Take Action

Join us for the PFLAG Academy Online session – PFLAG Votes 2024: Be A PFLAG Voter and Mobilize Others to do the Same – on October 30th! As PFLAG voters, let’s encourage our friends, family, and community members to head to the polls so that our LGBTQ+ loved ones have the freedom to be themselves, to thrive, and to learn. In this PFLAG Academy Online session we’ll discuss how to make a plan to vote, review strategies to motivate others to cast their ballots, and take part in direct action to ensure our friends and family do their civic duty in 2024.

Register today!

Stay tuned for information on next week’s Week of Action! We’ll be helping folks make their voting plans and providing the tools they need to help their friends and family do the same. Together, we have the power to make an impact in this election!

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. 

California - Freedom to Read Act becomes law. The new law forbids public libraries receiving state funds from banning books or other materials based on the topics, ideas, views, or opinions in them. Public libraries also are forbidden from banning books in a way that discriminates against race, disability, political affiliation, socioeconomic status, gender identity or sexual orientation. 

Equality California celebrates 25th anniversary. The celebration of 25 years of advocacy for LGBTQ+ rights, which was hosted by RuPaul’s Drag Race winner Sasha Colby, included awards for Julian Breece, director of Rustin, and Greg Sarris, Chairman of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria. 

Michigan - PFLAG Parents of a trans child talk about their journey. Amber and Ken Long spoke about the importance of PFLAG Detroit in finding resources to support their daughter as well as the importance of the pro-equality steps Michigan’s government has taken to keep their family safe. 

Texas - Justice of the Peace continues lawsuit against State Commission on Judicial Conduct. The Texas State Commission on Judicial Conduct publicly sanctioned Judge Dianne Hensley for her refusal to officiate same-sex weddings. Hensley sued, claiming the commission was violating her religious freedom. The commission rescinded their sanction of Hensley in September, noting that justices of the peace are not required to officiate weddings. Despite this, Hensley is continuing with the suit. 

Virginia - Arlington forms LGBTQ Advisory Committee. The new committee will hold its first meeting on October 21st and will be tasked with guiding county leadership on LGBTQ issues and ensuring representation of the community in local government.

Court Matters

Mom of a trans daughter sues Broward County schools and Florida State Department of Education. The suit argues that both the school system and the education department violated Jessica Norton’s rights by investigating and disciplining her in retaliation for filing an earlier lawsuit challenging the state’s trans-exclusionary sports law. Norton’s daughter was outed as trans and kicked off her volleyball team last year.

Federal Matters

Over 800 LGBTQ+ military personnel get retroactive honorable discharges after previously receiving less-than-honorable discharges under DADT policy. The Department of Defense proactively reviewed all DADT discharges that resulted in correcting discharge status, affecting servicemembers and their dependents to request VA benefits for which they did not previously qualify.

President Biden announces more student debt forgiveness for 60,000 borrowers. This latest round of debt forgiveness is a result of the Department of Education’s Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program. The President has now forgiven student debt for over 1 million borrowers.

Global Matters

Italy - Parliament bans traveling abroad for surrogacy. Surrogacy is already banned in Italy, but a new law extends the ban beyond Italy’s borders, blocking Italians from going to the US or any other foreign country to have a baby via a surrogate. Many see the new law as further targeting LGBTQ+ people who want children, as they are already banned from adopting children or using IVF. 

Vatican City - Pope Francis meets with LGBTQ+ activists. The group urged the Pope to lift the Catholic Church’s ban on gender-affirming care for trans people.

Media Matters

Robert Bernstein, former PFLAG National Vice President, dies at 98. Bernstein got involved with PFLAG after his daughter, Bobbi, came out as a lesbian in 1987. Later that same year, Bernstein and his fellow PFLAGers joined a march on Washington for gay rights and funding to fight HIV/AIDS and were greeted with cheers, applause, and tears from the young demonstrators. His decades of activism included publishing two guidebooks for parents of gay children and being named the Vice President both of PFLAG’s Metro DC chapter and of PFLAG National. 

LGBTQ+ community centers face violent threats. Almost three-quarters of LGBTQ+ community centers have faced anti-LGBTQ+ threats and/or harassment in the last two years, according to a survey from the Movement Advancement Project and CenterLink. Despite this, these community centers continue to do critical work for LGBTQ+ people across the U.S.

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

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