Alabama: Judge blocks ban on HRT, not surgery
NBC reported on May 14 that a federal judge partially blocked a new law that makes providing certain gender-affirming medical care to minors a felony, with a sentence of up to 10 years and a $15,000 fine.

US District Judge Liles Burke said in an opinion that it was a "substantial likelihood" that part of the Alabama's law was unconstitutional, and put a temporary block on the portion that bans minors from receiving nonsurgical care like puberty blockers and hormones. He reasoned that "parents have a fundamental right to direct the medical care of their children."

"This right includes the more specific right to treat their children with transitioning medications subject to medically acceptable standards," he went on. "The Act infringes on that right and, as such, is subject to strict scrutiny."

Burke allowed other parts of the bill to remain in effect, such as the ban on gender-affirming surgery for minors, and two provisions that prohibit school officials from keeping a child's gender identity a secret from parents, or from "encouraging or compelling children to keep certain gender-identity information secret from their parents."

Indiana: Another Queer victory at Homecoming
NBC News reported on May 14 that an Indiana high school has crowned its 18-year-old drag queen Cristian Hernandez as prom king. Hernandez is Nonbinary, and goes by he or they pronouns.

"Honestly, when I walked out there, I left everybody speechless," Hernandez said of his walk down the red carpet after his victory. A video of the event quickly went viral on TikTok, with over 150,000 views and 50,000 likes.

"I was a senior in 2013 and he had one out kid in a school [of] over 2,000 kids," one commenter said. "This warms my heart that you all get to be your most authentic selves."

Hernandez said that not all of his classmates were happy that he won, but he shrugged them off. "The boys at school, they always have a problem with something," he said. As for a message to other LGBTQ youth: "Really be yourself, and confidence is key. You can't let people tear you down."

NBC put the event in a context of other LGBTQ high school students who have busted through barriers and gender norms, such as a Missouri high school crowning its first male homecoming queen, and a teen in Florida being crowned her school's first Trans homecoming queen.