The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Nov. 19 released what it called an updated “peer reviewed” version of an earlier report claiming scientific evidence shows that gender-affirming care or treatment for juveniles that attempts to change their gender is harmful and presents a danger to “vulnerable children.”

“The report, released through the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Health, finds that the harms from sex-rejecting procedures — including puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgical operations — are significant, long term, and too often ignored or inadequately tracked,” according to a statement released by HHS announcing the release of the report.

“The American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics peddled the lie that chemical and surgical sex-rejecting procedures could be good for children,” said HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in  the HHS statement, “They betrayed their oath to first do no harm, and their so-called ‘gender affirming care’ has inflicted lasting physical and psychological damage on vulnerable young people,” Kennedy says in the statement.

The national LGBTQ advocacy organizations Human Rights Campaign and GLAAD issued statements on the same day the HHS report was released, denouncing it as a sham based on fake science and politics.

HRC called the report “a politically motivated document filled with outright lies and misinformation.”  

In its own statement released on the same day the HHS report was released, HRC said HHS’s so-called peer reviewed report is similar to an earlier HHS report released in May that had a “predetermined outcome dictated by grossly uninformed political actors that have deliberately mischaracterized  health care for transgender youth despite the uniform, science backed conclusion of the American medical and mental health experts to the contrary.”

The HRC statement adds, “Trans people’s health care is delivered in age-appropriate, evidence-based ways, and decisions to provide care are made in consultation with doctors and parents, just like health care for all other people.”

In a separate statement, GLAAD CEO Sarah Kate Ellis called the HHS report a form of “discredited junk science.” She added the report makes claims that are “grossly misleading and in direct contrast to the recommendations of every leading health authority in the world … This report amounts to nothing more than forcing the same discredited idea of conversion therapy that ripped families apart and harmed gay, lesbian, and bisexual young people for decades.”

In its statement announcing the release of its report, HHS insists its own experts rather than those cited by its critics are the ones invoking true science.

“Before submitting its report for peer review, HHS commissioned the most comprehensive study to date of the scientific evidence and clinical practices surrounding the treatment of children and adolescents for ‘gender dysphoria,’” the statement continues. “The authors were drawn from disciplines and professional backgrounds spanning medicine, bioethics, psychology, and philosophy.”

In a concluding comment in the HHS statement, Assistant Secretary for Health Brian Christine says, “Our report is an urgent wake-up call to doctors and parents about the clear dangers of trying to turn girls into boys and vice versa.”

PFLAG honored U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) with the “2025 PFLAG National Champion of Justice” award during their annual “Love Takes Justice” event in Washington.

Waters has represented California’s 43rd Congressional District — including much of Los Angeles — since 1991 and has been a vocal advocate for LGBTQ rights since her swearing-in.

Her track record includes opposing the Defense of Marriage Act, which would have made marriage only between a man and a woman; co-sponsoring the Respect for Marriage Act, ultimately requiring all U.S. states to recognize same-sex marriages performed by other states; and is a long time supporter of the Equality Act, which would codify comprehensive protections for LGBTQ Americans.

In addition to her work on marriage equality, she also created the Minority AIDS Initiative to help address the devastating impact of HIV/AIDS on minority communities, particularly communities of color.

The award reception took place Tuesday at the headquarters of the American Federation of Teachers, where Waters was presented with the award by former U.S. Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), the openly gay member of Congress. Frank praised Waters for her unwavering support for the LGBTQ community and her lifelong commitment to advancing equality for all.

“One of the most encouraging developments in the fight for human rights is the failure of those who traffic in any form of bigotry, including bigotry to divide the Black and LGBTQ+ communities,” said Frank, who came out in 1987 while in office. “No one deserves more recognition for strengthening our unity than Maxine Waters.”

During the reception, Waters spoke about her extensive history of LGBTQ advocacy within the halls of Congress, emphasizing that her idea of government centers around uplifting its most vulnerable and threatened communities.

“From the very beginning of my public life I’ve believed that the government must protect those that are vulnerable, including LGBTQ+ people, who have been pushed to the margins, criminalized and told that their lives and their love do not matter,” Waters said. “Discrimination has no place in our laws.”

She continued, adding that the discrimination LGBTQ people have dealt with — and continue to deal with — is unconstitutional and wrong.

“I am proud to stand with LGBTQ+ families against efforts to write discrimination into our constitution, against attempts to deny people jobs, housing, healthcare and basic dignity because of who they are or who they love,” she said.

Waters joins a slew of other LGBTQ advocates who have received this award, beginning with the late-Georgia Congressman John Lewis in 2018. Past honorees include Oakland (Calif.) Mayor Barbara Lee, who was then a member of Congress, U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Frank, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, who was then a member of Congress, and Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).

PFLAG CEO Brian Bond commented on the continued fight for LGBTQ rights in the U.S. as anti-transgender rhetoric and policies coming from the Trump-Vance White House grow each week.

“LGBTQ+ people and their families — and all of you here — know too well the reality of the political climate, the attitudes of the public, and the sheer lack of respect that LGBTQ+ people are experiencing in the world today. There’s no end to the hostile barrage of harmful laws, city ordinances, and regulations, especially against our trans loved ones,” Bond said. “This particular moment in history calls us to increase and fortify our work, advocating at every level of government.”

He ended with some hope — reminding the LGBTQ community they have been on the receiving end of discrimination and unjust treatment before, but have risen above and changed the laws — saying we can do it again.

“PFLAG members and supporters are uniquely suited for this moment, because we are fighting for and alongside our LGBTQ+ loved ones, we know that our love is louder … and love and liberty are inseparable,” said Bond.

New data on violence against transgender people in the U.S. shows there have been at least 399 cases of fatal violence against trans people since 2013, including 27 murders in the past year alone, with no indication the trend is slowing.

In recognition of Transgender Day of Remembrance, several organizations, including the Human Rights Campaign and Advocates for Trans Equality, released updated reports documenting the disproportionate levels of violence targeting trans people, often because of their gender identity.

A4TE’s Remembrance Report, released Nov. 13, identifies at least 27 trans people known to have died by violence since November 2024.

TDoR, established on Nov. 20, 1999, by trans rights activists, honors the lives lost to anti-trans violence and brings attention to the ongoing crisis disproportionately affecting trans people who are also members of other marginalized communities.

The newly released data shows that 82.3 percent of all known fatal attacks targeted trans women; seven in 10 victims since 2013 were Black, and 71.2 percent of deaths involved firearms.

Fatal violence is not confined to any one region.

The states with the highest numbers of cases include Texas (9.8 percent), Florida (8.3 percent), California (7.1 percent), Georgia (6.1 percent), Louisiana (5.8 percent), Ohio (5.5 percent), Pennsylvania (5 percent), Illinois (4.8 percent), Maryland (4.5 percent), and North Carolina (4 percent).

The report also highlights the pervasive non-fatal discrimination trans people face.

Four in 10 trans and gender-expansive adults experienced discrimination in the past year based on sex, gender, sexual orientation, or gender identity/expression.

This data comes as the Trump-Vance administration escalates its anti-trans policies within the military, as the Washington Blade reported last week. The report calls for an end to anti-trans rhetoric, misinformation, and discriminatory policies at every level of government — from federal agencies to local school boards — noting that only then will trans people achieve the safety routinely afforded to other Americans.

HRC Director for Strategic Outreach and Training Tori Cooper stressed that the issue is about real people, not statistics.

“Our transgender and gender nonconforming siblings deserve to live safe, fulfilling, joyful lives, just like every other member of our society,” Cooper said. “But this plague of violence is robbing us of so much; so many dear friends and loved ones gone too soon, especially Black trans women who continue to bear the worst of this epidemic. Our entire trans community bears the scars of these horrible losses, and it is time for our leaders to ensure that trans people, and all people, are protected by the same policies and procedures. Our lives are as valuable as everyone else.”

HRC President Kelley Robinson also spoke to the rise in violence.

“Every person deserves to feel safe, to be treated with dignity, and to live their truth without fear,” Robinson said. “The annual release of this crucial report, which honors the beloved members of the transgender and gender nonconforming community who have been taken from us in the past year, is a somber and devastating reminder of why our fight for that dream continues.”

Robinson criticized how the current political climate has worsened conditions for trans Americans.

“This year, these deaths are punctuated by a political movement and powerful politicians who have fanned the flames of hate and are driving our trans siblings even further to the margins of society, all as part of a misguided, cynical attempt to divide and conquer the country. Every anti-equality politician, from Donald Trump and his Cabinet, to those in Congress and state legislatures, needs to see these numbers, see these names and faces, and see the cost of the cruelty they have greenlit,” she said.

Robinson concluded by reaffirming HRC’s commitment to defending trans people regardless of who occupies the White House.

“HRC will continue to do everything in our power to fight for our trans siblings, hold hateful politicians to account, and build a world where reports like this are no longer needed,” she said.