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State Actions

Arizonans

Governor Katie Hobbs vetoed several anti-LGBTQ+ bills this week. Send her a thank you note for standing up for our families!

Mainers

The Judiciary Committee heard LD 233, LD 868, and LD 1134 on Thursday, May 8th. These bills would keep trans kids from playing sports and ban them from bathrooms, locker rooms, and other school facilities. Tell your legislators to respect trans kids and vote NO on these bills!  

New Hampshirites 

SB 211, an anti-trans athlete and facilities ban, and HB 377, an anti-trans healthcare ban, have each passed one chamber of the state legislature. We need your help to stop these bills from getting to the Governor's desk. Tell your legislators to respect trans kids and vote NO on these bills!

Texans

Today - Friday, May 9th - the State House will be on the floor debating HB 229 and HB 778, and we need your help to push back and defend the rights of our trans loved ones! Tell your legislators to respect trans kids and vote NO on these bills!

State Matters

Here is a sample of what’s going on around the country. You can share news from your state with advocacy@pflag.org for possible inclusion in a future newsletter.

Arizona - Gov. Katie Hobbs vetoes anti-trans, anti-DEI bills. The Governor vetoed three bills: HB 2438, which would have prevented trans and nonbinary Arizonans from updating the gender marker on their birth certificates, and two bills aimed at banning DEI in Arizona colleges and universities. In her veto message, Governor Hobbs urged the legislature to “focus on real issues that matter and impact people’s every-day lives.” 

California - Los Angeles LGBT Center loses HIV prevention funding. The LGBT Center lost a $1.8 million contract with Los Angeles County for HIV prevention work, including funding for clinics and outreach services. The County cited Trump Administration funding cuts for the contract cancellation. 

Florida - Legislature adjourns without passing any anti-LGBTQ+ bills. Equality Florida Executive Director Nadine Smith stated that more than 16,000 Floridians sent emails to their legislators opposing anti-LGBTQ+ bills, and more than 325 legislators met face-to-face with pro-equality advocates. 

Idaho - Boise City Council adopts Pride Flag as official city flag. HB 96, which Governor Brad Little signed into law in April, bans Pride flags from being flown on government property, but allows “official city flags” to be flown. Adopting the Pride flag as an official city flag of Boise is a workaround to comply with HB 96 while still celebrating the LGBTQ+ community. 

Maryland - Salisbury to paint over Pride crosswalk downtown. PFLAG Salisbury announced that the chapter is “exceedingly disappointed by the announcement…no amount of paint will ever be able to obliterate our existence or our dedication to inclusivity.” The Chapter also held a “peaceful conversation” regarding the Pride crosswalks in front of City Hall. 

North Carolina - Legislators advance anti-trans child custody bills. House and Senate committees voted to advance HB 560 and SB 442, respectively. Both bills would specifically exclude “rais[ing] a juvenile consistent with the juvenile’s [sex assigned at birth]” from definitions of child abuse and neglect, as well as barring adoption and foster agencies from considering whether a prospective parent would affirm a trans or nonbinary child when deciding child placements. 

Oklahoma - Lawmakers introduce resolution asking U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Obergefell v. Hodges. The 2015 ruling legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. The resolution, introduced by State Senator Dusty Deevers (R-Elgin) and State Representative Jim Olsen (R-Roland), does not carry the force of law and no cases currently before the Court revisit the issue of same-sex marriage. 

Pennsylvania - Anti-trans athlete ban passes State Senate. The bill passed with bipartisan support. Should the bill pass the House of Representatives, Governor Josh Shapiro has indicated he would veto the bill. 

Virginia - Advocates hope to reverse anti-trans athlete ban. Pro-equality advocates will press the Virginia High School League (VHSL) Executive Committee to reverse the anti-trans athlete ban it promulgated in February when the committee holds its May meeting.

Federal Matters

In addition to other federal issues, this section includes ongoing activity regarding the executive orders (EOs) signed by President Trump since January 20, 2025. Please know that EOs do NOT override the United States Constitution, federal statutes, or established legal precedent. EOs are required by law to follow a process before changes can be implemented, and for many of these EOs, litigation is not only expected but is also already happening. 

To inform your activism, advocacy, and media work, please use our Executive Order explainers and resources web page, which is updated frequently as we gather information from our many trusted partners.

Trump Administration settles lawsuit with Maine, restores funding.  The settlement ends the lawsuit by Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey against the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which had frozen funds to Maine for school nutrition programs over a dispute regarding Maine’s inclusive policies towards trans athletes. 

Justice Department lifts school desegregation order for Louisiana school district. Plaquemines Parish Schools have been held to a legal agreement with the DOJ mandating certain steps be taken to ensure the schools integrate since 1966. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon called the continued existence of the desegregation order a “historical wrong” and suggested that similar orders which remain in place should be reconsidered.

Trump Administration cancels over $800 million in grants for LGBTQ+ health research. More than half these grants, which were given to institutions like Johns Hopkins University and Columbia University, involved studying cancers and viruses which disproportionately impact the LGBTQ+ community. 

Pride exhibition at Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art postponed until 2026. The exhibition, which is entitled,“Here: Pride and Belonging in African Art,” was originally scheduled to open during WorldPride, which begins in Washington, DC on May 17th. The museum’s spokesperson cited budgetary concerns as the reason for the postponement.  

National Park Service has not approved permits for WorldPride. Five WorldPride events are scheduled to take place on the National Mall in Washington, DC, but the National Park Service has yet to approve the necessary permits. WorldPride organizers said that, should the permits not be approved, those events will move to different locations not controlled by the federal government.

Court Matters

Supreme Court allows trans military ban to take effect. On May 6th, the justices granted an emergency request from the Trump administration to lift a nationwide injunction blocking the policy while the lawsuit seeking to overturn the policy continues to make its way through lower courts. Justices Jackson, Kagan, and Sotomayor dissented.

Global Matters

Australia - Prime Minister Anthony Albanese re-elected. Albanese was the first Prime Minister to march in the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade.

Vatican City - Cardinal Robert Prevost elected Pope. Prevost, who took the papal name Leo XIV, is from Chicago, making him the first American to be elected Pope. He spent most of his career as a missionary in South America and was appointed bishop of Chiclayo, a city in Peru, where he served as bishop from 2014 to 2023. In 2015, he became a Peruvian citizen.

Media Matters

Designer Diane von Fürstenberg’s husband comes out as gay. Barry Diller, who married von Fürstenberg in 2001 after decades of being together, came out in his upcoming novel, Who Knew.

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

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