There will be no We Take Action on July 3rd. We Take Action will return on July 10th.

Take Action

California

The State Senate passed SB 934— Senator Scott Wiener’s critical bill giving conversion “therapy” survivors more time to come forward and seek justice—last month. Now we’re in the final push to get this bill to Governor Newsom’s desk. We need you to make sure the Assembly passes this bill!

Conversion “therapy” survivors deserve justice; tell your Assemblymembers to vote YES on SB 934!

Florida

Join our partners at Parenting with Pride on July 20th for their 3rd annual Pride in Every Backpack Summit - Parent Education Summit. This summit will provide practical tools, expert guidance, and community support to help families feel less alone. This year, Jeanette Jennings, mother of Jazz Jennings, is the keynote speaker. Jeanette has helped educate millions through the hit series I Am Jazz and through the books she and Jazz have written together. 

Pride in Every Backpack is about making sure every child enters the school year feeling safe, supported, and celebrated. Register today! 

New Hampshire

Governor Kelly Ayotte vetoed an anti-trans facilities ban – thank her for protecting all Granite Staters! The Governor listened to her constituents who did not want to give business owners and private security the power to invade the safety and privacy of their patrons. Governor Ayotte protected the privacy, safety, and rights of ALL Granite Staters but the fight is not over. There is another bathroom ban headed her way soon.

Please reach out to the Governor and thank her for vetoing SB 522 – and urge her to veto similar legislation when it reaches her desk!

PFLAG in Action

PFLAG Safety Harbor secures Pride Month proclamation from Largo, Florida. The City of Largo, Florida, had not planned to honor Pride Month, as it had done in previous years, due to a new Florida law, HB 1001, which bars municipalities and counties from spending on DEI-related events and initiatives. HB 1001 does not go into effect until July 1st, however, and Wendy Vernon, president and founder of the PFLAG Safety Harbor, brought over a dozen chapter members and other community members to a city council meeting on June 2nd to urge the City Council to recognize Pride, calling Pride “both a celebration and a reminder about the ongoing work to build communities where everyone can safely belong.” Following this show of community support, the city council passed a proclamation recognizing Pride Month.

PFLAG National’s Laura McGinnis comments on Bethany Christian Services’ decision to stop partnering with foster parents who are LGBTQ+ affirming. Laura, a mom who fostered and adopted two children from an LGBTQ-inclusive agency, said the top priority for child welfare agencies should be pairing as many youth as possible with a “neutral landing place” filled with “love and affirmation.”

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.

Delaware - Proposed constitutional amendment to protect interracial and same-sex marriage fails vote in General Assembly. The proposed amendment required a two-thirds majority vote to pass, but the amendment failed to clear that threshold in a vote on June 23rd.  

Maryland - U.S. Department of Education opens Title IX investigations into State Department of Education, three local school districts. The federal Education Department announced it was investigating Maryland’s Department of Education (MSDE) and Frederick, Montgomery, and Prince George’s County schools for policies allowing transgender students to access school facilities aligned with their gender identity, which potentially violate the Trump Administration’s interpretation of Title IX. The MDSE made a statement on June 24th saying the department “remains committed to supporting all students and upholding the law.”

Michigan - U.S. Department of Education announces investigations into three local school districts. Education Secretary Linda McMahon announced on June 18th that the department opened investigations into Ann Arbor Public Schools, Monroe Public Schools and the Chippewa Valley School District over policies allowing transgender students to play on teams and use locker rooms corresponding to their gender identity, which McMahon alleges violates the Trump Administration’s interpretation of Title IX. 

Nevada - Initiative to ban trans athletes from school sports will not be on November ballot. Governor Joe Lombardo announced on June 19th that "legal delays and uncertainty surrounding this case have made it impossible to complete the initiative process in time for the 2026 ballot." Governor Lombardo stated he intends to push for an anti-trans athlete ban in the 2027 legislative session or, failing that, to try to get the policy on the ballot in 2028. 

New Hampshire - Gov. Kelly Ayotte vetoes anti-trans facilities ban. On June 19th, Governor Kelly vetoed SB 552, which would have amended the state’s anti-discrimination law to allow business owners and local governments to ban transgender people from using sex-segregated facilities aligned with their gender identity. This is the third time the Governor has vetoed similar legislation. Another nearly identical anti-trans facilities ban, HB 1442, has passed the legislature but has not been transmitted to the governor. 

North Carolina - Buncombe County Schools faces federal Title IX investigation. Assistant Education Secretary Kimberly Richey announced the investigation into Buncombe County Schools in a June 17 press release in which she stated that a parent brought concerns to the department about school policies allowing transgender students to use locker rooms aligned with their gender identity. 

Texas - State Commission on Judicial Conduct ordered to pay $640,000 to Waco judge who refused to marry same-sex couples. A Travis County judge ruled that the State Commission on Judicial Conduct cannot investigate, sanction, or discipline McLennan County Justice of the Peace Dianne Hensley for her refusal to officiate same-sex weddings because of her Christian beliefs. Judges and justices of the peace in Texas are allowed but aren’t required to officiate weddings, and Hensley cited her Christian beliefs in deciding only to officiate weddings for opposite-sex couples. 

Washington - State Supreme Court hears oral arguments in case regarding housing transgender incarcerated individuals. The court heard arguments on June 23rd in the case of a transgender woman who had been held in the Washington Corrections Center for Women in Gig Harbor before she was moved to the men’s prison in Monroe due to an infraction. The plaintiff argues being moved to a men’s prison amounts to unconstitutionally cruel punishment that puts her safety at risk. The Trump Administration is also investigating Washington’s Department of Corrections over its housing policy.

Federal News

Supreme Court rules that asylum seekers are not entitled to apply for asylum until they are physically present in the U.S. The 6-3 decision released on June 25th allows the Trump Administration to resume enforcement of a policy allowing federal agents at the U.S.-Mexico border to turn away asylum seekers before they enter the U.S. This means asylum seekers will have to wait in Mexico indefinitely until they have an opportunity to apply for asylum in the U.S.

Supreme Court allows Trump Administration to end temporary humanitarian protections for Haitian and Syrian immigrants. Congress created the temporary protected status (TPS) program in 1990 to shield immigrants in the U.S. from being deported to countries deemed highly dangerous because of armed conflict, natural disaster, or other crisis. The justices ruled 6-3 that courts do not have the authority to review the government’s determinations regarding TPS, and that the Administration could end TPS for Haitian and Syrian immigrants.

Federal judge blocks Justice Dept. effort to obtain medical records of transgender youth.  A judge for the United States District of the Southern District of New York granted a request from transgender people and their families for a temporary restraining order blocking New York City hospitals from disclosing plaintiffs’ and lawsuit class members’ medical information to the Trump administration. The plaintiffs in the suit argue that the Justice Department’s demands to access their health information violate their Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights to privacy and to be free from unreasonable search and seizure. 

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals partially blocks California from enforcing law aimed at protecting students from forced outing. The court granted plaintiffs in City of Huntington Beach v. Newsom a preliminary injunction blocking state officials from enforcing parts of the SAFETY Act – which banned school districts from adopting policies requiring employees to disclose information about a student’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression without the student’s consent – with respect to the plaintiffs’ children. The ruling does not block enforcement statewide. 

Federal judge blocks Trump executive order aimed at curbing vote by mail. Trump's March executive order calls for the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to create lists of adult U.S. citizens or eligible voters in each state. It also calls for USPS to deliver mail-in ballots only to people on those lists. In response, Postmaster General David Steiner proposed a rule whereby the Postal Service would not deliver the mail ballots of any states that refuse to turn over their absentee voter lists to the federal government.

Trump cancels signing ceremony for bipartisan housing bill. On June 24th, the President abruptly canceled a signing ceremony for a bill aimed at increasing housing supply and lowering housing costs. The bill had passed both the House and the Senate with broad bipartisan support, but the President announced that he would not sign the bill unless Congress first passed the “Save America Act,” a bill that would restrict voting rights.

Senate votes in favor of war powers resolution for Iran war. The Senate voted 50-48 on June 23rd to block the President from resuming the war with Iran. The resolution passed the House earlier in June, and it cannot be vetoed. However, the Trump administration has argued that such resolutions are unconstitutional and do not carry the force of law. And in another vote on June 24th, the Senate rejected a similar war powers resolution on Iran. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) stated that the second vote on June 24th does not negate the successful war powers vote from the day before.

Global News

Malaysia - Government announces it will stop using “LGBT,” replacing term with Malay phrase meaning “deviant culture.” Marhamah Rosli, the Deputy Minister for Religious Affairs, announced the move to Parliament, saying that using the term “LGBT” normalizes the queer community, which the government opposes. 

United Kingdom - Judge rules Scottish guidance for inmate housing is unlawful. A judge ruled that incarcerated individuals must be housed according to sex assigned at birth, and that a Scottish guidance allowing some incarcerated transgender people to be housed according to gender identity is unlawful.