This blog originally appeared at LGBTQ NATION.

LGBTQ+ activists are having a party.

Conservative activists in California are frustrated that their bill, which would have mandated that schools accept transgender students, did not receive enough signatures to be included on the ballot in November.

“We would have easily qualified for the ballot if we had a little more time and a little more money,” the initiative’s leader, Roseville school board member Jonathan Zachreson, told the LA Times.

If the bill had been approved, schools would have been obligated to notify parents if a student adopted a new pronoun or nickname while attending class, or if they requested to use facilities unrelated to their official sex. The bill also forbade the state from providing kids with care that is gender affirming.

Although some states have already implemented similar policies, California has traditionally supported young people who identify as transgender. Governor Gavin Newsom (D) signed legislation in 2022 designating the state as a safe haven for transgender minors and their families.

According to Zachreson, the measure’s campaign gathered $200,000 to assist in obtaining the 546,651 signatures required for it to be placed on the ballot. However, the campaign had only collected 400,000 signatures before yesterday’s deadline.

The activists wanted the ballot measure to be named the “Protect Kids of California Act of 2024,” despite the fact that their initiative would have jeopardized the safety of trans children with unsupportive parents who might abuse or kick them out of the house if they discover they have not been adhering to their assigned sex while attending school. Earlier this year, the activists sued California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) for naming their ballot measure the “Restricts Rights of Transgender Youth Initiative.”

The judge dismissed the case after originally siding with Bonta, stating that the measure’s name, “Restrict Rights of Transgender Youth Initiative,” accurately describes it.

LGBTQ+ activists, meanwhile, applauded the measure’s defeat.

Equality California Executive Director Tony Hoang released a statement saying, “We are relieved that anti-LGBTQ+ extremists have failed to reach the required signature threshold to qualify their anti-transgender ballot initiatives to the November 2024 ballot.” “Equality California will not stop fighting for the rights of LGBTQ+ youth around the globe and opposing any and all attempts by radical organizations to discriminate against them.”

This blog originally appeared at LGBTQ NATION.

Once the death threats began, the drag queen felt she had “no choice” but to file a lawsuit.

The right was protesting drag shows across the nation during Pride Month in 2022, calling the queens “groomers” and worse. To “prove” that drag queens shouldn’t be permitted to perform in public, conservative influencer Summer Bushnell shared a doctored video of a drag queen purportedly exposing herself to children.

She is now required to pay $1.1 million in damages for slandering drag performer Mona Liza Million, who, when not in drag, goes by Eric Posey.

In 2022, Bushnell wrote on Facebook, “Why did no one arrest the man in a dress who flashed his genitalia to minors and people in the crowd?” in reference to Posey’s Pride performance in Idaho. “There is video and no one commented on it. I’ll provide a hazy video to demonstrate it.

It turns out that the reason “no one said anything about it” is that it never did. Posey was completely clothed in the “blurred video” she shared, but it was obscured enough for the thousands of viewers to miss that fact.

After reading Bushnell’s post, people began reporting Posey to the Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, police. None of the allegations, according to the police, came from anybody who were present while Posey performed.

The City of Coeur d’Alene Prosecuting Attorney’s Office issued a statement following their assessment of the original, unblurred footage, stating that the evidence did not support the charges of indecent exposure or other crimes. As a result, prosecution is dismissed.

However, that did not quiet the internet backlash. Posey said at trial that he got death threats and that images from Bushnell’s doctored video of him became a symbol utilized by the right in their quest to get drag shows outlawed.

Conservative influencers such as Chaya Raichik, the creator of Libs of TikTok, have dedicated their careers to accusing LGBTQ+ individuals, particularly drag artists, of “grooming” youngsters. However, Bushnell’s attempt to make the same accusation was met with opposition. Posey made the decision to sue her for slander.

In September 2022, he stated in a press statement, “It is now my turn to speak after three months of silence.” “Provocateurs have persisted in circulating the manipulated video of my performance even after I was found not guilty, spreading hate speech against the LGBTQIA+ community throughout the state and damaging my reputation.”

“I am forced to pursue legal action in order to punish the people who spread the lies accountable for their deeds. I’m hoping that this civil lawsuit will end the divisive misinformation efforts being carried out in Idaho.

This summer, Coeur d’Alene’s Pride in the Park garnered national notice when police detained 31 members of the Patriot Front, a group that supports white supremacists, as they attempted to disrupt the celebration. Bushnell, according to Posey, tried to take advantage of that attention.

Bushnell’s attorney attempted to claim that although his client’s acts were “almost” defamatory, they didn’t quite fit the criteria.

Bushnell’s admission that she never saw Posey expose himself was even worse for the defense. In other words, she knew she was lying and wasn’t in error.

After the decision on Friday, Posey declared, “The judicial system did what needed to be done.” Imagine yourself alone and in a dark hole, feeling as though everyone is ignoring you. However, you found yourself surrounded by warriors—true Idahoans, not transplants—who were native to this land. I am lucky to be surrounded by those who have encouraged and uplifted me.

The jury debated for three and a half hours this past Friday during the five-day trial, according to The Guardian. The judge informed the jury that they were unable to compel Bushnell to remove the Facebook post and issue a public apology. The video is still accessible on the social media network.