Top Stories
LGBTQ+ people are everywhere. Trump is cutting the data that shows it
A new Human Rights Campaign report estimates that 12 percent of U.S. adults are LGBTQ+, a higher share than several widely cited estimates. But the federal government is removing the questions the HRC report and similar research relied on. The consequences extend beyond knowing how many LGBTQ+ people there are. Stay up to date with the latest in LGBTQ+ news with The Advocate’s email newsletter, in your inbox five days a week. Andrew Flores, a distinguished visiting scholar at UCLA School of Law’s Williams Institute, has used federal data to document that transgender people experience higher rates of crime victimization than cisgender people. Without questions […]
St. Louis police investigate transgender woman’s death as homicide after initially calling it suicide
St. Louis police are investigating the August shooting death of a transgenderwoman as a homicide after initially classifying it as an apparent suicide. Her mother challenged that finding. Jhené Audrict, 21, was found dead on August 17 by a city worker between an abandoned house and a church with a gunshot wound to the back of her head, according to her mother, Melissa Crawford. Police initially treated her death as an apparent suicide, which Crawford questioned on social media. An autopsy later identified injuries “that could be inconsistent with a self-inflicted gunshot wound,” according to KSDK. Police subsequently began investigating the death as a […]
Anonymous texts mislead Missouri voters about trans kids before Election Day, advocates warn
Anonymous text messages offering help obtaining gender-affirming surgery for children are misleading Missouri voters about Tuesday’s election, according to Trans Liberty, a transgender rights organization investigating their source. The warning follows a controversy in Texas, where texts and mailers invoked a trans advocacy organization without its permission, prompting court proceedings and a criminal investigation. Stay up to date with the latest in LGBTQ+ news with The Advocate’s email newsletter, in your inbox five days a week. According to Trans Liberty, the Missouri messages begin: “Do you know a child that is interested in gender-affirming surgery? We can help!” They claim that “protecting a child’s right […]
Local News
Voting Assistance for Seniors in Sonoma Valley
Free voter assistance for seniors in Sonoma County The Sonoma County Democratic Party is offering free assistance to help senior voters return their ballots and participate in the November 3, 2026 General Election. Free Services for Seniors Speak with a live volunteer during these times: Outside those hours, leave a message for Bill. IMPORTANT BALLOT RETURN REMINDER The program recommends that voters not depend on U.S. mail for on-time ballot delivery after October 17, 2026. If you need help returning your ballot, call to ask about rides to official drop boxes or authorized ballot return. This is a public service for […]
LGBTQI History: A Sonoma County Timeline Class Discusses the SCRAP 6 Fight
LGBTQI History: A Sonoma County Timeline 1947-2000. Online via Zoom. On Monday October 26, we will be talking about SCRAP 6, the SoCo fight against the Briggs Initiative which sought to keep gays and lesbians from teaching in our schools. Contact me to enroll and receive a Zoom link: cdungan@santarosa.edu
Arts & Entertainment
Electric Tumbleweed at Occidental Center for the Arts Friday November 6
Friday, November 6 @ 8 pm: Electric Tumbleweed at Occidental Center for the Arts. One of Sonoma County’s finest bands returns for our listening and dancing pleasure. Electric Tumbleweed is a psychedelic outlaw country group based in Sonoma County, California. Founded in 2019 by members rooted in bluegrass, country, and psychedelic rock, the music is a hard driving mixture of twangy guitar and psychedelic noise, held together by a steady rhythm section with the cry of pedal steel layered in between it all. Tickets are $20/$15 for OCA members @ www.occidentalcenterforthearts.org; or at the door. Doors open at 7:30 PM. […]
Historians straightwashed a 1600s poet. A new book captures the true legacy of “the Welsh Sappho.”
When the Welsh government in 2021 embarked on what Deputy Minister of Social Partnership Hannah Blythyn described as a project to make Wales “the most LGBTQ+ friendly nation in Europe,” Welsh scholar Norena Shopland was commissioned to help train librarians, museum staff, and archivists on the inclusion of LGBTQ+ history. In 2022, Shopland served as founding researcher in an inspiring and beautifully done countrywide effort to write a local LGBTQ+ open-access online history for each of the twenty-two counties of Wales, providing, she wrote, “a means by which local people, allies and events can be celebrated instead of replicating mainstream narratives and […]
State News
Who Can Vote in California
You must register before you can vote in California. You are eligible to vote in California if you meet all of the following requirements: You cannot register to vote in California if: Voter Registration Requirements To register to vote: If you don’t provide any of these numbers or the state can’t match the number you provide to official records, you will have to show an accepted form of ID the first time you vote. You can use any unexpired photo ID or a non-photo document with your name and address. Common examples include: Same Day Registration California allows voter registration […]
Polyamorous relationships in West Hollywood now offered extra protections
People in “multi-partner domestic relationships” in West Hollywood have just been granted extra protections. The move, which has been in the works for months, was officially adopted at a 2 November, 2026 City Council meeting, after a 5-0 vote. It will go into effect 30 days after it was adopted. West Hollywood, which is in itself an independent city and can enact local legislation, will now recognise and protects the rights of people in polyamorousrelationships with an official register. A “multi-partner domestic relationship” is officially defined as having all individuals involved: being 18 or older; not being related by blood that would bar marriage in […]
