Ep. 300: WPATH Sued, Kansas Revokes Trans IDs & Gay Men Face Deportation to Iran

Ep. 300: WPATH Sued, Kansas Revokes Trans IDs & Gay Men Face Deportation to Iran

Episode 300 of Listen Up Girl — your daily LGBTQ+ news podcast. Tonight: LGBTQ+ legal advocates are openly questioning the strategy of bringing trans rights cases to the Supreme Court following Tuesday's ruling upholding state bans on transgender athletes. Kansas has invalidated the driver's licenses of 1,700 transgender residents under SB 244 — and one trans woman was nearly jailed over it before charges were dropped. The FTC and four Republican state attorneys general have sued WPATH, the world's leading transgender health organization, in what advocates are calling an assault on the entire medical infrastructure around gender-affirming care. Two gay Iranian men face deportation to a country where homosexuality is punishable by death. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries shows up at the Equality PAC National Pride Gala and makes a public commitment to stand with the community. And Keke Palmer comes out. Three hundred episodes in. We are not going anywhere. New episodes every day. Hosted by Zach Randles-Friedman. Follow: @TheRealZachRE 🎙️ Subscribe | ⭐ Leave a Review | 📲 Share This Episode Timestamps: 0:00 — Intro / Episode 300 1:00 — SCOTUS Fallout: Is the Litigation Strategy Working? 3:10 — Kansas Revokes 1,700 Trans Driver's Licenses 5:20 — FTC Sues WPATH 7:30 — Two Gay Iranian Men Face Deportation to Iran 9:40 — Hakeem Jeffries at Equality PAC Pride Gala 11:10 — Keke Palmer Comes Out 12:00 — Outro   SHOW NOTES SEGMENT 1: After the Ruling — LGBTQ Advocates Are Asking Hard Questions Following the Supreme Court's 6-3 ruling upholding state bans on transgender athletes in women's sports, a debate has broken out within the LGBTQ+ legal community about whether bringing certain cases before this Court was a strategic mistake. A Washington Post analysis published July 1, 2026 examines how a series of trans rights cases — on youth healthcare, parental notification, and now athletes — have produced sweeping precedents that advocates worry could constrain the movement for years. The ruling, authored by the conservative majority, found that state bans do not violate Title IX or the Equal Protection Clause. Justice Sotomayor dissented, writing that categorical bans that exclude every transgender girl regardless of individual circumstances are about exclusion, not fairness. GLAD Law, Lambda Legal, and the ACLU have all emphasized that the ruling does not require states to ban trans athletes — and that inclusive state-level policies remain legal. Source: Washington Post, July 1, 2026; GLAD Law statement on West Virginia v. BPJ; Common Dreams, July 1, 2026 SEGMENT 2: Kansas Is Revoking Trans People's Driver's Licenses Kansas Senate Bill 244, enacted in early 2026 over Democratic Governor Laura Kelly's veto, immediately invalidated the driver's licenses of approximately 1,700 transgender Kansans who had previously updated their gender markers. The law also bans transgender people from using bathrooms in government buildings that align with their gender identity and creates a private right of action allowing any person to sue a trans individual they suspect of violating the bathroom provision for $1,000 in damages. Trans Kansans received letters with no grace period stating their licenses were invalid immediately. Kris Ripper, a trans woman, was pulled over by police in May and threatened with criminal charges related to her license status — charges that were dropped this week. The ACLU, the ACLU of Kansas, and Ballard Spahr LLP have filed suit challenging SB 244 in Douglas County District Court, arguing it violates the Kansas Constitution's guarantees of personal autonomy, privacy, equality under the law, due process, and freedom of expression. Source: ACLU press release, February 27, 2026; LGBTQ Nation, June 2026; NPR/KCUR, February 28, 2026; NBC News, March 4, 2026 SEGMENT 3: The FTC and State AGs Are Suing WPATH The Federal Trade Commission, joined by the attorneys general of Texas, Alaska, Iowa, and Nebraska, has filed a lawsuit against the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH). The suit alleges that WPATH violated the FTC Act through deceptive practices — specifically, that it misrepresented evidence supporting gender-affirming care for minors, including by overstating its role in reducing suicide risk and understating long-term medical side effects. FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. both issued statements applauding the suit. Legal observers and healthcare advocates have noted that WPATH is a nonprofit medical advocacy organization, not a commercial seller, and that its standards of care are supported by the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and every other major medical association in the United States. Critics have also flagged that the suit was filed in the Northern District of Texas — where the DOJ has centralized much of its legal campaign against gender-affirming care — despite WPATH operating out of Illinois. Source: FTC complaint; Fierce Healthcare, June 2026; Erin in the Morning analysis, June 2026; Texas AG press release SEGMENT 4: Two Gay Iranian Men Could Be Sent to Their Deaths Two gay Iranian men — romantic partners in their late thirties and early forties — fled Iran after being arrested by the country's morality police for alleged "homosexual conduct," a charge punishable under Iranian law by imprisonment, torture, or death. They sought asylum in the United States but were detained at the Fort Bliss detention center in El Paso without legal representation, and their claims were denied. The Trump administration subsequently moved to deport them as part of a planned flight from southern Arizona. One man received a last-minute stay of removal from the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals; his partner does not yet have similar protection. Their attorney, Bekah Wolf of the American Immigration Council, has stated these cases reflect a broader systemic pattern in which the administration uses bilateral transfer agreements to route LGBTQ+ asylum seekers to third countries — including Uganda and Iran — to bypass U.S. asylum protections. Wolf has stated: "These are not isolated cases." Source: The Advocate, March 28, 2026; American Immigration Council blog, February 4, 2026; The Advocate, January 29, 2026 SEGMENT 5: Hakeem Jeffries at the Equality PAC Pride Gala House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries appeared in person at the Equality PAC National Pride Gala in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday evening — the same night the Supreme Court handed down its trans athlete ruling — and publicly pledged that Democrats would stand with trans and queer people. The event brought together prominent LGBTQ+ leaders, advocates, and allies. Jeffries's appearance was notable for its timing and directness, coming at a moment when LGBTQ+ advocates are processing both legal setbacks and political signals about where Democratic leadership stands. Source: The Advocate, July 2026 SEGMENT 6: Keke Palmer Comes Out Actress, singer, and television host Keke Palmer posted to Instagram in February 2026 in a way that was widely received by the asexual community as a coming-out moment. Palmer described herself in terms that connect with sexual fluidity and asexuality, prompting significant engagement from A-spec communities who noted the rarity of that kind of visibility from a mainstream entertainer of Palmer's profile. While Palmer did not use a formal label, her post was celebrated as a meaningful public acknowledgment. Coverage of the moment has continued circulating in LGBTQ+ media through the summer. Source: Them / Yahoo Entertainment, April 2026; Gay Times, 2026 Hosted by Zach Randles-Friedman https://www.listenupgirl.com/ Follow me at https://www.instagram.com/therealzachre/ Podcast music: https://dillonderosa.com/ Thank you Dillion!!!  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Ep. 299: SCOTUS Trans Sports Ruling, HRC Report, Shevrin Jones & Scott Wiener | Listen Up Girl

Today's episode of Listen Up Girl leads with breaking news: the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 today that Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause do not prevent states from banning transgender girls and women from school sports teams. Justice Brett Kavanaugh authored the majority opinion in the combined West Virginia and Idaho cases, concluding that Title IX permits states to separate teams by biological sex. The ruling directly upholds bans in those two states but is expected to extend to roughly 25 others with similar laws, while liberal justices dissented sharply on the constitutional question. The episode then shifts to the HRC Foundation's Pride in the Marketplace 2026 report, showing LGBTQ+ consumers — representing $1.4 trillion in spending power — actively rewarding inclusive brands and pulling back from ones seen as retreating. Zach covers two history-making congressional campaigns: Florida's Shevrin Jones, seeking to become the state's first openly gay member of Congress, and San Francisco's Scott Wiener, who advanced to a runoff to succeed Nancy Pelosi and vowed to "go to the mat" for trans rights. The episode also covers a same-day federal hearing on class-action certification in the lawsuit challenging the transgender military ban, an international update on Dutch PM Rob Jetten's upcoming wedding, and the release of the Heartstopper Forever trailer ahead of its July 17 premiere. Hosted by Zach Randles-Friedman https://www.listenupgirl.com/ Follow me at https://www.instagram.com/therealzachre/ Podcast music: https://dillonderosa.com/ Thank you Dillion!!!  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Ep. 298: Pride Month Finale: Illinois Trans Laws, Marriage Equality at 11 & Robin Byrd - June 30, 2026

In this episode: Illinois Governor Signs Three Trans Rights Bills — Then Marches in Pride On June 29th, Governor JB Pritzker signed three pieces of trans rights legislation before joining the Chicago Pride Parade that afternoon. HB 5095 strengthens the process for trans people to update the gender marker on their state IDs to male, female, or X. HB 5492 mandates that insurance companies cover up to a six-month supply of prescribed hormone therapy and necessary self-administration supplies — both laws take effect January 1, 2027. A third bill, HB 4834, updates Illinois' Prescription Monitoring Program to remove testosterone from the monitored list and bar the future addition of estrogen, mifepristone, and misoprostol. Illinois continues to lead on trans rights even as other states move in the opposite direction. Marriage Equality at 11 — And Still Standing The 11th anniversary of Obergefell v. Hodges just passed on June 26th, and this year it carries extra weight: the Supreme Court was directly asked to overturn Obergefell and declined. The Human Rights Campaign called it a reaffirmation that every family deserves equal protection under law. But a new Gallup poll adds sobering context — national support for same-sex marriage has dropped from 71% to around 65%, with Republican support falling from 55% to 37% in just four years. Support for trans rights among Republicans has dropped from 22% to 5% over five years. Obergefell stands. The fight doesn't stop. Robin Byrd Gets Her Flowers Bang My Box: The Robin Byrd Story premieres tonight on Prime Video. From 1977 to 1998, bisexual icon Robin Byrd hosted a sex-positive, anything-goes call-in show on New York City public access television — bringing on adult film stars, exotic dancers, and people of all genders and sexualities at a time when queer visibility was radical, especially during the AIDS crisis. The documentary dropping on the last day of Pride Month 2026 is a fitting tribute to a woman who was building queer community on cable access long before anyone called it activism. Thank you for 30 days of Listen Up Girl. Subscribe, rate, review, and share — and follow the show on social media to stay connected all year long. 🏳️‍🌈 Listen Up Girl is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and iHeartRadio.       Hosted by Zach Randles-Friedman https://www.listenupgirl.com/ Follow me at https://www.instagram.com/therealzachre/ Podcast music: https://dillonderosa.com/ Thank you Dillion!!!  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Ep. 297: 529 Anti-LGBTQ Bills, Conversion Therapy Ruling & NYC Pride March Recap | Listen Up Girl June 29

It's the second-to-last episode of our full Pride Month run on Listen Up Girl, and we are going in. On today's show: the NYC Pride March drew over one million people under the theme "For All of Us" with Grand Marshals including Dominique Jackson, Peppermint, and Bowen Yang. Then we break down the sobering reality of 529 anti-LGBTQ bills introduced in 2026 alone, the Supreme Court's conversion therapy ruling in Chiles v. Salazar that put protections for queer youth at risk in more than 20 states, and the patchwork of wildly unequal state-by-state rights that define what it means to be LGBTQ+ in America right now. We close with a look at where public support stands — and why that fight is far from over. Tomorrow is June 30th — the last day of Pride Month. Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Hosted by Zach Randles-Friedman https://www.listenupgirl.com/ Follow me at https://www.instagram.com/therealzachre/ Podcast music: https://dillonderosa.com/ Thank you Dillion!!!  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Ep. 296: NYC Pride March Stonewall Anniversary & LGBTQ News | Pride Month Day 28

SHOW NOTES Listen Up Girl | Day 28 of Pride Month Sunday, June 28, 2026 Episode Summary It's the last day of Pride Month — and the biggest one. On Day 28, we cover the 57th NYC Pride March stepping off today on the exact anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall Uprising, Hayley Kiyoko's bold Pride Month declaration, Florida cities creatively defying Ron DeSantis' rainbow crosswalk ban, a new photo exhibit honoring queer veterans, the premiere of Adventure Time: Side Quests on Hulu, and sobering new Gallup data showing LGBTQ support sliding among Republicans — and why that makes today's march more important than ever. Episode Notes SEGMENT 1: The 57th NYC Pride March The NYC Pride March steps off today at noon from 26th Street and Fifth Avenue, passing through Greenwich Village and ending near the Stonewall Inn on Christopher Street — the site of the 1969 uprising that launched the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement. This year's theme is "For All of Us," drawn from a quote by Stonewall veteran and activist Marsha P. Johnson. Grand Marshals include Dominique Jackson, Peppermint, Bernie Wagenblast, Bowen Yang, and Gays Against Guns. The march is free and open to the public. WABC-7 broadcasts live starting at noon. More at nycpride.org. SEGMENT 2: Hayley Kiyoko Singer and LGBTQ+ icon Hayley Kiyoko gave a Pride Month interview this weekend celebrating her identity and her fanbase. She described her community as a space of "hopeful queer sapphic love" and said she is proud to be a lesbian "openly, boldly, and unapologetically." More at LGBTQ Nation. SEGMENT 3: Florida Cities Defy DeSantis After Governor Ron DeSantis moved to eliminate rainbow crosswalks and Pride-themed street art across Florida, cities pushed back creatively. St. Petersburg painted its City Hall steps as a giant Progress Pride flag and projected a 60-mile rainbow laser across the night sky. Fort Lauderdale installed a "Circle of Love" rainbow display near the beach at Sebastian Street Plaza. Miami Beach also joined the resistance. Source: Instinct Magazine / LGBTQ Nation. SEGMENT 4: Queer Veterans Photo Exhibit A new photo exhibit celebrating the lives and service of LGBTQ+ veterans opened this week, with subjects describing the experience as healing and validating. One veteran said it was the first time he had spoken publicly about both his military service and his identity as a gay man. More at LGBTQ Nation. SEGMENT 5: Adventure Time: Side Quests Adventure Time: Side Quests premieres today on Hulu. The series expands the world of the beloved animated franchise, which has long been celebrated for its queer representation, including the canon relationship between Marceline the Vampire Queen and Princess Bubblegum. Premieres June 28, 2026. Available on Hulu. SEGMENT 6: Gallup LGBTQ Support Data A Gallup survey conducted May 1–17, 2026 finds that 65% of U.S. adults support legal same-sex marriage, down from a peak of 71% in 2022–2023. Support among Republicans has dropped from 55% to 37% in four years. Moral acceptance of transgender identity among Republicans has fallen from 22% to 5% over five years. Full data available at news.gallup.com. Connect & Subscribe 🎙️ Listen Up Girl | listenupgirl.com Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | iHeartRadio Listen Up Girl is a daily LGBTQ+ news podcast hosted by Zach. New episodes drop every day throughout Pride Month and beyond. Hosted by Zach Randles-Friedman https://www.listenupgirl.com/ Follow me at https://www.instagram.com/therealzachre/ Podcast music: https://dillonderosa.com/ Thank you Dillion!!!  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.