News
What’s next after the Democratic House victory?
Bisexual Katie Hill wins over anti-LGBT Rep. Steve Knight
Katie Hill (Photo courtesy Equality California)
LGBT ally Steve Schmidt, the former Republican strategist turned political pundit, repeatedly cautions that President Donald Trump, whom he calls the “greatest demagogue” in US history, is inciting a “cold civil war.”
“Trump has stoked a cold civil war in this country. His rallies brim with menace and he has labeled journalists as enemies of the people,” Schmidt tweeted after a lone-wolf mass mail-bomb assassination attempt against Trump’s Democratic hit list was uncovered. “That someone would seek to kill their political enemies is not aberrational but rather the inevitable consequence of Trumps [sic] incitement.”
That was when Republicans held the White House, the Senate, the House and the majority on the US Supreme Court and the administration had no qualms in publicly rolling back protections for LGBT people. In fact, after the New York Times announced that “Transgender Could be Defined Out of Existence Under Trump,” the LGBT community and many allies responded with outrage, becoming deeply invested in winning back the House of Representatives during the Nov. 6 midterm elections, while realizing that the Senate may stay in Republican hands.
Despite hard work and millions of dollars—the Human Rights Campaign alone invested $26 million in a massive grassroots campaign deploying 150 HRC staff to more than 70 congressional, targeted senate and key statewide races across 23 states—the dreamed- about massive big blue wave didn’t materialize and many of the progressive leaders that LGBT and ally supporters hoped would win big to stick it to Donald Trump either lost or were artificially deprived of winning.
HRC President Chad Griffin with Harley Rouda volunteers (Photo courtesy HRC)
There were big wins, however—including out bisexual Katie Hill, 31, who won in California’s 25th District against longtime anti-LGBT Rep. Steve Knight in Northern Los Angeles County and part of Ventura. Hill was leading by roughly 5,500 votes, or 52.2 percent just past noon on Wednesday—and Knight decided to concede. “The voters have spoken and they want a new congressman — or a congresswoman, for this district,” Knight told KCBSTV. “We wish her the best.”
She’ll need it. At a Nov. 7 news conference in the East Room of the White House, Trump took a victory lap for personally having staved off the Democrat’s Big Blue Wave and weirdly praised House Leader Nancy Pelosi, who is expected to take back the gavel as House Speaker, promising to work with her on “a beautiful bipartisan-type situation.” He’s promised bipartisanship before—then bailed, most notably with California senior Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who was just handily re-elected, on the issue of gun violence.
But Trump also threw down the gauntlet, promising to assume a “Game of Thrones”-like “warlike posture” if the House dares investigate him or his administration.
“They can play that game, but we can play it better, because we have a thing called the United States Senate,” Trump said, referring to the Republican Senate which just gained two seats but is actually a separate branch of government run by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. “I could see it being extremely good for me politically because I think I’m better at that game than they are, actually, but we’ll find out.”
For her part, Pelosi told Democrats at their victory party that the House would focus on “restoring the Constitution’s checks and balances to the Trump administration,” as opposed to immediately following up on LGBT fan favorite Rep. Maxine Water’s repeated calls for Trump’s impeachment.
Adam Schiff (Photo by Karen Ocamb)
LGBT ally Rep. Adam Schiff of Los Angeles, meanwhile, must most feel the burden of the sane free world on his shoulders as he considers assuming the chair of the House Intelligence Committee. He told his supporters at a Burbank restaurant on Election Night, that the era of one-party rule is over. It’s a message he’s been pushing while campaigning for others.
“We’ve had a Congress completely unwilling to do its job, to be a co-equal branch of government, unwilling to push back against the basic indecency of this person in the Oval Office,” Schiff at a rally for Katie Hill, the Los Angeles Times reported. “And it is this combination of unethical president and a cowardly, rubber-stamp Congress that has our republic trembling, and why so much rides on our ability to flip the House.”
Now flipped, Schiff is expected to investigate Trump’s finances, Trump’s campaign and the administration’s possible links to Russia, intentionally ignored by his Republican counterpart, California Rep. Devin Nunes, who was also just re-elected after a briefly close race.
“As long as Donald Trump is the president, it will be a poisonous atmosphere because he’s all about division. Nonetheless, we need to do our best in Congress to get the people’s business done. We need to show that we are more than just being about being opposed to him. We are not going to abuse our power the way the Republicans did. We are going to be responsible and tenacious in pursuit of our policy,” Schiff said.
House Republicans have trouble brewing in-house, according to The Hill. With Speaker Paul Ryan retiring, the race is on to become the next leader of the House GOP. California Rep. Kevin McCarthy, often seen glued to Trump, has been widely expected to assume the mantle of House minority leader. But shortly after Democrats had re-taken control, far right conservative Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio announced that he intends to challenge McCarthy.
“In 2016, the American people elected Republicans to come here and change this town. I think the president is doing just that, but I don’t think they see the same intensity from folks in Congress, folks in the House of Representatives,” Jordan told Hill TV. “Have we replaced ObamaCare yet? Have we secured the border yet? Have we reformed welfare yet? No.”
Jordan promised rigorous debate with the Democrats, as opposed to a possible bipartisanship approach Trump mentioned in his remarks. “Now that we’re in the minority, that’s about all what we can do is debate, but fight hard in the debate for the principles, for the things that we know the American people sent us here to do in 2016. Show them that we deserve to be back in power in 2020,” he said.
One of those fights is expected to be with the Justice Department over special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into what US intelligence agencies have called interference by Russian operatives in the 2016 election. Trump calls the investigation a “witch hunt.” Jordan, co-founder of the proudly anti-LGBT disruptive conservative House Freedom Caucus, will no doubt engage his Freedom Caucus co-founder, Rep. Mark Meadows of North Carolina. Meadows has introduced articles of impeachment against Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who has been overseeing the Mueller probe since Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself.
All of this came before Sessions resigned Wednesday—at Trump’s request. Trump has often slammed Sessions since the recusal, suggesting he would fire the Attorney General—the first member of Congress to endorse Trump—right after the midterms. Promise made, promise kept.
Schiff and the Democratic House leadership can now shift their thinking to the multitude of possible clashes that may come in the approaching lame duck session of Congress.
Another check on Trump’s power will surely come from the 113 newly elected women, including 28 first-time House members, many who ran inspired by the resistance movement such as Democratic activist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, 29, of New York, the youngest member of Congress, now Hill, 31, and Sharice Davids, a lesbian Kansas Democrat and member of the Ho-Chunk Nation..
Both the Human Rights Campaign and Equality California raised massive amounts of money and inspired and organized thousands of volunteers. They targeted California races to not only flip the House to Democrats but also ensure solid pro-equality victories up and down the ballot in California.
“CNN’s exit polling had LGBT voters at 6 percent of the turnout and voting 82 percent for Democrats / 17 percent for Republicans. Re turnout: with 113 million voters overall, that’s roughly 6.8 million LGBT voters that turned out nationally. Since mail ballots are still being counted, it looks like LGBT voter turnout was at or above the turnout recorded in 2016 exits (7 million). While exit polling can be fickle, it’s impressive that LGBTQ turnout in the midterms matched a presidential cycle,” Olivia Alair Dalton, HRC’s Sr. Vice President of Communications & Marketing, told the Los Angeles Blade.
We do not yet know the percentage of turnout from the LGBT community in California or Los Angeles. However, gauging by the levels of enthusiasm in each of the campaigns, social media and just walking down the street in West Hollywood, the engagement was very high. Not enough, however, to pass AIDS Healthcare Foundation’s Prop 10, which would have returned rent control regulation to municipalities instead of developers and landlords.
What will happen now, after the perceived losses in such key progressive races such as Beto O’Rourke in Texas to Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, and Andrew Gillum and Stacy Abrams running to be the first African American governors of Florida and Georgia, respectively? It is unclear if those races will be subject to recount or will face a legal challenge because of voting irregularities—but the immediate reaction has been one of deep disappointment in the progressive community, even with the historic “rainbow wave” and election of so many women.
“While the outcome of yesterday’s midterm elections did not result in securing a safer and more just future for all, it did go a long way toward that goal,” said National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) Executive Director Kate Kendell in a statement. “More young people and women showed up to vote and more women and LGBTQ candidates won. We may yet save our nation and repair a U.S. Constitution in tatters.
“At NCLR we will do our part, fighting in court and engaging these elected officials to demand that our community, especially the most vulnerable, are free to live their lives fully, safely and with full dignity,” she concluded.
In statewide elections, the view was a bit more optimistic. Longtime LGBT ally Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, best known for helping start the nationwide opposition to then-President George W. Bush’s push for a federal constitutional amendment to ban same sex marriage, handily won his race to replace longtime ally Gov. Jerry Brown as California’s next governor. Equality California-endorsed candidate Eleni Kounalakis won a spirited race to become the next lieutenant governor.
Less clear, is whether openly gay California Sen. Ricardo Lara won his race against Republican-turned-independent Steve Poizner for Insurance Commissioner. Poizner was a high hope for Republicans who don’t much like Trump but like old fashion Republican policies, which Poizner espoused through coded campaign commercials. Lara seemed to rely less on earned media than on other means to reach voters, especially reaching out to the under-media-served Latino community.
While Poizner used to be Insurance Commissioner, he has not be visible for years. Lara, in the meantime, has not only been visible as a State Senator, but has taken on issues such as protecting undocumented immigrants, including LGBT people seeking asylum, and opposing efforts to bring back so-called “conversion therapy. Lara told the Los Angeles Blade that he would, in fact, look at such efforts as “consumer fraud” under his jurisdiction, if elected Insurance Commissioner. If his election is certified, Lara will make history as California’s first openly LGBT statewide official. As of Wednesday morning, he was leading by more than 105,000 votes.
“With millions of ballots left to be counted across the state, it is already clear that Californians sent a clear message to Washington, rejecting the politics of fear and division, and electing leaders who will work to unite us and fight for full equality,” Equality California Executive Director Rick Zbur said. “The LGBTQ community has much to celebrate this 9Wednesday/Nov. 70) morning — with openly LGBTQ and pro-equality candidates making history across the country last night, a new pro-equality majority in the U.S. House of Representatives and a historic number of women elected to the House, too. We congratulate and look forward to working with Governor-elect Gavin Newsom, Lieutenant Governor-elect Eleni Kounalakis and pro-equality leaders in the Legislature and new Congress to continue making progress toward a world that is healthy, just and fully equal for all LGBTQ people.”
Equality California, the nation’s largest statewide LGBTQ civil rights organization, took these midterms seriously, campaigning as if this was a presidential election. The organization ran a $650,000 voter engagement and get-out-the vote program that included a direct mail campaign reaching approximately 740,000 voters — including targeted mail supporting Lara and Assemblymember Tony Thurmond’s campaign for Superintendent of Public Instruction. He appears to be losing to an even better-funded campaign by charter schools enthusiast, Marshall Tucker.
Equality California also vigorously supported eight pro-equality candidates for the California Legislature and pushed out robo-calls to approximately 520,000 voters supporting Lara, nine pro-equality Congressional candidates, 14 pro-equality state legislative candidates and 12 openly LGBT local candidates.
Right now, HRC and Equality California-supported candidates Harley Rouda (CA-48) and Mike Levin (CA-49) lead their anti-LGBT opponents by slim margins, with the races still too close to call. The other pro-equality Congressional candidates the LGBT worked hard to elect—Josh Harder (CA-10), Gil Cisneros (CA-39) and Katie Porter (CA-45)—are currently trailing their anti-LGBT opponents but the numbers can easily change as the thousands of vote-by-mail and provisional ballots are counted in each race in the next week or two.
Equality California says that they partnered with NextGen America and the California Labor Federation to target the Hill, Cisneros, Porter and Rouda campaigns in what have been considered new swing districts. They knocked on 7,200 doors and contacted more than 123,000 voters through live phone calls and peer-to-peer text messaging, EQCA says in a press release.
“Other priority races for Equality California included the contest to become California’s next Superintendent of Public Instruction and the effort to reelect Legislative LGBT Caucus Member Assemblymember Sabrina Cervantes,” EQCA says. “Equality California-endorsed candidate Assemblymember Tony Thurmond currently trails Marshall Tuck by a slim margin in the Superintendent’s race, while Cervantes leads her challenger Bill Essayli by three votes. Equality California also strongly supported openly LGBTQ legislative candidates Joy Silver (SD-28), Jovanka Beckles (AD-15) and Sunday Gover (AD-77), who ran strong races and are currently trailing their opponents in races too close to call.”
One heart-breaking loss is that of Ammar Campa-Najjar to indicted Republican Rep. Duncan Hunter Jr. in Orange County’s 50th District. While the race seemed like a long shot from the beginning, there were moments when he broke through and actually ran neck-and-neck, ahead or within the margin of error. History may look back and question whether Trump’s angry, fearful and inaccurate closing argument at campaign rallies about the supposed caravan of diseased and crime-filled immigrants (mostly women and children) who want to “invade” the southern border might have had an impact, as well as Hunter’s disgusting racist and unethical campaign ads implying Campa-Najjar, a devout Christian, was a foreign terrorist. As of Nov. 7, Hunter has 54.33 percent of the vote to Campa-Najjar’s 45.67 percent.
“The days of attacking LGBTQ people for political gain are over, and the American people will not stand for lawmakers who try to drum up votes by trafficking in hate,” said HRC President Chad Griffin. “Thanks to millions of Americans who stood up and fought back, we have succeeded in restoring a sane, pro-equality majority to the House and placing a check on this administration’s hateful agenda.”
New York
N.Y. governor’s race presents stark contrast on LGBTQ+ rights
Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul expected to face Republican Bruce Blakeman
As states across the country grapple with a rapidly changing federal landscape under President Donald Trump, governors have increasingly become the first line of defense — or enforcement — on issues ranging from healthcare and education to LGBTQ+ rights.
Nowhere is that more apparent than in New York, Trump’s home state, where the 2026 gubernatorial race is shaping up as a high-profile battle over the future of LGBTQ+ protections.
Incumbent Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul is seeking a second full term as New York’s 57th governor and the state’s first female governor. She enters the race with strong support from LGBTQ+ advocates and organizations, including an endorsement from the Stonewall Democrats of New York City. Earlier this year, Hochul was also endorsed by progressive leaders like New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. She is running alongside New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams as her lieutenant governor candidate.
Throughout her tenure, Hochul has signed a series of measures aimed at strengthening protections for LGBTQ+ New Yorkers, particularly transgender residents.
Among the most notable is New York’s “Trans Safe Haven Act,” which protects out-of-state trans youth, their parents, and medical providers who travel to New York to access legally protected gender-affirming care. Hochul has also signed legislation requiring health insurance plans to cover HIV prevention medications, including PrEP and Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP), without out-of-pocket costs.
Additionally, Hochul signed a Long-Term Care Bill of Rights that prohibits discrimination against LGBTQ+ seniors and people living with HIV in long-term care facilities.
“As the birthplace of the LGBTQ+ rights movement, New York has long been at the forefront of advancing equality,” Hochul said in a statement during Pride month. “During Pride month, we celebrate New York’s vibrant LGBTQ+ community and acknowledge the importance of protecting the rights and freedoms of LGBTQ+ New Yorkers. This month and every month, we proudly stand with the LGBTQ+ community and remain committed to building a more inclusive and equitable future for all where everyone can live freely with dignity, safety, and respect.”
On the Republican side, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman has emerged as the party’s leading candidate. Blakeman is running with Madison County Sheriff Todd Hood as his lieutenant governor pick.
Blakeman, Nassau County’s 10th county executive, was first elected in 2021 after defeating Democratic incumbent Laura Curran. He previously served as a commissioner of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, a Nassau County legislator, and a Hempstead town councilman.
A longtime supporter of Trump, Blakeman appeared alongside the president during a 2024 event honoring slain NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller.
LGBTQ+ advocates have frequently criticized Blakeman for his positions on trans issues, particularly his opposition to trans women participating in women’s sports.
In February 2024, Blakeman signed an executive order barring women’s sports teams that include trans women from using Nassau County athletic facilities. The policy applies to youth, collegiate, and professional teams. Teams that include trans men were not affected. The order has since been halted by the New York State Appellate Division swiftly issued an injunction halting enforcement while the plaintiffs appeal the decision
Ahead of announcing the order, Blakeman repeatedly referred to trans women as “biological males” and argued they should compete on men’s or co-ed teams. LGBTQ+ rights groups condemned the policy, saying it discriminates against trans athletes and contributes to the marginalization of trans youth.
Trump endorsed Blakeman’s gubernatorial campaign in December 2025, shortly after U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) announced she would not seek the Republican nomination. The president made his endorsement via Truth Social that “Bruce is MAGA all the way, and has been with me from the very beginning.”
The Los Angeles Blade contacted Blakeman’s campaign seeking comment on his LGBTQ+ policy priorities and views on issues including nondiscrimination protections, trans rights, and healthcare access. The campaign did not respond.
The race highlights two sharply different approaches to LGBTQ+ policy in a state widely regarded as the birthplace of the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement, home to the 1969 Stonewall uprising that helped launch the contemporary movement for LGBTQ+ equality.
Despite the ideological contrast, early polling suggests Hochul remains the clear favorite. Most public surveys show the incumbent holding a double-digit advantage over her potential Republican challengers, with some polls placing her lead at roughly 20 percentage points ahead of the November election.
El Salvador
‘Mani Fiesta tu Orgullo’: memoria, resistencia y celebración marcan inicio del Mes del Orgullo en El Salvador
Actividad reunió a cientos de personas en un espacio de encuentro, cultura y reivindicación
Entre los sonidos vibrantes de la batucada, las luces de colores, la música y los mensajes de reivindicación, el 5 de junio se llevó a cabo una nueva edición de “Mani Fiesta tu Orgullo”, un evento que durante los últimos cuatro años se ha convertido en una de las actividades más emblemáticas para dar inicio a las celebraciones y acciones de incidencia política, cultural y comunitaria del Mes del Orgullo en El Salvador.
La actividad, organizada por la Federación Salvadoreña LGBTI en conjunto con el Centro Cultural de España en El Salvador, congregó entre 200 y 300 personas que se dieron cita para compartir un espacio de encuentro, reflexión, memoria histórica y celebración de la diversidad.
Desde las 7 p.m. y hasta las 10 p.m., el recinto se transformó en un punto de reunión para activistas, artistas, organizaciones de la sociedad civil, personas de la comunidad LGBTQ+ y aliados que año con año encuentran en esta actividad una oportunidad para reafirmar su identidad y fortalecer los lazos comunitarios.
Más allá de una fiesta, los organizadores destacan que “Mani Fiesta tu Orgullo” representa un acto político y social de gran importancia, pues marca oficialmente el inicio de las actividades que diversas organizaciones desarrollan durante junio y permite posicionar públicamente las demandas, preocupaciones y aspiraciones de la comunidad LGBTQ+ salvadoreña.
Cuatro años construyendo comunidad y visibilidad
La iniciativa nació hace cuatro años como una propuesta para abrir el Mes del Orgullo desde un espacio cultural, inclusivo y accesible para todas las personas. Desde entonces, la actividad ha evolucionado hasta convertirse en una referencia dentro de la agenda de junio, permitiendo que organizaciones, activistas y miembros de la comunidad encuentren un espacio para compartir experiencias, fortalecer alianzas y proyectar mensajes de incidencia.
Para la Federación Salvadoreña LGBTI, uno de los aspectos más significativos ha sido el respaldo constante del Centro Cultural de España, institución que ha abierto sus puertas para albergar la actividad y contribuir a la promoción de los derechos humanos y la diversidad.
“Para nosotras y nosotros es muy gratificante contar con el apoyo del Centro Cultural de España, que ha sido un aliado importante para poder desarrollar este espacio y hacerlo crecer cada año”, destacaron integrantes de la Federación.
La continuidad del evento también refleja la capacidad de resistencia y organización de la comunidad LGBTQ+ en un contexto que continúa presentando desafíos relacionados con la igualdad, el reconocimiento y la garantía de derechos.
Durante estos cuatro años, “Mani Fiesta tu Orgullo” ha servido como un espacio de expresión artística, pero también como una plataforma para visibilizar las realidades que enfrenta la población diversa en el país.
Un hecho histórico: la participación activa de la Asamblea Feminista
Uno de los aspectos que marcó esta edición fue la participación activa de la Asamblea Feminista, organización que desde el año pasado se ha incorporado de manera más directa a la coordinación y desarrollo de las actividades del Mes del Orgullo.
Aunque históricamente mujeres lesbianas y bisexuales han formado parte de las marchas y acciones impulsadas por la comunidad LGBTQ+, su participación en los procesos organizativos había sido limitada. La incorporación de la Asamblea Feminista representa, según activistas, un paso importante hacia la construcción de un movimiento más amplio, inclusivo y articulado.
Para Karla Guevara, secretaria general de la Federación Salvadoreña LGBTI, este acercamiento constituye un hecho sin precedentes dentro de la historia reciente del movimiento.
“Creo que esto es inédito, y a nosotras y nosotres como Federación nos llena de orgullo que las compañeras lesbianas y bisexuales se hayan podido sumar a estas actividades del Mes del Orgullo”, expresó.
La participación de organizaciones feministas también evidencia una creciente convergencia entre distintas luchas sociales que comparten principios relacionados con la igualdad, la dignidad humana y la defensa de los derechos fundamentales. Para muchas personas asistentes, esta articulación representa una oportunidad para fortalecer redes de apoyo y construir agendas comunes frente a desafíos que afectan a diversos sectores históricamente excluidos.
Arte, música y celebración como herramientas de resistencia
La jornada estuvo marcada por expresiones artísticas que aportaron energía y color a la celebración. La reconocida batucada Las Musas fue una de las agrupaciones encargadas de animar la noche, aportando ritmos vibrantes que acompañaron gran parte de la actividad.
Asimismo, la participación de la DJ Drag Alexa Evangelista contribuyó a crear un ambiente festivo y diverso, donde la música se convirtió en un lenguaje común para las personas asistentes.
Más allá del entretenimiento, las expresiones artísticas desempeñan un papel fundamental dentro de los movimientos sociales, especialmente en aquellos relacionados con la diversidad sexual y de género.
El arte, la música, la danza y las expresiones culturales permiten construir comunidad, fortalecer identidades y generar espacios seguros donde las personas pueden expresarse libremente. En este sentido, “Mani Fiesta tu Orgullo” demuestra cómo la celebración también puede convertirse en una forma de resistencia frente a la discriminación y la exclusión.
Un manifiesto dedicado a la memoria y la gratitud
Uno de los momentos más significativos de la noche fue la lectura del manifiesto del orgullo correspondiente a este año. A diferencia de otros años, el documento estuvo enfocado principalmente en la memoria histórica y el reconocimiento de quienes construyeron los primeros espacios de organización y resistencia en condiciones mucho más adversas.
El mensaje recordó a aquellas personas que, en décadas pasadas, comenzaron a construir comunidad desde la clandestinidad, cuando la discriminación social era aún más intensa y los espacios seguros prácticamente inexistían. También rindió homenaje a quienes fallecieron durante la pandemia del VIH/Sida en las décadas de 1980 y 1990, una de las etapas más dolorosas para la población LGBTQ+ a nivel mundial.
El manifiesto destacó además la importancia de recordar la primera Marcha del Orgullo realizada en El Salvador en 1997, un acontecimiento histórico que marcó un antes y un después en la visibilidad pública de la comunidad diversa. Asimismo, se hizo un reconocimiento especial a las personas adultas mayores de la comunidad, incluyendo mujeres lesbianas, hombres gays, personas bisexuales y mujeres trans, cuyas experiencias y luchas han contribuido a abrir camino para las nuevas generaciones.
Para muchas de las personas presentes, este enfoque representó una invitación a mirar hacia atrás con gratitud, reconociendo que los avances actuales son el resultado de décadas de trabajo, organización y valentía.
El orgullo como memoria, comunidad y esperanza
Aunque junio suele asociarse con celebraciones, desfiles y manifestaciones públicas, para muchas organizaciones LGBTQ+ el orgullo también implica memoria, reflexión y compromiso con las generaciones futuras.
Eventos como “Mani Fiesta tu Orgullo” permiten recordar que detrás de cada conquista existen historias de personas que enfrentaron discriminación, violencia y exclusión para abrir espacios de participación y reconocimiento. Al mismo tiempo, estas actividades fortalecen los vínculos comunitarios y generan oportunidades para que nuevas personas se integren a los movimientos de defensa de derechos humanos.
La edición de este año dejó en evidencia que la comunidad LGBTQ+ salvadoreña continúa apostando por la organización colectiva, la construcción de alianzas y la recuperación de la memoria histórica como herramientas fundamentales para avanzar. Con una asistencia que superó las expectativas de los organizadores y una creciente participación de distintos sectores sociales, “Mani Fiesta tu Orgullo” reafirmó su lugar como una de las actividades más significativas del inicio del Mes del Orgullo en El Salvador.
Más que una celebración, fue un espacio para recordar, agradecer y reconocer que cada paso dado en la búsqueda de igualdad ha sido posible gracias a quienes, desde distintos momentos de la historia, decidieron levantar la voz y construir comunidad. Y precisamente allí radica la esencia de esta actividad: en recordar que el orgullo no solo se celebra, también se hereda, se construye y se comparte.
Illinois
Obama Center opens with tributes to marriage equality, LGBTQ+ progress
19.3 acre campus honors 44th president’s legacy
The Barack Obama Presidential Center held media previews on Thursday ahead of its official Juneteenth opening, marking the debut of the first presidential center dedicated to the 44th and only Black U.S. president.
The 19.3-acre campus, located on Chicago’s South Side within historic Jackson Park, features a museum, garden, basketball court, and a new branch of the Chicago Public Library.
Multiple artifacts related to the LGBTQ+ rights movement appear in the presidential museum’s collection, though none appeared to be on display at the time of publication, according to the center’s website.
Among the objects in the collection are the pen Obama used to sign the repeal of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy that prohibited gay, lesbian, and bisexual individuals from serving openly in the military; a set of Harvey Milk commemorative stamps honoring the first openly gay elected official in San Francisco; and an Out2Enroll rainbow sweat wristband used to connect communities — specifically LGBTQ+ people and their families, friends, and allies — with health insurance coverage options available under the Affordable Care Act.
The artifacts reflect a broader LGBTQ+ legacy associated with the Obama presidency.
During the televised opening ceremony, former first lady Michelle Obama thanked her husband for “standing up for marriage equality.”
During his presidency, Obama took a number of actions affecting LGBTQ+ Americans, including repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” signing the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Act, directing the Justice Department to stop defending the Defense of Marriage Act in court, expanding federal benefits and leave to same-sex domestic partners of federal and Foreign Service employees, broadening Affordable Care Act coverage for LGBTQ+ health issues, including HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment, and signing a 2014 executive order prohibiting federal contractors from discriminating based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
The opening event drew numerous celebrities, including Stevie Wonder, Christina Aguilera, Oprah Winfrey, and Tom Hanks.
It also attracted political figures from both sides of the aisle. One notable exception was President Donald Trump, who was not invited to the ceremony. All other living former presidents were invited and attended.
The Obama Presidential Center will open to the public on June 19, with tickets available on its website.
Florida
Intersex teacher alleges Fla. school fired him over perceived trans identity
Shepard Scalf filed a complaint with Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
An intersex teacher in Florida who was fired is alleging in a new Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filing that he was terminated based on assumptions that he was transgender.
Shepard Scalf in the filing says he was assigned female at birth but identifies as male.
According to Monday’s filing with the EEOC, submitted on Scalf’s behalf by the American Civil Liberties Union, the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, and the law firm of Chanfrau & Chanfrau P.L., the school district fired Scalf on the basis of his sex and the presumption that he is trans.
Scalf was hired for the 2025-2026 school year at Patriot Oaks Academy in the St. Johns County School District to teach language arts to 6th- and 7th-graders, after previously working in another Florida school district.
During the hiring process, Scalf submitted paperwork that disclosed he had been assigned female at birth. He was born with an intersex variation with XY chromosomes, and he lives as and presents as a man.
On Aug. 28, 2025, Patriot Oaks Academy Principal Drew Chiodo scheduled an emergency meeting with Scalf. The principal was directed to read a letter from the school district superintendent informing Scalf that he must either submit his resignation or be fired.
According to the ACLU, Scalf was provided with no legitimate reason for his termination and had not received any prior warnings or disciplinary actions. At the time of his termination, Chiodo told Scalf his work was “exemplary” and that Scalf had “met every expectation.”
“Receiving this ultimatum was confusing and overwhelming. Everything had been going so well — I couldn’t understand why this was happening,” Scalf said. “The start of a school year is always brimming with promise and excitement, and I was looking forward to continuing my teaching career at Patriot Oaks until I was cornered into resigning. It became clear to me that being fired had nothing to do with my qualifications or teaching — it was about who I am.”
According to the filing, Scalf received communications that the termination followed complaints from a parent about his gender identity. However, the filing also claims that his gender identity, sex assigned at birth, and intersex status were never mentioned in his classroom.
In a 2020 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court in Bostock v. Clayton County found employment discrimination on the basis of actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity is a violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The ACLU is claiming that under that ruling, Scalf’s rights under Title VII were violated.
“Six years ago, the Supreme Court held in Bostock v. Clayton County that employers cannot fire someone for being gay or transgender because doing so is discrimination because of sex,” said Shana Knizhnik, senior staff attorney with the ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV Project, in a press release from the ACLU. “The same reasoning protects intersex people, who have long faced discrimination because their bodies and lives do not conform to narrow expectations about what a man or a woman is supposed to be. Mr. Scalf was an exemplary teacher, but despite his performance and qualifications, he was forced out of his job because he did not fit those expectations. As politicians and institutions increasingly seek to police sex and gender, intersex people are too often caught in the crossfire alongside transgender people — but federal civil rights law protects everyone from this kind of discrimination.”
Samantha Past, a staff attorney with the ACLU of Florida, stated in a press release that Florida’s public school system is increasingly hostile towards LGBTQ+ people.
“At a time when Florida’s public schools are increasingly targeted by disruptive state policies and in the midst of a teacher shortage crisis, St. Johns County School District chose to unlawfully oust a qualified and respected educator. Everyone deserves the opportunity to work and contribute to their community without fear of being targeted because of who they are. Mr. Scalf is no exception,” Past stated.
The Netherlands
Netherlands to ban conversion therapy
Dutch Senate on Tuesday approved prohibition bill
The Dutch Senate on Tuesday approved a bill that would ban so-called conversion therapy in the Netherlands.
NL Times, an online Dutch newspaper, reported 57 of 75 senators backed the proposal. The Dutch House of Representatives, the lower house of the country’s parliament, approved the measure last September.
Conversion therapy practitioners could face up to two years in prison and a €25,000 ($28,980) fine under the bill once it becomes law after King Willem-Alexander gives his royal assent.
“We have been fighting for the ban with victims and colleague organizations for almost 15 years and are very happy with this result,” said COC Nederland, a Dutch LGBTQ+ and intersex rights group, in a statement after Tuesday’s vote. “We see it as a victory for the victims.”
Seven EU countries — Belgium, Cyprus, France, Malta, Norway, Portugal, and Spain — have banned conversion therapy outright.
Greece in 2022 banned the practice for minors. German lawmakers in 2020 passed a law that prohibits conversion therapy for minors and for adults who have not consented to undergoing the widely discredited practice.
The European Parliament in April voted in favor of prohibiting conversion therapy across the EU. The European Commission last month said all EU countries should ban it.
Rob Jetten, the country’s first openly gay prime minister, took office in February.
This year’s World Pride will take place in Amsterdam from July 25-Aug. 8.
World
War, geopolitical tensions with U.S. overshadow Pride month events
Hungary’s new government has lifted Budapest Pride ban
Activists around the world are marking Pride month this year against the backdrop of war and geopolitical tensions with the U.S.
KyivPride on June 21 will hold its annual Pride march in the Ukrainian capital. The group, which is raising funds for the country’s air defense, on June 14 hosted KyivPride Park, an event that highlighted LGBTQ+ service members and veterans.
Russia in 2022 launched its war against Ukraine.
Oleksandr Demenko is the head of Ukrainian LGBT Military for Equal Rights. He also fought to defend Azovstal, a sprawling steel mill in Mariupol, a city in eastern Ukraine that Russian forces occupied after a months-long siege that ended on May 20, 2022.
Demenko in a KyivPride press release said that “almost no one talked about LGBTIQ+ servicemembers” before the war.
“Today we have our own platform, and every year more and more people are ready to speak openly,” he noted. “This is the best proof of how the country is changing.”
“When we talk about rights and equality, we are talking about specific people — service members who defend Ukraine. We carry out the same duties as everyone else, yet we still do not have the same rights,” added Demenko. “That is why it is so important that the state finally recognizes our families. On June 21, we will remind everyone of this at the KyivPride March.”
More than 100,000 people participated in Tel Aviv’s 28th annual Pride parade on June 12.
“Each year, we share a joyful day in Tel Aviv-Yafo,” said Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai. “It is a day when we come to celebrate the society we strive to be: one where people are valued not for who they are, whom they love, where they fall on the spectrum, or the kind of family they choose to create.”
Tel Aviv authorities last year cancelled the parade, which was to have taken place hours after Israel launched airstrikes against Iran. Tehran, in turn, launched hundreds of missiles toward the Jewish State.
President Donald Trump on June 23, 2025, announced a ceasefire that ended the 12-day war.
Israel and the U.S. on Feb. 28 launched airstrikes against Iran. The Jewish State continues to carry out airstrikes against Hezbollah, an Iran-backed Shia militant group the U.S. and Israel have designated a terrorist organization, in Lebanon.
Reports indicate the U.S. and Iran this week are poised to formally sign a ceasefire agreement. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday said his government would continue its efforts to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.
Hamas militants on Oct. 7, 2023, killed roughly 1,200 people, including upwards of 360 partygoers at the Nova Music Festival, when they launched a surprise attack against Israel from the Gaza Strip. The militants also kidnapped more than 200 people.
A case that South Africa filed with the International Court of Justice accuses Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians in the Hamas-controlled enclave after Oct. 7.
Roma Pride organizers earlier this month banned two Jewish LGBTQ+ groups from having floats in their June 20 parade in the Italian capital because they refused to categorize the Israeli government’s post-Oct. 7 war in Gaza as a genocide. The decision has sparked outrage among Jewish organizations around the world.
“The participation of a float in Roma Pride therefore also assumes — regardless of the sexual orientation, identity, religion, ethnicity or nationality of the person you see — a clear and unequivocal position of condemnation of the genocide perpetrated by the Israeli government,” said Roma Pride in a May 26 statement. “The history of our republic is a history of resistance. The history of our movement is a history of resistance. Roma Pride, therefore, supports the right to exist and to resist (for) the Palestinian people oppressed by Israeli government’s criminal and genocidal conduct.”
Sipineq+, a Greenlandic LGBTQ+ rights group, organized its annual Pride parade that took place in Nuuk, the mineral-rich island’s capital, on June 13.
Trump since he took office for the second time has called for the U.S. to take control of Greenland, a self-governing Danish territory with a population of less than 60,000 people. Trump claims the U.S. needs to control the island in the Arctic Ocean between Europe and North America because of national security.
Cuba’s National Center for Sexual Education, a group that Mariela Castro, the daughter of former Cuban President Raúl Castro directs, last month held a series of events that commemorated the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia.
The IDAHOBiT commemorations took place against the backdrop of widespread blackouts and a severe fuel shortage after Venezuela stopped oil shipments to Cuba after American forces seized now former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, on Jan. 3. Federal prosecutors last month also indicted Raúl Castro over his alleged role in the 1996 shooting down of four planes that Brothers to the Rescue, a Miami-based Cuban exile group, operated over the Florida Straits that separate Cuba and the Florida Keys.
Raúl Castro, 94, was Cuba’s defense minister when the incident took place.
New Hungarian government lifts Budapest Pride ban
The Budapest Pride march will take place in the Hungarian capital on June 27, less than two months after Prime Minister Péter Magyar took office.
Hungarian lawmakers last year passed a bill that banned Pride events and allowed authorities to use facial recognition technology to identify participants. MPs later amended the Hungarian Constitution to ban public LGBTQ+ events.
More than 100,000 people defied the ban and participated in last year’s Budapest Pride parade. The event became one of the largest protests against then-Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his government that Magyar and his center-right Tisza party ousted on April 12.
Hungarian police on May 29 announced they will allow the Budapest Pride march to take place.
“We will march freely in fresh air for our rights, for the democratic Hungary,” said Budapest Pride on its Facebook page.
Erika Hilton, a Black travesti and former sex worker who has been in the Brazilian Congress since 2022, is among those who spoke at the annual São Paulo Pride Parade that took place on the city’s Paulista Avenue on June 7. Reports indicate more than 1 million people took part in the event.
Equal Namibia will hold several events in the country.
The Namibian High Court in 2024 struck down Apartheid-era statutes that criminalized consensual same-sex sexual relations — the country gained its independence from neighboring South Africa in 1990. The Namibian Supreme Court the year before ruled the country must recognize same-sex marriages legally performed elsewhere.
Patrick Reissner, co-founder of Equal Namibia, on Monday told the Los Angeles Blade the organization is preparing to file a marriage equality case. Reissner said two Equal Namibia staffers are planning to participate in this year’s World Pride, which will take place in Amsterdam from July 25-Aug. 8.
“By staying visible, engaging with the international (business) community, and pushing for more research in queer spaces — Namibian, regional, and continental — we hope to prove to our government that the economic and social costs of discrimination cause more damage, affect productivity, limit innovation, and hold back our nation’s investment attractiveness,” Reissner told the Blade. “Diversity and inclusion — across the board — are not only social values, but increasingly vital arguments in shaping our local economies for future generations.”
South Korea
South Korea marriage equality movement gaining momentum
Seoul court on June 5 ruled same-sex couple deserved legal protection
On Oct. 30, 2025, a same-sex couple in South Korea filed a petition with the country’s human rights commission after a public institution denied marriage leave to one of the men and later reduced his pay and performance bonus for taking time off for their wedding ceremony. The commission last month completed its investigation and continues to consider the case.
The petition comes as South Korea’s same-sex couples have won a series of legal victories in recent years, even though the country does not extend marriage rights to them. Courts have increasingly been asked to decide whether existing laws and workplace policies can extend equal treatment to LGBTQ+ people, often in the absence of legislative change.
The employer’s policy granted marriage leave, but it did not define marriage or specify who could claim the benefit. After the employee submitted a wedding invitation and requested a brief leave for a ceremony with his same-sex partner, the institution denied the request and treated his absence as unauthorized.
The South Korean Supreme Court ruled on July 18, 2024, that denying dependent health insurance benefits to same-sex couples while extending them to opposite-sex couples amounted to discriminatory treatment. The court said the unequal treatment infringed on human dignity and the right to pursue happiness.
South Korea’s marriage equality movement has evolved gradually, moving from social taboo and legal nonrecognition toward greater public visibility and limited judicial victories.
In 2004, a same-sex couple unsuccessfully sought a division of assets under a de facto marriage. Nearly a decade later, filmmaker Kim Jho Gwang-soo and his partner, Kim Seung-hwan, applied to register their marriage, but South Korean courts rejected their bid, as well as subsequent attempts by same-sex couples to gain legal recognition.
In February 2023, the Seoul High Court ruled that the National Health Insurance Service must extend dependent health insurance benefits to same-sex partners, marking a landmark legal victory for LGBTQ+ couples. The Supreme Court’s 2024 decision made it final.
Under South Korean law, a de facto marriage generally refers to a couple who live together and hold themselves out as married without formally registering their union. While such relationships may receive limited legal recognition in certain circumstances, a marriage is not legally recognized unless it satisfies legal requirements and is registered with the government.
In a ruling made public on June 5, a Seoul court found a same-sex couple had built a life partnership similar to a common-law marriage and deserved legal protection. The court ordered a third party whose affair led to the relationship’s breakdown to pay 10 million won ($6,611.59) in damages.
The court, however, said existing law did not allow it to recognize the relationship as a common-law marriage, underscoring the legal limits that same-sex couples continue to face.
“There is no evidence that the plaintiff and the former partner held a wedding ceremony or revealed their relationship to acquaintances outside their families,” said the court. “From September 2019, when they shared their finances, or at the latest from June 2023, when they lived with the plaintiff’s family and received engagement rings from the plaintiff’s parents and were recognized as a couple, they shared an emotional, physical and financial relationship with a mutual intent to marry, forming a life partnership similar to a common-law marriage.”
On May 31, 2024, South Korean lawmakers introduced the country’s first marriage equality bill. Former Justice Party member Jang Hye-yeong proposed the legislation that 12 lawmakers from across the political spectrum co-sponsored. and co-sponsored by 12 lawmakers from across the political spectrum. The legislation failed later.
While consensual same-sex relations are not criminalized in South Korea, marriage equality remains unrecognized. Reports suggest many LGBTQ+ people continue to live with limited public visibility.
Recent opinion surveys suggest public support for marriage equality in South Korea has declined.
A 2025 Hankook Research poll found that 31 percent of respondents supported extending marriage rights to same-sex couples, down from 36 percent in 2021. A separate Gallup Korea survey found that 34 percent backed marriage equality while 58 percent opposed it, reversing gains in public support and returning attitudes to levels seen nearly a decade ago.
The report attributed the decline in support to South Korea’s broader social and political climate.
Activists told the publication that far-right mobilization, heightened political tensions, and growing online radicalization among some young men had likely contributed to the shift. They also argued politicians routinely cite a lack of public consensus to delay measures such as the Life Partnership Act and the Marriage Equality Act, describing the argument as an excuse for inaction.
Kiyong Shim, an activist with Chingusai, a Korean gay rights group, told the Los Angeles Blade that the marriage leave dispute illustrates the challenges same-sex couples continue to face in South Korea. Shim said the country’s Civil Act contains no provision that explicitly prohibits same-sex marriage, but that marriage registrations by same-sex couples are refused as a matter of administrative practice.
“Because their relationships have no legal standing, exclusion arises in nearly every area of daily life: marriage leave, family allowances, medical decision-making, inheritance, housing, and more,” said Shim.
He said the marriage equality movement is advancing along two tracks: one is public campaigning, lectures, workshops, and community networking centred on the Marriage for All Korea campaign and the second is through litigation. Fourteen same-sex couples are now plaintiffs in various lawsuits that have been before South Korean courts since 2024.
Shim told the Blade that change is also beginning to take root in South Korea’s judiciary, pointing to the Supreme Court’s July 2024 ruling that recognized dependent health insurance benefits for same-sex partners.
“Those holding political responsibility — in the legislature, the executive, and beyond — continue to turn away from the rights of LGBTQ+ people,” said Shim. “LGBTQ+ individuals remain exposed to discrimination and hatred in everyday life, and many live by painfully concealing who they are. This is precisely why the campaigning cannot stop, and why the work of organizing must continue.”
Shim told the Blade that public opinion is moving in a more favorable direction, albeit gradually. He said attitudes toward homosexuality, sexual minorities, and marriage equality have steadily become more accepting.
“The problem lies in politics,” said Shim. “In Korea, the forces driving anti-homosexuality sentiment are largely conservative Protestant church groups, and these church groups are deeply entangled with politicians in the ruling Democratic Party. As a result, even within the ruling party, this issue is difficult to address. So we are in an asymmetric situation: the judiciary and public opinion are moving forward, while the very political actors charged with legislation and administration remain stationary.”
Taiwan, Nepal, and Thailand have extended marriage rights to same-sex couples. Shim told the Blade there is a growing sense that South Korea is falling behind.
“Society’s perceptions shift most deeply when the fact that LGBTQ+ people are right beside us becomes a natural part of daily life, but this cannot be left to those individuals alone,” he said. “The conditions that make coming out possible must be built by allies together with the community — building workplaces, schools, families, and neighborhoods where discrimination and hatred need not be feared.”
“What Korea needs right now is exactly this kind of broad, everyday solidarity,” added Shim. “Change in the law and change in daily life have to move together, and that is why the work of campaigning and organizing must not stop. There are already many same-sex couples in Korea living as families, caring for one another. The question is not whether they exist — it is when the state will finally recognize this reality in law.”
Niger
Niger recriminalizes homosexuality
Country’s military junta announced new penal code took effect June 12
Niger is the latest African country to recriminalize consensual same-sex sexual relations.
The Associated Press on June 12 reported the country’s military junta announced a new penal code under which anyone who “commits or attempts to commit an immodest or unnatural act or practices lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual (LGBTQIA+) acts” will face between five and 10 years in prison and a fine.
“This same penalty is applicable to persons who officiated the marriage, to the witnesses of the alleged spouses, as well as to persons who have given their consent for the celebration of the marriage and to the organizers,” reads the new code that took effect on June 11.
Niger borders Nigeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, Algeria, Libya, and Chad.
The AP notes homosexuality had not been criminalized in Niger. Anti-LGBTQ+ stigma, however, was widespread.
Lawmakers in Burkina Faso last September recriminalized homosexuality in the country. Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye on March 31 signed into law a bill that increased the penalty for anyone convicted of engaging in consensual same-sex sexual relations from one to five years in prison to five to 10 years.
Ghanaian lawmakers late last month approved a bill that would, among other things, criminalize LGBTQ+ allyship.
Local
Todd Gloria elected US Conference of Mayors president
Gay San Diego mayor spoke with the Blade in D.C.
Todd Gloria has had a whirlwind two decades as a public servant.
Beginning with his successful 2008 San Diego City Council election, followed up by his second successful campaign in 2012 — this time as president of the San Diego City Council — Gloria has been strapped to a rocket headed to public servant fame that would make Leslie Knope’s head spin, with no signs of slowing down.
Just one year into his tenure as president of the San Diego City Council, Bob Filner, the then-mayor of the city, resigned from his role following multiple allegations of sexual harassment. In that moment of political uncertainty, Gloria stepped up, becoming the interim mayor of San Diego, and the leader of one of the largest cities in the U.S. .
While his term as interim mayor — lasting from August 2013 to March 2014 — was not long, it was a sign to the people of San Diego — and to himself — that Gloria could do good things for San Diego. When the newly elected Mayor Kevin Faulconer was sworn in in March 2014, Gloria continued working hard to keep the city he grew up in in caring hands.
Gloria started to look past “America’s Finest City” and began looking toward Sacramento. It was there that some of the state’s most capable minds were attempting to tackle problems that the entire Golden State faced. In 2016, he ran for the California State Assembly’s 78th District seat, representing San Diego, where he won with an impressive margin and started championing the city’s climate action plan. Shortly after assuming office, he was chosen to become a member of the Democratic leadership — as assistant majority whip — where he helped pass his and the Democratic Party’s legislative goals in the most populous state in the nation.
It should be no surprise that, with a growing reputation as someone bent on making his city better for the more than 400,000 residents who live within the 78th District, Gloria won re-election in 2018 with more than 70 percent of the vote in both the primary and general elections. There, he was tapped once again to be an integral part of the Democratic Party’s legislative mission and was, in January 2018, made majority whip.
In 2019, Gloria announced he would no longer seek the 78th District seat when his term was up, but would return from Sacramento to San Diego — this time as mayor. He ran his campaign on issues that San Diegans faced: the housing crisis, affordability, public transportation, and climate change.
In November 2020, Gloria was elected mayor of the city he grew up in, where he broke barriers — his win also made him the first Native American and the first Filipino American to hold this position in a U.S. city with more than a million people, becoming San Diego’s first mayor of color. He was also the city’s first openly gay mayor.
The Los Angeles Blade sat down with Gloria when he visited Washington earlier this month for the U.S. Conference of Mayors, where he was elected president of the organization. The presidency lasts for one year and alternates between political parties to ensure bipartisanship.
Gloria, has served as mayor of San Diego since 2020, will lead the nearly century-old bipartisan organization as a proud out gay man at a time when many LGBTQ+ Americans are concerned about the future of their rights and protections.
“Well, a lot. I think the first thing that comes to mind is that this time that we’re all living in, the stakes feel particularly high, and I think number one, I’d want your readers to understand that this is a conference of bipartisan mayors from all across the country who supported me to lead the organization that’s nearly 100 years old,” he explained.
“I think at a time when we definitely wonder, as queer people, where we sit in our nation and in our society, that my fellow mayors of all different political stripes are willing to allow me to be their voice as leader of this organization. I hope it somehow validates the notion that we are still making progress, that particularly the political process is still possible.”
Gloria framed his election as evidence that progress remains possible, even amid growing political polarization. He noted that the U.S. Conference of Mayors was founded during the Great Depression, another period when local leaders stepped forward to address challenges they felt were not being adequately addressed at the federal level.
Throughout the interview, Gloria repeatedly emphasized the unique role cities can play in advancing LGBTQ+ equality. He pointed to the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ long history of supporting civil rights, HIV/AIDS advocacy, and LGBTQ+ inclusion, and his belief that mayors often find common ground on issues where Washington remains divided as a clear thesis to his presidency.
“It’s building on the history. It’s one of the reasons I’m very proud of this organization. Why I’ve been an active member for years now is that it has this storied history of speaking up and helping to advance change in this country. Everything from direct aid to cities in the Great Depression to civil rights in the 1960s to equality, HIV/AIDS advocacy during a time of great stigma and shame,” Gloria said. “This conference, again a bipartisan organization, has been willing to sort of be able to find a common ground that maybe isn’t always possible in Washington.”
Gloria also highlighted San Diego’s own LGBTQ+ political history, noting that the city has maintained continuous LGBTQ+ representation on its City Council since the early 1990s. He credited generations of local activists for helping create a political environment where LGBTQ+ elected officials have been able to thrive.
With Pride Month unfolding amid continued battles over LGBTQ+ rights nationwide, Gloria argued that cities remain important centers of progress and power, even when state and federal politics become more hostile.
“We have quite a bit [of power] because we can often do things within our own communities, but also we can band together and lend our voices to try and either stop bad things from happening or help advance good things that we’d like to see come to pass.”
He added that cities provide opportunities to continue advancing equality — even when, at a national level, conditions seem unfavorable.
“Cities provide avenues to say ‘No, we can actually make progress, maybe not at the scale, maybe not as broad as we would like, but it can still happen.’”
While Gloria has championed LGBTQ+ rights throughout his political career, he said housing affordability has emerged as the defining civil rights challenge facing many communities, including LGBTQ+ residents.
“The biggest civil rights issue right now is housing,” Gloria said.
He argued that many LGBTQ+ people can now legally live and work openly in places like San Diego, but increasingly struggle to remain in those communities because of rising housing costs.
“You know, we are a very affirming city. We have a gay mayor. 1/3 of our city council is LGBT. We have all of the protections that you would hope a city would provide in a state that provides those same protections, but we’re horrifically expensive, and our housing costs are unattainable to so many people of all walks of life.”
As president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, Gloria said he hopes to elevate housing affordability as a national issue and encourage local leaders to adopt policies that increase housing production and reduce costs.
On LGBTQ+-specific initiatives, Gloria pointed to his work co-chairing the organization’s LGBTQ Alliance alongside Madison, Wis., Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway. Under their leadership, the alliance created a municipal toolkit designed to help mayors implement LGBTQ+-inclusive policies, ranging from Pride Month proclamations to nondiscrimination protections and fair housing measures.
“We have a lot of allies and come to our meetings, we meet four times a year, and you want to be supportive of the community. This is what this looks like.”
Beyond policy, Gloria described the alliance as an important support network for LGBTQ+ elected officials navigating increasingly hostile political rhetoric.
“When the attacks on trans people, specifically trans children start happening, that was an issue that we discussed at length in the alliance.”
Despite his optimism, Gloria acknowledged that recent years under the current federal leadership have challenged assumptions many LGBTQ+ Americans once held about the inevitability of continued progress — and the idea that rights gained were forever.
“I think for someone who you know came up in the movement in the 90s and early 2000s you know, I’ve seen marriage equality, I’ve seen the progress with HIV and AIDS, you know, ability to work and live where you want, you know, all that stuff. It kind of felt like, for me, it felt like it was inevitable that we would keep ascending to greater and greater equality,” he said. “Obviously, recent years have made you not only stop some of that progress, but really question if we’re not going to start falling backwards.”
Still, Gloria urged LGBTQ+ Americans not to retreat from civic engagement or get quiet about the problems they face, given the constant barrage of attacks — both executive and cultural — that leaves some feeling as if the battle for equality is waning.
“This is not a time to back away. This is not a time to fold inward. We have to truly double down and continue forward doing the work. Leaning forward will mean that the progress may be less than what we want, but still progress will be made.”
Gloria also said he has noticed a change in the tone of political discourse directed at elected officials, including LGBTQ+ leaders. While he said hostile rhetoric has increased, he views his position as an opportunity to model resilience for younger LGBTQ+ people.
“You can either absorb it the way I did in middle school and feel kind of crummy and maybe a little bit sorry for myself, or you can realize that every time I’m called that, there’s a young person in a school who does not have the perspective I have, and they’re counting on me to figure out some way forward.”
As he begins his year leading the U.S. Conference of Mayors, Gloria said his priorities will focus on housing affordability, public safety, and economic issues affecting cities nationwide — issues he is familiar with. Success, he said, will ultimately be measured not by political messaging or narratives spun, but instead by tangible results.
Results that matter — even if they aren’t seen as glamorous. These are results that show the city is being effectively run for its citizens, he explained.
“The question is, did the garbage get picked up? Did the road get paved? Did the homeless person find housing?”
Addressing the relationship between cities and the Trump-Vance administration, Gloria said local leaders have had to navigate a political environment defined by unpredictability.
“The only thing that’s certain about this administration is the uncertainty,” he said, though he was clear that such uncertainty does not give the administration a pass to act unjustly. “My city has sued the Trump administration, I believe, eight times at this point, and we’ll continue to do that when it’s necessary or appropriate.”
Even so, Gloria maintained that mayors are uniquely positioned to cut through political rhetoric because residents judge them on day-to-day outcomes rather than partisan talking points.
“I think we are a bit more pragmatic, I think, a bit more focused on making sure that what we’re doing is improving people’s lives, not harming it.”
For Gloria, that practical focus — and the willingness of mayors from across the political spectrum to work together — offers reason for optimism despite the challenges ahead.
When asked what he thinks about the future of not only San Diego, but of the country given the increasingly hostile political climate, he provided a chance to peer into his mind: the mind of a public servant who is determined to make his place better than the day before, even if it does boil down to ensuring trash is collected and housing is affordable for all.
“Being an elected official is in itself an act of optimism. It’s a belief that you can help make things better, and it’s difficult to be in this line of work and be pessimistic.”
That goes hand-in-hand with making every city a better place for those who will enjoy the fruits of the labor sewn well after the mayors at this year’s conference have come and gone. That is why Gloria is doing what he is doing.
“I think for every kid, wherever they are, they’re wondering if they can be their full selves.It’s incumbent on us to do, because every one of these terrible headlines that we see may be frustrating to those of us that have seen some of that progress,” he said. “I think it could be devastating for these young people who have not known anything different, and we owe it to them to find better headlines to give them, both in the short and long term.”
California
Calif. governor’s race spotlights Becerra’s LGBTQ advocacy
Former HHS secretary to face Republican Steve Hilton
California voters selected its two front runners for the state’s open governor seat following the second election of Gavin Newsom.
Last week former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra became the Democratic nominee for governor, setting up a general election matchup against Republican nominee Steve Hilton, a former political adviser in the UK and Fox News commentator.
Becerra, the son of Mexican immigrants, has spent nearly three decades in public service. Over the course of his career, he has served as California attorney general, U.S. secretary of Health and Human Services, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, and a member of the California Assembly.
Hilton comes from a very different background.
Raised by Hungarian parents who fled communism and settled in the UK, Hilton entered politics after graduating from Oxford University. He worked within the Conservative Party — beginning during the era of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and later served as Director of Strategy for Prime Minister David Cameron. After relocating to California in 2012 with his wife, Hilton taught at Stanford University, became a U.S. citizen, and later established himself as a Fox News political commentator.
As the race enters the general election phase, policy questions surrounding healthcare, civil rights, and the future of LGBTQ protections in California are expected to feature prominently in both campaigns. The Washington Blade sat down with former Biden-Harris administration health officials who worked under Becerra’s leadership and also with LGBTQ advocates. Both paint a clear picture of Becerra — a longtime ally whose support for LGBTQ rights and health equity has spanned multiple decades and offices.
“For Equality California, he has been a staunch ally over his decades of service serving California. From his time in Congress to attorney general to HHS secretary, he’s been a partner to the LGBTQ community at large, and specifically to Equality California, advancing LGBTQ equality,” Tony Hoang, executive director of Equality California told the Blade. “As he’s been the front-runner making the top two, we’re excited to get behind him in the race so that he wins the general election in November.”
Hoang argued that California’s next governor will play a critical role in protecting LGBTQ rights amid continued attacks from the Trump-Vance administration.
“It is critical that California remains a bulwark against what’s happening from the Trump administration. That’s why we were so supportive of Secretary Becerra’s campaign for governor,” Hoang said. “He has been there in that fight. When he was attorney general, he sued the Trump administration over 100 times, including a lawsuit where Equality California was an organizational plaintiff around the transgender military ban. Over the remainder of Trump’s term, it’s critical that California continues to fight to stand up for our values, including LGBTQ people in all facets of equality.”
Former HHS official Adrian Shanker, who oversaw LGBTQ health initiatives during the Biden-Harris administration, pointed to Becerra’s emphasis on health equity as one of the defining characteristics of his leadership.
“As Secretary, Xavier Becerra required all of us to include a health equity lens in all policies. No matter what the policy was, he wanted health equity to be centered. Health equity means ensuring that all people can attain their highest levels of health,” Shanker explained. “One of his priorities was clinical trial diversity. He wanted to make sure that new drug modalities and treatments were studied on all kinds of bodies, including populations that had historically been excluded from research.”
Shanker also emphasized that while leading HHS, Becerra consistently relied on scientific expertise rather than political considerations when making policy decisions.
“He really believed that we can’t politicize science. We have to let science drive the policy. He established a very strong scientific integrity policy for the department. That’s important for LGBTQ health, but it’s also important for everyone’s health.”
Shanker expanded on the multiple HIV prevention efforts including making the medication covered by nationwide subsidy programs allowing for americans of all income levels to get this life saving healthcare during Becerra’s tenure at HHS.
“We worked to make PrEP free for anyone on Medicare. The secretary trusted the scientists in the department to determine what was safe and effective and then championed the results,” Shanker said.
For many LGBTQ advocates, California’s role as a refuge state has become increasingly important as Republican-led states enact restrictions affecting transgender people and LGBTQ healthcare access.
Admiral Rachel Levine (ret.), the first openly trans person confirmed by the U.S. Senate and Becerra’s former assistant secretary for health, said California’s next governor will be central to those fights.
“We have an increasingly hostile federal environment against the LGBTQIA community in general, but particularly against the transgender and nonbinary communities. They have targeted the most vulnerable among us, especially trans youth, their families, and their medical providers. California is a refuge, and no one is a stronger supporter of our broader community and our transgender community than Secretary Xavier Becerra,” she told the Blade.
“He articulated his strongest and most enthusiastic support for our community throughout his time at HHS. Health equity was really principle number one for Secretary Becerra, and that includes health equity for our LGBTQIA+ community.”
Levine, who worked directly under Becerra, also praised his leadership style.
“Xavier Becerra really is an outstanding leader. I worked for him and with him when he was secretary and I was assistant secretary for health. He’s so down to earth and unassuming, and he talks a lot about his background, his parents, and his family. He exhibits all the traits you would want in a leader. He is personable, always professional, always compassionate, organized, and knowledgeable.
“I think that he will make an outstanding governor of California. He has local experience in California, where he served as attorney general, and he also has experience in Washington as a member of Congress and as Secretary of Health and Human Services. His background and his character make him an outstanding choice for governor.”
Shanker similarly pointed to Becerra’s engagement with LGBTQ communities and transgender advocates during his time at HHS as one of his strong suits — one that shows he is willing to commit to the right thing even if it is what some in higher powers, disagrees with.
“Secretary Becerra visited LGBT centers. He spoke at our HHS Pride Summit each year. He met directly with transgender health leaders and advocates.”
One meeting in particular stood out to Shanker– where Becerra’s leadership and tenacious dedication to committing to serving the American public.
“He said that his policy is to never do anything mild. He wanted actual policy change that advances the health and well-being of all Americans. He wasn’t looking for small, little tweaks. He wanted structural improvements.”
Shanker went on explaining that Becerra’s approach to all things — but especially very trivialized trans healthcare thoughts remained rooted in scientific evidence.
“He wasn’t reading the tea leaves to determine what policy we should enact. He was trusting the science and wanted to do the right thing for the people affected by our decisions,” Shanker said.
Hoang said that commitment to the evidence — and what LGBTQ advocates have point blanked asked from him has continued throughout Becerra’s gubernatorial campaign.
“I will say that he has done everything that we’ve asked of him and continues to speak proudly in support of the trans community. Full stop. We were lucky enough to work with him during his time as attorney general, but also as HHS secretary, ensuring that decisions are based upon science versus the rhetoric coming from MAGA extremists.”
As a recent example, Hoang pointed to Becerra’s support for trans student-athlete AB Hernandez.
“Just last week, he put out a statement that was read at the track meet for AB Hernandez, the trans athlete who was competing in the track and field championships.”
He added: “He has been a staunch ally, a proven staunch ally, of the LGBTQ community and specifically trans people.”
Levine said the importance of the California governor’s race extends far beyond state borders.
“I think it’s very important because states like California, New York, Massachusetts, Oregon, Washington, and others are ground zero for these battles. They serve as places of refuge, particularly for trans youth and nonbinary youth who may have to leave their states because of these attacks and hateful laws,” she said. “The governors of those states, including the governor of California, could not be more important. We could have no better defender than Xavier Becerra.”
For Hoang, the stakes of this election are difficult to overstate.
“I think because we see that the stakes are high. It’s trite to say, but this is truly one of the elections of our lifetimes, where you are seeing access to essential health care being denied to trans youth, having billions of federal dollars being up for grabs, and ensuring life-saving programs. Ensuring that LGBTQ Californians understand what’s at stake in this governor’s race is really critical, and we’re going to do all that we can to ensure that Xavier is our next governor.”
Hoang said many LGBTQ Californians are feeling anxious about the current political climate.
“It’s all over the place. I think in this time where it is a relentless onslaught of attacks from the federal government, folks feel disillusioned and feel scared.
“That is why it’s imperative that we ensure that LGBTQ people and our allies understand that even though there’s so much misinformation out there, it’s critical that folks turn out to vote — not just for the governor’s race — but ensuring that we take back Congress into pro-equality hands, and that they have strong champions in state legislatures all the way down to school boards.”
Looking ahead, both advocates pointed to healthcare access as a major challenge facing LGBTQ Californians.
“One area that we’re working on now, and that we know will continue, is backfilling dollars from the state government to the extent that the federal government continues to strike funding from things like HIV prevention programs, funding for trans health care, among others,” Hoang said.
“Ensuring that California does not let our communities get thrown under the bus is critical. Particularly when you have some folks in the broader Democratic Party who think that our rights are expendable, ensuring that the governor continues to step up and work with the state legislature to advance pro-equality legislation and budget priorities.”
Levine specifically pointed to the closure of some gender-affirming care programs in California.
“Even though California has tried to protect access to gender-affirming care for youth, a number of academic medical centers have closed their programs. It would be great for a governor to work with those programs, universities, deans, and presidents to see if they can reopen them.
Levine clarified that although there is currently no legislation in California restricting gender-affirming care, there is always a chance with the strike of the president’s pen or a conservative legislator to bring that to California.
“There is no law or regulation currently forcing those programs to close. There are threats—threats from executive orders, threats involving Medicaid—but those matters are still being fought through the courts.”
She concluded:
“Secretary Becerra is a fighter for health equity. He’s a fighter for disadvantaged communities, and I’m sure that he will take this on.”
Asked why LGBTQ voters should trust Becerra, both Shanker and Hoang pointed to his record.
“Actions speak louder than words. He has a record of action in terms of advancing the health and well-being, and in prior roles, the legal rights, of LGBTQI people,” Shanker said.
“It’s easy to say what you think you need to say to win political office. It’s harder to point to a record of results, which is what he can do because of his years in Congress, his years as attorney general, and his four years as secretary of Health and Human Services.”
Hoang offered a similar assessment.
“Especially in this moment, where there are a lot of platitudes out there, we have a candidate who has shown proven leadership in support of our community when it wasn’t popular. Looking back to his days in Congress, when he was one of 67 members of Congress who voted against the Defense of Marriage Act, and when he stood up to the Trump administration as attorney general by suing over LGBTQ rights, he has shown time and time again that he will reach out to the most vulnerable and use his platform to serve.”
Levine, meanwhile, declined to weigh in on political strategy but reiterated her confidence in Becerra’s support for LGBTQ Americans.
“I’m not a politician. I’ve always been a physician and public health professional. Even though I was in a politically appointed position, my job was health equity and the protection of public health. It’s hard for me to comment on the politics of it. But all I can tell you is that there’s no bigger supporter of our community than Xavier Becerra.”
The Blade reached out to both the Becerra and Hilton campaigns seeking comment on their LGBTQ policy platforms, including how they would address trans rights in California as the federal government has taken an increasingly adversarial approach toward transgender Americans. Neither campaign responded to requests for comment by press time.
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