Donald Trump‘s Department of Education has unveiled a new policy that will make workers of LGBTQ+ nonprofits ineligible for student loan forgiveness.
The department will publish a rule tomorrow in the Federal Register that would allow the Secretary of Education, Linda McMahon, to disqualify government and nonprofit employers that do not align the Trump administration’s agenda from participating in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program.
While no specific organizations have yet been named publicly as ineligible for PSLF under the rule, LGBTQ+ organizations operating as 501(c)(3) nonprofits are likely to be targeted. Even large legal groups like the American Civil Liberties Union or Lambda Legal working to legally protect gender-affirming care could be misconstrued as the “subsidization of illegal activities.”
“This is a direct and unlawful attack on nurses, teachers, first responders, and public service workers across the country,” Democracy Forward and Protect Borrowers said in a joint statement. “Congress created the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program because it is important for our democracy that we support the people who do the hard work to serve our communities.”
“This new rule is a craven attempt to usurp the legislature’s authority in an unconstitutional power grab aimed at punishing people with political views different than the administration’s,” it continued. “In our democracy, the president does not have the authority to overrule Congress. That’s why we will soon see the Trump-Vance administration in court.”
The Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program forgives the student loans of those who work for federal, state, tribal, or local government, or for non-profit organizations, after they’ve made payments for ten years (120 payments). The program was created as part of the 2007 College Cost Reduction and Access Act and signed into law by President George W. Bush as a way to encourage students to pursue careers in public service.
Trump signed an executive order in March that drastically limits who qualifies for PSLF, preventing forgiveness for people who work at organizations that engage in the supposed “subsidization of illegal activities, including illegal immigration, human smuggling, child trafficking, pervasive damage to public property, and disruption of the public order.”
The order directly singled out organizations that assist trans people, including with gender-affirming care, which it falsely refers to as “child abuse, including the chemical and surgical castration or mutilation of children.”
More than one-third (35 percent) of LGBTQ+ adults ages 18 to 40 — an estimated 2.9 million — held more than $93.2 billion in federal student loans at the beginning of the Biden Administration, according to a March report from the Williams Institute and the Point Foundation, including over half (51 percent) of trans adults, 36 percent of cisgender LBQ women, and 28 percent of cisgender GBQ men.
Luis Vasquez, Senior Legal Writer for the Human Rights Campaign, told The Advocate that “this rule is simply about bullying LGBTQ+ people and nonprofits and other progressive groups and making life more difficult for those who Donald Trump dislikes.”
“The result is that it would keep talented people from pursuing careers in public service, fearing that they may suddenly lose eligibility for this program on a whim,” Vasquez said. “The administration is once again going beyond what Congress has authorized, pursuing a discriminatory policy without legal basis. This hurts innocent people and should be rescinded immediately.”
Throughout Ali’s childhood in Iraq, he was repeatedly bullied by students and teachers for what he described as his feminine behavior. During his pre-teen and teenage years, men sexually assaulted him, but he couldn’t report it to the police for fear that he’d be thrown into jail for years since Iraq has criminalized homosexuality.
Ali was afraid to come out or talk about these assaults to his family. Although he wasn’t sure if his father knew he was gay, his dad knew other LGBTQ+ people from his travels abroad for work. His father used to tell him, “One day, we’re gonna go to travel to Europe or America and have a good life,” adding, “You’re gonna be safe and you’re gonna be happy.” But then his father died of a heart attack in 2014, and Ali’s abusive older brother (10 years his senior) assumed control of the family, making Ali terrified for his future.
In November 2023, Ali went out with another man for ice cream. While they were out in the rain, five Iraqi police officers suddenly surrounded and arrested them, believing they were romantically involved. Though Ali lied and told the officers they were just cousins, the officers accused them of being prostitutes and slapped, kicked, and hit them in the streets, eventually taking them to the police station.
At the police station, they took Ali’s phone and found images of male models and some men kissing. Police said that the images confirmed Ali’s intent to conduct sex work. They forced him to sign a confession that he had had sex with another man; one officer tried to coerce Ali into performing oral sex; and the police eventually threw him in jail, leaving his family with no clue as to his whereabouts.
In the remote jail, far from the city where Ali lived, he shared a cold, small, crowded cell with about 15 other people, ranging in age from 15 to 60. The police took Ali’s clothes and gave him dirty ones to wear, along with a small blanket.
“Everyone’s sleeping next to each other [on the floor] so close, and it was just so scary,” he told LGBTQ Nation. “Like, I was thinking an animal can’t even live there.” One guard suggested that he tell other inmates that he was arrested for using counterfeit money, because if he admitted he was gay, they might mistreat him.
“I was ultimately released, but I was terrified for my safety because the police had my home address and personal information and had accused me of being gay. I believed I could be imprisoned at any time,” Ali said in a court documentexplaining his situation. “After my arrest, I knew I had to leave the country to survive. I did not feel that I could trust anyone.”
Ali’s experiences mirror that of other LGBTQ+ Middle Easterners who are entrapped, harassed, detained, and tortured under suspicion of being queer. Ali considered taking his own life to escape the persecution, but he couldn’t go through with it.
A second chance, but with the U.S. government working against him
Ali eventually applied for aid under the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP), a 1980 federal program that has helped millions of refugees fleeing persecution in their home countries to relocate safely in the United States and build lives, families, and businesses.
Refugee processing and resettlement are lengthy processes requiring participation from numerous governmental and nongovernmental entities. Ali, like thousands of refugees, first underwent extensive security checks and referrals before being approved under USRAP and resettling into a single apartment in the United States.
“When I learned I would be resettled in Dallas, I was so excited that I began screaming with happiness and jumping and dancing,” Ali said.
It’s hard to know exactly how many LGBTQ+ people seek asylum in the U.S., but a 2021 study by the Williams Institute estimated that 11,400 LGBTQ+ individuals did so between 2012 and 2017. Approximately 4,385 of them made asylum claims specifically related to their LGBTQ+ status.
I am very concerned that if people back in Iraq learned about my sexual orientation and my interactions with the police, my family would be in danger.Ali, a gay Iraqi refugee currently living in Dallas, Texas
He came to the U.S. with only $120 to his name. Upon arrival, Catholic Charities provided him with a case manager and financial assistance for his first three months, as well as help in finding other programs to assist him in getting a job and obtaining basic necessities. Ali soon applied for a matching grant program that would cover one year of rent and utilities and provide him a monthly allowance, as well as a Refugee Cash Assistance program to provide a monthly stipend for six months and potentially longer.
However, by early February, he was notified that both programs had shut down due to an executive order signed by Donald Trump on January 20, entitled “Realigning the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program.” The order claimed that federally funded programs for admitting refugees aren’t in the country’s best interests because they “compromise the availability” of “taxpayer resources” for American citizens.
Trump’s order effectively halted refugee admissions indefinitely, ending USRAP and freezing millions in congressionally appropriated USRAP funding. Trump’s order threw Ali’s life into disarray, stranded thousands of other refugees and separated families who had already been approved under USRAP, and ended the funding of various groups and charities that used federal funding to provide vital survival benefits to refugees.
Ali learned that the case manager helping him secure benefits had been laid off after Trump’s order, and his apartment managers told him he might be evicted if he couldn’t pay the rent. Running out of food, he subsisted on peanut butter.
In response to the chaos, the International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) filed Pacito v. Trump on February 10 in the Western District of Washington. The case is a class action lawsuit filed on behalf of the individuals and major resettlement agencies harmed by Trump’s order. It asserts that, by indefinitely ending USRAP, Trump and federal agencies exceeded their lawful authority and violated both federal law – and rulemaking procedures required under the Administrative Procedure Act – as well as the Constitution. The lawsuit seeks to block the order, restore funding, and enforce long-established protections for refugees.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK USA – March 15, 2025: Pro-Immigration sign at a Stop the Cuts rally against DOGE cuts to federal funding in Lower Manhattan. | Shutterstock
In March, a district court agreed with IRAP’s lawsuit and granted a preliminary injunction against Trump’s order, writing, “The results have been harrowing.” The court noted that refugees have few (if any) rights – they have no right to work; limited access to healthcare, housing, or education; and often face discrimination.
Luckily, a charity helped Ali find a job at a local coffee shop, and he also secured a second job at a local mall. He had learned English, he said, by watching old episodes of Keeping Up with the Kardashians, a reality TV show about an ethnically Armenian celebrity family living in the United States. Now, he has made several good friends and has started building a community by attending a local church.
But other individual refugees who had been approved to come to the U.S. under USRAP after years of processing have either been stranded in the U.S. without homes or work or else trapped in their home or host countries as their scheduled flights to the U.S. were abruptly canceled, the district court wrote in its May decision. This has left the refugees vulnerable to physical danger and financial hardship without stable housing, income, basic necessities, alternative paths to refuge, or access to integration services that would help them become self-sufficient.
Furthermore, Trump’s order effectively defunded congressionally mandated resettlement-support services, making them unable to pay their employees and keep their offices open and undermining decades of work building up infrastructures, relationships, and the associated goodwill to facilitate refugee integration in local communities. The order required these services to furlough or lay off hundreds of staff all over the United States, threatening their continued existence.
The courts are trying to restrain Trump, but he has other plans
In April, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals granted the federal government a partial emergency stay of the district court’s injunction. While the appeals court has required the government to reinstate resettlement and placement services to refugees for 90 days after their admission into the United States, the court also appointed a magistrate judge to help review individual cases of refugees harmed by Trump’s order, while IRAP’s class action suit continues to be heard by the courts.
“Iraq is a very unsafe place for LGBTQ+ people,” Ali said in his court filing. “When I speak to people back in Iraq, I hide the fact that I’m gay and that the police arrested and abused me for being gay… I am very concerned that if people back in Iraq learned about my sexual orientation and my interactions with the police, my family would be in danger.”
I want to help everyone in my situation because it is difficult for me now, and I know there are other refugees who recently arrived and are struggling even more than me. Ali, a gay Iraqi refugee currently living in Dallas, Texas
Ali also worries that, if he criticizes the Trump Administration for ending USRAP, conservative organizations could somehow locate his name and personal information for harassment or violent retaliation. If his name is made public, it could make it even more difficult for him to find employment or could lead to other kinds of anti-immigrant and anti-gay discrimination.
Ali understands that, in this case, he’s not only representing himself, but thousands of other refugees nationwide and across the world. “I want to help everyone in my situation because it is difficult for me now, and I know there are other refugees who recently arrived and are struggling even more than me.”
The Trump Administration is considering a radical overhaul of USRAP that would continue to largely defund the program and reduce the number of refugees allowed annually into the U.S. from 125,000 (the number established by former President Joe Biden) to 7,500. Trump’s plan would give preferred relocation assistance to English speakers, white South Africans, and Europeans who have left their countries after making anti-immigrant statements or supporting anti-immigrant political parties, The New York Times reported on October 15.
“[Trump’s plan reflects] a preexisting notion… as to who are the true Americans,” said Barbara L. Strack, a former chief of the refugee affairs division at Citizenship and Immigration Services during the Bush, Obama and Trump administrations. “And they think it’s white people and they think it’s Christians.”
In a statement, IRAP wrote, “These actions reflect a broader pattern of President Trump attempting to strong-arm other branches of government into rubber-stamping his political agenda, sidestepping the checks and balances Congress established to ensure refugee policy serves humanitarian – not partisan- ends. Such departures from established process and principle undermine the United States’ legal obligations and moral leadership, sending a dangerous message that access to refuge may depend on identity rather than need.”
As the federal government remains closed for business, LGBTQ+ community centers and nonprofits with food pantries are preparing to fill the hole that will be left when SNAP benefits end.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is the largest anti-hunger program in the U.S. After it runs out of funds on November 1, over 42 million people will be left wondering where their next meal is coming from. As they turn to food banks, those nonprofits will be left wondering how to provide for the sudden influx of people needing aid.
The “Pride Pantries” at the LGBT Life Center in Virginia already provide assistance to about 650 households a month, or roughly 1,700 people, which amounted to around 285,000 lbs of food distributed in 2024. CEO Stacie Walls suspects that this year it will “definitely be over that based on the trend we’ve had for the last few months.”
“These are individuals and households that are already marginalized and already living close to the edge of not having access to food at all,” Walls tells The Advocate. “It’s not just young families with children. One of the things that may be assumed is that these are individuals who aren’t working, who aren’t trying to contribute. The reality is most of the people who use it are either elderly or are working and just don’t have enough to make it through the month.”
About 15 percent of LGBTQ+ adults — nearly 2.1 million people, including 250,000 transgender individuals and 1.3 million lesbian and bisexual women — received SNAP benefits in the past year, according to a recent report from the Williams Institute, compared to 11 percent of non-LGBTQ+ adults.
Almost 70 percent of LGBTQ+ adults who received SNAP benefits had household incomes under $35,000, 66 percent were living with a disability, and 49 percent had a child under 18 living in their household. Over 90 percent of LGBTQ+ adults who received SNAP were either currently working (42 percent), had worked in the past year (6 percent), were students (8 percent), homemakers (9 percent), retired (5 percent), or were unable to work (21 percent).
“We know individuals that we serve in the queer community already don’t have stable housing, don’t have stable employment, don’t have stable family support that they can depend on,” Walls says. “They need our services. And this federal shutdown is requiring the nonprofits and the community-based organizations in this country to carry this load on behalf of the government.”
The Center’s food pantries are U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) food distribution centers, which are supplemented with frozen meals and donated by local churches or with the Center’s own food drives. It does not receive federal grants, and it does not get the food directly from the USDA — the pantries are maintained through the Center’s general operating funds.
Still, the Trump administration’s drastic cuts to federal aid have impacted all nonprofits, and significantly reduced SNAP before the federal government shut down. The Budget Reconciliation Bill, Donald Trump‘s so-called “Big Beautiful Bill,” forced an estimated seven million people to either lose their SNAP benefits or see their benefits greatly reduced.
For the Center, there’s “not enough food that comes from the food banks in the USDA program,” Walls says, as “those programs were being cut well before the shutdown started. They’re already operating with less resources than they were a year ago.”
There’s still a way for SNAP benefits to continue even as the government remains shut down. A coalition of 25 states and the District of Columbia have filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration demanding that it continue supporting SNAP through November using a contingency fund. Meanwhile, Virginia has announced it will use state money to fund SNAP benefits for its residents on a weekly basis (as opposed to monthly), which other states could also pursue.
Until governments step up, nonprofits will be filling in the holes. For those in need, most LGBTQ+ community centers have food banks, and “most food banks have no eligibility requirements, including ours,” Walls says. That means there’s “no income requirement for people to come to the food,” and for those run by queer organizations, there’s “no proving you’re part of the community.” If people can’t make it to a pantry, they can still try contacting them about possible deliveries.
For those wanting to get involved, Walls stresses that it “doesn’t always mean a cash donation” — these centers rely on volunteers who make the deliveries, which can require some physical labor, but also on those who can manage data collection and administrative work. Any ability could be beneficial, and will be needed even once the federal government reopens.
And when the shutdown ends, nonprofits want their communities to remember who was really there for them in a time of crisis.
“If you’re sitting up in Congress and you have food on your table, and you’re not worrying about where your next meal comes from, I think that you’re not representing your entire community if you’re not recognizing that there are people in every single community that struggle with food insecurity,” Walls says. “You cannot take care of your health, you cannot go to work every day, you can’t do any of that if you’re hungry.”
“It makes you angry because this is something that could have been prevented,” she adds.
For those impacted by food insecurity, visit Feeding America to find a pantry near you.
The U.S. Supreme Court is set to consider whether to hear a challenge that could reopen the question of who can get married. The challenge to marriage equality is being brought by Kim Davis, the former Kentucky county clerk who in 2015 defied a federal court order to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
As SCOTUSblogreports, the justices will privately discuss Davis’s petition on November 7. Davis, who was briefly jailed a decade ago after citing “God’s authority” in refusing to issue licenses to a gay couple, is now asking the high court not only to reverse her loss in the lower courts but to overturn Obergefell v. Hodges, the 2015 decision that established a constitutional right to marry for same-sex couples nationwide.
A Gallup poll from May 2024 found that 69 percent of U.S. adults support legal same-sex marriage—close to the record high of 71 percent. Sixty-four percent said same-sex relations are morally acceptable. Support remains strongest among Democrats at 83 percent and independents at 74 percent, while only 46 percent of Republicans back marriage equality, reflecting the enduring partisan divide.
Earlier this year, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit rejected Davis’s claim that her refusal was protected by religious freedom, ruling that she acted as a government official, not a private citizen. A jury had previously awarded $50,000 each to the couple, David Moore and David Ermold, who were denied a license.
Several members of the court have recently commented on the 2015 marriage equality ruling, offering clues to how they might view Davis’s petition. Justice Clarence Thomas has long urged the court to revisit major decisions, such as Obergefell v. Hodges, arguing in a concurrence in the court’s 2022 Dobbs ruling that struck down Roe v. Wade, that such rulings expand constitutional rights beyond what the framers intended. He and Justice Samuel Alito have both raised concerns that Obergefell diminished protections for people who oppose same-sex marriage on religious grounds.
Justice Amy Coney Barrett recently noted in an interview with The New York Times that marriage equality now carries “very concrete reliance interest,” meaning millions of Americans have built their lives and legal relationships around it. In her September book, Listening to the Law: Reflections on the Court and Constitution, Barrett described the “rights to marry” as “fundamental,” Newsweekreports.
According to SCOTUSblog, if the justices decline to take up the case, that decision could be announced as soon as November 10. But if they agree to hear it, the case would mark the court’s most direct confrontation with Obergefell in years and a potentially seismic moment for LGBTQ+ rights in the post-Roejudicial era. If the court agrees to hear it, oral arguments could be scheduled for the spring, with a decision possible by June. If the justices decline to take up the case, the lower-court rulings against Davis will stand.
A grassroots organization supporting transgender people from South Asia (often known as Hijrah or Kinnar) has opened a physical location in San Francisco after operating for 6 years without one.
Parivar Bay Area opened its brick-and-mortar doors on October 20, during Diwali. The group’s founder, Indian immigrant Anjali Rimi, was brimming with emotion when she cut the ribbon.
“I’m feeling very grateful,” she told KQED. “We have tried many times to see if we can actually have a place where we can belong, we can be ourselves. And being in this physical space, it gives us that rooting.”
“It also looks at our existence as one that is formidable when we are being erased as human beings,” she added.
The center’s director of strategy, Phanny Lun, said it is a critical time to provide legal advice, leadership training, and other support to transgender immigrants, who are being attacked intersectionally by the current administration.
“It’s knowing that there’s community and support,” Lun said. “That’s a really big thing – and making sure that our community knows that there are services out there for us. Not just doom and gloom.”
Lun said the narratives in the media make it easy for trans people to believe there is no support for them. “That’s not true,” Lun emphasized, adding that immigrants and trans people “have a place and a group that will be of assistance to them.”
While the center focuses on trans immigrants from Southeast Asia, Rimi made it clear Parivar is open to immigrants from any country.
The website says the center is the country’s “first & only Kinnar Hijrah led and empowering organization centering Indian South Asian and Global South transgender, gender-diverse, and intersex (TGNCI) immigrants and asylees” with a goal to “advance social, economic, and legal equity through advocacy, arts, direct support, and leadership development.”
“We reclaim spaces beyond cisnormativity,” the site continues, “confront systemic barriers, and build bold, affirming pathways where our communities thrive locally and globally grounded in dignity, belonging, and pride.”
Philadelphia, the “City of Brotherly Love” and birthplace of American democracy, is adding an inclusive destination to the celebrations marking the 250th anniversary of the United States’ founding next year: the Philly Pride Visitors Center, one of the country’s first LGBTQ+ visitor centers.
“We don’t just welcome diversity — we celebrate it,” said Kathryn Ott Lovell, president and CEO of the Philadelphia Visitor Center Corporation. “Philadelphia is a city that shows up for everyone.”
The new LGBTQ+ destination will open early next year in the heart of the city’s LGBTQ+ neighborhood in Midtown Village.
The 2026 Semiquincentennial is expected to draw record tourism to the “Cradle of Liberty.”
As well as being the site of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Philadelphia has a storied history in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights. The city’s Independence Hall was one of the first venues to see public demonstrations for gay rights, while the country’s first LGBTQ+ sit-in took place in 1965 at the infamous Dewey’s restaurant, where “avowed homosexuals” weren’t welcome.
“The Philly Pride Visitor Center reflects our commitment to inclusive tourism and to making sure every traveler feels seen, welcomed and celebrated,” said Angela Val, President and CEO of Visit Philadelphia.
“This new center gives visitors and residents a place to connect with Philadelphia’s LGBTQ+ history, discover affirming businesses, and see how this city helped shape a national movement. It is both a resource hub and a testament to Philadelphia’s role in advancing LGBTQ+ rights.”
Plans for the Pride-themed center include services like itinerary planning, attraction ticketing, and travel information, with a special focus on LGBTQ+-affirming destinations, businesses, and cultural institutions. The gift shop will offer a curated selection of souvenirs from LGBTQ+ artists, designers, and businesses.
Historical content will be curated by Mark Segal, founder of Philadelphia Gay News, with the goal of presenting an authentic representation of the city’s LGBTQ+ legacy based on input from the community.
“Philadelphia has always been a trailblazer in LGBTQ+ history, from the first Reminder Day marches in 1965 (four years before Stonewall) to the Dewey’s sit-in, where LGBTQ+ youth stood up to a restaurant’s refusal to serve them,” Segal said.
“Our city helped launch the fight for representation in media, shaped national policy, and created safe, visible spaces for our community,” he added. With the new visitor center’s founding, “Philadelphia proudly honors that legacy.”
Said CEO Lovell: “Our hope is that the Philly Pride Visitor Center becomes a place where LGBTQ+ visitors feel like they belong from the moment they arrive.”
Activists have thrown a spotlight on past comments made about rape by prominent anti-LGBTQ+ Republicans.
An online post from left-wing outlet Occupy Democrats revealed the comments made by six officials over the years, apparently justifying or downplaying the rape of women and girls in the US.
The post on Facebook and Instagram included quotes from Clayton Williams, Todd Akin, Rick Santorum, Richard Mourdock, Jodie Laubenberg and Lawrence Lockman.
Fact-checked by Snopes, the quotes included Todd Akin (R-MO) saying: “If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to shut that thing down.”
Rick Santorum was a US senator for 12 years (Getty)
Santorum, a notoriously anti-LGBTQ+ former US senator, was quoted as saying: “Rape victims should make the best of a bad situation.”
Another of the quotes, made by Williams during his failed campaign to become governor of Texas governor in 1990, read: “Rape is kinda like the weather. If it’s inevitable, relax and enjoy it.” He died in 2020.
In the 80s, Lockman, a former member of the Maine house of representatives, described LGBTQ+ people as biologically insane.
According to a 2014 article from blogger Mike Tipping, Lockman also became involved in anti-abortion activism. During his stint as a director of the Pro-Life Education Association in the 90s, he said: “If a woman has [the right to an abortion], why shouldn’t a man be free to use his superior strength to force himself on a woman? At least the rapist’s pursuit of sexual freedom doesn’t (in most cases) result in anyone’s death.”
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He later apologised for his remarks, saying he held “no animosity toward anyone by virtue of their gender or sexual orientation”.
Laubenberg, who died last month at the age of 68, sat in Texas house of representatives from 2003 to 2019.
During a debate about abortion legislation in 2013, while opposing the addition to a bill that would have made an exception for women who had been raped, she reportedly said: “In hospital emergency rooms, we have funded what’s called rape kits that will help the woman, basically clean her out [to avoid pregnancies]… basically like an emergency contraception, where they can also do the morning-after pill.”
Rape kits are not used to terminate pregnancies, but to gather and preserve physical evidence for any possible prosecution.
Asked about abortion and contraceptive rights, former US senate hopeful Mourdock was quoted in the post as saying: “Even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that is something God intended to happen.”
He later clarified his comments in a press conference following the debate, saying that he had intended to say that “God creates life,” and that any interpretation of his comments to mean God “pre-ordained rape” were “sick” and “twisted.”
“What I said was, in answering the question form my position of faith, I said I believe that God creates life. I believe that as wholly and as fully as I can believe it. That God creates life. Are you trying to suggest that somehow I think that God pre-ordained rape? No, I don’t think that. That’s sick. Twisted. That’s not even close to what I said. What I said is that God creates life.”
Snopes contacted Santorum, Mourdock and Lockman for comment: the only three people mentioned in the meme who are still alive. They have yet to receive a response.
Studies have shown that survivors of sexual violence in the US are significantly more likely to attempt suicide than their peers. One report from 2020 revealed that 13 per cent of respondents had tried to take their own life.
Suicide is preventable. Readers who are affected by the issues raised in this story are encouraged to contact the Samaritans on 116 123 (samaritans.org), or Mind on 0300 123 3393 (mind.org.uk). Readers in the US are encouraged to contact the National Suicide Prevention Line on 1-800-273-8255.
Someone threw rocks and smashed windows at several LGBTQ organizations and businesses across town over the past week, according to a statement from the Parasol Patrol, an organization that shields young people and their families from anti-LGBTQ attacks.
The businesses included salons, a queer gym, a boutique and the Center on Colfax, one of the largest LGBTQ organizations in the state. Many of the business owners were friends.
The apparent attacks spanned the city, from Washington Park to Southwest Denver to Colfax Avenue and the River North Art District. A motive has not been determined, though queer-owned businesses say they are on edge and are well aware of the pattern.
Read the full article. My first report on this is here. Watch the video report below on YouTube. The man seen above was smashing windows with a rock.
A federal appeals court will take a second look at whether West Texas A&M University can ban drag shows, setting aside an earlier ruling that found the university’s ban likely violated students’ free speech rights. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday tossed a 2-1 ruling by a three-judge panel issued in August and agreed to rehear the case before the court’s 17 active judges.
The panel’s earlier decision had sided with the student group Spectrum WT, which is represented by FIRE, after university President Walter Wendler canceled a campus drag show in 2023. The panel majority said the students would’ve likely engaged in protected expression, pointing to their drag show’s context as a ticketed event organized by a LGBTQ+ student group to raise money for a suicide prevention charity, and that the venue, Legacy Hall, was a public forum.
This year’s mayoral race in New York City is shaping up to be the most-watched and most consequential local election in the country. Zohran Mamdani, a state assemblyman and Democratic Socialist who cleanly won the Democratic primary earlier this year and maintains a double-digit lead in the polls, is facing off against former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who is running as an independent after losing to Mamdani in the primary.
Analysts argue that this race could have significant implications for the future of the Democratic Party. If Mamdani wins, it will represent New Yorkers’ desire for a politician who leans further left than the party’s traditional values.
These implications extend to LGBTQ rights as well, as discourse surrounding trans people has permeated discussions of the party’s future since last year’s presidential loss.
With that in mind, here are both candidates’ track records on LGBTQ issues.
Andrew Cuomo allegedly runs a whisper campaignduring his father Mario’s run for New York City mayor against Ed Koch. He uses the slogan “Vote for Cuomo, Not the Homo,” referencing Koch’s sexuality. Koch never publicly came out as gay and denied it until his death, but it was known in his personal circle that he was.
“The signs said, VOTE FOR CUOMO, NOT THE HOMO. Andrew says he didn’t do it, and I believe him.”
June 24, 2011
Cuomo signs the Marriage Equality Act into law, legalizing same-sex marriage and making New York the sixth state—and the largest, at the time—to pass marriage equality. The passage of the law is considered a win for gay rights. In a press statement, Cuomo says:
“New York has finally torn down the barrier that has prevented same-sex couples from exercising the freedom to marry and from receiving the fundamental protections that so many couples and families take for granted. … With the world watching, the Legislature, by a bipartisan vote, has said that all New Yorkers are equal under the law.”
June 26, 2011
Two days after signing the Marriage Equality Act, Cuomo marches in NYC Pride and is met with adoration and fanfare. He would continue to be a figure at NYC Pride for the next eight years, but since 2019 has no public record of attending.
Dec. 11, 2014
Cuomo announces regulatory guidelines to help trans people receive equal access to health insurance coverage. The new rules no longer allow insurance companies to deny medically necessary treatment for gender dysphoria. The move comes before similar federal protections are introduced in 2015 under the Affordable Care Act, positioning New York ahead of national policy on trans health care.
March 31, 2015
Cuomo bans non-essential state-funded travel to Indiana after the state passes the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The act enables anti-LGBTQ discrimination by saying that being forced to serve queer customers is a burden on their religious beliefs. Cuomo would lift the banApril 4, saying he believes changes made to the law will keep it from being used to discriminate against gay people. The next year, Cuomo would impose a similar travel ban for North Carolina because of their trans bathroom ban.
Oct. 22, 2015
Cuomo issues an executive order that expands discrimination protection regulations to include gender identity, transgender status and gender dysphoria. The move is praised by the American Civil Liberties Union:
“With this executive action, Gov. Cuomo has made it clear that his administration is committed to protecting transgender and gender nonconforming people in New York State. … These clear legal protections go a long way toward allowing transgender New Yorkers to enjoy dignity, respect and access to opportunity in New York.”
Jan. 25, 2019
Cuomo signs two pro-LGBTQ bills into law. The first bans conversion therapy for minors by licensed practitioners and bans insurers from covering the discredited practice. The second, known as the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA), amends the state’s Human Rights Law to ban anti-trans discrimination.
“The Supreme Court says you can discriminate against transgender in the military,” Cuomo says in a statement. “We say today—no you can’t. You cannot discriminate against people by gender identity, period.”
June 30, 2019
Cuomo signs a law banning the “gay and trans panic” legal defense in New York. The law eliminates a long-established loophole in hate crime trials that allowed lawyers to argue that a victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity could cause a suspect to fly into a sudden violent frenzy such that they hurt or kill the victim. New York is the eighth state to ban the defense.
Enter Mamdani
Feb. 2, 2021
Zohran Mamdani on his first day as state assemblyman. Photo by @Zohrankmamdani/Instagram.
In his first session as a House Representative for New York’s 36th district, Zohran Mamdani backs the repeal of the “Walking While Trans” law, which was disproportionately used to target trans women of color under the guise of curbing sex work. In the 1970s, “wearing a skirt,” “waving at a car” and “standing somewhere other than a bus stop or taxi stand” were viewed under the law as probable cause for arrest.
That same day, Cuomo signs the repeal of portions of the law and says:
“For too long trans people have been unfairly targeted and disproportionately policed for innocent, lawful conduct based solely on their appearance. Repealing the archaic ‘walking while trans’ ban is a critical step toward reforming our policing system and reducing the harassment and criminalization transgender people face simply for being themselves. New York has always led the nation on LGBTQ rights, and we will continue that fight until we achieve true equality.”
Feb. 15, 2021
The Child-Parent Security Act, which Cuomo signed into law in 2020, goes into effect. The law legalizes compensation for gestational surrogacy, opening new paths to parenthood for both LGBTQ and heterosexual couples alike.
Feb. 17, 2021
Mamdani co-sponsors the Gender Recognition Act, which would make it easier for trans and nonbinary folks to change their gender on official government documents. It would also give them the option to choose a gender-neutral marker of “X” instead of the male/female binary and options for gender-neutral parent language on birth certificates.
Feb. 24, 2021
Cuomo is announced as the recipient of the LGBT Bar of New York’s “Community Vision Award” for his “distinguished record of service to the LGBTQ community, including a sustained commitment to achieving equal rights for all members of our community.” Just hours later, a former staffer publishes a story detailing Cuomo’s history of sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior.
In reaction, Cuomo is stripped of his award and barred from attending the gala.
Cuomo, April 6, 2021. Photo by New York National Guard.
In an investigation following allegations of sexual assault and workplace mistreatment by Cuomo, The New York Times reports that the governor allegedly told a male official in 2019: “You’d be a good-looking tr*nny if you get a good set of tits.”
In response to the allegation, a member of Cuomo’s team says, “He would never make a comment so vile.”
June 24, 2021
Cuomo signs the Gender Recognition Act—co-sponsored by Mamdani—into law. This is one of Cuomo’s last legislative moves before his resignation Aug. 24, 2021.
June 10, 2023
Mamdani votes for New York’s gender-affirming care “shield law” that protects providers, patients and medical records from hostile out-of-state actions. The bill is then signed into law by Governor Kathy Hochul. Mamdani’s vote underscores his opposition to red-state crackdowns on trans health care.
Oct. 23, 2024
Mamdani writes an op-ed for the Queens Daily Eagle in support of Proposal 1, a state constitutional amendment which bans discrimination “based on ethnicity, national origin, age, disability and sex—including sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy and pregnancy outcomes, and reproductive healthcare and autonomy.” The amendment also introduces legal protections for housing discrimination against LGBTQ people. The following month, Prop 1 passes into law.
Feb. 8, 2025
Mamdani attends a rally for trans youth in New York City’s Union Square and says he is there “to stand up for these children” as attempts to bangender-affirming care spread across the country.
“You need not even know a trans New Yorker to stand up for trans New Yorkers. … This is a trial of all of us to see who we are willing to give up. And our answer is no one.”
March 11, 2025
Gothamist reports that Cuomo hires anti-LGBTQ activist Kristofer Graham to be his campaign treasurer. Graham worked for the Coalition to Protect Kids, a group aimed at defeating Prop 1. Before that, he worked for theSave Our State PAC on Republican Lee Zeldin’s 2022 gubernatorial campaign, which also peddledhomophobia and transphobia.
The decision provokes backlash among former Cuomo allies. Tyler Hack, a trans rights activist and the executive director of the Christopher Street Project, says:
“Cuomo is signaling that trans rights are negotiable to him. … The only takeaway we can make from that is that it’s not an accident.”
Cuomo marches in the West Indian Day Parade in Brooklyn, September 2025. Photo by Marco.
March 27, 2025
Cuomo does not participate in a mayoral candidate forum hosted by four LGBTQ groups, including The Stonewall Democratic Club of NYC, NYC Pride and Power, Equality New York and Lambda Independent Democrats. His absence further alienates him from New York’s LGBTQ community.
April 29, 2025
Cuomo is snubbed by LGBTQ advocacy groups, including the Jim Owles Liberal LGBT Club, Lambda Independent Democrats of Brooklyn and the Stonewall Democratic Club of NYC, as they use the city’s rank choice format to list Brad Lander, Mamdani, Zellnor Myrie and Jessica Ramos. Several groups give Mamdani endorsements. All of them leave Cuomo off the list entirely. The head of Jim Owles credits Cuomo for his past but says he is “unsuitable to be mayor.”
“The gay community is smart. We’re not going to support Cuomo’s baggage. He’s not progressive by any stretch of the imagination.”
Mamdani speaks at Caveat Comedy Festival, May 25, 2025. Photo by Bryan Berlin.
May 22, 2025
Mamdani announces a protection plan for LGBTQ New Yorkers that includes a $65 million investment for gender-affirming care. The plan also proposes the creation of an Office of LGBTQIA+ Affairs to “expand and centralize the services, programs, and support LGBTQIA+ New Yorkers need across housing, employment and more.” Mamdani says NYC will become a sanctuary city in an effort to “strengthen and uphold the rights of queer and trans New Yorkers.”
June 1, 2025
Cuomo posts a video celebrating Pride and his past achievements for LGBTQ people. Along with the video is the caption:
“Happy Pride Month! I am forever proud of the work my Administration did in the fight for LGBTQ equality. I will always stand with our LGBTQ community and fight for equality and fairness for every New Yorker.”
Despite this, Cuomo does not attend NYC Pride while Mamdani does.
June 23, 2025
Queer and Jewish influencer Matt Bernstein—known online as mattxiv—endorses Mamdani. This is one of many endorsements Mamdani has received among Gen Z voters and influencers. In one Instagram post, Bernstein writes:
“We need democratic leaders who will tax billionaires, not sell their souls to them. We need democratic leaders who will stand up for the rights of immigrants and LGBTQ people, not throw us under the bus. We need Zohran.”
