by Karen Ocamb and Trudy Ring

After an historic and expensive July 4^th fireworks display capped Donald Trump’s self-indulgent commemoration of America’s 250^th birthday, voters are now watching state races explode into political pyrotechnics as Democrats fight to win majorities in Congress and Republicans plan to keep buying power.

With the midterm elections just over three months away and several primary races still undecided, most pundits predict the decline in Trump’s approval ratings will result in Democrats winning the House, if infighting doesn’t turn off voters.

Democrats’ dream of taking the Senate, however, turned into a nightmare with the scandalous Graham Platner debacle in must-win Maine. Energized party leaders hope to put on a Master Class in democracy as they pick a new candidate before July 27.

The hike to Senate victory is still steep. Republicans have a 53-47 advantage – meaning Democrats must win 8 of 11 competitive races, including defending seats currently held in Minnesota, Michigan, New Hampshire, and Georgia, for a net gain of four seats.

LGBTQ+ people intent on reversing Project 2025’s prolific erasure might focus on lesbian Rep. Angie Craig’s race in Minnesota.

With the retirement of Democratic Sen. Tina Smith, The Cook Political Report’s out guru Amy Walter labeled the open seat “likely” Democrat but with only a +3-point advantage.

New York Times Polling data reporter Alex Lemonides notes that “Trump lost Minnesota by four percentage points in 2024, and Minnesotans have not sent a Republican to the Senate since the 2002 midterms, so a Republican win in the general election would buck the trend.”

But this whole election cycle is about bucking trends. With so many Democratic Socialists defeating Establishment candidates, “socialist” is no longer a slur, forcing Trump to switch to the old Cold War charge of Communist!

In Minnesota, Bernie Sanders-backed candidate Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan is out-polling Craig, a more centrist Democrat who flipped a battleground House seat in 2018. Their primary is on August 11.

Republicans are salivating over challenging Flanagan for her administrative role in the scandal that forced Gov. Tim Walz to forgo a third term and deal with widespread fraud in social programs.

Former NBC’s Sunday Night Football sideline reporter and current political podcaster Michele Tafoya has a built-in “bro” audience. The announcement of her Republican candidacy was featured on ESPN.com.

“As Minnesota’s senator, I will clean up the system, fighting corruption, ending the fraud, and protecting your tax dollars,” Tafoya said. “I will protect what’s fair and safe, standing with our law enforcement officers, deporting dangerous criminals, and keeping female sports for female athletes.”

Craig responded quickly. “Trump’s hand-picked candidate just jumped in the race for US Senate,” she said on social media. “Minnesota needs a Senator who will stand up and fight for our state – and we know it won’t be MAGA Michele.”

Craig tells LGBTQ+ Freedom Fighters that she has been happy to represent Minnesota’s Second Congressional District in the U.S. House since 2019. Now she wants to represent the entire state as a U.S. senator.

“The state of Minnesota has been so good to me and my family,” says Craig, who chose to move to the state because it would accept her family.

Craig grew up in a mobile home park in Arkansas, one of three children of a single mother. She worked her way through the University of Memphis, earning a degree in journalism, and became a reporter with the Memphis Commercial Appeal.

She has a long history of fighting for LGBTQ+ rights, including her own. In the late 1990s, while living in Tennessee, Craig and her then-partner, Debra Langston, adopted their first son, Joshua. Under Tennessee law at the time, only one of them could be recognized as an adoptive parent; Craig was listed as Langston’s roommate.

The birth mother wanted the couple to have Joshua, but her parents intervened, seeking to adopt him. The courts had to decide if Langston and Craig were “fit” parents. One appellate court judge objected to the boy being raised by “open, practicing lesbians,” but his two colleagues disagreed, and Langston and Craig won the precedent-setting case in 2000, albeit with lots of caveats.

“The issue in this case is not whether the members of this court approve the homosexual lifestyle or the adoption of children by homosexuals, but rather whether the adoption of this child by this prospective parent is in the child’s best interest. As in any adoption case, the determinative issue was and remains what is in the child’s best interest,” wrote Judge Alan E. Highers in his opinion concurring with the majority in ruling In re: ADOPTION OF M.J.S. in the Tennessee Court of Appeals.

By then, Craig was working in corporate communications for Smith & Nephew, a multinational maker of medical equipment, and the couple had another son, Jacob, born to Craig through alternative insemination. She and her family moved to London, where the company was based, in the early 2000s. They returned to the U.S. in 2005; Craig went to work for another medical equipment company, St. Jude Medical, in the suburbs of Minneapolis-St. Paul. She later said it was the least lucrative job offer she had, but she took it because she knew the area was welcoming to LGBTQ+ people.

Craig and Langston separated in 2006, and Craig married Cheryl Greene in California in 2008. They have four sons and three grandsons, with a fourth on the way. Greene is a former middle school teacher still involved with youth programming.

Craig worked for LGBTQ+ equality within her company and for statewide marriage equality in Minnesota. She also fought against an anti-marriage equality constitutional amendment in 2012, which voters rejected. The state legislature passed a marriage equality bill the following year that Gov. Mark Dayton signed into law.

In 2016, when she ran for Congress in Minnesota’s 2^nd District, a Republican stronghold for more than a decade, she told the Twin Cities Pioneer Press that the fight for custody of Joshua gave her strength.

“Whether I win or lose on Election Day, I know that that won’t be the hardest thing or the biggest challenge that I’ve ever faced,” said Craig, then 44. “When you get up every day and wonder, ‘Am I going to (still) have my child the next day?’ you get pretty good at being focused on the big picture.”

“I’ve always talked about my family openly” on the campaign trail and in office, Craig, Co-Chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus, tells LGBTQ+ Freedom Fighters. Often at events in her district and around the state, she’ll meet someone who mentions they have an LGBTQ+ family member, she notes. She finds that if she listens to constituents and addresses what’s important to them, her identity isn’t an issue.

What Craig has addressed for constituents includes health care costs, such as capping the out-of-pocket cost of insulin and limiting overall out-of-pocket drug costs for people on Medicare. These came from a bill introduced by Craig and became provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law by President Joe Biden in 2022. She also wants a public option for health insurance, an increased child tax credit, and she introduced a bill to eliminate federal taxes on Social Security benefits.

In a June 19 SurveyUSA poll, Minnesotans say their single most important issue is inflation (39%) and cost of living, followed by health care, immigration, gas prices, and the war in Iran.

But immigration may soon jump to the front as more information leaks out about ICE agents shooting and killing Lorenzo Salgado Araujo during a traffic stop in Houston, Texas, on Tuesday morning, July 9. Homeland Security says the father, with no criminal record, driving to work, ignored verbal instructions and tried to ram their vehicle. ICE shot him in self-defense – the same excuse ICE used on January 7th, 2026, when an ICE agent killed nonviolent protester Renee Good. In both instances, video footage proved ICE lied.

Also caught on tape was Craig’s angry confrontation with Republican Majority Whip Tom Emmer on the House floor the day Renee Good was killed after Emmer supported ICE on social media. The story and her response went viral.

But Craig continues to be criticized for voting for the Laken Riley Act, named for a woman who was killed by an undocumented immigrant. It allows for undocumented immigrants to be detained or deported if they are simply accused of crimes, even nonviolent ones. Critics say she has never apologized – but she has.

In a commentary for The Minnesota Star Tribune in May, Craig wrote, in part:

“The text of the bill did not include the word deportation. I made the difficult decision to vote for it. Democrats like Sens. Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego, Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff — leaders I deeply respect — all came to the same conclusion.

But as I stood side by side with protesters on the streets of Minneapolis and opposite dozens of armed Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at the Whipple Federal Building after Renee Good’s killing — and again after the killing of Alex Pretti — I couldn’t help but question whether I made the right call last year… It’s also become clear that supporting any bill that gives ICE new authority in this administration was the wrong decision. And I regret my vote.”

“What happened under Operation Metro Surge was horrific,” Craig tells LGBTQ+ Freedom Fighters. The U.S. can secure its borders in a humane fashion while providing a path to citizenship for undocumented people, those brought here as children, and others, she adds.

On LGBTQ+ rights, Craig says the Equality Act has been a huge priority of hers in the House and would remain so in the Senate.

Since 2019, Craig has introduced The John Lewis Every Child Deserves a Family Act that “would ban discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, religion or marital status in those programs, prohibit the use of federal funds for so-called ‘conversion therapy’ and create a resource center for LGBTQ+ foster and adoptive youth within the Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families,” according to a press release.

Another priority is passage of the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, named for the late civil rights activist and longtime congressman. “I was lucky enough to serve with John Lewis,” she says.

Additionally, Craig supports campaign finance reform. The recent Supreme Court ruling that further loosened restrictions was “just another blow to our democracy,” she says. She supports limits on Supreme Court terms.

On foreign policy, she condemns Trump’s war of choice in Iran. “The administration has had zero strategic objectives,” she says, adding that the war has caused “tremendous economic damage,” such as the spike in gas prices.

And though Craig supports a two-state solution to the ongoing Israel-Palestinian conflict, with Palestinians having their own state, her campaign does not accept direct donations from AIPAC’s political action committee — the pro-Israel group held fundraisers for her before her Senate announcement – another point exploited by primary opponent Flanagan.

On gender-affirming care for trans youth, Craig says politicians should not interfere with decisions made by young people and their parents. Regarding trans girls and women in sports, she says the matter is best handled locally—and that local conversations can foster understanding.

But Craig has had a strong public reaction to federal transphobia. After that, Reps. Tulsi Gabbard and Markwayne Mullin introduced the Protect Women’s Sports Act in December 2020. Craig released the following statement:

“As a lesbian woman, I am no stranger to prejudice and intolerance — but this legislation is beyond the pale. Plain and simple, the Protect Women’s Sports Act is transphobic — and this type of discrimination has no place in the halls of Congress. Especially at a time when the transgender community is suffering from a tragic rise in suicide rates and experiencing a surge of transphobic violence, such a bigoted and appalling effort is simply unacceptable. Queer and transgender women must stand together in the face of intolerance — and I am proud to do so today by emphatically denouncing this narrow-minded and hateful legislation, which is harmful not only to transgender women but to the LGBTQ Community at-large.”

Craig has been endorsed by prominent LGBTQ+ groups, including Victory Fund, the Human Rights Campaign PAC, Equality PAC, and LPAC. She has also been endorsed by Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her, plus many nationally known political figures, such as former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

Flanagan has the endorsement of Sen. Smith and her predecessor, Al Franken, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, and, from outside the state, Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, among others. Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and the state’s governor, Tim Walz, so far haven’t made endorsements.

“I’m ready on day one” to serve in the Senate, says Craig, noting her four terms in the House, her substantial career before going into politics, and her two votes to impeach Trump. “If we can take the House and Senate, we can put a cap on this administration.”

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

Republican U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) has died, and what he has left behind is a power vacuum for his U.S. Senate seat — and within the Republican Party.

The South Carolina senator had been a major part of Republican politics up until his Saturday death at his home in Washington, reportedly of an aortic dissection related to arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease.

Graham has been a fixture in government at both the state and federal level. He began his political career in the South Carolina House of Representatives in 1992, representing the Palmetto State’s 2nd District before eventually moving to the federal government.

He moved up to Capitol Hill after his 1994 run for the U.S. House of Representatives. In 2003 he stepped across the rotunda to the Senate in 2003 following the retirement of longtime U.S. Sen. Strom Thurmond.

He consistently opposed LGBTQ+ rights while alive.

He voted against the 2022 Respect for Marriage Act, saying the decision should be left up to state governments, and the 2013 Employment Non-Discrimination Act, and opposed the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.

With Graham’s sudden passing, the Republican Party is scrambling to find a replacement who can advance both its goals and those of the president as Republicans’ supermajority in the federal government begins to shrink.

Among those reportedly in the running is Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, the highest-ranking openly LGBTQ+ federal official in American history and fifth in the presidential line of succession.

Bessent, a South Carolina native, was formerly a supporter of the Democratic Party and donated to several Democratic presidential candidates before switching parties in 2017 following Trump’s election in 2016. He later donated $1 million to Trump’s 2017 presidential inaugural committee.

On Sunday, Bessent was also fielding calls from people asking him to run, according to a person familiar with the communications. A person close to Bessent told Politico that he is not interested in the seat, saying he is happy in his role as Treasury secretary, a position he has long wanted.

The Los Angeles Blade reached out to the Treasury Department for comment, but did not receive a response by publication time.

One of the most anticipated and widely discussed names for the vacant Senate seat is Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette.

Evette is a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump and has gone as far as criticizing Republicans for not supporting the conspiracy theory that the 2020 presidential election was stolen. Trump also endorsed her gubernatorial campaign, though she ultimately lost to her now-boss, Gov. Henry McMaster.

McMaster has a long history of opposing LGBTQ+ rights.

During an October 2022 gubernatorial debate, McMaster said that if the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Obergefell v. Hodges, he would enforce South Carolina’s preexisting law banning same-sex marriage. In 2022, he also signed legislation requiring student athletes from elementary school through college to compete on teams corresponding to the sex listed on their birth certificates.

Other names reportedly being considered include U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), who has had a contentious relationship with LGBTQ+ issues during her time in Congress. She began as a supporter of LGBTQ+ rights, becoming one of the few Republicans to publicly support the Respect for Marriage Act, before making a complete about-face as transgender issues became a central part of the Republican Party’s political strategy.

As part of that strategy, Mace introduced a resolution to ban trans women from using female restrooms in the U.S. Capitol, a move she acknowledged was in direct response to the election of U.S. Rep. Sarah McBride (D-Del.), the first out trans person elected to Congress.

In a November 2024 post on X, Mace wrote: “We support gay marriage, and voted for the Respect for Marriage Act twice. However, if you think protecting women is discrimination, you are the problem. We don’t care if you’re trans, if you have balls we don’t want you in the women’s bathroom.”

Two other names being floated are U.S. Rep. Russell Fry, who represents South Carolina’s 7th Congressional District, and U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman, who represents the state’s 5th Congressional District.

Trump recommended Graham’s sister, Darline Graham, should serve as the state’s temporary senator in a post on Truth Social on Monday.

“This would be a fabulous tribute to Lindsey, who loved her dearly!” Trump wrote on his social network.

The scramble comes as Republicans hold increasingly narrow majorities over Democrats in both the Senate and House, potentially complicating efforts to advance Trump’s agenda. That agenda includes continuing the war in Iran, securing Todd Blanche’s confirmation as attorney general, and adding $350 billion in defense spending to the SAVE America Act — a controversial proposal deemed a “Jim Crow 2.0” among voting rights advocates.

McMaster is expected to announce Graham’s interim replacement on Monday at 4 p.m. ET.

U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) died suddenly on Saturday.

The South Carolina Republican’s office in a statement said Graham, 71, “passed away from a brief and sudden illness.” The Washington Post reported first responders responded to Graham’s Washington home on Saturday and transported him to a local hospital.  

Graham had been in the U.S. Senate since 2002.  

The close Trump ally was running for re-election. Graham died a day after he returned to the U.S. from Ukraine.

Speculation over Graham’s sexual orientation persisted during his tenure.

The Los Angeles Blade will update this story.

Count on “the people” to determine how they wanted to celebrate the 250^th birthday of the United States of America during the July 4^th weekend. For those not fixated on FIFA World Cup matches or Taylor Swift’s wedding to Travis Kelce or CNN’s Andy Cohen and Anderson Cooper getting drunk waiting for the ball to drop in Times Square marking the historic Independence Day, FOX News breathlessly covered poster-boy-for-pomposity Donald Trump as he took a massive South Dakota stage against the backdrop of Mount Rushmore, where he hopes to mount his own visage.

Mount Rushmore is internationally famous as the backdrop used by director Alfred Hitchcock in his 1958 film “North by Northwest.” One Hitchcock scholar described the acclaimed movie in which villain James Mason chases Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint over recreations of the granite presidential faces as “a comic thriller about mistaken identity, political depravity, sexual blackmail, and ubiquitous role-playing.”

The weather also added drama for 4,800 fans who secured tickets through an online lottery. “A nearby lightning storm Friday afternoon pushed people indoors before the programming started, with hundreds cramming into the memorial’s cafeteria,” the South Dakota Searchlight reported. “Thunder, hail, and heavy rain continued for over an hour.”

After Trump’s speech, California-based Pyro Spectaculars, with a $700,000 contract, produced a fireworks show to The Village People’s gay anthem “YMCA.”

Trump evoked a hell storm of his own, warning about “a resurgence of the communist menace in our land,” resurrecting his Red and Lavender Scare closeted gay McCarthy era mentor, Roy Cohen.

“Communism is a mortal threat to American liberty,” Trump said, apparently alluding to the recent primary victories of Democratic socialist candidates. “It is the greatest threat to our country, including World War I, World War II, Pearl Harbor, or even 9/11.”

AP fact check: linking Democrats to communism is “inaccurate.”

Trump’s penchant for an “alternative facts” Orwellian spin that demands loyal acceptance of a lie suggests this is his new gauntlet for the midterms. “Communism is the exact opposite of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” he declared. “It’s death, tyranny, and the pursuit of evil.”

In his Mount Rushmore speech, Trump “was sharpening a line of attack that the White House has started to use to head off a newly insurgent progressive wing of the Democratic Party that appears to be resonating with liberal voters,” the New York Times reported. “He said the word ‘communism’ so many times, you might’ve thought the Cold War was still on.”

Trump also asserted that Republicans will “not lose an election for a hundred years” if they end the filibuster and pass the SAVE America Act, which would require anyone attempting to register to vote to prove U.S. citizenship and show identification at the polls. He wants to choose who votes, flipping the democratic principle of having voters choose their own leaders and representatives.

For America’s 250^th birthday, Trump has shifted from talking about kings and dictators to comparing himself favorably to other American presidents, especially George Washington. As CNN noted in 2019, during an April 2018 tour of Washington’s home with French president Emmanuel Macron, Trump reportedly remarked on Mount Vernon and Washington: “If he was smart, he would’ve put his name on it. You’ve got to put your name on stuff, or no one remembers you.”

This Washington comparison is also familiar. “I don’t know if you knew it, but he actually ran his business simultaneously when he was president,” Trump said during an October Cabinet meeting. “George Washington was actually considered a very rich man at the time. … George Washington, they say, had two desks. He had a presidential desk and a business desk.”

Trump cited Washington again in his March 2025 State of the Union speech. “In fact, it has been stated by many that the first month of our presidency — it’s our presidency — is the most successful in the history of our nation. And what makes it even more impressive is that, do you know who No. 2 is? George Washington. How about that? I don’t know about that list. But we’ll take it.”

Experts disagree. On Feb. 18, 2024, Justin Vaughn and Brandon Rottinghaus said their Presidential Greatness Project poll ranked Trump last.

“Trump,” the scholars wrote in the Los Angeles Times, “maintains the position he held six years ago: dead last, trailing such historically calamitous chief executives as James Buchanan and Andrew Johnson. In that and other respects, Trump’s radical departure from political, institutional and legal norms….puts him behind not only Buchanan and Johnson but also such lowlights as Franklin Pierce, Warren Harding and William Henry Harrison, who died a mere 31 days after taking office.”

Given Trump’s tantrums over aerial photos showing low attendance for his big 250 State Fair address, one wonders if splashing his name and image on buildings, money, and other “beautification” projects, currently projected by Forbes to be roughly $162.5+ million – plus the “vanity” $1.4+ billion ballroom – might be his middle finger to critics. Might his ultimate goal be replacing Washington DC’s name with his own?

Trump raked in a $2 billion haul last year, according to a 927-page financial disclosure report showing how he and his family “reaped huge financial rewards in 2025 through his money-losing Trump Media venture and a separate cryptocurrency firm called World Liberty Financial, even as routine investors suffered vast losses,” the New York Times reported July 1. “He also amassed hundreds of millions through deals that involved foreign governments or corporations with agenda items pending before the Trump administration.”

Meanwhile, the federal government debt as of July 5 is $39.46 trillion or $115,625 per American, according to the Peter G. Peterson Foundation.

Washington warned about potential despots like Trump. Sarah Pruitt’s 2020 analysis of Washington’s Farewell Address, the first version of which was written by his friend and protégé Alexander Hamilton, concludes that the retiring president focused on three themes: 1) the Importance of unity; 2) The ‘Worst Enemy’ of Government: Loyalty to Party Over Nation; 3) Danger of Foreign Entanglements.

Shirking the nation’s common interest could engender a “spirit of revenge” and prompt the rise of “cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men” who would “usurp for themselves the reins of government; destroying afterward the very engines, which have lifted them to unjust dominion,” Washington cautioned.

The Constitution’s system of checks and balances and separation of powers prevented despots or groups from taking control of the government. And the system also allowed for change through laws or constitutional amendments rather than by force.

Washington urged unity above all. “The name of American, which belongs to you in your national capacity, must always exalt the just pride of patriotism more than any appellation derived from local discriminations,” he wrote. “You have in a common cause fought and triumphed together; the independence and liberty you possess are the work of joint counsels, and joint efforts of common dangers, sufferings, and successes.”

In their survey, the presidential scholars said their assessments “are driven not only by traditional notions of greatness but also by the evolving values of our time.”

That emphasis on common interests and shared values was represented on July 3 by New York City Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani, an inspirational Democratic Socialist, who delivered remarks commemorating America’s 250th Fourth of July birthday while sitting at George Washington’s desk, surrounded by recently naturalized American citizens.

“Two hundred and fifty years presents a rare opportunity for more than 340 million people to turn together — both towards one another and towards ourselves, to take measure of who we are as a nation. When we look at America, what do we see?” he asked.

“The truth, my friends, is that America is exceptional because here, nothing is fixed into place. The frontier may be closed, we may have walked on the moon, but the work of fulfilling the values first enshrined in the Declaration of Independence — that work endures, my friends, and it belongs to us all. It belongs, too, to our newest Americans, those standing here with me today,” Mamdani said.

“Patriotism has never been about pretending our nation is without flaws,” he said. “Patriotism is every act of righteous dissent, it is every march led under the heavy sun, it is every protest held a decade before its time. It is precisely because we love this nation that we will not leave it. After all, who loves America more than those who have sacrificed so much to make it free?”

The real celebrations of America’s 250 anniversary came from regular grassroots folks like the thousands organized by AIDS Healthcare Foundation and representatives from 50 coalitions for their “We the People March for Freedom” in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on July 3. Gov. Ron DeSantis missed the patriotism. He was at Mount Rushmore with Trump.

The marchers were encouraged to bring signs with messages about issues that matter to them, such as the war in Iran, affordability, which Trump called a “hoax,” and housing, which he calls “a yawn”.

Longtime AHF friend, labor leader and activist Dolores Huerta, Haitian American activist Santra Denis, Healthcare advocate Alecia Tramel-McIntyre, Gen Z activist Maxx Fenning, and AHF President/CEO Michael Weinstein all participated in a rally and marched through downtown Fort Lauderdale, culminating in another event with a powerful musical performance by award-winning gospel artist Erica Campbell.

Florida is of particular importance to AHF and other HIV/AIDS activists. Recently, AHF and coalition members won a strong pressure campaign against the state, requiring DeSantis to restore ADAP funding to his state budget, though other serious issues remain.

“This victory belongs to our whole coalition, the clinicians, providers, and people living with HIV who told their stories at real personal cost,” Esteban Wood, Director of Advocacy and Legislative Affairs at AHF, said in a press release. “We led this fight together. For months, it was a promise. Today it is the law, and people can finally breathe.”

In a recent hour-long Zoom conversation, Michael Weinstein and I talked about Trump’s obsession with communism; Michael’s long association with Democratic Socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders; how the issue of income equality crosses all lines; opposition to corporate politics expressed by young Democratic Socialists; and comparing the possibility of their influence and pull to the pull the Tea Party had on the Republican Party.

Michael also gives his take on the political scene and disapproval of Trump – in Part 1, along with strong comments on Gaza, immigration, race, and Texas political star James Talarico.

In Part 2 of our interview here, Michael and I talked more about politics, HIV/AIDS, and AHF. I’ve been covering AHF since the late 1980s, when the nonprofit was AIDS Hospice Foundation While AHF is now a global $3 billion healthcare organization with 10,000 employees (for which they won a Forbes Award as one of America’s Best Large Employers, #98), Michael’s through-line from the Lavender Left until now is his deep commitment to helping those in need. At the end of our conversation/interview on the cusp of this historic moment, I asked him what freedom and independence meant to him.

MW: “Well, on a personal level, it means being able to be all of who I am – a senior, a gay man who’s married to another man, a history thinker. I’m an activist on a societal level.

I still get goosebumps when I drive by the Capitol, when I see the Lincoln Memorial. When I reflect on so many American heroes.

We are very imperfect, right? But that’s humanity. We have a choice between the angels of our nature and the sub-basement of our nature. It’s up to us individually and collectively to bring out the best in us.

And I have found the individual protests, which I usually go to in my neighborhood. I don’t go to the one downtown. I go to the one in Hollywood – and seeing that mix of people with their homemade signs and seeing the people honking and all that – it’s a tonic.

Sometimes I argue with my family members who are… I describe them as: left, very left, and extremely left – more or less. It’s my extended family, too, [with] a couple of conservatives thrown in there, but not much. We don’t have to worry about arguing at family gatherings. But sometimes I have to say to them, ‘I like living in the California bubble’….

So, it’s all about keeping the promise, right? The promise isn’t fulfilled. But it’s about aspiring to keep the promise.

And if I just reflect on LGBTQ and AIDS issues, America stepped up to bring treatment to the world. Nobody else did that, besides us.

When I think about the movement for LGBTQ rights, we were the spearhead of that.

I think about the Women’s Movement. I think about the Civil Rights Movement – we’ve both lagged behind but also been the tip of the spear.

And so, I’m American, through and through. And I’m an Angeleno. This is my fate, for better or worse. I’m gonna make the best of it….

Sometimes when I’m talking to progressive people, I have to say, ‘I have a simple definition of being a progressive: I want to help the most people in need with the things they need the most.’

I think part of my evolution from being a far lefty to where I am now is – it was a point at which I gave up on ideology. I said – that is not the answer. The answer is how to help….

This is so extreme [now]. I mean, this makes the Pharaohs and the Gilded Age look like child’s play. It’s not sustainable. It’s not going to continue this way. It can’t continue. You can’t have this many people so disenfranchised. It will change. The pendulum does swing.

And it will.”

Watch the full interview with Michael Weinstein.

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

As the United States of America acknowledges her 250^th birthday, too many Americans are partying with fewer family and friends because their wallets and their patriotic hearts just aren’t in it. Meanwhile, the president is using taxpayer dollars to finance ugly pet projects , and a war of choice with Iran that no one wants, and Congress didn’t authorize, while We the People just watch an uncontrolled Trump train speeding through American lives.

Theoretically, this is nothing new. Since the nation’s founding in 1776, individuals have struggled with where to place their allegiance to best uphold their personal freedom and protect the collective unity of the country.

But now the simple democracy-project premise “of the people, by the people, and for the people” has been upended and subverted by Donald Trump, the amoral corrupt 47^th president who is using the once independent Justice Department to bypass “due process” and pursue retribution against his enemies – especially around his baseless 2020 election claims – while rewarding his Jan. 6 army of criminal loyalists with pardons and a proposed $1.8 billion “anti-Weaponization” slush fund, now temporarily blocked by a federal judge.

There have been amoral and ineffectual presidents in the past, as well as arrogant presidents who wielded power inhumanely, such as Andrew Jackson, who defied the Supreme Court and oversaw the Indian Removal Act, and Rutherford B. Hayes, who pulled troops out of the South, effectively ending the post-Civil War Reconstruction era. And there have been dangerous, outright liars like Richard Nixon, Lyndon Johnson, and Warren G. Harding, whose Teapot Dome Scandal in his administration may have killed him.

But American history has never seen such a profoundly corrupt con artist who has taken over the federal government, installing ideological autocratic loyalists intent on expanding Trump’s power in the Supreme Court and Congress – the second and third branches of government intended to provide checks and balances to an overreaching Executive.

And now, in allegiance to White Supremacy and Christian Nationalism, Trump is trying to claim the right and power to decide who gets to claim citizenship, how he can pre-determine the outcome of elections through gaslighting and disinformation, and how he can make American residents afraid and silently complicit by not challenging his blatant racism, sexism, and transphobia.

New York Times columnist M. Gessen writes: “Read the Supreme Court’s recent ruling on transgender athletes — the majority’s decision, written by Justice Brett Kavanaugh, and the dissent, written by Justice Sonia Sotomayor — and you will see the members of the court arguing about something more fundamental than the law. They are arguing about who should be seen, whose story ought to be heard, and who deserves to be protected.”

AIDS Healthcare Foundation co-founder and President Michael Weinstein might add that deciding who lives and dies is fundamental, too. The nonprofit is the world’s largest provider of HIV medical care, cutting-edge medicine, and advocacy regardless of ability to pay , with 3 million in care and 50 countries served.

AHF has a history of acting quickly with coalitions when there is a need. For that, Weinstein was honored by the Los Angeles Urban League on June 24 with the John W. Mack Legacy Award during the annual Whitney M. Young Jr. Awards Celebration.

“The Los Angeles Urban League is proud to present the John W. Mack Legacy Award to Michael Weinstein — transformative leader, fearless advocate, and champion for health equity and human rights,” they wrote in their announcement on Facebook.

“As Founder & President of AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Michael Weinstein has led one of the largest global HIV/AIDS medical care providers in the world, expanding access to treatment, housing, prevention, and advocacy for underserved communities. His bold leadership has saved lives while challenging stigma and systemic inequities in healthcare,” they continued.

“For decades, he has stood at the intersection of public health and social justice — building systems of care that affirm dignity, expand access, and ensure that the most vulnerable are not left behind. His unwavering advocacy reflects the very principles that guide the Los Angeles Urban League’s mission: advancing equity, protecting opportunity, and strengthening communities,” they said. “In many ways, his work echoes the legacy of Whitney M. Young Jr. — courageous leadership rooted in policy, partnership, and a belief that justice must be both spoken and enacted.”

Interestingly, on June 24, the night the Urban League celebrated Weinstein as “a leader whose impact continues to shape a more just and compassionate future,” two consecutive 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes struck northern Venezuela, killing and injuring thousands.

Interim President Delcy Rodríguez later called the earthquakes the “most brutal natural catastrophe” in Venezuela’s history.

In a horrific twist of fate, the BBC reported that ICE had deported more than 140 Venezuelans back to their home country on June 24, where they were housed in a hotel near the coast. The massive quakes struck there hours later, killing at least 2,200 people, injuring more than 10,000, and, according to UN figures, leaving 50,000 missing.

On July 2, the Venezuelan government estimated that 2,295 people died in the earthquakes, with another 11,000 injured.

“However, that’s believed to be a vast undercount. Gianluca Rampolla del Tindaro, the United Nations’ humanitarian coordinator for Venezuela, said the organization was procuring 10,000 body bags. And U.N. emergency relief coordinator Tom Fletcher called an estimate of 50,000 missing people ‘terrifyingly plausible,’” PBS reported.

Remember when Trump said the U.S. will ‘run’ Venezuela after capturing Maduro in surprise military strike?

Meanwhile, AP reported that Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested 10,000 people over a five-day period at the end of June – that’s roughly 2,000 arrests per day – continuing Trump’s mass deportations agenda. No news about where they might be sent.

But while Trump is wildly spinning about his Fourth of July plans, AHF is in Venezuela, actively helping those in desperate need.

“The number of fatalities continues to rise, and many shelters have been set up in public spaces to help those in need. Hospitals and morgues are working tirelessly beyond their capacity, demonstrating the community’s resilience. Fortunately, international rescue teams have arrived, offering much-needed assistance to recover those still trapped in the debris. Venezuela’s government response has been uncoordinated, poor, and delayed, influenced by political interests,” Dr. Patricia Campos, Latin America Bureau Chief, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, wrote to Weinstein on Monday, June 29.

“Despite the communication challenges, our team from AHF Colombia has been communicating with 600 of the 1080 of our patients in care who live in Venezuela. We are continuing to search for the 480 others to be sure they are alive or to support them,” Campos concluded, noting that AHF´s Emergency Aid supplies arrived with 11/13 Foundation and distribution was underway.

In an hour-long Zoom interview, Weinstein talked about a number of issues, including his long association with Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, a self-described Socialist, and the New York races that just yielded three Democratic Socialist candidates (Part 1) and his long, successful fight against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ HIV/AIDS cuts (Part 2).

Check out the video interview here.

“Well, as a native New Yorker,” Weinstein says, “the election in New York is a clash between the corporate Democrats and, particularly, a younger generation, with the exception of Bernie. It’s an epic change, right? And I would say that younger people who powered this (New York Mayor) Mamdani, AOC (Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez), and the rest of the movement do not feel that they have a stake in the system the way it is, right? And so, they’re willing to look at more radical answers.

“And this really is similar to the 1930s, you know, whereby when [President Franklin D.] Roosevelt came to office, who was a blue blood, right? He basically said, ‘in order to save the system, we have to move in the direction of socialism.’ He may not have called it that, but that’s essentially what it was,” Weinstein says.

“I mean, the model for democratic socialism is essentially Scandinavian and Northern European countries, right? Which is, essentially, a capitalist system that has a strong safety net, or basically says, ‘we’re going to tax the rich heavily in order to maintain a minimum level of existence for everyone.’

“So that’s basically what Bernie is espousing, and what Mamdani and others are espousing. And I don’t take too seriously…the characterizations that Trump has of them being Communist, et cetera, et cetera.”

Weinstein, longtime Latina activist Dolores Huerta, and an expected crowd of thousands in an AHF-created coalition are participating in a We The People March for Freedom in Trump’s Florida backyard on Friday, July 3.

“At a time in our nation when healthcare is being rationed, and rents are outpacing wages, teachers are working second jobs, and rural hospitals are closing, we must continue to stand up for what’s right for all Americans. July 4, 2026, marks 250 years since the Declaration of Independence. The We the People March for Freedom is not just an event to celebrate this document or its declaration of independence, but the night before the fireworks, to remind America what and who it’s for,” stated Esteban Wood, AHF Director of Advocacy and Legislative Affairs and March for Freedom coordinator.

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

Long-time West Hollywood resident and activist John Duran surprised many by announcing he was running again for West Hollywood City Council in the upcoming general election.

“I’m only doing this because I think it is absolutely necessary for the city’s health to have one person with some experience on the council,” Duran told the Los Angeles Blade. “I really think the city is heading in the wrong direction and is on the wrong track.”

Duran has a long history of advocacy for the LGBTQ+ community and was one of the founders of Equality California. He is known around the city and in his political career as having defended LGBTQ+ rights during 40 years of his legal career, including being an attorney for ACT UP during the AIDS epidemic, and was the statewide co-chair of the Life AIDS lobby when laws on HIV and AIDS were being made in the 80s.

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Duran served on the West Hollywood City Council for two decades, starting from 2001, and passed on his mayoral seat in March 2019 after multiple sexual harassment allegations were made about Duran by past and current members of the Gay Men’s Chorus. Duran cited a health issue as his reason for stepping down as mayor. 

In February 2019, Duran left his board position within the Gay Men’s Chorus, claiming his departure was planned before these accusations came to light. 

An investigation into the allegations, published by the Los Angeles Times, included claims that Duran made inappropriate remarks and put his hand down two men’s waistbands. At the time, protestors and media scrutiny demanded his resignation from the council; after stepping down as mayor, Duran served the rest of his term as a city council member until Nov. 2020.

Prior to these accusations, in 2016, an aide received a $500,000 settlement from a sexual harassment suit against the City of West Hollywood and Duran. Neither Duran nor the city admitted wrongdoing in the settlement or suit.

In the six years since his last term, Duran said he’s enjoyed his privacy but is ready to get back to work for one last term.

He’s only eligible for another four years, so he feels he can use his expertise to get the council on better footing for long-term success.

“A lot of the votes right now are three to two, with the two people with lots of experience in the minority, and I think that produces some threats to the city in terms of growth, economic growth, housing development, and transportation,” Duran said. “All of the nuts and bolts of the city are under threat.”

Some issues he says he’s been frustrated seeing the council voting on are affordability and increasing safety along Fountain Ave.

“I think affordability is a big issue, and one of the issues that I disagree with the current council majority on is the issue about affordable housing and what to do about it,” Duran said. 

The strongest tool for affordable housing? Duran says it’s rent control.

“We cannot build our way out of this (lack of affordability) issue,” Duran said. “What’s happening now is the incentive to try to build more is resulting in the destruction of rent-controlled units, and so the net effect is we’re going backwards by tearing down rent-controlled apartment buildings.”

Long-term, he hopes to see the council continue to strengthen rent control and follow up on earthquake retrofitting that Duran says was “largely abandoned” since he left the council.

Issues Duran hopes to tackle if he’s voted in for his last four-year term include “boring” everyday policies and issues to improve within municipal government.

“There are too many unfunded capital projects in the city’s budget, like well over 50,” Duran said. 

Focusing on boring things like this can help fund future projects for the city long-term, he said.

“We need to look at our capital improvement projects and figure out which ones have to be cut, so we can put those unfunded projects back into our prudent reserves and really focus on how we’re going to use our prudent reserves.”

With so many capital improvement projects sitting in the pipeline, Duran said many of them are not being built due to economic shifts post-pandemic.

Another aspect he’d like to focus on improving if he gets voted back onto the city council is leadership development, especially for older council members, in cultivating younger LGBTQ+ leaders.

“I think a lot of the younger people that I see that are now running are inspired by being anti-Trump. I totally get that; I am too,” Duran said. “But really, what we have to start thinking about in terms of West Hollywood governance is the way that technology, artificial intelligence, and robotics are reshaping the world around us.”

“To me, those are the kind of conversations that need to happen for the future planning of West Hollywood,” he added. “I know I’m only going to be part of the launching of these conversations.”

Overall, Duran hopes that the spirit of West Hollywood, its defiant origins, and important LGBTQ+ history remain and shape the future of West Hollywood. 

“I’ve been coming here to West Hollywood since the 70s, when they said we were mentally ill and I got to watch the whole history of the LGBT community from my front doorstep,” Duran said. “I think it’s worth having at least one person on the council who’s got a sense of where we came from and helping direct where we need to go.”

That Duran has “no interest” in running for higher office in Sacramento or D.C. is a plus for voters, he said.

“I don’t want to see West Hollywood become like the rest of Los Angeles,” Duran said. “That would be so heartbreaking to think that we’re going to become just like Brentwood, Westwood, Hollywood. We’re not; we’re something unique, completely different.”

Massachusetts Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio urging the Trump-Vance administration to take urgent action to defend LGBTQ+ people across the globe; including in countries that are violating international human rights protections for LGBTQ+ individuals, putting at risk the safety of civilians and U.S. citizens working, living, and traveling abroad.

The letter, which the Los Angeles Blade got an exclusive preview of prior to it’s sending, criticizes the Trump-Vance administration’s foreign policy direction at the State Department, arguing that it has moved to roll back LGBTQ+ protections that have long been part of the U.S.’s global human rights posture.

“Criminalizing LGBTQI+ individuals undermines democracy globally, as well as U.S. national security. Thus, we urge the State Department to take adequate measures to speak out against this criminalization and protect U.S. citizens abroad, including your staff, who may be detained or harmed under such laws, policies, and practices,” Pressley, a Democrat who represents roughly three-fourths of Boston and much of the city’s suburbs, said. “U.S. civilians, diplomatic personnel, military members, and nonprofit workers on the ground providing health care and disaster support will be affected and have their safety threatened if the U.S. does not take action. Even U.S. citizens perceived as being part of the LGBTQI+ community and traveling or living in those countries may be used as bargaining chips. This is a serious U.S. national security concern.”

In the letter, Pressley underscores what she describes as a global escalation in criminalization and violence against LGBTQ+ people, noting that one-third of countries still criminalize consensual same-sex sexual relationships and that 12 countries impose the death penalty. She argues that these conditions make LGBTQ+ travelers, diplomats, and aid workers particularly vulnerable, and calls on the State Department to reassert U.S. leadership in defending human rights abroad.

“Every person deserves to live authentically, yet several countries are violating international human rights laws that protect LGBTQI+ individuals,” she said. “One-third of countries around the world criminalize same-sex consensual acts between adults, and 12 countries allow LGBTQI+ people to be executed for being themselves.”

She also invokes the U.S. has played in promoting democratic values internationally, arguing that LGBTQ+ rights should remain central to that mission.

“Historically, the United States has played a critical diplomatic role in promoting democracy and freedom for all individuals, including LGBTQI+ persons. The U.S. should be a world leader promoting human rights domestically and globally.”

In a separate statement included in the letter, Pressley emphasized both the moral and national security implications of the issue, warning that rising anti-LGBTQ+ laws abroad are endangering lives and require a coordinated U.S. response.

“Every person deserves to show up as their true, authentic selves here in the United States and in countries across the globe — and that includes our LGBTQI+ community members,” she said.

“However, we are witnessing a deeply concerning rise in human rights violations and criminalization of LGBTQI+ individuals in other countries, endangering the lives of civilians and U.S. citizens. It is incumbent upon the United States to protect our LGBTQI+ siblings at home and abroad not only for our national security but for the safety and freedom of LGBTQI+ people everywhere.”

The letter goes on to press the State Department for concrete action, including a public reaffirmation of U.S. commitments to LGBTQ+ human rights, the restoration of LGBTQ+ analysis in annual country reports, and clearer guidance for Americans traveling abroad. It also seeks clarity on whether the department is tracking cases of U.S. citizens detained or harmed under anti-LGBTQ+ laws and what proactive steps are being taken to warn and protect LGBTQ+ travelers.

While she is not a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Pressley remains highly active in international affairs and global policy.

While the letter focuses on current policy, it also lands in the broader context of Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s long record on LGBTQ+ issues. Rubio, a former senator from Florida, has consistently opposed same-sex marriage, calling the federal Respect for Marriage Act, which he voted against, a “stupid waste of time.” He has also expressed support for efforts to overturn Obergefell v. Hodges, the U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.

During his time in the U.S. Senate and as a Florida political leader, Rubio has a long anti-LGBTQ+ track record. He defended state policies that LGBTQ+ advocates say target queer and transgender people, including Florida’s Parental Rights in Education law — commonly known by critics as “Don’t Say Gay” or “Don’t Say Trans” — which restricts classroom discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity.

He has also drawn criticism for his voting record, including a 0/100 score from the Human Rights Campaign’s Congressional Scorecard, reflecting opposition to expanding federal civil rights protections for LGBTQ+ people and for opposing adoption rights for same-sex couples.

Now serving as secretary of state, Rubio has overseen changes at the State Department that LGBTQ+ advocates say have reduced visibility and protections for transgender people, including the removal of trans-specific references from parts of the department’s public-facing materials and travel guidance. He has also been linked to broader restructuring efforts involving U.S. foreign assistance programs, including the U.S. Agency for International Development, which has historically supported global HIV prevention and LGBTQ+ rights initiatives in regions such as sub-Saharan Africa, Central Asia, and Latin America.

Those cuts and shifts, critics argue, have weakened programs like PEPFAR — credited with saving millions of lives worldwide — and reduced U.S. support for LGBTQ+ communities facing persecution abroad. The program is credited with saving at least 25 million lives.

Pressley’s own record stands in contrast, with a 100/100 on HRC’s Congressional Scorecard and a long history of legislative and advocacy work centered on LGBTQ+ equality. In recent years, she has secured federal funding for The Pryde, an affordable housing development for LGBTQ+ seniors in Boston, and has repeatedly pushed for expanded civil rights protections, including support for the Equality Act and the Equal Rights Amendment.

She has also advanced policy efforts aimed at LGBTQ+ survivors of violence, trans, and nonbinary individuals navigating credit and legal systems, and broader protections under housing and civil rights law — framing her work as part of a sustained effort to ensure LGBTQ+ people are included in federal policy at every level.

A video posted on X by user Dimitry Yakoushkin of the incident went viral, showing Wiener being chased out of Dolores Park, while the group screamed at him. Multiple people in the protest group were wearing black ski masks that concealed their identities. 

Wiener is contending to take over Nancy Pelosi’s seat in Congress in the upcoming November general election.

The video started off with Yakoushkin, a local activist, highlighting how great Wiener’s LGBT+ policies and lawmaking work are. As Yakoushkin started to criticize Wiener about his housing policies, others started to gather around the politician. 

Yakoushkin and the group quickly transitioned to yelling at him about his stance on the genocide in Gaza. 

“You’ve been wonderful for trans people, and… you’ve been terrible on Gaza,” Yakoushkin is heard saying in the video. “You do not belong here (at Trans Pride) anymore, Scott.”

“I want to support someone who’s so positive on trans rights, but you’re a piece of sh*t on Gaza,” he says later in the video. “How could you do that?”

Other protestors shouted obscenities that were hard to distinguish from, but some that jumped out included cries of “f*ck you” and “You’re a piece of sh*t.”

When it was clear this would not be a one-and-done criticism, Wiener is seen on video pivoting to exit Dolores Park, with the group following behind until Wiener was out of the park.

The video garnered over 12 million views as of Monday, June 29. 

Scott Wiener showed up to the trans march and for the first time we kicked his ass out. It's sad because while he's written some good legislation for queers, hes ultimately a genocidal-supporting center right shill. Trigger warning: broken man walking away defeated. Vote Connie! pic.twitter.com/TXIB7omxde

— Dimitry Yakoushkin (@decadimitry) June 27, 2026

In early January of this year, Wiener declined to call Israel’s actions in Gaza a genocide during a congressional debate forum, as many other politicians have. 

A week later, on Jan. 11, Wiener reversed that decision.

“For years, I’ve condemned (Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin) Netanyahu and his extremist government and the devastation they’ve inflicted on Gaza,” Wiener posted on X. “It’s why I’ve been clear I won’t support U.S. funding for the destruction of Palestinian communities. I’ve stopped short of calling it genocide, but I can’t anymore.”

This was after two years of Israeli bombing that led to thousands of Palestinian deaths in the Gaza Strip, following the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas.

After Friday’s incident, Wiener posted a statement, calling it “physical intimidation and harassment” by “people who had previously targeted” him with “aggressive behavior in the past.”

“Last night I attended the Trans March, as I’ve done each year for the past 22 years since the first march in 2004,” the statement said. “I attend each year in solidarity with our trans siblings, who are facing existential threats from right-wing extremists, including the President.”

“I have no objection whatsoever to anyone disagreeing with me, opposing me, or protesting me.

All of that is core to democracy,” the statement continued. “I also have no issue when people talk to me on the street and ask questions or express opposition. That’s democracy, even when the people engaging in this conduct misrepresent my views. But when opposition and disagreement transition to harassment, including cornering me, touching me, or trying to physically bully me out of a public event, that crosses a line.”

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A post shared by Senator Scott Wiener (@scott_wiener)

Wiener’s congressional opponent, Supervisor Connie Chan, appeared to march without any incident.

Many critics of Wiener took to social media to point out that Wiener posted this statement and used it as a fundraising opportunity, while not posting about the heavy police presence and arrests during San Francisco’s Pride weekend. 

Independent journalist Jersey Noah made an Instagram post to Wiener saying, “What do you have to say about (San Francisco Police Department) assaulting and arresting trans people on the public streets of San Francisco for two consecutive nights? Because you haven’t said a… word.”

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This is not the first time a politician has been ousted from San Francisco’s Trans Pride festivities, according to San Francisco-based outlet Mission Local.

Past politicians forced to leave over the last decade include Mayor Daniel Lurie, then-Mayor Ed Lee, City Attorney David Chiu, and then-State Senator Mark Leno, according to Mission Local.

Yakoushkin said the protest was spontaneous, saying, “It was not planned, I was walking home, and I saw him from a distance and I got my camera out to start filming,” according to Mission Local.

The California Senate Democratic Caucus and California LGBTQ+ Caucus made a joint statement of support for Wiener, denouncing the verbal harassment toward Wiener as “unacceptable.”

“Senator Wiener has spent the last 16 years in service to San Francisco,” their statement said. “In that time, he has been a fearless champion for the LGBTQ+ community even when it was not politically popular, leading on landmark legislation advancing the rights and protections for Transgender, Gender Expansive, and Intersex people. He is a steadfast advocate for his communities.

“In California, we believe everyone deserves dignity and respect, regardless of political differences,” the statement continued.

Pride Month may be over, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t still plenty of opportunities to Rise Up with Equality California throughout the remainder of 2026. While a few Pride celebrations are still ahead — we’re looking at you, San Diego and Palm Springs — our work is far from finished. With the 2026 midterm elections on the horizon, there’s a lot to do to protect our progress and advance equality.

For all things Pride 2026, visit our EQCA x Pride page.

To read more stories, join our mailing list, and sign up for the weekly Equality Brief, visit eqca.org/equalitybrief.

• ELECTION UPDATE: Pro-Equality Candidates Win Big in the California Primary
  Equality California’s endorsed pro-equality slate of candidates largely succeeded in their primary races and will proceed to the November midterm elections. Among the most important victories were out LGBTQ+ candidates Scott Wiener (CA-11) and Marni von Wilpert (CA-48), the former looking to succeed Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, the latter to flip a long-held seat from red to blue with the retirement of Rep. Darrell Issa. Sec. Xavier Becerra, EQCA’s endorsed candidate for governor, also emerged as the top vote-getter in that contest and will proceed to November where he will face anti-LGBTQ+ MAGA Republican Steve Hilton. At the state level, out LGBTQ+ candidates Annalisa Perea (AD-31), Clarissa Cervantes (AD-58), and John Erickson (SD-24) will also move forward to the midterms, where their wins would grow the numbers of the California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus. Visit EQCA.org/elections for more information on all our candidates!
  
• Equality California Priorities Included in Initial 2026-27 Legislative Budget Agreement:
  California Speaker of the Assembly Robert Rivas and Senate President pro Tempore Monique Límon announced they had reached an agreement on the state’s 2026-27 budget. Equality California and a coalition of LGBTQ+, healthcare, and civil rights groups had submitted a $26 million budget request to create an in-state network for transition-related care and strengthen existing provider networks in the event that the federal government moves to not offer Medicare or Medicaid coverage for said care. The budget was subsequently approved by the full legislature and now heads to Governor Gavin Newsom for his signature. Equality California, our coalition partners, and legislative allies are optimistic that the governor will recognize the importance of a pro-equality budget and sign it into law, particularly as the federal government continues to target California and undermine protections for LGBTQ+ people.
  
• Equality California’s Lauren Cazares Honored at Pride Month Legislative Celebration:
  Cazares, who serves as EQCA’s Associate Director of Political Affairs and is the current Vice Mayor of the City of La Mesa, was recognized alongside a dozen other individuals as part of the California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus’ Pride Month Celebration. The Caucus recognizes a select group of community members, local leaders, and public figures each June for their efforts in helping to advance representation, as well as for being an inspiration to the LGBTQ+ community and its allies. Previous honorees include Equality California Executive Director Tony Hoang and recent San Diego Equality Awards emcee, entertainer Paris Antoinette Quion.
  
• Anti-Trans Sports Ballot Initiative Withdrawn in Nevada:
  Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo announced he was withdrawing a proposed ballot initiative that would ban transgender girls from playing sports. Following the Nevada Supreme Court clearing the way for the ballot initiative to proceed, Lombardo and his far-right allies cited a lack of support and necessary signatures to qualify for the November 2026 ballot. However, Lombardo has said that should he be reelected, he would seek to address the issue during the state’s 2027 Legislative Session.
  
• Kansas Judge Blocks Law Criminalizing Transgender Youth Healthcare:
  Douglas County District Judge Carl Folsom issued an injunction temporarily blocking a law criminalizing the provision of transition-related care for youth from going into effect. While this does not strike down the law outright, it does prevent enforcement while legal challenges remain pending. The Kansas legislature overrode Governor Laura Kelly’s veto of the legislation in 2025, which blocks access to puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and transition-related surgeries for minors, and has been decried as one of the most expansive bans on transgender health care in the country.
  
• Appeals Court: HIV+ People Who Meet Qualifications Can Serve in the Armed Forces:
  The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit issued an order lifting a stay banning the enlistment of HIV+ people in the military, pending further legal action. The Court’s order clarified that the stay was lifted upon its agreement to rehear the case of Wilkins v Hegseth in an en banc hearing, before the full panel of Justices. The court vacated a February panel decision upholding the military’s HIV enlistment restrictions; arguments in the case are tentatively scheduled for September.
  
• D.C. Federal Appeals Court Rules Transgender Military Ban Illegal
  The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia issued a 2-1 ruling on finding that the Pentagon — under Secretary Pete Hegseth’s leadership and in response to a Trump executive order — illegally barred transgender troops from military service. While the ban has been in effect following a Supreme Court ruling allowing it to proceed pending litigation, the panel’s new ruling keeps the military from kicking out current servicemembers named in the lawsuit; new recruits, however, will still not be allowed to join.
  
• Trump Department of Veterans Affairs Moves to Eliminate Programs for LGBTQ+ Vets:
  A June 12 directive signed by Veterans Health Administration Under Secretary for Health John J. Bartrum orders health facilities nationwide to eliminate “gender identity-based initiatives” and strip LGBTQ+ designations from health provider networks. This comes as part of a greater move by the Trump administration to remove references to gender identity and sexual orientation in federal programs. Already, staff at VA providers have expressed concerns that programming and services uniquely designed for LGBTQ+ veterans — who face higher rates of depression, suicidal ideation, food insecurity, and housing instability — could be terminated.
  
• Federal Court Blocks Anti-Trans Idaho Bathroom Law:
  U.S. District Judge Amanda K. Brailsford issued a 30-page decision Tuesday granting a preliminary injunction against Idaho’s HB 752, the most extreme anti-transgender bathroom ban in the country. Judge Brailsford’s ruling concluded that the questions and mechanisms around the law’s enforcement are so unclear that they likely violate the Constitution’s due process guarantee. In addition to blocking enforcement of the law, Judge Brailsford extended the class of people that the injunction applies to beyond the plaintiffs, which will temporarily protect all transgender people statewide while litigation proceeds.
  
• Ariana Grande Launches Foundation, Including Focuses on LGBTQ+, Trans Rights:
  On the heels of kicking off her Eternal Sunshine Tour in Oakland, pop icon and actress Ariana Grande has announced the launch of the Brighter Days Ahead Foundation, composed of four different funds that will support, among other causes, LGBTQ+ and transgender civil rights, reproductive justice, and mental health advocacy. “Our mission is to support, protect, and provide resources for our vulnerable friends in need,” Grande stated. “We will be supporting handfuls of incredible organizations that provide the safe space and care that is desperately needed by so many right now.”

STATE LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

11 of 12 Equality California-sponsored and supported bills are still alive this legislative session, and continue to make their way through policy committees. We are thankful to the Legislative LGBTQ Caucus and our other partners in Sacramento for helping move our bills along and secure critical votes.

To view our entire 2026 state legislative package, visit eqca.org/legislation

UPCOMING EVENTS

Want to join Equality California at an upcoming Pride festival, or march alongside us in a parade? Visit our Mobilize page to see all the remaining Pride events we’re a part of!

We’ve also got one Pride Party left this summer! Rise Up and join us at an event near you. Tickets are on sale now!

|San Diego: Tuesday, July 14 @ InsideOUT, 6:00-9:00 PM

Amidst the nonstop stream of vitriol that American politics has become, it’s easy for LA residents to forget about the importance of local elections. 

These are the elections that won’t receive national attention but will decide if you’ll be able to make rent in the next few months. Or if you’ll be able to rely on public transit, or find work within the city, or dozens of other essential ways that electing someone who truly understands your needs would impact someone in Los Angeles today. Local elections are key to making cities like ours livable for all, and especially in communities like West Hollywood, it’s important that the queer people who truly know their neighbors are the ones running to represent them. 

 It’s a task that not everyone is up to. But for candidate Helen Krieger, the decision to launch her campaign for West Hollywood City Council was one of the easiest this WeHo local has ever made. 

“I learned that once things fall apart, it’s so much harder to put them back together,” said Krieger, when she spoke with the Blade about her campaign. “It can be so hard to get people’s buy-in because they don’t trust you anymore as city officials…or as leaders.” It’s an unfortunate truth that Helen learned firsthand; she moved to West Hollywood ten years ago after living in New Orleans, where she banded together with other residents in the midst of the Hurricane Katrina crisis. Helen described the terror of this natural disaster and how deeply the city officials failed residents in its aftermath. After months of mishandled projects that left hundreds of people homeless, it was her work with local advocates that eventually created affordable housing for these displaced residents. 

This work saved countless locals and taught Helen a valuable lesson: “I learned [how] to bring everyone in, and [the value of] listening to everyone.”

Krieger’s eventual move to West Hollywood was inspired not only by her career — she’s a professional television writer — but also by the search for a community where she could be comfortable in her bisexual identity. Throughout the interview, she fondly remembered how accepted she’s always felt by other WeHo residents…but also how quickly she learned about the many ways this area fails to support locals. 

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Whether it’s rundown streets or horrific rent practices, while she has a deep love for West Hollywood, Helen has identified many of the ways that this city can be improved. It’s what drove her to join numerous local organizations like the West Hollywood Bike Coalition and the West Hollywood Dems Club, with her membership with these groups helping her better understand the needs of other WeHo residents. Along with these, Helen would eventually enter the tenuous arena that she would eventually campaign to have her own seat within: the West Hollywood City Council. 

“Whenever I’m at city council [meeting], I’m often not going up to speak,” Krieger explained. “But I keep track of every speaker and what they’re saying, what are the comments that are being made — because not everyone can make it there! It’s a weeknight, it starts at 6 pm…if you have a job to go to in the morning, if you have young kids that you have to put to bed, you just can’t make it to that. So I also try to make space for people to give comments who aren’t there, and try to have conversations with them.”

Helen has made it common practice to not only provide rundowns of city council meetings for those who aren’t in attendance but also deliver comments on their behalf, calling out how just because these meetings have an inopportune schedule doesn’t mean local residents deserve to go unheard. This led to her connecting with even more West Hollywood residents and learning about the many issues they wanted addressed by their local government. This, when compounded with her own ideas for improvement, made it clear to Helen that she needed to join the City Council herself and make sure these problems were being solved. 

“I am really pro-housing,” began Krieger, when detailing her campaign’s priorities. “I am really pro-complete streets — streets that should be built for all kinds of people, whether you’re walking, using a wheelchair, or driving a car, [the streets] need to be able to get you there. I think we need to build more houses and build more [affordable] housing units…[I’m pro] not doing stuff that we don’t need to, like making people and bike lanes unsafe. And let’s do stuff that will [actually help].”

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These are just a few of the priorities that Helen spoke passionately about in her interview, with the City Council hopeful also describing her plans to bring Hollywood jobs back into the city, implement eco-friendly practices around the city, and develop new ways for the City Council to remain transparent with locals about how their taxes are being used. She stressed that these priorities are based not just on her own observations but are informed by what she’s learned from the other residents around her. She spoke passionately about talks with other community leaders, homeless individuals, and hundreds of others, with each conversation shaping the plans she hopes to implement if elected.

“There are some ways that people can slip through the cracks in the city, and so I want to just do what I can to [stop that,]” said Helen, when discussing why it’s time for her to join the West Hollywood City Council. “I want to make sure these gaps are being filled and that we weren’t getting too complacent in how we do things…I want to hear [people’s] concerns, and learn how we can address them moving forward.” 

We’re still a few months away from the election, so it’s unclear if Helen Krieger will be able to win her seat and make these plans a reality. But no matter what happens with her campaign, one thing is for sure: if we had more politicians who were as focused on community building and truly listening to their residents as she is, then LA today would be a much better place for us all.

For more information, head to Helen4Weho.org.

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