Take Action

Tell Your Senators to Reject ICE Funding

The U.S. Senate will vote on whether to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). It is critical that you contact your U.S. Senators immediately and urge them to oppose any DHS funding package that includes funding for ICE.

What is happening in Minneapolis and in communities across the country is unacceptable. Families are being torn apart. People are being terrorized in their homes, schools, and workplaces. This violence is not isolated—and it must not be tolerated.

Now is the moment to act. Contact your U.S. Senators today and demand they vote NO on any DHS funding bill that includes ICE.

Californians

Register for Equality California’s LGBTQ+ Advocacy Day! Join our friends at Equality California for their advocacy day at the State Capitol in Sacramento on Wednesday, March 25, 2026, beginning at 9:00 a.m. and concluding with an optional reception at 5:00 p.m. Registration closes on March 1st, but organizers expect the event to fill up quickly, so register today!

Hoosiers 

Tell your state representatives to vote NO on SB 182! The state senate passed an extreme anti-trans bill – SB 182 – that bans transgender youth from using bathrooms and facilities at school, and bans trans Hoosiers from updating their birth certificate to match their gender identity. This bill invites discrimination, harassment, and harm to trans Hoosiers. Now it’s up to us to make sure the state house does not do the same. Tell your representative to vote NO today! 

Kansans 

Tell Gov. Kelly to VETO SB 244 and tell your legislators to sustain her veto! The legislation would require people to use the bathroom in government buildings that matches their biological sex at birth, rather than their gender, and requires governments to enforce the rule. Both the governmental body and individuals could face steep fines for violating the law. 

The bill also requires that the sex listed on a driver’s license and birth certificate match the person’s biological sex at birth. Reach out now and tell the governor to VETO this harmful bill and tell the legislature to sustain that veto!

New Hampshireites 

Tell the Education Committee to vote NO on HB 1778 and HB 1792! These two bills would limit self expression and create serious censorship concerns in the classroom. Join our friends at 603 Equality and tell the House Education Policy and Administration Committee to OPPOSE these bills!

South Carolinians
Tell your representatives to vote NO on the bathroom ban! South Carolina lawmakers are considering H. 4756, which would ban transgender students from using bathrooms and facilities at school. This bill invites discrimination, harassment, and harm to trans South Carolinians, from kindergarten through college. Tell your representative to vote NO today!

State News

Here is a sample of what’s going on around the country. You can share news from your state with [email protected] for possible inclusion in a future newsletter.

Illinois - Chicago mayor appoints first-ever director of LGBTQ+ affairs. Mayor Brandon Johnson appointed Antonio King, a longtime LGBTQ+ advocate and employee with the city’s Department of Public Health, to Chicago’s first executive-level position on LGBTQ+ issues. Mayor Johnson also said the position was unique among big cities in the U.S. 

Indiana - State Senate approves anti-trans bathroom and birth certificate update ban bill. SB 182 would require schools and universities to segregate restrooms, locker rooms, and changing areas by sex assigned at birth. The bill also bans updating the gender marker on birth certificates. SB 182 passed the Senate on January 27th on a party-line vote of 37-8. 

Iowa - Lawmakers advance expansion of “Don’t Say Gay/Trans” law. A Senate subcommittee voted 2-1 on January 21st to advance a bill which would extend Iowa’s ban on instruction “relating to gender theory or sexual orientation” from K-6 to K-12. 

Kansas - Legislature rushes through anti-trans bathroom and ID bill without public hearing. Both the House and Senate voted to approve SB 244 on January 28th, without any opportunity for public input. The bill requires that all government buildings segregate restrooms by sex assigned at birth, as well as requiring that driver’s licenses and birth certificates show a person’s sex assigned at birth. Governor Laura Kelly is expected to veto the bill, but it passed both chambers with enough votes to override any veto, if necessary. 

Missouri - House committee advances bills to make anti-trans healthcare, athlete bans permanent. The House Emerging Issues Committee voted along party lines on January 27th to send two bills to the House floor; one would make the state’s anti-trans healthcare ban, currently set to expire in 2027, permanent, while the other would do the same to the state’s anti-trans athlete ban.

Federal News

Justice Department agrees to partially withdraw subpoena for medical records from Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles. The Justice Department’s subpoena initially requested information that would identify over 3,000 trans youth who received hormone therapies at the hospital. The Justice Department agreed to withdraw the portion of the subpoena that requested information identifying patients and instructed the hospital to redact any patient-identifying information in documents it produced.

Federal judge denies Justice Department request for youth medical records from Children’s National Hospital.U.S. District Judge Julie Rubin denied the Justice Department access to medical records from eight families who sued to quash the subpoena seeking medical records related to their children’s care at the hospital’s Gender Development program. Rubin called the government’s efforts to access those records “a fishing expedition” and “an overreach.”  

Departments of Education and Health & Human Services (HHS) referring cases regarding trans-inclusive athletics policies in Minnesota to the Justice Department (DOJ). The HHS and Education Departments informed the Minnesota Department of Education (MDOE) and the State High School League (MSHSL) that they are referring to cases stemming from Minnesota’s trans inclusive athletics policies to the DOJ for enforcement actions, claiming that such policies violate Title IX. 

Trump Administration announces expansion of “global gag rule,” blocking federally funded aid from subsidizing DEI and transgender rights efforts. The Administration announced that through an interim final rule, organizations receiving U.S. foreign aid funds will be blocked from subsidizing efforts related to three areas: abortion, transgender issues including social transition. This represents an expansion of the so-called “global gag rule,” which blocks non-US non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from receiving some funding if they provide abortion-related services or advocate for abortion rights overseas. Effective 30 days from Jan. 28th, that interim final rule will be expanded to also apply to international organizations and US-based NGOs operating abroad who received U.S. federal funding. 

Trump Administration plans to deport two gay men to Iran. Two gay men are among a group of 40 Iranian nationals whom the Administration plans to deport to Iran. Sexual relations between people of the same sex is pubishable by death in Iran. 

Administration plans to reduce number of immigration agents in Minneapolis, Maine. Border Czar Tom Homan announced on January 29th that the Administration plans to reduce the number of ICE and Border Patrol agents, pending agreements with state and local officials. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) announced on the same day that large-scale immigration enforcement actions in Maine had ended. 

Internal ICE memo asserts ICE officers can enter homes without a judge’s warrant. The memo gives ICE officers permission to forcibly enter a residence based solely on an administrative warrant, rather than a warrant signed by a judge. Legal precedent generally holds that law enforcement may not enter a home without a warrant signed by a judge. 

Bill reintroduced to investigate discrimination against LGBTQ+ servicemembers. Rep. Mark Takano (CA-39) along with Equality Caucus Vice-Chair Rep. Sara Jacobs (CA-51) and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) reintroduced the Commission on Equity and Reconciliation in the Uniformed Services Act. The bill would establish a commission to investigate both historic and ongoing discrimination against LGBTQ+ servicemembers and veterans.