Indiana State University is being sued for First Amendment violations by an LGBTQ+ group that claims the school is refusing to let them hold a Pride festival on campus.
The lawsuit, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana on behalf of The Pride Center of Terre Haute, claims that ISU officials have prohibited the group from hosting a 2025 Pride celebration on the university’s Quad, an outdoor student area explicitly designated for “expressive activity,” despite allowing and sponsoring the event in 2023 and 2024.
The Pride Center, an LGBTQ+ advocacy nonprofit dedicated to creating a positive impact on the lives of LGBTQ+ individuals in Vigo County, accuses the university of securing an agreement with the city of Terre Haute to hold this year’s festival at an off-campus city park without the group’s knowledge or consent. It maintains that holding the celebration off-campus would defeat the purpose of the event, which is to show that the campus is welcoming to LGBTQ+ students, staff, and visitors.
The Pride Center claims that this is “part of a recent pattern of ISU preventing or discouraging actions and events that are intended to support the LGBTQ+ community,” according to the lawsuit, and that the “actions of ISU in not allowing Pride Fest 2025 to occur on campus violates the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.”
“ISU’s failure to provide Pride Fest an on-campus location is directly related to the message of inclusivity, equality, and support conveyed by all Pride festivals,” ACLU of Indiana Legal Director Ken Falk said in a statement. “It is clear that the university is censoring Pride Fest because of its support of the LGBTQ+ community. The Pride Center has a First Amendment right to hold their festival in the Indiana State University Quad – a space explicitly designated as a place for free expression.”
A disabled college student is speaking out after conservative figures online bullied and mass reported him when he posted about his gender transition.
Micah Leroy, who ran the account known as “Disabled Trans Boy” on Instagram, became the subject of a right-wing hate campaign after he posted a video celebrating his double mastectomy, also know as top surgery. The 19-year-old has cerebral palsy, a group of neurological disorders that affect body movement and muscle coordination, which is the most common lifelong physical disability according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
“It is important to note that nowhere in this definition does it imply that cerebral palsy negatively impacts an individual’s ability to comprehend the world, make autonomous decisions or understand the concepts of gender and sex,” Leroy told MPR News.
Leroy is a student at the University of Minnesota focusing on disability studies, LGBTQ+ studies and political science. He said that he hopes to one day hold public office, whether in the state legislature or in Congress.
Leroy uses a wheelchair as well as an Eyegaze communication device, though he prefers to communicate with his voice, with the help of his personal care assistants. Leroy, who came out as transgender at the age of 14, emphasized to the outlet that he was the one who sought out and scheduled his medical appointments and took all the steps to legally change his name and gender.
Leroy’s video about his transition went viral, resulting in negative attention from conservative figures such as failed college athlete Riley Gaines, who lied and said Leroy is “non-verbal” while implying doctors performed the surgery without his consent. Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene called the life-saving procedure performed on a legal adult “criminal.”
Conservatives mass-reported the video, causing it to be removed by Meta, which suspended Leroy’s Facebook and permanently removed his Instagram account for supposedly breaking the platforms’ “Community Standards on child sexual exploitation, abuse and nudity.”
Leroy, who repeated that “I am the one who is posting and I’m over 18,” said that Meta still rejected his appeals, while allowing the abusive comments and messages he received to remain. Still, he said that he hasn’t been deterred from speaking out.
“Even with all the hate this has stirred up, I do believe that any publicity is good publicity in furthering my goals,” Leroy continued. “This experience has only made me want to speak out more about disabled and trans issues as the negative responses I got have shown a side of the world that is intolerant and discriminatory based on what they perceive others can and cannot do.”
The popular vote might not have worked, but you can always vote with your dollar and/or time.
A second term under Donald Trump endangers the well-being of LGBTQ+ people, women, immigrants, people of color, and everyone else. It will also most likely lead to more censorship and rolling back protections against climate change. But the activists and organizations advocating for these causes aren’t going quietly — they’re getting louder. Many have resisted during Trump’s first term, and are ready to do so again.
The fight does not end with donations, but it’s still a great way for those with the means to make their priorities known and impact change. For those who aren’t able to give, consider using your time and other skills in your community instead.
For those who are able to give, here are 26 groups whose work is going to be critical during a second Trump administration that you can donate to. If you can’t contribute money, many also list other ways to contribute.
Elevated Access
Nonprofit Elevated Access is dedicated to helping patients receive reproductive health care, offering flights at no cost to those who must travel for abortions and gender-affirming care.
This national progressive advocacy organization focuses on preserving the rights of the marginalized in court, fighting against book bans and to preserve democracy and voting rights.
The Transgender Law Center fights to change law, policy, and attitudes so that all people can live safely, authentically, and free from discrimination regardless of their gender identity or expression.
As the biggest LGBTQ+ group in the U.S., HRC lobbies for queer rights and candidates, fighting to “ensure that all LGBTQ+ people, and particularly those of us who are trans, people of color and HIV+, are treated as full and equal citizens.”
PEN America works to ensure that people everywhere have the freedom to create literature, to convey information and ideas, to express their views, and to access the views, ideas, and literatures of others.
Planned Parenthood is nonprofit organization that provides reproductive and sexual healthcare and sexual education, including abortions and birth control.
American Civil Liberties Union (and Drag Defense Fund)
The ACLU is a nonprofit that assists in legal cases where civil rights are involved, including abortion care, trans people’s right to live freely, and people’s right to vote. It also hosts the Drag Defense Fund, which legally defends drag performers’ freedom of speech and self-expression.
Midwest Access Coalition (MAC) is a practical abortion fund that helps people traveling to, from, and within the Midwest to access a safe and legal abortion.
The SPLC is a nonprofit legal advocacy organization specializing in civil rights, fighting to strengthen democracy, counter white supremacy, end mass incarceration, and eradicate racial inequality in the American South.
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People remains the longest-serving organization dedicated to fighting for civil rights of people of color.
The Sherlock’s Homes Foundation provides housing, employment opportunities, and a loving support system, for homeless LGBTQ+ young adults so that they can live fearlessly as their authentic selves.
CAIR has worked for decade both to educate the public on mainstream Islamic faith and prevent legal obstructions to their rights, such as the many policies proposed and enacted by Trump’s first administration.
Sylvia Rivera Law Project seeks to guarantee people’s freedom to self-determine and express their gender identity, fighting for both financial and legal empowerment for everybody across the spectrum of gender.
Americans for Immigrant Justice
Americans for Immigrant Justice (AI Justice) is a nonprofit law firm that fights for justice for immigrants through a combination of direct representation, impact litigation, advocacy, and outreach.
Know Your IX was named for its mission to educate college students about their Title IX rights. The group also gives voice to survivors of sexual assault and offers channels for reporting sexual harassment.
A project of the American Immigration Council, this organization will be lobbying against deportation policy both from the White House and the halls of Congress.
Emily’s List is an organization that trains Democratic women (who are pro-choice) in the basics of running for office, from school board to senator. The group had a hand in getting Kamala Harris, Tammy Duckworth, Catherine Cortez Masto, and Maggie Hassan elected.
This group fights for the rights of scientists to conduct, publish, and discuss their research and advocate for science without the threat of political harassment, censorship, or legal intimidation.
Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights is an organization focused on protecting the children of immigrants, fighting against deportation and family separation.
ORAM provides legal assistance, advances economic inclusion through livelihood programs, champions the rights of LGBTIQ asylum seekers and refugees on the global stage and provides critical emergency response to underserved communities.
ProPublica uses a nonprofit model to produce and disseminate investigative reporting, and has continuously fact-checked the Trump Administration to dispel the misinformation surrounding his campaign.
The global organization works to “fight abuses of human rights, bring torturers to justice, change oppressive laws, and free people jailed just for voicing their opinion.”
The hubs and duds of queer life in modern America have been revealed, thanks to a report from the Williams Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles.
The good news: wherever you are, you’re not alone. Overall, 14.1 million people reported that they “identify as LGBT” between 2020 and 2021, making up a significant portion of the population at 5.6 percent. By state, there wasn’t a single area with an LGBTQ+ population of less than 4 percent.
However, compared to others, some states still have less than half as many queer people proportionally.
While the report did not give any reasoning as to why some states have larger LGBTQ+ demographics than others, the states with the lowest percentages of queer people all but one have pushed anti-LGBTQ+ legislation this year.
Here are the states with the smallest queer communities, and the legislation facing them.
5. South Carolina (Tie)
South Carolina’s 192,800 LGBTQ+ adults account for 4.9 percent of the state’s population. There were 32 anti-LGBTQ+ bills proposed this year, according to the ACLU’s legislation tracker, with one passed into law — an extreme ban against gender-affirming care for youth, as well as requiring school staff forcibly out them to their guardians.
5. North Dakota (Tie)
North Dakota’s LGBTQ+ population also accounts or 4.9 percent of its overall population, but their queer community is fewer in number, with 28,400 members. There were no anti-LGBTQ+ bills proposed this year in the state, which pushed 17 anti-LGBTQ+ bills last year, 10 of which became law.
4. Iowa
Iowa‘s 113,600 LGBTQ+ adults account for 4.7 percent of the population. 37 anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been considered in the state in 2024, four of which passed — including religious exemptions for discrimination.
3. Alabama
Alabama has 173,000 LGBTQ+ people, making up 4.6 percent of the population. Four anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been proposed in the state this year one of which passed that forces universities to implement trans bathroom bans.
2. North Carolina
North Carolina‘s LGBTQ+ population accounts for 4.4 percent of the state’s population, with 353,100 people. There were six anti-LGBTQ+ bills proposed in the state, none of which have yet been defeated or advanced.
1. Mississippi (Tie)
Mississippi’s 93,300 LGBTQ+ adults account for 4.1 percent of the population. There were 23 anti-LGBTQ+ bills been proposed in the state this year, four of which passed. The laws include a ban against trans people using the public facilities that align with their identities, and a legal redefinition of gender that incorrectly conflates it to biological sex.
1. West Virginia (Tie)
West Virginia’s LGBTQ+ community also accounts for 4.1 percent of the population, but their 60,000 queer adults are less in number than Mississippi. West Virginia has considered 33 anti-LGBTQ+ bills this year, one of which passed — enacting barriers to accurate legal identification.
Takeaways
The states with the fewest queer people are also some of the states proposing the most anti-LGBTQ+ laws.
While there is no data (yet) around mass queer exoduses from these states, some could be moving to avoid legislation. Others may not feel comfortable coming out for census data.
And while it may not seem as if the South is a popular place for LGBTQ+ people, by raw population, the region actually has the largest percentage of queer adults. The 5.2 million LGBTQ+ people in southern states account for 36.9 percent of the queer people in the U.S.
While we may not be the majority, LGBTQ+ people across the country have an enormous and undeniable presence wherever they call home.
The United States’ first Black and gay professional tennis player isn’t letting her identity define her, even as it changes. After starring in her own reality show and competing in the ITF World Tennis Tour, Johnson is now focused on giving back to her community through private tennis clinics catering to underrepresented groups.
“People are either going to support you or not,” Johnson tells The Advocate. “So, you need to know what your journey is, and whatever you need to do to make yourself feel comfortable, you need to do that as long as you’re not hurting anyone.”
Johnson made history in 2020 when she came out as gay while playing professionally. She made waves again a few years later by coming out as nonbinary, and has since fully realized her identity as a trans-femme person. Though it’s been an uphill battle, it’s one that the athlete takes great pride in.
Johnson’s journey was partially documented in the reality series about her life, Deuces and Love. When you have a television show about your life, “you just have to get used to people being in your business and talking good and bad about you,” Johnson says, though she adds that she’s “definitely at the level of fame where I’m comfortable at.”
“I really felt that it was important to show my story just because of me being a double minority,” she says. “There isn’t really anyone out there right now [publicly] going through what I’m going through.”
This is especially true in the world of professional tennis, where Johnson says “there’s always a white male that I have to go through to.” In New York, where Johnson is based, it’s also especially “expensive to even get tennis lessons.”
That’s why Johnson has launched her own tennis club that offers private and group lessons for all levels. The sessions are priced at an affordable rate, but for those who “can’t afford a private lesson or other classes, we usually help them out.” Johnson explains that “we typically do a sliding scale for queer people and people of color.”
“Tennis is a very elusive sport,” Johnson says. “I wanted to create a tennis club that offered tennis lessons in a fun, relaxed environment and also an affordable price as well.”
Johnson actively seeks to help LGBTQ+ get involved in sports at a time when transgender people are being banned from sports that align with their gender identity. Donald Trump, U.S. president, recently signed an executive order that specifically banned trans women from women’s sports.
While ITF rules would allow Johnson to compete in the women’s category after spending at least four years on hormone replacement therapy, Johnson said that she is content to stay where she is for the sake of her career. She even celebrates being the “first trans-femme to play professional tennis on the men’s tour.”
“Right now I want to continue to represent my country how I started,” she says. “I’m still going to be representing America as a black gay athlete. … I’m the first gay black tennis player. Whether I transition or not, that’s still a part of me. I don’t want that to get taken away.”
Still, Johnson intends to use her platform to continue speaking out for underrepresented communities, as she believes now more than ever “we need to come together.” She’ll be hosting an ongoing anti-racism tennis clinic throughout February in honor of Black History Month in an effort to educate athletes about the disparities minority groups face in sports.
“Words have power. In this day and age, athletes have power,” Johnson says. “Athletes have the power to change the world, because the spotlight’s on us whether we’re winning or losing on the court. We have that mic and we can talk about whatever we want to talk about, and people are going to listen to us whether they like us or not.”
Donald Trump has announced his plans to wipe out the board of trustees at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and replace the chairman with himself.
Trump said that he was specifically motivated to overhaul the center so he could end the drag shows it occasionally hosts.
“At my direction, we are going to make the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., GREAT AGAIN. I have decided to immediately terminate multiple individuals from the Board of Trustees, including the Chairman, who do not share our Vision for a Golden Age in Arts and Culture,” Trump said on Truth Social. “We will soon announce a new Board, with an amazing Chairman, DONALD J. TRUMP!”
“Just last year, the Kennedy Center featured Drag Shows specifically targeting our youth — THIS WILL STOP,” he continued. “The Kennedy Center is an American Jewel, and must reflect the brightest STARS on its stage from all across our Nation. For the Kennedy Center, THE BEST IS YET TO COME!”
The Kennedy Center hosts over 2,000 events each year, making it the nation’s busiest performing arts center. It is the official home of the National Symphony Orchestra and the Washington National Opera, and puts on family-friendly drag shows on occasion.
The Kennedy Center told CNN that it “is aware of the post made recently by POTUS on social media” but that it has “received no official communications from the White House regarding changes to our board of trustees,” though “some members of our board have received termination notices from the administration.”
Blaq Dinamyte, president of Qommittee — a national network of drag artists and allies led by survivors of hate crimes such as the Pulse and Club Q mass shootings, a firebombing at an Ohio church, and an attack on a power grid in North Carolina — said in a statement that “regardless of who you are, America is a place of free expression. No exceptions. We are being targeted because we’re LGBTQ+. Period.”
“This is about who gets to exist in public spaces and whose stories get to be told on America’s stage,” Dinamyte said. “We’ve seen our community face bomb threats, armed protests, and mass shootings. But we’ve also seen how communities from coast to coast stand up for art and inclusion when given the chance. We’re not going anywhere.”
“Banning an entire art form is censorship, plain and simple. Americans don’t have to agree on everything, but we should be able to speak our minds and perform our art without bans, retaliation, or intimidation,” Dinamyte continued. “Drag is joy. It’s beauty. It helps people find themselves and celebrates difference. We applaud the Kennedy Center staff and board who have recognized that over the years and thank them for providing a space in the Nation’s Capital where all people can be themselves.”
Out gay former Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and out lesbian Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel are the leading candidates in an early U.S. Senate primary poll.
A large majority of Democratic primary voters (77 percent) have a positive view of Buttigieg for the competitive Senate seat, according to a survey from Blueprint Polling via Semafor. Nessel is a close second, earning favorability from 72 percent of voters. The next closest candidate was Democratic Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist with 45 percent.
About 40 percent of Democratic primary voters said they would vote for Buttigieg, and 16 percent said they would vote for Nessel. Around 30 percent were undecided. If Buttigieg decided not to run, 39 percent said they would vote for Nessel and 9 percent said they would vote for Gilchrist, whereas 37 percent said they were undecided.
Current Democratic Sen. Gary Peters, 66, unexpectedly announced last month that he will not be seeking a third term, citing a desire to “pass the torch.” His decision opens up a critical Senate seat in a battleground state.
Buttigieg is now “taking a serious look” at entering the race, Axios reported at the time, and two sources familiar with the former secretary confirmed to the Detroit Free Pressthat he is heavily considering it, with one saying, “Pete’s looking into all of his options and figuring out how he can best continue to serve.” Democrats in Michigan are also reportedly looking at Buttigieg as a potential candidate to replace Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer when her second term is over in 2026.
Nessel is the the highest-ranking out LGBTQ+ elected official in Michigan. She became the state’s first out gay Attorney General in 2019, and is a former criminal prosecutor and civil rights attorney who helped win the landmark court case overturning the state’s ban on marriage equality, DeBoer v. Snyder. The case was eventually consolidated with Ohio’s Obergefell v. Hodges as well as cases from Kentucky and Tennessee, then heard before the U.S. Supreme Court, resulting in the 2015 marriage equality ruling.
Target issued a memo on Friday announcing the end of its three-year DEI goals, including its Racial Equity Action and Change (REACH) program and “all external diversity-focused survey’s including HRC’s Corporate Equality index.” The Human Rights Campaign effort, which provides benchmarks on corporate policies relevant to LGBTQ+ employees, previously gave Target a score of 100 percent, dubbing the company a “Leader in LGBTQ+ Workplace Inclusion.”
In response, the largest Pride organization in Minnesota and the largest free Pride celebration in the United States, Twin Cities Pride, announced this week that it would be dropping Target as a sponsor for its 2025 events. The company had initially pledged $50,000, and had been involved in Pride celebrations for around two decades.
TCP executive director Andi Otto tells The Advocate that Target executives called him before their announcement, as they “wanted me to hear it from them before it had hit mainstream media.” The company insisted that “they were still very much committed to being at Pride and very much committed to sponsoring and continuing to support our year-round programming.”
Target was not backing down on its $50,000 pledge, but Otto says that TCP and their allies still saw the move as a betrayal, as the company is “taking away safety for the community not only in their employees, but in their suppliers.” As the community was “looking to us to hold them accountable,” TCP’s board made the decision to remove Target as a sponsor.
“This isn’t about the money,” Otto says. “Because if the money wasn’t there, would we even be questioning this decision? The answer is no. The reality of it is, is that it’s the right thing to do for our community.”
The end of DEI programs and LGBTQ+ inclusivity initiatives marks a significant shift for the Minnesota-based company, which once withstood protests from hate groups over its inclusive bathroom policies and Pride displays. However, the change was not sudden, as Target pulled some of its Pride Month merchandisein 2023 amid threats and violent protests in stores.
Target is among over a dozen major companies that have ended their DEI initiatives in the past year. Meta announced the end of its DEI programs by citing the shifting “legal and policy landscape surrounding diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in the United States.” McDonald’s also cited the Supreme Court decision against affirmative action, as well as changes among “other companies.”
Target executives said in their public statement and in private statements to Otto that the decision to end DEI programs was “due to changes in the landscape” — a nod to the Trump Administration, which has taken a hard stance against DEI in its first weeks by signing executive orders firing government employees and rescinding 1960s civil rights protections.
As Target had long stood by DEI and LGBTQ+ initiatives when it was politically beneficial, Otto says that the company’s reason for ending them “just didn’t sit right with us.”
“A lot of companies that are overturning [DEI] are doing it out of fear,” Otto says. “They look ahead and say, ‘This is what the next four years is going to be like.’ If we’re standing up for the diversity and inclusion, then we’re going to be, ironically, in the minority.”
“It’s crazy when you truly think about it — standing up for a minority group of folks, but when the other shoe drops, you don’t actually want to be part of that group,” he adds.
Companies’ willingness to abandon the LGBTQ+ community contributes to the long-standing debate among activists over “Rainbow Capitalism,” which refers to the trend of companies marketing to or profiting off the queer community without meaningfully supporting them. Examples include Disney using a rainbow logo while cancelling or censoring LGBTQ+ projects, Netflix claiming to support LGBTQ+ people while hosting Dave Chapelle’s harmful jokes about transgenderpeople, or Target scaling back Pride displays after pressure from extremists despite decades of precedent.
“I get a lot of push back about why we have sponsors at Pride. Pride was a protest, et cetera. But those sponsors allow me to do things,” Otto says, adding, “I get to pay every performer on the stage. I get to have a rainbow wardrobe, free personal care items, free clothing. We fed 300 people a holiday meal for free. … It allows us to have smaller costs for small businesses and LGBTQ and BIPOC businesses at our festival.”
While Otto did not believe it would be too challenging to find a replacement for Target, he “did not expect to be paid forward by the community.” TCP made the money back in less than 24 hours, raising nearly $78,000 just from individual donors as of Wednesday morning. Other organizations offering grants or sponsorships have brought that total to well over $100,000 — more than twice what Target promised.
“Everybody’s talking about eggs at this point. I know people are watching their money very closely, and I don’t blame them. Me as an individual, I’m doing the same thing,” Otto says. “So, I didn’t expect this outcome. It’s inspiring.”
Otto, who has heard from many community members that have decided to no longer shop at companies ditching DEI, emphasizes that “I’m not asking you to boycott Target — I’m asking you to make the best decision for your family.” Still, he hopes “companies see this and realize that this is going to cause people to really start selecting where they’re gonna shop.”
“I won’t close the door on Target. I want them to show their true colors, whatever that looks like in their world,” Otto says. “And my hope is that in 2026, they can come back. They can be loud, they can be proud of what they’ve done with their company, and we can move forward. But I need to see that beforehand.”
The city council voted unanimously at a meeting on Tuesday to declare the state capital a sanctuary for the queer community, specifically outlining protections for transgender people and gender-affirming care. The resolution, introduced by Assistant City Manager Stacey Ray, mandates equal and dignified treatment under the law regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.
“Declaring Olympia a sanctuary city means recognizing the inherent worth and equal rights of LGBTQIA2S+ people, and demonstrating a commitment to protecting and advocating for individuals by rejecting policies and actions that promote discrimination, harm and inequity,” Ray said at the meeting, via The Olympian.
While Washington already had in place a “shield” or “refuge” law protecting access to gender-affirming care — HB1469, passed in 2023 — the city ordinance will specifically ensure local resources are not used to aid law enforcement from other jurisdictions in their attempts to prosecute the families of minors receiving gender-affirming care, as well as their healthcare providers.
The resolution also prohibits the city from sharing information about an individual’s sex, gender assigned at birth, or health care with other jurisdictions. It states that the city will oppose legislation or investigations from state or federal governments that threaten the safety or dignity of LGBTQ+ people.
Mayor Dontae Payne said at the meeting that he was initially hesitant to declare the city a sanctuary for any community, but that he was moved by members of the LGBTQ+ community who turned out to speak in favor of the resolution.
“To our community members who showed up, who came here, putting themselves on the line openly in a public meeting, requesting that the council declare Olympia a sanctuary city is something that I will always remember and something that I’m so grateful to all of you for,” Payne said.
LGBTQ+ groups in Idaho have a warning for the rest of the nation — you could be next.
Republican legislators in the state introduced a resolution earlier this month urging the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Obergefell v. Hodges, the 2015 decision that established national marriage equality. The measure, House Joint Memorial 1, claims the Supreme Court overstepped its authority by requiring states to recognize same-sex marriages, and calls for a return to the so-called “natural definition” of marriage as being between one man and one woman.
While the resolution is nonbinding — meaning it carries no legal weight — “it is harmful nonetheless because it is a clear statement to LGBTQ+ communities that they are undeserving of equal access to rights that are afforded to anyone else,” according to the ACLU of Idaho.
“The legislature’s purpose in introducing a toothless statement such as this one is to intimidate, ostracize, and bully gay and queer people,” a spokesperson for the organization told The Advocate. “However, they cannot do that effectively if our communities refuse to tolerate this kind of bigotry, and we will support Idahoans in fighting back against bad legislation.”
The GOP’s insistence on pushing legislation targeting the LGBTQ+ community is not in line with their voters’ stated priorities, as recent election exit polls indicate the biggest concerns were inflation, jobs, the economy, threats to democracy, abortion, and Project 2025.
North Idaho Pride Alliance Executive Director Sarah Lynch and Board President Sam Koester said that they are “appalled” the state legislature would target “LGBTQIA+ people and our rights on day one of the legislative session” instead of focusing the issues important to their constituents.
“Rather than address any of the many issues facing Idahoans today, the Idaho Legislature has chosen the fiscally irresponsible route of using Idaho taxpayer dollars to single out LGBTQIA+ people for separate and unequal treatment,” they said. “They are setting the stage for another discriminatory legislative session by issuing a memorial to the Supreme Court that makes bigoted statements against same-sex marriages and questions the sound legal precedent set by the Obergfell and Windsor cases, as well as a separate resolution that encourages anti-trans actions in universities.”
When the conservative Supreme Court majority created by Donald Trump overturned the national right to abortion in 2022, Justice Clarence Thomas wrote in his concurring opinion at the time that the court should also revisit and overrule decisions that prevent state restrictions on contraception, marriage equality, sodomy, and other private consensual sex acts, calling the rulings “demonstrably erroneous.” Pride Foundation CEO Katie Carter said that the Idaho GOP’s resolution is emblematic of their party’s desire to roll back civil rights across the board.
“Idaho has repeatedly been a testing ground for anti-LGBTQ+ legislation and attacks against our community, setting a precedent for similar efforts across the country,” Carter said. “This resolution, while non-binding, amounts to an amplified cultural attack against our community — and a foreshadowing of what’s to come for LGBTQ+ people across the United States.”
“We must recognize this as a deliberate, coordinated strategy to dismantle brick by brick the hard-won progress we have made, forcing our fight back to hostile state legislatures,” she continued. “Now, more than ever, we need to stand together against all of the regressive moves made against LGBTQ+ people — from attempts to take away marriage equality, to the ongoing attacks on trans and non-binary people so that every LGBTQ+ person can live with dignity and freedom to show up as our whole selves, in Idaho and all the places we call home.”
Boise Pride, the organization behind the largest Pride celebration in the state, encouraged Idahoans “to raise their voices and stand in solidarity against this blatant attack on equality,” saying to “call your representatives” and “join local actions and support organizations fighting for LGBTQ+ rights.”
“This attempt to undermine the fundamental rights of LGBTQ+ individuals is not only unjust, but a direct attack on love, equality, and human dignity. … Any attempt to roll back these protections is a betrayal of the progress we’ve made and a dangerous step backward,” a spokesperson said. “This is not just about marriage — it’s about the right to be seen, valued, and respected as equal members of society. We refuse to stand by while lawmakers try to strip away the fundamental rights of our community. … Together, we can and must ensure that love wins — now and always.”
