Support for those affected by the Los Angeles County Wildfires

Our hearts go out to all those affected by the devastating wildfires in LA County. The LA County Fire Department, FEMA, the Red Cross, and NBC4 Los Angeles have compiled resources for those affected. Please stay safe and follow all emergency orders, including evacuation orders.

Take Action

Tell your Senators to vote NO on the anti-trans athlete ban! The House passed H.R. 28, a federal anti-trans athlete ban, this week. Next week, the Senate will consider the bill. We need everyone to call and write their Senators NOW and tell them to vote NO.  

We are days into an administration that is working overtime, using ugly language to demean the values we hold dear, and taking actions to harm our loved ones and neighbors. Yet our LGBTQ+ community is strong, our stories are powerful, and our love is louder. Here are some things you can do, right now, to take positive action to strengthen rights for LGBTQ+ people and others in your community:

• Contact your state legislators and tell them to respect trans kids. Regardless of where you live, this message is important for legislators to hear.
• Start attending your school and library board meetings to tell your local officials that their priority should be creating safe and inclusive school environments for all. 
• Watch Advocacy at All Levels: Making Your PFLAG Voice Heard.  Our most recent PFLAG Academy Online training will teach you the ins and outs of the legislative process and how you can make a difference. 
• Sign up for your local state equality group newsletters to stay up to date on what’s happening in your state.

State Matters

Here is a sample of what’s going on around the country. Please be kind to yourself and use your discretion while reading this section. You can share news from your state with advocacy@pflag.org for possible inclusion in a future newsletter.

New York - Judge denies request to block Nassau County anti-trans athlete ban. Nassau County Supreme Court Judge Bruce Cozzens denied a request by the Long Island Roller Rebels to block Nassau County from enforcing its anti-trans athlete ban while the lawsuit challenging the law is considered by the court.

Virginia - State legislature approves resolution to repeal same-sex marriage ban in state constitution. The resolution must pass two successive legislatures and then will be put to voters for approval. Should this happen, a constitutional amendment approved by voters in 2006 outlawing same-sex marriage will be repealed. The amendment has been unenforceable since the Supreme Court ruling in Obergefell v Hodges.

Court Matters

Supreme Court to hear case concerning Montgomery County, Maryland public school policy not allowing opt-outs for LGBTQ+ related curriculum. A group of Montgomery County parents sued Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) in 2023, arguing the lack of an op-out for a curriculum which includes LGBTQ+-related topics violates their religious beliefs. So far, federal judges on the district court and circuit court levels have ruled in favor of MCPS, but the parents appealed to the Supreme Court. PFLAG National submitted amicus briefs supporting MCPS when the case was before the district and circuit courts. 

Federal judge temporarily blocks President Trump’s executive order curtailing birthright citizenship. U.S. District Judge John Coughenour issued a temporary restraining order that blocked Trump's executive order from being enforced nationwide for 14 days while the judge considers whether to issue a preliminary injunction. The order - which would have gone into effect in February - directs federal agencies to stop issuing citizenship documents to U.S.-born children of undocumented mothers or mothers in the country on temporary visas, if the father is not a U.S. citizen or permanent resident. Judge Coughenour called the executive order “blatantly unconstitutional.”

Federal Matters

This section largely describes the executive orders signed by President Trump this week.  Many of these harmful actions directly target LGBTQ+ people, and transgender people and their families in particular are experiencing heightened stress as a result. Please know that executive orders do NOT override the United States Constitution, federal statutes, or established legal precedent.   

Many executive actions are required by law to follow a process before any changes can be implemented. Furthermore, for some of the President’s executive orders, litigation is not only expected but is also already happening. 

President Trump signs executive order proclaiming that the government will only recognize two sexes. The order states that the federal government will use the term “sex” instead of “gender” and will recognize only two sexes - male and female - determined at “conception,” in spite of the fact that male genitalia do not begin to develop until 6 or 7 weeks of gestation. Trump’s order directs the Department of State and Homeland Security to issue IDs which “accurately reflect the holder’s sex" and mandates that federally funded prisons, shelters, and other spaces are segregated by sex assigned at birth. The order also means that the State Department will no longer issue passports with “X” gender markers, which have been available since 2022.

Trump administration directs all Federal DEI staff to be put on leave. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) released a memo on January 21st directing federal agencies to place DEI office staffers on paid leave by 5 p.m. on January 22nd and take down all public DEI-focused webpages by the same deadline. Agencies must also cancel any DEI-related training and end any related contracts. Federal workers are also being asked to report to OPM if they suspect any DEI-related program has been renamed to hide its purpose within 10 days or face “adverse consequences.”

President Trump revokes executive orders banning discrimination in federal contracting. The revoked orders, 11246 and 13672, required that federal contractors take "affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed, and that employees are treated during employment, without regard to their race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin,” among other anti-discrimination measures. 

President Trump revokes Biden executive order allowing trans servicemembers to serve openly. President Biden signed an executive order in 2021 reversing a trans military ban from Trump’s first term. President Trump has rescinded that. This does not have any immediate effect on transgender servicemembers currently serving in the military, but does open the door for a future trans military ban. 

President Trump pardons or commutes sentences of 1,500 people charged in January 6th insurrection. The President issued roughly 1,500 pardons and commuted the sentences of 14 of his supporters who were charged in connection with the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, when thousands of President Trump’s supporters stormed the building, believing his false claims that the 2020 presidential election was rigged against him. Several of the individuals who received pardons or commutations were convicted of assaulting police officers.

Trump administration removes most LGBTQ+ and HIV-focused content and resources from federal government websites. Nearly all LGBTQ+ and HIV-related content has been removed from WhiteHouse.gov and other federal agency websites.

Global Matters

Thailand - Marriage equality law takes effect. Hundreds of same-sex couples wed across the country on January 23rd as the marriage equality law took effect.

Media Matters

Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde asks President Trump to show mercy for immigrants and LGBTQ+ Americans in national prayer service. Rev. Budde, who is the Episcopalian Bishop of Washington, DC, made a direct plea to the President - who was in the audience - during her sermon at the Washington National Cathedral. Rev. Budde asked the President to show mercy for LGBTQ+ children who “fear for their lives,” as well as for immigrants “whose children fear that their parents will be taken away…”

Karla Sofía Gascón makes history as the first openly transgender actor nominated for an Oscar. Gascón was nominated for Best Actress for her role in Emilia Pérez. 

Lucy Dacus pledges $10,000 to help trans and nonbinary people pay for their healthcare. Dacus, part of the Grammy-award winning group Boygenius, announced she’d be giving away $10,000, in $500 increments, to people needing financial help to access gender-affirming care. 

PFLAG National
(202) 467-8180 | love@pflag.org

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