Good Queer News Around the World!

International rejection of the far-right, legislative victories, and more! Plus: actions you can take to make EVEN MORE good news!!

Good morning, lovely people!

Since I’m still in the throes of a cross-country move, this is going to be a shorter post, but rest assured that very little can stop me from making sure you still get to hear the Good Queer News!

My first bit of Good News that’s going to be coming to you ever few weeks for the next month or two: legislative sessions are ending!! For advocates fighting fiercely in their state houses, it is a major relief to see many terrible bills fail to achieve passage. Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming all have adjourned, according to the trans legislation tracker. Many of these states you may know as some of the worst offenders in anti-trans legislation, and are now out of their prime people-hurting windows. Many other states (like Missouri) have just a few short (or long) weeks until the end of session.

Because y’all know I can never resist waxing poetic, I’m starting off with a short and lovely anecdote about why I love my work in queer organizing. My wife, dog, mother-in-law, and I have been driving from St. Louis, MO to Orange County, CA, for our move. On Tuesday morning, we heard tornado sirens blaring mere moments before we got onto the highway and we ended up hiding in a gas station in Springfield, MO. I’m thankful we pulled over—we were less than a mile from where the tornado touched down and the winds in the storm got up to 100 mph. We made it through the worst of it unharmed beyond a few wet boxes, but we were pretty shaken up and weren’t quite ready to hit the road again. My first thought: thank God there’s a PFLAG chapter here. Called up a fellow organizer and dear friend in the city who I almost never get to see in person, and within 25 minutes we were hanging out on her mom’s couch with tea and cookies.

Community building and organizing doesn’t just mean who can I call when politics get rough. It also means building a safety net around as many people as possible.

After an hour of lovely conversation (and requisite griping about the Missouri legislature’s latest BS) we were back on the road. I’m thrilled to report we have arrived safely in SoCal and are neck deep in the unpacking phase!

Now, back to your regularly scheduled Good Queer News programming!

Election Wins!

If you’re reading this, I have to assume you’re not a particular fan of the US’s current toddler-in-chief. Fortunately, significant swaths of the planet would agree with you, and this bodes well for many recent elections. According to some grade-A analysis by the Downballot, Altogether, in 19 special elections, Democrats are running ahead of the presidential margins by an average of 11.6 points. Even in deep red seats, folks are turning out to vote who didn’t before or are switching their voting party thanks in large part to dissatisfaction with the Trump administration.

This has spread across borders to our neighbors up north, too! In Canada, folks have spent months worrying at the rise of the far right, led by Pierre Poilievre and the conservative party. From what I understand, he led a Trump-esque campaign of anger and hate, and it was working. According to David Nir at the Downballot, the Conservative party held a double-digit majority in polling for all of 2024.

But in 2025, a strong campaign by Mark Carney of the Liberal party and a populace made furious by Trump’s hate and threats to make Canada a state had a stunning comeback. The elections were earlier this week, and against all expectations from last year the Liberals have cinched a decisive victory. No candidate is perfect, and I don’t know Carney’s whole record. But what I do know is that queer kids, queer adults, and the people that love them are going to be a whole lot safer. That’s always a win in my book.

While I have fewer sources/connections in Australia, it looks like they’ve had a similar landslide victory this week in their federal elections, with a resounding victory for the Labour Party. Conservative candidates who were seen as “sure wins” lost their seats for a too-close association to Trumpian politics. Enough is enough!! (The Conversation, 5/3)

Legal Victories!

The USDA has restored funding to school lunches in Maine! Last month, Maine sued the Trump Administration over freezing grant funding to attempt to get them to discriminate against transgender students. Now, the USDA has agreed to settle and will resume funding school lunches on the condition that the state of Maine drop their lawsuit (which was filed to restore funding). It’s fantastic to see the Trump admin sit down and accept defeat on this one. Rock on Maine for standing up for your trans residents! (NewsCenterMaine, 5/2)

Minnesota Attorney General sues Trump Administration over two anti-trans executive orders. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison drew a very clear line in the sand with his statement: “Trump's burning desire to destroy trans kids and punish us for helping them live and thrive isn't just a violation of law. It's a violation of Minnesota values, and we're not going to sell out trans kids or any vulnerable community just to stay in the good graces of the lawless administration.” I’m always so, so heartened to see allies taking bold, certain stances with the trans community!

Federal judge rules that insurance company discriminated against two trans teenagers. U.S. District Judge Thomas Zilly ruled that Premera Blue Cross Insurance in Washington state was discriminating on the basis of sex when they categorically denied top surgery coverage for two teenagers just because they are transgender. They cover the same procedures (mastectomy, breast reduction, etc.) for cisgender teenagers. While the judge declined to grant the case class-action status, Lambda Legal says it’s still a significant victory. (The Advocate, 4/21)

Actions to Drive More Good Queer News!

Help Missouri fight back against a dangerous new frontier of anti-trans legislation: Missouri is ten days out from the end of session, and we are fighting hard against a bill to create a ballot initiative banning abortion and gender affirming care for trans youth. If passed, not only could republicans create a constitutional ban on GAC, but it will create a multi-year hate campaign and attempt to radicalize and polarize Missouri’s population to win the vote. Learn more and get involved or donate here.

Stay informed about the victories and the fights to come: Attend GLAD Law’s virtual briefing on the impact of the First 100 Days of the Trump administration on May 7! I’ll be attending this one for sure!

Help get more powerhouse queer and trans candidates elected: join Families United for Trans Rights (FUTR, such a cool name) on May 14th at 7 PM Eastern to learn more about the FUTR’s slate of highly qualified gender-expansive candidates at all levels of government. Now more than ever, we need the voices of the trans community represented in the halls of power.

Special guests Councilwoman Ashley Shade, candidate for re-election to the North Adams, MA, City Council, and Rep. Aime Wichtendahl, the first trans woman elected to public office in Iowa, will share the impact they make every day as out transgender elected officials.

Okay, that’s all for now folks! I’m going back to my mountain of cardboard boxes.

With much love and hope as always,

Ben

A badge, created by illustrator Beth Spencer, vouching for an AI-free publication!

I saw this badge online and I really loved it, and have decided to include it in all further publications. As a reader, I live by the phrase “why should I be bothered to read something you couldn’t be bothered to write?”. As a writer, I understand that if you have a skill that you want to keep or grow, you have to use it. All these (plus the massive and horrifying environmental impacts of GenAI) means that to the best of my ability, I avoid generative AI like the plague. If you’d like a longer article about my stance on AI, let me know. For now, I will just make this promise to you that AI has never and will never be used to write here on Good Queer News.