What happened: Abdul Ballout, a German citizen who was a supporter of the Islamic State (ISIL), drove a rented van into the Tiergarten in Berlin on the last day of the city’s Christopher Street Day celebrations, killing one person and injuring around 30 others. He then went on a knife rampage, escaped, and died in a shootout with police the next day.
Why it matters: Berlin is one of the most LGBTQ+-friendly cities in the world, but people aren’t even safe during Pride there.
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The “jokes”: He said out gay journalist Anderson Cooper has “a different persuasion than me, in many ways” and compared CNN reporter Kaitlan Collins, who is cis, to trans actress and influencer Dylan Mulvaney: “I thought Kaitlan had really made it big with a major new sponsorship, but then I informed her that it wasn’t her on the Bud Light can — it was Dylan Mulvaney.”
Why it matters: The United States went from having a president who didn’t believe in the gender binary and who issued Pride Month proclamations to a president who tells jokes where the punchlines are, “He’s gay!” and, “You look like a trans person!”
The publication: Parni+ was originally a resource on HIV, but it evolved into a general LGBTQ+ website. In 2023, Russia declared LGBTQ+ activism to be a form of extremism and cracked down on public displays of Pride. Earlier this year, prosecutors filed criminal charges against the people who write for Parni+.
Why it matters: Along with several other stories of Russia’s anti-LGBTQ+ actions this year, it is apparently now effectively illegal to be an out LGBTQ+ person in the biggest country in the world.
In their words: “We found that transgender activities were in place and that parents were not only not informed, but it was being hidden from parents,” Education Secretary Linda McMahon said. “So, I can tell you that in our investigation, we’ve turned it over to DOJ; they have a likelihood of facing losing federal funding, or a lawsuit, or both.”
Why it matters: The Trump administration has been using every investigative body it has control over to attack trans people’s rights, even when the law is not on their side — this has been done to at least intimidate institutions out of supporting trans people. This latest mobve is an expansion of that strategy, with previous efforts focusing on denying legal recognition of trans people, banning them from sports, and restricting their access to gender-affirming care.
The cuts: About 96 organizations won $46 million in grants to provide services from HIV testing to PrEP and outbreak response measures. The administration has been cutting these and other programs that fight the disease, both domestically and abroad.
Why it matters: Experts say that this will result in increased HIV transmissions.
Picture of the Week
The organization “Have a Gay Day” raised funds to install pro-LGBTQ+ billboards in Ohio in response to an anti-LGBTQ+ organization’s anti-marriage billboards.
Some more great queer and trans reads
Editor-in-chief Alex Bollinger linked several recent stories of the right getting upset at made-up issues about trans people. He speculates that transphobia has become something the right wants, even when they’ve already achieved their transphobic policy goals.
Deputy Editor Molly Sprayregen talked to the author of a children’s book on aromantic/asexual people.
Contributor Chaaz Quigley discussed the importance of Harlem Renaissance figure Richard Bruce Nugent.
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