The Advocate

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These hotlines are still available for LGBTQ+ youth after Trump kills 988 services

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The Trump Administration is ending the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline’s LGBTQ+ Youth Specialized Services – but there’s still help available.  The federal government revealed it will be closing the program that provides emergency crisis support to queer youth considering suicide effective July 17, several months ahead of its initial October 1 closure deadline that was first revealed by leaked budget draft in April. While Congress can reverse the cuts, it’s unlikely under a Republican-controlled House and Senate.  There are still several existing lifelines for LGBTQ+ youth in crisis, whether it involves mental health, substance use, sexual health, or domestic violence. Here are some of the hotlines available […]

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California defies Trump, won’t ban trans athletes from school sports

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California officials say they will not comply with Donald Trump’s order to keep transgender athletes out of K-12 school sports. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon gave the state 10 days, beginning June 27, to sign on to an agreement “to rescind any trans-inclusionary guidelines and send cisgender female athletes who lost to a trans opponent personalized apologies,” The Sacramento Bee reports. The U.S. Department of Education’sOffice for Civil Rights had determined that California had violated federal nondiscrimination law by letting trans girls and women compete against cis females. Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 bans sex discrimination in educational programs that receive federal funds. Democratic administrations have interpreted it as […]

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Idaho Attorney General tells schools to ban ‘Everyone is Welcome Here’ signs

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It seems not everyone is welcome in Idaho after the state’s attorney general ordered schools to prohibit signs that read “Everyone is Welcome Here” under a new state law. H.B. 41, which went into effect July 1, bans the display of banners or flags in K-12 classrooms that represent “political, religious, or ideological views, including but not limited to political parties, race, gender, sexual orientation, or political ideologies.” Republican Raúl Labrador issued guidance on how schools should apply the law, determining that the policy applies even to vague messages promoting kindness.  Labrador specifically referenced signs hung by Sarah Inama, a sixth grade history teacher at Lewis […]

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Names of Sam Nordquist, Jiggly Caliente, Lady Chablis, and more added to Stonewall Wall of Honor

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Names of seven transgender trailblazers were added to the National LGBTQ Wall of Honor at the Stonewall Inn Thursday night. The Wall of Honor posthumously celebrates LGBTQ+ activists, artists, and others who played crucial roles in the LGBTQ+ rights movement. This year’s inductees are all transgender at a time when trans Americans are under attack from the federal government and elsewhere. They were inducted by the National LGBTQ Task Force and the International Imperial Court Council. “This year’s focus on transgender trailblazers and changemakers underscores the importance of recognizing our history and the current climate for our trans siblings,” Cathy Renna, communications director for the Task Force, said in apress […]

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San Francisco bookstore drops ‘Harry Potter’ over J.K. Rowling’s anti-trans donations

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An independent bookstore in San Francisco has announced that it will no longer carry Harry Potter books after J.K. Rowling dedicated her private wealth to anti-transgender organizations.  The Booksmith recently posted a notice letting customers know that they would not be selling the series anymore in light of Rowling founding “an organization dedicated to removing transgender rights ‘in the workplace, in public life, and in protected female spaces.’” “With this announcement, we’ve decided to stop carrying her books,” the store wrote. “We don’t know exactly what her her ‘women’s fund’ will entail, but we know that we aren’t going to be a part of it.” Rowling said in May that she […]

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A bipartisan effort looks to rectify tax inequities for same-sex married couples

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A bipartisan group of lawmakers has introduced legislation helping bring financial equality to same-sex married couples.  Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine reintroduced the Refund Equality Act on Thursday, the 10-year anniversary of the landmark Obergefell v. Hodges Supreme Court ruling, which legalized marriage equality as a constitutional right.  The act would allow married same-sex couples to amend tax returns dating back to when they were married, which would help them secure about $55 million in refunds, according a 2021 report by the Joint Committee on Taxation and cited by the senators.  The reintroduced bill would: The bill is […]

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Stanford Medicine caves to Trump Administration, ends gender-affirming surgeries for youth

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Stanford Medicine will no longer provide gender-affirming surgeries to patients under the age of 19 after facing threats from the Trump Administration.  “After careful review of the latest actions and directives from the federal government and following consultations with clinical leadership, including our multidisciplinary LGBTQ+ program and its providers, Stanford Medicine paused providing gender-related surgical procedures as part of our comprehensive range of medical services for LGBTQ+ patients under the age of 19, effective June 2,” Stanford Medicine told The Los Angeles Times. “We took this step to protect both our providers and patients. This was not a decision we made lightly, especially knowing […]

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Gay U.S. Rep Robert Garcia elected top Democrat on powerful House Oversight Committee

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On Tuesday, Democrats in Washington, D.C., elected U.S. Rep. Robert Garcia of California as the new ranking member of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, making him the first out gay immigrant to lead the party on one of Congress’ most powerful and combative panels. House Democrats made the announcement official in a post on X, formerly Twitter, shortly before 11 a.m. Eastern. “House Democrats elect @RepRobertGarcia the Ranking Member of the @OversightDems,” they wrote. At 47, Garcia is not just the youngest Democrat to lead a major committee — he’s also one of the most outspoken. A former Long Beach mayor, an immigrant from Peru, and an unapologetically queer political figure, Garcia […]

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600,000 same-sex couples have tied the knot since Obergefell ruling made marriage equality legal

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More than 591,000 same-sex couples tied the knot in the decade since the Obergefell v. Hodges decision made marriage equality the law of the land. That’s according to recently published research from the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law that looks at the impact of the June 26, 2015, Supreme Court ruling. The academic institution figures that there are roughly 823,000 queer married couples in the U.S. today, double the number at the end of 2014, the last full year when states could bar same-sex unions. Before the court decision made clear that same-sex couples in every state had a constitutional right to wed a partner […]

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Texas sued over ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law that bans LGBTQ+ student clubs

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Texas is being sued over its “Don’t Say Gay” law that not only bans discussions of sexual orientation and gender identity in classrooms, but goes even further by completely outlawing LGBTQ+ student clubs. The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas and Students Engaged in Advancing Texas (SEAT) announced Monday that they will be filing a lawsuit against Senate Bill 12. Signed into law by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday, the law is scheduled to take effect September 1 and be implemented in the 2025-2026 school year. S.B. 12 flatly states that “a school district or open-enrollment charter school may not authorize or sponsor a student club […]

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