In this lighthearted yet poignant show, the Emmy winner portrays Desiree, a trans woman who returns to her hometown of Mobile, Alabama, to reconnect with her estranged father, Harry, after 23 years of no contact. In addition to her starring role, Cox is credited as the series creator alongside George Wallace and Dan Ewen.
The series, executive produced by the late legendary television producer Norman Lear, faced numerous challenges before making it to the airwaves. Reflecting on her journey, Cox expressed her gratitude for the opportunity.
“I’m so humbled because we got no’s from every place. We pitched this everywhere. We sent the script out everywhere, and it was a ‘no’ from everywhere. And it was really Brent Miller and Norman Lear, and their tenacity and pushing, that got us asked to Amazon Prime.”
The development process for Clean Slate spanned seven years, during which Cox and her team encountered considerable resistance from Hollywood.
“I think getting a show on the air period is insanely difficult. There was a time when I was pitching this alongside two other projects with really established, Oscar-winning people, wonderful stories with trans characters, and none of them went through. They weren’t buying trans stories.”
Cox believes that the significance of this show is heightened in today’s political climate.
“And I think this show happening at this particular political moment feels, not like an accident. It feels divine because we are in a space culturally where trans people have been dehumanized to such an extent that taking away our rights and denying our legitimacy is something that people take for granted. And it’s happening on a federal level.”
She hopes that the series will encourage viewers to empathize with trans individuals.
“And so that is my hope that people will have empathy for the trans character that I play and hopefully be inspired to have empathy for trans people in real life and hopefully get to know us,” Cox says.
“We’re not a theory. We’re not an ideology. We’re human beings walking around, living with these experiences. We’re human, and the rehumanization process is what needs to happen. If we’re interested in love and justice for trans people, as well as for immigrants and for those who think differently from us, we need to counter a culture that dehumanizes. We need to engage in a process of humanizing each other across the board.”
The first season of Clean Slate will feature eight episodes and is now streaming exclusively on Prime Video.
Jan 31 (Reuters) – The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other federal health agencies on Friday took down webpages with information on HIV statistics and other data to comply with Trump administration orders on gender identity and diversity, raising concerns among physicians and patient advocates.
CDC webpages that appear to have been removed include statistics on HIV,among transgender people and data on health disparities, among gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth. A database tracking behaviors,that increase health risks for youth was offline.
The Office of Personnel Management gave agencies more specific guidance on how to comply with the orders in a Jan. 29 memo,saying they were to be completed by 5 p.m. ET (2200 GMT) on Jan. 31.
It specified that agencies must end all programs that promote or reflect “gender ideology extremism” by recognizing a self-determined gender identity rather than biological sex. The measures include removing references to gender identity online.
A spokesperson for the Health and Human Services Department, which oversees the CDC, said any changes to websites follow this guidance.
“There’s a lot of work going on at the agency to comply,” said a source who was not authorized to speak publicly, adding that the CDC is “taking down anything on the website that doesn’t support this executive order.”
Deletions from the CDC’s site include pages with data on HIV in the United States in general, as well as pages with statistics on HIV in Hispanic/Latino people, women, by age, and by race and ethnicity.
The elimination of such data “creates a dangerous gap in scientific information and data to monitor and respond to disease outbreaks,” the Infectious Diseases Society of America and the HIV Medicine Association said in a joint statement.
For example, a page with information about how people can get HIV tests was offline on Friday, according to the Internet Archive, as was a page for doctors with information about testing for HIV and treating patients.
“This is very alarming,” said John Peller, head of the AIDS Foundation Chicago. “In many cases, basic health information is going dark.”
Timothy Jackson, senior director of policy and advocacy at the group, said they are going through the CDC website and printing out information used to educate people about HIV that may not be accessible after Friday.
Also missing from the CDC’s website was the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, which tracks trends in tobacco use, teen pregnancy, unsafe sexual behavior and other aspects of teen health.
At the National Institutes of Health, a senior employee this week urged agency leaders to refuse to implement the Trump administration’s guidance in an email to acting NIH Director Matthew Memoli and other top officials that was seen by Reuters.
The employee, Nate Brought, director of the NIH executive office, said Trump’s orders ran contrary to years of NIH research and findings about sexuality and gender.
“By complying with these orders, we will be denigrating the contributions made to the NIH mission by trans and intersex members of our staff, and the contributions of trans and intersex citizens to our society,” he wrote.
“These policies will lead to mental health crises or worse for tens of thousands of Americans who contribute productively to our communities.”
Reporting by Julie Steenhuysen in Chicago and Ted Hesson in Washington; Additional reporting by Jaimi Dowdell in Los Angeles and Brad Heath in Washington; Editing by Leslie Adler and Bill Berkrot.
President Trump on Tuesday signed a sweeping executive order meant to broadly restrict access to gender-affirming care for transgender children and teenagers younger than 19, inching closer to fulfilling a key campaign promise to ban treatments that he and his administration have cast as experimental and dangerous, in conflict with major medical associations and transgender health experts.
“Across the country today, medical professionals are maiming and sterilizing a growing number of impressionable children under the radical and false claim that adults can change a child’s sex through a series of irreversible medical interventions,” Tuesday’s order states. “This dangerous trend will be a stain on our Nation’s history, and it must end.”
“Accordingly, it is the policy of the United States that it will not fund, sponsor, promote, assist, or support the so-called ‘transition’ of a child from one sex to another, and it will rigorously enforce all laws that prohibit or limit these destructive and life-altering procedures,” the order states.
Every major medical organization supports gender-affirming care for transgender adults and minors, although not every trans person chooses to medically transition or has access to care.
Trump’s executive order, titled “Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation,” tasks federal agencies with rescinding or amending policies that rely on guidance from the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), including the organization’s latest standards of care, released in 2022.
WPATH, a nonprofit professional organization devoted to transgender health care, did not immediately return a request for comment.
Trump’s order tasks the incoming Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) with publishing a review of existing literature on best practices “for promoting the health of children who assert gender dysphoria, rapid-onset gender dysphoria, or other identity-based confusion.”
Rapid-onset gender dysphoria, which claims that adolescents identify as transgender because of influence from friends or social media, is not recognized as a valid medical diagnosis by major professional medical organizations. In 2021, 61 professional health care organizations, including the American Psychological Association, signed a letter stating the condition lacks “rigorous empirical support for its existence.”
According to Tuesday’s order, heads of executive departments and agencies that provide research and education grants to medical institutions, including medical schools and hospitals, should take immediate steps to block funding for institutions that continue providing gender-affirming care to minors.
Meredithe McNamara, an assistant professor of pediatrics at Yale University specializing in adolescent medicine, said the provision amounts to “an immediate de facto ban on medical care” for trans youth who receive care at academic medical centers.
“It basically defunds those medical centers if they continue to provide that care,” McNamara said of the order.
“This is a stunning example of how all health care is tied together, and how the most effective way to attack gender-affirming care is to attack the entire health care apparatus as a whole,” she added in an interview. “They’re holding everyone hostage and saying, ‘We’re going to take away everyone’s healthcare unless you systematically deprive just these people.’”
Trump’s executive order additionally directs the HHS Secretary — a position he wants for Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. — to bar access to gender-affirming care for transgender minors through federal programs like Medicaid and Medicare and withdraw the department’s 2022 guidance supporting gender-affirming care. The secretary should issue new guidance, in consultation with the incoming attorney general, “protecting whistleblowers who take action related to ensuring compliance with this order,” according to Tuesday’s order.
The executive order also directs Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to draft a rule to exclude coverage for gender-affirming care for minors from TRICARE, the military’s health program. Former President Biden in December signed a $895 billion defense policy bill barring TRICARE from covering transition-related care for transgender children of active-duty service members, a provision that military families with transgender kids called a “slap in the face.”
Tuesday’s order similarly tasks the director of the Office of Personnel Management with taking steps to remove coverage for gender-affirming care for trans youth from federal health plans.
It also asks the attorney general to prioritize enforcement of existing federal laws against female genital mutilation, which carry a penalty of up to 10 years in prison. The attorney general should also “prioritize investigations and take appropriate action to end deception of consumers, fraud, and violations of the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act” by entities that may be “misleading the public” about the long-term side effects of transition-related care.
Republican state attorneys general have, in recent years, used consumer protection laws to investigate individuals and organizations that provide gender-affirming care to minors. A Senate Finance Committee report released in April claimed that at least four GOP attorneys general — Ken Paxton of Texas, Todd Rokita of Indiana, Jonathan Skrmetti of Tennessee and Andrew Bailey of Missouri — abused their oversight authorities to “further ideological and political goals.”
Trump’s executive order additionally directs the attorney general to work with Congress to “draft, propose, and promote legislation” to enact a private right of action for children, as well as their parents, “whose healthy body parts have been damaged” by medical professionals practicing transgender health care.
The attorney general should also take “appropriate action,” the order states, “to end child-abusive practices by so-called sanctuary States,” including through the potential application of the Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act, a federal law preventing one parent from interfering with another parent’s custody rights.
Conservative organizations celebrated Trump’s executive order Tuesday evening. In a joint statement, Independent Women’s Forum and Independent Women’s Voice said the move restores the “true meaning of ‘care’ for America’s youngest generation.”
Kristina Rasmussen, executive director of Do No Harm, a health policy group that opposes gender-affirming care for minors, said Trump’s order prioritizes “safety, scientific integrity, and family autonomy.”
Omar Gonzalez-Pagan, senior counsel and health care strategist at the LGBTQ civil rights organization Lambda Legal, called the order “morally reprehensible and patently unlawful” and said the group would sue.
“The federal government — particularly, this administration — has no right to insert itself into conversations and decision-making that rightly belongs only to parents, their adolescent children, and their medical providers,” he said.
The executive order comes after Trump signed separate orders declaring that the federal government recognizes only two sexes, male and female, and barring transgender people from serving openly in the military.
LGBTQ activists in New Jersey say they’re fortunate to live in New Jersey as the new administration kicks-off its term by attacking the transgender community and diversity initiatives. Advocates at Garden State Equality say New Jersey sets a standard for legal equality that can inspire states throughout the country.
As part of its education and advocacy “Going Local” programming across the country, the GLAAD Media Institute (GMI) – GLAAD’s training, research and consulting division – convened meetings with local leaders and community advocates at Garden State Equality and throughout the nation. Attendees who complete a program or session with the GLAAD Media Institute are immediately deemed GLAAD Media Institute Alumni, who are equipped to maximize community impact by leveraging their own story for culture change.
The state is known for its tough pro-equality laws like New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD), which is considered one of the most comprehensive anti-discrimination laws in the country. Yet, new laws in the state legislature help combat a rise of LGBTQ disinformation and hate speech, straight out of Project 2025. The anti-LGBTQ hate machine has affected dozens of Jersey school board’s policies on book bans, critical race theory, and sex education.
Since Garden State Equality’s founding in 2004, over “230 LGBTQ civil rights laws” have been enacted at the state, county, and local levels. According to the organization’s website, that’s “more laws in less time than in any other state in American history.”
On a federal level, President Trump began his second term signing executive orders to dispute the fact that transgender and gender diverse people exist. On Trump’s first days in office he signed an executive order titled Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government. The order is used to delegitimize trans truth, history, and science, which promptly raised concerns over a federal ban of the “x” gender marker for people of nonbinary, trans or gender nonconforming experience in the United States.
“As of today, it will henceforth be the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders, male and female,” President Trump incorrectly said upon signing the order.
Garden State Equality says they’re ready to resist these efforts by the current administration, and continue to encourage diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, while uplifting best practices for LGBTQ youth and adult community members as they have within their state government, says advocates.
“We want our youth to understand that they don’t just live in a bubble here in New Jersey, that the work that they are doing to be activists here in our state is going to influence other states and other students across the nation,” Natalie Hernandez told GLAAD.
Natalie Hernandez, camp director and project manager & trainer; Screenshot by Lana Leonard
Hernandez is the Camp Director of Garden State Equality’s Changemakers Youth Leadership summer program. Empowering youth leaders helps inform the work of other departments and so forth, it’s a collaborative effort to fight for legal equality for the state organization.
Hime Sarah Thomas, project manager and trainer with the Education and Youth Development Department, grew up in a queer family who introduced Thomas to Garden State Equality through the Changemakers Youth Leadership summer program. Thomas works to encourage youth to become “changemakers” by giving them an outlet to express their frustrations, and amplify their voices.
Only a small number of youth actually transition: less than one-tenth of one percent of teenagers with private insurance in the United States are transgender and receive gender-related medicine, according to a study by JAMA Pediatrics.
“These youth need a space where they can talk about all the things that are happening in the news and the world because they don’t have the autonomy to be able to vote and make those choices on who is representing them,” Thomas said.
For Aisling MacDonald, a project manager for the organization’s Training and Trans Resiliency Program, which advocates for the wellness of transgender and gender nonconforming adults and families moving into New Jersey for their LGBTQ protections.
“Our world is ever evolving. There are some very legitimate anxieties, and also… we are really, really fortunate to live here,” MacDonald said.
MacDonald spends much of her day building coalition relationships and legal resources for name changes and documents for trans people who have been under attack on social media, through legislation, and the news.
Hime Sarah Thomas, project manager & trainer; Screenshot by Lana Leonard
“My experience as a woman of trans experience who is from some very particular demographics, and a very particular flavor of multiple marginalizations, is that we do not have a lot of trust for systems, institutions and legislators, especially,” MacDonald said. “And I think more than anything else in 2025 we have an opportunity to build a different kind of community.”
These insights into the LGBTQ community of Asbury Park lead into a larger narrative about community needs in New Jersey and beyond. Even still, Garden State Equality recognizes that there are hurdles that must still be overcome.
More about the GLAAD Media Institute: The GLAAD Media Institute provides training, consultation, and actionable research to develop an army of social justice ambassadors for all marginalized communities to champion acceptance and amplify media impact. Using the best practices, tools, and techniques we’ve perfected over the past 30 years, the GLAAD Media Institute turns education into armor for today’s culture war—transforming individuals into compelling storytellers, media-savvy navigators, and mighty ambassadors whose voices break through the noise and incite real change. Activate with the GLAAD Media Institute now at glaad.org/institute
More than a quarter million LGBTQ+ young people and family members in the U.S. have relocated to other states because of LGBTQ+-related politics or laws, according to estimates outlined in a new report exploring the population’s response to hostile policy environments.
According to the brief compiled by The Trevor Project and Movement Advancement Project, 9 in 10 LGBTQ+ young people say politics have impacted their well-being, while 4 in 10 say they’ve thought about moving to another state because of unfriendly LGBTQ+ politics or laws at home.
The portion was even higher for transgender and nonbinary youth, 94% of whom said politics had affected their well-being and nearly half (45%) who said they’d considered relocating.
“For many LGBTQ+ young people in the U.S., the steady stream of anti-LGBTQ+ news may feel overwhelming right now,” said Steven Hobaica, a research scientist for the Trevor Project, a national LGBTQ+ youth advocacy group focused on suicide prevention. “It’s heartbreaking to see that nearly half of transgender and nonbinary youth have considered moving due to anti-LGBTQ+ policies.”
While just 4% of LGBTQ+ young people ages 13 to 24 reported uprooting because of anti-LGBTQ+ policies, that translates to roughly 266,000 young people and family members based on LGBTQ+ youth population estimates, the groups said.
Trump administration presents new threats
The report comes as President Donald Trump returns to the White House after making gender identity issues a focal point of his campaign. On Monday, after being sworn in, Trump issued a spate of executive orders that included seeking to remove legal protections for transgender people in federal spaces, laying the groundwork to potentially bar transgender individuals from military service and declaring that the U.S. government will only recognize two sexes, male and female.
“No matter a person’s political beliefs, we know, from our research and from what LGBTQ+ young people tell us, that policies like these take a damaging toll on LGBTQ+ young people’s mental health,” said Janson Wu, The Trevor Project’s senior director of state advocacy and government affairs.
The organization said its crisis services saw a 33% increase on Inauguration Day compared to typical volume. But that still paled, it noted, to the sevenfold increase in crisis services experienced the day after the 2024 election.
“No matter your political beliefs or how you feel about the current administration, one thing must be made clear to all of us living in the United States: Real young people’s lives are at risk,” said Trevor Project CEO Jaymes Black.
Recent years have already seen increasing numbers of state laws and proposed legislation targeting the LGBTQ+ community, especially measures aimed at curbing the rights of transgender youth.
“It’s critical that we not only call attention to the negative impact of these divisive political attacks but also highlight that this research supports the idea that more inclusive policy environments lead to better outcomes for LGBTQ young people across a range of measures,” said Logan Casey, director of policy research for Movement Advancement Project.
Hostile climates raise mental, emotional health risk
The organizations said they compiled the report given a lack of research into how LGBTQ+ young people respond to hostile policy environments, despite studies showing that those youths experience greater mental health challenges and higher suicide risk in such environments.
“By gaining more knowledge of how LGBTQ+ young people respond to their policy environment, advocates and policymakers can create or modify policy to better support LGBTQ+ young people and their families,” the report said.
Their joint report is based on data gleaned from The Trevor Project’s 2024 U.S. National Survey on the Mental Health of LGBTQ+ Young People, which collected responses from more than 18,600 LGBTQ+ individuals between the ages of 13 and 24. It also incorporates data from Movement Advancement Project, a Boulder, Colorado-based group that tracks LGBTQ+-related laws and policies throughout the U.S. and its territories and assigns each a negative or positive policy index.
More than a quarter (27%) of respondents lived in states with negative policy indexes, the report said. Those individuals were more likely than their counterparts to consider moving to other states and also likelier to travel to other states to receive health care.
The report noted that not all LGBTQ+ young people and their families desiring to relocate have the resources to do so.
“Notably, the same factors that might preclude the ability of LGBTQ+ young people and their families from moving, such as poverty, housing discrimination, and employment access, are the same ones that disproportionately affect LGBTQ+ people of color and increase their risk of mental health and suicide,” the report said.
“I wish people would set aside their personal biases in this situation,” the local police chief stated.
Police in Madison, Wisconsin, have urged the public to stop speculating about the gender identity of the individual responsible for the tragic shooting at Abundant Life Christian School on Monday. The shooting resulted in three fatalities, including the suspected shooter, and left six others injured. Among those expressing condolences for the victims were openly gay U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI) and lesbian Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI).
The suspect, 15-year-old student Natalie Rupnow, opened fire with a handgun around 11 a.m. local time in a study hall, according to CNN. She took her own life, as well as that of a teacher and a student, and left six others injured, two of whom remain in critical condition. Authorities have not yet released any details regarding the shooter’s gender identity or the motive behind the attack. However, transphobic groups have wrongfully used this incident to spread false claims that the shooter was transgender, aiming to further stigmatize the trans community as dangerous.
“I don’t know whether the shooter was transgender or not,” Police Chief Shone Barnes stated during a press conference on Monday evening. “I don’t think whatever happened today has anything to do with how she or he or they may have wanted to identify.”
Barnes emphasized, “I wish people would leave their own personal biases out of this. Whether or not she was, he was, or they were transgender is something that may come out later. But for what we’re doing right now, eight hours after a mass shooting, it is of no consequence.”
While there have been reports suggesting that Rupnow may have left behind writings later shared online by someone claiming to be connected to her, police have not yet verified the authenticity of these writings. The suspected shooter’s parents are reportedly cooperating with investigators and, at this time, face no legal charges, according to authorities.
There have been at least 83 school shootings in the U.S. so far this year, CNN reports. In the aftermath of some incidents, right-wing figures have spread misinformation about the shooters identifying as transgender.
Following Monday’s shooting, anti-LGBTQ+ activist Chaya Raichik, known for running the LibsOfTikTok account, shared a video of Chief Barnes using different pronouns to refer to the shooter. Raichik suggested that Barnes did so due to Rupnow’s gender identity.
In early January, Raichik made a similar claim, posting misinformation that suggested five recent school shooters had identified as nonbinary or transgender. Her image also falsely asserted that the 2022 Uvalde, Texas school shooter was transgender—this was not the case, and the person shown posing with a trans flag in her image was not the actual shooter.
The transphobic billionaire Elon Musk amplified Raichik’s inaccurate post, commenting with “!!” to further spread the misinformation.
In response to the recent shooting, Rep. Pocan issued a statement: “‘Thoughts and prayers’ offer comfort to the families and communities affected but have not changed our unique reality as Americans. It’s time for action. I am a co-sponsor of several gun violence prevention and youth mental health bills that will help prevent future tragedies like this. It’s time for my Republican colleagues to grow a backbone and put our children above the gun lobby by passing commonsense gun safety laws that will save countless lives.”
He continued, “My heart goes out to the victims of the Abundant Life Christian School shooting, their loved ones, and our entire community.” He also expressed gratitude toward the police and first responders who assisted the school.
Sen. Baldwin shared her thoughts on X, saying that her “heart breaks” for the community, which has been “scarred forever.” She added, “My thoughts are with the families mourning, the injured, the teachers and staff, and the entire Madison community that has been traumatized by this senseless gun violence.”
“No one in America should have to suffer like this—let alone kids in school,” she wrote. “I refuse to sit idly by and am committed to being part of the solution to end the scourge of gun violence.”
Echoing the false claims about a trans shooter, right-wing figures like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO), and former Fox News host Tucker Carlson have repeatedly argued that trans people are dangerous because they are “mentally ill.” These transphobes assert that transgender individuals are mentally unstable and seek to “groom” and “sexualize” children with what they call “gender ideology,” which they claim confuses and coerces kids into pursuing “irreversible” medical procedures that will “mutilate” them for life. Boebert has even suggested that affirming trans people’s identities directly contributes to school shootings.
However, the truth is that the vast majority of mass shooters in the U.S. are cisgender males. The right-wing focus on linking trans identity to violence and mental illness often serves to stigmatize queer individuals while distracting from the real issue—gun control. Proposals for stronger gun regulations are often ignored, despite their potential to prevent mass shootings in the first place.
A CNN analyst criticized conservatives for scapegoating trans people in the wake of school shootings. Rather than focusing on the shooter’s gender identity, the analyst emphasized the need to address broader issues, such as mental health, child protection, school security, and firearm safety reforms, as essential steps in preventing future tragedies.
The activists, part of the group Trans Kids Deserve Better, staged an overnight protest outside the Department of Health and Social Care offices.
In response to the announcement by Health Secretary Wes Streeting and the Department of Health and Social Care that puberty blockers for treating gender dysphoria in trans youth would be banned “indefinitely,” a group of trans youth activists set up a temporary encampment outside Streeting’s office. On December 11, Trans Kids Deserve Better and their supporters set up camp outside Wes Streeting’s office, remaining there overnight until the following day, according to an Instagram post from the group. While puberty blockers have effectively been banned in the U.K. since May, when the Department of Health and Social Care imposed an “emergency ban” on the medication for trans youth, Streeting’s recent announcement on Wednesday further extended the ban. He stated that the National Health Service (NHS) and private doctors are prohibited from prescribing or supplying puberty blockers to trans youth for gender dysphoria treatment until 2027. However, existing prescriptions for trans youth will continue to be honored. In contrast, cisgender youth experiencing precocious puberty are still permitted to receive prescriptions for the blockers.
In an article for Huck Magazine, one of the group’s activists, known as Grin, wrote that “while today isn’t a big change, it is a sign that the denial of our healthcare is now institutionalized.” Gender clinics in the U.K. have faced criticism for notoriously long waiting times, with an August study revealing that trans youth wait an average of two years to begin receiving gender-affirming care.
Grin wrote that Streeting “has promised ‘clinical trials’ on the effects of hormone blockers.” However, many clinical studies on the subject already exist, and the overwhelming majority conclude that hormone blockers are beneficial to the well-being of trans youth.
“But we already know what happens when we get them. We get to live happier, healthier lives because our bodies won’t be permanently altered in ways we don’t want,” Grin continued. “The real trial or experiment he has now created is to keep us from our healthcare and see what happens when an entire generation of trans people grows up knowing the trauma they’ve gone through was avoidable. I’ve not consented to be part of that experiment — I just wanted healthcare.”
The group has been targeting Streeting since August as part of a separate campaign called Trans Kids Are Dying, Wes Streeting. According to Grin’s article in Huck Magazine, the group has visited the secretary’s office daily since July, delivering “handmade paper coffins” to symbolize the lives of trans people already lost and those still at risk. Grin also mentioned that the group had received an invitation to meet with Streeting, but that it “never happened,” despite “constant emails to follow up on his invitation.”
On this occasion, the activists left a life-sized cardboard coffin outside Streeting’s office, as detailed in an Instagram post by Jude Guitamacchi, who participated in the overnight protest.
In their Instagram caption, they wrote, “This healthcare ban starts with trans+ kids but won’t end with them. This is about all of us. We must work together and do everything we can to challenge the ban and fight for the human rights of the trans+ community in the UK.”
Military Veterans, Families, and Service Members with Transgender Children Decry NDAA Provision as a ‘Slap in the Face’
Military veterans, active-duty service members, and families with transgender children are condemning a provision in Congress’s annual defense policy bill that targets certain medical treatments for transgender minors, calling it a “slap in the face” based on misinformation and a lack of understanding about the transgender community.
The provision, included in the compromised version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) negotiated by the House and Senate, would block TRICARE, the military’s health insurance program, from covering gender dysphoria treatments for minors that could potentially lead to sterilization, applying to individuals under the age of 18.
Senate Provision Would Have Explicitly Banned Coverage for Gender-Affirming Hormone Therapy and Puberty Blockers for Minors
A more specific provision, adopted by the Senate Armed Services Committee in its defense bill in July, sought to explicitly prohibit coverage for “affirming hormone therapy” and puberty blockers, as well as other medical treatments for gender dysphoria—distress stemming from a mismatch between an individual’s gender identity and sex assigned at birth—if they “could result in sterilization” for minors.
Hormone treatments, which typically involve doses of testosterone or estrogen, can have mixed effects on fertility, while puberty blockers, used to delay physical changes like breast development or voice deepening, are not known to significantly affect fertility on their own.
Branden Marty, a Navy veteran with a transgender daughter, criticized such policies, noting that they reflect a broader failure to listen to medical experts. “With policies like this, and we’ve seen them in states and at the federal level, legislators and politicians and leaders within our system of government are not listening to experts,” Marty said.
He emphasized that gender-affirming care is about working with healthcare professionals to provide support to families, helping transgender and nonbinary children understand their identities, and ensuring they can live healthy, fulfilling lives at school and home. “It’s about helping a child understand themselves and develop a positive self-appreciation,” he added.
Major Medical Groups Affirm Gender-Affirming Care as Medically Necessary, Lifesaving, and Essential
Leading medical organizations have consistently stated that gender-affirming healthcare for both transgender adults and minors is medically necessary and can be lifesaving. These groups strongly oppose efforts by state and federal governments to restrict access to such treatments, arguing that they are essential for the well-being and mental health of transgender individuals.
Other GOP-backed proposals to reverse the Pentagon’s abortion travel policy and prohibit TRICARE from covering gender-affirming care for transgender service members were removed from the final version of the bill. This suggests that Republicans believe the ban on care for transgender minors will be sufficient to secure broader support for the measure, even if other contentious provisions are excluded.
Democrats Push Back Against NDAA Over Transgender Care Prohibition; White House Remains Silent on Veto
At least one Democrat, House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Adam Smith (D-Wash.), has announced he will vote against the NDAA over its prohibition on gender-affirming care for transgender minors. Other Democrats, including Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), also refused to advance the bill on Tuesday, citing the “ideological riders” attached to the legislation, which typically enjoys bipartisan support.
On Tuesday, House Armed Services Committee Chair Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) stated that he disagreed with the inclusion of the healthcare provision in the final NDAA and was not involved in its decision. However, he stopped short of opposing the overall $883.7 billion defense package.
The White House has not yet indicated whether President Biden, who has previously pledged to veto legislation that discriminates against transgender people, would sign the bill in its current form.
Speaker Mike Johnson Defends NDAA Provision as Victory for Troops; Air Force Chief Disagrees on “Lethality” Impact
During a news conference on Tuesday, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) hailed the provision barring TRICARE coverage for gender-affirming care for minors as a victory “for our troops and for our country.”
“We spent a lot of time and effort working on it,” Johnson said of the negotiated NDAA text, emphasizing that service members and their families deserve the best support possible. In a statement on Sunday, Johnson argued that “woke ideology” had infiltrated the military, and that permanently banning transgender medical treatment for minors would help refocus the military on “lethality.”
However, an Air Force chief, who requested anonymity due to his active-duty status, expressed disagreement with Johnson’s characterization, stating that he saw no connection between the provision and improving the “lethality” of the U.S. armed services.
Air Force Chief and Spouse Criticize NDAA Provision, Argue It Undermines Military Readiness
“As someone who has served for over 20 years and is involved in high-level decision-making on the morale, health, welfare, training, readiness, and equipping of service members, I cannot link those things,” said an Air Force chief, identified only as “J,” in an interview with The Hill.
“I don’t understand how he [Speaker Johnson] comes to that conclusion, because, in my mind, it doesn’t make sense at all. Taking away something that families are relying on distracts us from the mission and the task at hand to remain as lethal as we are,” said J, whose teenage daughter is transgender and currently receives medical care covered by TRICARE.
J’s spouse, referred to only as “H,” also weighed in, criticizing the provision’s potential impact on military families. “You can’t say this is going to help our military when you’re scaring military families,” H said, expressing concern about the stress and uncertainty the provision could create for service members and their loved ones.
Military Families Weigh Impact of NDAA Provision on Health Care and Future Service
If the NDAA passes in its current form, “J” and “H,” who live on the West Coast, are considering supplemental health insurance or paying out-of-pocket for their child’s care—options that could put significant strain on the family’s finances. With more than two decades of military service and just two-and-a-half years remaining on his commitment, “J” is also rethinking his future in the military.
“I have a strong desire and propensity to continue to serve, but this will definitely weigh on my and my family’s decision to continue serving,” said “J.” “It’s difficult, but my family’s got to come first.”
Ann, a military veteran and spouse of a senior Pentagon officer, echoed similar concerns. Her teenage son is transgender, and she explained that the latest NDAA adds another layer of complexity to their family’s ability to relocate and maintain stability. Ann, who requested to be identified only by her middle name due to her husband’s active duty status, expressed frustration with the uncertainty the provision creates for families like hers.
Military Families Feel Increasing Pressure as Gender-Affirming Care Restrictions Spread
“The country is kind of closing in on us, like we’re running out of places to go,” Ann said, reflecting on the growing restrictions surrounding gender-affirming care. “Especially with something like the NDAA and just seeing the writing on the wall about a national ban on gender-affirming care.” She referenced one of President-elect Trump’s campaign promises, adding, “The little safety bubbles are getting smaller and smaller.”
Since 2021, more than half of the U.S. states have either heavily restricted or outright banned some forms of transition-related care for minors—and, in some cases, adults. The Supreme Court also appears poised to uphold a Tennessee law that bans gender-affirming care for youth, further escalating concerns among families in similar situations.
Ann, a military veteran who served eight years, including a 15-month combat tour in Iraq, and her husband, a four-time combat deployer who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, have spent roughly five years apart due to their service. The couple now faces the additional strain of navigating an increasingly hostile landscape for transgender care while managing the demands of military life.
Transgender Child Thriving with Gender-Affirming Care, but Family Faces Uncertainty with NDAA Provision
Now relocated to Virginia, Ann shared that her transgender child is “thriving” with the support of gender-affirming care provided through TRICARE. He enjoys fencing, watching sports, and playing in his school’s band. Academically, he has excelled, though Ann noted that his geometry class this year has been a bit “humbling.”
“Trans kids are kids. They are, the overwhelming majority, thriving and doing well and contributing to their community,” Ann said. “They’re happy and they’re healthy, and that’s like all that parents want, right?”
However, while Ann’s husband is not yet ready to retire, the potential loss of coverage for their son’s care would force the family to rethink their future. “If coverage for our son’s healthcare is taken away, that’s pretty much marking the end of the road,” Ann said, expressing the deep uncertainty and frustration many military families like hers are grappling with in light of the proposed policy changes.
Military Spouses Express Concern Over NDAA Provision and Its Impact on Transgender Service Members and Their Families
“If that’s the way we’re going to be treated … if that’s the tone that Congress and the government wants to set, then that’s pretty unfortunate,” said Ann, reflecting on the potential consequences of the NDAA provision. “You’re going to lose combat experience; you’re going to lose leaders with decades of valuable experience that the military needs.” She continued, “It’s a scary world out there, so it’s a pretty sad state of affairs for our national security that you’re going to ask folks to make that decision and not support their families.”
“C,” a veteran spouse whose husband served in the military for 26 years, described the NDAA’s gender-affirming care provision as “an enormous slap in the face.” She, too, has concerns about the direction the military is taking. “C” requested that she be identified only by her first initial because her transgender child, now an adult, is not publicly out as trans.
“C” and her husband both come from military families, and their child had plans to follow in their footsteps with a military career. But with the ban on TRICARE coverage for transgender healthcare and the looming possibility that President-elect Trump may reinstate a policy barring transgender people from serving openly, “C” worries about whether the military will remain a safe place for her child. “It’s all they’ve ever wanted — to be like their dad, to carry on a family tradition of service to the country,” she said. “I don’t think I can truly even express how devastating it would be for them to not be able to fulfill those dreams.”
Similarly, “B,” a military spouse from the Southwest, expressed concern about the long-term implications of the NDAA provision. While the measure doesn’t directly affect her own daughter, an 18-year-old college student, she fears it could set a troubling precedent. “This is kind of a slippery slope,” said “B,” who requested anonymity because her husband, an airman, is actively serving. “If this becomes the first federal law to prevent transgender youth from getting this healthcare, what’s to stop [Congress] from removing TRICARE coverage for trans people of all ages?”
“B” continued, “I do get concerned about that moving forward, that this could impact my daughter, this could impact older trans adults. I don’t know where this ends, so I think it’s a really dangerous road to start down.”
Her daughter, who has been accessing gender-affirming care through TRICARE, came out to “B” and her husband when she was just 12. “It was a very steep learning curve for us … I had never even heard the word ‘cisgender’ before,” said “B.” They sought advice from medical professionals, mental health providers, and other parents before making the decision to support their daughter’s medical transition. “This wasn’t something that we went into blindly or quickly,” she emphasized.
In 2021, while living in Texas, the family was forced to split up after the state began investigating parents who provided their children with gender-affirming medical treatments, with Republican Gov. Greg Abbott calling it “abusive.” “B” fled Texas with their daughter, who had to restart her senior year of high school, while “B”’s husband, unable to leave his post, stayed behind. The family has since reunited, but “B” declined to disclose their current location, citing privacy and safety concerns.
“My spouse is active-duty military. If these lawmakers saw him in the hallway in Congress, they would shake his hand and thank him for his service,” said “B.” “They trust him with sensitive information, and they trust him with the security of the nation, but somehow they can’t trust him with making informed medical decisions for his own child?”
Gay Spanish teacher has won $90,000 after suing her school district for allegedly punishing her for supporting LGBTQ+ students.
Eileen Brennock filed a lawsuit claiming she was subjected to a hostile work environment at Mountain View Middle School in Oregon’s Newberg School District. According to Brennock, the hostility stemmed from her speaking out against Principal Terry McElligot, who, she alleges, told staff at a September 2021 meeting that it was unacceptable to tell students it is okay to be LGBTQ+, as reported by Oregon Live/The Oregonian.
She also claims the now-retired administrator instructed staff not to display Black Lives Matter or Pride signs in their classrooms to avoid “poking the bear.” At the time, the school board had recently implemented a policy banning both types of displays, though a judge later ruled that policy unconstitutional a year after its enactment. The lawsuit claims that after the meeting, Brennock reported McElligot’s alleged statements to Assistant Principal Lindsey Kopacek, who dismissed her concerns, telling Brennock that McElligot never made those comments and that she must have imagined them “due to cortisol and stress levels.”
Brennock responded that if a student told her they were gay, she would say, “Me too!”
Following this exchange, the lawsuit states that Brennock endured a hostile work environment and filed a complaint with the Oregon Department of Education. Even after the department ruled in her favor, Brennock allegedly continued to face harassment from school officials. The department found that the school had violated its agreement, failing, among other things, to implement required staff training on LGBTQ+ issues.
Brennock also accused the district’s former superintendent, Stephens Phillips, of using a gay slur. She further claimed that the district altered the wording in an anti-discrimination presentation to refer to LGBTQ+ identities as a “lifestyle” and LGBTQ+ people as being from the “opposite side of the fence.”
The school district denied McElligot’s use of hateful language at the staff meeting but argued that even if she had said it, it wouldn’t have been discriminatory because it was “not intended to be.”
The Oregon Department of Education disagreed, stating in its ruling that the district “misunderstands what constitutes discrimination under the law.” The ruling emphasized that the alleged comments “clearly articulated that teacher conduct toward students belonging to certain protected classes should be different than conduct toward other students.”
Although the school district did not admit liability in the settlement, it agreed to publicly commit to fostering an inclusive environment for both students and staff. The district also promised to make discrimination complaint forms available online and in print starting the next school year.
Mace faces accusations of staging a “self-serving publicity stunt.”
A 33-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly assaulting Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) in retaliation for her recent opposition to trans rights.
“I was physically accosted at the Capitol tonight by a pro-tr*ns man,” Mace wrote on X. It’s unclear why she chose to censor the word “trans,” but given her outspoken anti-trans views, she may be signaling that she considers it a term to be stigmatized.
“One new brace for my wrist and some ice for my arm and it’ll heal just fine,” she continued. “The Capitol police arrested the guy. Your tr*ns violence and threats on my life will only make me double down. FAFO. #HoldTheLine.”
A statement from U.S. Capitol Police confirmed that foster youth advocate James McIntyre of Illinois was arrested for allegedly assaulting Mace after lawfully entering the building through security. According to sources who spoke to Axios, the incident occurred during an event for the Foster Youth Caucus, of which Mace is a co-chair.
However, three eyewitnesses have accused Mace of fabricating the assault, claiming that she and McIntyre simply exchanged a standard handshake, during which he asked the Congresswoman to protect trans rights.
“From what I saw, it was a normal handshake and interaction that I would expect any legislator to have with a constituent,” former foster youth and LGBTQ+ rights advocate Elliot Hinkle told Imprint.
Hinkle further noted that McIntyre’s arrest – he is also a former foster youth – sends a troubling message: “It sends a chilling effect of, you’re not actually safe to go to Capitol Hill and share an opinion that is true for you, that isn’t violent — because right now if you do, a congressperson might say that they were physically assaulted and call the police on you. So how would a young person in care feel safe?”
In a Facebook post, foster youth advocate Lisa Dickson expressed her frustration with Mace’s actions at the event: “I want to express deep disappointment in the fact that Congresswoman Nancy Mace came to a national foster youth event, told participating youth that it was a safe space — and literally had one of them arrested by Capitol police for simply shaking her hand and asking about trans rights.”
She added in a follow-up: “Today was not the day or the time for a self-serving publicity stunt – especially not a politician lashing out at a vulnerable young person who just took her at her word that, when helping foster youth, ‘all suggestions are welcome.’”
Mace, who has long espoused anti-trans views, has escalated her rhetoric since trans Rep.-elect Sarah McBride (D-DE) won her race for Congress in November.
In response to McBride becoming the first trans person ever elected to Congress, Mace introduced a resolution to ban trans women from using women’s facilities at the Capitol, as well as legislation to bar trans people from using restrooms on all federal property. This comes despite the fact that trans people have been working at and visiting the Capitol for years without incident, and McBride, as a member of Congress, would receive her own private bathroom.
Although Mace’s resolution has not yet been voted on, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has already instituted a rule prohibiting trans people from using restrooms that correspond with their gender at the Capitol complex.
Over the past several weeks, Mace has continued to escalate her anti-trans rhetoric, even casually using an anti-trans slur in reference to protestors.
After a group of trans rights protestors demonstrated against her, she filmed a social media video in which she said, “Alright, so some tr***y protestors showed up at the Capitol today to protest my bathroom bill, but they got arrested, poor things. So I have a message for the protestors who got arrested. You ready?”
She then took out a bullhorn, despite already being audible through her microphone, and proceeded to read the standard Miranda rights into the bullhorn while facing a police officer. “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.”
Her use of the slur sparked widespread backlash.
And now, it appears that Mace is regularly using the bigoted term in her rhetoric.
“My staff has arrived to another wonderful morning in Washington, DC. Good morning, tr*nnies. #HoldTheLine” — Rep. Nancy Mace (@RepNancyMace), December 9, 2024.
Mace has been leveraging transphobia as a cornerstone of her political career since before she was elected to Congress. In her first campaign, she falsely claimed that a law requiring “transgender equality in the military” existed, blaming her Democratic opponent for it and suggesting that it would result in a Marine Corps base in her district being shut down. The claim was entirely fabricated—no such law existed, and the Marine base remains operational today—but it helped her secure a seat in Congress.
In her second run for office, Mace ran an ad accusing her opponent of providing “SEX CHANGE SURGERY. PUBERTY BLOCKERS. GENDER CHANGING HORMONES. FOR CHILDREN?” Despite the fact that her opponent was a doctor at a hospital that did not provide gender-affirming care, the smear campaign was effective, leading to the opponent’s forced resignation.
Mace’s record on LGBTQ+ rights is abysmal, scoring just 15 and 14 out of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign’s Congressional Scorecard. She has voted against the Equality Act, which would ban federal discrimination against LGBTQ+ people, and opposed the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act because it included protections for transgender inmates.
In her ongoing crusade against trans rights, Mace has referred to Rep.-elect Sarah McBride (D-DE) as “it” and as a “man,” and has made efforts to block McBride from using women’s restrooms at the Capitol. In addition, she has started selling anti-trans t-shirts and has stated that it’s “offensive” for McBride to believe she is “equal” to other congresswomen.
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