Fighting For Our Pride

2026 Session Wrap Up
Join PFLAG National’s Advocacy Team on May 20th at 8:30 pm ET / 5:30 pm PT for our 2026 Legislative Session Wrap Up! Hear from our team as we review what passed, what didn’t pass, and the amazing work our PFLAG advocates did to fight for our Pride at statehouses around the country. The session will include a brief presentation, Q&A, and next steps you can take as this legislative season comes to an end. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend; whether you’re an expert advocate or just getting started in your advocacy journey, all can benefit from this webinar. We hope to see you on May 20th! Register today!

Take Action

Contact Congress
Tell your U.S. Representatives to vote NO on the “Don’t Say Trans” bill! 
The House could vote on H.R. 2616 — another bill attacking trans youth — within the next few weeks. If passed, it would strip federal funds from schools that acknowledge transgender people exist, whether it’s in coursework, a library resource, or even for using a student’s correct name and pronouns in the classroom. H.R. 2616 would effectively ban any books and other classroom materials that reflect the real lives and experiences of transgender and nonbinary students – as well as imposing forced outing policies on school districts around the country. 

Your member of Congress needs to hear from you NOW. Contact your Representative today and tell them to OPPOSE H.R. 2616 and get to work ensuring ALL students can get a quality public education!

Submit a comment to the FCC
The FCC issued a notice suggesting that the TV ratings system should change to require higher ratings for children’s content featuring depictions of transgender and non-binary people. These proposed changes would send a dangerous message that the stories of our trans and nonbinary youth are too inappropriate or harmful to be shown on television, and would prevent supportive parents from being able to show their children that other people like them exist and can thrive. Far too many transgender and non-binary youth are already feeling excluded as they see their lawmakers and the media spread anti-trans rhetoric, and they deserve to see affirming depictions of lives like theirs in the programs they watch.

Please join us and our partners in opposing this action from the FCC by signing on to our comment today! 

New Hampshireites 
Tell Gov. Ayotte to VETO anti trans bathroom bans! The state legislature is on track to pass SIX anti-trans facilities bans. These bills would allow both public and private entities to force transgender people to use the bathroom and other sex-separated facilities based on their sex assigned at birth, rather than their gender. We cannot allow any of these bills to become law. Reach out now and tell Governor Ayotte to VETO them when they reach her desk! 

South Carolinians 
Tell Gov. McMaster to VETO H. 4756. Last week, the legislature passed H. 4756, an anti-trans facilities ban. It now awaits Governor McMaster’s signature. We need you to contact the Governor NOW and tell him to VETO this awful bill!

State News

Here is a sample of what’s going on around the country. You can share news from your state with [email protected] for possible inclusion in a future newsletter.

Florida - Key West Pride will no longer receive state funds. Following the passage of SB 1134, which bans state funding for “DEI” programs as well as banning local governments from funding or promoting DEI-related programs and events, Key West Pride will lose its public funding – amounting to about $75,000 – beginning in 2027. 

Illinois - Bill strengthening privacy protections for patients receiving gender-affirming care, abortion care clears Senate committee. SB 4834 would remove testosterone from Illinois’ Prescription Monitoring Program (PMP), which exists to protect against misuse of controlled substances. The bill also prevents estrogen, mifepristone, and misoprostol, as well as hormone suppressants to the PMP. The bill passed committee on a party-line 9-4 vote on April 30th. 

Rhode Island - Office of Child Advocates asks judge to block DOJ subpoena for records related to pediatric gender-affirming care. The Child Advocate’s office filed a motion in federal court to quash efforts by the DOJ to using a subpoena enforced by a Texas court to procure medical records from trans and nonbinary youth who received gender-affirming care at Rhode Island Hospital. Child Advocate Katelyn Medeiros released a statement saying “The medical records of these children contain private information that is protected under the law, which exists to safeguard confidentiality, privacy, and the dignity of every patient. When those protections are disregarded — especially for children — it is not merely a violation of the law but a breach of trust that could have profound lifelong consequences.”

Texas -  San Antonio City Council issues proclamation recognizing Trans History Week. The Proclamation recognizing Trans History Week from May 4th to May 10th marks the first time the city has recognized the event. Trans History Week includes Trans+ History Day, May 6th, which is the anniversary of the Nazi’s raid on the Institute of Sexology in 1933.

Federal News

Federal judge orders Oregon to house trans women in women’s prisons. U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark D. Clarke ruled that the Oregon Department of Corrections has exposed transgender women to “a high risk of violence and sexual assault” by placing them in men’s prisons, and that the Department of Corrections “systemically failed to appropriately address this exposure.” 

Department of Education investigates Smith College for policy on admitting trans women. Smith College is a women’s college, and the Department of Education is opening a Title IX investigation into the college’s admissions policy, dating to 2015, which allows transgender women to enroll at the school. Title IX prohibits sex discrimination at educational institutions that receive federal funds, but makes an exception for admissions decisions at private undergraduate colleges, like Smith, which allows Smith to remain a women’s only school. The Education Department is asserting that this exception only applies to sex assigned at birth, not gender identity. 

Justice Department opens investigations into three dozen Illinois school districts. The investigation is seeking information concerning whether the school districts allow parents to opt their children out of lessons concerning sexual orientation and gender identity and whether the districts have policies allowing transgender students to use facilities and play on sports teams aligning with their gender identity. 

Justice Department makes it easier to deport immigrants with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status. The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) – an administrative court within the Justice Department – issued a precedent-setting decision holding that being a DACA recipient is not sufficient reason to provide relief from deportation. DACA was created in 2012 to protect children who arrived in the United States as undocumented immigrants prior to 2007 from deportation.

Global News

European Union (EU) - European Parliament votes in favor of banning so-called “conversion therapy.” Parliament passed the proposed ban with 405 MEPs voting in favor. The European Commission will formally respond to the proposed ban by May 18th. Nine EU countries already ban conversion therapy for minors, and seven ban the practice for adults as well. 

New Zealand - New Zealand Blood Service eases rules for men who have sex with men to donate blood. Men who have had only one sexual partner in the last three months are now eligible to donate blood. 

Ukraine - Lawmakers advance civil code without protections for same-sex couples. The new civil code passed its first reading in Parliament by a vote of 254-2 on April 28th. LGBTQ+ advocacy groups in Ukraine criticized the proposed civil code, saying it “contradict[s] European standards” and “violate[s] Ukraine’s commitments under its EU accession process.”  

Vatican City - The Vatican releases report acknowledging feelings of isolation among LGBTQ+ Catholics. The report found that “the solitude, anguish, and stigma that accompany persons with same-sex attractions and their families, not only in society but also within the church…is often linked to the temptation to hide in a ‘double life,'” The report also appears to criticize practices often called “conversion therapy, stating “every person, first and foremost, is singular, irreducible, irreplaceable, and original.”