Two out trans candidates are running for office in Nepal, marking the first time that out trans candidates have run for the positions.
Honey Maharjan and Mouni Maharjan are both rallying for a role in parliament. Both Honey and Mouni, who are not related despite sharing the same surname, are in the running for the local by-elections in the country.
Although Nepal is hailed for having some of the most progressive LGBTQ+ rightsin South Asia, there has not been an out LGBTQ+ member to hold public office since 2008.
Honey, 44, is hoping that her candidacy “will inspire others in the queer community to participate openly in future elections”. On Sunday (1 December), she will run for the role of Mayor of Kirtipur, a Municipality on the outskirts of the capital of Kathmandu.
Honey Maharjan (left) and Mouni Maharjan (centre) are rallying for roles in office in Kirtipur, on the outskirts of Kathmandu. (PRAKASH MATHEMA/AFP via Getty Images)
Despite legal advancements, Honey noted that those in the queer community in Nepal often face discrimination in many walks of life, including employment, healthcare, and education settings.
“Until now, not one of our community members had exercised the right to run for mayoral elections in Nepal,” Honey said.
“When I remember my past, it’s like a nightmare because I faced a lot of discrimination and abuse. Like other transgender people, I want to change this,” she added.
“We are also part of this society and can contribute to the betterment of society. This is what I want to do if I am elected.”
Meanwhile, Mouni is running for a ward chair role in the same area. Both candidates are part of the People’s Socialist Party Nepal.
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Mouni, 29, is campaigning against LGBTQ+ discrimination, especially in the workplace and at school. She explained that she wants to create jobs for the community and implement LGBTQ+-focused classes in school to raise awareness.
She said: “I will work to add a curriculum in school courses regarding the community so that the new generation will easily accept our presence and be treated better.”
Former parliamentarian Sunil Babu Pant previously led LGBTQ+-focused campaigns, including fighting for equal marriage rights.
“Since I left the parliament [in 2013], no one has been elected. So, our voice has not been present in the lawmaking bodies and policy-making bodies,” Babu Pant told AFP.
“We now have two candidates this election. This is hugely a positive development for Nepal.”
Police in Moscow raided multiple bars early Saturday and arrested the director of a gay travel agency under laws criminalising “LGBT propaganda”, state media reported.
The raids came on the one year anniversary of Russia’s Supreme Court outlawing the “international LGBT movement”, paving the way for arrests and prosecutions of the country’s already repressed LGBTQ community.
Russian security forces raided at least three bars and nightclubs overnight “as part of measures to combat LGBT propaganda”, the state TASS news agency reported.
Social media videos from the Arma nightclub, the former premises of the Mutabor, showed club-goers sitting on the dancefloor while riot police walked around shouting orders.
Another video showed people being walked out of the popular Mono gay club in central Moscow with their hands above their heads, with a police van parked outside.
The interior ministry said police had also raided an unnamed nightclub on Skladochnaya Street that had been “propagandising the ideology of the banned LGBT movement”.
The Interfax news agency named the club as “Inferno Night”.
Police in the capital also arrested the director of a travel agency for gay men on suspicion of “organising tours for members of the LGBT community”.
The 48-year-old director of “Men Travel” was suspected of “preparing a trip for supporters of non-traditional sexual values to go to Egypt for the New Year holidays”, the TASS news agency reported Saturday, citing law enforcement.
The Kremlin has ramped up conservative rhetoric since launching its military assault on Ukraine almost three years ago, casting the conflict as a battleground against the West and its values.
Rights groups say the country is waging an unprecedented crackdown on LGBTQ people that has seen the owners of gay bars arrested and anyone associated with promoting LGBTQ rights prosecuted.
Last week, the Ugandan High Court of the Civil Division awarded $40,000 (the equivalent of 150 million Ugandan shillings) to 20 men who were tortured by police after their 2020 arrests for alleged homosexuality.
“They assert that on the morning of the said date their residence was invaded by a mob, among which were the respondents, that subjected them to all manner of torture because they were practicing homosexuality,” Justice Douglas Singiza reportedly stated.
“The alleged actions of torture include beating, hitting, burning using a hot piece of firewood, undressing, tying, biding, conducting an anal examination, and inflicting other forms of physical, mental, and psychological violence based on the suspicion that they are homosexuals, an allegation they deny.”
The torture occurred in the village of Nkokonjeru in the Kyengera Town Council – Wakiso District. The plaintiffs worked with the Human Rights Awareness and Promotion Forum, a non-profit human rights organization. They filed a human rights complaint against the Kyengera town council, mayor Abdul Kiyimba, principal officer Philimon Woniala, and the Attorney General.
The arrests happened just after the Ugandan government implemented COVID-19 lockdowns.
“Based on the same suspicion [of homosexuality], the applicants were then arrested, taken to Nkokonjeru B police station, and charged with doing a negligent act likely to spread infection by disease,” said Singiza. He noted that there was little evidence given for violations of the country’s anti-homosexuality laws and that the investigations lacked merit.
The men were then sent to prison on March 31, 2020, “Where they were again allegedly beaten, examined, harassed, and subjected to discrimination.”
Uganda has strict laws against homosexuality. The 2023 Anti-Homosexuality Act, signed by Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni in May 2023, makes what it describes as “aggravated homosexuality” — including same-sex acts that transmit HIV — punishable by the death penalty, imposes a life sentence for “recruitment, promotion and funding” of same-sex “activities,” and even bans identifying as LGBTQ+ in Uganda. It has been roundly condemned by human rights organizations, members of the U.S. House of Representatives, President Joe Biden, and even Pope Francis.
Dr. Frank Mugisha, human rights activist and executive director of Sexual Minorities Uganda, said on X of the ruling: “A Ugandan court has awarded Shs150 million to 20 Ugandans who were tortured for alleged homosexuality during the COVID lockdown, marking a significant victory for the LGBTQ+ community. This decision builds on earlier successes, including a 2008 ruling for Victor Mukisa and a favorable judgment against Rolling Stone, a Ugandan tabloid known for its harmful publications.”
“Local leaders and politicians have now been put on notice that if you beat up people based on their sexual orientation and gender identity, you pay from your own pockets,” said Adrian Jjuuko, executive director of Uganda’s Human Rights Awareness and Promotion Forum, in a statement to Barron’s.
In addition to the brutality experienced by LGBTQ+ people, Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act has already cost the country as much as $1.6 billion in the year since it became law, according to a new report by Open for Business, a coalition of global companies dedicated to LGBTQ+ inclusion.
“It is estimated that in the twelve months following the AHA’s passage, Uganda has made an economic loss of between $470 million and $1.6 billion,” according to the report, a sum that comprises between 0.9–3.2% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).
The Vatican has blocked discussions on women’s rights at the UN climate summit, COP29, over concerns that support for them would include trans and gay women.
According to BBC News, representatives for Pope Francis, aligned with Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iran and Egypt to prevent an agreement that would have provided more support for women affected by climate change.
The 10-year-old UN action plan, Lima Work Programme on Gender, which ensures that work on climate change acknowledges support for women, including financial support, was due to be updated at the summit in Azerbaijan, which is due to end on Friday (22 November).
Several countries wanted to include a line highlighting that all women’s experiences of the impacts of climate change are different, and can be compounded by “gender, sex, age and race”.
However, the four countries and the Vatican – the world’s smallest independent state – objected, citing concerns that it could be inclusive of trans women. They also want references to gay women removed. This has reportedly stalled the deal completely.
According to LGBTQ+ rights website Equaldex, only Vatican City has fully legalised homosexuality, while in Iran and Saudi Arabia it can be punishable by death. In all but Iran, changing gender is not permitted.
Colombia’s environment minister and lead negotiator Susana Muhamad told the BBC: “It is unacceptable. The Latin American countries are working very hard, we will not allow the gender programme to drop and allow human rights to be dropped.”
And Sostina Takure, from Christian charity ACT Alliance, said she was shocked to hear the Vatican “opposed the human rights language”, adding: “My heart shattered into a million pieces.”
A spokesperson for the Vatican said: “The Holy See hopes that consensus will be reached, with respect for the sensitivities of each participating state and in a language acceptable to all.”
The current UN plan on gender and climate is due to expire at the end of this year, meaning if the countries do not come to an agreement by Friday, there will be no specific global agreement for supporting women facing the effects of climate change.
According to a report by UN Women, by 2050 almost 240 million more women and girls will face food insecurity caused by climate change, compared with 131 million more men and boys. Almost 160 million women and girls will be pushed into extreme poverty by climate change, the report added.
Charities including ActionAid said it was crucial to reach a deal because the UN estimated that women and girls currently make up 80 per cent of those displaced by climate change.
They join Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg in this year’s class, as voted by the LGBTQ+ Victory Action Board of Directors. Buttigieg, who has also been mayor of South Bend, Ind., and sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020, was inducted in August during the Democratic National Convention.
The new honorees will be inducted December 7 during the 2024 International LGBTQ+ Leaders Conference in Washington, D.C.
“The 2024 nominees are not only historic firsts and trailblazers for our community, but they are highly impactful leaders, accomplished public servants, and respected for their work,” Victory Institute President and CEO Annise Parker said in a press release. “Their impact has paved the way for those who have followed them and has greatly furthered our mission of making governments worldwide more equitable for LGBTQ+ people. We are honored to induct them among our global list of LGBTQ+ political changemakers and commemorate their impact on history.”
Arrowood, a gay man, is the first out member of the LGBTQ+ community elected to a statewide office in the South. Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, appointed him to the Court of Appeals to fill a vacancy in 2017, and the following year North Carolina voters elected Arrowood to a full eight-year term. He had served on the Court of Appeals in 2007-2008 as well under appointment by another Democratic governor, Mike Easley.
Arrowood has also been a Superior Court judge and an attorney in private practice, specializing in commercial litigation with the Charlotte-area firm of James, McElroy & Diehl.
Roem is the first out transgender person to serve in a state legislature. A Democrat, she was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in 2017 from a northern Virginia district and served three terms there, then was elected to the Virginia Senate in 2023. She is the nation’s second out trans state senator — Sarah McBride in Delaware was the first — as well as the first in Virginia or in any southern state.
In the legislature, she has focused on infrastructure improvement and economic development, and in elections, she has consistently bested anti-LGBTQ+ opponents.
López, a lesbian, was the first out LGBTQ+ person elected mayor of any Latin American capital city. She was elected mayor of Bogotá in 2019, the first woman to achieve that distinction, and served from January 2020 until December 2023. She also has been a senator and a vice-presidential candidate. She has been a prominent advocate for social equity, justice, women’s rights, and environmental sustainability.
The LGBTQ+ Victory Institute is a sister organization of the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund. Victory Fund works to elect out candidates, while Victory Institute provides training and leadership development.
The results from California’s first state-wide survey of LGBTQ+ older adults showed overall high levels of satisfaction with their quality of life but also concerns about the personal, financial, and mental health well-being of transgender women.
The survey, entitled “From Challenges to Resilience,” was conducted in early 2024 with 4,037 respondents. The survey was conducted by the California Department of Aging, the University of California, Berkeley, the University of California, San Francisco School of Nursing’s Department of Community Health Systems, and Openhouse, a nonprofit LGBTQIA+ older adults support group.
“This survey marks an important step in understanding the unique needs of LGBTQIA+ older adults, allowing us to take meaningful steps in shaping services that truly reflect and respond to this community,” CDA Director Susan DeMarois said in a statement. “We’re proud that so many respondents feel California offers a high quality of life, and we are committed to building on these strengths by addressing barriers and creating a more inclusive, supportive future for all older Californians.”
The survey explored seven topics: economic well-being, social well-being, discrimination and safety, health care access, service utilization, mental health and substance use, and cognitive and physical health.
Most of the survey respondents were white (78 percent). Most also identified as cisgender (86 percent). Most lived in Northern California (65 percent) and in urban areas (81 percent).
Most surveyed gave high marks for personal wellness and quality of life (86 percent), while 14 percent rated their quality of life as only fair or poor. Transgender and gender expansive were the least satisfied with the quality of their lives, with 22 percent giving only poor or fair ratings.
Trans women were also the most likely to have recently experienced unfair treatment, disrespect, and discrimination. Overall, 27 percent of those surveyed reported such experiences, but 54 percent of trans women said they have been so victimized recently.
Officials hope to use the results of the survey as a baseline for further research and as a key component of the state’s overall plan to deal with California’s aging population.
“California is leading the way in creating a future where every older adult, regardless of identity, is valued, respected, and supported,” Kim Johnson, Secretary of the California Health & Human Services Agency, said in a statement. “These findings provide a foundation for meaningful change, guiding us as we advance the Master Plan for Aging and ensure that all older Californians feel recognized and included.”
You can download the entire 96-page report here. Alternatively, you can download a 16-page summary of the report here.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers returned to the state Capitol on Monday to begin a special session to protect the state’s progressive policies ahead of another Trump presidency.
The Democratic governor, a fierce critic of President-elect Donald Trump, is positioning California to once again be the center of a resistance effort against the conservative agenda. He is asking his Democratic allies in the Legislature, who hold supermajorities in both chambers, to approve additional funding to the attorney general’s office to prepare for a robust legal fight against anticipated federal challenges.
Democratic Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel on Monday introduced legislation to set aside $25 million for legal fees to respond to potential attacks by the Trump administration on state policies regarding civil rights, climate change, immigration and abortion access.
“While we always hope to collaborate with our federal partners, California will be ready to vigorously defend our interests and values from any unlawful action by the incoming Trump Administration,” Gabriel said in a statement.
“We’re not going to be caught flat-footed,” Newsom said at a recent news conference.
Trump often depicts California as representing all he sees wrong in America. Democrats, which hold every statewide office in California and have commanding margins in the Legislature and congressional delegation, outnumber registered Republicans by nearly 2-to-1 statewide.
Trump called the Democratic governor “New-scum” during a campaign stop in Southern California and has relentlessly lambasted the Democratic stronghold over its large number of immigrants in the U.S. illegally, homeless population and thicket of regulations.
Trump also waded into a water rights battle over the endangered delta smelt, a tiny fish that has pitted environmentalists against farmers and threatened to withhold federal aid to a state increasingly under threat from wildfires. He also vowed to follow through with his campaign promise of carrying out the mass deportation of immigrants without legal status and prosecuting his political enemies.
Before the special session begins, state lawmakers are scheduled to swear in more than two dozen new members and elect leaders for the 2025 legislative session. Hundreds of people also are planning to march around the Capitol on Monday to urge the Legislature to try to stop Trump’s mass deportation plans.
State Attorney General Rob Bonta said his office will protect the state’s immigration population, while Newsom last week unveiled a proposal to revive a rebate program for electric vehicle purchases if the incoming Trump administration eliminates a federal tax credit for people who buy electric cars. Newsom is also considering creating a backup disaster relief fund for the wildfire-prone state after Trump’s threats.
Republican lawmakers blasted Newsom and his Democratic allies over the special session. Rep. Vince Fong, who represents the state’s Central Valley farm belt, said California should work with the incoming Trump administration instead.
“Gavin Newsom’s actions are tone-deaf to the concerns of Californians who disapprove of the direction of our state and country,” Fong said in a video on social media.
Legislators also are expected to spend the year discussing ways to protect dozens of laws expected to be targeted by the Trump administration, including one that has made the state a sanctuary for people seeking abortions who live in states where such practices have been severely limited.
California, the nation’s most populous state, was the first to mandate that by 2035 all new cars, pickup trucks and SUVs sold in California be electric, hydrogen-powered or plug-in hybrids. The state also extends state-funded health care to all low-income residents regardless of their immigration status.
Newsom hasn’t provided details about what actions the lawmakers will consider but said he wanted funding in place before Trump’s inauguration day, Jan. 20. The state spent roughly $42 million in litigation costs during the first Trump administration, officials said.
California is projected to face a $2 billion budget deficit next year, with bigger shortfalls ahead. Gabriel, who sued the first Trump administration in 2017 when it tried to end a program to shield young immigrants from being deported, said lining up the funding now is “a wise investment.”
California successfully clawed back $57 million between 2017 and 2018 after prevailing in a lawsuit to block the Trump administration from putting immigration enforcement conditions on certain federal law enforcement grants. Another legal victory over the citizenship question in the 2020 census forced the federal government to return $850,000 to the state, according to the attorney general’s office.
“We are positioned, if necessary, to be the tip of the spear of the resistance and to push back against any unlawful or unconstitutional actions by the Trump administration,” said Gabriel, who chairs the budget committee.
During Trump’s first presidency, Democratic attorneys general banded together to file lawsuits over immigration, Trump’s travel ban for residents of Muslim countries, the environment, immigration and other topics. But Trump has one possible advantage this time around: He was aggressive in nominating conservative jurists to federal courts at all levels, including the Supreme Court.
A federal judge ruled Monday that a volleyball player for the San Jose State University women’s team, who is at the center of controversy about transgender athletes, can compete in this week’s conference tournament.
Judge S. Kato Crews, with the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, denied the emergency motion for a preliminary injunction filed this month against the Mountain West Conference.
The plaintiffs in the lawsuit that preceded the emergency motion included San Jose’s co-captain Brooke Slusser and 10 athletes from other schools who argued that their Title IX rights are being violated by allowing the athlete to play for a women’s sports team, according to the news outlet.
The 132-page lawsuit sought to prevent the player from participating in the conference tournament.
The San Jose State University Spartans line up for the playing of the national anthem and player introductions for their NCAA Mountain West women’s volleyball game against the Colorado State University Rams in Fort Collins, Colo., on Oct. 3, 2024. Santiago Mejia / San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images
In addition to barring the athlete from the tournament, the emergency motion also sought to rescind the conference’s policy that establishes wins, losses and forfeits if a member of a non-canceling team has a transgender player; rescind the wins SJSU had and losses against teams that refused to play SJSU and to recalculate winning percentages based on games from earlier this season that some teams forfeited and apply the new calculations, and seedings, to the conference tournament that begins Wednesday.
Several conference teams have refused to play SJSU and instead forfeited the games.
The player, whom NBC News is not naming, has never spoken publicly, and SJSU has not confirmed that one of its players is transgender.
In Monday’s ruling, the judge determined that the emergency motion was a heavy lift for the conference at the 11th hour and was not needed because teams that had previously forfeited did so knowing the conference’s 2022 transgender policy.
“The relief requested with the Emergency Motion would risk confusion and upend months of planning and would prejudice, at a minimum, Defendants and other teams participating in the tournament depending on the results of any reseeding. On balance, the equities favor the MWC’s interest in conducting and proceeding with the tournament as planned,” the ruling read.
The judge also cited other laws and previous rulings noting that it’s impossible to discriminate against a person based on transgender status without discriminating against them based on sex.
In a statement Monday, San Jose State lauded the judge’s decision.
“San José State University will continue to support its student-athletes and reject discrimination in all forms,” the university said said. “All San José State University student-athletes are eligible to participate in their sports under NCAA and Mountain West Conference rules.”
The Mountain West Conference has said it is taking the suit’s allegations seriously.
“The Mountain West Conference prioritizes the best interests of our student-athletes and takes great care to adhere to NCAA and MW policies,” the group said in a statement. “While we are unable to comment on the pending litigation of this particular situation, we take seriously all concerns of student-athlete welfare and fairness.”
Last month, multiple teams canceled games against San Jose State, including on Oct. 24, when the University of Nevada, Reno, canceled citing it would not have enough players.
Nevada players announced that they were refusing “to participate in any match that advances injustice against female athletes,” without providing further details. The school’s athletic department said it wouldn’t back out from the match, referencing state equality laws, but added that no players would be disciplined.
The game was switched to San Jose, California, “in the interest of both programs,” the teams said in a joint statement — with no further explanation — before Nevada elected to forfeit.
Earlier this season, Southern Utah, Boise State, Wyoming and Utah State also canceled games against their conference foe.
In a letter sent Nov. 18 to the commissioner of the Mountain West Conference, Republican senators and representatives said the conference was violating Title IX sex discrimination protections and failing to meet its own requirements regarding gender equity.
“Permitting biological men to play in women’s sports is not equitable; it is an injustice,” the letter reads. “Under these guidelines, it is only fair that biological males play men’s sports and biological females play women’s sports.”
“Clearly, the Mountain West Conference has dropped the ball,” it continues.
The group of GOP lawmakers included Sens. Mitt Romney and Mike Lee and Reps. John Curtis, Blake Moore, Burgess Owens and Celeste Maloy of Utah; Sens. Mike Crapo and James Risch and Reps. Russ Fulcher and Mike Simpson of Idaho; and Sens. John Barrasso and Sen. Cynthia Lummis and Rep. Harriet Hageman of Wyoming.
Colombia’s Special Jurisdiction for Peace (Juridicción Especial para la Paz, JEP) has charged six former leaders of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia,FARC) guerrillas with war crimes for the forced recruitment and use of 18,677 children from 1971 to 2016. In addition to forced recruitment, the charges encompass torture, killings, reproductive and sexual violence, and targeted violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) children.
The JEP, a transitional justice mechanism created by the 2016 Peace Accordsbetween the Colombian government and the FARC, is tasked with trying crimes, including crimes under international law and grave human rights violations, committed during Colombia’s armed conflict.
“Macro-case” 07 before the JEP is focused on child recruitment and involves 9,854 victims, including 8,903 who belong to five indigenous communities and 951 others, including survivors and families who continue the search for missing recruited children.
The JEP’s Chamber of Recognition of Truth charged the former FARC leaders with heinous crimes, including the mistreatment, torture, and homicide of recruited children; reproductive violence affecting recruited girls; and sexual violence against recruited boys and girls, including torture, rape, and sexual slavery.
In a historic first under a transitional justice mechanism, the chamber also charged the former leaders with violence against recruited boys and girls based on prejudice related to the children’s sexual orientation or gender identity or expression. The chamber found that several LGBT girls and boys “suffered sexual violence and abuse as a way of ‘correcting’ or ‘punishing’ them.” This unprecedented recognition of violence targeted against LGBT children sets a new standard for addressing discrimination as an element of human rights abuses in conflict.
These indictments go a long way in addressing the impunity that has long characterized Colombia’s armed conflict. The JEP should now make sure that defendants are fairly prosecuted and, if found guilty, appropriately punished for their crimes.
In multiple states this election year, voters signaled an overall shift away from “parents’ rights” issues, fear mongering, and partisan politics, including the rejection of anti-trans candidate for North Carolina governor Mark Robinson as well as other state and local educational posts.
North Carolina voters also rejected Moms for Liberty-endorsed Superintendent of Public Instruction candidate Michele Morrow, whose campaign and record was nearly equally as disturbing as Robinson’s
Morrow’s anti-LGBTQ record included a defamatory rant against opponent Mo Green, who received the endorsement of state LGBTQ organization Equality North Carolina. Morrow falsely and dangerously misrepresented the plus symbol in LGBTQ+ in a post on Twitter/X: “NEWSFLASH…the ‘+’ includes PEDOPH*L*A!!” The American Psychological Association notes that the plus is often added “to recognize those not captured within or represented by the acronym LGBTQ,” including asexual, intersex, and nonbinary people.
Michele Morrow launches an anti-LGBTQ rant against opponent Mo Green. (Credit: QnotesCarolinas)
In a recorded clip on her website and YouTube, Morrow addressed a school board, laying bare her values under the guise of “protecting our children.”
“We are talking about trying to figure out how to make our children be as successful as possible, and I am sure that that is your goal. And what we have been called tonight is what they’re claiming we’re saying to children. We’re having an adult conversation,” Morrow said. “There are not children in this room. We aren’t going into the schools and calling them names. They call us Marxist, and hateful, and bigots, and everything else under the sun. Well, let me tell ‘ya: Less than five percent of the entire population of North Carolina identifies as LGBTQ. You guys all claim you want democracy. You know what democracy is? It’s the majority plus one! It’s 50 plus one! You know what? More than 50 percent of the people in this state claim that they believe in God – almighty God, who made us male and female. God who made marriage between a man and a woman. God who said that we must protect our children.”
Morrow had also falsely labeled the public schools she wanted to lead as “indoctrination centers,” while her record included participation in the January 6insurrection, and called for the execution of former President Barack Obama. Political comedy channel The Good Liarsheld Morrow accountable for her actions.
The Good Liars confronts Michele Morrow over threatening Tweets she made against former President Barack Obama. (Credit: The Good Liars on X)
In a viral clip, Jason Selvig approached Morrow with printed copies of her threatening tweets under the guise of requesting an autograph. After stroking her ego, he read the now-deleted social media posts back to her, word for word, before making a hasty escape.
Morrow ultimately lost the race to Mo Green, who captured just over 51 percent of the vote.
Maurice Green received a majority of the vote, 51.1%, in the race for North Carolina Superintendent, narrowly defeating opponent Michele Morrow.
Green served as superintendent to North Carolina’s third-largest school district, Guilford County Schools, and was Executive Director of Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, which “has invested more than $691 million into North Carolina” to “address the impact of racism ingrained in state institutions — including schools — and support ideas aimed at mitigating hate’s effect on policy and people.”
Green’s platform includes a promise to “celebrate the good in public education” and “ensure safe, secure learning environments,” and opposes The Parental Bill of Rights, which bans discussion about gender identity and sexuality in K-4 classrooms, and requires that schools out students to their parents if they request a change to their name or pronouns.
Green, nominee for North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction, holds a news conference. (Credit: NC Newsline)
“Every child deserves to learn, and every staff member deserves to work, in an environment that is safe, welcoming, and inclusive,” Green said.
State’s Most Populous County Wakes up, Rejects Several Anti-Trans Candidates
Also in North Carolina, three of four Moms for Liberty-endorsed candidates were defeated in races for Wake County Board of Education:
District 5: Incumbent Lynn Edmonds “soundly” defeated Ted Hills. During her first term, Edmonds “voted, alongside the board’s six other Democrats, to bring the school system into compliance with new, federally-mandated protections for LGBTQ students.” Hills opposed the Title IX updates.
District 6: Sam Hershey, an anti-book book ban advocate, beat challenger Josh Points “by a 40-point margin.” Hershey voiced support for compliance with federally-mandated Title IX updates.
District 8: Lindsay Mahaffey, who was endorsed by the Equality North Carolina PAC, was elected to her fifth term. Her opponent Elizabeth McDuffie rejected Title IX protections for transgender students and campaigned alongside Michele Morrow.
District 3 incumbent Wing Ng was the only anti-LGBTQ candidate elected, but his victory was narrow. INDY Weekreports that Equality North Carolina PAC-endorsed Jordyn Blaise lost “by a razor-thin margin of just about one point.” Lastly, Toshiba Rice won her bid for reelection to District 4. Rice voted to support compliance with the Biden-Harris Administration’s federal Title IX updates.
Equality Victories in the Sunshine State
While Florida’s 60 percent supermajority requirement led to narrow losses for abortion rights (57.2 percent voted in favor of expanding access to abortion) and legalized recreational marijuana (55.9 were in favor), a GOP-supported proposed constitutional amendment that would have led to partisan school board races also lost. In their rejection of this amendment, the League of Women Voters of Florida and other opponents said, “schools should not be politicized and everyone should be welcome at schools regardless of party affiliation.”
Katie Blaxberg defeated DeSantis and M4L-endorsed Stacy Geier for Pinellas County School Board by over four percentage points (52.06% to 47.94%).
Michelle Bonczek bested Mark Cioffi, who was endorsed by DeSantis, by nearly 10 percent (54.99% to 45.01%).
Meanwhile, Equality Florida (EQFL) saw significant growth in their political representation. With the organization’s leadership on the ground, they doubled the number of LGBTQ legislators in the statehouse, one of their explicit goals for the election. But they didn’t only make gains in the statehouse. All told, more than 85 EQFL-endorsed candidates, including eight members of the LGBTQ community, were elected to office.
“In the fight against extremist takeovers of Florida school boards, voters rejected DeSantis’s culture wars and divisive agenda,” Equality Florida said. “This year, we delivered DeSantis and Moms for Liberty a string of humiliating school board defeats. Nearly two-thirds of DeSantis-backed school board candidates lost their races this year. Meanwhile, over 72% of Equality Florida Action PAC endorsed school board candidates won their elections. This progress is proof of the power of resistance. We are turning the tide, even when it feels like everything is stacked against us.”
Propelling the “Relentless Flow of Acceptance”
Journalist and transgender rights activist Erin Reed has been tracking the resultsof down-ballot races throughout the country.
“Even in affirming states, school boards can make life difficult for LGBTQ+ students,” Reed wrote in her newsletter, “or, in states with anti-trans and anti-queer legislation, they can push back against restrictive policies.”
Erin Reed and fiancée Montana State Rep. Zooey Zephyr celebrate after Reed wins a GLAAD Media Award for her Erin in the Morning blog. (Credit: ErinInTheMorning on X)
Reed’s reports on social media include LGBTQ news with an emphasis on transgender rights. In a post-election message of support to her trans and queer readers, she drew parallels between the 2024 election and the fight for marriage equality in the early 2000s that pushed on despite setbacks.
After former President George W. Bush was reelected in 2004, “he delivered a State of the Union speech where he said, for instance, that he will enshrine a constitutional ban on gay marriage into United States law,” Reed said. “And I could stop there. I could say that there are people that likely did stop there, that saw this and said that there was no future, but you cannot stop the relentless flow of time. You cannot stop the relentless flow of acceptance.”
