The Advocate

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Federal judge declines to block DOJ efforts nationwide to obtain trans youth medical records

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Maryland U.S. District Judge Julie Rubin, a Biden-era appointee, rejected a first-of-its-kind bid from transgender advocates that would establish a national order preventing Trump’s Justice Department from strong-arming hospital systems and service providers into giving away sensitive patient information about trans minors who receive gender-affirming care, per Reuters.  Rubin heard arguments Tuesday from families of transgender children and LGBTQ+ legal advocates seeking certification of a class action lawsuit against the DOJ that would have blocked the department from pressuring hospitals to share private medical records. Stay up to date with the latest in LGBTQ+ news with The Advocate’s email newsletter, in your inbox five days a week. […]

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Hakeem Jeffries vows that House Democrats will stand with trans Americans ‘always and forever’

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As the Trump administration continues its unprecedented assault on LGBTQ+ rights, some of the nation’s most prominent queer leaders and allies gathered Tuesday night in Washington, D.C., with a message that was equal parts warning, celebration, and call to action: don’t give up. Bob the Drag Queen hosted Equality PAC’s annual National Pride Gala, attended by members of Congress, activists, celebrities, and donors, packed a ballroom just blocks from the Capitol, where speakers repeatedly returned to a common refrain — that the current wave of anti-LGBTQ+ attacks, particularly those targeting transgender people, can be defeated through political organizing, visibility, and persistence. Stay up to […]

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Trump admin eliminates health care programs for LGBTQ+ veterans

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The Department of Veterans Affairs has ordered health facilities nationwide to eliminate gender identity-based initiatives and strip the LGBTQ+ designation from a network of medical coordinators created to help LGBTQ+ veterans navigate care, according to an internal memorandum obtained by The Advocate. The June 12 directive, signed by Veterans Health Administration Under Secretary for Health John J. Bartrum, the VA official who oversees the nation’s largest integrated health care system, is the latest move by the Trump administration to remove references to LGBTQ+ and transgender identities from federal programs. It also raises new questions about the future of a specialized support network the VA […]

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Maine judge upholds block of anti-trans initiative on November ballot

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On Thursday, a Superior Court judge upheld the block of a referendum on transgender athletes from its November ballot, according to Maine Public. The proposal, launched by Protect Girls’ Sports in Maine, aimed to restrict transgender school athletes to compete only on teams that match their gender assigned at birth, or on co-ed teams. Further, it would enforce the use of separate “male” and “female” locker rooms, restrooms, and showers. Stay up to date with the latest in LGBTQ+ news with The Advocate’s email newsletter, in your inbox five days a week. The campaign gained momentum in February, when the group submitted a […]

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Kamala Harris thrills crowd with surprise appearance at iconic West Hollywood gay bar

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Former Vice President Kamala Harris spent part of Pride Month visiting a place that has long served as both a sanctuary and stage for LGBTQ+ Americans. On Saturday evening, Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, made an unannounced visit to The Abbey, the landmark West Hollywood gay bar that has occupied a singular place in American LGBTQ+ life for decades. Harris moved through the crowd, greeting patrons, posing for photos, shaking hands, and offering hugs. Stay up to date with the latest in LGBTQ+ news with The Advocate’s email newsletter, in your inbox five days a week. For roughly 20 minutes, according to witnesses, one of […]

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Donald Trump built a White House spectacle around beautiful men and muscle. During Pride Month

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I’ve been covering Donald Trump for The Advocate since 2019, through his first term, through his off years sulking and griping at Mar-a-Lago, and now through his nightmare return to the White House over the last two years. In that time, one thing has become unmistakably, almost comically clear: Donald Trump loves a beautiful man. Stay up to date with the latest in LGBTQ+ news with The Advocate’s email newsletter, in your inbox five days a week. Not that he would ever say so out loud. “Women, I like. Men, no, I don’t have any interest,” Trump actually felt like he had to announce that, […]

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Senators clash over whether parents or politicians should decide on trans youth care

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A Senate hearing on gender-affirming care for minors on Wednesday became a fight over who gets to make decisions for transgender children, whether politicians should override doctors and parents, and whether the Trump administration’s escalating campaign against gender-affirming care is rooted in concern for children or hostility toward transgender people. The hearing, convened by Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, came as the administration has intensified efforts to restrict care, including Justice Department subpoenas seeking records from providers that treat transgender minors. The committee listed three witnesses, including Dr. Kurt Miceli, chief medical officer of anti-trans and anti-diversity activist group […]

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At least 5 GOP-led states have a new Pride Month tradition — renaming June

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“If you can’t lick ’em, join ’em,” a conservative Indiana senator famously advised nearly a century ago. Today’s Republicans appear to have taken that lesson to heart, working overtime to create GOP-branded alternatives to Pride Month that celebrate traditional marriage, “nuclear families,” and what some governors are calling “fidelity.”  Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders became the latest Republican official to join the trend Monday, the start of Pride Month, issuing a proclamation declaring June “Fidelity Month” to celebrate “fidelity to God, family, community, and country.” Stay up to date with the latest in LGBTQ+ news with The Advocate’s email newsletter, in your inbox five days a week. The announcement was unveiled through […]

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Pete Buttigieg emerges as early favorite for 2028 Democratic nomination

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Pete Buttigieg is leading the field of potential Democratic presidential contenders for 2028, according to a new national poll. The latest Emerson College Polling survey, released this week, found Buttigieg at 18 percent support among Democratic primary voters, narrowly ahead of California Gov. Gavin Newsom at 16 percent. New York U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez followed at 11 percent, while Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and former Vice President Kamala Harris each received 10 percent. Another 18 percent of voters said they remain undecided. Stay up to date with the latest in LGBTQ+ news with The Advocate’s email newsletter, in your inbox five days a week. The results offer an early snapshot of a Democratic Party still searching for its […]

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Running for office while LGBTQ+ increasingly means preparing for violence

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After years of escalating anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric in American politics, a new national report suggests the consequences are no longer confined to campaign ads, legislative fights, or online outrage. For many LGBTQ+ candidates, the threats have become intensely personal and increasingly physical. The threats arrive in direct messages, voicemail inboxes, comment sections, and late-night emails. Sometimes they follow candidates home. Stay up to date with the latest in LGBTQ+ news with The Advocate’s email newsletter, in your inbox five days a week. One LGBTQ+ candidate reported that a neighbor shot at their house after they advocated for transgender rights. Another described being shoved off a […]

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