Free Republic

This article contains graphic descriptions that may not be suitable for all readers. Parental discretion is advised.RALEIGH, N.C. – Like public libraries across the country, branches in North Carolina’s capital city turn rainbow-hued each June in celebration of Pride Month. Festive book displays featuring “queer-themed” titles written for all ages – from toddlers to teens and adults – are set out for the public as innocently as if the subject in question were cooking, gardening, or personal finance. The colorful Pride books set out by Wake County civil servants are not just a benign celebration of gay dignity, hugging couples,...

The Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision in U.S. v. Skrmetti, upholding Tennessee’s ban on medical gender interventions for children, reflects a split in the Justices’ views of medicine: Is it about restoring patients’ health or satisfying their wants? The court held last week that the Tennessee law permissibly distinguished between different medical uses of puberty blockers and hormones for children. Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts explained that medical treatments are defined not only by the drug used but by the purpose for which it is prescribed. Administering testosterone to a boy with delayed puberty is categorically different from...

The American Medical Association's new president Dr. Bobby Mukkamala said the ruling was "harmful government interference." The American Medical Association (AMA), the largest medical association in the United States, is coming out against the Supreme Courts ruling in United States v. Skrmetti, arguing that irreversible and damaging transgender procedures for minors are necessary treatments. “The American Medical Association is disappointed in today’s decision that opens the door to further intrusion into patient care and harmful government interference into the practice of medicine,” AMA President Dr. Bobby Mukkamala said in a statement after the ruling came down. The court ruled on...

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) advised prosecutors from former President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice (DOJ) on “disturbing trends … within the anti-LGBTQ movement” at a 2023 “hate crimes symposium,” the Daily Signal reported Monday.Drawing on documents obtained by America First Legal (AFL) via a Freedom of Information Act request, senior editor Tyler O’Neil informed readers of just one instance among many in which the Biden DOJ collaborated with the SPLC.The SPLC, which actually performed some valuable services early in its existence before becoming consumed with fighting “hate,” famously publishes a “hate map.” While genuine haters such as the...

The inside story of the case that could set the movement back a generation.One day last December, a clutch of dark-suited lawyers descended the steps of the Supreme Court to a hero’s welcome. The lawyers, from the American Civil Liberties Union, had that morning joined counterparts from the Biden administration in asking the court to block a Tennessee law that bars doctors from providing puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and surgery to young people who feel that their bodies are the wrong sex. In the plaza outside the court, L.G.B.T.Q. advocacy groups had turned out hundreds of supporters, who hugged, cheered...

A report on the largest survey ever of trans Americans’ health was released on Wednesday, June 11, and its findings reaffirmed what many academics, health care providers and trans people already know: gender-affirming care saves and improves lives, but transphobia often dissuades people from pursuing or continuing it when they need it most. Over 84,000 trans, nonbinary and gender nonconforming people aged 18 and up responded to the 2022 U.S. Transgender Survey, spearheaded by Advocates for Trans Equality (A4TE). Of respondents who had transitioned, 9% had gone back to living as their sex assigned at birth at some point in...

The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld Tennessee's ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors, a jolting setback to transgender rights.

San Francisco police have arrested a man accused of defacing the famed Pink Triangle, a symbol of LGBTQ+ rights that is installed annually during Pride Month on top of the city’s landmark Twin Peaks.

In a total capitulation to the Trump Administration, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles announced last week that it is shutting down its notorious clinic that foisted sex change procedures on minors. The announcement marks an abrupt shift for the Children’s Hospital, which had earlier seemed inclined to fight the Trump Administration in court over its threat to cut off funding to any hospital that provides so-called gender affirming care for youths.

Man, how can you not love this from The Dodger's star Clayton Kershaw? Last night was "pride night" for the Dodgers and they and the Giants wore "pride" themed rainbow logos on their ballcaps for the game. But Clayton Kershaw decided that he wasn't just going to go along with it.

Fenway Park's annual Pride Night has been heavily criticized online in the days since a group of drag queens were welcomed on the field in Boston before the Red Sox hosted the Tampa Bay Rays. 'Gross' and 'disgusting' were just two of the judgements posted on X, where many others joined in the attack. 'Be more like the @Rangers,' another added, referring to the only Major League Baseball team without a Pride Month celebration. Several commenters questioned the logic behind MLB events aimed at including LBGTQ+ fans, arguing they're not really baseball's target audience. However, a 2021 survey by the...

The New York Mets left baseball fans furious on Friday night after showing a Pride flag on their big screen during a rendition of the US national anthem. Prior to their game against the Tampa Bay Rays, the Mets controversially displayed the LGBTQ+ symbol instead of the American flag as the Star Spangled Banner played out at Citi Field. Despite a number of teams getting involved in the annual 'Pride Month' tradition in recent weeks, fans are threatening to boycott MLB over the divisive stunt that took place in New York. One user posted on X along with a video...

Jeff Younger did everything a father could do to save his son. He fought like hell in court. He pleaded with judges. He went public. And still, his ex-wife, a radical leftist pediatrician with no biological tie to the child, was given full authority to chemically castrate their son, James, and transition him into “Luna.” James was just 8 years old. In court, Anne Georgulas admitted she conceived James and his twin brother, Jude, using in-vitro fertilization with a donor egg. She carried the pregnancy, but genetically, she isn’t the boys’ mother. That didn’t matter to the court. Ideology did....

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered the Navy to take the rare step of renaming a ship, one that bears the name of a gay rights icon, documents and sources show. Military.com reviewed a memorandum from the Office of the Secretary of the Navy -- the official who holds the power to name Navy ships -- that showed the sea service had come up with rollout plans for the renaming of the oiler ship USNS Harvey Milk. A defense official confirmed that the Navy was making preparations to strip the ship of its name but noted that Navy Secretary John...

Several drag queens protested and booed President Donald Trump as he attended a performance of Les Misérables at the Kennedy Center on Wednesday. The president’s visit marked his first since the inauguration. Video captured the moment several drag queens stood up in the audience as he appeared: The president has always hailed Les Misérables as his favorite musical. As Consequence recently reported, half the play’s cast decided to boycott the performance due to the president’s visit. Several cast members of Les Misérables will not be performing “One Day More” at their Kennedy Center concert next month — instead, they’ll be...

Several drag queens protested and booed President Donald Trump as he attended a performance of Les Misérables at the Kennedy Center on Wednesday. The president’s visit marked his first since the inauguration. Video captured the moment several drag queens stood up in the audience as he appeared: The president has always hailed Les Misérables as his favorite musical. As Consequence recently reported, half the play’s cast decided to boycott the performance due to the president’s visit. Several cast members of Les Misérables will not be performing “One Day More” at their Kennedy Center concert next month — instead, they’ll be...

WASHINGTON (AP) — As transgender service members face a deadline to leave the U.S. military, hundreds are taking the financial bonus to depart voluntarily. But others say they will stay and fight.For many, it is a wrenching decision to end a career they love, and leave units they have led or worked with for years. And they are angry they are being forced out by the Trump administration’s renewed ban on transgender troops.Active duty service members had until Friday to identify themselves and begin to leave the military voluntarily, while the National Guard and Reserve have until July 7. Then...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A federal judge in California has blocked the Trump administration from enforcing anti-diversity and anti-transgender executive orders in grant funding requirements that LGBTQ+ organizations say are unconstitutional. U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar said Monday that the federal government cannot force recipients to halt programs that promote diversity, equity and inclusion or acknowledge the existence of transgender people in order to receive grant funding. The order will remain in effect while the legal case continues, although government lawyers will likely appeal. The funding provisions “reflect an effort to censor constitutionally protected speech and services promoting DEI and...

Statistics show that men who have sex with men— whether they identify as gay, bisexual, or other— have a higher risk of contracting an STD than any demographic, but many factors other than the specifics of how sex goes down in the bedroom contribute to this increased risk. Economic and societal factors such as income, the effects of emotional support on risk-taking, and the power and privilege structures of society have all been found to play a role in the likelihood of succumbing to an STD, especially HIV. Approximately 4.1 percent of Americans identify as gay, bisexual, or other, according...

When it comes to merging artistry with activism, nobody does it with quite as much aplomb as Pattie Gonia. The critically acclaimed drag queen, musician, and environmentalist first stepped into her signature high heels in 2018 and never looked back. To date, Pattie’s community is more than a million strong across her social media platforms, where followers can watch her hike, climb, sail and surf, all while in drag.