In a landmark development for electoral accessibility, Los Angeles County has opened the doors to the nation’s first general election Vote Center located within a transgender establishment. The Connie Norman Transgender Empowerment Center officially launched its voting facilities today, inviting the local transgender community and all registered voters in LA County to participate in the democratic process.

The Vote Center at CONOTEC will operate for early voting from Nov 2 to Nov 5 from 8AM to 8PM. Registered voters in Los Angeles County can cast their ballot at CONOTEC, regardless of their residential address. This initiative not only creates a safe and affirming space for marginalized voters but also aims to foster broader community engagement.

During the grand opening, LA County Registrar Dean Logan and West Hollywood Mayor John Erickson, celebrated this significant moment. 

Registrar Logan said, “The County and everyone in my office know that we need to make voting as accessible and welcoming as possible in every corner of the county. The CONOTEC leadership has done a great job preparing this Vote Center, and we thank them for opening their space to their community and all of the L.A. County residents who chose to vote here.”

Queen Victoria Ortega (at podium), President of FLUX International addressed the need for more action:

“We are tired of everyone discussing our safety while doing nothing about it. Now, we are taking matters into our own hands,” Ortega said. “We, the trans community, have created a safe space for the most marginalized to vote, and when you do that, you create a safe place for all. We are honored and duty-bound to be the first presidential election Vote Center in America at a transgender establishment.”

Queen Chela Demuir, Executive Director of the Unique Women’s Coalition, emphasized the historical legacy of trans rights activists.

“In the spirit of Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera, we honor our transcestors and carry their legacy forward,” she said. “This voting center stands as a safe and welcoming space for our trans siblings, while also embracing all allies and residents of Los Angeles County. It’s a space where everyone’s voice matters, uplifting and empowering our community.”

Bamby Salcedo, Founder and CEO of the TransLatin@ Coalition. (Photo by Troy Masters)

Bamby Salcedo, Founder and CEO of the TransLatin@ Coalition, expressed her support for the initiative, stating, “My sisters at CONOTEC have done a great service to our community by securing this Vote Center. We all look forward to casting our vote in our community and appreciate the support as we work towards equality for all.”

Michael Weinstein, President and CEO of AIDS Healthcare Foundation, the world’s largest and most influential AIDS Service organization, pointed out that around the world voting is a perilous adventure for LGB and particularly trans people. “AIDS Healthcare Foundation is in 47 countries around the world and in so many of those countries, the right to vote does not exist,” he said. “It turns my stomach to see on TV political ads targeting the trans community.” hightlighting the need for safe voting spaces like the CONOTEC.

Kelly Robinson, President of the Human Rights Campaign, praised CONOTEC’s efforts to empower LGBTQ+ voters. “With our vote, each of us has the chance to write the next chapter of this nation’s story. And the nation’s story is incomplete without each one of us. When we show up, equality wins,” Robinson remarked, emphasizing the importance of collective civic participation.

ILGA World has suspended an Israeli advocacy group after it withdrew its bid to host its conference in Tel Aviv.

The Aguda, the Association for LGBTQ+ Equality in Israel, had bid to host the 2026/2027 ILGA World Conference. The ILGA World board of directors was to have voted on the proposal at the 2024 ILGA World Conference 2024 that will take place in Cape Town, South Africa, from Nov. 11-15.

ILGA World on Tuesday announced “the bid to host our next World Conference in Tel Aviv will not go forward, and will not be put to a vote at the upcoming World Conference.” The announcement notes the ILGA World Board “held an emergency meeting and unanimously decided to remove the bid from the Aguda from consideration, and it has also decided to suspend the organization from our membership.”

The announcement further says the Aguda’s bid “was found in violation of ILGA World’s aims and objectives set out in our constitution (3.1 and 3.2.)”

“The ILGA World board is also reviewing the Aguda’s compliance with our constitution and has decided to suspend the organization from our membership to allow for that to happen,” said ILGA World in its announcement.

The decision to suspend the Aguda comes against the backdrop of the war in the Gaza Strip.

Hamas militants last Oct. 7 killed roughly 1,200 people, including upwards of 360 partygoers at the Nova Music Festival, when they launched a surprise attack against southern Israel. The Israeli government says the militants also kidnapped more than 200 people.

The Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry says Israeli forces have killed more than 41,000 people in the enclave since Oct. 7.

A case that South Africa filed with the International Court of Justice in the Hague late last year accuses Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

The International Criminal Court, which is also in the Hague, in May announced it plans to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and three Hamas leaders — Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif, and Ismail Haniyeh. 

Karim Khan, the ICC’s chief prosecutor, said the five men have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza and Israel. (A suspected Israeli airstrike on July 31 killed Haniyah while he was in the Iranian capital of Tehran to attend Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s inauguration. Israeli soldiers on Oct. 16 killed Sinwar in Rafah, a city in southern Gaza that borders Egypt.)

“We know that seeing the Tel Aviv bid taken into consideration caused anger and harm to our communities,” said ILGA World in its statement. “Our apology goes to our members, to our host organizations, and our global communities — and especially to those in South Africa, who will soon host the global movement for our upcoming World Conference.”

“We recognize the historical experience with apartheid and colonialism in South Africa: Even the possibility of voting on such a bid in their home country would have been at odds with the unequivocal solidarity for the Palestinian people,” it adds.

ILGA World also said it supports calls for “stronger governance practices in vetting the proposals we receive.”

“We heard our communities, and we must do better in the future: A situation like this must not repeat,” it said.

The Aguda in a statement said it is “deeply disappointment that ILGA has chosen to boycott those who work for LGBTQ+ rights and strive towards a more just society.”

“For 50 years, the Aguda, the Association for LGBTQ+ Equality in Israel, has worked to support the LGBTQ+ community and uphold human rights for all, including supporting LGBTQ+ individuals in the Arab community, and Palestinian asylum seekers persecuted for their sexual and gender identities,” reads the statement. “The Israeli LGBTQ+ identity embraces both service and contribution to the state as citizens, while continuing to fight for the values of democracy and human rights in the society in which we live.”

The Aguda added Israel’s LGBTQ+ community “should not bear responsibility for government policy, and we expect the international community to support liberal voices rather than boycott them.”

“We are proud to be LGBTQ+ and Israeli, and we will continue to fight for a more equal and safer society,” said the Aguda.

ILGA World Executive Director Julia Ehrt on Wednesday told the Washington Blade in an emailed statement the organization “has communicated in writing with the Aguda.”

“So far, we have not heard from them other than on social media, but of course they have a right to defend their membership status according to our governance procedures,” said Ehrt.

Groups ‘complicit in Israeli apartheid or genocide should be expelled’

Charbel Maydaa, the founder and general director of MOSAIC, a Lebanon-based advocacy group that works throughout the Middle East and North Africa, is also the co-chair of ILGA Asia. He is among the activists who welcomed ILGA World’s decision to withdraw the Aguda’s bid.

A thread in response to a post on Maydaa’s LinkedIn page notes ILGA World in 1987 expelled the Gay Association of South Africa after it “refused to condemn apartheid” in the country “or to get involved in political struggles.”

“GASA’s stance led to its dissolution, and the formation of new and more progressive LGBT rights groups in South Africa,” said Gabriel Hoosain Khan, a London-based activist. “Organizations that are complicit in Israeli apartheid or genocide should be expelled.”

The International Planned Parenthood Federation also welcomed ILGA World’s decision. A Wider Bridge, a group that “advocates for justice, counters LGBTQphobia, and fights antisemitism, and other forms of hatred,” described it as “outrageous and unacceptable.”

ILGA (International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association) supposedly stands for respect for human rights, equality and freedom regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression or sex characteristics,” said A Wider Bridge in a statement. “But by singling out Israel and Israeli LGBTQ people for opprobrium, ILGA violates its fundamental principles.”

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A post shared by A Wider Bridge (@awiderbridge)

The 2022 ILGA World Conference took place in Long Beach, Calif.

“I am appalled and disgusted that ILGA World would ostracize and expel the leading organization in Israel that fights for the civil rights of LGBTQ+ people there,” said California Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur, who is the former executive director of Equality California, a statewide LGBTQ rights group, on X. “This is appalling and blatant anti-Semitism and an abandonment of LGBTQ+ Israelis.”

Shame on @ILGAWORLD. As the former leader of @eqca, CA’s LGBTQ civil rights org, I am appalled and disgusted that @ilgaworld would ostracize and expel the leading org in #Israel that fights for the civil rights of LGBTQ+ ppl there. This is appalling and blatant antisemitism and… https://t.co/6zrU1WQQ7J

— Rick Chavez Zbur (@RickChavezZbur) October 30, 2024

Ehrt in her statement to the Blade acknowledged criticisms over ILGA World’s decision. She also dismissed suggestions that anti-Semitism prompted it.

“ILGA World has a long and proven record of fighting for equality for all,” said Ehrt. “We have repeatedly called for peace in the region, and continue to work every day to counter racism, xenophobia, islamophobia, and anti-Semitism — alongside LGBTI-phobia. Our daily work speaks much louder than the baseless accusations we are receiving.” 

Chile’s municipal and regional elections that took place on Oct. 27 have brought with them a renewed focus on LGBTQ+ rights and diversity.

In a context where the center right has managed to stand out against the Republicans, political parties have incorporated into their platforms a commitment towards the inclusion of queer people. Some Chilean political scientists say the elections have shown a country inclined to vote for the opposition Chile Vamos coalition, even though the left governs Chile.

The ruling party, grouped in Contigo Chile Mejor, had a setback similar to what happened in the 2021 municipal and regional elections — it lost 39 communes that include Santiago, San Miguel, Ñuñoa, and Independencia.

Voters in Maipú, the country’s second most populous commune, re-elected Tomás Vodanovic from President Gabriel Boric’s Frente Amplio.

Frente Amplio also won in Viña del Mar, and other communes, and saw victory in others that include Valparaíso, where the Chilean Congress is located.

Openly LGBTQ+ candidates have emerged since 2012, and some of them have made history. These include Congresswoman Emilia Schneider, a Frente Amplio member who is transgender.

Several LGBTQ+ candidates have resonated with voters within the framework of these elections; not only highlighting their identity, but their commitment to the struggle for equal social rights. 

Gloria Hutt, president of Evolución Política (Evópoli), a party that is part of the Chile Vamos coalition, stressed the importance of diversity in its agenda.

“Part of Evópoli’s agenda is inclusion and diversity, including the diversity of communities of different sexual identities. And in this election we had a dozen candidates who belong to sexual diversities, some of them won, others did not, but it is part of the agenda with which we are permanently working,” Hutt told the Washington Blade.

“We believe that it is also part of the freedom of people to deploy their life project without anything else interfering but their own identity and without prejudice preventing them from deploying that identity,” she added. 

The reelection of figures, such as Viña del Mar Mayor Macarena Ripamonti, and Vodanovic’s success in Maipú reflect significant support for the progressive agenda.

“First of all I would like to emphasize that we saw an impeccable process where citizens were able to express their preferences,” Frente Amplio Secretary-General Andrés Couble told the Blade. “We believe that the results allow us to look to the future with optimism.”

Couble highlighted the importance of LGBTQ+ candidacies in decision-making spaces. 

“We think it is important to promote them and that they reach elected positions, because they allow us to bring the struggles for equal rights and respect and promotion of diversity to institutional spaces,” he said. 

Couble at the same time highlighted the victory of Bladymir Muñoz, the Chilean councilman who received the most votes, as an example of the advance towards a more inclusive representation. 

Muñoz is a Frente Amplio member. He received 41,669 votes in Maipú.

During a sermon delivered earlier this month, far-right evangelical church leader Jack Hibbs told his Calvary Chapel Chino Hills congregation to show up at a Chino Valley Unified School board meeting the following night. He promised it would be a ‘freak show’ full of ‘reprobates’ and ‘degenerates.

Chino Valley Unified in San Bernardino County, whose four board member majority were endorsed by Hibbs, was the first school district in California to institute a “parental notification” policy, which would have required teachers to inform parents if a student changed their pronouns or asked to use a bathroom that did not align with the sex on their birth certificate. 

Board President Sonja Shaw, a member of Calvary Chapel Chino Hills who has praised Hibbs at school board meetings, introduced the policy, and several other school districts followed suit after Chino Valley Unified.

In August 2023, the California attorney general sued the Chino Valley Unified school district, and won a temporary restraining order in September 2023 from a San Bernardino Superior Court judge. Then last month, the same judge ordered a permanent injunction on that policy, calling it discriminatory and harmful to students. Gov. Gavin Newsom then signed a bill that outlawed what critics called “forced outing” policies. 

That didn’t deter Hibbs or the Chino Valley Unified school board. At its Oct. 17 meeting, members passed another controversial policy titled ‘No Deception.’ 

It was an attempt to work around Newsom’s signature by using vague language that omitted student’s gender or sexuality.  Teachers had to be ‘at all times truthful and honest and not misrepresent, either directly or by omission’ when communicating with parents, according to the policy.

That night, Hibbs’ followers packed the school board meeting. 

Many of the speakers referenced their Christian faith and described LGBTQ+ students as ‘sinners’ and the teachers who supported them as ‘groomers,’ with one woman proclaiming ‘we’ve got demons in our schools.’

A number of students pushed back against the proposed policy, begging the school board to focus on actual issues — like their broken air-conditioning and spotty WiFi — instead of culture war politics. 

“It feels like the people who are supposed to support our education system are failing us,” one student said.

Despite pushback from students, teachers, parents and community members, the Chino Valley Board of Education voted 4-1 to pass the policy. 

Shaw did not respond to emails seeking comment on this story.

A Growing Trend in Suburbia 

What happened in Chino Valley Unified is just one example of how Christian nationalists, like Hibbs, encourage their followers to target school boards and support far-right candidates and policies across the U.S. 

Jorge Reyes Salinas, spokesperson for the civil rights organization Equality California, said  that conservatives see these local school boards as their opportunity to ‘increase leverage and representation in government because they know they can’t do that statewide.’ 

That’s especially true in California, where Democrats hold both houses in the state legislature. 

The tactics have been particularly successful in Southern California counties like San Bernardino, Orange, Riverside and Imperial — ‘purple’ regions that mostly have an even split between Democrats and Republicans, but also have pockets of deep red.

Church leaders like Hibbs are able to ‘capitalize on the fact that people don’t really pay attention to what’s going on city council and school boards,’ in these outskirt areas, said Kristi Hirst, a former Chino educator and co-founder of Our Schools USA, an organization fighting back against this evangelical agenda. 

Hibbs did not respond to emails for comment on this story. 

Other churches in the Southern California region that also try to influence school board elections include Kevin O’Connor’s  Ark Church in Redlands and 412 Church in Temecula. Tim Thompson runs both 412 and the Inland Empire Family PAC, which endorses far-right extremist candidates like Candy Olson. According to the organization Safe Redland Schools, Olson has attacked critical race theory and spread conspiracy theories about LGBTQ+ people. 

Targeting school elections  to pass anti-LGBTQ+ policies that claim to be for the protection of children has been part of the religious right’s political playbook for decades.

 The Los Angeles Times published a 1993 article titled School boards become the religious right’s new pulpit, featuring an interview with preacher Robert Simonds, who advised Christian politicians how to run for local office.

“Once you have a majority on a school board, you control the money, you control the books,” said Simonds.

In the past few years, Hirst said  these pastors initially rallied their base around opposing mask mandates and vaccinations during COVID-19. When those issues died down, the pastors pivoted to demonizing transgender youth. 

“This idea of gender ideology being a ‘problem’ is not an organic complaint,”said Hirst. “Somebody at the top decided we’re going to tell you that you should be afraid of this, and then the messaging went down.” 

How Churches Pull the Strings 

Hibbs has openly endorsed political candidates for years. 

Sometimes it’s through his own personal social media posts, like a voter guide he recently posted on Instagram to his more than 395,000 followers. Other times, it’s through organizations like Real Impact and Comeback California, a touring political rally he organizes to encourage churches to get involved in elections. 

In February, Hibbs was accused of breaking the law by endorsing from the pulpit.

Freedom From Religion Foundation wrote a letter to the IRS expressing their concern for tax exemption for these churches. The letter states: ‘Some churches, like Calvary Chapel Chino Hills, have chosen to make a mockery of their 501(c)(3) status by reaping all of the benefits of tax exemption, while knowingly violating the statute by openly endorsing political candidates running for public office.’

According to the IRS website, the law prohibits churches from “participating in, or intervening in (including the publishing or distributing of statements), any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office.”

But that hasn’t stopped pastors like Hibbs from endorsing candidates during every general election. His actions have had a sizable impact on local school policies and education. 

For example, Hibbs has endorsed all four members of the Chino Valley Unified board members  who voted in favor of the ‘No Deception’ policy. He has repeatedly endorsed longtime board member James Na, telling his followers on Facebook that ‘God will hold us accountable for our vote.’

In 2010, Na successfully spearheaded a campaign to get Chino Valley to teach the Bible as a history course for seniors.

Hibbs also endorsed Andrew Cruz, who has said that same-sex marriage is wrong. In 2018, Cruz likened school boards that follow non-discrimination policies to being like Hitler’s followers.

“It wasn’t Hitler that was bad,” Cruz said. “It was the people who followed the laws and the agenda.”

In 2022, Hibbs also encouraged his followers to vote for Jonathan Monroe and current board president Shaw. Shaw has spoken on stage during the Comeback California tour and appeared on the campaign trail alongside Donald Trump.

Hibbs also supports John Cervantes, a newcomer running for the board who opposes same-sex marriage and transgender athletes playing on teams that align with their gender. 

His other endorsements include Joseph Komrosky for Temecula’s school board, even though he’d already been recalled by voters in June. 

Beyond endorsing candidates, Hibbs has even taken credit for popularizing the parental notification movement. Republican Assemblyman Bill Essayli first introduced the idea in 2023, but the legislation died without a hearing. 

In an interview with far-right media, Hibbs boasted that he then brought that bill’s language to the  Chino Valley Unified school board. 

“What we did is that we read his bill and we took the verbiage from that bill and then introduced it to our unified school district school board and they voted and adopted the verbiage,” said Hibbs.

Hibbs added that their plan is to make sure this goes all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court, where they’re hoping that the conservative judges will make this anti-trans policy the law of the land. 

In the end, LGBTQ+ youth are the most harmed, advocates said.

Hirst and Salinas argued that parents are unknowingly organizing against trans students under the belief they are protecting children, and urged adults to question where the rhetoric is coming from. 

“It’s been happening across the country,” Salinas said. “It’s the same tactics, using fear-mongering, using the unknown, using a disguise of children being in danger as a tool.”

This story is published in partnership with the Queer News Network, a collaboration among 11 LGBTQ+ newsrooms to cover down ballot elections across 10 states. Read more about us here. 

This story was published with Q Voice News. 

U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) became the first openly LGBTQ+ senator with her election in 2012, having previously served as U.S. representative from Wisconsin’s 2^nd Congressional District as the first non-incumbent LGBTQ+ member elected to the chamber. She is running against Republican mega-millionaire Eric Hovde, whose campaign has targeted her sexual orientation with negative advertising, in a race that Cook Political Report considers a toss-up.

Delaware State Sen. Sarah McBride (D) became the first openly trans state senator and the highest-ranking trans official in U.S. history with her election in 2020, having previously worked in LGBTQ+ advocacy and authored a memoir. She is running for Delaware’s sole seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, where she would be the first transgender Member of Congress. She is favored to win her race.

Mondaire Jones served as U.S. representative for New York’s 17^th Congressional District from 2021 to 2023, during which time he was often described as a rising star in the progressive wing of the Democratic Party, serving on the Progressive, Black, and Equality Caucuses. Jones was one of the first two openly gay Black members of Congress. He is running to reclaim his seat representing NY-17.

Gay Democratic U.S. attorney Will Rollins is gunning for U.S. Rep. Ken Calvert’s (R-Calif.) seat after narrowly losing to the GOP incumbent in 2022. His victory is key for Democrats to retake control of the House, with Cook Political Report characterizing their race as a toss-up and POLITICO writing it will be one of the most “closely watched and expensive battleground slugfests in the country.”

U.S. Rep. Angie Craig (D) is the first LGBTQ+ member of Congress from Minnesota and the first lesbian mother to serve in either chamber. In the House, Craig has opposed Republican-led efforts to implement anti-LGBTQ+ policies, especially in schools. She is facing off against Republican Joe Teirab in a race that, according to Cook Political Report, is shaping up in her favor/lean Democratic.

U.S. Rep. Eric Sorensen (D) is a former meteorologist and the first openly gay member of Congress from Illinois. While he is the first Democrat to represent portions of the state’s 17^th Congressional District in decades, particularly the towns of Rockford and Peoria, Sorensen’s race is “likely” Democratic, per Cook Political Report. He is running against Republican Joe McGraw, a judge and former prosecutor.

U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids is a former mixed martial artist and attorney serving as the first Democrat to represent a Kansas congressional district in Congress in more than a decade. She is also the first LGBTQ+ Native American and one of the first two Native American women (along with Interior Secretary Deb Haaland) elected to the chamber. Her race is “likely” Democratic according to Cook Political Report.

U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas (D) is the first openly gay man from New Hampshire to serve in Congress following his election in 2018 and reelection in 2020 and 2022. He is running against Republican Russell Prescott in a race that Cook Political Report expects will be “likely” Democratic. New Hampshire Public Radio called Pappas the 1^st Congressional District’s most successful Democrat in more than four decades.

There are four other openly LGBTQ+ members of Congress, all serving as co-chairs of the Equality Caucus under chair Mark Pocan, Democratic U.S. representative from Wisconsin: U.S. Reps. Robert Garcia and Mark Takano, Democrats from California, Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.), and Becca Balint (D-Vt.). They are all expected to win their bids for reelection.

Gay Pennsylvania State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta (D) is running for auditor general of the Keystone State, squaring off next week against incumbent Republican Tim DeFoor and three third-party candidates. Appointed by President Joe Biden to chair the Presidential Advisory Commission on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence and Economic Opportunity for Black Americans, Kenyatta is considered a rising star in the Democratic Party.

Tampa native and mother of two teen boys, Ashley Brundage has built programs to help educate people and facilitate economic empowerment for entrepreneurs, earning a “Spirit of the Community Award” for her work from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. And if she wins her race next week to serve in the Florida House of Representatives, Brundage would be the state’s first out transgender elected official.  

Aime Wichtendahl is the first transgender official elected in the state of Iowa, serving on the city council of Hiawatha, a suburb northwest of Cedar Rapids, since 2015. Her work has focused on expanding infrastructure, reducing property taxes, and helping small businesses. If elected to the Iowa House of Representatives next week, Wichtendahl would be Iowa’s first openly trans state legislator.

Vice President Kamala Harris delivered her closing message on Tuesday night, contrasting her campaign’s message of hope, as well as her policy plans on behalf of the people, with her opponent’s focus on grievance, division, and the needs of wealthy donors and moneyed special interests.

Speaking from the Ellipse, south of the White House — the site where former President Donald Trump fomented a violent insurrection into the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 — Harris addressed an audience that is reported to exceed 75,000, shattering records.

The vice president repeated a pledge she has made often on the campaign trail, that she will be president for all Americans regardless of whom they voted for or what they believe. Trump wants to put those who disagree with him in jail, she said. “I’ll give them a seat at the table.”

Harris made a direct reference to the LGBTQ+ community by invoking the Stonewall rebellion, birthplace of the modern struggle for LGBTQ+ civil rights.

Earlier, she said, “For as long as I can remember, I have always had an instinct to protect. There’s something about people being treated unfairly or overlooked that, frankly, just gets to me. I don’t like it.”

Harris continued, “It’s what my mother instilled in me — a drive to hold accountable those who use their wealth or power to take advantage of other people, the drive to protect hard working Americans who aren’t always seen or heard and deserve a voice. And I will tell you that is the kind of president I will be.”

Forest green faux fur, rhinestones, a fabric-lined ceiling, planted faux flowers and green plastic grass adorn the inside of an anthropomorphized car named Mollie who spends her days riding off into the sunset on Sunset Blvd in West Hollywood and beyond. 

The driver of this 2008 Ford Escape, Caspian Larkins, 24 and a Cancer sign, moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting and through a series of humbling restaurant jobs and other side hustles, ended up driving for Uber. Though working for Uber was not on Larkins’ bingo card for 2021, they wanted to find a way to make the experience not only fun for themself, but also for the people who roll on Mollie. 

Larkins, who identifies as nonbinary and queer, grew up being one with nature in the wilderness of Oregon and when you step inside Mollie, it feels like a little magical, mystical slice of Oregonian forest–of course if it were reimagined on four wheels and zooming through traffic in Los Angeles. 

Forest green faux fur and a pink ruffle with a layer of tiny fabric roses, line the doors. Stickers on the sunroof and windows reflect rainbow hues across the white leather seats and passengers. (Photo credit Gisselle Palomera)

Going viral overnight doesn’t happen to just anyone, but this iconic duo now have thousands of followers on social media and have big plans for the future. 

ShaVonne Boggs, a content creator who hailed an Uber ride from Larkins, posted an Instagram reel of the ride and featured Larkins in all their fairy-core glory, driving through L.A traffic, with the viral Gwen Stefani ‘Just a Girl,’ audio clip playing over. 

“I went to bed that night with a couple hundred followers on my account and I woke up the next day and I had gained like 3,000 followers,” said Larkins. 

Larkins has a unique sense of style that incorporates nature, fashion and sustainability, often foraging for materials from the side of the road to add to the car and accepting donated fabrics from people who reach out to them through social media. 

“I’m a forager. What can I say?,” said Larkins and then jokingly added that Jeff Bezos also personally delivers some of the items they use to decorate Mollie. 

“I come across stuff on the street sometimes that I’ll pick up, put in my car and repurpose.” 

Larkins says that Mollie is a little bit dinged up and bruised up from the outside, but that it’s the inside that truly matters. 

There is a third character in this story that resides on the inside of the car at all times. 

Jack Aranda is the name of the guardian angel of this fairytale ride. It is a miniature rubber ducky that was given to Larkins by a spiritual witch that opted for an Uber drive, over a broom one night. 

“It was midnight, by Venice Beach and you know it was good vibes, but yea she gets in and we’re talking and she’s like ‘I’m going to give you this duck,’ and gives me this little tiny purple good luck duck,” said Larkins. “So I kept the good luck duck and I put him on my dashboard.”

Larkins says that ever since this encounter, the luck in their car changed. 

“Red lights will always turn green for me, and sometimes someone will run a red light and miss [hitting] me and I just think it’s divine intervention because of Jack.” 

Larkins poses in front of their car Mollie on a road in West Hollywood, CA. (Photo Credit Gisselle Palomera)

Larkins says that the decorated interior and its elements serves not only as a conversation starter, but also as a filter from unwanted conversations and painfully boring small talk. 

“I think that since I’ve decorated my car, it’s like my filter,” said Larkins. “The people who get in and are like, ‘Oh my god,’ those are my people and those are the ones that I’m there for. And the ones that get in and are silent, I just let them sit there and soak in the rainbows.” 

They say that there have been more good interactions, than bad ones and more people who ‘get it,’ than those who don’t. 

Anthropomorphizing cars is nothing new to pop culture. In fact, cars have almost always had names and it is almost a part of engrained American culture to assign personalities to them based on their cosmetic characteristics. 

The earliest examples on TV go as far back as the 1940s and some of the most memorable examples are Christine, the possessed, killer Camaro from Stephen King’s imaginative mind. 

Or Herbie, the 1963 Volkswagen Racing Beetle from the early cartoon TV show Herbie, the Love Bug.

In everyday routine, people spend so much time and energy on and around inanimate objects, that they sort of become meaningful elements who accompany us on our journeys from here to there–and back. 

“What I’m doing now with her is switching out different designs with the seasons,” said Larkins. 

Larkins drives around Los Angeles and West Hollywood, picking up and dropping off people from all walks of life. (Photo Credit Gisselle Palomera)

“So right now we have our spring/summer look and a lot of the things in there are removable, velcroed and stapled.” 

They say that right now they are exploring a very niche area of automotive interior design that they feel has not been explored within vehicles recently. 

“It’s just hard for other people to conceptualize it and what I often describe to people, comes off as very tacky and just kind of nasty– not demure, not cute.” 

Larkins feel they are really just now setting the stage for what’s possible, as far as interior customizations. 

“I want to start creating this world in which design plays a bigger role in what a car could be and the experience of just being transported,” said Larkins candidly. “I want to invite people into my little delusional fantasies.” 

Larkins believes that even in the present and near future of self-driving vehicles, they would like to collaborate with these major self-driving car companies and take part in designing and customizing the vehicles so that it can be a pleasurable and fun experience for riders who might feel anxiety about self-driving technology. 

The inside of Mollie is adorned from top to bottom and from left to right. (Photo Credit Gisselle Palomera)

Modifying and customizing cars has been a part of the North American experience since the early 1930s. Now, attention is shifting toward the addition of technologies like Augmented Reality, to enhance the experience of driving and getting from point A to point B, and also using that technology to navigate the vehicle without a driver. 

There are now endless possibilities when it comes to custom car culture and Larkins feels this is their place to explore and forage for the looks that people want and can’t even imagine. 

“I want to step away from driving for the platforms and I would love to design with them,” said Larkins. “There is a group of people that are in support of this future technology and there is this other group of people that are kind of scared of it because it feels very cold and very uninviting and very new, so I would like to be the one to sort of bridge that gap for those people and make it less scary.” 

The vision that Larkins has, is that they would like to reimagine the possibilities of custom interiors with interchangeable parts and additions that one could only think of as synonymous to Barbie and her endlessly fun assortment of interchangeable outfit components. 

Larkins sees a long future ahead, where they have the opportunity to collaborate with airlines, rideshare companies and any other sponsors who are willing to make their visions come to reality. Until then, they will continue to weave up and down the asphalt arteries of WeHo and beyond, rolling on Mollie and working on their fairytale ending.

Activists around the world with whom the Washington Blade spoke this week say a Kamala Harris presidency will ensure U.S. foreign policy will continue to champion LGBTQ+ and intersex rights.

“A Kamala win would ensure the continuation of U.S. protection and support of global LGBTQ+ human rights,” said Sexual Minorities Uganda Executive Director Frank Mugisha. “I worry about a Trump win and Project 2025 in particular, as it not only undermines LGBTQ human rights but also rolls back the gains we have made so far.”

Uganda is among the countries in which consensual same-sex sexual relations remain criminalized.

The Biden-Harris administration in 2023 imposed visa restrictions on Ugandan officials and removed the country from a program that allows sub-Saharan African countries to trade duty-free with the U.S. after President Yoweri Museveni signed the Anti-Homosexuality Act. 

“I directed the administration to promote human rights for LGBTQ [people] everywhere, particularly, for example, Uganda — they want help from us; they’ve got to change their policy, in terms of the discrimination,” President Joe Biden told the Washington Blade during an exclusive interview in the Oval Office on Sept. 12.

South African MP Steve Letsike, a lesbian woman who founded Access Chapter 2, an LGBTQ+ advocacy group, told the Blade the U.S. government during the Biden-Harris administration “has been instrumental in extending its policy agenda for its own citizens and lending a hand and support to queer communities in hard criminalized settings such as Uganda and many other countries.”

“Kamala Harris will continue to champion the rights-based approach that raises intersectional issues,” she said. “She is the hope we seek for this world.”

Esteban Paulón, a long-time LGBTQ+ activist in Argentina who won a seat in the country’s Congress in 2022, agreed.

“The support for the agenda of promoting LGBTIQ rights more globally by the United States government without a doubt depends centrally on Kamala Harris’s victory,” he told the Blade.

Decriminalization was White House LGBTQ+ foreign policy priority

Biden in 2021 signed a memo that committed the U.S. to promoting LGBTQ+ and intersex rights abroad as part of his administration’s overall foreign policy. The White House in the same year named Jessica Stern, who was previously the executive director of Outright International, as the next special U.S. envoy for the promotion of LGBTQ+ and intersex rights abroad.

Then-State Department spokesperson Ned Price during a 2021 interview with the Blade noted the decriminalization of consensual same-sex sexual relations was one of the Biden-Harris administration’s priorities in its efforts to promote LGBTQ+ and intersex rights abroad. Stern in 2022 told the Blade that support of marriage equality in countries where activists say such a thing is possible through legislation or the judicial process is “among a wider set of priorities.”

Former President Donald Trump tapped then-U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell to lead an initiative that encouraged countries to decriminalize consensual same-sex sexual relations. Activists with whom the Blade has previously spoken questioned whether this effort had any tangible results.

“We hope for continued support for the defense of Ukraine, which is critical to the survival of LGBTQI people in Ukraine,” Olena Shevchenko, chair of Insight, an LGBTQ rights group in Ukraine, told the Blade. “With Trump it’s definitely a backlash on the rights of LGBTI and women.”

Mugisha also expressed concern about a Trump victory — and Project 2025 “in particular.”

“It not only undermines LGBTQ human rights but also rolls back the gains we have made so far,” he said.

“What worries me is that Trump has proven his hate, his anti-policies and laws that consistently denies LGBTI people their fundamental rights,” Letsike told the Blade. “American LGBTI people’s rights must be guaranteed, respected and protected and not be threatened by any president that assumes office.”

Dindi Tan, national president of LGBT Pilipinas in the Philippines, agreed.

“The proposed policies of (Vice President) Harris align with our advocacy and policy direction on LGBTQIA+ rights in the Philippines and beyond,” Tan told the Blade. “Considering also that there are many LGBTQIA+ Filipinos living in the U.S., I believe that Harris winning the Presidency would advance our ongoing fight for equality.”

“On the other hand, a Trump victory promises to undo the hard-fought victories we have had over the years,” added Tan.

War in Gaza overshadows US election 

The presidential election will take place against the backdrop of widespread global criticism of the war in the Gaza Strip, and the Biden-Harris administration’s continued support of Israel.

Hasan Kilani, a Jordanian Palestinian queer activist, told the Blade he supports Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein.

“We do not want the queer rights movement associated with a government that has supported the atrocities witnessed in Gaza,” said Kilani. 

He added he rejects “a binary view that frames the choice solely between Trump and Harris.” 

“I believe that real progress lies in moving towards voting Green,” said Kilani. “If Trump were to win, it could prompt the Democratic Party to reassess its policies and return to the core of progressive values, a space where the queer community once found alignment. Right now, however, I see little practical difference between Kamala Harris and Trump when it comes to the impact on queer people in the Middle East.”

Outright International is among the LGBTQ+ rights groups that has called for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Maria Sjödin, the group’s executive director, in a statement to the Blade did not specifically mention the war. Sjödin, however, defended the U.N. and other “multilateral systems” that “play a vital role for LGBTIQ communities — especially when domestic governments fail to protect their rights.” (The Israeli Knesset on Monday approved a bill that will ban the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East, or UNRWA, from conducting “any activity” in the country. UNRWA is the largest aid provider in Gaza.)

“Any retreat by the U.S. from these international institutions would weaken essential platforms where marginalized voices are heard,” said Sjödin. “Additionally, funding for global human rights initiatives is a lifeline for many organizations working in countries where LGBTIQ people face severe oppression.”

“A U.S. administration that deprioritizes international solidarity and human rights funding would deeply harm efforts to ensure dignity, freedom, and equality for LGBTIQ people worldwide,” added Sjödin.

Sjödin also expressed concern about the election’s impact on LGBTQ+ Americans.

“No matter who wins the upcoming presidential election, there is a significant risk if an ‘America First’ ideology — focused on isolationism — prevails,” said Sjödin. “Such a posture undermines the role the U.S. has played in promoting human rights globally. We have witnessed devastating attacks on the rights of trans people at the state level, and the spread of this rhetoric to the federal level would not only hurt the LGBTQ community in the U.S. but also severely damage the U.S.’ credibility as a leader in promoting equality and dignity for LGBTIQ people around the world.”

Caleb Orozco, a prominent activist in Belize, told the Blade the global LGBTQ+ rights movement will continue, regardless of who wins the U.S. presidential election.

“While freedoms and rights demand vigilance that remains fragile in the US and around the world, voters will determine if they want allyship or exclusion,” said Orozco. “Either way LGBTQ resilience continues.”

The Democratic National Committee launched a six-figure ad campaign Wednesday that will run on Grindr, the location-based social networking and online dating app for gay and bisexual men and transgender users.

The campaign will highlight how former President Donald Trump, his vice presidential nominee U.S. Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), and their Republican allies would strip away rights and freedoms from LGBTQ Americans through their Project 2025 governing blueprint.

“LGBTQ+ Americans have fought tirelessly for equality — but Donald Trump’s MAGA GOP wants to drag us backwards and roll back our hard-earned freedoms,” DNC Rapid Response Director Alex Floyd said in a press release that was previewed by the Washington Blade.

“We cannot afford MAGA Republicans’ extreme, anti-equality Project 2025 agenda that will put our rights at risk and our lives on the line,” Floyd said. “Our votes are powerful, and it’s crucial that LGBTQ+ voters make their voices heard at the ballot box in this election to stop the Trump-Vance ticket’s dangerous Project 2025 blueprint.

He added, “This November, the American people — including LGBTQ+ voters — will choose Vice President Harris and Gov. Walz’s vision of equality for all over the ultra-MAGA GOP’s campaign of extremism and hate.”

Tenant rights attorney Ysabel Jurado is known as the progressive, grassroots candidate in
the race for the hot seat that her opponent Kevin De León currently holds in Council District 14, even after years of recalls following a racism and homophobia scandal.

Jurado says it’s time for something different and she is it.

“I’m an API woman, I’m educated, I’m a citizen and English is my first language–
among others,” said Jurado in an interview with Los Angeles Blade. “And I’m also proud that on this team, we are largely led by LGBTQ+ folks, women of color, and people of color.”
As an out candidate, Jurado says she is intentional about the people she hires as part of
her campaign team. She is inclusive of nonbinary people and anyone who identifies as part of the QTBIPOC and LGBTQ+ acronyms, because she doesn’t just want to talk about them, she also wants to incorporate their lived experiences in her campaign mission. She says this in part
because of her own identity, but also because of the scandal that rocked De León’s political career.

The scandal follows various City Council members of CD-14 ranting about other BIPOC
members of Council and their LGBTQ+ families. The leaked audio recording included her
opponent De León — who at the time had his eyes set on running for mayor of Los Angeles.

“A lot of the groups talked about in these tapes are the people that we’ve recruited and
who we are making sure to build a coalition with,” said Jurado.

Going into this campaign race, she asked herself: ‘How do I go into this institution and
not become the worst parts of it?’

“If I ever become that, I want you to put my feet to the fire and shift me out of there,
because at that point I have betrayed myself,” responding to the question she had asked herself.

Jurado is currently facing backlash from many community members who support the
police force in Los Angeles, after she was elicited to respond to a question regarding her stance
on police funding. Some of those community members are now actively pushing for her to drop out of the race for Council District 14.

According to NBC4, family members of fallen Los Angeles Police Department officers
have spoken out to say they worry the remarks she made in regards to her stance on police
funding would hurt the LAPD’s ability to recruit new officers.

“In a meeting with students at Cal State LA, I quoted a lyric from a song that’s been part
of a larger conversation on systemic injustice and police accountability for decades…,” said
Jurado to NBC4.

Later, other news outlets reported that the person who elicited the ‘f-ck the police,’
response from Jurado, was a staffer working for De León.

“When you look at what I say and when you look at what I’m doing, I walk the walk and
I’m not going to take any bullshit sitting down, even though [De León] tries,” said Jurado in an
interview.

Jurado has been campaigning for this position since last summer and has since made
dozens of headlines that suggest she is a political force to be reckoned with and has been
building gains in the mostly Latin American Council district. She also brings up the long and problematic history of candidates and elected officials who have resigned, been indicted for corruption, or who have been asked to ‘step down over shady backroom deals.’

“The focus isn’t about me and him and what petty back-and-forth things we say, it’s
about our communities and wanting to make sure we talk to voters and rising above. Because at the end of the day, it’s about the work,” said Jurado. “It’s not about the noise and trying to bring it back to who gets hurt by all these conversations, which are the constituents.”

Jurado is an out LGBTQ single mother and lifelong resident of Highland Park who has
tirelessly fought for tenant rights and protections during her time as a tenants’ rights attorney and housing justice advocate. She prides herself in being a self-made politician who started her journey at Pasadena City College, then earned her bachelor’s degree at University of California, Los Angeles and then went to law school.

Jurado then went on to fight gentrification-driven displacement and in her candidate
statement, she says she spends her days protecting neighborhoods from corrupt developers and politicians.

“This campaign is for ‘the other.’ Being a daughter of immigrants, or whatever your
identity is, you become fluent in two different modalities,” said Jurado. “You know what the
dominant culture is and what the non-dominant culture is and you learn how to navigate through it. I think that is a superpower our people have, people who have always been ‘othered.’

Jurado is currently canvassing in the community, leading up to the election with support from Hugo Soto-Martinez, LA City Council Member of CD-13 and Eunisses Hernandez, LA City Council Member CD-1.