12/9/25

Hi all,

📣 Well, Anita Bryant, the antigay activist known for having a pie thrown at her face and for campaigning against LGBTQ+ rights, died. She was 84.

🏛️ U.S. Rep. Mark Takano now chairs the Congressional Equality Caucus. The caucus, which advocates for equality regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, faces heightened challenges under a Republican-controlled Congress and the incoming second administration of President-elect Donald Trump. Here's what he has to say about the 119th Congress.

❌ I can't even believe I'm writing this, but Idaho Republican legislators have introduced a resolution on Tuesday urging the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Obergefell v. Hodges, the 2015 decision that established marriage equality nationwide.

🗞️ V Spehar of Under the Desk News informs millions of viewers a week about the world around them. The Advocate spoke to them about their platform, what lies ahead for TikTok, and a recent NPR interview.

Onward and upward,

Alex Cooper

Editor-in-chief, Advocate.com

Anita Bryant, the antigay crusader, is dead

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V Spehar reflects on 4 years of ‘Under the Desk News,’ the TikTok ban & tension with traditional media

Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images for The Webby Awards

Humble ‘first millennial’ Jimmy Carter honored with glorious, funny state funeral

Haiyun Jiang/Pool/Getty Images

California bill introduced to seal adults' gender transition documents

shutterstock creative; Kimberly White/Getty Images for Demand Justice

Conservatives bizarrely blame DEI for Los Angeles wildfires

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Investigators believe DNA could identify all victims of suspected gay serial killer Herb Baumeister

photo via INDIANAPOLIS POLICE DEPARTMENT

Judge strikes down Biden's Title IX expansion to LGBTQ+ students

Maxim Elramsisy/Shutterstock

New Congressional Equality Caucus chair Mark Takano vows to defend LGBTQ+ rights in GOP-controlled Congress

Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

Bruce Vilanch dishes on staples of the 1970s, Paul Lynde, the Brady Bunch, Charo, and more

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Elton John: Brandi Carlile is 'probably the best vocalist in America'

Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Recording Academy