Texas: Gov. Abbott signs ban on Transgender girls in sports
Reuters reported on October 25 that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill on Monday banning Transgender girls from girls' sports in public schools. The bill's supporters say it's meant to protect fairness, citing an "inherent physical advantage" of Transgender athletes playing on girls' teams. Critics call the measures hateful and discriminatory, and point to a lack of evidence so far that Transgender girls have a competitive advantage. Meanwhile, Reuters notes, enforcement of Idaho's similar law has been blocked by a federal court, but a total of 35 state bills to exclude Transgender youth have been introduced this year.

Washington, DC: House Democrats want Gay marriage on the table at embassies
NBC News reported on October 25 that 61 Democrats in the House of Representatives are calling on the Biden administration to lift the State Department's ban on US embassies discussing or advocating for Gay marriage. This comes after a State Department insider, Scott Busby, revealed that the department's official policy is to not "advocate for or against same-sex marriage overseas." The letter to the administration said, "We... ask the Department to provide the opportunity to US personnel to defend our values and the dignity of our LGBTQI families at appropriate moments when the power of our example might make a meaningful difference."