Advocate NL 6/10/26

Happy Wednesday, all. Audience Editor Edgar Ramirez back in your inbox here, and while I try to keep this newsletter as light as possible to prevent news fatigue, some news you can't mask.Like being confronted with this question: Should you leave the U.S. for your family's safety?That is at the heart of "The Dads," a new feature documentary executive produced by NBA Hall of Famer Dwyane Wade.The film, Christopher Wiggins writes, follows a community of fathers of transgender and nonbinary children over the course of a single, whiplash-inducing year: from cautiously optimistic retreats in rural Maine and Minnesota, through the 2024 election, a cascade of executive orders under President Donald Trump, the collapse of gender-affirming care at hospitals even in blue states, and the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in "Skrmetti," upholding Tennessee's ban on care for minors."We were never trying to make it about fleeing the country," producer Stephen Chukumba told The Advocate. "That's just what happened as we were filming."And it's hard at times to offer words of support to these and all families when you read these types of headlines coming out of Idaho or Ohio, or a certain political party is creating childish things with AI.At the same time, when the LGBTQ+ community has officials like New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Rep. Sarah McBride (D-Delaware) in its corner, it's hard not to feel some optimism that things can and will get better.To be clear, that's not to say "The Dads" doesn't offer optimism.When Wiggins asked Chukumba what he would say to parents of trans kids watching the film and fearing for their family's future, he kept it simple: "Love your kid, love your kid, love your kid. That's it," he said. "There is nothing stronger. There's nothing more powerful. There's nothing more affirming than the love of a parent for their child — and that is life-saving advice."Stay safe and stay celebrating Pride, folks.Zohran Mamdani’s Pride Month message to LGBTQ+