NOTE: This week’s column mentions details of a fatal attack.
The U.S. Air Force plans to deny all transgender servicemembers who have served between 15 and 18 years the option to retire early—and will instead separate them without retirement benefits, the AP reported.
The development means that trans servicemembers will now have to choose to either take a lump-sum separation payment offered to junior troops or face removal from the service. A memo that announced the new policy claimed that the choice to deny retirement benefits was made “after careful consideration of the individual applications.”
Health officials under U.S. President Donald Trump are considering a policy that would limit hospitals’ ability to participate in Medicare and Medicaid if they perform gender-affirming medical procedures for transgender youth, according to Axios. Medicare and Medicaid cover at least two-thirds of in-patient days at more than 80% of hospitals, according to a 2024 report from the American Hospital Association. Many hospitals—even in deep-blue states—have already pulled back from providing transition-related services for minors over fear of losing federal funding based on previous Trump administration actions.
Following the Supreme Court’s ruling in U.S. v. Skrmetti upholding a ban on gender-affirming medical care for trans youth, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a challenge to Oklahoma’s ban brought by transgender youth, their families and their medical providers, according to an ACLU of Oklahoma press release. A joint statement from the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Oklahoma and Lambda Legal read, in part, “[The] ruling is a devastating outcome for transgender youth and their families across Oklahoma and another tragic result of the Supreme Court’s errant and harmful ruling in Skrmetti. Oklahoma’s ban is openly discriminatory and provably harmful to the transgender youth of this state, putting political dogma above parents, their children, and their family doctors.”
Tom of Finland Foundation (ToFF) announced the appointment of David Aldea as interim executive director, according to a release. Aldea is a longtime board member and former treasurer who holds a degree in econometrics and accounting from the University of Toronto, and is both a Canadian chartered accountant and U.S. CPA. The foundation also revealed the addition of Richard Villani as director of global partnerships and exhibitions. In January, President/co-founder Durk Dehner caused an uproar on social media after images of him wearing Nazi regalia began circulating online; he was subsequently removed as a judge from Chicago’s IML (International Mr. Leather) and he resigned from the organization.
Democratic Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey—the first out lesbian governor in the country—has bolstered the state’s shield law for abortion and gender-affirming care, The Advocate noted. The Shield Act 2.0 further strengthens protections for patients and providers of reproductive healthcare while explicitly expressing that abortions be performed when deemed medically necessary. “Massachusetts will always be a state where patients can access high-quality health care and providers are able to do their jobs without government interference,” Healey said in a statement. “From the moment Roe was overturned, we stepped up to pass strong protections for patients and providers, and with President Trump and his allies continuing their assaults on health care, we’re taking those protections to the next level.”
In Virginia, Spotsylvania County Commonwealth’s Attorney G. Ryan Mehaffey told The Advocate that his office is devoting its full attention to the reported July 20 attack on Amylah Majors and Jamaria Gaskins—a married Black lesbian couple who have said they were chased, threatened at gunpoint and almost killed in what they described as a racially motivated hate crime. Mehaffey said, in part, “All relevant charges, including potential hate crime charges, will be considered upon completion of the investigation. Our office vigorously prosecutes crimes.” “We were chased, threatened with firearms, and called racial slurs by three white individuals who acted as if they were part of a white supremacist group—two men and one woman,” Majors wrote on GoFundMe. “Two of them physically attacked my wife while brandishing a gun and shouting threats. They called us ‘n*ggers,’ told us we didn’t belong there, and one of them even exposed himself while screaming hate and slurs at us.” The Spotsylvania County Sheriff’s Office has charged Elizabeth Wolfrey, 32, with brandishing a firearm and Mark Goodman, 59, with indecent exposure from a video allegedly connected to the incident.
In Austria, Texas, community members painted over vandalism spray-painted on Life in the City UMC, an LGBTQ+-friendly church, per KVUE. The UMC said its Pride flag was torn down and a message saying “Pride was the first sin,” was spray-painted on the front of the building. Pastor Glenn Luhrs said this isn’t the first time the church has been vandalized. He issued a statement saying the church will not deviate in its mission despite the incident: “Today, our church building was vandalized and our Progress Pride flag was torn down. This act was meant to threaten the mission we hold sacred: offering the radically inclusive love of God in Christ for the health and wholeness of mind, body and spirit. … Our faith compels us to protect, uplift, and advocate for the dignity of all people, especially those who are targeted, silenced, or pushed aside. That includes our LGBTQIA+ family, women and anyone whose identity is used as justification for harm.”
The U.S. State Department is redoing its human rights reports on other countries, omitting anti-LGBTQ+ persecution, gender-based crimes, and other information the reports included in the past, per The Advocate, citing The Washington Post. Leaked report drafts involving El Salvador, Israel, and Russia “strike all references to LGBTQ+ individuals or crimes against them, and the descriptions of government abuses that do remain have been softened,” the Post reported. Former State Department official Keifer Buckingham criticized Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who had praised the department’s human-rights reports when he was a senator, saying, “Secretary Rubio has repeatedly asserted that his State Department has not abandoned human rights, but it is clear by this and other actions that this administration only cares about the human rights of some people … in some countries, when it’s convenient to them.”
Out gay Apple CEO Tim Cook arrived at the White House recently with a handcrafted sculpture and a $100 billion commitment, Out noted. Standing beside President Donald Trump in the Oval Office, Cook unveiled a one-of-a-kind glass engraving produced in Kentucky and mounted on a 24-karat gold base from Utah. According to the outlet, Cook submitted not out of ideology, but out of necessity. Apple faces up to $1.1 billion in new tariff costs this quarter alone, and the White House is threatening a 100-percent import tax on foreign-made semiconductors; companies that “build in the United States,” Trump said, will be spared.
The Bronx-based LGBTQ+ organization Destination Tomorrow and the New York City Department of Social Services announced the opening of a new transitional housing program dedicated to serving more than 100 homeless transgender individuals ages 25 and older, Gay City News reported. Known as Ace’s place, the program is based in the Long Island City section of Queens. The program had a soft opening in July and has more than a dozen clients so far; however, the space will continue to be developed as more clients enroll. The 150 beds will include both single and double beds. Department of Social Services Commissioner Molly Wasow Park stated that the agency “couldn’t be prouder to make this historic announcement that strongly affirms our values and commitment to strengthening the safety net for transgender New Yorkers at a time when their rights are roundly under attack.”
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier subpoenaed records—including copies of guest lists, reservation logs, surveillance video and contracts identifying performers—of the Vero Beach restaurant Kilted Mermaid after it hosted a queer Pride event last month that the prosecutor’s office says was open to all ages, per the AP. If true, that event would violate a recent state law that restricts venues from admitting children to “adult” performances has been blocked by courts. The owner of the Kilted Mermaid, Linda Moore, is vice mayor of Vero Beach.
In Oregon, an exhibit at Eugene’s Museum of Natural and Cultural History features work by Indigenous queer artists answering the question: “What does it mean to exist at the intersection of Indigeneity and queerness?,” according to KLCC. Pieces at the “Transgressors” exhibit include intricate beadwork from Séliš artist Roin Morigeau, surrounding their feelings on top surgery; and Geo Neptune’s sculpture of corn painted in different colors of the rainbow strung together in the Wabanaki basket weaving tradition. The project—which runs through Jan. 4, 2026—builds upon an earlier exhibit by co-curators Anthony Hudson and Felix Furby called “My Father’s Father’s Sister” that focused on Shimkin, an Atfalati Kalapuyan ancestor who was transfeminine.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams and New York City Department of Parks and Recreation (NYC Parks) Commissioner Iris Rodriguez-Rosa announced a new vision for the Clarkson Street corridor in the West Village, per a press release. The city is investing nearly $164 million in the multi-agency project to enhance community health and wellness, develop local recreation space and build more public space. The project includes funding to build a new fully accessible outdoor pool and pool house on the site of the current Tony Dapolito Recreation Center, preserving a mural by the late queer artist Keith Haring and creating a new indoor recreation center that will be located across the street.
The University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School will close its Office of Equal Opportunity and Engagement at the end of the summer, per The Daily Pennsylvanian. The closure is the latest in a series of moves contributing to a widespread rollback of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives across the university. According to Dean Sophia Lee—who wrote to the law school community on Aug. 7—the office will close “as its ongoing work is integrated into broader, school-wide initiatives.” In late February, the law school’s “Equity & Inclusion” webpage was removed entirely from the website, redirecting users to an “Equal Opportunity” page.
In South Dakota, The Transformation Project—a trans-rights nonprofit—will curate and maintain what has been a volunteer-run, searchable database of LGBTQ+-friendly businesses, South Dakota Searchlight noted. Adam Jorgensen founded the database, Dorothy’s List, two years ago, thanks to a $1,000 grant from the Sutton Leadership Institute. Similar lists exist nationwide, such as The Pink Pages; however, Jorgensen’s goal was to offer a state-specific list for South Dakota. The site lists about 150 businesses, and Jorgensen said that about 80 of them have taken an inclusion pledge that asks businesses to take steps like placing rainbow flags in business windows.
In NYC, personal trainer Jacob Zieben-Hood, 34—who allegedly warned his father in a phone conversation that his estranged husband was coming after him with knives—was found dead on his toilet with stab wounds, Gay City News reported. Zieben-Hood, 34, allegedly told his father by phone that his husband, 40-year-old model Donald Zieben-Hood, was targeting him with knives and would not let him leave his apartment at 250 W. 138th St. Prosecutors said that Jacob subsequently sent a photo to his father showing a bleeding stab wound on the back of his leg. Donald was arrested; he faces charges of first-degree burglary, aggravated criminal contempt, first-degree criminal contempt and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon.
Ed Popil—the performer behind drag queen Mrs. Kasha Davis and “Drag Me To The Stage”—criticized the cancellation of an event meant to benefit children in Rochester, New York, according to WHAM. Popil was expecting to co-host an all-ages “drag bingo” fundraiser event Aug. 17 at the Penthouse at One East Avenue in Rochester—until the center cancelled the event. “I received a call from Mary Whittier, the interim CEO,” Popil said. “The call was that there was some backlash, there were some comments, but also there were some other things that were happening within the organization.” (Whittier added in a statement that the decision was “not made lightly.”) “I said on that call, well, then we’re letting hate win,” Popil added. “Because pretty much on a daily basis, unfortunately, as a drag artist, as a performer, especially when I do a story hour, and most recently I was at a Pride festival, and I brought the kids up and we’re dancing—and then when you look at the comments, the hateful, negative, angry comments were plentiful.”
The Gayming Foundation recently launched with the goal of supporting those who identify as LGBTQ+ within the gaming industry, per Bleeding Cool News. This new 501(c)(3) organization has the goal of uplifting and empowering those individuals to effect change. Based on research findings where 27% of workers identified as LGBTQ+, there are an estimated 72,000 LGBTQ+ games industry workers in the United States alone; this figure does not take into account individual solo developers so this figure could be significantly higher.
BC Ventures creator/CEO Brian Christopher has warned that a recent launch from Wicked Games is damaging to any platform directly or indirectly associated with it, per iGaming Expert. The game Transformers—which Christopher described as a deeply misguided attempt to be clever and irreverent—features a masculine weightlifter dressed in women’s clothes and has many anti-trans symbols; it also has a mystery symbol in which pink lingerie drops to reveal blurred out genitalia. When asked about the game, Wicked Games CEO Igor Samardziski said that he doesn’t believe the criticism is a fair assessment that the game is an attack on the LGBTQ+ community.
In a Truth Social post, President Donald Trump lauded Sydney Sweeney’s appearance in a controversial American Eagle jeans ad that critics have suggested includes eugenicist themes, according to Them. “Sydney Sweeney, a registered Republican, has the ‘HOTTEST’ ad out there,” Trump wrote. However, he also used the post to bring up the Bud Light advertising controversy of 2023 that involved trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney. Referring to the controversy, Trump said of Jaguar (which rebranded last year with an ad campaign featuring a diverse set of models wearing brightly colored clothing), “Shouldn’t they have learned a lesson from Bud Lite, which went Woke and essentially destroyed, in a short campaign, the Company[?]”
U.S. Secretary of Defense and former Fox News host Pete Hegseth was criticized for sharing a video in which preachers associated with his church called to criminalize gay sex and ban women from voting, per The Advocate. Hegseth reposted a CNN segment featuring interviews with several pastors, including Doug Wilson, a self-described “Christian Nationalist” from Moscow, Idaho; Wilson is the head pastor at the church Hegseth is a member of, Christ Church, which recently opened a branch in D.C. Hegseth has also said that he does not believe women should be allowed to serve in the military, stating in November that “men and women are different.”
U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-South Carolina) defended her use of a slur for transgender people during a town hall in Rock Hill, WCNC noted. Mace, who announced her bid for South Carolina governor, mentioned her efforts in removing dozens of gender options on school forms at Clemson University and the University of South Carolina. When asked about an LGBTQ+ issue after an event earlier this year, Mace told reporters that “gays need to divorce the t***** [an anti-trans slur],” adding that transgender women should not be in women’s spaces, including dorms and bathrooms. Mace recently doubled down on her use of the transgender slur when asked by reporters about the word. “[It’s] not offensive,” Mace said. “What’s offensive is a woman in a man’s space.”
“Rise Up and Dance!”—an international cabaret dance party that will benefit The LGBT Asylum Project—will take place on Aug. 15 at the San Francisco club OASIS, per The Bay Area Reporter. The Colombian bombshell La Chichi (the genderfluid alter ego of Juliano Wade) will lead this event, along with flamenco dancer Damien Alvarez, strongman Toni Cannon, belly dancer Stefanie Schlief, acrobat Garrett Allen and emcee Adam Sandel, with dance music by DJ Ion. Recently, the shocking news hit that after 11 years as the city’s premiere queer nightclub, OASIS will be closing at the end of this year.
Downtown Portland’s longstanding gay bar Scandals is closing there as owners prepare to open a similar space in another part of the city, KOIN noted. “For nearly half a century [46 years, to be exact], Scandals has been more than a bar,” the owners recently wrote. “It’s been a safe haven, a gathering place, a dance floor, a stage and a home for so many in our LGBTQAI+ community and beyond. We’ve laughed, cried, celebrated and stood together through times of joy and times of challenge.” Ownership is planning to open a business on Northeast Alberta Street sometime in the fall, with the owners describing the new business as an “all-ages, family-friendly queer space.”