NOTE: This week’s column mentions details of assaults and killings.
After being named Philadelphia’s new executive director of the city’s Office of LGBTQ+ Affairs earlier this year, Tyrell Brown is stepping down to refocus their energy on Philly Pride 365, the nonprofit they founded, according to Philadelphia Gay News. “Ultimately, I just feel like one of the best things for me to do is to go back to where I have the biggest and most profound impact—and where I find the most joy,” they said.
Brown also said that moving from nonprofit to government came with different challenges and considerations—and that they aren’t always clear until someone is working in a new role. The change will take effect Aug. 1.
Gay former U.S. Rep. George Santos reported to the Federal Correctional Institution Fairton in New Jersey, to begin a more than seven-year sentence after pleading guilty to federal charges that included wire fraud, identity theft and money laundering, NBC News noted. Before reporting, Santos appeared on an hour-long podcast, engaged with his followers on X Spaces and posted a series of farewell tweets on X. In one post, he stated, “Well, darlings …The curtain falls, the spotlight dims, and the rhinestones are packed. From the halls of Congress to the chaos of cable news what a ride it’s been! Was it messy? Always. Glamorous? Occasionally. Honest? I tried… most days.” The House Ethics Committee issued a damning investigative report about Santos, finding he’d probably committed multiple federal crimes, and the Justice Department indicted him on 23 counts.
Transgender U.S. Rep. Sarah McBride (D-Delaware) passed her first bill in Congress with complete bipartisan support, LGBTQ Nation noted. McBride co-sponsored The Equal Opportunity for All Investors Act with Reps. Mike Flood (R-Nebraska), Cleo Fields (D-Louisiana), Mike Lawler (R-New York) and Shri Thanedar (D-Michigan). The measure, which now heads to the Senate, aims to enable U.S. residents to become accredited investors through an examination. The financial and professional criteria currently in place—such as having a net worth of $1 million, an individual income over $200,000 for at least two years or a marital income of more than $300,000 for at least two years—exclude many people.
The parents of South Jersey teenager Tiffany Valiante—who died when she was struck by a NJ Transit train a decade ago—filed a new lawsuit alleging her death was misclassified as a suicide because investigators did not consider she may have been murdered because she was a lesbian, NJ.com reported. Attorney Paul D’Amatosaid at a press conference that newly recovered text messages between Valiante and at least two others include anti-LGBTQ+ slurs directed at her. Valiante identified as a lesbian shortly before she died and her family has said they believe she was kidnapped and murdered; as of yet, no one has been charged.
Professional networking platform LinkedIn quietly stripped explicit protections for transgender and nonwhite users from its English-language hate speech rules, The Advocate noted. The changes, first revealed by the nonprofit Open Terms Archive, involve edits to LinkedIn’s Professional Community Policies—specifically the “Hateful and Derogatory Content” and “Harassment and Abusive Content” sections. In both, references to protections for trans people and people of color were either reduced or removed entirely. For example, misgendering and deadnaming—terms that refer to deliberately using the wrong name or pronouns for a transgender person—are no longer explicitly banned. After an inquiry from The Advocate, a LinkedIn spokesperson initially defended the platform’s stance against identity-based abuse. However, less than an hour later, the company asked to revise that statement, instead mirroring the new policy language: “Personal attacks or intimidation toward anyone based on their identity, including misgendering, violates our harassment policy and is not allowed on our platform.”
The Advocate reported that, in Oregon, an anti-LGBTQ+ mom has been granted the right to potentially foster and adopt queer kids. Jessica Bates, a widow and mother of five biological children, applied to become a foster parent through the Oregon Department of Human Services in 2023, claiming that God sent her a message to adopt more children. She was disqualified when she said she would not follow a state policy protecting the welfare of children that requires foster parents to affirm the identities of LGBTQ+ youth in their care. Bates sued the state for supposedly violating her religious belief; after losing her initial case, she prevailed before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The case will now be sent back to the district court, with the appeals court ordering the judge to reconsider the case with “strict scrutiny.”
At the recent Two Spirit Conference in Nevada, Native Americans supported the LGBTQ+ community amid federal and state rollbacks of transgender protections and gender-affirming healthcare, The 19th noted. “I want people to not kill themselves for who they are,” said organizer Myk Mendez, a trans and two-spirit citizen of the Fort Hall Shoshone-Bannock Tribes in Idaho. “I want people to love their lives and grow old to tell their stories.” In March, the National Indian Health Board—which represents and advocates for federally recognized Native American and Alaska Native tribes—passed a resolution declaring tribal sovereignty over issues affecting the community’s health, including access to gender-affirming care.
The University of Kansas and Kansas State University are ending LGBTQ+ and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs due to a new state law, per The Advocate. A part of Senate Bill 125 directs all state agencies, including colleges and universities, to end any programs or activities related to DEl; in addition, it bans state employees from using gender-identifying pronouns or anything related to “gender ideology” in email signatures. Kansas legislators, with a majority of Republicans in both chambers, passed the budget bill in March; Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly signed it into law in April.
On NPR, gay former U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg claimed that there are “serious fairness issues” with trans athletes competing in women’s sports, according to Them. During the news program Morning Edition, host Steve Inskeep brought up former President Barack Obama’s Democratic Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, who agreed with the transphobic talking point that “a man cannot become a woman” during a recent interview with conservative pundit Megyn Kelly. Asked for his take on trans rights, Buttigieg started by saying, “I think the approach starts with compassion—compassion for transgender people, compassion for families, especially young people who are going through this, and also empathy for people who are not sure what all of this means for them.” When Inskeep asked Buttigieg if he believes a parent who has complained about a trans athlete competing in girls’ school sports “has a case,” he agreed. Studies have revealed that there is no scientific basis for banning trans women from playing sports with cis women, and that trans women might actually face several competitive disadvantages in competition against cis women.
Gay Democratic Navy veteran Mike Pruitt is looking to flip a red House seat in Virginia, per The Advocate. Pruitt, 33, is challenging Republican U.S. Rep. John McGuire in a conservative part of the state. Referring to the Trump administration and Trump’s military ban on trans troops, Pruitt said, “All they do is lean into the performative cruelty that I worry has become too much of what my opponent is leaning into.” McGuire, a first-year lawmaker and former Navy SEAL, won after securing President Donald Trump’s endorsement.
Also in Virginia, James Osyf, a gay Navy Reserve commander and national security executive, is running to unseat Republican U.S. Rep. Jen Kiggans, The Advocate also noted. Osyf, 40, a second-generation Ukrainian American, is running as a Democrat in Virginia’s Second Congressional District, which includes the heavily military areas of Virginia Beach, Chesapeake and Suffolk. Osyf’s résumé includes military service; national security work at the State and Defense departments; and senior leadership at defense contractor Lockheed Martin, where he works in defense innovation.
In Philadelphia, Tyrik Ransom and Nysheem Rackley—two suspects who allegedly murdered LGBTQ+ individual Derwin Matthews—surrendered to authorities, PGN noted. Matthews was fatally shot on June 2. Ransom and Rackley are facing several charges, including murder, conspiracy, reckless endangerment, tampering with evidence and related firearm offenses; they are being held at the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility.
Former U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris said she is not running for governor of California next year—meaning that she could mount a third run for the White House in 2028, the AP reported. “I have given serious thought to asking the people of California for the privilege to serve as their governor. I love this state, its people and its promise. It is my home. But after deep reflection, I’ve decided that I will not run for Governor in this election,” she said in a statement. She has not ruled out another run for president, after unsuccessful bids in 2020 and 2024.
Kim Davis—the former Kentucky county clerk who was briefly jailed in 2015 for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples—recently asked the U.S. Supreme Court to revisit its landmark decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, which effectively legalized same-sex marriage nationwide and celebrated its 10th anniversary in June, The Hill noted. Davis’ attorneys at the Christian nonprofit Liberty Counsel asked the court to review a March ruling by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upholding a lower court’s finding that Davis violated David Ermold and David Moore’s constitutional right to marry when she denied them a marriage license in 2015. Two years ago, a federal jury awarded the couple $100,000 in damages, and a federal judge ordered Davis last year to pay Ermold and Moore an additional $260,000 in attorneys’ fees.
In Virginia, Loudoun County School Board Member Deana Griffiths told 7News that she backs the U.S. Department of Education’s (DoE’s) directive and the Office for Civil Rights’ efforts to enforce Title IX. The DoE recently ended its investigation into several school districts’ policies that allow students the choice of using bathrooms and locker rooms at school based on a student’s chosen gender identity, and not biological sex—and U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said that the school districts’ policies violate Title IX. Griffiths said, “Policy 8040 undermines the spirit and purpose of Title IX. It must be formally eliminated.”
Artist Amy Sherald—who gained critical acclaim for her painting of former First Lady Michelle Obama—will cancel “American Sublime,” her upcoming show at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, per Out. The New York Times reported that Sherald made the decision after being told that the museum was considering removing her painting of a transgender Statue of Liberty to avoid issues with the Trump administration. “Sublime”—currently on display at the Whitney in NYC through Aug. 10—would’ve been the first show by a Black contemporary artist at the National Portrait Gallery.
San Francisco Supervisor Matt Dorsey—who happens to be gay—received blowback for proposing to get rid of a law requiring city contractors to offer benefits to employees’ same-sex domestic partners, The Advocate noted. Dorsey has argued that the Equal Benefits Ordinance, which went into effect in 1997, is no longer needed because of marriage equality. He told The Bay Area Reporter that repealing the law or ending its enforcement would save the city money and broaden the selection of companies with which the city could contract. However, some current and former supervisors contended that marriage equality may be in danger, with conservative U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas saying Obergefell should be overturned.
The Curve Foundation and the NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists revealed the 2025 recipients of the Curve Fellowship for Emerging Journalists, per a press release. They include Laila Annmarie Stevens, Hadley Green, Taylor Bruck, Mary Frances McGowan and Chicago-based Savannah Ray Hugueley. The endowment, sponsored by The Curve Foundation, honors the publishing legacy of Curve and provides financial support to emerging journalists whose work fosters fair and accurate coverage while elevating the voices of LGBTQ+ women, trans and non-binary people.
In addition, NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists announced that assistant managing editor and digital journalist Stefanie Loh is the 2025 recipient of the Lisa Ben Award for Achievement in Features Coverage, also per a media release. The award will be presented at NLGJA’s annual national convention in Atlanta that will take place Sept. 4-7. The award is named for the pseudonym Edythe Eyde used for her publication Vice Versa, which she hand-delivered because laws banned mailing material about lesbians; in the 1950s, she wrote under the pen name Lisa Ben for The Ladder, the first nationally distributed lesbian magazine.
Recently, notorious California serial killer Randy Kraft was identified as the suspect in the murder of a man 45 years ago, NBC News noted. Larry Eugene Parks, 30, was found dead along Interstate 5 in Oregon on July 18, 1980; however, Parks remained a John Doe until April, after an investigator from the sheriff’s department in Orange County, California, offered to help identify him using forensic genealogy last year. Kraft, who remains incarcerated at San Quentin Rehabilitation Center, was convicted of brutalizing (including emasculating) and killing 16 men in Orange County; the convicted murderer is also suspected of committing more than 60 murders across the West Coast and Michigan.
Two months after a federal judge blocked New York from forcing Christian business Emilee Carpenter Photography to provide services for same-sex weddings, the state agreed to a settlement, ending the four-year case, per The Christian Post. The defendants will pay $225,000 in attorney’s fees stemming from the litigation first filed by Carpenter in 2021. Carpenter’s lawsuit stemmed from her concern that New York state law would require her to provide services for same-sex weddings despite her religious objections to doing so; U.S. District Judge Frank Geraci, an Obama appointee, issued an order in favor of Carpenter in May.
Former Heritage Foundation director Paul Dans—the creator of Project 2025—s expected to launch a primary campaign for one of South Carolina’s U.S. Senate seats in an effort to oust fellow Republican Lindsey Graham, The Advocate noted. Dans will be running for Senate in 2026, according to a report from NBC News; he intends to challenge Graham, who has been a senator since 2003. Dans is considered the architect of Project 2025—the far-right playbook to reshape the federal government by overhauling federal agencies, purging career civil servants and replacing them with loyalists; it also seeks to limit abortion access, restrict LGBTQ+ rights and end diversity programs, among other things.
The American Civil Liberties Union announced that award-winning fashion designer Willy Chavarria will join the organization’s Artist Ambassador Program to advocate for immigrants’ rights and LGBTQ+ rights. Chavarria is a Mexican American and founder of the eponymous fashion label WILLY CHAVARRIA. Throughout his career, he has combined politics, race, and sexuality into his designs, using his platform to advocate and raise awareness for social-justice causes. His work with the ACLU ranged from his collaboration at New York Fashion Week with an ACLU-branded T-shirt to helping to launch Creatives for Freedom. In addition to his many awards, Chavarria was named to TIME Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2025 list; also, his namesake label garnered 2023 and 2024 CFDA Award nominations for menswear designer of the year.
So far, eight men have accused gospel singer Michael Tait of sexual assault, per Out. After the first set of allegations from three men, Tait published a confession on Instagram in which he admitted that “recent reports of my reckless and destructive behavior, including drug and alcohol abuse and sexual activity, are sadly, largely true.” Jason Jones, the founding manager of Evanescence, told The Guardian that he was fired from the band after he spoke about his alleged encounter with Tait (which co-founder Ben Moody has denied). Jones has claimed that Tait would take him out drinking and smoking marijuana, confessing that he was “living a double life as a closeted gay man.”
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) athlete Sean Strickland—who previously called transgender identity a “mental illness” and said he’d consider his son “weak” and himself as a “failure” if his son ever came out as gay—has been suspended indefinitely from competing, LGBTQ Nation noted. The Nevada State Athletic Commission suspended Strickland after the Tuff-N-Uff event on June 29 in Las Vegas in which he attacked another boxer, Luis Hernandez. Fox News host Jesse Watters and current Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have praised Strickland In the past for his anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric.