Federal judge shuts down Texas drag ban: If you don’t like drag “just don’t go”
Read more at LGBTQ Nation. A federal judge in Texas ruled this week that the state’s drag ban is an unconstitutional restriction of free speech in violation of the First Amendment. US District Court Judge David Hittner’s Tuesday decision strikes down S.B. 12, a 2023 law signed by anti-LGBTQ+ Gov. Greg Abbott (R). While the…
NC’s newest bathroom battle is stoking worries about LGBTQ student harassment
Read more at Charlotte Observer. Transgender students are absorbing the consequences of a growing fight in Cabarrus County Schools, where two federal lawsuits and a Trump administration investigation are challenging how the district handles bathroom access, LGBTQ advocates say. For months, parents, elected officials and community members clashed over whether transgender students should be allowed…
‘Maine’s first affordable senior housing community for LGBTQ+ older adults’ has its grand opening
Read more at News Center Maine. An affordable senior housing community, described as “Maine’s first affordable senior housing community with programs and services for LGBTQ+ and older adults,” opens Wednesday (August 19). Equality Commons is a 54-unit community that is opening next to the Equality Community Center (ECC) at 25 Casco Street in downtown Portland, according to a…
Record Breaking: LGBTQ+ Adults Now 12% of Population; Greater than 10% in 40 of 50 States
Read more at HRC. The Human Rights Campaign Foundation today released updated population estimates showing that a record-high 12% of U.S. adults – roughly 25.6 million people – identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or gender diverse. The analysis, drawn from more than 2.4 million responses to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey collected between 2021 and 2024, is…
Rehoboth Beach elects first openly gay mayor, the resort town’s first female leader in decades
Read more at WHYY. Residents of Rehoboth Beach chose a new mayor last weekend. Susan Stewart was elected by a wide margin, winning more than 60% of the vote out of four mayoral candidates. Stewart’s win is significant; she will be the first openly gay mayor of Rehoboth Beach, and the first woman elected mayor in decades.…
Seattle considers $300K boost for groups serving LGBTQ+ people displaced by red-state bigotry
Read more at the Advocate. Seattle leaders could soon distribute $300,000 to LGBTQ+ organizations to welcome displaced transgender people to the city. The boost for local nonprofits comes as social services feel the strain of a massive influx of people fleeing persecution in Republican-led states. The Seattle City Council’s Finance, Native Communities & Tribal Governments Committee voted last week to allot…
Canada ends sperm donor restrictions for gay & bisexual men in “precedent-setting” move
Read more at LGBTQ Nation. The government agency Health Canada announced last week it has ended its restrictions on gay and bisexual sperm donors. Aziz M. told CBC he has “had a wonderful experience” as a sperm donor, with one child conceived with his sperm remaining an active part of his life. But when he encouraged other queer…
Slovakia defies EU & refuses to register gay couple’s marriage
Read more at LGBTQ Nation. The Central European nation of Slovakia rejected a gay couple’s attempt to have their marriage registered, possibly setting up a clash with the European Union (EU). Ivan Novotný and Metod Špaček, who are both Slovak, got married in Austria in 2020. Both nations are EU member states. This past December,…
Medicaid to stop covering gender-affirming care for transgender kids
Read more at USA Today. The federal agency that runs Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program will no longer pay for gender-affirming care for minors who don’t identify with the sex they were assigned at birth. The Department of Health and Human Services announced Aug. 12 that it finalized a rule after more than a year…
Bolivia recognizes first same-sex marriage in historic step towards equality
Read more at LGBTQ Nation. After a nearly four-year legal battle, Fabiana Banzer and Scarlett Rocha became the first same-sex couple to be civilly married in the South American country of Bolivia. Despite these women’s recent wedding, the country’s constitution still forbids same-sex marriages. Nevertheless, their legal victory could open the door to other same-sex…
Connecticut Children’s to halt gender-affirming care for minors
Read more at NewsNation. Connecticut Children’s Medical Center in Hartford has agreed to stop providing gender-affirming medical treatments to minors, including puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones, as part of a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice. The DOJ announced the agreement Wednesday as part of its ongoing national investigation into gender-affirming care for children and adolescents. According to…
An 11th state is set to ban updating gender markers on licenses
Read more at LGBTQ Nation. South Dakota is reportedly set to enforce a policy that will make it impossible for trans people in the state to update the gender marker on their driver’s license. However, the policy has not yet been enacted, meaning trans people may still have a small window to update their gender…
Polish court rejects European court’s ruling in favor of marriage equality
Read more at LGBTQ Nation. Poland’s highest court rejected a ruling from a European court requiring the Catholic-majority nation to recognize same-sex marriages performed abroad. The ruling from the Constitutional Tribunal comes after the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled last November that Poland, which is a European Union member state, has…
Trump admin. halts federal money to local HIV/AIDS community groups
Read more at LGBTQ Nation. Funding for HIV services is the likely victim of a longtime Republican goal of devolving power to the states. The Trump administration notified the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) last month that it would cease a years-long community grant program funding local organizations that provide HIV testing, referrals for care,…
Polish president vetoes bills to recognize same-sex couples
Read more at LGBTQ Nation. The president of Poland, Karol Nawrocki, vetoed two bills last week that would have extended recognition to same-sex couples. The bills would have created “cohabitation contracts,” according to Reuters, which would have given some legal recognition to same-sex couples when it comes to medical information, property rights, and funeral arrangements. The…
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