State

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

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

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New Exhibition at SF GLBT Historical Society Honors the Lesbian Business Owners Who Sustained a Community

On View March 12 | The Museum Opening this month: Directory of Dreams: Bay Area Lesbian Economies and Radical Care, 1970–1995. This new exhibition, curated and co-presented by the Bay Area Lesbian Archives (BALA), traces the everyday efforts of Bay Area lesbians who refused erasure and built community networks rooted in care, solidarity, and economic self-determination. From women-run cafés and bookstores to credit unions and service businesses, these were more than small enterprises — they became networks of mutual aid sustaining entire communities. Grassroots tools made these worlds visible to one another: self-published directories, maps, flyers, menus, and ephemera connecting people to jobs, housing, political spaces, […]

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Trans teen school friends die by suicide just 10 months apart

Two transgender teenagers who were close friends at the same California high school have died by suicide less than a year apart. Summer Devi Mehta, 17, died on 3 February, 10 months after her classmate Ash He, 15. Both attended Palo Alto High School in the Bay Area. Mehta, a junior, left a note expressing hope that her death would raise awareness of the suicide crisis affecting the trans community. In a tribute and fundraising page Summer’s family created for The Trevor Project, they said: “The world was a scary place for her, as a transgender, autistic woman. It should not have been. […]

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CalABLE continues to support financial empowerment for the disability community, reflected in stories from its 2026 ambassadors

CalABLE, a savings and investment program for people with disabilities administered by the California State Treasurer’s Office, recently announced its 2026 Ambassador Class—a group of individuals who represent and advocate for California’s diverse disability community. Serving as extensions of the CalABLE team, ambassadors help promote financial independence, education, and an improved quality of life for people with disabilities across age, disability type, race, gender, and geography. The new class of ambassadors joins the program as it reaches a major milestone: $250 million in total savings, reflecting strong participation and growing confidence among Californians with disabilities and their families. “At a […]

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The surprising way a CA professor & her students are preserving centuries of LGBTQ+ history

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In a world overrun by fake news, Professor Juana María Rodríguez is unflinchingly committed to facts.  Since 2016, the University of California, Berkeley professor has mobilized students to preserve LGBTQ+ stories on one of the world’s most extensive historical records: Wikipedia.  Through a unique course taught in partnership with Wiki Education, Rodríguez and her students produce entries for the site that cover niche LGBTQ+ subjects, many of which have fallen through the cracks due to contributor bias. And as the Trump administration works overtime to erase LGBTQ+ history from the national consciousness, Rodríguez knows that the best defense is putting […]

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McMahon: California Ban On Outing Students Is Illegal

Politico reports: The Trump administration announced Wednesday that a California policy allowing school districts to withhold information from parents about their child’s gender identity violates federal law. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said a federal investigation determined state officials “egregiously abused” their authority by pressuring local districts to keep quiet about transgender students. “Children do not belong to the State—they belong to families,” McMahon said. “We will use every available mechanism to hold California accountable for these practices and restore parental rights.” The findings of the federal probe could put at risk the nearly $8 billion in education funding the state […]

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LGBTQ+ Advocates Condemn Newsom Administration Over $17 Million Health Equity Cut

LGBTQ+ advocates are sharply criticizing Governor Gavin Newsom’s administration following the abrupt elimination of over $17 million in dedicated health equity funding for LGBTQ+ women, transgender men, and non-binary individuals, a move they say threatens access to vital care for some of California’s most underserved communities. Joe Hollendoner, CEO of the Los Angeles LGBT Center, issued a strong statement denouncing the decision, calling it “a betrayal of queer and trans Californians.” He added, “We call on the Governor and the State legislature to reverse this harmful decision by honoring the promise made by the legislature in 2019 and renewing this […]

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Evil Homo: Thiel Donates Millions To Stop California Wealth Tax

The New York Times reports: Some of Silicon Valley’s ultrawealthy have been in a financial frenzy in recent weeks over how to protect their assets from a proposed California ballot measure that would tax their billions. Now comes the next, more muscular phase: trying to beat the proposal, which supporters are trying to place on the ballot in November. The first seven-figure political donation that can be used to defeat the so-called billionaires tax became public on Friday: Peter Thiel, the venture capitalist and chairman of Palantir, donated $3 million to a committee opposing the proposed initiative, according to a new disclosure. […]

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Anti-LGBTQ+ Republican congressman from California dies suddenly

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U.S. Rep. Doug LaMalfa, a Republican lawmaker representing California, whose career included his opposition to marriage equality and transgender rights, died suddenly this week at 65, according to the House GOP. His death further narrows an already fragile Republican majority in the U.S. House and removes a central figure in the party’s escalating campaign against trans rights. “House Republicans mourn the loss of Congressman Doug LaMalfa,” the party wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “He proudly represented California’s 1st Congressional District from 2013 to 2026, serving as Chairman of the Congressional Western Caucus.” House Speaker Mike Johnson, the Louisiana Republican, wrote in a statement that “Congress is devastated to learn this morning about […]

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Equality California Statement on Federal Court Ruling Undermining California Laws Protecting Transgender Students

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Equality California, the nation’s largest statewide LGBTQ+ civil rights organization, released the following statement from Executive Director Tony Hoang in response to a federal court ruling in Mirabelli v. Olson, which blocked enforcement of multiple California laws that protect transgender and gender-nonconforming students from forced outing at school and allow educators to respect a student’s name and pronouns. The state has asked to pause the ruling pending appeal. “Parents should be involved in their children’s lives, and in the vast majority of cases, parents and families are directly involved in conversations about sexual orientation and gender identity. That is why we passed […]

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