This week on the Queer News podcast, our top story highlights trans and nonbinary politicians on the precipice of making history. In politics, co-owner of the Lesbian Bar My Sister's Room Jen-Chase Daniels was arrested over the weekend, and the Trump administration is getting sued again! In sports, culture and entertainment, WNBA security pulls fans for pro and anti trans shirts, the lgbtq+ community now makes up 12% of the population and the chicago therapy collective will soon be prohibited from providing funds for gender affirming care by the Trump administration. Let's get into it!
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00:26 Welcome to Queer News
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03:47 Queer News Headlines
05:10 Two Trans Women Are Poised To Win Positions in State Legislature in Two Separate States
09:36 Atlanta Lesbian Bar Owner Arrested After "Noise Complaints"
14:35 Trump Gets Sued Over Trans Healthcare Ban
17:55 Get your tickets to the 12th annual Purple Tie Affair today
18:49 Send us your Queer News Tip
19:10 WNBA Pulls Fans For Pro and Anti Trans Shirts
27:43 The LGBTQ+ Community Now Makes Up 12% Of The Population
30:04 Anna's Word
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This week's episode of Queer News is packed with historic milestones, urgent calls for justice, and accountability. Here is your social-media-ready breakdown of every story from Episode 354.
This Week's Top Story
Two Trans Women Are Poised To Win Positions in State Legislature in Two Separate States
Jaelynn Scott and Joanna Whaley have the potential to do something historic: Become the first trans woman elected to State Legislature in their respective states of Washington and Michigan. In Washington, Jaelynn Scott is on track to become the first Black trans woman in the country to be elected to a state legislature. Over in Michigan, Joanna Whaley is running for Michigan's 2nd House District.
We'd also like to shout out Bentley Hudgins in Georgia won their democratic primary for Georgia's House of Representatives in the 90th District. Should they win in November, they'll be the first openly nonbinary member of Georgia's state legislature.November is shaping up to be a historic election season. Good luck to all the candidates, and we'll continue to monitor their campaigns progress through November.
This Week In Politics
Atlanta Lesbian Bar Owner Arrested After "Noise Complaints"
In Atlanta, co-owner of the Lesbian Bar My Sister's Room (MSR for short) Jen-Chase Daniels was arrested over the weekend allegedly due to noise complaints. Here's what we know so far: A video of Jen-Chase's arrest was uploaded to the my sisters room instagram Saturday night. In the video, you can hear the co-owner tell officers that the building was not at capacity, and the event going on in the bar that night was not 18+ as she asks the person recording to call her wife shortly before being escorted to the back of a police car.
Jen-Chase wrote "I was asked to show my ID. The officer already knew who I was, and I questioned why I needed to provide identification when we had not done anything wrong. I was willing to show the video footage demonstrating that the noise was not coming from MSR. Instead, I was arrested." Jen - Chase spent the next 12 hours at Grady Memorial Hospital, where she was unable to notify her family of her whereabouts. Upon her release from the hospital, she was transferred to jail.
Trump Gets Sued Over Trans Healthcare Ban
The Trump administration is getting sued again and we love to see it! This time, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management is allegedly being sued by five federal workers because healthcare coverage was revoked for transgender employees, retirees, and their families. The plaintiffs argue that this is a violation of Title VII of the civil rights act, which prohibits places of work from discriminating against race, religion, or in this case, sex.
The plaintiffs are seeking an end to the Carrier Letter 2025-01b policy as well as reimbursements to employees who've had to pay for procedures out of pocket. They also are seeking to reinstate healthcare coverage to employees whose coverage was revoked as a result of The U.S. Office of Personnel Management's new policies.
This Week In Sports
WNBA Pulls Fans For Pro and Anti Trans Shirts
A game with the Atlanta Dream vs The Indiana Fever got heated in the stands as guests were asked to remove their shirts by security. Reportedly three fans were asked to cover up and/or remove shirts with messages that contained both pro and anti trans language.
In response to the incident, the WNBA wrote "The WNBA is aware of interactions at (Sunday) night's game in Atlanta in which fans were asked by league security to cover their shirts. This should not have happened." A representative from the Atlanta Dream also commented on the actions taken by the WNBA's security during Sunday's game, saying that "The Atlanta Dream believes in creating a safe and inclusive environment for everyone. Unfortunately, at last night's game, WNBA security took actions that fell short of that standard. At no point was Dream personnel involved in the decisions made by WNBA security."
This Week In Culture & Entertainment
The LGBTQ+ Community Now Makes Up 12% Of The Population
Cheers Queers, we now make up 12% of the adult population in the United States! The Human Rights Campaign Foundation analyzed the U.S. census and found that there are approximately 26.5 million LGBTQ+ adults in the US which totals up to 12% of the recorded population from the years 2021 - 2024. The data was collected from that specific time period because shortly after the Trump administration had removed sexuality and gender metrics from a majority of federal surveys.
Chicago Therapy Collective Will Soon Be Prohibited From Providing Funds For Gender Affirming Care By The Trump Administration
Due to a new ruling by the Trump Administration, organizations such as the Chicago Therapy Collective will soon be prohibited from providing funds to assist people receive the gender affirming care they need. The new ruling specifically prohibits the use of "federal funds and CHIP funds from covering certain forms of gender-affirming care for trans youth." This will go into effect on October 13th of this year, and youth currently accessing gender-affirming care will have a six month grace period before the loss of federal funding.
All is not lost. Plans are being made across the nation for amendments to the new ruling, however at this current point in time legislative action is necessary to get these funds resumed. On a state level, states can allocate funds to supporting those seeking gender affirming care, but there's no guarantee that individual states can (or will) move those funds.
Anna's Word
I'm Built for More
"This year has been about persistence and a bullish attitude that I've always been built for more."
Family, it's my birthday week! As I prepare to turn 43 on August 30th, I'm taking a moment to reflect on a year defined by true fortitude. It hasn't been easy, personally or professionally, but if there's one thing this season has taught me, it's that we are built to push past the resistance.
In this week's word, I share:
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Standing in Fortitude: Navigating tough seasons with persistence and the refusal to let challenges take us out.
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Evolving for Today: Why sustaining independent media means focusing on expansion, pivots, and meaningful collaborations right now—not relying on what worked five years ago.
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Choosing Hope: Showing up authentically for ourselves, our purpose, and this community every single day.
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About Queer News
An intersectional approach to a weekly news podcast where race & sexuality meet politics, entertainment and culture. Tune-in to reporting which centers & celebrates all of our lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer & comrade communities. Hosted by Anna DeShawn. New pod drops every Monday by 9am CT.
Edited by Ryan Woodhall for Public Sound.
Brought to you by E3 Radio, and distributed on The Qube.
