Illegally charging donors' credit cards

Penn State University

Penn State disputed claims from Gaines that the university canceled a speech she was set to make on campus, explaining that the student group hosting her failed to file the paperwork in time. Gaines did ultimately speak outside on campus on October 10, which she named "Real Women's Day" because the Roman numerals for 10/10 are XX, symbolizing for Gaines that “real” women have XX chromosomes.

Her speech drew a slew of pro-trans rights student protestors, two of whom were detained by police for “disorderly conduct,” according to the school’s blog, Onward State. The blog also stated that despite Gaines’s use of a megaphone, her speech was more or less drowned out by protestors screaming “can’t swim” and “protect trans rights.”

The Netherlands and Portugal

This November, Miss Netherlands and Miss Portugal will compete with 88 other Miss Universe contestants to see who will take home the coveted crown. Both women were the first trans women in their countries to win their titles.

“Welcome to the new era of the global women’s empowerment platform," Miss Universe pageant owner Anne Jakrajutatip said in a 2022 speech. "From now on, it’s gonna be run by women, owned by a trans woman, for all women, for all women really around the world to celebrate the power of feminism.”

Queer Here, Queer There, We're Not Going Anywhere

LGBTQ Nation‘s Queer Here, Queer There, We’re Not Going Anywhere was released on October 10. It is a book with,  as the subtitle describes, LGBTQ+ Wit, Wisdom and Badass Affirmations.

Written and edited by J. Katherine Quartararo, the book offers over 300 quotes from influential queer figures of the past and present. Sprinkled among the quotes are over 50 affirmations that serve to remind readers they are exactly who they were born to be.

Together with the wise words of those who have lived their truth in the public eye, this book will no doubt inspire both Pride and action in anyone who explores its pages. Also included is a powerful forward by Jim Obergefell, the lead plaintiff in the 2015 Supreme Court case that made marriage equality the law of the land. 

Click here to grab a copy for yourself!

The right to receive best-practice gender-affirming care

The family alleges that North Carolina's gender-affirming care ban is unconstitutional and “gravely threatens the health and wellbeing of transgender adolescents” in the state.

The lawsuit alleges that the ban is a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment since it only prohibits certain hormone therapies for transgender youth but allows them to be used for cisgender patients. It claims the ban also violates the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause by taking away parents’ ability to make medical decisions for their children based on recommendations from healthcare providers.

The suit also explains that the young boy is terrified of reaching puberty without access to gender-affirming care, which would cause him to experience the trauma of experiencing it in the wrong body.

Because she was being vilified for voting against former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA)

Mace was one of eight House Republicans who voted - along with all the Democrats - to remove McCarthy from the speakership. She said that she was getting attacked for "being a woman up here" and "for my vote and for my voice."

Online, people mocked her since Hester Prynne in The Scarlet Letter is forced to wear a scarlet letter A because she committed adultery.

He said his phone may have been hacked

A nude picture of Frank Biden appeared on the website GuysWithiPhones.com in 2018. The Daily Mail finally asked him how that happened, and he said he didn't know and "could care less."

"They must have hacked my phone," he told the reporter. 

“What lengths will these cretins go to?” Biden asked. “Why do they care about a 70-year-old man?”

Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA)

Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) was briefly chosen as the nominee in a Tuesday closed-door vote among House Republicans. However, after the vote, it quickly became apparent that not enough GOP House members supported him for him to win the 217 votes needed to become speaker.

By Friday, Scalise formally withdrew his name from nomination, leaving the lower congressional chamber without a leader and unable to pass legislation. Observers worry the chamber may remain leaderless, leaving the U.S. unable to support foreign military allies and avoid a forthcoming government shutdown.

He helped stop the Club Q shooter

James, along with Richard Fierro, stopped the Club Q shooter, who killed five people and wounded 19 at the LGBTQ+ club in Colorado Springs, Colorado on November 19, 2022. James, a Navy petty officer, charged at the shooter along with Richard Fierro. As Fierro pulled the gunman to the floor, James tore the shooter’s rifle away and helped Fierro restrain him.

The Navy called it “an extraordinary reaction to a deplorable and devastating event,” pointing out that in the aftermath, James also gave up his ambulance seat to another victim who needed to be taken to a hospital.

Gavin Newsom (CA)

Despite being in favor of LGBTQ+ rights, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) vetoed three pro-LGBTQ+ bills, citing reasons of legality and ambiguity.

The bills sought to require out-of-state health insurance plans used by California residents to cover gender-affirming care, as well as abortion and abortion-related services; prohibit health plans from instituting copays for specific preventative health services, including PrEP, used to prevent HIV; and outlaw deployment discrimination based on family caregiver status, which LGBTQ+ activists supported due to the fact that many care for chosen family members that they may not be legally related to.