LGBT Falls Church

02/10/2026

02/07/2026

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger sends marriage equality & abortion rights amendments to voters,
“We want to make sure that Virginia families know that here in Virginia, it is not just a Supreme Court decision that protects them, but it is also our state constitution," the Democratic governor said.
LGBTQ+ advocates and Virginia legislators applaud Gov. Abigail Spanberger as she signs legislation that will place the issue of enshrining marriage equality into the state's constitution before the voters.Office of Gov. Abigail Spanberger/Screenshot
With advocates at her side and an eye on a volatile national legal landscape, Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger Friday signed legislation sending a slate of constitutional amendments to voters, including a measure that would finally erase the state’s ban on same-s*x marriages and replace it with an affirmative right to marriage equality.

02/05/2026

40+ Openly LGBTQ Athletes to
Compete in Winter Olympics

(from the Washington Blade)
More than 40 openly LGBTQ athletes are expected to compete in the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics that open on Friday.

Outsports.com notes eight Americans — including speedskater Conor McDermott-Mostowy and figure skater Amber Glenn — are among the 44 openly LGBTQ athletes who will compete in the games. The LGBTQ sports website also reports Ellis Lundholm, a mogul skier from Sweden, is the first openly transgender athlete to compete in any Winter Olympics.

“I’ve always been physically capable. That was never a question,” Glenn told Outsports.com. “It was always a mental and competence problem. It was internal battles for so long: when to lean into my strengths and when to work on my weaknesses, when to finally let myself portray the way I am off the ice on the ice. That really started when I came out publicly.”
McDermott-Mostowy is among the six athletes who have benefitted from the Out Athlete Fund, a group that has paid for their Olympics-related training and travel. The other beneficiaries are freestyle skier Gus Kenworthy, speed skater Brittany Bowe, snowboarder Maddy Schaffrick, alpine skier Breezy Johnson, and Paralympic Nordic skier Jake Adicoff.

Out Athlete Fund and Pride House Los Angeles – West Hollywood on Friday will host a free watch party for the opening ceremony.

“When athletes feel seen and accepted, they’re free to focus on their performance, not on hiding who they are,” Haley Caruso, vice president of the Out Athlete Fund’s board of directors, told the Los Angeles Blade.

Four Italian LGBTQ advocacy groups — Arcigay, CIG Arcigay Milano, Milano Pride, and Pride Sport Milano — have organized the games’ Pride House that will be located at the MEET Digital Culture Center in Milan.

Pride House on its website notes it will “host a diverse calendar of events and activities curated by associations, activists, and cultural organizations that share the values of Pride” during the games. These include an opening ceremony party at which Checcoro, Milan’s first LGBTQ chorus, will perform.

ILGA World, which is partnering with Pride House, is the co-sponsor of a Feb. 21 event that will focus on LGBTQ-inclusion in sports. Valentina Petrillo, a trans Paralympian, is among those will participate in a discussion that Simone Alliva, a journalist who writes for the Italian newspaper Domani, will moderate.

“The event explores inclusivity in sport — including amateur levels — with a focus on transgender people, highlighting the role of civil society, lived experiences, and the voices of athletes,” says Milano Pride on its website.

The games will take place against the backdrop of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee’s decision to ban trans women from competing in women’s sporting events.

President Donald Trump last February issued an executive order that bans trans women and girls from female sports teams in the U.S. A group of Republican lawmakers in response to the directive demanded the International Olympics Committee ban trans athletes from women’s athletic competitions.

The IOC in 2021 adopted its “Framework on Fairness, Inclusion and Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity and S*x Variations” that includes the following provisions:

• 3.1 Eligibility criteria should be established and implemented fairly and in a manner that does not systematically exclude athletes from competition based upon their gender identity, physical appearance and/or s*x variations.

• 3.2 Provided they meet eligibility criteria that are consistent with principle 4 (“Fairness”, athletes should be allowed to compete in the category that best aligns with their self-determined gender identity.

• 3.3 Criteria to determine disproportionate competitive advantage may, at times, require testing of an athlete’s performance and physical capacity. However, no athlete should be subject to targeted testing because of, or aimed at determining, their s*x, gender identity and/or s*x variations.

The 2034 Winter Olympics are scheduled to take place in Salt Lake City. The 2028 Summer Olympics will occur in Los Angeles.

02/04/2026

Here's some current news from a reliable source:
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Fabrice Houdart | A weekly newsletter on LGBTQ+ Equality
This week: Milano Cortina gears up, Mandelson spirals, Scouting America under pressure, Don Lemon’s woes, Nicki Minaj stirs the pot, Valentine’s Day looms—and the news takes an unserious turn...
Fabrice Houdart
Feb 4



READ IN APP

This week’s headlines are dominated by the never-ending “Epstein files” and the Winter Olympics. Like (almost) everything, both have an LGBTQ+ angle. First, the sudden fall from grace of Lord Peter Mandelson reminds us to keep an eye on our A-Gays and how they reflect on us. Second, the “Heated Rivalry” effect—along with Grindr’s new public campaign to protect q***r athletes—has brought LGBTQ+ stories back into the Olympics. I did my best to highlight other important news, such as a study on how poverty compounds homophobia, HRC’s 2026 Corporate Equality Index, the Florida cuts to life-saving AIDS medications, Nicki Minaj’s betrayal...

This week: Milano Cortina gears up, Mandelson spirals, Scouting America under pressure, Don Lemon’s woes, Nicki Minaj stirs the pot, Valentine’s Day looms—and the news takes an unserious turn...

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Global News
Olympic Games: Q***r Storylines Ahead of Milano Cortina
The Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina, taking place from February 6–22, are shaping up to be the most LGBTQ+-inclusive Games yet, with at least 44 openly LGBTQ+ athletes expected to compete and increased attention to how they are treated both on and off the ice. “Heated Rivalry” is, of course, adding to the hype. In this context, Grindr, in its usual PR move, has announced it will disable distance and location-based features inside the Olympic Village—turning off tools like “Explore” and hiding how far users are from one another—to lower the risk of digital tracking or outing, especially for athletes from countries where being LGBTQ+ is criminalized. The app is also offering free premium privacy protections to all Olympians. While we are on this topic, you can also check out the photos of this French ice skater.

UK: Mandelson, Epstein, and the Gay “Exception”
Peter Mandelson, one of Labour’s most influential modern strategists and a prominent gay figure since 1987, resigned from the party and the House of Lords this week after newly unsealed Epstein court documents and emails renewed scrutiny of his long-standing ties to the disgraced financier. Mandelson has claimed Epstein kept him “separate” from his s*xual crimes because he is gay, even as records suggest he remained in contact after Epstein’s 2008 conviction and allegedly discussed sensitive political and economic matters with him. Read more on the BBC.

UK: Police to Reinvestigate Death with Grindr Blackmail Links
Following a damaging report by the Professional Standards Department, Hertfordshire Police have been ordered to reopen the case of Scott Gough, a 56-year-old man who died suddenly in March 2024, the day after a group of men came to his house demanding car keys. Despite signs of possible blackmail through Grindr—similar to at least four other local cases involving the same group—Gough’s death was initially not considered suspicious. His partner expressed concerns about homophobia and mishandling, with the report criticizing police delays but stopping short of confirming discriminatory intent. Read more here.

China: Shanghai’s Underground Techno Scene Under Pressure
I always feel that our opinions on the Chinese LGBTQ+ situation need nuance. In this piece for the Financial Times, veteran DJ Ma Haiping looks back on the golden age around The Shelter, a legendary basement club that doubled as a haven for misfits and LGBTQ-friendly crowds until officials refused to renew its licence and shut it down on 31 December 2016, returning the space to its official role as an emergency bomb shelter. Since then, expanded surveillance and a broader crackdown on “grey” cultural spaces and rights groups—from the closure of Shanghai Pride to the shuttering of the Beijing LGBT Center—have pushed many alternative venues into the shadows or out of existence altogether. COVID-era lockdowns and political chill triggered an exodus of foreign residents and some Chinese creatives, shrinking the international crowd that once sustained these scenes, yet a new generation of local DJs and DIY promoters is slowly rebuilding small parties and micro-clubs as acts of cultural resistance and as rare pockets of freedom in an increasingly monitored city. Read thisstory in the Financial Times.

France: Hospital Evacuated After WWI Shell Found in Patient
I think it belongs in the semi-cultural desk, but I don’t want you to miss this important news item. A hospital in Toulouse, France, was forced to evacuate its emergency unit after doctors discovered that a 24‑year‑old patient had inserted a live World War I artillery shell into his re**um. Bomb disposal experts were called to Rangueil Hospital while surgeons completed the procedure, and a safety perimeter was established until the 8‑inch device could be removed and neutralized. Authorities say the munition dated from 1918 and was likely recovered through the country’s “Iron Harvest” of unexploded war relics; police plan to question the man about possession of “category A” explosives. Medical officials noted that re**al foreign bodies are a surprisingly common reason for ER visits—though rarely with such explosive potential. French people know how to have fun. See here.

Economic Insecurity Amplifies Homophobia’s Toll
A comprehensive study published in Nature Human Behaviour reveals the devastating intersection of economic precarity and homophobia for LGBTQ+ people globally. A result that is not super surprising, as I like to say: “the burden of everything is heavier on the poor.” Researchers from France’s CNRS and UNAIDS analyzed data from 82,324 participants across 153 countries, finding that family rejection emerged as the most damaging form of discrimination to individual well-being. But the study’s critical insight is that the negative impact of a country’s homophobic climate on well-being was nearly halved for economically secure participants compared to those facing economic deprivation. I guess that’s a strong argument for Koppa, a nonprofit I co-founded to advance LGBTQ+ economic empowerment. In the study, participants from the Middle East and North Africa reported the lowest subjective well-being scores, followed by Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Read more in Nature Human Behaviour.

Survey across 153 countries links the effects of LGBT-phobia and economic insecurity
Distribution of the LGBTQ+ happiness index worldwide according to the study
Ukraine: Q***r Stories That Fight Back
Our friend J. Lester Feder’s new book, The Q***r Face of War, is already serving as a campaign tool, with ten Ukrainian LGBTQ+ groups and All Out using its stories to advocate for partnership rights and hate-crime protections as the war enters its fifth year. The project shows how legal inequality worsens wartime trauma—partners kept from hospital rooms, families unable to claim bodies, attacks not classified as hate crimes—and calls on readers worldwide to support concrete legal change in Ukraine. Read the stories and join the campaign here.

Russia’s 48-Hour Purge
In just two days, Russia accelerated its anti-LGBTQ+ crackdown, using its 2023 “extremist organisation” designation of the so-called “International LGBT movement” to silence advocacy, censor culture, and prosecute individuals. On February 2–3, lawsuits were filed against the Russian LGBT Network and Coming Out, streaming platforms were fined for hosting a Spanish series featuring a le***an wedding, and bookstores were penalized retroactively for q***r-themed titles. Even a 2018 Instagram post on gender diversity triggered a fine. See here.

US News
Florida’s ADAP Cuts Put Thousands with HIV at Risk
Florida plans to cut access to life-saving HIV medications through its AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP), potentially leaving thousands without treatment. In a compelling Washington Post report, David Ovalle quotes advocates and patients like Tori Samuel about the devastating effects of the changes, which include new income limits and the removal of essential medications from coverage. Community leaders are urging national LGBTQ+ media and bloggers to break the silence and raise awareness. Read the full article.

Don Lemon’s Arrest
Don Lemon is back in the spotlight. Federal agents have charged the journalist with federal civil rights violations after he filmed an anti-ICE protest that disrupted a church service in St. Paul, Minnesota. Lemon, who now works independently after leaving CNN, entered Cities Church with protesters on January 18 as they chanted “ICE out” and “Justice for Renee Good.” Prosecutors allege he conspired to interfere with congregants’ religious rights, while his attorney argues that the indictment weaponizes federal civil rights laws to criminalize newsgathering and intimidate critical media. See here.

Log Cabin Republicans Endorse 22 GOP Incumbents
The Log Cabin Republicans announced their first wave of endorsements for the 2026 election cycle, supporting 22 incumbent GOP lawmakers—including Senators Susan Collins (ME), Dan Sullivan (AK), and Shelley Moore Capito (WV)—who they say will “help President Trump get our country back on track.” The list, which includes representatives from California to Florida, reflects the group’s ongoing effort to position LGBTQ+ conservatives within the GOP mainstream. Log Cabin maintains its candidates support “individual liberty” and “marriage equality.” In the midterms, all 435 House seats and 33 Senate seats are up for grabs in what’s expected to be a decisive referendum on Trump’s second term. Read more at Newsweek.

Department of War Pressures Scouting America to Ditch DEI
The Department of War has warned Scouting America (formerly Boy Scouts of America) that it must abandon diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies to remain eligible for federal support. Assistant Secretary Sean Parnell declared that the organization has “lost its way,” citing a shift toward “gender-fluid ideological stances” as incompatible with the administration’s values. The ultimatum follows Trump’s executive order barring DEI “preferencing” in federal contracting. Read more on Fox News.

…for more than a decade now, Scouting America's leadership has made decisions that run counter to the values of this administration and this Department of War, including an embrace of DEI and other social justice, gender-fluid ideological stances. This is unacceptable.

Justice Kennedy Reflects on LGBTQ+ Legacy Amid Rising Backlash
In an interview with ABC News, retired Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy expressed uncertainty about the future of his landmark LGBTQ+ rights rulings, including Obergefell v. Hodges, which legalized same-s*x marriage nationwide in 2015. Kennedy emphasized the deep societal reliance on marriage equality and warned that reversing it would leave “decent, honorable lives…adrift again.” While reflecting on his evolving views, Kennedy reaffirmed his belief that dignity under the law must extend to all—including transgender Americans—and voiced concern over rising partisanship and vulgarity in public discourse. Watch the full interview on ABC News.

Dr. Don Kilhefner On The Return of Vintage Homophobia
In a new piece, longtime activist and Gay Tribal Elder Don Kilhefner offers a powerful reminder: the rise of anti-gay bias in America is a reaction to a gap we helped create. Kilhefner explains how gay political disengagement, elite control, and the lure of assimilation have weakened a once-strong liberation movement. His message is urgent: it’s time to stop scrolling, stop watching, and start taking action. “Action grows out of oppression,” he writes—and in a time when we face constant humiliations and legal challenges, Kilhefner reminds us that we all have a responsibility to scale up our game.

Q***ring the Boardroom
Fast-Track Your Board Ambitions With Feb. 18th Webinar
The Association of LGBTQ+ Corporate Directors is hosting a virtual session on February 18 at 3 PM EST aimed at LGBTQ+ leaders looking to fast-track their path to the boardroom. Led by Tissa Richards—bestselling author, TEDx speaker, and trusted advisor to hundreds of board appointees—the session will clarify how to position yourself for public and private board seats. From developing a compelling board narrative to pinpointing where opportunities actually arise, the event offers practical strategies to stand out in a busy field. Register here.

Straight White Men Regain Ground in U.S. Boardrooms
We almost got worried for a minute. A new analysis shows that white men are once again increasing their share of board seats at America’s top 50 companies. According to Fast Company, white men now hold 49.7% of these positions—up from 48.4% last year—despite representing about 31% of the U.S. population. This shift seems to come at the expense of white women and other underrepresented groups, signaling that vibes have an impact on Board recruitment. Read the full article on Fast Company

The Gay Business
HRC Warns of Rising Risk for LGBTQ+ Workers
The Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s 2026 State of the Workplace report presents a stark view: as corporate America pulls back from public commitments to DEI, LGBTQ+ workers face increasing stigma, bias, and hostility at work. HRC’s latest Corporate Equality Index shows a 65% decline in Fortune 500 companies publicly documenting their inclusion efforts, even though over 22 million U.S. employees work at CEI-rated companies and 534 firms earned the top Equality 100 score. See here.

In the 2025 CEI, 765 employers achieved a top score of 100 earning the coveted “Equality 100 Award". This year they were 534.

The Highs and Lows of Gay Cruises
Five men were arrested at PortMiami ahead of Atlantis Events’ “world’s biggest gay festival at sea” after Customs officers found small quantities of M**A, m**h, and ketamine in their luggage during boarding for Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas. The charges ranged from possession to trafficking, depending on the quantity. At the risk of sounding unserious, one has to wonder how a week-long floating circuit party is even survivable without drugs. Meanwhile, online commentary quickly zeroed in not on the arrests themselves, but on the defendants’ headshots. See here.

The Semi-Cultural Desk
Tomodachi Life: Nintendo Finally Delivers on LGBTQ+ Inclusion
I don’t know much about gaming—though I can definitely see myself becoming a gamer, which is exactly why I’m afraid it would take over my life. I used to stay up way too late playing Civilization. Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream launches on Nintendo Switch on April 16, 2026. The sequel finally delivers on the company’s 2014 promise of greater inclusion: players can create Miis who are male, female, or non-binary, and set their characters’ dating preferences across all three genders, allowing same-s*x and multi-gender relationships instead of the forced heteros*xuality of the original. New creative tools like the Palette House Workshop let players design everything from clothes and coffee to house exteriors and pets, while expanded apartment-sharing supports up to eight Miis living together, turning the game into a surprisingly rich playground for q***r world-building and chosen-family fantasies. You can read more about the game Tomodachi Life here.

Nicki Minaj’s MAGA Turn
Minaj once carefully cultivated a q***r fanbase—flirting with bis*xuality in her lyrics, cancelling a Saudi show over LGBTQ+ rights, and embracing Drag Race–adjacent stan culture—only to now use homophobic slurs against critics like Don Lemon and adopt rhetoric that treats trans people as punchlines. For many LGBTQ+ fans, the issue is that someone who built her career on q***r money and aesthetics is now leveraging that platform to endorse policies and language that threaten their lives, a betrayal elaborated here. Check out CBC on Minaj’s new stance.

The Devil Wears Prada 2
The Devil Wears Prada 2 is officially on its way, which means the community is once again being called to the front lines of culture to decide whether this sequel is camp brilliance or a crime against cinema. The release date is May 1st.

02/04/2026

Hello friends! Welcome to a soon to be revived LGBT Falls Church page! Big news is the imminent start of a new podcast, GoGayUSA, broadcast live from Freddie's Beach Bar on Saturdays! News, comment, lively interviews with famous and important people! Stay tuned, you'll learn all about it here!

08/20/2025

Fabrice Houdart | A weekly newsletter on LGBTQ+ Equality
This week: an LGBTQ+ Conference scam, murder in Nigeria, attacks on trans healthcare for Federal Workers, Florida’s crosswalk war, Hillary’s dire prediction, Boots on Netflix, Romba 2025, & much more
Fabrice Houdart
Aug 20, 2025

This week’s newsletter reminds us that, while some (in Provincetown and at Treasury, for example) claim we've reached equality, the fight for LGBTQ+ liberation continues on multiple fronts. Tragedy struck with the killings of two q***r students in Nigeria by their peers. At the same time, Colombia's violent "social cleansing" campaigns and Florida's systematic removal of rainbow crosswalks reveal how our adversaries are feeling emboldened. Yet our movement persists—LGBTQ+-inclusive financial services are on the horizon, and our community's artists and creators continue driving cultural change forward. Scary stories, like that of Andry José Hernández Romero or Hillary Clinton’s dire warning on same-s*x marriage, highlight what's at stake: our unity first, our belonging second, and then eventually our freedom.

This week: an LGBTQ+ Conference scam, murder in Nigeria, attacks on trans healthcare for Federal Workers, Florida’s crosswalk war, Hillary’s dire prediction, Boots on Netflix, Romba 2025, and much more…

Global News
Global: Conference Scam Targets Activists in the Global South
An investigation by Xtra has uncovered a sophisticated online scam that targets q***r and trans activists in criminalized countries, luring them with fake LGBTQ+ conferences in Canada. Victims from Ghana, Pakistan, and beyond were promised partial sponsorships to events in Ottawa and Montreal, only to be asked for upfront fees—after providing sensitive personal data like passport photos and nonprofit credentials. The scam falsely used the name of a real Canadian charity, created fake pages, and listed nonexistent conference venues. For LGBTQ+ advocates in hostile environments, these events offered not just networking, but a potential escape—and that’s precisely what scammers preyed upon.

Nigeria: Two Students Murdered at Boarding School for Being Gay
Two students, Hamza Idris-Tofawa and Umar Yusuf-Dungurawa, were killed by fellow students at Government Secondary School Bichi in Nigeria's Kano State on July 14 because they were gay. Eleven students have been arrested. The attack highlights the deadly consequences of Nigeria's criminalization of same-s*x relations and Sharia law enforcement that can result in death by stoning. Read more in the Washington Blade.

Rwanda: New Surrogacy Law Excludes Same-S*x Couples
Rwanda's Parliament passed legislation on August 4, allowing surrogacy and IVF services but explicitly excluding same-s*x couples from accessing these reproductive technologies. The Healthcare Services Bill defines assisted reproductive technology as available only to those with medical infertility, effectively barring same-s*x couples despite Rwanda's otherwise relatively progressive stance on LGBTQ+ rights. In the Blade, too.

Colombia: 'Social Cleansing' Campaigns Target LGBTQ+ People
Nearly 50 LGBTQ+ people have been killed in Colombia this year, with armed groups posting flyers threatening "s*xual depravities" including homos*xuals, le***ans, and trans people. The murder of trans woman Sara Millerey in April, tortured and thrown into a river, exemplifies the calculated brutality. Only 3 of 155 criminal investigations into LGBTQ+ killings reached verdicts last year, compared to Colombia's 9% overall homicide conviction rate. See on CNN.

Vatican: Pope Leo XIV to Meet LGBTQ+ Inclusion Campaigners
Pope Leo XIV will meet representatives from We Are Church International (WAC), a group campaigning for LGBTQ+ inclusion and female priests, during the Jubilee of Synodal Teams from October 24-26. The meeting marks a rare opportunity for equality advocates to raise issues directly with the pontiff. Read more in Attitude.

US News
Trans Activists Linked to Texas ICE Shooting
The July 4th attack on the Prairieland ICE Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas, has led to terrorism and attempted murder charges against 14 people, several connected to local trans and anti-fascist activism. Authorities allege the group fired dozens of rounds at officers after setting off fireworks and spray-painting staff vehicles, injuring one officer. Among those arrested is Autumn Hill, a transgender woman, and alleged ringleader Benjamin Song, a former Marine who reportedly trained leftist activists in fi****ms. Advocates caution that the incident risks fueling narratives equating trans identity and left-wing activism with extremism, despite data showing right-wing violence remains far more prevalent. Read more

The Andry José Hernández Romero Story
This story in The Advocate was a bit misleading, as the liberation of 32-year-old Venezuelan makeup artist and asylum seeker, Andry José Hernández Romero, was apparently the result of a prisoner exchange rather than the commotion in the US. In case you live under a rock, Romero was disappeared this spring under Trump’s revived use of the Alien Enemies Act — deported overnight to El Salvador and thrown into CECOT, the mega-prison notorious for torture and abuse. ICE accused him of gang ties because of tiny tattoos that read “mom” and “dad.” After that, his lawyer went public, Rachel Maddow amplified the case, Crooked Media and GLAAD mobilized, protests erupted across Pride parades, and Democrats in Congress pressed for proof of life. After 125 days of abuse, Hernández Romero was freed in July in a shadowy prisoner swap.

There was no evidence. No hearing. No warning

Hillary Clinton Warns Supreme Court Will Overturn Marriage Equality
It’s my word against Hillary’s. Hillary Clinton predicted the Supreme Court would eventually overturn same-s*x marriage, sending the issue back to the states. Speaking on the Raging Moderates podcast, Clinton compared the situation to abortion rights: "It took 50 years to overturn Roe v. Wade. The Supreme Court will hear a case about gay marriage. My prediction is they will do to gay marriage what they did to abortion." She urged LGBTQ+ couples to consider marrying before potential federal protections are removed, estimating fewer than half of states would recognize same-s*x marriage afterward. See in Gay Times.

Florida’s War on Crosswalks
Rainbow-painted crosswalks have long been a quiet gesture of LGBTQ+ visibility in cities across Florida—until now. Governor Ron DeSantis and his administration have ordered Delray Beach and Key West to erase their Pride-themed street markings by September 3, or the state will do it for them (and send a bill). The move, backed by Trump’s Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, is framed as a traffic safety issue, though critics, including Truth Wins Out, call it what it is: a culture war flex cloaked in bureaucratic language. Other cities like Miami Beach and Orlando (home to a Pulse memorial crosswalk) have so far escaped such threats, but advocates warn it’s only a matter of time. One wonders: how fragile must your ideology be if it can’t handle a few stripes of color on the pavement? In The Advocate.As Truth Wins Out’s Wayne Besen puts it:

Rainbow crosswalks are not dangerous to drivers—what they’re dangerous to is the narrative that being gay is som**hing shameful.

Trump Administration Bans Trans Healthcare for Federal Workers
Erin Reed reports that the Trump administration has announced that starting in 2026, all federal employee health plans will be prohibited from covering gender-affirming care—including hormone therapy and surgeries—for both transgender adults and youth. Even more alarming, the Office of Personnel Management memo mandates that insurers must cover “faith-based counseling” for gender dysphoria, a move widely understood as legitimizing conversion therapy. Affecting more than 10 million federal employees and their families, this rollback marks one of the largest attacks on transgender healthcare in U.S. history. Legal experts argue the policy blatantly violates Title VII, the Affordable Care Act, and constitutional protections—but with a conservative judiciary, the administration seems confident. “Choose your livelihood or choose your identity,” writes Erin Reed. “But you can no longer have both.” Full story in Erin in the Morning.

Study: Majority of LGBTQ+ Americans Under 50 Want Marriage
A Pew Research Center study found 59% of LGBTQ+ adults under 50 who have never been married want to get married, compared to 63% of non-LGBTQ+ individuals. I am on the fence: mostly because I’d rather not argue about which series we watch at night.. Gay Times

D.C. Bar Owners Report Business Collapse Under Trump Crackdown
LGBTQ+ bar owners in Washington, D.C. report sales have collapsed by up to 75% following President Trump's federal law enforcement crackdown. Owners of Crush Dance Bar, Pitchers, and Bunker say the heavy federal presence and immigration sweeps have created "customer flight" and economic crisis in the nation's most LGBTQ+ city. Staff are now required to carry passports and legal documents when walking the streets. The Advocate