The Equality Brief: Edition IX
Your Bi-Weekly Update on Advocacy, Policy, and Action
Happy Pride, y’all!
This year’s Pride might feel a little different, but let’s be clear: we celebrate because we deserve to live joyful, safe, and authentic lives. We’re still finding ways to shine, still showing up in our glitter and rainbows, and still fighting like hell to protect our people.
Being joyfully queer in the South is, in itself, an act of resistance.
Here’s what you need to know this week.
In South Carolina, 25-year-old trans man Luca Strobel is facing charges after using the women’s restroom at a bar in Folly Beach. He was there to pick up a friend and chose the restroom he felt safest using, as the men’s room had no stalls.
What seemed like a safe choice resulted in staff calling the police. Luca was detained, issued a trespass notice, and charged with public intoxication. He says officers cuffed him so tightly he lost feeling in his hands.
No South Carolina law prohibits trans men from using the women’s restroom. But that didn’t stop Luca from experiencing the worst. And that’s the deeper issue: these situations aren’t truly about safety. They’re about fear, exclusion, and making it harder for trans people to move freely through public life.
"...After experiencing something traumatic, I’m going through a lot of different emotions; but, I have also personally seen the community rally together to support me, and there is no feeling like knowing that community is there, always. That’s what support looks like: people close and far—queer or not—using their voices to uplift and encourage other queer people, of all ages. From all over. What a beautiful thing to witness. Loud and proud in a time where they want us to be quiet and hide. I am so grateful for the community we create and foster here. This will always be home.” - Luca Strobel
Stories like Luca's remind us what we're fighting for. They remind us why we work long hours testifying at the State House, or why we stand in line to vote.
House Republicans are backing a federal budget proposal that would ban Medicaid and CHIP coverage for all gender-affirming care, regardless of age. It would also strip transition-related care from the definition of essential health benefits under the Affordable Care Act, making it nearly impossible for states to offer this care through ACA plans.
The proposal doesn’t stop there. This bill would significantly reduce Medicaid funding, potentially putting 13.7 million people at risk of losing coverage. This includes
Thousands living with HIV who depend on Medicaid, the largest funder of HIV care in the U.S.
1 in 5 trans people, and
LGBTQ+ community health centers provide services like mental health care, STI testing, and hormone therapy.
The budget also targets food access by slashing the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), adding harsher work requirements, and limiting eligibility. LGBTQ+ people already experience higher rates of poverty and food insecurity, as more than one in four say they struggled to afford food in the past year. These cuts would deepen an already dangerous crisis, especially for women, youth, and people of color in our community.
Finally, the bill seeks to defund Planned Parenthood, an organization that has long provided inclusive, affirming care to LGBTQ+ individuals and reproductive health services to all who need them.
All of this is bundled into the so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill, ”a massive, costly package that would extend tax cuts for the wealthy, expand military and immigration spending, and add $2.4 trillion to the national debt. It’s being sold as a fix for economic stagnation, but it’s being paid for by targeting the health and survival of marginalized people.
ACTION ALERT
Tell your U.S. Senator: VOTE NO on the Big Beautiful Bill
In another devastating move, the Trump administration has removed federal guidance that required hospitals to provide abortion care in medical emergencies. That means in states like South Carolina, where abortion access is already under attack, hospitals can now turn patients away. Even when their lives are at risk.
Under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA), hospitals were supposed to provide emergency care, including abortion, to stabilize patients. That protection is now gone.
Let’s be clear: this will result in unnecessary deaths. Patients experiencing sepsis, hemorrhage, and other complications will be forced to wait, suffer, or be denied care entirely.
Abortion is a crucial part of healthcare for LGBTQ+ folks. Emergency care is a right. We will continue to work with our partners at WREN to ensure every South Carolinian has the right to access quality healthcare.
As we mentioned in our last edition, all eyes are on the Supreme Court as we await a decision in U.S. v. Skrmetti, one of the most significant trans rights cases to reach the Court in years. Oral arguments were held on December 4, 2024, and a ruling is expected any day now.
The case challenges Tennessee’s law banning gender-affirming care for anyone under 18. It’s not just about new patients: Tennessee’s law also forces trans youth already receiving care to stop and allows private citizens to sue the doctors who provide it.
Brought by the ACLU, Lambda Legal, and three families (including 15-year-old plaintiff Samantha Williams and her parents), this case asks a critical question: Can extremist lawmakers override parents, doctors, and medical standards to score political points at the expense of trans kids’ lives?
This is not just a Tennessee issue. A bad ruling could open the door to copycat bans nationwide, including in South Carolina. AFFA Action is in partnership with local and national organizations to mobilize post-decision.
Whew, you made it! We know it’s a lot. For us, this serves as a poignant reminder of why Pride exists in the first place. We’ve always had to fight to be seen, to be safe, and to be free. That hasn’t changed. But neither has our collective power.
So take care of your people. Celebrate every inch of joy you can grab. And when you’re ready? Let’s get back in the ring.
In solidarity,
The AFFA Action Team
