The Communists Are Coming! The Communists Are Coming! No, this isn’t an anniversary tribute to the 1966 Cold War comedy The Russians Are Coming the Russians Are Coming. It’s actually the best Red Scare McCarthyism addled 80-year-old Donald Trump could imagine to demonize his enemies.

But even young people celebrating WorldPride 2026 in Amsterdam can spot the fatal flaw in Trump’s latest Big Whine: Trump loves Russian Communist Vladimir Putin!

Nonetheless, the MAGA faithful are parroting Trump’s prattle. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz flaunted his ignorance with Fox News host Jesse Watters, dissecting Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary. Progressive candidate Dr. Abdul El-Sayed consistently led moderate establishment candidate Rep. Haley Stevens in an intensely competitive race to challenge Trump-endorsed Republican former Rep. Mike Rogers for a critical open Senate seat in the Nov. midterm elections.

“Is that where the energy is at? They want to cancel Thanksgiving?” Watters asked Cruz.

Cruz nodded. “They’re crazy enough, yes. They want to cancel Thanksgiving; they want to cancel Christmas. Look, these communists hate America; they hate capitalism,” he said.

“You see the green-red convergence,” Cruz said, “where the communists and the Islamists – they want Sharia Law. They hate Jews, they hate Christians, they hate capitalism, they hate America. All of this is coming together in a way that is really a toxic stew.”

El-Sayed, 41, an epidemiologist and former health director for Detroit who won LGBTQ+ support last Oct., is a Michigan-born son of Egyptian immigrants who identifies as a capitalist, not a socialist, though he holds similar positions as the Democratic Socialists of America, such as Medicare for All, getting money out of politics, having a democracy powered by the people and abolishing an unaccountable ICE.

But the Michigan race – which could also determine control of the Senate and thus confirm Supreme Court nominees – is also brightly illuminating the role money plays in politics.

“Abdul’s victory was, in my opinion, the most extraordinary victory that I can think of in modern American politics,” Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, an early El-Sayed supporter, said after El-Sayed’s incredibly narrow victory.

Sanders predicted that the race would “show the nation whether AIPAC and other billionaire-funded Super PACs can buy a U.S. Senate seat or whether the people of Michigan can prevail.”

“Money out of politics/money in your pockets” became a central tenet of El-Sayed’s campaign.

“What we’re doing is building a movement of the many against the money,” El-Sayed said on the campaign trail. He overcame more than $60 million in outside spending for his opponent – much from establishment Democrats plus $32 million from the ardently pro-Israel American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, which has now pledged to fund Rogers, who already holds $45 million in reserves for the midterms.

After the UN-backed International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in 2024 for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former defense minister Yoav Gallant and a former Hamas commander, citing allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the Gaza Strip and Israel after Oct. 7, lawmakers started backing away from AIPAC.

“The victory in Michigan is a political earthquake,” said Beth Miller, Political Director at Jewish Voice for Peace Action. “Voters in one of the most consequential states for the 2028 Presidential race have just sent a clear message: they want candidates who will fight for working families at home while unapologetically speaking out for Palestinian freedom. This cycle, AIPAC is being relegated to the dustbin of history.”

“AIPAC never runs on AIPAC. They never even talk about Israel and Palestine,” former Rep. Andy Levin told AP. AIPAC spent millions opposing Levin, who is Jewish. “If you’re just a voter and you see a million ads, you don’t know who paid for it.”

Some of AIPAC’s money went specifically into disinformation ads and mailers asserting that El-Sayed is disrespectful to women.

Sarah Jukaku, El-Sayed’s wife, suggested that he was being targeted because he is running to be the first Muslim in the Senate.

“There’s such a subtle way of otherizing someone. When you’re like a brown guy or Muslim guy, you know, the easiest thing to tack on to you is sexism, right?” Juaku told the Washington Post. “That’s not how he is…It feels so unfair.”

El-Sayed’s blunt critique of Israel deserves a second look, Jay Michaelson wrote Aug. 5 in the Jewish Independent outlet Forward.

“Yes, like New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, El-Sayed is a young, Muslim progressive. But his views are markedly different — and, to my mind, more sophisticated and more nuanced. In fact, I agree with them,” Michaelson wrote.

The columnist cites El-Sayed’s interview with New Yorker editor-in-chief David Remnick, who asked: “Does Israel have a right to exist?…[W]hat is your hope for a resolution in the Middle East?… What underlies your sense of the situation there?”

Michaelson was taken with El-Sayed’s response, “which, itself, should inspire confidence….After noting that in Michigan, ‘there are communities where the median income is fourteen thousand dollars a year. And those kids go without good schools, and those kids go without functional infrastructure,’ El-Sayed continued:

‘I believe in equal rights to peace, dignity, and self-determination, for Palestinians and Jewish Israelis alike. And I believe that it is not my job as an American policymaker to decide what the ultimate peace should be. But it is my job to make sure that our resources are stewarded correctly for the people I’m responsible for: those kids going to those broken schools.’”

El-Sayed continued, noting the “kind of hypocrisy” of how the “very same people who tell you you have to believe in a two-state solution are constantly aiding, arming, and abetting an Israeli government that has been dead set on foreclosing on the possibility of a Palestinian state since we’ve been funding them.”

So, El-Sayed says, he’s “not going to play the cosplay thing, where I allow the money that should be spent taking care of our kids to be sent to a military that has done a genocide — at baseline, does apartheid, and is now attempting the annexation of southern Lebanon — to foreclose on the possibility of Palestinian self-determination.”

El-Sayed’s job now is to unify Democrats to defeat Rogers, who has already unleashed Islamophobic attack ads using El-Sayed’s whole name as if it was a slur.

“They want to use my whole name against me,” El-Sayed said in response. “Mike, listen, man. If you can’t say the name, it’s Abdulrahman; keep the name out your damn mouth.”

In response to Trump blasting him during a campaign stop in Las Vegas, El-Sayed told MS NOW: “My commitment to Jewish safety is the same as my commitment to the safety of my own kids. We have a responsibility to take on antisemitism in all of its forms, wherever we see it. It’s the same responsibility we have to take on Islamophobia.”

Michigan State Sen. Mallory McMorrow told MS NOW’s Nicole Wallace that El-Sayed called her immediately after she ended her campaign on July 5. They had a good, hard conversation and “found a shared ‘why’ in our daughters.” She endorsed him quickly, as did his opponent, Rep. Haley Stevens, who hugged El-Sayed at Wednesday morning’s Unity Breakfast.

Meanwhile, appearing onstage with Trump, Mike Rogers said the next senator must be “somebody who doesn’t obstruct the President’s agenda.”

“The stakes couldn’t be higher,” McMorrow said. “It’s Michigan vs MAGA. That’s it. That’s the fight we’re fighting.”

She also noted that 1.5 million Democrats turned out to vote in the primary. “The only way we win is together,” said McMorrow, adding that Michigan Democrats are showing that unity “doesn’t have to be hard. We don’t have to tear each other down. We can lock arms, and we can take our country back.”

Meanwhile, almost 4,000 miles east of Detroit, in Amsterdam, Netherlands, International News Editor Michael K. Lavers and Photo Editor Michael Key covered WorldPride 2026 for the Washington Blade and the Los Angeles Blade. (See a compilation of photos here.)

Highlights included Queen Máxima, Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema and several drag queens participating in the World Pride opening ceremony on July 25 in Amsterdam’s Vondelpark.

But the ceremony happened on the same day as an “Islamist terrorist attack” on thousands attending the annual Christopher Street Day, a major Pride festival in Berlin, Germany, that is among the biggest in Europe. The attack left 1 dead and 29 injured. A memorial service and rally took place in Berlin on Sunday, Lavers reported, after the Pride festival was cancelled. The primary suspect was later killed in a confrontation with police.

Security measures were bolstered for WorldPride 2026, and dignitaries and activists expressed their anger.

“This is an attack on our society,” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz wrote on X early Sunday morning, the New York Times reported.

In an email, Lavers wrote that “the attack in Berlin was definitely on folks’ minds, but to our knowledge there were no security incidents. There were a lot of expressions of solidarity among folks in Amsterdam.”

Lavers also said he felt there was more solidarity towards Americans fighting for democracy.

“There was, IMHO, a definite feeling among folks at Amsterdam Pride that they are aware of what’s happening in the U.S. and are unhappy about it,” he said. “It’s important to note that things in Europe vary in terms of LGBTQ rights, depending upon the country. All that said, there was a real sense of celebration of diversity at Saturday’s parade (with Netherlands’ out gay Prime Minister Rob Jetten on one of the boats)…and joy at the Madonna set that I was fortunate enough to attend. I suppose that can equate to defiance.

Lavers also noted, “I have traveled to Europe several times with Trump in office, and not once did anyone treat me badly because I am an American. Folks definitely make the distinction between Americans and the government.”

West Hollywood showed up for WorldPride, too. The Pink Pony Club sign is a reference to the popular song by Chappell Roan, says Michael Key. Roan says that “Pink Pony Club” was inspired by a “transformative” night at The Abbey in West Hollywood.

Madonna, who headlined World Pride Music Festival, appeared at The Abbey in April. Tristan Schukraft bought the famous spot from founder David Cooley for a reported $27 million in 2023. Since then he also developed MISTR, a telehealth platform that offers free access to PrEP, Doxy PEP, STI testing, and long-term HIV care, according to Lavers. MISTR has organized Madonna’s Club Confessions shows in the U.S. and the U.K.

“’Mother is here, and this is gay heaven,’ said Madonna when she took the stage inside Amsterdam’s AFAS Live concert hall that can hold up to 6,000 people,” Lavers reported. She was later joined by Kylie Minogue.

“Throughout my career, I’ve always supported efforts to fight HIV and AIDS, and that fight begins with education and access,” said Madonna in a MISTR press release. With MISTR is “helping preserve and strengthen LGBTQ+ spaces while investing in the communities and culture that have long sustained us.”

Among several history-making moments was Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten’s Aug. 5 remarks opening the World Pride Human Rights Conference

Jetten, who became the country’s first openly gay prime minister in February, acknowledged that the terrorist attack at Berlin’s Christopher Street Day “filled me with anger and sorrow,” Lavers reported. He noted that 2026 marks the 25^th anniversary of marriage equality in the Netherlands, the first country to extend marriage rights to same-sex couples. Last year marked Amsterdam Pride’s Canal Parade’s 30th year.

“More and more in recent years, we’ve seen hard-won progress being eroded,” Jetten said. “We’ve seen countries backsliding in equal rights legislation. We’ve seen homophobic hate speech becoming more overt and aggressive, and not only out in the real world, but online as well.”

Additionally, “online hatred is one of the biggest threats facing the LGBTQIA+ people today,” he said. “All around the world … misinformation and disinformation can be spread in the blink of an eye with a single mouse click, reaching much further and much faster than NGOs, youth workers and health organizations can.”

“This is always how hatred takes hold,” Jetten said, “First in the shadows, outside the spotlight of society, underestimated by everyone, until, having grown into a many-headed monster, it crawls out of the darkness.”

He announced a three-year investment of what amounts to US $8.64 million each year “in improving the safety of the queer community in our cities with an alliance of organizations committed to safety, both in the public space and in the workspace for LGBTQI+ people, and with a public information campaign to combat discrimination and disinformation.”

He also looked at LGBTQ+ rights globally. “Under the pretense of resisting so-called Western moral decadence, horrendous laws are enacted and promoted, laws that put the rights of free people under severe pressure,” Jetten said. “But in reality, many communities in these countries have a long history of diversity and freedom, and the laws that impose the restrictions were in fact put in place by the colonial powers.”

“No matter how hard those conservative forces try to pull the wool over people’s eyes, queer communities around the world know that equal rights are not a Western agenda,” added Jetten. “They are first and foremost a human agenda.” (See a complete transcript of Jetten’s remarks here.)

For Lavers, dancing to Madonna made him feel free: “For those few precious hours at AFAS Live, I did not think about the Trump-Vance administration and the myriad ways it is destroying the U.S. I did not think about the National Guard troops deployed to D.C. I did not think about the pointless wars that continue to ravage Ukraine and other countries around the world. I simply lost myself on the dance floor and celebrated an icon who has always stood with my community. Thank you, Madonna.”

Almost 4,000 miles between Amsterdam and Detroit – and yet the pain, loss, hope, joy, and promise of freedom feel like the dawning of a new counter-cultural movement.

Check out Karen Ocamb’s LGBTQ+ Freedom Fighters Podcast.

This is a cross-post from Karen’s LGBTQ+ Freedom Fighters Substack.

Los Angeles was an amazing experience for me. Arriving in 2005, I was hired to manage the sales and operations for KTLK, the progressive talk station owned by Clear Channel (Now IHeartMedia). During my tenure, I was introduced to a number of organizations whom we helped promote and market with our airwaves.

One of those was GMCLA, the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles. Having met then-Executive Director Hywel Sims, we struck a friendship, and I was invited to join the board of directors a year later. It was one of the most rewarding experiences of my public service life.

GMCLA traveled to Amsterdam last week for the just-concluded World Pride celebration. I received their “love letters from Europe” email yesterday with photos that made me long to have been there and experience the moments.

Not only did they perform at the world-famous Concertgebouw, GMCLA was one of eight choruses performing in the “Queer Voices Unite” Choral Festival. Along the way, they did street corner (and canal corner) pop-ups.

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Music has a universal healing power. Choruses like GMCLA and PSGMC bring audiences together for celebration and healing, but it does so much more for those who lend their voices and talents to share with the world.

My time leading the GMCLA board of directors were most rewarding when I sat in the audience and watched the magic happen. My eyes always teared up, but then I’d have moments of pure joy as a counterpoint.

The fact that GMCLA was able to go “across the pond” for this and other performances shows that our visibility as LGBTQ+ citizens is important and needed. The chorus continues their tour this weekend in London. And oh, how I wish I was there to experience it. But I take great pride in knowing that I had a small hand in their ongoing mission to expose new communities to their message of equality around the world.

Brad Fuhr, your K-Gay Desert Guide

Here’s what’s ahead in sunny Palm Springs!

Splash House Weekend 1

The desert’s ultimate summer escape arrives with Splash House held at The Saguaro, Renaissance Palm Springs, and Hilton Palm Springs from Friday–Sunday, August 7–9. This poolside music festival features a high-energy lineup headlined by Foster the People, KETTAMA, Layton Giordani, and The Chainsmokers. Guests will enjoy daytime sets, curated lounges, and signature resort experiences. Late-night shows at the Palm Springs Air Museum keep the momentum going after the sun sets. The party continues for Weekend 2 with a whole new lineup from Aug 14–16. More info

Premiere Screenings of Some Kind of Wonderful

The LGBTQ+ drama series Some Kind of Wonderful makes its debut with an exclusive premiere screening of Episodes 1 & 2 on Saturday, August 8 at Mary Pickford Theater in Cathedral City. Set against the vibrant backdrop of Palm Springs, the show follows best friends Sam, Steve, and Tony as they trade Los Angeles for desert life—only to discover a world of romance, reinvention, and unexpected connection. Join the cast and creators for two screenings (4:30 pm and 7 pm), Q&A sessions, and a lively reception with lite bites and a no‑host bar. Your ticket helps support the completion of season one and future LGBTQ+ stories that matter. More info

Neon Nostalgic – 80’s Music Television

Fans can travel back to the golden age of music television with Neon Nostalgic Presents – 80’s Music Television at The Show at Agua Caliente Casino Resort Spa on Friday, August 7 at 8 pm. This live performance features Neon Nostalgic syncing their music in real time with original music videos from artists like Prince and U2. Original MTV VJs Mark Goodman and Alan Hunter host the evening, sharing inside stories from the decade that shaped pop culture. It is a full-sensory rewind to an iconic era. More info

Nominations Round Open: Best of Coachella Valley

CV Independent’s Best of Coachella Valley 2026–2027 nomination round is officially open, and now’s the moment to spotlight the local voices, stations, and personalities you love most. This early round determines who advances to the final ballot, so every nomination truly counts. Our contenders this year include KGAY 103.1, Sunny 106.5, and MeTV FM 92.1 for Best Radio Station; John Taylor, E.J. Tyler, Patrick Evans, and Chris Shebel for Best Local Radio Personality; and our powerhouse DJ trio — DJ Galaxy, DJ Eric Ornelas, and MODGIRL — for Best Local DJ. Nominations are open through Friday, August 28, so cast your picks and lift your favorites into the spotlight! Nominate Today

Lionel Richie and Earth, Wind & Fire

Legendary artists Lionel Richie and Earth, Wind & Fire take the stage at Acrisure Arena on Saturday, August 8 at 7:30 pm. As part of the Sing A Song All Night Long Tour, the performance promises a powerful blend of soul, pop, and funk that spans generations. More info

Billy L’Amour and the Love Notes

A night of vintage romance and soulful music awaits at Billy L’Amour and the Love Notes hosted by Agua Caliente Casino Palm Springs on Friday, August 7 from 7–8:30 pm. This week’s “Ladies Night” theme celebrates the stories and songs of strong women, featuring guest star Keisha D alongside Billy. Backed by the live band The Love Notes, the performance delivers a high-energy cabaret atmosphere with show-stopping vocals and dazzling costumes. More info

Taste of Summer / Rancho Mirage

Taste of Summer / Rancho Mirage is underway, running through August 16 — and now, the fun goes even further with the Passport Game. The annual program invites residents and visitors to explore specials, cool treats, and flavorful experiences while supporting restaurants and local nonprofits. Wristbands unlock exclusive offers throughout the season, and your official passport turns the whole adventure into a delicious scavenger hunt across thirty participating restaurants. More info

Gipsy Kings Featuring Nicolas Reyes

Global rhythms fill the air when Gipsy Kings Featuring Nicolas Reyes performs at The Show at Agua Caliente Casino Resort Spa on Saturday, August 8 at 8 pm. Co-founder and lead singer Nicolas Reyes leads the group in a celebration of world-renowned flamenco, rumba, and Latin music. The Grammy Award-winning sound has sold over 14 million albums worldwide, making the group an international phenomenon. More info

Night Swim

An ultimate after-hours pool party takes place during Night Swim at The Palm Springs Surf Club on Saturday, August 8 from 6–10 pm. The evening features live DJs and cocktails served at the Island Bar under the night lights. Attendees have access to the iconic Island Pool and Lazy River for a unique nocturnal swimming experience. 21+ over only. More info

Star Party at the Monument

Enjoy a cosmic adventure during the Star Party at the Monument at the Santa Rosa & San Jacinto Mountains National Monument Visitor Center on Saturday, August 8 from 8–10 pm. The Astronomical Society of the Desert leads this twice-monthly gathering to showcase the spectacular desert sky after sunset. Guests can participate in guided “sky tours” and look through telescopes and binoculars for close-up views of planets, stars, and other celestial wonders. Experts are on hand to provide insights into the galaxy, making it an educational and fun experience for all ages. It’s a great way to support Friends of the Desert Mountains while marveling at the night sky. More info

Indio Second Saturdays Millennial Night

Music lovers can relive their favorite throwback hits during Indio Second Saturdays Millennial Night at Center Stage on Saturday, August 8 from 7–9 pm. This free, all-ages concert features the high-energy band Y2K2K performing a curated set list of millennial-era favorites. Part of a monthly community gathering in Downtown Indio, the evening offers a sensory feast with live music, mouthwatering food vendors, and family entertainment. More info

ALSO THIS WEEK

• A Queer Arcana: Art, Magic, and Spirit • This art exhibition brings together an intergenerational group of artists exploring how magic and esoteric knowledge shaped queer culture. Palm Springs Art Museum is open Thursday–Sunday.
• Palm Springs Certified Farmers’ Market • This indoor market features local produce and goods from various vendors during the summer months while staying cool inside the Palm Springs Pavilion, Saturday from 8 am–1 pm.
• Welcoming Yoga at The Center • Facilitator Marci Stonehedge leads a non-judgmental, slow basic practice focused on increasing circulation and improving flexibility, Saturday from 4–5:15 pm at The LGBTQ Community Center of the Desert.
• Dance Ranch / Country Dance Saturdays • Featuring a Do Si Do line dance lesson by Kyle Young, this country western dance group welcomes all levels. The evening includes two-step, waltz, shadow, and swing dancing on Saturday from 7–9:30 pm at Step by Step Dance Studio.
• Don’t Look Back – The Boston Experience • Don’t Look Back brings Boston’s soaring vocals and arena-sized sound to the stage. The performance features favorites including “More Than a Feeling,” “Peace of Mind,” and “Foreplay/Long Time,” capturing the band’s legendary layered guitar sound, Saturday at 8 pm at Agua Caliente Casino Cathedral City.
• From Struggle to Strength • This meditation course explores how to respond to life’s challenges with patience and clarity. The session focuses on Using Difficulties to Grow, helping participants cultivate compassion and transform stressful situations into stepping stones, Sunday from 10–11:30 am at Dharmachakra Kadampa Buddhist Center.
• The Rack Pack: Weekly Men’s (Chinese) Mahjong Meet-Up • The Rack Pack hosts a weekly relaxed afternoon of Chinese Mahjong for men of all experience levels, Sunday from 4–6 pm at ACE Hotel & Swim Club.

The Human Rights Campaign is slamming the White House — and the Department of Education — following their removal of some LGBTQ+ bullying data from federal data collection.

The Civil Rights Data Collection is a mandated survey of all public school districts that collects figures on a wide variety of statistics about students — including demographics that include race, ethnicity, sex, disability status, and English learner status; course-level enrollment data, such as how many students are enrolled in advanced placement or honors classes; and school climate information, such as rates of bullying, harassment, suspensions, and expulsions.

That data collection has been ongoing since 1968 — nearly six decades — but now has a major change in what questions are being asked, or not asked, that advocates are largely attributing to the Trump-Vance administration’s culture war fight on LGBTQ+ children in the country.

Changes to the 2025-2026 survey questions — approved by the Office of Budget and Management in July — eliminated a space for schools to report how many students identify as nonbinary, how often those students are victims of harassment and bullying, and whether school districts have policies prohibiting gender identity-based incidents.

K-12 Dive, a publication that focuses its reporting on news related to K-12 education, first published a list of these data collection changes from 2024-2025 to 2025-2026.

These questions, as well as others that included LGBTQ+ student topics on treatment in schools, were added to the CRDC under the Biden-Harris administration. By including these questions, policymakers hoped this would lead to increased investigations into discrimination complaints, initiate compliance reviews, and provide policy guidance to districts, according to Education Department documents.

The CRDC also eliminated the mention of “gender identity” from the definition of rape and sexual assault. The prior collection of data (before the Trump-Vance administration changed it) defined rape as something that could be done to “all students, regardless of sex, or sexual orientation, or gender identity.” Now, the new data collection questions say, “All students, regardless of sex, or sexual orientation can be victims of rape,” removing “gender identity” from the new definition.

By removing and changing definitions, this could have a real-world impact on some of the school’s most vulnerable students. According to CRDC data from 2021-2022, more than 1,800 school districts reported enrolling one or more nonbinary students.

Additional data also shows that the changes to data collection is harming public school students. U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), the ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee released a report in April finding that the Trump-Vance administration’s efforts to all but close the Department of Education Office for Civil Rights has left students facing discrimination and harassment throughout the country without the federal recourse they are entitled to under federal law.

The Williams Institute, a think tank that collects data and conducts research on issues related to sexual orientation and gender identity, has data indicating the true number of nonbinary and transgender children is much higher — they estimate that for children ages 13 to 17, nearly 724,000 identify as nonbinary or trans.

This is in line with a slew of policies pushed by the Trump-Vance administration since their federal takeover. Within his first day in office, President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 14168, titled “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.” This directive attempts to make the federal definition of gender unchangeable, determined by sex assigned at birth alone.

Within his first month of his second term, Trump issued Executive Order 14187, titled “Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation.” The order directs federal agencies to restrict gender-affirming medical care — including puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and surgeries — for individuals under the age of 19.

He also pushed multiple anti-trans executive orders, including Executive Order 14201, “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” and Executive Order 14183, “Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness,” targeting trans athletes and military members, respectively.

These policies have a real-world impact on trans people.

The Trevor Project, a nonprofit dedicated to crisis and suicide prevention for LGBTQ+ people under 25, reported that, for the seventh year in a row, LGBTQ+ youth are at higher risk for suicide as a result of mistreatment and stigmatization.

Trevor Project data showed that nearly 60 percent of LGBTQ+ young people ages 13-17 said they were bullied in the past year, and that 36 percent of LGBTQ+ youth seriously considered suicide in the last year. The data shows a bigger discrepancy for trans youth, with that number hovering around 40 percent considering suicide.

HRC President Kelley Robinson issued a statement following the approval of the new data collection questions that leaves LGBTQ+ students’ bullying statistics under — if not completely unreported.

“If there was even a shadow of a doubt, this latest move by the Trump administration makes it abundantly clear they do not care about the safety of LGBTQ+ students, and trans students in particular,” Robinson said. “These are adults who should be protecting our kids. And instead, they are making sure bullying and harassment are not tracked. If they are not tracked, bullying and harassment cannot be prevented or stopped — which is exactly what the Trump administration wants. Parents deserve to know their kids are safe at school, and every single young person deserves dignity and safety at school. Anything less is plain evil.”

HRC has a “Welcoming Schools” initiative that they say is the “most comprehensive” bias-based bullying prevention program in the nation. The program includes LGBTQ+ and gender-inclusive resources for schools, help navigating special education and disability resources for LGBTQ+-identifying students, and other tools to help schools become more inclusive.

This program has been in effect for nearly two decades and, according to HRC, reaches nearly 750,000 students.

The Washington Blade reached out to both the Department of Education and Office of Management and Budget for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.

Editor’s note: International News Editor Michael K. Lavers and Photo Editor Michael Key will be on assignment in Amsterdam until Aug. 10.

AMSTERDAM — Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten on Friday said more needs to be done to defend transgender people and their rights.

“Everywhere in the Western world, it’s definitely the group that’s the most vulnerable in the moment and it’s rather well-picked also by our advisories,” he said during a panel at the World Pride Human Rights Conference in Amsterdam that Ying Xin and Diego García Blum of Global LGBTQI+ Human Rights Program at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Ryan-Carr Center for Human Rights Policy moderated. “They’ve chosen the smallest group within our broader community (trans people) to attack them, to ensure that we can strip their rights and if they’ve done with that, they’ll go after the next group within our community, so we shouldn’t be naïve about what’s behind it.”

“It’s very well-funded. It’s very well-organized and we have to organize as well to fight back and to win this fight,” added Jetten. “We also need to be more open in conversations that we are having within the community and also dive into it much deeper and maybe even have more difficult and annoying conversations.”

Jetten in February became the Netherlands’ first openly gay prime minister.

He appeared on the panel alongside former Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, who in 2017 became his country’s first openly gay head of government, and former San Marino Captain Regent Paolo Rondelli, who was his country’s ambassador to the U.S. from 2007-2016.

Several other current former heads of government who are gay or lesbian also participated in the panel. They include former Icelandic Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir, former Luxembourgish Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, and Andorran Prime Minister Xavier Espot Zamora. California Congressman Mark Takano, who chairs the Congressional Equality Caucus, and LGBTQ+ Victory Fund CEO Evan Low were among those who attended.

Jetten in his remarks said he was “very surprised” to learn that “not only in the U.S. but also in some European countries that we’ve let them decide what the gay group looked like.” The Dutch prime minister further pointed out that conservatives began “to attack the debate on toilets or starting this debate about trans people in Olympic games.”

“That is, of course, a ridiculous debate to start, but we’ve got distracted because we were so busy having this debate on Olympians, and then we actually forgot the real fight was about access to healthcare, just being yourself, being able to enlist in the army, or being able to be a young trans boy or girl in school,” said Jetten. “We got distracted by some fresh meat that was thrown into the area by some very conservative people.”

“We have to open our eyes and have very in-depth conservations within our community, and come up with a much better strategy to win this fight and to protect all our trans brothers and sisters, dolls, whatever,” he added. “Because if we don’t win this fight for trans people, we’re going to lose the bigger fight for all LGBTQ people in the world.”

Varadkar noted Ireland in 2015 passed a law that allows people to legally change their gender without surgery or other medical interventions.

He conceded there was “a liberal wind blowing across the world at the time, and it was largely uncontested.”

“It would be harder now, quite frankly, to do that legislation,” said Varadkar.

Scottish lawmakers in 2022 passed the Gender Recognition Reform Bill, which lowered the age for anyone to legally change their gender without medical intervention from 18 to 16. Then-British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government later blocked the measure from taking effect.

The U.K. Supreme Court in 2025 ruled the legal definition of a woman under the country’s Equality Act is limited to “biological women.” Author J.K. Rowling is among those who praised the decision that stemmed from a case that challenged the Scottish government’s decision to include trans women in its definition of women when it sought to increase the number of women on government boards.

The Trump-Vance administration on Jan. 20, 2025, the first day it was in office, issued a sweeping executive order that, among other things, declared the federal government would only recognize two genders: male and female. The White House earlier this year in its counterterrorism strategy said it “will also prioritize the rapid identification and neutralization of violent secular political groups whose ideology is anti-American, radically pro-transgender, and anarchist.”

“We have to stay united,” said Rondelli. “The strategy was, since the beginning, was a Nazi strategy to create groups, target groups, and to create maximum distractions to avoid discussion about some sort of policies.”

“Trans people are the target at the moment,” he added. “But after them it will probably be some others, so we have to stay united.”

The Human Rights Campaign Foundation, the nonprofit sister organization to the largest LGBTQ+ human rights lobbying and advocacy organization in the U.S., along with law firms Correia & Puth and Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll, filed a class action lawsuit against the government as it attempts to restrict gender-affirming healthcare for federal employees.

The suit, filed on Monday, alleges that the Office of Personnel Management, run by Trump appointee Scott Kupor, is discriminating against LGBTQ+ federal employees (and their families and retired employees) by prohibiting health insurance coverage for gender-affirming care under the Federal Employees Health Benefits and Postal Service Health Benefits plans. There are five plaintiffs named in the complaint, but it extends to others who have those healthcare plans.

The document asserts that OPM’s prohibition on coverage for “gender transition” care in the FEHB and PSHB programs violates Title VII, the federal law that prohibits discrimination based on sex, race, color, religion, or national origin.

The policy, which was implemented on Jan. 1 following the 2025 issuing of Program Carrier Letter, mandated that insurance providers in these programs deny any coverage for gender-affirming care. In February, HRC filed a federal complaint with OPM over the change in healthcare policy, which was ultimately passed to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for review. That complaint is now an officially filed class action lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Research from the Williams Institute at UCLA Law, a think tank that collects data and conducts research on issues related to sexual orientation and gender identity, indicates that this policy denying gender-affirming care will impact healthcare access for at least 39,400 current and former federal employees and their dependents.

Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson released a statement following the lawsuit’s filing.

“Our message to the Trump administration is simple: we’ll see you in court,” said Robinson. “Healthcare access should never be weaponized to advance discrimination — and the denial of coverage for critical healthcare based simply on who you are blatantly violates the rights of all of us.”

Gender-affirming care has been under constant attack by the Trump-Vance administration since its return to the White House, despite the practice being considered as extensively evidence-based but also supported by nearly every major medical organization. This type of care is provided to all people—not just transgender people—and includes things such as social affirmation, including using correct names and pronouns and wearing clothing that matches a person’s gender identity; mental health support, such as counseling to reduce depression and anxiety; and, in some cases, medical interventions such as reversible puberty blockers or hormone therapy when deemed medically appropriate.

“Federal employees have been through the wringer with the Trump administration,” said Cathy Harris, partner at Correia & Puth. “We draw the line at blatant discrimination to deny healthcare to our nation’s dedicated civil servants.”

“This odious policy is the latest example of the Trump administration’s obsession with targeting transgender people, using shameful and cruel tactics to threaten their employment, their health, and the well-being of themselves and their families,” Robinson added. “OPM’s actions will not go unchallenged, and we’ll continue to fight so that federal employees and their families receive the dignity they deserve.”

This is not the first time the White House has directly attacked gender-affirming care.

In January 2025, the administration issued Executive Order 14187, titled “Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation.” The order directs federal agencies to restrict gender-affirming medical care — including puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and surgeries — for individuals under the age of 19.

For more information on how to get involved with the lawsuit, visit hrc.org.

Michigan held its primary on Tuesday, allowing the two major political parties to select their nominees to go head-to-head for the state’s U.S. Senate seat.

NBC News called the Democratic race early, giving the victory to physician Abdul El-Sayed over incumbent U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.) in an extremely close primary. El-Sayed won 48.5 percent of the primary vote, with Stevens trailing by just one percentage point at 47.5 percent.

Both candidates have campagined on supporting the LGBTQ+ community through different avenues— for El-Sayed he focused on his past promoting HIV and PrEP funding and research. Stevens focused on her legislative history working to support transgender rights in the state.

This is a major win for progressive Democrats, who have been bearing the brunt of political attacks from President Donald Trump, the Republican Party, and centrist Democrats.

El-Sayed, a former health director in Detroit, ran his campaign largely on making life in the Great Lakes State more affordable amid rising costs. His policies include promoting “Medicare for All,” pushing health policy that targets the regressive efforts of the Trump-Vance administration that rolls back funding for both Women and LGBTQ+ people, minimizing the growing amount of money in politics, and he was very vocal in his criticism of Stevens for supporting aid to Israel. He was endorsed by two major progressives — U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-N.Y.).

Stevens, the four-term congresswoman, is much closer to establishment Democrats on policy than El-Sayed.

During her time in the federal government, she has consistently supported the Equality Act, which would add sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes under the Civil Rights Act of 1964. She has also emphasized supporting local manufacturing and lowering housing costs in the state.

She was named to Advocates for Trans Equality’s 118th Congressional Champions list for her pro-trans policies and was endorsed by establishment heavy hitters Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).

The contentious race boiled down not only to Michigan affairs but also extended to international conflicts — namely Palestine. (South Africa has filed a case in the International Court of Justice in The Hague that accuses Israel of committing genocide in the Gaza Strip after Oct. 7.) This primary also acted as one of the first major races that pushed back against AIPAC, a lobbying group that works to promote pro-Israel candidates in U.S. elections. The group has been involved in domestic politics since 1954.

AIPAC devoted a massive amount of money to this race.

The Associated Press reported that the pro-Israel lobbying group spent more than $30 million on ads against El-Sayed because of his vocal denunciation of Israel and his continued criticism of its policies towards Palestine.

Michigan has a large Muslim and Arab American population, which could, in part, explain how El-Sayed was able to win.

The Republican side was far less competitive. Former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) ran unopposed and clinched the GOP nomination. He has consistently held anti-LGBTQ+ positions, going as far as voting multiple times for a federal constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage, voting against repealing the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, and supporting efforts to directly target the attempted expansion of Title IX protections to include trans people.

El-Sayed will face off against Rogers in November for Michigan’s Senate seat — one that could have lasting impacts not only on the state’s politics but also on the Republicans’ narrow Senate majority and Trump’s political agenda.

Editor’s note: International News Editor Michael K. Lavers and Photo Editor Michael Key are on assignment in Amsterdam through Aug. 10.

AMSTERDAM — Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten on Wednesday opened the World Pride Human Rights Conference in Amsterdam.

Jetten — who in February became the country’s first openly gay prime minister — began his remarks with an acknowledgment that the July 25 terrorist attack at Berlin’s Christopher Street Day that left one person dead and more than two dozen others injured “filled me with anger and sorrow.”

He started to speak after a group of activists began to shout at him over his government’s position on Palestine — the International Criminal Court, which is based in The Hague, has issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas leaders in connection with crimes against humanity it says they committed in the Gaza Strip and Israel after Oct. 7.

Jetten stood silently and allowed them to protest before security personnel removed them from the room.

 

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Jetten in his speech acknowledged this year marks 25 years since the Netherlands became the first country to extend marriage rights to same-sex couples. He also pointed out 2025 marks Amsterdam Pride’s Canal Parade‘s 30th year.

“More and more in recent years, we’ve seen hard won progress being eroded,” conceded Jetten. “We’ve seen countries backsliding in equal rights legislation. We’ve seen homophobic hate speech becoming more overt and aggressive, and not only out in the real world, but online as well.”

Jetten pointed out “online hatred is one of the biggest threats facing the LGBTQIA+ people today.”

“All around the world … misinformation and disinformation can be spread in the blink of an eye with a single mouse click, reaching much further and much faster than NGOs, youth workers and health organizations can,” he said. “This is always how hatred takes hold. First in the shadows, outside the spotlight of society, underestimated by everyone, until, having grown into a many headed monster, it crawls out of the darkness.”

Jetten said his government this fall will launch “a social dialog on online discrimination and offering specific guidance on action to take.” This will include “training courses for municipalities and civil society organizations to help them deal with online hate speech.”

His government over the next three years will invest €7.5 million each year “in improving the safety of the queer community in our cities with an alliance of organizations committed to safety, both in the public space and in the workspace for LGBTQI+ people, and with a public information campaign to combat discrimination and disinformation.” Jetten also said the government will promote a campaign in Dutch schools that encourages students and teachers to wear purple as a way to show their support for the LGBTQ+ community.

’Equal rights are not a Western agenda’

Jetten in his speech also singled out “conservative forces” in Uganda, Senegal, and in other countries who are framing LGBTQ+ rights “developments as a neocolonial Western agenda.”

“Under the pretense of resisting so-called Western moral decadence, horrendous laws are enacted and promoted, laws that put the rights of free people under severe pressure,” he said. “But in reality, many communities in these countries have a long history of diversity and freedom, and the laws that impose the restrictions were in fact put in place by the colonial powers.”

“No matter how hard those conservative forces try to pull the wool over people’s eyes, queer communities around the world know that equal rights are not a Western agenda,” added Jetten. “They are first and foremost a human agenda.”

Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema and Nayyab Ali, co-chair of the Ending Violence Against Women and Girls Alliance Pakistan, are among those who also spoke on Wednesday. Lady Phyll, co-founder of UK Black Pride, and Camiel Welling, supervisor of the Amsterdam Trans Clinic, are co-hosting the conference that ends Friday.

Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told a podcaster he is considering throwing his hat in the ring for president once again.

“I don’t know,” Buttigieg told Steven Bartlett, the British host of The Diary of a CEO, the most popular top business and tech podcast on Spotify, which aired Monday. “I think I’m more inclined than not, but there’s so much we don’t know.”

“There’s so much I don’t even know about what’s going to happen this year, let alone … what we need to know later,” he added.

Buttigieg is no stranger to running for the Oval Office.

In 2019, the former South Bend, Ind., mayor was a serious contender in the Democratic primary for the 2020 presidential election but ultimately ended his campaign and endorsed Joe Biden.

In May, an Emerson College Polling survey found Buttigieg at the top of the list of potential presidential contenders, leading California Gov. Gavin Newsom, New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, former Vice President Kamala Harris, and others.

In addition to discussing his future in federal politics, Buttigieg also discussed President Donald Trump’s handling of the Iran war — which reached its 5-month mark two weeks ago — the changing landscape of U.S. jobs due to the rise of artificial intelligence, and the growing national debt, all issues he could face if he ultimately returns to the White House.

Following his 2020 presidential campaign, Buttigieg gained prominence within the Democratic Party, eventually leading to his confirmation as Transportation Secretary. In February 2021, he became the first openly gay Cabinet member to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

In addition to his experience as an elected official, the 44-year-old served as a Navy intelligence officer in the reserves from 2009-2017, including a seven-month deployment to Afghanistan in 2014. Buttigieg came out as gay in 2015 and later married his husband, Chasten Glezman, in 2018. The couple now has two children: twins.

Buttigieg also has an extensive educational background.

He graduated from Harvard University with a bachelor’s degree in history and literature and later became a Rhodes Scholar, attending the University of Oxford, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy, politics, and economics.

This is not the first time Buttigieg has made headlines this year.

In June, he went public about being falsely accused of posing a threat to his children’s safety. An anonymous police report claimed he was a danger to his 4-year-old twins and was not allowed to be with them until after police interviews were conducted.

The police report was later determined to be false. The Los Angeles Blade reached out to the Michigan State Police to ask what course of action, if any, would be taken against the woman who filed the false report, but the agency did not answer the question.

The Blade reached out to Buttigieg’s team for comment on his potential 2028 presidential bid, but did not hear back before publication. 

Editor’s note: International News Editor Michael K. Lavers and Photo Editor Michael Key will be on assignment in the Netherlands through Aug. 10. They will be covering World Pride in Amsterdam.

AMSTERDAM — Madonna and 6,000 of her closest friends celebrated World Pride at Amsterdam’s AFAS Live concert hall early Sunday morning. I was fortunate enough to be one of them.

Madonna last Wednesday nearly broke the internet when she said on social media in Dutch that “I got somethin’ I wanna talk about,” referring to an opening line in “Danceteria,” one of the tracks on her “Confessions II” album that has received rave reviews since its July 2 release. The track has been on near constant replay on my playlist since I first heard it.

👀 pic.twitter.com/TeuHcUzNt9

— Madonna (@Madonna) July 28, 2026

MISTR — a telehealth platform that offers free access to PrEP, Doxy PEP, STI testing, and long-term care that has organized Madonna’s Club Confessions shows in the U.S. and the U.K. — later confirmed the rampant speculation. I woke up on July 30 to an email in my inbox from MISTR and the World Pride Music Festival PR team that said I was on the press list.

Madonna was indeed going to headline the World Pride Music Festival that Jake Resnicow and Insomniac produced, and I was going to be there. OMFG!!!!

The gay icon had one more surprise in store.

The Dutch internet on Saturday once again broke over speculation that Kylie Minogue was going to appear alongside Madonna. I was getting ready to leave our hotel in Amsterdam on Saturday night when I saw a video of the two of them together.

“Madonna is now teasing Kylie Minogue on her social media … she may be one of her ‘special guests’ tonight,” I wrote in a text to Washington Blade Editor Kevin Naff at 8:46 p.m.

“Have fun! This is turning into the gayest concert ever,” he responded.

I arrived at AFAS Live shortly before 11 p.m. My press contact walked me and two other Dutch journalists into the venue’s cavernous main room known as the Black Box. We made small talk for a few minutes before I started to walk around and listen to Josh Harrison who was on the decks.

Madonna was scheduled to take the stage at 1:30 a.m., but she is known for being late — she is Madonna and she does what she wants. Hayla, a British singer, and Bebe Rexha are among those who performed ahead of Madonna. Thousands of sweaty men — including a group of Australians next to me who were eagerly awaiting Kylie’s anticipated appearance — packed the Black Box and were dancing, anticipating what was to come.

MISTR CEO Tristan Schukraft at one point came on stage and declared Madonna was indeed in the building. The moment for which we were all eagerly waiting finally came shortly before 2:30 a.m.

“Mother is here and this is gay heaven,” said Madonna when she took the stage.

Stuart Price, who produced her “Confessions on a Dance Floor” album in 2005, manned the decks during Madonna’s set.

She opened it with “I Feel So Free” from “Confessions II.” Madonna then sang “Bring Your Love” and “Danceteria” to which this reporter — and everyone else — sang along.

Madonna then teased a surprise before she began to perform “Love Sensation.” Kylie soon appeared on stage. It was nearly too much for my fellow partygoers from Australia. It was indeed the gayest concert ever!

Madonna and Kylie performed “Love Sensation” together. They then sang “Hung Up” and “Sorry” from “Confessions on a Dance Floor” to round out the set that ended shortly after 3 a.m.

Madonna and I share the same birthday — Aug. 16 — and I would like to think she and Kylie gave me an early birthday present. In all seriousness though, it was an amazing night for me and for everyone else who was fortunate enough to be there.

“On the dance floor I feel so free,” says Madonna in the opening of “I Feel So Free.”

For those few precious hours at AFAS Live I did not think about the Trump-Vance administration and the myriad ways it is destroying the U.S. I did not think about the National Guard troops deployed to D.C. I did not think about the pointless wars that continue to ravage Ukraine and other countries around the world. I simply lost myself on the dance floor and celebrated an icon who has always stood with my community.

Thank you, Madonna.

Poland’s top court this week rejected the recognition of same-sex marriages legally performed in other EU countries.

The EU Court of Justice in Luxembourg last November ruled in favor of a same-sex couple who challenged Poland’s refusal to recognize their German marriage. Poland’s Supreme Administrative Court in March reaffirmed the decision.

The couple, who lives in Poland, brought their case to Polish courts in 2019. The Supreme Administrative Court referred it to the EU Court of Justice.

The Polish government in May announced it will recognize same-sex marriages legally performed in other EU countries. Polish President Karol Nawrocki on July 17 vetoed bills that would have extended rights to same-sex couples.

The Constitutional Tribunal ruling, which it issued on July 28, was unanimous and final. It also sets up a potential clash between it and the EU Court of Justice.