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Timothy Nelson on the premiere of his opera ‘Song of Sakuntala’

‘The Song of Sakuntala’IN SeriesIn Washington and BaltimoreAtlas Performing Arts Center, 1333 H St., N.E.(Selected dates June 6-14)Baltimore Theatre Project, 45 W. Preston St., Baltimore(June 19-21)$25-35Inseries.org As the artistic director of IN Series, Timothy Nelson rarely bl...

Washington BladeJun 6, 2026

For gay Palestinians fleeing persecution at home, Israel is no safe haven

Israel, which bills itself as the only democracy in the Middle East, has long claimed that status makes it a sanctuary for LGBTQ+ people fleeing persecution elsewhere in the region. In his speech before Congress in 2024, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu mocked protesters...

LGBTQ NationJun 6, 2026

People still ask me why we need Pride. The answer could not be simpler.

People of all ages have consistently asked me two questions over the years: 1. “Why do you have to have those Pride marches every June?" 2. “Why do you think you deserve these special rights that straight people don’t have?” Related GOP candidate shows no remorse after disturbing...

LGBTQ NationJun 6, 2026

This 81-year-old nun is helping Catholic parents affirm their trans kids

An 81-year-old St. Louis nun has devoted the past two years to helping Catholic parents affirm their trans children. Sister Nancy Corcoran of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet hosts weekly dinners where about two dozen parents commiserate over the challenges of raising tran...

LGBTQ NationJun 6, 2026

Remember when Idaho Republicans voted no on overturning same-sex marriage?

The Idaho House of Representatives passed a measure this week asking the Supreme Court to overturn its landmark 2015 decision legalizing same-sex marriage across the U.S. But the legislation lost three Republican votes compared to a similar measure that passed in the state House ...

LGBTQ NationJun 6, 2026

Fans are loving Spice Girl Mel C's reaction to being perceived as gay

Here are this week’s most popular positive stories, with some fun social media posts tossed in too. Like seeing uplifting content like this? Sign up for our Good News email. Happy Pride Month, everyone! This week's Good News Roundup is filled with rainbows, some big firsts, and m...

LGBTQ NationJun 6, 2026

He shouted anti-trans slurs at a woman during karaoke. Now he's facing the music.

A 54-year-old man named Mark McMinn pleaded guilty to threatening and abusive behavior on Wednesday and was fined £200 ($267) for harassing a transgender woman at a May 6 karaoke event at the Cloch Caravan Park of Gourock, Scotland (a town 28 miles west of Glasgow). The woman he ...

LGBTQ NationJun 5, 2026

ICE is going to stop reporting when detainees die soon after being released

At least 18 ICE detainees have died shortly after being released from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities this year. This week, ICE announced that it would no longer release information related to such deaths. Advocates worry that this will obscure ICE's practice...

LGBTQ NationJun 5, 2026

Governor’s races have never been more important for trans rights than this year

It can be easy to forget about gubernatorial races as we head towards the midterms. They are, ultimately, state-level elections at a time when we’re focused on national problems. The balance of power in the Senate and the House of Representatives is the focal point for many of us...

LGBTQ NationJun 5, 2026

George Santos allegedly threatened an NPR reporter with "a gun in your face"

A day after a bombshell report dropped revealing disgraced ex-congressman George Santos is the target of a federal probe over insider trading on the prediction market Kalshi, the convicted felon was making more news, and another possible case for prosecutors. Bobby Allyn, the vet...

LGBTQ NationJun 5, 2026

Trump isn't gay & calling him gay as a schoolyard insult is homophobic

Just yesterday, The Advocate published a column calling Trump gay as an insult, proving why we still need Pride Month. The publication's reasoning centered around the upcoming Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) cage fight scheduled to take place at the White House on June 14, b...

LGBTQ NationJun 5, 2026

Trump says he "probably won all 50 states" before passing out in Oval Office

Donald Trump has been making increasingly wild claims about how much he won the 2024 election by. He didn't even win a majority of the popular vote in that election, but has been saying he won in a "landslide" for over a year. He apparently found a way to claim that he won the el...

LGBTQ NationJun 5, 2026

Calendar: June 5-11

Friday, June 5 “Center Aging: Pride Monthly Luncheon with Chair Yoga & Drag Bingo” will be at 12:00 p.m. at the DC LGBQ+ Community Center. Lunch will be provided. For more details, visit the DC Center’s website. “Comedy Show for LGBTQ+ Prosperity” will be at 7 p.m. at the DC LGBT...

Washington BladeJun 5, 2026

MAGA has given us a bad fever, but MLK Jr. taught us how to turn down the heat

During April 1963, Dr. Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference joined together with the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights in a massive nonviolent action to protest Birmingham’s system of segregation during the Easter holiday season, ...

LGBTQ NationJun 5, 2026

Madonna turns Times Square into massive dance floor

Pop icon Madonna celebrated Pride month with a pop-up performance in New York City’s Times Square on Thursday to the delight of 50,000 fans. She performed for about 15 minutes high above street level, including several songs from her new album “Confessions II” due on July 3, alon...

Washington BladeJun 5, 2026

Charges against Budapest mayor for organizing Pride march dropped

Hungarian authorities on Thursday dropped charges against Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony over his role in organizing the city’s 2025 Pride march. Karácsony spoke at the event, even though then-Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s government banned it. More than 100,000 people defied t...

Washington BladeJun 4, 2026

Gallup finds LGBTQ support among Americans is dropping

Gallup, one of the leading organizations in public opinion polling, has found that LGBTQ support among Americans is dropping. The poll, whose data was collected using Gallup’s annual Values and Beliefs survey, was conducted in May and was published on Wednesday. The data was coll...

Washington BladeJun 4, 2026

Ogles faces bipartisan backlash over anti-gay social media post

U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.), who represents Tennessee's 5th Congressional District, is facing backlash from LGBTQ advocates and fellow Republicans after a social media post declared that "homosexuality has no place in America." "Homosexuality has no place in America. Happy Nuc...

Washington BladeJun 4, 2026

LGBTQ+ candidates sweep CA primaries: "The voters sent a clear message"

California's primary on Tuesday was a "clean sweep" for LGBTQ+ candidates for Congress, as two Democratic incumbents dominated their races and two new contenders advanced to the general election in November. In San Francisco, out California state Sen. Scott Wiener (D) captured mo...

LGBTQ NationJun 4, 2026

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