In D.C., President Donald Trump mocked trans people in front of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who has a child who identifies as non-binary, The Advocate noted. Trump continuously veered off topic to attack Democrats, the media and transgender people, saying that under his leadership, “We have strong borders. We have no men in women’s sports. We’re not going to take your child away and change the sex of your child.”
Carney, sitting beside him, did not respond publicly—possibly because more than 77% of Canada’s exports go to the United States, and the countries’ trade pact with Mexico comes up for review next year.
In Ohio, the Lakewood City Council moved a “Gender Freedom Policy” forward in response to attacks on transgender rights locally and nationally, The Buckeye Flame noted. Among other things, the policy pledges that no city resources will be used for “detaining or investigating persons for solely seeking or providing gender-affirming care”; and that city employees will be trained to protect confidential health information and not collect unnecessary health data related to gender-affirming care.
The New York City Bar Association criticized the U.S. Justice Department for its felony indictment of Lambda Legal attorney Carl Charles, The Washington Blade reported.
The Justice Department has accused Charles, a transgender lawyer based in Atlanta, of making a “false material declaration” during a judicial inquiry. In an order, U.S. District Judge Liles Burke publicly reprimanded Charles and imposed a $5,000 fine, but also noted he made “no findings of perjury,” and instead referred the matter to the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Alabama “to investigate whether Mr. Charles ha[d] engaged in any criminal conduct.”
California will conduct a study on potential inequities in youth sports and improve access—including for trans athletes, The Advocate noted. The Youth Sports for All Act (which authorizes the study) was signed by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has a mixed record when it comes to trans rights. The bill directs a commission to explore the need for the state to improve access to sports for all groups “regardless of race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, income, or geographic location.”
Visit Philadelphia, in partnership with Visit PA and Philadelphia Gay News, is launching the Philly Pride Visitor Center—one of the first LGBTQ+ visitor centers in the country, Metro Philadelphia noted. Set to open in January, the center is set to open in the heart of the city’s gayborhood. Philadelphia Visitor Center CEO Kathryn Ott Lovell said, ““We’re building a starting point for tourists, a dedicated space for this community, and a true reflection of what our city stands for. Our hope is that the Philly Pride Visitor Center becomes a place where LGBTQ+ visitors feel like they belong from the moment they arrive.”
Disparaging references regarding racial and sexual minorities and even rape have been found in a Telegram chat involving Young Republicans, according to a Politico report. Among other things, they referred to Black people as monkeys and “the watermelon people; used the anti-gay slur “f—ot”; and mentioned putting their political opponents in gas chambers. They talked about raping their enemies and driving them to suicide, and praised Republicans who they believed support slavery. Kansas Young Republicans Vice Chair William Hendrix used the words “n–ga” and “n–guh,” variations of a racial slur, more than a dozen times in the chat while Bobby Walker, the vice chair of the New York State Young Republicans at the time, referred to rape as “epic.” The 2,900 pages of chats, shared among a dozen millennial and Gen Z Republicans between early January and mid-August, chronicle their campaign to seize control of the national Young Republican organization on a hardline pro-Donald Trump platform.
The Mitchell-West Center for Social Inclusion—which opened on the campus of the University of North Alabama in 2019, thanks to a donation from Elliott Mitchell and Clark West—has now closed, AL.com noted. Among other things, the center provided resources and support for LGBTQ+ and other underrepresented students. In the years since the center opened, both Alabama and President Donald Trump have declared war on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in schools; DEI offices have closed in at least six state institutions, including the University of Alabama and Auburn University.
Louisiana State University student activist Gabriela Juárez claimed her arrest at a campus public hearing was a targeted attack because of her political views, and alleged police became menacing when they learned she’s transgender, LGBTQ Nation noted. Campus police surrounded Juárez after she exceeded her allotted speaking time of three minutes at a campus presidential search forum. Juárez was charged with resisting arrest and “interference with educational process,” a felony; she was taken to East Baton Rouge Parish Prison. Last month, Juárez was called out by the Louisiana Republican Party, which demanded that the school discipline her for comments critical of slain conservative podcaster Charlie Kirk.
In a rare departure for members of the Republican Party, New York Rep. Mike Lawler declared on Facebook that trans people are “not an enemy or a threat,” The Advocate noted. In the post, Lawler went on to write that his area’s (the 17th Congressional District) strength lies in its diversity, adding, “We are blessed to have two thriving LGBTQ+ centers that support people every day. Let me be clear: LGBTQ+ people, and especially our transgender community members, are not an enemy or a threat.” While Rockland County Pride Executive Director Brooke Malloy welcomed the congressman’s statement, she thought it was long overdue, saying, “He hasn’t said anything pro-LGBTQ since this administration took office. He didn’t show up to Pride this year…. Nobody from the GOP showed up.”
Arlington, Texas could have become the first city in the nation to reverse its anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ+ people—but it has delayed the vote, WFAA reported. Arlington residents and LGBTQ+ advocates showed up at a council meeting in opposition to the proposal. Mayor Jim Ross said the city needs more time to seek legal counsel and understand the full implications of the proposed changes before making a final decision; the council voted unanimously to table the issue until Nov. 18.
Following a move being done in Florida, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is calling for the removal of rainbow crosswalks and other symbols of pride from public roads across the state, claiming they pose safety concerns and misuse taxpayer dollars, according to NBC-DFW. Any city that does not comply, Abbott said, could risk the “withholding or denial of state and federal road funding and suspension of agreements with TxDOT.” Jacob Reyes, a spokesperson for advocacy groups GLAAD and Texas Latino Pride, called the governor’s order a “distraction, not the art.”
In Wyoming, former library director Terri Lesley won $700,000 in a settlement after she was fired for refusing to remove books with content about sexual health and queer identities, per The Advocate. Lesley, director of Campbell County Public Library, was removed from her position in July 2023 after 27 years of service when the Campbell County library board voted four to one to fire her. For two years, the board tried to convince Lesley to remove the books, which some had claimed were inappropriate for minors.
Manhattan Councilmember Erik Bottcher—the co-chair of the New York City Council’s LGBTQIA+ Caucus—raised $683,241 in the first 24 hours after announcing his potential candidacy to succeed veteran U.S. Rep. Jerrold Nadler in New York’s District 12, Gay City News noted. The announcement came one day after Bottcher emailed supporters and posted on social media that he’s “seriously considering” entering the race in Manhattan next year. In early September, Nadler, 78, announced he would not be seeking another term in District 12.
Massachusetts couple Lydia and Heath Marvin lost their license to foster after refusing to sign a policy agreeing not to discriminate against queer youth or try to change their gender identity or sexual orientation, per The Advocate. The couple, who have three biological children in their teens, had fostered eight children under the age of 4 since 2020. The Marvins said that they are exploring their legal options, as a lawsuit from other prospective foster parents who refused to sign the nondiscrimination policy moves forward.
LGBTQ+ Catholic resource Outreach will host a regional gathering at St. Monica Catholic Community, in Santa Monica, California, on Thursday, Dec. 11, to celebrate Advent with a Lessons and Carols prayer service and social gathering. The event will be co-hosted with the Catholic Ministry with Lesbian and Gay Persons (C.M.L.G.P.) of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, and St. Monica’s Parish. The event will include a service of Advent Lessons and Carols inside the church and a social gathering in the Grand Pavilion on the grounds of the parish. RSVP here.
In North Carolina, thousands of people appeared for the Wake Forest Pride Fest, but the current political climate was on the minds of many people, the AP noted. “If we’re paying attention, we’re seeing what could happen,” said Pride Fest co-chair Amanda Cottrill. “History repeats itself, [which is] why it’s so important for us to be learning and celebrating history.” At one point, people in rainbow clothes confronted a group that came to sing hymns and wave signs telling them to repent. “This particular event is directly against the scriptures and the teachings of the Bible,” claimed local farmer Will Arterburn, who organized the singing. “[There is] sexual immorality on display in the public square.”
Harvard University appointed Kareem Khubchandani—a South Asian drag artist and associate professor at Tufts University who received his Ph.D. at Northwestern University—as the 2025–26 F.O. Matthiessen Visiting Associate Professor in its Studies of Gender and Sexuality program, according to Yahoo! His courses will examine ethnographic methods in queer research and the political dimensions of drag through shows such as RuPaul’s Drag Race. Khubchandani’s website states, “My work is committed to uplifting the creative ways that minoritarian subjects live inside of oppressive structures, especially how we use dance, fashion and language to build something more beautiful for each other.”
Le Monde ran a profile of Amichai Lau-Lavie, a 56-year-old Israeli-American gay rabbi who’s also a father, gay and a drag queen. At 13—on the day of his bar mitzvah—he realized his identity was incompatible with the “Orthodox bubble” in which he had grown up. Then known as Ami Lau, he grew up in Bnei Brak, Israel, in an Orthodox family said to trace its lineage back 38 generations of rabbis.
Gay San Francisco Human Rights Commission Executive Director Mawuli Tugbenyoh, who is new to the position, wants to move the organization forward after it was rocked by scandal, The Bay Area Reporter noted. Cheryl Davis resigned in disgrace last year after it was revealed she signed off on $1.5 million in contracts with nonprofit Collective Impact— run by a man with whom she shared a home address and a car. Tugbenyoh said that he has been charged with returning the agency to its basics—investigating claims of discrimination in the city.
Republican Virginia gubernatorial candidate and current Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears claimed in a televised debate that discriminating against gay people in the workplace isn’t discrimination, per LGBTQ Nation. “Importantly, my opponent has previously said that she does not think that gay couples should be allowed to marry,” Democratic opponent Abigail Spanberger said at a debate at Norfolk State University. “That’s not discrimination!” Earle-Sears interjected—as she did throughout the event, including when workplace bias was mentioned. Earle-Sears’ running mate, John Reid, is an out gay Republican.
A woman who said she was abused by the late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein sued Bank of America and the Bank of New York Mellon, alleging the banks knowingly provided financial services that enabled his sex-trafficking operation for years, Reuters reported. She is represented by law firms Boies Schiller and Edwards Henderson, who previously secured settlements of $75 million and $290 million with Deutsche Bank and JP Morgan, respectively, over their alleged financial ties to Epstein, although neither institution admitted wrongdoing in agreeing to settle. Epstein died by suicide in 2019 in jail while awaiting trial for allegedly sex trafficking, although some have theorized that he was killed.
Democrats were shaken by tech billionaire Marc Benioff’s new show of support for Donald Trump and call for National Guard troops to patrol San Francisco’s streets, Politico noted. Talking with The New York Times, Benioff said Trump is “doing a great job” as president. “This is a slap in the face to San Francisco,” Matt Dorsey, who represents parts of downtown on the city’s Board of Supervisors, posted on X. Benioff is chair/CEO of the software company Salesforce as well as the owner of Time magazine.
In Virginia, the fate of Richmond queer bar Papi’s is in the hands of its city council—nearly a year after the owner says a city “raid” forced it to close, Axios noted. The planning commission recommended the council approve the Shockoe Slip bar’s nightclub license, which would let it to stay open until 2 a.m., for 18 months. Without the license, owner Adrienne Londoño said Papi’s would have to change its business model because most of its sales occur between 11 p.m. and 1 a.m.
Amazon MGM Studios will release a documentary about First Lady Melania Trump—simply called Melania—exclusively in theaters on Jan. 30, per Variety. The film was directed by Brett Ratner, the Rush Hour filmmaker whose career was derailed by #MeToo allegations. Amazon shelled out a reported $40 million for the rights to the film.