 | | Tell the feds: Protect Trans Health! Across the country, the health of trans and nonbinary people and their families is under attack. We need to support the Biden Administration’s effort to make it clear that discrimination in healthcare rooted in a person’s sexual orientation and gender identity is illegal – and we only have a few days left to do it! Visit ProtectTransHealth.org to share your story (anonymously) and why you need the Affordable Care Act to protect trans health. And ask your friends, loved ones, and neighbors, too! The deadline is Mon., Oct. 3rd.
September 20th was National Voter Registration Day - have you made sure you are registered to vote? The first voter registration deadlines ahead of the critical midterm elections in November are in less than two weeks! So, check out PFLAG.org/Vote and visit our voter registration resources page. Make sure you, your family, your friends, and your fellow PFLAGers have active, up-to-date voter registrations ASAP so they can make their voices heard in November! |
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| | | | Two bills introduced to establish national LGBTQ history museum. Congressman Mark Pocan (D-WI) introduced the bills ahead of October 1st, the start of LGBTQ History Month. The first bill establishes an eight-person commission responsible for fundraising and assessing the feasibility of the museum while the second bill would establish the museum following the commission’s work. Transportation Secretary Buttigieg responds to homophobic tweet. Michigan Republican Party co-chair Meshawn Maddock called Secretary Buttigieg a “weak little girl” in a September 11th tweet. Secretary Buttigieg, the first openly gay Senate-confirmed cabinet secretary, responded by saying "If she wants to talk about little girls, Chasten and I are raising a little girl and a little boy. And we are raising them to have better values than the chairwoman.” |
| | | | In the last year, we’ve seen a marked rise in anti-LGBTQ+ action in state and local governments. Many states are introducing legislation targeting trans youth, and local schools and libraries are being pressured into censoring LGBTQ+ history and stories. Visit pflag.org/protecttranskids to take action against anti-trans bills in your state today. Visit pflag.org/fightingcensorship to take action in support of accurate, honest, and inclusive education and reading. Want to take action and not sure where to start? Please contact Patrick Cochran, Advocacy and Policy Engagement Senior Coordinator. Massachusetts - Anti-trans protesters at Boston Children’s Hospital met by counter-protesters. Several protesters gathered outside Boston Children's Hospital on September 18th as part of an ongoing campaign by far-right groups targeting the hospital for providing gender-affirming care to transgender youth. They were met by a larger group of trans-affirming counter protesters holding signs and waving trans pride flags. Montana - State Health Department restores right for trans people to update gender marker on their birth certificates. A state judge blocked enforcement of a recent law which would have required gender affirming surgery prior to any change in gender marker on a birth certificate and, since this decision, gender designation forms are available on the state Health Department’s website. New York - Two openly gay candidates historically compete for a Congressional seat. Both major parties nominated out gay candidates to succeed retiring Representative Tom Suozzi in the race for New York’s 3rd Congressional District. Oklahoma - Legislature passes bill restricting University of Oklahoma health system funding for gender affirming care. The legislature passed the bill on September 29th during a special session. Should the Governor sign the bill, the state will withhold $108.5 million in federal stimulus funds to the University of Oklahoma health system if its facilities offer gender-affirming care to minors. Pennsylvania - State Reps. introduce extreme anti-LGBTQ+ curriculum bill. HB 2813 stipulates that public and charter schools “may not offer instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity to a student in kindergarten through fifth grade.” Governor Tom Wolf has promised to veto the bill should it pass. Tennessee - Vanderbilt University Hospital targeted by anti-LGBTQ+ activists. This is the latest in a series of attacks against hospitals which provide gender affirming care to trans youth. Several State Representatives indicated they would try to change state law to block the provision of gender affirming care following the campaign against Vanderbilt University Hospital. Virginia - Gov. Glenn Youngkin proposes anti-trans model policies for schools. The new model policies, released on September 16th, repealed former Governor Northam’s trans inclusive policies, stating that students must only use bathrooms and locker rooms associated with the sex assigned to them at birth, limits student participation in sports to teams that align with the sex assigned at birth, and blocks any change to a student’s name and pronouns without a court order. Over 1,000 students walk out in protest of proposed anti-trans education policies. The school walk outs were organized by the Pride Liberation Project, a youth-led LGBTQ advocacy nonprofit. Over 1,000 students from about 100 different Virginia schools participated in the walkouts on September 27th. |
| | | | | | ICYMI: 13 celebrities come together for special reading of children’s book The Mother of a Movement: Jeanne Manford—Ally, Activist, and Co-Founder of PFLAG. Celebrity readers Dan Bucatinsky, Michael D. Cohen, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Ilana Glazer, Meena Harris, Jessica Hecht, Chef Melissa King, Alec Mapa, Max Mutchnick, Kumail Nanjiani, Avi Roque, Daphne Rubin-Vega, and Amy Schneider lent their voices and their affirmation of LGBTQ+ people in the video reading of the book, now available at pflagnation.al/motherofamovement. GLAAD announces honorees for 2022’s “20 Under 20.” The honorees represent a “group of outstanding young people who are accelerating acceptance through their work in entertainment and media.” Netflix removes LGBTQ tag from Dahmer series. Viewers were upset following the release of the true-crime series based on Jeffrey Dahmer’s serial killing of 17 men and boys on September 21st, which was tagged as LGBTQ content. While Jeffrey Dahmer was gay, viewers noted “this is not the representation we’re looking for.” Hallmark announces Christmas-themed film centered on a gay couple. The Holiday Sitter premieres December 11, and will be the first Hallmark Christmas film to feature a same-sex couple. Hillary Duff recreates iconic anti-homophobia PSA. Duff starred in a 2008 PSA entitled “That’s So Gay,” calling out homophobia and bullying. She recently recreated the PSA on TikTok. New York Giants host New York Gay Football League at training event. The clinic aimed to teach football skills to the players in the New York Gay Football League (NYGFL), which is one of the largest LGBTQ+ football leagues in the country. Zander Murray comes out as gay. Murray is the first senior Scottish soccer player to come out as gay. |
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| | The PFLAG National Advocacy, Policy, and Partnerships Team is always here to support you with your work, so please don't ever hesitate to reach out to us for assistance. Yours in PFLAG power, |
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|  | Diego M. Sanchez, APR
Director of Advocacy, Policy & Partnerships
Pronouns: He, Him, His
Email: [email protected] |
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 | Patrick Cochran
Advocacy and Policy Engagement Senior Coordinator
Pronouns: He, Him, His
Email: [email protected] |
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