Truthout
LGBTQ Rights
![Mourners gather in honor of Club Q victims. One person wears a rainbow sweatband and raises a pink-gloved fist in the air.](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2022/12/GettyImages-1245028265-400x300.jpg)
In a Violent Year for LGBTQ People, These Are the Ways We Coped and Fought Back
A year-end round-up of LGBTQIA+ news and cultural shifts.
![LGBTQ rights supporters protest against Florida Gov. Ron Desantis outside a campaign event at the Alico Arena on November 6, 2022, in Fort Myers, Florida.](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2022/12/2022_1227-lgbtq-florida-400x300.jpg)
Florida GOP Leader Says She’s Open to Expanding “Don’t Say Gay” Law
Conservative lawmakers want no discussions whatsoever on LGBTQ issues in grades 4 through 6 in Florida schools.
![Police officers stand between LGBTQ rights supporters and supporters of web designer Lorie Smith in front of the U.S. Supreme Court Building on December 5, 2022, in Washington, D.C.](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2022/12/2022_1227-scotus-lgbtq-400x300.jpg)
2022 Quietly Set the Stage for a Massive Rollback of LGBTQ Rights
From statehouses to the Supreme Court, LGBTQ rights were under steady attack by Christian nationalists this year.
![A person reads at the Rice University Library on April 26, 2022, in Houston, Texas.](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2022/12/2022_1222-library-400x300.jpg)
Dept of Education Opens Inquiry Into Texas District That Banned LGBTQ Books
The district's superintendent was recorded expressing anti-trans viewpoints.
![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference held at the Hilton Anatole on July 11, 2021, in Dallas, Texas.](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2022/12/2022_1214-ken-paxton-400x300.jpg)
Texas AG Ken Paxton Asked Agency to Compile List of Trans Residents in the State
“Nothing good ever comes out of the government creating a list of people from a marginalized community,” a critic said.
![President Joe Biden speaks at the White House Tribal Nations Summit at the U.S. Department of the Interior in Washington, D.C., on November 30, 2022.](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2022/12/2022_1213-joe-biden-400x300.jpg)
Biden Signs Historic Same-Sex Marriage Protections Into Law
The Respect for Marriage Act “strikes a blow against hate in all its forms,” Biden said.
![Photographs of victims of the Club Q mass shooting are on display at a memorial on November 23, 2022 in Colorado Springs, Colorado.](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2022/12/GettyImages-1443995063-400x300.jpg)
After Club Q, We Must Build a Movement for Queer and Trans Liberation
The Club Q shooting is part of a wave of fascist violence. Now's the time for a mass movement for LGBTQ liberation.
![Senators Tammy Baldwin, Susan Collins and Kyrsten Sinema attend a press conference after the Senate passed the Respect for Marriage Act at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on November 29, 2022.](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2022/12/GettyImages-1245293893-400x300.jpg)
Congress Is Set to Codify Respect for Marriage Act — But It Has Some Limitations
The act gives exemptions to religious nonprofits and doesn’t stop states from passing discriminatory laws.
![Demonstrators in favor of LGBT rights rally outside the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on October 8, 2019.](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2022/12/2022_1205-lgbtq-scotus-400x300.jpg)
Supreme Court Poised to Side With Anti-LGBTQ Web Designer in Discrimination Case
The plaintiff claims that a Colorado law barring anti-LGBTQ discrimination violates her religious freedoms.
![From left, Sen. Tammy Baldwin speaks to reporters as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer confers with Sen. Jon Tester after meeting with Senate Democrats at the U.S. Capitol on November 29, 2022, in Washington, D.C.](https://truthout.org/app/uploads/2022/11/2022_1130-baldwin-schumer-tester-400x300.jpg)
Senate Passes Respect for Marriage Act to Protect Same-Sex Marriage Rights
President Joe Biden has said he will sign the bill into law if it passes the House vote next week.