Free Mom Hugs now has chapters in every state and just held its second national conference in Texas.

Free Mom Hugs — the humble, homegrown LGBTQ+ advocacy group — has come a long way since Sara Cunningham attended Oklahoma City Pride wearing a button that offered marchers and attendees a “free” motherly embrace.

Cunningham says she knew firsthand that many in the LGBTQ+ community had been rejected by their parents.

For years, she’d been in denial about her own son’s sexuality.

“It’s been four years since I got a hug from my mom because I’m a lesbian,” whispered the first “beautiful girl” to get a hug from Cunningham, who embraced hundreds of parade goers that day, many in tears.

Cunningham’s free mom hugs caught fire, with moms across the country attending Pride celebrations with the same offer the Oklahoman made that day in OKC: Bring it in for a “free mom hug.”

Chapters of the group are now in every state of the union.

Earlier this month, moms from across the country gathered in Grapevine, Texas near Dallas to celebrate their success with a second annual “Love Revolution” Free Mom Hugs conference. There, attendees spoke about the best ways to fulfill their mission to support their own children and those who’ve been abandoned by their parents.

Along with their membership — now over 37,000 strong — the nonprofit has grown rapidly and offers participants an armload of ways to accomplish their mission, from enlisting members to spread the Free Mom Hugs message at corporations, churches, sporting events, schools, and universities, to peaceful demonstrations for LGBTQ+ rights and providing resources for individuals and families in need.

They also collaborate on local and national initiatives with other advocacy organizations like the Human Rights Campaign, PFLAG and The Trevor Project.

The group’s Instagram is full of informative posts for queer and trans youth, shout-outs from state chapters, “need to know” news updates, and shared opportunities like a $10K LGBTQ+ Changemaker Youth Grant from itgetsbetter.org.

On their website, the group shares resources like “Executive Orders Explained,” lists of recommended articles, books for parents, trans kids, and faith-based reading materials, plus links to allied supporting organizations like The Real Mama Bears, GLSEN and TransFamily Support Services.

“Allies are essential to the Free Mom Hugs mission and to helping members of LGBTQIA+ communities feel welcome and affirmed where they live,” the group says. “Advocating for and encouraging members of local LGBTQIA+ communities shows the world that everyone belongs and matters.”

Transgender Servicemembers in Talbott Push Back

Transgender Servicemembers in Talbott Push Back Today Against Another Attempt to Implement Trump’s Military Ban

Lead attorneys for the plaintiffs call the ban an “alarming threat to the trust needed to maximize national security” that would “permanently damage the careers of thousands of individuals who have served honorably and sacrificed for our country”

WASHINGTON, DC—Today, the plaintiffs, 32 transgender servicemembers and recruits, in Talbott v. USA (formerly Talbott v. Trump) filed an opposition to the government’s motion for an emergency stay. The motion for an emergency stay is yet another attempt by the government to move forward with implementation of the transgender military ban stemming from President Trump’s January executive order, which had previously been scheduled to occur on March 28. Both the constitutionality of this ban and the lack of any rational reason or data underpinning it have come under fire during this litigation.

Today’s motion calls out that the government has not and cannot meet the extraordinary burden needed to “greenlight a purge of transgender servicemembers,” many of whom are distinguished members of our armed forces filling critical roles and “who have deployed globally and earned numerous commendations.” It further notes that proceeding forward with the ban would result in irreparable harm against thousands of currently serving transgender servicemembers.

The government had also sought an administrative stay in Talbott in an effort to prevent the nationwide preliminary injunction from going into effect. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia put mechanisms in place to prevent government action that would negatively impact any servicemembers in response to the ban.

On March 18, U.S. District Court Judge Ana Reyes had issued a nationwide preliminary injunction blocking implementation of the transgender military ban. In a forceful order in which she held that the ban undermines national security and is likely unconstitutional, calling it “soaked with animus and dripping with pretext.” That injunction halts implementation of the ban and protects transgender servicemembers and recruits from its significant harms while the future of the ban is being decided in court. These harms include servicemembers being removed from deployments, denied commissions and promotions, placed on administrative leave, denied medically needed care, and ultimately being placed in involuntary separation proceedings, a process used to address instances of misconduct.

The lead attorneys in Talbott v. Trump, GLAD Law Senior Director of Transgender and Queer Rights Jennifer Levi and NCLR Legal Director Shannon Minter, shared their reactions to today’s opposition to the government’s motion for an emergency stay:

“The government has not and cannot provide any rational reason to justify the systematic purge of transgender troops who are meeting all performance standards. In fact, the government has actually conceded that each active-duty plaintiff is honorable, disciplined, and fit to serve,” said GLAD Law Senior Director of Transgender and Queer Rights Jennifer Levi. “Enacting the ban and moving forward with this abrupt policy reversal would erode essential trust within military units and permanently damage the careers of thousands of individuals who have served honorably and sacrificed for our country.”

“The government continues to wind its way through the process, invoking every legal tool possible in an attempt to implement a ban that is both unconstitutional and an alarming threat to the trust needed to maximize national security,” said NCLR Legal Director Shannon Minter. “The human story behind the cost of this ban is gut-wrenching, as we hear from servicemembers and their families for whom the ban would end careers and destroy lives.”

Talbott v. Trump was the first legal challenge filed against President Trump’s recent transgender military ban executive order. The case is on behalf of 32 plaintiffs and was brought by LGBTQ+ legal groups GLAD Law and NCLR with pro bono legal counsel from Wardenski P.C. and Kropf Moseley PLCC.

GLAD Law’s Jennifer Levi and NCLR’s Shannon Minter, the lead attorneys in this case, are transgender themselves and each have more than three decades of experience litigating landmark and key LGBTQ+ cases. Together, Levi and Minter led the legal fight in 2017 against the transgender military ban in Doe v. Trump and Stockman v. Trump, which also secured a nationwide preliminary injunction blocking that ban.

Learn more about Talbott v. USA.

Tucson GLBT Chamber of Commerce October Our N About at our place!

Glad to have hosted the GLBT Chamber of Commerce October Out N' About at our place to highlight our Real Estate Business and our work within the Tucson GLBT community helping buyers and sellers for over 26 years! And showcasing the BEST Real Estate Web site for Tucson GLBT buyers and sellers: www.TucsonGLBTRealEstateConnection.com

 

Tucson Pride Festival in the Park!!!

This past Saturday (Sept. 30) Tucson Pride celebrated it's 40th Anniversary with live music, comedy, vendor booths, food concessions and fun for all who attended this great event that has been going strong since 1977! 

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