Take Action: Lobby Day Registration Deadline is Sept 18th

Join us in Washington, DC Oct. 19-22 for Learning With Love: The 2023 PFLAG National Convention. We’ll be kicking things off on Day 1 with PFLAG National Lobby Day on Capitol Hill! This is a chance for you to tell Members of Congress why it’s so important to support LGBTQ+ people and their families. This full day of direct advocacy is an opportunity to harness the power of your personal story to soften hearts, change minds, and create lasting legislative change.

The deadline to sign up for PFLAG National Lobby Day is Monday, Sept. 18th.

This will be PFLAG National’s first lobby day in 10 years, so we’re sure many of you have questions about how lobby day will work and what to expect. Whether this is your first lobby day or your 20th, we’re hosting a training webinar on Thursday, September 28th at 8:30PM ET / 5:30PM PT to make sure you’re as prepared as possible. We hope to see you there!

Court Matters

Federal judge allows restrictions on gender-affirming care for transgender and nonbinary adults to go into effect. On September 11th, 11th Circuit Court Judge Robert Hinkle declined to issue a preliminary injunction against Florida's SB 254, which requires that all gender-affirming care for transgender and nonbinary adults be administered by a physician. Nurse practitioners are trained to provide this care as well and were previously allowed to do so. The plaintiffs in the case, Doe v. Ladapo, say this restriction has already disrupted access to the care they need.

Federal Matters

HIV/AIDS activists arrested outside Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s office. Six protesters from the HIV/AIDS nonprofits Health Gap and Housing Works were arrested while chanting and sitting in front of Speaker McCarthy's office. The protesters were seeking the reauthorization of the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), which is set to expire at the end of the month unless an agreement to fund the program is reached. PEPFAR has previously been reauthorized three times with bipartisan support.

President Biden issues proclamation marking Hispanic Heritage Month. The President wrote that “During National Hispanic Heritage Month, we honor the diverse history of generations of Latinos, whose aspirations and achievements have shaped the soul of our Nation.”

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 - Lawmakers vote to end state-funded travel ban to states with anti-LGBTQ+ laws. In 2017, the state banned state-funded travel to states with anti-LGBTQ+ laws, including 26 states. The assembly has passed legislation to end the ban, which created challenges for officials, workers, scholars, and college sports teams. The bill which ends the travel ban will also establish an outreach and advertising campaign in states previously on the travel ban list to promote pro-LGBTQ+ messages.

Florida - Lake Worth Beach becomes “sanctuary city” for LGBTQ+ community. The city council of Lake Worth Beach voted unanimously in favor of creating a “sanctuary city,” the first municipality in Florida to do so.

Michigan - Statue to honor first openly gay person elected to public office in the US. Kathy Kozachenko became the first openly gay person elected to public office in the country when she won her race for City Council in Ann Arbor in 1974 - three years before Harvey Milk was elected City Supervisor in San Francisco. Statues for Equality is partnering with the city of Ann Arbor to design and construct the monument, which will be placed on the City Hall grounds.

Missouri - Washington University halts medically-necessary care for trans and non-binary youth. Washington University Health Center announced on September 11th that it will stop prescribing puberty blockers and hormones to patients under 18. While new legislation banning gender-affirming care for Missouri minors included an exemption for those already receiving care, it also exposed providers to “unsustainable liability” via a newly created legal cause of action. Washington University announced it would refer all existing patients to new providers.

Ohio - Cleveland Catholic diocese adds policy to limit LGBTQ+ expression in schools under its jurisdiction. The diocese passed a policy on August 30th affecting 84 Catholic schools in Northeast Ohio that prohibits gender-affirming names and pronouns for trans and non-binary students, staff, and volunteers; bans same-sex couples at school dances; bans expression or celebration of LGBTQ+ identity on their clothes or in their conduct, including rainbow flags and other Pride symbols; and prohibits students, staff, and volunteers from seeking medically necessary gender-affirming care.

Oklahoma - Free Mom Hugs organizes first conference in Oklahoma City. The inaugural conference attracted more than 400 attendees; speakers included PFLAG National CEO Brian K. Bond, Chasten and Pete Buttigieg, and nonbinary Oklahoma state Rep. Maureen Turner. 

Tennessee - Olivia Hill becomes first openly trans person ever elected to public office in the state. Ms. Hill was elected to one of the at-large seats on the Metro Nashville Council on September 14th. Ms. Hill stated that “[her election] is a great step in the right direction to hopefully educate some people about how valid trans folks are and that we're here and that we're not going away.”

Texas - State attempted nation’s greatest number of book bans in 2022. According to the American Library Association (ALA), Texas has attempted to ban 2,349 titles in 2022, making it the state with the highest number of book ban attempts at approximately 93.

Virginia - Governor Glenn Youngkin pardons man who was arrested during school board meeting.  Gov. Youngkin announced that he will pardon the father of a student who protested during a school board meeting in 2021 where he was protesting against state-mandated protection for transgender students, defending his daughter who allegedly endured a sexual assault incident in her high school bathroom.

Global Matters

Ghana - Proposed bill would require citizens to report LGBTQ+ people to authoritiesThe new “Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill” was first introduced in 2021 and criminalizes LGBTQ+ relationships, encouraging citizens to report LGBTQ+ people to authorities. 

Lebanon - An ad advocating decriminalization of homosexuality receives backlash. The ad, which appeared on MTV Lebanon, called for the repeal of Article 534 in the Penal Code, which criminalizes same-sex relations, and was shared on the network's social media.

Media Matters

 

Lyft’s new feature lets women and non-binary riders request their driver’s gender. In the next few months, Lyft will introduce a new feature called "Women+ Connect," allowing riders and drivers to each opt-in to identify their gender, matching them only if the matched driver is nearby.

 

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

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