Advocate NL 6/15/26

Hello folks, Audience Editor Edgar Ramirez, back in your inbox, hoping you all had a great weekend!We'd like to kick this week off with a powerful opinion piece from Rev. Mike Schuenemeyer, reflecting on religion and the LGBTQ+ community."For too long, religion has been used as a weapon against LGBTIQ+ people—especially transgender and nonbinary youth who are being targeted with a cruelty that should break every heart awake to the sacred," they write. "Many of us in faith leadership have watched this unfold with grief, anger, and a growing conviction that silence is no longer an option. Silence, after all, is not neutrality. Silence is complicity."In response is the release of Sacred Worth, Shared Freedom by the Lavender Interfaith Collective (LInC), "a bold, multi-faith statement and call to action affirming the inherent dignity of LGBTIQ+ people and urging communities, leaders, and institutions to defend human rights, expand democratic freedoms, and stand in courageous solidarity against all forms of anti-LGBTIQ+ violence and discrimination."Learn more about it here. Feel free to also share it with UFC heavyweight "figher" Josh Hokit.Until next time!Nina West helped make drag mainstream. Now she's fighting Ohio's proposed drag banMicrosoft touts LGBTQ+ inclusion while critics point to Trump concessionsFederal judge dismisses lawsuit from fired ranger who flew trans Pride flag at YosemiteKamala Harris thrills crowd with surprise appearance at iconic West Hollywood gay barKnicks fans go viral with steamy gay kisses in the streetsHow Donald Trump transformed the federal government’s treatment of LGBTQ+ AmericansLaverne Cox: I've lost 90 percent of my income since Trump crushed DEIMaine judge upholds block of anti-trans initiative on November ballotUFC fighter yells 'Michelle Obama is a man' at Trump's birthday spectacleTrump admin eliminates health care programs for LGBTQ+ veterans