LGBTQ Issues & Rights News

December 4, 2025 2:44 PM ET Jaclyn Diaz The Department of Justice has instructed inspectors to stop evaluating prisons and jails using standards designed to protect transgender, intersex and gender-nonconforming people from sexual violence, according to an internal memo obtained by NPR. This population is uniquely vulnerable to attacks while incarcerated, data shows, and advocates say the…

Global HIV assistance is projected to drop by 30 to 40 percent in 2025 compared with 2023, a new UNAID report found. Ryan Adamczeski November 26 2025 11:01 AM EST HIV prevention efforts around the world have suffered their “most significant setback in decades” due to funding cuts, a new report from UNAID has found. Global…

The new language adopted by the Alabama Public Library Service board does not define gender ideology. By: Ralph Chapoco November 21, 2025 6:01 am The Alabama Public Library Service Thursday voted to restrict books for minors that address “transgender procedures, gender ideology, or the concept of more than two biological genders.” The changes — which…

By Konstantin Toropin Published November 13, 2025 at 7:40am ET WASHINGTON (AP) — A group of 17 transgender members of the Air Force are suing the U.S. government over what they say is the military’s unlawful revocation of their early retirement pensions and benefits. The lawsuit, filed in federal court Monday, comes several months after the Air…

Researchers and business leaders warn that discriminatory laws are pushing LGBTQ+ Missourians and employers to leave, hurting the state’s economy By: Annelise Hanshaw November 7, 2025 9:00 am When Rob Connoley shut down his award-winning St. Louis restaurant last year, business was thriving. Tourists and locals alike lauded Bulrush as a destination for Ozark cuisine,…

Democrat Erica Deuso defeated Republican Richard Bryant in the borough of Downingtown’s mayoral election. By Kenny Cooper Updated Nov. 6, 2025 5:46 pm A small town just a few dozen miles west of Philadelphia made history Wednesday morning by electing Pennsylvania’s first openly transgender mayor. Unofficial results show that Democrat Erica Deuso defeated Republican Richard…

November 6, 2025 3:57 PM ET By Nina Totenberg, Alyssa Kapasi The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday allowed President Trump to proceed with his plan to require that passport applicants list their sex as what was designated on their birth certificate. The court’s decision overturns a lower court order pausing Trump’s policy and allowing applicants…

With wins in Virginia, New Jersey and New York, ‘pro-equality’ advocates look ahead to 2026 Congressional midterm elections. By: Charlotte Rene Woods November 5, 2025 3:37 pm For much of 2025, Democrats in Virginia campaigned on addressing affordability issues and federal funding cuts handed down by President Donald Trump and the Republican-controlled Congress. Virginia’s GOP…

Critics of the rule say the department is trying to exclude organizations that work with LGBTQ individuals, immigrants and transgender children from the program. By Rebecca Carballo 11/03/2025 03:21 PM EST Two lawsuits were filed Monday against the Trump administration after the Education Department published a student debt forgiveness rule that critics say violates free speech…

By Konstantin Toropin Nov 1, 2025 2:42 PM EST WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon has rolled out a new policy that will severely undercut the ability for transgender troops who have been banned from the armed forces by the Trump administration to turn to boards of their peers to argue for their right to stay in the…