Grand Rapids, MI – The social hall at Fountain Street Church in the heart of downtown was packed to capacity with up to 300 people, February 1. While the folks inside listened intently to the dozen organizers speaking, over 200 people were outside in the freezing weather, patiently waiting to march.

Reverend Nathan Dannison began by telling the audience how excited the church was to be fulfilling its role as a progressive space to host events like these, stating, “the attendance is astonishing.” Fountain Street Church has a long history of being a hub and sanctuary for organizers in the city. Legendary leaders in the Black Liberation movement, like Angela Davis and Malcolm X, have spoken and held rallies at the church. 

The rally organizers, the Grand Rapids Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, stated their goal was to build coalitions and relationships with organizers throughout the city. Speakers from these organizations included Planned Parenthood, GR Climate Coalition, Grand Rapids Pride Center, GVSU Progressive Student Union, Grand Rapids School Board, GR Rapid Response to ICE, and others.

Sam Tunningley, an organizer of the event and member of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, stated, “Trans rights and 2S-LGBTQ rights are extremely personal to me. My closest friends are queer, my sibling is trans, so Trump and his attacks are extremely personal, and we’re going to fight this on the front lines of every struggle!”

Eduardo Montiel, the chair of the Grand Rapids Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, stated, “I’m optimistic because I know the people, the working-class people who aren’t under risk of deportation, alongside immigrants will come together and stand up to Trump's racist and reactionary agenda. Together a better world is possible and that’s what everyone in this room is here to do right now. To come together and say enough is enough.”

An organizer of the Grand Rapids Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, said, “You who showed up for Patrick Lyoya, Samuel Sterling and Riley Doggett, for George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, we call on you to join us in our demand, community control of the police now!” In 2024 the GRPD officers killed Samuel Sterling, Riley Doggett, and many more community members. Justice is still yet to come for the family of Patrick Lyoya, who was killed by GRPD Officer Christopher Schurr in April of 2022.

Anthony Hegarty, a member of Palestine Solidarity Grand Rapids, stated, “The ceasefire came at a great cost and it's already being used as a political football by the ruling class in this country, first Trump takes credit, then Biden takes credit. It makes no difference; the Palestinians are ones who deserve credit!” 

The majority of speeches were also translated into Spanish, either by a volunteer translator or by speakers who were already fluent. The event continued into the streets of downtown Grand Rapids as over 500 community members marched for nearly an hour in the blistering cold, waving flags of Mexico and other Latin American countries, and chanting to drown out the sound of GRPD sirens and arrest warnings.

#GrandRapidsMI #GRAARPR #GRPD #GVSUPSU #GRClimateCoalition #PlannedParenthood #Trump #LGBTQRights #FreePalestine #ImmigrantRights

Allendale, MI – On January 29, Grand Valley State University's Progressive Student Union (PSU) led a speak-out against the new Trump administration. People held signs relating to healthcare, immigration, LGBTQ rights and other causes. The mood was casual, and people joined the students in protest throughout the event.

PSU organizer Owen Frassetto said, “Trump and his administration are now waging attacks against all sorts of people in this country. We need to unite the organizations of these different groups to stand together against attacks on immigrants, on trans people, on public education, and so much more. Our work is cut out for us, but people are ready to stand together and act.”

Another organizer, Elisa Skinner, said, “If you think the direction the country is heading in is the best it can be, I invite you to take a look around and stand in someone else's shoes. We have families being ripped apart, laws and standards violated, and billionaires such as Elon Musk giving Nazi salutes and attending far-right rallies.”

Donald Trump's election has brought with it uncertainty in regard to civil rights and the future of oppressed people. As anew student organization, PSU is trying to unite all forces that can be united against Donald Trump on Grand Valley's campus.

The Progressive Student Union holds weekly meetings which are announced on their Instagram, @psugvsu

#AllendaleMI #GVSU #PSU #PSUGVSU #Trump #LGBTQ #LGBTQrights #Healthcare #Immigration

Organizers announced that they will be launching an all-out campaign to force the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) to drop their anti-trans policy and to restore the ability of Floridians to change the gender markers on their IDs to reflect who they are.

More than a dozen community organizations including HOPE Community Center, Orlando for Gender Equality and Dream Defenders were united behind a banner which read, “DeSantis DMV. Drop the policy. IDs for all.” Florida Representative Anna Eskamani also attended and pledged solidarity with the growing campaign. As reporters gathered to hear the announcement outside the prominent LGBTQ health center, activists chanted “We won’t go back. Not one step back!” and “We will not go back in time, being trans is not a crime.”

Jacob Muldoon, lead organizer with Orlando for Gender Equality spoke first and outlined the context for DeSantis’ latest attack on the LGBTQ community. He explained that community groups organized and mobilized in great numbers during the past legislative session. Through actions like protests, letter-writings, die-ins, and more, activists defeated 21 out of 22 anti-LGBTQ bills attempting to move through the Florida legislature. But now, facing defeat, the GOP is pivoting to an undemocratic, administrative rule change.

Muldoon went on to say, “These political moves by DeSantis and the GOP are unconstitutional and follow a trend of Florida violating federal laws like Real ID and Title IX. DeSantis and the GOP are rogue actors, dead set on their unpopular and hate-filled agenda. We must defend Orlando from Tallahassee.”

Well-known community organizer Shea Cutliff delivered a powerful speech, stating, “As someone who transitioned very early, my ID was like a black American Express card. It was a ticket to so many things. It put a stop to being discriminated against before I even had the chance to interview for a job. It was my chance to stand up for myself in a place as simple as a grocery store by presenting my ID with the proper gender marker reflected on it.”

Joey Knoll, founder and president of SPEKTRUM Health also spoke out against DeSantis’ attempts to erase Florida’s trans population from public life. Knoll rebuked the right-wing governor, “regardless of what Ron DeSantis says, thinks or does: trans people have existed, trans people exist now, and trans people will continue to exist long into the future. Nobody is asking for his permission.”

The coalition ended the conference with a call to action, promising to mobilize and protest at DMVs around the state of Florida in the coming weeks.

#OrlandoFL #LGBTQrights #TransRights #TransLiberation #GayRights #RealID #TitleIX #Desantis #

Orlando, FL – Activists left a rainbow of messages against HB 1639 on the front door of Florida Representative Doug Bankson’s office in Apopka on Friday afternoon, January 26. It was part of an action called by Orlando for Gender Equality to fight back against the wave of anti-LGBTQ bills being proposed by Florida’s right-wing legislature.

Rep. Bankson’s HB 1639 is the worst of the bunch. It tries to erase the legal existence of trans people in Florida by requiring them to use sex assigned at birth instead of gender on their driver’s licenses and ID cards. The bill is also trying to revive the backwards and discredited practice of “conversion therapy” by requiring healthcare plans to cover it.

The ACLU of Florida recently warned that if this bill passes, trans people without access to valid driver’s licenses could be further criminalized for simply “driving while trans.”

Lead organizer with Orlando for Gender Equality Jacob Muldoon spoke at the protest and explained, “Bills like HB 1639 are trying to make queer people second class citizens in the state of Florida. They are trying to take away identification documents, they are trying to take away healthcare, they are trying to take away our flags, but we will not let them! These oppressive bills are a piece in a larger project to remove trans people from public life.”

Protesters lined the street outside the Republican politician’s office and held signs that read, “Stand for trans rights,” “Kill the bill” and “Not one step back.” Their presence was welcomed by pedestrians and motorists who stopped to join in or honked in approval. The loudest chants from the crowd were: “When trans rights are under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back!” and “We will not go back in time, being queer is not a crime!”

Madalyn Propst, from Florida High School Democrats, summed up the situation in her speech. “When I came out, my bullies were in the classroom. Now, the bullies are the politicians in Tallahassee.”

Orlando for Gender Equality plans to continue the campaign against HB 1639 with a follow-up webinar on February 3, where they will discuss updates on the progress of the anti-LGBT bills through the legislature as well other ways to take action and fight back.

#OrlandoFL #HB1639 #OrlandoForGenderEquality #TransRights #LGBTQRights

Milwaukee, WI – Nearly 30 protesters with the Coalition to March on the RNC 2024 massed outside the Pfister Hotel in downtown Milwaukee on the evening of August 22 to protest Riley Gaines, a former collegiate swimmer turned right-wing anti-trans personality. Protesters chanted “Transphobic, anti-gay, Riley Gaines, go away!” “Can’t swim Riley” and “Sore loser Riley” as they picketed outside the hotel. They carried a large banner that read “Stop trans genocide” and received a great deal of support from passing cars and people walking by.

Gaines originally gained notoriety in March 2022 for protesting the fact that she lost to transgender swimmer Lia Thomas in a NCAA 500-yard freestyle championship swim meet. She parlayed this loss – which included a fifth place tie with Thomas during the same meet in the 200-yard freestyle category – into her current grift. She’s now the director of the Riley Gaines Center at the Leadership Institute, has her own podcast, and is set for her own show on Fox News. She endorsed Florida governor Ron DeSantis for president.

Chrisley Carpio, a resident of Tampa, Florida who is facing ten years in prison and who is up against the type of political repression that Ron DeSantis personifies, was a special guest speaker at the event. She talked briefly about the Tampa 5, a group of young women activists that includes herself who were assaulted by police during a rally opposing cuts to DEI at the University of South Florida. She used this talking point to set up a broader message about the attacks on trans people in her state being championed by DeSantis.

“In Florida, we've seen more than half a dozen bills passed lately that deny the most basic things to trans people – and DeSantis started with the youth – from gender affirming healthcare, to gender expression in schools, to bathrooms, even to loving parents,” Carpio said. “We shouldn't wait for these attacks to spread from state to state, nor for Governor DeSantis to increase them as president. We should build a movement now, stomp out these transphobic policies, and sink DeSantis' presidential campaign before it takes off!”

Ahead of the first Republican primary debate, the nationally-recognized hate group Moms for Liberty, together with the Leadership Institute, held a couple of events on August 22. They would have had a third – a town hall with several of the Republican candidates for president – but two separate venues canceled the reservation as a result of community pressure.

With the Republican National Convention coming to Milwaukee in July of next year, many right-wing groups and personalities will be descending on the city over the coming months. Progressive forces are also getting organized to fight back against the racist and reactionary agenda of the Republicans, primarily through the Coalition to March on the RNC. The coalition has vowed to protest the Republicans and their surrogates at every turn whenever they come to Milwaukee.

#MilwaukeeWI #LGBTQRights #CoalitionToMarchOnTheRNC #sports #Tampa5 #RileyGaines

Dallas, TX – On Saturday, April 1, over 50 members of the LGBTQ community and their allies gathered at Dallas City Hall to protest transphobic and anti-drag legislation currently being passed by the Texas state government. Four of those bills are Senate Bill 14 which takes away trans youth's right to transition; Senate Bill 15, which bans trans athletes from participating in college sports, and Senate Bills 12 and 1601, which greatly restrict the freedom to perform in drag.

The rally called for the city of Dallas to refuse to prosecute anyone for these anti-LGBTQ laws.

The rally was called by the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, and emcee Jo Hargis of FRSO-Dallas, gave a speech mentioning the extreme unpopularity of the transphobic bills and condemned the transphobic justification of “trying to protect children.”

“During public comment for SB 14, 97% of the people who came to comment did not support the bill taking away trans children’s right to healthcare. Texans don’t want these bills. Our legislature is wasting our time bringing in people from out of state to push junk science to prop up garbage laws. We need to come together to reject these bills because once they’re done with our community, they’ll be coming for yours,” stated Hargis, adding, “If Texas wanted to protect children, they would fund CPS and ban child marriage.”

Cassandra Swart, a local trans activist, gave a speech denouncing the queerphobic bills as well as condemning the far-right's scapegoating of the trans community in the aftermath of the March 27 school shooting in Nashville, Tennessee. Swart also noted that the far-right's attacks on oppressed people's rights will not end with trans rights, noting that all LGBTQ rights and democratic rights for African-Americans are next on the far-right's chopping block.

“We also must acknowledge that trans rights aren't the only rights at stake in this fight. When they are done getting rid of any right for trans people to exist, they will come for gay rights, they will come for lesbian rights, they will come for civil rights for African-Americans. They've already started coming after reproductive rights with the overturn of Roe v. Wade. We are all in this fight together!” Swart declared.

Xavi Velasquez of local immigrant rights group Los Frontera Los Cruzo gave a speech criticizing American right-wing Christianity and called for an end to the influence of the Christian Right over politics.

“For widely supporting homophobic, anti-trans legislation and supporting the states control of what we can and can't do with our bodies, let the christofascist church be dismantled brick by brick,” stated Velasquez.

After the speeches, protesters marched around downtown Dallas and then back to Dallas City Hall. Chants included, “Gay! Trans! Black! White! Same struggle! Same fight!” and “It’s our history don’t deny it! Stonewall was a trans riot!” Protesters also sang a spoof Deep in the Heart of Texas that called for LGBTQ rights.

#DallasTX #LGBTQRights

Orlando, FL – On Saturday, March 11, multiple organizations rallied together in support of LGBTQ rights outside the Orlando City Hall. The event responded to the growing attacks that LGBTQ people face every day and the recent anti-trans legislation moving through the Florida legislature. The rally was attended by around 250 people.

This rally and its speakers singled out specific bills. This includes Florida Senate Bill 254, which allows the state to take away children seeking gender-affirming care and to ban health care providers from giving gender-affirming care to minors. It also includes Florida House Bill 1223, which prohibits the use of preferred pronouns in schools and prohibits teaching of sexual orientation and gender identity in public schools.

The event began with the crowd chanting, “Fuck DeSantis!” and “When trans rights are under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back!”

“Even during our most devastating time, during the Pulse massacre, the business owners were looking for donations to museums rather than support for the victims and their families. We must not rely on the system that has put us in this situation to get us out. We can only rely on ourselves,” said Alex Marulanda from Orlando Liberation Initiative.

Jamila Nicole from No More Dead Sisters said, “What made any community control of the police pass was mass struggle based in Black liberation. Tying together the fight for LGBTQ rights and the struggle for Black liberation is important as it brings to light the connection of all fights against oppression and unites us all against a common enemy: monopoly capitalism. We keep us safe!”

Jacob Muldoon, a member of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) Orlando, said, “This is just part of a larger attack on all oppressed people. Politicians have not fulfilled their promises, and we need to take the struggle into our own hands. We need working-class leadership to guarantee our social, economic and political needs, like healthcare, housing and employment.”

FRSO Orlando is continuing the fight for trans rights by mobilizing to the Orlando city council meeting on March 20 at 2 p.m. They are demanding that the city of Orlando stand with the trans community and investigate steps they could take to protect trans rights in the city.

#OrlandoFL #LGBTQRights #liberation

The discussion began with the chant “How do you spell rapist? N-O-P-D!”

The New Orleans Police Department recently declared sexual assaults to be “non-emergencies” while claiming to have made great progress on gender discrimination. Officer Gerry Paul of the 5th Precinct is an alleged rapist and still on the force. His accuser describes him using a police hold to pin her arms, while keeping his gun on the nightstand. Even though he would be fired from most jobs for this revelation, he’s only on desk duty. Paul still has his badge and his gun.

Jonny Frayle, a participant in the town hall, commented: “They say they don’t have enough officers, but what they really mean is so many cops are on administrative leave for misconduct.”

Participants agreed that civilians could respond more to mental health crises or domestic violence. The group also recognized that the city should have more services to address gender-based violence, such by providing rape crisis centers, housing for survivors and counseling for abusers.

People in attendance also debated the question of whether or not to jail Gerry Paul. Some were concerned that he could harm others in prison.

“I’m not afraid to say he should go in solitary,” said Toni Duplechain-Jones of New Orleans for Community Oversight of Police. The group generally agreed on the need for community control of the NOPD to hold officers like Paul accountable.

The discussion finally raised the issue of Louisiana’s complete abortion ban, with no exception for rape. Taken together, this ban and the NOPD give abusers a green light and completely eliminate the right to body autonomy.

The town hall resolved to build the fight for NOPD accountability and services for survivors. Real Name Campaign, the host organization, will hold an open meeting on Sunday November 13 at 3 p.m., at the Broadmoor Improvement Association.

#NewOrleansLA #PoliceBrutality #LGBTQRights #NewOrleansPoliceDepartment

Austin, TX – On Thursday evening, October 29, a group of around ten students gathered on the University of Texas at Austin campus to rally for women’s and LGBTQ rights. Led by the Austin Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), the rally focused on student demands of the UT Austin administration, calling on the university to provide free menstrual products and contraceptives in all campus bathrooms. Students are also demanding the university declare itself a sanctuary campus for trans youth in light of legislative attacks earlier this year against trans youth receiving gender-affirming care.

The protest included the call and response chant: “Abortion is? Healthcare! Contraceptives are? Healthcare! Gender-affirming care is? Healthcare!”

Fawn-Rose Brown from the organization OSTEM (Out in STEM) spoke first: “Everyone deserves bodily autonomy,” they said. “The state of Texas as well as many other states are barring us from these rights. While the city of Austin has decriminalized abortion, the last time I checked most abortion providers in Austin are still bound by the state and aren’t operating. How are folks who can get pregnant supposed to get an abortion if none of the clinics are operating?”

Ashley Awad spoke for SDS: “UT has the second largest endowment in the country second only to Harvard. President Hartzell makes $1.25 million a year. That’s ridiculous, don’t you agree? So we must demand a chop from the top! Cut the pay of top administrators by even a little bit, and they could easily use the funds to provide free and well-stocked menstrual products and contraceptives in every building on campus.”

Student speakers pointed out the fact that UT at Arlington has already committed to providing free menstrual products in campus bathrooms as a direct result of pressure from the Progressive Student Union.

In reference to this, Awad concluded: “I think we can all agree that it is inexcusable for UT Austin not to do the same thing. Considering the position of power and influence UT is in, I think that it’s time for these things to change, don’t you?!” Awad’s question was met with cheers from all the other students at the rally.

#AustinTX #LGBTQRights #UniversityOfTexasAustin

The Real Name Campaign celebrates Cuba’s passage of the new Families Code by popular referendum on September 25. The Families Code legalizes same-gender marriage and adoption, but it also goes far beyond that. With this new code, Cuba leads the world in LGBTQ, women’s, disability, children and elders’ rights.

The code rec