In a blow to LGBTQ+ rights, a federal court ruling concluded that teachers have the right to out LGBTQ+ children to their parents.
On 22 December, US district judge Roger Benitez ruled that federal law allows school employees to notify parents of “gender incongruence”.
Benitz added that the decision to inform parents of their child’s gender identity rests with the teacher.
The order also prevents school districts from “misleading” parents and prohibits employees from “directly lying to the parent, preventing the parent from accessing educational records of the child, or using a different set of preferred pronouns/names when speaking with the parents than is being used at school”.
In the appeal court paper, state attorney general of California, Rob Bonta, wrote that the ruling, if it hadn’t been halted, would “create chaos and confusion among students, parents, teachers, and staff at California’s public schools”.
Bonta added that it would go against “longstanding state laws that protect vulnerable transgender and gender nonconforming students”.
The current state law bans school districts from requiring parent notification, following a handful of school districts across the state that implemented policies forcing teachers to notify parents if students have expressed non-cisgender or non-heterosexual identities.
It also prevents school districts in California from firing teachers who choose not to disclose the sexuality of their students to parents.
US Christians gathered at the Wisconsin State Capitol to protest the “religious condemnation” of the trans community.
On Sunday (28 December), a group of trans-affirming Christians gathered to take part in the event titled “Not In Jesus’ name”.
The event, which took place from 2pm for two hours, included a march around Capitol Square and a sung prayer service inside the Capitol Rotunda.
As per 15 WMTV, organisers of the event said the gathering took place in response to the national debate over gender-affirming care and concern about religious condemnation directed at the trans community.
In June, a US Supreme Court decision to uphold Tennessee’s ban on healthcare for transgender youngsters was described as devastating for trans rights in the US. The ban is among thousands of anti-LGBTQ+ bills US states have tried to pass over the past few years.
This year’s Trans Day of Remembrance report remembered honoured 58 known trans people who have died since November 2024. Of those deaths, 27 were due to violence, while 21 were linked to suicide.
‘Faith demands courage’
Reverend Liz Edman, an Episcopal priest and co-founder of the Stone Catcher Project, which helped organise the event, said of the anti-trans rhetoric in the US: “Transgender people are under violent assault, both physical and spiritual. For too long, such violence has been justified by appeals to religion. But we aim to follow Jesus, who taught us to catch stones thrown at vulnerable people, not throw them ourselves.”
Edman continued: “So many people in the name of God are pointing at others and saying, you are a problem. You are a problem. Therefore, you are condemned. We’re coming to get you.
“We believe that faith is something that we’re responsible to live well. And anytime you point fingers at somebody else and go after them, you have violated the terms of our covenant with God.”
The family of a young trans student from Iowa who took his own life earlier this month, has spoken out about the bullying he faced during his short life.
His mother, Ashley Campbell, told the Des Moines Register that he had been bullied in and out of school for years. He had tried to end his own life twice, even before attending the school.
“Protecting trans kids is important but so is not being cruel, just being understanding,” she said. “I think it’s a bigger issue than just gender. My child couldn’t handle it because that was what he was bullied [about] the most. He never should have had to endure that.”
Miles’ death came a day after a substitute teacher refused to use his preferred pronouns. Eleven months earlier, his family had informed the school that he was trans. School principal Tim Carver informed other parents and guardians in an email and directed them to resources, emphasising that counselling would be available to students.
“Our thoughts will continue to be with Miles’ family,” he has said. ”Please be sure to reach out if you or your child would benefit from additional support. We are here to help.”
Officials from the Urbandale Community School District said they remained “steadfast in our dedication to cultivating a safe, caring and supportive learning environment for all students and staff”.
According to a survey for The Trevor Project, across the US in 2024, 39 per cent of LGBTQ+ youngsters, aged between 13 and 24 – including 46 per cent of transgender and non-binary young people – had “seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year”.
‘You are enough. No matter what they say, you’re worthy’
The lyrics of a song, called “Love Worthy”, shared by Ashley read: “Even when the world feels cold and rough, you got to know that you are enough. No matter what they say, you’re worthy. Loved in every way. Just hold on and don’t give up ‘cuz you are, you are loved.”
Miles’ father Rocky Phipps told the Register: “If I could give one message to all the kids, [it’s] if you see someone bullying another person, call them out. Bullies don’t like to be called out. Always be kind because you never know what that person is going through.”
A GoFundMe has been launched to help the Phipps and Campbell families with funeral and memorial expenses, including the siting of a park bench outside Miles’ favourite place, the Urbandale Library.
The GoFundMe remembers him as “a kind, talented and creative soul who expressed himself through music” [who] loved “skateboarding, bicycling and spending time outdoors”.
It goes on to say: “Miles was a proud transgender male who was driven, and faced the world with courage, authenticity and grace, even in the face of bullying and misunderstanding. He is deeply loved and will forever be cherished by his family. His parents and older sister will forever celebrate his laughter, his music and his beautiful heart.”
Suicide is preventable. Readers who are affected by the issues raised in this story are encouraged to contact Samaritans on 116 123 (samaritans.org), or Mind on 0300 123 3393 (mind.org.uk). Readers in the US are encouraged to contact the National Suicide Prevention Line on 1-800-273-8255.
A Florida teacher has been put on leave after requesting to use the gender-neutral title Mx at work.
The teacher at Alachua County Public Schools has been placed on administrative leave after requesting that students and staff address them with the title Mx.
Mx is a gender-neutral title pronounced as ‘mix’ which some trans, non-binary, gender non-confirming and cis people use as an alternative to gendered honourifics like Miss, Ms, Mrs or Mr. Mx does not indicate a person’s gender.
The state’s attorney general James Uthmeier accused the teacher of violating Florida House Bill 1069, which was signed into law by governor Ron DeSantis in July 2023.
The bill enshrines “sex as an immutable biological trait” and prohibits K-12 employees from using preferred personal titles or pronouns that don’t alight with birth-assigned sex. Florida officials said the teacher’s use of “Mx” violated state law.
The district confirmed that the educator has been placed on leave pending review, but did not released further details.
@pinknews A Florida teacher at Alachua County Public Schools has been placed on administrative leave after requesting students and staff address them with the gender-neutral title “Mx.”The state’s Attorney General James Uthmeier accused the teacher of violating Florida House Bill 1069, which was signed into law by Governor Ron DeSantis in July 2023, which enshrines “sex as an immutable biological trait”. This law prohibits K-12 employees from using preferred personal titles or pronouns that don’t align with birth-assigned sex.Florida officials said the teacher’s use of “Mx.” violated state law. The district confirmed that the educator has been placed on leave pending review, but did not release further details. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier took to X writing “A female teacher at Talbot Elementary in Gainesville is forcing students and faculty to address her with the prefix ‘Mx.’ instead of ‘Ms.’ or ‘Mrs.’ This violates Florida law and Alachua County School District policy and must stop immediately.” #Florida#USPolitics#Mx#education#lgbtqia♬ Minimal for news / news suspense(1169746) – Hiraoka Kotaro
Uthmeier took to X writing of the case: “A female teacher at Talbot Elementary in Gainesville is forcing students and faculty to address her with the prefix ‘Mx.’ Instead of ‘Ms.’ Or ‘Mrs’. This violates Florida law and Alachua County School District policy and must stop immediately.”
In August, a Florida judge struck down parts of House Bill 1069. Part of the law sets out a process for parents to complain about books and material with which they disagreed, forcing educators to remove them from their libraries “within five school days… until the objection is resolved”.
The wording of the legislation broadly singled out books with “pornographic” content or those which “describe sexual conduct”. Titles pulled from shelves included The Color Purple, On the Road, Looking for Alaska, The Handmaid’s Tale and Slaughterhouse-Five, also known as The Children’s Crusade: A Duty-Dance with Death.
Following legal action by publishers, the Authors Guild, and parents from Escambia County against the removal of dozens of books from school libraries, District Court Judge Carlos Mendoza struck down large parts of the legislation.
“None of these books are obscene,” he said in his ruling. “The restrictions placed on these books are thus unreasonable.”
The prohibition of material that “describes sexual conduct” was “over-broad and unconstitutional”, he added, because the law “mandates the removal of books that contain even a single reference to the prohibited subject matter, regardless of the holistic value of the book individually or as part of a larger collection”. In addition, the law gave “parents licence to object to materials under a I-know-it-when-I-see-it approach”.
The independent left-winger secured 63 per cent of the first-preference votes last week, and will become the Republic of Ireland’s 10th head of state, succeeding Michael D Higgins, who has served the maximum-allowed two terms in office. The result was announced from Dublin Castle.
Speaking in Irish and English, Connolly said: “I will be a voice for peace, a voice that builds on our policy of neutrality, a voice that articulates the existential threat posed by climate change.”
She also promised to advocate for those who have no voice. “Our public and democracy needs constructive questioning. Together, we can shape a new republic that values everybody, that values and champions diversity and that takes confidence in our own identity.”
Catherine Connolly supported LGBTQ+ marriage equality
Although the president’s post is mainly ceremonial, Connolly has been an advocate for reproductive rights, social justice and neutrality and pledged to fight “racism, bigotry and violence”, which, she said, had “no place in our society”.
A statement on her website said: “I campaigned for marriage equality in Galway and have spoken out in Dáil [the lower house of the Irish parliament] for LGBTQ+ rights abroad and at home, including in support of the Gender Recognition Act and against conversion therapy. Inciting fear and hatred towards the LGBTQIA community is abhorrent.”
Talking about the legislation, she said: “It aims to provide for the disregarding of certain criminal convictions that arose… all through the 19th century and, indeed, one act going back to the 17th century, as well as the Common Law. It had nothing to do with justice or fairness. It was homophobia at its worst and a set of values that had nothing to do with love between two people.
“It is high time we got rid of it. We are not only recognising the injustice but actually setting up a process that will allow us to undo that injustice and to finally bring fairness.”
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“We need an inclusive society”
The new president has also voiced her support for the trans and non-binary community.
Asked where she stands on “gender ideology”, she responded: “We need an inclusive society. We don’t need division, we don’t need language to divide.
“I worked as a clinical psychologist, and trained in England. I know the pain and suffering someone goes through when they feel that they’re not in the right gender. I know that’s a painful, painful process and it’s something that I won’t comment on lightly.
“But I will say that, prior to my time and it was a good act, the government passed the Gender Recognition Act, and it’s law that someone can decide to change their gender and register accordingly, over 18 years of age.”
Anti-LGBTQ+ right-wing activists are notorious for getting annoyed about almost anything, and the latest addition to the ever-growing list is the Gender Unicorn diagram.
Don’t believe that they’ll get annoyed about anything? Buckle up: we’ve got receipts.
A Christmas advert featuring Black actress Adjoa Andoh as Mrs. Claus, that saw her use they/them pronouns to refer to someone, also sparked the wrath of anti-LGBTQ+ figures, who called it out for being “woke”.
Countless brands, big and small, from Target to Tesco to Tampax, have also faced boycott calls from the right-wing community. But the latest outrage among the group is the realisation of the Gender Unicorn.
What is the Gender Unicorn diagram?
The Gender Unicorn (https://transstudent.org/gender/)
Simply put, the Gender Unicorn Diagram is a graphic that helps people understand the differences between gender identity, gender expression, sex, and attraction.
The graphic, created by Trans Student Educational Resources – a youth-led organisation dedicated to ensuring education is inclusive for all – shows a unicorn on the left-hand side with symbols on that are explained on the right-hand side.
Gender identity, shown on the unicorn through a rainbow-filled thought bubble, is explained as female/woman/girl, male/man/boy, or other gender(s). The diagram also breaks down gender expression, sex assigned at birth, physical attraction, and emotional attraction into distinct categories.
Underneath the definitions of each are further explained. Gender expression/presentation is explained as: “The physical manifestation of one’s gender identity through clothing, hairstyle, voice, body shape, etc. Many transgender people seek to make their gender expression (how they look) match their gender identity (who they are), rather than their sex assigned at birth.”
Why are so many right-wingers annoyed about it?
A quick search of the term “Gender Unicorn” on social media platforms such as X bring up various videos from right-wingers hitting out at the graphic.
Another commented of the graphic: “One person’s ‘innocuous teaching tool’ is many other people’s insidious grooming material.”
Right-wingers annoyance towards the graphic mimics political moves. The US government has demanded almost every state in the US remove sex education materials referencing trans and non-binary people.
Trans woman Nikki Armstrong was violently assaulted in Renton, Washington in the US earlier this month.
She told PinkNews that the attack, which occurred on 15 September at around 8:20pm in the 200 block of Burnett Ave S, followed an argument between her and a group of teens who she said were harassing “everybody waiting on their bus.”
She says that she simply asked them, “Don’t you have anything better to do?”
According to Renton Police, later that evening, after walking back through the area to the bus station, Armstrong was then confronted by the teens.
She said she attempted to pepper spray them, but they called her the F-slur and began to chase her. She recalls tripping after about a block, at which point the attack began.
She told PinkNews she felt “scared and angry” at first, but those feelings have since “turned to sadness.”
“It bums me out that kids have nothing better to do with their lives,” she said of the suspects.
Nikki’s injuries were still visible three days after the attack. (Supplied)
Two teenage brothers, aged 15 and 17, have been released on electronic home monitoring on charges of second-degree assault after being accused of attacking Armstrong. Renton Police say they are still searching for two other teens who are believed to have been involved.
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Armstrong launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise $20,000 to help cover costs while she is unable to work and to pay for surgery to repair her nose and possibly her eye socket. She has received 97 percent of her goal, thanks to more than 360 donations.
She said the donations have relieved her from the stress of rent and allowed her to focus on recovering.
“That anxiety has been lifted and I can’t begin to put into words what that means to me. I can focus on my recovery and I’m ever so grateful.”
Armstrong said she didn’t expect “at all” to raise the amount she has. She added: “I was hoping for some help but the way everyone has stepped up is incredible.”
But the attack has highlighted the concerning rise in anti-trans hate, spurred by the US administration’s orders. Sadly, Armstrong admits she no longer feels safe in the US.
Donald Trump has weaponised trans rights (Rebecca Droke/Getty)
She explained: “I want to be clear about this: it’s not because I’m worried about being randomly attacked by teenagers. It is because of the presidential Administration that we have and their policies that I feel less safe now as a trans person than I ever have.
“Trump has all but greenlit this type of violence and sadly I expect we will see more.”
In June, GLAAD’s third ALERT Desk Report – its Anti-LGBTQ Extremism Reporting Tracker, which documents anti-LGBTQ incidents and trends in hate and extremism across the US – revealed a “dramatic rise” in anti-trans hate incidents.
Between 1 May 2024 and 1 May 2025, the ALERT Desk tracked 932 anti-LGBTQ incidents in 49 US states and the District of Columbia – the equivalent of 2.5 incidents every day. Fifty-two percent of all incidents specifically targeted transgender and gender non-conforming people.
Armstrong said, in a message to her attackers and others who target the trans community: “Find something better to do with your time. We are here. We’re not going anywhere. We will fight back. We protect us.”
A man has thanked his followers for their support as he battles to free his boyfriend from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention.
Eric Duran has been recording his efforts to free boyfriend Juan since 21 July. In a TikTok posted on Sunday (31 August), he said Juan, with whom he has been in a relationship for more than a year, is being held in Louisiana, having been moved from Colorado and Arizona.
“I got a call from someone whose brother-in-law is with Juan and shared they were transferred to this facility,” Duran wrote. “I was then able to confirm through the ICE locator as his information finally showed in the system. Thank you again for all the support.”
He then mentioned the GoFundMe that has been launched to “help us with legal fees, making sure he has money in there, and potentially setting up to live in a different country”.
Ninety per cent of $5,500 (£4,000) target has already been raised.
‘Physically exhausting and labour-intensive’
“This is all an intentional and calculated effort by the system to make sure he doesn’t get his due process, because Tuesday was his bond hearing and they moved him before that,” Duran went on to say.
The system isn’t there to “support in any way, shape or form,” and nobody truly knows where these individuals are. And at one stage he was told his boyfriend had been “sent home”, Duran claimed.
“The only human experience out of all of this is being able to build a community and being able to show up and support each other. That was truly how I was able to know and confirm that Juan was at the Louisiana facility.
“It’s on us to make sure we know where our loved ones are. All this has been so costly, all this is so physically exhausting and labour-intensive and mentally taxing. I’m so happy there is a community that wants to support in any way they can, so thank you again.”
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ICE officials reportedly ‘burnt out’ by Trump’s immigration crackdown
According to reports, ICE officials are facing “burnout and frustration” as president Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown continues.
Reuters claimed that agents had complained about White House demands for high arrest quotas, said to be as high as 3,000 a day – 10 times the number under president Joe Biden.
“The demands they placed on us were unrealistic. It was not done in a safe manner or the manner to make us most successful,” one official is quoted as saying.
A former ICE agent was initially told by colleagues that they were happy the “cuffs are off” but several months later, he told Reuters that they were now “overwhelmed” by the arrest numbers and “would prefer to go back to focused targeting”.
Iris Mwanza’s debut novel The Lions’ Den is inspired by a real criminal case from Zambia that has stayed with her since the 1990s.
The book follows rookie lawyer Grace Zulu, who takes on the pro bono defence of Willbess “Bessy” Mulenga, arrested for an offence “against nature” and facing 14 years in prison.
For Mwanza, who grew up in Zambia and now works in the US as a staunch advocate for gender equality, the case is emblematic of wider struggles against injustice.
“Police brutality is a manifestation of impunity,” she tells PinkNews. “It’s happening everywhere, not just in Zambia or developing countries, it’s happening right here in this country [US]. And it’s the most vulnerable who suffer the most. I wanted to bring it to the fore unflinchingly.”
A climate of fear
Same-sex sexual activity remains prohibited under Zambia’s Penal Code, carrying a penalty of up to 14 years’ imprisonment. However, as noted by the Human Dignity Trust, a 2019 case saw two gay men convicted and sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment for same-sex sexual activity.
“I feel like human rights are universal, and we all need to be fighting for them,” Mwanza says. “My motivation for writing the book was to show the impact of discrimination on families, communities, societies and the nation, and it’s bad. We are going in the opposite direction.”
She recalls that while living in Zambia she witnessed a “deeply homophobic society”, but law school opened her eyes to the fact that “almost all constitutions in the world guarantee fundamental human rights, so not only is it morally wrong, it’s legally wrong”.
On her last trip home, Mwanza met clandestinely with LGBTQ+ Zambians to protect their identities. “People have a legitimate fear of prosecution, but also persecution societally. They told me what hurt most was when their communities wouldn’t accept them.”
The Lions’ Den by Iris Mwanza.
She recalled having “mixed feelings” upon holding the illicit book reading: “I was incredibly proud to be able to have a conversation with the community in Zambia and get honest feedback. It felt very gratifying to hear that they felt seen and appreciated that I’d written the book.
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“But it was also very sad, and deeply heartbreaking, that I grew up in a society that has not evolved – that’s actually going in the opposite direction, where people are afraid to just live their lives as human beings.”
‘Everybody has fundamental rights’
One thread running through The Lions’ Den is the influence of conservative religious movements. “Fundamentalist or deeply evangelistic religions can give cover to obnoxious, unacceptable behaviour,” Mwanza says. “It’s very systemic.”
Of Zambia’s regressive laws, she is blunt: “It’s baffling, especially when you see younger people being super conservative and not open-minded.” She links this to a wider culture of polarisation, both online and in politics: “The more extreme you are, the more responses you attract. Politicians take extreme positions to get attention.”
Mwanza is equally concerned by developments in the US, where she says the “gender space” is becoming politicised. “A lot of people of colour are leaving their positions because they don’t feel supported, or they were hired under DEI,” she says.
But she finds hope in young people: “They’re fighting and they’re willing to fight. The question is: how do we further empower the next generation to do things better than we did? We’ve taken things for granted,” she adds, pointing to the2022 overturning of Roe v Wade.
“I don’t think people really understand the consequences of an authoritarian government, but when everyone’s rights start getting stripped away, that’s another thing. Everybody has fundamental rights. It isn’t about your own individual prejudices, it’s about us all being human beings, and we all need and deserve protection.”
Cuba has taken a significant step forward in trans rights by approving a law that allows individuals to self-declare their gender without requiring surgery.
The law, approved earlier this month by The National Assembly of People’s Power, also amends Cuba’s national civil registry, giving legal recognition to common-law partnerships and setting out a process for digitising paper records.
Minister of justice Oscar Silvera Martínez wrote on X/Twitter last week that the law “will allow the country to have a modern civil registry,” including “the issuance of digital documents with full validity and efficiency”.
The latest move in trans rights for Cubans marks one of the most significant LGBTQ+ legal reforms since 2022, when citizens approved a broad family law code that ushered in same-sex marriage and other LGBTQ+-inclusive measures, including the right to adopt children.
Minister of foreign affairs Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla welcomed the family code, saying: “Our people opted for a revolutionary, uplifting law that drives us to achieve social justice for which we work every day. Today, we are a better country with more rights.”
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