Free Republic

ORLANDO, Fla. - The Pulse Nightclub building in downtown Orlando has been demolished, nearly 10 years after 49 people were killed, and 53 others were hurt in a mass shooting at the LGBTQ club.

Newly released emails reveal how the Biden administration’s Department of Education (ED) in 2022 attempted to form a secret parent advisory council to give teachers unions and left-aligned activist and parent groups power over federal education policy. Under former President Joe Biden, the department created the National Parents and Families Engagement Council ostensibly as a “partnership between parents and families, educators, district leaders, and entire school communities to support student success.” But behind the scenes, the short-lived council was composed of hand-picked activist organizations that focused on radical racial, gender and immigrant-focused ideologies. As Defending Education notes, “not a single...

A former high school principal with ties to Oregon has been sentenced to more than five years in prison after being convicted of possessing and distributing child sexual abuse material, a case that has left many people shaking their heads in anger and disbelief. Jeremy P. Williams, 50, of Longview, Washington, previously served as the principal of Rainier Junior/Senior High School in Rainier, Oregon. According to court records and reporting out of southwest Washington, Williams was sentenced on February 23 to five years and one month in prison. In addition to prison time, he has been ordered to register as...

A former Texas substitute teacher and her boyfriend are now facing a combined 38 child sex crime charges, with their bonds set at nearly $9 million. Madison Paige Jones, a former substitute teacher in the Midlothian Independent School District, and her boyfriend Zackery Dondlinger were first arrested in December after Midlothian police launched an investigation into allegations involving a 5-year-old child who lived in Jones’ home. Jones’ bond was initially set at $90,000 and Dondlinger’s initially reported at $250,000, but after the additional charges were filed earlier this month, their bonds increased dramatically. Jones faces 13 counts of aggravated sexual...

A Los Angeles high school’s “secrecy policy” kept a California couple in the dark about their only child’s gender identity, helped “sever” the family’s relationship — and ultimately drove the teen to suicide, his parents alleged. Dylan Parke was already struggling to fit in as a sophomore at Palisades Charter High School in Los Angeles in 2019-2020 when he told school staffers he would use she/her pronouns and go by the name “Aria,” as he transitioned into a woman. Parke had been diagnosed with depression, was in mental health treatment and “appeared easily influenced and preoccupied with how others perceived...

An Illinois school district honored a biological male in celebration of Women’s History Month on Thursday. Batavia Public School District 101 honored Democratic Rep. Sarah McBride of Delaware, who claims to be a transgender woman, in a since-deleted Thursday Facebook post, a week after they honored astronaut Mae Jemison. McBride was involved in controversy over which restroom would be used after being first elected to the United States House of Representatives in 2024. “Sarah McBride was born on August 9th, 1990, in Wilmington, Delaware. At a young age, she became interested in politics and government. McBride eventually ran for the...

The American Library Association, a nonprofit whose stated primary mission over the last century has been advocating for libraries and librarians, is fighting a new bill in Congress that aims to cut off federal funding to schools that promote or provide sexual programming or literature to children.

The Supreme Court on Monday ruled California is likely violating the constitutional rights of parents who object to policies preventing teachers from disclosing when their child changes their name or pronouns in school. The decision marks a major victory for parental rights advocates at this early stage of the case — and a blow to the state’s efforts to shield the privacy of LGBTQ students.

Diversity efforts and LGBT ideology are likely still quietly lurking in the depths of corporate America. That is what the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) argued in the 2026 edition of its annual Corporate Equality Index (CEI) report, which rates corporations based on their "policies, practices, and benefits" pertaining to LGBTQ employees. In just one year, the HRC saw a 65% drop in participation among Fortune 500 companies in "communicating commitments on diversity & inclusion" — with 377 such companies in 2025 compared to just 131 in 2026, according to a news release from the LGBTQ activist organization. The drop in...

A first-grade teacher in Nashville, Tennessee, claims that he was threatened with termination and reassigned to a new position after requesting religious accommodations to avoid reading books to children that promote same-sex marriage, which would have conflicted with his beliefs about marriage and sexuality. Eric Rivera is a devout Christian who taught first-grade students at KIPP Antioch College Prep Elementary School, according to a Wednesday statement from the First Liberty Institute, a nonprofit public interest law firm. KIPP is a public charter school that operates under the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission.

BREAKING: Transgender Minnesota State Rep. Leigh Finke (D) says that queer kids need access to porn websites for “educational” purposes. He is arguing that Age verification is oppression because some kids need porn content for "education."

The aggressive push for socialism in America is not just a policy debate. It is a direct assault on the American founding and the prosperity it created. Under the guise of “progress,” bloated liberals are imposing a compulsory, state-led ideology and economy that mirrors failed socialist experiments of the past. In 1988, I escaped the crushing weight of communism in Romania, trading a life of state-mandated silence for the promise of American liberty. As a political refugee, America gave me the soil to rebuild my life from nothing. But today, America’s foundation is shaking. I look at the country that...

A California Teacher of the Year finalist has been arrested for trying to pay for sexual acts with an undercover cop posing as a 13-year-old boy. Ruben Guzman, an assistant principal and math teacher at Sunrise Middle School in San Jose, was snared when he organized for them to meet up last week. The 31-year-old, who was also recognized by the San Francisco 49ers for his work in the classroom, was cuffed by San Jose police and the FBI on the scene. It came as part of a wider bust that saw 10 others across the region caught over alleged...

A group of Redwood High School’s ASB students in Visalia are under investigation for a “homophobic slur” photo incident on Thursday on school campus. LGBTQ advocates condemn those actions. “Let’s be clear: this is not a harmless joke,” said The Source LGBT+ Center in Visalia in a statement Friday afternoon in response to the incident. “Incidents like this reinforce stigma, normalize hate and send a painful message to LGBTW+ students.”

New York City officials plan to reraise a pride flag at the federal monument at Stonewall in Manhattan, setting up a potential fight with the White House at the birthplace of the modern gay rights movement nearly 60 years ago. Federal officials quietly took the flag down after the Trump administration in January issued guidance drastically limiting the types of flags that could be displayed at sites managed by the National Park Service. But Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal said in an interview Tuesday that he and other New York City-area politicians would reraise the flag at the federal monument...

Amber Glenn, a figure skater with Team USA in the Winter Olympics, claimed that it had been a “hard time” for the LGBTQ community under the Trump administration. While speaking to reporters, Glenn claimed that the Trump administration’s policies weren’t “just affecting the queer community, but many other communities,” according to The Blast. “It’s been a hard time for the community overall and this administration. It isn’t the first time that we’ve had to come together as a community and try and fight for our human rights,” Glenn told reporters. “And now, especially, it’s not just affecting the queer community,...

With the National Education Association being thrust into the spotlight after increasing its public opposition against the Trump administration and having been accused of financially backing far-left agenda items, two Republicans are taking steps to revoke its federal charter. The National Education Association holds a rare distinction in Washington, D.C., as the only labor union granted a federal charter, a status it received from Congress in 1906, and critics have argued that the functions of the NEA then and now are much different. Republican Reps. Buddy Carter and Mary Miller have been vocal critics of the NEA in recent years...

BREAKING: Chloe Day School in New York held an anti-ICE protest at school where kindergartners held anti-ICE and anti-Trump signs Little kids were encouraged to say they’re angry at ICE and the Trump admin for arresting criminal illegals Crazy as hell

California Attorney General Rob Bonta has filed a lawsuit against Rady Children's Hospital in San Diego, alleging that the hospital violated the terms of its merger agreement with Children's Hospital of Orange County by discontinuing gender-affirming care for minors. Rady Children's Hospital stated that the issue began when the Trump administration threatened to shut down the hospital for offering gender-affirming care to individuals under 18. In response to the threat, the hospital announced the closure of its gender-affirming care center, which led to the lawsuit from the state.

Detransitioners have struggled to bring malpractice cases to trial. By the time regret emerges, it often comes after the statute of limitations has passed for civil actions. In White Plains, New York, a 22-year-old victim of medical maiming managed to get her case in front of a jury in time, in what appears to be the first detransitioner lawsuit to proceed to a verdict and judgment. Fox Varian got a $2 million judgment, a story that nearly no one except Benjamin Ryan and Stacy Robinson at the Epoch Times covered in any depth: BREAKING: 1st Detransitioner to Take a Medical-Malpractice...