GLSEN condemns New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu's recent approval of a series of appalling and discriminatory bills that directly target LGBTQ+ youth, especially transgender youth. These measures are not just a step backward; they are a blatant attack on the rights and dignity of young people, fostering division and perpetuating harm.

From state legislatures and court houses to Congress, universities, and business board rooms, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives, also known as DEI, are under attack in the United States. Far-right extremists and conservative lawmakers are politicizing these initiatives in an effort to regress back to a time when communities of color, women, LGBTQ people and others were marginalized and silenced.

July 17, 2024 - Yesterday, Elon Musk announced his plans to move SpaceX and Twitter/X out of California. Musk identified the SAFETY Act which bans schools from outing trans and nonbinary students who opt to use their preferred pronouns in the classroom as his last straw with the state.

The Pennsylvania Equality Project will be holding Fall FreeShop at the Meadville Public Library on Friday, September 27 from 12:30 PM 4:30 PM and on Saturday, September 28 from 10 AM 4 PM. We are seeking donations of food, clothing, blankets, non-perishable food items, kitchen items, books, toys, games, etc. both days of the event. Anyone who needs the donated items can take what they like for free during both days of the event. There is no cost for admission to this event. FreeShop 2024, Fall Edition is being held at the Meadville Public Library in the Community Room on the Upper floor, 848 North Main Street, Meadville, PA 16335. For more information, go to our website, https://paequality.com or call (814) 350-6635.

The Pennsylvania Equality Project will be holding a mixer for the LGBTQIA+ community and our allies at French Creek Coffee and Tea, 285 Chestnut Street, Meadville, from 1 to 3 PM on Saturday, August 17. Coffee, tea, and light refreshments will be provided. Guests are welcome to bring poetry selections that they would like to share with the group. PA Equality Project President, David Moore said that this event is intended to be a non-alcoholic alternative for bringing together the community in Crawford and surrounding counties.  For more information, go to our website, https://paequality.com or call (814) 350-6635.

WASHINGTON The Republican National Convention has kicked off with anti-LGBTQ+ extremism at the forefront. As national Republicans tout hateful rhetoric, the scale of anti-LGBTQ+ bills and proposals in GOP state legislatures across the country is alarming and expansive. A second Trump term would only further enable these attacks raising the stakes of elections up and down the ballot this November.

Washington DC (July 11, 2024) GLSEN, the leading education organization dedicated to creating safe and inclusive K-12 schools and learning environments for LGBTQ+ youth, condemns House Republicans' passage of the Congressional Review Act (CRA). The resolution reverses the Biden Administration's crucial Title IX changes that clarified and expanded protections for LGBTQ+ students. The CRA strips the Education Department of its power to protect LGBTQ+ youth from discrimination in school.

HARRISBURG, July 10 After the murder of a 14-year-old transgender individual in Mercer County, members of the PA House LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus released the following statement: "We mourn the death of Pauly Likens and refuse to stand idly by while LGBTQ+ Pennsylvanians are targeted because of who they are. It's unacceptable that current hate crime laws in our commonwealth are not applied to crimes motivated by a victim's sexual orientation or gender identity.

SHARON, Pa. Mercer County officials have confirmed that Pauly Likens, a 14-year-old transgender girl from Sharon who was last seen on June 22, 2024, has been found brutally murdered. The Mercer County Coroner announced on Wednesday that the dismembered human remains found on June 25, 2024 around the Shenango River Lake by Pennsylvania State Police were of Pauly Likens. The Coroner shared that she died by sharp force trauma to her head before being sawed into pieces and abandoned in locations around the lake. DaShawn Watkins, a 29-year-old man from Sharon, was arrested by State Police on July 2, 2024, and has been charged with first-degree murder, abuse of a corpse, aggravated assault, and tampering with physical evidence involving Likens' death. He is being held without bail at the Mercer County Prison. The suspect's preliminary hearing has been rescheduled for July 25, 2024. Today, July 6, 2024, would have been Pauly's 15th birthday.

(Washington, DC, June 28, 2024) The United States Supreme Court today reversed a lower court ruling that had blocked enforcement of an Oregon city's draconian ordinance criminalizing people experiencing homelessness. Lambda Legal, the Juvenile Law Center, the law firm Baker McKenzie, and 223 experts on unhoused youth, including young people who have experienced homelessness, had submitted a friend-of-the-court brief to the Court in the case, City of Grants Pass v. Johnson, underscoring the particular harm the unconstitutional ban posed to unhoused youth, many of whom face rejection and abuse at home and face additional barriers to accessing other housing.