New GSA for Long Island

@ 2026 Equal Entertainment LLC.
All rights reserved

New GSA for Long Island
 Advocate.com Editors
          
          Jan 21, 2011
          
        
Advocate.com Editors
 See Full Bio 
After students objected to a principal giving the thumbs-down to a gay-straight 
alliance at a Long Island, N.Y., high school, a superintendent reversed 
the administrator's decision.
Principal Maureen Henry first passed on the idea of a GSA at Valley Stream South High School in Valley Stream in Nassau County. Two seniors, Joseph Kofler (pictured, right) and Kelly Egan (center), responded by writing a letter to the district's superintendent and board of education president, and soon a different decision was reached. 
"I believe in this, and so does the principal," superintendent Richard Marsh said of the GSA to the LI Herald. 
Read the full story here. 

        
        FROM OUR SPONSORS
        
    

        
        The Latest
        
    
Opinion
        What Memorial Day owes queer soldiers
     From Revolutionary War hero Baron von Steuben to veteran Leonard Matlovich, this essay argues that queer service members have always been part of the American story—even when the country tried to erase them.
Dimitrios Aletras
States
        Maine conservatives’ anti-trans ballot measure push unraveling after signature controversy
    Officials are weighing whether to invalidate thousands of signatures tied to a proposed ban on trans students using bathrooms and sports teams aligned with their gender identity.
Jack Walker
Crime
        NYC man indicted on hate crimes charges in alleged antigay beating
    Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said the alleged bias-motivated assault left the victim hospitalized after a bystander intervened.
Jacob Ogles
News
        Lawsuit challenging Idaho’s bathroom bill dismissed after student plaintiff dies by suicide
    The court offered “sincerest sympathies to Jane Doe’s family.”
Matthew Rodriguez

        
        More For You
        
        Botswana is moving forward on LGBTQ+ rights. The U.S. is regressing
    
Josh Ackley
May 01, 2026
Botswana is moving toward LGBTQ+ acceptance as the U.S. turns the other way.

        Shutterstock
    
        It’s hard to find good news in the United States right now, and even harder to notice it when it happens somewhere else. But some of the American evangelical right’s most hatefully aggressive anti-LGBTQ+ campaigns abroad are beginning to come undone. As their influence seems to increase here at home, they are losing ground elsewhere. Botswana has officially removed its anti-sodomy law from its Penal Code. A law that made same sex intimacy illegal. Keep Reading →

        FBI sends plane to Cuba to stop a trans kid from accessing gender-affirming care
    
Jacob Ogles
Apr 22, 2026
A private Bombardier Global 6000.

        Joan Valls/Urbanandsport/NurPhoto via Getty Images
    
        The FBI sent a government plane to Cuba to prevent a transgender parent from providing her child with gender-affirming care. Keep Reading →

        Planning a trip to Oman? You may need an HIV test
    
Dawn Ennis
Apr 17, 2026
Sultanate of Oman, Muscat, the corniche of Muttrah, the old town of Muscat, waterfront building

        Stock photo / Getty Images
    
        A post on Facebook this week advised Filipino travelers to Oman that they may have to undergo a test for HIV to enter the country, not just for work but also to visit. And that information matches an international list of restrictions maintained by the HIV Justice Network, which includes more than 20 nations, such as Canada and Australia. Keep Reading →

        Viktor Orbán won't be the last anti-LGBTQ+ strongman to topple
    
Josh Ackley
Apr 13, 2026
Nationalist Viktor Orban, who has ruled Hungary for 16 years, on April 12, 2026 conceded defeat to conservative Peter Magyar in parliamentary elections.

        Attila KISBENEDEK / AFP via Getty Images
    
        One of the world's most openly homophobic and misogynistic leaders just lost power. Viktor Orbán is out. Keep Reading →

        Donald Trump telegraphs war crimes in profanity-filled Easter Sunday Iran threat
    
Christopher Wiggins
Apr 05, 2026
U.S. President Donald Trump arrives to address the nation from the Cross Hall of the White House on April 1, 2026, in Washington, DC.

        Alex Brandon-Pool/Getty Images
    
        A social media post from President Donald Trump on Sunday morning is drawing sharp scrutiny from legal experts and national security observers after the president threatened attacks on infrastructure in Iran, language that critics say echoes conduct prohibited under international law. Keep Reading →

        Most Popular
        
National
        These 8 Democrats voted for the Republican national ‘Don’t Say Trans’ bill passed by the House
    The ACLU and the House Equality Caucus blasted their fellow Democrats and the Republicans who voted to pass a bill threatening to censor educators nationwide and compel them to out transgender students against their will.
Dawn Ennis
History is Queer
        Not enough people know the story of Sir Lady Java. That's going to change.
    A recently published historical zine documents the legacy of the pioneering Black trans artist.
Desiree Guerrero
Advocacy
        Pulse survivor Brandon Wolf returns to Equality Florida to confront anti-LGBTQ+ extremism
    The former Human Rights Campaign press secretary says he’s heading back to Florida’s “front lines” ahead of the 10th anniversary of the Orlando nightclub massacre.
Dawn Ennis
National
        House Republicans advance education bill restricting discussions on racism & gender
    The measure would bar federally funded civics and history programs from promoting what the bill calls “gender ideology” and “discriminatory equity ideology.”
Christopher Wiggins
States
        Trans athlete forced to share 1st place with cisgender girls at track meet
    California's two-time state champion AB Hernandez dominated her latest division track meet this past weekend, and despite protests and controversial policies, she aims to close out her high school athletics career with a third state championship title. 
Dawn Ennis
Arts & Entertainment
        10 of the sexiest music videos that gagged everyone in 2025
    These celebrities brought the sex appeal in their steamy videos this year.
Ricky Cornish

Site Navigation

New GSA for Long Island

The Latest

What Memorial Day owes queer soldiers

From Revolutionary War hero Baron von Steuben to veteran Leonard Matlovich, this essay argues that queer service members have always been part of the American story—even when the country tried to erase them.

Maine conservatives’ anti-trans ballot measure push unraveling after signature controversy

Officials are weighing whether to invalidate thousands of signatures tied to a proposed ban on trans students using bathrooms and sports teams aligned with their gender identity.

NYC man indicted on hate crimes charges in alleged antigay beating

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said the alleged bias-motivated assault left the victim hospitalized after a bystander intervened.

Lawsuit challenging Idaho’s bathroom bill dismissed after student plaintiff dies by suicide

The court offered “sincerest sympathies to Jane Doe’s family.”

LGBTQ+ stories deserve to betold.

George Michael Uses Grindr to Find Men in Australia

Gay Heartthrob Van Johnson Dies

13 LGBTQ+ British Royals in History

Lesbian teens sentenced to life for killing grandmother (12066)

The Gay History of Abercrombie and Fitch Quarterly

More For You

Botswana is moving forward on LGBTQ+ rights. The U.S. is regressing

FBI sends plane to Cuba to stop a trans kid from accessing gender-affirming care

Planning a trip to Oman? You may need an HIV test

Viktor Orbán won't be the last anti-LGBTQ+ strongman to topple

Most Popular

These 8 Democrats voted for the Republican national ‘Don’t Say Trans’ bill passed by the House

The ACLU and the House Equality Caucus blasted their fellow Democrats and the Republicans who voted to pass a bill threatening to censor educators nationwide and compel them to out transgender students against their will.

Not enough people know the story of Sir Lady Java. That's going to change.

A recently published historical zine documents the legacy of the pioneering Black trans artist.

Pulse survivor Brandon Wolf returns to Equality Florida to confront anti-LGBTQ+ extremism

The former Human Rights Campaign press secretary says he’s heading back to Florida’s “front lines” ahead of the 10th anniversary of the Orlando nightclub massacre.

House Republicans advance education bill restricting discussions on racism & gender

The measure would bar federally funded civics and history programs from promoting what the bill calls “gender ideology” and “discriminatory equity ideology.”

Trans athlete forced to share 1st place with cisgender girls at track meet

California's two-time state champion AB Hernandez dominated her latest division track meet this past weekend, and despite protests and controversial policies, she aims to close out her high school athletics career with a third state championship title.

10 of the sexiest music videos that gagged everyone in 2025

These celebrities brought the sex appeal in their steamy videos this year.

Latest Stories

Stay up to date with the latest in LGBTQ+ news with The Advocate’s email newsletter, in your inbox five days a week.

New GSA for Long Island

FROM OUR SPONSORS

The Latest

From Revolutionary War hero Baron von Steuben to veteran Leonard Matlovich, this essay argues that queer service members have always been part of the American story—even when the country tried to erase them.

Officials are weighing whether to invalidate thousands of signatures tied to a proposed ban on trans students using bathrooms and sports teams aligned with their gender identity.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said the alleged bias-motivated assault left the victim hospitalized after a bystander intervened.

The court offered “sincerest sympathies to Jane Doe’s family.”

LGBTQ+ stories deserve to betold.

More For You

Most Popular

The ACLU and the House Equality Caucus blasted their fellow Democrats and the Republicans who voted to pass a bill threatening to censor educators nationwide and compel them to out transgender students against their will.

A recently published historical zine documents the legacy of the pioneering Black trans artist.

The former Human Rights Campaign press secretary says he’s heading back to Florida’s “front lines” ahead of the 10th anniversary of the Orlando nightclub massacre.

The measure would bar federally funded civics and history programs from promoting what the bill calls “gender ideology” and “discriminatory equity ideology.”

California's two-time state champion AB Hernandez dominated her latest division track meet this past weekend, and despite protests and controversial policies, she aims to close out her high school athletics career with a third state championship title.

These celebrities brought the sex appeal in their steamy videos this year.