Author: johntarheel76

The best states to live in for 2026: No. 1 has a six-year winning streak

Read more at CNBC. *Editors note– only some of these states are ranked as LGBTQ friendly, so please keep that in mind.

One of the many signs that the Covid pandemic is slipping further into the past is that companies are paying closer attention to the quality of life in locations where they are considering setting up shop. 

“Where are people moving? Where have they gone post-Covid?” said veteran site selection consultant Tom Stringer of Stringer Site Selection in New York. “It’s largely going to be an attractive place to live. You’re seeing corporate industry chasing people now rather than people chasing jobs.” 

So, it stands to reason that in their campaigns to lure business, states are increasingly touting their quality of life. As a result, CNBC is giving more weight to the Quality of Life category in this year’s America’s Top States for Business study. It is our annual ranking of every state’s business climate, now in its 20th year. Under this year’s methodology, the category makes up 11.6% of a state’s overall score, up from about ten percent last year.  

To score the states for quality of life, we use hard data on factors like crime rates, air quality and healthcare. We also consider the cost and availability of childcare, inclusiveness of state laws, and reproductive rights. Some states do not make the grade when it comes to providing a great place for residents to live and work. The following states are America’s best places to live this year. 

Nebraska 

SUTHERLAND, NEBRASKA - JULY 03: A rider competes in the saddle bronc event during the town's annual Independence Day holiday rodeo on July 03, 2026 in Sutherland, Nebraska. Communities across the United States are hosting events this weekend to celebrate Americas 250th birthday. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

A rider competes in the saddle bronc event during the town’s annual Independence Day holiday rodeo on July 03, 2026 in Sutherland, Nebraska.

Scott Olson | Getty Images

Nebraska’s Prescription Drug Monitoring Program, in place since 2017 to combat the opioid epidemic, is one of the most extensive in the nation. It requires the reporting of every prescription in the state — not just controlled substances. Then-State Senator Sara Howard, who introduced the legislation, said at the time, “My goal is to make Nebraska one of the leading states in the nation in the fight against opioid addiction and abuse.” She succeeded. No state had fewer drug deaths per capita in 2023, according to the United Health Foundation, just 8.7 deaths per 100,000 people. It is one reason that the Cornhusker State is among America’s healthiest. It also helps that Nebraska has exceptionally clean air, according to data from the American Lung Association and First Street Foundation. 

2026 Quality of Life score: 184 out of 290 points (Top States grade: B) 

Strengths: Health, Air Quality 

Weaknesses: Reproductive Rights, Inclusiveness 

Massachusetts 

Man enjoys hilltop view in the Berkshires, New England in Fall.

Hilltop view in the Berkshires, New England in Fall.

Suefeldberg | Istock | Getty Images

Massachusetts is America’s healthiest state, in part because it has more primary care physicians per capita than any other state, according to the United Health Foundation. That may have something to do with the fact that no state has a smaller percentage of people without health insurance, which experts contend has everything to do with the historic healthcare reform championed by then-Gov. Mitt Romney 20 years ago. “Romneycare,” passed in 2006, mandated that every resident must have health insurance or pay a tax penalty, established a marketplace where they could buy insurance, and created subsidies to make it affordable. The United Health Foundation notes that as of last year, 53.4% of Bay State residents surveyed said their health was good or excellent — second only to Vermont. Massachusetts is also a leader in worker protections, mandating paid sick leave and protecting the right to organize.  

2026 Quality of Life score: 184 out of 290 points (Top States grade: B) 

Strengths: Health, Worker Protections, Inclusiveness, Reproductive Rights 

Weaknesses: Air Quality, Childcare 

North Dakota 

Fargo, North Dakota - August 12, 2014: View of the broadway street with the facade of the Fargo Theatre, in the city of Fargo.

Fargo, North Dakota.

Tiago_fernandez | Istock Editorial | Getty Images

No state does better than North Dakota when it comes to the availability of childcare at a reasonable price. The Peace Garden State has 478 licensed childcare centers in a state of fewer than 800,000 people, according to Child Care Aware of America. The average cost is just 9% of the median income for a family with two working parents, or half the cost in Hawaii. Whether the state can continue that record is an open question, however. State childcare assistance has in some ways been a victim of its own success. Late last year, facing budget pressures due in part to high enrollment, the state reduced some of its subsidies. It also eliminated its Working Parents Child Care Relief program, which offered matching payments for employer-led childcare. The final matching payments will go out in August.  

2026 Quality of Life score: 186 out of 290 points (Top States grade: B+) 

Strengths: Childcare, Health, Air Quality, Crime 

Weaknesses: Worker Protections, Reproductive Rights 

Virginia

The Downtown Mall in Charlottesville, Virginia is one of the longest pedestrian malls in the United States. Located on Main Street.

The Downtown Mall in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Denistangneyjr | E+ | Getty Images

With just 218 incidents per 100,000 residents in 2024, Virginia had one of the lowest violent crime rates in the nation, according to FBI statistics. Ceasefire Virginia, launched in 2022 under Gov. Glenn Youngkin and Attorney General Jason Miyares, both Republicans — and continuing under their Democratic successors, Abigail Spanberger and Jay Jones — targets gun violence in 13 municipalities in the Commonwealth with increased penalties for possession and use of firearms by convicted felons. An analysis of the program last year by Virginia Commonwealth University’s Center for Public Policy credited it with a 10% decrease in homicides statewide through 2024, including a 24% reduction in homicides in Ceasefire localities. 

2026 Quality of Life score: 189 out of 290 points (Top States grade: B+) 

Strengths: Crime, Air Quality, Health 

Weakness: Childcare 

New Hampshire 

Lake Winnipesaukee is the largest lake in the U.S. state of New Hampshire, located in the Lakes Region. Lake Winnipesaukee has been a popular tourist destination for more than a century, particularly among residents seeking a safe haven from the summer heat of Boston and New York City.

Lake Winnipesaukee, New Hampshire.

Denistangneyjr | E+ | Getty Images

“Live Free or Die” is New Hampshire’s famous motto. And in the Granite State, the first part of that motto almost always wins. A broad range of residents live free from discrimination under the state’s very inclusive statutes. (One exception, however, is its election laws. New Hampshire is one of only three states— the others are Mississippi and Alabama — that do not offer in-person early voting.) Violent crime is practically non-existent, with just 110 offenses per 100,000 residents in 2024. Perhaps even more impressive, the violent crime rate is down 44% since 2014. 

2026 Quality of Life score: 189 out of 290 points (Top States grade: B+) 

Strengths: Crime, Childcare, Inclusiveness 

Weaknesses: Health, Worker Protections 

Hawaii  

Hawaii surfers people relaxing on waikiki beach with surfboards looking at waves in Honolulu, Hawaii. Healthy active lifestyle fitness couple at sunset with diamond head mountain in the background.

Hawaii surfers on waikiki beach in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Maridav | Istock | Getty Images

Hawaii spent many years at or near the top of this list, with low crime, a pristine environment, and welcoming state laws. Then, in 2022, we began factoring in the cost and availability of childcare. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation calls it “more than a family issue — it’s an economic imperative.” The state has been trying since 2023 to address the need with its “Ready Keiki” program (Keiki means child in Hawaiian). In October, the state celebrated the opening of the 100th pre-school classroom under the program, in Kailua. But the need is still enormous — and so is the cost, the highest in the nation at 18% of median income, according to Child Care Aware. 

2026 Quality of Life score: 191 out of 290 points (Top States grade: B+) 

Strengths: Crime, Air Quality, Inclusiveness 

Weaknesses: Childcare, Health 

Connecticut 

Hartford, Connecticut, USA downtown skyline at sunset.

Hartford, Connecticut.

Sean Pavone | Istock | Getty Images

Like most of its New England neighbors, Connecticut is remarkably healthy, and its residents practice healthy habits. Illicit opioid use is the lowest of any state. The Nutmeg State even leads the nation in the percentage of adults who reported visiting a dentist in the past year, according to the United Health Foundation. The state has the nation’s third-lowest violent crime rate. Air quality is poor, however, with high levels of ozone, according to the American Lung Association, and high levels of particulate matter, according to the nonprofit First Street Foundation. 

2026 Quality of Life score: 205 out of 290 points (Top States grade: A–) 

Strengths: Crime, Health, Worker Protections 

Weakness: Air Quality 

Minnesota 

Canoeing in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area

Canoeing in the Boundary Waters Area Wilderness in Minnesota.

Georgepeters | Istock | Getty Images

Minnesota offers among the nation’s strongest guarantees of reproductive rights, according to analysis by the Guttmacher Institute. While there are few issues more divisive than abortion, the economics of it are becoming increasingly clear-cut since the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision returned the jurisdiction to the states in 2022. A 2025 study by the National Bureau of Economic Research found abortion bans “increase net migration outflows” and that ”(t)he effects are more prominent for single-person households than family households, which may reflect larger effects on younger adults.”

The North Star State also offers strong protections against discrimination, and it earns a near-perfect score from Oxfam America for its worker protections such as the right of workers to organize. And the home of the Mayo Clinic is appropriately among America’s healthiest states. 

2026 Quality of Life score: 210 out of 290 points (Top States grade: A) 

Strengths: Reproductive Rights, Inclusiveness, Health 

Weakness: Childcare 

New Jersey

Manasquan is a borough in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.

Manasquan is a borough in Monmouth County, New Jersey.

Denistangneyjr | Istock | Getty Images

Yes, New Jersey. If the Garden State is not the first place that comes to mind when you think about great quality of life, you are not looking closely enough, according to the data. According to the United Health Foundation, New Jersey has the second-lowest rate of premature deaths after Massachusetts, helping to make New Jersey one of America’s healthiest states. It ranks third nationally for healthy lives, according to the Commonwealth Fund’s 2025 Scorecard on State Health System Performance. But like so much else in New Jersey, the state’s health system has serious affordability issues. First-term Gov. Mikie Sherrill has proposed fining employers that do not provide health insurance for their employees, and she is seeking reform in the State Health Benefits Program, which she says has been “pushed to the brink” of insolvency. 

2026 Quality of Life score: 223 out of 290 points (Top States grade: A+) 

Strengths: Health, Reproductive Rights, Worker Protections, Crime 

Weakness: Air Quality 

Maine 

The Portland Head Lighthouse in Maine, USA at sunrise.

The Portland Head Lighthouse in Maine at sunrise.

Sara_winter | Istock | Getty Images

Maine has America’s lowest violent crime rate, with just 100 incidents per 100,000 people in 2024. After a horrific mass shooting spree in 2023 in Lewiston that left 18 people dead, Maine legislators passed a series of reforms that earned the state “most improved” honors in 2024 from the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. The Pine Tree State’s laws offer a wide range of protections against discrimination. But the state has some challenges when it comes to health. Maine ranks No. 42 for drug deaths and No. 35 for frequent mental distress, according to the United Health Foundation.  

2026 Quality of Life score: 232 out of 290 points (Top States grade: A+) 

Strengths: Crime, Inclusiveness, Air Quality 

Weakness: Health 

America’s Best Place to Live in 2026: Vermont 

Montpelier, Vermont.

Montpelier, Vermont.

Sean Pavone Photo | Getty Images

People are feeling good in Vermont. Fifty-four percent of Vermonters surveyed by the United Health Foundation in 2024 reported that they were in good or excellent health — more than in any other state. Crime is low, and, as is common throughout the region, the Green Mountain State fiercely protects its residents’ rights. But one area where the state falls badly short is homelessness. Vermont ranks No. 47 for homelessness, according to the United Health Foundation. By the state’s most recent count, more than 3,000 people were unhoused as of January 2025, in a state with just 644,000 people. So, in a rare moment of agreement, Republican Gov. Phil Scott signed a bill passed by the Democratic-led legislature to overhaul the state’s system to manage the situation. The bill sets aside some $83 million to establish a range of shelter options, with less emphasis on unused hotel rooms. The new law aims to make sure that in America’s top state for quality of life, more people have a place to live. 

2026 Quality of Life score: 233 out of 290 points (Top States grade: A+) 

Strengths: Reproductive Rights, Health, Crime, Inclusiveness, Air Quality 

Weakness: Childcare 

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Why LGBTQ Americans Are Moving to Portugal & Europe | Josh in Lisbon Update

Thinking about moving to Portugal or Europe from the United States? For LGBTQ+ Americans concerned about civil rights, politics, healthcare, safety, and their long-term future in the U.S., Portugal has become one of the destinations getting serious attention.

In this episode of the Flee Your Red States Podcast, Bob McCranie and Leslie welcome back Josh in Lisbon, an American who has now lived in Portugal for three years, for an update on what relocating to Portugal actually looks like in 2026.

Josh says something important has changed. Many of the Americans contacting him aren’t simply looking for an overseas adventure anymore. They’re considering leaving the United States because they’re afraid of what may happen next.

We talk about the realities behind that decision: Portugal’s growing international community, LGBTQ+ life in Europe, immigration and residency changes, learning Portuguese, integrating into a different culture, healthcare, employment, bureaucracy, and the financial realities of building a life outside the United States.

Josh also explains some of the differences between buying real estate in Portugal and the United States and what Americans should understand before assuming that purchasing a home overseas works the same way it does back home.

The conversation goes beyond Portugal.

With the 2026 U.S. midterm elections approaching, we discuss what the results could mean for LGBTQ+ migration. Will a political shift convince people to stay? Could further restrictions accelerate the number of Americans considering Europe? And for people who have already decided that their long-term future may be elsewhere, does the election even change the decision?

We also discuss one of the most overlooked parts of international relocation: moving somewhere is very different from becoming part of somewhere.

Language matters. Culture matters. Employment matters. Healthcare matters. And the experience of visiting Portugal is very different from actually building a life there.

Josh shares what he has learned after three years in Lisbon—and what he wishes more Americans understood before packing their bags.

Topics include: moving to Portugal from the USA, LGBTQ+ migration to Europe, living in Lisbon, Portugal immigration and residency, Portuguese citizenship, LGBTQ+ rights and safety, healthcare in Europe, working in Portugal, cultural integration, buying property in Portugal, the 2026 midterm elections, and why Americans are considering leaving the United States.

For information about relocating to Portugal or Portuguese real estate, visit Josh in Lisbon and find Josh on social media at @joshinlisbon.

The Flee Your Red States Podcast explores relocation options for LGBTQ+ people and others concerned about whether their civil rights will continue to be protected where they live. Our goal isn’t to tell people that they should leave. It’s to help people understand what their options are if they decide they need them.

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The 15 worst universities in the U.S. for LGBTQ+ students

Read more at the Advocate.

The adult entertainment portal Erobella, responsible for the Sexually Liberal City Index, just released a new study ranking U.S. universities by how LGBTQ+-inclusive they are.

Erobella recently published the Out on Campus: The LGBTQ+ College Index 2026, which measures how “supportive and inclusive” the universities across the country are. The study examined whether universities have professionally staffed LGBTQ+ centers, provide gender-inclusive housing, have written policies that protect trans students from discrimination, have a student health insurance plan that covers gender-affirming care, and allow chosen names and pronouns to be used on official records.

Out on Campus also analyzed the city where the school is located by measuring its score on the Human Rights Campaign’s Municipal Equality Index, the number of LGBTQ+ venues nearby, and whether there is a local PFLAG chapter.

Related: The 15 best universities in the U.S. for LGBTQ+ students

“For LGBTQ+ students, knowing how supportive and inclusive a university really is can make a meaningful difference,” said Brenda Jensen from Erobella’s data and research team. “With the Out on Campus Index, we want to create greater transparency and show which universities are providing concrete support and resources for LGBTQ+ students — while also highlighting where there is still room for improvement.”

Since the Campus Pride Index was shut down after serving as the go-to source for finding LGBTQ+-friendly universities for the past 18 years, this study is more important than ever for students seeking a four-year institution that provides trans and other LGBTQ+ students with support and protection.

New York University came out on top as the most LGBTQ+ friendly university in the country, while at the other end of the spectrum, 81 colleges hold or have sought religious exemptions under Title IX to legally permit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Every school in the bottom 15 is also a religious institution from the South, while not a single Southern school made it into the top ten.

All 1,718 schools in the study started with a score of zero and earned points for the support they provide to LGBTQ+ students and for how LGBTQ+-friendly the city is, but the bottom 15 schools never scored a single point.

The Advocate already showed the top 15 most LGBTQ+-friendly universities; now keep scrolling to see the bottom 15 schools that ranked as the “least welcoming to LGBTQ+ students” in the U.S.

See the list at the Advocate.

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Texas A&M System removes courses on LGBTQ, ethnic studies and climate change from core offerings

Read more at KERA.

Students at 11 Texas A&M University System schools will see fewer classes related to LGBTQ literature, climate change and women writers meet graduation requirements under a proposal to remove more than 200 classes from general-education course lists.

System regents voted Thursday to scale back the classes that qualify after a review prompted by a new state law that requires public university boards to examine what classes undergraduates must take regardless of their majors.

Regents must ensure those courses “are foundational and fundamental” for a college education and that they prepare students for civic life and the workforce, according to Senate Bill 37. The law also requires public university governing boards to consider the potential tuition, fee and time costs of those requirements to students.

“The universities did a credible job in streamlining their various course listings of what most of us agreed could be described as somewhat bloated,” regent Sam Torn said. “There is still much work to be done in the near future … to reach our goal of fully preparing students for the modern world in which they will live.”

The agenda packet contains 360 entries marked “remove” across 11 universities’ general-education course lists. However, some courses appear more than once because they are listed under multiple departments or in more than one general-education category.

Texas A&M University in College Station has the most entries being removed with 103. Texas A&M-San Antonio has 76; Tarleton State University has 48; and West Texas A&M and Texas A&M University-Texarkana each have 21. The other six universities have between 13 and 18 removal entries on their lists.

Of the courses set to be removed at the flagship school are introduction to women’s and gender studies; LGBTQ literatures; introduction to Latinx literature studies; women writers; introduction to race and ethnicity; gender and health; Blacks in the United States; Bible as literature and climate change.

Leonard Bright, president of the American Association of University Professors chapter at Texas A&M-College Station, slammed the latest course review as an overreach of SB 37. Bright said the pattern of courses up for removal suggest the regents are bending to conservative pressure.

“This is a political decision,” Bright said. “You are basically telling us now that the globalness that it once valued and said that it was going to protect is no longer a priority. …They’re going to basically whitewash our programs.”

Bright raised concerns about whether students will be prepared without these courses that he said are foundational to their understanding of the world.

In a written statement, Texas A&M System spokesman Chris Bryan said each university conducted its own course-by-course review. He did not identify who at each campus conducted the review or explain why particular courses were recommended for removal.

Bryan said the reviews determined only which courses should count toward the core curriculum and that “it was not a determination of whether a particular subject is appropriate for study or whether a course may be offered.”

Universities may continue offering the courses outside of the core, he said.

“Each institution’s core varies because its mission and academic offerings are different, but all were reviewed against the same requirements in state law and system policy,” he said.

The system’s review, which must be done at least once every five years, comes ahead of a Jan. 1 deadline.

Courses up for removal lists at other system schools range from those that study women in the U.S. to those that study literature from authors of various ethnicities.

For example, at Prairie View A&M, a historically Black university, the removal list includes Mexican-American culture and sociology of minorities. A course titled diversity was on the removal list for East Texas A&M.

Of the system’s 12 universities, Texas A&M-Central Texas has no removal entries. That school does not offer the lower-level core courses at issue as it serves transfer students who typically complete those requirements at community colleges or other universities.

The agenda listed 27 entries marked “add” at seven universities.

Those additions include human nutrition at Texas A&M in College Station, precalculus at Prairie View A&M, Mexican American literature at Texas A&M International, professional ethics and environmental sustainability at Texas A&M-Kingsville, astronomy and anatomy courses at West Texas A&M.

The core curriculum review is separate from a policy A&M regents adopted last fall after conservative backlash over a classroom lesson on gender identity.

That policy bars any academic course from advocating “race or gender ideology, or topics related to sexual orientation or gender identity.” Only specific non-core or graduate courses can receive an exception, with prior written approval from the university’s chief executive and a demonstrated necessary educational purpose.

Gender ideology was defined by the regents as treating self-assessed gender identity as replacing, or more legitimate than, biological sex. The policy states race ideology includes concepts that shame people, assign them racial guilt or portray them as oppressors or lesser contributors because of their race or ethnicity.

The American Association of University Professors and four A&M System professors, including Bright, sued the system in an attempt to block the policy on Aug. 3, arguing it violates their First Amendment rights. A judge has not yet ruled in the case.

Texas A&M is not alone in reviewing its core offerings under SB 37, though universities are taking different approaches.

At the University of Houston, regents cut the flagship campus’ core-course menu down from 241 to 144. The removals included introduction courses on global climate change and on LGBT studies, the Houston Chronicle reported.

The University of Texas is also considering cutting more than 100 core courses as part of an overhaul of the general education curriculum after the provost’s office determined the classes were too “narrow.” A handful of the courses on the chopping block mirror those up for removal at A&M.

This came after UT-Austin President Jim Davis presented a proposal to replace the current choose-from-a-menu core curriculum.

UT students would instead take a course covering each of 12 specified subject areas, including Western civilization, American politics, world politics and cultures, science, computer science and artificial intelligence, and “Great Questions of Human Life.”

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22 states sue Trump admin over “unprecedented” attack on gender-affirming care

Read more on LGBTQ Nation.

A coalition of blue states has come together to file a lawsuit against the Trump administration challenging its plan to strip federal funds from gender-affirming care for minors. The lawsuit alleges that the administration is overstepping its authority by trying to dictate what medical procedures can and can’t be covered by federal funding.

“[The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)] has disregarded the law and its own policy precedent in another attempt to restrict transgender individuals’ access to crucial care,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement. “We will not stand by as the Trump administration oversteps its authority and twists the facts to justify its bad-faith agenda against transgender Americans. We will continue to fight to secure access to medically necessary care and protect transgender individuals’ abilities to prosper as their authentic selves.”

The lawsuit targets Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as the head of HHS, as well as Dr. Mehmet Oz in his role as administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Last month, the departments finalized a plan to prevent federal Medicare and Medicaid plans from covering gender-affirming care for anyone under the age of 18, and to bar plans under the federal Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) from covering the care for anyone under 19.

The plan spent months in a public comment period during which is received nearly 35,000 comments, over 90% of which opposed the plan. Despite this, the rule is set to go into effect on October 13 with little change to the text of the final document.

The lawsuit wastes no time highlighting to the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts that the administration’s new plan is not about healthcare, but an attack on trans people.

The introduction states, “The Administration seeks such broad and unprecedented powers in part to advance its social policy agenda, a key component of which involves relentless attacks on a small and vulnerable population—transgender individuals—whose very existence the President scapegoats to stoke national division.”

The lawsuit makes a case that the proposed rule oversteps states’ rights by regulating the practice of medicine, a responsibility that both Congress and existing legal precedent have made clear is reserved for the states themselves. The suing states also say that HHS has cherry-picked its evidence and failed to make a case for its ban on gender-affirming care funding, and that the plan change violates the Social Security Act and HHS precedent by excluding care that has been deemed medically necessary by the states.

The lawsuit also highlights that Congress left the decision for what should be covered by Medicare and CHIP to the states, and therefore the federal government cannot simply impose a rule to prevent the states from exercising their own will.

“The federal government does not have the authority to dictate what medically necessary care New York provides to its residents,” said New York Attorney General Letitia James in a statement. “This unlawful rule threatens access to health care for transgender young people and undermines states’ ability to administer our own Medicaid programs. New York will continue to stand up for patients and defend our authority to provide the care they need.”

The lawsuit additionally includes a nod towards a longstanding argument that banning gender-affirming care is discrimination based on sex, as under the proposed rule cis patients will still be able to receive coverage for the same treatment and care that is being denied to trans patients.

In his statement, Attorney General Bonta was keen to highlight that this proposed rule does not stop anyone from practicing gender-affirming care in any state where it is still legal (which includes California). The only restriction is on the use of federal funds, and the rule explicitly still allows for state funds to be used for the care.

An earlier HHS attempt saw the department pushing a rule that would have barred hospitals and clinics that provided gender-affirming care from receiving any form of federal funding at all. However, a judge struck that rule down in April and the Trump administration seemed to back off from trying to appeal that ruling in July.

Trans journalist Erin Reed called the states’ lawsuit “the next major step in the fight to protect transgender healthcare,” since the removal of federal funding would be ” a virtual death sentence for any hospital system.”

Reed noted that over “40 hospitals and health systems have stopped or paused their programs in capitulation” to the administration despite there being no federal law against the care. Some of these institutions have stopped providing the care in violation of state or local laws that explicitly protect transgender people from healthcare discrimination.

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The search for an LGBTQ-friendly college remains difficult

Read more at QNotes Carolinas.

For nearly two decades, LGBTQ+ students looking for a college could turn to the Campus Pride Index for something most college rankings didn’t provide: a way to evaluate how welcoming and safe a campus might actually be for them. 

Launched in 2007, the free database evaluated participating colleges on more than 50 measures across eight areas, including LGBTQ-inclusive policies, housing, campus safety, student life, counseling, health services and institutional support. Students and families could search hundreds of participating schools and compare their LGBTQ+ resources and policies. 

When Campus Pride shut down following a financial scandal involving its former executive director — previously reported by Qnotes — the index went with it. Although the website remains active, the content now seems to be primarily focused on crypto gambling. So far, no single organization has stepped forward to replace the resource. 

However, there are some with short lists of favorites.

The Princeton Review publishes a list of 25 LGBTQ-friendly colleges based on student surveys, while BestColleges released a 2026 list of schools meeting criteria including nondiscrimination protections, gender-inclusive housing and restrooms, and an LGBTQ+ resource center. The Consortium of Higher Education LGBT Resource Professionals also maintains a directory of campus LGBTQ+ centers. 

But those resources don’t allow a student to investigate and compare hundreds of individual campuses using the same detailed criteria. A 2025 study published in the Journal of Homosexuality examined 1,756 four-year nonprofit U.S. colleges and universities and found that only 14 percent had a dedicated LGBTQ+ resource center. 

College admissions professionals have begun discussing how to fill the void that Campus Pride created. In a 2026 newsletter for the New York State Association for College Admission Counseling, Erica Padilla and Marie Nocella called the Campus Pride Index “a useful tool” and noted that, for many LGBTQ+ students, “this was the only tool at their disposal, especially if their environment lacked supportive adults.” 

Students with supportive families can share that work with parents or guardians. Students who aren’t out at home may have to conduct it quietly and alone. For them, determining whether a college is affordable and academically appropriate may not be enough. They also have to answer another question: Will I be safe here?

Unless someone else creates a comprehensive solution, much of the work will continue to fall on students. That can mean digging through individual college websites for nondiscrimination policies, gender-inclusive housing, healthcare, LGBTQ+ organizations, bias-reporting procedures and other indicators of campus climate. For LGBTQ+ students, these steps add layers of research — and uncertainty — to an already complicated and stressful college search.

This story is brought to you by Rosedale Health and Wellness and Dudley’s Place.

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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 law does not explicitly mention the word drag, it criminalized “sexually explicit” performances in the presence of minors, defining such performances as those featuring “a male performer exhibiting as a female, or a female performer exhibiting as a male, who uses clothing, makeup, or other similar physical markers and who sings, lip syncs, dances, or otherwise performs before an audience.”

Under the law, businesses that host all-ages drag shows faced up to $10,000 in fines, and performers could be charged with a Class A misdemeanor resulting in up to one year in prison.

S.B. 12 was initially scheduled to take effect on September 1, 2023. But several LGBTQ+ advocacy organizations and drag groups — including The Woodlands Pride, Abilene Pride Alliance, and 360 Queen Entertainment — challenged the law. In September 2023, Hittner issued a permanent injunction blocking enforcement of the law, ruling that it constituted “viewpoint discrimination” and that it was “substantially overbroad” and “unconstitutionally vague.”

After Texas appealed the decision, the US 5th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned Hittner’s permanent injunction last November, sending the case back to the lower court and instructing Hittner to focus only on the claims from 360 Queen Entertainment. The appeals court’s ruling also allowed the law to go into effect while the case played out.

On Tuesday, Hittner once again ruled that S.B. 12 “is an UNCONSTITUTIONAL restriction on speech” that “violates the First Amendment,” even under the conditions the 5th Circuit outlined, according to The Texan.

The law, Hittner wrote, “applies to countless protected performances that might contain elements that are ‘in some sense erotic’ and meet either the law’s definition of ‘nude’ or ‘sexual conduct’ but are not obscene or obscene for minors and are thus constitutionally protected.” Hittner cited examples including a gymnast performing in a leotard and a singer performing in a lowcut dress.

As NBC News notes, Hittner went so far as to cite the late Dolly Parton, an LGBTQ+ ally who supported drag performers and even gifted a rhinestone guitar to drag performer and advocate Brigitte Bandit, one of the plaintiffs in the case, as an example of a performer who might be targeted by the law for her reputation “as a voluptuous sex symbol because of her big hair, flamboyant clothes and breast exposure.”

Hittner further ruled that “S.B. 12 is unconstitutionally vague because it fails to give a reasonable person notice of what is prohibited.” While “multiple aspects of the law render it vague,” Hittner wrote, the “most glaring issue” relates to the inclusion of the term “prurient interest in sex.” The fact that the term “is undefined in Texas law, lacks a readily ascertainable ordinary meaning, and applies to all performances targeted by the statute,” Hittner wrote, “renders S.B. 12 irredeemably vague… in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause.”

“Finally, for those who find such activities as described in this case offensive, the solution is relatively simple,” Hittner wrote. “Just don’t go.”

In several Instagram Stories posts Tuesday, Bandit responded to Hittner’s ruling, writing that “drag is free speech b—-” and that the decision “is a huge win for Texas and my t——.”

Meanwhile, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R), who is running for US Senate, described Hittner’s ruling as “a profoundly flawed decision that endangers our children and is an affront to Texas values.”

“I will appeal this decision immediately and continue to fight to protect our kids,” Paxton wrote in an X post.

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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 to use bathrooms and locker rooms that align with their gender identity. But advocates say another question has received less attention: What does the fight mean for LGBTQ students going to school every day?

“When I think about a trans girl going into a girl’s restroom, I worry about her harassment, not what she will do to other young people,” said Sarah Mikhail, CEO of Time Out Youth. Time Out Youth serves LGBTQ young people ages 13 to 24 in Charlotte and surrounding communities. Within the organization, young people regularly talk about the broader social climate surrounding bathrooms, sports and LGBTQ issues in schools, she said. Mikhail said the effect shows up in basic routines. Some young people Time Out Youth works with avoid school bathrooms entirely because they do not feel safe using them. She said that kind of vigilance does not stay confined to the restroom. Students who are constantly calculating where they can go, who might be watching them or whether an adult will support them can have a harder time concentrating, asking for help or feeling comfortable enough to learn. “We have young people that do not go to the bathroom all day at school,” Mikhail said. “This is not uncommonly reported.”

LGBTQ students not only face school rules, they also hear messages from politicians, social media, family members and community leaders about what gender means and what transgender people should be allowed to do. For some students, those messages arrive before they even figure out how they identify or whether they feel safe coming out. That uncertainty, she said, can impact whether students feel comfortable telling a teacher they had a hard night, asking for help on an assignment or using the name and pronouns that feel right to them. “You need to feel emotionally okay to share and be yourself at school,” Mikhail said. “So then you can be open to learning.” How Cabarrus became a legal battleground Cabarrus County Schools does not have a separate policy governing transgender students’ bathroom access. School board attorney William Isenhour has said the district handles the relatively rare situations on a case-by-case basis while attempting to comply with federal law.

The district has repeatedly pointed to a 2020 Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling, Grimm v. Gloucester County School Board. In that case, the court ruled a Virginia school board violated Title IX and constitutional protections when it required a transgender boy to use bathrooms based on his sex assigned at birth or use a private restroom. Because the Fourth Circuit includes North Carolina, Cabarrus officials have said the ruling binds the district. The Trump administration now takes a different view. The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights opened a Title IX investigation into Cabarrus in June after complaints that the district allowed transgender students to use girls’ bathrooms and locker rooms. Federal officials said the administration interprets Title IX based on biological sex and is investigating whether the district violated the privacy and safety rights of female students. On July 31, three anonymous 17-year-old Cox Mill High School students and their parents sued the district. Represented by the conservative legal organization America First Legal, they argue transgender students should not be permitted to use multi-person bathrooms and locker rooms corresponding with their gender identity.

A second lawsuit followed one week later. Cabarrus father Brandon Matthews sued after school officials declined to promise they would notify him if transgender students were permitted to use the same sex-segregated bathrooms or locker rooms as his children. He argues parents have a constitutional and religious right to receive that information and request another arrangement. The Cabarrus controversy comes as transgender rights have become a major national political talking point, with fights over girls’ sports, bathroom access and school policies playing out in courts and school board meetings. ‘Stop arguing about bathrooms’ Rebecca Herrick, a mother of three Cabarrus County Schools students, said she sees the bathroom fight as a distraction from other issues in the district. Her own children have thrived socially in CCS, Herrick said, and she wants transgender students to be treated the same. She said the controversy pulls energy away from issues that affect students more, including the district’s ongoing financial and operational challenges.

“It is time to stop arguing about bathrooms,” Herrick said. “By shifting the conversation to social issues, they are successfully diverting public energy.” Herrick said she worries that it sends a message about who belongs in school when adults devote so much attention to policing which bathrooms students use. She said the repeated lawsuits and public fights over bathrooms risk turning transgender students themselves into the subject of controversy. “These bathroom bills and the resulting lawsuits create a climate of fear and exclusion that treats transgender students as problems rather than children who deserve support,” Herrick said. ‘They’re just kids’ Joshua Jernigan said he is already hearing that fear from families. Jernigan founded the Gender Education Network, which works with transgender and gender-diverse children age 12 and younger and their families across North and South Carolina.

Jernigan said his organization has heard directly from families since the lawsuits and federal investigation intensified attention on the district. Some have reached out worried about what the legal fight could mean for their children and whether it will make school feel less safe. “We’ve had a lot of families reach out in a bit of a panic,” Jernigan said. He said transgender and gender-diverse children may not follow the legal arguments themselves, but they hear how adults in their communities talk about people like them. When they hear phrases like “these people” or “those people,” Jernigan said, they understand they are being singled out. That can be especially unsettling for children approaching middle school, he said, when situations involving locker rooms and trying to fit in already feel scary. “There’s nothing sinister or nefarious about trans kids,” Jernigan said. “They’re just kids who want to go out for recess and hate math.”

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‘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 release from the Equality Community Center. 

The community for residents aged 55 and older will provide “affordable homes and a safe, inclusive place for LGBTQ+ older adults and their allies to age with grace and dignity,” the release stated. 

The grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony will take place on Wednesday from 5:30-7:30 p.m., officials said. 

The housing will be situated next to the ECC at 15 Casco Street, which will offer programs and services tailored for the seniors residing there, “specifically designed to support LGBTQ+ older adults,” according to the release.

ECC said the new community will not only address the shortage of affordable housing but also provide a safe, inclusive environment where LGBTQ+ older adults and “other marginalized community members and their allies can age with dignity while remaining connected to community.”

“Equality Commons brings affordable housing, community resources and LGBTQ+-affirming services together in one location,” Ed Gardner, an ECC founding member, said. 

According to the release, “LGBTQ+ older adults can face higher risks of poverty, social isolation, chronic health conditions, discrimination and unstable or hostile living environments. Many are more likely to live alone and have limited family support or caregivers and may encounter discrimination in rental housing because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. As people age and become more reliant on others for care and support, some also fear discrimination or retaliation if they are open about who they are.”

The apartments in Equality Commons are affordable for households earning about 50 to 60 percent of the adjusted median income in the greater Portland area, as determined by MaineHousing, the release stated.

More than 250 people have joined the waitlist for the 54 apartments, officials said. Leasing has officially begun, and they are still accepting names for the waitlist.

Equality Commons features studio, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom apartments, a community room, a retail café with outdoor seating, a back patio, laundry facilities, and a bike room. Nineteen of the apartments are accessible, the release stated.

Eleven accessible units have been designated for residents with disabilities, including those living with HIV/AIDS, in collaboration with the Frannie Peabody Center.

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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 one of the most comprehensive looks at the LGBTQ+ population to date. The Household Pulse Survey is one of the last major federal data sources to include a gender identity measure before the Trump Administration removed sexual orientation and gender identity questions from roughly 360 federal data collections. 

Key Data Points: 

  • 40: Number of states with an LGBTQ+ population of greater than 10% (plus the District of Columbia). 
    • That includes electoral battleground states such as Arizona (13.34%), Georgia (11.46%) Michigan (10.95%), New Hampshire (11.88%), North Carolina (10.56%), Ohio (11.29%), Pennsylvania (11.14%), and Texas (12.54%), 
  • 25.6 million: Number of U.S. adults who identify as LGBTQ+ 
  • 12%: Percentage of adult population who identify as LGBTQ+
  • More than half of all LGBTQ+ adults (53.8%) are between 18 and 34 – a signal of sustained, long-term growth in political and economic power as this generation ages into peak spending and voting years. 
  • Growing diversity across the community: Hispanic adults make up a larger share of the LGBTQ+ population (18%) than of non-LGBTQ+ adults (13%); Black adults make up a smaller share, about 9%, compared to 12%, reinforcing that LGBTQ+ identity cuts across every racial and ethnic community. 
  • Bisexual+ people are the largest group at over 7% of all U.S. adults. 

Why It Matters: 

HRCF’s estimate is notably higher than Gallup’s most recent 9% figure, a gap that researchers attribute to differences in survey methods rather than a sudden shift in identification. The new population figures come as midterm 2026 elections ramp up across the nation and LGBTQ+ people are a deciding voting bloc for many tight races that will determine control of Congress. At the same time, federal agencies have stripped sexual orientation and gender identity questions from hundreds of data sets. This is a disturbing Trump Administration trend meant to erase the LGBTQ+ community from the statistics that shape public policy, community resource development, corporate strategy, and campaign outreach.

“Reliable data are essential for understanding who lives in this country and what our communities need to thrive. Removing sexual orientation and gender identity questions from surveys like the one used for this analysis introduces significant gaps in this understanding. These findings show that LGBTQ+ people are a substantial and growing segment of the population, underscoring the need for our continued inclusion in data collection efforts, said HRC Foundation Sr. Director of Research and Education Tari Hanneman.

The economic influence of the LGBTQ+ community continues to grow at a time when diversity and inclusion initiatives are under federal attack. A recent HRCF consumer report showed LGBTQ+ consumers wield over $1.4 trillion in spending power, with 7 in 10 already putting it behind companies that invest in inclusive policies and practices that lead to stronger consumer trust, market share growth, and better talent retention. 

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