Free Republic

In the weeks surrounding Trump’s inauguration, the left-wing media insisted the administration’s effort to remove trans troops from the military would weaken the force — some outlets fearmongered that up to 15,000 service members would be booted. But numbers recently obtained by journalist Chris Bray from the Department of Defense indicate that only four “transgender servicemembers” have been “removed from the military so far under the new Trump administration policy.” In May, the Department of Defense released a memo laying out how “Service members who have a current diagnosis or history of, or exhibit symptoms consistent with, gender dysphoria may...

The Republican’s transphobic policies are sparking panic among LGBTQ+ people, triggering a 10-fold increase in asylum applications so far this year. “In the first 24 hours after Trump’s re-election, we received 1,177 requests for assistance from the United States. Fifty-one percent of these requests were from trans people: 35% from trans women, 16% from trans men,” says Timothy Chan, spokesperson for Rainbow Railroad, an NGO with offices in Canada and the U.S. that helps LGBTQ+ people experiencing persecution and violence start a life in another country. Panicked by a government that threatens their civil rights, many LGBTQ+ Americans, especially trans...

Multiple leftist media outlets attacked Swedish pastor Håkan Persson, the parish priest of Markaryd, after a recent social media post in which he criticized the new rainbow-colored, LGBT-friendly vestments designed to be the symbol of the progressivism of the Church of Sweden. In his Facebook post, Persson stated that the rainbow-colored chasuble and stole, designed at the initiative of the Västerås diocese, “will not enter Markaryd’s church as long as I am vicar.” While the media paints him as acting from “a hidden minority-intolerant agenda” and accuses him of discriminating against the LGBT community in his parish, the priest insists...

Billionaire mogul David Geffen has rubbished his estranged boytoy husband's explosive claims that he's a sex and drug-crazed abuser. Geffen, 82, branded 32 year-old Donovan Michaels' divorce filing allegations 'false and pathetic'. Donovan Michaels, 32, alleges that his billionaire beau Geffen, 82, forced him to take drugs, subjected him to abusive sex and controlled his every move, according to the latest lawsuit in their messy divorce battle. ... The pair met in 2016 on SeekingArrangements.com, a dating website often used by rich people looking for younger partners. Geffen, a movie and music producer worth about $9 billion, allegedly paid Michaels...

Louisiana is one of 30 states with criminal penalties related to exposing or transmitting HIV. Most of the laws were passed in the 1980s during the emergence of the AIDS epidemic. Since then, several states have amended their laws to make them less punitive or repealed them outright, including Maryland and North Dakota this year. But Louisiana’s law remains among the harshest. The state is one of five that may require people such as Smith to register as a sex offender if convicted, a label that can follow them for over a decade. And state lawmakers considered a bill to...

An abortion business in New Hampshire has been accused of attempting to groom and indoctrinate young girls by promoting its business using American Girl Dolls, which have long been marketed to girls 12 and under. While it is unclear if the American Girl company approved the use of its dolls in this manner, its own TikTok account shows it has shifted some of its marketing to young adults — many of whom grew up with the dolls and remain fans. Key Takeaways: * Lovering Health Center, a New Hampshire abortion business, used American Girl Dolls in a recent Facebook post...

The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee has effectively barred transgender women from competing in women’s sports, telling the federations overseeing swimming, athletics and other sports it has an “obligation to comply” with an executive order issued by President Donald Trump. The new policy, announced Monday with a quiet change on the USOPC’s website and confirmed in a letter sent to national sport governing bodies, follows a similar step taken by the NCAA earlier this year. The USOPC change is noted obliquely as a detail under “USOPC Athlete Safety Policy” and references Trump’s executive order, “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,”...

California Governor Gavin Newsom’s wife makes “gender justice” movies and sells them to the state public education system through her non-profit, The Representation Project. By 2023, she had charged the state $1.5 million for her “gender justice” movies. That’s a screaming example of a conflict of interest. If that’s not enough, the governor requested nonprofits and private corporations to contribute to his wife’s charity before taking their side on state issues.

As June comes to an end, so do many events associated with Pride Month, a month-long celebration of sexual diversity and gender variance — often geared towards increasing the visibility of the LGBTQIA community, as well as combatting stigma and advocating for equal rights. But the battle to eliminate stigma and achieve these rights will certainly continue, as recent debates about which bathrooms transgender men and women should use illustrate all too well. For years here at 13.7, Barbara J. King has been writing about what she calls the spectrum of gender expression, and "the fact that gender identity isn't...

Live by the federal subsidy ... well, you know the rest. And if not, Robert Kennedy Jr just served up a big reminder.Republicans in Congress got thwarted in their attempt to defund providers delivering pediatric sex-change therapies. Instead, the HHS Secretary will act within his authority to deny Medicare and Medicaid funds to hospitals and clinics that provide these services, forcing them into a choice between funding for actual care and pandering to the extreme Left at the expense of children. National Review got the scoop:The Department of Health and Human Services will soon begin the rule-making process to prohibit...

The City of Boynton Beach has painted over it's Pride intersection. Officials say it was to comply with updated transportation regulations and address safety concerns. The rainbow crosswalk at

A crime that keeps repeating in the city of Delray Beach. The LGBTQ Pride intersection near Old School Square in Delray Beach is once again stained with black tire marks after a pickup truck drove by—twice—and did burnouts, video...

Andrea Gibson, a celebrated poet and performance artist who through their verse explored gender identity, politics and their 4-year battle with terminal ovarian cancer, died Monday at age 49. Gibson’s death was announced on social media by their wife, Megan Falley. Gibson and Falley are the main subjects of the documentary “Come See Me in the Good Light,” winner of the Festival Favorite Award this year at the Sundance Film Festival and scheduled to air this fall on Apple TV+.

Professing Christian couple and TV personalities Chip and Joanna Gaines, known for their HGTV show ‘Fixer Upper’ and the Magnolia brand, are facing criticism for their decision to prominently feature a same-sex couple in their new series, Back to the Frontier. While this is bad enough, a deep dive into her social media history paints an even more disturbing picture. Billy Jack Brawner, a creative director, is married to Sara Brawner. For years they struggled to conceive, enduring three miscarriages and one stillbirth before adopting four children. Shortly thereafter, however, they discovered she was pregnant, and the couple welcomed five...

*** In 2025, lawmakers in several states introduced resolutions that urged the Supreme Court to overturn the 2015 ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, which established same-sex civil marriage nationwide. The North Dakota House and the Idaho House passed resolutions, but both efforts failed when sent to their respective state senates. In most states, the resolutions died in committees. The limited success was in legislative chambers with overwhelming Republican supermajorities. The Idaho House, for example, has a 61-9 Republican majority and passed the resolution in a 46-24 vote. The North Dakota House, with its 81-11 Republican majority, adopted the resolution more...

The Defense Department is withdrawing the nomination of Rear Adm. Michael “Buzz” Donnelly, The Daily Wire can first report, under whose command drag performances took place on board the USS Ronald Reagan. Donnelly served as commanding officer of the aircraft carrier from April 2016 to September 2018, during which time Yeoman 2nd Class Joshua Kelley performed as a drag queen under the name “Harpy Daniels” at a department-sanctioned “Morale, Welfare, and Recreation” event on the aircraft carrier. The Defense Department announced on June 18 that President Donald Trump had nominated Donnelly for promotion to vice admiral and an appointment as...

Baylor University voluntarily rescinded a controversial grant that supported research focused on inclusion and belonging in the church, with a focus on LGBTQIA+ individuals, President Linda Livingstone announced in a statement Wednesday afternoon. According to a now inaccessible press release published on June 30 from the Diana R. Garland School of Social Work, the $643,401 grant was awarded to the Center for Church and Community Impact (C3I). The Eula Mae and John Baugh Foundation supplied the grant to “better understand the disenfranchisement and exclusion of LGBTQIA+ individuals and women within congregations to nurture institutional courage and foster change.” The Baugh...

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last week that a trans teacher in Florida has no right to refer to herself with the gendered honorific “Ms.” or ask to be referred to with the pronouns she/her under what critics have called Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law. The trans algebra teacher, Katie Wood, sued her employer, the Hillsborough County School Board, in 2023 soon after Florida’s anti-LGBTQ law was enacted. A lower court found that the law likely infringes on her First Amendment free speech rights and granted a preliminary injunction. However, the conservative-leaning appeals court overruled the lower...

NEW YORK, July 4 (C-Fam) UN human rights officials took over the 59th session of the UN Human Rights Council to promote divisive social policies, including advocating for “gender-affirming care” services for migrants and criticizing countries that do not support pride marches, LGBT-friendly curricula in schools, and the killing of the unborn. Held from June 28 to July 9th in Geneva, Switzerland, this year’s UN Human Rights Council session convened member states, UN agencies, and accredited civil society organizations to engage with UN special rapporteurs’ latest reports. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk opened the session by decrying...

The Pennsylvania transgender coach who had been canned for inappropriate conduct, was rehired, but ultimately resigned over a porn video showing him smoking meth, recently admitted he was the one who had sent the incriminating video. David Yates, who coached tennis at Gettysburg High School and switched to the name “Sasha” in 2022, was not rehired following a pair of incidents which included him allegedly “stripping down to bra and panties” in the girls’ locker room. But Yates later reapplied for the position, and had the backing of many who claimed he’d been let go due to “transphobia.” A district...