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SCOTUS Purges 15K Service Members

The Supreme Court of the United States has granted the current administration’s April 24th motion for an emergency stay in United States v. Shilling allowing the purge of transgender service members from the military to proceed while the case is still being heard in the courts. Now thousands of transgender Americans will now lose their jobs, their commands, their promotions, their training, pay & benefits & careers. Their units will lose key players & missions will be disrupted causing irreparable harm. Jennifer Levi GLAD Law Senior Director of Transgender & Queer Rights stated, “The Supreme Court’s decision to allow the military ban to go into effect is devastating for the thousands of qualified transgender servicemembers who have met the standards & are serving honorably, putting their lives on the line for their country every single day. Today’s decision only adds to the chaos & destruction caused by this administration. It’s not the end of the case, but the havoc it will wreak is devastating & irreparable. History will confirm the weight of the injustice done today.” Shannon Minter NCLR Legal Director concluded, “The Court has upended the lives of thousands of servicemembers without even the decency of explaining why. As a result of this decision, reached without benefit of full briefing or argument, brave troops who have dedicated their lives to the service of our country will be targeted & forced into harsh administrative separation process usually reserved for misconduct. They have proven themselves time & time again & met the same standards as every other soldier, deploying in critical positions around the globe. This is a deeply sad day for our country.” 
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Franklin E. Kameny Centennial Event

In honor of Frank Kameny’s 100th birthday 100 demonstrators will raise candles in activism & remembrance on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court on May 21st from 11:15A to 2P. They will be joined by prominent national LGBTQ leaders carrying picket signs, many of which will include messages from the early iconic LGBTQ protests. This event is a historic celebration organized by LGBT History Month in collaboration with national partner organizations. Franklin E. Kameny was the chief strategist & founder of the LGBTQ civil rights movement. A first-generation American who was born in NYC May 21st 1925 Kameny became a decorated World War II veteran & earned a Ph.D. from Harvard University. He made enumerable lifelong contributions to LGBTQ equality. Kameny fought to overturn the ban on gay & lesbians in federal employment & filed the first LGBTQ equality brief with the United States Supreme Court. He cofounded organizations that would become the National LGBTQ Task Force & the Washington Blade. He led seminal protests & coined the slogan “Gay Is Good” at a time when LGBTQ people were vilified as deviants. He waged a successful effort to declassify homosexuality as a mental illness. He remained a prominent activist until his death in 2011. Honorary National Co-Chairs of this event are Senator Tammy Baldwin the first out U.S. Senator & Jim Obergefell the Supreme Court Marriage Equality Plaintiff as we celebrate the 10th Anniversary of marriage equality this year. 100 activists & national leaders will hold vintage picket signs and 100 flameless birthday candles at the Supreme Court to honor Kameny & demonstrate the unity of the LGBTQ Civil Rights movement. WATCH  
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NEA Future Funding Challenged

The current administration proposes the full elimination of the National Endowment For The Arts (NEA) in their budget to Congress for 2026. The Creative Coalition, dedicated to advancing the arts as a fundamental pillar of American society opposes this shortsightedness & urges Congress to reject it by preserving funding for the NEA for the upcoming fiscal year. Tim Daly, President of The Creative Coalition stated, “The arts are not a luxury; they are a necessity for a thriving society. Alongside preserving & spreading our cultural heritage, arts exposure results in higher academic achievement, social cohesion & mental wellness. NEA-supported programs bring these benefits through visual arts, music, theater & dance to American communities. Slashing arts funding would endanger not only these benefits but also the cultural legacy we pass on to future generations.” Robin Bronk, CEO of the Creative Coalition concluded, “Defunding the arts isn’t just a cultural loss — it’s a fiscal mistake. When the NEA makes a $1 investment, it returns $9 to the community in lipstick, lumber & light bulbs. If we eliminate the NEA, we risk losing the community centers & arts entrepreneurs, not in big cities, but on Main Streets in small towns all across this country. We urge lawmakers to protect this essential investment in our identity, economy & future.” Additionally, the NEA is a grassroots investment in the arts & culture industry as well as one of America’s highest-value exports that results in a $22.6 billion trade surplus. Founded in 1989 The Creative Coalition is the nation’s premier nonprofit org dedicated to advancing the arts as a fundamental pillar of American society. For More Info… 

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HHS Report Challenges Trans Youth Care

The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services has released a 400-page report entitled “Treatment for Pediatric Gender Dysphoria” attempting to discredit gender-affirming care for transgender youth. The report comes at the request of the new administration through an executive order seeking to ban lifesaving medical care for transgender people. Sinead Murano-Kinney, Health Policy Analyst at Advocates for Trans Equality stated, “This report, initiated by the Trump administration’s January 28th Executive Order, is a deeply ideological & politically motivated distortion of scientific evidence. It lacks the substantial time, rigorous & objective assessments & strong methodological tools that literature reviews require & it fails to maintain even a thin veneer of intellectual rigor or objectivity. Public health policy should be achieved through evidence-based constructions of policy, not policy-based constructions of evidence. Although it has become nakedly clear that scientific integrity is not valued by this administration.” Caleb Smith, Center for American Progress added, “This report wants so badly to be mistaken for expertise—but that’s impossible for 400 pages of rambling, incoherent, dangerous propaganda that waxes poetic about conversion therapy & anti-trans activists. Let’s follow the science here. Gender-affirming care is evidence-based, life-saving care. No politically motivated MAGA report can change that.” Sarah Kate Ellis GLAAD’s President & CEO concluded, “A report in the suggestion that someone’s authentic self & who they are can be ‘changed’ is discredited junk science. This so-called guidance is grossly misleading & in direct contrast to the recommendation of every leading health authority in the world. This report amounts to nothing more than forcing the same discredited idea of conversion therapy that ripped families apart & harmed gay, lesbian & bisexual young people for decades.” 
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Boston Spirit Annual Networking Event

The 17th annual Boston Spirit Executive Networking Night returns for an evening of networking & conversation on May 14th at the Marriott Boston Copley Place from 6P to 9P. This is a very special event to join more than 1,000 corporate professionals & 50 exhibitors for a great night of networking. There will also be a powerful panel presentation with leaders from the nonprofit world & government for an important discussion addressing our LGBTQ community. David Zimmerman, Publisher of Boston Spirit Magazine stated, “This year we have a remarkable panel presentation planned for the event. In response to the recent wave of anti-LGBT legislation & Executive Orders, Boston Spirit has assembled a panel of national leaders to inspire hope, to report on what they are doing to fight for LGBT rights & equality & to give us all a much-needed boost of energy & excitement as we continue to stand up for what is right!” The panel will include Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell, Ricardo Martinez GLAD Executive Director, JoDee Winterhof HRC Vice President Legislative Affairs & ACLU attorney James Esseks. There is no other event in New England that is similar to Boston Spirit’s Executive Networking Night event & this promises to be a very special, important night & one not to miss. Many of the attending exhibitors are also hiring so if you are in the market for a new career be sure to bring resumes & business cards. There will also be free appetizers & a cash bar. To attend you must register as we all come together & show our power & resilience. 
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Janis Ian Film Brings Us Back & Forward

In this new must-see documentary “Janis Ian: Breaking Silence” available on VOD platforms April 29th, director Varda Bar-Kar takes the audience on an intimate journey over decades from Ian’s perspective. Through Janis’s narrative, archival footage, dramatic reenactments & celebrity interviews an important retrospect is presented for our viewing consumption. I first became aware of Janis Ian in 1965 with her hit single "Society's Child" a song about an interracial relationship written & recorded by Ian when she was just 13 which was later featured on her debut album in 1967 with cover art above by Joseph Solman. The film begins with an introduction by Leonard Bernstein who learned of Ian after she performed "Society's Child" at “The Gaslight” during the vibrant Greenwich Village music scene of 1960’s. The intro was part of a segment of “Inside Pop: The Rock Revolution” a 1967 CBS television special about new pop music. The documentary then addresses the turbulent civil rights movement of our past, through Vietnam War protests & into the current wave of achieving equality for all. One of the most significant factor in this documentary is showing a talented female artist's lifelong survival in this world by staying true to their art & themselves. There are notable interviews with Joan Baez, Lily Tomlin, Jean Smart, Laurie Metcalf & many more Janis encountered during her journey. Janis Ian won her first Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 1976 for “At Seventeen” & her 2nd Grammy Award in 2013 at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony for Best Spoken Word Album for her audio book "Society's Child” when I talked to her about her career in this exclusive audio interview. LISTEN 
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Drama Desk Awards Benefit Event

The 2025 Annual Drama Desk Awards benefitting the Entertainment Community Fund have announced that stage & screen stars Debra Messing & Tituss Burgess will host the event that takes place on Sunday June 1st at NYU Skirball 566 LaGuardia Place in NYC beginning at 6:15P. The creative team for this year’s Drama Desk Awards has also been announced. Lorin Latarro (The Who’s Tommy; The Heart of Rock and Roll; The Producers in the West End) returns as director of the evening and Steve Rosen & David Rossmer (The Other Josh Cohen) will again be writing the show. Musical direction is by Dan Lipton, lighting design is by Abby May, production management & sound design is by Five Ohm & video design is by Ido Levran (The Lifespan of a Fact), Ira Mont (Jagged Little Pill) is the production stage manager. Co-Executive Producers Staci Levine & Jessica R. Jenen stated, “We are absolutely thrilled that Debra Messing & Tituss Burgess are hosting this year’s Drama Desk Awards, along with a stellar creative team led by Lorin Latarro. The Drama Desk Awards are a very special event, celebrating the entire theater community. With all net proceeds donated to the Entertainment Community Fund, the Drama Desk Awards benefit the very community being celebrated." The Drama Desk Awards are the only major NYC theater awards for which productions on Broadway, Off Broadway & Off-Off Broadway compete against each other in the same categories honoring all aspects of New York’s professional theater. The Drama Desk Nominations will be announced on Wednesday April 30th. 
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