New Orleans, LA – On Friday, March 31, hundreds marched from Washington Square Park to Jackson Square to celebrate Trans Day of Visibility. The marchers also gathered in response to nine anti-LGBTQ bills being considered by the Louisiana legislature. These bills reflect a growing crisis of targeted attacks against LGBTQ youth.

New Orleans, LA – On Friday, March 31, close to 300 students at Benjamin Franklin High School walked out of school during last period. They demanded a stop to bills in the Louisiana legislature that target LGBTQ kids. Students gathered on the school’s front lawn to hear speeches by their trans classmates. The event coincided with national Trans Day of Visibility.

New Orleans, LA – On March 22, a group of LGBTQ activists interrupted a public interview with Governor John Bel Edwards at Loyola University. They unfurled a banner reading “Gov. Edwards: Will you veto hate?” Ed Abraham, the main protest speaker, demanded that Edwards commit to vetoing all bills threatening LGBTQ rights in the Louisiana legislature. Edwards did not deliver a commitment, and Loyola police removed protesters from the venue. The activists left chanting, “Defend trans kids! Veto hate!”

Madison, WI – 400 people braved snowy conditions to join the Day of Resistance to Trans Genocide rally on March 18. The rally, organized by a grassroots coalition from southern Wisconsin, was held to demonstrate stalwart opposition to the recent flood of anti-trans legislation, rhetoric and violence across the United States.

Orlando, FL – On Saturday, March 11, multiple organizations rallied together in support of LGBTQ rights outside the Orlando City Hall. The event responded to the growing attacks that LGBTQ people face every day and the recent anti-trans legislation moving through the Florida legislature. The rally was attended by around 250 people.

Chicago, IL – The Chicago Transit Authority fired trans bus operator and Amalgamated Transit Union Local 241 member Russia T. Brown for waging a struggle for his right to healthcare while refusing to address rampant transphobia that culminated in death threats.

New Orleans, LA – On Sunday morning, February 12, about 30 protesters gathered at the Roosevelt Hotel to rally against LGBTQ book bans. They then marched down Canal Street to the Main Library. Sunday was a parade day during Mardi Gras, when protests are usually rare because of the traffic and attention of the city’s carnival season.

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement by the Real Name Campaign NOLA.

Tampa, FL – On Tuesday, February 7, Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society organized a protest to demand that administration at the University of South Florida protect transgender students by not submitting a survey on information about gender affirming healthcare requested by Governor Ron DeSantis. A crowd of about 50 students chanted “USF don’t comply!” and “Protect trans lives!”

Tallahassee, FL – For the last couple of months, I have binge-watched hundreds of hours of YouTube content related to RuPaul's Drag Race. I find myself emotional watching drag queens lip sync to Demi Lovato’s, Sorry Not Sorry. It is excellent television. Seeing talented queer people, especially those of color, grace the screen moves one. Even Shangela's epic read of Mimi Imfurst brings me to tears. That read is absolute poetry.

New Orleans, LA – On January 13, concerned Louisiana residents began submitting online tips flagging perverse heterosexual books in school libraries. They responded to state Attorney General Jeff Landry, who on November 28 set up a “tip line” for reporting “taxpayer-subsidized sexualization of children.”

Alexandria, LA – On January 17, the Rapides Parish Library Board of Control tabled a library collections policy amendment that would ban LGBTQ-themed children’s books. Instead of either supporting or rejecting the motion, board members requested advisement from the attorney general. LGBTQ people and allies packed the meeting room, waved signs and submitted public comments in opposition.

Mother Bloor, a Communist revolutionary who fought for women’s suffrage, emphasized that women couldn’t just stop at the right to vote. Working women still had to organize against the capitalist ruling class, which forced them to endure long hours, low wages and suffocating labor conditions. The vote was just another tool in that struggle. The suffrage movement relied on people like Bloor – workers who recognized that women’s liberation depends on the struggle for socialism.

Milwaukee, WI – On November 21, a dozen members from Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) at UW-Milwaukee and Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) gathered in Spaights Plaza at UWM to condemn transphobic violence and to advocate for a hiring freeze on UWM’s police department. A moment of silence was also observed to honor the victims of the Club Q shooting in Colorado that occurred two days before the event.

Seattle, WA – On November 18, the University of Washington’s Progressive Student Union (PSU) held a banner drop in protest of the national “Don’t Say Gay” bill, introduced by Congressional Republicans last month. Officially titled the “Stop the Sexualization of Children Act of 2022,” this is a national version of Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill, signed into law by Governor Ron DeSantis earlier this year. The D.C. bill prohibits the use of federal funds for any topic or program related to sex education in schools. It also prohibits access of library books with LGBTQ topics to children.

New Orleans. LA – The New Orleans LGBT Center, in collaboration with the Real Name Campaign, held a candlelight vigil on November 21. The vigil was organized after reports spread across the country of a mass-shooting that targeted Club Q, an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs.

Arlington, TX – On November 10, at the University of Texas at Arlington, over 100 students gathered in front of College Hall shouting “Transphobes go home!” and “This is what community looks like,” showing their outrage at the platforming of the transphobic bigot Jeff Younger.  Younger had been invited to speak by Turning Point USA (TPUSA) following his primary defeat in the Texas House of Representatives race. Jeff Younger’s entire campaign was built on attempting to further criminalize trans healthcare for youth in the United States.

Austin, TX – On Tuesday evening, November 1, a small group of students from the Austin Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) chapter gathered in front of the Perry Castañeda Library at University of Texas at Austin campus to protest against the national “Don’t Say Gay” bill.

Tampa, FL – On November 15, 20 students, led by Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society, gathered in front of the University of South Florida Library in a show of protest against HR 9197, the national Stop the Sexualization of Children Act, more commonly known as the “Don't Say Gay” bill.

Tallahassee, FL – On November 9, Florida State University Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) held a protest against the recent decision by the Florida Board of Medicine to ban, in a 6-3 vote, gender-affirming healthcare for transgender youth. This decision prohibits all types of gender-affirming care for those under 18, including puberty blockers, hormones, cross-hormone therapy and gender-affirming surgery. Around 30 people attended the protest in front of the new student union.