In Ohio, Franklin County Court of Common Pleas Judge Michael Holbrook temporarily blocked a Republican-backed state law banning gender-affirming care (such as puberty blockers and hormones) for transgender minors from taking effect later this month, Reuters reported. The order will remain in place for two weeks, or until a hearing on the families' motion for a longer-term order blocking the law. Republican Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said in a statement that he was confident the law would be upheld. In January, the state's GOP-controlled legislature overrode Republican Gov. Mike DeWine's veto to pass the law.
The Trevor Project —the world's largest suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ+ youth—laid off 6 percent of its staff recently, The Washington Blade noted. This development happened less than a year after 12 percent of its workforce was cut amid allegations of financial mismanagement and union-busting activities. "This decision, although very difficult, was necessary, and we committed to navigating it with care and purpose," according to founder/Interim CEO Peggy Rajski. "Our mission to provide critical support and services to LGBTQ+ youth in crisis is as vital as ever. This restructuring enables us to sustain our quality core services, ensuring that we continue to be a reliable, steady resource for those in need. As always, we remain open 24/7 for any young person who needs us."
A coalition of InterPride member organizations and other LGBTQ+ and rights groups led by the Rev. Troy Perry's call to action announced the first-ever Africa Pride that is timed with the 55th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, per The Bay Area Reporter. (InterPride is an international association of LGBTQ+ organizations.) The 83-year-old Perry, a gay man, is the founder of the international Metropolitan Community Church (MCC); he retired as moderator of MCC in 2005. Speaking with the Reporter, Perry condemned anti-LGBTQ+ U.S. and European evangelicals, saying what they state "is just wrong."
Five transgender and non-binary individuals in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody filed a civil-rights complaint against the agency for discrimination, harassment and mistreatment, Gay City News reported. Specifically, the individuals pointed to inadequate gender-affirming care, dehumanizing housing placements, a lack of mental health treatment and other issues. Alleged mistreatment of trans detainees in federal custody has been a recurring problem: In February of 2020, dozens of trans women who were detained at the Cibola County Correctional Center in New Mexico were moved elsewhere while ICE worked to improve the quality of health there. Also, Roxsana Hernandez, a trans asylum seeker from Honduras, died at the Cibola prison in 2018; an autopsy showed she suffered abuse from a baton.
At least 150 paid "Premium" subscriber X accounts and thousands of unpaid accounts have posted or amplified pro-Nazi content on the Elon Musk-owned X in recent months—often in apparent violation of X's rules, NBC News discovered. The paid accounts posting the content all consistently posted antisemitic or pro-Nazi material, including denial of the Holocaust. During one seven-day period in March, seven of the most widely shared pro-Nazi posts on X amassed 4.5 million total views. "Negative/hate tweets will be max deboosted & demonetized, so no ads or other revenue to Twitter," Musk posted in 2022. Hate crime in the country has surged, with reports jumping 12% in 2021 and 7% in 2022, according to law enforcement reports to the FBI.
Democratic Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed an anti-LGBTQ+ bill while simultaneously letting an age-verification law pass requiring ID to view "acts of homosexuality," The Advocate noted. Under state criminal law, material that is "harmful to minors" includes nudity and "sexual content," defined in part as "acts of masturbation, homosexuality, or sexual intercourse." However, Kelly vetoed a ban on gender-affirming care for minors as well as two anti-abortion measures.
The National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC) issued a press release mourning the death of Tee Arnold, also known as Lagend Billions—a 35-year-old Black transgender man who was fatally shot in Hallandale Beach, Florida. "Tee Arnold is the fourth death driven by hate of a trans man this year, marking a concerning rise in fatal violence against our brothers," said NBJC Director of Public Policy and Programs Victoria Kirby York. "Weeks prior to his death, Tee posted that his life was in danger, indicating that if the police had taken action on the threats against his life, this tragedy could have been prevented. We also cannot ignore that this murder occurred in Florida, a state that has been leading the charge in anti-trans legislation and rhetoric. Similarly, we cannot forget that, more often than not, requests for law enforcement protection from Black LGBTQ+/SGL people are not provided even though we face disproportionate hate-driven violence."
During Manhattan Community Board 5's meeting at Xavier High School, LGBTQ+ New Yorkers and elected officials urged its members to formally condemn an anti-trans sports resolution approved by Community Education Council District 2 (CEC2) last month, Gay City News noted. The meeting represented the latest development in the aftermath of CEC2's widely-criticized March 20 resolution, which called for a new committee that could review and potentially oppose trans inclusion in school sports.
In Massachusetts, The Pryde, an affordable living community in Hyde Park for LGBTQ+ seniors, is getting another boost in funding—this time, from federal lawmakers after Congress stripped nearly $1 million in funding, Boston.com noted. U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren called Gretchen Van Ness, the executive director of the LGBTQ Senior Housing, Inc., to celebrate the $850,000 of federal money awarded to the project. (That was the same amount rejected by Congressional Republicans in July after U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley championed the project.) The Community Project Funding will convert the former school to studio, one- and two-bedroom units—a total of 74 units.
A California man who firebombed a Planned Parenthood clinic in Costa Mesa, California, and plotted other attacks—including an attack on the Orange County, California, power grid in furtherance of a race war, an attack at Dodger Stadium during an LGBTQI+ pride night celebration, and the home invasions of Jewish homes in Los Angeles—was sentenced to nine years in prison and ordered to pay $1,000 in restitution, per a Department of Justice release. Chance Brannon, 24, of San Juan Capistrano, who was an active-duty member of the U.S. Marine Corps stationed at Camp Pendleton at the time of the firebombing, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Cormac J. Carney. Brannon has been in federal custody since his arrest in June 2023.
The Stonewall National Museum, Archives and Library has launched two upcoming exhibits highlighting the history and intersectionality of queer activism—and the traveling exhibits made their first stop at Philadelphia's Drexel University on April 16-23, The Philadelphia Inquirer noted. The exhibits are "Standing on the Shoulders of Heroes" and "Never Silent." Robert Kesten, executive director of the Stonewall National Museum and curator of the exhibits, said, "Philadelphia is the birthplace of the nation." John Anderies, director of the John J. Wilcox, Jr. Archives and Library and the William Way LGBT Community Center, added, "Many people believe that LGBT history started and was accomplished in cities like New York and San Francisco, but Philly has its own really proud history of change among the LGBT community."
A Pennsylvania school board unanimously canceled 30 Rock actor Maulik Pancholy's anti-bullying talk to middle school students because of his gay "lifestyle," according to LGBTQ Nation. Pancholy—a gay, Indian-American comedic actor/author whose 2022 anti-bullying book, Nikhil Out Loud, won the 2023 Lambda Literary Award for Middle Grade Literature—was scheduled to give a talk to Mountain View Middle School in Mechanicsburg. However, at an April 15 public meeting of the Cumberland Valley School District school board, board member Bud Shaffner objected to the talk, stating, "If you research this individual, he labels himself as an activist, he is proud of his lifestyle and I don't think that should be imposed upon our students at any age." Some community members are petitioning for the board to reverse its decision.
During a VIP media event to celebrate the start of Miami Beach Pride, Broadway legend and Our Son star Billy Porter received the keys to the city of Miami Beach by City Commissioner Alex Fernandez, Out noted. In part, Porter said, "We're now in a position where we must come together again. We must fight the forces of evil that are trying to destroy us. The one thing that I do know, and the one message that I try to exude everywhere I go, is that the change has already happened. We don't have any time for fear. … It's time to re-engage. It's time to pay attention again. It's time to get in these streets again. This is not a parade—t's a march. That's what it was when we started. This march [is] political."
Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker appointed Michael R. Resnick—one of the highest-ranking LGBTQ+ officials within her administration—to serve as commissioner of the city's prison system, Philadelphia Gay News reported. Resnick, an attorney, has spent more than two decades working in public safety and criminal justice system positions in Philadelphia and Maryland, including being commissioner of the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services. He'll oversee a prison system that houses about 4,600 inmates.
Chick-fil-A wants to open its first-ever location in Palm Springs, California; however, the initial reaction of some residents to the news indicates the fast-food chain's potential arrival in the famously LGBTQ+-friendly city will be controversial, The Desert Sun noted. Chick-fil-A Inc. is seeking to build a nearly 6,000-square-foot restaurant with three drive-thru lanes in the shopping plaza The Springs, according to plans submitted to the city and signs the planning department placed in the area. Given the past anti-LGBTQ+ sentiments of CEO Dan Cathy, many residents have gone on social media to voice their displeasure about the plans.
Willy's—the first LGBTQ+ bar in Miami's Wynwood area—has opened, TimeOut Miami noted. Although Miami has an estimated 190,000 LGBTQ+ residents, the metro area has only a handful of gay clubs and bars—and most of them are across the bridge in Miami Beach. The no-frills establishment will offer specialty cocktails created by beverage and operations director Roger Lords priced from $11 to $13 as well as beers and seltzers starting at $7.
And D.C.'s newest LGBTQ+ bar, Crush, is also open for business, per The Washington Blade. A statement from co-owners Stephen Rutgers and Mark Rutstein said the new bar will provide an atmosphere that blends "nostalgia with contemporary nightlife" in a building that was home to a popular music store and radio supply shop.
