Top Stories
Op-ed: Our government is going backward on Title IX, but we don’t have to
The Trump administration has done it again: Recently, it officially rescinded Biden-era protections for LGBTQ+ students, student survivors of sexual harassment and assault, and students who are pregnant, parenting, or lactating. These regulations were already blocked nationwide by federal courts, but the Trump administration’s action formally removes them from the federal regulations and reinstates the 2020 Title IX framework, weakening protections for all students in public K-12 schools and colleges and putting all our kids at increased risk. Stay up to date with the latest in LGBTQ+ news with The Advocate’s email newsletter, in your inbox five days a week. This […]
Missouri voters roundly reject trans fearmongering, vote down abortion ban
Missouri voters have rejected an amendment that would have reversed reproductive rights protections they adopted in 2024 and placed restrictions on transgender minors’ medical care in the state constitution. The Associated Press called Amendment 3’s defeat Tuesday, with opposition exceeding 55 percent of the vote. The result preserves constitutional protections for abortion and defeats Republican lawmakers’ effort to undo them by pairing an abortion ban with restrictions on transgender healthcare. Stay up to date with the latest in LGBTQ+ news with The Advocate’s email newsletter, in your inbox five days a week. The defeat does not repeal Missouri’s existing restrictions on gender-affirming care for minors. It prevents […]
Op-ed: I’m intersex. Here’s how anti-trans laws are harming people like me
I was born with a body that adults wanted to fix. In preschool, I knew something was happening “down there” that was different from other kids. My parents took me to medical specialists, and I endured years of testing and invasive genital exams to figure out what was wrong with me and to fix it. My parents did everything in their power to make sure I would be normal. Fortunately, they failed. In my 20s, in the late 1990s, already out as queer, I learned that what I had, Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia, was an intersex variation. I started identifying as […]
Local News
Help Keep Sonoma County Farmworkers Warm During this Cold Season
The Peace & Justice Center is collecting warm clothing and work essentials for immigrant laborers and farmworkers through Indivisible Sonoma County’s BOOST program. Drop off donations Monday–Friday, 1–4 p.m. Indivisible Sonoma County’s new BOOST program provides practical support for people in our community affected by harmful federal policies. Each quarter, BOOST will focus on a different community need. For October and November, BOOST is collecting warm clothing and work essentials for immigrant laborers and farmworkers. In December, the program will support the Volunteer Center’s Secret Santa program. Items needed For men For women Clean, gently used jackets and sweatshirts are […]
Arts & Entertainment
Gradina Balkan Music Ensemble at Occidental Center for the Arts. Gradina Saturday November 14
Saturday November 14 @ 7 pm: Gradina Balkan Music Ensemble at Occidental Center for the Arts. Gradina is a Balkan music ensemble based in California’s North Bay area. We celebrate the seasons and their festivals through song and dance, bringing Old World rituals to new light and new generations to revel in the staying power of gratitude for life on Earth.We sing both a cappella and with instrumental accompaniment. We lean toward traditional songs and arrangements. We present “sit-down” concerts for choral listening as well as dance concerts, and we are also available to teach most of the dances we present. […]
Historians straightwashed a 1600s poet. A new book captures the true legacy of “the Welsh Sappho.”
When the Welsh government in 2021 embarked on what Deputy Minister of Social Partnership Hannah Blythyn described as a project to make Wales “the most LGBTQ+ friendly nation in Europe,” Welsh scholar Norena Shopland was commissioned to help train librarians, museum staff, and archivists on the inclusion of LGBTQ+ history. In 2022, Shopland served as founding researcher in an inspiring and beautifully done countrywide effort to write a local LGBTQ+ open-access online history for each of the twenty-two counties of Wales, providing, she wrote, “a means by which local people, allies and events can be celebrated instead of replicating mainstream narratives and […]
State News
Scott Wiener elected San Francisco’s first out gay member of Congress as Pelosi-backed rival concedes
California state Sen. Scott Wiener is poised to become the first out gay person to represent San Francisco in Congress after his Democratic rival, city Supervisor Connie Chan, conceded Wednesday evening in the race to succeed former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Wiener led Chan 55.46 percent to 44.54 percent in Wednesday’s returns for California’s 11th Congressional District, according to Decision Desk HQ. Chan said she expected the margin to narrow as more ballots were counted, but her campaign’s review of the outstanding vote persuaded her to concede. Major news outlets had not yet called the race when she did. Stay up to date with the latest in LGBTQ+ […]
Who Can Vote in California
You must register before you can vote in California. You are eligible to vote in California if you meet all of the following requirements: You cannot register to vote in California if: Voter Registration Requirements To register to vote: If you don’t provide any of these numbers or the state can’t match the number you provide to official records, you will have to show an accepted form of ID the first time you vote. You can use any unexpired photo ID or a non-photo document with your name and address. Common examples include: Same Day Registration California allows voter registration […]
