Starting Your Weekend with some GREAT Queer News!
A quick roundup of wins from the week, plus some clarifying thoughts on the HP TV Show.
Hi all! I am about to head out of town for a brand new adventure: I am going to be spending a week as a visiting scholar on trans rights in Vilnius, Lithuania! I will be meeting with local advocates and parents, teaching at the university, and getting in some fun and exploring, too.
Also, I am about 45 people away from 20,000 subscribers here, which is seriously unbelievable. I cannot thank you all enough for the ways this project has changed my life, and when I return from my travels I will definitely be taking some more time to reflect on what this journey has meant to me.
I have a few articles scheduled while I’m away, but there are so many AMAZING things happening I couldn’t wait to send out a quick roundup of some great news stories before I leave!
Georgia’s legislative session has now ended, and advocates managed to defeat EVERY ANTI-QUEER BILL!! This wasn’t by accident or by default. This was HARD WORK. Well done, Georgia!! Here’s their breakdown for how they did it:
Children’s Hospital of Minnesota, the largest provider of pediatric care in the state, has restarted their gender affirming care program in the wake of RFK’s court loss on his attempts to threaten hospital funding over trans affirming healthcare. https://www.advocate.com/health/transgender-health/childrens-minnesota-restores-trans-care Hopefully more hospitals follow their lead!
In Wisconsin, despite spending on anti-trans attack ads, the state supreme court election secured a liberal majority for at least the next TEN YEARS! https://boltsmag.org/wisconsin-supreme-court-election-2026-taylor-wins/
In Georgia, a special election for Marjorie Taylor Greene’s open seat (bye felicia!!! Her departure is its own victory) was MUCH closer than republicans wanted. While the seat stayed red, her district was known for being one of the reddest in the country—but it moved to the left by 25 POINTS!
In Festus, Missouri, the city council recently held a vote on bringing an unpopular, water/power draining data center to town. In the elections that followed, all four incumbents that voted yes on the data center lost their seats to pro-transparency, anti-data center candidates! https://www.stlpr.org/government-politics-issues/2026-04-08/6b-data-center-festus-voters-oust-every-incumbent-council-member
On Wednesday, a federal judge denied the administration’s request to stay a preliminary injunction that bars federal officials from conditioning or terminating funding for health care providers based on their provision of gender-affirming care to patients under 19. Hospitals will remain protected and care can legally continue!
Idaho banned the pride flag, so Boise wrapped the light posts and lit the state house up in pride colors in protest.
While the Trump administration is attempting to roll back support for trans students, more and more school districts are saying loud and clear that they won’t leave trans students behind. Mesa County in California is the latest of many. https://www.cbs8.com/article/news/local/federal-title-ix-rolls-back-transgender-student-protections/509-a48edcce-1e25-4f0b-b038-a08a0a24c705
The EU’s high court has ruled that all EU member states are obligated to recognize the identity documents of transgender individuals who have earned legal gender recognition in another EU state. This is a huge win for transgender Europeans!!!
ALSO. Last thing. I have had a lot of people reaching out to me directly, or posting on social media, trying to get trans people to absolve them of their guilt for watching the new HP show. I will respond to you all in bulk here (and can write something longer about it later, if there’s interest).
If you want to ask a trans person to make you feel better about giving money to JK Rowling, you must pay us at least 15 dollars for psychic damage first.
I know it hurts so badly!! I see you in that hurt. I am right here with you. Nearly every queer kid I know fell totally in love with the story of an outsider being the hero who saves the day. This whole mess breaks my heart and it’s okay to feel sad about it!
If you want to give money to JK through supporting her work, I recommend giving at least $20 to the organizations helping to support trans people in the UK whose lives she is working very, very hard to ruin.
https://mermaidsuk.org.uk/
https://transactual.org.uk/
If you are feeling unsure, or don’t understand why everyone is so mad at JK Rowling for being “mean on twitter”, learn more first. https://theweek.com/feature/1020838/jk-rowlings-transphobia-controversy-a-complete-timeline
Ultimately, so so many actions can be traced back to harm directed at different marginalized groups. We cannot be perfect, we cannot avoid inadvertent harm. If you feel SO strongly that you want to watch the show, I don’t actually care. Just please stop telling trans people about it! Make it your guilty pleasure and keep it to yourself.
There are SO MANY great queer and trans affirming witchy books, shows, and movies to engage with instead. My personal favorite is “Her Majesty’s Royal Coven.” What’s your favorite?
Ok that’s all I have!!! I am off to begin my out of office adventures in trans rights in the Baltics, and I’ll see you all in a few weeks!
All my love,
Ben
Congratulations on your fellowship, and thanks for the update!
Thanks for the good news! Enjoy the trip.