Washington Post: “It’s not so much that they’re worrying about something in particular happening; it’s the unknown that’s freaking them out.”

“The Republican-led House narrowly passed legislation designed to force public institutions to prohibit transgender girls and women from competing in female sports categories,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“The measure passed the House in a 218 to 206 tally, with one lawmaker, Democratic Rep. Don Davis of North Carolina, voting present. Democratic leadership issued guidance to vote against the bill, but two Texas Democrats, Vicente Gonzalez and Henry Cuellar, joined all Republicans in voting in favor.”

“Republicans’ first response to Sarah McBride’s election to Congress was to ban her from using women’s restrooms throughout the Capitol. But their early treatment of the first openly transgender House member is likely just a preview of how they’ll navigate transgender politics and policies for the next two years,” Politico reports.

“Believing voters in the 2024 elections rejected Democrats’ more inclusive positions on transgender rights, Republicans appear ready in 2025 to double down in support of executive orders and provisions in spending bills that would make it harder for transgender individuals to get health care, serve in the military or participate in school activities.”

Marshall Project: “Earlier this fall, Florida officials ordered transgender women in the state’s prisons to submit to breast exams. As part of a new policy for people with gender dysphoria, prison medical staff ranked the women’s breast size using a scale designed for adolescents.”

“Those whose breasts were deemed big enough were allowed to keep their bras. Everyone else had to surrender theirs, along with anything else considered ‘female,’ such as women’s underwear and toiletry items.”

Washington Post: “As Trump’s inauguration nears, some LGBTQ+ people are anxiously preparing for what they fear will be a rollback of their rights. Some in same-sex relationships are making plans to marry or to adopt children. Others are moving to states that they believe will offer them more protection. Transgender people are stockpiling medications, worried that their access to gender transition care will be cut off.”

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) “signed a bill to prohibit transgender Ohioans from using bathrooms that align with their gender identity,” the Columbus Dispatch reports.

“The new law will require K-12 and college students at public and private schools to use bathrooms and locker rooms that match their sex assigned at birth. It also bans multi-occupancy gender neutral restrooms and prevents transgender students from sharing overnight accommodations with peers of the same gender.”

“In the weeks before Election Day, aides to Kamala Harris could see in campaign polling that Donald Trump’s attacks on Ms. Harris’s support for transgender rights were driving away swing voters,” the New York Times reports.

“Struggling to put together a rebuttal, they produced a series of ads arguing that Mr. Trump was trying to distract from more important issues. Some of the spots noted that the policy Mr. Trump was seizing on, taxpayer-funded gender-transition surgery for inmates, was in place when he was president.”

“But none of the messages significantly swayed voters when the ads were tested with focus groups… After a sharp, internal debate, the campaign shelved the ads.”

CNN: Republican’s effort to block first transgender House member from using women’s bathrooms brings campaign issue to the Capitol.

“President Biden took a stab at former President Barack Obama on the issue of gay marriage during a gaggle with reporters on Tuesday, as the rift between the two continues to widen,” the Daily Beast reports.

Said Biden: “Well, I’m really proud of my position. I was the first guy to come out for gay marriage. Remember that little problem with the Obama administration?”

“Following the assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump, unity was expected to be the hallmark of the Republican National Convention for the presidential candidate,” ABC News reports.

“But the message of unity rings hollow for some in the LGBTQ community, who say they have repeatedly been the target of Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee, and others on the national stage.”

Washington Post: GOP called for unity as it continued to feature far-right figures, ideas.

President Biden is expected to pardon US veterans who were convicted by the military over a 60-year period under a military law that banned gay sex, CNN reports.

The pardon proclamation is expected to be announced on Wednesday and one official said it is set to affect roughly 2,000 people.

Gallup: “More than two in three Americans continue to believe that marriage between same-sex couples should be legal (69%), and nearly as many say gay or lesbian relations are morally acceptable (64%).”

“Both readings have been consistently above the 50% mark since the early 2010s and above 60% since 2017.”

The Colorado Republican party is urging members to burn the Pride flag this month.

“The Colorado Republican Party marked the start of Pride Month with a mass email attacking ‘godless groomers’ and a social media post calling for the burning of all Pride flags,” KUSA reports.

“The state GOP’s move to the far right after a series of electoral blowout losses continued with some of its harshest anti-gay rhetoric in recent years.”