The Advocate

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Idaho Republicans are trying to strip localities of nondiscrimination ordinances that protect LGBTQ+ people

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Idaho Republicans are advancing legislation that would void local nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ+ residents in more than a dozen cities. Advocates warn that it represents not merely a policy disagreement but a decisive turn toward rescinding existing civil rights protections. House Bill 557, which has already passed the Idaho House and now sits in the Senate State Affairs Committee, would prohibit cities and counties from adopting or enforcing nondiscrimination ordinances that extend beyond state law. Because Idaho’s Human Rights Act does not include sexual orientation or gender identity as protected classes, the measure would not only block future local protections but also erase existing ones […]

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Federal workplace rights agency says Trump’s government can limit transgender employees’ bathroom usage

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The federal government’s chief workplace civil rights agency has reversed course on one of its most consequential transgender rights precedents, allowing federal agencies to bar trans employees from using restrooms that align with their gender identity. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has reversed a key portion of its 2015 landmark transgender rights ruling, narrowing protections for transgender federal employees and intensifying a growing clash between the Trump administration and congressional Democrats over the future of workplace equality. In a 2–1 decision issued February 26, the EEOC ruled against a transgender federal employee who filed a discrimination complaint after being denied access to the women’s restroom at work. The […]

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Florida suddenly cuts off 12,000 people from receiving their HIV meds

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HIV patients and advocates in Florida are reeling after the Department of Health’s sudden move to cut off about 12,000 people from receiving affordable HIV medication, as reported by the Tampa Bay Times. The Department utilized an “11th hour” legal loophole on Tuesday, just one day before a hearing in a lawsuit filed against the state by AIDS Healthcare Foundation over changes to its AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP). Stay up to date with the latest in LGBTQ+ news with The Advocate’s email newsletter, in your inbox five days a week. Louise Wilhite-St. Laurent, an attorney representing AHF, was one of […]

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Lyft steps in to offer rides after Kansas voids transgender residents’ driver’s licenses

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As Kansas began abruptly voiding certain transgender residents’ driver’s licenses under a new Republican-backed law, rideshare company Lyft is drawing praise from national LGBTQ+ advocates for offering people affected a discounted ride. On Saturday evening, the rideshare company posted on Threads, “If you live in Kansas and need a new way to get around, use code TRANSJOY for 50% off a ride this week,” with a pink heart and trans Pride flag emoji. In a follow-up post, Lyft added: “valid through 3/9/26, up to $10 total discount. Supplies are limited.” The promotion marks one of the first visible corporate responses to the law’s immediate practical impact. The offer came […]

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Scouting America says transgender kids are still welcome after Pete Hegseth claimed they weren’t

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Scouting America on Friday pushed back on claims by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that the organization would limit membership based solely on sex assigned at birth, insisting that transgender youth remain welcome in its programs. Stay up to date with the latest in LGBTQ+ news with The Advocate’s email newsletter, in your inbox five days a week. “We have transgender people in our program, and we’ll have transgender people in our program going forward,” President and CEO Roger Krone told The Associated Press. The statement contradicts Hegseth’s claims that the organization is rolling back participation rules amid the Trump administration’s dismantling of diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives across federal […]

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Conservative Supreme Court justices curb California’s effort to shield transgender students from forced outing

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The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday delivered a significant blow to transgenderstudents in California, allowing parents challenging the state’s school gender identity policies to enforce a lower court injunction that restricts student confidentiality while the case moves forward on appeal. Stay up to date with the latest in LGBTQ+ news with The Advocate’s email newsletter, in your inbox five days a week. In an 18-page unsigned opinion in Mirabelli v. Bonta, the court vacated a Ninth Circuit order that had blocked a district court ruling against California officials, including Attorney General Rob Bonta. The justices concluded that parents objecting on religious grounds are “likely to succeed on the merits” […]

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When feminists feared the ‘lavender menace’ of lesbians — and how those lesbians fought back

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In the late 1960s and early 1970s, second-wave feminism, a.k.a. women’s liberation, was gathering steam, but it still didn’t have widespread support. Many Americans wondered why feminists would protest the revered Miss America pageant, as they did in 1968. “Women’s lib” was a punch line for comedians, and TV shows often presented feminist characters in a negative light. Amid all this, some feminist leaders were worried that their movement would have an image problem because of the presence of … lesbians. Betty Friedan was one of the feminists particularly worried about lesbians. Friedan authored The Feminine Mystique, a 1963 book that revealed the dissatisfaction many […]

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No, trans women don’t have inherent advantage over cis women in sports: new study

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Transgender women athletes do not have an inherent advantage over cisgender competitors, according to a new study. That’s what advocates of trans inclusion have been saying for years, while anti-trans forces have been saying the opposite. Now a report in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, which its authors call “the most comprehensive synthesis to date,” counters the idea of inherent advantage. Stay up to date with the latest in LGBTQ+ news with The Advocate’s email newsletter, in your inbox five days a week. The authors, all based at academic and medical institutions in Brazil, looked at 52 studies with 6,485 participants, including 2,943 trans […]

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This trans street medic was among 67 protesters arrested at Minneapolis hotel hosting ICE agents

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Police at the University of Minnesota arrested 67 protestors two weeks ago during a demonstration outside a hotel where ICE agents were staying, among them a street medic, a volunteer who is trained to assist protesters related to medical matters, who was there to “make sure that nobody got hurt.” Eli Purdy, 22, was one of the several dozen people charged with unlawful assembly for the rally at the Graduate Hotel in Minneapolis on January 29. He says that the protestors were making noise outside the hotel around midnight when “a cruiser came up, and I could not understand what he was saying through […]

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Trump excludes the only gay man and Black governors from White House dinner

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After announcing that he will only host Republicans during the annual presidential meeting with governors, Donald Trump has excluded the only out gay man and only Black governors from the following dinner event.  Colorado Gov. Jared Polis and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore have not been invited to the White House dinner with the National Governors Association, which Moore is a vice chair of. The decision comes seemingly for no reason — other than the obvious.  Stay up to date with the latest in LGBTQ+ news with The Advocate’s email newsletter, in your inbox five days a week. “It’s not lost on me that I’m the only Black governor […]

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