Scroll To Top

local politics

Tennessee's first out LGBTQ+ school board member: 'pay attention' to your local government

Zach Young tells The Advocate about the "horror stories" overtaking U.S. school boards and how he'll use his position to fight back against anti-LGBTQ+ hate.

This small Vermont town is going all out for its first Pride celebration

Pride of Woodstock VT's cochairs tell The Advocate how they built the town's inaugural Pride Month celebration from the ground up.

Kentucky's first transgender elected official wants you to get involved in local politics

Rebecca Blankenship recently spoke to The Advocate about how LGBTQ+ people can fight back against state legislatures' attacks on the community.

All Politics Is Local

Senator Obama has taken a targeted approach to LGBT outreach at different times in this race. Now if he would just apply the same philosophy to gay media.

Marco Rubio Shamed for Speech to Antigay Rally on Pulse Anniversary

The senator was called "Florida's most brazen political opportunist" by a local alt-weekly.

In Michigan, three queer local candidates are fighting for better water and better accountability

Sixty-three miles south of Flint, Lodi also has water troubles, and that’s the agenda for three of the township’s candidates.

The Blue Wave Didn't Crash on This Gay Republican Couple

Joseph DeIorio (right) shares the story of how he and his husband, Thos Shipley, got elected to the city council of a liberal New Jersey town.

Our Activism Can't End With the Presidential Election

Voting on Tuesday won't guarantee our safety. We must be active at the state and local levels too.

Cyclist Who Flipped Off Trump Elected to Office in Virginia

Juli Briskman lost her job in 2017 after a photo of her flipping off Donald Trump's motorcade went viral. 

Conservative school board candidates handed humiliating loss in St. Louis area

Out of 13 candidates endorsed by local right-wing radio talk show host Marc Cox, zero won their races this week.

The Big Election of 2017: We Need to Stand With Danica Roem

The LGBT community can turn around this horrible year by helping elect the first openly trans person to a state legislature.

What We Can Learn From Abortion Rights Advocates

Our friends and allies in the reproductive rights movement have been here before and have a gold mine of advice on effectively fighting state-sponsored religious bigotry.

Antonin Scalia's Daughter Loses School Board Race to Mother of LGBTQ+ Child

Meg Bryce, the late conservative justice's daughter, said she was being discriminated against because of her family's name.

Top Transgender Moments of 2013

Last year could go down in the books as a turning point in the fight for transgender rights and acceptance, with key legislative, visibility, and judicial victories.

Trans Coffee Shop Worker Fired for Calling Out Right-Wing Customer

The customer, Marilyn Synek (pictured), says the worker at the Lincoln, Neb., business called her "bigoted trash."

When even blue states aren't safe from anti-LGBTQ+ laws, this queer mayor is protecting her city

Emma Mulvaney-Stanak, the first woman and first out gay mayor of Vermont's largest city, tells The Advocate about how blue states must be proactive instead of reactive in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights.

Chicago's Lesbian Mayor-Elect Lori Lightfoot Meets With Ivanka Trump

Lightfoot has many disagreements with Donald Trump but had "a very good conversation" with his daughter, she said.

Pence's Nightmare: The All-LGBT Palm Springs City Council

The California desert oasis is a prime example of what real representation looks like.

State Leadership Proves Transphobia Is Bigger in Texas

Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and beleaguered Attorney General Ken Paxton are both backing North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory’s efforts to defend his state’s transphobic House Bill 2.