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First gay underwear party? How to have fun nearly naked

You’re at a new gay bar, mustering up the courage to leave all your clothes at coat check except for your briefs, socks, and sneakers. Through the door, you catch glimpses of pantless men laughing and grinding to house anthems, and somehow, everyone inside seems totally comfortab...

Washington BladeJun 4, 2026

GOP candidate shows no remorse after disturbing "Anti-Pride Month" declaration

A GOP candidate for the Connecticut state House is doubling down after posting a callous anti-Pride message that has been condemned by both Democrats and Republicans in the state. "Happy Straight Month!" wrote 23-year-old Jadon MacCormack in a June 2nd social media post. "It’s Am...

LGBTQ NationJun 4, 2026

D.C. Latinx Pride celebrates culture and heritage

Organizers with the Latinx History Project have planned a host of events this Pride season with parties, poetry, drag and more. The festivities begin with the DC Latinx Pride 2026 Kickoff at Crush Dance Bar (2007 14th Street, N.W.) on Friday, June 12 from 6-10 p.m. The party will...

Washington BladeJun 4, 2026

Fighting ‘Rainbow Panic’ in museums

Back in February of 2025, I wrote a piece for New York City-based arts publication Hyperallergic about the importance of museums stepping up for their LGBTQ staff. I was right to be concerned. Over the last three years, censorship of LGBTQ histories and art has exploded in the mu...

Washington BladeJun 4, 2026

A vice president marches by our side

A photograph can change how we understand ourselves. In Rainbow History Project’s exhibit “Pickets, Protests, and Parades: The History of Gay Pride in Washington,” one pairing does exactly that: 10 Washingtonians in their Sunday best picketing the White House in 1965, and, a few ...

Washington BladeJun 4, 2026

Shia LaBeouf pleads guilty in homophobic assault of queer man in New Orleans

Heterosexual actor Shia LaBeouf pleaded guilty to three counts of simple battery on Wednesday related to a February incident in which he assaulted two men and called them "fa***ts" during an altercation amid the Mardi Gras festivities in New Orleans, Louisiana. LaBeouf insinuated...

LGBTQ NationJun 3, 2026

Shia LaBeouf pleads guilty in homophobic battery of queer man in New Orleans

Heterosexual actor Shia LaBeouf pleaded guilty to three counts of simple battery on Wednesday related to a February incident in which he assaulted two men and called them "fa***ts" during an altercation amid the Mardi Gras festivities in New Orleans, Louisiana. LaBeouf insinuated...

LGBTQ NationJun 3, 2026

George Santos allegedly bet on himself. He may be going to prison again for it.

Four months after his prison sentence was commuted by Donald Trump, George Santos went on social media to say that he'd be at the State of the Union (SOTU) address in February to cheer the president on. "I'm going to be there for the State of Union in the gallery, guys," Santos s...

LGBTQ NationJun 3, 2026

Trans teens who receive hormone therapy are less likely to run away from home

Transgender teens who received hormone replacement therapy (HRT) are less likely to run away from home, according to a new study. Researchers at Southern Oregon University and Rutgers University examined data from about 1,101 respondents to the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey who be...

LGBTQ NationJun 3, 2026

Federal appeals court rules White House illegally banned trans troops

A panel of federal appeals court judges ruled that President Donald Trump’s policy banning transgender troops likely violates their constitutional rights. The three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled 2-1 that Trump’s Executive Or...

Washington BladeJun 3, 2026

Outright International honors Cyndi Lauper at annual NYC gala

NEW YORK — Cyndi Lauper on Monday said LGBTQ Americans and their allies cannot give up in the fight for equality. "We need to band together. We need to stand together, and we need to speak out, and we need to help each other," she told the Washington Blade during an interview aft...

Washington BladeJun 3, 2026

Sesame Street posted a sweet message of love for Pride month. Cue the backlash.

On June 1, the official Sesame Street social media account posted a simple message of acceptance for LGBTQ+ people to honor the start of Pride Month. "Happy #PrideMonth from Sesame Street!" it read. "Join us in celebrating and uplifting the LGBTQIA+ members of our community." Rel...

LGBTQ NationJun 3, 2026

CO Gov Jared Polis kicks off Pride Month by signing new conversion therapy law

Out Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) signed a new bill aimed at stopping conversion therapy. "Conversion Therapy can be harmful, traumatizes kids, and is a scam to waste people's hard-earned money," Polis posted to social media after signing the bill on June 1 at The Center on Colfa...

LGBTQ NationJun 3, 2026

Results from key Tuesday primary races

State officials in California had not called the governor’s race as of Wednesday morning but Republican Steve Hilton and Democrat Xavier Becerra appear likely to advance to the general election. The race for governor has been scrambled several times after Kamala Harris opted not ...

Washington BladeJun 3, 2026

Teen allegedly stabbed his gay dad to death in horrific attack

In Columbus, Ohio, police have charged an unnamed 17-year-old with murder and felony assault for lethally stabbing his adoptive father and severely injuring his father's husband. The stabbing occurred on Sunday, May 24, killing 58-year-old Mark Rayburn-Velco and severely injuring...

LGBTQ NationJun 3, 2026

Ted Cruz calls out GOP colleague who said "Homosexuality has no place in America"

In a now-deleted X post published Tuesday morning, rabidly anti-LGBTQ+ Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN) wrote, "Homosexuality has no place in America. Happy Nuclear Family Month." After several Republican politicians called his statement "idiotic" and "insane," Ogles deleted it later that ...

LGBTQ NationJun 3, 2026

10 HIV/AIDS activists arrested on Capitol Hill

U.S. Capitol Police on Tuesday arrested 10 HIV/AIDS activists who protested Secretary of State Marco Rubio during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing. The activists from Housing Works, Health GAP, the Treatment Action Group, and ACT UP held signs and chanted “Rubio’s Cut...

Washington BladeJun 2, 2026

MAGA hate preacher says smoking marijuana makes men "spiritually gay"

Christian nationalist hate pastor Joel Webbon — a man who blames Jewish people for everything he hates and thinks maybe Adolf Hitler wasn’t so bad after all — said in a May 30 X video that Christian men should smoke tobacco to help restore the nation because marijuana makes men "...

LGBTQ NationJun 2, 2026

These 10 LGBTQ+ films about religion show queer believers keeping their faith

While many stories show queer people leaving their unaccepting faith communities to maintain their safety, dignity, and mental health, we've found a handful of LGBTQ+ films about religion that depict queer people who stay in their spiritual communities, both to push for greater a...

LGBTQ NationJun 2, 2026

JR.’s hosts meet & greet for mayoral candidate Janeese Lewis George

D.C. mayoral candidate Janeese Lewis George spoke to a crowd of LGBTQ supporters on June 1 at a meet & greet event held at JR.’s on 17th Street in the Dupont Circle neighborhood. The event, organized by Capital Stonewall Democrats, which has endorsed Lewis George for mayor, with ...

Washington BladeJun 2, 2026

Campaign to support Va. marriage amendment repeal launched

Virginians for Marriage Equality on Monday launched a campaign in support of repealing Virginia’s constitutional amendment that defines marriage as between a man and a woman. Equality Virginia Executive Director Narissa Rahaman, former state Sen. Adam Ebbin, former state Del. Mar...

Washington BladeJun 2, 2026

Why Michelle Visage needs you to get ‘PrEP Wise’

If you ask an LGBTQ person what Michelle Visage is known for, you’re likely to get a few similar answers. Most people will say that they know her as the co-judge on "RuPaul’s Drag Race," with the woman serving looks (and scathing critiques) for more than a decade on this seminal ...

Washington BladeJun 2, 2026

Anti-trans laws are killing us & making it even harder to fight back against them

We’ve said for a long time that anti-trans laws will lead to deaths in the trans community. We’ve cited studies time and again that show there are higher rates of anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation for trans people who are living in a non-affirming situation or are being ...

LGBTQ NationJun 2, 2026

CAMP Rehoboth’s new director shares plans for busy summer

Dr. Robin Brennan, CAMP Rehoboth’s new executive director, has been getting adjusted to her role and connecting with the Rehoboth community. In March of this year, Brennan took on the role of executive director of CAMP Rehoboth, an LGBTQ+ community center in Delaware working to C...

Washington BladeJun 2, 2026

D.C. kicks off Pride month with flag raising ceremony

Members of the D.C. Council joined Mayor Muriel Bowser and a crowd of LGBTQ activists and supporters on June 1 for the city’s fourth annual LGBTQ Pride flag raising ceremony held outside the John A. Wilson Building, which serves as the D.C. City Hall. Since its inception four yea...

Washington BladeJun 2, 2026

Advocates push back on proposed FCC warning labels

The Federal Communications Commission is considering a new rating system that would require a warning label to appear before any television content that includes LGBTQ characters. On April 22, the FCC issued a public notice asking Americans to submit comments on whether the TV Ov...

Washington BladeJun 2, 2026

Ghana's parliament passes bill criminalizing "promotion" of LGBTQ+ activities

Ghana’s parliament passed a new bill last Friday that punishes the “willful promotion, sponsorship or support of LGBTQ+ activities” with up to five years in prison. The legislation, entitled The Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, also punishes same-sex acts with a prison...

LGBTQ NationJun 1, 2026

Federal court rules Trump illegally banned trans people from the military

A federal court ruled against Donald Trump's transgender military ban earlier today. A three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled 2-1 in Talbott v. USA that the ban on transgender people serving openly in the military is a policy designed to...

LGBTQ NationJun 1, 2026

Dem gubernatorial candidate defends trans track star targeted by Donald Trump

Ahead of this weekend’s California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) State Track & Field Championships, California gubernatorial candidate Tom Steyer (D) made it clear that he was rooting for a high school athlete who has been the target of relentless anti-trans protests. On Frida...

LGBTQ NationJun 1, 2026

GOP Gov. declares June "Fidelity Month" in stark Pride Month rebuke

As the country begins to celebrate Pride Month, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) has declared this June "Fidelity Month" in her state. The declaration explains that June will be a time to "encourage renewed dedication" to "virtue, commitment, responsibility, and shared mo...

LGBTQ NationJun 1, 2026