Top Stories from Advocate.com for 02/16/2023

[View this email in your browser]( Top Stories from [Advocate.com]( [Share]( [Share]( [Tweet]( [Tweet]( [Forward]( [Forward]( [J.K. Rowling Says She's Misunderstood, Threatens Queer Actor]( [JJ Welles and J.K. Rowling]Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling, under fire for numerous transphobic comments, says she’s been misunderstood — plus she’s received an apology from a young queer actor who likened her to Nazis. The apology came after a threat of legal action. [Read on »]( [Pence Rails Against Trans Kids, Pronouns During Midwest Speaking Swing]( [Former vice president Mike Pence]Former Vice President [Mike Pence]( traveled to [Minnesota]( on Wednesday to speak out against school policies that support transgender students. [Read on »]( [Here's a First Look at Lady Gaga in the Joker Sequel]( [Lady Gaga on the red carpet]Director Todd Phillips chose — appropriately enough — Valentine’s Day to share the first image of Lady Gaga in the upcoming Joker sequel called Joker: Folie à Deux. [Read on »]( [Judge Strips Lesbian Mom of Parental Rights, Awards Them to Sperm Donor]( [Two women, one of them pregnant holding a sonogram image next to a graphic of sperm cells.]People who doubt the necessity for laws to protect LGBTQ+ rights need only look as far as [Oklahoma]( where a judge stripped a lesbian mother of her parental rights and transferred them to her child’s sperm donor, testing the boundaries of marriage equality in the state. [Read on »]( [Idaho Advances Bill to Criminalize Gender-Affirming Care for Minors]( [Idaho Republican Reps. Lori McCann and Bruce Skaug]Idaho is advancing a bill that would make it a felony to provide gender-affirming care to minors. [Read on »]( [Charges Against Gay Journalist Arrested at Press Conference Dropped]( [Evan Lambert]The criminal charges filed last week against NewsNation reporter Evan Lambert have been dismissed, according to a [press release]( by the Ohio Attorney General. [Read on »]( [LGBTQ+ Groups Denied Spot in Staten Island St. Patrick’s Day Parade]( [Staten Island St. Patrick]There will be no officially recognized LGBTQ+ representation in the [Staten Island]( St. Patrick’s Day Parade again this year. [Read on »]( [Penises Are Growing Bigger Fast: Study]( [A man looking into the front of his own underwear.]A new study out of Stanford has found that while, over the last 30 years, cisgender men's sperm counts and testosterone levels have decreased, their penises have gotten longer. [Read on »]( [100+ Activists, Journalists Call Out Anti-Trans Bias in New York Times]( [Person holding copy of New York Times]More than 100 organizations, activists, journalists, and celebrities, led by GLAAD, have signed on to a letter calling on The New York Times to improve its coverage of transgender people and issues. [Read on »]( [by PubExchange]( [Advocate Subscription]( [Out Traveler]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [Website]( [Email](mailto:newsletters@pridemedia.com) Copyright © 2023 equalpride, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in via our website. Our mailing address is: newsletters@pridemedia.com Want to change how you receive these emails? You can [update your preferences]( or [unsubscribe from this list](.