred and feathered because they wont support his crusade to remove LGBTQ+ booksor pornographic smut, as he calls itfrom local schools and libraries. In fact, he said the state library board should be eliminated altogether.I serve on the Arkansas Library Board, Rapert said in a recent episodeof his Save The Nation broadcast. I cannot get those other board members to take a stand to stop some of the smut that is in those libraries. Its ridiculous. Ive made motions trying to do it. Related Ultra-hateful GOP governor candidate is losing his election hard in embarrassing new polling He considers LGBTQ+ people as filthy demons who mentally rape children and say women who have abortions are sluts. The Bible says, Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, he said. Well, when you have leaders that are not allowing the nation to be blessed of God, theyre not doing godly things, you need to replace them, get rid of them, get them out of office, put people back in there that will. Youve got schools where theyre fighting over allowing homosexual, LGBTQ material to be utilized to groom children. There needs to be people that will take up and sue anybody that is allowing that sort of thing to go on in our school districts and in our libraries. Insights for the LGBTQ+ community Subscribe to our briefing for insights into how politics impacts the LGBTQ+ community and more. Subscribe to our Newsletter today Raperts use of the word groom refers to a calculated and gradual process by which someone gains the trust of a child and their family in order to sexually abuse the child. Anti-LGBTQ+ people commonly accuse queers and their allies of grooming kids, but the accusers neither ally with organizations that actually fight child sex abuse nor publicly comment on the thousands of cases of actual child sex abuse that continue to occur in Christian churches.While Rapert and other Republican politicians have claimed that book bans seek to keep children from accessing sexually-explicit content, authors whose books are targeted by these bans are most frequently female, people of color, and/or LGBTQ+ individuals,according to the free-speech organization PEN America. Approximately 30% of the banned titles from the 2022-2023 school year included either characters of color or discussions of race and racism, and an additional 30% included LGBTQ+ characters or themes, the organization added.When you dont protect children in America, you have no business serving in a public officials role, he continued. You have no business serving on a board, you have no business serving in a state legislature, you have no business being an elected official at any level if youre not going to protect children. When you get to a point that youre so confused and youre so completely jaded that you cannot make a decision to keep smut or pornographic stuff [away from] children, youve lost your ever-loving mind and you need to be replacedyou need to be taken out. The phrase taken out can sometimes mean removed from a position but is also a euphemism for killed or murdered.Some people say, Oh, hes talking about violence. No, Im not talking about violence, Rapert claimed. You need to be run out on a rail. You probably should be tarred and feathered. Thats what they used to do in America is they would tar and feather those kind of folks. Get rid of them. Teach them a lesson. Get them out of office.The term run out on a rail can refer to running someone out of town. It also refers to a form of mob punishment that was prevalent in the United States during the 18th and 19th centuries. The punishment involved forcing an offender to sit on a wooden plank or rail hoisted into the air by carriers and then paraded through the community. The offender was sometimes publicly mocked, attacked or literally tarred and feathered before being dumped by the roadside. The punishment was meant to publicly humiliate, isolate, and socially banish the individual. As for tarring and feathering, it can refer to severely criticizing or punishing someone, but it also refers to a form of vigilante public torture that originated in the U.S. as a way to scare off British tax collectors. During the 19th and 20th centuries it was often used against educators, Black Americans, and their supporters by Christian Nationalist white supremacists. While the toxic tar used in the punishment is not always hot, it can still cause serious bodily injury, poisoning, illness, and death.Even if Rapert was using the violent language figuratively, his rhetoric echoes those of other Republicans and Christian Nationalists who have used dehumanizing language while calling for their political opponents to be figuratively attacked and murdered.I am at a point now where its going to take so long to get new board members on [the Arkansas State Library Board], Rapert continued, [that]if I were the legislature, I would run a bill just to abolishing the Arkansas State Library Board and let it be reconstituted. Put new people in there, or maybe they just need to call on people to resign if youre not going to do your job. In a late 2023 interview, Rapert pledged to enforce a law known as Act 372, which would criminally prosecute librarians and bookstore owners who refuse to remove any books that are deemed as harmful to minors, a vague phrase that anti-LGBTQ+ activists often use to ban books with any mention of sexual orientation or gender identity. The law also makes it easier for any single person to challenge a book, effectively removing it from shelves while it undergoes review by library, county, or city officials.A U.S. district judge issued a temporary injunction blocking the law on July 29, 2023 after numerous libraries, bookstores, associations, readers, and patrons sued. The challengers called the law badly written and vague and said that it violated readers and authors First and Fourteenth Amendment rights to access and distribute content with unpopular views without undue government interference.Nevertheless, Rapert has said hell use his new position to deny federal and state funds to any library that joined the successful lawsuit to block the law. This would include the Fayetteville Public Library, Eureka Springs Carnegie Library, the Central Arkansas Library System (CALS), and possibly libraries where various individual librarians joined the lawsuit. Collectively, these institutions serve hundreds of thousands of readers in the state.

Barbara Butchthe lesbian DJ who received death threats after performing in an Olympic opening ceremony segment that some accused of mocking Christianityhas defied her haters by publiclycarrying theParalympic torch on Sunday night, leading up to the events August 28 opening ceremonies.I chose not to be afraid of existing in public space, Butch said, according to FranceInfo. She was one of about 1,000 torchbearers who will carry the Paralympic flame in 50 cities across France to raise awareness of people living with disabilities and promote their inclusion in sports. Related Paris mayor drops f-bombs on anti-LGBTQ+ critics of Olympic opening ceremonies French Mayor Anne Hidalgo had some choice words for Trump and other far-right critics of the queer-inclusive opening events. What luck! What an incredible moment to carry the @paralympics @paris2024 flame, Butch wrote on an Instagram photo slideshow. People who have followed my work for a long time know to what extent I fight for the representation of all, that I fight against ableism and for inclusiveness. Global perspectives delivered right to your inbox Our newsletter bridges borders to bring you LGBTQ+ news from around the world. Subscribe to our Newsletter today Butch carried the flame at the Rock En Seine music festival in the Saint Cloud National Park, just west of Paris. She carried the torch alongside Marjane Satrapi, theFrench-Iranian graphic novelist best known for her graphic memoir Persepolis, and Hlios Latchoumanaya, a French Paralympic judo athlete who won a bronze medal at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo, Japan.Rock en Seine was a moment filled with emotion, she added, mentioning that she got to meet several performing artists at the event. This festival was incredible and will remain a unique moment. Carrying this flame is a moment that will remain forever engraved in my heart. Representation matters. Making the invisible visible again and forever Thank you to all the people who follow me and accompany me on this path of love.Butch received death, torture, and rape threats as well as numerous antisemitic, homophobic, sexist, and fatphobic insults for her involvement in a segment of the Olympic opening ceremony, which featured a Feast of Dionysus with drag performers and runway models. Many conservative Christian viewersangrily mistook the scene to be a mockery ofThe Last Supper, a famous artwork painted by gay artist Leonardo DaVinci that has been replicated countless times in modern pop culture. In the segment, Butch wore a silver headdress that looked like a halo and was surrounded by drag performers, dancers, and other performers as she DJed. The performers then walked on the runway, showcasing French fashions and style. After the Olympics ended, Butch pledged to fearlessly fight the threats. Her lawyer filed legal complaintsto start a formal police investigation into those behind them.Olympic officials have repeatedly stated that the performance was not a recreation ofThe Last Supperbut was actually a tableau of a Dionysian feast. Thomas Jolly, the artistic director for the opening ceremonies, said, My wish isnt to be subversive, nor to mock or to shock. Most of all, I wanted to send a message of love, a message of inclusion and not at all to divide. Jolly said he hoped for the performance to be a tribute to diversity, and that the runway-table during the segment was intended a tribute to feasting and French gastronomy.Ive never been ashamed of who I am, and I take responsibility for everything, including my artistic choices, she continued. All my life, Ive refused to be a victim. I wont shut up. Im not afraid of those who hide behind a screen or sit in and dispute, their hatreds and frustrations. I will fight them without ever trembling. Im committed, and I am proud. Im proud of who I am, of what I am, and, of what I embody for both my loved ones, and for millions of French people. My France is France.Other torchbearers include former Paralympians, young para-athletes, volunteers from Paralympic federations, innovators of advanced technological support, people who dedicate their lives to others with impairments, and people who work in the non-profit sector to support carers. The Paralympic flame, which has been divided between 12 torches, will be carried by various Paralympians, young athletes with disabilities, as well as Paralympic federation volunteers and individuals who have dedicated their lives to supporting people with disabilities and creating technological aids to assist them.The torches will unite in central Paris on Wednesday evening, where they will ignite a cauldron as part of the Paralympics three-hour opening ceremony.

A cisgender Ohio Republican running to retain his seat in the states House of Representatives could be disqualified under the same 1995 law used earlier this year to challenge the candidacies of three transgender Democrats.State Rep. Tex Fischer (R), a 28-year-old former political consultant, was appointed to represent Ohios 58th district in June, filling a vacancy left after the districts former representative, Alessandro Cutrona (R), was appointed to the Ohio Senate. Fischer is currently running to retain his seat. Related Ohio Democrats & Republicans introduce dueling bills in battle over trans candidates deadnames The Republican bill was introduced by two state Representatives who are facing trans challengers in Novembers election. But as Cleveland.com reported, earlier this month, Mahoning County Democratic Party chairman Chris Anderson filed a complaint with local election officials on August 13, arguing that Fischer should be disqualified due to an obscure state law requiring candidates to disclose any name changes that have taken place within the last five years. Insights for the LGBTQ+ community Subscribe to our briefing for insights into how politics impacts the LGBTQ+ community and more. Subscribe to our Newsletter today According to Cleveland.com, Fischer legally changed his name from Austin James Fischer to Austin James Texford Fischer in 2020. Mahoning Board of Elections Chairman David Betras told the outlet that Fischer had put his changed name on everything but did not include his former name on paperwork certifying his candidacy.If theyre going to use the law to penalize trans candidates, then it needs to be applied equally, Anderson said.In January, real estate photographer Vanessa Joy, who was running as a Democrat in Ohios firmly Republican House District 50, was disqualified from the race by the Stark County Board of Elections under the 1995 law. Joy, who is transgender and changed her name in 2022, has said she was unaware of the law, which was not mentioned in the Ohio secretary of states 2024 candidate guide and has not been included in previous candidate guides in recent years. Nor did the candidacy petition forms Joy filled out include any mention of the law or space to list any name changes.Two other transgender Democrats also had their candidacies for Ohio state House seats challenged under the same law. But both Bobbie Arnold and Arienne Childrey have since been cleared to have their names appear on the November ballot. On August 15, the bipartisan Mahoning Board of Elections held a hearing on Andersons complaint, resulting in a 22 split. The complaint has been sent to Ohios Republican secretary of state, Frank LaRose, for a tiebreaking vote. According to WOUB, a spokesperson for LaRose would not say last week when the Ohio secretary of state would issue a decision.Anderson told WOUB that he thinks its unlikely that LaRose will disqualify Fischer. Its a Republican that is trying to win back favor among his own party, Anderson said.Fischer has characterized the challenge to his own candidacy as childish and petty political nonsense.Its fundamentally undemocratic to try and deprive the voters of a choice in November on a technicality, he said.At the same time, Fischer has had little to say about the challenges to Arnold and Childreys candidacies or Joys disqualification, telling multiple outlets that he is unaware of the details of those cases. According to WOUB, he did however seem to agree with Anderson that the law in question should be clarified. I dont believe those individuals were necessarily trying to deceive the voters, Fischer said of Arnold, Childrey, and Joy.In late May, Democratic state Reps. Michele Grim and Beryl Brown Piccolantonio introduced a bill that would prevent future candidates from being disqualified under the 1995 law. H.B. 467 would amend the existing law so that candidates would not have to disclose their recent legal name changes if the name change was approved by an Ohio court. The bill would also require candidate forms to include space to list previous names used within the last five years and require the Ohio secretary of state to include information about the name change requirements in candidate guides.If someone has gone through the process to legally change their name, there is absolutely no reason they should be required to disclose prior names, Piccolantonio said of Fischers case. This situation with my colleague is no different than the situations that occurred at the end of last year/beginning of this year for candidates.Of course, the existing law has not been equally applied, with Joy disqualified while Arnold and Childrey have been cleared to appear on the November ballot, and Piccolantonio could not explain why Fisher should remain on the ballot while Joys candidacy was blocked. I guess I just dont have an answer to that question, she said. The situation, she said, illustrates why her law needs to be passed.

A Fox News host is getting criticized for making a joke about Vice President Kamala Harris being sexually assaulted on air.Jesse Watters was ranting about how Harris is tied to all of President Joe Bidens policies from the past four years when he went on a tangent claiming that no one knows where Harris stands on foreign policy. He brought up a hypothetical where she is in the Situation Room of the White House, which is a complex where the president can monitor crises and maintain command of U.S. forces. Related Fox News fool Jesse Watters says Tim Walz is gay for Kamala Harriss husband The funny primetime host fixated on how Walz hugged Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff at a recent rally. Foreign policy is where the president has his most impact, Watters said on Foxs The Five. You have a lot of room to maneuver there as commander-in-chief. We dont know who she is! We dont know what she believes! Your LGBTQ+ guide to Election 2024 Stay ahead of the 2024 Election with our newsletter that covers candidates, issues, and perspectives that matter. Subscribe to our Newsletter today Shes going to get paralyzed in the Situation Room while the generals have their way with her, he said.Whoa, Jesse, fellow host Jeanine Pirro responded. I dont like that. Take that back.Have their way with her, control her! Watters shouted, then smirked: Not in a sexual way. Later in the broadcast, while discussing how Robert Kennedy Jr.s family denounced his endorsement of Donald Trump, Watters said it would be like his own mother who is famously liberal denouncing him for his rape joke about Harris.Im sure my mother was probably go on MSNBC tonight and say my son, Jesse Watters, made a joke about Kamala Harris being manhandled by generals in the Situation Room, and she- he has desecrated the memory of our grandfather, and its just, its disgusting! Watters said. I can see my mom doing that. And I wish I had a political dynasty so I could take shots as well. Watters: I'm sure my mother was probably, go on MSNBC tonight and say my son, Jesse Watters made a joke about Kamala Harris being manhandled by generals in the situation room It is disgusting. I can see my mom doing that pic.twitter.com/55rul7lJ0K Acyn (@Acyn) August 26, 2024On social media, liberals called him out for his comments.Every time this guy appears on my feed he's acting like the wrong answer on an HR training https://t.co/pzZ39g42i8 Gillian Branstetter (@GBBranstetter) August 27, 2024You know how racism got turned up to 11 during the Obama years? Get ready for misogyny to do the same. And just like with Obama theyll blame the president for their own bigotry. https://t.co/XYXictsvxf Jean-Michel Connard (@torriangray) August 26, 2024He has daughters.Jfc. What a piece of shit. https://t.co/MTlU44th6f pic.twitter.com/ECvoNuXCkC Karly (@KarlyRican_) August 27, 2024can conservatives go back to the cuck porn obsession instead of having weird rapey fantasies about the Vice President? https://t.co/oQZAo0SKqI Cameron (@CameronCorduroy) August 27, 2024The bottom line is, he would never say this about a male. Simple as that. https://t.co/7bkL2mZLTh Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) August 26, 2024Telling that when Republicans want to take a woman down a peg, a rape fantasy is one of the go-tos. Those disgusting images depicting AOC being assaulted that were circulated by Border Patrol agents also come to mind. https://t.co/6tCUJUk7Lq Emma Vigeland (@EmmaVigeland) August 27, 2024remains a mystery why women dont like the GOP https://t.co/4IvHsmfpeX sean (@_sn_n) August 27, 2024Any serious news network would have fired Watters for this the moment after he said it https://t.co/GLKnMdqlXp Harris-Walz Regime Supersoldier (@JoshGreenberg27) August 26, 2024What a disgusting pig this man is. https://t.co/YYyLZ2qmR5 Jeet Heer (@HeerJeet) August 27, 2024FFS this is 2024. While Watters shows his sexism and misogyny openly, this is a reality for Kamala Harris and women candidates up and down the ticket. https://t.co/OIYnD1APf2 Lisa Tucker (@tuckerpolitics) August 26, 2024Do you know how misogynistic you have to be for Jeanine to be like woah now. Thats a bit much?! https://t.co/chHIAb6hO4 Gay and Tired (@GayChemist) August 27, 2024So creepy and gross- dude is like the poster boy for cover your drinks Hadley Sheley (@HadleySheley) August 26, 2024This is beyond a mistake. He clearly meant to say that, and gave that stupid smirk after. Watters should be fired for this, but since it's Fox, he will likely get a promotion. Scott Dworkin (@funder) August 26, 2024He's such a freak. Didn't think it was possible, but Fox reached a new low with Jesse Watters. eg46 (@egoldstein) August 26, 2024MAGA is getting weirder and weirder by the day. Art Candee (@ArtCandee) August 26, 2024It used to be, no matter who ran, there was respect public decorum even in MSM & on talk shows. If he'd said that to a female co-worker it'd be sexual harassment. The fact that he's at work using sexual innuendos & it's not a co-worker, it's sexual harassment he gets away with. Deanna Maria R (@DeannaMariaR1) August 27, 2024Dads with daughters watch this guy. Its disgusting. Jon Evans (@jonevnz) August 26, 2024The generals will advise her and then take orders as shell be the commander in chief. Thats what they do and always have done. She isnt some random person with no experience. Shes the sitting VP and soon to be President. Duke Joshua (@DukeStow) August 26, 2024

Like every other queer community on the continent already living in fear after being targeted with draconian anti-gay laws, the LGBTQ+ community in Ghana was the latest to be hit with its own extreme bill. The Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill 2024 imposes prison sentences for anyone who identifies as LGBTQ+ and those who advocate, organize, or fund LGBTQ+ groups.Following the unanimous passage of the bill by the Ghanaian parliament on February 28, there has been an intensified crackdown on LGBTQ+ communities in Ghana, significantly worsened discrimination against LGBTQ+ individuals, and emboldened homophobic attitudes now that theres legal backing to the already hostile environment for LGBTQ+ people. Related State Department warns Ghanas anti-LGBTQ+ bill could jeopardize U.S. aid The law would make it illegal to identify as LGBTQ+ or an ally. Despite the imminent threat posed by this bill, Ghanas LGBTQ+ community has demonstrated remarkable resilience by moving forward with courage, innovation, and a deep commitment to survival in a hostile environment. The community has developed various strategies to navigate the perilous landscape, including the creation of digital safe spaces on platforms such as X, Instagram and WhatsApp. These platforms have become essential to Ghanas LGBTQ+ community and enable LGBTQ+ individuals to foster connections and receive support. Global perspectives delivered right to your inbox Our newsletter bridges borders to bring you LGBTQ+ news from around the world. Subscribe to our Newsletter today Underground queer art scenes have also emerged as powerful platforms for self-expression and resistance. These artistic spaces allow LGBTQ+ individuals to explore and express their identities in ways that are both personally fulfilling and politically subversive. Often operated clandestinely, the art shows, film screenings, theatrical performances, and meeting spaces provide a critical sense of community and belonging, fostering resilience in the face of external hostility.However, resilient and vocal community members like Rayku and Denii-Peror have courageously spoken out against the negativity affecting their communities since the bills passage.Generally, the LGBTQ existence right now in the continent across the West and East Africa belt is a little bit precarious, says Rayku, a Ghanaian queer youth advocate. Due to the sensationalism of the bill and how it has heightened black violence and assault on the community, people are going back into their shells and are being overly cautious with LGBTQ activity, interactions, and engagements. Despite the doubling down and partial crippling of LGBTQ+ rights and advocacy in the country, Rayku has been using his platform to share some of his personal experiences on TikTok. Hes been sharing updates on the legislation, how hes experiencing it, and how its affecting the community.Im receptive to documenting queer lived experiences, my experiences and shed a light on the ongoing human rights violations when it comes to queer people and how their lives are not being prioritized. Because we think for cultural and religious reasons, their lives dont matter, he added.The bill is currently in transmission to the president, however, there have been several injunctions against the bill as activists and legal experts have argued that the bill infringes upon the rights of queer Ghanaians. On July 17, the Supreme Court of Ghana, headed by Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo, deferred decisions on two separate applications seeking to halt the transmission of the anti-LGBTQ+ bill from Parliament to the president.The first application, filed by Dr. Amanda Odoi, sought to block the Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin and the Clerk of Parliament from passing the bill onward. The second application, filed by Richard Dela Sky, asked the Supreme Court to restrain Parliament from any attempt to push the bill into law. The court is now addressing the constitutionality of the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, 2024 and examining potential procedural breaches in its parliamentary process.According to Rayku, the sensationalizing of the anti-LGBTQ+ bill by the media led to the crackdown and triggered abuses against the community. Ive heard cases of multiple abuses against queer people currently happening in Ghana. A lot of violence and kidnapping began happening right after the bill was passed in parliament, and weve seen abuses increase over the past months, he said.Denii Peror, a popular TikToker living in Ghana, told LGBTQ Nation how challenging it is to navigate Ghanas hostile anti-LGBTQ+ environment as a femme man.Being effeminate here is so hard. Youre constantly violated and treated like a subhuman just for living your truth. Youre seen as weak which makes you a target for bullies who attack you unprovoked and embarrass you in public, he says. Youre constantly judged and to be honest it gets overwhelming sometimes because no matter how much you try to be strong, this hate always finds a way to creep in and trigger unpleasant thoughts of self-doubt or harm. Lately, Denni has also been experiencing severe cyberbullying on TikTok from fellow Ghanaians. After the bill was passed, Denni posted a video of himself singing Talking To The Moon by Bruno Mars. The video gained over 1.7 million views but also received almost 28 thousand hateful comments with some people threatening to physically harm him. One TikTok user wrote:,Thank God the bill has been passed, now we wait for Akufo-Addo to sign it then we will wipe people like you away from Ghana for good.The hate didnt stop there. Over the past months, multiple videos of Denii taken unbeknownst to him were posted on TikTok. One was of him in a shop holding a P.O.S. (Point Of Sale) machine and another of him walking alone in a street wearing knee-length heel boots. These videos also drew hateful comments and death threats from people; one user wrote, Hes lucky I wasnt the one who saw him, I would have run him over with my car. Another wrote, Thank God we now know where he lives.Addressing the recent bill, Denii told LGBTQ Nation that he does not care about it because he doesnt believe it will change anything for the LGBTQ community. Whats happening to the community now has been a usual occurrence in Ghana. The bill just emboldened these criminals who now believe theyve been fully backed by the law. People boldly walk up to me these days in public and tell me that the bill has been passed, so if they catch me behaving like a homosexual they will beat me up. He said.Despite everything, Denni remains unapologetic and unfazed while fully embracing his femininity. I love to encourage myself and tell myself that Im living my truth. Ive made peace with the fact that constantly dealing with negativity is the price you have to pay for being femme and queer in this country. I just try my best to stay away from trouble and avoid violent situations.Denni also emphasized the need for the LGBTQ+ community to stick together in times like this and to surround themselves with strong support systems. My advice to every femme and queer person out there is that they should not give. Femme people have always existed in our pre-colonial societies and were openly embraced. Our existence is not a crime so I dont see a reason we should be ashamed of who we are. Ghana is our home and it will always be no matter what anyone or the parliament says, they said.Online activism has also brought international attention to the plight of Ghanas LGBTQ+ community, garnering solidarity and support from global human rights organizations like Human Rights Watch. Strategic alliances with other human rights groups and non-government organizations have been crucial in amplifying the voices of queer individuals advocating for their rights within Ghanas legal and political systems.The resilience of Ghanas LGBTQ+ community in the face of the bill demonstrates their strength and determination. They have created safe spaces, engaged in digital activism, and formed alliances to resist oppression and assert their right to exist. While the road ahead remains fraught with challenges, the courage and resilience of Ghanas LGBTQ+ community offer hope for a better future.

A Republican state representative in New Hampshire has been ordered to pay two drag queens he defamed $100,000 each and publicly apologize for calling them pedophiles.State Rep. David Love (R) settled with the drag queens, Robert Champion and Michael McMahon, after a two-year court fight following Loves accusation that both men had inappropriate relationships with children. Related Rightwing influencer forced to pay $1.1 million to Black drag queen she lied about The drag queen had no choice but to sue after the death threats started. As part of the settlement, Love was forced to admit that his claims were completely false. Stay connected to your community Connect with the issues and events that impact your community at home and beyond by subscribing to our newsletter. Subscribe to our Newsletter today The plaintiffs filed suit after Love made the accusations in February 2022 while introducinga bill that would mandate library employees and volunteers obtain criminal background checks. Both Champion and McMahon had participated in drag queen story hours.Love accused Champion, who appeared as Monique Toosoon in a story time event in Nashua in 2019, of being a convicted sex offender. The lawmaker also accused McMahon, as Clara Divine, of rubbing butts with children and just really going way too far at another event in Derry in 2021.Love repeated the false accusations over the objections of Champion and McMahon, local officials, and community members who challenged him over the spurious claims.Last week, Champion and McMahon secured the $200,000 settlement and a public retraction from Love, the Manchester Ink Linkreported.Love shared his apology on social media.After being provided with inaccurate information, information that I failed to verify, I publicly accused Robert Champion aka Monique Toosoon of being a registered sex offender and Michael McMahon aka Clara Divine of rubbing butts with children,the state rep posted in his retraction. I have since learned that those assertions were completely false. I wish to publicly retract those statements and apologize to Robert and Michael. I have agreed to monetary judgment against me for $100,000 for Robert and Michael each.Following the settlement, Champion toldThe Washington Post: When you say things that are that damaging or harmful about someone, theyre not going to just sit there and let it happen.Who knows what will happen with the political climate with drag queens right now? Champion said.McMahon told NBC Boston: I dont want people to look at something online about me thats untrue and believe it, then not cast me for further story times or the childrens activities stuff, because I really like to educate the younger generation on what drag is.I just want this to stand as a message for other people to not do this sort of thing, to not lie. Champion and McMahons win follows other successful defamation lawsuits addressing drag queens accused of sex crimes against children.In May, a jury awarded Idaho drag performer Eric Posey more than $1.1 million in damages after a right-wing influencer falsely accused him of flashing his genitalia at children. In January, a judge in the U.K. ordered a conservative commentator to pay Drag Race UK queen Colin Seymour, aka Crystal, $200,000 after falsely calling him a pedophile.Loves library bill in the New Hampshire House failed to leave committee and was unanimously deemed inexpedient to legislate, according to state records.

Out Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg recently explained why he regularly appears on Fox News, the right-wing media outlet, even though it is anti-LGBTQ+ and very pro-Republican. Buttigieg has appeared on the network so frequently that at the start of his speech at the Democratic National Convention last week, he joked, Im Pete Buttigieg, and you might recognize me from Fox News.The reason I do it is because I think its important to meet people where they are, and recognize that I cant be mad at somebody for not embracing our message if theyve literally never heard it, Buttigieg said at the University of Chicagos Institute of Politicss Youth Vote Fest on Wednesday when asked about his frequent Fox News appearances. The more one-sided the news network is, the less likely [its viewers] will have heard [Democratic messages], unless I literally go there and share it. And I think its especially true in this election, because I know a lot of folks who watch Fox News and count on Fox News. Related Pete Buttigieg reveals biggest scandal to hit the GOP this election season It isnt a criminal cover-up nor is it a sex scandal, he pointed out Buttigieg then used the opportunity to criticize former President Donald Trump, including the fact that violent crime went down after his presidency, that he got five medical deferments for bone spurs during his teenage and young adult years to avoid being sent to fight in Vietnam, and he allegedly called dead veterans suckers and losers. Insights for the LGBTQ+ community Subscribe to our briefing for insights into how politics impacts the LGBTQ+ community and more. Subscribe to our Newsletter today I want [Fox News viewers] to at least have heard that, maybe more often than they would have [otherwise], Buttigieg said to the Youth Vote Fest audience. I know veterans who watch Fox News. I want to ask them to consider the difference between a ticket, led by somebody who faked a disability, getting a doctors note, taking advantage of him being a teenage multimillionaire so that he wouldnt have to go to Vietnam compared to, a ticket led by the administration that delivered the PACT Act that made sure that veterans who I served with in Iraq and Afghanistan [and were exposed] to burn pits, get the cancer treatment that they need, Buttigieg noted, adding that the Democratic vice presidential nominee, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D), spent 24 years in uniform in the National Guard.I always visualize people who I know who I disagree with and who are just maybe tuning in, Buttigieg concluded. I dont think theyre going to see me on Fox for five minutes and see the light and suddenly become liberal Democrats. But I know that were having a healthier conversation if theyve at least heard what somebody like me has to say. Pete Buttigieg on why he goes on Fox News is worth a few minutes of your time pic.twitter.com/ohyqEIjLDz Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 21, 2024During the DNC, anchors with the PBS News Hour asked Buttigieg if Walz and Vice President Kamala Harris should also be appearing more regularly on Fox News.Well, you know, each of us has different kind of tactical decisions about where we go and how we do it, but Im proud to speak on Fox News and other conservative outlets on behalf of this campaign because I believe in this campaign, and I think its especially important in places where certain argumentsnot even arguments, just certain factsmight not otherwise be aired he answered. I imagine most viewers of Fox News are sincerely unaware that immigrants are no more likely to commit a crime than somebody who was born here, because thats just not a fact that gets mentioned on their airways very often, he continued. So to the extent theyre willing to invite me on there, I think its important for me to take the opportunity to share it.

A group of Republican attorneys general asked the Supreme Court to rule against transgender rights in litigation concerning anti-trans sports bills that were previously blocked in Idaho and West Virginia.The Ninth Circuit erred when it held that Idahos Fairness in Womens Sports Act likely violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Constitution does not require States to redefine sex to mean or include gender identity. The difference between men and women in athletics is a real one, and the principle of equal protection does not forbid States from address[ing] the problem at hand in a manner specific to each gender, wrote the attorneys general 26 states in a brief concerning Idahos legislation. Related Trans teens sue New Hampshire to stop sports ban New Hampshire just passed a slate of anti-trans laws. Now theyre fighting back. Idaho and West Virginia have asked the Supreme Court to hear cases concerning iterations of the Fairness in Womens Sports Act in each state, a bill that restricts trans girls and womens right to participate in girls and womens sports by defining them as men. However, the Supreme Court has not yet stated whether itll take this case, as the judges are currently in recess for the summer. Stay connected to your community Connect with the issues and events that impact your community at home and beyond by subscribing to our newsletter. Subscribe to our Newsletter today The Amici States all have laws and policieslike West Virginias Sports Actthat bar biological males from trying out for womens and girls sports teams or competing in womens and girls athletic competitions. Those laws reflect basic biology; they also reflect the fact that ignoring basic biology robs women and girls of an equal opportunity to compete for athletic accolades, wrote the attorneys general in the West Virginia brief.These laws are contrary to scientific consensus, which suggests there may be no inherent advantage to trans women who have been transitioning for some time. They also rely on the assumption that trans women do not count as real women and should not be offered the same opportunities as cis women, something that is contrary to the opinion of major medical organizations in the United States.This group of attorneys general includes those from Alabama, Arkansas, Alaska, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Wyoming, as well as West Virginia and Idaho.This effort is led by Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin and Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, who led the filing of both briefs. The Idaho lawsuit has been ongoing since 2020, after Lindsay Hecox, a trans woman and runner at Boise State University, filed it with the help of the ACLU in response to their iteration of the Fairness in Womens Sports Act. This ban has been blocked since a judge filed an injunction against it in the same year.The West Virginia lawsuit was filed in 2021 by Becky Pepper-Jackson, a young trans girl challenging the law with the help of the ACLU and Lambda Legal. This case is especially important as Pepper-Jackson is on puberty blockers and has not undergone a testosterone-based puberty. A judge filed an injunction on this case as well.The Supreme Court will be hearing a case on transgender rights later this year, L.W. v Skrmetti. This case concerns Tennessees ban on gender-affirming care.

California continues to lead among states when it comes to transgender rights and gender-affirming care. The latest indicator: The state Senate recently passed AB 2442, a bill to expedite licensing for specialists in trans healthcare.The legislation passed out of the Senate on a party-line vote, with Democrats all voting yea and all but two Republicans voting against it, The Sacramento Bee reported. Despite their unified opposition, no Republicans spoke against the bill on the Senate floor. Now the fate of AB 2442 rests in Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsoms hands. Related School district sues Gavin Newsom for the right to out trans kids to their parents California just banned outing trans kids, which made some conservatives angry. AB 2442s author, California Assemblyman Rick Chavez Zbur, touted his states leading role as a sanctuary for trans people and warned of a continuing threat from lawmakers in thrall to MAGA and its culture war on LGBTQ+ people. Stay connected to your community Connect with the issues and events that impact your community at home and beyond by subscribing to our newsletter. Subscribe to our Newsletter today California has always been a beacon of hope for those seeking essential health care services, whether its reproductive health or gender-affirming care. As MAGA-led legislatures across the country attack the transgender community and restrict the care they desperately need, this bill enables California to step up and meet the needs of those traveling here for the services banned in their states, Zbur in a statement following the bills passage.Planned Parenthood, whose facilities in California provide gender-affirming care, called on Newsom to ensure health equity for the trans community.We hope to see AB 2442 signed into law so we can better meet the needs of (transgender, gender diverse and intersex) individuals by ensuring the health care provider workforce is equipped with providers across California that are trained and prepared to provide comprehensive and equitable gender-affirming care to those who seek it in our state, President and CEO Jodi Hicks said in a statement.Newsom has until the end of September to sign or veto the bill.As a longtime LGBTQ+ ally, Newsom hasnt always fallen in line when it comes to trans issues. Last September, he vetoed a bill that would have required judges to consider whether a parent is gender-affirming when determining custody of a transgender child. Observers noted that Gov. Newsoms distaste for such court decisions and their potentially negative effects may stem from his own fathers tenure as an appeals court judge. His father was appointed as a judge by Newsoms predecessor, California Gov. Jerry Brown (D).In October, Newsom vetoed three pro-LGBTQ+ bills, commending their intent but questioning their reach and constitutionality. Though the bills sought to increase access to gender-affirming and HIV medications, he worried their broad wording could have unintended legal effects.Newsom has been bold regarding LGBTQ+ rights in other instances. As mayor of San Francisco in 2004, he greenlit same-sex marriages at City Hall in defiance of state law. Kamala Harris, then the citys district attorney, was a frequent officiant during the four-week run of marriage ceremonies.More than half of U.S. states have enacted laws to restrict access to gender-affirming care for minors and/or adults, according to the Human Rights Campaign.

The hardware retailer Lowes just announced that its capitulating to pressure from far-right conservatives and removing LGBTQ+ inclusive programs from its company.Among other announcements, the company will no longer participate in the Human Rights Campaigns surveys, it will no longer be sponsoring Pride parades, and it will combine all minority-related employee resource groups into one larger group to service every employee demographic. Related Harley-Davidson caves to right-wingers & drops affiliation with LGBTQ+ organization Its the third big corporation to drop its diversity initiatives after being targeted by one online activist. Lowes still operates a webpage dedicated to advertising diversity on its website. It states, Were committed to fostering a culture where every member of the Lowes team truly feels they belong. When associates can be their authentic selves at work, they perform at their bestand when that happens, we all win. Stay connected to your community Connect with the issues and events that impact your community at home and beyond by subscribing to our newsletter. Subscribe to our Newsletter today The pressure allegedly came from far-right influencer and anti-LGBTQ conspiracy theorist Robby Starbuck, who also has led similar successful campaigns against Harley-Davidson, John Deere, and Jack Daniels.Were now forcing multi-billion dollar organizations to change their policies without even posting just from fear they have of being the next company that we expose, he said on X. Big news: I messaged @Lowes executives last week to let them know that I planned to expose their woke policies. This morning I woke up to an email where they preemptively made big changes.Here are the changes: Ending participation in the @HRCs woke Corporate Equality Index pic.twitter.com/qOUr2JLGV7 Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) August 26, 2024Starbuck recently published a LinkedIn post he sent to the vice president of Lowes. Its unclear whether Lowes changed its policies in direct response to Starbuck or whether Starbucks many fans played a role in pressuring the hardware company.According to reporter Judd Legum, Starbuck is a conspiracy theorist who has suggested, for example, that chemicals in tap water are turning kids gay. Its an oft-repeated right-wing conspiracy theory. 1. Robby Starbuck has convinced major corporations to cancel programs supporting LGBTQ employees & customersHe is also a CONSPIRACY THEORIST and ANTI-LGTBQ EXTREMIST Starbuck has suggested, for example, that CHEMICALS IN TAP WATER ARE TURNING KIDS "GAY"Follow along for Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) July 31, 2024Legum states that Starbuck has engaged in anti-LGBTQ+ conspiracies for some time, having released documentaries that claim there is a vast network of government operatives working to push LGBTQ+ rights. Additionally, Starbuck allegedly believes that Pride parades are dedicated to pushing sexual topics onto young peoplethis claim isnt based in reality.Legum, who writes for Popular Info, wrote, Starbuck frequently promotes anti-LGTBQ views to his social media followers. On X, Starbuck has said that pride events should be age-restricted and only indoors. Starbuck has also suggested that trans people want to assault women in public bathrooms and that displaying pride flags around children is grooming and indoctrination.In June 2023, Starbuck complained about book publisher McGraw Hill celebrating pride, calling the company woke and insinuating that those who support LGBTQ rights support pedophilia. They say no matter how you identify, you should be accepted. That means a man can identify as a child Starbuck wrote, according to Legum.

Out Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) recently went on Fox News and explained why Democratic presidential nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, has recently changed her progressive position on several issues. During the 2020 election cycle, Harris publicly supported bans on fracking, mandatorybuy-back programsfor assault weapons, decriminalizing illegal border crossings, a single-payer Medicare-for-all healthcare system, and possibly expanding the U.S. Supreme Court, but she has since backtracked on all of these, Axios noted. Her shift has upset progressive voters and compelled Republicans to characterize her as a flip-flopping Kameleon who changes her political identity depending on her audience. Related Jared Polis has a simple message for making America inclusive for everyone: Go vote Jared Polis promised to protect LGBTQ+ people, but before doing so, he had to get elected. The truth of the matter is, yes, shes come to the middle. Shes pragmatic, shes a tough leader, shes the leader we need for the future, Polis said on Fox News Sunday, according to The Hill. So again, while she may have in the past ran on things, just as President Trump ran on single-payersupported single-payer health care years ago and has moved away from thatKamala Harrisdid support things that shes now moderated. Your LGBTQ+ guide to Election 2024 Stay ahead of the 2024 Election with our newsletter that covers candidates, issues, and perspectives that matter. Subscribe to our Newsletter today Shes going to be a president for all the American people, he continued. Look, whether youre conservative, whether youre moderate, whether youre liberal, I think youre going to see a lot of your priorities reflected in President Harris, whos really just out for the people, as she said, fighting to make housing more affordable, improve our schools, make education more affordable and strengthen the jobs market.Presidential candidates infamously shift their policy positions when running for the Oval Office, going more moderate after having tacked left or right to win the primary.Polis also defended Harris from criticisms about not sitting for a mainstream media interview since she replaced President Joe Biden as the presidential nominee. Harris, who has since conducted several interviews with social media influencers, will sit for a CNN interview alongside her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D), on Thursday. Shes already taking questions at a number of different venues as shes moving in and out,Polis said.Polis recently spoke at the Democratic National Convention and spent the majority of his speech highlightingProject 2025s plan to attack Americans reproductive rights. Project 2025 is the Heritage Foundations Christian Nationalist blueprint to staff the federal government with loyalists to former President Donald Trump and roll back civil rights and protections. Here on page 562, it says that Donald Trump could use an obscure law from the 1800s to single-handedly ban abortion in all 50 states, even putting doctors in jail, Polis said while holding a large bound copy of the 900-page blueprint. Page 486 puts limits on contraception. Page 450 threatens access to IVF. On page 455,Project 2025says that states have to report miscarriages to the Trump administration. Page 451 says the only legitimate family is a married mother and father, where only the father works.Project 2025 would turn the entire federal government and bureaucracy into a massive machine. It would weaponize it to control our reproductive and personal choices, Polis added. Democrats welcome weird, but were not weirdos telling families who can and cant have kids, who to marry or how to live our lives.

Earlier this week, a federal appeals court overrode a landmark decision in the caseDoe v. Ladapo, authorizing restrictions on gender-affirming care for minors and adults to go into law.In a 2-1 decision, judges with the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals put a pause on a trial court ruling that overturned S.B. 254, a total ban on gender-affirming care for minors that also enforces some restrictions for adults. Related Federal judge overturns Floridas gender-affirming care ban in historic victory for trans rights Judge Robert Hinkle overturned a ban thats driven thousands of families out of the state This decision means that minors cannot access any medical gender-affirming care in the state, including hormone replacement therapy and surgery. Additionally, there are multiple restrictions for adults, including mandating that consent forms are signed in person thus creating a barrier for anyone who relies on telehealth appointments and mandating that only physicians can apply such care, depriving people of access to many medical providers. Stay connected to your community Connect with the issues and events that impact your community at home and beyond by subscribing to our newsletter. Subscribe to our Newsletter today The two judges that voted in favor of the state ban were the Trump-appointed Judges Britt Grant and Robert Luck, while the sole dissenter, Judge Charles Wilson, was a Clinton appointee.I would not find that the defendants have made a strong showing of likely success on the meritsparticularly given the evidence of transgender animus. In granting the stay, the majority quotes the district court, writing that the stay issue is close. The issue being close is not enough to warrant granting the stay and minimizing the thorough and careful analysis the district court engaged in, wrote Wilson in his dissenting opinion. The district court appropriately credited arguments on both sides of the case, and found that on balance, the plaintiffs should prevail. We should defer to such thoughtful decision-making.This ruling overturns Clinton-appointee Judge Robert Hinkles decision, in which he instituted a permanent injunction against the bill. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) also said in June that he expected the 11th Circuit Court to overturn this decision. According to legal journalist Chris Geidner, the judges argued in their decision that Hinkle had misstepped in his search for undue discrimination and that he had essentially found a loophole that they were trying to close, referencing a case from last year of Eknes-Tucker v. Governor of Alabama.We are deeply disappointed by this decision and the panels disregard for the district courts careful findings and adherence to the Eleventh Circuits recent precedent. Allowing these discriminatory restrictions to go back into effect will deny transgender adults and adolescents lifesaving care and prevent Florida parents from making medical decisions that are right for their children, wrote GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders, Human Rights Campaign, National Center for Lesbian Rights, Southern Legal Counsel, and Lowenstein Sandler LLP in a statement regarding the ruling.We will continue fighting for transgender Floridians and their families, and for everyones right to make healthcare decisions without government interference. It is possible that the plaintiffs in the case will try to appeal to the Supreme Court, as their legal counsel also said, The plaintiffs in this case are considering their options and will take every step possible to protect their right to equal treatment under Floridas laws. This wouldnt be the first case related to trans issues that the Supreme Court hears, as the Court is expected to hear L.W. v. Skrmetti, a case concerning Tennessees gender-affirming care ban. However, this case does not concern gender-affirming care for adults.According to Geidner, Luck had voted earlier this week to restrict the Biden administrations Title IX rule expanding protections for transgender students in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina. Wilson, meanwhile, also was on the case and had dissented.The decision does not affect a separate ruling, Claire et al. v. Florida Dept of Mgmt Servs. et al., which overturns S.B. 254s restrictions for state employees getting gender-affirming healthcare on state insurance. However, it is expected that the Florida government will appeal this decision, where it will go to the same appeals court. Twenty-six other states have passed laws restricting gender-affirming care, and these include Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming.The ACLU of Florida, the Florida Department of Management Services, and DeSantis office did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication. This article will be updated accordingly.

GOP vice presidential candidate Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) ranted about how a lesbian who is the leader of a teachers union doesnt have children and, therefore, shouldnt be allowed to brainwash and destroy childrens minds. The woman he was referring to actually does have children and was a teacher in the 90s before working in teachers unions for decades.I think our conservative idea is that parents and families should determine what children learn, what values they are brought up with, Vance said in newly surfaced audio from a 2021 forum held by the Center for Christian Virtue. Related Lauren Boebert snarls were not a democracy so quit with that! in response to calls for gun laws She called the idea that the U.S. government should follow the will of the people woke nonsense. You know, its so many of the leaders of the left and I hate to be so personal about this but theyre people without kids trying to brainwash the minds of our children.And that really disorients me, and it really disturbed me. Your LGBTQ+ guide to Election 2024 Stay ahead of the 2024 Election with our newsletter that covers candidates, issues, and perspectives that matter. Subscribe to our Newsletter today His comments echo similar comments he made in the past about how people without children shouldnt be allowed in positions of power in the government and even that people who dont have children shouldnt get an equal number of votes as people who do have children. He has previously attacked out Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), and Vice President Kamala Harris as childless cat ladies, even though Harris is a step-mom and Buttigieg was going through the adoption process at the time.In the newly-surfaced comments, though, Vance directed his animus towards out American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten.Randi Weingarten, whos the head of the most powerful teachers union in the country she doesnt have a single child. If she wants to brainwash and destroy the minds of children, she should have some of her own and leave ours the hell alone, Vance said. Weingarten is a mother by marriage to her wife.According to CNN, Weingarten has adopted her and her wifes kids. NEW VANCE AUDIO: During a Center for Christian Virtue forum in 2021, JD Vance attacked American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten for "brainwashing" children while not having children of her own:"So many of the leaders of the left, and I hate to be so personal pic.twitter.com/g7fXb1ReZV Heartland Signal (@HeartlandSignal) August 27, 2024Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) attacked Weingarten similarly in 2023 during a House Oversight and Accountability Subcommittee on Select Coronavirus Crisis hearing.Are you a medical doctor? Greene asked Weingarten at the hearing. Are you a mother?What Id like to talk about is your recommendations to the CDC as not a medical doctor, not a biological mother, um, and really not a teacher either, Greene barked at Weingarten.You have no business advising the CDC what the medical guidelines were for school closures, Greene said. The problem is, is people like you need to admit that youre just a political activist, not a teacher, not a mother, and not a medical doctor. Marjorie Taylor Greene says that adopted or parents through marriage arent real parents because theyre not biological. She just told a witness who is a mother through marriage that she is not a mother. pic.twitter.com/wrlMLZW9NV No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen (@NoLieWithBTC) April 27, 2023In 2021, on Fox News, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) made similar comments about Weingarten.Randi Weingarten is a joke,Cotton said at the time. Randi Weingarten does not even have children of her own. What in the hell does she know about raising and teaching kids?In fact, thats probably why she was perfectly fine to shut down schools for two years and force kids to wear masks, because she didnt have to deal with it at home. Randi Weingarten doesnt even have childrenwhat does she know about raising and teaching kids? pic.twitter.com/7v5HpntFJU Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) November 2, 2021Vance claimed this weekend that his comments attacking politicians mostly women for not having children were a sarcastic comment that a lot of Democrats have willfully misinterpreted.Im a real person, Im going to make jokes, Im going to say things sarcastically. And I think that whats important is that we focus on the policy, he claimed in an interview with NBCs Meet the Press on Sunday.