Outfest in Columbia SC sizzled, rocked, and represented for Pride Month 2026!

Pride Month is upon us and as usual, my state of South Carolina ALWAYS represents. 

This year was no different with the annual Outfest event held in the capital city of Columbia. The Outfest pageant this year was a rock and roll theme and needless to say, contestants came to win. Below are pictures of the festivities with some added commentary by yours truly where needed. Click on the pictures to see them at full-size.

Outfest was a huge success and a wonderful precursor to our main Pride celebration held in October.

My second favorite picture of the day.  Pride Month and basic visibility is necessary for the next generation.

And now I will have to interject some commentary. This contestant is wearing a flesh-toned body suit under her straps. She is in no way anywhere near nude. I felt the need to clarify this because unfortunately, there are a horde of predatory "social media influencers" looking to exploit anything they can to pass along a lie about "half naked people gyrating in front of children" during Pride events .Also, SC Pride, the host of Outfest, has a very STRICT policy with regards to that sort of thing.

Affirming churches and church leaders were in attendance and I love this. It refutes the lie that LGBTQ people have no religious foundation. Come on folks, it's the South. Religion is the cornerstone of the Southern identity whether or not you are an LGBTQ person. And on a personal level, it was my faith which helped me accept who I am as a gay man.

My FAVORITE picture. It can be viewed in two ways - 1. A bunch of LGBTQ folks and our allies minding our own business and enjoying the day. Or 2. "The Council of the Kings and Queens" are judging you, so bring it or go home.

Even Deadpool showed up and showed out. Those who are comic book fans should already know that Deadpool is "family."

Democratic senators strongly defend trans Americans and gender-affirming care during hearing

Democratic senators, such as Tim Kaine of Virginia, strongly defended trans Americans and gender-affirming care during a hearing on Wednesday

On Wednesday, the Senate held a public hearing on gender-affirming care for trans youth. With Republicans in control of the Senate, you can easily guess which rabbits were pulled out of which hats. 

From The Advocate:

A Senate hearing on gender-affirming care for minors on Wednesday became a fight over who gets to make decisions for transgender children, whether politicians should override doctors and parents, and whether the Trump administration’s escalating campaign against gender-affirming care is rooted in concern for children or hostility toward transgender people. 

 The hearing, convened by Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, came as the administration has intensified efforts to restrict care, including Justice Department subpoenas seeking records from providers that treat transgender minors.

 The committee listed three witnesses, including Dr. Kurt Miceli, chief medical officer of anti-trans and anti-diversity activist group Do No Harm; Chloe Cole, an anti-trans advocate who received gender-affirming care as a minor and who regretted that care; and Shannon Minter, legal director of the National Center for LGBTQ Rights. 

 

Minter did an excellent job in defending gender-affirming care as a decision between families and their physicians instead of political leaders:

 Minter argued that care for transgender adolescents is governed by standards requiring evaluation, informed consent, and parental involvement. He repeatedly emphasized that parents are central participants in every stage of treatment. “Parents, not politicians, know their children best,” Minter testified. 

 ... Republican Sen. Jim Banks of Indiana repeatedly pressed Minter about Pride flags in classrooms, whether teachers should discuss sexuality with children, and whether Pride symbols represent political statements. Minter declined to engage, instead returning to health care and parental decision-making. 

 He similarly dismissed suggestions that organizations such as the American Academy of Pediatrics and Endocrine Society are driven by ideology rather than medicine. "It sounds like a conspiracy theory," Minter said. "They're asking people to believe that all of these longstanding professional organizations have somehow sold out." 

Democratic senators also came out unapologetically defending gender-affirming care. They, like Minter, said it was a decision between medical professionals and families. Others pointed out the hypocrisy of Republican focus this issue while ignoring other healthcare issues such as rising costs. Senator Tim Kaine of Viriginia created several memorable moments, such as when he respectfully acknowledged anti-trans activist Chloe Coles's testimony while still standing against a ban on gender-affirming care for trans youth:

The hearing’s most striking exchange came from Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, who delivered one of the strongest defenses of transgender young people. Kaine began by acknowledging Cole’s testimony. “Your story is tragic,” he told her. “It is a classic case, as you tell it, of medical malpractice.” He said allegations that doctors failed to adequately explain risks or pressured families deserved serious attention and could be addressed through malpractice lawsuits, professional standards, and medical oversight rather than a federal ban.

Also, when he said that the hearing was indicative of the ugly attacks against trans Americans:

Kaine pointed to recent political attacks involving transgender people, including efforts to falsely label Texas Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico as transgender and campaign messaging portraying support for transgender rights as politically dangerous. He also criticized the administration’s efforts to remove transgender service members from the military. Kaine said that the reason Republicans are attacking transgender people is that it's easy to target a marginalized group. Kaine also drew a historical parallel, arguing that politicians have repeatedly sought to gain power by targeting vulnerable minority groups. 

Pointing to Virginia’s history, he said the state spent much of its post-Founding political history focused on "kicking around marginalized oppressed people" — particularly African Americans — and warned that transgender people are increasingly being cast in a similar role in modern politics. 

 "Who can we kick around? Who can we direct hate towards?" Kaine said, describing what he viewed as a recurring pattern in American political life. He argued that recent attacks on transgender people resembled earlier efforts to use marginalized groups as political scapegoats. "Attacking trans people is sort of like the new version of kicking around vulnerable communities for political gain," Kaine said.

But probably one of the most poignant moments was when he spoke to trans youth who may have been watching the hearing:

Sen. Kaine: If you’re a trans kid watching this hearing… there is some intentional effort to make you feel bad about yourself, but you have a lot of people who love you. You have a lot of people who support you. … You are a beautiful precious person. You are made and precious… pic.twitter.com/uWnzRcMcy6

— Protect Our Care (@ProtectOurCare) June 3, 2026

Hate group leader's attempt to gloat about Pride Month reveals his inability to stop it

Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council

Today marks the beginning of Pride Month 2026 and Tony Perkins of the anti-LGBTQ hate group the Family Research is attempting to spin a narrative that Pride Month is faltering. 

 From Perkins by the way of JoeMyGod: 

Pride Month is off to a faltering start again this year as yet another red state ditches the month-long celebration of LGBT depravity in favor of family values. Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) signed a proclamation declaring June to be “Fidelity Month” in her state. Tennessee Governor Bill Lee (R) also rejected Pride Month, declaring June instead to be “Nuclear Family Month” in the Volunteer State. 

 Last year, The Washington Stand reported that corporate sponsorship for Pride Month events was scaling back dramatically in the wake of President Donald Trump’s return to the White House and the previous months of crippling boycotts targeting companies that made LGBT themes central to their marketing. The evaporating corporate sponsorship impacted public-facing Pride Month initiatives, with LGBT parades and events in major cities facing serious reductions. 

2026 is on track for much of the same. According to a report from NPR, corporate sponsorship for 2026 Pride Month events is declining even further, falling by an estimated 60% to 70% from years past. Organizers pointed to the Trump White House and its agenda targeting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and pro-transgenderism programs and the public backlash against LGBT events, marketing, and sponsorship as causes for the reduced corporate involvement in Pride Month this year.

Trump's return to office have made things a bit more difficult. Between his administration targeting our community and his supporters feeling empowered to target businesses who voice support for us, there is no question that corporate sponsorships are suffering for now.

No doubt Perkins and his supporters are clapping their hands in glee over this development, but as dire as it seems for us, corporate sponsorships were always a transactional relationship. As much as our community is grateful for these sponsorships, we've never been deceived that companies wanting to sponsor our Pride events came from a desire to market themselves to a demographic - in this case us.  And situations like this have a way of changing like ocean tides. Just as sure as potential corporate sponsors are wary of us now, that can always change in time. And it will.

 Perkins is fooling his followers and probably himself. Even his attempt to claim that red state governors are trolling us with their proclamations is laughable.

These proclamations are from a worn-out false narrative which places LGBTQ people as the enemy of families.  LGBTQ people are not the enemy of families. Families include us. And while Lee, Huckabee-Sanders, and whoever else make a point to exclude us, their attempts are having the opposite effect. They remind people - whether they support us or not - that we do exist.  Our marriages exist. Our children exist. Our families exist. LGBTQ families and gay marriage are no longer on the outside of the American experience We have become a normal part of the American experience.

Proclamations born out of sour grapes will never change that. Nor do they stop Pride events from taking place in their respective states.

While Perkins can gloat about us losing corporate sponsors, he can't gloat about the disappearance of Pride Month because it still exists. He can gloat about how the Trump Administration is creating havoc for our Pride celebrations, he can't gloat that we are canceling our celebrations because they are still taking place. He can gloat about the trouble our community is presently having, but he can't gloat that we have returned to the closet because we are going nowhere but forward. And while Perkins can gloat about immature proclamations designed (unsuccessfully) to render our families as nonexistent, he can't get rid of our families because we aren't going anywhere. This is our country too.

Perkins wants people to think he's gloating, but he is actually settling for crumbs cobbled together as a pathetic semblance of victory.  He's cheering the small roadblocks to our Pride celebrations because he is powerless to stop them. He's cheering the sad insults levied against our families because he can't eliminate our visibility. It's the only power he has against us, and I bet it makes him bitter.

Eat your heart out, Tony. And Happy Pride. Your bitterness will always sustain us.

Signature irregularities keeping trans sports ban off of Maine ballot this year

No doubt certain people will appeal this ruling, but for now the attempt by Maine's Republican party to get its voters to the polls in November via an attack on trans people has failed.

From The Advocate:

Maine’s Secretary of State announced that a trans sports ban will not appear on the ballot this year after questions about signature gathering resulted in thousands of petitions being tossed out. “Citizen initiatives are direct democracy. Just as we take voting security seriously, we take petition integrity seriously,” said Secretary of State Shenna Bellows. 

 “Unfortunately, some out-of-state circulators failed to meet certain legal requirements for petitions, resulting in this initiative failing to qualify for the ballot after legal review. I am proud of the hard work and dedication of the Secretary of State staff who work so hard to safeguard our elections for the benefit of every Maine voter.” 

 Bellows’s staff raised alarms weeks ago about signatures that should be invalidated because gatherers didn’t follow the correct procedure. Ultimately, Bellows determined that 12,542 signatures were invalid. She accepted 67,150 signatures, but that left the effort 140 signatures shy of the required amount to put a ballot measure before voters. 

 Some signatures were rejected because circulators failed to witness registered voters signing petition forms, while others were signed by another person, according to the state. The decision can still be appealed within ten days. Conservative activists in the state had proposed a ballot measure that would bar transgender students from using locker rooms or school bathrooms aligned with their gender identity and would segregate sports based on gender assigned at birth.

Biologist and retired police officer win huge monetary settlements for ugly aftermath of Charlie Kirk comments

Charlie Kirk

When conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot and killed last year, his followers and supporters promised to ruin the lives of those they felt made fun of his death. They were successful in getting many people fired. But as it turns out, their actions are creating positive monetary repercussions for those caught up in their witch hunt.

From The Hill:

Florida officials have reached a settlement in which they will pay $485,000 to a biologist who was fired from her state job over a social media post criticizing conservative influencer Charlie Kirk after his assassination. Brittney Brown lost her job at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) in September after reposting a message to her private Instagram account claiming Kirk did not care about children being shot in their classrooms.

The post read: “The whales are deeply saddened to hear about the shooting of Charlie Kirk, haha just kidding, they care exactly as much as Charlie Kirk cared about children being shot in their classrooms, which is to say not at all.” Brown’s repost circulated on social media after it was picked up by popular conservatives on social media, and she was fired from her job, according to a lawsuit she later filed.

 In a settlement agreement Brown signed on Thursday, Florida officials will pay Brown $485,000, including $235,000 to cover the loss of her job, $40,000 in back pay and $210,000 to cover her legal fees, USA Today reported. 

 According to The Huffington Post, one social media site in general may have had a lot to do with Brown's firing:

 Prior to her termination, Brown’s repost caught the attention of the popular right-wing social media page “Libs of TikTok,” which shared a screenshot of the repost alongside a screenshot of her LinkedIn profile on X. 

 “She allegedly posted this disgusting message mocking Charlie’s ass*ssination. Your tax dollars pay her salary. She should be fired ASAP,” the right-wing page wrote. 

Needless to say, many people have returned to that September 2025 post to mock Libs of TikTok by posting news of the recent settlement.

Brown's $485,000 settlement comes on the heels of another settlement, this time in favor of a retired police officer in Tennessee who will receive an $835,000 settlement after getting put in jail for 37 days after a Facebook post he wrote about Kirk's shooting.

Larry Bushart, a former officer from Tennessee who was arrested over a Facebook comment he posted about a pro-Kirk vigil in September 2025. The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) announced the settlement in a news release on Wednesday, May 20. Bushart shared a meme under a post promoting the event in Perry County, Tennessee. The picture showed President Donald Trump with the quote, "We have to get over it," referencing Trump's response after a January 2024 school shooting in Perry, Iowa. 

 Authorities accused Bushart of making threats of mass violence, claiming the post could be interpreted as a threat against Perry County High School. Bushart spent 37 days in jail on a $2 million bond before prosecutors dropped the charges in late October 2025. Bushart later filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Perry County, Sheriff Nick Weems, and county investigator Jason Morrow, accusing them of violating his First and Fourth Amendment rights. 

 . . . Bushart's attorneys said he lost his post-retirement medical transportation job while jailed, along with missing his anniversary and the birth of his grandchild.

Brown and Bushart are two of a large number of people filing lawsuits after getting fired for comments made after Kirk's death. And some, just like Brown and Bushart, are winning.

Earlier this year, Darren Michael, an associate professor of acting and directing at Austin Peay State University in Tennessee, received a $500,000 settlement and his job back after getting fired in September 2025 for sharing a Newsweek article which quoted Kirk about gun violence.

Kansas judge temporarily blocks state's gender-affirming care ban while dismantling testimony favoring ban

Sorry for missing this one

A judge granted a temporary injunction on Friday, blocking Kansas’s gender-affirming care ban and bringing “enormous relief” to trans youth and their families, according to ACLU attorney Harper Seldin. State District Judge Carl Folsom III granted the injunction after two mothers with trans teenagers sued so their kids could continue taking gender-affirming medications.

 “Specifically, the Court concludes that Plaintiffs are likely to prevail based on the right to personal autonomy set out in Section 1 of the Kansas Constitution Bill of Rights and a parent’s fundamental right to make medical decisions for their children,” Folsom wrote in his ruling. Loe v. Kansas challenges S.B. 63, which bans all gender-affirming treatments for minors in the state, including puberty blockers and hormone therapy. Cisgender youth, however, are allowed to utilize those treatments for other reasons. 

Trans journalist Erin Reed covered Folsom's ruling in great detail on her substack. According to her, Folsom not only ruled against the state, but he also had some brutal words for the witnesses called upon to justify the ban. Reed said he "eviscerated" their testimony 

In his ruling, Judge Carl Folsom III worked through the testimony of the state's witnesses one by one, finding that its anti-transgender “experts”—routinely paraded by groups like the Alliance Defending Freedom, SEGM, and Genspect—offered opinions built on "cherry-picked information, conjecture, and research taken out of context," and granting their testimony little to no weight.

 He then laid out 349 individual findings of fact, drawn from scientific evidence and the testimony of credible medical experts, documenting the safety and efficacy of gender-affirming care. He ultimately found that the ban likely violates the Kansas Constitution—which guarantees broader protections than its federal counterpart. That distinction matters enormously: because the ruling rests on state constitutional grounds, it is largely insulated from the U.S. Supreme Court and its decision in Skrmetti, which closed the federal courthouse door to these challenges but left the state one wide open.

 

I suggest that folks go to Reed's substack to get a full reading of Folsom's smackdown, but here are some morsels involving certain "professional" anti-trans activists who a lot of us already know.

Chloe Cole

The judge also had pointed words for the state's roster of prominent anti-trans activists. Chloe Cole, the country’s most prominent anti-trans detransitioner, testified about receiving care as a minor in California—but Folsom noted that Cole "admittedly did not receive care in Kansas," and that the plaintiffs' expert Dr. Angela Turpin testified the care Cole described "would not have occurred in Kansas" and would have been inconsistent with the clinical guidelines Kansas providers actually follow. Her testimony was given "less weight." 

 Jamie Reed

 And then there was Jamie Reed, the self-styled "whistleblower" who built a national profile on lurid, largely unsubstantiated accusations against a St. Louis gender clinic and who has gone on Fox News to describe being transgender as a delusion. Reed also did not testify and could not be cross-examined. Folsom gave her affidavit "little weight,” and had scathing remarks towards her lack of expertise: 

 “The Court gives thus Jamie Reed’s affidavit little weight, given that she is not a medical provider or mental-health professional. In addition, her affidavit primarily addresses her experiences with a clinic operating outside of Kansas—thus, it does not rebut or refute the credible, uncontroverted testimony about clinical practice within the state of Kansas,” read the order. 

Folsom also dismantled two very popular anti-trans talking points. One is the claim that European countries have stopped gender-affirming care for trans youth. The other involves the Cass Review, a controversial report which has been used in the United Kingdom to undermine gender-affirming care for trans youth: 

 Folsom reserved some of his sharpest fact-finding for the Cass Review and claims over European care. The state's experts pointed to systematic reviews from the United Kingdom, Sweden, Finland, Germany, and Norway as “proof” the science had turned. Folsom found otherwise. "None of these systematic reviews recommend categorically banning gender-affirming medical care for adolescents," he wrote, and "the United Kingdom, Sweden, Finland, Germany, and Norway have not categorically prohibited gender-affirming medical care for minors"—as Kansas had. 

 On the Cass Review specifically, Folsom found that its authors "changed their methodology from the methodology they said they would use in their preregistration, which is a deviation from standard academic publishing practices designed to minimize bias," and "used idiosyncratic standards in scoring and thus excluded studies that had made important contributions to the field."

 Far from recommending a ban, the court found, the Cass Report "reaches conclusions that are similar to those in the Endocrine Society Guideline and WPATH Standards of Care" and "concludes that there are young people who absolutely benefit from gender-affirming care." 

On Germany, the state had the facts backwards: Folsom found that "Germany's recent guideline endorses the provision of gender-affirming medical care"—a reference to the 2025 guidelines from 26 medical organizations across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, the largest European medical consensus on transgender youth care ever produced. 

The part about the Cass Review is sure to piss certain people off. And I am here for it. But as I said before, go to Reed's substack to get the full story, including what may happen after this ruling.

Bigoted pastor James Robison dies. LGBTQ people outlasts another one.

The late religious right pastor James Robison is the latest anti-LGBTQ figure our community has outlasted.

My LGBTQ brothers and sisters, we've outlasted another one.

From USA Today:

Televangelist James Robison, the founder of Life Outreach International, died Sunday, May 17. He was 82. Fort Worth, Texas-based Life Outreach International confirmed Robison's death in a statement posted on X. “James devoted his life to sharing the Gospel and bringing hope, help, and healing to those in need around the world," according to the statement from Life Outreach International's board of directors.

From The Christian Post (by way of JoeMyGod):

Robison was the host of “LIFE Today,” a long-running Christian television program. He helped build LIFE Outreach International into a ministry known for feeding programs, clean-water initiatives, disaster relief and outreach to vulnerable communities worldwide.

 He had spoken publicly throughout his career about being born under difficult circumstances and raised in hardship. Robison had a life-altering encounter with Jesus at age 14 and was called to be an evangelist at 18. According to his website, more than 20 million people have heard him preach throughout his career in ministry. He is survived by his wife, Betty Robison; son Randy; and daughter Rhonda. A daughter, Robin, predeceased him, according to Bunni Pounds, president of Christians Engaged, in a tribute posted to Facebook.

Robison was also a raging homophobe who weaponized Christianity as an excuse to dehumanize LGBTQ people:

 

 

Now some folks are going to condemn what I say and accuse me of being "intolerant" of Robison's opinion and so-called "deeply held religious beliefs."

I personally don't give a damn. Robison had a right to his opinion, but I also have a right to mine. And my opinion is that Robison was a monster who tore at LGBTQ lives while trying to sell us the lie that God hates us for being LGBTQ.

But by no means should anyone think that this post is me gloating over Robison's death. Far from it. This post (just like the ones I wrote after the passing of Jerry Falwell, Rush Limbaugh, Lou Sheldon, James Dobson, and Anita Bryant) is meant to be a reminder to my LGBTQ family that we are still here in spite of all the ugliness, lies and hate thrown at us. 

We're still here, still standing, and still thriving.