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Target moves Pride merchandise to back of stores in some Southern states

Customers have confronted employees over items

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(Screenshot from YouTube/CBS News)

A spokesperson for Target Corporation confirmed that in some of its locations in semi-rural areas of Georgia, South Carolina and Arkansas have moved Pride merchandise from the front of the stores to backroom areas or deeper into the stores after confrontations and backlash from shoppers.

A source with a Target in Savannah, Ga., who asked not to be identified told the Washington Blade some of those confrontations resulted in displays being knocked over and harsh words exchanged with store retail staff.

Target’s Pride Collection, which was displayed for sale starting on May 1, is comprised of more than 2,000 products, including clothing, books, music and home furnishings. Items include “gender fluid” mugs, “queer all year” calendars and books for children aged 2-8 titled “Bye Bye, Binary,” “Pride 1,2,3” and “I’m not a girl.”

Speaking for the Minneapolis-based retail giant, spokesperson Kayla CastaƱeda noted: “Since introducing this year’s collection, we’ve experienced threats impacting our team members’ sense of safety and wellbeing while at work. Given these volatile circumstances, we are making adjustments to our plans, including removing items that have been at the center of the most significant confrontational behavior.”

Castaneda related that the company has been celebrating Pride Month for over 10 years, but this year the increased opposition and hostility gave the company pause and led to a decision to pull some of the Pride merchandise.

Jonathan Richie, a senior staff writer for the Dallas Express reported on May 13:

Some groups have denounced the inclusion of LGBTQ apparel for children as inappropriate and an example of corporate propaganda.

Conservative non-profit group Consumers’ Research warned that ā€œparents may need to cover their kid’s eyes next time they’re strolling through their local Target.ā€

ā€œThe retail store just released a new line of LGBTQ+ merchandise geared toward children and even babies,ā€ the activist group said. ā€œThis follows longstanding efforts by Target to indoctrinate kids via books titled, ā€˜Are You a Boy or Are You a Girl?,’ ā€˜The Hips on the Drag Queen Go Swish, Swish, Swish,’ ā€˜I’m Not a Girl,’ and more.ā€

Gays Against Groomers, a controversial anti-trans group, tweeted:

Speaking with Reuters, CastaƱeda said the products Target is withdrawing are being removed from all its U.S. stores and from its website.

While various Pride Collection products are under review, the only ones now being removed are the LGBTQ brand Abprallen, which has come under scrutiny for its association with British designer Eric Carnell. Carnell has faced social media backlash for designing merchandise with images of pentagrams, horned skulls and other Satanic products.

Even in cities like Savannah, which tend to be more progressive in terms of political issues, the source told the Blade that store managers were moving Pride displays to less conspicuous areas to stave off some of the nasty confrontations that has occurred in other stores in Georgia.

Target sells Satanism and tucking underwear:

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Florida

Key West Pride’s state funding pulled

Republican Fla. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed anti-DEI bill

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(Photo by Miami2you via Bigstock)

Following the passage of anti-DEI legislation in Florida, Key West will no longer receive any state funding for its future Pride events.

In a letter provided to the Key West Business Guild, the LGBTQ visitor and tourism center for the string of islands, a senior assistant county attorney for Monroe County officially said that the organization would no longer receive funding for its ongoing projects as a result of Senate Bill 1134 and House Bill 1001, starting in 2027.

The popular Key West Pride, gay men–leaning Tropical Heat weekend, and Womenfest will no longer receive any state money. This is something that Gay Key West Visitor Center Executive Director Rob Dougherty highlighted will shift how all the largest LGBTQ events in the Keys will be held after this year.

He said that the explanation is solely a result of SB 1134 and HB 1001, which limits the official actions of local governments by ā€œprohibiting counties and municipalities, respectively, from funding or promoting or taking official action as it relates to diversity, equity, and inclusion …ā€

The legislation is being used to impose restrictions on funding events that exclude — whereas the events’ true purpose is to uplift already marginalized groups.

ā€œWomenfest lost it [funding] because it’s a women’s-only event. Tropical Heat lost it because it’s a men’s-only event … that’s how this is being applied.ā€

This will not impact anything this year, Dougherty assured the Washington Blade; however, the future is not as certain.

ā€œThe law that (Republican Florida) Gov. DeSantis signed does not go into effect until Jan. 1, so for 2026 we’re okay,ā€ Dougherty told the Blade. ā€œBut it impacts Key West Pride 2027, it impacts Tropical Heat 2027 and Womenfest — so we have lost all funding for those three events.ā€

He said that this will amount to a large chunk of the expected funding for the LGBTQ celebrations, which the Key West tourism board says is ā€œinternationally known as a gay mecca.ā€

ā€œWe’re due to lose about $200,000. Not all of that is direct, but the way that the Tourist Development Council (TDC) distributes their money, about $75,000 of it is for Key West Pride, and that helps to pay for things like marketing, swag, and other things that promote the event.ā€

He went on to explain that marketing to many major metropolitan areas with large LGBTQ populations may not see the same Key West advertisements and push as in years past — and that is the point.

ā€œOur digital marketing, our print marketing, our SEO marketing — all of that is paid for through there, and it targets places with direct flights like Washington, D.C., New York, Philly, Atlanta, Dallas. So it’s definitely going to impact that.ā€

The money that will stop coming is not just to run events and celebrations, he explained. Money that goes back directly into the community is going to be hardest hit.

ā€œAn estimated 250,000 LGBTQ+ travelers make it to Key West on an annual basis, and on a very conservative basis, for every LGBTQ+ person there are two to four allies traveling with the same values.ā€

ā€œThe TDC also estimates that $1,500+ is spent per person per visit … so if you take those figures and multiply those all together, it comes up to about $1.2 billion … that is potentially going to be lost.ā€

He says that this will intrinsically change how Key West’s tourism — especially the large LGBTQ side of it — will run, especially since gay vacations need a foundation and expectation of safety and support to blossom.

ā€œWe travel based upon where we feel most welcome,ā€ Dougherty said. ā€œKey West has always been its own little place … the LGBTQ+ history of Key West and everything about Key West has always been a little bit weird for people, and that’s why they come here.ā€

The Guild was formed in 1978 to encourage summer tourism and support Key West’s gay community — becoming the nation’s first LGBTQ destination marketing organization. It has grown tremendously from its original membership to now include more than 475 enterprises representing virtually every facet of the island’s business community.

He also went on to say that this should be eye-opening for anywhere considered an LGBTQ destination, regardless of whether it is in a blue state or a red one.

ā€œI think it can be a wake-up call across the country, because if it can happen here, it can happen anywhere.ā€

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Federal Government

DOE investigates Smith College’s trans-inclusive policy

Mass. college accused of violating Title IX

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The Department of Education building in Washington, D.C.

The U.S. Department of Education announced on Monday that it opened an investigation into Smith College for admitting transgender women.

Smith College, a private and famously all-women’s college in Northampton, Mass., established in 1871 and opened in 1875, has a long list of women who make up its historic alumni — including first ladies, influential political figures, and cultural leaders.

The DOE released a statement about the investigation into the institution through the Department’s Office for Civil Rights, saying it was looking into the possibility that Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 was violated by allowing trans women, referred to in the statement as ā€œbiological males,ā€ into women’s intimate spaces protected by IX.

The statement explicitly highlighted that this stems from trans women being granted ā€œaccess to women-only spaces, including dormitories, bathrooms, locker rooms, and athletic teamsā€ while also allowing their audience into the school itself.

This is the first time the Trump-Vance administration has taken a step into admissions processes, a stark jump past investigating policies that allowed trans women to participate in women’s sports and use women’s bathrooms, and allows for the administration to go more after trans acceptance policy as a whole.

Smith’s admission policy allows for ā€œany applicants who self-identify as women,ā€ including ā€œcis, trans, and nonbinary women,ā€ according to the college’s website, and has since 2015, when it updated its policy.

ā€œThe college is fully committed to its institutional values, including compliance with civil rights laws,ā€ Smith’s statement in response to the DOE’s investigation said. ā€œThe college does not comment on pending government investigations.ā€

ā€œAn all-women’s college loses all meaning if it is admitting biological males,ā€ said Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey. ā€œAllowing biological males into spaces designed for women raises serious concerns about privacy, fairness, and compliance under federal law. The Trump administration will continue to uphold the law and fight to restore common sense.ā€

This move continues to align with actions the Trump-Vance administration has taken to curtail LGBTQ — and specifically trans — rights in America, as members of the administration attempt to break down safeguards and protections that have long been used to protect marginalized communities.

Since Trump took office in his second term, there have been significant legal challenges. According to the National LGBTQ+ Bar Association, there are over 35 court cases that have emerged since his second swearing-in that directly relate to the administration’s attempts to minimize the rights and protections of trans Americans — from medical care and educational protections to military policy.

Much of this anti-trans policy direction was outlined beginning in 2022 with the Project 2025 playbook, which Trump officials have used as a guide to scale back protections for LGBTQ people, Black Americans, poor and Indigenous communities, while also increasing costs for lower-income Americans and providing tax cuts to the wealthy and ultra-wealthy. The plans also ā€œerodeā€ Americans’ freedoms and remove crucial checks and balances that have allowed the executive branch to remain in line with the Constitution without becoming too powerful over either the courts or the legislative branch.

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New York

Gay ICE detainee freed after 150 days in detention

Cayman Islands native taken into custody before green card interview

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Allan Marrero, left, and Matthew Marrero (Photo courtesy of Middle Church)

Following nearly half a year in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention, Allan Marrero has been released and is back home with his husband in New York.

Marrero spent 150 days in ICE custody, held in multiple detention centers across the U.S. after missing an immigration court hearing while in a rehabilitation program for alcohol addiction — a circumstance widely considered ā€œgood causeā€ for failing to appear.

The Washington Blade first reported on Marrero’s case in March after the Cayman Islands native was detained by ICE officers during what was supposed to be a routine marriage-based green card interview at 26 Federal Plaza in New York City.

Marrero had been married to his husband, Matthew Marrero, for two years at the time of the interview. But almost immediately, the experience turned hostile.

The Rev. Amanda Hambrick Ashcraft, a minister at Middle Church in Manhattan who accompanied the couple to provide spiritual support, later described the process as ā€œdehumanizingā€ and ā€œbarbaric.ā€

During the interview, it became clear the couple was facing an uphill battle. At one point, when asked how they met, Matthew Marrero instinctively looked over at his husband and was ā€œsnapped atā€ and told not to look at him. As the interview continued, the outlook only grew more grim.

Unaware that he had a prior removal order tied to the missed court date while he was in rehab, Allan Marrero was detained on the spot.

Over the following months, Allan Marrero was transferred through multiple detention facilities, including centers in Arizona and Texas, the Everglades Detention Facility — also known as ā€œAlligator Alcatraz,ā€ which has been described as having ā€œunsanitary inadequate conditionsā€ — and ultimately a detention center in Mississippi.

While in custody, Allan Marrero was denied access to prescription medication and, according to advocates, was psychologically pressured by ICE agents to self-deport rather than remain detained while his legal case proceeded.

Although a judge later reopened his case and granted bond after Allan Marrero provided proof that he had been in rehab — a valid medical reason for missing his court date — ICE used procedural mechanisms to keep him detained. A separate judge later issued a ruling denying relief, leaving Allan Marrero in custody.

On the outside, Matthew Marrero said his life felt as though it had been put on pause so ICE could meet enforcement quotas.

ā€œ[It feels like] somebody came in and kidnapped someone close to you and took away all of your control and power,ā€ Matthew Marrero told the Blade on March 7. ā€œYou shouldn’t be able to have this much control over somebody’s life, especially if they are trying to do the right thing … You’re not going after criminals, you’re not going after the worst of the worst. You’re trying to fill a quota.ā€

Alexandra Rizio, Allan Marrero’s attorney with Make the Road New York, a progressive grassroots immigrant-led organization, told the Blade that ā€œthere seems to be an underlying element of cruelty baked into not only this administration, but everything.ā€

ā€œIt didn’t have to go down that way,ā€ Rizio continued. ā€œIf someone goes in for a green card interview and their marriage interview, and they learn that they have a removal order, what the USCIS officer could have done is say, ā€˜Look, you have a removal order in your name. You need to go hire an attorney right away to get this taken care of. I can’t adjudicate your green card…’ And if you hire a lawyer, you know, you might be able to get it straightened out. Of course, that’s not what happened. And so ICE, which was in the building, were called and they did arrest Allan.ā€

The Marreros are scheduled to hold a press conference on Tuesday at Middle Church, where Allan Marrero will speak publicly for the first time about his detention.

For additional information on the press conference please visit middlechurch.org

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