Category: Trans

‘Just trying to be kids’: Students, families speak out against federal ruling against schools’ transgender policies

Read more at the Prince William Times.

Fearful. Aggravated. Hurt. That’s how 16-year-old Ellie Bowling said she felt after the U.S. Department of Education told the Prince William County school division it must change its inclusive transgender policies or risk losing federal funding.

Ellie, who is trans, is a rising junior in Colgan High School’s Center for the Fine and Performing Arts. She’s excited to soon be driving and loves to be onstage. Last spring, she performed in the school’s production of “Guys and Dolls” and recently earned the role of “Candy” in the school’s fall production of “Zombie Prom.”

“I’m currently thriving in this environment; they created a great learning experience for me,” Ellie said of Prince William County schools.

Ellie was 11 when she started her transition. Since then, her parents, Adam and Erin Bowling, have legally changed her name and gender on government and school documents. After obtaining medical and psychological signoffs, Ellie began receiving gender-affirming hormone therapy at Children’s National Hospital in D.C.

At Colgan High, like all other Prince William County schools, transgender students use the bathrooms and locker rooms that match their gender identities in accordance with a regulation that guides how transgender and gender nonconforming students are treated in schools.

“I know that Colgan is a good place for me. I fit in well there, and that’s partially because these policies help me fit into this school and be able to find my place,” Ellie said. “Without these policies — I don’t know.”

The Bowlings are one of likely hundreds of Prince William County families facing uncertainty as the new school year approaches in less than two weeks. The schools are wrestling with the education department’s determination that its policies violate Title IX, a federal law that prohibits discrimination based on sex in educational settings that receive federal funding.

On July 25, the education department told five Virginia school divisions — Prince William, Fairfax, Loudoun, Arlington and Alexandria — they had 10 days to change their policies that allow transgender students to use the facilities that match their gender identities “or risk imminent enforcement consequences, including referral to the U.S. Department of Justice.”

School board has yet to act

The education department said its decision was based on a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June that upheld Tennessee’s ban on gender affirming care for minors. The Northern Virginia school policies are based on an earlier case involving Virginia teen Gavin Grimm, who successfully sued Gloucester County schools in federal court to allow students to use restrooms that match their gender identities. In 2021, the U.S. Supreme court declined to review the case.

Babur Lateef, the Prince William County School Board chairman, called a special board meeting this week to receive legal advice on the decision, which will mostly be held in closed session. He declined further comment.

School board member Tracy Blake said he told parents to expect no changes when school begins on Aug. 18.  

“Trans students and families do not need to worry about coming back to school on the first day because there will be no disruptions for trans students or any students,” he said in an interview on Friday, Aug. 1.

Blake said he believes removing the regulation would be wrong.

“We can’t discriminate against one person,” he said. “Once you let one thing go, what happens then? Then it’s the next thing. We’ve already seen this in history, and all of our students have to feel safe.”

Ruling adds to challenges for transgender youth

The move by the U.S. Department of Education wasn’t unexpected because trans people have been targeted by the Trump administration, said Lisanne Boddye, a mother of seven, including a transgender teen and a gender expansive teen who both attend Potomac High School. Boddye is also a special education teacher at Potomac High and the wife of Prince William Supervisor Kenny Boddye. 

“My children, like thousands across the country, deserve to walk into their schools knowing they are respected, affirmed and protected,” Lisanne Boddye said. “When leaders target transgender students for exclusion or erasure, they send a chilling message — not just to those students, but to every family who believes in fairness, decency, and the right to learn without fear.”

About 3.3% of U.S. high school students identify as transgender, and about 2.2% of high school students are questioning their gender identity, according to a 2023 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey. That means about 1 in 20 high schoolers are either transgender or questioning their gender, or about 1,200 of the 24,000 students enrolled in Prince William County’s 13 high schools.

Delta Boddye, 16, a rising senior, rows on the Potomac High School crew team. She began transitioning two years ago and said her teachers have always used her correct name and “made sure they are affirming (her).”

“I’ve just been planning on just living as myself, just trying to be a kid, trying to be a student,” she said about returning to school.

But revoking the school’s policy could change that, she said. No matter the policy, Delta said she will insist that her correct name and pronouns are used at school.

The possible change in the school division’s policy comes on top of other challenges. Delta was considering joining the military but now can’t because of the recent ban on transgender troops. The Bowlings learned the Youth Pride Clinic at Children’s National Hospital, where Ellie is a patient, will no longer prescribe gender-affirming medications as of Aug. 30 due to “escalating legal and regulatory risks” to the hospital and its providers.

“This is supposed to be her happiest year, her senior year, and all of the horizons are supposed to be endless, and now most of them are not,” said Lisanne Boddye, who is an Army special operations veteran.

Both the Bowlings and Boddyes say they are speaking out not only for the safety and mental health of their own children, but for their trans classmates who may not have the same family and community support.

Equality Prince William, a nonprofit that advocates for the LGBTQIA+ community, sponsored a campaign urging the school board “to hold firm in their support for transgender and gender diverse students.” As of Aug. 5, 1,700 letters had been sent. 

“Title IX exists to prevent exactly this kind of discrimination,” said Glorya Jordan, a registered nurse who is on the board of Equality Prince William and is the mother of a transgender adult. “The attempt to rescind protections for transgender youth is not only illegal but deadly. Trans youth already face staggering rates of bullying, depression and suicide.”

“Let’s stop hurting our children because of what we are afraid of and do not understand,” said the Casa BruMar Foundation, a nonprofit based in Gainesville that provides resources for the LGBTQIA+ community. “Let’s allow our children to know that being different is not dangerous.”

Adam Bowling hopes people realize there is so much more to his daughter Ellie than just being trans and she deserves to be her authentic self at school. 

“Demonizing this group of people is just so wrong,” he said. “I just hope the majority of people hear stories like Ellie’s and realize that there are human beings that these decisions are affecting and it’s a life-or-death situation for some of them.”

Ellie wants people to know that she is a normal teenager.

“I hate how politicized trans youth is, because I am not a monster,” Ellie said. “There’s so much misinformation out there obviously for fear-mongering reasons. I’m not this predator who goes into women’s spaces just to, like, spy on them. I am a woman who is living her life.”

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New immigration policy bans visas for trans athletes: “Not in the national interest”

Read more at LGBTQ Nation.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has issued policy updates “effective immediately” to prevent trans women athletes abroad from entering the country to compete in sports competitions.

The agency said the updates are in accordance with an executive order against trans athletes that directed the Department of Homeland Security to bar entry to trans women from other countries who want to play sports in the United States.

The policy change is especially significant since the United States is set to host the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

The press release, issued on August 4, consistently misidentifies trans women as men.

“USCIS will affirmatively protect all-female athletic opportunities by granting certain athlete-related petitions and applications, that had previously been abused and offered to men, only to women, ensuring that male aliens seeking immigration benefits aren’t coming to the U.S. to participate in women’s sports,” it said, explaining the new eligibility policies for “extraordinary ability” visas.

“This policy update clarifies that USCIS considers the fact that a male athlete has been competing against women as a negative factor in determining whether the alien is among the small percentage at the very top of the field,” the release continued, saying the agency “does not consider a male athlete who has gained acclaim in men’s sports and seeks to compete in women’s sports in the United States to be seeking to continue work in his area of extraordinary ability.”

“Male athletes seeking to enter the country to compete in women’s sports do not substantially benefit the United States,” the agency claimed, “and it is not in the national interest to the United States to waive the job offer and, thus, the labor certification requirement for male athletes whose proposed endeavor is to compete in women’s sports.”

A statement from USCIS spokesperson Matthew Tragesser further emphasized the administration’s hostility to trans athletes and its refusal to address them by their actual genders.

“Men do not belong in women’s sports,” Tragesser said. “USCIS is closing the loophole for foreign male athletes whose only chance at winning elite sports is to change their gender identity and leverage their biological advantages against women.”

“It’s a matter of safety, fairness, respect, and truth that only female athletes receive a visa to come to the U.S. to participate in women’s sports.” He then claimed the administration “is standing up for the silent majority who’ve long been victims of leftist policies that defy common sense.”

The administration has been targeting trans folks abroad as part of its overall crackdown on trans participation in sports.

In February, the State Department told U.S. immigration officials around the world to deny visas to transgender athletes attempting to enter the U.S. and to permanently ban any athletes who “misrepresent” their birth sex on visa applications.

The February 24 message, authored by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, directs U.S. consulates and immigration offices worldwide to ban trans visa applicants under a section of the 1952 Immigration and Nationality Act that issues a “permanent fraud bar” for people who lie on their visa applications.

In addition to targeting trans athletes abroad, the executive order directs the Department of Justice to prosecute schools that allow trans female athletes in female sports programs. It also threatens to prevent cisgender U.S. athletes from competing in international sports competitions that allow international trans athletes to compete alongside cis athletes.

“Many educational institutions and athletic associations have allowed men to compete in women’s sports,” the order states, misgendering trans female athletes. “This is demeaning, unfair, and dangerous to women and girls, and denies women and girls the equal opportunity to participate and excel in competitive sports.”

“Therefore, it is the policy of the United States to rescind all funds from educational programs that deprive women and girls of fair athletic opportunities, which results in the endangerment, humiliation, and silencing of women and girls and deprives them of privacy,” the order continues. “It shall also be the policy of the United States to oppose male competitive participation in women’s sports more broadly, as a matter of safety, fairness, dignity, and truth.”

Trans athletes have argued that anti-trans politicians who talk about “protecting women’s sports” never fight to get increased funding or discourage the sexist discrimination and sexual abuse that keep many female athletes from competing in the first place.

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Democrats fled Texas to stop Republican redistricting. They could also sink an anti-trans bill.

Read more at LGBTQ Nation.

On Sunday, Texas Democrats denied House Republicans a quorum to approve a new Congressional map redrawn to add GOP seats to the slim majority Republicans hold in the U.S. House of Representatives.

They did it by fleeing the state.

While the Republicans’ gerrymandering power grab was top of mind for Texas Dems, another piece of legislation will also die without a vote if the lawmakers make good on their promise to stay absent from a special session called by Gov. Greg Abbott (R) to push the redistricting plan through the Republican-dominated House.

On Monday, Texas Senate Republicans passed a draconian new anti-trans “bathroom bill” through committee that provides a rigid penalty system for any facility that does not comply. A first offense would trigger a $5,000 fine, while subsequent violations would earn $25,000 fines for each infraction, the Dallas Observer reports.

Sponsors added S.B. 7 to the special session agenda at the request of Abbott, who called the discriminatory legislation a priority.

If Democrats remain out of state for the next two weeks, the quorum break-up would last through the session’s expiration. That means that even if S.B. 7 passes the Senate, it would be dead on arrival in the Texas House of Representatives.

Out state Sen. Venton Jones (D), who made news earlier this year when he proposed to his boyfriend on the Texas House floor, urged the public to testify against the bill regardless of its poor prospects in the Democrats’ absence, as he stood on a tarmac about to leave the state.

“Texas, it’s time to stand up against harmful legislation targeting the LGBTQ community,” Jones posted to Instagram. S.B. 7 “aims to erase transgender, non-binary, and intersex Texans from public life spaces. We encourage Texans to show up and testify against this bill, and to follow organizations like Equality Texas to stay informed and get involved in the defense of this special session.”

“Venton makes clear that at least for him, and it would seem to be the LGBTQ caucus as well, the quorum break was not only about ending the redistricting plan, but also cutting short these discriminatory bills like SB 7,” said a spokesperson for the LGBTQ+ advocacy group Equality Texas.

“While the maneuver might have been about redistricting, I think the timing considered what other legislation was still on the table.”

Over 100 people signed up to testify for and against S.B. 7 at Monday’s hearing.

“I was born female and I continue to identify as a woman, but I get mistaken for a man or a teenage boy when I go to the bathroom. I am who this bill claims to protect, but in execution, I will only be harmed,” said Caroline Green, an Austin resident. 

While the extraordinary, mid-decade redistricting plan won’t affect state lawmakers like Jones, it does put the seat of Texas’ only out member of Congress, Rep. Julie Johnson (D), in jeopardy.

The new map would turn Johnson’s district from 68% Democratic to 60% Republican, the Dallas Voice reports. Texas’ 32nd Congressional District currently includes parts of Plano and Dallas. The new district would only include a portion of Dallas and more rural parts of eastern Texas.

Johnson called the proposed map a “disaster” and a “desperate move from a party losing its grip on a changing state.”

In 2021, when Johnson represented Dallas as a state representative, she and her Texas House Democratic colleagues fled the state in another walkout, denying Republicans a quorum, slowing down a right-wing, so-called voting rights bill from passage. 

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Is Mexico a good place for LGBTQ people leaving the US? Find out in this video!

If you’re an LGBTQ person looking for a better place, listen to Shasta as she tells you about Mexico.

For many LGBTQ+ Americans, the current political climate in the U.S. feels increasingly hostile and unsafe. In this video, we explore what it’s like to escape to Mexico — a country with growing LGBTQ+ protections, thriving queer communities, and a much lower cost of living.

We’ll cover: ✅ The most LGBTQ-friendly cities in Mexico ✅ Visa and residency basics for U.S. citizens ✅ Healthcare access and affordability ✅ Safety and community support ✅ Stories from real LGBTQ+ expats who made the move

From Mexico City’s vibrant queer scene to the laid-back beach towns of Puerto Vallarta and Mérida, discover why more and more LGBTQ+ people are finding freedom, safety, and joy south of the border.

🧭 Whether you’re looking for adventure, community, or simply peace of mind, this video will help you weigh your options and envision a new life abroad.

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Historic First: Puerto Vallarta Approves Municipal Plan with LGBTQ+ Inclusive Policies

Read more at Out & About PV.

The Puerto Vallarta City Council has approved a new Municipal Development and Governance Plan for 2024–2027 that includes specific policies to protect the rights of the LGBTQ+ community. This marks the first time in the city’s history that such actions have been formally integrated into its municipal planning.

The plan, which serves as the primary guide for public policy, was presented by Mayor Luis Ernesto Munguía González and passed with 15 votes. Munguía noted that the document was the result of extensive citizen input, including neighborhood meetings, specialized forums, and public surveys.

The Vallarta Diversity Network, a local LGBTQ+ advocacy group, was among the organizations that participated in the consultation process. The group submitted a proposal that called for an effective public policy on sexual and gender diversity, which was incorporated into two key sections of the plan.

Key actions highlighted in the plan include the creation of a Municipal Human Rights Program that will feature affirmative actions for people of diverse sexual orientations. It also proposes initiatives to prevent discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and expression. These measures will be carried out through institutional programs and in partnership with organized civil society groups.

The plan outlines an implementation strategy that includes performance indicators, evaluation methods, and alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals.

The Vallarta Diversity Network said the inclusion of these policies is an important step toward establishing public policies that recognize and protect the rights of LGBTQ+ residents. The organization has committed to collaborating on the plan’s implementation, monitoring, and evaluation, emphasizing the need for proper budget allocation and accountability.

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GOP official proudly shares invitation to church that called for killing LGBTQ+ people

Read more at LGBTQ Nation.

Indiana’s Republican lieutenant governor appears interested in attending a service at a hate church that called for murdering LGBTQ+ people.

Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith (R) shared a post from Indianapolis Sure Foundation Baptist Church leader Justin Zhong inviting him to a church service, appearing to approve of the invitation. The repost has since been deleted.

The Sure Foundation Baptist Church made national headlines recently when lay pastor Stephen Falco used slurs and called for murdering gay people during a Men’s Preaching Night.

“There’s nothing good to be proud about being a f*g. You ought to blow yourself in the head in the back of the head. You’re so disgusting,” he said. “Why do I hate sodomites, why do I hate f*gs? Because they attack children, they’re coming after your children, they are attacking them in schools today, and not only schools in public places, and they’re proud about it!”

The sermon was posted to YouTube, which removed the video, but the church’s leadership defended the sermon.

“The Bible is crystal clear that sodomites – homosexuals – deserve the death penalty carried out by a government that actually cares about the law of God,” Zhong said at the time. “I will not apologize for preaching the Word of God. I will not apologize for stating facts. I will not negotiate with terrorists, among whom the LGBTHIV crowd is full of domestic terrorists.”

Over the past several years, several Baptist churches – part of the New Independent Fundamentalist Baptist Movement, or New IFB – have gotten attention online for their extreme and violent anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric during sermons, which they often post to social media. The pastors – all male, the movement does not believe women should be in positions of authority – have called for killing gay people or said that they hope all gay people die, usually using slurs and parroting anti-LGBTQ+ stereotypes and urban legends, like that teachers are teaching kids to be gay.

Beckwith himself has a history of anti-LGBTQ+ extremism. He said in June that LGBTQ+ people in “ancient history and all the way up to today” have a “demonic spirit” associated with the Mesopotamian goddess Ishtar.

That same month, he sent an “alert” to his followers on social media that Pride Month is a sign of “Pagan Conquest” that will bring “ritual child sacrifice – with glitter and hashtags.” He claimed that Pride Month is part of a “state-corporate-pagan alliance to reprogram society” that forced people to listen to “Harvey Milk sermons” and support “government-sanctioned grooming.” Grooming is a word for tactics used by child molesters.

When running for lieutenant governor in 2024, he referred to pro-choice voters as “demonic.”

He said that Democrats had the “Jezebel spirit” and “a boldness for immorality” during a podcast interview last year. The host of the podcast said that the Jezebel spirit was “ultimately about control, which is the spirit of witchcraft, as we know. That’s what Jezebel operated in.” Beckwith nodded along.

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“Merciless”: New Hampshire bans all gender-affirming care for trans minors

Read more at LGBTQ Nation .

New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte (R) signed a gender-affirming care ban into law on Friday that bans anyone under 18 from using puberty blockers or hormone treatments for gender transition care.

H.B. 377 – the first of its kind in New England – also prohibits minors from receiving gender-affirming surgery, despite the fact that it is already almost never performed on trans kids under 18.

Starting January 1, 2026, providers are barred from providing hormone care and puberty blockers only “if the performance or administration of the procedure or medication is for the purpose of altering or attempting to alter the appearance of or affirm the minor’s perception of his or her gender or sex, if that perception is inconsistent with the minor’s biological sex.”

The ban does not hold medical providers criminally liable for violations, but rather subjects them to administrative disciplinary action by the state board of medicine. It also allows minors already receiving treatment to continue doing so. Minors and their parents can also sue medical providers for violating the law.

Ayotte also signed a second bill specially preventing minors from having top surgery except for “procedures needed to treat malignancy, injury, infection, or malformation and those needed to reconstruct the breasts after such procedures.”

“Medical decisions made at a young age can carry lifelong consequences,” Ayotte said in a statement, “and these bills represent a balanced, bipartisan effort to protect children.”

Despite Ayotte calling the legislation bipartisan, the bills passed overwhelmingly along party lines. Only two Democrats voted for H.B. 377, and only one voted for the top surgery bill.

While expressing support for the bill, State Sen. Kevin Avard (R) called trans identity a “craze” that “seems almost a cult-like following.”

“I do believe biology speaks volumes,” he said, according to NBC Boston.

Courtney Reed, policy advocate at the American Civil Liberties Union of New Hampshire, called the laws “merciless, cruel, and painful for transgender young people, their families, and their doctors.”

Chris Erchull, senior staff attorney at GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders, said the legislation “epitomizes extreme government intrusion into the private lives and personal decisions of New Hampshire families.”

“The best way to protect the health and well-being of young transgender people is to ensure they have continued access to necessary, age-appropriate medical care provided by licensed physicians practicing in accordance with established standards of medical care,” he said.

Ayotte signed the bills despite the fact that earlier this Month, she vetoed several anti-LGBTQ+ bills, including an anti-trans bathroom bill, a book-banning bill, and a ban on teachers giving students “get to know you” questionnaires without parental permission. State Republicans lack the two-thirds majority needed in both the House and Senate to override the governor’s vetoes.

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Cuba now allows trans people to change ID gender markers without requiring surgery

Read more at LGBTQ Nation.

The island nation of Cuba will now allow transgender people to change the gender markers on their government-issued identity cards without having to undergo “bottom surgery,” a legal change long sought by the country’s trans and nonbinary communities.

On July 18, the country’s National Assembly of People’s Power (NAPP) approved a law allowing people to change their gender markers without first requiring a court-approved document proving that applicants had undergone genital affirming surgeries.

This new law is one of several recently approved by the NAPP to update the technology and policies of the nation’s record-keeping system. Cuba’s new Civil Registry code will now recognize unmarried couples’ emotional unions or cohabitation agreements, providing some legal recognition of various domestic partnerships.

In 2008, Cuba became the first Latin American country to provide comprehensive coverage for gender-affirming surgeries and related medical care. However, despite the country having the highest per capita population of medical doctors in the world, years-long U.S. trade embargo against the nation has prevented many doctors from accessing the hormone replacement medications and surgical supplies they need, according to a 2024 report from Teen Vogue.

Additionally, years worth of budget cuts by the Cuban government have forced many medical professionals to leave the island nation in search of higher-paying work abroad. As a result, trans Cubans must self-medicate using hormones purchased on the internet, something that can present risks since patients must then undergo the physical and psychological side effects without medical consultation.

CENESEX, the government-funded LGBTQ+ rights organization, ostensibly schedules trans-related healthcare for citizens. But one trans person told the aforementioned publication that the organization never contacted them back when they tried to schedule such care. CENESEX didn’t respond to the publication’s request for comment, and a security guard at the organization’s office said that CENESEX was closed and was only seeing patients “on an as-needed basis.”

Same-sex marriage is legal in Cuba. It was legalized on September 27, 2022, following a national referendum where a majority of Cubans voted in favor of a new family code that includes the legalization of same-sex marriage. The new family code also included provisions for same-sex adoption and surrogacy.

Although Cuban law currently prohibits “discrimination based on sexual orientation in employment, housing, statelessness, or access to education or health care,” the international LGBTQ rights site Alturi.com said, “Nonetheless, societal discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity persists.”

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Trans Woman and Her Friends Were Violently Assaulted at Austin Swimming Hole

Read more at Them.

A transgender woman and several friends were harassed and assaulted in Austin, Texas last weekend, and one bystander who stepped in to defend them was hospitalized, in an incident police are investigating as a possible hate crime.

On July 26, the trans woman — who has requested anonymity during the ongoing investigation — and several friends visited Barton Springs, a public swimming hole in Austin’s Zilker Park, as Chron reported Wednesday. During their visit, three men they didn’t know flirted heavily with members of the group, the woman told Chron, but soon began harassing and pointing at her, making remarks about not “support[ing] that lifestyle.”

The three men then reportedly began shoving members of the group and poking the women “near their breasts,” according to a Reddit user who posted about the incident on Monday, claiming to be a friend of one of the victims. At that point, a bystander — identified as Jarod — intervened, and was attacked himself.

“The three men then proceeded to get violent and aggressive, yelling at us and getting in our faces until one of them decided to start swinging and punched Jarod in the jaw, knocking him unconscious,” the anonymous trans woman told Chron. “I quickly ran over to him in an attempt to help Jarod out but was then punched in the face by the assailant in the orange shorts.” The men then shoved another of the women to the ground and left the scene soon after, according to video footage of the incident posted to social media.

The Austin Police Department (APD) released a statement on Tuesday stating that the alleged assault was under investigation and could be declared a hate crime by the city’s Hate Crime Review Committee. “APD remains unwavering in its commitment to fostering a secure and inclusive Austin community,” the department stated. (Community leaders called for APD to be investigated for excessive force in March this year, after videos circulated online that appeared to show officers throwing a trans woman onto the ground during an arrest.)

Austin-area drag performer Brigitte Bandit posted about the assault on Instagram Monday, asking locals for help identifying the attackers. In a follow-up post the next day, Bandit stated that the men had been identified and the information had been shared privately with the victims. “I will not be posting their information without consent of the people involved in the attack,” Bandit wrote, adding, “[l]et’s let them decide which routes they decide [are] best.”

Jarod was treated by EMS personnel at the scene and taken to a hospital, KXAN reported. Per a GoFundMe campaign started by Jarod’s family, he suffered “gashes to his head, a bleeding ear, a broken jaw, and a concussion,” requiring surgery. The fundraiser drew more than $64,000 in donations at time of writing, more than triple its original goal.

“I just wanted to stand up for a nice person that I had just met,” Jarod wrote in a message shared by Bandit on Instagram, “but the outpouring of support from y’all’s community has been overwhelming, so thank you with all of my heart.”

In her comments to Chron, the anonymous trans woman said that she did not know Jarod prior to the assault, but called him “an absolute angel,” saying she was grateful he stepped in.

“I had never known him before that day, but he stood up for me when I was being harassed and he took the most of the assault,” the woman told Chron. “He deserves every penny to help pay for his surgery and his time off work to care of himself and his kid.” The amount of community support she received after the attack, she added, “truly helps my moral and emotional well-being, and makes me believe that this city really is a safe space for people like me.”

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Going Dutch: LGBTQ Americans find Trump-free life in Netherlands

Read more at NBC News.

It had been months since Alex and Lucy, a trans couple from Arizona, felt safe enough to hold hands in public. They rediscovered that pleasure after moving to Amsterdam this year.

The couple, who did not want to give their last names because of the sensitivity of the subject, decided to leave the United States soon after Donald Trump was re-elected last year.

They arrived in the Netherlands on Jan. 19, the day before Trump was inaugurated and swiftly issued an executive order saying the government would only recognize two sexes — male and female.

“We’re both visibly trans and faced growing discrimination. It ramped up right after the election,” said Lucy, sitting alongside Alex in their De Pijp apartment in Amsterdam’s south.

“It felt like people had taken off their masks — waiting for an excuse to finally say what they wanted. We went from being tolerated to openly despised,” she added.

Alex, who is disabled, feared staying put might also mean losing access to their federal health insurance.

“In the end, it became a matter of life and death,” Alex said.

In his first six months in office, Trump has enacted multiple policies affecting the lives of LGBTQ Americans in areas from healthcare to legal recognition and education.

In the face of this rollback of rights, some LGBTQ people have voted with their feet.

While there is little official data, LGBTQ people and activists told the Thomson Reuters Foundation that many people head to Portugal and Spain, while Costa Rica and Mexico are also popular destinations, alongside France and Thailand.

The Netherlands stands out, though, for its strong legal protections, its record on LGBTQ+ inclusivity, and due to a Dutch–American Friendship Treaty (DAFT) and its affiliated visa.

DAFT — established as a 1956 act of Cold War cooperation — enables U.S. citizens to live and work in the Netherlands if they start a small business investing at least 4,500 euro ($5,200), can secure Dutch housing, and are able to prove they have enough money to live on.

The permit is valid for two years and can be renewed.

“Europe was always on the cards, but the Netherlands had a really high percentage of queer folks, and we knew people here (who) were trans and happy,” said Lucy, who got a DAFT visa.

‘Numbers increasing’

While the Dutch Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND) does not keep statistics on the sexual orientation or gender identity of DAFT applicants, overall applications have increased since 2016, with January 2025 registering the highest number of any single month on record — 80.

“The numbers are increasing. We don’t know why,” said Gerard Spierenburg, IND spokesperson.

Immigration lawyers also report an increase.

“From the day after the election, my inbox began filling up with requests of U.S. citizens wanting to move to the Netherlands,” said lawyer Jonathan Bierback, adding that about a fifth came from the LGBTQ+ community.

Three other lawyers in Amsterdam confirmed the trend in interviews with the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Jack Mercury, a trans adult performer from California, moved to Amsterdam almost a year and a half ago — “literally the moment I knew Trump was going to be re-elected”.

He said the DAFT visa was “one of the few financially accessible visas” for him.

He now lives in west Amsterdam with a partner and two cats.

“The words to describe the U.S. in the last 100 days are uncertainty and fear. For trans people, it’s fear that they’ll lose access to healthcare, rights like housing or the ability to work. And for gay people and lesbians, it’s that they will become the next targets,” Mercury said.

This year, more than 950 anti-trans bills were introduced in U.S. state legislatures, according to the Trans Legislation Tracker, of which 120 have passed, 647 failed, and 186 are still under consideration.

“I feel very lucky. I know many people who cannot afford to move, because they’re not high earners, they are sick, have family or children,” said Mercury.

His friend Topher Gross, a trans hair stylist from New York who has been in Amsterdam for four years, offered housing tips and recommended a lawyer.

“Everyone’s exploring any possible way to get out,” said Gross. “But not everyone can — many trans people of colour can’t afford to leave. It’s terrifying.”

He noted that the climate of fear was exacerbated by deportations under Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration.

“Basic rights are being stripped away.”

Jess Drucker, an LGBTQ relocation expert with U.S.-based Rainbow Relocation, said many U.S. clients choose to go Dutch.

“People see how quickly rights can erode, with the global rise of right-wing extremism, and want to move somewhere where those rights are more likely to hold,” Drucker said.

“We’ve seen a major increase in requests for consultations. We are absolutely full.”

Because not everyone can afford a DAFT visa, the Dutch NGO LGBT Asylum Support is urging the government to consider asylum options for LGBTQ Americans.

Spokesperson Sandro Kortekaas said about 50 trans Americans had contacted the group since Trump’s inauguration.

In June, the group asked the government to reassess the status of the United States as a safe country for queer asylum seekers. However, Bierback does not expect success as such a shift would be seen “as a provocation towards the U.S.”

Spierenburg from the IND said there had been more asylum applications from the United States this year than last, although the numbers were still low — 33 against 9 in 2024.

Lucy and Alex are grateful for their new life.

“When I came here, I felt more at home than I ever did. I have so much hope,” said Lucy.

But she does worry that a future Dutch administration — a right-wing coalition collapsed in June — could kill off DAFT.

“I’m really concerned that the treaty is going to be damaged by current political agendas. And so I’m doing everything I can to make sure that I stay within the rules. I don’t want to be extradited for any reason.”

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