A group of 10 to 15 individuals allegedly attacked Sebastian Thomas Robles Lascarro, a 22-year-old Colombian model, inside a Washington, D.C., McDonald’s fast food restaurant after a member of the group uttered homophobic slurs. The attack left Lascarro hospitalized, and he criticized both emergency personnel and local police for their responses to the violence.
The attack allegedly occurred in the early morning hours of Sunday, October 27, after Lascarro and his husband left two nearby LGBTQ+ nightclubs: Crush Bar and Bunker. While Lascarro was in line to use a McDonald’s self-service kiosk to place his order, Lascarro’s spouse, Stuart West, said a woman then screamed at his husband to “watch where the f**k he was going,” he told WTTG.
Lascarro reportedly tried to leave in order to avoid a conflict, when a group of 10 to 15 individuals — who were reportedly the woman’s friends — blocked Lascarro from leaving and allegedly called him homophobic slurs like “fa**ot” and demanded he apologize to the woman. Lascarro refused, and the assault allegedly began.
“Five to 10 individuals started just punching him all over his face, all over his body,” West said. “No one in the restaurant intervened; no one screamed ‘stop.’”
The attack reportedly left Lascarro injured and bleeding on the sidewalk outside the restaurant while the mob threw food, trash, and drinks at him. Two passers-by eventually contacted emergency medical services to assist Lascarro.
At Howard University Hospital, Lascarro was treated for a busted lip, scrapes, and bruises. He was placed in a neck brace and photos show him with bruises and blood on his face. Lascarro is reportedly recovering from his injuries.
“I fear for his mental health,” West said. “We’ve had conversations about whether D.C. is safe for us and whether the United States was the right choice.” Lascarro is originally from Colombia, moved to Washington, D.C., last year, and became a permanent resident of the U.S. this year, NBC News reported.
West and Lascarro said that they felt dismissed by both the emergency medical technicians (EMTs) who arrived at the scene and police who took a report of their incident later on. Lascarro said the EMTs failed to “acknowledge the severity of the assault and his experience as a gay man,” and West said police initially refused to acknowledge the attack as a possible hate crime until he contacted the police department’s LGBTQ+ liaison.
West launched a GoFundMe crowdfunding campaign to help pay for Lascarro’s medical bills, as the attack has made it difficult for him to keep modeling. The campaign had raised $7,037 of its $20,000 goal by Monday morning.
“Thomas is a loving, compassionate person who did not deserve this, and no one in our community should face this kind of hatred,” West wrote for the campaign website. “Any help to ensure he gets the care he needs to regain his health and peace of mind will be a blessing.”
U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, a Democrat from Kansas, broke new ground in Congress in 2019 as one of the few out LGBTQ+ and Native American members. Representing Kansas’s Third Congressional District, Davids is not only a vital advocate for diverse, marginalized communities but also a bipartisan force. In a spring interview with The Advocate, Davids discussed her commitment to bridging divides in Congress and protecting communities from rising discrimination and bullying, especially toward LGBTQ+ youth.
Davids’s experience underscores her groundbreaking role: a member of the Ho-Chunk Nation and one of the first two Native American women elected to Congress, alongside Deb Haaland of New Mexico, now the U.S. Secretary of the Interior in the Biden administration. She reflected on her responsibility to represent those historically excluded from Washington’s power circles, explaining that “when you’re used to being the only person like you in a room, there’s a level of just awareness of that.” She added that her visible identity as both Native and LGBTQ+ often allows her to break down assumptions and build connections across party lines.
For Davids, a commitment to her district comes with an understanding of the broader struggles facing LGBTQ+ young people, especially amid tragic cases like that of Nex Benedict, a nonbinary and transgender teen with Native American roots who died by suicide in Oklahoma this year. The tragedy brought national attention to the dangers of bullying, especially in politically charged states. President Joe Biden issued a statement honoring Benedict: “Every young person deserves to have the fundamental right and freedom to be who they are.” Davids expressed similar sentiments, explaining her dedication to inclusion and respect for LGBTQ+ youth. She also highlighted the importance of federal protections, such as the Equality Act, to ensure these communities receive “the same dignity and respect as everyone else.”
Davids is proud of reaching across the aisle and finding common ground with Republican colleagues, which she describes as an essential skill in today’s Congress. Davids has prioritized bipartisan issues, such as infrastructure investments, in her work on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. “The more nerdy you get, the more bipartisan you can be,” she said, explaining how focusing on transportation, veteran services, and small business initiatives has allowed her to work productively with colleagues despite current political tensions. In 2023, she cosponsored 236 pieces of legislation, with more than 70 percent bipartisan support. Her recent efforts have brought about practical changes in Kansas, including clean water infrastructure, road safety upgrades, and federal grants to support job creation.
However, the current political climate, she notes, poses unique challenges. As Republican leaders, including former President Donald Trump, embrace divisive rhetoric, Davids worries about its impact on young people and LGBTQ+ communities. She noted that prominent lawmakers such as Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert — two ultra-vocal flamethrowers — fuel public divisiveness rather than seek solutions. “There are already too many young people who think that maybe they shouldn’t be here or that things would be better if they weren’t,” Davids said, stressing the need for elected officials to prioritize community safety and mental health.
Davids says that her connection to her constituents is crucial to her role. According to her 2023 year-end report, her office responded to more than 124,000 messages, hosted over 200 meetings, and resolved 1,650 cases for Kansans, including veterans and taxpayers seeking assistance. Her office has also facilitated grant funding to bolster the Kansas City area, creating jobs and improving public safety.
“Every opportunity we have to make sure to say, ‘Please talk to somebody, please reach out,’ is so important,” Davids told The Advocate, noting that she is in frequent contact with groups like the Trevor Project to ensure her legislative work aligns with the needs of LGBTQ+ young people. “As a federal legislator, I’m going to do what I can to try to work on legislation to try to humanize the experience that people are having for folks,” she said, adding, “It’s also on all of us to check in on people and to try to be as supportive of folks as we can be.”
Amid her advocacy, Davids is also pragmatic about achieving progress in today’s polarized Congress. A former mixed martial artist, she likened the fight for positive change to training for a competition, explaining that difficult times and struggles bring about growth and strength. “I legitimately think that in a hundred years from now, people are going to look back on this time in history, and I believe they’re going to be saying, ‘That was one of the most tumultuous, difficult times, and we came out stronger because of it,’” she said.
One of the most consequential outcomes of the 2024 election has nothing to do with who won or lost; rather, families that were torn asunder because of their political beliefs. I know in my own family, I’ve had to keep at arm’s length with some who have been enthusiastic about former President Donald Trump.
For me, I think what Trump did was put a magnifying glass on negative issues or personality traits that were ever-present in some family members. They were there all along, but for some reason, their support for Trump made them especially glaring.
His refusal to accept blame, to never apologize and his off-the-charts narcissism encapsulates one close family member. Now, it’s just so hard to see them in a different light, and sadly, I can’t picture a way forward.
There’s even dissension in the Trump family. I spoke to Trump’s niece Mary about that, and how she deals with the pain her uncle has inflicted on relatives.
Caroline Giuliani, the daughter of Rudy Giuliani, recently wrote an essay for Vanity Fair in which she describes the deep divisions within her family over her father Rudyi’s alliance with Donald Trump. She likens the separation to grieving the loss of her father, emphasizing that she both loves him and feels strongly that another Trump term could further erode their family and national unity.
In her essay, she writes that she is “trying to understand others in the context of the environments that shaped them,” finding that this approach allows empathy despite painful disagreements.
I had spoken to Giuliani before, and came away thinking, “Rudy did something right.”
If anyone knows the heartbreak that dissension in the family causes, it’s surely her; however, I didn’t want to speak to her about the past, but how she plans to move forward after the election, and how that might be a guide for all of us.
As the daughter of the former New York City mayor and Trump attorney, she has experienced firsthand the complexities of love and loyalty clashing with stark political disagreements. Drawing from personal growth, therapy, and familial experiences, Caroline discussed with me the importance of healing, not through perfect solutions, but through genuine human connection and empathy.
A simple and central theme of Caroline’s approach is expressing love first — when it might be hard to find the right words to initiate dialogue. “If you don’t know what to say, saying, ‘I love you,’ is enough,” she suggested. “In strained moments, this simple expression can be a powerful step toward understanding and reconciliation.”
For many families, election cycles like 2024 have turned the personal into the political, creating divisions that might seem insurmountable. Caroline said that connection, especially in families, is not always about finding the right argument but about holding onto a shared sense of love and understanding.
“Try to understand people in the context of the environment and circumstances that shaped them,” she relayed. “While this may not dissolve differences, it can create space for empathy. This doesn’t mean condoning hurtful behavior or compromising one’s beliefs but rather recognizing that people’s views are shaped by unique histories and personal struggles.”
Her relationship with her father exemplifies these tensions. While she fundamentally disagrees with his political choices, she maintains a connection grounded in their shared history and mutual love. “I try to summon the ability to separate my father’s actions from my love for him, and this is something I have consciously worked on over the years.”
“In my early twenties, I realized that I didn’t have to withhold love to be true to my beliefs,” Caroline explained. “Being authentic to myself includes respecting my convictions while still showing compassion and care for my family.”
Caroline’s advice to other families facing similar rifts is to focus on the next generation, particularly young children, who serve as a unifying force. “Being an aunt has brought me a renewed sense of purpose with family relationships,” she said. “I think of the young people you want to stay connected with, and prioritizing those bonds which can help temper disagreements. It has motivated me to approach family gatherings with hope and resilience, seeing the children as opportunities for positivity.”
However, she acknowledges that healing is not always straightforward and cautions against accepting harmful behavior in the name of reconciliation. “It’s valid if people feel they need to cut ties for their well-being, because it’s necessary for self-care,” she remarked. “That’s why there is no one-size-fits-all solution to mending fences. I suppose families should seek a balance between maintaining boundaries and fostering connection.”
Understanding the “why” behind someone’s beliefs, she points out, can also make a difference. “You do this a lot in therapy too,” Caroline explained, “By delving into why people hold certain views, you can replace judgment with a more compassionate perspective, and that can alleviate personal hurt and open a path to mutual respect.”
I asked her when she might see her family again since the holidays are coming up. “We haven’t made any plans yet,” she thought. “I am sure there will be some get-together or connection somehow.”
At the end of our conversation, we were honest with each other that the promise of immediate harmony is probably not going to happen; however, at the very least, a framework can exist for fostering some type of connection.
Next year Caroline will get married, and she hopes to be surrounded by family. When I asked her if her dad would walk her down the aisle, she paused, then said, “While I think being given away at a wedding can be a beautiful tradition, I’m planning to walk myself down the aisle to honor the autonomy that we have as women.”
Trans rights. The housing crisis. Voter suppression. Mental health. The LGBTQ+ community’s biggest concerns have dominated some candidates’ platforms and been weaponized by others. LGBTQ Nation engaged award-winning journalist and author Nico Lang to connect with queer folks across the country this election cycle and reveal how they’re mobilizing to ensure democracy and equality thrive in the future.
These tough conversations — from a mother forced to sleep in a van with her children after escaping Texas’s relentless legislative attacks on trans youth to a nonbinary Kansas resident facing challenges at the polls due to restrictive voter ID laws — project a nation divided. But Lang also discovered hope fueled by action. Grassroots LGBTQ+ organizations and national coalitions have united to demand change. The LGBTQ+ Victory Fund has endorsed nearly 500 candidates in 2024 who have canvassed their respective communities with visibility never seen before.
Take a closer look at what’s on the ballot through the eyes of those facing unimaginable hurdles yet who remain optimistic that the American Dream can become a reality.
Related:
Your LGBTQ+ guide to Election 2024
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Red states worry about a ‘nightmare’ Trump presidency
“The stakes really could not be higher,” says Steven Rocha, a 23-year-old trans teacher in Florida. Photo: Getty Images.
Remi Buckley, an 18-year-old who lives in Alabama, cannot fathom what it would mean for those kinds of policies to be enacted. Although her state banned gender-affirming care for minors in April 2022, during the early days of her medical transition, she has still been able to access her hormone replacement therapy (HRT) through a Georgia-based telehealth provider. She has become more sociable and outgoing and no longer feels out of place as if she doesn’t belong anywhere she goes.
Having that newfound confidence taken away by a second Trump administration would be devastating. “It would feel like I have to hide myself away again, which is a way I don’t think anybody should have to live: acting like a ghost of their former self or of the person they want to be,” Buckley told LGBTQ Nation. “I don’t really know what I would do.”
Steven Rocha, a 23-year-old teacher in Florida, knows how difficult it is to see your state make it more difficult to be yourself. In 2023, Florida passed its infamous Parental Rights in Education Act, which initially banned teachers in K-3 classrooms from addressing topics related to the LGBTQ+ community.
“The bottom line is: A lot of trans people are going to get hurt under a Trump presidency,” Rocha told LGBTQ Nation. “That’s just a reality. Trans people are such a small minority, but our lives have just as much meaning and value as our cisgender counterparts. The stakes really could not be higher.”
The election could push LGBTQ+ mental health to the edge. Queer activists are fighting for a lifeline.
Photo illustration by Matthew Wexler.
The mental health of LGBTQ+ youth and adults is likely to be profoundly affected by the outcome of the 2024 presidential race: If elected to the White House in November, former President Donald Trump has pledged to take federal action preventing trans youth from accessing gender-affirming care.
As the LGBTQ+ community nervously braces for an uncertain future, elected leaders are stressing the importance of prioritizing queer mental health as a political issue and raising increased visibility regarding the struggles that some community members are facing.
“It’s important to have people with lived experience at the table where decisions are made,” Minnesota state representative Brion Curran (D) told LGBTQ Nation. “It’s easy for some issues to get overlooked when there’s not a person in the room directly dealing with that issue. In politics, oftentimes, some of these healthcare issues don’t seem really flashy. They might get lost in the mix, and so it’s important that we have people like me with these life experiences in the room so that we can say, ‘Hey, we can’t forget about this.’ ”
The housing crisis hits especially hard for families fleeing red states to protect their trans kids
Amber Green and her children slept in their van after fleeing Texas over the state’s persecution of trans youth. Despite all they had been through, Green knew they had no choice but to stick it out in Connecticut. After Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) issued a February 2022 order directing the Department of Protective and Family Services to investigate parents of trans children for abuse, child welfare agents knocked on their door on three separate occasions. “There’s still that fear that we’re going to have to leave everything behind again,” Green told LGBTQ Nation.
Families of trans youth fleeing hostile states are currently facing a cost-of-living crisis as they are forced to move to progressive areas that are also more expensive. With the election upon us, many fear there is no clear answer on the horizon.
Many LGBTQ+ advocates say that federal action is needed to provide greater support to families who have been made refugees in their own country, and families of trans youth agree. Although 16 states now have laws or executive orders in place to shield parents and children from prosecution for seeking gender-affirming care, these states, in many cases, remain ill-equipped to meet the complex needs of families.
With a possible Kamala Harris presidency on the horizon, Kimberly Shappley — whose 13-year-old daughter, Kai, is a prominent trans youth activist — wants to see a potential Harris-Walz administration go further than President Joe Biden, who she feels has done little to protect families like hers. She believes the White House must offer guidance to trans sanctuary states so that they can respond effectively to the myriad ongoing crises that parents and children face.
“I don’t know how I’ll ever recover from all this, and I’m scared because I now have no savings,” Shappley told LGBTQ Nation. “I’ll never be able to retire. I am going to work until I’m 100 years old because I’m still trying to overcome what it has cost us to leave the South.”
Trans people face barriers at the polls. The LGBTQ+ community is helping knock them down.
Photo by Islam Dogru/Anadolu via Getty Images.
As LGBTQ+ groups mobilize to engage queer voters, Wulf Roby knows firsthand that access to the voting booth cannot be taken for granted. Roby, a 39-year-old nonbinary advocate and community leader, says they were routinely refused the ability to vote before having their name legally changed in 2017. “It fed into those feelings of isolation and apathy,” Roby told LGBTQ Nation. “I felt like not just that my opinions didn’t matter but that people like me don’t belong here.”
LGBTQ+ organizers are laser-focused this year on making sure that queer voters, particularly those from the most marginalized populations, can overcome the myriad obstacles that may prevent them from participating in democracy.
“We are in a world where we have very tight elections, so every vote matters a great deal,” Jody Herman, senior scholar of public policy at the Williams Institute, told LGBTQ Nation. “We see in our estimates that the estimated number of trans people potentially impacted by voter ID laws could actually be larger than the margin of victory. It’s imperative that people who are eligible to vote are able to do so, and we need to make sure that all eligible voters have the opportunity to vote.”
There has been a 112% increase in documented attacks on LGBTQ+ people nationwide, according to a newly unveiled Anti-LGBTQ Extremism Reporting Tracker (ALERT) from the queer media watchdog organization GLAAD. GLAAD hopes to use the tracker to provide comprehensive reporting and analysis detailing anti-LGBTQ+ hate in the U.S. and the specific communities and targets affected by it.
ALERT recorded 524 such incidents between June 2022 and 2023 and 1,109 incidents from June 2023 to 2024. These attacks have included over 450 protests, 330 propaganda drops, 320 acts of vandalism, 200 bomb & mass shooting threats, 130 assaults, and 45 cases of arson that have resulted in at least 161 injuries and 21 deaths, GLAAD’s ALERT Desk reported.
The attacks have also included over 567 attacks on transgender and gender non-conforming people, 360 incidents targeting educational institutions and libraries, 325 incidents targeting Pride flags and other LGBTQ+ community symbols, 160 protests and violent threats against drag performers, and 140 incidents targeting health care providers of gender-affirming care and their patients.
The tracker, which will be updated quarterly, includes data on criminal and non-criminal acts of hate from sources like news media, partner organizations (like the Human Rights Campaign or Anti-Defamtion League’s Center on Extremism), right-wing forums on social media sites like Gab or chat apps like Telegram as well as incident reports submitted via GLAAD’s website. All documented incidents must occur against groups or individuals within the U.S. and must include harassment, threats, or actual violence specifically targeting LGBTQ+ people.
GLAAD’s ALERT team will verify the validity of each incident to maintain credibility, remove duplicates, and exclude spam and trolling, the organization said.
“The ALERT Desk tells a story not entirely captured by the FBI’s hate crime statistics because many of these incidents, like protests at Pride events, don’t meet the criteria necessary to bring legal charges [and] aren’t included in most official hate crime counts,” GLAAD wrote in its recently released report on ALERT’s findings. “However, we must recognize that the impact of these acts on local LGBTQ communities is felt regardless of whether or not the incident is prosecuted.”
“We must recognize that the impact of these acts on local LGBTQ communities is felt regardless of whether or not the incident is prosecuted.”GLAAD’s 2024 report on ALERT’s findings
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During a press call, Barbara Simon, senior director of news and campaigns at GLAAD, noted that ALERT seeks to contextualize anti-LGBTQ+ incidents to help media and other experts understand larger systems of violence.
“[Recently], there was a bomb threat against a library in Massachusetts,” Simon said, a threat against a Drag Queen Story Hour at the public library in Somerville. “But it’s not just about that library. It’s not just about the inclusive materials and programs they had, about how the bomb squad had to come in and sweep the library, how children and families and patrons had to evacuate the library.”
“Our data shows how that incident is connected to the bigger picture, which is more of a broad-based, systemic attack against LGBTQ people, our visibility, our equality and our allies,” Simon added. “It is one of 365 attacks nationwide against drag artisan events. It’s one of 63 anti-LGBTQ attacks in Massachusetts alone, one of 15 attacks specifically against drag in Massachusetts.”
The quarterly reports will also include stories from those affected by the incidents.
GLAAD A bar graph showing anti-LGBTQ+ hate incidents from GLAAD’s ALERT Desk. | GLAAD
For example, Dr. Jack Turban, pediatric psychiatrist and director of the gender psychiatry program at the University of California in San Francisco, said during the press call that bans on gender-affirming care for youth in 26 states have worsened the mental health of his young trans patients even though they live in a state where such health care is protected. Their mental health has been worsened, Turban said, because of an increase in anti-trans rhetoric nationwide whose indirect effects cross state lines.
“Kids are hearing things like being trans is a mental illness, or being trans is bad, or you shouldn’t be allowed to use the bathroom that aligns with your gender identity because trans people are sexual assaulters, or you shouldn’t be allowed to play on sports teams with your friends because you’re going to physically hurt them,” Turban said. “My patients know that none of those things are true, right? They can know that, but if you’re hearing it every single day, all over social media and all over the news and now right in their communities, even it’s impossible to not be impacted by that.”
GLAAD pointed out that media coverage tends to falsely frame medical care for transgender people as a “debate” despite every major medical association supporting the care. This coverage compounds the effect of hateful rhetoric from anti-trans politicians, protestors, and pundits.
Shutterstock Salina EsTitties attends the 35th Annual GLAAD Awards on March 14, 2024 in Beverly Hills, California. | Shutterstock
The hateful rhetoric affects even LGBTQ+ celebrities and their fans, like Salina EsTitties, a competitor who appeared in Season 15 of RuPaul’s Drag Race. EsTitties told the press call that she’s generally insulated from hatred against gender non-conforming people since she lives in the very gay city of West Hollywood, California. However, she sees its impact whenever she travels to other states or posts social media videos about LGBTQ+ issues.
“There’s comments every single day of people being like, ‘This is not what God created. God created two genders. Oh, they keep adding alphabets. Oh, just shoot it between the eyes and get rid of it,’” EsTitties said. “The online hate is insane and there’s so much of it, and people are so willing to just let it all out, but it’s a clear representation of how people actually feel in America and across, you know, the U.S. here.”
“Not only are our LGBT community dealing with having to be their authentic selves,” she continued. “Being their authentic selves with just who they are outside of their queer identity is a lot to navigate, and it’s not easy, especially when people are telling you, ‘You’re the Devil, you’re a demon,’ or ‘It’s not acceptable to be that.’”
Hate crimes typically increase during presidential election years. Marie Cottrell, executive director for the New Jersey-based LGBTQ+ advocacy center Out Montclair, said she hopes that increased awareness of anti-LGBTQ+ hate incidents will empower communities to build intersectional coalitions between other demographic groups whose members are targeted by similar hate.
“I think that it’s really important that you be the person that the community needs,” Cottrell told the press call. “They need to see you stand for and with them. Find folks who in your community who will stand with you in the face of intolerance, build a community of support within your township — whether that’s forging a relationship with your LGBTQ liaison within the local police department … working with the township, the mayor, the town council, and really having open conversations … having conversations that address really hard questions and topics and that starts the process of understanding and healing in your community.”
“It’s a small step, but it’s a step forward and a step forward in helping others understand the community,” she said.
In a victory for abortion rights advocates, New Yorkers just voted to enshrine extensive anti-discrimination protections into their state constitution—permanently insulating the rights of pregnant people, abortion seekers, and the LGBTQ community, among others, from changing political winds.
Proposal 1 is one of 10 ballot initiatives to protect abortion rights that went before voters on Tuesday. Going into Election Day, supporters of abortion rights had won every single ballot initiative to go before voters since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022.
Lesbian Texas State Rep. Julie Johnson just won a seat in the U.S. House, beating out Republican Darrell Day and Libertarian Kevin Hale, becoming the first out LGBTQ+ person elected from Congress from the South.
As a state representative, Johnson helped to kill anti-LGBTQ+ legislation and advocated for reproductive rights, and Equality PAC Cochairs Mark Takano and Ritchie Torres are sure she’s going to continue to fight for “those who need it most, especially the LGBTQ community in Texas.”
In a joint statement, Takano and Torres said that the over $600,000 the PAC spent on Johnson’s campaign was well worth it for this historic victory. “Now as a history-making Member of Congress, Julie will continue to fight for the LGBTQ community at the national level,” they said. “Texas has a battleground in the fight to protect our community. And we are proud to play an important role in ensuring this region has an LGBTQ representative at the national level. Equality PAC came in early to support Julie in a crowded primary field.”
Not only did Johnson have the backing of the Equality PAC, but she was also endorsed by the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund.
“We are excited that Texas voters made LGBTQ+ history on Election Day by choosing Julie Johnson to represent them in the U.S. House,” LGBTQ+ Victory Fund President and CEO Annise Parker said in a statement. “Julie is an experienced and tested leader who will bring an important voice to Washington. Her fearless advocacy has improved the lives of all Texans. LGBTQ+ Victory Fund is proud to support her candidacy, and we’re confident that she will continue to be a dedicated public servant for her constituents and community.”
A middle school community in Virginia is fighting back after their principal was fired for starting an “LGBTQ+ Kindness” flex-time class to provide a safe space for LGBTQ+ students.
Dr. Jerry Putt, Frederick County Middle School’s principal since 2017, has been removed from his role after a divisive debate at the school board over his actions, The Winchester Gazette reports.
The controversy erupted on Tuesday at the Frederick County School Board meeting, where a conservative faction of parents and board members argued that the “LGBTQ+ Kindness” class deviated from state-approved curricula and called it “inappropriate.”
The leader of the group in opposition to the class was a Back Creek District resident named Chris Davey, who claimed the optional class was “perverted.”
He faulted Putt for permitting it without parental notice and took his frustrations to the school board, where he found a sympathetic audience.
The board put school staff “on notice” that “unsanctioned curriculum” additions wouldn’t be tolerated and could be grounds for termination.
Two days later, they made beloved principal Putt an example.
On Thursday, the school community received notice from district superintendent Dr. George Hummer announcing Dr. Putt’s removal without explanation, along with an introduction to an interim principal.
Wendy Werner, a former counselor at the school, described the events as “appalling” and criticized parents at the board meeting as “hateful and uninformed.”
Now she and other community members are fighting back with a grassroots campaign to reinstate Putt, starting with an online petition that has already gathered nearly 1300 signatures in the small town and has served as a forum to describe how the board and parents’ rights advocates have done a disservice to the community with their campaign of anti-LGBTQ+ hate.
One local resident called the board’s decision misguided.
“The principal is out because he created opportunities for ALL students during the school day and that was ‘off script,’” Luke Mason wrote, questioning whether other extracurricular activities, like the “four-wheeler club” or pep rallies, would face similar scrutiny.
Sonia Marfatia-Goode raised the issue of discrimination, explaining one parent wanted “the LGBTQ+ flex canceled but to keep all of flex for everyone else.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if the division was sued over this,” she said with a warning of repercussions.
Marfatia-Goode said the divisive environment at recent school board meetings was having an effect on kids.
Children “pay attention, and they are finding out that if you don’t want something, you yell and yell until you get your way,” she wrote.
First trans member of Congress has arrived—and not a moment too soon
There’s never been a time in U.S. history when we’ve needed trans representation in government more than now. Our rights are being attacked and stripped at every level. Without someone who truly understands the trans experience in the room at a federal level, there’s little hope for an effective end to the bleeding.
While the war is far from over, after 235 years we finally have an out trans member of Congress set to be sworn in this January. This could be a major step toward getting trans rights codified in the United States.
Sarah McBride has taken that historic step, with the race for Delaware’s only seat in the House of Representatives being called for her. McBride defeated Republican John Whalen III, NBC News reported, taking 57.6% of the vote with 63% of the states’ total votes in by 11:31 p.m. EST.
The win makes McBride the first out transgender person to serve in Congress, joining a shockingly small LGBTQ+ contingent in the House and Senate. She beat her Republican opponent, John Whalen III, who ran on an anti-immigration, anti-choice platform.
At only 34, McBride has already made an impressive name for herself, with her seat in Congress adding yet another “first” to the list. After working for the Human Rights Campaign and interning in the Obama-Biden White House, she became the first trans person to speak at the Democratic National Convention in 2016. The 2020 elections in her home state of Delaware made her the first trans person elected to a state senate, and in 2022, she also became the first trans incumbent to win re-election in a state senate.
Trans representation in Congress matters.
Every day, trans people have to fight to have our basic human rights acknowledged. Changing hearts and minds is no simple task, but it starts with making people understand that we exist. Trans representation in television and movies has helped people to understand us enough that we are at a point where McBride’s election to the House is something that can even happen. That speaks to just how much acceptance of the trans community has grown.
But while the media that got us here can be dismissed as “woke,” McBride’s role as the highest-ranking trans politician in the U.S. and a first at this level will be harder to ignore. Fictional representations can help people in marginalized communities understand themselves and push people outside those communities to understand the humans behind the stories. Because it is a step further and in the real world, McBride’s representation of the trans community in Congress can do all of that for the next generation of trans people.
We’ve already seen the impact of this across the country at the state level. In Virginia, Delegate Danica Roem (D) worked in the state House of Delegates (before being elected to the state Senate) to pass a bill to end anti-trans discrimination in health insurance. In 2023, state Rep. Leigh Finke (D), the first out trans person in the Minnesota Legislature, sponsored the bill that Gov. Tim Walz (D) signed to make Minnesota a trans refuge state. Having trans politicians in the conversation has helped move the needle on trans rights.
The visibility of McBride’s seat in the House is important not just for trans people and their loved ones but for challenging the anti-trans lobby and those who manage to sit on the fence. Many of the politicians pushing bills that will strip rights away from trans people have likely never actually knowingly met a trans person or at least not had regular day-to-day interactions with one. Having a trans person in the House of Representatives will give other members a chance to get to know a member of a group that has been demonized in speeches and in the media and learn that there is no truth to those lies.
And if that doesn’t affect their perspective, if they want to say that trans people don’t have rights, at least they’ll have to say it to a trans person’s face. In 2023, state Rep. Zooey Zephyr (D) told Montana lawmakers would have “blood on their hands” if they denied gender-affirming care. The matter drew national attention after the Republican speaker of the House prevented Zephyr from speaking on the floor when she refused to apologize for her comment. Without trans representation in that room, it’s possible that no one would have spoken up for trans equality as forcefully as Zephyr did and brought national attention to Republicans’ efforts to attack trans rights.
McBride’s seat comes with a lot of responsibility, expectations, and challenges. No one knows that better than McBride herself, and she has proven herself to be the perfect person for the job. Rather than running on LGBTQ+ concerns and matters of trans rights, her platform is about the issues that face the majority of people in her district: healthcare, reproductive freedom, workers’ rights, and criminal justice reform. She also has a history of reaching across the aisle to get bipartisan approval on policies like paid family leave. McBride’s bona fides on these popular issues will make the inevitable attacks calling her a radical leftist harder to carry any weight.
McBride has highlighted the importance of having that trans voice in the room, noting that “if you’re not at the table, then you are on the menu. And…people like many of us, we are on the menu right now.” In an interview with CBS, she also acknowledged the impact knowing a trans person will have on the other members of the House, saying that “throughout history […] the power of proximity taps what I believe to be the most fundamental human emotion, which is empathy.” She’s also realist enough to recognize that the extreme right-wing likely won’t work with her, but points out that “they’re not gonna work with any Democrat. They can barely work with their own Republican colleagues.”
McBride’s stint in the House won’t be easy, but she can pave the way for those who come in the future.
Besides the presidential race and deciding who’ll control Congress, Tuesday’s election will feature numerous important races involving + candidates. At least 668 out candidates will appear on ballots nationwide, up from 574 in 2020, according to the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund. Here’s a look at some of the key races. All the LGBTQ+ candidates mentioned here are .
Sarah McBride is running to be the first out transgender member of Congress. She is running for Delaware’s sole seat in the U.S. House, succeeding Lisa Blunt Rochester, who vacated the post to run for U.S. Senate. McBride, facing Republican John Whalen III, is heavily favored to win in the majority Democratic state. In 2020, McBride was elected to Delaware’s state Senate, becoming the first out trans state senator in the nation.
Julie Johnson
Julie Johnson, a lesbian who has been in the Texas House since 2019, is seeking a seat in the U.S. House from the state’s 32nd Congressional District, which encompasses a suburban area near Dallas. She would be the first out LGBTQ+ person to represent a southern state in Congress. She would succeed Colin Allred, a Democrat who is running for U.S. Senate in an effort to unseat virulently anti-LGBTQ+ Republican Ted Cruz. Johnson is up against Republican Darrell Day and Libertarian Kevin Hale, but the district is predominantly Democratic, so she is likely to win.
Emily Randall
Emily Randall is running to be the first out LGBTQ+ person to represent Washington State in Congress, and she would also be the first LGBTQ+ Latina in that body. Randall, a lesbian who’s currently a state senator, is running for U.S. House from Washington’s Sixth Congressional District, which is in a coastal area west of Seattle. The incumbent, Democrat Derek Kilmer, is not seeking reelection. Again, the district is heavily Democratic, so Randall is expected to beat Republican Drew McEwen.
Evan Low
Evan Low is out to be the first LGBTQ+ Asian American elected to Congress from Northern California and the second nationwide. He would join his Southern California counterpart, Mark Takano, who’s seeking reelection. Low, a gay man of Chinese heritage, is a member of the California Assembly and was previously a City Council member and mayor of Campbell, Calif. He’s running for U.S. House from the 16th Congressional District, centered on Silicon Valley. He’s in a close race against a fellow Democrat, former San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo. Under California’s system, the top two vote winners in the primary advance to the general election, regardless of party. The general election victor will succeed Democrat Anna Eshoo, who is retiring. Low has the endorsement of the California Democratic Party and Gov. Gavin Newsom, among others.
Malcolm Kenyatta
Malcolm Kenyatta is running for auditor general of Pennsylvania, and if elected, he would be the first out statewide elected official there. The auditor general has the duty of conducting audits of state spending to assure taxpayer dollars are used properly. Kenyatta, a Black gay man, has been in the Pennsylvania House since 2018, representing a Philadelphia district, making him the first out Black LGBTQ+ state legislator there, and he’s also running unopposed for reelection to the House. If he wins both races, he says he’ll resign his House seat and commit to a full term as auditor general. For the latter position, he’s up against Republican incumbent Tim DeFoor, who was Pennsylvania’s first Black statewide elected official, and three minor-party candidates.
Tammy Baldwin
Wisconsin’sTammy Baldwin, the nation’s first out U.S. senator, is running for reelection in a tight race against Republican challenger Eric Hovde, but she has a slight edge. Baldwin, a lesbian, is a Wisconsin native and former state and county legislator, and Hovde, while also a native, has questionable ties to the state — he is CEO of a bank in Utah and has a home in California. However, he’s denounced Baldwin for having a partner, Maria Brisbane, who’s in the financial services industry, even though Baldwin doesn’t directly regulate that industry, and for sharing a home with Brisbane outside Wisconsin. The ads he’s run on the subject, however, seem to be an appeal to homophobia. Baldwin is seeking her third term in the Senate, and before that, she was the first LGBTQ+ person elected to the U.S. House while being out from the get-go; others, such as Barney Frank, had come out while already in office.
Lisa Middleton
Lisa Middleton is seeking to become California’s first out trans state legislator. She is running in the state’s Senate District 28, located in the Southern California desert. She is currently a member of the Palm Springs City Council and has been mayor there, as the position rotates among council members. She’s challenging Republican incumbent Ochoa Bogh in a race that could be one of California’s closest.
Aime Wichtendahl
Iowa could also elect its first out trans state legislator. Aime Wichtendahl, a bisexual trans woman, is running for Iowa House from District 80 in the eastern part of the state. Wichtendahl is a member of the Hiawatha City Council, where she was the first out trans elected official in Iowa, and her Republican opponent, John Thompson, is a political newcomer. The incumbent, Democrat Art Staed, is vacating the seat to run for state Senate. Among registered voters, the district has a slight majority of Democrats.
Molly Cook
Molly Cook, a bi woman who’s a registered nurse and health care activist, won a special election in May to become Texas’s first out state senator. She was elected to fill out the term of John Whitmire, who vacated the District 15 seat to take office as Houston mayor. That term runs only to the end of the year, however, so now Cook is running for a full four-year term in the Senate. She’s up against Republican Joseph L. Trahan, but she’s favored to win because the Houston district is heavily Democratic and LGBTQ+ — it includes the gayborhood of Montrose.
