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. Trump restores 988 LGBTQ+ youth crisis line. Asked about trans callers, HHS cites ‘gender ideology extremism’ Workers fought to save jobs at a national trans rights group. Then came a one-sentence layoff email Lambda Legal’s new LGBTQ+ Bill of Rights goes on offense by using tactics perfected by the right Kansas AG Kris Kobach uses transgender people’s social media posts to defend forcibly outing them Newly Catholic JD Vance promotes his own faith, attacks James Talarico’s as a ‘cover’ ‘Unfit to serve’: Pennsylvania GOP lawmaker faces resignation calls over antigay tirade about colleague Opinion: The Cornell 7 allegations are horrifying. The questions about accountability are infuriating Jesse Watters coos 'here kitty, kitty' to Hasan Piker in a maid outfit and cat ears Macho man Pete Hegseth turns ‘State of the Force’ address into a spectacle of slurs and self-congratulation