Top Stories
Puberty blockers trial can go ahead as UK court throws out challenge
The High Court has ruled that the PATHWAYS puberty blockers trial can go ahead, after a judge threw out a challenge from campaigners. The challenge came from a number of groups or individuals, including the Bayswater Support Group which give “support for parents of children IDing as trans”. They asked that the trial be blocked, arguing it was unlawful. However the High Court has ruled it can go ahead after a two-day hearing. In a statement, the PATHWAYS Trial research team said: “We welcome the Court’s decision. The safety and welfare of young people will remain our highest priority in carrying out this research. “PATHWAYS Trial is […]
Neo-Nazi Leader Admits Civil Rights Violation In 2023 New Hampshire Drag Queen Story Hour Protest
The Boston Globe reports: The founder of a neo-Nazi group that sent masked men to protest outside a 2023 drag queen story hour event in Concord, N.H., has admitted their anti-LGBTQ intimidation tactics amounted to a civil rights violation, the New Hampshire attorney general’s office announced Thursday. Christopher R. Hood Jr. of Newburyport, Mass., and his group, the Nationalist Social Club-131, or NSC-131, will be permanently barred by court order from engaging in any further unlawful discriminatory practices, if a judge accepts the deal. Anyone who violates those terms could face further sanctions. Hood, 27, will be required to complete 250 hours […]
Judge weighs sanctions after Trump administration violates court order protecting trans prisoners
The Trump administration moved transgender women in federal custody into segregated housing despite a court order barring their transfer out of women’s facilities. An attorney for the inmates told U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth that the administration had violated the court’s May order by moving the women into segregated units, according to the Associated Press. Lamberth is now considering how to enforce his injunction. Stay up to date with the latest in LGBTQ+ news with The Advocate’s email newsletter, in your inbox five days a week. When Lamberth pressed Justice Department attorneys on whether the action violated his prior court order, administration attorneys said they had complied with […]
Local News
Positive Images Social Saturday Happened August 8 at Healdsburg Beach
Join Positive Images and Sonoma County Regional Parks for a Rainbow River day at Healdsburg Veterans Memorial Beach for swimming, and some fun in the sun on August 8th from 12-2pm This is an all ages, family focused event. For questions, please reach out to joy@posimages.org
Wake Up Sonoma Meets with Sonoma Valley High School Superintendent About Pride Flag Removal
On July 22, Board members, David, Josette and Lisa met with Superintendent Jason Sutter, who continues to be invested in listening to the community, hearing us out, and working within his role and capacity. Below is a summary of our meeting.He has scheduled the presentation of two possible flag policies for September. This will give the Superintendent time to work with administrators, staff, and students to develop the draft policies. He would also be surprised if the issue is fully resolved in September. Board policies often require multiple revisions, and because two drafts will be presented to the Board, the […]
Arts & Entertainment
Now at Rialto Cinemas in Sebastopol: “Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World”
Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the WorldOne Week Only Starts Friday July 24 3:50 pm & 5:45 pm If poetry had a pop icon, Mary Oliver would be it. Celebrated best-selling poet, Pulitzer Prize-winner, lover of dogs and long walks in the woods, openly queer but intensely private, Oliver was America’s unlikely contemporary mystic, stalking the ponds and forests of Cape Cod for nearly fifty years in order to open herself – and her readers – to the known and unknowable world. From a lonely childhood to literary fame, Oliver’s life was shaped by devotion to nature, paying attention, and the […]
State News
When San Francisco “went absolutely bonkers” over a gay vigilante group
“Nothing disgusts me more than a f**got on the sideline.” So said the Rev. Ray Broshears, the collar-clad leader of the Lavender Panthers, a gay vigilante group enlisted by Broshears to combat attacks on gay and trans people in San Francisco during the 1970s. Broshears aggressive tactics and publicity-seeking gained the group some mainstream headlines and probably account for its prominent place in the history of the “Gay Liberation” movement today, when other community-based responses to police harassment and gay-bashing have been lost. The controversial and self-styled gay “reverend” was a master at provocation. “I believe in confrontation politics,” Broshears […]
California budgets $26 million to protect access to gender-affirming care from federal attacks
In a win for trans people, their families, and healthcare providers in the state, California has passed a new budget that includes funds to protect gender-affirming and reproductive healthcare from federal funding interference. Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed the budget, which was the result of extensive lobbying from LGBTQ+ advocacy groups, including TransFamily Support Services. “This historic investment will help keep care accessible, support the providers doing this lifesaving work, and remind trans young people that California will not abandon them,” said Kathy Moehlig, director of TransFamily Support Services. The 2026-27 budget sets aside $26 million to support gender-affirming care access […]
