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Congressional Cemetery hosts Gays & Graves

Historic Congressional Cemetery will host the second annual “Gays & Graves: A Big Gay Festival” on Sunday, June 14 at 11 a.m. The event will feature pioneering activist Randy Wicker, the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, and new public art installations and programs celebrating LGB...

Washington BladeJun 12, 2026

community

Baltimore Pride is here

Baltimore Pride is underway, taking place from June 8-14. The Pride Parade will be on Saturday, June 13 at 12 p.m. at Charles Street & North Avenue, followed by the Pride Block Party at 1 p.m. at Druid Hill Park. And then the Pride Festival will be held on Sunday, June 14 at 12 p...

Washington BladeJun 12, 2026

community

Calendar: June 12-18

Friday, June 12 Bet Mishpachah will host “Pride Shabbat Happy Hour” at 6 p.m. at Edlavitch DC Jewish Community Center. This is an in-person happy hour with an open wine and beer bar, great company, and joyful conversation. Attendance is free and more details are available on Even...

Washington BladeJun 12, 2026

rights

Anti-LGBTQ+ group praises GOP gov. for signing "Family month" declaration

Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen (R) signed a proclamation on June 3 designating this month as "Marriage and Family Month." His proclamation makes his state just the latest among several red states that have recently tried to give Pride Month a conservative and anti-LGBTQ+ rebranding. “T...

LGBTQ NationJun 12, 2026

rights

Gender-bending buddy film gets 4K restoration for 25th anniversary

If you think the idea of a movie about two gender-nonconforming buddies embarking on an anti-establishment crime spree feels dangerously radical in 2026, just think how it must have felt 25 years ago. That’s when “By Hook or By Crook,” a DIY independent film shot in low-tech “Min...

Washington BladeJun 12, 2026

rights

Happy Straight Pride Month! Wait… let me double check my notes

It’s finally that time of year, when we celebrate "Straight Pride!" And frankly, it’s about time. For centuries, heterosexual people have been oppressed, marginalized, and forced to live in the shadows of a ruthlessly queer-dominated world. It’s time we address this glaring inequ...

LGBTQ NationJun 12, 2026

safety

Ted Cruz tried to insult James Talarico's masculinity. It backfired immediately.

Since Texas state Rep. James Talarico (D) became the state Democratic Party's nominee for U.S. Senate, the GOP has focused almost exclusively on discrediting him by attacking his masculinity and accusing him of being gay or trans. And the jabs don't seem to be slowing down. Earli...

LGBTQ NationJun 12, 2026

rights

Trump's biggest & worst lies aren't about the "rigged" 2020 election

In his June 9 interview with Kristen Welker on NBC’s Meet the Press, Donald Trump returned again to his loathsome “Big Lie” that he won the 2020 presidential election due to massive fraud in the states that declared Biden as the winner. Ever since November 3, 2020, Trump has sung...

LGBTQ NationJun 12, 2026

rights

Everything Donald Trump is doing makes sense – if he’s dying

It can be hard to work out what might be going through Donald Trump’s head at the best of times, but lately his actions have seemed to be increasingly bizarre and reckless. However, all of those actions become much easier to understand with one simple perspective shift: Trump kno...

LGBTQ NationJun 12, 2026

rights

German group slams White House’s LGBTQ rights record ahead of World Cup

A German advocacy group on the eve of the 2026 World Cup sharply criticized the Trump-Vance administration over its anti-LGBTQ policies. The World Cup will take place in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico through July 19. The tournament began on Thursday in Mexico City with Mexico beat...

Washington BladeJun 11, 2026

rights

School fires art professor after student complains about queer-related assignment

The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) suspended tenured art therapy professor Savneet Talwar after a student complained about her assignment asking students to develop an ethical treatment plan for a hypothetical queer, Muslim woman living in the United States, The Gu...

LGBTQ NationJun 11, 2026

safety

Anti-LGBTQ+ MAGA candidate jailed for threatening to harm Black teenager

Jake Lang — a racist Republican candidate for Florida’s U.S. Senate seat who was jailed for allegedly assaulting Capitol Police officers during the January 6, 2021, riots — is in jail on a $1 million bond for allegedly "making terroristic threats" by threatening to harm a Black t...

LGBTQ NationJun 11, 2026

rights

Giant inflatable of Elon Musk touts his role in producing child pornography

A giant inflatable bust depicting the shirtless tattooed likeness of transphobic, white supremacist near-trillionaire Elon Musk appeared in New York City's Times Square on Thursday morning. Its appearance foreshadowed the Friday debut of Musk's space exploration company, SpaceX, ...

LGBTQ NationJun 11, 2026

rights

Queer businesses are cleverly fighting Trump's anti-immigrant raids

Community advocacy, protest, and mutual aid weren't new concepts for queer businesses and their employees before Donald Trump unleashed Operation Metro Surge on Minnesota late last year. When the brutal immigration raids began, queer businesses were as ready as they could be for ...

LGBTQ NationJun 11, 2026

health

Pete Buttigieg drops yet another hint suggesting his 2028 presidential run

Out former U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg's upcoming speaking gig is amping up speculation that he'll run for president in 2028. He is the scheduled keynote speaker for the Iowa Democratic Party's Liberty & Justice dinner on July 12, the state party's largest event ...

LGBTQ NationJun 11, 2026

health

Pete Buttigieg hints whether he’ll run for president in 2028

Out former U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg's upcoming speaking gig is amping up speculation that he'll run for president in 2028. He is the scheduled keynote speaker for the Iowa Democratic Party's Liberty & Justice dinner on July 12, the state party's largest event ...

LGBTQ NationJun 11, 2026

rights

MAGA hate pastors say female teachers cause men to become gay

Christian nationalist hate pastor Joel Webbon — a man who blames Jewish people for all social evils, thinks marijuana makes men "spiritually gay," and thinks Adolf Hitler wasn’t so bad after all — and the co-hosts of his Right Response broadcast said in a June 9 episode that fema...

LGBTQ NationJun 11, 2026

rights

Trans sheriff's deputy settles health care lawsuit after 7 years of legal battle

After seven years, sheriff’s deputy Anna Lange and Houston County, Georgia, have reached a settlement in the case over the county’s health insurance excluding gender-affirming services. The legal case and the county’s push to exclude trans health care are estimated to have cost t...

LGBTQ NationJun 11, 2026

rights

Gay 1920s-era Hollywood star to be honored in Staunton, Va.

A project is underway in Staunton, Va., to honor William ‘Billy’ Haines, who was born and raised in Staunton before becoming an out gay 1920s and early 1930s-era Hollywood movie star whose acting career ended around 1934 when he refused demands that he conceal his sexual orientat...

Washington BladeJun 11, 2026

rights

Fox host rages at mindblowing videos of LGBTQ+ people dancing

Fox host Jesse Watters wanted to make his audience mad about Pride Month, but he had an odd way of doing it: by showing amazing videos of queer people dancing. Watters started the segment with what he described – apparently derogatorily? – as a "gay dance fiesta," referring to a ...

LGBTQ NationJun 11, 2026

rights

Straight Pride Month would finally help cishet people feel like they belong

As we kick off June’s Pride activities, many cis-hetero Christian nationalists are feeling dejected. So, in their attempts to reclaim the month, many Republican governors have pushed “counterprogramming” by labeling June as “Nuclear Family Month” in Indiana and Tennessee, “Strong...

LGBTQ NationJun 11, 2026

rights

The right is trying to overturn marriage equality. That will hurt LGBTQ+ families.

Across much of America, marriage equality is widely accepted and recognized as a fundamental right. More than a decade after the Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell v. Hodges that same-sex couples had a constitutional right to marry, LGBTQ+ families across America have flourished. ...

LGBTQ NationJun 11, 2026

rights

Why I’m supporting Gary Goodweather for D.C. mayor

Hey fellow LGBTQ+ Democrats, this is worth reading! Especially if you're a voter in Washington, D.C. who's planning to cast a ballot for the nomination of local candidates in the District of Columbia in 2026. Because next Tuesday June 16 is a really Big Deal for D.C. Democrats. I...

Washington BladeJun 11, 2026

rights

Don’t just vote for change — vote for Hope Solomon for mayor

My name is Hope Solomon, and I’m running for mayor of Washington, D.C. I’ve spent my entire life here. I attended D.C. Public Schools. I grew up working in my family’s small business here in D.C. I live in Dupont Circle. For 17 years, I worked in national security with the Depart...

Washington BladeJun 11, 2026

rights

Vote Kenyan McDuffie for D.C. mayor

Elections are always important, but this year in D.C. they will bring major changes. Because of that, your vote in the Democratic primary on June 16 is more important than ever. D.C. is so overwhelmingly Democratic it is a near certainty the winners in the Democratic primary will...

Washington BladeJun 11, 2026

rights

Your queer D.C. voting guide

LGBTQ voters in the nation’s capital are choosing among a long list of LGBTQ supportive candidates running for mayor, D.C. City Council, and the position of D.C. Delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives in the city’s June 16 primary election. LGBTQ activists who have spoken ...

Washington BladeJun 11, 2026

rights

Blade reporters reflect on covering Pulse massacre 10 years ago

Friday marks 10 years since a gunman killed 49 people inside the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla. The massacre, which, at the time was the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history, left the LGBTQ community in this country and around the world reeling. It also prompted renew...

Washington BladeJun 11, 2026

community

Dayna Kathan of "Vanderpump Rules" comes out as a lesbian in Pride Month post

Dayna Kathan, a fan-favorite personality from the reality TV series Vanderpump Rules, came out as a "late in life lesbian" in a June 7 Instagram post. Kathan previously came out as bisexual during Season 8 of the show, in a scene filmed in June 2020, as well as in a June 2019 Ins...

LGBTQ NationJun 10, 2026