John Russell

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17 states consider cutting assistance for HIV meds as prices increase

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States across the U.S. have either implemented or are considering measures that limit access to life-saving medications for tens of thousands of low-income people living with HIV. The moves, experts warn, are likely to lead to economic and public health crises. According to new data published this week by the National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors (NASTAD), 17 states and D.C. have already taken steps to cut costs for their AIDS Drug Assistance Programs (ADAP), while five others are considering similar measures. Since 1996, federally funded ADAPs have helped low-income, uninsured, and underinsured people afford HIV and AIDS medication, primarily […]

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“An absolute travesty”: GOP bill seeks to legalize so-called conversion therapy for trans minors

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Republican lawmakers in Ohio have introduced a sweeping bill aimed at preventing schools and local governments from supporting transgender children and also at overturning bans on so-called “conversion therapy.” “State institutions, government institutions cannot promote that woke ideology,” state Rep. Gary Click (R) told local ABC affiliate News 5 Cleveland this week. “We’re going to say in Ohio, it is not a danger to treat your child normally and to affirm your son is your son and your daughter is your daughter.” Click and state Rep. Josh Williams (R) introduced H.B. 693. Among numerous other anti-trans provisions, it would redefine “conversion therapy” as not […]

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Dems skewer anti-trans sports bill that would allow invasive genital exams: “I’m deeply concerned”

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Lawmakers in Maryland sparred last week over proposed legislation that would ban transgender girls from competing in girls’ sports at the varsity and junior varsity high school levels. During a February 5 hearing on HB 63 before the state General Assembly’s Ways and Means Committee, several lawmakers on both sides of the aisle pressed the bill’s sponsor, Del. Kathy Szeliga (R), on how the law would be enforced. In her opening remarks, Szeliga seemed to anticipate that line of questioning. “There’s some people who are concerned about the enforcement of this. Well, we enforce all kinds of things in high school sports, as you […]

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Trans sports ban that could require genital exams will appear on the ballot in Washington

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A far-right political action committee says it has collected enough signatures to potentially get a trans sports ban onto Washington state’s ballot in November, and that ban would require girls to undergo physical examinations to participate in school sports. As the Washington State Standard reports, Let’s Go Washington collected 445,187 signatures in support of Initiative Measure No. IL26-638, exceeding the 386,000 needed to advance the measure. The initiative would ban transgender girls from competing in girls’ school sports statewide. IL26-638 interprets existing state law as requiring students “to undergo a routine physical examination prior to participation in interscholastic sports, which includes documentation of […]

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He escaped anti-gay violence by coming to the US. Now he faces deportation for using the bathroom.

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An asylum-seeker who fled anti-LGBTQ+ persecution in Ecuador is now in ICE custody after being arrested as part of a controversial undercover operation targeting men who were allegedly cruising at New York City’s Penn Station. The man, identified only as Isrrael, told Gothamist this week that he believes federal Amtrak police targeted him because of his appearance and mannerisms. According to the outlet, which, along with nonprofit news website The City, first reported on the Amtrak Police Department’s sting operation last month, Isrrael was on his way to meet a real estate broker in July when he entered a Penn Station men’s room. In a […]

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The climate crisis will create 1.2 billion refugees. LGBTQ+ people will be especially affected.

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An estimated 1.2 billion people could be forced to migrate by 2050 due to extreme weather and natural disasters related to climate change. The hardships of relocating and sharing limited survival resources will fall hardest on LGBTQ+ climate refugees, numerous experts say. In 2023, London’s Pride parade was briefly halted by a small group of LGBTQ+ activists with U.K.-based climate justice coalition Just Stop Oil protesting the event’s inclusion of floats and sponsorships from high polluting industries. Ahead of their demonstration, the LGBTQ+ supporters of Just Stop Oil released a statement explaining that they would take action to oppose the government’s continued development of new fossil […]

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Gay & Lesbian Latinos Unidos made history when most LGBTQ+ orgs were gay, white, & male

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“I know that younger generations may not know about us,” historian and author Lydia R. Otero says of Gay and Lesbian Latinos Unidos (GLLU) in the 2023 PBS documentary about the group, Unidad, “but we made life better for queers of color and we made a difference because we made the world better.” Founded in Los Angeles in 1981 by a group of gay and lesbian Latinx and Chicanx activists, GLLU was a trailblazing organization that took an intersectional approach to LGBTQ+ advocacy decades before that term and concept entered mainstream political organizing. As Laura M. Esquivel — often called “La madre […]

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Trans couple takes over beloved bookstore after anti-trans law forces owners to move

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A South Dakota community has rallied to help a transgender couple buy the town’s only bookstore now that the state’s anti-trans bathroom ban has forced its original owner to move east to protect his 10-year-old daughter. As The Washington Post reports, the people of Vermillion, South Dakota have so far donated over $27,000 via a GoFundMe campaign for Nova and Elias Donstad to make a down payment on Outside of a Dog, a beloved family-owned bookstore. The shop’s owner, Mike Phelan, opened the store shortly after moving to Vermillion with his family five years ago and discovering that the town did not have a […]

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Board members called this nonbinary teacher a “groomer.” Now the district has to pay up.

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An Arizona school district has settled a discrimination lawsuit brought by a former teacher who is nonbinary. As The Arizona Republic reports, River Chunnui sued the Peoria Unified School District and two members of its governing board, Heather Rooks and Rebecca Hill, last year, alleging “discriminatory, retaliatory, and torturous actions” based on Chunnui’s gender identity. According to their March 2024 complaint, the former Desert Harbor Elementary School special education teacher sent a March 31, 2022, email informing fellow staff members of how they could support and acknowledge trans and nonbinary students on International Transgender Day of Visibility. After their email began circulating online […]

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European Pride celebrations see funding shortfalls because of the “Trump effect”

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The Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs in the U.S. aren’t just affecting American Pride celebrations this year. Events across Europe are reportedly also feeling the pinch as corporate sponsors pull back their financial support for fear of crossing the president. According to Context News, organizers in Greece, Bulgaria, Estonia, Denmark, Germany, and other European countries have all seen a marked decrease in corporate sponsorships this year, which they attribute to the “Trump effect.” In January, President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at ending DEI efforts within the federal government, while also pressuring private […]

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