Top Stories from Advocate.com for 07/18/2023

[View this email in your browser]( Top Stories from [Advocate.com]( [Share]( [Share]( [Tweet]( [Tweet]( [Forward]( [Forward]( [Rufus Gifford, Out State Dept. Official, Joins Biden's Reelection Bid]( [Rufus Gifford]Rufus Gifford, the highest-ranking out official at the State Department, is leaving his post as chief of protocol to become finance chair for President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign. [Read on »]( [Elton John Defends Kevin Spacey at Sexual Assault Trial]( [Elton John and Kevin Spacey][Elton John]( and his husband David Furnish appeared during [Kevin Spacey's]( sexual assault trial to testify on behalf of the defense. [Read on »]( [Michigan Transgender Man Shot in Hate-Fueled Pellet Gun Attack]( [Michigan Transgender Man Attacked in Hate-Fueled Pellet Gun Attack]A transgender man who uses a motorized wheelchair said a laughing assailant in a car shot him multiple times with a pellet gun and also yelled an anti-LGBTQ+ slur before driving away. [Read on »]( [DeSantis's DiSastrous Campaign: Burning Cash, Firing Staff]( [Ron DeSantis]Between staff layoffs and depleting funds, [Ron DeSantis's presidential campaign]( is slowing down before it even really started. [Read on »]( [ACLU Warns New Jersey Library Not to Censor LGBTQ+ Book]( [Gender Queer and a banned books sign]As cities and counties around the country become targets of anti-LGBTQ+ right-wing campaigns, a community library in [New Jersey]( has become the latest to cave partially to pressure from extremists. [Read on »]( [Talking Pencils with Raven-Symoné and Wife Miranda Maday]( Getting right to the point, I get inundated with story pitches, many of them requesting that I write about new podcasts. Some of the pitches are from left field and have nothing to do with LGBTQ+ — not that they must. I got a pitch a while back wanting me to plug an electronics podcast. Clearly, that PR person wasn’t paying attention. [Read on »]( [The Best Response to SCOTUS Decisions? Vote.]( Four days before the Fourth of July, I saw my life—and our freedoms—flash before my eyes. [Read on »]( [Rep. Ritchie Torres to Introduce Resolution Censuring Rep. George Santos]( [George Santos and Ritchie Torres]Democrats in the U.S. House are once again attempting to censure Rep. George Santos, who has been caught in or admitted to numerous lies and is under federal criminal indictment. [Read on »]( [Mike Lindell’s Pillow Talk With Trump Ends in a Bad Dream]( [Mike Lindell]It boggles the mind to think about how many people — mostly middle-aged/older white men — have been burned because they got too close to Donald Trump. Michael Cohen, Rudy Giuliani, Allen Weisselberg, Paul Manafort, Jeff Sessions, and on and on and on. Now, you can add a new name, albeit a bizarre one, MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell. [Read on »]( [Obama Slams LGBTQ+ Book Bans in Open Letter to American Librarians]( [Barack Obama]Former President [Barack Obama]( issued on Monday a call to action for Americans to be mindful of efforts to ban books as new studies show that a rise in challenges is sparked primarily by a wave against [LGBTQ+ books](. [Read on »]( [Pride Month Saw Increase in Anti-LGBTQ+ Backlash: Report]( [Anti-LGBTQ+ protesters]Increased representation and awareness of LGBTQ+ communities in entertainment, politics, and business seems to have increased anti-LGBTQ+ activism, according to a new report from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project. As a result, right-wing extremists stepped up their attacks on LGBTQ+ people during [Pride Month]( celebrations nationwide. [Read on »]( [Stepping Out as Allies to Stop Anti-Trans Attacks]( As LGBTQ+ people and our allies continue to celebrate Pride throughout the summer, we have been pummeled with an avalanche of laws passed in more than 20 states targeting LGBTQ+ youth, their parents, and our community more broadly. [Read on »]( [Tom Holland’s Gay Sex Scene in 'The Crowded Room' Defended by Fans]( [Tom Holland]Fans of British actor Tom Holland have come to his defense after some social media users were seemingly upset that the latest episode of his Apple TV+ series [The Crowded Room]( featured gay sex. [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](.