The organizers of Montana's largest LGBTQ+ Pride parade joined a lawsuit challenging a state law aimed at restricting drag performances, according to NBC News. A group of Montanans, including a transgender woman and the owners of an independent bookstore, filed suit against city and state officials to block the law—which was the first in the country to ban people dressed in drag from reading books to children at schools and libraries or other publicly funded spaces. Montana Pride organizers allege in a legal complaint that the city of Helena is refusing to issue permits for the same events the group hosts every year because of the drag restriction, the Montana Free Press first reported.
The state of Texas and several state legal and health officials are being sued over a recently passed law punishing doctors who prescribe gender-affirming treatments to minors, Metro Weekly reported. The plaintiffs claim the law violates the Texas Constitution by infringing on parents' right to make medical decisions they believe are in the best interest of their children; by interfering with physicians' right to occupational freedom; and by discriminating against trans-identifying minors, based on their sex and transgender status, in violation of their right to equal protection under the law.
Four transgender Florida residents—Olivia Noel, Kai Pope, Lucien Hamel, and Rebecca Cruz Evia—filed a motion in federal court seeking an emergency block on provisions of Senate Bill 254, which places restrictions on gender-affirming healthcare, Fox 4 reported. "I wake up every day feeling like I'm in a nightmare. SB 254 has canceled medically-necessary treatment prescribed for me by my medical team," said Pope in a joint press release from Southern Legal Counsel, GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders, the National Center for Lesbian Rights and the Human Rights Campaign. "As a physician myself, SB 254 alarms me not only because of the devastating harm it is causing me and other transgender Floridians, but because of the disruption it is causing to our healthcare system."
In Florida, pregnant transgender man Camdyn Rider, 21, was killed by his partner, who then died by suicide, The Advocate reported. Riderdied after being shot several times in front of witnesses near the couple's home in Winter Haven, and his unborn child could not be saved, according to multiple media reports—some of which misgendered him. The couple were engaged to be married but had argued frequently, friends and family said.
A historical marker installed recently to honor Ohio's first and longest-running lesbian bar has come down after a passerby was caught on video damaging the plaque, NBC4 reported. The sign for Summit Station was damaged when a person walking by with a dog hit the marker before it snapped at the base and fell to the ground. The former lesbian bar had been commemorated on June 10 with the dedication of a marker from Ohio History Connection placed permanently in front of where the bar once stood, now The Summit Music Hall. Summit's plaque is one of more than 1,800 markers statewide, and is the third (as well as the first in central Ohio) to honor the LGBTQ+ community.
As LGBTQ+ spaces continue to face threats across the country, new lesbian bars and events look to chart a new path, according to ABC News. For example, there's Dave's Lesbian Bar—a Queens, New York-based pop-up venue—and the Phoenix queer pop-up Maudie's (the latter spotlighted in the Phoenix New Times). In the 1980s, there were about 200 lesbian bars in the United States; today, there are fewer than 30. In 2020, the Lesbian Bar Project alerted the public about the disappearance of lesbian bars in the United States.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed a bill prohibiting licensed therapists in Michigan from subjecting minors to conversion therapy—a practice that seeks to change a young person's sexual orientation or gender identity. Whitmer said in a news release that, as the mother of a lesbian daughter, she is grateful to have the opportunity to make the state a more welcoming place to live for everyone's children, according to Michigan Advance. Michigan is now the 22nd state to ban conversion therapy for LGBTQ+ youth.
The National LGBTQ Task Force—celebrating 50 years of activism—announced plans for its annual gala on Oct.14 in Miami Beach, per a press release. Actress, model, and activist Dominique Jackson (best-known for her role as Elektra on the show Pose) will receive the 2023 National Leadership Award. The Task Force previously announced that the 2023 Eddy McIntyre Community Service Award would be presented to Lotus House Executive Director/National Women's Shelter Network President Constance Collins at the gala. See Website Link Here .
Los Angeles-based nonprofit Outfest presented White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre with its inaugural Outfest Achievement Award for Press and Media, per a press release. This inaugural Achievement Award for Press and Media is the organization's highest honor and celebrates the representation of the LGBTQ+ community in the media. Jean-Pierre is the first openly LGBTQ+ person to serve as press secretary. She was previously the deputy press secretary during 2020-22; before that, she was the chief of staff for then-U.S. Vice Presidential candidate Kamala Harris during the 2020 presidential campaign.
Jonathan D. Lewis, an activist and philanthropist for LGBTQ+ causes, died July 5 at age 64 at his home in Florida after a long battle with a rare form of brain cancer, The Advocate noted. Among other things, Lewis was on the board of the American Foundation for Equal Rights, which brought together attorneys Ted Olson and David Boies to fight California's anti-marriage equality amendment Proposition 8. Proposition 8 ended up being struck down in federal court, and the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the decision in 2013.
In response to a Los Angeles Times article detailing the violent arrest of transgender man Emmett Brock, the Los Angeles LGBT Center issued a statement "calling for the immediate suspension of Deputy Joseph Benza pending a full investigation of this incident." CEO Joe Hollendoner added, "In the video, we see Emmett Brock, a 23-year-old high school teacher, being pinned down and beaten by Deputy Benza—despite showing no immediate signs of resisting arrest. Shockingly, the purported reason for Brock's traffic stop was that he had an air freshener hanging in his rearview mirror. … What is so troubling about this situation is that this officer was cleared of [wrongdoing], and without this video footage being released, this violent encounter would likely have been swept under the rug. Our community—and the people of Los Angeles—deserve better."
California Senate President pro Tempore Toni Atkins, an out lesbian, wants to abolish a ban on state-funded travel to states with discriminatory laws—a list that has ballooned as anti-LGBTQ+ laws sweep the country, Capital Public Radio News reported. The ban was passed into law in 2016 following a North Carolina restroom law that targeted transgender people; however, the ban has included more than half the states in the nation and led lawmakers to question its efficacy. Atkins said, "I think we find that it isolates us from being able to be present, be visible and show examples of inclusivity and success."
Three Democratic members of Congress introduced legislation aimed at ushering in gender neutrality in U.S. laws, per The Advocate. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, of Massachusetts; Rep. Summer Lee, of Pennsylvania; and Rep. Robert Garcia, a gay California congressman, announced the Equality in Our Laws Act. The bill would enshrine gender equity in the U.S. legal code by replacing masculine generics with gender-neutral language.
GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) lauded the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court's (SJC) recent ruling in J.M. v. C.G., which affirmed the validity of a Voluntary Acknowledgement of Parentage (VAP) to establish and secure the parent-child relationship of a non-marital, non-biological father and his child, per a press release. GLAD Senior Director of Civil Rights and Legal Strategies Mary L. Bonauto said, "This decision emphasizes that parent-child relationships can develop and sometimes deserve legal protection without regard to whether the child was born to an unmarried couple or whether there is a genetic connection. The case also underscores the need to update the Commonwealth's parentage laws so that they provide clear legal protections for all children and families, no matter how they are formed."
In Virginia, Arlington Public Schools Superintendent Francisco Duran is refusing to follow updated model policies from Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin's Education Department on how to treat transgender students, The Advocate noted. "I reaffirm our unwavering support for our LGBTQIA+ students, staff, and community. I want our transgender, non-binary, and gender fluid students to hear loud and clear that you belong here, you are valued, and we stand with and support you," Duran wrote. "We have reviewed the model policies and determined that our current policies and policy implementation procedures that protect the rights of our transgender students will stay as is."
Anheuser-Busch is laying off hundreds of people (about 2% of its workforce, or approximately 400 individuals) in its company after Bud Light lost its spot as the top-selling U.S. beer for a second consecutive month, per USA Today. Anheuser-Busch has seen sales decline following a consumer boycott (and counter-boycott from LGBTQ+ venues) in response to Bud Light partnering with trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney. Modelo Especial is now the top-selling beer in the United States.
LGBTQ+ Victory Fund endorsed Joe Vogel for Congress, a press release announced. Vogel would be the first out LGBTQ+ person ever elected to Congress from Maryland and the second Gen Z person elected to Congress from any state. The U.S. must elect 21 more LGBTQ+ U.S. representatives for equitable representation, according to LGBTQ+ Victory Institute.
Two men allegedly stole a man's wallet, $200 in cash and a credit card while yelling anti-LGBTQ+ slurs in an attack in Harlem, Gay City News reported. Terrell Porch—one of the individuals accused of the attack—was apprehended and is being charged with robbery as a hate crime, assault as a hate crime, criminal possession of stolen property and aggravated harassment. The NYPD is searching for the other suspects.
Indiana authorities extracted two DNA profiles from human remains found on the property of the late suspected gay serial killer Herbert Baumeister, The Advocate reported. Baumeister—a wealthy Republican businessman who was married with three children—was suspected of killing more than 20 boys and young men he encountered at or around gay bars during the 1980s and '90s. Hamilton County Coroner Jeff Jellison told local Fox affiliate WXIN that investigators believe the more than 10,000 charred bones and fragments could be the remains of at least 25 people. Police also believe Baumeister was the I-70 strangler, a serial killer who killed 11 young men and boys and dumped their bodies throughout Indiana and Ohio between June 1980 and October 1991.
Legendary music duo Indigo Girls (Emily Saliers and Amy Ray) will headline Equality Utah's Allies Gala, taking place Oct. 14 at The George S. and Dolores Dore Eccles Theater in Salt Lake City, per a press release. The event's dress theme will be "Western Americana Eleganza."
LA residents and couple Lawrence and Michael Broughton have launched the Black-owned LGBTQ+ publication BGW Elevate Magazine, according to ABC7. The couple's inspiration to produce their self-funded magazine came from their popular social-media page, Black Gay Weddings, which shows images of LGBTQ+ couples of color tying the knot around the world. See BGWElevate.com.
The Associated Press (AP) Stylebook has scrubbed the acronym "TERF," angering some who see it as a bigoted and anti-trans move, Press Pass Q noted. It recommended that publications no longer use the term "TERF," which stands for "trans-exclusionary radical feminist," as well as the phrase "gender-critical." Reaction on Twitter (now X) was clearly mixed. Trans journalist Katelyn Burns posted, "They created the term 'gender critical' for themselves to replace 'TERF' and now you're saying that using either is politically incorrect," while writer Roxane Gay called the AP's recommendations, "Absolute BS."
Kris Tyson—a co-host on MrBeast's YouTube channel who also hosts Beast Reacts—has officially come out as a trans woman, Out noted. "I am a woman," she told fellow YouTuber Anthony Padilla. "I've never said that publicly, but I've been fully confident in that decision for over a year now." In April, Tyson announced publicly that she had begun hormone replacement therapy two months earlier when a "fan" made a tweet asking what happened when her appearance changed.
Ron DeSantis' staff and attendees allegedly physically attacked protesters holding a rainbow flag during a recent presidential campaign event in South Carolina, per The Advocate. Attendees (and activists) Claire Jost and Will Sander told Newsweek they were standing up to what they believed in when they pulled out the flag. (Jost is queer.) Video shows audience members, DeSantis staffers, and Jost and Sander wrestling as the governor's supporters tried to snatch the rainbow flag away; as the two were escorted out, audience members cheered.
