A lesbian and retired Rhode Island firefighter was awarded nearly $2 million in damages in a lawsuit involving her accidental disability pension, which could balloon to $5 million after interest, local NBC affiliate WJAR reported last month.
Lori Franchina previously won over $800,000 in a separate lawsuit detailing the anti-LGBTQ+ abuse she suffered while working with her fellow firefighters.
Franchina joined the Providence Fire Department in 2002. She retired on disability in 2013 after she was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder due to the habitual anti-LGBTQ+ abuse she endured on the job. She filed for accidental disability in 2011, but was denied by the retirement board. She sued and was awarded over $800,000 and declared eligible for disability by a jury in 2016.
While Franchina was given disability, it was general disability versus accidental disability, which pays at twice the rate and is not subject to income tax. She sued again and won. Lawyers estimate with interest, she will be eligible for a payday of up to $5 million.
Franchina’s lawyer, John Martin, said the retirement board has no one to blame but themselves for the loss.
“Two weeks before trial, we offered to go to mediation with them where the only thing we were seeking was for them to reopen the application and provide her with a fair hearing, and they refused to even discuss it,” Martin told WJAR. “They could’ve avoided millions of dollars that they’re going to pay on this judgment by simply giving her a fair hearing, and they refused to do it two weeks before the verdict came down.”
During the original trial, representatives from PFD tried to downplay the abuse Franchina received, but jurors heard a litany of horrific and even life-threatening examples in court. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit described the abuse she received in the decision written by Judge Ojetta Rogeriee Thompson.
“‘C**t,’ ‘b***h,’ ‘lesbo’ all are but a smattering of the vile verbal assaults the plaintiff in this gender discrimination case, Lori Franchina, a former lieutenant firefighter, was regularly subjected to by members of the Providence Fire Department (‘the Department’),” Thompson wrote in the ruling. “She was also spit on, shoved, and – in one particularly horrifying incident – had the blood and brain matter of a suicide-attempt victim flung at her by a member of her own team.”
“That was the incident that broke me,” Franchina said.
She said she welcomes the ruling because it provides her with financial security and the message of hope it gives to others in similar circumstances.
“It gives me my gainful income, it gives me the ability to not decide what bill I’m paying, it definitely provides me with comfort,” Franchina reflected. “I hope it helps somebody realize you can win.”
A Christian school in Georgia has forced a student to withdraw for bringing a transgender date to prom, just weeks before the senior was scheduled to graduate.
North Cobb Christian School in the Atlanta area recently held their prom off campus. But 10 days later, the principal called senior Emily Wright into their office.
“I was asked, ‘Is there anything we should know about the guest you brought to prom?’ Emily told Fox 5 News. “And I knew exactly what they were talking about, so I said, ‘Yes, he’s transgender.”
Her mother Tricia continued: “I got a call from the principal who said, ‘Ms. Wright, I’ve been informed that Emily brought a transgender guest to prom. Were you aware of that?’ I said yes. She said, ‘Well, I’m sorry, Ms. Wright.”
With that, Emily was forced to withdraw from the school.
The Wrights are still in shock. North Cobb Christian School won’t comment on the decision.
“It was off property. I did sign a form allowing her to bring a guest,” said Emily’s mom. The only limitation on the form was related to the guest’s age, she said.
Nothing in the school’s prom guidelines or the student code of conduct explicitly states LGBTQ+ individuals are not allowed to attend events, she told Atlanta News First.
“I feared this might happen,” said Tricia, but she thought the worst that could happen would be Emily’s removal from the dance.
“I cried very hard. I was just thinking that my entire future was in jeopardy,” Emily said. “‘Where am I going to go to school? Where am I going to graduate?’”
With just weeks left in the school year, Emily was forced to reenroll in a nearby public school so she could earn her diploma.
The decision to force Emily out was contrary to the school’s stated mission, her mother said, and not “kind”.
Among the school’s core values are “love for God, neighbor and self,” and “respect for people, property and ideas.”
“That’s not, in my opinion, a good example — to not be kind, not be loving, not be accepting, to be exclusive instead of inclusive,” she said.
The school’s principal and headmaster is Todd Clingman, a graduate of Liberty University, founded by anti-LGBTQ+ Christian conservative Jerry Falwell.
Clingman previously served as head of school at McKinney Christian Academy in McKinney, Texas, and as high school principal and acting administrator of Prestonwood Christian Academy in Plano, Texas.
North Cobb Christian School was founded in 1983 as a conservative evangelical Christian alternative to Atlanta’s public school system. Students from eight underperforming public schools in Cobb County are eligible to receive state funding of up to $6,500 per year to attend private schools in the area, including North Cobb Christian School, Baptist News Global reports.
In a letter to Clingman addressing Emily’s forced withdrawal, her parents said the “decision is not reflective of the Christian values you claim to uphold,” adding they believe the school made a “discriminatory decision.”
“The school chose to kick out a senior student just four weeks before graduation simply because Emily was being inclusive and kind,” the letter said.
Sonoma County Pride, is proud to announce the Main Stage entertainment lineup for the 2025 Pride Festival, celebrating 40 years of LGBTQIA+ visibility, resilience, and community in Sonoma County.
The milestone event, themed “Forty & Fierce: A Ruby Celebration of Pride,” takes place Saturday, May 31, 2025, from 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM at Old Courthouse Square in downtown Santa Rosa, immediately following the Pride Parade. The festival is free, open to the public, and ppresented by Graton Resort & Casino.
2025 Main Stage Entertainment — Presented by Graton Resort & Casino
️ Headliner: Betty Who
Pop star. Broadway powerhouse. LGBTQ+ trailblazer. Australian-American artist Betty Who leads this year’s Pride stage with an electric headlining set you’ll never forget. From her viral anthem “Somebody Loves You” to her latest soul-baring album Big, Betty is the voice of empowerment, celebration, and queer joy. A longtime ally and icon, she’s lit up stages around the world — and now she’s coming to Santa Rosa to light up ours.
David Hernandez
From American Idol finalist to international LGBTQ+ advocate, David Hernandez is known for his soaring vocals, magnetic stage presence, and heartfelt songwriting. His music bridges pop and soul, celebrating the journey of self-love, perseverance, and identity. Whether performing for packed arenas or Pride celebrations across the country, David brings raw emotion and show-stopping talent every time he hits the stage.
Gloomy June
Meet gloomy june — San Francisco’s indie-pop dream team blending moody synths, punk attitude, and queer storytelling. Known for turning vulnerability into dancefloor catharsis, they’ve played everywhere from SXSW to legendary DIY venues like 924 Gilman. Their debut LP drops this June, and you’ll get a first listen live at Pride. Bring your feels. Bring your friends. Get ready to move.
Ruby Red Munro – Host & Performer
Fierce. Fabulous. Fearless. Ruby Red Munro is your master of ceremonies and the heartbeat of the festival. With her signature sass, stunning style, and commanding charisma, she’ll be keeping the crowd hyped, the show running smoothly, and the glitter flowing. Expect quick wit, bold looks, and a drag performance that brings the house down.
LGBTQ+ advocates are sharply criticizing Governor Gavin Newsom’s administration following the abrupt elimination of over $17 million in dedicated health equity funding for LGBTQ+ women, transgender men, and non-binary individuals, a move they say threatens access to vital care for some of California’s most underserved communities.
Joe Hollendoner, CEO of the Los Angeles LGBT Center, issued a strong statement denouncing the decision, calling it “a betrayal of queer and trans Californians.”
He added, “We call on the Governor and the State legislature to reverse this harmful decision by honoring the promise made by the legislature in 2019 and renewing this critical funding for next year.”
The cuts affect the LGBTQ Health Equity Fund, a state initiative established in 2019 to address long-documented health disparities in this population. According to Hollendoner, the California Department of Public Health convened an emergency meeting with grant recipients on May 10, informing them that all contracts would be terminated six months early, and that the Office of Health Equity, a division created to serve marginalized gender identities, would be shuttered entirely.
The result, advocates say, will be the discontinuation of services by June 30, leaving patients without access to care designed specifically to meet their needs.
“This is not a simple budget correction,” said Hollendoner. “It is a moral failure that strips life-affirming care from communities already burdened by systemic neglect.”
The Los Angeles LGBT Center had received $1.9 million in 2022 from the fund, in partnership with five organizations, to expand its Audre Lorde Health Program, which provides trauma-informed, gender-inclusive care to LGBTQ individuals. The program has since grown in staffing and services, and has helped rebuild trust among communities often excluded from traditional healthcare.
Hollendoner warned that eliminating this funding would not only halt that progress but also unravel relationships painstakingly rebuilt after years of medical mistrust and marginalization.
The governor’s proposed budget cuts also include a pause in enrollment for undocumented adults in state-funded healthcare programs—another blow to communities navigating intersecting barriers such as racism, transphobia, xenophobia, and poverty.
“Balancing the budget on the backs of vulnerable queer communities is indefensible,” Hollendoner said. “In cutting this funding, Governor Newsom has chosen to sacrifice the health and dignity of those already navigating intersecting barriers of misogyny, racism, transphobia, and xenophobia—including undocumented LGBTQ+ people. These cuts, along with the pausing of enrollment for adult undocumented Californians, are a clear attack on our healthcare system and the people who depend on it.”
A memorial to the long-ignored gay victims of the Nazi regime and to all LGBTQ people persecuted throughout history has been unveiled in Paris on Saturday.
The monument, a massive steel star designed by French artist Jean-Luc Verna, is located at the heart of Paris, in public gardens close to the Bastille Plaza. It aims to fulfill a duty to remember and to fight discrimination, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said.
“Historical recognition means saying ‘this happened’ and ‘we don’t want it to happen again,’” Hidalgo said.
Describing the sculpture that looks like a big star wand lying on the ground, Verna, a visual artist who also is a LGBTQ rights activist, said: “There’s a black side in front of us, forcing us to remember. … At certain times of the day, it casts a long shadow on the ground, evoking the dangers looming over, sadly.”
The other side of the star, silvery, reflects the sky. It represents “the color of time passing, with the Paris sky moving as quickly as public opinion, which can change at any moment,” Verna said.
Historians estimate between 5,000 and 15,000 people were deported throughout Europe by the Nazi regime during World War II because they were gay.
Jacques Chirac in 2005 was the first president in France to recognize these crimes, acknowledging LGBTQ people have been “hunted down, arrested and deported.”
Verna speaking next to Paris’ mayor Anne Hidalgo on Saturday.Kiran Ridley / AFP – Getty Images
Jean-Luc Roméro, deputy mayor of Paris and a longtime LGBTQ rights activist, said “we didn’t know, unfortunately, that this monument would be inaugurated at one of the worst moments we’re going through right now.”
In Europe, Hungary’s parliament passed this year an amendment to the constitution that allows the government to ban public events by LGBTQ+ communities, a decision that legal scholars and critics have called another step toward authoritarianism by the populist government.
The passage of Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act in 2023 made life significantly more dangerous for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people and those who support them. The law, which includes the death penalty for so-called “aggravated homosexuality” and lengthy prison sentences for the “promotion of homosexuality,” has fueled a wave of arrests, raids on shelters, evictions, and public outings. Many LGBT people have gone into hiding.
Amid this repression, a small group of Ugandan mothers—some for the first time—began speaking publicly in support of their LGBT children.
In April 2023, eight of them signed an open letter to President Yoweri Museveni, urging him not to assent to the bill. They wrote: “We are not promoters of any agenda; we are Ugandan mothers who have had to overcome many of our own biases to fully understand, accept, and love our children.” They called on the president to protect all children from violence and discrimination.
He signed the bill anyway.
But the mothers did not retreat.
During 2024, Human Rights Watch met with several of these mothers in Uganda’s capital, Kampala, and the neighboring Wakiso district. In a country where public support for LGBT rights is rare and potentially criminalized, these mothers are leading with clarity, compassion, and conviction. Their stories illustrate the human cost of Uganda’s anti-LGBT laws and the quiet courage of the mothers who resist them out of love for their children.
Mama Joseph
One of the first to speak was Mama Joseph, a mother of five. Her eldest child, Joseph, now 26, identifies as gender-nonconforming. At 17, Joseph came out to their mother, saying they felt like a girl and was attracted to boys. The conversation was painful and confusing. “I cried a lot,” she said. “I knew my child was different. But it was hard.”
Like many parents, her initial reaction was to try to change her child. She sent Joseph to live with relatives, hoping they would help “correct” them. But as Joseph became depressed, Mama Joseph realized the move only caused more harm. Eventually, she brought Joseph home. “There is nothing you can do except harm,” when you try to make a child conform, she reflected. And as Joseph’s mother, she realized “No one is going to support them except me.”
Unfortunately, that support now comes with significant risk after the passage of the Anti-Homosexuality Act. Joseph lives in near-constant fear that is also affecting Mama Joseph. Simply being visible as a gender-nonconforming person can attract harassment or worse. The heated media attention on the law has created increased anxiety for LGBT people and the people who love them. “Whenever they talk about LGBT people, something bad is coming,” Mama Joseph said. But her position is clear: “No law will change my love for my child.”
Mama Denise
Mama Dennis, a woman in her late 40s, shared a similar journey. Her daughter, Dennis, is a 24-year-old transgender woman. From a young age, Dennis expressed herself in ways that challenged gender norms. She preferred dresses to trousers and loved playing with her sisters’ clothes. At 10, she entered a modeling contest against girls and won. Her mother remembers her confidence and strength.
In 2020, during the Covid-19 lockdown, when a morality-related crime happened near Dennis’s home, her neighbors took the opportunity to report Dennis’s gender expression and sexual orientation to police, even though they knew Dennis was not involved in the crime. The authorities then arrested Dennis and falsely accused her of other crimes. Her mother confronted the community directly, especially the men. “I asked them, ‘Has my child slept with any of you?’ They were embarrassed. I did not care.”
Today, because of the Anti-Homosexuality Act, Dennis is in hiding again. She no longer comes home to visit, and her absence left a silence in the house. “I miss her joy,” her mother said. “But I will keep defending her. Our children are not criminals.”
For these mothers, the law has brought not only fear, but also clarity. “This law shows us that we are not equal,” said Mama Dennis. “Our government is angry. They should use that energy to fight discrimination, not our kids.
Mama Arthur
Mama Arthur, a mother of five, has lived a different kind of struggle. Her eldest child, Arthur, was arrested in 2014 under Uganda’s previous anti-homosexuality law. Since then, Arthur has been in hiding, and their communication is limited and secretive. The real battle, though, has been at home. Her husband—Arthur’s father—has never accepted their child. “He constantly blames me,” she said. “He harasses me for having given birth to a cursed child.”
Her marriage has become a space of daily conflict. “I live like a single mom with a husband,” she said. “But I appreciate my kid very much. I accept Arthur the way they are.” She wants religious leaders, many of whom have supported the Anti-Homosexuality Act, to reconsider their messaging. “If you are a person of faith, you should preach love, not hate.”
More Mamas
The other mothers—Mama Rihanna, Mama Joshua, and Mama Hajjat—faced public scrutiny after their children were arrested in 2016 and 2022 respectively. The widespread national media coverage that followed, which included their children’s names, faces, and alleged offenses, had devastating consequences for the families. Each mother had to navigate the fallout alone.
One sold her only cow to pay legal fees and secure her child’s release. Another was forced to relocate after her neighbors turned hostile. The third hid her daughter from an abusive husband. In each case, the family’s safety, finances, and reputation were upended overnight.
Yet these mothers remain steadfast. “Sexuality doesn’t matter,” said Mama Hajjat, now in her 50s. And so she sheltered her daughter through the worst of the backlash. Over time, even her husband began to soften. “He saw what our daughter went through, what she was capable of. He started to change.”
For Mama Joshua, the issue is deeply political. “Our kids are the easiest target,” she said. “But they are not the problem.” She believes the government is scapegoating LGBT people to distract from broader governance failures. “None of this will bring jobs. It won’t build roads. It won’t feed children. It’s all distraction.”
There is evidence to support this claim. Anti-LGBT rhetoric in Uganda, as in other countries, often intensifies in moments of political or economic pressure. Leaders use moral panic to consolidate power, mobilize popular support, and deflect criticism. The Anti-Homosexuality Act, introduced and passed amidst corruption scandals and ahead of a critical election cycle, has served that purpose. But its cost—measured in fear, violence, and exile—is borne disproportionately by LGBT people and those who love them.
The mothers interviewed by Human Rights Watch are affiliated with PFLAG-Uganda, a social intervention project under Chapter Four Uganda’s Diversity Equity and Inclusion program. They do not identify as activists. Most are deeply religious, and several attend church or mosque regularly. Some are afraid of the consequences of speaking out. But none regret standing by their children.
They have formed quiet networks of solidarity since 2019, meeting regurlarly, sharing social advice and comforting one another when children disappear or flee the country. They know they are not alone, even if the state tries to isolate them.
“We are mothers,” said Mama Dennis. “We know our children. We love them.”
Their voices are clear and consistent. Some have spoken on community radio or attended court hearings. Others write letters, make phone calls, or otherwise simply refuse to abandon their children.
And their numbers are growing, with the support of Clare Byarugaba, the founder of PLFAG-Uganda.
Their message, despite everything, remains rooted in hope: That love can coexist with fear, that understanding can overcome indoctrination, and that change—however slow—is possible. “People can learn,” said one mother. “It is a matter of time.”
In Uganda, the public space for human rights has narrowed dramatically. But these women are carving out space in the most personal realm: the home. They are challenging political violence not through protest, but through presence. Through consistency. Through care.
Their resistance may not be visible on the streets, but it is steady. Their choice to love their children—and say so publicly—is both deeply personal and inherently political.
“I could never stop loving my child,” one mother said again, without hesitation.
A festival featuring the works of playwrights from countries where LGBTQ+ rights are suppressed is turning to fundraising after President Donald Trump’s National Endowment for the Arts cut its grant to the group. The National Queer Theater said they have created a GoFundMe page where the community can support the Criminal Queerness Festival taking place during NYC Pride 2025, NBC Newsreports.
The Criminal Queerness Festival takes place at the HERE Art Center in NYC on June 11-28. According to its website, the festival “showcases the works of international LGBTQ+ playwrights from countries where queer identities are criminalized or censored.” This year’s festival features plays reflecting queer life in Cuba, Indonesia, and Uganda.
The festival, which was created during WorldPride 2019, is the creation of Brooklyn’s National Queer Theater. The group depended upon a $20,000 grant from the NEA to fund the festival, which represented 20 percent of the festival’s budget for 2025.
The group was notified via email on Friday that their grants no longer aligned with Trump’s priorities, and the request for this year’s grant was denied.
“It’s devastating and upsetting, because we’re a very small organization,” Jess Ducey, co-chair of the company’s board, told NBC News. “That grant is absolutely integral to the funding.”
While the news was devastating, Ducey and the National Queer Theater do not view it as fatal. The group has created a GoFundMe page (@national-queer-theater) to help cover the lost grant. So far, the page has raised over $8,000 of its $20,000 goal.
The three plays to be performed this year reflect a mix of queer identities set in places hostile to the LGBTQ+ communities, both in foreign countries and the U.S.
Tomorrow Never Came by Jedidiah Mugarura is set in Uganda and tells the story of a gay man in a heterosexual marriage and also a same-sex love affair. What Are You to Me by Dena Igusti is about a lesbian romance in Indonesia cut short by the Jakarta riots and crackdown in 1998. The story is discovered years later by an “emerging zine writer in Queens” looking to share their story. frikiNATIONby Krystal Ortiz explores the lives of young punks in Cuba of the early 1990s who injected themselves with tainted blood to acquire HIV, knowing they would live better lives isolated in state-run sanitariums than trying to survive under Fidel Castro’s oppressive, homophobic regime.
The National Theatre Group is party to the suit, Rhode Island Latino Arts v. National Endowment for the Arts, filed by the ACLU in a Rhode Island federal district court. The suit has unsuccessfully sought to reinstate funding cut from the NEA by Trump.
A trans charity in Scotland has labelled the ban on trans women using female toilets in Scottish parliament an “unworkable” decision which will prevent trans folks “from participating in Scottish democracy”.
Following the UK Supreme Court ruling that the definition of ‘sex’ in the 2010 Equality Act refers to ‘biology’, the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) – which oversees accommodation at Holyrood – decided that as of Monday (12 May) use of “all facilities designated as male or female” will be based on “biological sex” to be “in line with the Supreme Court judgment”.
Alongside designating single-sex spaces as solely based on biology, gender neutral facilities, open to anyone, will also be installed in Holyrood.
Presiding officer Alison Johnstone said: “As Scotland’s legislature, it is vital that the Parliament fulfils its legal responsibilities.
“Our officials therefore took immediate steps following the publication of the judgment to review it in detail and to consider its implications for services and facilities at Holyrood.”
Johnstone said it was important to make this change now “not only to ensure we fulfil our legal responsibilities, but to give clarity to all those using the building” and ensure “confidence, privacy and dignity” for both staff and visitors.
In response, Scottish Trans and Equality Network wrote a letter to the SPCB condemning the decision as “rushed” and “unworkable” as well as one which will “exclude trans people from participating in Scottish democracy, whether as staff or as visitors to the Parliament”.
The letter went on to say the change will “make trans people feel significantly less welcome at Parliament”.
Trans people already avoid public toilets frequently – 80% of trans people have avoided them due to fear of being harassed, being read as trans, or being outed. Policies to restrict the use of toilets on the basis of “biological sex” and/or to insist that trans people must use separate, segregated facilities from others will make this worse,” the letter reads.
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“Trans people have been using toilets in line with our gender identities across Scotland and the UK for decades. Changes to policy and practice to restrict trans people’s access to facilities on the basis of our “biological sex” after the Supreme Court judgment will profoundly change trans people’s ability to participate in public life as who we truly are.”
It adds: “We cannot understand why this decision has been described as one that will bring “confidence, privacy and dignity” to everyone. It will not do so for trans people. It will exclude us and segregate us in the heart of Scotland’s democracy.”
A Scottish Parliament spokesperson said, as quoted by The Independent: “Holyrood provides a wide range of facilities so that it is an inclusive and welcoming space for all.
“The Supreme Court’s ruling had an immediate effect in law and after careful consideration the SPCB announced interim steps to ensure it fulfils its legal responsibilities.
“This included taking into account EHRC’s interim update to organisations.”
Organisers of four major Pride events in the UK have jointly banned all political parties, including Labour, from its Pride events this year.
Acting in solidarity with the trans community, organisers of Pride events in Birmingham, Brighton, London, and Manchester collectively said they would be “suspending political party participation” from this year’s Pride events unless the needs of trans people are urgently addressed.
In a joint public press release, organisations Birmingham Pride, Brighton Pride, Pride in London, and Manchester Pride, said they will not “stand by as the dignity, safety, and humanity of our trans siblings are debated, delayed, or denied.”
Organisers said the decision was based largely on the political reaction to a UK Supreme Court ruling, which argued the 2010 Equality Act’s definition of women and sex refers to “biological women” and “biological sex.”
A spokesperson speaking on behalf of the organisations said that the ruling underscores an “urgent need for immediate action,” adding that they plan to “stand firmer, louder, and prouder in demanding change that protects and uplifts trans lives.”
“This is not a symbolic gesture. It is a direct call for accountability and a refusal to platform those who have not protected our rights,” they continued. “We demand real commitments and measurable progress. “
Pressure for Pride organisations to ban Labour and similarly anti-trans parties from their marches and events came after prime minister Sir Kier Starmer said he was “really pleased” at the Supreme Court ruling and believed it had provided “much needed clarity.”
Asked whether he still believes trans women are women and trans men are men, a spokesperson for Starmer said: “No.“
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The ruling also prompted the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to publish interim guidance which calls for the banning of trans people from all gendered public restrooms.
While the guidance is not legally enforceable, the EHRC’s position as an advisory board on human rights laws in the UK suggest it could be used to justify future anti-trans legislation.
LGBT+ Labour march at a Pride event with leader Keir Starmer. (AFP via Getty Images/NIKLAS HALLE’N)
An open letter published by the Trans Safety Network and signed by over 140 LGBTQ+ organisations argued that Pride organisers have a duty to “take a stand” against Labour’s and anti-trans political parties’ continued “transphobia” by barring all political parties from future events.
‘This is the minimum. Anything less is not allyship’, says Pride organisers
Echoing calls from Trans Safety Network, the organisers wrote that political parties need to stand “unequivocally with every member of the LGBTQ+ community,” not just part of it.
The organisations jointly called for political parties to implement protections for trans people under the Equality Act, improve access to NHS gender-affirming healthcare, reform the Gender Recognition Act so that Gender Recognition Certificates (GRCs) are easier to obtain, and to issue “sustainable funding” for trans-led services in the UK.
“This is the minimum. Anything less is not allyship, it is abandonment,” the spokesperson continued. “To those in power: when you demonstrate true solidarity and tangible commitment to trans rights, we will stand with you.
“Until then, we will continue to speak truth to power and fight for a future where every trans person can live safely, freely, and proudly.”
Keir Starmer has been urged to discuss the future of trans rights legislation in the UK with several LGBTQ+ charities. (Getty)
As pressure on Labour to reverse much of its anti-trans commitments, several LGBTQ+ charities pleaded with the prime minister to schedule a meeting with representatives to discuss the rise of transphobia in the UK.
14 organisations, including Stonewall, Scottish Trans, the LGBT Consortium, and others, urged the prime minister to speak with the charities to help reverse the “confusion” that the Supreme Court ruling had caused.
The letter, shared by The Guardian, also criticised the EHRC’s interim guidance, saying that it amounts to “significant overreach.”
2025 Main Stage Entertainment — Presented by Graton Resort & Casino
️ Headliner: Betty Who
David Hernandez
Gloomy June
Ruby Red Munro – Host & Performer
