Advocate NL 10/1/26

Hello and Happy Thursday, folks! And LGBTQ+ History Month! And October!

Audience Editor Edgar Ramirez here, back in your inbox to provide you with a quick crash course of how LGBTQ+ History Month began in the first place, courtesy of The Advocate's Christopher Wiggins.

And boy, are there some people on the wrong side of (overall) history, but I'll keep the list short for now.

We can start with Kansas, where Republican Attorney General Kris Kobach is using transgender people’s social media posts to defend forcibly outing them in the first place.

In Pennsylvania, a legislator is facing resignation calls after witnesses say he used a homophobic slur to describe Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta during a public tirade, then falsely claimed the out lawmaker had AIDS.

And then we have the usual suspects with Vice President JD Vance once again bringing up Texas Democratic Senate hopeful James Talarico and drag queens (you had your shot already, JD!) and “High T” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth continuing to lower the bar in, well, name your category.

Let's end on a positive note though to kick off this month: Wiggins reports Lambda Legal is rolling out a new LGBTQ+ Bill of Rights, pairing its courtroom challenges to President Donald Trump’s administration with an expanded campaign to secure state-level protections.

“People know us for our litigation, and of course we’re going to continue to do litigation, but we are tired of playing defense, and we are going to be going on offense,” CEO Kevin Jennings tells Wiggins.

Check out the exclusive interview with Jennings and Cathryn Oakley, Lambda Legal’s deputy legal director of policy, and continue making your mark on history!

Exclusives like these are made possible with your help. Please consider becoming an Advocate supporter! Your valued gift will help continue our legacy — at a critical time in our history as the Trump administration launches repeated attacks against our community.

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Advocate NL 10/1/26

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People online are speculating that influential right-wing pundit and conspiracy theorist Candace Owens, self-proclaimed expert on "all things fake and gay," is a lesbian.

Lawyers are using old social media posts to challenge privacy claims from Kansans fighting the state’s driver’s license and restroom restrictions.

Witnesses say Pennsylvania Republican Rep. Aaron Bernstine used Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta’s weight loss to launch a false AIDS smear against the Black gay lawmaker.

The presumption that the alleged rapists would get away with it is what enrages people, writes John Casey.

LGBTQ+ stories deserve to be told .

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The Michigan governor called equality smart politics, and Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson said candidates cannot be “anti-trans and pro-equality.”

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Vicky Hester made Babes of Carytown a gathering place for LGBTQ+ people and a source of support for local nonprofits. Richmond’s tribute will stand beside the bar.

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