The Advocate

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Texas follows Florida’s lead in demanding end to rainbow crosswalks and street art

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Texas Gov Greg Abbott has joined the effort to blot out rainbow crosswalks on public streets. That means the Lone Star State will follow the lead of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and states including Florida, which has continued to erase all street art in the name of erasing “political ideologies” from the roadways. The Texas Department of Transportation sent a memo to local governments announcing it would adhere to Duffy’s direction to keep crosswalks “free from distractions.” That means Texas won’t allow any public art, political messaging, or any other nonstandard markings. “Pavement markings such as decorative crosswalks, murals, or markings conveying artwork or other messages […]

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Gavin Newsom signs several pro-LGBTQ+ laws, vetoes gender-affirming care and HIV coverage

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California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed several bills strengthening LGBTQ+ protections in the state, while vetoing two that would have expanded health care coverage, his office announced Monday.  Newsom signed Assembly Bill 82/Senate Bill 497, which strengthens confidentiality in health care — including for drugs used in gender-affirming careand abortion. The bill, introduced by out gay Democratic state Sen. Scott Wiener, expands the state’s shield law by requiring law enforcement obtain warrants to access the California healthcare database and punishing unauthorized access as a misdemeanor.  “The Trump Administration is trying to make transgender people the scapegoats for their fascist takeover, and California must stand up to protect them,” Wiener said […]

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Out NYC Councilman Erik Bottcher files to run for Rep. Jerry Nadler’s seat, raises nearly $700k in one day

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New York City Councilman Erik Bottcher filed Wednesday to run for the seat of retiring Congressman Jerry Nadler, and he raised nearly $700,000 in campaign funds in his first 24 hours. This historic, grassroots-driven achievement marks the biggest first-day total in New York State history and one of the biggest nationwide, according to his campaign. Bottcher, a 46-year-old gay man, is one of the city’s most visible LGBTQ+ officials and a rising star in Democratic politics. In a letter to supporters on Wednesday and during an interview with The Advocate, Bottcher said Nadler’s decision not to seek reelection “creates an incredible opportunity for a new […]

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Massachusetts foster parents lose license after refusing to properly care for LGBTQ+ youth

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A couple in Massachusetts has lost their license to foster after refusing to sign a policy agreeing not to discriminate against LGBTQ+ youth nor attempt to change their gender identity or sexual orientation. The state’s Department of Children and Families (DCF) revoked the license of Lydia and Heath Marvin in April after they refused to sign the nondiscrimination policy that would protect youth in their care. The couple, who has three biological children in their teens, had fostered eight children under the age of four since 2020. “We will absolutely love and support and care for any child in our home but we simply […]

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Wyoming library director wins $700,000 after being fired for defending LGBTQ+ books

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A former library director in Wyoming has won $700,000 in a settlement after she was fired for refusing to remove books containing content about sexual health and LGBTQ+ identities.  Terri Lesley, director of Campbell County Public Library, was removed from her position in July, 2023 after 27 years of service when the Campbell County library board voted four to one to fire her. The board had pushed for two years to convince Lesley to remove the collection of books, which some had claimed were inappropriate for minors. Under the settlement, Lesley has agreed to drop her lawsuit against the state, though a separate […]

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Trump’s shutdown layoffs eliminate entire federal health agencies that served LGBTQ+ people, teens, & women

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As the federal government shutdown enters its 12th day on Sunday, the Trumpadministration has implemented a comprehensive purge of the federal public health workforce, laying off thousands of employees at the Department of Health and Human Services, including at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The cuts have dismantled critical programs in family planning, LGBTQ+ and adolescent health, and infectious disease surveillance, leaving experts warning that the United States is entering the viral respiratory infection season flying blind. The Office of Management and Budget confirmed “substantial” reductions in force across multiple agencies. OMB Director Russ Vought, who announced “The RIFs have begun” on […]

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This bisexual San Diego City Council member is fighting to replace Darrell Issa in Congress

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San Diego City Councilmember Marni von Wilpert says her decision to run for Congress is rooted in urgency rather than ambition. For the bisexual Democrat, challenging Republican Rep. Darrell Issa in California’s 48th District is about preserving American democracy and safeguarding rights she believes are under threat in Donald Trump’s second presidency. “I’m watching things that I’ve built my career on, my life on, be crushed by President Trump,” von Wilpert told The Advocate in a recent interview. “As a young woman in this fight, I’ve lost my rights under Roe v. Wade after Trump was elected the first time, and as an LGBTQ woman, I’m worried about losing my rights to equality under the law. That’s […]

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Book bans in schools are more widespread than ever. Which states have had the most?

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In 2025, book bans in schools are more common than ever. “Never before in the life of any living American have so many books been systematically removed from school libraries across the country,” says a new report from PEN America, “The Normalization of Book Banning: Banned in the USA, 2024-2025.” “Never before have so many states passed laws or regulations to facilitate the banning of books, including bans on specific titles statewide. Never before have so many politicians sought to bully school leaders into censoring according to their ideological preferences, even threatening public funding to exact compliance. Never before has access to so many stories been stolen from so […]

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Meet Gerhard Hernández, Costa Rica’s first trans elected official — and a Gen Z Coldplay fan

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 Costa Rica‘s first out transgender elected official, Gerhard Phillip Hernández Padilla, is more than just a historic politician — he’s a member of Gen Z who loves Coldplay, art history, and tattoos.  The 25-year-old trans man was elected in February last year as second vice mayor of Moravia, a smaller municipality in the San José province in central Costa Rica with a population of more than 50,000. He will serve the district until the end of his four-year term in 2028, after which he plans to continue his career in politics. “What I would like to do in politics is bring in opportunities […]

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How LGBTQ+ people are stepping up to run for school board seats on the front lines of America’s culture wars

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As the Trump administration continues waging an unprecedented war on transgender people in every facet of American society, local school boards have continued to serve as crucial battlegrounds. In the face of escalating attacks on LGBTQ+ students and teachers, curricula, books, and diversity initiatives, queer leaders are not retreating. They are stepping up to serve and lead in some of the most embattled public institutions in America. In California, for Culver City school board president Triston Ezidore, the battle is not abstract. Elected in 2022 at just 22 years old, Ezidore quickly saw how national talking points about vaccines, “critical race theory,” and transgenderyouth filtered into even his West […]

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