Top Stories
Lindsey Graham Was Allegedly This Trans Sex Worker’s Client. Now, She’s Speaking Out
Lindsey Graham, who passed away on July 11 at 71 years old, served in the Senate for 23 years and garnered a reputation for his hawkish views and hardline anti-LGBTQ beliefs. Years before his death, rumors swirled as allegations surfaced about the Republican senator engaging with male sex workers. The public and the media underscored the hypocrisy of the senator publicly working to roll back LGBTQ rights while allegedly engaging in queer sex behind closed doors. In this episode of “UNCLOSETED with Spencer Macnaughton,” Taylor Snider, a trans woman and former sex worker, says Graham was a former client. She says Graham’s team […]
Ken Paxton gloats after extracting $10 million from Texas Children’s Hospital for ‘detransition’ center
An unprecedented settlement agreement has been reached in a case brought by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton that requires Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston to pay $10 million to the state and create a “detransition clinic.” The settlement comes following an investigation initiated by the attorney general’s office in 2023, according to a report by The Texas Tribune. That same year, Gov. Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 14 into law, which prohibits trans-identifying minors from receiving puberty blockers and hormone therapies. Although the agreement was reached in May, it was announced by Paxton’s office on Friday that the historic settlement has now “been fully executed.” […]
Alliance Defending Freedom’s Complete Track Record on LGBTQ Issues
Since 2020, the Supreme Court (SCOTUS) has made headlines for a series of sweeping decisions that have rolled back rights for women and LGBTQ people. They’ve ruled to allow abortion bans in 13 states and bans on trans athletes in 27 states. And this year, Colorado overturned its ban on conversion therapy for minors. What headlines tend to miss, though, is that all of these decisions were won by the same legal group: Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF). Labeled as an anti-LGBTQ hate group and active in over 80 countries, ADF is a conservative Christian legal powerhouse, having fought relentlessly against abortion, gay […]
Local News
Human Trafficking Awareness and Violence Against Women Forum Happens August 13
he Commission on the Status of Women warmly invites you to attend the Violence Against Women and Girls: Human Trafficking Forum on August 13, 2026, from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM, at 575 Administration Drive, Suite 117C, Santa Rosa, CA 95403. This forum will explore the scope and impact of human trafficking and multiple forms of violence against women, including domestic violence, sexual assault, and exploitation. It serves as a public forum to raise awareness and promote prevention of human trafficking and gender-based violence. The forum will bring together survivors, advocates, service providers, and community leaders to share testimony, examine systemic challenges, and highlight effective […]
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
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
San Francisco named the world’s best city for LGBTQ+ life, but US cities are sliding
San Francisco has been ranked the world’s best city for LGBTQ+ life, though the study warns that American cities are slipping overall amid the political climate under Donald Trump. The finding comes from the 2026 Sexually Liberal City Index, compiled by adult entertainment platform Erobella, which scored 41 cities worldwide across four areas: sex-work law, LGBTQ+ life, reproductive health and adult lifestyle. San Francisco topped the LGBTQ+ category specifically, scoring 70 out of 100, ahead of Manchester on 62 and Cologne on 61. The city was praised for its enduring community infrastructure, from the Castro to its Pride traditions, and the […]
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 […]
