Some same-sex couples are worried about the status of their marriages under a new Donald Trump administration. Legal and financial experts don’t see an immediate threat to marriage equality, but they recommend some safeguards to put in place.
Trump has gone from supporting domestic partnerships for same-sex couples instead of equal marriage rights (in 2000, a common view at the time) to saying marriage should be left to the states to saying marriage equality is settled law.The kind of allies he has in Congress and those he’s appointing to his Cabinet and is likely to appoint to the Supreme Court if he has a chance aren’t exactly supportive, though. And Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas have said they’d like to overturn the court’s 2015 marriage equality ruling, Obergefell v. Hodges.That would take a case getting to the high court.
But how worried should same-sex married couples be? “I would like to think there is no reason to disrupt something that has worked so well for families, their children and society,” Mary Bonauto, senior director of civil rights and legal strategies at GLAD Law, who argued Obergefell at the Supreme Court, recently told The New York Times in response to readers’ anxieties. “It allows people to organize their families and affairs, pool finances, buy property and have kids. In the end, it is popular, and it harms no one.”
“But gay couples’ concerns aren’t entirely unfounded,” the Times notes. “The president-elect already reshaped the Supreme Court during his first term, appointing three conservative justices who are now part of a 6-to-3 majority.” Trump’s appointees, Amy Coney Barrett, Neil Gorsuch, and Brett Kavanaugh, joined Thomas, appointed by President George H.W. Bush, and Alito and John Roberts, appointed by President George W. Bush. The conservative justices have chipped away at the rights of same-sex couples, with decisions asserting businesses have the right to refuse service to them in Masterpiece Cakeshopand 303 Creative.Legal experts expect to see more “right to discriminate” cases.
The act provides for federal recognition of same-sex and interracial marriages (the latter legalized nationwide in the Supreme Court’s Loving v. Virginia ruling in 1967) and requires all states to recognize those performed in other states. It doesn’t, however, require any state to offer same-sex marriages, so states could cease offering these unions if Obergefell were overturned. Marriage equality opponent Kim Davis, a former county clerk in Kentucky, is trying to set up a caseto overturn it.
Federal recognition comes with many benefits — “health insurance through a spouse’s employer, Social Security spousal and survivor benefits, estate tax advantages, retirement planning opportunities, pension rights and less cumbersome tax planning, among others,” as the Times article explains. In 2009, when marriage equality was limited to a few states, Times reporters Tara Siegel Bernard and Ron Lieber calculated the cost that came with lack of federal recognition, ranging from about $40,000 for a couple in the best-case situation and nearly half a million dollars for those in the worst-case scenario.
With uncertainly about the future, Jennifer Pizer, chief legal officer at Lambda Legal, suggests that same-sex couples make sure they have wills, medical and legal powers of attorney, and perhaps second-parent adoption confirmation for their children.
“It is always a very good idea for people, when they can, to prepare legal documents setting out their wishes for a crisis situation. … Take the steps that are within your power to take,” Pizer told the Times.
Unlike so many readers, I’m not stressing about Thanksgiving.
Between my siblings moving between Turkey Day and Black Friday and my mother maintaining her peace after a very long year, I’m most thankful for takeout and a few days off work.
But I also know only a few are lucky.
Thanksgiving is a time to reconnect with family and friends and give thanks for the things we have. But this holiday season may feel slightly different, thanks to the latest election. Admittedly, I was as surprised by the results as the number of folks in my network who favored Donald Trump. I couldn’t imagine how the same people who voted for him, the man at the head of an anti-trans party, could count me as a Black trans woman among those they knew so fondly.
How do I break bread at a table with those who vote against my best interests?
There’s something undeniably electrifying about sitting down with someone like Brit Barron, partly because it was only a week after the election results. Concern and confusion were still settling when I spoke to the writer, speaker, and self-professed advocate. Barron makes you feel like saving the world starts at your dinner table in an increasingly polarized world.
And given the topic of our conversation, that feels like a necessary superpower. Joshua Lott/The Washington Post via Getty Images
“Depolarization,” she says with conviction, “Is going to be some of our most important work moving forward.” It’s not a casual statement; it’s the kind of thesis that feels at home in one of her workshops or keynote speeches. But with Barron, it’s clear she’s not just practicing for a word. She lives and breathes this philosophy.
And lucky for us, she’s got the receipts to back it up.
From Evangelical Roots to Radical Empathy
To understand Barron’s current mission, you must start with her past. It’s a kaleidoscope of identities and experiences that she refuses to distance herself from. “I grew up super religious,” she shares. “Very conservative, evangelical Christian. That’s informed a lot of the work I do now, even though I’m on the opposing end.”
Barron doesn’t just skim over her history but embraces it as a crucial part of her story. Coming out, marrying her wife, and existing as a queer woman of color have all shaped her work. “I know what it’s like to buy into a message, to be indoctrinated, and to now stand on the other side,” she explains. She’s not interested in shaming the person she used to be. Instead, she uses that understanding to approach others with radical empathy.
“Sometimes, as progressives, we forget what it was like before we know what we know now,” she affirms. “I call it progressive amnesia. We lose sight of our journeys and how we evolved, making it harder to invite others into that evolution.”
A Balancing Act in Bridging and Bonding
Barron’s work often circles back to one central question: How do we connect with people who don’t share our beliefs?
She recalls the sociological framework of “bonding circles” and “bridging circles,” which are vital for a balanced life. Bonding circles are the safe spaces where we exhale and feel seen. Bridging circles, on the other hand, challenge us to engage in tough conversations.
“You can’t live fully in either,” she insists. “If you’re always in a bonding circle, you’re never challenged. If you’re always in a bridging circle, you’ll burn out. You need both.”
For Barron, these circles are as theoretical as they are personal. Existing at the intersection of racial, sexual, religious, and political identities, Brit knows what it’s like to feel like you don’t fully belong. Her advice? “Find the spaces where you can breathe deeply and the spaces where you can grow. And if you’re missing one, go seek it out.”
So…Do You Still Talk to Grandma?
With the holidays approaching, Barron’s wisdom feels especially relevant. Her latest book, Do You Still Talk to Grandma?, explores the complexities of maintaining relationships across political divides. The title itself was inspired by a friend’s dinner-table anecdote about a beloved grandmother who happened to vote for Trump. Courtesy Penguin Random House
“Can you hold deep love and deep disappointment at the same time?” Barron asks, her voice equal parts earnest and inquisitive. “Can you maintain your own integrity and still have relationships with people you disagree with?”
Her answer, of course, is yes…but it’s not easy.
Barron offers this mantra for those dreading holiday conversations: “More than one thing can be true.” She explains, “This person picked me up from school and made me spaghetti when I was sick. And this person also voted in a way I find hurtful. Both can be true, and we can sit with that tension.”
From Cancel Culture to Connection
Barron’s work pushes back against the extremes of cancel culture, which she views as a dead-end road. “What’s on the other side of culture culture?” she asks. “How do we move forward in a way that actually gets us where we want to go?”
Her approach isn’t about sweeping disagreements under the rug but leaning into them with curiosity and courage. She acknowledges that social media, with its penchant for amplifying the most extreme versions of people, doesn’t make this any easier. “We consume these stories, and then we convince ourselves that everyone we know is the most extreme version of the thing we just saw online,” she says. Her solution? Step away from the noise and engage with the real, flawed, multifaceted humans in your life.
A Reminder for the Rest of Us this Holiday Season and Beyond
I asked Barron what she hopes readers will take away from her story as they sit at the Thanksgiving table and beyond. “I hope people feel empowered to decide what their ‘work’ looks like,” she says. “It doesn’t have to look like your neighbor’s work or the person in your newsfeed. It just has to feel true to you.”
Whether that means diving headfirst into tough conversations, skipping the family gathering entirely, or something in between, Barron’s message is clear: Bridging divides starts with each of us in the places where we are most uncomfortable and most loved. shutterstock creative
These next few years will be increasingly challenging as politicians and pundits continue to thrive in a division between the “us” versus “them” rhetoric. However, the real revolution will not be in the streets or on social media but in sitting at the table.
An act so simple—yet so complicated—as staying there, holding space, and discussing how we build a shared community and world with a common destiny.
Voices is dedicated to featuring a wide range of inspiring personal stories and impactful opinions from the LGBTQ+ community and its allies. Visit out.com/submit to learn more about submission guidelines. We welcome your thoughts and feedback on any of our stories. Email us at voices@equalpride.com. Views expressed in Voices stories are those of the guest writers, columnists and editors, and do not directly represent the views of Out or our parent company, equalpride.
As vaping’s popularity endures, a report issued by the surgeon general’s office Tuesday shows that LGBTQ Americans are among those helping to keep smoke shops in business.
The surgeon general’s 837-page report on tobacco use found that 37.8% of gay, lesbian and bisexual U.S. adults have tried electronic cigarettes, compared with just 16.5% of their straight counterparts. Electronic cigarettes, also known as e-cigarettes, include e-cigars, e-pipes, e-hookahs, vaping pens and hookah pens.
When broken down further, the data, collected from 2019 to 2021, found nearly half of bisexual adults have tried e-cigarettes, compared with 31.8% of gay men and 26.7% of lesbians. The authors noted that figures on transgender Americans’ tobacco use were not widely available for analysis in all areas of the report.
The report found similar disparities exist among the nation’s youths and young adults: Over 42% of young adults and 56% of high school students who identify as gay, lesbian or bisexual reported trying e-cigarettes, compared with 30.3% and 49.8% of their straight counterparts.
“Tobacco use is a singular health threat to LGBTQAI+ communities,” said Kristy Marynak, a senior science adviser at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and a co-editor of the report. “This report finds that nearly 1 in 5 of all deaths in the United States are caused by tobacco, and it shines a light on the disproportionate burden borne by certain communities, including LGBTQAI+ communities.”
Marynak noted that the study — and the federal government more broadly — considers products containing nicotine, including e-cigarettes, to be tobacco products. The exceptions, she said, are therapeutic products, like nicotine gum and patches.
Long-term research on the health outcomes of e-cigarettes is not available because the products are relatively new. However, there is clear scientific consensus concerning the adverse effects of some of the chemicals commonly found in e-cigarettes.
E-cigarettes produce a number of dangerous chemicals — including acetaldehyde, acrolein and formaldehyde — that can cause lung and heart disease, according to the American Lung Association.
Nicotine is also commonly found in e-cigarettes. Not only is nicotine addictive and likely to fuel anxiety or depression, it also can harm brain development, which occurs until age 25, according to the CDC.
Dr. Scott Hadland, the chief of adolescent and young adult medicine at Mass General for Children and Harvard Medical School, said he’s observed greater e-cigarette use among gay, lesbian and bisexual youths. He said that LGBTQ people use tobacco products at higher rates largely because of “long-standing stigma” within health care settings.
“LGBTQ+ people might be afraid to present for care to help support their quit attempts,” Hadland said. “They might be afraid to talk to their doctor about it because they’re afraid to go to the doctor in general.”
LGBTQ adults are twice as likely as their non-LGBTQ counterparts to report having had negative health care experiences over the last three years, according to a report published this year by KFF, a health care research nonprofit formerly known as the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Hadland also attributed higher e-cigarette use among LGBTQ Americans to marketing tactics, as is noted in the report.
Tobacco companies marketed directly to the LGBTQ community in the mid-1990s, including through “Project Scum,” which advertised Camel and Red Kamel cigarettes to “consumer subcultures” in San Francisco, according to the study.
Today, tobacco companies advertise in queer magazines and donate to organizations focused on promoting LGBTQ rights and Pride events, the report noted.
In 1964, the surgeon general’s office released its first report on the hazards of smoking and has since then dedicated vast resources to combat cigarette use. The new report shows that those efforts have largely been successful, as only 11.5% of U.S. adults reported being cigarette smokers in 2021, compared with 42.4% in 1965.
Still, 36 million U.S. adults and 760,000 middle and high school students smoke tobacco products, according to the report. Since 2014, the most commonly used tobacco product among U.S. youths and young adults is e-cigarettes.
“These and other noncombustible tobacco products such as nicotine pouches have the potential to undermine overall progress in preventing and reducing young people’s use of tobacco products,” the authors stated.
In June, the Justice Department and Food and Drug Administration announcedthey will create a federal multiagency task force to combat the illegal distribution and sale of e-cigarettes.
U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall, a Kansas Republican, has introduced a bill to deny transgender identity.
Marshall Wednesday introduced the Defining Male and Female Act of 2024, which a press release from his office calls “a bill to codify legal definitions of male, female, and sex to ensure they are based on biology rather than ideology.”
It would write a binary definition of sex into federal law. “In human beings, there are two — and only two — sexes: male and female, which refer to the two body structures (phenotypes) that, in normal development, correspond to one or the other gamete — sperm for males and ova for females,” the legislation says.
“Every individual is either male or female” and “an individual’s sex can be observed or clinically verified at or before birth,” it continues. “Rare disorders of sexual development are not exceptions to the binary nature of sex. In no case is an individual’s sex determined by stipulation or self-identification.” Gender should not be used as a synonym for sex or shorthand for gender identity or expression, the bill says.
Separate restrooms, locker rooms, and other single-sex facilities according to sex assigned at birth, plus separate sports teams and leagues organized in this fashion, “do not constitute unequal treatment under the law,” it goes on.
Marshall pointed to his experience as a medical doctor as justification for the bill. “As a physician who has delivered over 5,000 babies, I can confidently say that politicizing children’s gender to use them as pawns in their radical woke agenda is not only wrong, it is extremely dangerous,” he said in the press release. “I didn’t think we would need legislation to tell us that there are only two sexes: male and female, but here we are. We must codify the legal definition of sex to be based on science rather than feelings. With our legislation, we can fight back against the Biden–Harris Administration’s assault on our children.”
Actually, transgender identity is recognized as real by major medical and mental health organizations.
Marshall’s bill will likely go nowhere in the Senate, as Democrats still control the chamber until January. U.S. Rep. Mary Miller, an Illinois Republican, introduced a similar bill in the House of Representatives in July. It was referred to the House Judiciary Committee, and there has been no further action. However, such legislation may be a harbinger of what’s to come in the new Congress, with Republican majorities in both chambers under Donald Trump’s presidency. Marshall’s bill has the backing of right-wing groups Heritage Action for America (a sister organization of the Heritage Foundation, the group behind the anti-LGBTQ+ Project 2025), Concerned Women for America, the Family Research Council, and the Alliance Defending Freedom.
This is not Marshall’s first attack on trans people or LGBTQ+ people in general. In 2023, he introduced a bill to ban gender-affirming care for trans minors nationwide and one to ban federal funding for such care for trans people of all ages. Neither bill passed. He put out similar, equally unsuccessful, bills in 2021. In 2022, he led an effort to police LGBTQ+ content in children’s TV programs, which also went nowhere, as did his plan the same year to block school meal funding in protest of the Biden administration’s support for LGBTQ+ rights.
The introduction of his latest bill came on Transgender Day of Remembrance, an annual observance that commemorates trans people lost to violence.
President-elect Donald Trump has been nominating controversial people to his second-term cabinet and it hasn’t been pretty. GLSEN, an organization that advocates for safe and inclusive schools for LGBTQ+ youth, has strongly criticized Trump’s nomination of former World Wrestling Entertainment CEO Linda McMahon as secretary of education. The nomination, announced earlier this week, was met with widespread concern from LGBTQ+ advocates and educators who fear it signals a rollback of Title IX protections and other federal policies supporting marginalized students.
In a press release, GLSEN executive director Melanie Willingham-Jaggers condemned the nomination, citing McMahon’s lack of educational experience and loyalty to Trump’s political agenda as deeply troubling.
“Donald Trump’s decision to nominate Linda McMahon, a political ally with no substantial background in education, is yet another deeply concerning move in his ongoing effort to undermine public education,” Willingham-Jaggers said in the release. “McMahon’s lack of expertise in education, paired with Trump’s focus on so-called ‘parents’ rights’ and ‘school choice,’ signals a continued push to strip critical protections for LGBTQ+ students and historically marginalized communities.”
The statement further emphasized the importance of leadership grounded in expertise. “Public education is not a performance—it is the foundation of our democracy and our nation’s future,” it read. “McMahon’s nomination instead prioritizes loyalty to Trump’s agenda over the well-being and futures of millions of students.”
Project 2025 and GLSEN’s concerns
In an interview with The Advocate, Willingham-Jaggers elaborated on the risks posed by McMahon’s nomination, linking it to broader concerns about the implementation of Project 2025, a conservative plan to overhaul federal governance in a second Trump term. The plan calls for the systematic dismantling of the education department and stripping of protections for LGBTQ+ students.
“They are coming in to slash and grab, slash and burn, drain, destroy, and break the confidence and really break the spirit of all the institutions, all the people in it, and everyone who relies on or whose life is touched by these institutions,” Willingham-Jaggers warned.
They expressed concerns that the speed of policy rollbacks could outpace public resistance. “The scariest thing I heard was it’s not the first 100 days. It’s the first 100 hours,” they said, adding that protections like Title IX could be among the first to be dismantled.
We’ve seen this movie before
Reflecting on the lessons of Trump’s first administration, Willingham-Jaggers described its approach as chaotic experimentation. “In the first Trump administration, they were just kind of smashing buttons. Nobody knew what they were doing,” they said. “It was like trying to hit the cheat code on a Nintendo game—just like, ‘Oh, would this give me 18 more lives?’”
They cautioned, however, that this time is different. “They’ve figured out what works and what doesn’t. They’ve purged the ‘immune system’ within the government that held back their worst impulses. And there are laws moving through Congress right now that will allow them to run the board,” Willingham-Jaggers added, emphasizing the urgency of resisting these efforts.
Challenging a backlash against acceptance
Willingham-Jaggers connected the current wave of anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment to the COVID-19 pandemic, noting that as children spent more time at home, some parents became exposed to how accepted their kids were in schools, GSAs, and online communities.
“It’s important for our side to know where we are right now had everything to do with young people going home during the pandemic and their parents seeing how accepted these children—that they did not accept themselves—how accepted and affirmed these kids were in school or their online community,” Willingham-Jaggers said.
This exposure, they argued, fueled backlash from some parents who resented the acceptance their children experienced elsewhere.
“It’s terrible parents of trans kids like Elon Musk and all the others who are now trying to make the world smaller for everyone’s children,” Willingham-Jaggers said. “They’re trying to make the world less accepting for everyone’s children because they saw their kids being accepted, and they said, ’No, you don’t. How dare you teach my child that they are loved, despite what I think.’”
GLSEN, however, remains committed to countering this hostility, they said.
A call to action
GLSEN called on the Senate to reject McMahon’s nomination and urged allies to rally to defend LGBTQ+ students. “GLSEN will not stand idly by while federal protections, including Title IX, are attacked or eroded,” the release stated.
“We call on the Senate to reject this nomination and demand a leader who will center equity, inclusion, and the needs of all students in their vision for education.”
The organization has also launched its Rise Up campaign, encouraging allies to actively support LGBTQ+ youth.
“Our young people are being told that they don’t exist or, if they do, it’s a mistake. That is not only not true; there are millions and millions of adults who love, appreciate, affirm, and understand that we need our young people here,” Willingham-Jaggers said.
Despite the challenges ahead, Willingham-Jaggers offered a message of resilience and determination for those advocating for inclusive education.
“Strap up, put your seat belts on, find your people, put your helmets on, and let’s go,” they said. “There are people like us at GLSEN who are in the fight, who aren’t going anywhere, and who will have your back.”
For more information on GLSEN’s Rise Up campaign, visit glsen.org/riseup.
Throughout my 78 years of life, I have felt inspired by the insightful lyrics and melodies of one of my cultural heroes: U.S. folk music singer-songwriter Woody Guthrie, whose themes include labor rights and organizing, socialism, anti-fascism, and anti-racism.
Guthrie was born and raised by middle-class parents in Okemah, Oklahoma. He first married at age 19, but he left his wife and three children at the beginning of the Midwest dust storms that signaled the Dust Bowl period. He joined the thousands of Okies who migrated to California looking for employment. Over the course of his life, he married three times and fathered eight children.
He succumbed to Huntington’s Disease in 1967. His first two daughters also died from this inherited condition.
Most people have heard his most popular song, an anthem of sorts for his United States homeland: “This Land is Your Land.”
This land is your land, this land is my land From California to the New York island From the Redwood Forest, to the Gulf Stream waters This land was made for you and me
Woody wrote this song as a subterranean challenge to the notion of the private ownership of land. A stanza that educators of young children often omit in their classrooms goes:
There was a big, high wall there that tried to stop me A sign was painted said “Private Property” But on the backside, it didn’t say nothing This land was made for you and me
The omission of this stanza whitewashes the urgency and scope of his critique at this critical juncture in U.S. history over the purpose and importance of immigration. Taken in its entirety, “This Land Is Your Land” asks us to reflect on an overarching but yet-to-be-realized mission statement of the United States. It also begs the question of whether the nation embraces the propagandist pablum we are fed and which dominant elites promote around the world – that allowing immigration jeopardizes the nation’s “identity.”
Guthrie’s second wife, Marjorie Mazia, was born Marjorie Greenblatt. Her mother, Aliza Greenblatt, was a well-known Yiddish poet. Woody, the Oklahoma troubadour, and Aliza, the Jewish poet, collaborated through the 1940s in Brooklyn. They interwove Jewish culture with music, modern dance, poetry and anti-fascist, pro-labor, and socialist activism.
Guthrie wrote songs inspired by this relationship, for he identified the problems of Jews with those of his fellow Okies and other marginalized and subjugated groups.
The Jewish Klezmer group, The Klezmatics, released Happy Joyous Hanukkah on JMG Records in 2007. The Klezmatics also released Wonder Wheel – Lyrics by Woody Guthrie, an album of spiritual lyrics put to music composed by the band.
Now, in this four-hundredth and sixth anniversary year when European-heritage people abducted, chained, brutally transported, and enslaved Africans on this land we now call the United States of America, the newly-elected president rants and “Truths” hateful diatribes against Latinx U.S. citizens and others who hope to come here.
We as a nation must decide who is welcome on this land. Is it “made for you and me,” or just “them” and not “us”?
From the day European explorers and so-called “settlers” (a.k.a. land thieves who violently displaced and committed genocidal slaughter of native peoples) stepped foot on this land, dominant Protestant Anglo-Saxons set rigid parameters defining who was to be included as “my” on this land.
In her pioneer book, Homophobia: A Weapon of Sexism, Suzanne Pharr describes a series of elements she finds common to the multiple forms of oppression. Such elements include what she refers to as a “defined norm” and a “lack of prior claim,” among many others.
Pharr explains a “defined norm” as “…a standard of rightness and often of righteousness wherein all others are judged in relation to it. This norm must be backed up with institutional power, economic power, and both institutional and individual violence.”
Another way “the defined norm manages to maintain its power and control…” and is kept exclusive is by what Pharr refers to as the element or system of “lack of prior claim.”
This, according to Pharr, “…means that if you weren’t there when the original documents [national Constitutions, corporate founding documents, the Torah, the Christian Testaments, the Qur’an, for example] were written, or when the organization was first created,” she wrote, “then you have no right to inclusion… Those who seek their rights, who seek inclusion, who seek to control their own lives instead of having their lives controlled are the people who fall outside the norm… They are the Other.”
In the original and unamended version of the U.S. Constitution, for example, since only European-heritage male landowners had the right to vote, all Others, including women and people of color (those outside the defined norm and who lacked prior claim) had to fight long and difficult battles against strong forces to gain access to the voting booth, often under the threat of violence, which was sometimes actually inflicted against them.
In fact, the framers of the U.S. Constitution decided Black people only constituted three-fifths of a full human being for census purposes.
People of goodwill, people who adhere to the idea that “all people are created equal,” people who abide by Woody Guthrie’s vision that “this land was made for you and me” have reacted with shock, grief, and anger to the domestic terrorism overtaking this land.
We place blame on patriarchal Christian white nationalism, the groups and individuals, and a former president and now president-elect who consistently promotes hatred and division, who targets people as “invaders,” “criminals,” “rapists,” “breeders,” “eaters of dogs and cats” that are overtaking this land and robbing its “good citizens” of their livelihoods.
Ironically, not having any grounding in history, Trump couldn’t possibly understand that we, the people of the United States of America, were the actual invaders trumping (pun intended) up a war to confiscate land from the proud Mexican people.
Trump’s latest trumped-up war against all Latinx people, whether U.S. citizens or not, represents his cynical reelection strategy to instill fear and loathing, to divide and conquer – a strategy with deadly consequences. For this, he must be blamed.
But what about the remainder of the citizens on this land? What part do we play in perpetuating the defined norm of patriarchal Christian white supremacy? How do we maintain the notion of a lack of prior claim to equality of opportunity and to human dignity for anyone other than this mythical “original” white American?
Woody Guthrie’s anthem certainly does not represent the United States at this critical juncture or throughout our history. Guthrie, though, constructed a platform on which he placed a beacon to guide a nation he loved toward a path of righteousness, the likes of which the world has yet to realize.
Since Trump and the GOP dominated the election, recurrent echoes have been rambling throughout my mind over Trump’s threat to deport millions upon millions of undocumented immigrants from the United States using the National Guard and military to implement his draconian policies. Guthrie’s remarkable and poignant ballads have brought me to tears during my grieving process over the possible demise of our current form of government.
His song, “Deportee,” also known as “Plane Wreck at Los Gatos,” depicts in clear and stark terms the crash of a charter plane transporting California farm workers back to Mexico, their country of origin. The crash killed 32 people, including 29 deported Mexican workers, on January 28, 1948.
Guthrie was specifically skilled at putting real human faces to issues that many people heard about in generalized terminology in the news and casual conversation.
For anyone who supports Trump’s mass deportation plans, who believes that undocumented immigrants are traveling thousands of miles through harsh conditions – many dying on their way northward – to take your jobs, to rob your homes and businesses, to rape and mutilate your mothers, wives, daughters, and sisters, to traffic in drugs and in human beings, to eat your dogs and cats, I ask you to listen to “Deportee,” a few times. It is sung by his son, Arlo Guthrie and friend, Pete Seeger.
Goodbye to my Juan, goodbye, Rosalita, Adios mis amigos, Jesus y Maria; You won’t have your names when you ride the big airplane, All they will call you will be “deportees.”
I also ask you, how many people do you personally know whose field jobs as vegetable and fruit pickers or as new roof installers in the summer’s sweltering sun were taken by Latinx immigrants?
How many people do you personally know whose families have already been or who are frightened will soon be separated and broken by family separation policies to be enacted under the Trump regime’s second term?
How many people live in your neighborhood that has become vitalized by immigrant-owned and operated small businesses and whose tax dollars are used to improve living and working conditions for all in your community?
How many people have learned about cultural and religious traditions different from your own and have made friends from other cultural and ethnic backgrounds to the benefit of all?
How many of you who reside in the United States are working for safe and humanitarian immigration policies?
Thank you, Woody Guthrie, for your legacy of intercultural understanding.
Four men became the latest victims of anti-LGBTQ+ mob “justice” in the African country of Nigeria earlier this month, after they were accused of engaging in consensual same-sex sexual activity.
As the Los Angeles Blade reports, the four young men were paraded down a street and run out of Edo State capital Benin City on November 17 wearing only their boxer shorts. The angry mob threatened to kill them if they ever returned.
Nigerian LGBTQ+ activist Samson Mikel told the Blade that queer people have become scapegoats in Benin City, which he described as “backward” and a hotbed of “scammers and other crimes.”
“The people are proud of their roughness, they are never concerned about these other crimes or how the government is impoverishing them, but will light gay men on fire the moment they think,” Mikel said.
LGBTQ+ people he insisted, simply want to “live and experience love.”
“They are not the cause of the economic meltdown in the country, neither are they the reason why there are no jobs in the streets of Nigeria,” Mikel said.
The November 17 incident is just the latest example of the epidemic of mob violence in Nigeria. Between January 2012 and August 2023, Amnesty International recorded at least 555 people who were killed by violent mobs across the country, according to a report released in October. Of those victims, 32 were burnt alive, 2 were buried alive, and 23 were tortured to death.
“The menace of mob violence is perhaps one of the biggest threats to the right to life in Nigeria,” Amnesty International Nigeria director Isa Sanusi said in a statement. “The fact that these killings have been happening for a long time, with few cases investigated and prosecuted, highlights the authorities’ shocking failure to uphold and fulfil their obligation to protect people from harm and violence.”
As Daniel Anthony wrote for LGBTQ Nation earlier this month, LGBTQ+ people are especially at risk of being targeted: “The combination of strict anti-LGBTQ+ laws, social stigma, and a flawed justice system that fails to protect minorities has created an environment where the lives of queer individuals are not only expendable but also actively endangered.”
Homosexuality is illegal in Nigeria. The country’s Same-Sex Marriage Prohibition Act, which was signed into law by former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2014, makes same-sex relationships punishable by up to 14 years in prison. In predominantly Muslim areas of northern Nigeria, homosexuality is punishable by death under Sharia law, though death penalties passed by Sharia courts must be approved by the state governor. According to Daily Trust, the punishment has never been enforced.
According to Anthony, Nigeria saw a dramatic surge in violence and mob attacks against LGBTQ+ in the six years after the Same-Sex Marriage Prohibition Act became law.
“Homophobic mobs typically operate without fear of legal repercussions, knowing that the public is on their side,” he wrote, citing a 2019 Pew Research survey that found that 87% of Nigerians oppose gay rights. “These mob attacks are often perceived not as crimes, but as acts of moral policing — methods for the community to ‘cleanse’ itself of perceived corruption.”
As one man who witnessed the “lynching” of two gay men in Port-Harcourt, Nigeria, told Anthony, “We catch homosexuals all the time and teach them a lesson they won’t forget.”
The November 17 incident also follows another similar mob attack in Edo Statelast month, in which two men were allegedly caught “engaging themselves indecently as fellow men” in a car. At least one of the men, 32-year-old Eguabor Precious, was attacked by a mob and beaten unconscious. He was reportedly handed over to police, but managed to escape. Authorities have offered “a handsome reward” for information leading to his capture.
West Virginia advocate Ash Orr said he’s rushing to legally change his name and update the gender marker on his passport.North Carolina lawyer Katie Jenifer is trying to prepare one year’s worth of estrogen for her transgender daughter. Oregon comedian and writer Mx. Dahlia Belle is focused on advocating for immigrants and people with disabilities.
This trio is among nearly a dozen transgender Americans, plus the parent of a trans teen, who talked to NBC News about how they’re readying themselves for the second administration of a president-elect who has promised to restrict their ability to modify identity documents, receive transition-related health care, enlist in the military and participate on sports teams, among other things.
Though trans people told NBC News they have a variety of concerns about President-elect Donald Trump’s campaign promises regarding trans people, nearly all shared a similar message: They are better prepared than they were eight years ago.
Heron Greenesmith, the deputy director of policy at the Transgender Law Center, who uses they/them pronouns, said they felt “clear-eyed” the day after the election, whereas in 2016 they were crying and felt devastated by the election results and the effect that Trump’s policies would have on marginalized communities, including trans people.
“This time around is not going to be any different,” Greenesmith said, “but this time around, I know what to do.”
Even though trans people had their rights targeted under the first Trump administration, Greenesmith added, “we also thrived.”
“We provided safety for ourselves and mutual aid, we defended ourselves from criminalization and got ourselves out of jail when we needed to — and provided health care for folks who needed it.” said Greenesmith, who is based in Massachusetts. “We’ll do the same thing again. We got us.”
Day 1 promises
During his campaign, Trump and his supporters spent nearly $60 million on eight anti-trans network-TV ads, one of them in Spanish, between Sept. 19 and Nov. 1, according to AdImpact, a firm that tracks political ad spending.
He has supported a number of policies targeting transgender people, who make up less than 1% of adults in the U.S. At campaign rallies over the summer, he promised to take at least two actions regarding the trans community on his first day in office: undo Biden administration Title IX protections that allowed trans students to use the school bathrooms that align with their gender identities, and cut federal funding for schools “pushing critical race theory, transgender insanity and other inappropriate racial, sexual or political content onto the lives of our children.”
Trump also promised to reinstate a policy enacted during his first term that barred trans people from enlisting in the military and to institute a new policy barring transition-related care for minors nationwide. The agenda on his websitesays he would declare that any hospital or clinician that provides transgender care to minors would “no longer meet federal health and safety standards for Medicaid and Medicare — and will be terminated from the program immediately.”
The president-elect’s agenda also includes issuing guidance to federal agencies to define sex only as one’s sex assigned at birth, which would make it harder for trans people to change the gender markers on federal documents such as passports.
Plans for IDs, moving and medical care
The State Department began offering the gender-neutral “X” marker on passports, in addition to the standard “M” or “F,” in April 2022, but a new federal definition of sex could end that policy, legal experts say. If the Trump administration still allows trans people to change the gender marker on their passport, Greenesmith said, it might require them to provide proof of gender-reassignment surgery, putting gender-marker changes out of reach for the majority of trans people.
As for those who already have a passport with an “X” gender marker, if the Trump administration discontinues issuing new “X” passports, the future of those existing identity documents is unclear, according to both Greenesmith and Sasha Buchert, the director of the nonbinary and transgender rights project at Lambda Legal, an LGBTQ legal advocacy organization. There is no existing policy that would allow the government to require people to turn in “X” passports, for example.
“In response to what needs to be done in this moment, now is always a good time to update any identity documents that you need to update,” Buchert said.
A person fills out a passport application with an X gender marker at their home in Virginia in 2022.Stefani Reynolds / AFP via Getty Images
Ash Orr, who lives in Morgantown, West Virginia, and is the press relations manager for Advocates for Trans Equality, the nation’s largest trans rights organization, said the election prompted him to legally change his name. His name-change hearing is scheduled for Jan. 15, and he plans to apply to update his passport as soon as his name change is complete.
He also plans to leave his home state by the spring as a result of the election, and because West Virginia’s state politics have become increasingly conservative in recent years. He declined to share the state he and his partner are moving to due to safety concerns, noting he has received an increasing number of threats over the past two years.
“West Virginia is my home, and it has always been my home, and I’ve had to come to the realization that your home isn’t always a place where you can thrive,” Orr said, adding that he’s struggled with the feeling that he’s abandoning his community and the trans people in the state who can’t afford to leave.
Finn Franklin, a 20-year-old who is finishing his associate’s degree at Rogue Community College in Grants Pass, Oregon, said the election has affected where he plans to apply to finish a four-year degree.
“I was looking at some rural schools because I like the smaller school size,” Franklin said. But after the election, “I’m not going to be applying to schools outside of the West Coast because I don’t want to live somewhere that is not Washington, Oregon or California for the next four years. I think I want to be in a metro area because of the typical politics difference between urban and rural areas, and access to health care.”
Finn Franklin, 20, said the election has affected where he plans to apply to finish a four-year college degree.Courtesy Finn Franklin
Franklin said he receives his testosterone through telehealth offered by Oregon Health & Science University Hospital, which is in Portland, about five hours north. He’s worried about how the incoming administration could affect that treatment, as well as a top-surgery consultation he has scheduled in October 2026, because he receives health care through the Oregon Health Plan, the state’s Medicaid program. OHSU Hospital, which has a program that provides gender-affirming services to children and teens, could be affected if Trump follows through on his promise to cut Medicaid funding for hospitals that provide transition-related care to minors.
“If the funding for those kinds of things goes away, then it kind of becomes utterly inaccessible, and that’s definitely very scary,” Franklin said.
North Carolina lawyer Katie Jenifer said she is trying to secure a year’s worth of estrogen for her 17-year-old daughter, Maddie, in case Trump does issue federal restrictions that could curtail access to transition-related care for minors nationwide. Her daughter’s doctor prescribed her enough medication for a year, but their insurance will only cover one month at a time. Out of pocket, the medication costs $109 a month, but Jenifer received a coupon from the pharmacy that brings the cost down to $49 per month.
Katie Jenifer and her transgender daughter, Maddie, at the White House for a Pride Month celebration in June.Courtesy Katie Jenifer
Jenifer previously told NBC News that she had plans to move with Maddie out of the state or out of the country depending on the election outcome.
“If I can get enough medication on hand to get Maddie to 18, then we will try to stay through high school graduation in June and continue to monitor and make plans to exit soon after or before if necessary,” Jenifer said Tuesday. “If we cannot get the needed meds, then we will probably try to leave mid- to late January. Where we go will depend on my job search.”
Advocates say the election is already having an effect on LGBTQ young people, in particular. The Trevor Project, an LGBTQ youth suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization, saw a 700% increase in crisis contacts in the 24 hours after the election compared to weeks prior. About one-third (30%) of the contacts identified as LGBTQ young people who are Black, Indigenous or people of color, and more than 40% were trans or nonbinary young people, a spokesperson told NBC News.
Organizing within community
Some trans people told NBC News that after the election, they immediately started organizing with local community groups.
Orr, for example, said he planned to volunteer with Holler Health Justice, a reproductive health organization led by queer people of color, to deliver emergency contraception and other reproductive health supplies across West Virginia.
Bennett Kaspar-Williams, an entertainment lawyer based in Los Angeles who is skilled in martial arts, said he is working with other local activists to organize self-defense classes for LGBTQ people and women in response to increased fears of violence given Trump’s rhetoric about trans people.
Bennett Kaspar-Williams is organizing self-defense classes for LGBTQ people and women in Los Angeles.Courtesy Bennett Kaspar-Williams
Ahead of the 2020 election, he said, he volunteered for Democrats because at the time he was pregnant, and, as a trans man, he was afraid of what the future would look like for his child if Trump were re-elected.
“If you had told me that in four years he’s going to win again, I definitely would not have believed you,” he said. “I feel really scared for the generation of people who were waiting until they were old enough to be able to start a medical transition, who are now facing the possibility of never being able to do that at all, and what that means for them.”
Many trans people also mentioned giving directly to mutual aid groups, specifically those that support trans people of color.
Aldita Gallardo is the the director of the Action for Transformation Fund, a partnership between the Transgender Law Center and the Emergent Fund, a national rapid response fund that supports groups led by LGBTQ people of color. The $1 million Action for Transformation Fund was a pilot effort to move funds directly to trans activists working within their local communities. Gallardo noted that foundations that provide money to LGBTQ communities allocated less than 4 cents per $100 of their total giving to U.S. trans communities and issues, according to a 2021 report by Funders for LGBTQ Issues.
Gallardo, who is based in Oakland, California, said the Action for Transformation Fund, which launched in September and just made its first round of grants, wasn’t previously thinking about long-term fundraising, but that changed after the election.
“Now we see it as an opportunity to bring more dollars for the increasing amount of need,” Gallardo said. “We know that things will escalate in the four years of the administration.”
Some of the groups that were supported by the fund’s first round of grants include House of Tulip, which provides housing to trans people of color in Louisiana; Transgender Advocates Knowledgeable Empowering, or TAKE, which provides services to trans people of color in Birmingham, Alabama; and the Unspoken Treasure Society, a Black, trans-led organization in Jacksonville, Florida.
Mx. Dahlia Belle, a comedian and writer based in Portland, Oregon, who also works as a peer support operator for a trans nonprofit, encouraged trans people to support those outside of their immediate community as a second Trump administration begins. She fears her job with the trans nonprofit could “cease to exist” if Congress passes a bill that would allow Trump to target nonprofits’ tax-exempt status. If that were to happen, she could lose access to health care. Still, she said she still feels comparatively safe and privileged.
Mx. Dahlia Belle said she’s focused on advocating for immigrants and people with disabilities.Courtesy Dahlia Belle
“We as a community are facing a very real existential threat,” Belle said. However, she added, “in the grand scheme of things, the threat we are facing pales in comparison to the immediacy and severity that will be faced by immigrants and people with disabilities and people who may be in need of reproductive care.”
She acknowledged that trans people and LGBTQ people more broadly fit into all of these categories and said it’s “those intersections of identity where I feel our advocacy is most needed and needs to be focused.”
Horizons Foundation announced today the launch of a crucial, online LGBTQ Organization Directory designed to be a comprehensive and easily accessible resource for LGBTQ individuals and families, donors, and foundations across the nine counties of the San Francisco Bay Area. Access the directory at https://www.horizonsfoundation.org/org-directory/.
While the Bay Area is home to more than 100 LGBTQ nonprofits and programs, there has never existed a single online space where community members, donors, and foundations can easily search, connect with, and donate to LGBTQ services and organizations. Horizons Foundation’s new directory aims to fill this gap by providing a centralized, searchable platform for the Bay Area’s vibrant LGBTQ ecosystem.
“We created this directory based on two key findings from Horizons’ Needs Assessment of the LGBTQ Community of the SF Bay Area,” said Francisco Buchting, Horizons Foundation’s Vice President of Grants, Programs, and Communications. “First, a significant number of respondents reported feeling disconnected from the LGBTQ community; second, a critical barrier to accessing LGBTQ-friendly or culturally appropriate programs and services was a lack of awareness about what services are available or where they are located. This online directory is designed to be a new vital resource for the LGBTQ community and its nonprofit ecosystem.”
The online directory offers a range of benefits for LGBTQ organizations and those searching for them, including:
Searchable Profiles: Each participating organization has a dedicated profile page with contact information, a description of services, and a link to donate directly to the organization.
Custom Filters: The search function includes options to select specific areas of service, geographic locations, and keywords, ensuring that users can easily find the resources that best meet their needs.
Increased Visibility: Because Horizons Foundation is an expert on LGBTQ issues in the SF Bay Area and the premier resource to help inform charitable giving in our community, participating organizations will benefit from increased visibility and promotion among Horizons’ network of donors, foundations, Donor Advised Funds, and other partners, ensuring that participating nonprofit organizations receive maximum exposure.
The directory, which currently features almost 100 LGBTQ nonprofits and services in the SF Bay Area, is a free resource open to the public, and eligible LGBTQ organizations and programs can participate at no cost. As a community foundation of, by, and for the LGBTQ community, Horizons Foundation is committed to supporting queer organizations in the Bay Area, and the directory is the latest initiative in its ongoing efforts to strengthen the LGBTQ ecosystem.
Organizations and programs interested in participating in the directory can contact comms@horizonsfoundation.org.
About Horizons Foundation
Horizons Foundation is the first community foundation in the U.S. of, by, and for the LGBTQ+ community. Established in 1980, invests in LGBTQ nonprofits, strengthens a culture of LGBTQ giving, and builds a permanent endowment to secure our community’s future. We envision a world where all LGBTQ people live freely and fully. Learn more at horizonfoundation.org.
Transcendence Theatre Company today announced the complete cast and creative team for its highly anticipated Broadway Holiday production, featuring an ensemble of Broadway veterans and accomplished performers who will bring holiday magic to both Sebastiani Theatre in Sonoma and Marin Theatre in Mill Valley this December. Due to overwhelming ticket sales, Transcendence has added a 2 p.m. matinee performance on Wednesday, December 18, at the Sebastiani Theatre.The stellar ensemble features Alicia Albright (Broadway’s Frozen, Wicked), Juli Biagi (The Arvada Center’s Waitress), Melanie Fernandez (Pioneer Theatre Company’s Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812), Ruby Lewis (Cirque du Soleil’s premiere Broadway show, Paramour), Transcendence Theatre Company’s own Colin Campbell McAdoo,David L. Murray Jr. (Off-Broadway’s Songs for a New World), and Neil Starkenberg (Mrs. Doubtfire National Tour). Tony Gonzalez, whose credits include Broadway’s Mamma Mia!and Disney On Classic, serves as director and will also perform in the production.Alongside Gonzalez as Co-Conceiver, the creative team is led by McAdoo as Co-Conceiver and Assistant Director, Matt Smart as Co-Conceiver and Music Director, and Zachary Kellogg as Associate Music Director. The production features lighting design by Kurt Landisman at Marin Theatre and Tony Ginesi at the Sebastiani Theatre, with sound design by Nils Erickson. Sarah E. T. Jackson serves as Production Stage Manager.
Updated Performance Schedule:Marin Theatre (Mill Valley):December 12-13 at 7:30 p.m.December 14 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.December 15 at 4 p.m.Sebastiani Theatre (Sonoma):December 18 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.December 19 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m**Dec 19, 7 p.m. performance is sold out
FOR TICKETSSebastiani Theatre, SonomaTickets for Broadway Holiday at the Sebastiani Theatre start at $31 and are on sale now. Group discounts of up to 20% are available for parties of 10 or more. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit BestNightEver.org or call the box office at 877-424-1414 Ext. 1.
Audiences can keep the holiday cheer going after the show with an exclusive, private event hosted by Pangloss Cellars. Gold ticket holders are invited to mingle with cast members while enjoying Pangloss wines and seasonal, light bites, crafted by their Executive Chef. Additional wines by the glass will also be available for purchase.Marin Theatre, Mill ValleyAudiences at Marin Theatre will find tickets starting at $30. Group discounts are available for parties of 8 or more (save $7 per ticket) with greater savings for groups of 15 or more (20% off). To purchase tickets or for more information visit MarinTheatre.org or call 415-388-5208. Guests can elevate their holiday cheer with Gold tickets which include pre-show and intermission exclusive access to the Holiday Lounge with beverages and holiday-themed bites.
ABOUT TRANSCENDENCE THEATRE COMPANYTranscendence Theatre Company is California Wine Country’s premiere entertainment experience, thirteen years and counting. Presenting a Broadway Under the Stars season of original outdoor musical revues each summer, an indoor holiday show every winter, and more, our mission is to create extraordinary evenings featuring the best talents from Broadway and beyond. Transcendence Theatre Company is dedicated to providing the joys and benefits of musical theatre to all through one of a kind performances, community engagements, and arts education programs. Through its Transcendence For All initiatives, the company partners with local nonprofits to make the arts accessible to youth, seniors, people with disabilities, and more. Transcendence offers free performances and workshops, as well as accessibility features at its productions. BestNightEver.orgSponsors for Broadway Holiday at the Sebastiani Theatre include Sotheby’s International Realty, Press Democrat, Friedman’s Home Improvement, Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn, The Hanna Center, Parkpoint Health Club, Jeffrey D Bean DDS, Perry, Johnson, Anderson, Miller, and Moskowitz LLP, Amaturo Sonoma Media Group, Alan and Susan Seidenfeld Charitable Trust, Bank of Marin, and Sonoma Valley Authors Festival.ABOUT MARIN THEATREMarin Theatre was founded in 1966 and joined the League of Resident Theatres (LORT) and the National New Play Network (NNPN) in 2008. Now rechristened Marin Theatre, the company is the leading professional theatre in the North Bay and the premier mid-sized professional theatre in the Bay Area, now led by Artistic Director Lance Gardner. Marin Theatre’s 2024/25 season launched in October with the U.S. premiere of Canadian hit Yaga and continues in the new year with a roster of four more funny, engaging, entertaining, and compelling works. Season subscriptions, starting at $200, are still available. For information the public may visit MarinTheatre.orgor call 415-388-5208.
FOR CALENDAR EDITORS:WHAT: This holiday season, Transcendence Theatre Company’s Broadway Holiday, an all-new production featuring a stellar cast of Broadway veterans and rising stars, performing a mix of classic holiday tunes and showstopping Broadway numbers. Audiences of all ages are invited to celebrate the holidays with a festive blend of musical favorites, hit tunes, and hilarious holiday flair, presented with delightful choreography, breathtaking vocals, and the signature Transcendence style that has made that Sonoma-based company a Northern California favorite for over a decade.WHEN:December 12-15, 2024 at Marin Theatre in Mill ValleyDecember 18-19, 2024 at Sebastiani Theatre in SonomaSHOWS: Marin Theatre:Thursday-Friday: 7:30pm; Saturday: 2:00pm & 7:30pm; Sunday: 4:00pmSebastiani Theatre:Wednesday at 7:00pm; Thursday at 2:00pm & 7:00pmWHERE:Marin Theatre, 397 Miller Avenue, Mill Valley, CA 94941Sebastiani Theatre, 476 1st St E, Sonoma, CA 95476TICKETS:Marin Theatre:$30 Reserved*, $50 Premium*, $70 Silver*, $150 Gold* (includes access to Holiday Lounge). *Plus a $6 handling fee per total order.Sebastiani Theatre:$31 General Reserve 1, $55 General Reserve 2, $85 Premium, $155 Gold (includes post-show cheer at Pangloss).GROUPS: Marin Theatre: Groups of 8 to 15 receive $7 off per ticket. Groups of 15+ receive a 20% discount. Sebastiani Theatre: Groups of 10-19 receive $10 discount; Groups of 20-29 receive 15% discount; groups of 30 or more receive 20% discount.INFO: Marin Theatre: Information and tickets are available at MarinTheatre.org or by calling 415-388-5208 Sebastiani Theatre: Information and tickets are available at BestNightEver.org or by calling 877-424-1414 Ext. 1
