Republican Vermont Gov. Phil Scott signed into law an act relating to confirmatory adoptions, a GLAD Law (GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders) press release announced. Championed by state Reps. Martin LaLonde and Barbara Rachelson, the measure makes the adoption process more efficient for parents seeking an adoption decree to confirm an existing parent-child relationship by removing barriers that non-genetic parents—including LGBTQ+ ones—face when adopting their own children.
“This is an important step toward ensuring that LGBTQ+ families in Vermont are able to protect themselves wherever they may travel. With extremists escalating their attacks on LGBTQ+ people across the country, parents are justifiably seeking paths to secure their legal parent-child relationship, including through adoption decrees, which are easily recognizable and must receive respect in all jurisdictions,” said GLAD Law Director of Family Advocacy Polly Crozier.
Pennsylvania voters took to the polls on May 20 to select the candidates they hope will win in the upcoming November 2025 elections, Philadelphia Gay News noted. Some of the LGBTQ+ candidates scored victories, including Erica Deuso, who could be the first openly trans mayor in Pennsylvania; she recently defeated Barry Cassidy in Downingtown’s Democratic mayoral primary. Also, Sherrie Cohen, who previously aimed to become the city’s first openly LGBTQ+ city councilperson, never made it out of the primaries in the three election cycles she entered; however, as a first-time candidate for judge, she will advance in her attempt to join the Philadelphia Municipal Court.
Pioneering LGBTQ+-rights advocate Frank Kameny would have turned 100 on May 21, The Advocate noted. Kameny has been called the “Father of the Gay Rights Movement,” having become an activist after he lost his federal government job in the 1950s for being gay. Among other achievements, Kameny started to help other gay people prepare lawsuits to fight discrimination, and in 1961, he became president of the D.C. chapter of the Mattachine Society. In 1965, he led the first gay rights (as the term “LGBTQ+ rights” would not enter the vocabulary for decades) protest at the White House, where he was joined by other pioneering activists such as Barbara Gittings and her partner, Kay Tobin Lahusen.
A student-run Jewish organization at Seton Hall, New Jersey’s largest Catholic university, had to cancel its “Drag Queen Bingo” event after it received hateful messages, New Jersey 101.5 noted. Seton Hall Hillel put out a message on its Instagram page, cancelling the celebratory event due to what was described as “unacceptable, hateful messages” received by members. The organization stated, in part, “What was meant to be a joyful (belated) celebration of Purim—a holiday that embraces resilience, Jewish pride, inclusivity and joy—instead became a target for hostility as our Hillel community received unacceptable, hateful messages in response. While we regret that we must cancel this program, our commitment to fostering a vibrant and welcoming Jewish community remains steadfast.”
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said that Democrats should protect civil rights for transgender people while also opposing Republican economic plans, according to Them, citing The Independent. Walz said, in part, “And here’s the thing: We need to tell people your cost of eggs, your health care being denied, your homeowner’s insurance, your lack of getting warning on tornadoes coming has nothing to do with someone’s gender.” He added, “We can protect LGBTQ rights and basic human rights at the same time, [and] we can make sure that we hold drug companies accountable for high prices.”
The U.S. Supreme Court rejected the appeal of a Massachusetts student who was banned from wearing a T-shirt to school proclaiming there are only two genders, per the AP. (Supreme Court justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented.) The justices, in essence, approved a federal appeals court ruling that said it would not second-guess the decision of educators in Middleborough, Massachusetts, to not allow the T-shirt to be worn at school because of a negative impact on transgender and gender-nonconforming students. The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said it was reasonable to predict that the T-shirt would “poison the educational atmosphere” and disrupt the learning environment.
For the fourth consecutive year, Louisiana legislators killed a proposal to ban employers from discriminating against new hires based on their gender identity or sexual orientation, the Louisiana Illuminator reported. House Bill 429—by state Rep. Delisha Boyd, D-New Orleans—was shot down by a six-to-four vote in the House Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations, with all Republicans voting against the measure. State Rep. Roger Wilder, R-Denham Springs—who sponsored legislation last year restricting what bathrooms transgender people can use, raised concerns Boyd’s bill would create a slippery slope, asking, “Is the next bill going to be about furries and now that every company has to put a litter box in the corner?”
Shattered glass, broken doors and homophobic slurs littered the entryway of D.C. queer bar Sinners and Saints, per The Washington Blade. Co-partner/general manager Blair Nixon said, “It was really scary. To know that somebody was in our space, vandalizing it—it was very scary and honestly, devastating.” The Blade obtained a copy of the filed police report, which described the break-in as a felony—more specifically, the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) considered it a second-degree burglary. MPD’s report also classified the break-in and graffiti as having “a hate bias or motivation” against sexual minorities who own and patronize the bar.
In Georgia, the Savannah Pride Center is teaming with the city’s police department to conduct officer training on how to better identify and respond to hate crimes against LGBTQ+ people, Rough Draft Atlanta noted. The collaboration comes after the controversial police handling of the March 15 shooting death of Chris Allen Vilegas Fentress, a 27-year-old Savannah Pride Center volunteer who was allegedly murdered at a store by an assailant who reportedly shouted anti-gay slurs. (Johnathan Manson was arrested and charged with murder—although authorities have not classified the killing as a hate crime.) Under the partnership, Savannah Pride Center staff will conduct “Safe Space Training” for new police recruits and provide ongoing education for current officers.
Also in Georgia, a Cobb County high school student was allegedly forced to change schools with just four weeks until graduation, per Atlanta News First. Tricia Wright said her daughter, Emily, a senior at North Cobb Christian School, was forced to withdraw because they later found out that her date to the off-campus prom was a transgender boy. Tricia said that nothing in the school’s prom guidelines or the student code of conduct explicitly states LGBTQ+ individuals are not allowed to attend events. In a letter to the school’s principal and headmaster, Emily’s parents said the “decision is not reflective of the Christian values you claim to uphold.” The school had not responded to requests for comment from several outlets, including People.
The Clarion Ledger noted that two food and cooking influencers are working to bring the Mississippi Gulf Coast together to support LGBTQ+-friendly businesses. The development occurred after Darwell’s Happiness Cafe, in the Mississippi town of Long Beach, drew national attention when the owners issued a deal for opposite-sex couples only. “That is not Long Beach. That is not who we are,” Mayor George Bass said about the restaurant’s offer in a recent interview with The New Orleans Advocate. And influencers Matthew Bounds, of Gulfport, and Caroline Davis, of Bay St. Louis, created the Love the Coast crawl; the event spanned several towns and cities along the Mississippi Gulf, ending the night in Long Beach.
Victoria Brownworth—a lesbian journalist who was the longtime television columnist for the Bay Area Reporter and who contributed to Philadelphia Gay News as well as other publications—died May 22 at age 69, per the Reporter. Brownworth had long lived with multiple sclerosis and had battled cancer for many years; she was recently hospitalized in Philadelphia. Brownworth penned the B.A.R.’s Lavender Tube TV column for three decades and, often, her writing incorporated the political. Also an author, she won the Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Mystery for her 2016 novel, Ordinary Mayhem, and was a five-time finalist in other categories.
Florida officials went after a private gym for allowing transgender members to use facilities corresponding with their gender identity—but a state law restricting bathroom and changing facility access does not apply to private businesses, per The Advocate. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis this year, sent a letter to Life Time Fitness threatening to investigate the business for allowing “men posing as women to enter and use the women’s locker room.” The gym cited a Palm Beach County human-rights ordinance that includes gender identity as a protected class, but Uthmeier has argued that it does not apply because it excludes language about bathroom restrictions. ACLU of Florida has said that “private businesses, organizations, and religious institutions are not covered unless they operate inside a state-owned building,” although that’s not stopping Uthmeier, who has threatened to investigate the gym.
In Iowa, Republican state Sen. Sandy Salmon introduced a resolution to end same-sex marriage, according to KCRG. However, fellow GOP state Sen. Dave Sires said he and other state Republicans were unaware that this resolution was going to be filed, and he questioned why the measure should be filed so late in the session with so many other things on the line. He also added that he believed that Salmon sometimes “has her own agenda” and he’s unsure if he would actually support the resolution. “Iowa does have the right to make its own marriage laws. And we did,” Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott, D-Dallas County, said. “ We were one of the first states to allow for marriage equality. We really were leading the nation in a very positive way. I think Senator Salmon needs to be reminded of that.”
LGBT+ VC’s 3rd Annual Venture Capital Summit is taking place Thursday, June 5, at the Museum of Arts and Design in NYC, per the event’s webpage. The summit is described as “the world’s leading conference for LGBTQ and ally venture capitalists with a selected list of limited partners, venture fund managers, accomplished investors, leading industry executives and cultural tastemakers.” All proceeds from ticket sales go directly to supporting the nonprofit’s programs, initiatives and educational efforts for queer youth year-round.
Out Apple CEO Tim Cook has spent years trying to shield the company from tariffs by reducing its reliance on China, shifting production to countries like India and Vietnam in a strategy that dates back to President Trump’s first-term tariffs on Beijing—but Trump has become an obstacle once again, per Yahoo! Finance. Apple stock erased more than $100 billion from its market cap recently after Trump said the iPhone maker must pay at least a 25% tariff unless its iPhones are made in the United States. Although China still accounts for about 85% of iPhone production, Apple has significantly expanded its manufacturing footprint in recent years, investing heavily in countries like India and Vietnam.
The D.C. government announced a half-million dollars in grants for local nonprofits to help offset their costs for security, but one—the Lillian and Albert Small Capital Jewish Museum—is having concerns for a couple reasons, NBC Washington reported. The worries are not just because they are a Jewish organization, but also because of a new exhibit focused on the LGBTQ+ community. The museum has opened a new temporary exhibit—“LGBT Jews in the Federal City”—to coincide with World Pride coming to the District; the exhibit has increased the museum’s concerns about safety. The museum is one of 11 nonprofits in the District to receive a grant from the D.C. government to help with security costs.
Tennessee Christian Preparatory School high school senior Morgan Armstrong has claimed her diploma was withheld after she came out as gay on social media, News Channel 9 noted. However, the school said her claims are “misleading.” The educational facility added, “Despite this supposed legal dispute, Tennessee Christian remains fully committed to delivering Morgan Armstrong’s diploma. Our goal continues to be the academic and personal success of each student, even in the face of conflict or disagreement. We wish Morgan Armstrong the very best as she continues her academics in college.” The lawsuit says Armstrong was taken into an administrator’s office the next day and presented with a suspension letter that reads, “Morgan posted on social media platforms such as Instagram a disparaging remark reflecting the people at Tennessee Christian.”
NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists announced the 2025 CONNECT: Student Journalism Training Project cohort via a press release. The 10 students selected for the annual project will cover the NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists National Convention in Atlanta on Sept. 4-7. The student participants are Katherine Dailey, tanka dhakal, Justin Doud, Ariana Isabel Duckett, Florian Knowles, Chelsea Kurnick, Kimberly Olivas, Jordan Pettiford, Lealer Sims and Danilo Wrightsell. Applications for the next cohort will open next spring.
Aidan Maese-Czeropski—best known as “the Senate Twink”—revealed the story behind his infamous sex video filmed in a room in the Senate building, Out noted. “It’s hard to say that I learned a lesson,” Maese-Czeropski told The Intelligencer. “Who cares? The only person I negatively affected was myself. I bear those consequences. But I don’t regret f*cking in the Senate.” He caused a political sex scandal while working as a Senate staffer for then-Maryland Sen. Ben Cardin. After he filmed himself having sex with another man in a Senate hearing room, the video leaked to far-right outlet The Daily Caller.