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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

rights

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

rights

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

rights

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

rights

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

community

Leaving for a barge trip through canals of Burgundy

As those who read my columns know, I love cruising, the kind you do on water. I have had many different cruise experiences, including sailing through the Galapagos and the Norwegian fjords. This time, I will be doing something a little different and am off on a new adventure. Wit...

Washington BladeJun 4, 2026

rights

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

rights

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

rights

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

rights

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

rights

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

rights

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

rights

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

rights

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

health

"Pathetic vanity": GOP candidate brutally mocked over AI muscle picture

Former congressmember Mike Rogers (R-MI) is running for Senate, and his supporters appear to be employing an unusual strategy: posting AI-generated pictures of him with huge muscles. And he's getting roundly mocked online for his alleged vanity. Related Gay candidate calls out "h...

LGBTQ NationJun 3, 2026

rights

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

health

AIDS Healthcare Foundation announces 3 million people globally in its care

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit group founded in 1987 that has become the world’s largest HIV/AIDS organization, has announced it has three million people in care around the world. In a statement released on May 26, the organization, known worldwide ...

Washington BladeJun 3, 2026

rights

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

rights

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

rights

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

rights

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

rights

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

rights

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

safety

Trans menstruators event moved after extremists target it with hate

An event designed to highlight issues around menstrual equity among trans people as part of Boston's Pride programming has been forced to relocate after backlash from right-wing voices. A story on Fox News and social media posts have included transphobic attacks and claims that t...

LGBTQ NationJun 2, 2026

rights

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