This year alone, legislators have considered more than 900 bills in 49 states which target the rights of transgender people. These bills try to tell trans kids and adults which bathrooms to use, take away their healthcare, keep them from playing sports, and keep schools from recognizing their existence. And this is in addition to all the federal actions that are doing the same things.

So as Pride Month comes to a close, we will keep leading with heart, not hate. We support the entire LGBTQ+ community and will keep showing up for the trans community as these threats against them increase.

Join us and earn your Easy A this week by downloading our resource, Showing Up For The Trans Community.

This resource gives you tips on how to show your support locally and how to talk about it with family and friends. When extremists go low, we go local, and we can show up for our trans friends and neighbors where they need us most — right at home.

DOWNLOAD

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We can’t sit back and let this happen. While many American companies are pulling back their support for Pride Month this year, Red Wine & Blue is doing the opposite. Our members and TroubleNation groups are celebrating Pride nationwide. And earlier this year, on March 31, we also recognized Transgender Day of Visibility. Watch our one minute video from that day here:

We will continue to fight for trans rights, even after June ends! Next week, we’ll have another action you can take to support trans people in your community.

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June is Pride Month, a time to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community and advocate for their rights.*

This year, supporting the transgender community and advocating for their rights is especially urgent. That’s because the Trump administration has launched a series of executive orders and other actions that take away trans people’s rights and try to erase their very existence.

Here’s how:

• One of the very first executive orders Trump announced — on his inauguration day! — orders the federal government to only recognize two sexes, “biological males” and “biological females.” It also removes all previous federal guidance that recognized and supported non-binary and transgender people. This means that government-issued IDs like U.S. passports and records like tax and social security forms won’t recognize all genders. And federal prisons will have to house prisoners based on only two sexes, putting non-binary and transgender prisoners at risk of physical harassment and assault.
• A similar executive order restricts what schools can teach about the LGBTQ+ community and requires public schools to only recognize two sexes. It bans schools from recognizing transgender students by their preferred names or pronouns and actually threatens to withhold public funding from schools that support students in this way. It also threatens the prosecution of teachers and school administrators who don’t comply.
• Also impacting schools, a separate executive order bans transgender athletes from playing on girls’ and women’s sports teams, rather than leaving this decision up to state and local organizations. This order goes beyond schools, seeking to pressure independent national and international athletic organizations — including the Olympics — into adopting the same policy. Not only does this take away opportunities for trans girls, but it subjects all girls and women to the possibility of unnecessary and invasive physical examinations.
• Another executive order bans transgender people from serving in the U.S. military. After it was announced, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth directed the military to stop providing healthcare for transgender service members. Both actions are being challenged in federal courts, but for now, the military can ban the enlistment of transgender people and discharge thousands of active service members.
• A separate executive order restricts access to healthcare for transgender children and teens, even in states where it is specifically protected by state law. It misrepresents the guidelines and standards of gender-affirming care recognized by the medical community and takes away the freedom of kids and families to make their own healthcare decisions. The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule soon on a case, U.S. v. Skrmetti, which will decide if the U.S. Constitution protects healthcare for transgender kids.
• The U.S. Supreme Court has also agreed to hear Chiles v. Salazar, which could overturn a ban on “conversion therapy” in Colorado. This discredited practice tries to force LGBTQ+ people into being straight. All major medical and psychological associations have proven that it does nothing but cause serious harm. If the court overturns the ban and allows “conversion therapy” in Colorado, it would set the precedent to overturn similar bans that exist in 20 other states.

The bottom line is that these policies are trying to push trans people out of our communities and deny their existence.

To make matters worse, these political attacks have led to an increase in suicide risk among LGBTQ+ kids and teens, and Trump has proposed to cut federal funding for the life-saving 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. This hotline helps thousands of kids a month — more than 1.2 million since it started in 2022.

It’s up to all of us to stand up in support of the transgender community. As less than 1% of the U.S. population, they cannot fight this fight alone, but they are 1.6 million people whose health, safety, and happiness matters. Pride Month is a great time to take action, and in the coming weeks, we’ll show you how!

*If you have more time this week, you can read last year’s Easy A posts that dig deeper into the history of Pride Month.

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The simple act of talking to the people who love and trust us about celebrating and advocating for the LGBTQ+ community can do a world of good. Our kids learn by example, and we can model for them the behavior we want to see in our community. And let’s be honest, sometimes the other adults in our lives need that too. By openly communicating about Pride Month, we create an affirming, safe, and supportive space for all.

Tips for talking to kids about Pride Month:

• Speak at an age-appropriate level that is comfortable for you and your family.
• Be the one to start the conversation. If you find it hard to start a conversation out of the blue, you can lead into it by:
  • reading a story with LGBTQ+ characters.
  • watching an inclusive movie or educational documentary.
  • going to a local Pride Month event.
  • doing rainbow or Pride themed arts and crafts together.
• Create a casual, judgment-free zone.
• Share that it’s about celebrating and including everyone.
• Use inclusive, gender-neutral language and model using chosen pronouns.
• Keep it simple, general, and relatable. Use terms they understand.
• Ask open-ended questions and let them ask questions too.
• Be honest about what you know and don’t know.
• Be positive and affirming.
• Let them know the conversation can continue anytime they’d like.
• Remember that this conversation may also be affirming to them!

Tips for talking to friends about Pride Month:

• Talk to friends who you believe will be open to a meaningful conversation.
• Find common ground. Even if they won’t agree with you on everything, focus on your shared values to get the conversation started. For example, saying, “We can agree that all people should be treated with respect and dignity, right?”
• Share your beliefs and what you’ve learned about Pride Month.
• Ask open-ended questions to learn what they are thinking and feeling too.
• If they share disinformation, don’t repeat it, but don’t ignore it. Counter it with facts and how those facts inform your beliefs.
• If you can’t avoid disagreements, you can always pivot the conversation back to your shared values.

There are ten days left in Pride Month. That’s plenty of time for good conversations and celebrations. Happy Pride!

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This short video about Pride Month has some really cool historical footage and pictures from Pride marches and the LGBTQ+ rights movement over time. It’s hard not to get inspired by seeing those who fought before us.

But it’s also a great reminder that LGBTQ+ rights are still very much at risk and the movement isn’t over. As we’ve learned, Pride is about both celebrating AND advocating for the LGBTQ+ community, and we are always looking for ways to do both.

Next week, we’ll talk about simple actions we can all take during Pride Month — and all year long — to make sure our communities are welcoming and affirming of everyone.

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Pride Month originated in 1969 with the Stonewall riots, when the New York City police raided a gay bar called the Stonewall Inn and its community fought back. Many consider this the beginning of the LGBTQ+ rights movement. Since then, annual marches and celebrations all over the country have honored the riots and moved the movement forward. On the 30th anniversary of the riots, President Bill Clinton officially declared June Pride Month.

During Pride, we celebrate the history, culture, achievements, and identity of the LGBTQ+ community, and we also advocate for LGBTQ+ rights. There are huge Pride celebrations across the world each year, but it’s important to remember that Pride is also about protest.

It’s okay to celebrate and participate in Pride, no matter how you identify. That’s because when we all celebrate Pride, it shows that there are welcoming, inclusive, and affirming spaces for LGBTQ+ people of all ages to feel safe in their identity. Something as simple as wearing a Pride shirt, or attending a Pride event helps create an affirming community for everyone.

We celebrate the victories of the Pride movement like marriage equality but we also continue to protest for greater equality. That’s why advocacy during Pride Month (and all year long) continues to be as important as ever. In fact, we’re seeing an increase in political attacks on the LGBTQ+ community. Book banners continue to target books that feature LGBTQ+ characters. 586 bills targeting the healthcare and basic human rights of trans people have been filed across the U.S. so far this year. Project 2025 threatens the marriage rights and other federal protections of LGBTQ+ people if Donald Trump gets elected. And LGBTQ+ youth are at risk of increased bullying, anxiety, depression, and suicide risk.

This is why it’s so important to honor Pride Month. In the coming weeks, we’ll dig deeper into how you can include your family in your celebration of Pride Month, especially the young people in your life, to be even more impactful.

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Click below to help spread the word on social and invite your friends to join us. Let’s come together and work for all of our kids. Empathy is our superpower!

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Gender affirming care helps kids feel safe in their own body, in their homes, and in their school. Critics who attack gender affirming care use fear-mongering and inaccurate information to manipulate us. But take it from trans activist Alejandra Caraballo, as she explains just how important gender affirming care is to kids, and why these attacks on the trans community are so dangerous.

Want to learn more? You can listen to our full podcast about Anti-Trans Bills and the harm they are causing our LGBTQ+ youth on our website or anywhere you listen to your favorite pods. 

One more thing! Next Thursday is a holiday, so we won’t have a new post that day. We’ll see you again on November 30th. Take care!

The post Watch This: Anti-Trans Bills Are Harming LGBTQ+ Kids appeared first on Red Wine and Blue.

So what are these anti-trans laws about? It’s usually targeting things like which bathroom kids can use, what sports teams they can play on, and whether or not they’re allowed to choose their own pronouns at school. And now some states have moved beyond trying to control trans students in the classroom, and are banning gender-affirming care. 

Okay, so what is that exactly? Gender-affirming care is as simple as allowing a child to wear their hair in a style they feel better suits them, choosing clothes they feel comfortable in, or picking a name that better represents them. Gender affirming care is simply validating how the child feels, and it goes a long way towards making them feel safe and accepted. 

Extremists like to hide behind the slogan “protect the children,” but in reality it’s about controlling children and teaching them that there is only one ‘right’ way to be. The fact is these anti-trans bills are causing a lot of harm to LGBTQ+ kids. Studies have shown that anti-trans bills increase depression, anxiety and even thoughts of suicide in kids and teens. And LGBTQ+ youth are already at an increased risk of depression and suicide. That’s really heartbreaking.

As parents, educators, and community members, it’s up to all of us to ensure every kid grows up feeling safe, valued, and loved. We don’t have to sit on the sidelines – We can help. We know that all students benefit from a safe learning environment, so we can be an advocate for schools that are accepting of all students. And we can be an ally and a safe space for the LGBTQ+ community. Stay tuned for more info over the next couple of weeks on easy actions you can take to help.

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