In Montana, District Court Judge Shane Vannatta temporarily blocked a law—signed into law by Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte on March 27—that prevented transgender folks from using bathrooms in public buildings that aligned with their gender identities, The Advocate noted, citing the AP. Vannatta issued a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) barring enforcement of House Bill 121 until April 21. “Montana’s anti-trans bathroom ban is BLOCKED by the courts,” trans Montana state Rep. Zooey Zephyr posted to X. “The judge finds that the ban was ‘motivated by animus’ and that it showed no evidence that it protects safety and privacy.” Gianforte spokesperson Kaitlin Price said, “We’re not surprised to see far-left activists run to the courts to stop this common-sense law” before denying that trans women are women.
Virginia’s Danica Roem—the first out transgender person to serve in a state legislature—will be one of the people training candidates at a first-of-its-kind event in September in Los Angeles, per The Advocate. The LGBTQ+ Victory Institute will hold a Candidate and Campaign Training program for all aspiring LGBTQ+ candidates Sept. 4-7 in Los Angeles; on Sept. 7-9, there will be a specialized session for trans, non-binary and gender-nonconforming people who want to run for office that is a collaboration between Victory Institute and Advocates for Trans Equality. Roem, who in her first election, beat 13-term Republican incumbent Bob Marshall—considered the most anti-LGBTQ+ lawmaker in Virginia.
A recent study published in Nature explores ways that racism continues to impact queer Asian men, according to Queerty. The authors say many studies indicate racism impacts the health of non-White individuals; however, Asian people have often been overlooked in such research. They also note that most Asian people report racism as a significant problem, with many believing it has worsened since 2020, when the COVID pandemic prompted pervasive anti-Asian bias. The Yale School of Public Health researchers wanted to see if a link existed between the perception of racism and several health factors, such as smoking, drinking, oral health and a willingness to use PrEP to prevent HIV infection. The study can be read here.
The Colorado House preliminarily approved two measures that would strengthen protections for transgender people and gender-affirming care, Colorado Newsline reported. “What’s happening at the federal level is casting a long shadow and we don’t know what the future holds. There is a real possibility that gender-affirming care could be at risk,” said outgoing Democratic state Rep. Brianna Titone—the legislature’s first and only transgender member. “Passing this bill is about telling Coloradans that no, we are not going to let that happen. It’s about taking control of what we can do to ensure that our friends and neighbors and family members continue to get the care they need regardless of what might happen in the future.”
Speaking of Colorado state Rep. Brianna Titone, the politician—who is term-limited at the statehouse—is running to be the next state treasurer, Colorado Public Radio noted. Titone (a former geologist) currently chairs the House Joint Technology committee, is the vice chair of the Finance Committee and is part of the Appropriations Committee. If she succeeds in the treasurer’s race, Titone hopes to make history as the country’s first openly transgender individual elected to a statewide executive office. In that role, she would prioritize government efficiency, fiscal responsibility, and also work to protect public employee pensions.
In January, Elisa Rae Shupe—the first person in the U.S. to be legally recognized as non-binary—died by suicide in Syracuse, New York at age 61, although Shupe’s death was not confirmed until recently, per The Advocate. In 2019 (three years after winning a landmark case against the state of Oregon that allowed her to identify as non-binary on identity documents), Shupe claimed she was no longer trans and began speaking out against “trangenderism,” calling it a “fraud.” However, after years as an anti-trans individual, she renounced that activism and ultimately revealed emails that exposed how some of the most influential anti-trans organizations were communicating.
Chris Pappas—a gay man representing New Hampshire’s First Congressional District in the U.S. House—announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat as fellow Democrat Jeanne Shaheen plans to leave the post, The Advocate reported. He would be the first out gay man in the Senate, as there have already been lesbians and bisexual women in the chamber.I’m running for Senate because our economy, our democracy, and our way of life are on the line, and New Hampshire deserves a senator who is grounded in the people, places, and values of this state,” Pappas said in a video on social media. Pappas became the first out LGBTQ+ person to represent New Hampshire in Congress when he was elected to the U.S. House in 2018.
Andry Hernandez Romero—a gay makeup artist who came to the United States in 2024 in search of asylum, and who has no criminal history—was one of 238 Venezuelan migrants who were flown from the U.S. to a maximum security prison in El Salvador recently, according to CBS News. President Trump, who campaigned on eradicating the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, brokered a deal with El Salvador’s president that allows the U.S. to send deportees to the Terrorism Confinement Center. Hernandez Romero left his home country last May because he was targeted for being gay and for his political views, his attorney, Lindsay Toczylowski, said, adding that she fears for her client’s safety.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s score on the 2024 Equality California (EQCA) Legislative Scorecard (76.9%) was the fourth lowest given since the statewide LGBTQ+-rights group began grading lawmakers in Sacramento over two decades ago, The Bay Area Reporter noted. Newsom’s score was the lowest earned by a Democratic governor; Republican former governor Arnold Schwarzenegger had the top three lowest scores ever from EQCA. Despite signing 10 bills into law last year among the 13 that EQCA scored lawmakers on, Newsom still received the equivalent of a nearly C+ grade—in part, because he had vetoed three bills that the organization had co-sponsored during last year’s legislative session. Also, after the fallout from Newsom’s comments about restricting trans girls from women’s sports teams on the debut March 5 episode of his podcast, This is Gavin Newsom, Politico reported that two of Newsom’s top aides, in January, asked members of the Legislative LGBTQ Caucus not to file trans-rights bills this year.
Lesbian U.S. Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minnesota) will be one of the recipients of the James Beard Awards’ inaugural Impact Awards, per the James Beard website. A member of the House Committee on Agriculture, Craig is part of the Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party. The honor will be given during the James Beard Award ceremony in Chicago on June 15. Other Impact Award honorees include EDWINS Leadership & Restaurant Institute CEO Brandon Edwin Chrostowski; EatOkra CEO and Co-Founder Anthony Edwards Jr.; Freedmen Heirs Foundation Executive Director Seanicaa Edwards Herron; and Native Conservancy President Dune Lankard.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L Bragg announced the indictment of Jamile Daniel, 29, for allegedly attacking a gay Latino couple after making homophobic and xenophobic remarks in March, The Spirit noted. Daniel is charged in a New York State Supreme Court indictment with two counts each of assault in the third degree as a hate crime, a Class E felony; and aggravated harassment in the second degree, a Class A misdemeanor. Daniel is being held in the West Facility at Rikers Island on $10,000 bail; his scheduled court date is June 26.
The National Black Justice Collective (NBJC) issued a statement mourning the death of Kaitoria “Kai” Bankz, a 31-year-old Black transgender woman. On March 31—the Trans Day of Visibility—Bankz was killed and her brother was injured during an attempted carjacking in Autaugaville, Alabama. A suspect has been arrested and charged with murder and attempted murder. NBJC is urging people to honor Bankz by supporting the work of the organization’s Benevolence grantee and her employer, The Knights and Orchids Society; it’s also encouraging members of the Black LGBTQ+/SGL community to apply for six FREE therapy sessions through NBJC’s partnership with the Boris L. Henson Foundation.
NBJC also issued a release mourning the death of Ervianna “Baydee” Johnson, a 25-year-old Black transgender woman whose death is being investigated as a homicide. Johnson was found dead not far from her home in Tabor City, North Carolina, on Feb. 19; her family reported her missing a few days before, having last seen her on Feb. 13. NBJC Director of Public Policy and Programs Victoria Kirby York. “What is extremely frustrating is we are again seeing law enforcement and the media misgendering the victim. Not only is this disrespectful to who the victim was and the life they lived, but it can actively make it harder to solve the crime and receive justice.” Anyone with information on Johnson’s death is asked to call The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation at 910-939-6200 or the Columbus County Sheriff’s Office at 910-642-6551.
Seattle police arrested Andre Karlow for allegedly violently assaulting a transgender woman in the city’s University District on March 27, KOMO reported. The victim told police she was headed to meet her partner at the light rail station after leaving work when a group of men called her a “drag queen” and told her to “take your f—— makeup off.” The victim began taking her cellphone out to record the men, but court documents state “the group of suspects began assaulting her by punching her in the face.” The suspects allegedly continued to use slurs and misgender the victim, as well as repeatedly shouting “Semper Fi” during the attack. Karlow was involved in a domestic violence incident and another hate crime involving a different trans woman in September 2024.
Alexander “Somni” Leatham—who’s alleged to be part of the Zizians, a cult-like group of political radicals—was forcibly removed from a California courtroom following an outburst in which she repeatedly claimed that an officer had told her that she should be killed for being transgender, The Independent noted. Leatham was one of five alleged members of the group of radical vegans, many of whom are trans, who were in court; several of them, including Leatham, face charges in connection to a string of killings across the country.
Prosecutors want more than seven years in prison for disgraced, out gay former U.S. Rep. George Santos after he pleaded guilty to federal fraud and identity-theft charges, according to NBC News. The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York argued that a significant sentence was deserved because the New York Republican’s “unparalleled crimes” had “made a mockery” of the country’s election system. Santos’ attorneys emailed The Associated Press that the seven-year proposal was “absurd and unfounded,” saying it appears “designed to beat up on a man that already took full responsibility for his actions.” They argued for a two-year prison term, which is the mandatory minimum sentence for aggravated identity theft.
The University of Cincinnati removed its controversial “biological” bathroom signs just a little more than one month after posting them, The Advocate noted. The school was criticized in February after putting up signs on some of its restrooms that read “biological men” or “biological women,” apparently to comply with a new state law; Senate Bill 104 mandates that students at public K-12 schools, colleges, and universities use restrooms and other facilities according to their sex assigned at birth. The university—which was not required by law to hang the signs—has since removed the signs after widespread backlash, including a protest attended by hundreds of students. Workers had to put up and then take down 117 signs (costing $16,000 in labor and materials) across four residential communities on campus.
NYC’s LGBT Community Center quickly recognized a staff union after workers presented a list of demands to management last month, Gay City News reported. The union’s recognition was welcomed by The Center and the union itself, called Center Workers United. “Our organization deeply values the dedicated work of our staff for the LGBTQ+ community and the importance of what each of us brings to our shared cause,” The Center CEO Dr. Carla Smith said in a statement. “The Center believes that empowering LGBTQ+ people and building a strong LGBTQ+ community are essential common goals and will work with the union toward reaching a collective bargaining agreement as thoughtfully and expeditiously as possible.”
Philadelphia resident Alice Wilson—who fatally shot her wife in 2023—was sentenced to 10 to 20 years imprisonment, plus five years of probation, according to Philadelphia Gay News. Wilson, 60, fatally shot her wife Eileen Adams, 63, after an altercation involving a gun that Adams reportedly owned. Wilson said she acted in self-defense but the district attorney’s office charged her with murder. In September 2024, Common Pleas Judge J. Scott O’Keefe announced his verdict of voluntary manslaughter after hearing testimony from several witnesses, including a relative of Adams and a forensic specialist.
Out gay former NBA player Jason Collins returned to his old stomping grounds at the Barclays Center for the Brooklyn Nets’ Pride Night before jetting off to San Antonio to help with an LGBTQ+ youth inclusion clinic at the Final Four, Gay City News noted. This year’s Pride Night game, held on April 3, included a live halftime performance by the Brooklynettes along with a broader celebration of ballroom culture with performers such as Lolita Juicy Couture of the House of Juicy Couture and Jamaican dancehall artist 4N Yardi. Collins presented awards on the court to Barton Lee Jackson III, the executive director of the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce New York (NGLCC), and Phyllis Mehalakes, who is NGLCC’s ambassador chair.
Queer|Art—NYC’s home for the creative and professional development of LGBTQ+ artists—has reopened applications for two national grants: the Illuminations Grant for Black Trans Women Visual Artists, and the Barbara Hammer Lesbian Experimental Filmmaking Grant, per a media release. Judges for the 2025 Illuminations Grant include curator/writer Legacy Russell; community organizer, arts advocate and producer Jordyn Jay; and interdisciplinary artist and independent curator Lee Laa Ray Guillory. Judges for the 2025 Barbara Hammer Grant include interdisciplinary artist A.K. Burns; director, producer and writer Cheryl Dunye; and interdisciplinary filmmaker Ela Troyano. Applications for both grants are open through July 2; prospective applicants should review application requirements and apply directly through the Queer|Art website.
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