NOTE: This week’s column contains graphic details of a crime.
The Trump administration is suing Maine because the state refuses to ban transgender athletes from participating in women’s sports, the BBC noted. “The Department of Justice will not sit by when women are discriminated against in sports,” U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said. In response, Maine’s Governor Janet Mills said the issue has “never been about school sports [and] the protection of women and girls.” The dispute revolves around Title IX, a civil-rights statute that bans sex-based discrimination in education programs.
In addition, the Trump administration has deemed that gender dysphoria will no longer be a disability protected under federal law—and it won’t be recognized by the Department of Health and Human Services that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. leads, according to PinkNews. The clinical diagnosis has been recognized by the American Psychiatric Association since 2013, according to Trans Hub. The ruling, which Kennedy signed, ensured that former President Joe Biden’s adding of gender dysphoria to disability law cannot be enforced. Last year, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton took the federal government to court after the Biden administration included the gender-identity-related disorder to Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act, which protects people from discrimination based on disability.
In Ohio, Republicans introduced two sentences that would basically erase trans identity throughout the state, per The Buckeye Flame. Immersed in House Republicans’ 4,491-page proposed budget (Sub. HB 96), introduced on April 1, is the following: “It is the policy of the state of Ohio to recognize two sexes, male and female. These sexes are not changeable and are grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality.” The language is pulled word for word from an executive order signed by President Donald Trump on his first day in office. The budget also has proposed language on restricting youth access to books with LGBTQ+ content. TransOhio Executive Director Dara Adkison called the budget “a cruel insult that does nothing to address the needs of Ohioans while continuing our legislature’s obsession with attacking trans people.”
Shaundel Washington-Spivey will be the next mayor of La Crosse, Wisconsin—becoming the city’s first Black, openly gay leader, WPR reported. Washington-Spivey is co-founder and executive director of Black Leaders Acquiring Collective Knowledge (B.L.A.C.K.), a La Crosse nonprofit; he was previously elected to the La Crosse School Board and currently is on Gov. Tony Evers’ Council on Equity and Inclusion. “The identities we hold matter,” Washington-Spivey told WXOW. “While race is a social construct, at the end of the day, who we are and our lived existence needs to be understood, appreciated and respected for what it is. And I just look forward to making sure that we bring this community together across differences.” Washington-Spivey faced La Crosse City Council President Chris Kahlow during the election; she would have been the first woman to lead the western Wisconsin city had she been elected.
Harvard University rejected a list of demands made by President Donald Trump’s administration to change its practices or risk losing $2.2 billion in federal funding, USA Today noted. The Trump administration demanded that Harvard eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, ban masks and take other steps, including making changes to programs and departments that “fuel antisemitic harassment.” The school’s attorneys wrote “Harvard is not prepared to agree to demands that go beyond the lawful authority of this or any administration” to Trump administration officials.
And out former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has been pulled into the Donald Trump/Harvard University situation, Politico Illinois Playbook noted. On his Truth Social platform, Trump criticized Harvard for hiring “radical left fools,” referring to Lightfoot and former New York Mayor Bill de Blasio. “This is really pretty pathetic,” Lightfoot told Playbook, describing the class she taught at Harvard; it was about leadership during a time of crisis and focusing on the period she governed during the global pandemic “when your federal government was AWOL.”
British artist/filmmaker Sir Isaac Julien’s first-ever exhibition at a U.S. museum is “I Dream a World,” which opened April 12 at San Francisco’s de Young Museum, per Queerty. Titled after Langston Hughes’ famous poem, the exhibition features 10 major video installations from 1990 to 2022, including Looking For Langston, a black-and-white meditation on the Harlem Renaissance and Black queer desire; and This Is Not an AIDS Advertisement, a response to the HIV/AIDS crisis of the 1980s. A website description reads, “The works’ themes range from global migration to the collection and appropriation of African artists and art by Western museums to the celebration of cultural figures who overcame racial oppression. Shot across Europe, Africa, the Caribbean, the Americas, and Asia, Julien’s works untangle the complex web of post-colonial conditions that has shaped the lives of individuals and societies across the globe.”
Former California Assemblymember and new LGBTQ Victory Fund head Evan Low was fined $106,000 after he admitted to deliberately hiding a $227,000 payment to Alec Baldwin for the actor’s appearance at a political fundraiser, The Advocate reported. Low was fined for fundraising tied to his Evan Low for Assembly 2020 and the Foundation for California’s Technology and Innovation Economy (FCTIE), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit he founded in 2017. Baldwin appeared at a charity fundraiser for FCTIE on Feb. 7, 2020.; later that evening, he appeared as the “special celebrity guest” at a ticketed fundraiser for Low’s campaign held at a Chinese restaurant in San Jose’s Little Saigon.
The Castro Upper Market Entertainment Zone (EZ) has become a reality, as the San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously approved legislation establishing permits for alcohol to be consumed outdoors during special events, according to The Bay Area Reporter. A second and final vote took place April 15; gay Board of Supervisors President Rafael Mandelman introduced the legislation on Feb. 4. Mandelman said in a statement, “The EZ should be a significant benefit for neighborhood bars and restaurants, especially during night market events and this fall at the Castro Street Fair. Now more than ever we need to support our local businesses and show the world that our gayborhood remains the best in the world.” The Entertainment Zone will mostly encompass 14th Street to Collingwood Street on Market Street, on Castro Street from States Street to 19th Street, and on 18th Street from Collingwood Street to Sanchez Street, per CBS News.
Also in San Francisco, the San Francisco Pride organization reportedly denied a request from two longtime LGBTQ+ leaders asking that Andry Jose Hernández Romero—a gay makeup artist taken to an infamous Salvadorian prison by the Trump administration—be made an honorary grand marshal, according to The Bay Area Reporter. Activists Cleve Jones (who co-founded the AIDS Memorial Quilt) and Nicole Murray Ramirez (a San Diego-based gay activist who is the titular head of the Imperial Court system) had asked Pride organizations across the country to name Hernández Romero, 31, an honorary grand marshal. Jones told the outlet that San Francisco Pride Executive Director Suzanne Ford told him, “There was pushback about grand marshal being used that way.” Jones and Murray Ramirez separately expressed their disappointment with the decision.
During a White House appearance with El Salvador’s self-declared “world’s coolest dictator,” President Nayib Bukele, he and U.S. President Donald Trump exhibited transphobia, The Advocate noted. Trump abruptly pivoted from immigration to attacking transgender women in sports, asking Bukele, “Do you allow men to play in women’s sports? Do you allow men to box your women and box? Because I know you have a lot of boxers.” Smiling, Bukele replied, “That’s violence.” Trump then repeated long-debunked claims about trans women dominating women’s sports. GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis told The Advocate the exchange showed how disconnected Trump’s rhetoric is from the reality of most Americans.
The Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde—the Episcopal bishop who asked President Trump, in January, to show mercy toward migrants and LGBTQ+ people—has a deal for two books for young people, according to the AP/MSN. Both are based on the Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde’s best-selling book How We Learn to Be Brave. Penguin Young Readers announced that it will release a young adult edition, adapted by novelist Bryan Bliss and titled We Can Be Brave, on Oct. 25; next summer, the picture book I Can Learn to Be Brave will be released. Trump and Vice President JD Vance, among others, attended an inauguration prayer service at the Washington National Cathedral, where Budde told the president, “You have felt the providential hand of a loving God. In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now.” Later, on social media, Trump called her a “Radical Left hard line Trump hater.”
Out gay Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) signed legislation repealing the state’s same-sex marriage ban, LGBTQ Nation noted. The ban has been invalid since the Supreme Court ruled in favor of marriage equality in the 2015 case Obergefell v. Hodges; however, the overturning of Roe v. Wade has left many fearing that same-sex marriage could be next to go. “Colorado is for everyone,” Polis said in a statement, “no matter who you are or who you love. Last November, the voters got rid of outdated language in our constitution that banned same-sex marriage. This is a long overdue step in the right direction, and [this] law I’m signing ensures that Coloradans can marry who they love in our Colorado for all.”
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s purge of tens of thousands of federal workers has stalled efforts to collect info on everything from cancer rates in firefighters to mother-to-baby transmission of HIV and syphilis to outbreaks of drug-resistant gonorrhea and more, Politico noted. The cuts threaten to obscure the severity of pressing health threats and whether they’re getting better or worse, leaving officials confused regarding how to respond. The offices that ran the Sickle Cell Data Collection Program, the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System and the National Firefighter Registry for Cancer were scrapped. Health and Human Services spokesperson Andrew Nixon did not dispute the numerous cuts to data collection teams, but said in a statement that the “CDC is actively working to ensure continuity of operations during the reorganization period and remains committed to ensuring critical programs and surveys continue.”
Three law students sued the U.S. civil rights agency the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), claiming that its probe into diversity policies at 20 large law firms is illegal and could expose the personal information of lawyers and job applicants, Reuters reported. The students claim that the EEOC’s acting chair, Andrea Lucas, lacked the power to demand last month that 20 large law firms provide a trove of information on their diversity initiatives, which she suggested were discriminatory; the firms included Kirkland & Ellis, Latham & Watkins and Perkins Coie. Nine firms have entered into agreements with Trump, collectively pledging nearly $1 billion in legal work on causes supported by his administration; moreover, four of the firms that have settled also agreed to terminate diversity policies in exchange for the EEOC dropping investigations into them.
In New York, Buffalo’s Intersect Pride Arts Festival plans to expand the May 31 event to honor slain resident couple Mickey Harmon and Jordan Celotto, Gaycities noted. Organizers want to expand the event’s size and extend its hours to make it an all-day show; they’re seeking an extra $5,000 from supporters and generous patrons through a GoFundMe page. A suspect was arrested shortly after Harmon and Celotto were beaten to death in their home.
In Indiana, authorities arrested Carrie Rivers, a mother they say confronted a teacher while wearing a firearm and sent her an email containing death threats because the teacher had assigned her daughter a project involving flags, including a Pride flag, per The Advocate. Rivers was charged with felony possession of a firearm on school property and misdemeanor harassment via written communication for the incident that took place in Decatur Township at the Valley Mills Elementary School. Rivers said the assignment was about “same-sex relationships,” while the teacher told police it was about different flags, including the rainbow Pride flag; the parent was also upset that the teacher had a same-sex relationship with a woman who was also a police officer.
Starting next fall, the University of Portland’s theology department will undergo various changes, including altered core requirements for students, an updated department name and expanded course offerings for theology majors and minors, The Beacon noted. Starting next academic year, “THE 205: Biblical Texts in Global Context” will no longer be required to fulfill students’ core theology requirements; instead, students can select courses such as “THE 362: Queer Theologies” and “THE 336: Rituals, Worship and Ethics.” Associate Professor of Theology and Interim Chair for the Theology and Religious Studies Department David Turnbloom said this particular change was made to allow students more autonomy over their education and provide them with the opportunity to take classes that align with their faith traditions.
Keith St Clare—editor and publisher of the groundbreaking queer magazine Vanguard— died at age 79 in Richmond, Texas, per The Advocate, citing The Bay Area Reporter. He had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease several years ago, his family said. Vanguard, based in San Francisco, was originally published by an organization of the same name starting in 1965; St Clare published it for a dozen years.
In Seattle, three people identified by police as the suspects in a water pellet drive-by and harassment incident outside Capitol Hill queer bar Pony have been charged with a hate crime, per KING5. Twenty-four-year-old Jessica Clark, 19-year-old Justin Mayor and a 17-year-old boy were charged in King County Superior Court for the alleged crime. During the early morning hours of Feb. 19, a 911 call was made to report a vehicle circling Pony, with the occupants targeting bar patrons with anti-LGBTQ+ slurs and shooting them with paintball guns.
Texas Christian University (TCU) women’s basketball player Sedona Prince was not picked in the televised WNBA draft as she faces various charges of abuse from several former partners, according to Them, citing ESPN. In January, both the 6’7” Prince and an ex-girlfriend filed police reports alleging assault, though neither were charged with a crime. Last year, Olivia Stabile, another ex of Prince, posted TikTok videos in which she alleged that Prince hit her, pushed her off a moving ATV and abandoned her in the jungle in the middle of the night while they were on a trip together in Mexico. Front Office Sports noted that at least two other women have accused Prince of violence or abuse since 2019. Prince has denied all allegations.
In NYC, authorities were looking for a man who was captured on surveillance video copulating with a deceased male passenger in a subway car and then robbing the corpse, LGBTQ Nation noted, citing The New York Post. When police examined surveillance footage, they found that the deceased man originally boarded the subway car around 8 p.m., lit a cigarette given to him by another passenger, and filled the car with smoke; he died of unknown causes. Then, a few hours later, another man, aged in his 50s, stepped into the car, found the deceased man, took items out of the victim’s pockets, and had sex with the corpse. A second man—believed to have no association to the first man—later went through the deceased man’s pockets and allegedly took items he found there as well.
Grizzly Pines, a Texas-based private retreat marketed toward gay men, faced backlash after a now-deleted Facebook post doubled down on a long-standing policy that bans transgender men from their property, per Instinct. And this announcement landed on Trans Day of Visibility—March 31. Grizzly Pines stated that its mission is to be a safe, affirming space “exclusively for cisgender men.” While claiming to support the trans community, the campground emphasized the importance of “comfort with the types of bodies” present in its clothing-optional, sexually open space. In the wake of the announcement, groups such as The Houston Bears and the RGV Bears cancelled events that were scheduled at the retreat.