Peppermint, a transgender actress, activist and member of GLAAD’s board of directors; and Shane Diamond, a transgender advocacy consultant for GLAAD recently appeared on CNN’s NewsNight with Abby Phillip, per a press release. The roundtable discussion on CNN included transgender people in a discussion of topics and issues impacting the transgender people, issues and community. On the issue of having a respectful conversation about trans issues, Peppermint said, in part, “I do think it’s important to try to have a respectful discourse and understand that there are so many strong feelings. And I think part of the reason why there’s so many strong feelings is we’re talking specifically when we’re talking about trans issues. This is something that relates to gender and sexuality, something that all human beings have an inherent connection to, and also feel like they are the authority on. But every person is different in their own gender, in their own sexuality, in their own expression.” More about the talk is at this link.
U.S. District Judge R. Austin Huffaker Jr. ruled that the City of Prattville, Alabama, violated LGBTQ+ group Prattville Pride’s First Amendment rights to free speech and 14th Amendment right to equal protection under the law when it barred the group from running a float in the annual Christmas parade one day before the event was set to take place, the AP noted. Prattville Pride had requested additional security measures from law enforcement; in response, Mayor Bill Gillespie Jr released a statement banning the group from the parade altogether, citing “serious safety concerns.” Prattville Pride posted on social media, “The Christmas parade is a cherished holiday tradition, and we are excited to celebrate alongside our neighbors and friends in the spirit of love, joy, and unity.” This year, the inaugural Prattville Pride event took place in June in Cooters Pond Park.
The National Black Justice Collective (NBJC) is commemorating its 21st anniversary by celebrating and supporting Black LGBTQ+ children, youth and young adults, and investing in 31 organizations, including 10 new grantees, according to a press release. Some of the organizations receiving Benevolence Grants include TransTech Social, The Okra Project, SMYAL, FORGE, Kaleidoscope Youth Center, My Sistah’s House, Rainbow in Black, Neutral Zone and The Wanda Alston Foundation. “Supporting our youth and ensuring they have safe and affirming spaces is more important than ever. This year, we have continued to see attacks on LGBTQ+/SGL youth through the introduction and passage of anti-LGBTQ+/SGL legislation,” said NBJC Executive Director Dr. David J. Johns. “The probable implementation of Project 2025 and the so-called America First Agenda through the Trump administration and Republican control of Congress and the Supreme Court will harm our Black LGBTQ+/SGL youth. We must continue to support those who support our babies.”
An attempt to ban Montana lawmaker Zooey Zephyr and other trans women from using the women’s restroom in state Capitol buildings failed, with several Republicans voting against the measure, according to Them, citing The New York Times. The Montana legislature’s joint rules committee voted against the measure, with Democrats unilaterally opposing it—and they were joined by some GOP representatives. Although Zephyr was not directly named in the measure, introduced by Republican state Rep. Jerry Schillinger, she is the only member of the legislature to whom the rule would apply.
One day after the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments over states’ ability to ban gender-affirming care for minors, a 20-year-old UCLA student sued two California doctors, saying they inappropriately rushed her “down a life-altering … and irreversibly damaging” gender transition beginning at age 12, The San Francisco Chronicle reported. The lawsuit, filed by Kaya Clementine Breen in Los Angeles County Superior Court, argues that Dr. Johanna Olson-Kennedy—who runs the largest transgender youth clinic in the U.S. as the medical director of the Center for Transyouth Health and Development at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles—diagnosed Breen with gender dysmorphia “mere minutes” into their first appointment, just after Breen had turned 12. Olson-Kennedy “recommended surgical implantation of puberty blockers” at that initial meeting, the suit says. Over the next several years, Breen received puberty blockers and took hormones and, at age 14, received a double mastectomy. The suit accuses Olson-Kennedy of concealing important information about the risks and impacts of the treatments as well as misrepresenting evidence about their efficacy.
U.S. Senate Republicans—including Tommy Tuberville (Alabama), Ted Cruz (Texas) and Markwayne Mullin (Oklahoma)—are launching an inquiry in the National Institutes of Health a little more than a month after a report revealed a grant recipient withheld data on a study examining the effects of puberty blockers, according to The Hill. Dr. Johanna Olson-Kennedy began the study in 2015 as part of a broader effort to study the long-term health outcomes of medical treatment for transgender kids and teens. The findings of that work have yet to be published, although Olson-Kennedy told The New York Times that the drugs did not improve the mental health of the children who took part in the study.
A federal judge approved a groundbreaking class-action settlement between Aetna and New York same-sex couples who alleged the insurance giant had discriminated against them and other LGBTQ+ customers seeking fertility treatment, NBC News reported. Emma Goidel and her spouse, Ilana Caplan—who said they spent more than $50,000 out of pocket to conceive their second child—filed a lawsuit against Aetna in 2021 after the health insurer denied several of their requests for covering their fertility treatments. The settlement marks the first time LGBTQ+ couples who were previously denied fertility coverage can apply to be reimbursed. Aetna declined to comment; a CVS spokesperson previously said the company was pleased to resolve the case and was “committed to providing quality care to all individuals regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.”
Word in Black ran a piece about how the upcoming second Donald Trump presidency is affecting Black LGBTQ+ kids, who are more vulnerable to Trump-inspired threats, bullying, and violence than their white peers. “The misinformation and rhetoric emboldens other students, teachers, and administrators to view Black LGBTQ+ students as a problem and treat them as such,” Corryn Freeman, executive director of Future Coalition, a nonprofit that supports young progressive leaders of color. The Trevor Project recently reported a nearly 700% increase in crisis-level calls and other means of contact since the election—and LGBTQ+ youth of color made up a third of those callers, according to the organization.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is opposing recent regulations proposed by the federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that mandate non-discrimination on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation, among other factors, according to New Ways Ministry, citing Crux. The non-discrimination regulation was proposed to protect equal access to all HHS programs. In 2022, the USCCB criticized revisions to the Affordable Care Act that sought to create more inclusive healthcare environments; in 2020, it praised the Trump administration for rejecting HHS protections for transgender individuals.
The National Black Justice Collective (NBJC) issued a press release mourning the death of Quanesha “Cocoa” Shantel, a 26-year-old Black transgender woman. On Nov. 10, she was shot and killed by her ex-boyfriend outside of his apartment in North Carolina; he has been arrested and charged with first-degree murder. “My heart goes out to the friends, family, and loved ones of Quanesha,” said NBJC Director of Policy and Programs Victoria Kirby York. “I hope that they can find comfort in the man who perpetrated this horrific crime being held responsible.” Shantel is at least the 30th trans, non-binary, or gender-nonconforming person to be killed in 2024, with 53% of those slain individuals being Black.
A report stated that conflicts between parents, teachers and school leaders over parental rights policies focusing on LGBTQ+ rights, book bans and race are costing districts money that could be used to better serve students, EdSource noted. The Costs of Conflict: The Fiscal Impact of Culturally Divisive Conflicts on Public Schools in the United States—in which Researchers from UCLA, the University of Texas at Austin, American University and University of California-Riverside conducted a national survey of K-12 public school superintendents from 46 states—revealed that these conflicts are prevalent. Cultural conflicts cost U.S. school districts about $3.2 billion last school year, according to the study; researchers estimated that districts with high levels of conflict spent about $80 per student.
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted to settle one of two lawsuits against Mayor London Breed and other city leaders brought by a conservative group due to a now-defunct program that sought to provide guaranteed income to some transgender people, The Bay Area Reporter noted. The settlement, for less than $4,000, was only for attorneys’ fees. Attorneys from Judicial Watch, on behalf of San Francisco residents Paul Wildes and Reed Sandberg, brought the suit against Breed, gay City Treasurer José Cisneros, City Administrator Carmen Chu and John Doe. The suit was the second one brought against the city because of the pilot Guaranteed Income for Trans People, or GIFT, program that Breed established in November 2022.
Ohio third-grade teacher Karen Cahall is suing the New Richmond Exempted Village School District after she said she was disciplined over “the mere presence” of four queer-focused books in her classroom, per The Kansas City Star. The suit claims that Cahall was suspended for three days without pay under the “unconstitutional” enforcement of the district’s “controversial issues” policy, violating due process protections provided by the 14th Amendment. The books at the center of the lawsuit are Ana on the Edge, by A.J. Sass; The Fabulous Zed Watson!, by Basil Sylvester; Hazel Bly and the Deep Blue Sea, by Ashley Herring Blake; and Too Bright to See, by Kyle Lukoff.
Florida resident Gerald Radford—accused of a hate crime for killing gay man John “Walt” Lay at a Tampa dog park—is asking a judge to dismiss the charges, saying he acted in self-defense, according to CNN. Local news outlets reported that Radford testified that Lay repeatedly hit him in the face just before the shooting. Prosecutors dispute Radford’s story, with several witnesses testifying that Radford had harassed Lay for months before the shooting, repeatedly using homophobic slurs. Defense attorneys cited Florida’s stand-your-ground law in seeking immunity from prosecution.
Former Houston park ranger Joey Ellis—accused of using apps to meet up with gay men to rob and sexually assault them—was arrested during a court hearing, KTRK/ABC 13 reported. Ellis, who is now facing federal charges, was in a court hearing for the charges he’s facing in Harris County—two counts of official oppression and one count of sexual assault. Federal prosecutors are now indicting him on 20 counts, and the FBI said that it indicted him for repeatedly abusing his authority as a City of Houston Urban Park Ranger. Ellis’ lawyer says his client continues to proclaim his innocence.
In Wisconsin, St. Norbert College’s faculty and students are opposing their school’s recent policy change to recognize only two male and female sex categories, New Ways Ministry noted, citing the Green Bay Gazette. At a conversation about the issue—titled “Communion means all: a discussion of gender identity at SNC”—theology professors said they had offered to give counsel and bring an evidence-based faculty perspective to the policy conversation, but the Catholic liberal-arts school’s leaders did not take them up on that offer. Trans student Cassidy Catalano, a panelist at the event, said she feels blindsided by the changes and doesn’t trust the school anymore. The school changed its gender policy in September; emailing faculty and staff, St. Norbert administrators said the college would update language in the coming months on various college materials, including enrollment applications, forms and the college’s website.
In New York, Syracuse City Court Judge Felicia Pitts Davis refused to officiate a marriage ceremony between two women at Syracuse City Court last month simply because of their sexual orientation, according to Gay City News, citing Syracuse.com. Pitts Davis officiated the first of two weddings on the Nov. 16 calendar—the first being a wedding involving a straight couple; however, when Shawntay Davis and Niccora Davis stepped up to tie the knot, Pitts Davis would not marry them and left the courtroom. Sources told Syracuse.com that Pitts Davis told fellow Judge Mary Anne Doherty (who officiated the same-sex couple’s wedding) that she didn’t want to marry the Davises because of her religious beliefs—even though New York State has had marriage equality since 2011 and the civil marriage was performed in a courtroom, not a religious environment. Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick will ask Pitts Davis to stay away from any of his office’s cases, according to Syracuse.com. Local pro-LGBTQ+ group CNY Pride has called on Pitts Davis to resign, per WSYR.
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