Take Action

Submit your comment today in support of hard-won Title IX protections in sport. Twenty-one states have anti-trans sports bans, with more states trying to pile on with trans discrimination. Now, it’s time to take action in support of trans student athletes. 

The Department of Education is taking comments from now through May 15th on its proposed rule on Title IX Athletics, which prohibits categorical exclusion of trans athletes by schools and sets criteria to which they must adhere to receive federal funds. Read the fact sheet from the Department of Education.

So submit your public comment today (and thank you to everyone who has already submitted one)! Together we can ensure that non-discrimination protections based on sex are fully inclusive of our transgender, nonbinary and intersex loved ones and neighbors. Say you are with PFLAG and add a personal sentence of why federal trans inclusion in sports matters to you, your family and neighbors.

Court Matters

Supreme Court hears postal worker religious liberty case. On April 18^th SCOTUS considered U.S. Postal Service employee Gerald Groff’s claim that the USPS was violating his religious beliefs by requiring him to deliver packages on Sundays. Depending on the outcome, the case could impact how much weight religious liberty arguments are given in workplace disputes.

Supreme Court weighs whether abortion medication will remain available as case proceeds through lower courts. The Biden administration is urging the Court to uphold the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) finding that mifepristone is safe and can be used through 10 weeks of pregnancy and prescribed by medical professionals who aren’t doctors. The Supreme Court justices have a midnight deadline on Friday, April 21st to make a decision.

Federal Matters

House votes 219-203 to ban trans athletes from girls’ and women’s sports teams in schools. Under HR 734, athletes who are transgender and assigned male at birth would be barred from competing on girls’ and women’s sports teams in public schools and universities. President Biden has pledged to veto the bill if it reaches his desk.

President Biden signs executive actions on care for disabled, veterans, and primary care workers. According to the administration, these orders will expand access to childcare, access to home care for veterans, increase pay for Head Start staff, and improve staffing standards in nursing homes.

State Matters

Warning: While some of the following stories describe legislative actions to celebrate and affirm LGBTQ+ people, many cover legislation targeting the LGBTQ+ community, particularly trans and non-binary youth. Please be kind to yourself and use your discretion while reading this section. 

Advisory: State news is representative but not exhaustive due to space constraint; feel free to forward news about your state to advocacy@pflag.org to consider for inclusion.

California - LGBTQ+ friendly church vandalized. Our Saviour's Lutheran Church in Fresno had windows broken and a Proud Boys sticker attached to the outside. The Pastor, Bill Knezovich, believes the church was targeted by the Proud Boys who protested the church in December for hosting a family friendly drag show. PFLAG Fresno is engaged with community support and healing.

District of Columbia - Whitman-Walker Health to host ‘D.C. Pride Prom’. The May 16^th event will be free and open to students ages 16-19 as a safe gathering for queer youth in D.C. Space will permit 100 students to attend. 

Florida - State Board of Education expands ‘Don’t Say Gay’ restrictions. The Board voted to extend the ban on instruction of gender identity and sexual orientation from Kindergarten through 3rd grade to K-12^th grade. 

Equality Florida issues travel warning. Equality Florida cited new anti-LGBTQ+ laws, abortion restrictions, gun laws and curriculum censorship to explain the warning’s need.

Kentucky - State Department of Education issues LGBTQ+ curriculum censorship guidance to school districts. The recommendations comply with a new state law restricting LGBTQ+ education. The guidance calls for removing any mention of sexual orientation or gender identity from the curriculum. 

Minnesota - State Senate to vote on sanctuary state bill. The bill, which passed the House on March 24th, would prevent state courts or officials from complying with child-removal requests, extraditions, arrests or subpoenas related to medically necessary health care that a person receives or provides in Minnesota. A similar measure was passed in California last year, and other states are debating bills to protect such care amid a nationwide attack on transgender rights. 

Missouri - State to restrict healthcare for transgender people of all ages. Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey issued an emergency regulation that will take effect April 27^th and require at least 18 months of therapy, among other restrictions, before Missourians can receive such care.

Montana - State Senate accepts Governor's changes to healthcare ban. The changes to Senate Bill 99 requested by Governor Gianforte include stipulating that government funds cannot be used for medically necessary procedures and changing the legal definition of male and female. The additions were approved 31-19 by the Senate.

Nebraska - State legislature advances ban on healthcare for trans minors. The Legislature voted 33 to 16 on April 13^th to advance LB574, which faces one more vote before it is sent to the Governor to be signed or vetoed. 

North Dakota - Governor signs ban limiting healthcare for trans people into law. Governor Doug Burgum signed HB 1254 into law on April 19^th, making providers criminally liable if they provide medically necessary care to a trans person under the age of 18. 

Oregon - Oregon Pride in Business debuts new business resource. The Economic Empowerment Center, located in Portland’s Q Center will provide job readiness programs for LGBTQ+ Oregonians, including in-person workshops.

Tennessee - President of Music Business Association opposes anti-LGBTQ+ laws. Portia Sabin announced that the association is “righteously indignant” over the recent legislation in the state that bans necessary healthcare for trans minors. 

Texas - House Public Health Committee approves healthcare ban. SB14 and HB1686 were advanced out of the committee on April 14^th and will now be reviewed by the Calendars Committee. Both bills would require youth currently receiving puberty blockers or hormone therapy to titrate off of their treatment.

LGBTQ+ rally at state Capitol. On April 15^th Hundreds of community members and their supporters marched to the south steps of the capitol to protest the anti-LGBTQ+ bills being passed in the legislature this session.

Global Matters

Cook Islands - Parliament passes legalization of same-sex sexual relations. The Crimes (Sexual Offenses) Amendment Bill 2023 amends the Crimes Act 1969 to do away with prison sentences for homosexuality.

India - Government calls same-sex marriage ‘elitist’ as supreme court decides its legality. The court is considering a lawsuit brought by LGBTQ+ couples against the country’s ban on same-sex marriage.

Japan - LGBTQ+ activist groups urge government action for queer rights. The activists are calling for the enactment of an anti-discrimination law and the legalization of same-sex marriages ahead of the G-7 summit being hosted by Japan in May.

Luxembourg - P.M. criticizes Hungary on LGBTQ+ rights. Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, who is openly gay, condemned Hungary’s LGBTQ+ youth propaganda law during a speech addressing the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France on April 19^th.

Uganda - Anti-LGBTQ+ bill sent back to parliament for changes. President Yoweri Museveni supports the bill and wants to toughen its penalties against LGBTQ+ people. In its current version, the legislation would punish people with 20 years of prison for “promoting” homosexuality.

Ukraine - LGBTQ+ soldiers leading to changing attitudes in country. The participation of the LGBTQ+ community in Ukraine’s war effort against the Russian invasion is leading to increased acceptance of the community in Ukraine. The Kyiv International Institute of Sociology found that only 38.2% of Ukrainians view LGBTQ+ people negatively, down from 60.4% in 2016.

United Kingdom - LGBTQ+ young adults face family difficulties. A new study by the charity Just Like Us found that 46% of people aged 18-25 in the U.K. are estranged from at least one family member due to their gender identity or sexuality.

Media Matters

Sasha Colby crowned winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 15. Following her win, Sasha Colby, who is openly transgender, came to Washington, DC and spoke to Congressman Robert Garcia (D-CA) about the importance of advocacy for the trans, non-binary, and drag communities. 

John Leguizamo declares support for LGBTQ+ community. The actor took to social media to say that “I’m all for trans and LGBTQ+ cause love is love” and “I’m on your team”.

Inaugural “Drag March” held in West Hollywood. Thousands marched on Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood on April 9th in solidarity with the LGBTQ community facing discrimination across the United States.

California man who made violent threats against Merriam-Webster over gender definitions sentenced to a year in prison. A federal court in Massachusetts sentenced Jeremy Hanson, 35, to a one year prison sentence plus 30 days of home confinement, three years of probation and mental health treatment. Hanson pleaded guilty last year to interstate transmission of threatening communications after he made threats made to the dictionary publisher after they updated their gender definitions.

Trump blames gun violence on so-called “trans ideology.” In his April 14^th speech at a National Rifle Association conference, the ex-president blamed mass-shootings on “mental health” and “spiritual” problems and suggested that they were connected to “trans ideology” and hormone treatments.

Report suggests Nasdaq rules have boosted diversity on corporate boards. Half of all companies listed on the Nasdaq exchange now have rules mandating inclusion of LGBTQ+ people on their boards, a drastic rise from the only 3% that did a year ago. 

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

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