A weekly advocacy update from PFLAG National

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Fighting for Our Pride

Fighting for Our Pride in the 2026 State Legislative Session

With state legislative sessions kicking off at the start of the New Year, now is the time for PFLAGers to make their voices heard. Building on the momentum of our Fighting For Our Pride campaign, this workshop is designed to equip you to advocate effectively for LGBTQ+ issues at the local, state, and federal levels.

Join us on Wednesday, January 14, 2026, at 8:30 pm EST on Zoom. Register today! ([link removed]) Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)

Last month, the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced proposed rules ([link removed]) aimed at curtailing trans youth access to medically necessary care.

One proposed rule would condition Medicare and Medicaid funding on hospitals refusing to provide gender-affirming care to trans and nonbinary youth under 18. Another would prohibit Medicaid and CHIP from covering this care for youth under 18 and 19, respectively. These proposals are not bans on medically necessary care and are not currently in effect.

PFLAG National and our chapters, members, and supporters are not backing down. Our policy and advocacy teams are actively leading in national roundtables alongside partner organizations to coordinate an effective public comment strategy.

In the coming weeks we will share opportunities for our chapters and individuals to push back against these proposed rules.Floridians

The upcoming legislative session is approaching soon. Equality Florida ([link removed]), along with PFLAG supporters statewide, successfully prevented every anti-LGBTQ+ bill last session, thanks to grassroots efforts across Florida. This session, Equality Florida is hosting a two-week Pride event at the Capitol. The first week will focus on Parenting with Pride, while the second week will feature a march. More details are available on Equality Florida’s website ([link removed]), and you can register here ([link removed]). The dates are January 20-21 for the first week, January 26-27 for the second week, and the march is scheduled for January 28, 2026.

Hecox/BPJ Rallies 

All youth, including trans youth, deserve the same freedoms and opportunities as their peers—to play, belong, be safe, and participate in sports and schools. Starting on Jan. 13, we’re rising to Fight for The T in TEAM at the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court in D.C. and right here in our community! Because Together, We Win. There are activations across the country; you can check whether there’s one in your area here ([link removed]).

PFLAG in Action

Cleveland Public Library receives 2025 Bruce G. Kriete Community Award from PFLAG Cleveland ([link removed]). The award highlights the library’s collaboration with the Cleveland PFLAG chapter, which includes distributing affirming LGBTQ+ books and resources throughout its branches to promote understanding and acceptance. This recognition honors the library’s leadership and its role in building a more inclusive community. 

The PFLAG Rockford holds “Chosen Family Holiday” event. The chapter ([link removed]). Held at Emanuel Lutheran Church, the event featured festive decorations, food, drinks, and desserts, creating a cheerful atmosphere. The organizers emphasized that their main aim was to foster a safe and inclusive space where everyone feels free to be authentic and to build connections with others, particularly those in the LGBTQ+ community who might lack nearby family or friends with whom to enjoy the holiday season.

Sutter Health, the largest hospital system in Northern California, reverses decision to cease providing gender-affirming care to transgender patients under 19 after protests from local families and advocacy groups ([link removed]). Organizations including local PFLAG chapters had protested the earlier decision to cease providing care.

State News

Here is a sample of what’s going on around the country. You can share news from your state with [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]?subject=We Take Action) for possible inclusion in a future newsletter.

California - Tahoe-Truckee Unified School District faces dispute over inclusive athletic policies ([link removed]). High schools in the school district compete across the border in the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association (NIAA) to avoid hazardous winter trips to California schools further West. The NIAA adopted an anti-trans athlete ban in April 2025, which puts the California school district at odds with Nevada’s athletic policy. The Tahoe-Truckee Unified School District follows California law and has an inclusive athletics policy which allows transgender students to play on the teams aligning with their gender identity. The school board is discussing how to address this issue. 

Florida - Bill filed to repeal defunct same-sex marriage ban ([link removed]). State Representative Fentrice Driskell (D-Tampa) pre-filed HB 6019 for the 2026 session in December 2025. If passed, the bill would repeal Florida’s 1997 ban on same-sex marriage. 

New Hampshire - State lawmakers introduce bills to restrict curriculum, enact anti-trans facilities bans ([link removed]). State Representatives have introduced bills to segregate bathrooms, locker rooms, and other facilities by sex assigned at birth, despite Gov. Kelly Ayotte vetoing such a proposal in 2025. Similarly, lawmakers are also introducing bills aimed at prohibiting discussions of LGBTQ+ people and history in schools, despite Gov. Ayotte vetoing a book ban bill last year. 

New Jersey - Advocates urge state lawmakers to pass shield law ([link removed]). LGBTQ+ advocates gathered at the State Capitol on January 5th to demand lawmakers pass a bill to shield both patients and providers in New Jersey from criminal or civil liability for getting or giving  gender-affirming care. The bill codifies protections Gov. Phil Murphy promulgated in a 2023 executive order. The bill, A4656 ([link removed]), has been stalled for well over a year.  

New York - Zohran Mamdani sworn in as Mayor of New York City ([link removed]). The Mayor pledged to invest money to protect and expand access to gender-affirming care in the City, among other priorities to protect LGBTQ+ New Yorkers. Mr. Mamdani is the first Muslim mayor of New York City, as well as the first person of South Asian descent and the first person born in Africa to serve as mayor ([link removed]). Mamdani is also the youngest mayor in well over a century.

Virginia - Governor-elect Abigail Spanberger to include LGBTQ+ organizations in inaugural parade ([link removed]). Spanberger will be inaugurated as Virginia’s 75th governor, as well as the Commonwealth’s first woman governor, on January 17th. LGBTQ-serving groups Virginia Pride and Diversity Richmond will be among the organizations participating in the inaugural parade. 

Washington - Signatures filed for proposed initiatives on forced outing, anti-trans athlete bans ([link removed]). A political action committee called Let’s Go Washington submitted over 400,000 signatures backing each proposed ballot initiative to Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs.  Initiative IL206-001 ([link removed]) would institute a “Parents Bill of Rights,” which includes provisions which could forcibly out students to their parents. Initiative IL26-638 ([link removed]) would enact an anti-trans athlete ban, including an invasive medical examination to determine a child’s gender. The signatures for both ballot initiatives will be reviewed by the Secretary of State before being sent to the legislature for consideration and then potentially being put to voters on the ballot in November.

Federal News

Nineteen states and DC sue Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS) over attempt to block access to medically necessary care for trans and nonbinary youth ([link removed]). HHS issued a declaration on December 18th calling gender-affirming care unsafe and ineffective for transgender children and adolescents, warning providers that they could be excluded from participating in Medicare and Medicaid if they provide such care. In response, 19 states and DC filed a lawsuit in federal court on December 23rd, arguing that the HHS declaration is inaccurate and unlawful and that its enforcement should be blocked. On January 7th, the Trump administration agreed not to issue notices of exclusion from Medicare or Medicaid to providers of gender-affirming care the lawsuit proceeds ([link removed]).

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals stays lower court ruling allowing teachers to forcibly out trans students ([link removed]). On December 22nd, U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez issued an injunction which prevented the State of California from enforcing its law against forced outing policies at schools. On January 7th, a panel of judges from the Ninth Circuit Court blocked Judge Benitez’s ruling, holding that Judge Benitez’s injunction was unnecessarily vague and overbroad, among other issues. 

ALCU, students, and authors sue Utah in federal court over book bans ([link removed]). The lawsuit challenges Utah’s “sensitive materials law,” which was amended in 2024 to create a statewide book ban if three or more school districts report a book for being “pornographic or indecent.” 22 books have been banned from school libraries due to the law ([link removed]), including “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West,” “The Perks of Being a Wallflower,” and “Water for Elephants.” 

Texas judge files federal lawsuit challenging Supreme Court ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges ([link removed]). Judge Dianne Hensley, a Waco-based justice of the peace, is suing Texas’ State Commission on Judicial Conduct for the right to perform marriages only to opposite-sex couples, directly challenging the Supreme Court’s ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, which legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. The Supreme Court declined to take up a similar case last year from Kim Davis, a Kentucky county clerk who refused to marry and same-sex couple. 

House approves procedural bill to extend enhanced tax credits for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) ([link removed]). The House approved a discharge petition on a bipartisan 221-205 vote which allows the chamber to hold a vote on a bill to extend enhanced ACA subsidies, which expired at the end of 2025. The tax credits were implemented in 2021 under President Biden. Should the House and Senate approve the bill, and should the President sign it, the enhanced tax credits would be extended for 3 years. 

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sends warning letters to manufacturers and retailers of chest binders ([link removed]). The FDA sent letters to 12 companies on December 16th, claiming that the companies had failed to register their chest binders as Class 1 medical devices with the FDA, in violation of the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.

Trump Administration freezes grants for food and child care assistance to five states ([link removed]). HHS announced on January 6th that it was freezing more than $10 billion in grants that provide food and child care assistance to low-income residents in New York, California, Colorado, Illinois and Minnesota, claiming there were concerns about fraud in those state-administered assistance programs. Leaders in those five states characterized the funding freeze as politically motivated.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reduces list of recommended vaccines for babies and children ([link removed]). The CDC will no longer recommend every child be immunized for rotavirus, influenza, meningococcal disease, and hepatitis A. The move bypasses the government’s typical process for recommending vaccines and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) will continue to recommend all children be immunized for the aforementioned diseases.

ICE Agent shoots and kills Minneapolis woman ([link removed]). Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old mother of three ([link removed]), can be seen in a video recording of the incident apparently attempting to drive away from ICE agents who ordered her to get out of her car. As she did this, an agent moved out from in front of her car and shot her three times. She died from her injuries.

Global News

Kazakhstan - President signs anti-LGBTQ+ “propaganda” bill into law ([link removed]). President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed a bill that will ban so-called LGBTQ propaganda into law on December 30th. The law bans “‘LGBT propaganda’ online or in the media” with “fines for violators and up to 10 days in jail for repeat offenders.” 

Uganda - National Drug Authority approves injectable PrEP medication ([link removed]). The Ugandan National Drug Authority approved Lenacapavir, a twice-yearly injectable pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) drug to prevent HIV infection, on January 5, 2026.

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