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Ohioans: House Bill 8, also coined the “Unsafe Students Act,” is up for a hearing on December 10th. If passed, the bill would restrict how so-called “sexuality content” can be taught in schools and would potentially put students’ safety at serious risk, particularly LGBTQ+ students. Tell members of the Ohio Senate Education Committee to vote NO on HB 8 today!

Have you signed up to receive Action Alerts from PFLAG National? In the immediate future, more and more work will be done in rapid-response mode, and we hope to have every one of our members and supporters engaged.

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.

2024 State legislative sessions see several anti-trans bills become law. Five states passed anti-trans healthcare bans; four states passed sex re-definition laws; four states passed anti-trans bathroom bans; several states also passed curriculum censorship laws. 

California - State conducts first survey of LGBTQ+ seniors. The California Department of Aging, the University of California, Berkeley, and others conducted the survey of over 4,000 LGBTQ+ older adults. Overall, the survey showed high levels of satisfaction with quality of life, but it did highlight community concerns about the personal, financial, and mental health well-being of transgender women. 

LGBTQ+ groups fight discrimination as second Trump term looms - Artemes Gidram, a board member of PFLAG Fresno interviewed with messages to uplift the transgender community and highlight resources to update gender markers and names on documents such as passports. 

Georgia - Senate special committee to make recommendations on trans athletes to full legislature. The Senate Special Committee on the Protection of Women’s Sports - which is an all-male committee - announced that it is preparing to make recommendations to the state legislature about how to regulate transgender student athletes ahead of the 2025 legislative session. A release date for these recommendations has not been announced, but the committee may push for legislation that would ban trans students from competing in scholastic athletic teams. 

Illinois - PFLAG Decatur holds Transgender Day of Remembrance Memorial service. The service included lighting a candle and ringing a bell for each of the 36 transgender people who were killed in 2024. 

Missouri - Missouri judge upholds state’s anti-trans healthcare ban. Circuit Court Judge Robert Craig Carter held that the ban on medically-necessary care for trans and non-binary youth was constitutional. Please read Lambda Legal’s statement regarding the ruling.

Montana - Legislature rejects measure to ban trans lawmaker from using women’s bathroom. A bipartisan vote killed a rules proposal which would have banned openly trans state legislator Zooey Zephyr from using the women’s bathroom at the State Capitol.  

Ohio - Gov. DeWine signs anti-trans bathroom ban into law. SB 104 bans trans students from using bathrooms, locker rooms, and other sex-segregated spaces that align with their gender identity. The law applies to all public K-12 schools, as well as public colleges and universities. 

Texas - Lawmakers weigh further anti-trans measures for 2025 legislative session. Legislators have pre-filed bills re-defining sex for the purposes of government records, bills to prevent trans people from amending their birth certificates to reflect their gender identity, among other proposals. 

Trans residents of Odessa speak out about the local bathroom ban. PFLAG Midland/Odessa President Alexander Ermels and PFLAG National Vice President of Policy and Government Affairs Diego Sanchez spoke to how bathroom bans targeting transgender people also harm people of color, regardless of gender. 

Utah - Utah State University joins lawsuit aiming to ban trans athletes from Mountain West Conference. The athletic conference currently allows trans students to play on the team aligning with their gender identity. The lawsuit aims to change this in the wake of several teams refusing to compete against San Jose State University, which they allege has a trans player on its team.

Court Matters

Supreme Court hears oral arguments in case concerning Tennessee’s anti-trans healthcare ban. L.W., a trans youth and a plaintiff in the case, attended oral arguments with her parents on December 4th. She was able to witness ACLU’s Chase Strangio - the first openly trans lawyer to appear before the Court - argue in U.S. v Skrmetti that Tennessee’s law banning medically necessary care for trans and nonbinary youth that is not denied to others is unconstitutional.  

Over 1,000 people rally in front of Supreme Court while U.S. v Skrmetti was argued inside. PFLAG National Board Chair Edith Guffey spoke in support of trans rights during the rally while several PFLAG chapter members supported her from the crowd.

Federal Matters

President Biden holds World AIDS Day event at the White House. The President and First Lady commemorated World AIDS Day at the White House, expressing empathy with families who have lost loved ones. A giant red ribbon hung on the South Portico and the AIDS Memorial Quilt was placed across the South Lawn for the first time. The quilt has 50,000 panels with 110,000 names and weighs 54 tons.

Global Matters

Russia - Moscow police raid bars and nightclubs amid crackdown against LGBTQ+ community. Several bars and nightclubs were raided and patrons had laptops, phones, and cameras seized and police also demanded to see identification documents.

Media Matters

PFLAG National and Vet Voice Foundation premiered Branden’s Daughter. Advertising trade Campaign highlighted the 60-second PSA, which interviews a Navy veteran about his transgender daughter and the importance of LGBTQ+ acceptance and safety.

Many same-sex couples rush to marry, have children before Inauguration Day. Some wedding venues, photographers, and planners are offering free services to same-sex couples who wish to quickly get married before the next Administration takes power.

Khalid comes out as gay. The singer was outed by someone else before confirming that he is gay in a social media post. 

Village People singer claims “Y.M.C.A.” is not a gay anthem. Victor Willis of the Village People denied that the song was intended as a gay anthem. Willis also said that, starting in January, his wife will sue any news organization that refers to “Y.M.C.A.” as a gay anthem.

Alex Consani named first openly trans Model of the Year. Consani accepted the Model of the Year Award at the British Fashion Council’s Fashion Awards. 

Manchester United players scrapped plans to wear rainbow jackets after one player signaled his refusal to participate. Citing his religious beliefs, Noussair Mazraoui reportedly was going to refuse to wear the rainbow jacket in support of the Rainbow Laces campaign, which promotes LGBTQ+ inclusion in sport.

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

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