ICYMI

PFLAG National Joins March on Washington: Defend the Vote 

Today, PFLAG National joined our partners for the March on Washington: Defend the Vote, marking the 63rd anniversary of the historic 1963 March on Washington. The march brought together advocates and community members to defend voting rights, civil rights, and economic justice and continue the work of building a more equitable democracy. Incoming PFLAG National Board member Keturah Johnson (she/her) took the stage to speak about the importance of turning pride into power this election season—reminding us that voting is one of the most powerful ways we can participate in our democracy, protect our families and communities, and help shape the future we want to see. 

Visit our website to learn more about the PFLAG Votes: Turning Pride Into Power campaign and how to take action this election season.

Take Action

Voting While Trans: Know Your Rights

Join our friends at Voters for Trans Equality on September 10th at 4:00 PM EST for a Know Your Rights training with special guests Rahel Boghossian (she/her), Senior Policy Counsel at the ACLU, and Arli Christian (they/she), Senior Policy Counsel at the ACLU. This is a vital opportunity for community members and supporters to come together, learn from experts, and strengthen our collective understanding of voting rights during the Midterms.

Register today to attend!

Californians 

Tell Governor Newsom to sign SB 934! This critical bill works around the Supreme Court’s ruling in Chiles v. Salazar to ensure that California continues to protect young people from conversion “therapy” practices. The bill will update the definition in California’s current conversion “therapy” ban to ensure mental health providers will not engage in these practices in California. Reach out to the Governor TODAY and tell him to sign SB 934!

New Jerseyans

Last week, Governor Mikie Sherrill signed into law a bill that shields New Jersey providers, patients, and the people who help them from out-of-state attacks on lawful health care. 

Some states are trying to punish care that is fully legal in other states where it's provided — such as abortion, contraception, and gender-affirming care. S. 2260 will protect providers and patients from these attacks. Reach out to Governor Sherrill and thank her for protecting our doctors and patients!

Ohioans 

Our friends at Equality Ohio are hosting a non-partisan LGBTQ+ Meet the Candidates Night on Tuesday, September 1, giving community members the opportunity to hear directly from statewide candidates about how they will support LGBTQ+ Ohioans and advance pro-equality issues. Join them in person at Seventh Son Brewery in Columbus with the event beginning at 6pm ET or watch the livestream.

PFLAG in Action

Our transgender neighbors are not a political debate. Kristen Tomlinson, Treasurer of PFLAG Dayton, penned an op-ed highlighting how the state of Ohio has turned deeply personal family decisions into political debates. She calls for an Ohio where every person can live with dignity, be treated with respect, and be seen as a person, not a political issue.

PFLAG Tallahassee partners with local bookstore. Common Ground Books in Tallahassee is strengthening community connections through its partnership with PFLAG Tallahassee. The bookstore hosts a monthly Drag Queen Story Hour and makes banned books a specialty, giving titles pulled from other shelves a proud new home. It’s a powerful example of how local partnerships can create welcoming spaces for LGBTQ+ people and their families.

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.

Colorado - State to suspend Medicaid coverage for medically necessary care for trans and nonbinary youth following release of federal rule. The federal rule blocks federal funds from being used to pay for gender affirming care for youth. Colorado’s Department of Health Care Policy announced coverage for gender affirming care will be suspended beginning October 13th, when the federal rule takes effect. The Department released a statement saying “The Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing does not have the statutory or budget authority to cover [pediatric gender-affirming care] without federal funding,” adding that “Any ability to resume covering gender affirming care will require [state] legislative action.”

Maryland - Anne Arundel County Public Schools updates policy aimed at protecting transgender students from forced outing following pressure from Trump Administration. The revised policy makes clear that parents continue to have the right to access their children’s educational records under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and that a student’s gender identity will not be treated as confidential medical information.

New Jersey - Governor Mikie Sherrill signs shield bill into law. The Governor signed legislation on August 20th that bans interfering with reproductive and gender-affirming healthcare and bars state officials from aiding out-of-state investigations where such care is illegal.

Ohio - Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) no longer accepts form used to update gender marker on driver’s licenses. The BMV announced – without the opportunity for public comment – that it will no longer accept a form called a Declaration of Gender Change to update gender markers on BMV documents. A spokesperson said that the form is not compatible with state law and that “The BMV will record the sex that is stated on an individual’s birth certificate or passport as the sex that will be reflected on the Ohio drivers license or ID card.” Dwayne Steward, CEO and executive director of Equality Ohio, called the decision a “deliberate attempt at voter suppression and an intentional decision to make life harder for transgender Ohioans,” noting that Ohio requires voters to present a photo ID. 

Texas - University of Houston (UH) Board of Regents votes to cut 45% of courses from core curriculum. Some of the classes removed from UH's core curriculum include Introduction to LGBT Studies, Women and Gender in Arabic Literature, and Intro to Global Climate Change. 

Virginia - Chesterfield County swears in first Black and openly gay county administrator. Kevin Catlin was sworn in as county administrator on August 24th in a ceremony attended by his husband and their infant daughter.

Federal News

Supreme Court allows Trump Administration to begin implementing executive order restricting vote by mail. On August 24th, the Court paused a lower court injunction that barred the Administration from implementing the executive order in 23 states that are challenging the order’s legality. The order requires states to give the Postal Service (USPS) a list of voters to whom the states intend to send mail ballots and prohibits USPS from mailing ballots to voters who are not on lists of “enrolled” voters that the USPS will create. The Court held that it was too soon for the judiciary to consider the states’ lawsuit because the order has not yet been carried out and the states have not suffered an injury as a result.

Federal appeals court blocks Justice Department effort to access medical records of trans and nonbinary youth. The Second Circuit Court of Appeals denied the Justice Department’s bid to stay a lower court ruling blocking the administration’s efforts to seize medical records from New York hospitals that provided medically necessary care to trans and nonbinary youth. Omar Gonzalez-Pagan, senior counsel at Lambda Legal, said in a statement that “The government cannot weaponize the legal system and the use of subpoenas, whether through a grand jury or otherwise, to collect the most private medical information of transgender young people and their families, in violation of the right to privacy guaranteed by our Constitution.”

Commerce Department considers draft rule changing how the 2030 Census will count Americans. The proposed rule would attempt to exclude undocumented immigrants and other noncitizens from the census entirely and would also eliminate the collection of data on race and ethnicity for the first time since 1790. Excluding undocumented immigrants from the census would have broad implications for Congressional apportionment, among other consequences. 

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth uses transphobic slur. While campaigning for Iowa Representative Zach Nunn (IA-3), Secretary Hegseth used an anti-trans slur while referring to the Administration’s efforts to ban transgender people from the military.

Global News

Canada - Monument dedicated in Vancouver to 2SLGBTQ+ Canadians purged from the military, civil service, and Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The monument, called “Thunderhead,” sheds light on government policies which forced Canadians out of government, military, and mounted police service due to their sexuality during the Cold War.

Norway - King Harald V dies at 89. The king, who reigned for 35 years, is succeeded by his son, who chose the regnal name Haakon VIII. In 2016, King Harald made a passionate speech in favor of diversity, religious tolerance, and LGBTQ+ rights in the wake of a far-right terrorist attack which killed 77 people. The King said “Norwegians are enthusiastic young people — and wise old people. Norwegians are single, divorced, families with children and old married couples. Norwegians are girls who love girls, boys who love boys, and girls and boys who love each other. Norwegians believe in God, Allah, the Universe and nothing…In other words, Norway is you.”